Happy birthday

A/N: Answers to comments at the end.

"Speech"


It was the day of the birthday party, late in the morning around ten, as requested, and we had just arrived in town. After several days of practice, we were ready, though we were admittedly cutting it close. We were, however, still on time.

Now we were heading toward the home address we'd been given, which as it turns out was a rather nice red-bricked manor with dark wood fixings.

Well, it makes sense. I don't think that a normal family would be able to afford a guild request for something like this. Not without saving, anyway.

It was time to introduce ourselves. I knocked on the door, mission poster in hand.

"Prikhodyashchiy!" Came an, apparently, Russian woman's, voice.

Then the door opened, showing a very familiar brown-haired woman. "Sasha?" I questioned.

"Oh! Little ones!" She exclaimed loudly, wrapping us all in a massive hug, which crushed us all together, even Carla hadn't gotten away.

"Air," I begged.

We were released in quick order. "Izvineniya, children, what are you doing here?"

I silently held up the mission poster, while I caught my breath.

"Zamechatel'nyy," Sasha said in reply to the poster, grinning. Then she turned and shouted into the house, "Alistair, Alex the mages are here, you'll never guess who."

A minute or so later, the massive form of Alistair entered the hallway behind his wife, holding a guy? The hell?

"Haha, well, I'll be, what a small world, ay?" The black-haired man laughed jovially. Then proceeded to put the person down, "Welcome, welcome, I see you're here for the party, smashing. Allow me to introduce you to the birthday boy, Alexie."

The man gestured to the person next to him. I mean I can see the resemblance, but I thought this would be a kids' party, not an older teen's.

The young man in question had his mother's coloring but his father's physique. Broad and strong, with pale features, brown hair, and icy blue eyes.

"Ah, and how old is the birthday boy?" I asked, both curious and because it would help determine how we would show off our magic.

Sasha laughed and patted her son's shoulder, "He's turning five today."

Holy crap! That 5-year-old was taller than me, he's taller than his mother, granted she was small but... I hope that the growth spurt happened after he was born, how big was he as a baby, that poor woman.

Wendy squeaked at the boy, while even Carla stood with her jaw hung open.

"Well, congratulations, we'll do our best to make it memorable," I forced out and chuckled awkwardly.

The boy bowed from his waist, "Thank you, Mister Salem, Miss Wendy, Miss Carla. Mommy and Daddy said you helped them."

"My what a polite young man, you are very welcome," Carla responded, regaining her bearings, obviously pleased.

"Yes!" Wendy forced out a reply, bowing back in kind.

I, however, gave a lazy faux salute, "Not a problem, and please, just Salem."

The boy grinned in excitement as his father came up to us, "Please come in, we'll show you to the back garden." The large man put an arm around all three of us, only lowering himself slightly. And led us all through the richly furnished house toward the back garden, the house was carpeted red with multiple dresses and the like along the hallway, made of dark woods mostly. Along with several paintings.

I have to admit, when I first met the married couple I wouldn't have expected this, sure they were dressed somewhat smartly now, but back in Pitt their clothing was quite basic.

Carla and Wendy were certainly admiring the decor, at least until we arrived at the massive garden area. In a word, it was lush, with lots of green healthy grass and flower beds of reds and violets.

However, it was the picnic tables, food, and streamers that stood out along with several more normal-sized children, around 4 to 7 based on sight alone, and their guardians.

"Attention all. Our mages have arrived," Alistair bellowed, laughing.

I rolled my eyes but decided to get the show on the road as, once again, people appeared confused at the mages in question being children. I held up my arm.

Bang.

That had the intended result, even more so when Carla stepped forward, "Good morning. We are the wizards from Cait Shelter, We will be providing a magic show as upcoming entertainment." The girl curtsied professionally in front of the well-dressed crowd, even as the usual muttering commenced.

"When do you want us to start, Alistair? Sasha?" I inquired.

"Why as soon as the other children are done," It was Alistair that responded. At my questioning look, Sasha took over, "Da, Alexis adores magic though not a mage himself. He finds it fascinating and studies it whenever he can." The mother reached up to pat her son's head, who blushed.

"That's nice," Wendy commented, gently smiling.

"Yeah, it's always good to have another perspective," I agreed.

I looked at the improv stage that was set up, where a little girl with dark skin and pale washed-out blue hair, with pink eyes performed. She held her hands in the air, then seconds later Alexis's name appeared in light. The boy in question blushed, much to his parent's amusement.

The girl on stage grinned in satisfaction, though visibly tired she quickly came over this way, "Alex, did you see, did you?"

The boy nodded quietly but smiled, much to the girl's relief. Then she turned to us and actually glared at Wendy, who yelped and turned me into her living shield, yet again.

"Now Holly be nice," A rather tan man walked up behind the girl, who pouted. Fortunately, before Carla could come to our healer's defense.

"Ah, Oscar good to see you," Alistair greeted the smaller man who replied in kind.

"And you my friend," The newly named man responded in kind.

"May I introduce Salem, Wendy, and Carla, children this is Oscar Tup, the best tailor I've ever known," Alistair slapped Oscar on the back causing him to stumble, "Oops."

The darker-skinned man shrugged it off, "You flatter me, Alistair. But it's my wife makes the Magic happen." He chuckled and turned to us, "It's a pleasure to meet you, young mages."

"Likewise," I responded, shaking his offered hand, seeing as Wendy was busy hiding and Carla and Holly were too busy glaring at each other.

Tailor, hum, that gave me an idea, "Say Mr. Tup, you wouldn't happen to sell flak jackets?"

"Flak jackets? I admit I'm unfamiliar," The man frowned. Crap, can I explain it, I opened my mouth and to my surprise, I could, "Yeah, padded jackets with metal plates in them."

"Ahhhh, you mean a gambeson," He corrected.

"I guess I do," I nodded along, guess that's why I could explain it. But then why could I say Flak jacket, is it just an alternative name for them here or a kind of loophole?

"Yes, we buy armored plates from smithies and patch them together. Looking for some extra protection?" He smiled.

"Of a sort, nothing too heavy, but my magic is rather... Explosive, and shrapnel can be a problem," I explained.

"I see, in that case I'd be happy to assist you in finding something affordable," He nodded and passed me a business card, The Needles Path. I nodded in thanks.

"Daddy, a good mage wouldn't need armor," The brat piped up. Right, Erza isn't well known — yet.

"Holly," Oscar admonished.

"That's not true," Wendy came to my defense before pausing.

"Indeed it doesn't matter how good you are, a surprise attack is a surprise for a reason," Carla said rather snobbishly in continuation.

Right, time to end this, I pulled out my dagger and flipped it resting the blade on my palm and showing the engraved cat on the handle. "See this?" I questioned, showing the assembled people, more were drawing in now.

The girl raised a brow but nodded.

"Courtesy of the black cat, after I pulled it out of my shoulder," I returned the blade to its sheath.

"If Carla hadn't warned me, I'd be dead," I continued, then rubbed my shoulder in phantom pain.

The girl paled, "T-That could be any old sword."

Did she just call a knife a sword?

Alistair coughed, "Actually, young Holly, they mentioned their encounter when we first met, I was curious when we returned, so I checked, and low and behold these three fought a team of Northern Lion mercenaries and the black cat themselves. All while escorting someone."

You know, the attention we got from that fight has been somewhat useful in showing our competence, despite our age.

This was on full display here as the children zeroed in on us in awe. Meaning, in the next few seconds we were swarmed by the children, much to Sasha and the other guardian's amusement.

"Hey don't touch that!" Carla yelled getting my attention, she sounded slightly panicked as a child grabbed at her sword, shit.

I raised my arm, again and let off a small crack, "Alright Kido's make some room, we've got a show to do!" I made sure my voice was strong, I really needed to convey authority right now.

Which thankfully worked, Carla used the opening to take off above the children, much to their amazement. The cat girl let out an irritated huff.

Meanwhile, I was steadying Wendy, who quite frankly looked overwhelmed.

I ushered the three of us over toward the now-vacant stage rather quickly. "You two alright?" I asked after the two frazzled girls.

"Yes, thank you, Salem, honestly those parents need to keep their children in line, that was quite dangerous," Carla complained.

"I-it wasn't that bad," Wendy spoke up, though she didn't look like she believed herself.

I shook my head in amusement, "Well you two can raise YOUR kids however you want, but I think that's standard for children."

Both girls, to my further amusement, turned red.

But before we could continue, we had arrived at the stage, with a dozen or so kids following behind, though at an admittedly slower pace.

"Wendy? You good to go?" I asked the small dragon slayer. She took a deep calming breath then nodded.

"Alright then, follow Carla's lead," I reminded the girl, as she activated her own Aera magic and began to float in place. Then she enchanted herself, and Carla's speed with her Vernier spell, making the two light up a bright almost veridian color.

I nodded at Carla who did the same, and walked to center stage. "Alright then, folks may I introduce you to the aerial acrobatics of Cait shelter's new sky dancers," I introduced the two girls too much cheering as they took off and began to fly maneuvers in the air. Wendy had excelled, once she had actually learned to fly, it turns out she already knew HOW to fly. A quirk of being a sky dragon slayer was being able to read the air making her an expert flyer.

A few minutes later it was my turn, "Cat Eyes," I called out.

Magic funneled into the air, much like when it made the air pop, except this time I was focusing on it, stopping the wayward magic from detonating and sort of collecting it. This formed small orange magic balls, almost like fireflies, that drifted into the air.

This had proven a somewhat difficult spell, it required my full concentration, and while I could collect more for a higher yield that wasn't necessary here, these were little more than toned-down flashbangs, essentially small fireworks.

As the charged balls of air got higher, I detonated them one after another as I formed more. Creating a kind of floor for the girls as more of the tiny lights streamed upward, the girls finished their maneuvers and floated just above the cracking detonation magic which I finally cut.

This earned plenty of applause as the two girls landed, though I was stuck panting, having eaten through most of my magic, constantly generating small detonations for the last couple of minutes. How the hell did Wendy heal for a full half a day while Carla constantly flies for sometimes longer.

Damn, my endurance is so bad. I really need to fix that.

The rest of the party was pretty much me relaxing out of the way, while Carla answered a number of questions for the young children, Alex apparently helping and quite enjoying himself in the process. Wendy, however, was using me as a shield from all the attention as her face burned from embarrassment.

I'm sure our show would have looked much better at twilight, but the kids were happy at least.

"You OK there Wendy?" I checked on the newest flyer of the team and received a small nod into my back from where she was hiding.

But otherwise, I left her be, the girl had used all her confidence and courage on that show, best to let her recharge. Still, the Anderson family was pleased with our showing, making the days training the spell while the girl's practiced worth it.

Good job too, like I said, my spell needed a lot of concentration, I'd blown up more times than was probably safe, even for me.

Carla returned to us, as the cake came out, distracting the children. She sighed in relief.

"You alright?" I inquired as she landed next to me.

"Yes, simply tired of having to explain the basics, again and again," She sighed.

"Well you ARE good at it, you taught me after all," I soothed.

"Yeah," Wendy quietly agreed, finally stepping out from behind me.

The anthropomorphic feline blushed. "A-and what about you Wendy, Salem?" She diverted attention.

I remained quiet for Wendy, so she could speak up. The bluette rolled the ball of her foot as she answered, "I'm ok, there were just so many people watching me." She blushed again at the memory.

I wrapped an arm around her, "You did great, Wendy. You too Carla."

Wendy returned the hug fully, while Carla blushed at the praise.

"So question, when are your own birthdays?" I asked, better to know now than miss it.

Wendy fidgeted but spoke up softly, "Grandeeney said it was February the 27th."

I had seen the calendars in the guild, their dating system was the same as the one back on Earth the Gregorian calendar. Though I have no idea what they call it.

"June 21st is when I hatched from my egg," She stared at me for a moment and I wondered why?

"November 29th," I told them, returning the favor.

Hmm, I wonder. I'll need to ask some questions first.

"Carla?" I got the Exceed's attention, "Any idea if your species is considered born when you're an egg or when you hatch?"

I only asked because, having got to know the girl, I was in serious doubt of her actual age. Don't get me wrong, I know Exceeds age differently, but NO creature is born with the ability to comprehend and speak a language, it has to come from somewhere... Then again magic.

..."I don't know," She slumped.

I hummed in response, Monotremes, that's mammals that lay eggs, tend to be all but fully formed when in the egg. There's even evidence of this in the show when Carla hears her mother from within her egg. And from what I can tell, Wendy found Carla's egg at the same age as Natsu found Happy's, yet Wendy is younger. So, how can the two Exceeds be the same age?

"Did you meet Wendy before or after you hatched?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Carla was watching me intently now, "Before."

I turned to Wendy, "Say how long did it take for Carla's egg to hatch after you found it?"

"About a day," Carla responded first.

"You remember that?" I questioned.

I received a nod in return.

"So you were mostly self-sufficient as soon as you hatched?" Was my final inquiry.

"I was, why?" Carla said, she was on edge and hyper-focused on me.

"I only asked because Monotremes or egg-laying mammals are, umm, laid when the baby is almost fully formed, for the most part. If your egg was sat there for a while, you might be far older than you think," I explained.

Carla's eyes visibly widened at that. "You think so?" She almost whispered out.

"I don't really know much about your species, but it's possible, like a type of hibernation maybe?" I shrugged, really the only way to know would be in Edolas, the dimension Exceeds come from. Because while I might know a bit more about Carla, I don't know much about Exceeds.

Honestly, I don't remember seeing a single baby/newborn Exceed in the show, only children, or kittens as it were, which functioned more like 6 year olds, give or take. They could have been in their eggs long before being sent to Earthland. Never mind what warping those eggs from Edolas to Earthland mind have done, they might have arrived at different times for all I know.

Intelligence only takes you so far, even happy, who was... Duller than Carla, hatched and was flying around and saying "Aye" Within the first few minutes.

"I-I...," Carla was definitely surprised. "Thank you," Her response was heartfelt, which was surprising. I had expected her to nod and accept the information as is.

"You're welcome? I just thought it strange that a girl as intelligent as you could be so young, maybe we can find a mage that can tell your age or something?" I smiled gently, my question hadn't been answered, but I'd apparently helped a friend.

"Umm, Carla," Wendy got the Faux cat's attention. "There weren't any other scents matching your egg when I found you, i-it's why I took you back to the guild," Wendy added, looking down.

"Wendy... Thank you," Carla expressed her gratitude by hugging the girl. Awww.

"Group hug," I announced, enveloping both my teammates in a hug. Much to their twin embarrassment and joy, and my amusement.

I released them soon after. On the sidelines of a birthday party is a strange place for what became a heart-to-heart talk, but whatever, all three of us were far from normal.

"Looks like they're done with the birthday song, we better head over, then find a place to stay," I told the two, we were planning on staying a few days in the settlement this time. I know me and Carla had discussed a few shops that we wanted to visit, including a magic shop. Wendy loved the idea of exploring the town as well, she was a far cry from the girl she was the first time we had arrived in town, nearly a month ago.

"How's it going, Alistair?" I asked, walking up to the easy-to-see man.

"Haha, very well. And I see you and your teammates have recovered from that spectacular showing," He chuckled jovially.

"Good afternoon, Mister Anderson," Wendy was as polite as ever.

"And you as well dear Wendy, and Carla," He looked at the two of them happily.

"Thank you," Carla nodded at the man.

"Joining in on the celebrations?" He asked, the three of us grinning.

"Ah, actually Alistair we'll need to be off soon, we're staying in the settlement for a couple days, and we need to find a place to stay," I explained.

Alistair blinked for a moment. "Why nonsense, you're more than welcome here," He declared. I'm sorry what?

"Really?" Wendy chirped happily. Seriously Wendy.

"But of course, having children as youthful as yourselves over, it wouldn't be a problem, right, dear?" Alistair looked to his side as his wife stepped out from behind him... How does she do that?

"Da, it will do Alexis some good to have positive role models in older children," Sasha nodded.

OK, I like the family, but this is a bit much, right? This isn't normal... Right?

"Thank you for the offer, Mister and Misses Anderson, but we wouldn't want to intrude," Carla responded, ever the voice of reason. Thank goodness, I'm not crazy, it is weird... Starting to think that this world is getting to me.

"Yeah, it isn't necessary, we can find an inn or something," I concurred.

Wendy whined at our response.

"Nyet, we are inviting you to stay, you wouldn't be intruding," Sasha insisted firmly.

"Please, can we," Wendy pleaded, inadvertently giving us puppy dog eyes...

Oh, shit. "Fine, if Carla's OK with it," I reluctantly complied, silently I apologized to the white-furred girl.

Carla was no better, under assault from the girls' pleading, she sighed, "Very well."

The bluette beamed happily, much to the couples' amusement. "Excellent, but for now, enjoy yourselves, I know Alexis has been dying to ask about your magic."

Carla sighed. She knew, she'd have to explain it, I barely know how my magic works.

I'm still not sure why they're doing this, but we had a place to stay, so that's a plus.


A/N: So I can't be the only one that thought Carla was obviously older than happy when I first watched the show, right?

On to comments;

Carlmike94: Salem is a few months older than Wendy but yes they will be around the same age and they will continue training with one another.

BiazarKaiser: Yes, yes she does, as for Wendy contemplating killing, yes but also no, she's led a sheltered life this far and doesn't see the grey in the world yet, only in black and white.

Xavier Arias Gonsalves: Yup that's about right. But if he had continued combat with the assassin Salem would have likely lost, he just doesn't have the combat experience.

runelt99: I said it prior, and once more thank you for pointing it out. I was very sleep-deprived due to some large changes in my schedule and screwed up while checking it over.

ItsNotTheMoon: I'm glad that the fleshing out of characters is working well, along with their development.

ultima-owner: I think I answered this in one of the other chapters, but yeah it isn't good for you, it's a traditional poison used by assassins back in the middle ages.

And for everyone else and those above, thank you for reading, I'm happy that you are enjoying the story, and will endeavor to continue bringing you a fun story.