Eldrid and Vanya were both in high spirits when morning rolled around. Eldrid awoke first and didn't say a word, but huddled up by my side. I stroked her brightly colored feathers as she let out a contented chirp. I could tell that she was doing her best to see past what had happened. Vanya, on the other hand, was her normal self when her eyes opened an hour later. She gave me a worried gaze when she realized that I had not slept yet again. I just smiled and shrugged. Heck, I wasn't even really that tired. If anything, I was ready to get to this next job.
By that afternoon, we approached the next town. It was a small one; there was little more than an inn and a train station. We grabbed a loaf of bread and some fruit from a booth outside of the station and boarded the train. Eyes full of wonder and skepticism looked upon us. I could only imagine how we looked after two jobs, hours of travel, and no shower. Vanya didn't look much different than usual, if only just a tad bit muddier. She lived off the land all the time, anyway, so this was nothing new to her. Eldrid began preening herself as soon as we boarded, so she would soon be looking that same as she always did. I usually wouldn't feel much different after days of travel in the environment, but after sitting comfortably for a moment, my body seemed so heavy that I felt like it could only be from dirt and grime.
As the train began to move, I started to notice the rapidly changing scenery. As much as I loved being out in the open, riding in a train truly astounded me. We didn't have many trains back home, and it seemed they were the main mode of transport here. I suppose they weren't much different than cars, but they seemed so amazingly mystical to me, almost as if they took me from the present to years into the past. Not my past, either. The past of those generations before me. I wondered if those people might have a life like mine, always having to move, or just took life as it came. I longed to think the latter, and it almost made me feel more at ease with myself. The heaviness that my body felt slowly became lifted, and a calmness fell over me. My eyelids became heavy as trees passed and other passengers chattered. Maybe I was a little tired; after all, no one can stay awake forever.
I let my drowsiness overtake me. The sunlight from outside shone on my face, making what would usually be complete darkness a dark red. It was cool and comforting to my backwards senses, a relief to what I had been feeling as of late. It didn't take me long to feel as though reality was slipping away as I went into the recesses of dreams. The redness stayed in the forefront, only the coolness faded. I felt oddly numb, but why?
"Juniper..," a faint voice called.
Seriously, though, what was this ominous feeling?
"Juniper..," the voice grew louder. As it did so, I became uneasily aware of what was coming towards me. It was a voice unlike any I had ever heard before. Different parts of it sounded familiar to me, but as a whole, it was unique. I looked around, trying to find out where the mysterious sound was coming from. Meanwhile, the area around me began to become an even deeper red.
Then, a familiar voice rang out from behind, innocent and sweet.
"Why did you let them get me, Junie?"
My blood ran hotter than it ever had before. Slowly, I turned around to see the source of the angelic yet chilling tone.
There stood a visage of a child, roughly ten years old. Her wild, red hair was barely noticeable against the maroon background. Her hazel eyes were wide, curious, and innocent. Freckles danced across her pale skin, a smile played on her features. The dress she wore was long and green with other colors accenting. She wore no shoes, but wheat and tall grasses tickled her hands. I knew this child all too well, for her spirit still made my soul ache.
"Jenny… I-I tried, Honey..," I scrambled, walking closer to her. I held out a hand to her, longing to feel her gentle skin against mine. Instead of her grabbing ahold, I felt a different cooling sensation, as if something were dripping into my palm. I pulled my hand back to see a few crimson drops. Blood. Before I could completely register what it was, I felt a jerking on my shoulder that spun me around. A man with one eye, dark hair, and a deranged look about him. That's all I could comprehend.
"An eye for an eye, ey, June?" he cackled in my ear before turning me back around. He held my wrists firmly enough to where I couldn't move after seeing what was before my eyes. I didn't see who was doing it, all I saw was a knife go across Jenny's eye and then swiftly across her throat before she could even make a noise. As her delicate body fell, the plants fell with her; no longer kept alive by her energy.
The man released my wrists as I fell to my knees. Tears streamed down my face, screams of horror escaped my lips. I crawled my way over to the child that I held so dear to me, clutching her waist and wrapping myself around her. Losing her once was bad enough, why did it have to follow me into sleep? I wanted her to be alive in my dreams, to make plants grow and make those around her radiate joy as she had in life. Not this. Anything but this.
The man knelt in front of my face, still smiling. I wanted more than anything to hurt him and whoever had done this, but I couldn't move myself from Jenny. Instead I just grabbed tighter and sobbed more.
"Now… Junie, is it?" he began. "Junie, think long and hard. This was one, and you had four left. Now that you've decided to run, you've associated yourself with so many more potential victims. Do you think that was a very smart decision?"
All at once, my body went numb. My tears ceased, my whimpering quieted. I looked up at the smiling man as he began to let out a small chuckle. Flames slowly began to crackle around me as my rage and emotion built. I just wanted to be alone with what I had left of Jenny; I didn't have to have this person telling me how I had messed up once again. It wasn't like I had not already thought of it on my own. He stood above me, and I did not take my eyes away. Not for one second.
"June, June, June..," he spoke, turning his back away from me. "It seems as though my time for fun has run out. To be continued, Ms. Lex."
With a small wave, he, as well as everything else vanished.
"Wake up, Lex," I heard a harsh voice say. My eyes fluttered open to see Vanya and Eldrid; both with expressions of concern. "Sorry, I know that is not the optimal waking-up method," Vanya spoke again. "It is just that your hands were beginning to spark with flames. I gathered that it would be better to wake you from your slumber than let us all burn."
"R-Right. Sorry, Vanya," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes that seemed even heavier than before. "Did I miss anything important?" She looked out the window in contemplation before replying.
"I do not believe so. However, we should be approaching our stop soon enough."
I nodded in response. I looked over at Eldrid, who was perched in the seat next to me. Her bright red feathers glistened in the sunlight as she tilted her head to the side. Her eyes were still concerned, more so than the worry that had been consuming her after "the incident". Slowly, I reached over to stroke the top of her head. Almost instantly, she flew into my lap and curled up, as if she were in a nest. I continued to pet her as an unspoken apology for what all I had done. Eldrid looked up at me and buried her head into my shirt in acceptance. What an innocent creature, I couldn't help but think.
Vanya was right. Within the half hour, we were at our next-to-last destination for the time being. The town we came to was small and quaint, the air smelled of the neighboring ocean. Still in a daze from the nightmare, I followed Vanya's lead while Eldrid perched on my shoulder. I glanced around as fisherman did their final counts for the day and vendors closed shop. The sun was dipping below the horizon, setting the ocean ablaze. I could get used to this kind of peace, I thought.
Before I knew it, we were in a small, ocean-side hotel teeming with wizards. They showed off their magic to each other and laughed heartily; I couldn't help but to smile. It reminded me of Fairy Tail and how badly I wanted to be back amongst them. On the other hand, I realized that I had one last job to do before I could make that happen. Vanya made arrangements for us to stay the night as Eldrid and I scanned the faces in the crowd. I heard the receptionist say that it had been a while since she had seen members of Fairy Tail around town, but that she was ecstatic to have us. As soon as the name of our guild escaped her lips, I saw two men slowly turn to face us. They were clearly twins, having tribal markings on their bodies that mirrored each other. I looked back at them, raising an eyebrow. They both smiled widely and in a way that reminded me of Natsu. They waved us to come over to them.
"Vanya, I think we have a couple of guys that want to talk to us," I muttered over my shoulder. I saw her turn out of the corner of my eye as she grabbed a key to our room for the night.
"Well, shall we humor them, Mistress?" she smirked, not waiting for my response before sauntering over. I was stunned by the slight sway in her hips but followed her lead.
"I wonder what they want..," Eldrid whispered in my ear. I was curious for the same reason. They were tall and muscular, only slightly smaller than Elfman with tanned skin that much resembled Vanya's. Maybe that was why she seemed to take such an interest. As I got closer to them, I noticed that they smelled like a mixture of the ocean and soot; a very pleasing combination for me.
"Well, we have some Fairies in our presence, do we?" said one.
"It seems that we do, Brother," the other responded.
"Ah, yes, but our strength is more like that of a dragon. I am Vanya," she joked back. The three of them laughed, but again I was stunned. Vanya? Joking? These jobs were showing me a completely different side of her, and I had no clue how to feel. "I practice Takeover magic, while my mistress is a Forge God Slayer."
"Mistress! Does 'Mistress' have a name?" one questioned. I noticed a certain kind of force compelling me not to take my eyes from this one. His eyes were an icy blue that comforted me, much like Xavier's.
"June. June Lex," I replied, giving a small smile. He stuck his hand out, smiling largely again. I took it, and he clasped it gently with his large fingers, putting my hand to his lips.
"Well, June, I am known around here as 'The Volcano'. My true name is Hector, though. I am not as impressive as a Forge God Slayer, but I am very skilled at Fire magic," he explained. Now the pull made sense.
"I am Ike, but people call me 'Tsunami'. I use Water magic," his brother said simply, pulling the same hand kissing gesture with Vanya. Knowing how much Grey and Natsu feuded with their contrastic magic, it was remarkable how similar these two were. Well, except for their eyes; Ike's eyes were steel grey. Eldrid let out a jealous chirp, and I reached up to pull her head carefully to my lips. She rubbed up against me and was content.
"I wonder how they would do with the new magic, coming from Fairy Tail and all," Hector pondered to his brother. I perked up at the mention of a new magic.
"What is this that you speak of?" Vanya asked. I could tell her was eager, too.
"Hector, your mouth is like a volcano, too," Ike huffed, rolling his eyes. "But I cannot deny that these two have an otherworldly magic energy."
Vanya and I looked at each other. It could be the fact that we were otherworldly.
"Let's go to the beach. We'll see what happens there," Ike continued. "Follow us."