Time skip 786 p2

June X786

Spring time had felt off the last two years.

The traditional day trip to Akane hadn't felt right to take. And no one brought it up. My celebrations were held a different way, but...no roller coasters.

"Fae, Kagura and I can do this on our own if you want to take the day off." Wendy's offer stemmed from kindness, but I shook my head and gave a smile that wasn't forced. Just a little sad.

"I'll feel closer to them if I'm working than if I have to be alone with my thoughts." And that she didn't argue with.

"We should get going." Kagura said, standing half a head taller than either Wendy or myself. She had been growing a lot lately and it showed in her now 15 year old frame. "We have a large quota to fill before the job comes due."

Ah yes. Ingredient gathering. One of my favorite things to do actually.

The morpheurume flower as an entire plant was meant to either put you to sleep or mess with your head. The nectar and pollen was used for high grade sleeping medication. The petals were a mild hallucinogenic. The roots, the best painkiller known. It had to be harvested and handled carefully. And the biggest issue? It had to grow wild for full potency in magical brews, so no greenhouses for this little flower. And it was stupidly sensitive. Carelessly stepping on one would produce a draft of toxins that could send you into dreamland for upwards of a week.

Most civilians would zonk out just by inhaling a fraction of it's aroma. Even without triggering it by damaging the plant. Wizards were generally tough enough to work with it, but we were taking extra precautions. Wendy had studied the plant extensively with Porliyusica, including handling and harvesting procedure that she had extensively drilled us on. With her assistance, I had placed runes in small ward stones, rough lacrima set in a conductive quartz with metal reinforcing around it, and given it to my teammates so we would be inoculated against any effects coming off of the plant. Just in case we mishandled our product. We would still lose some of the final reward, but we wouldn't be playing sleeping beauty for our mistakes either. Wendy was familiar enough with my script to read what I had put down.

"Fae, why in the world would 'snow' keep us awake?" I grinned at the memory.

"Because the flowers are red."

Yes. The morpherume flower bore a strong resemblance to the common, every day red poppy. There had been no other possible solution.

That is incorrect.

I rolled my eyes at Morgana's prime contradiction and amended my thought.

No other solution readily available and drawing on Story Magic.

That is correct.

And thus appeased, the spirit of intellect, as I had started to call her, settled into the back of my mind, turning over the specs of the morpherume flower and running analysis and the probabilities of contingency plans in case something unexpected happened. She was developing a taste of timing when it came to revealing certain facts. Unless they were obviously life threatening, she preferred to keep her silence.

Wendy was still mostly ok with vehicles, though she did start to get dizzy and sick if she spent too long in one. She was nowhere near Natsu and Gajeel's level of sensitivity. My theory was because she was learning how to fly under her own power, she was a bit more used to keeping herself oriented even when gravity was telling her different stuff.

And Kagura's idea of training certainly emphasized that. (Gravity pulling in slightly different directions depending on where you were standing relative to her. She called it Semi-Circular Mayhem.) She had definitely helped Wendy and myself get a lot stronger though. Doing physical training in an area with slightly heightened gravity had the effect of getting more bang for your buck when you exercised. And that in turn made both Wendy and myself tougher and more able to push our limits when it came to magic. Kagura didn't look entirely happy with this job, as it was one that didn't allow her to bring a weapon. She was never seen without either her sword or her spear during monster hunting jobs.

"Is that your probation renewal papers?" She asked as I pulled a few folders out of my bag and started to scribble after yanking a pencil out of my hair. I put it up normally with a few sticks and charms to keep it tight and out of the way. It was a darn convenient place to keep writing implements. I had a pencil, a pen, a calligraphy brush and highlighter in there right now.

"No, I handed those in a couple weeks ago." I replied, Morgana rousing from her calculations to guide my hand and thus let me focus on the conversation with Kagura. "This is a long term project." Her hazel eyes glinted and she nodded her understanding.

"Your book."

"My book." I affirmed, the words falling with a grim determination. "I'm still trying to figure out how to organize everything in such a way to let me tap into the full range of potential from just the items that I have already. But it takes up a lot of space."

"You're no closer to figuring out the space compression formula you were muttering about?"

"Bigger-on-the-Inside technology, and I'm working on it. I'm so close I can feel it, I've just got to find a way to apply the data storage concept of an Archive spell to paper..."

"Without actually having Archive Magic."

"It can't be that hard to fake."

"You say when you've been working on this for months." This sounded oddly like judgement and I gave her a look dripping with saccharine sweetness.

"Oh Kagura, if you really want me to stop enchanting your gear, you really should just come right out and say so." This made Kagura back pedal, hands lifted in surrender. She was rather rough on her equipment, much like Erza. And unlike her, Kagura didn't have Requip magic to repair or reinforce her gear whenever she damaged it while on the job.

"I'm just saying Fae, this one might be out of your reach for the time being."

That I could give her, but I was too stubborn to stop and too desperate to make it work.

What I was envisioning was a spell book that contained stories. Many, many stories. All the stories. Every single one I could think of. Which was a considerable amount. But even then, I needed key items to let me channel and use those stories effectively for spontaneous things. Such as combat. While both Wendy and I were enchanters and could fill the combat support role easily, Wendy was undeniably better at it in the heat of the moment. I could enchant someone else too, but not as easily or on the fly. It took me time to set up a ritual or circle, or even write out the appropriate runes. Time was something that was generally not easily won in combat without someone to tank hits for me while I got everything where I wanted. It was a weakness that I didn't want to tolerate, not being able to fight or handle business by myself.

Naruto's headband, I could use for long periods of time, but it eventually wore down and took a long time to 'recharge' before I could put it on again, even if I had the energy to power it. I needed more options than just the one. So I could switch between my tools or support items as needed. Or even have some solutions ready made.

You just want to be Batman.

A gadget for every scenario is not a bad way to solve problems. And of course I want to be the Batman!

Whether I had items to key into the stories in my book, or whether they would continue to be spontaneous creations of my imagination, I needed a way to store a lot of stories very quickly. And the iconic image of a spell book was what would give me the best result in that regard once I figured out how to get more storage space out of it than it's physical limitations dictated. Morgana's calculations were that if I wanted to use even a dozen of my ideas, I would need half a library on me at any given time. Not just the stories, but the calculations, fridge logic, lore and fleshing out writing that made it come to life. Hauling around that much stuff would seriously weigh me down. And I'd need to constantly switch between books to use them to the fullest.

Finding a way to put everything into the same place seemed to be the best option.

Until then, making items that told their own story was my best way to utilize the unique properties of my magic for quick problem solving.

I've got Naruto's Headband that works reliably, other than the needed cool down period. And a better version of Link's Hat but not...quite what I need.

With many pricked fingers and an obsessive download of homemaking books and information from a member of the Tailor's Guild, I had succeeded in making the perfect replica of the Link Hat, without any transformation necessary. But soft cloth like material, no matter how sturdy, didn't have a good place to affix a lacrima that could hold the entire story, and serve as a power output for fighting. And without that, the whole spell would require exponentially more of my magic to keep functional. I'd be down for the count due to a lack of energy in a few hours, less if I used too many of the more outrageous maneuvers or spells Link was known for.

I wanted an item that held an enchantment that wasn't headgear, just for the sake of variety. And precaution as well since not every situation allowed for a hat to be worn. I had a list of ideas, but one that I was in the testing phase of. One that I had brought with me on the ground that it was an experiment, not a weapon.

Why?

Because paranoia was a witch.

And my paranoia was not unfounded.

-vVv-

The first couple hours of work had passed without incident. We had navigated the somnic fields easily and collected several bushels worth of the scarlet flowers. We just had to get it to the appropriate containers for transport and the mission would be completed.

Rogue is nearby. That made me perk up, standing ankle deep in the flowers that were still trying their best to make me take a spontaneous nap.

Oh, where?

He is working. It would be inadvisable to distract him.

Now that was something I just could not let go.

The morpherume flower grew best in open sunlight with minimal tree roots to steal moisture and nutrients. They were so delicate however, that even walking through them hastily could make them dispel their precious pollen all at once. The three of us were gently digging the plants out of the ground and storing them in pre-prepared baskets that would put them into stasis for a few hours, thus letting us transport them without any risk of damage.

I straightened and scanned the area. I didn't hear anything that weird-

Was that a scream?

Yes.

Should I be concerned?

Rogue just traumatized a grown man.

The fear of the dark was a primitive, instinctive response. And having something dangerous literally lunge out of your own shadow at you was about the worst nightmare you could get. Especially with a melodramatic person like Rogue on the other end of it. (He had been pretty practical as a kid, but teenage hormones seemed to be hitting him like a ton of bricks. He had gone from quiet and slight to tall, gangly and broody.)

I snickered quietly.

"What's so funny, Fae?" Wendy asked, her sensitive nose concealed behind a mask to help mask the smell of the flowers. Since her senses were much keener than mine or Kagura's, she was taking extra care near the volatile plants.

"Rogue just freaked someone out majorly." I reported, making both my friends smile.

"Shadow Sneak?"

"Scary Face." It was astounding how a little artfully placed shadows could alter someone's appearance from normal to nightmarish. Since Rogue's spell naming taste was...fairly basic, I had taken to calling them the names of certain Pokemon moves when applicable, and even suggesting some. And he had fallen into the same habit after about a year of denying that he liked the way they sounded. And the effects they had? I had no idea why Scary Face specifically made enemies legs so weak that their reflexes were lowered. Maybe it was an additional effect of the dark leaning of Rogue's Shadow magic at play, debilitating and undermining his opponent's strength before the lethal blow.

The next sign we saw of the battle was of a brilliant flash that went off like a high powered strobe light.

Sting partially dazed all their opponents, and Rogue as well.

Jerk. That made me scowl in the direction of the fight as I gathered up the plants we had harvested for transport. There was a team waiting back along the road to take our cargo. And transporting in small batches made it less like that one mistake would ruin the entire harvest.

Remind me to send a hex or prank spell his way.

Your last recorded preference for this was an Earworm Curse, classified as the figurative application.

Because there was a demon out there that could make that phrase all too literal. I had uncovered that disgusting detail from Morgana when I made the prank spell as practice incorporating audio with trigger runes. I then took a break from making the prank spell to finding the key to breaking that particular curse since it was both horrifying and potentially fatal.

We kept on working at our harvesting job. I read that Rogue and Sting had been assigned to a dark guild that specialized in peddling narcotics and other controlled substances. They had gone in on the men that were there to try and make a grab for our harvested materials.

Rogue volunteered since he knows that medical herbs and supplies are something Fairy Tail focuses on thanks to Porlyusica and Wendy. That made me smile fondly. Rogue was facing pressure from Saber Tooth about being friends with 'the former #1 guild'. The chip the newer, younger guild had on its shoulder was about the size of a mountain and as balanced as a broken scale. They were sending him and Sting on as many high profile combat missions as they could to emphasize that they had 2 Dragon Slayers while we only had one. And Wendy was spending most of her time locally occupied. Either in finalizing her training as a certified combat medic, or setting up a clinic for wizarding clientele. (With yours truly being in charge of curse removal.)

But in spite of everything that was stacked against him...Rogue still kept in touch, still came by to just hang out, and generally thumbed his nose at the unspoken rule that Saber's were not supposed to associate with Fairies. And he was valuable enough as a member that they couldn't kick up a fuss about him doing it.

Kagura, Wendy and I had managed to collect two baskets full of morpherume flowers, with me carefully cutting the dirt balls out of the ground with the roots intact, Kagura levitating them into the air and Wendy removing the dirt that surrounded their roots with gentle touches or with a gentle stream of air.

"I think we can get two more baskets out of this field." Wendy observed the land with a critical eye. "After that, we'd better call it. The field won't last for more than another day or so." The trouble with working with sensitive magical ingredients: The line between ripe and useless garbage was very thin.

"I can take what we've got to the pharmacists team so they can get started on processing it." I said, brushing dirt off of my hands.

"They've set up close by?"

"Yeah, maybe a ten minute walk." I grabbed the basket handles and hefted them easily. Without the heavy wet dirt, they were manageable. The stasis spells would keep them from getting jostled or rumpled. I had sliced more than a dozen dirt and root balls for them scattered around the field. They would be busy enough while I was gone.

-vVv-

Ryos had a sense for secrets.

When someone was hiding something, especially if it was malicious, he could taste it in their shadows when he used them against their owners. So one man he didn't knock unconscious, he left him awake and simply used Shadow Prison to immobilize him.

"What are you thinking Rogue?" Sting asked, looking over with a mild annoyance mingled with curiosity.

"He's got something he's hiding."

"Ah, well then. Holy Claw." Sting's fingertips slammed into their prisoner's middle, leaving behind an intricate glyph on his clothing. Ryos accepted the help, the black tendrils retreating back to his shadow now that Sting's Stigma spell was immobilizing the prisoner.

"So, you got something to share with the class, buddy?" Sting asked, displaying his fangs with savage good cheer. "Rogue says you're sitting on something. And he only ever feels it when it's reeeeally good."

The man spat at them, or attempted to. The White Dragon Slayer's spell had locked every muscle other than was required for sustained life or minimal speech.

Their dynamic had been...rough at first. Ryos had entered Sabertooth at Fae's recommendation, donning the name Rogue, for a place to belong and it was good for helping him hone his abilities...but it wasn't home. It wasn't family. And Sting, loyal and reliable a partner he was, was not family. His words against people that had only been helpful and supportive to him, against his friends...they had come to blows multiple times over their disagreements in outlook. Especially in regards to Fairy Tail. Being paired with him as a team, arranged by Jemma and Minerva, was a rude awakening. Not only because he had to learn to tolerate him, but because they actually made a very good partnership. Their opposing magics meant they had the potential to be the other's worst enemy. But combining their abilities only amplified them. Plus, Sting liked talking and drawing attention, Rogue didn't so much. Went against what he felt was right for a Shadow Dragon Slayer. And even his Exceed friend, Lector, had been good to Frosch, taking the other cat under his wing and helping him gain more confidence.

"That's rude." Sting propped his elbow on the man's shoulder, scratching his jaw, the image of careless dismissal. "Rogue, we've already roughed him up, any ideas on how to make him talk?"

Rogue kept his face impassive, feeling shadows creep down his arms, faintly emphasizing his red eyes and darkening his face so that they appeared brighter and more menacing.

"I only need the one."

-vVv-

I wasn't even out of Kagura and Wendy's sight when the words started pouring through my mind.

Rogue used Flatter. The prisoner is now confused.

The prisoner hurt himself in his confusion. Rogue has now traumatized two grown men today.

Rogue touched the man's forehead and used Assurance, the prisoner takes double damage.

I let go of a basket handle to rub my head with a sigh.

Translation?

Rogue used a minor spell to up their prisoner's mental acuity while also afflicting him with confusion.

Meaning he increased his ability to do damage with his ability to think, but also compromised it, unbalancing him. Got it. Next?

The prisoner drove himself into a panic attack in less than 20 seconds, exacerbated by the increase in his mental functions.

Brutal. But effective. Next?

Assurance is a damage dealing move in Pocket Monsters, but it's damage is doubled if the target has just suffered damage of some kind.

So Rogue had touched him, nothing more, then used his spell and some misdirection to make it seem as though he delivered a full body beating to the man just by tapping his forehead. It seemed Simon had been giving good advice to the Shadow Dragon Slayer on the finer arts of psychological warfare. And as I previously thought, Rogue was a melodramatic brat but dang if he didn't make it work for him.

Why was he doing all this?

Interrogation purposes. The information is being given now, but cannot be accessed at this time.

"D-d-don't touch me!" Rogue was hiding a smirk as he held his hand inches away from their captive's face. "I'll give you whatever you want, just don't let him touch me!" He appealed to Sting with desperation, eyes red with stress and rolling in his fervent desperation to get away from Rogue's touch. The shadows that had actually delivered the spell remained around his ankles, but he didn't notice them, too busy keeping his eye on Rogue's distracting hand.

"Just tell us whatever you're sitting on." Sting said casually, still leaning on the paralyzed man's shoulder. "What other plans do you have today? You can't seriously have been trying to steal those flowers with this gang."

"Morpherume was our target, I swear-" Rogue flexed his fingers a little closer, face expressionless. "I swear that was what we were after! We just wanted the load before the doctors got their hands on it!"

"Hmm. I think you've got something more to say." Sting grabbed the back of the man's head, the only part he could move even a little bit, and held it still. "Think Rogue's got another one of those special touches in him."

"There was a second team!" He screamed, Rogue paused. This was the secret. A second wave? The man babbled on, impelled by the spell Fae had helped him design and his own terror. "We were supposed to be the decoys. The other guys were gonna nab the shipment before the doctors could water any of the load down!" Rogue dropped his hand and left in a hurry. He had scented Fae, Wendy and Kagura when the wind shifted. They were on the job to gather the morpherume flowers.

He presumed Sting knocked their prisoner out and left him standing there, hurrying behind him.

"What gives-? Hey..." He cocked his head. "I know that smell...Those your fairy buddies?" Rogue ignored him, standing at the edge of the field and lifting his voice to carry to the three-

Empty Night. There were only two figures in the field. One with dark purple hair and the other with azure blue. Fae was missing.

He could smell the dangerous plants, and knew that calling to them would do no good. He could see the road she must have taken on the far side of the field. Fae was walking into a trap.

How bothersome. They were not licensed for combat on this scale at present. At least Fae wasn't as far as he knew.

"Follow me, or stay and guard the others." He said, starting to run around the field. "One of them is already delivering the first shipment to the fakes." Sting growled in irritation and started after him.

"Freaking fairies can't stand up in a fight..." Rogue let a small flicker of amusement show on his face as he ran, Sting at his heels.

He wasn't worried that Fae might be at a disadvantage. She could probably defeat up to 30 of this level of mook, as she termed them, in her sleep. But if Fairy Tail was involved in drug manufacturing, even tangentially, then it would be bad for their still shaky position with law enforcement. And that was if Fae didn't wise to the scheme within seconds of laying eyes on them. But if she did manage to fight them off, this was his and Sting's job today. She was only supposed to be gathering the substance. She could get her guild penalized for interfering in their mission. Even if it was in self defence. It would have been laughed off as a typical Fairy Tail incident two years ago.

But too much had changed since then.

Hostile intent nearby. Approaching conflict imminent.

Morgana's warning put me on the alert. I was still holding the baskets with the goods and moving at a decent rate, but my senses were on the alert. Trouble was coming. And was it trouble that I wanted to avoid?

Can you locate the enemy?

Morgana pinged several spots in a mental map she sketched of the area that gained detail with every step that I took forward. There were a lot of them.

Any wizards?

A visual is required to confirm that. And I didn't have hands free to try and scry them, nor did I know anything about them to focus on.

I stopped walking forward.

I knew there were many enemies ahead. I was going in outnumbered and with precious cargo. I had allies without screaming distance. I didn't have to do this alone. It wasn't even that major of a deal.

But it felt like that it was. I had been avoiding combat jobs because I felt I didn't excel in them as a member of Fairy Tail ought to. I wasn't Kagura, I wasn't the tank that decimated the enemy forces. I was the artificer that made weird stuff and support equipment and told stories.

The voice came out of memory. Sea spray and moonlight. Tears, healing and coping with consequences.

Given your talents, you could become anything you chose.

That had been two years ago. I didn't feel like I was any closer to know what I wanted to be but-

Morgana gave me a sharp push. Or rather, the part of me that was my hesitation, my fear and unease. Drawing attention to that darkness made it...a lot easier to handle.

I can become anything I want.

I'm a wizard, and have been a poet, songwriter, storyteller and ninja. A friend, a comrade and a sister. I set the baskets of morperhume flowers down and pulled my experiment out of my bag. I held it before me, gripping it tightly.

And right now...I want to be a Jedi.

I hadn't attuned a specific activation phrase and just went with what came the easiest.

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

There could probably have been any number of lines originating from a galaxy far far away that would have sparked the lightsaber to life, made of polished silver metal with an rune etched leather band, enchanted to wick sweat away from my palm and keep the weapon from sliding out of my grasp.

It was completely different from putting on Naruto's headband or Link's hat. My awareness of the world around me exploded into new levels of sensitivity, Morgana hastily dialing back my senses to keep from passing out with the new stimulation. I felt every pulse, flutter and thrum of magic around me. In the air, the plants, the earth, the rocks, the animals and birds.

And the three men who were still laying in wait for me a little ways ahead.

I sense a trap.

Our next move?

I grinned, and clipped the lightsaber to my belt and picked up my baskets. My reply to Morgana was at least 80% mischief.

Spring the trap~.

They were waiting for me. Four men on the road and another four in the bushes. Whether it was Morgana telling me, or some trick of the Jedi totem, I could sense that three of them were wizards and the rest weren't, though they did possess magic items. Some nets, long range weapons, two guns. And I walked not with bravado or recklessness, but a calm, certainty that felt remarkably soothing. I'd hesitate to call it peace, but it was a serene confidence that probably wasn't too far away from that.

I kept right on walking towards my rendezvous point with the pharmacists. Even once the men came into view. Some weapons were leveled at me, glowing threateningly as they charged up magical energy.

"Hold it right there, girlie." Obligingly I stopped. "You've got something we want. Hand it over and we'll go easy on you." With an opening like that...I couldn't just not take advantage of it.

"Sure thing." I said cheerfully. I placed the baskets down, and waited. As some men came forward to collect them, non-wizards, no magical weapons.

They ought to count as weak minded. You need a certain amount of mental grit to use magic, or magic weapons.

"Muffliato." I said this in a whisper, concealing the rune in my palm. I wasn't sure if hearing a voice other than my own would help what I was about to try, but Morgana said it had decent odds of working, and better if there was a sound proofing ward.

I waved my hand, first two fingers together and thumb slightly extended. It can't hurt to be as close to the story as possible.

"These are not the flowers you're looking for." All the men stopped in their tracks, within arm's reach of their prize. I felt a tiny flex of magic leave me, but not nearly as much as it might have taken to bewitch four people. The Mind Trick edged towards the illegal side of Charm Magic territory, but as long as it was single, simple impulses and not total domination and mind breaking, it was deemed legal.

"Those are not the flowers we're looking for." They repeated. And thanks to the silencing ward, the others with weapons still trained on me didn't react. They hadn't heard a thing.

"You will drop to the ground on my signal." Morgana had started a countdown of when the watchers would suspect foul play. It wasn't very long. This was a high risk business. I cancelled the silencing ward.

"What are you idiots playing at, secure the goods and move back!" One man barked, clearly irritated. I flicked my fingers down and the four men that had been there to mug me dropped.

"You really don't know what you're playing with here." I said with a chuckle, reaching mentally for my saber and feeling it fly into my hands. Telekinesis felt really cool. When it hit my palm, I pushed magic into it, activating the core function of this spell totem.

A beam of bright amber energy about the length of a long sword burst from the opening with a distinctive snap-hiss. I followed the story into Soresu, form 3 of the Jedi order. Best against multiple long range attacks. The enemy wizards opened fire with their weapons, which to my delight instead of the normal zap, sounded a lot more like pew-pew. It made me laugh as I followed the story and deflected the shots into the onrushing close combatants or back at the enemy. Or tried to, I only got two of them, a gunman and a spear wielder and only fleshwounds at that. However, the unexpected sounds of their weapons, coupled with my laughter seemed to have unnerved them. And one of the blasters, I had to call them that now, it was just wrong not to, dropped their weapons with a loud curse of alarm.

When the other two close combatants with their spears came within range, I switched forms from Soresu to Shii-Cho. A close range form for defending against multiple attackers.

Actually, I might have accidentally slid into Makashi. That form was primarily used for dueling against other opponents wielding lightsabers since I felt myself slip a little off balance when my blade of condensed plasma and light sliced through the spears aimed at me. Like I'd been expecting to block them instead.

Whoops.

I pulled on my power and jumped straight up into the air, easily clearing twenty feet and with a cool backflip to boot. (Not as high as my superman jump enhancement could take me, but respectable nonetheless.) My free hand called the baskets of flowers up with me with a mental flex. A strange foreign limb that felt easy and natural to use. Just in time too because the spears I had cut were enchanted with Impact runes of some kind and breaking them as I had-

My hair fluttered around me as the explosion knocked out not only the two that had been attacking, but the four that had been lying prone at my suggestion.

Tally?

Six of the eight have been neutralized. The guns are readying to fire again.

With the warning, it was easy to get my lightsaber at the ready to deflect the shots once again, I could hit near them, but bouncing bolts of magic back was not nearly as easy as Jedi made it look. But they didn't hit me, so that was a good thing.

When my feet touched the ground again, I pulled on my magic again.

I had seen Jedi use the Force to boost their speed in a brutal frontal assault. With that in mind, I was propelled forward so fast the world seemed to blur to my eyes, but not to my other senses. Without even seeming to see the two men, I blurred forward to one who yelled in freight as my weapon hummed through the air in a very satisfying way. A swipe of my blade and his gun fell in useless halves. I swiped at him with telekinesis, hurling him into his friend on the other side of the road before repeating my short dash to menace them both with my lightsaber.

"I think this means I win." I said with a cheeky smile, gesturing my loot over with a wave. Those dang annoying red flowers that had been the reason I was attacked, but also were to credit for a test run that I could not be blamed for.

Rogue and Sting saw the whole thing. I looked over and waved at Rogue with a smile.

"Hi Rogue!"

"What did you just...?" He sighed then, stepping forward. "Never mind. We'll handle these guys."

"If you want." I said, very pleased with my test run and flipping my weapon, enjoying the sound of it's humming and the immense satisfaction. "I need to get these over to the doctors anyway. And make sure they didn't have any trouble either."

"Fae, let us handle any fighting." I pulled a face at Rogue.

"Rogue: If there is any fighting that needs to happen, I will handle it. And I will even use this." I held my saber out before dousing it and putting it back on my belt. "Any marks it leaves looks similar enough to the damage he deals that it won't get remarked on."

Incoming.

"What...the hell-!" Sting fumed, his clenched fists throwing off sparks as he stomped towards me. "-are you talking about?" I blinked up at him curiously.

"My job is to collect morpherume, not protect the route." I said slowly. "Any fighting I do beyond basic self defense could be construed as credibility theft from your guild."

"So you're just gonna take that?!" I pointed at the unconscious, obviously defeated men.

"Obviously I'm not. I just want to finish my job." What is his problem? It seemed obvious to me. Fairy Tail wasn't in charge of any combat portions related to this task. Because I had been protecting myself, it was a decent defense, but it would be better if Sabertooth got the credit for their own job. I didn't want to damage Rogue's reputation when he'd been working hard to earn his way as a combat wizard.

This only seemed to infuriate Sting all the more. I just walked away after giving Rogue a wave from where he was tying up the unconscious and badly surprised men. I went and dropped off the morpherume flowers we had collected and met with Rogue and Sting on the way back. Wendy and Kagura were coming around the bend with the most recent harvests.

I waved at them, in high spirits, but then someone got in my face.

"So, how was using a stolen spell?" I had only a moment to process what Sting had said before Morgana called up the memory of our briefly collaborating to help him refine Holy Lance.

"Excuse me?" I asked, annoyance fluttering in my gut, eyes narrowing. I had had it about up to here with Sting's attitude. From seeing profit in my family's grief, to being a inconsiderate jerk to his partner, who also happened to be my friend and now this?

You have got to be taught a lesson, boi. Wesselogia did not teach you nearly enough manners.

"You said whatever you were gonna do if someone else messed with you was gonna look like I did it. So what spell of mine did you steal?" I could see his logic even if it was annoying me right now. Or maybe that was more his attitude. If this had been said in a more joking tone, I would have played along and had fun with it. But this? This was him trying to pick a fight. And I was tempted to sock him in the face and oblige him, but-

You are still working. Disagreement here will have long lasting repercussions.

I am aware. But I am not letting him walk over me.

I stood my ground, shifting my stance to stand taller and lifting my chin while relaxing my shoulders. Not defensive, not aggressive. But firm and immovable. It had the effect I wanted, but I was still potently aware of the fact that Sting was a lot taller than I was.

Stupid growth spurts. I thought girls matured faster than boys! Where're my extra six inches?!

Pending. Physical childhood trauma has accelerated your mental maturity, but delayed your adult development. That only made me feel a little better.

When can I expect it?

Sometime between the ages of 13 and 18. My annoyance took an abrupt swing away from Sting and was focused more on Morgana and her avoiding answering my query. It did help me speak to the White Dragon Slayer in a less incendiary tone.

"I didn't steal anything from you. I used my own magic, with an item I made myself. Any resemblance between your Holy Lance and my lightsaber is purely coincidental." He wasn't having it, scorn dripping from his tone.

"Uh-huh, lightsaber? You totally ripped off my spell."

Most guys I know would be flattered it was so effective even in someone else's hands. What is his problem-

Unless...

Sting was about 14 years old right now. He was growing up and maturing in a lot of ways. And the primary way that a dragon slayer defined his world was by the potential enemies and allies that existed in it. If Sting viewed me as an enemy, he wouldn't pay attention to me at all. So he must be trying to scope me out as an ally instead and that meant he would take it personally if I didn't take credit for my own battles. Like I was doing right now, allowing him and Rogue to record they had halted these men. I took a deep breath to avoid snapping and escalating the disagreement. Sting was confrontational, and retreating would make him chase me. When I spoke, it was control, poise and precise articulation. Neither prey, nor fellow predator. Firmly neutral.

"A spell I helped you create. You're trying to accuse me of plagiarizing my own work." I said mildly with a smile, forcing back the desire to pull an Erza and float up a few inches to administer a bit of cognitive recalibration. This entire conversation was winding Sting up. He was a lot like Natsu, so pushing the same buttons would get about the same responses. He'd blow eventually. His fists came up, alreadying glowing and shifting into claw-strike forms. The magic radiating from his fingers was much more refined than when I had last seen him. It briefly distracted me.

Oh, he figured out how to refine it some more.

"Stop using big words to dodge me and fight!" He was getting ready to lunge. And he was...

Is he...sparkling? It was bizarre and weird, every bit of Sting's skin that was exposed to sunlight was dotted with small bright spots of light. Like reverse, shiny freckles. His face, his hands and arms, everything I could see. My temper, that had been struggling against my control, ebbed almost entirely and my control was now occupied with not bursting out laughing when a speck of brightness appeared smack on Sting's nose.

"I don't see that ever happening. I'm a rune wizard, glitterbug. Words are how I fight." Kagura grabbed me, and Rogue wrestled Sting away. Everyone was staring at Sting in bewilderment.

"Not while we're both still working." Rogue growled at both of us. "Simmer down and kill each other later." Sting jerked his arm free, glowering at me more so than his partner. He seemed really worked up about this and he jabbed a finger at me.

"This isn't over."

"I'm shaking." I snickered in response, letting Kagura hand me over to Wendy to finish our mission.

Gana' save that memory. He freaking sparkles! I'm dying!

Saved. Incorrect, you are in perfectly good health.

"You'd better be scared! Sabertooth never loses!" Sting's angry shout made me look back over my shoulder.

Yep, still sparkling. I couldn't help it. I started laughing.

"Good thing you're just a cocky kid then. By the way, the craft store called, they want their glitter back." He started at the comment. I gestured at my face with a wink and a snicker. He touched his face and then he caught sight of his hand.

"What the-!?" Rogue face palmed.

"Calm down. It's nothing to worry about." Embarrassment practically radiated from the blond teen as he frantically scrubbed at his hands as though trying to remove the twinkles from his skin.

Wendy let out a breath and kept her voice low.

"You looked like you were about to start throwing punches." I pulled a face.

"Wendy, I love you, so I'll forgive you thinking that I'm Natsu. I can't fight the same way he does. When we do fight, I will be ready and will give the moron the thrashing he has been begging for since I first met him."

"When?"

"Yeah, when. That debacle back there? That was him wanting to test me, not to fight because we hate each other but because he wants to be rivals."

Sting was like Natsu. And Natsu was always looking for a fight, not just to satisfy his instincts to prove dominance, but also to learn and improve. That was why he kept on trying to fight not just Gray, who was his polar opposite in many respects, but also Erza. Even though he knew she could beat him with her eyes closed. She was one of his rivals. One of the people he would look to help make him stronger.

If I became the Erza to Sting's Natsu, then several things would progressively happen.

1: Eventual respect and a decent working relationship.
That was the pattern I had seen work inside my guild, especially for Natsu and Gajeel who I was using as behavioral benchmarks for Sting's development.

2: An easy target to practice on that I wouldn't feel bad about knocking around.

My other friends knew what I was capable of and didn't underestimate me. They'd take the fight seriously. From the get go. Sting wouldn't.

3: Stress relief.

See previous; Sting was an easy target for my rage. And one durable enough to not break if I got carried away. I wouldn't have to wait long for our next confrontation. That I was certain of.

Wendy's expression was hard to read as she pulled up her face mask when we came back into the field where the morpherume flowers grew.

Morgana, formulate tactics for beating Sting while imparting important strategy lessons.

Created and labelled under...?

Fanged fairies.

"Fae, you're sure you know what you're doing with him?"

"Trust me, Wendy. I can translate what a Dragon Slayer means when he challenges you to a fight."

-vVv-

So she says, but... Wendy wasn't sure if Fae knew what she had invited on herself when agreeing to fight Sting at some point.

They finished the job collecting the morpherume flowers with no reported incidents. They collected their pay and went home. Rogue and Frosch even joined them at the guild hall for dinner that night as Fae recounted the story she had used to create her latest 'totem' as she was calling the items that enabled her to tap into incredible stories for their abilities. (The visuals had been stunning and the appearance Darth Vader had made Frosch squeak and half hide behind Rogue's shoulder even as he watched with wide, captivated eyes, unable to look away.)

Then Fae, citing weariness, had turned in early after bidding them all goodnight. Wendy however lingered with Rogue.

"So." She started, piercing the silent spring air. "You noticed it too, right?" Rogue nodded.

"Yep."

"I don't think she did." He glanced at her.

"Fae? How could she not?" Wendy gave a helpless shrug.

"I have literally no idea."

They were outside of the apartments where Fae, Wendy and Kinana lived. The lights were on in their windows and they were open. Wendy inhaled and smelt a new scent on the premises.

"Oh boy..."

Then something came flying out of an open window about three stories up.

Sting impacted the street with something between a yelp of pain and an angry shout. Fae stuck her head out the window in her sleepwear, hair damp from showering and clearly very annoyed.

"The hell do you think you're doing!"

"You stole my spell!" Sting bounced back to his feet with remarkable speed, shouting up at the other girl.

"It's a freaking item that I made myself, every single part of it! Go away! If you want to spar, I'll fight you sometime tomorrow. Or next week. Whenever I'm not working" Sting scoffed.

"Oh no you don't, you'd set me up! We're doing this fair and square, cold start!" Fae cocked her head, chin in her hand as she smirked down at him.

"Oh, so you're not as much of an idiot as you made yourself out to be. Well, let's put this into perspective for you then: I met you two years ago. That's how long I've had to prepare to 'set you up' as you put it and you are damn well right that I will do that in a heartbeat! And before you try anything right now, you've already lost." Sting's hand emitted a faint orb shaped aura of light and he looked down at it in frustrated bewilderment.

"What did you?"

The Rune Wizard grinned, casual, triumphant blue eyes glittering beneath her lashes.

"I took proper precautions. You entered a Rune Wizard's home who happens to specialize in curse breaking without being invited. I decided you didn't need to see your magic for a little while. I can hold it for a good while now. Definitely long enough for me to make you regret you ever opened your big mouth in front of me. Still wanna try and get your satisfaction tonight?" Her one hand was lifted, amber lettering moving over her fingers and palm and spilling down her elbow as words raced across her skin. This blatant challenge was offered and met with a murderous glare. Wendy held her breath as she saw Sting try again to muster the power to start a fight...but eventually stormed off with a growl.

"You're not getting away with this, fairy!" He spat the name like an insult. Fae saluted him with a wave and a smile that reminded Wendy eerily of Mirajane.

"I just did, glitterbug. Have a nice trip home." Then she waved to Wendy and Rogue and pulled back through the window, clearly very pleased with herself. Sting stalked past, ignoring them entirely, and sure enough, he was sporting a faint shimmer on his cheeks which he swatted at angrily growling under his breath.

When he was out of sight, the other two dragon slayers let out a long breath they had been holding.

"So, he...just broke into her room." Wendy said with a forced lightness to her tone.

"Yup." Rogue replied just as blandly.

"Do they have any idea what they look like?"

"Nope."

"Are we going to tell them?"

"Not a chance."

A/N

Wishing you a happy holiday, regardless of what you celebrate.