Chapter 14: Stoked Fires
They felt the spike of magic almost immediately. Laxus had warned them that something would happen, the asshole just refused to say what the hell they were waiting for. For the first time in a long time, Mira found herself in the guild long past her younger sister, who often closed things down, with Gray, Erza, Laxus, and Master Makarov all quietly waiting for something. Three times Mira tried to storm off in her boredom, and three times she was stopped by a flash of lightning and placating words from Master. The fourth was dangerously close to coming to fruition, likely to be met with the same impasse as the other three, but it was unneeded as a large fluctuation of magic was felt heavily from the east of town. It wasn't foolproof, feeling magical surges, as it was a natural phenomenon, to an extent. Magic was all around them and was as prone to shifting and changing as the weather was, but such drastic changes when expecting one to come was as good of a sign as any, and Mira was desperate to latch onto anything she could. When the wave of magic was felt, and the remaining members within the guild shifted their gazes on one another, Mira needed no further prompting to spring out of the guild and toward the forest east of Magnolia.
Ever since their run in with Siren Song, Mira's day had been filled with tense silences and biting remarks. Granted, many were sent from her mouth, but the point remained. Her muscles were taut with tension that could only be fixed with a fight. Laxus may not have bothered to explain exactly what was going on, but the words "Old Jose's getting restless" only means that she had some Phantoms to knock around. However, as Mira, along with Gray and Erza if the cascading footfalls behind her were anything to go off of, exited the town proper to the dirt path leading toward the eastern forest, the burst of flames amongst the trees told her there wouldn't be much to pick off if Natsu had his way. Bursts of crimson showed through the shadows between trunks under the canopy of thick leaves with a heat that grew as Mira cut through the forest to reach her guildmate and his attacker. Purple magic flared around her, saturating itself around her right arm as she prepared to unleash a Partial Takeover.
Only to be massively disappointed at the sight before her.
"What the hell!?" Piercing blue eyes scanned over the immediate area, namely the charred remains of a tree that littered the ground in glowing chunks of bright red and the lingering embers that clung to the bark of various trees around them. There was something else that littered the ground, gleaming and reflecting in the red haze created by Natsu's magic, but the lack of significant light made it impossible for Mira to make out what exactly it was. What she could make out was the lone form of Natsu that stood centered about the previously described mess. A pink eyebrow was raised in question at her as dark eyes that reflected the flames around them stared at her curiously, clearly not understanding her annoyed shout.
"Did we really run out here for nothing?" The harsh exhale from Gray, who stopped his sprint a few steps to Mira's left, told Mira of his annoyance more than his dry tone ever could. Clearly, the few moments of inspection Gray had was enough for him to conclude the same as she had: Laxus wasted their damn time.
"Natsu. Explain." While not sharing the annoyance of wasted time and opportunity Mira and Gray felt, Erza's clipped words showed that she wasn't happy either. The last several hours of finding, fighting, and transporting dark mages only to come back to Laxus' pussyfooting and cryptic words did little for their small group's morale at the moment. Not having a target, namely a Phantom, to take that annoyance out on was going to have to come at someone else's expense.
"Some mage was following me, I confronted him, he told me he was from Phantom Lord and told me I should be there, and then he left before you could get here." In the beginning, Natsu matched Erza's clipped tone with short words of his own, a rarity for those that face Erza's prying eye. Mira would smile at that, having an ally at fighting back against Red and her attitude, but she knew that it was different. While Mira and Erza had their differences, as countless as they were, they were still bound by years of growing up in Fairy Tail. Natsu did not, nor was he a regular wizard. Mira's first job with him may have settled her mind somewhat on his place with them, but the danger he could present if antagonized was still there. Master's parting words for them before their job ran through her mind in a simple warning.
"Who was he? What exactly did he say?" Erza pressed, taking heavy steps forward to glare into Natsu's eyes as if he was someone to be interrogated. Tension grew at the proximity of the two mages, one that made Gray and Mira share a glance behind Erza. If it came to anything more physical, like it tended to in Fairy Tail, they would have to be quick to rein it in before it became too indulgent in their frustrations.
"I. Don't. Know. All he told me was that mages like me in him weren't meant for prissy Fairies." The short space that still separated the two wizards shrunk even further as Natsu's back straightened and his body leaned forward further, the small advantage he had in height being used to glare down on Erza. The change of temperature was subtle but not unnoticed as Mira tittered on the balls of her feet with indecision to interfere or not. Sure, she would speak up when Natsu didn't so she could put a lid on Erza's attitude, yet that wasn't exactly the issue here.
"Prissy? Perhaps you would like to test his assessment for him?" Erza's tone was pressing, voice bearing the same heat as it did when she would pick fights with Mira, and the trigger Mira and Gray needed to involve themselves. Almost instantly, a thin sheet of ice separated the tensed faces of the jawing mages as Mira stomped forward and shoved heavy hands into the nearest shoulder of each of them to promptly separate further than the thin sheet of ice could ensure.
"Are you two done? A Phantom Lord member attacked one of us again and you two want to start this up?" Perhaps Mira wasn't the one to judge on such things…maybe. As she saw it, she was one of two people here that could say anything, so it was the role of a hypocrite tonight. Better that than a witness to a fight between an S-class mage and whatever a mage like Natsu was called.
"Seriously, guys. We have other things to worry about right now. I think Laxus has some explaining to do, anyway." Gray's tone hardened a little as he stepped up to stand next to Mira, emphasizing themselves as best they could. Fortunately, there was no interest between the two to continue their arguments as Erza was quick to step away and stomp back out of the forest and toward the town of Magnolia. Gray was slower in following her, his eyes lingering on the tense face of Natsu before he too left the brief battlefield. Mira, however, lingered a few moments longer as she kept her eye on the tense Natsu who stared purposefully at the retreating figures behind her.
"Are you calm now? Do we need to worry about a forest fire out here?" She bit out at Natsu, her annoyance not placated in Erza's departure. Her eyes narrowed on Natsu as his gaze shifted from behind her to meet her eyes, tension easing from him now that the conflict seemed to settle. His mouth opened once before it closed and regathered what he wanted to say. It was on the second opening of his mouth that words actually came out.
"I wouldn't burn down the forest. It's where I sleep." His voice was filled with some exasperation, eyes settling in an empty half-glare at the accusation before shaking his head. "I'm calm. You don't need to watch over me." There was more meaning in those words than the first, but Mira could only roll her eyes at the drama that simply wasn't needed.
"Don't worry about Erza. She'll find something else to lord over. Don't blow anything up and she'll let it go, or else I'll knock some sense into her." A smile that betrayed how much she hoped that would happen spread across her lips, earning a grunt that was probably his sound of amusement before Natsu saw himself off to go deeper into the woods and leave the conflicts of Phantom and Erza behind him with a loose wave. Mira followed his lead and turned away to go back to the guild. As much as she wanted to find her bed and go to sleep, Mira wouldn't let herself until she got an explanation from the lightning-chucker that kept her in the guild the whole damn day.
Fortunately, the path back to the guild was simple. No winding roads, no turns, and no true navigation was needed as Mira allowed her feet to simply carry her toward her destination. Unfortunately, a simple path didn't exactly mean a short path in this case. Walking down the loose dirt that then shifted into a cobbled path as she entered the town proper, Mira had plenty of time to stew in the frustration of her day. While the immediate aggravation was left in the forest and the dying embers she came from, but the wasted day that sat behind her because Laxus decided whatever he knew was too important for her, Erza, and Gray to know kept her fists clenched tight enough for the bite of her own nails in her palm to pinch at the back of her mind.
Mirajane's frustration was efficiently utilized through the heel that met the seam of the Fairy Tail guildhall's sturdy double doors that flung open at a speed that greatly tested the hinges they sat upon. Erza and Gray were already there, both standing before the bar that was still sat upon by Master Makarov, while the subject of Mira's rage looked on from the second floor with his elbows leaning on the railing. Her eyes were unmoving from the older man, unfazed by the questioning quirk of his eyebrow that rose as her heeled boots echoed across the floor boards beneath that creaked in response.
"You just had to keep that trap shut the one time you shouldn't have, didn't you?" Mira growled out, her magic flowing freely in response to her peaking anger. Master Makarov always made sure to remind her that her magic connected to her emotions more than others, yet it was a reminder willfully ignored for now. Instead, Mira let the deep purple shroud saturate the air around her in favor of hopefully drawing the man from his perch above them.
"Enough, Mira." It wasn't a shout, it wasn't a stern order, nor was it anything more than a calm statement that entirely halted Mira's push forward before she could make the turn to climb the stairs, or worse, leaping over her guildmates, the Master, and the bar to charge Laxus head on. Maybe when there were brawls that were too loud for such simple statements, Master Makarov would raise his voice, but it wasn't necessary when it was just a few of them. Simple words calmly spoken were more than enough to tear Mirajane from her anger enough to listen."Laxus was just explaining his encounter with Black Steel and his reasoning for keeping his information to himself."
"As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," Laxus threw a taunting smirk at the growling Mira before he continued, "I found Black Steel watching our guild from the roof of a nearby shop and he all but told me that he was here to talk to our newest recruit. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see where Natsu's mind was and how far Jose would let his Ace go in getting Natsu on his side.
"Seeing as they hardly scrapped, we know Gajeel wasn't sent to kidnap the guy if he didn't go willingly." Laxus stood straight, keeping his hands on the railing as his eyes met Mira's again with a gleam of something that Mira recognized from growing up around Laxus. He was about to say something absolutely infuriating. "As for why I didn't tell any of you, I didn't trust you."
The statement was given with the shrug of the shoulder, one that showed truly how uncaring he was in saying so. Mira's arms vibrated in their wish to let loose and beat the triumphant smirk off his face, but her feet were unmoving. Master Makarov was admonishing Laxus with well rehearsed words that were repeated from the last time Laxus spurred on some meaningless conflict for shits and giggles, but Mira didn't pay attention to them. Instead, she waited until she heard Laxus's voice again and a more serious expression took hold of his face.
"If I told anybody in the guild that Phantom's Ace was lingering in town, much less spying on our guild to steal a chance at one of our members, no matter who it was, Magnolia would be destroyed in whatever collateral damage you guys would be able to rack up." Laxus shook his head and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Letting Gajeel do what he was here for, sending him into the forest, and keeping you all here on standby made sure we covered our bases. Them not actually fighting just made it easier."
Now there was a bit of indecision on Mira's part as she heard the rest of Laxus's explanation. Normally, Mira was more of a "act now and figure it out later" type of gal. Instinct and action got her this far, no point in changing that, but now she was at a loss. She didn't like the explanation, mostly because it came at her expense, yet she couldn't necessarily call it wrong. Begrudgingly, she admitted to herself that Laxus had a decent reason for his actions, or lack thereof. Never would she say as much out loud, she'd rather swallow her own tongue, but she also couldn't exactly thrash the guy for it. So, she did her best to find a proper middle ground between the two.
"Whatever. Make sure that the next time you want to play your games you leave me out of it. I have better things to do with my time." Mira snapped out her words quickly before she spun on the ball of her foot and marched out of the guild as she heard Gray's voice pick up further conversation she had no care for. Her mind was more focused on returning home and finding the divot she carefully crafted in her bed through many hours of slumber and falling into it until Lisanna inevitably dragged her out of it.
In minutes, Mira was already pushing through the front door of her home, her path unhindered by the empty streets that always welcomed her when the sun fell and the moon rose. What she walked into was the joint laughter of both of her siblings that immediately melted away any frustration that would have lingered from minutes ago. Elfman sat with his broad back to her at the countertop that separated the kitchen from the living room with Lisanna leaning on the counter directly across from it. Her brother's large shoulders jumped and jolted at his deep voice howled his laughter while her sister's face was red and squished from her own laughter that was soft and delicate in comparison.
"And what's all this about?" Mira asked as she joined her siblings, taking the empty side of the countertop space between the two and poking a nail into the cheeks of her siblings as they settled their laughter. Elfman raised a big hand to wipe his eyes, rasping out a few failed attempts at an explanation before sputtering into light laughter again.
"It's something I found out today." Lisanna started, breaths panting out as she tried to regain her breath with marginally better results than their brother. "Apparently Nab finally found a job to do. He left the other day to do it, only to come back today to say that another guild finished it already." She devolved into chuckles again while Elfman howled out his amusement once again. "They finished right as he showed up."
While she wasn't as debilitated by Lisanna's story as her siblings were, she still found herself cackling at the image of Nab showing up to a job all excited only for him to be turned away immediately. His vigil of the job board was one that lasted so long no one really knew the last job he'd actually been on. All day every day, the man would simply stand before the board, scouring the jobs posted with intense focus and reading every word there was to read. Anytime someone would ask him about, maybe even shouting at him to pick one finally, all he would say is that he was "waiting for the perfect job" and go back to reading. Of course, the "perfect job" that he could find was one already completed and no longer available. At least she had something to look forward to tomorrow.
"What about you, sis? What kept you so late?" Lisanna asked, finally collecting herself from her own story. Mira never willingly elected herself to linger around for a task unless it was necessary, so Lisanna probably expected something actually interesting to have happened. How disappointing.
"Hmph." Mira straightened herself, crossing her arms as her eyes attempted to roll back into her skull. "It turned out to be nothing. Phantom sent someone to recruit Natsu and he left before anything could really happen. A giant waste of my time."
"You didn't hurt anybody did you?" Her brother flinched a little, as if he was worried that she had committed undue harm on someone for simply wasting her time, and Mira couldn't help but smile at the reaction.
"I'm not that out of control. No, I didn't hurt anyone." Mirth filled her voice with light-hearted laughter in between, but the looks she received in return gave her pause. Narrowing her eyes, Mira looked closer at the disbelieving eyes that peered back at her warily from both sides. "I'm not." She said more seriously.
"No, of course not"
"Whatever you say, sis"
Both of their responses came with little conviction and less eye contact, Lisanna and Elfman sharing a look away from Mira that shifted "unconvincing" to "complete lie" very quickly. Raising her hands, Mira sent sharp flicks to the temples of both of her siblings with audible thuds coming from both.
"You two will get that ranch you've always wanted, eventually, but make sure you two aren't the cattle that make it up." Her eyes narrowed on her brother and sister, their glares meeting hers with grumblings that were little more than nonsense as hands rubbed the spots she flicked them. "Goodnight you two."
Mira's hands darted out and ruffled the white hair of her siblings before she scampered upstairs with a peaceful smile on her face. She's raised her siblings in a way that would likely resemble a mother more than a big sister. She knows their fears, their insecurities, their passions, and their dreams. From the moment the three of them had a place to stay for good Elfman and Lisanna have talked about getting a ranch that let them keep all the animals and beasts they could find and care for them. Sure, it was something more akin to a zoo or park, but they always called it their ranch. Despite that, it was still a comfort that she could be a big sister to them, not just a mother-type figure. She could nag at them, play with them, rough them up a little and it felt perfectly natural. There was no forcing something that wasn't there and that meant the world to her. No matter what aggravation awaited her, no matter what frustrations occurred, she could come home and let it all drift away. It was often that normalcy that allowed Mira herself drift away into the warm blanket of sleep in her perfectly crafted bed divot.
Two days passed easily. Not an incident to be found or issue to be had outside of the regularly scheduled brawls that would organically kick up within the guildhall. Yet, those two days were missing something. Piercing blue eyes traveled across the main floor of the guildhall, dancing across faces that were familiar, recognizable, and vaguely memorable as chaos brewed within the Fairy Tail guild, yet Mira simply couldn't find what she was looking for. Who she was looking for. Since the incident in the forest, Mira had yet to see Natsu show up in the guildhall. It was notable especially because of why the incident happened in the first place. Did Black Steel actually convince him to go? It was a strange thought. Not because she expected him to be so connected with Fairy Tail, but because of how hesitant he was to join in the first place. Years went by without him joining a guild and now Black Steel Gajeel, of all people, could draw him away from one guild to another. It didn't make sense.
Instead of dwelling on it for too long, Mira decided to focus on the excitement that constantly dwelled in the walls of the Fairy Tail guildhall. While a brawl had yet to erupt, the chatter grew more and more like an impending wave and she knew it was only a matter of time before it broke. Keeping her gaze outward, Mira took a drink of the pint that sat in front of her and haphazardly shoved a forkful of her breakfast into her mouth as she watched the happenings of the guild.
"Go, Levy! Go!" Jet cheered with explosive enthusiasm as he looked over Levy's shoulder while she sat at a table that was surprisingly untouched by the guild's ruckus. The girl in question sat with unmatched focus that made Mira question if she even heard the cheering. Large, thick glasses sat heavy on her face as she stared down upon an old, thick, leatherbound book while words flew violently off the page in a whisk of silver magic. Her hand seemed to move at a similarly fast pace.
"Nobody can do it better! Levy! Levy! Levy!" The only thing that was missing was a burst of fireworks exploding between the pair of mages as Droy matched Jet's enthusiasm from above Levy's opposite shoulder with no signs of stopping. Mira's eyes rolled to the back of her skull as she tried to keep herself from trying to punch the pathetic out of the both of them. Alas, if it hadn't come out in the last five years then the two men might as well be a lost cause.
Turning her gaze elsewhere, Mira caught sight of Nab back at the job board once again. The gleam in his jaw-length black hair that bowled around his head was blinding as his head drifted idly between the countless jobs in front of him. A chortle caught in the back of her throat as she remembered Lisanna's story from the other night, silently hoping he picked another job that would end in an anti-climactic tragedy once again. Either way, Mira was sure that the sleeveless black vest that hung open and loose on his shoulders and the fur loincloth around his waist was sure to be unstained and untattered for months to come.
There were various other sights that would be nothing less than routine for the odd guild, but the one that truly caught Mira's attention was the growing scuffle happening right before her. She didn't know how it started, what the disagreement could possibly have sprouted from, but as it was Mira saw Gray and Elfman forehead to forehead with scowls painted on both of their faces. It was a sight made more hysterical by the bend in Elfman's back to match Gray's height so they could stand forehead to forehead, the veins in his thick neck popping out of either frustration or overall discomfort. Between the two of them, or attempting to be, was little Lucy jamming her hands between the bodies of the men begging to start a fight.
"Guys, stop it! I need to pay rent in a couple weeks, help me with this job, Gray!" Lucy was whining in a way that told Mirajane that she knew it was a lost cause. Even as boot heels stomped, arms wrenched, and shoulders bumped, Lucy couldn't pry the two men away from each other enough for them to even acknowledge her, their disagreement clearly too important. After a few more fruitless attempts, Lucy's arms went limp, the assignment paper in her right hand was released into a delicate fall toward the ground, and the woman defeatedly walked over to sit at Mira's side on the stool closest to the stairs leading to the second floor. The dull thud that sounded was all Mira needed to hear to know that the woman next to her dropped in despair with her forehead attempting to mold into the bar top.
"I told you, you big oaf, that there's no way you could eat more than me! I could scarf down Lisanna's cooking all damn day!" Gray shouted in Elfman's face with spit flying out with every word spoken. She supposed that she learned the reason why it started and it was even more ridiculous than she could have imagined. Mira leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees and pulling her feet onto the rungs of the stool she sat on, and watched the growl rip from Elfman's throat.
"Like hell you could! A small body like you couldn't hold a candle to how much of my sister's cooking I could eat. It takes a lot to fuel this much MAN!" Elfman roared, pulling his right arm back that was subsequently bathed in purple magic before a massively muscled arm with black fur was launched forward in a punch that rocketed Gray through the guild at a blazing pace, upending tables and people alike. A burst of laughter exploded through Mira's throat as she watched the guild devolve into madness.
"Seriously, why even bother making up an excuse? Why does it seem like they have to create foreplay before every fight they start?" Cana spoke from Mira's right, her voice partially muffled from the brim of the pint that was upended moments after. With a slam, Cana reset her pint on the bar top and called for a refill that was probably going to be her sixth or seventh of the morning. A slow start for her.
"Really? You don't appreciate a little foreplay, Cana?" A more aged voice asked with a popping laughter following closely after, a laughter paired with another as two middle aged men sitting on the opposite of Cana fell into a fit of giggles. Cana snorted in response, giving Mira a bored look before turning her attention toward the man that spoke on the other side of her,
"And what would you know about foreplay, Macao? I'd be surprised if your wife has let you touch her since Romeo was born. I, personally, wouldn't have let you get that far. Married or not." The biting retort from Cana came with a smile on the lips as her well-known silver-tongue bit back at Macao quicker than he knew what to do with. The man had gone for a drink before she responded, unfortunately causing a spit take of beer to explode from his mouth and dance from the cup and drench his stubbled face and down the open white jacket he wore. Shaking his hands out and wiping them on his black shirt, Macao ran his fingers through his slicked back blue hair before he looked over at Cana helplessly.
"Come on, really? At least let me get my drink down before you hurt my feelings, Cana." Macao's amusement was replaced by exaggerated disappointment that earned Macao a pat on the back from the man sitting next to him. For what it was worth, the humble pats on the back seemed to do wonders for Macao's damp spirit, the older mage dramatically turning away from Cana with newfound confidence that made Mira snort.
"Don't listen to her, buddy. She's not even twenty and she drinks like she's the one with the kid and the marriage problems. You're holding yourself together just fine." Wakaba, the man patting Macao's back, wore a vile grin on his face as he watched Macao pathetically fall onto the countertop in faux-depression. Smoke plumed from Wakaba's laughing mouth and the pipe that hung from it, oddly forcing the smoke to take the shape of the light-brown pompadour jutting from his head that looked up with his laughter continued. It was Wakaba's turn to drench himself by his own hand when the pint in his hand flew back with his laughing body, staining the green shirt he wore and making the darker green flower print blend in with the rest of the shirt.
"Men. Primitive creatures that would be lost without us." Cana grumbled to herself and promptly turned away from the sorry sight of the middle aged men on her other side to focus her buzzed attention on Mirajane, and by proxy the defeated Lucy. "Speaking of men, where's the one you were paired up with? That Akuma guy?"
Mirajane raised an eyebrow at the question. While not everybody was as forthcoming in their lack of trust when it came to Natsu as Erza was, Mira wasn't ignorant of the rest of the guild's discomfort that came with his membership. It wasn't unexpected, but Cana deliberately asking about him was something that caught Mira slightly off guard.
"What about him?" Came her reply, confusion evident on her face but a harshness remaining in her voice. Cana's words themselves seemed to have held no true weight, but the look in her inquisitive brown eyes proved otherwise. While a heavy drinker, a hot-head, and a number of other questionable personality traits, no one could question Cana's mind. Somehow, her sharpness seemed to increase the drunker she got. Her question, and tone, only seemed to have gotten a lifted eyebrow and a burning curiosity remained/
"Well, you are his caretaker, aren't you? Master has sent you with him to both jobs he's been on. Shouldn't you know where he is?" Cana pried further, a nimble hand picking up a recently filled mug and took a hearty pull of its contents.
Caretaker? It was a fair assumption, as much as Mira wanted to bristle under the responsibility it implied. It was also true that she had been a part of the only two jobs the guy has done since joining. Still, she was no one's caretaker. She may not have a problem with the guy, but if he wanted to flip his lid like everyone expects him to, she wasn't going to take the fall for it. The thought alone made her scoff bitterly.
"If I'm supposed to be someone's caretaker, Master better be paying me." She joked, letting some of the disdain filter through her voice as she did, but any response that Cana could have had was lost when some was tossed from the brawl behind them and splintered into chips of wood as it collided with Cana's mostly bare back. A slam on the table and a pull from her pocket had Cana turned around with a stack of cards in her hand and her magic mounting around her.
"You idiots are going to pay for that and my next drink!" Cana's call erupted through the already bellowing guildhall. With Cana's magic flaring, the rest of the guild was keen on following suit and the air became heavy with raw magic surrounding them all. The shift in intensity brough Lucy's head off of the bar top with a groan as she carefully pulled herself to the other side of the bar to hide from the chaos that would ensue.
"ENOUGH" The singular call came from a mounting shadow that grew to splay over the entire guild at once, bringing an immediate stop to all else within the guild. Only when all halted did the shadow shrink down to the small stature of the guildmaster who stood atop the railing of the second floor, serious eyes gazing out upon them. It wasn't rare, having Master Makarov have an outburst like that to bring order, but the gaze he held was one Mira had only seen a few times before.
"Those that encountered the demon Lullaby, come." He said simply, his voice as hard as iron and instantly spurring the movement of four mages. Erza leapt over the railing of the second floor to stand before the center of the bar directly in front of their Master, Gray emerged from the mass of bodies in the guild with his shirt off and his face serious, Mira and Lucy pulled themselves from the bar to join them, and all four stared up at Makarov to hear his order. "Natsu, I do believe that means you as well." Master Makarov said simply, not bothering to stray his eyes from the four in front of him. Mira's brow furrowed, not really understanding Master's words. Natsu hadn't been there in days, yet he spoke as if he was right there with them.
Then the air to Mira's right wafted and the floorboards clacked in a heavy collision that saw the space next to her entirely filled. Looking over, Mira was wet with a mass of wild pink hair, draping clothes, and a confused look that passed between her and Master more than a few times each. Idly, Mira let her eyes drift upward to find the answer she had subconsciously asked herself. Wooden rafters that held together the vaulted roof of the guild hall stared back at her and Mira couldn't help but kiss her gums in annoyance. He's been in the damn rafters the whole time. She wanted to give him a snide comment, but found herself cut off by the once again serious voice of Master Makarov who projected his voice through the entire hall.
"The Council has sent out an emergency command to the most notable guilds in Fiore," he began, already drawing murmurs from the crowd behind the gathered mages. "The Laboratory of Magical Research and Study has been attacked by a group of dark mages. Nothing further has been relayed other than an immediate response is needed as all the Rune Knight outposts around the Laboratory have been under stress over the past few weeks. You five are to leave immediately and provide whatever aid you can."
Master Makarov paused, turning his gaze specifically to the five mages he gathered, making Mira subconsciously straighten her back under his gaze. "Be careful, all of you. My contact in the Council claims that this might be the start of a larger assault on the Council. The presence of the Balam Alliance is to be expected."
This is it. This is where we start taking off a little but and shit opens up to what it's supposed to be. Truth time, I haven't written much of anything these last few weeks. Maybe a chapter and a half. Maybe. That being said, with this weekly schedule that means I have months to get shit back on track with all that I have backlogged. Slowly we're getting a rhythm back.
Heads up and investigative lenses on. That next chapter is called "The Six Prayers" and you got three guesses what it could possibly be about, but the first two guesses don't count.