Hello again. Please please please review. I only have one reviwer person :( It's the holidays, a review is a nice present. I'll even give you a cookie! Though I don't know how you'd eat an internet cookie...anyway read and please review.
One more thing, special thanks to 2Lazy2LogInn (I love this name XD) for reviewing. Now, on to the story!
The Ecliptic Plane
Nrongard
I exited the inn I had checked into last night after leaving the coffee shop, and started heading off towards the next town over; Nrongard. Walking down the road I briefly wondered if there was anything that could possibly exist that made traveling faster, so that I didn't have to kill my feet going to and from towns and cities. Just then a person on a peculiar machine rode past me. His wrist was strapped to it, and it seemed as though that is what gave the machine power. I saw these a lot while traveling around. I didn't know the name of them though, or even what they were. It wasn't surprising that I didn't know; it was normal for me not to know much about things like that. A loner is what I was and probably all I would ever be. People always avoided me, never told me much of anything so I stayed ignorant of most everything going on around me. I knew about being a freelance mage though, and I was happy for that because if I didn't I would be either dead or starving by now. I also knew a lot about the Moon, Sun, and Beyond. It was what my magic was based off of after all. My magic…I guess that's another reason why nobody wants to have anything to do with me. They're scared of it. Even non-mages can sense what they say is an evil presence though I'm not sure why, it doesn't seem evil to me. Before more gloomy thoughts entered my brain I realized that I had finally reached the small town of Nrongard.
It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It didn't even look like a town, a village more like. It had an innumerable amount of destroyed houses and buildings, some smoldering, some still ablaze with fire. The scent of burning flesh filled my nostrils as I walked towards the center of the small town. People who were charred and mangled all glared at me, stumbling back if I got too close. I almost tripped a few times on the rubble, cursing under my breath every instance this happened, careful not to let the disfigured townspeople hear me.
When I arrived at the center of town all of the structures were normal, not almost completely annihilated like the rest of the settlement. The people here were also normal and weren't what looked like mutilated walking corpses. I strode over to what I guessed was the mayor's house. It was the largest of all the buildings in Nrongard with a tall ornate, black gate surrounding the outside that I guessed kept intruders out. The gate opened automatically, letting me onto the mayor's property. When I rapped on the door I heard some yelling from a deep, yet distinctly female voice, and a few shouts from what I guessed were males. The door was opened by a young woman with long scarlet hair that reached her waist. The light that glinted off of her silver armor almost blinded before I shielded my eyes with my sleeve. She wore a dark blue skirt with knee high black boots while gauntlets covered her hands with more silver armor almost reaching her elbows on both arms. She gave me a piercing stare with her chocolate brown orbs after I had lowered my arm.
"What do you want?" she queried, obviously annoyed. I could tell it was the same woman who was yelling inside the house just by hearing her voice. It was pretty deep for a female and held an air of command about it. She was getting restless from my lack of answer, so I guessed she wasn't a very patient person. "Are you going to answer me or not?" she demanded, this time giving me a cold glare. I sighed, though this only seemed to irritate her even more. Why did people always treat me like this?
"I was here to take a request, but I guess you got here before me huh?" I spoke loudly.
She looked at me now with blank eyes replying, "Yes, we were just about to start our job actually. I am sorry." I looked at her, surprised and confused. Nobody had ever told me they were sorry before. They barely spoke to me so why would they have to say 'sorry' in anything that they did say. I started to rethink about her being one of those people who always treat me the same. It'd take a little more convincing though.
"Do you know of a place that I can stay for the night?" I asked. She nodded, beckoning for me to come inside. I followed the scarlet-haired beauty through the foyer and into a large living space that four other people occupied. It was a little bland for my tastes with a beige color scheme, although I shouldn't really be talking since my attire isn't exactly what you would call vibrant. A couch sat in front of a fireplace that was crackling. Two chairs sat on either side of the sofa, the same color of the rest of the room and furniture – beige. A short, squat man wearing a penguin tuxedo was sitting on the couch. His head was bald and he wore glasses that looked like they were about to fall off his face. Another person stood in the corner of the room holding a silver platter with champagne glasses on it. He was tall, also bald like the man sitting on the couch, but had a brown handlebar mustache.
The two other people each sat in a chair respectively. The one sitting on the right had spiky black hair, dark blue eyes, and oddly enough only had boxers on. His necklace looked like a sword with a stone in the hilt, lying atop his bare chest. The one sitting on the left had deep, black eyes with pink hair, also spiky. His scarf was white and looked as though it was made out of dragon scales. His waistcoat that was black with orange trim was open so that you could see all of his toned muscles. My cheeks heated up at the sight of the two boys sitting there, not a care in the world with no shirts on. At least the pink haired one was wearing shoes and pants, I thought. His pants were baggy and white, and only reached down to about his knees. His shoes were more like sandals with a black strap to keep them on. Said person looked up when the woman and I walked in the room, his eyes following us.
"Yo Erza, who's the chick?" the salmon-haired boy shouted. The beautiful woman – Erza – next to me decided to ignore him and indicate me with her index finger, giving a pointed look at the fat man on the couch, who I guessed was the mayor.
"Give her a place to stay tonight," the woman with scarlet hair commanded him, a dark aura forming around her body. His face paled in fear, and his pupils dilated.
"Y-yes Miss E-erza," he stuttered, Erza's dark aura immediately disappearing, replaced with a pleased demeanor. Well this is awkward, I thought. I then turned around only to be face to face with the boy that was sitting in the left chair, his face uncomfortably close, black eyes boring into my own triple colored ones.
"Oi Erza! You still haven't told me who this is," he barked, his face still close to mine.
"Yeah, who is she?" the guy with no clothes on asked, getting up and strolling leisurely over.
"I have absolutely no clue Gray," she answered.
"Then why are you getting a room for her?" Gray inquired. That was a good question. Why was she demanding a room for me when she didn't even know who I was? That was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me now that I thought about it.
"I'm…not sure" she replied, suddenly growing confused. Waving her puzzlement away with her hand as if it was just a fly, she turned to me. "Anyway, what is your name?" Oh crap. What am I supposed to say? I can't tell anyone my name.
"You may call me whatever you like," I stated, earning some bewildered looks.
"What the hell?" the boy who was still in close proximity of my face said loudly.
"Natsu! Shut the fuck up!" Gray hollered. Maybe he thought it offended me..?
"Will you two be quiet!" Erza roared, causing said people to cower in fear. Satisfied, she looked at me once again. "So you don't have a name. I really can't quite believe you on that," she said suspiciously. I gulped. Why was my mouth so dry all of a sudden?
"I have a name," I muttered.
"Well then tell us," Natsu spoke, more at a normal tone this time.
"I can't, but you are free to call me anything you like. Most people call me 'Demon' or 'Monster', and sometimes 'Thing' or 'It'."
They all stared at me, shocked. Erza was the first to recover, giving me a sympathetic look, followed by Gray. Natsu on the other hand gave me this weird lopsided, toothy grin that stretched from ear to ear. I had to admit, it was kind of cute.
"Is there anything that you would like us to call you?" Gray asked after the long silence. What would I like to be called? I'm not really sure… I thought, maybe one of my favorite constellations. My favorite was Draco the Dragon, but that sounded too boyish. Actually, I liked the constellation Aquila the Eagle. Maybe I would like to be called that.
"Call me Aquila. It's one of my favorite constellations," I finally decided. Just then a girl with a large bust and blonde hair walked in the room with a blue cat sitting atop her head. She had a whip strapped to her belt along with a small pouch, and keys. They looked so much like my mom's… I shook my head, willing the thoughts to go away.
"Who's that?" she and the cat questioned at the same time.
"She wishes to be called Aquila," supplied Erza.
"You mean like Aquila the Eagle? That's not your real name though is it," the blonde said as more of a statement than a question.
"Naw Lucy, she won't tell us her name," Natsu stated looking at her. Lucy had brown eyes just like Erza, yet they were lighter in color, large, less intimidating and more innocent. They were friendly and welcoming; warm. She wore a white top that fit her very snuggly and a blue skirt that was a little too revealing. She also wore black combat boots that reached just up to her knees. Her shoulder length blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail to the side with a blue tie.
Once again my eyes slid down to the keys hanging at her waist, making a jingling sound every time she moved. Lucy in turn eyed me curiously, looking like she wanted to ask me something, biting her bottom lip to hold it back. Instead she opted for, "Well, knowing these guys you probably haven't gotten a proper introduction," she smiled. "I'm Lucy Heartfillia. That," she said pointing to Natsu, "is Natsu Dragneel."
"I am Erza Scarlet," the armored woman announced. "That's Gray Fullbuster, the one with no clothes on," she continued, slapping him upside the head and yelling at him to go put some on.
"And I'm Happy!" a high pitched squeaky voice yelled out. It was the blue cat, and to my surprise it sprouted white angel wings and started flying around the room.
"So, are you a mage?" Lucy ventured.
"Well…I, u-uh y-yeah," I sputtered back.
"So what kind are you? " Gray having found, and put on his clothes asked.
"Um…I'm – "a large crash echoed through the town, screams erupting from all the citizens.
"Shit," I heard Gray mutter, running out the door, his companions close behind him. I followed them out into the middle of Nrongard, which was pretty much just outside of the mayor's house, and ran into a crowd of frightened people. Shrieking, they rushed past me almost knocking me over. Luckily before another stampede ran me back down, I got up, dusted off my pants, and darted in the direction that Gray, Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and Happy went. As I ran I realized something was off. There were only blue skies, and the town seemed almost…tranquil? When I got to the edge of the town square all of my movements became sluggish and slow. It felt like I was trying to run through Jell-O or pudding or some other thick substance. Escaping from the weird feeling and movements, I was immediately assaulted with so many smells and sights that my head began to spin.
Holy shit, I thought before fainting, slumping to the ground.
This one is a little longer so I hope you're all happy for that. Don't know when I'm gonna update, but it'll probably be soon. Until then, gooblah!