January 5, x776
Time passed, as it does, and before I knew it, Christmas and New Year's had both flown past, leaving the chilly winter weather, but none of the good cheer. Gray was insufferable about how little it bothered him.
Cana and Levy were using me as a space heater whenever I used my magic to warm up.
There wasn't a lot that happened in the last couple months, but I suppose Fairy Tail can't always be having earth shaking revelations or fast paced newcomers to keep us on our toes.
The S-Class Trials hadn't happened. Gramps apparently didn't think anyone was ready this year, so we just didn't have them. Which was a bummer, I wanted to know who of the older wizards in the guild had S-Class potential. I wanted to know who I needed to measure myself against!
Levy had managed her first few runes, along with managing new spells with her Solid Script. She wasn't very powerful yet, but she was starting to branch out. Her love of learning was only helping her when it came to her magic.
Cana had all but pushed Gildarts out of the guild as soon as he'd recovered from his New Year's hangover. They'd settled in together rather well after the growing pains of Gildarts finding the sweet spot of how much he could embarrass her and Cana had gotten used to actually having a Dad. He'd even started teaching her a few things, like how to better control her incredibly dense magic power.
I had gladly taken advantage of her newfound control to finally teach her Requip, no chance of losing her cards now!
The breaking point for Cana's tolerance though, had been going on a job with him.
They'd set off to a small village a few dozen miles from Era to fight some bandits, and according to Cana it had been a cakewalk until Gildarts had gotten carried away. What should have been an easy job for 100,000 jewel had dwindled to nothing when Gildarts let loose just a bit too much and destroyed most of the village.
That had been all it took for her to convince Enno to smuggle her upstairs when she was helping Gramps out, and she'd stuffed a sack full of S-Class requests and shoved them at him before pushing him out the door. He'd been a bit over the top in his farewells to her, but Cana bore it with good cheer as she sent him on his way. A couple months away from one another would probably do them both some good.
Or at least restore what was left of Cana's sanity.
Gray was bettering his casting speed, he still wasn't almost instantaneous, but he was getting faster. It was interesting to watch him make something new only for him to cast it over and over, trying to make it form quicker.
I'd not been idle either, Laxus' lessons were getting more intense as he demanded more of me with every lesson I learned. It was hard, but I loved the challenge. I was hardly going to consider learning magic work.
Now though, Laxus had gone off on an A Class Monster Subjugation quest near the border of Bosco, and that left me without a teacher for a few days. I figured it gave me time to test my spells out against more threatening combatants than gorians and rodents.
Who to go with though? If I wanted to leave Magnolia for a few days on a request, I'd have to take a more experienced member of the guild with me, and Gramps had made it clear that more experienced did not mean Cana.
"But she's been in the guild for years!" I tried to reason with him. Master gave me a stern look.
"Yes, but she's younger than you. Pick someone older." I sighed. Older than me meant Gray was out, even if he'd been in the guild longer than me -according to him, three months made a huge difference- , Wakaba said he was going on a training journey -I think that's code for get drunk and try to get laid-, so that left me with only three choices.
Reedus, Enno and Macao.
I'd not spent as much time with Reedus as I might like, and I would love to go on a job with him, but he wasn't one for Monster Hunts, so unfortunately he was out.
Really, of the two, I only know the capabilities of one of them, so the obvious choice was…
"Hey Macao!" I said cheerfully, sitting down across from him. He looked up from the newspaper with furrowed brows.
"What do you want, Helio?" He asked warily. I suppose I couldn't blame him for that reaction, considering the last few times I sat down here had been to wheedle Wakaba into a rematch -which was getting harder to win each time-, but it still hurt, just a bit.
"Do you wanna go on a job with me?" I held up the job request.
MONSTER HUNT
RANK: B
Help! The Love & Lucky Guild needs a mage to find and exterminate a pair of owlbears that have been attacking the caravans for food. Speak to Sue Chanidot, the Guild Master at our guild hall in Acalypha Town for more details.
PLACED BY: Love & Lucky Merchant's Guild
REWARD: 50,000 JEWEL
Macao looked over the request for a few moments before nodding. "Sure, why not. I could use an extra twenty five thousand jewel right about now." He looked at the clock hung behind the bar. "Register the job with the Master and meet me by the carriage station in an hour. If we go now, we should get back by evening." He gave me a stern look. "While we're on this job, I'm in charge, you got that, Helio? I don't expect it to happen, but if I have to give you an order I expect you to follow it. If I tell you to run, you run. Do you understand?" I looked up at him, surprised at the sudden tone change.
"Run and don't look back Helio! Know that I will always be watching you!"
I shook my head to force the memories away. "I understand, Macao. It won't come to that, but I understand." He gave me a hard stare before nodding and standing up.
"See you in an hour then, Helio. You know where the carriage depot is, right?" I nodded. "Good, see ya then."
After registering the job with Gramps, I got a packed lunch from Genkei and rushed to the orphanage for a change of clothes and my toothbrush in case we were there overnight. I made it to the carriage depot before Macao, who looked surprised to see me.
"Huh, figured you'd be here later." He shrugged, waving me to the carriage drivers. We paid for the passage to Acalypha, and before we knew it, we were on the road.
"Now Helio, this is your first out of town job, right?" Macao asked, I nodded. The bandits probably didn't count, I wasn't exactly a member of the guild back then. "I thought so, you would have mentioned it otherwise. Now, when we get to Acalypha, I want you to follow my lead, alright? We'll head to the Love & Lucky guild, and speak to our client, then we're gonna scout out the area they tell us the owlbears are most active in. They're mainly nocturnal, so if we're lucky, we'll find them asleep, and we can take them out that way. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good. Now enough of this serious stuff, what have ya been up to other than finding more ways to chip away at Wakaba's dignity?" I grinned as I talked about the training Cana, Gray, Levy and I had been doing, and he whistled as I listed off the stuff Laxus had been drilling me on.
"Damn kid, what are you trying to do? Show us all up?" My grin turned devious.
"Like we need to work this hard to do that." Macao gave me a wounded look, I smiled and punched him in the shoulder. "Nah, it's not like that's all we do. Training is just something we all like to do together. Life would be pretty boring if all we did was work to get stronger." I told him about some of the other stuff we did, games we'd taught one another, how I was pretty sure Cana was a cheating card shark, and that Levy had to be crazy for still going to school despite being a member of the guild.
"Not much different from when we were kids then." He said with a reminiscent grin. I cocked my head to the side in curiosity.
"Really?" Macao smiled in nostalgia.
"Oh yeah, Wakaba and I got into all kinds of trouble together. We didn't join the guild as early as you four have, but we grew up together. It was the two of us versus the world back then." He laughed, "I remember how we joined the guild! There was this woman at a bar in Crocus-" He coughed. "Probably not the best story to tell ya right now. I'll tell ya when you're older." He ruffled my hair. "My first job though, that I can tell you about. Me and Wakba got this request to clear…" The hours slid by as we spoke, Macao was full of stories, exciting, funny and embarrassing. I looked forward to the day I was in his place.
We arrived in Acalypha a little before noon, glad to be out of the carriage and walking around on our own two feet again. The day was clear and warm, the perfect kind of weather for hunting nocturnal monsters.
Love & Lucky wasn't hard to find, it was one of the bigger buildings in town, and it was right near the outskirts as well. The receptionist, a kind looking old lady, waved us back towards an office after mumbling into a communication lacrima.
Sue Chanidot was a very severe woman from what I could tell. Her black hair was in a tight bun, and she wore a respectable women's suit. She waved for us to sit in a pair of chairs across from her and she steepled her hands before looking at us.
" You must be the mages from Fairy Tail." She cast a shrewd look at me before continuing to speak. "As you know from our request, there is a pair of owlbears on the road that have been harassing travelers and our caravans. We're worried that they're mated, or will be soon, and would like them dealt with before a pair becomes a parliament." She stood up and walked over to a framed map she had on the wall behind her. "This is where the most attacks have happened, their nest should be nearby, or failing that, there should be a clear enough trail to lead you to it." She gave the both of us a severe look. "Any questions? Time is money, and I would rather not waste any more than I already have." Macao stared at the map for a moment longer before shaking his head.
"No ma'am, I think we're good. We'll be back when the job's done, come on Helio." He turned and waved for me to follow, I gave a small bow before turning my back to her.
"Well she was… pleasant." I said as soon as we were out of their guild hall. Macao hummed.
"She was indeed, but it's something you've got to get used to as a guild wizard. You've accepted their request, and they're paying you, not the other way around, they don't owe you anything more than that and maybe some extra details if they've got them." He shrugged, "You'll get used to it, Helio. I've been treated worse by better, just remember the reward money and bear it." I nodded in understanding.
"I'll keep that in mind." Macao ruffled my hair with a grin.
"Now enough of that, we've got owlbears to find. If we're lucky, then they'll be waiting for another caravan, and we won't have to trek through the brush to find them!" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Way to go, you jinxed it." Macao rolled his eyes.
"Thousand jewel says that we'll run right into them, no tracking required." I nodded in agreement.
"You're on."
"So Macao, about that bet…."
"Shut up Helio."
Unfortunately, I was right. We'd been stalking through the underbrush for over an hour, and there was not a single owlbear in sight. I think I was being very reasonable in waiting this long before I resorted to acting petty.
It wasn't that the owlbears were hard to track, far from it, in fact. We'd been following this exceedingly obvious trail since we first found it. The problem was that owlbears had the endurance to hunt far from their nests without any problems and were clever enough to do so.
"Wait." Macao threw out an arm and stopped me. "I hear something." I slowed my breathing and concentrated on the sounds around me.
There were voices.
I furrowed my brow, the owlbears should have eaten these guys already if we were anywhere near their nest. I had a few ideas as to how these guys could be fine for being right in the middle of an owlbear's path, and few of them were good. From the way Macao's eyebrow was furrowed, he was on the same track.
"I don't like this." I murmured to him, Macao nodded.
"Me either, let's get closer." We crept silently forward, being careful to make as little noise as possible. It seemed like the end of our quest was just ahead, and I had a feeling neither of us were going to like it.
We got right to the edge of the clearing we'd heard the voice from, and were finally able to properly hear what they were saying.
"- I'm telling you Nu, we gotta move soon. We'll be found!" A reedy voice said in a rush. Someone, presumably the person he was talking to, scoffed.
"The owlbears will deal with whoever they send after us, isn't that right girl." His harsh tone went soft as he spoke to someone, something else. "Who's a good monster? You are! You are!" There was a slight cough before he spoke again, "Besides, give it another week and we'll get paid. That Merchant Guild can't be doing too well with all their shipments being attacked like this."
"I'm not saying abandon the job, I just think we should move our base just in case they hire someone to deal with the attacks!"
"Bah, I already told you, Kylie and Kohl will handle anyone! Now stop your bellyaching, you'll stress poor Kylie out." He made a cooing noise, "Is the mean human making you nervous? Who's an adorable monster? You are! Don't let the mean old party pooper get you worked up!"
Macao and I looked at each other in alarm. This request just got a lot more complicated.
"Your hubby should be back any minute now, Kylie, yes he will!" The voice continued, completely oblivious to the panic it had inspired.
"Rooawhoo!" A horrible monstrosity of a roar sounded from directly behind us.
Panicked, the two of us gave up on any idea of stealth, and leapt out of the way of the owlbear's claws.
"What the-!" Shouted the harsh sounding guy, Nu, if that was his real name. "Mages! Kill 'em boy! Go on Kylie! Help Kohl get his dinner!"
"I told you we'd be found!" The reedy one whined.
"Shut up Wust! This'll all be over soon! One of them's just a kid!"
I cursed as he opened the gate for the other monster. I really should have expected something to go wrong, I am a member of Fairy Tail, after all.
Nothing is ever simple.
I dived out of the way of Kylie's lunge, shooting a Flash at it to stun it as its head turned 180 degrees to try and snap my head off. Macao was using his fire to grab at the other, but I couldn't see what exactly he was trying to accomplish before I had an unholy abomination in my face.
Ducking underneath a bite just to have to slide out of the way of a claw, I let myself fall back on my training. The footwork was as natural as breathing at this point, and there was no wasted movement as the sow tried her best to maul me. I took my chance to jump back and finally effectively fight back.
Deciding the kiddy gloves were worthless, a Fusion flew from my hand and struck home in the monster's chest, making it roar in pain as its fur burned away, leaving irritated pink skin where I had hoped there would be a grievous burn. The explosion at least stunned it, but I could already tell I'd have to be a bit more clever than "throw a big honkin' spell and call it a day."
"Haha! You don't stand a chance kid! Owlbears are resistant to heat!" I shot a Flare behind me and was rewarded with a yelp as whoever spoke had to dodge.
Probably not mages or fighters then. Else they would have attacked us by now.
Unfortunately, that had cost me a crucial moment, and the owlbear was too close for me to hit with a spell that would actually do anything.
I just barely got out of the way of a snapping beak and instead got run over by a half ton of monster. Sent spiraling to the ground underneath it, I honestly wasn't sure I shouldn't have risked losing an arm instead.
Thankfully, I managed to prepare a spell before it decided to trample me, and with a vindictive grin, I let out a Solar Wind directly into its stomach.
"ROAAAAWWHHHOOO!" It cried as it flew through the air, slamming into a tree with a mighty crack!
She struggled to her feet and I had an epiphany, wind already swirling.
'Resistant to heat, but not wind.' I let loose another blast of wind, knocking it over as I requipped my hunting knife.
With a leap onto its side, I ended the fight with one final stab. It let out a few whimpers and futile kicks before finally going still.
"You little bastard! I'll kill you!" The tough guy yelled, letting out a roar as he charged me. I put my knife back in my requip space and instead pulled out my staff. I'd not used it against another person since Sun's Valley, but it was the only way I could beat this non-mage without possibly breaking something.
Luckily, it seemed between his rage and reliance on his pets, he'd neglected his own skills, and with a simple sidestep, I slammed the end of my staff into the back of his head. He slumped over into the dirt and went silent.
A shot of panic went through me before I checked his vitals and let out a sigh of relief at his strong pulse. I composed myself and turned to the reedy looking guy, but Macao had him trapped underneath the other owlbear, looking at me with a smirk.
"Good job kid, I'll take it from here." His magic flared, and he had the two of them captured in a fiery prison. Wust! That was the reedy dude's name! Wust was gibbering in terror, poking his friend, Nu, trying to wake him up.
"We'll take 'em back to town. They pretty much admitted to murder earlier, and they were the ones responsible for the owlbears in the first place. I figure the guards will want to have a few words with them." His grin was sharp as he turned it on the duo. Wust shivered, despite what I was sure had to be a toasty prison cell. I nodded and turned towards the way we came.
"Thankfully, backtracking our way along the trail should be easier than getting here." I said, already heading out of the clearing. "I'll lead now, since you've got those two to worry about." Macao raised an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes, "If that's okay with you." He held the look for a moment before he smiled.
"Good plan, Helio! I was about to suggest it myself!" He waved me on. "Lead the way, I'll keep these two entertained." The look he gave them was very dark.
Really glad I'm not them right about now.
Thankfully, the walk back was peaceful, if not quiet due to our prisoners. Wust moaned and gibbered the whole way down. Nu, as that was his real name, had started mourning the loss of his precious owlbears once he'd awoken. It had taken Macao shrinking the prison by a small amount to get him to quit his crying and go right to panicked gibbering at the thought of being roasted alive.
Honestly? That was probably better for everyone involved.
His gibbering was much quieter than his sobs.
Heading back into Acalypha, we were met with stares, and a few panicked people running away at the sight of a man walking around with two crying men in a cage made of purple fire. I couldn't really blame them for their panic, but it did make it slightly annoying to get directions to the guard barracks.
The guards seemed to have the same problem at first, drawing their spears and brandishing them towards us, at least until I had rolled up my sleeve and showed him my guild mark. They were a lot more understanding after that, and they gladly took the two murderers out of our hands.
Master Chanidot had listened to our tale, nodding along. "I see. I will look into this. Our guild will not be intimidated into closing our doors!" With that declaration, she handed us our pay, and then not so politely told us to get out of her guild hall. I had been tempted to be rude back, but Macao had nodded, grabbed my shoulder and guided me back out.
"Yes, Helio, she was rude, but that doesn't mean we have to be rude back. The only time you should be rude to a client is after they've paid you, and you don't want their business again. If they insult your friends, or the guild, let 'em have it. Just expect the Master to give you a talk afterwards." He jerked his head back towards Love & Lucky, "She wasn't worth the hassle. Take her money and forget she exists." I nodded and followed after him, headed back to the carriage station.
The ride back wasn't as nice as the one there, but that was probably because the both of us were tired. Still, true to Macao's prediction, we made it back to Magnolia that evening, disembarking at a quarter past six. We both headed back to the guild hall, deciding that Genkei's cooking was just what the day needed to be capped off.
"Ah man, your job was way better than mine! I just had to use my magic to keep some stupid plants fresh!" Gray's tone was very jealous, I did my best not to smirk at him.
Judging by the way Cana rolled her eyes and Levy giggled, I failed miserably.
"Choose better jobs then." Gray gave me the stink eye. "What? It's not my fault you chose something boring, next time you ask someone to go with you." He huffed.
"Those geezers would make me look bad, I'll just wait until I can go by myself." I shrugged.
"Stop complaining then." I smiled as an idea came to me, " Hey my birthday's in July, I can go out of town solo at that point, how about the four of us make a team then? That way you can't complain about geezers making you look bad, and we can travel together!" Cana looked interested, Gray was trying not to be, and Levy seemed torn.
"That would be awesome!" Cana said excitedly. "I like Macao and Wakaba, but they're so weird sometimes!" She shuddered a bit, "The less said about working with Dad the better."
"Better than being solo, I guess." I swear, Gray couldn't decide between broodiness or arrogant bravado.
Levy looked at the three of us. Of all the kids in the guild, Levy was the only one who'd not actually been in a real fight yet. All the jobs she had taken so far were all non-combat ones around Magnolia. She was more into helping the magic shops with topping off their items, or the libraries with magical tomes than combat. Considering the three of us all tried to get as many combat jobs as possible, her hesitance made sense. "I want to join… but what about school? I don't want to miss too much!" She fretted, her hands waving around in childish panic.
Okay, guess her hesitance was for a different reason.
I placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's not like we'll be gone for weeks, Lev. How about this? You join us on day jobs, or during breaks and the weekends. That way you get out of Magnolia for a bit but don't miss-" I shuddered, "school." Levy looked thoughtful after she finished giggling at my overreaction to schoolwork. She was quiet for a few moments, obviously deep in thought, before she nodded.
"That sounds great, Helio! Count me in!" Cana and Levy's smiles were bright enough to light Magnolia. Gray grumbled something about being crazy about not wanting to miss school.
I grinned as we began planning what type of jobs we would take. Sure, it was a few months from now, but the excitement was very contagious between the four of us. I'd been looking forward to leaving town solo, but in the end, going on adventures with my friends seemed like a lot more fun.
A/N: We have finally left the first couple months of Helio being in Fairy Tail and have moved on to x776! I don't plan on getting bogged down like that again. Expect some more timeskips of a couple months or so going forwards. I won't skip years, but I don't want to write an adventure/important arc a month leading up to canon's beginning.
See y'all later!