The night sky was beautiful tonight. That's what Makarov Dreyar, Third Master of Fairy Tail mused as he stared straight up. Strange to be musing at all right now; considering the Local Guild Master League had gathered he'd much rather be drinking. Alas, some fool had messed up their logistics and a couple dozen thirsty masters were without booze. Tragedy, that.

So, Makarov found himself strolling through the eastern forest near Clover Town, ignoring the chill of the night air with practised ease. Gray had frozen the guild hall by accident enough times that a little night air was nothing. Never mind some of his earlier escapades, back in the day.

The things he got up to...hoo boy.

Makarov paused, instincts honed from years of action alerting him to a presence. He decided to check it out. It didn't seem hostile, but Makarov was bored. Bored and sober. Horrible combination.

Makaraov turned a corner and his well-worn heartstrings tugged. Slumped against a tree was a young girl about 14 or 15, he'd say. She wore a white button up shirt with a black tie, a black skirt with a white trim, and knee high black stockings. Pinned to her shirt was a small badge, in the shape of a white wing.

He stopped a dozen feet away from the girl, taking a better look at her. The light of the moon revealed her long black hair, most of it tied into a side ponytail, leaving a long bang left on the other side. Her clothes and hair were in perfect condition, no indication that she was in trouble. But it was the look in her brown eyes that had him worried. Her baggy, red rimmed, dull eyes.

It was a look he had seen all too often for his liking. Especially in the eyes of children.

The look of having lost everything.

Lying next to her was a sword, roughly as long as the girl's body. Not that it was all that impressive a length, she was a short girl. Her fingers grazed one of the corners of the sheathe. Seemed she was aware he was there, but didn't care enough to do more than that graze.

"It's a nice night to be sure, but maybe this isn't the best place to be taking a rest," Makarov said, as casually as he could. Which was very casual. He had casual down to an art form. The girl didn't even blink. "Is everything alright, child?"

Her chest shifted and her lips parted. An almost inaudible puff of air left her lips. A laugh, but she didn't seem too amused. "No," she said, quiet as the shifting of the leaves above them. "Nothing is alright." Her eyes twitched and became shiny. "Nothing will ever be alright again."

Makarov frowned, his foolish old heart yanking him around. She truly believed that. "In my experience, I find that to be very rarely true. Times might get hard, seemingly impossible, but things can always get better. Maybe not in the ways we want, but they can improve regardless."

A small scoff passed her lips, and her other hand twitched. Makarov glanced down and saw two cards lying in the dirt, next to her free hand. Both of them had pictures of the girl in front of him on them. One of them had her wearing what looked like a school uniform. White shirt, red tie, red and black tartan skirt, thigh high socks and brown loafers. In each hand she held two sheathed swords, one significantly shorter than the other. The longer one looked like the one lying next to the real girl.

On the other she wore what looked like a green maid uniform, with white socks, tabi, a pink ribbon in her hair and, oddly enough, cat ears on her head. In this card she held her sheathed sword in one hand, and a green sword with an orb where the hand-guard might otherwise be.

Both of the cards also had one bizarre feature. Giant white wings that looked big enough to allow her to fly, if they were real. They also both had an orange magic circle behind the girl, and name in the centre, overlaid on the girl's legs.

Sacurazaci Setsuna? Setsuna is in a bigger font… her first name?

Other than that, there were two numerals in the top left and bottom right of the cards. XV.

"Those cards. Are you a card mage?"

Her fingers traced the cards, and her eyes went from shining to brimming with tears. Her mouth trembled. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Y-You know about magic, but don't know about pactios?"

Makarov blinked. "You say that as if me knowing about magic is surprising."

Setsuna(?) sighed and stroked the cards again. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. These...These are pactio cards. T-They're proof of a contract between myself and my Magister Magi. They let me use a Pactio Artifact unique to me...well, mostly unique to me, Ne—" She gulped and cut herself off. "Th-They can do other things that aren't important. The important thing right now...is that they reflect the state of those I'm contracted with."

As she spoke, Makarov's heart sunk in his chest.

"T-The border's gone," she said in a harsh whisper, throat clogged with emotion. "Th...That means…" The tears in her eyes finally broke free, pouring down her face. She sobbed, and her chin fell on her chest.

Makarov closed his eyes and let out a silent sigh. He wasn't sure who or what a Magister Magi was, but they were clearly important to the girl. And now they were gone, if she was to be believed.

"Is that the only explanation?"

Her quiet sobs stopped. She blinked the moisture out of her eyes, and looked back up. "Huh?" She blinked again, and Makarov almost winced at the lost look on her face.

"Sometimes, the obvious explanation isn't always the right one," Makarov said. Was he doing the right thing, giving her hope? It was too late to worry about that, now. "Forgive me for asking, child, but what happened before you sat down by this tree."

Setsuna rubbed her eyes with her sword hand and sniffled. "W-We, me and my friends, we were leaving Mundus Magicus—"

"Mundus Magicus?" Makaraov hadn't meant to interrupt, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't often he hadn't heard of something, but that was a new one.

Setsuna looked at him like he was mad. "You...don't know about Mundus Magicus? The Magical World?"

"Magical World? You say that as if the world isn't already magical?"

If the girl was lost before, now she was in the middle of Alvarez without a map. "N-No, Mundus Vetus isn't magical at all. I-I mean, there's magical communities, but magic is a secret from the rest of the Old World."

"Mundus Vetus? Old World?"

"O-Otherwise known as Earth?"

"Earth? This is Earthland."

"What?"

"What?"

It took some time (and two minutes of them saying "What" at each other) but Makarov explained to Setsuna about Earthland. About how magic wasn't a secret, but only about 10% of the population could use magic. About how mages banded together to form guilds, where they could use their magic to earn a living.

And in turn, Setsuna told Makarov about Mundus Magicus and Mundus Vetus. About how a powerful mage, known as the Mage of the Beginning, created an alternate world based off the planet Mars, as well as the Demi-Humans that made up most of its population. She spoke of Cosmo Entelecheia, and how they wanted to erase Mundus Magicus, using a staff called the Code of the Life-Maker, and put all its natives into their own world, to save them from the destruction of the unstable Mundus Magicus. Which also would have the effect of essentially killing them anyway. Then she mentioned how she and her friends, Ala Alba, stopped their dastardly scheme and saved the (magical) world.

She told him how magic was kept secret from the vast majority of Earth to stop mages being overwhelmed by requests to make life easier. As well as how magic was split into two schools of thought: western magic, the origin of the Pactio cards, and eastern magic, to which Setsuna admitted to being proficient in.

Sounded needlessly complicated, if you asked him.

They took another few minutes to take in what the other said. Eventually, Makarov said, "I think, given what we've told each other, there's only one explanation. You must have come from another world entirely."

Setsuna nodded, a far-off expression on her face. "It seems so…"

"Getting back to my first question from before...what happened before you came here?"

Setsuna frowned. "We were all returning from Mundus Magicus," Makarov tried to ignore the knowledge of how a child had helped save a world, at least for now, "at the teleport gate when an enemy from Cosmo Entelecheia attacked us. We thought he'd already been taken care of, but he must have escaped somehow." Okay, vague. Not that it really mattered too much.

"It was in the middle of the teleport that he attacked. I saw that the attack was going to hit Oj— e-erm, one of my friends. I was the first to react, and I went to intercept him. I must have moved at the wrong time during the spell, but I had to protect her. Then there was an explosion and I woke up in this forest."

"I see," Makarov said, stroking his moustache with a hum. "I assume the girl you were protecting was your Magister Magi?"

Setsuna flinched, and looked down at her cards. "Yes...Ojou-sama…" Her eyes went teary once again.

"From what you've told me… she likely wasn't harmed."

Setsuna's head snapped back up, her red-rimmed gaze boring into his own. "W-What?"

"It seems you took the hit instead, and the attacker's spell mixed with the teleportation spell caused a reaction. I'm not sure how you're unharmed, but almost anything is possible when it comes to magic. Regardless, I don't believe anything happened to your Magister Magi."

"Bu-But, the cards!" Setsuna said. She finally stood up and waved the cards in his face. "The borders are gone! That means that the ones I formed contracts with are dead!"

"You and your Magister Magi, there is a sort of bond made between you, yes?" Setsuna nodded. "Then, perhaps there is a range limit?"

Setsuna froze. "A...range limit?"

Makarov nodded. "You and your Magister Magi are in completely different dimensions at this point. It's not too wild of an assumption that the magic that formed the contract didn't take dimensional separation into account. It's entirely possible that the card can't pick up the signal, so to speak, and thus assumes that the other party is deceased."

Setsuna's legs trembled. She fell to her knees, staring at the cards that fell to the ground before her. More tears rolled down her face, but the new light in her eyes told him a different story.

Setsuna sobbed, this time in joy and renewed hope, and Makarov's heart lightened. And as he watched the dimensionally displaced teenager calm down, Makarov knew what he had to ask next.

"Do fairies have tails?"

Setsuna almost choked on a sob. "Wh-What?"

"More than that, do they even exist?" Makarov said, smiling at the look on her face. "An impossible question with an unknowable answer. But the journey to find that answer is a never ending quest, an endless adventure. That is why Fairy Tail, my guild, was formed; so we could all search for that answer together, so that we wouldn't be lonely on that journey. Finding your way back home will be difficult, but why not embark on that quest with friends by your side?

"How would you like to join Fairy Tail, Setsuna?"

Setsuna gaped.

"Oh, by the way, I'm the guildmaster of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar." Makarov gave Setsuna a kind grin, and extended his hand.

After a long moment of staring, Setsuna reached out and...her hand shook. She dropped her hand and looked away. She grabbed her shoulder and frowned. "...W-Would you still give me the same offer...if you knew what I was?"

Makarov frowned. He opened his mouth and two large wings burst out of her back. Makarov stumbled back to avoid being smacked. A few feathers floated to the ground, and Makarov caught one, rubbing it with this thumb. It was real.

Setsuna took a deep breath. "I—"

"Amazing! I didn't think they'd be real wings!"

Setsuna looked back at Makarov, her eyes wide. "Wh—"

"That wasn't a spell, correct? These wings are naturally a part of your body? An illusion spell to hide them, yes?" Makarov couldn't help the grin on his face.

"They—"

"You'd be a perfect fit at Fairy Tail, child. A fairy with real wings! Hah, I bet the First Master would have loved that!" He grinned, looking into her eyes. The poor thing looked like she couldn't handle having her worldview rocked so often.

"Y-You don't care that I have wings? Or why I have them?"

"Your past and your origins aren't important," Makarov said, trying to be serious, but still smiling. "If half of what you've told me about you is true, you'd be more than a fit for Fairy Tail, regardless of what you are. After all," he said, then laughed, "you can't be any stranger than a talking cat! Or a boy raised by a dragon!" He laughed again, enjoying the shock in her eyes.

Something happened behind that gaze of hers. Shock turned to amazement, then nostalgia, sadness, then hope and determination. Makarov extended his hand again, and this time she didn't hesitate to take his hand.

"Thank you...Master."

"I see, so your magic comes from your body's own life force?" Makarov said, rubbing his moustache.

"Yes, and western magic comes from gathering the energy in the atmosphere and subduing it with willpower and techniques," Setsuna said.

The two were on a train, the day after the regular masters meeting. Setsuna had marvelled at the archaic style of the train, not to mention how much room there was. It was nothing like the hectic train journeys back in Japan. The fact that not a single booth in their immediate vicinity had a single passenger almost blew Setsuna's mind.

"That sounds much like how our magic works," Makarov said. "Although, I would say our magic sounds like a combination of your eastern and western magic. We all have ethernano particles within our bodies, as well as a container. The size of our containers determines how powerful our Magic Power will be. If our containers run empty, then we absorb ethernano from the air to replenish them."

"That sounds like mana capacity," Setsuna said. "Supposedly, by improving willpower western mages can increase their mana capacity."

"I see. It seems like there are many similarities, but some key differences, too. I have to admit, your eastern magic still sounds like many branches of magic in this world. Those talismans remind me of Rune Magic...and you say your sword style is focused on slaying demons? That sounds like Devil Slayer Magic, though that hasn't been seen for centuries. If it ever even existed," Makarov said, mainly to himself.

"Yes, the Shinmei-ryū style is very effective against demons and spirits. But it is also effective against other types of foes. I have practised Shinmei-ryū for many years, and I would say I am adequate at it, though there are others who are much more skilled and practised in it than I," Setsuna said. The faces of Eishun and Godel came to mind, even if the latter wasn't a true practitioner.

"Hmm." Makarov observed her with one eye closed. "I wonder if it would be possible for you to learn our magic, or if your body is too different."

Setsuna frowned. The idea wasn't...the worst, but… "I think I should focus on my current skill set, for now. There are still many areas in which I can improve."

"That's understandable," Makarov said, nodding. "If you ever feel like expanding your skill set, however, I believe Requip magic would be a good match for you." Seeing Setsuna's confused frown, Makarov explained. "Requip allows you to store items in a pocket dimension. It would be useful for your talismans, I suspect."

Setsuna's hummed; sounded useful. "I'll keep that in mind." It sounded like what Mana did with her guns. Although, the Requip dimension probably wouldn't be in her cleavage...at least, Setsuna hoped not. She'd be out of luck, there.

"Speaking of, would you mind explaining more about these Pactio cards?" Makarov said. "I admit, I'm intrigued by them."

Setsuna bit the inside of her lip. Her chest weighed heavily at the reminder of her pactios, especially the reminder of Konoka. Ojou-sama… She clenched her fists in her skirt, crinkling the material.

"Don't feel pressure to answer if you don't wish to, Setsuna," Makarov said with a gentle tone. Setsuna looked up to see an understanding expression. "I realise that it's a sensitive topic. But if you ever do want to talk about it, my door is always open."

Setsuna gave him a small smile, the weight lifting, if only slightly. Even if she was impossibly far from Konoka, even more so than in Mundus Magicus, the fact that she was found by a man like Makarov was reassuring.

Konoka...

"Ojou-sama…" Setsuna whispered, looking down. She flinched at a flick to her forehead, and she blinked, watching Makarov's hand— which was stretched out, of all things— return to its rightful place.

"Don't get mopey again so soon after I reassure you, damn it!" Makarov said, but he was smiling. "Don't worry, I'll ask around about the possibility of dimensional travel. I've got quite a few connections, you know!" Makarov winked. "Whoever your Ojou-sama is, I'm sure you'll be reunited with her one day. And as long as you keep her in your heart, you'll never truly be apart."

Setsuna's face turned to fire. "Wh-Wh-What are you implying?!" Makarov ducked under her flailing arms as she tried to cover her face. "O-O-Ojou-sama and I aren't like that at all!"

"I didn't imply anything," Makarov said before he burst into laughter. "But your face has gone pretty red there, Setsu—OOF!" Makarov fell off his chair, a large welt on his forehead.

Setsuna huffed and put her sword back down. She blinked. Paled. "A-A-Ah, M-Master, I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!" Makarov pulled himself up, only to get whacked again by a flailing arm. "AH! MASTER!"

"Th-That's one hell of a swing you've got, Setsuna…" Makarov muttered, eyes swirling in their sockets.

Setsuna bowed repeatedly to him in penance... and then again to the conductor when he asked them to calm down, as they were disturbing the other passengers.

Throughout it all, Makarov couldn't help but chuckle. She'll fit right in.

The building was impressive in its own right, Setsuna thought. Doors more than twice her height, the words 'FAIRY TAIL' in blue above them. The design looked vaguely chinese, almost like a pagoda. Unbidden, Ku Fei came to mind. Setsuna shook her head, banishing the image.

"Here we are," Makarov said, his chest puffed up. His hands stretched towards the doors. He placed them flat against the red doors and gave them a strong shove. "Welcome, Setsuna, to Fairy Tail." A table smashed into Makarov's face and he flew down the street. Setsuna's mouth fell open.

"M-Master!?" Setsuna's hair ruffled, the table flying past her again. A pained yelp came from in the building.

"You damn kids!" Makarov stomped back down the path, the floor cracking in his wake. He stuck his head— which now sported a large welt— through the open doors. His head grew, filling the entire doorway. "IS THIS HOW YOU MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION ON A NEW MEMBER, YOU DAMN BRATS!?" He shrunk back down and stormed inside.

Setsuna followed him. The interior was a mess, and that was being kind. Wooden tables lay broken on the floor, several of them with men and women lying unconscious in the wreckage. At the back of the large room was a bar where— Setsuna's face went hot— a man lay slumped over the counter, with a broom up his...bottom.

The men and women still conscious all looked rather sheepish at Makarov, standing atop the bar. He looked at the man slumped on the bar and shook his head, sighing. He folded his arms and looked at his guild members. "Look at this mess. I don't mind a good bar brawl, but you've gone too damn far! I don't even want to think about how much replacing the tables will cost!"

The scolded mages looked down at his words, some of them rubbing their heads.

Setsuna walked closer to the bar, taking care to step over a middle aged man with a pompadour. I might be making a mistake, here...

"Hello!"

Setsuna flinched. She turned around and saw a beautiful woman smiling at her. She wore a plain, but nice looking dress that made her look a bit out of place in a guild of mages.

"Are you a new member?" she said, tilting her head.

Setsuna nodded and straightened her back. "Y-Yes. Setsuna Sakurazaki, it's a pleasure to meet you." She dipped into a formal bow, arms rigid at her side. Makarov had told her the name order in Fiore was like that of western countries, so she was rolling with that.

The woman giggled and curtised back. "My, so formal! I'm Mirajane Strauss, nice to meet you."

"Ah, Mirajane, I see you've met Setsuna," Makarov said. He walked down the bar and stopped next to them. "I met Setsuna in Clover and offered her a place here."

Mirajane gave Setsuna what looked like a measuring look, still smiling. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands together. "In that case, welcome to Fairy Tail." She opened her eyes and produced a large stamp from behind her back. "Where would you like your guild mark?"

"Guild mark?"

"All members of a magic guild have a guild mark somewhere on their body," Mirajane said. "It lets clients know that you're a member of the guild they've asked for. Mine's on my thigh," Mirajane gave her left thigh a light slap.

It made sense. It likely also helped give a feeling of camaraderie. Setsuna ran a finger across the white wing clipped to her shirt. Made sense to her. Even so, she found it a bit jarring. Tattoos in Japan were looked down on, and were considered a sign that you were in the Yakuza. It was almost comparable, but magic guilds were a lot more official than the Yakuza.

What would Ojou-sama think? Setsuna shuddered. Would Ojou-sama think her a delinquent? Would Eishun-sama allow her to be near his daughter while looking like a thug? She might as well go full out and dye her ha— wait...SHE ALREADY DYED HER HAIR!

She was a thug, wasn't she? A delinquent! She would never be truly worthytobearoundOjou-sama—

A hand on her shoulder. "Setsuna?" Setsuna blinked. Mirajane gave her a concerned look. "Are you alright? You kind of zoned out there for a moment."

Setsuna shook her head. This wasn't the time for such thoughts. She looked at her palm, the hand that wielded her sword. "On the palm of my right hand, please," she said. She clenched it into a fist.

By my sword-hand, I swear I'll make my way back to you someday, Kono-chan.

"Oh, you don't have to help, Setsuna," Mirajane said. The bartender stood behind the bar wiping glasses, watching Setsuna pick up pieces of wood. The members who had caused the damage were cleaning up after themselves, under the watchful eye of Makarov, who stood on the railing of the second floor.

"I want this place so clean I could eat my dinner off it!" Makarov said.

"Shame Natsu isn't here," one mage said, grabbing a broken chair leg. "He could have burned all this wreckage away."

"You moron! There wouldn't be a guild left if he did that!" another one said. She threw a mug at his head.

"OW! Why you—"

"STOP TRYING TO MAKE ANOTHER MESS, YOU BRATS!"

Setsuna looked away and into Mirajane's eyes. "I don't mind, Strauss-san."

"Oh, just call me Mira, Setsuna," Mira said, waving a hand. "Hardly anyone calls me by my full name."

Setsuna gulped. "I-I couldn't possibly be so informal so soon, Str—Mirajane-san!" She didn't call her best friend by her first name for ages, and that was only after being told to. And the less said about Ojou-sama, the better.

Earthland customs were stange. Was this how Negi felt?

"—did you just say!"

"STOP THROWING THINGS ALREADY!"

"Ah, Mira, watch out!"

Setsuna turned. Half of a table flew at them. She caught it with one hand and put it down next to her.

"Wow, nice catch, Setsuna," Mira said with a smile. "That would have hurt a little, thank you."

"It's no trouble," Setsuna said.

"Not bad, kid," a woman said, slamming down onto a barstool. Her outfit could barely be called such! Setsuna's face went red hot. A bikini top— showing her Fairy Tail mark on her hip— and a pair of jeans, with some sandals. That was it. They weren't even at the beach! Not to mention she stunk of alcohol.

Could it be...an indecent woman?! Setsuna gave her a careful look. Certainly not the kind of person she'd allow near her Ojou-sama.

"Oh, Cana, hello! You just missed a big brawl," Mirajane said. She slid a full tankard of beer to the woman, Cana. Cana grabbed it, raised it to her mouth, Setsuna blinked, and it was gone. Mira slid her another one.

"Honestly, the men in this guild have no class," Cana said. She threw back her head and Setsuna kept her eyes open this time. She'd seen Shinmei-ryū masters swing a sword slower than that drink vanished. Cana slammed down the empty tankard and accepted another one. "So, who's the kid?"

Setsuna bowed. "I am Setsuna Sakurazaki. I joined Fairy Tail today. It's a pleasure to meet you." She straightened up. Three more empty tankards sat next to Cana. Setsuna's jaw dropped.

"Heh, so formal," Cana said, smirking at her. "Name's Cana Alberona. You know how to use that thing?" She aimed a tankard at Setsuna. Setsuna blinked. "That sword that's almost as big as you. You some kind of sword mage?"

Oh. "You...could say that, yes. I also use talismans to supplement my sword style."

"Ah, holder type, eh? Same here," Cana said. She reached into her top (Indecent!) and pulled out some cards. "Want to get your fortune read?"

"Cana's fortunes are always accurate," Mirajane said, in the middle of cleaning the used tankards.

"Secchan, want me to read your fortune?"

Setsuna's heart throbbed and she took a sharp breath through her nose. She shook her head. "I'm fine, thank you."

Cana shrugged and grabbed another tankard, raising it to her lips. "Fair enough. Offers open, though." Putting the empty tankard down, she crossed her legs. "So, you seem pretty tough, kid. How old are you?"

Setsuna opened her mouth. Paused. Good question. "Um, what's the date?"

Cana raised an eyebrow. "September first."

"Then I'm fourteen."

Cana snorted into her drink. Coughing, she moved the tankard away and wiped her face. "I'm pretty sure you're the same height as Levy, too! Poor Levy."

Mirajane frowned and held another tankard close to her chest. "If you're going to start being mean, Cana, I'm going to stop giving you beer."

"Oh, come on, Mira! I'm just saying!"

The smell of alcohol was overbearing, now. The inside of her nostrils burned. Demonic senses— half or otherwise— could be a nuisance.

Makarov landed next to Setsuna, and she flinched. "So, Setsuna, you're going to need a place to stay until you can start earning some money," he said as Setsuna held a hand to her chest. "Considering your financial situation."

Oh. She hadn't thought of that.

"If you need a place to stay, Setsuna, I have a spare room," Mirajane said. Evidently she'd relented and given Cana more beer, considering the half a dozen more empty tankards littering the bar.

Cana paused in her drinking, and Makarov frowned. "You don't need to do that, Mirajane," he said, gently.

Mirajane shook her head. Her genial smile looked a tad more strained. "It's fine, Master. I have the room." She turned to Setsuna and her smile strengthened. "Is that alright with you, Setsuna?"

Setsuna looked between the three of them. She was missing something. Still, she bent into a shallow bow. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mirajane-san."

Mirajane giggled, her shoulders untensing. Setsuna hadn't even noticed them tense. "You're welcome."

Glass clinked on wood and Cana stood up. Setsuna looked up; Cana towered over her, Setsuna barely coming up to her chin. Cana wrapped an arm around Setsuna's shoulders, and Setsuna squeaked. Her face almost pressed into the woman's ample chest. Setsuna's eyes watered at the smell of beer. "Well, if you're gonna get your own place sometime, then you should get started on some jobs." Cana grinned. "How about I take you on a job with me, newbie? Show you the ropes."

"A good idea," Makarov said, putting his hands behind his back.

Setsuna must have made a face, because Mirajane smiled at her. "You'll be in good hands with Cana, Setsuna. She's very reliable."

Cana pulled Setsuna along with her. Setsuna almost stumbled. "Let's go look at the job board, Setsuna! Now, you seem like a pretty tough kid, so I'm thinking we go after some monsters."

The job board wasn't too far from the bar, right next to it in fact, so they didn't have to walk far. "Hey, Nab," Cana said, waving a hand at a tall, muscular man, who had a thing for skulls it seemed, given how many he had all over him. He stood next to the job board, examining it closely. "Found a job yet?"

"Nope, still looking. I know I'll find one eventually, though!"

Cana chuckled. "Right."

The board was made of wood, and many pieces of paper were tacked onto it. Setsuna looked over the pages, and noticed one problem. She had no idea what the currency in this land was. Or any frame of reference for its value.

"So, kid, pick a job," Cana said, letting go of her shoulders and waving a hand at the board.

Setsuna stared at the board. She stared at Cana. Cana stared back. Setsuna squinted at the papers. They were written in English, but everyone was speaking Japanese. She sighed, relaxing. It was pretty basic English. Nothing worse than what Negi covered in classes. The language wasn't the biggest problem, however.

"Umm...what's considered a good reward amount, Cana-san?"

Cana squinted at her, then looked at the board with a hum. "Well, if you want a room at Fairy Hills— that's the guild's dormitory, by the way— then the rent is 100,000 Jewels a month. You can pay that amount upfront for your first month. You can find cheaper places, but Fairy Hills is pretty great. It's not too difficult to pay off, if you do enough jobs. So really, I guess what job you should do depends on what your skills are. You're a fighter, right?"

"Yes. I am rather confident in my sword skills," Setsuna said, giving her sword a small shake.

"Alright. First job, something simple...ah, this one!" Cana reached out and plucked a request from the board. She held it out to Setsuna. "This should be fine for a first job."

Setsuna took the paper.

Monster Hunt

60,000 Jewels

Location: Sakura Village

Please help! A flock of Flutters has been harassing our village for weeks. They eat our crops and assault travelling merchants. Please eliminate these pests! Speak to the Mayor for more details.

Setsuna frowned. "What are Flutters?"

"Bird-like monsters, nothing too strong, but they can fly so that makes them a little tricky to deal with," Cana said. A weight pressed on Setsuna's head. Setsuna looked up. Cana was leaning on her with an arm, grinning down at her.

Setsuna narrowed her eyes. She stepped back, and Cana let her go, still grinning. Wait, bird-like monsters? Setsuna narrowed her eyes further, but shook her head. Cana had no way of knowing about her wings. It wasn't a dig, just a coincidence. Setsuna raised the request. "So, how do we go about accepting this job?"

"Easy, we just take it and go. But, we typically let someone know that we're taking it. Annnnd, since Mira is right next to the job board…" Cana sauntered past Setsuna.

"Good luck," Nab said with a small wave. Setsuna nodded back. He turned back to the board, crossing his arms. Setsuna followed Cana.

Back at the bar, Makarov was guzzling down a tankard while Mira dried a glass. Setsuna and Cana approached them and the two stopped what they were doing. "So, picked out your first job, Setsuna?" Makarov said. He raised his tankard at her with a frothy grin. "Ah, the first job. Just try not to cause too much damage, alright?"

Setsuna nodded. "Of course, Master. I'll endeavour to only damage the monsters."

Makarov muttered something that sounded like "We'll see", and turned to Cana. "And don't, oh I don't know, drink all of the client's booze, or something." Cana opened her mouth. "Again." Cana closed her mouth. "I want you to set a good example for Setsuna!"

"You can count on me, Master Makarov," Cana said, her expression firm. She downed another pint and slammed the tankard on the bar. "Let's go, Setsuna!" Cana stretched her arms above her head, spun on her feet, and sauntered away.

Setsuna sighed. I have a bad feeling about this.