-Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Swordsmen and Thief. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I do not own any rights to Fairy Tale, Hiro Mashima, Kodansha and a few others that I may write about.

Erza kicked Clell to the ground before Clell flipped to his feet and parried another strike from her katanas.

"You're getting a lot better…" Erza stated as Clell backflipped away from her. "I'm guessing you're not tired yet?" Erza asked Clell who hummed while twirling his blades.

"Why, you need a break?" Clell questioned Erza while she flipped into the air. Erza brought back of her blades down towards Clell, sweeping the blades in a x shaped arc.

Clell brought up his blades, sparks flew from their blades as Clell was pushed to his knees.

'Why does her 'Clear Heart' clothing have no defense, but STILL make her too much for me?' Clell mentally questioned himself while struggling to push himself to his feet.

Clell decided it was time to show Erza some of his magic.

"Spark Slash!" Clell challenged his magic into his blades and pushed himself to his feet.

Erza blinked as she felt her arms shake. She could see sparks dancing from her blades and her arms.

"You have Lightning Magic?!" Erza asked while Clell hummed and nodded.

"A little bit, but I'm trying to grow. I only break it out for emergencies." Clell said as he looked at the burns on his and Erza's arms.

"Interesting." Erza stated while leaning on her blades as Clell brushed the dust off his shirt and jacket. " So, your skilled with both magic and can sword fight… I'm starting to think you're not as much of a thief, but you're a warrior." Erza said as the duo circled each other.

"I told you've I've always wanted to see how fighting was." Clell said while pointing his blades at her. "You're be surprised how much practice I have when it comes to using these knives." Clell stated and rushed forward.

Erza swung her left sword as Clell slashed at her right arm with his right knife. Clell danced around her and managed to Knick her arm. Erza managed to score a kick that turned Clell around.

Clell felt both of her swords cut his back, but didn't do much more then draw blood.

"Damn it." Clell muttered as he felt for the rips and sighed. "You know I can't summon more clothes like you can." Clell said before putting his knives on his hips.

"Your bleeding and all your worried about is your coat?" Erza asked Clell who hummed and brushed off his arms.

"You know I've been hurt before, right?" Clell asked before discarding his jacket and sighing. "Trust me, I'll go talk with that girl and get all healed up." Clell stated while brushing off his arms while letting out a sigh.

Clell sighed before putting his blades on his hips. He looked at Erza who was nursing her own cuts.

Both were glad that their wounds weren't going to scar. Clell decided to continue the duel. Erza twirled her swords while the duo circled each other anew.

Erza guessed Grey or one of the others went to get Wendy. Clell hummed before running his fingers over the light cuts. His jacket had taken the brunt of Erza's blades.

"When did you first find out about your Lightning Magic?" Erza questioned as Clell ducked under a slash at his ribs. He pushed his right knife into her left blade. "I'm guessing it was very young?" Erza asked.

Erza flipped her remaining sword and stabbed at Clell's Legs. He managed to block this and twirled. Her left foot was locked behind his right as the duo continued their duel. Both didn't want to try and back off as it would leave an opening.

"14." Clell responded before the duo finally kicked each other back. Clell felt one of Erza's blades nick his right arm, along with by his left eyebrow. Erza looked and saw a small cut on her stomach and right arm.

"Ok… I think we might want to stop before one of us kills the other." Clell stated as he sighed. "When did you learn the whole 'warrior wardrobe' thing?" Clell asked Erza who hummed and looked at him.

"13…. It took a lot longer than that to master it." Erza responded while the duo walked over to sit on a tree stump.

"Well, at least you learned to hone it." Clell said as he sat down next to Erza. "I'm decent with my magic, but as I said, it's a last resort for the most part. I haven't really done much with it." Clell added while cracking his neck and sighing.

"Your proud of your skill?" Erza questioned as she leaned her back against Clell. He hummed and nodded, too tired and exhausted to care.

Erza was in the same boat. Clell might not have the experience she and the others had… But she doubted him simply being a thief the more they fought.

"Yeah." Clell said as he flicked some blood off his face. "Anyone who fights should be proud of their skills. Your good at something? You should take pride in honing your skill." Clell said as Erza planted her swords in the log. Clell did the same.

"You sound like Natsu." Erza said with a smile. Clell hummed and looked over his shoulder. "Always wants a fight unless the enemy is serious." Erza added while Clell nodded before shrugging .

"To be fair?" Clell questioned Erza who raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. "I do enjoy fighting alongside you so far… But you are far too serious at moments." Clell put in, Erza had no words to say. She was also far too exhausted to really counter the point with anything.

"And you being so laid-back helps matters?" Erza questioned as Wendy finally approached the duo. "You can be far too distracted from combat for it to really help." Erza stated while Clell chuckled in amusement and brushed off his arms.

"To be fair?" Clell questioned the S-Rank Mage while Erza hummed. "I'm laid back because I trust you. You're a warrior, I feel like I can trust fighting by your side. You can ask my team if any of them were around still. I'm very laid back around people I trust." Clell said while Wendy looked at him.

"We have a mission." Wendy said as Grey gestured towards the knives Clell was holding. "We found out where those knives came from… And it's not where Clell thought they came from." Wendy added which caused Clell to raise an eyebrow.

"They're not even from this kingdom." Grey stated as Clell's eyebrows arched even more.

Erza turned to look at Clell who hummed, fully interested.

Aalamgeer grinned and walked away.

Author Notes

Phew, another chapter done! I want to point out the main story arc starts now. Erza and Clell are going to bond over duels and such. Next chapter will be in 2-3 weeks and will show Fairy Tale beginning for their travel to the new kingdom. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Next chapter will be 1500 words or so and another Fairy Tale story is coming soon.