"Hey Gray, what are we getting anyway?" Megan asked, still feeling nervous about their trip to Hellfire Imp; The guild whose guild mark now adorned the area between her neck and shoulder.
"A relic that's supposed to be essential in our mission," he replied.
"So a mission inside of a mission?" he nodded and Megan sighed. How did offering to help a girl find her lover lead to her joining a dark guild and following the two around? And it just had to be Hellfire Imp... she shook her head, refusing to let her mind wander down that set of memories.
She saw Juvia out of the corner of her eye. The water mage was watching her.
"Is there a problem Juvia?"
Juvia's gaze of mixed expressions switched to full surprise. She obviously didn't expect Megan to notice and turn to her. "Of course not! Juvia was just wondering why Megan is still with us, Juvia found her Gray-sama after all."
"Oh. Well, it's not as if I had anything better to do. Really all I would do otherwise is just hang around in my house doing nothing so I might as well. Besides you guys can't do all of this alone."
Gray shrugged while Juvia frowned slightly. Megan knew that the blunette was worried about her after what happened between her and Taka. But Megan was more or less over that bothersome twenty-something year old idiot. Although... maybe more on the 'less' side.
Megan couldn't shake off the feeling that Juvia was thinking of something deeper about her... could it be that Juvia was suspecting something about her past? A shiver went down her spine, she thought she could see a strand of highlighted red hair and hear a mocking chuckle ring in her ears. But she tried to ignore them and continue.
The walk was uneventful, although that didn't make Megan feel any better. She almost wished for some kind of conflict, maybe she would be able to lose all her edginess by going all out on someone. Maybe Juvia or Gray would spar with her? She'd probably loose anyway, judging on the strength they had shown previously.
The village they arrived at; Akuhana, sat in-between the rugged plains and mysterious forests of the land south of lake Clover. Apparently a spy there knew the location of the closest relic, a long lost artifact hidden somewhere in the mountains of Bosco. They would be leaving Fiore entirely.
"Hey Megan come here." she felt herself grabbed and pulled to the side, into the shadows of the tavern that she was standing outside of. The sun had set, but Gray was going to force them to continue overnight. They could easily fight off any attackers after all, and Megan's light ring could provide enough light for them to see by.
She looked into Juvia's serious face as the water mage let her go. "Umm Juvia? Is something wrong?"
"Juvia is just curious, how much do you know about guilds? she knows this is your first one after all. Juvia is just surprised you are so used to this kind of stuff," she said. There was something in her voice that unsettled Megan, it seemed way too suspicious of Juvia.
"There's a bar in my old village, mages would travel there from time to time and I would pick up some information about them, it taught me a lot." That was mostly the truth. She worked at the bar for awhile so that she could make some spare money, it's not as if she had needed it but she thought that setting some aside in case she needed it wasn't that bad of an idea—it proved worth it in the end.
"Oh Juvia understands, what kinds of guilds?" she inquired. Megan looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"All kinds of guilds... Juvia where is this leading?" she hoped she wasn't sounding too defensive, that would only encourage the probing.
"Nowhere, Juvia was just curious. She still remembers her first guild," Juvia looked up. Megan followed her gaze. The stars are dim tonight. She noted, watching the flickering lights.
"Juvia, what guild did you and Gray come from?" She felt her friend freeze instantly and suddenly the air grew cold between them where it was just fine before. She waited for an answer, but it didn't come, confusing Megan. "Juvia?" She looked over to her friend and saw a nervous expression on her face. "What, were you apart of another dark guild before this? You're not an evil person or anything Juvia, whether you're in a dark guild or not."
Her face grew red and she looked down. Megan wondered if perhaps it was too personal of a question- if she was prodding too much. But it's not as if she's showing me the same courtesy!
"Juvia... Juvia cannot say." Megan's flashed with mild astonishment.
"What do you mean you can't tell?"
"Juvia cannot say."
Megan's features slipped into annoyance. She narrowed her eyes and took a step back. "So you don't trust me enough to actually say?... but you actually expect me to tell you things about my past?!"
Juvia nodded, then turned with surprise and reached out for her with one hand. "Wait! That's not what Juvia meant!"
She snorted. "Then what does it mean Juvia? You're asking me questions about my past I really don't want to answer...and you know that!" She pushed away the outstretched hand gently. "But I can't do the same. I at least gave you an answer, but you can't at least give me the same honor."
"But Megan-"
Megan stared at the girl who had quickly become her friend. What was Juvia hiding that was so dark that she couldn't trust apparently her best friend about it? "Whatever Juvia, it doesn't matter. Let me know when you finally decide to trust me." She turned around and stalked away. Gray had gone to pick up supplies and talk to his contact in the village, Megan was sure that he wouldn't mind the company. She left the water mage behind her with an icy core in her chest.
She was growing tired of feeling that she could trust people only for them to not return anything of sort. Everyone just seemed eager to use her. She groaned in frustration, bringing her hand to her forehead and facepalming. The only thing she could do was stick around and help them out, things might work out anyway... hopefully...
She was fuming and pondering over their previous conversation when her black haired teammate bumped into her.
"Ack, watch it Megan!" Gray snapped, snatching himself to his feet.
"Sorry Gray... I wasn't watching where I was going," she said, trying to avoid a look at him and his... well... lack of clothing... "Umm, your clothes are gone." At least he was wearing his underwear.
He glanced down and cursed. "When did this happen‽" He looked back up at her and scrutinized her face. "What's wrong with you? You look like you were just hit in the head with a chair or something."
Megan wasn't sure if that last comment was supposed to make sense or not. Was being hit in the head with a chair common for him or something? Just what kind of pasts did him and Juvia have? "Oh it's nothing, me and Juvia just had a little... disagreement... that's all." She supposed she didn't have to trust him either, most likely he didn't trust her at all anyway.
"Oh okay." Gray walked past Megan, obviously intending to return to Juvia. Megan followed.
"So... How did it go? Where are we going now?"
"There's a gang of bandits defending the outer reaches of Fiore. It's in the hills. We'll have to be careful though, the hills in that area are pretty steep, and there are some areas where cliffs are common. We can't be careless and end up falling." He sounded tired and strained. The whole situation must be getting to him. I wonder why though.
"Edges of Fiore huh? Those are at least a few days away... How will we finish this mission within a week?"
"It'll be fine, we are going to hire a carriage with a magic SE plug and we can get there quickly. We just have to return it when we get back."
"A magic SE plug. Those are the things that allow you to use your magical energy to power a vehicle?" it was more of a statement of a question, but Gray gave a grunt that obviously meant yes.
Megan nodded, pushing her auburn hair behind her ears. The air was chilly and although mysterious, the night seemed safe for a drive to Bosco.
"Although, you are going to put some clothes on right Gray?"
"Of course!"
"Do you really expect us to give up the relic that easily?" the bandit asked. His eyes were cast at them with mock disbelief.
"Water Slicer!" screamed Juvia, launching a thin wave of water at the bandit. She flashed a glance at her teammate. "Megan, go help Gray-sama!"
The girl nodded in return as she rushed away to where a group of bandits clustered around a well-known ice make mage. Though it didn't look like he needed the help. Gray's ice battered his opponents and left them lying motionless on the ground. Only a third of them had been struck, and two thirds still remained locked in combat with him.
"Hey Gray, need a little help?" Megan called. She spun and slid her finger across the surface of one of her rings and raised her free hand to her opponents. Flurries of snowflakes, like a miniature blizzard cloud, buffeted and disposed of another third.
"These are my guys! Go find your own!"
Megan sighed as she turned away. Her gaze scanned the clifftop, looking for something to do. They had arrived at the resting place of the artifact, but were quickly set upon by bandits guarding the treasure. Apparently they were going to sell it. We can't let that happen.
Fighting on the clifftop and hiking all day in search for a relic in dry mountains wasn't her idea of fun, it's what hindered her from remaining a traveling mage. Among other things... seconds ticked by, time that she didn't have. She saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and she flailed as suddenly something pushed against her.
She stumbled forward into the blowing wind off the cliff beneath her. A dirty chuckle and a splat of moisture across her back told her of the ruthless bandit pushing her over the edge. A yelp of surprise escaped her in reply.
She felt herself fall through the air, but without the comfort knowing earth was there to catch her horror jumped down her throat and filled her from top to bottom. Her hands sought one of the rings on her hand, but there was no comfort there either; she had no rings to help the situation.
Her throat felt raw as a scream ripped itself out of her. If Juvia or Gray could hear her, perhaps they could save her somehow.
She heard a yell up above her, and felt herself collide with freezing ice. Pain raced through her body from the had impact. She leaned upwards and felt her spine reluctantly. Although she was in pain, she seemed to be fine.
She didn't bother to stand up, standing up on ice that barely surrounded her would most likely end up with another fall, and she had way more common sense than that.
There was another shout from above. The only thing she could pick out was "climb!"
She wasn't sure what the person was talking about, until a blast of cold wind struck her and she had to blink to prevent her eyes from freezing over. There was an icy staircase there. Gray?
She scrambled up the stairs quickly but carefully. Each stair-step sent another shiver of pain through her body. She was nearing the top when she finally saw her dark haired teammate frowning at her.
"Geez, can't you remain on the ground if you wish to help?" he asked as he grabbed her hand and supported her up the last couple steps. She blushed slightly and muttered a quick thanks. He was a lot more gentler than she expected he was.
But he is still griping. She noted with a glare at him, which he mirrored perfectly.
"Hey I got several of those guys off our back over there! So quit your complaining!" she snapped. She leaned down and brushed dirt and ice dust off her jeans. A thought popped into her mind and she looked up at Gray, who had just saved her from death.
"Well... Don't let yourself fall again, won't help anything," he muttered, walking away as he spoke.
Megan felt a twinge of something unrecognizable in her chest. She reached forward with on hand. "wait, Gray." He turned and looked at her with his expressionless mask.
"Hn?"
"You saved me."
"Ummm. Yeah. I did." He shifted his posture, Seeming to relax slightly "what about it?"
She felt herself grow slightly warm and hoped that her cheeks weren't turning red. She fiddled with one of her rings. "I thought... you didn't trust me..."
He sighed, drawing her to look up and at him. She shivered, her body couldn't decide whether to be hot from his gaze being directly on her, or cold from the breeze and climb up ice. "You're a friend and ally now. If we're going to be on the same team we need to learn how to trust each other.
Megan stared at the ice mage incredulously. He was going to accept her?
"So umm... did you finish them off?" she asked. He stopped moving, but wouldn't turn to face her.
"Yeah, let's go find Juvia." he continued walking. And once again. Megan was scurrying to keep up.
The water mage was still fighting the lead bandit when they got there. Megan's eyes widened. He was using magic, and it wasn't weak either.
"Hibiscus dance." The wind shuddered at the command of the chanted spell and a storm of golden petals swirled around him. A flick of his hand sent them hurtling at Juvia, who quickly threw up a barrier of water to shield herself. Megan thought she heard Juvia grunt at the impact.
"Hey Juvia!" Gray smashed his fists together and released an ice lance towards the bandit. "I'll help."
The bandit dodged the spear, but was effectively distracted enough so that a blast of water from Juvia sent him flying. He landed near the cliff edge with a loud thud and a moan rose from him.
Megan's eyes widened at Juvia's strength. She- she can take out a bandit like that with one hit. She knew that Juvia was a strong mage, having come from a guild with Gray.
But he was starting to get up. He groaned and got to his feet sourly. With a growl he cast another spell, sending red roses sharper than a sword at her, but it simply passed through her water-body.
Megan moved to help her but Gray stopped her.
"Might as well let her do it by herself. The stupid woman wants to impress me, and getting in the way would make it seem as though your trying to show her up," he said. Megan looked at him curiously. There was an odd hint of amusement in his voice. Does Gray... Actually feel something? I thought he'd be a lot colder.
There was a loud thud, and Megan's attention was abruptly shifted.
Juvia fired blast after blast of water as the bandit blocked and did the same, except firing blasts of razor sharp flowers back at her. They didn't do anything to her though; they just passed harmlessly through her water-body.
The fight... Is at an impasse? She observed. Until she noticed water rising from the ground, forming an orb of blue water wrapped around him. "Water Lock."
She walked towards him, Megan couldn't see their faces but still felt a serious aura coming from their direction. Megan and Gray walked over to where the water mage was speaking to the starting-to-drown bandit.
"Juvia and her teammates heard that you have an artifact that Gray-sama wants. Where is it?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but began to choke and stutter so he closed it. He gestured wildly for her to led up, even holding up gestures meaning "I surrender"
Juvia lowered her raised hand, bringing the orb of water gently to the ground as she did so. As soon as the water evaporated the man looked up, only to be met with a spear of ice pointed straight down at him. "Speak," Juvia said, her voice cold.
"The- the artifact is in a chest on those rocks over there!" he pointed to a stack of boulders with a small cavern underneath. "It has all the valuables. I swear!"
Gray nodded and gave Megan the signal to go loot the chests. She obeyed with a nod and went to retrieve it. What she saw surprised her though.
A large object that almost seemed like a half of a giant claw lay cool and still in the shadows. It was incredibly heavy, and the ring mage found herself having to lift the relic with her magic as she carried it back to them.
At least I made up slightly for needing to be saved. She thought. A least a small part of her confidence was restored to her. Until it wilted at the sight of her two teammates. She could see Juvia's eyes burn with coldness, and Gray's dark mask to hide his emotions. I still don't have a single true ally in this group... Do I?
She loosed an uneasy smile as she sauntered over to them, hoping that she could settle some of the coldness towards her.
"Um... er... I got it..."
Gray looked coolly at her. Megan did as well, except hers was more icy than cool. "Smart idea. But, woah, that thing is huge!"
"Yea, thankfully one of my rings allows me to levitate it. But- how are we going to move this all the way back to the guild?" her tongue rolled over the last word with slight awkwardness, but Gray didn't seem to notice it.
"I don't know... Can you carry it for now?" Megan nodded. "Okay, then let's just figure it out on the way back." He started walking away, Megan turned and began to follow. But she was halted as a pale hand grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't lay your eyes on Gray-sama anymore... love rival..." she hissed. Before letting go and running after him. Megan stood, frozen, for awhile. For the past few days since the conversation at night. Juvia had been clearly avoiding Megan, even going so far as forcing Gray to allow her to ride up front with him as they drove. She heard them chatting the whole time, but couldn't tell what it was actually about.
But Juvia had spoken to her and worked with her throughout the whole fight, Megan almost thought the water mage had cooled down. But I guess not.
She might have gained Gray's trust. But now Juvia was clearly at odds with her.
Oh, how so many things should shift in a day.