Coven Fairy
"You doing alright Kali?" Ed questioned, walking along the path to the meet up spot for getting information from their client.
"I'm fine Ed." Kali stated. "Seriously no need to be such a worrywart, I'm perfectly fine."
"The bandages covering your arms and parts of your face, not to mention your missing tooth say otherwise." Ed stated.
"I'm used to it. Besides, once Laxus takes over the Guild it's something I won't have to worry about as often." Kali said. "Besides it's just my gold tooth that's missing, I can easily replace it with a new one. I think I might have swallowed the old one though."
"Takes over the Guild? Why the hell would he be taking over the Guild?" Ed asked.
"Well, my Gramps isn't gonna be living forever, and Laxus is the likeliest candidate for taking over once Gramps retires." Kali said.
"There's always you though."
"Yeah right, like I'd be qualified for the position of Guild Master." Kali laughed. "Good one Ed."
"I'm serious Kali." Ed stated, stopping in his tracks. "You're smart, you're strong, you've got a good head on your shoulders, and you're always putting the wellbeing of others before your own. In my eyes, and I'm sure all your friends would agree with this, all those make you the perfect candidate to take over as Guild Master."
"Ed, I get that you don't like Laxus, but trust me he's better suited for the position then me. I mean we both have an equal chance of inheriting the Guild from Gramps, but he's the obvious choice. Besides, murdering your own mother at birth kinda disqualifies you from the running." Kali said turning to look back at him. "Come on, we're almost at the rendezvous point, let's just focus on seeing if we can't use this job as an idea for our novel."
Ed just looked at Kali as she turned back and headed up the trail, before he followed her. Reaching the top of the hill, Kali and Ed spotted the camp at the base of the ruins, located within the bowl of a long dead volcano head.
"Remind me why we couldn't have portaled to the campsite?" Ed asked.
"Because something's blocking any type of teleportation magic from reaching the camp or the ruins. The furthest the portal got us was at the base of the volcano." Kali said.
"Understandable then." Ed stated.
"Come on, it's only a short trek to the camp from here. We'll be there in no time." Kali said. Drawing a circle in the air with her magic, Kali made a pair of snowboards out of wood with plant magic, and went boarding down the inside of the hill leading to the campsite, with Ed following closely behind, having trouble keeping his balance every now and then.
Making their way to the base of the hill, Kali turned her board to the side, skidding to a stop just before reaching the campsite, before catching Ed by his shirt as he nearly slid past her, which would have been disastrous had he crashed into the archaeologists camp.
"Thanks Kali." Ed smiled.
"You gotta learn how to sand board properly." Kali chuckled.
"Excuse me, but might I help you?"
Letting go of Ed, the two looked in front of them to see, a middle-aged man of average height and build, with a stern look on his face, accompanied by stout facial features, with a large purple beard and mustache crowning his face, as well as large curvy eyebrows. He had short purple hair reaching down to his shoulders, tied in a loose ponytail at his neck, while wearing a light tan adventurer's hat made of leather. His whole attire mostly consists of garments in this particular light tan color, wearing a loose-fitting pocket-vest with the sleeves rolled up, held in place at his waist by leather belt, accompanied by baggy pants adorned with the same kinds of pockets as his vest, and long black boots. He also sports long red wrist bands and a white scarf tied loosely around his neck.
"Yeah, we're with Fairy Tail, responding to your request for help with debunking any traps within the ruins." Kali said. "I'm Kali Dryer Clawthorne, and this is my friend Edric Blight."
"Ed for short." The green haired boy smiled. "We're hoping to use the experience of this job as motivation and a base for a novel we're writing."
"Ah, splended we just got the confirmation of an approval about our request. It's good to see you're here so soon. My name is Jean-Luc Neville, but please just call me Jean."
"A pleasure. We would have been here sooner, but something was keeping us from using teleportation magic from getting to the site." Kali smiled, shaking his hand.
"Apologies. This region is famous for it's treasures, and rare artifacts. So we have an anti-teleportation spell around the ruins to keep thieves from getting in or out without being detected, but it can be disarmed in an instant for emergencies. We actually have several dozen security measures up to keep the treasures from being stolen." Jean said. "But are you sure you're up for the job? You seem a bit bruised and battered for this."
"I'll be fine. These injuries are just from, a little scuffle I had with my brother." Kali said, ignoring the disapproving look on Ed's face at her excuse for her injuries.
"Ah, training a bit too hard then. I understand. Come and let me explain to you what I believe the ruins are." Jean said, leading them into the tent.
Inside, the walls of the tent were practically covered with schematics, drawings, maps, and photographs like they were wallpaper. Ed and Kali looked in awe at the schematics and artifacts already recovered, by the dig, as Jean prepared some refreshments for their discussion.
"Here." Jean said, offering them some tea.
"Thank you." Kali smiled accepting the drink.
"You said your name was Dryer?"
"Yeah."
"So the Master of Fairy Tail sent his granddaughter for the job. I'm pleased to get one of Fairy Tail's finest." Jean said.
"I wouldn't know about that." Kali said.
"Give yourself a little more credit Kali." Ed smiled. "So, what's the specifics of the job?"
"Well, at first we thought these ruins were the birthplace of the ancient superweapon, Niruvāna. But then we discovered the ruins had a somewhat more, modern feel to them. Which told us that there was a risk of traps, which was confirmed when one trap was activated and nearly took my arm. None of us knew what to expect and aren't equipped to deal with any of these potentially dangerous or lethal surprises." Jean said. "Your job will be to clear the ruins of any traps you come across. Unfortunately none of my men, nor myself will be able to come with you for this journey, as we're not trained to deal with situations like this, even though we know magic of our own."
"No worries there, my magic is perfect for a job like this." Ed stated. "Create a solid enough illusion and it can trigger any traps."
"We appreciate you coming to our aid, and helping us to return to the ruins safely." Jean stated.
"We'll be sure to let you know when it's safe to come to the ruins." Kali said, getting up. "C'mon Ed. We've got work to do."
"Right behind you." Ed smiled, following Kali out of the tent.
With their mission on point, Kali and Ed made their way through the ruins, using their magic to set off any and all traps that might be in the area. Yet for some reason, Kali couldn't help but feel like it was all familiar to her, like she'd been the one who designed and set up those traps, but she couldn't say why. Thankfully, Ed was able to provide her with a distraction.
"So Kali, how exactly does one learn Dragonslayer Magic?" Ed questioned.
"There are a couple ways." Kali said. "One, is to eat Lacrima infused with Dragonslayer Magic, due to the fact it's actually crystallized Dragons blood packed to the brim with Dragonslayer Magic. Another would just be to get Dragons blood injected into your bloodstream, that has more of a physical mutation effect then the Lacrima. But the most obvious option, would be to learn Dragonslayer Magic, from a Dragon."
"Which one did you go with for learning Dragonslayer Magic?" Ed asked.
"I technically went with two of the options. There are some perks to getting the blood injection method." Kali stated, before stepping back as she set off another trap. "But the one I mainly focused with, was learning it from a Dragon who raised me after I ran away from home, to avoid any more of the experiments my dad was putting me through."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Ed said. "How did you meet your Dragon parent?"
"Well… It's a long story."
"I'm willing to listen." Ed stated, making Kali smile.
~Flashback~
Cold was the night, and clear was the sky with the moonlight shimmered through the gaps between the branches, as the sound of fast paced light footsteps could be heard running through the snow covered ground in the forest near Magnolia. The child continued to run through the night, her breathing heavy as she ran, clutching her arm in pain, blood dripping down from her hand, leaving a trail for her pursuer to follow.
"Kali." The voice of Kali's father Ivan, echoed through the forest as he gave chase to her. "You will return with me. We are not done with your tests, and I will unlock the secret to having your grandmother's power, even if I have to cut you open again."
Kali's eyes filled with fear as she continued to run. She was terrified of the forest at night, but she was even more terrified of what her father might do to her if he got his hands on her again. Makarov was away from the Guildhall, having gone on the annual Guild Master's summons in Clover to meet up and discuss business with the other Masters, which is one of the rare times, Ivan's experiments got too extreme for her body to handle.
"Keep running. Don't look back just keep running." Kali said, repeating the words Macao had encouraged her with when he kept Ivan from taking Kali for more experiments and inhumane testing.
The six year old kept running through the forest, tears streaming down her face as she gripped her arm tight. In her attempt to escape from Ivan, her father had hit her with an attack that not only cut her to the bone, but the damage had spread from her shoulder, down the length of her upper arm, stopping just above the elbow. Despite her need to feel safe and flee from her abusive father, Kali was beginning to feel light headed, and her speed was steadily decreasing as she was losing balance, before she stumbled fell to the snow covered ground, her breathing labored and blood soaking into the snow, turning it red.
"About time you damned brat." Ivan said, his breathing not as heavy as he stepped up to the fallen child. "You're more trouble then you're worth, but the power you hold, power that should be mine, is worth dealing with your defiance."
Reaching down, Ivan grabbed Kali by her injured arm, before flicking his wrist, and snapping her forearm, causing Kali's eyes to widen in pain as she cried out.
"Consider that only the first part of your punishment, for defying me. If your grandfather asks, you broke your arm on a job that ended up being too much for you." Ivan stated, as he began dragging Kali by her broken limb, causing her even more pain.
"No, let me go. I don't want to be hurt anymore." Kali said.
"Stop your whining you stupid brat. This is what you get, and what you deserve for killing your mother." Ivan growled, his grip tightening as he looked down at her with a glare.
Looking back at the path ahead of him, Ivan's eyes widened right before he was struck in the face by an unannounced interloper. This sudden attack caused him to let go of Kali's arm, dropping her back into the snow. Picking her head up, with her vision blurred, Kali could see her abusive father, being assaulted by a woman clad in strange clothing, before blacking out as the pain finally got to her.
~Sometime Later~
Kali groaned in discomfort as the sound of crackling fire roused her from sleep. Feeling the ground bellow her, Kali felt the softness of a silky smooth leathery material acting as her bed, before she opened her eyes and saw the roaring fire that had awoken her, as it chased away the icy air of the winter night.
"You're finally awake child." A womanly voice said, as Kali felt a gentle and loving hand petting her head. It was the same feeling she recognized whenever Macao's fiance comforted her after one of Ivan or Laxus's beatings.
Slowly, Kali turned her head to look up at who was with her, and her eyes widened in shock. Sitting on her knees above Kali, was a beautiful with glossy dark magenta colored hair that flowed to her lower back, with a slender yet robust body with a J-Cup chest along with the hips, rear, and thighs to match, and an incredibly beautiful face with unparalleled beauty that Kali had never seen before. But what caught her attention the most, were the small scales she saw on her cheeks, shoulders, and chest as she wore nothing above the waist, aside from a cluster of scales that formed together into a breast band, while she wore an actual pair of shorts with open toe and heel stockings.
"How are you feeling?" The woman asked.
"I'm feeling better. Where am I?" Kali questioned, the realization that she was with a stranger, sinking in.
"Oh it's okay don't be scared." The woman said soothingly, seeing the look of fear in Kali's eyes. "You're safe. My name is Saphira."
"Like the dragon in the books my grandpa reads me every night?" Kali asked.
"My, you're an adorable little scholar aren't you?" Saphira smiled. "I rescued you from that man who was hurting you. Your scents were similar to one another, so I assume he was your father?"
"Yeah." Kali said. "Please don't take me back to him."
Saphira just looked at Kali, sympathy in her eyes as she continued to comfort the child.
"Your body is covered in more scars then it should be at your age. What does that horrible man do to you, poor thing?"
"I don't wanna talk about it." Kali said before realizing something as she sat up. "Hold on, why am I not in pain anymore?"
Looking herself over, Kali saw her upper right arm was wrapped in bandages, while her forearm was in a cast made of leaves and bark.
"Did you heal me?" Kali asked.
"I did."
"What are you?"
"Well, I have more in common with Saphira from Eragon, then just my name." Saphira smiled, before her body began to change and grow, becoming much more feral.
Backing up a bit, Kali gasped when Saphira turned into a blue scaled dragon with golden veins shaped like lightning traveling down her back, and a toothy grin on her face.
"You're a dragon." Kali smiled. "Do you know Igneel?"
"Oh, so you're aware of the Fire Dragon King?" Saphira asked, lowering her head to be level with Kali, her voice sounding similar to reverberations. "How interesting, you don't appear to share any similarities with him."
"Sort of. Actually my friend Natsu was raised by Igneel, and he's been searching for him since he went missing." Kali stated.
"Then I suppose you have more in common with this Natsu now more then ever." Saphira said, her eye looking to Kali's left hand.
Kali looked to her hand and gasped when she saw that it was in the middle of the fire, and it didn't even burn, it didn't even irritate her skin. It just felt warm.
"I had to give you some of my blood to save your life child, but in doing so I've turned you into a Dragonslayer." Saphira said. "When a human receives blood from a dragon, any injuries they have will heal, but the more serious ones will leave permanent scarring, like the injuries on your upper arm, and your broken forearm. They were barely healed, and I had to treat the rest by hand."
"Wow." Kali said in awe.
"Now child, I can take you back home if you wish, I do not think your mother would take too kindly to the things your father's done to you." Saphira said. "An' in time, you will learn to control your newfound magic."
"My mommy doesn't step in to help." Kali said, crossing her legs and turning away from the fire. "I don't even know her. She died when I was born."
"Oh poor thing." Saphira said, wrapping her neck and tail around Kali like a hug.
"Please don't take me back to Magnolia. I don't wanna be there while my daddy is there." Kali said.
"If that is what you wish." Saphira said. "But then where will you go child?"
"Can I stay with you?" Kali asked. "I wanna learn to control my Dragonslayer Magic, and who better to teach me, then the one who gave it to me?"
"I can train you child, I can even educate you, but it won't be easy." Saphira said.
"I don't care. I wanna be strong enough to where I can stand up to my daddy, I don't wanna be his little lab rat anymore." Kali stated. "I wanna be strong enough to stand up, and say enough is enough."
"I don't think he'll be a problem for a while." Saphira said bringing Kali in closer and curling up around her. "But for now, let's get some sleep. You need plenty of rest to recover properly, if you're to become a proper Vermillion Dragonslayer."
"Wait." Kali said. "How were you human?"
"Dragons are mysterious creatures child." Saphira said with a smile. "One of our tricks, is being able to take on a human form to blend in with the populace. But seeing as there are so few of us left, it's very rare we run into one another."
"That's so cool." Kali smiled, before she yawned.
"Easy now child, you still have much recovery left to do." Saphira stated. "Sleep, and when you wake you will know this wasn't a dream."
~Time Skip~
"Vermillion Dragon: Iron Fist." Kali cried out, slamming a flame covered fist into her training opponent.
"That's it Kali. You're doing good." Saphira said, sitting on a rock in her human form, watching as Kali trained in battle against a golem. "Stand tall, but keep low to the ground, try not to make it easy for your opponent to knock you over."
"Right." Kali said, jumping back as the golem threw an attack at her. "Vermillion Dragon: Talon." She chanted hitting the golem with a spinning back tick, knocking its head off.
"Very good. That's enough for now." Saphira smiled, and with a snap of her fingers, the golem powered down. "You've come a long way in four years Kali."
"Thanks." Kali smiled coming to sit next to Saphira. "Do you think I'm strong enough to defend myself against my father now?"
"Kali did you forget?" Saphira chuckled. "Your father was arrested two years ago, and he was expelled from Fairy Tail."
"I know, but he's still out there, and he's not gonna remain in prison forever." Kali stated. "I'm just wanting to make sure I'm ready for when that happens."
"You are such a clever girl." Saphira smiled, reaching into her scales and pulling something from it. "Here, I want you to take this."
Opening her hand, Saphira revealed a heart shaped ruby pendant with gold vines encasing it, is what she grabbed and was holding out to Kali.
"Wow, it's so pretty." Kali smiled taking the pendant.
"I'm glad you like it." Saphira smiled. "You're a very special little girl, and I'm proud to have you as my daughter."
"I love you too Mama Saphira." Kali said, hugging her.
"Now, what do you say we head inside for a bite to eat?" Saphira asked.
"I'm starving."
"Alright, go wash up at the river and I'll meet you inside." Saphira smiled.
~End Flashback~
"An' after that, when I returned to the cave, Saphira was gone and all I had left of her was the pendant she gave me, before it was stolen by my brother and used to bail our father out of prison." Kali said as they finished up with clearing out all the traps. "Then not long after I returned to the Guildhall, Gramps gave me the log of Palistrom Wood that I carved into Sapphire, as a near identical replication of Saphira. Even the names are similar, and once I gave her that name, and opened my heart to her, she came to life."
"But I don't understand something." Ed stated. "Your body isn't covered in scars now, so did they fade with time or something?"
Kali just looked at Ed, before she sighed and removed an earring. Almost instantly her body shimmered before all the scars from her past, from Ivan's experiments and from the jobs she took, became visible, including the scar on her arm that had formed from the injury at the start of the story. There was even surgical scarring on her chest, in the same fashion that a doctor would operate with heart surgery.
"An illusion charm. It only works on those who don't know I wear it. Like many magical items and spells in this world, it's weakness is awareness, so once you know I'm wearing it, you're immune to it's affects while my scars remain hidden to those who are unaware. All I have to do is make someone aware of it if I want them to see the real me." Kali said. "I hide my scars from others so I don't have to deal with the uncomfortable situation of them asking about where all these scars came from."
"I can understand that." Ed stated. "Hold on, back at the guild I was told you were only gone for two years."
"Yeah, somehow when I was gone for the first two years, my father managed to convince the guild that he was keeping me away from them because he didn't want anyone to interfere with his work again by protecting me, he wouldn't even let Gramps come and see me. But when it was discovered I was gone, that was when someone had broken into the house, and he claimed that I had managed to escape and run away from him during the break in. No one but my Grandpa knows the actual story, and now you as well." Kali explained.
"I'm sorry that happened to you." Ed stated.
"I'm used to that kind of behavior." Kali stated. "C'mon, let's go collect the payment and head back to the Guildhall."
~Sometime Later: Boiling Isles~
"I'm home." Kali said, coming through the door as Hooty opened it. "I see no one's cleaned Hooty yet."
"I'm 20% mucus, but don't let that stop anyone from cleaning me, hoot." Hooty said.
"Here." Eda said, throwing Kali a bag full of snails. "I'll pay you each month to clean Hooty. Just please get it done."
"Whoa, you three look exhausted, what happened?" Kali asked.
"Let's just say, don't go making bets involving a body swap spell." Luz said.
"Been there, done that. Didn't like it." Kali stated, drawing a magic circle before stone golem's rose from the ground and began cleaning Hooty. "An' I didn't enjoy being a boy either."
"So how was your day? Get any progress done on your book?" King asked.
"Get up to some naughty business?" Eda questioned.
"Yes, and no." Kali said, answering their questions in order.
"So what'd you do? Can I read the manuscript?" Luz asked.
"I haven't actually written anything down, but I do have work to do so I'm gonna get started on writing now." Kali said. "I'll be at the dinner table if anyone needs me."
"Oh by the way, Sapphire's back, and her stomach looks bigger then when she ate a ton of that Abomination goop back when I snuck into Hexside." Luz stated.
"Really? Where is she now?" Kali asked.
"In your room, making a nest of her own." Eda said.
Rushing up the stairs in curiosity, not in a panic, Kali went to her room and opened up the door to find Sapphire indeed creating a nest of her own, and just like Luz said, the Dragon Palisman had a large stomach, but Sapphire was the only one aware, it had shrunk a descent amount since she got it.
"Sapphire, what happened to you?" Kali asked.
Sapphire just screeched and perched herself on Kali's shoulder, causing Kali to gasp and gain stars in her eyes.
"What'd she say?" Luz asked, coming into the room with King.
"Sapphire's pregnant." Kali said, turning towards the two with a bright smile.
~Elsewhere~
All was quiet as two figures made their way through the back alleys of the shady parts of Bonesborough, before meeting up with one another. One of them was short and fast on their feet, while the other was tall and carried himself with dignity, but they both wore raggedy cloaks.
"Did you find her?" The tall one asked.
The short one let out a squeak sound and nodded their head, confirming they'd completed their mission.
"An' is Earthland more then just a legend?"
The tall one got the same response as before.
"Good. Then we know we can bring her in, and maybe some of her allies from Earthland, for our cause."
The short one let out a few sounds of protest.
"Why don't we want to bring her brother into this?" The tall one asked.
The short one simply let out a growl, and that was all the tall one needed to hear.
"I see. He tried to kill her earlier. I'm sorry that you were forced to not intervene Eberwolf, I'm sure it had to have been hard for you to stand by and do nothing but watch." The tall one said, removing his hood. "I swear as Head of the Abomination Coven, Darius Deamonne, that should you find yourself in that position of helping her again, you will be permitted to fight by her side." Eberwolf removed his hood and looked at Darius as the Abomination Head did the same, both of them now knowing what to do for their next mission. "Next order of business. Bring in Kali Clawthorne."