Author's Note: Been a minute. Thank you for all your support and patience :,)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Please feel free to give me your constructive criticism, feedback, suggestions, etc. as are all welcome. I love hearing back from folks.
Spells and attacks will be typed in bold. Thoughts, flashbacks, and emphasized phrases will be italicized.
Lamia Thanksgiving arc ~ Chapter 13 ~ Sky Dragon And Sky God
~X793, Margaret~
If one wanders the roads south of Hargeon, passing south-east through the small village of Tully, one may be fortunate to stumble upon the river municipality of Margaret. Similar to Magnolia, Margaret has various canals that connect the city, which many preferred to traverse by gondolas and smaller water faring vessels. Hydroelectric power became the long-established main source of the town's energy for the people learned to utilize the perks of the flowing river. Reliance on lacrima for facilities was not necessity, but more of a luxury. Margaret is also the home of one of Fiore's strongest guilds, Lamia Scale.
Around this time of the year, Margaret was hosting their annual Thanksgiving Festival to commemorate the harmonious relationship between Lamia Scale and the guild. But this year's festival would be extra special. Guests from other guilds were invited to join the festivities as ambassadors to celebrate good relations between Lamia Scale and their respective guilds.
Given Fairy Tail's position in the wizarding world, it was only natural they would be invited.
"We made it!" Wendy's chocolate-colored orbs sparkled with excitement as she set foot into Margaret's buzzing streets.
Wendy was dressed in a red long-sleeved button up shirt with parchment-colored streaks to the upper portions of the sleeves. The cuffs of her shirt were black and each bore a singular, encircling light tan colored line. Her skirt was similar to her cuffs: black with a light tan line near the edge. She wore black knee length socks and red open-toed shoes. Her dark blue hair was tied up in twin tails. (A/N The Edolas outfit).
Behind her, Romeo wore his mahogany button-up with white lining the edges of the collar and hems of the sleeves. He wore army green cargo pants and brown, leather hiking shoes.
Carla walked on the concrete in her Exceed form. She was dressed in a yellow dress shirt with a green tie around the collar, a black blazer and skirt to match.
Shinji wore a black half-zip jacket over a white V-neck shirt. His forearms were armored with metal braces. A brown belt secured his blue jeans to his waist and lower body, mildly overlapping his black leather shoes.
Aria's cherry-pink hair was done in low pigtails. She wore a cream-colored cardigan over a magenta tank top, a black mini-skirt, grey leggings, with black combat boots.
"Woah, the town is decked out with tons of flowers for the occasion," Aria glimpsed multiple garlands and wreaths of white daisies lined every rooftop and streetlamp in sight. On every streetlight was a teal banner depicting the Lamia Scale logo above the words "X793" inscribed in black print.
Many of the townsfolk wore similar flowery wreaths on their heads. Others were purchasing them from concession stands as gifts for friends and loved ones. Young children on the streets banded together as they crafted daisy chains.
"Daisies are the town's namesake," Romeo pointed out.
"How come this place is named Margaret and not Daisy?" Shinji pondered aloud.
"Magaret is a name that comes from the word, marguerite," Romeo explained, "Which is an umbrella term for members of the daisy species that have white petals with a yellow center."
"Wow, you're more book-smart you look, Conbolt-boy," Carla gave the Fire Mage a backhanded compliment.
"I'm quite well read, thank you," Romeo verbally jabbed back.
"Oh they're at it again..." Wendy, Shinji, and Aria sighed.
As they walked down the concrete path towards their intended destination, Wendy caught whiff of a familiar scent. The Sky Dragon Slayer smiled brightly as she recognized this scent very well, "Ah, she's here!"
Along the concrete road amidst the crowds of celebrating townsfolk and elegant drizzle of white daisy petals, stood a dark-blue eyed girl in her mid-late teens. Her deep magenta hair was tied up into spiky pigtails by orange ribbons. She wore a shirt-sleeved white sailor shirt with solitary pink lines around the hems of the sleeves and the belly. Her blue skirt ruffled as she ran towards the Fairy Tail Mages, stomping her leather black boots into the ground with each anticipating step. In her hands was a crown of daisies and a smaller flower bracelet she wished to gift to someone.
Romeo and Carla grinned as they knew what was about to unfold. Aria and Shinji, not recognizing the magenta-haired girl, were unsure how to react.
"Wendy!" Sherria jumped towards Wendy with outstretched arms.
"Sherria!" Wendy exclaimed as she fondly embraced her friend.
Briefly releasing herself from the hug, Sherria wanted to spoke face to face with the Sky Dragon Slayer, "Wendy, it feels like we haven't talked in ages!"
"It's so good to see you, Sherria," Wendy replied endearingly, "But I've always made stay in touch with you by letter every week."
"I know, but it's not the same," Sherria proceeded to bury herself in the nape of Wendy's neck.
She then separated from Wendy and presented her with a daisy crown, "By the way, I got you something. Try it on for me?"
"Of course! Especially because you got it for me!" Wendy smiled as the Sky God Slayer placed the floral ring atop Wendy's head. Hastily, she turned Wendy around and showcased her new drip to her teammates.
"Ah?" Wendy was confused as Sherria forcefully turned her around.
"What do you think, boys? She looks suuuupercute, right?" Sherria teasingly winked at Romeo and Shinji as she held her fellow Sky Mage's shoulders from behind.
Both of the guys' cheeks were tinged pink at Sherria's mischievous question. To Romeo's left, Carla eyed his jugular veins as she retracted a set of silvery claws from her paws. To Shinji's right, Aria closed her eyes while tilting a head at him with a devious smile. In front of them, Wendy slightly blushed trying to avoid eye contact with them albeit very curious to know their answer.
"How the hell are we supposed to answer without getting gutted one way or the other?" Romeo and Shinji internally exclaimed, lamenting their perilous predicament.
Aria, sensing the boys' were cornered, turned to Wendy and clasped her hands, "Wendy is cute every day, 24/7, 365. But these flowers look great on your hair! You're extra cute today!"
"Aria...you're too kind," Wendy smiled, appreciative of the pinkette's response.
"Nice save, Aria!" Romeo and Shinji internally saluted their pink-haired savior.
Carla sighed as she retracted her claws, "Saved by the belle, boys. Saved by the belle."
"I like her spunk," Sherria gave Aria a thumbs up, expressing her satisfaction in her answer, "This one's a keeper, Wendy. I already know Carla, but I haven't met your new friends yet. Wendy told me a lot about you all over the past 3 months."
She let go of Wendy and abruptly shook hands with Aria, "You must be Aria-san! I love your style! My name is Sherria, it's nice to meet you."
Aria reciprocated Sherria's amicability with equal vigor, "Thank you, Sherria-san. But, you look way cuter than me to be honest!"
"Oh stop it, you!" Sherria winked as she moved towards the boys, "Ah-!"
In typical Sherria fashion, she tripped. Fortunately, she nosedived into something that was not the floor. It was firm but had just the right amount of squish not give her a bloodied nose. Sherria withdrew her face from her landing cushion with her hands, groping the firm, yet squishy object, "Owwiieee, sorry about that..."
Sherria looked up and saw her hands were on Shinji's pecs through his shirt. The raven-haired mage blushed a shade of darker than Erza's hair. Sherria blsuhed an equivalnet shade before retracting her hands to cover her face.
"Ahhh, I'm sooo sorry!" Sherria bowed repeatedly at mach speed to Shinji.
Everyone stared awkwardly.
Despite conforming alongside everyone else's blank stares, Aria's mindscape was in turmoil. In her mind's eye, the pinkette was biting down on her nails as she screamed, "GODDAMN! What I'd give to have a lucky accident like that!"
Shinji's blush gradually faded as he attempted to restore his composure. He sighed as he held out his hand to greet Sherria, "Greetings. My name is Shinji. nice to make your acquaintance, Sherria-san."
"L-Likewise," Sherria calmed down as she shook his hand.
Looking at the dark purple-haired boy next to Shinji, Sherria's eyes brightened as she approached him and grabbed his hands much to his surprise, "You must be Romeo-kun, no?"
"Kun?" Romeo felt like a bolt of Laxus's lightning suddenly struck him. The Fire Mage smiled, as he shook hands with Sherria, "In the flesh. It's nice to meet you in-person Sherria-san after watching you from the audience during the Grand Magic Games."
Sherria smiled, "Thank you so much! But more importantly, Romeo-kun..."
"Y-Yes?" Romeo was unsure whether to feel mortified by what mayhem Sherria had in store for him.
"Ta-da! I got you a present too!" the Sky God Slayer fastened a circlet of daisies onto his right hand.
"Um...why me?" Romeo furrowed his brows in a pondering mode.
"Because," Sherria gave the Flame Mage an earnest smile, "You brought light back into Wendy's life!"
This time it was Wendy's turn to feel mortified by her friend from Lamia Scale.
"W-What do you mean by that Sherria?" a rather flustered Wendy asked.
"Ever since you formed a new team with him, you've become more ecstatic in your letters," Sherria grinned teasingly at Wendy, "This, too, is a form of love!"
The others collectively sweatdropped at Sherria's insinuations.
Wendy's face turned into a literal strawberry from her embarrassment while she shook her hands to clear any misunderstandings Sherria may have planted into her teammates " No! No! No! It's not like that!"
"Yeah, we're just comrades," Romeo agreed.
"Oho! Exactly Romeo-kun," Sherria got starry eyed as she looked off longingly into the distance, "Camaraderie, too, is a form of love!"
Romeo smirked, "Well I guess you'd be shipping everyone in Fairy Tail with literally everyone else if you came to our halls."
"Oh really?" the idea of seeing all the possible couplings and relationships within Fairy Tail's halls perked her interest.
"Maybe her and Mira could have a ship off," Carla jokingly suggested something akin to Armageddon.
"Noooo thanks," Shinji crossed his arms in an X formation to signify his disapproval, "I don't even want to know how that would work."
Carla's sarcastic suggestion resuscitated Aria from her disheartened trance. The pinkette clenched her fists as an inexhaustible fire lit in her eyes, "It might not be your idea of fun, but I would totally bite!"
"I know right!" Sherria joined in as she clasped Aria's hands. The two girls squealed in excitement at the prospect, "Think of all the ships that will sail!"
"Goodness gracious, these two are getting along too well," Carla sighed.
Letting go of Aria's hands, Sherria held a finger up to get the group's attention, "It was super fun meeting you all, but I just remembered I need to take you all to the guild before Master Babasama gets angry. There are others there who would be happy to meet you!"
"There are others?" Wendy inquired.
"My cousin, Sherry, and Ren-san from Blue Pegasus are serving as representatives for their guild."
"HOLD THE PHONE!" an overjoyed Aria fangirled with pulsating heart-eyes, "Sherry Blendy of the guild-crossed lovers is your cousin?! And right now, they are at the guild?!"
"Yes. Aaand yes" Sherria confirmed with a nod, "I mean, we kind of look alike, no?"
"Fair point, I have no idea why I didn't notice sooner," Aria then turned to her guildmates with a fist in the air, "What are we waiting for, guys? Let's get a move on!"
~Lamia Scale Guild Building~
The party of six arrived in front of a broad, limestone-green building with a bright blue rooftop. The front of the building was supported by multiple stone columns topped with cone-like peaks matching the rooftop's color scheme. On the front side of the building were two round blue panels each containing a Lamia Scale insignia. The two emblems faced each other as if they were looking at their reflections.
"Tada~ Here we are!" hostess Sherria presented her guild's building with beaming pride before they all walked inside.
Inside Lamia Scale's guild hall, the members and guests from others guilds were making merry upon a buffet spread of luxurious foods and beverages poured into wine glasses. Lamia Scale's interior floor was not wooden like Fairy Tail's, but lined with dark gray granite. The walls were limestone-green similar to the outside paint job. By small bar and kitchen was a jade statue of smiling, bald man with a long beard and eyebrows that looked like dots.
"Potato!" Aria forgot to hold back her impulsive thoughts before clamping her own mouth shut.
Romeo giggled, "You're lucky he's not here, Aria-san. That's Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Ah!" Aria gawked before bowing her head to the statue, "My sincerest apologies... Potato Saint."
Romeo and Shinji nearly chortled.
"Mind your manners, you imbeciles." Carla crossed her paws over her person, "Sheesh."
"How has Jura-san been faring at the Council?" Wendy asked Sherria as they gathered by the statue.
"He's been busier over the past two years, but he does send letters to the guild each month," Sherria replied, "Babasama has been rather down since he left."
"And a shame it has been!" and elderly voice rang from beneath them.
Below them, bellowed a tiny, old woman with long earlobes and a larger than normal chin dawned in a tan kimono with thin sand-colored streaks. Her garb was secured onto her person with a thick, black obi. Her aged, gray hair was fashioned in an Edwardian bun. Both of her hands were equipped with white paper fans. The wrinkles on her forehead gained prominence as she furrowed her brows in dismay
"Tch. It's quite the travesty. If only the Council got their act together, Jura-san wouldn't have left us in the first place," the Lamia Scale guild master had no reservations regarding her opinions, "Then our position as one of the strongest guilds would not be under constant jeopardy!"
"Master Babasama..." Sherria tried to calm her guild master, "Could I perhaps serve you a drink?"
"Hmph. Sake. The whole bottle if you would, Sherria, " the old crone demanded waving one of her fans to aerate her face.
"Umm..." Sherria faked a grin.
"Don't encourage her, Sherria!"
A scolding voice came from a man with spiky silvery hair dressed a white compression turtleneck, black trousers, and black boots topped by a in a long blue coat with yellow lining the rims. He approached the teenage girls and old woman, the white cape draped over his right shoulders, connected around his neck with a circular, golden clasp, ruffled as he made haste. Lyon Vastia has fair share of work cut out for himself as Lamia Scale's new ace.
"Goodness, Master, you need to control yourself. What would the people and wizards from the other guilds think if you get hammered again?" Lyon tried to grab Ooba and drag her away.
"Chi! Don't touch me!" despite being an octogenarian, Master Ooba was still extremely agile on her feet as she slapped Lyon's hand away, "I'll make you spin if you lay so much as a finger on me!'
Master Ooba threateningly made spinning motions with her fans directed at the Ice Make user.
"Master Ooba..." Lyon sighed before turning to Wendy and Sherria, "Ah, Wendy-san! It's a pleasure to see you again! Did Master Laxus send you to represent Fairy Tail for the Thanksgiving Festival?"
"Sure did," Wendy smiled.
"A good choice on his part, I'm sure Sherria is very happy." Lyon patted Sherria on her head, incognizant of her turn red in response.
"I'm not the only one here," Wendy informed him.
Lyon's stomach sank, "Wait, you mean to tell me there are others? Your Master didn't send in Gray per chance?"
The silvery haired Ice Mage sighed heavily at the thought of his fellow Ice Make disciple showing up and causing a public indecency incident with his stripping habits.
"No...no..." Wendy shook her head, much to Lyon's relief.
"Then..." Lyon's face sported a slight blush, "Is Juvia-san here?"
Seeing Lyon react lovey-dovey at the thought of Juvia showing up, made Sherria flip from being red from blushing to being green with envy, "Ahem. Juvia-san was not present when I picked up the guests from Fairy Tail."
"Oh boy...she still hasn't outgrown her unrequited crush," Wendy kept her thoughts about Sherria and Lyon's dynamic to themselves.
Sherria pointed to the general vicinity of Wendy's teammates, "The purple-head in the red and green is Romeo-kun; the pink-haired girl in the cardigan bowing to Jura's statue is Aria; and the black-haired guy with the blue eyes is Shinji."
Lyon suddenly shuddered when looking at Shinji.
"You know, we can hear you from over here, Sherria-san," Romeo said
The silver-haired adult stood in front of Shinji. One of his eyebrows twitched wildly as he examined Shinji's physical features, "Black hair...and blue eyes..."
Shinji tried to hide his discomfort from being stared top-down and again by the older mage, "Um...may I be of assistance to you, Lyon-san? You're not going to touch me weirdly like Sherria did earlier?"
"It was an accident, I swear!" Sherria clarified from afar.
"Did Gray and Juvia have a secret child out of wedlock all those years ago?" Lyon hysterically blurted what he was thinking aloud. A rush of chilling air emanated from the Ice Make Mage as he towered over the young swordsman.
The other Fairy Tail mages, Sherria, and Master Ooba gawked at Lyon's insinuation.
"Ugh, I get that remark a lot at the guild," Shinji scratched the back of his head, "I'm not related to either of them, so there is no need to worry. Besides, the timeline wouldn't make a whole lot of sense."
Lyon took a deep breath before exhaling with immense relief. He tried to look at Shinji like he was a normal person, but then nervously averted his line of sight, "My apologies...I just still feel awkward. You make a very convincing...hybrid. It's like looking at their possibly grown love child with my own eyes."
Shinji glowered awkwardly at Lyon's unfiltered statements.
"Damn. Shinji's had it rough with two Lamia Scale members now," Romeo sighed, eyeing a certain Sky God Slayer.
"Again, that wasn't my fault. I just trip every now and then, " Sherria pouted, before redirecting the teasing towards a bluenette, "Besides, Wendy also suffers from these episodes of tripping too."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Wendy frowned as a compilation of her own falls replayed in the back of her mind.
"That's right! You guys both tripped before you were facing off against each other in the Grand Magic Games," Romeo remembered, "it's kinda cute how clumsy you both-"
Realizing he got too comfortable with the conversation, Romeo stopped himself from completing his sentence. Sherria and Wendy flashed their angelic smiles at him, cocking their heads fifteen degrees to the left.
"Go on, finish what you were going to say~" Sherria demanded with fake politeness.
"Haha, no thanks," Romeo hurriedly acquired a fried chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth.
"What a cute crack triangle dynamic they have~" Aria covered her smirk before scanning the room, "But I need to find my real OTP! My guild-crossed lovers!"
Chimes of liquid-filled glasses clinking filled the air. Aria's sensors went full haywire as her head creaked in the vicinity of the beautiful dissonance. She spotted a group of four adult mages drinking from their cups. Yuka Suzuki - a short male with bushy, squared eyebrows and blue-hair done in a braid dressed in a green tunic over loose, white pants and a long-sleeved mint-green shirt smiled, "Cheers! I toast to your happy marriage!"
"WOOOOOOOooo! A toast to the best couple ever!" Toby Horhorta- a bare-chested man with a dog-like face dressed only in loose jeans, lime-green shades on his straight, shoulder-length brown hair rowdily proclaimed.
Looking between the two eccentrically dressed characters, Aria feasted her eyes on the main dish - the two representatives from Blue Pegasus. Ren Akatsuki dressed a tad different for the occasion. The tanned member of the Trimen wore white business pants, black ballroom shoes, a brown leather belt with the logo of Blue Pegasus on the clasp, and a yellow polo with the top collar opened to display his signature gold chains. Sherry, who stood next to him, wore a long pink dress with black trimmings underneath a white mini-blazer with elbow-length sleeves.
The deep-magenta haired beauty smiled at her former guildmates, "Thank you so much for your heartfelt wishes. It makes me happy to be showered with your love!"
"Oh my god! Oh my god! It's them!" Aria's eyes exploded with hearts. Before she knew it, the pinkette had teleported right front of the four with a marker and a copy of Sorcerer Weekly, pushing the blue-braided Yuke and dog-faced Toby. This particular edition had a page displaying a photoshoot the couple took together for an interview at the Blue Pegasus Guild.
"Oh my gosh, it is such an honor to meet you here! I am such a fan!" Aria's heart-eyes were on the verge of exploding.
"Hey! What's the big idea, Pinky? Ya can't go barging in on other peoples' conversations!" Toby's face grew 3 sizes larger as he hollered at Aria's face.
The pinkette, feigning guilt, held her copy of Sorcerer Weekly to her lips and batted her eyelashes trying to draw out a fake tear, "I'm so sorry Mr. Dog Man. It's just...I was so touched by the story of the guild-crossed lovers. Ren-san and Sherry-san are such an inspiration to me. I just really wanted to have their autographs so much, I couldn't help myself when I saw them."
The canine-faced male's head grew exponentially larger, his straight brown locks swayed at her scolded the pinkette, "MY NAME IS NOT DOG MAN! MY NAME IS TOBY!"
"Now, now, let's calm down. How about we give these three some time on their own," Yuka nervously dragged Toby away. While being dragged off Toby was still hollering as he waved an angry fist in Aria's direction.
Aria sighed a sigh of relief.
More vainglorious than they'd ever admit, Sherry and Ren were touched by Aria's words. Both mages sported mild blushes.
"Wow," Ren whistled as he tried to act unfazed by Aria's directness, "It's not like that speech got to me anyways. But maybe one autograph couldn't kill. Right, Babe?"
"Her love is too strong for me to possibly ignore," Sherry smiled sweetly at the pinkette as she took the black marker and started to inscribe something, "And your name, sweetheart?"
"I-it's Aria."
"Such a beautiful name 'To Aria, I hope you never lose the bountiful love you possess in your sweetheart'." Sherry wrote a sweet message on the page as she smiled at her fan. The Doll Attack mage turned to her spouse, "Now, Ren-san, you better make sure you put down your signature too."
"Hmph. I guess the least I could do is put a signature. It's not like a there's much I can really add here," Ren acting coy, reluctantly signed his name on the magazine before handing both the marker and magazine back to Aria.
"Woah, you did more than just sign my mag!" Aria smiled as she read their messages.
'Let's have a toast to your beautiful eyes sometime at Blue Pegasus's guild hall sometime.'
"Kyaaaa~" Aria's soul nearly departed her body.
"Um...is she going to be okay? I only invited her to the guild, I swear." Ren was nervously transparent to his wife.
"Haha, reciprocating a fan's admiration is a super effective form of love. Don't you think?" Sherry winked at her husband.
"Yeah." Ren sighed.
Elsewhere in the guild hall building...
"As always, I get forgotten or treated like a background object just because I'm many heads lower than everyone else," Carla wore a disdainful expression on her face as she observed the mix of mages and townsfolk in the room with a glass filled with juice in her paws. Wendy and Sherria were catching up again, which meant she was going to get left behind as usual. Aria was fangirling over Ren and Sherry, who were gladly soaking up the attention. Shinji was helping Lyon calm down Ooba Babasama, despite receiving frequent, uncomfortable glances from the Ice Make Mage. Toby was angrily chewing on multiple, large turkey leg bones while Yuka tried to get him to slow down. All that left was...
"Carla, why are you wandering off all alone like that?" Romeo asked.
"To think you would be the one who would notice me in a crowd full of people," Carla mildly glowered.
"Oh, sorry to disappoint," Romeo scratched the back of his head, "Maybe I'll go talk to Yuka and Toby or something."
"Ah! Wait!" Carla stopped the Fire Mage, "I didn't mean it like that. I mean to say you have good eyes."
"Ha...yeah right," Romeo rolled his eyes, before eyeing something plastered on one of the room's walls, "Oh hey, Carla, check this out!"
The two walked over to a white banner depicting with four guild logos strung to the wall in a horizontal rhombus formation. Carla recognized the guild marks of Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and Fairy Tail were present. However, a fourth guild mark she was unfamiliar with was placed below Lamia Scale's mark on the banner. The mark looked like a leaf with a ovular opening in its center. Two mirroring slits titled towards each other within the space of the insignia.
"I don't recognize this guild mark. But for some reason, it looks familiar?" Carla titled her head as she tried to jog her memory.
"Orochi's Fin," Romeo explained, "They used to be long-time rivals of Lamia Scale. But two years ago, the guilds put aside their differences and decided to be enter a more amicable relationship. Apparently, their members lent Lamia Scale a lot of help with this year's Thanksgiving Festival?"
"Is that so?" Carla tilted her head, doubtful.
"For starters, our guild catered all this nice food for all those helping out the festival to enjoy!" A tall, pale skinned male stranger in a marsh green bowl cut entered the conversation. His face had black freckles beneath his eyes and across the bridge of his nose. His ears sported two golden loop earrings. The mage wore a white cloak with an alternating black and white rhomboid pattern to the neckline, fastened with a solo, crimson button. Underneath the cloak, he wore a tea-green collared shirt and black cargo pants secured with a brown leather belt, and brown hiking shoes. Most noticeably, his narrow amber eyes had slit-like pupils akin to a snake's.
"Well the spread here is amazing. Thank you, sir!" Romeo curtly bowed to the Orochi's Fin member.
"Don't mention it! We're just doing our part to ensure everyone can perform properly for tonight's celebrations."
"Oh." Romeo's interested was piqued, "If you don't mind spoiling, what's in store for us tonight?"
"In the past, Lamia Scale would have the townsfolk gather at an outdoor amphitheater in Margaret. Since we have multiple guilds partaking and more sponsorships this year, we decided to kick it up a notch," the bowl-cut man explained in fascination, "First, we have multiple floats that will parade throughout the town. Each float will showcase the various guilds and major businesses of the town. Then, all the floats will halt at the amphitheater where Lamia Scale plans to do a big performance for us."
"Wow, it's like they took a page from the Fantasia Parade for Magnolia's Harvest Festival," Romeo said aside to Carla.
"Well, the Fantasia parade is a successful model, but what we put together could never compare. Imitation is the best form of flattery as some may say. Bu the way, the name's Orochi Head." the Orochi's Fin mage played it humble as he extended an open hand for a greeting.
" I am familiar with the quote. It's nice to meet you. I'm Romeo Conbolt," Romeo replied. The two shared a moment of laughter.
As their awkward banter dragged on, Carla could not help but feel a dull headache set on the longer she looked at the mage from Orochi's Fin.
"Oh no, not this again!"
The world around her began to glitch again as a string of unrelated images flooded Carla's mind.
A massive mob of monsters - dire wolves, orcs, and sandbeasts marched towards the city from an elevated rocky area in the dark of night.
Carla grabbed Wendy as she activated Aera. Sherria suddenly jumping and planting her foot on Natsu's face before onboarding Happy to fly alongside them.
Wendy, Carla, Sherria, and Happy laying crushed on the rocks, as if some intangible force was restricting them to the ground.
When her vision's stopped, the world around her unglitched as she stood in front of Romeo and Orochi Head who were still making small talk. Romeo, slightly concerned, turned to the white-furred Exceed, "You okay Carla? Looks like you're zoning out again."
"I'm fine. Thank you. You can stop worrying over me," Carla crossed her paws over her chest before looking away from the Fire Mage.
"Okay, if you say so," Romeo sigh before he and Orochi Head snickered together.
Carla slightly angled her gaze to the green bowl cut male, his tongue slithered like a snake's as he laughed alongside Romeo.
"I have bad feeling about whatever is going to go down tonight..." Carla furrowed an eyebrow in annoyance as her thoughts shifted, "But what in heaven's name were Natsu and that blue tomcat doing in the vision?"
Magaret Town Rooftops
As the sun lowered, dusk's curtains painted the sky a fiery gradient of white, yellow, orange, and bright red. A black hooded figure looked at the setting sun, but no traces of emotions could be detected from their face. Sifting a black-nailed hand through their cloak, they produced a jade communications lacrima orb.
"Testing. Testing." the hooded figure's raspy masculine voice spoke into the orb.
"I can hear you, just fine. Are the preparations set?" a familiar, husky feminine voice echoed from the other side.
"Yes, Miss Delphinium. Everything has been going as planned. Our joint plan will shake the city to the core." the hooded man spoke into the rob.
"Master would be delighted to hear that some of Fairy Tail's finest are present in today's Festival. Even if they aren't the main objective." Delphinium's sadistic delight was conveyed across the line.
"That's just a lucky side-bonus for me." the man's chin basked in the fiery light of the setting sun, exposing his black lips curled in a demented smile, "Turning joyful occasions into screaming garbage fires gives me euphoria like no other."
Next Chapter: Orochi's Fin
...
...
Welp, the snake pits have been set up. Beware the serpent's bite as we get a little more serious with this arc.
Anyways,
What did you guys think about the character interactions or the set up?
As always, please feel free to give me your constructive criticism, feedback, etc. but please don't be too harsh with me. If you're rude, orochi Head will flick his snakey tongue at you.
Orochi Head: *bleps in adorable snake* Hisssss, you better not mess with Author-san.
Author: *scribbles note* Note to Delphinium, maybe your pet garter snake could learn a thing or two from this guy.
Delphinium: *minding her own business in her evil wasteland hideout* Achoo!