Chapter 15
Austin-
Yeah, I'm thinking with both instances, the Chaos Gods will try to corrupt them, though Khorne would probably just kill the Strausses and Dragon Slayers because they're absorbing his Daemons or absorbing powers from other things and he doesn't like that at all. Because, from what I've been told, the Fantasy Khorne is different from his 40K one. He legit hates when people take powers from other things and calls it their one. He probably will just outright kill the Dragon Slayers and Strausses. One for absorbing Daemons and using their powers and the other for absorbing elements and taking those powers for themselves.
And yes, I'm well aware that there are multiple factions that fight for Chaos. I may be limited in what I know of Warhammer Fantasy, but not that limited.
You'll see, but most likely the minor factions will, at most, get minor mentions besides the Ogres.
Ren64- Yeah thank you, but I was hoping people can help me with understanding the characters of Lokhir Fellheart, Rakarth, and Vilitch. What they will do and what they will not do. Because I want to be as accurate to their established characteristics as possible.
Dmitry Aristov- I did, they didn't help much. Too many innuendoes and jokes for my tastes. Though I will admit they helped a bit, just not as much as I would like them to.
Mirajane groaned as she stirred in her bed. Upon waking up fully, she noticed that she was inside her room at the apartment that she and her siblings rented out for themselves. Despite having a lot of money since Mirajane became an S-class mage and Elfman and Lisanna gaining their magic, the three decided to buy out a comfortable house in town that was cheaper than what their income can allow. The reason is that they really didn't need more than what the house already offered. It provided everything they needed and wanted. Space for all of them, multiple rooms for them to enjoy, and even a sizable kitchen for their uses. Really, the house could be more expensive with how large it was, but she supposed the price was because the house was relatively rundown when they bought it and it was relatively far away from any businesses in Magnolia. Besides, given what happened yesterday, she was glad it was away from other people.
Rubbing her eyes, Mirajane saw that she had fallen asleep in her funeral clothing. Remembering what happened, Mirajane recalled falling asleep onto Naestra and from there everything went blurry. Sighing, Mirajane got out of bed and grabbed a fresh set of her usual attire from her closet. Going to a nearby bathroom to change, she saw just how messy she was.
Her hair was all over the place and sticking in some places. She also had bloodshot eyes from crying so much. And her clothing was all wrinkled up.
Sighing at all this, she started to clean herself up with just one arm. It took a while, along with some mistakes, but she eventually got into a fresh set of clothing and cleaned herself quite nicely. After adjusting her hair into a ponytail, she smelled something good cooking in the kitchen, causing her to frown. Elfman, despite trying his best, was a terrible cook. No matter what he did, he just couldn't make a good dish to save his life. Yet the aromas coming from the kitchen smelled so good. Like something out of a five-star restaurant.
Curious she exited the bathroom and went downstairs to the kitchen. Upon arriving there, she was surprised to see who was cooking.
Naestra, in her typical attire, that being armor that was a mix of leather and metal plates, was cooking breakfast. Sitting at the dinner table was Elfman, still looking a bit guilty for what happened yesterday.
"I see that you're awake." Said Naestra, not taking her eyes off the food. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Not really." Said Mirajane as she took a seat next to her brother. "Still feel like shit. And…I'm expecting Lisanna to just come down from her room and make us all laugh with how adorable she is when she wakes up." Naestra just slowly nodded at that before doing the finishing touches on the food. With two plates of eggs, bacon, and toast in hand, she went over to the Strauss siblings and gave them their food. After sitting down across of them with her own plate of food, Naestra watched as they ate. The food was good, both Elfman and Mirajane noted, but they still felt pain because of the loss of their sister.
"I know the pain of losing a loved one is hard." Said Naestra as the two Strauss siblings ate. "As I've said before, the pain of losing your sister can never fully go away. It'll continue to fester in your hearts until the day you die. However, I can help lessen the pain you both are feeling from her death. If you will allow me to." Both Elfman and Mirajane looked at each other before nodding.
"Okay. If you think that we need to do it, then fine." Said Mirajane before adopting a hard look. "But just so you know, if you make us forget Lisanna in any way, you're going to regret it."
"I would never do such a thing." Said Naestra with a serious look on her face. "Like you, I know the close bonds between siblings. My sister, despite all our arguments, is someone I love deeply. And is someone that I would never wish to die, even if she constantly earns my disapproval." Mirajane softened upon hearing that, which Naestra was relieved to see.
"Okay." Said Mirajane. "So, how do you want to do this?" Naestra just smiled before speaking.
"Well first off, we have to talk about acceptance." Said Naestra before beginning the lesson.
Meanwhile
"Man, Natsu is really angry today." Said Macao as he looked at Natsu was brawling people with more anger than usual. He constantly had a glare on his face and he was punching people with more force than usual. If this kept up, people were going to the hospital for more than a day or two.
Arahan, seeing the anger on the boy's face, just stayed silent as she checked her quiver full of arrows, knowing full well why he was so mad.
Out of all the people he was close to in the guild, Lisanna was one of the closets. Not only did she help raise Happy, but she always made Natsu smile with her innocence and genuine want to be his friend. Losing her must have really taken a toll on the boy. And Arahan, being a good source of aggravation for the pink-haired teen, decided to stay silent and not pick a fight with him or anyone else in the guild out of respect for Lisanna and her sister as well, who took the day off to tend to the remaining Strauss siblings to help them through their grieving process. She was, after all, their mentor and mother figure.
Arahan, with nothing else to do, was busy inspecting an arrow for even the tiniest of faults when Erza came right up to her. Seeing her apprentice coming to her, Arahan put down the arrow and looked at her, asking what she wanted.
"Arahan, can I stop Natsu from putting people into the hospital?" Asked Erza with a serious look on her face. Raising an eyebrow at that, Arahan looked at Erza.
"What do you mean?" Asked Arahan, wondering what was going on in this girl's head. "What exactly do you intend to do?"
"Well, it's not right that Natsu is beating people up after Lisanna's funeral." Said Erza with a frown. "I know he's hurting. We all are and I know fighting and punching things can be a good way to relieve one's pain over losing something, but he's taking things too far. He's hurting people more than usual and he's going to get someone seriously hurt if he keeps this up. Someone needs to stop this before he puts someone in the hospital for serious injuries." Arahan just hummed at that. She soon looked at Natsu as he punched someone so hard that they got stuck in the ceiling and remained there. Much as she could care less how the teenager decided to deal with his sorrows, she knew that Erza had a point. The boy's rage was something that needed to be stopped before he gets him, or worse, the guild into trouble. With all the work that she and her sister done to help improve the guild's reputation, she would be more than pissed off if Natsu ruined it all by causing property damage just because he wanted to deal with his sorrows in a violent way.
She herself was a violent person, yes, but she at least knew how to be productive with it and when not to destroy things that her leaders view as essential or necessary to keep around.
"Very well." Said Arahan as she looked at Erza. "Do whatever you feel like is necessary to keep him from injuring further members of this guild. Knock him unconscious. Abate his sorrows and rage. I don't care. Just make his destructive nature stop for the time being." As much as Erza was happy that Arahan was willing to let her stop Natsu, she was disappointed that Arahan wasn't going to help. She knew her mentor and Natsu had one of the worst relationships in Fairy Tail, the two almost always butting heads with each other when they talk with each other, but she thought she would at least help out. Upon seeing the disappointment in Erza's eyes, Arahan explained. "My involvement would only worsen the situation. You know full well that I'm not suited for the delicate nature of what you need to do that. I'm blunt, aggressive, uncaring to the feelings of other people, and have a habit of insulting people for their actions. My presence would only make Natsu angrier. You, however, despite your affiliation with me, is of the same age as Natsu. You have formed a friendship with him. You were friends with Lisanna. He wouldn't be as hostile towards you as me. And you have the skills necessary to subdue him if it needs to be done. Therefore, I'm entrusting this task to you, Erza. Don't fail me." Though Erza was happy that Arahan was trusting her with this job, she disagreed with what Arahan said about her not being suitable for helping out Natsu.
"Much as I'm happy that you trust me on this job, Arahan, I think you're wrong." Said Erza, causing Arahan to glare at her.
"And what do you mean by that?" Asked Arahan as she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Well, I know the real you." Said Erza, causing Arahan to raise an eyebrow. "I know that beneath all that rough and hostile exterior, there's a really kind person. If you really are mean as some of our fellow guildmates make you out to be, then you wouldn't have trained me or talked with me about my past. You wouldn't be as loved to your own son as Naestra is. And you wouldn't have attended Lisanna's funeral if you really didn't care about anyone but your son and your sister." Erza then smiled at Arahan as the elf frowned. "Plus, you wouldn't have given me this assignment if you weren't concerned about our fellow guildmates getting more hurt than usual. And you would be beating up Natsu right now for grieving in such a destructive way if you were as hostile as your behavior suggests." Arahan, upon hearing all that, rolled her eyes and turned her head around. Though she tried to hide it, Erza saw a small blush forming in Arahan's cheeks.
"Don't be ridiculous." Said Arahan. "I'm only giving you this so that you can stop that idiot from destroying all the hard work that my sister and I did for this guild's reputation. I don't want my hard work to go to waste because of him. So, please take care of it." Erza just made a small smile at Arahan's answer before doing what she said.
Erza, meanwhile, was marching straight up to Natsu, who was currently beating up an older guild member and demanding he stop.
"Natsu!" Yelled Erza in her grand authority tone, making Natsu stop and look at Erza, who was glaring at him. "Put down that man this instant!" Feeling a twinge of fear at seeing the red-head glare at him, he did what she requested and dropped the man. Once he did, she spoke up. "Natsu, what you're doing is completely inappropriate and wrong. I know you're hurting from losing Lisanna, we all are, but this isn't the way to deal with grief." Upon hearing that, Natsu glared at Erza.
"I don't know what you mean!" Yelled Natsu, frustrated with Erza bringing up Lisanna. "I got over that last night! There's no need to bring up old wounds." Erza just intensified her glare, making Natsu shiver at seeing it.
"If so, then why are you beating up people with more intensity than usual." Said Erza as she pointed at a man that was bleeding on the floor. "You normally don't leave such lasting injuries when you fight. So, why are you doing so now?" Natsu opened his mouth to speak up, but no words came out of his mouth when he realized that she had a point.
"Uh…" Said Natsu finally as he wondered what to say. Not satisfied with his answer, Erza decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.
"Well, since you don't have an answer to my question, I suppose that I have to assume I'm right." Said Erza before cracking her knuckles. "So to make you see the errors in your ways, I'm going to give you a taste of your own medicine." Natsu gulped at that as Erza approached him. Shaking in his feet, Natsu screamed out in horror as she started to pummel him into submission.
Meanwhile
Strauss home
Meanwhile, at the Strauss home, Naestra was leaning on a wall as the Strauss siblings sat next to her, also leaning on the same wall. The three were having a peaceful talk about loss and how to cope with it.
"So, what you're saying is that we should never forget them, but we can't let their loss distract us from our jobs. Rather, we should use their deaths as a reason to keep on fighting?" Asked Mirajane, repeating what Naestra had just told them.
"Yes." Said Naestra. "Though they are lost to us now, that doesn't mean they are lost to us forever nor can they not influence you beyond their death. Instead of wallowing in their death or what you could have done to prevent it, use their death as a reason why you continue to be on the path you are on and as a cause to save lives. I'm sure that your sister would rather you use her death as inspiration to continue being Fairy Tail mages over wallowing in your regret over it. Correct?" Both Mirajane and Elfman nodded in agreement. Lisanna wouldn't want them to wallow in her death forever. She would want them to continue on with their jobs as protectors of the weak and magicless. To make people happy. And to prevent deaths like hers' from happening again. So, to use her death to motivate them to do better would have been perfectly fine with her. In fact, she would probably encourage it if she could.
"You're right." Said Elfman as he closed his fists. "She wouldn't want us to be upset over her death for long. She would want us to be motivated by it. To become better mages and people. To make sure that nothing like this ever happens again to the good people of Fiore and beyond! That's what a real man would do! That's what a Fairy Tail mage would do!" Mirajane just nodded as Elfman got louder and louder. "You hear me Lisanna! I'm going to make sure that nothing like what happened to you ever happens to anyone in the guild and anyone in Fiore! You hear me! That's a promise from your big brother!" Smiling a bit at Elfman, Naestra looked at Mirajane and saw that she also had a look of determination on her face. It was clear to Naestra that Mirajane was in agreement with her brother. As Elfman went on a loud tirade, Naestra spoke to Mirajane.
"While I'm proud that you both see what I'm trying to convey, I believe there is something that you need to do later on in the guild." Said Naestra, causing Mirajane to sigh.
"Apologize to everyone who I bullied and beat up?" Asked Mirajane, causing Naestra to nod. "Okay, I'll do it. If it'll make you feel better."
"Don't do it for my sake." Said Naestra. "Do it for your sake and that of your siblings. Both living and deceased." Mirajane nodded at that before going over to Naestra and placing her head on Naestra's shoulder, much to the elf's surprise.
"Thank you so much for being there for me and my family." Said Mirajane in a whisper. "Even when I was being a jerk to you and earning your disapproval, you still were there for me. Thank you." Naestra smiled at that before stroking Mirajane's hair.
"I'll always be there for you, Mirajane." Said Naestra. "No matter what, I'll always be there for you and your family along with the rest of the guild's members." Mirajane smiled softly at that before watching her brother go on another tirade, ending with a promise to Lisanna to apologize to Natsu for taking his friend away from him. Even if Natsu hated him for doing it, he would never forgive himself for not at least trying to apologize for taking a friend of his away from him.
"I just hope that Natsu will forgive me for Lisanna." Said Elfman, slightly fearful with how Natsu would react to his apology.
"Natsu is many things, but he isn't unreasonable to those that show true remorse over their deeds, no matter how tragic or heinous they are." Said Naestra. "He knows you're hurting as well from your sisters' death. He'll forgive you, I know it."
"Yeah, you're right." Said Elfman. "I just hope he's doing alright, the poor guy. Wonder how he's doing right now?"
Meanwhile
"I believe that is sufficient enough punishment, even for him." Said Arahan as she went over to where Erza and Natsu were. To her amusement, Natsu was groaning in pain as Erza towered over him in satisfaction, multiple bruises covered his face along with a black eye for his right eye. Walking over to Natsu, Arahan asked if he saw the error in his behavior today.
"Yes. I can see it now. I'm sorry." Said Natsu as he struggled to say anything through the pain he was feeling right now. With that, Arahan helped him up and asked Erza to take him to a healer. Once they were gone, Arahan sighed and was about to go back to tending to her equipment when Gray Fullbuster arrived. Seeing that he wasn't doing anything stupid, Arahan refrained from starting a fight with him.
"What is it you seek?" Asked Arahan with an impatient tone. Gray just took it in stride before speaking.
"Lisanna's death was rough on all of us." Said Gray as he looked at Arahan as she put down an arrow before picking up another. "Even you were hit hard by it." Arahan glared at Gray for that comment but otherwise kept silent. "Must have hurt Diederick hard too, right?"
"He has told me how hard it was to be at the funeral yesterday." Said Arahan. "And that he never wanted to be at another funeral again. Especially for someone he knew and saw as a friend." Gray nodded in agreement at that.
"Can't really argue with that." Said Gray. "But you and your sister. You guys were sad, yeah, but not like master and the other adults. It's almost like you guys were used to it. Death and all." Back at the funeral, he noticed that Naestra and Arahan, though appearing upset in their own ways, we're a lot more collected than the other adults besides the old man. Like they were used to such things. Funerals and whatnot, even if they're for children. That left Gray a bit bewildered. What did the two see that made them so used to funerals and death? He was curious. "What did you do before Fairy Tail that would make you act like that? Cause that stuff isn't something you can just read from a book or some stuff like that." Instead of acting like her usual self as Gray expected, Arahan just took her stuff and went somewhere else. Before she left, however, she told Gray something that stunned him.
"My sister and I have seen much over our lives, Gray Fullbuster." Said Arahan as she looked at the teen. "Things that make death look like mercy. Lisanna's funeral and the loss of her is nothing compared to what I've seen." With that, she left Gray alone to ponder on what she said.
"What the heck does one have to face in order to not be fazed by the death of loved ones?" Thought Gray, not sure if he even wanted to know.
Years later
"So where is Natsu, mother?" Asked Diederick as he looked at his mothers while they tended to their weapons. Soon they'll be tending to both Gwindalor and Ceithin-Har. Soon, Diederick would have to go to his high school while the Twilight Sisters would go to the Fairy Tail guild for work.
"Apparently a member of the guild has passed on information to him that his father was in a town called Hargeon." Said Naestra, causing Diederick to frown.
"Isn't Hargeon a port town?" Asked Diederick. When Naestra nodded, Diederick shook his head. "Why would a fire dragon be anywhere near a port town and not be instantly recognized for what it is? This is either bad information or a trap."
"Agreed." Said Arahan. "But since that fool is desperate to find information about his dragon father, he left without even verifying if the information is even credible."
"Shouldn't we go and help him?" Asked Diederick, not wanting to lose a friend as he did a few years ago with Lisanna.
"Natsu is more than capable of handling himself, dear." Said Naestra. "We must trust that he can handle himself if this is indeed a trap. However, if it makes you feel any better, my sister and I will go to assist him if necessary."
"That would make me feel better." Said Diederick, relieved. "So, anyway, I have a test today. Wish me luck."
"Do well." Said Naestra as she watched her son depart. Once he was gone, Naestra spoke. "Hopefully there is a job that has us go to Hargeon. It would be good to strike two things at the same time in this regard."
"And if there isn't, we're going anyway, correct?" Asked Arahan, annoyed that their going to save Natsu from his own stupidity and recklessness.
"Yes." Said Naestra simply, causing Arahan to sigh.
"If this is all for naught and that fool is safe, he and I are going to have a talk." Said Arahan.
"Sister." Said Naestra, not wanting her to hurt Natsu for simply wanting to find his father. Eventually, the two left their home for the guildhall. Upon arriving there, they greeted everyone present, Naestra at least, and looked over for jobs in Hargeon. Fortune seems to be with them as there was indeed a job in Hargeon. Reading that it was about dealing with some slavers, the two took the jobs and left for Hargeon. Both to do a job and to make sure a certain dragon-slayer doesn't get into trouble. Or destroys the town of Hargeon. Whichever happens first.