Soooo... I know I'm a little- okay, I'm a lot later than I thought I'd be with this new chapter and I really have no excuse. It just took me a while to get back into the writing mood. But hey, I back now so please forgive me for my 'extended' absence. :)
Disclaimer: Don't own it...
The moon had tucked itself away behind the vibrant hue of morning as the sun rose from its slumber. Tendrils of light trickled through the cracks in the curtains and Gray forced his eyelids open. All he wanted was the slightest bit of sleep. The previous night was spent constantly being awoken by memories of the Eclipse. The ice wizard stretched, but his arms immediately fell back down. Even the slightest of movement made his joints scream in pain. Why did he feel like such crap? He'd only been out on a job yesterday and didn't over-work himself in the slightest. Gray clutched his throbbing head - God, he hated waking up with a headache - and rubbed his eyes clear. He threw the blanket off to the side and shuddered. Was he cold? But, the cold never bother him, why would it start now? Just the thought of it made Gray's head throb even more. The raven rolled out of bed and went over to the wardrobe. Wearing his signature white coat, he continued preparing for yet another day at the guild. Remembering yesterday's events, he had no doubt that he'd get a few funny looks.
He'd managed to reach the markets of Magnolia after what felt like a lifetime. Gray was never one for mornings, but today his movements were even more lagged and sluggish than usual. He still felt absolutely exhausted and he could of sworn that he blacked out at least three times; not to mention he almost fell in the river. The raven kept trudging along the streets of Magnolia, occasionally waving at the locals. The pleasant morning scenes were almost enough to make Gray forget about his still aching joints, that was until Takuma - the local butcher - noticed the wizard's odd behaviour.
"You ain't lookin' to well today kid, been workin' yerself too hard?" he asked, calling over to Gray.
"I don't need you telling me I'm over-working," Gray turned, grinning slightly towards the man.
"Just don't want yer collapsin' on the street and gettin' in the way of me customers," Takuma chuckled.
"Quit worrying, I'm more that capable of looking after myself," Gray waved the butcher off and slowly but surely, continued in his way towards the guild.
"As stubborn as always, I see," Takuma frowned.
The guild was in eyesight. The bright sun was beating down on Magnolia on the glorious summers day. So why was Gray so cold? The fact that he was actually cold was already strange enough, but a day like today would usually cause the sub zero wizard to overheat. Well, if the raven had a preference, he'd chose to be cold that hot. At least he could deal with the cold to some extent. However, this cold he was feeling was... different. A kind of unnatural cold. Gray yawned into his palm and strode into the guild hall. Luckily for him, most of the members seemed to have forgotten about the previous day's events and continued doing whatever it was that they do. He glanced towards the teams' usual table. Erza was the first to look up. Seeing Gray, she elbowed the salamander sat next to her who also looked up. He then turned to Erza and mumbled something which sounded like "do I have to" before Erza glared at the wizard. Natsu groaned and pulled himself out of his chair and made his way over to his rival, Erza's gaze still haunting him.
"Look, I'm gonna pretend to apologise about what happened yesterday so Erza's happy, so just go alone with it," of course Natsu wasn't going to apologise, not even with Erza's killer glare staring him down.
Gray rolled his eyes before replying. "It's fine, don't worry 'bout it." He punched Natsu on the shoulder and the two boys walked back over to their table. They got themselves seated and Mira brought a drink over for the raven.
"So, whose up for another job today?" Natsu grinned, clenching his fists.
"Aye!" Happy jumped up onto his partners shoulders.
"Didn't we just do one yesterday?" Gray sighed.
"So?" Was Natsu's response. "You just too damn weak to go on another job?"
"What did you just call me, fire freak?"
"BOY'S!" Erza roared.
"S-sorry," they both answered in sync.
"I don't see the problem in taking up a request, considering I missed your last mission." Erza continued before the boy's had a chance to throw another insult at each other.
"It's been a long time since we've all be on a job together," Wendy added.
"And it'll be much easier now Erza's back," Lucy smiled.
"Yeah... What could possibly go wrong?" Carla mocked.
Gray was reluctant at first. Every muscle in his body still ached from the morning - he must of slept funny. Natsu's previous remark about the raven being to weak angered him enough to oblige and the team went over to the request board.
As per usual, the request board was filled to the brim with jobs. Nab was in his usual position staring at the board, hoping that something, any job would be the perfect one for him. There were all sorts of jobs. From guarding a Dukes treasure to to rescuing a mayor's daughter. The possibilities were endless. Five pairs of eyes scanned the board for a request that would suite the destructive team best. Natsu was the one to grab the job (no surprise there). Defeat a group of bandits that have been steeling from local villages - Reward 100 000 Jewel. Seemed easy enough... and had enough fighting in to keep the male wizards happy. The group packed their bags and began to walk towards the door when they were halted by their beloved guild master.
"Listen up, brats," he called out to the guild. Everyone gathered around the stage and listened to what he had to say. "Apparently, there has been an outbreak of a disease. What is causing this disease is currently unknown, but what we do know is that it's affecting wizards. There have already been a few casualties so I beg you all to be careful. If you notice any abnormalities in yourself, please let me know. Some symptoms include: dizzy spells, drowsiness and effects the outcome of your magic. The disease reaches its peak when it shuts down the wizards' body and they collapse. Once again, please be careful, brats."
"Aye," the guild members cried before continuing with their day.
The team left the guild hall and made their way to the bandits' hideout. Fortunately for Natsu, the bandits' hideout wasn't that far away from Magnolia so they could get their on foot. The girls were becoming anxious after news of the disease. Wendy twiddled her thumbs while Lucy twirled her hair.
"So the disease we heard the doctors mention yesterday, could be fatal to us?" Lucy's voice was shaking.
"Don't worry 'bout it," Natsu put his hand on her shoulder, reassuring the blonde. "Some dumb disease ain't gonna affect us, right?"
"Aye!" Happy cried. "'Coz we're the strongest team."
"It doesn't work like that, idiots," Erza barked. "The disease literally attacks your magic vessel."
"In other words," Carla continued. "The stronger the wizard, the more effective the disease will be."
"I hope none of us get the disease," Wendy shuddered. "What if it's contagious?"
"I doubt that," Gray replied, pulling his coat in further. "If it was contagious, it would have spread and effected many more wizards than is currently known."
"I hope your right," Lucy did her best to force on a smile.
By midday, the team had made it to their destination. A small, rundown building with a strange looking mask above the door.
"They must be a treasure hunters' guild," Erza questioned from the front of the group.
"Doesn't make a difference. We're still gonna pound them," Natsu slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm all fired up!"
"If we hurry we can make it back to the guild before night fall," Wendy informed.
"Try and keep the collateral damage to a minimum guys," Lucy chuckled.
"...Right," Gray muttered, shivering slightly.
"LET'S GO!"
As per usual, thanks for reading!
I hope you all like the small scene with my OC, Takuma. I feel that since Fairy Tail is so popular in Magnolia that they must have some sort of interaction with the people living there.
I know my chapters have been getting smaller and smaller in this fic, but fear not. The next chapter is almost double the length of this one.
Now, a quick question for you all. I've been giving some more focus to the fanfic I've been working on for a while now called 'Mystery Circle.' I currently have fifteen OC's created out of my original goal twenty-five. I'm having trouble coming up with the rest so do you guys think I toy just cap the OC's at fifteen or keep going until I get twenty-five. Of course this mean that it will take much longer to come out if I make more, but if I stop, I get get writing more chapters and it could be released sooner. Let me know what you guys think.
Again, thanks for being so patient with me since it's been well over a month. Hopefully you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter now that I've finished school. :D