Taking Root III

[Arvid Sawyer]

"Is he gonna be angry for much longer?"

"A few hours… probably," Arvid replied without looking up. In one hand, he held a branch of bloodhorn he'd found after looking around for a bit. In the other, his carving knife continued working on the piece of wood. He wanted to use it for one of the wands he'd make with the windweaver cobra parts he'd get… the day after.

They'd stopped on the way to take the remains of the monsters to a store that Cana had mentioned. It'd taken some asking around to actually find the place, but they'd gotten there in the end. A small store next to one of the canals of Magnolia, managed by a bear of a man.

After some haggling, Arvid thought he had gotten a pretty good deal. He'd give the guy some of the materials for himself to sell and he'd get the rest. All in all, he expected he'd have enough to make a few wands.

"Man, he's sensitive," Cana commented with a smirk, getting some incoherent angry grumbling from Saul.

He was still recovering from the paralytic venom, unfortunately, so he couldn't quite make any sense just yet. Arvid had a pretty good idea of what he'd say to them.

Probably something about waiting until everything else was done before taking him to the Guild infirmary. Maybe something unkind about the woman that acted as the doctor for Fairy Tail… Porlysca? Something along those lines. There was a chance he might have given Cana a piece of his mind about all the poking and joking.

His friend could be a little sensitive indeed.

Arvid knew better than to point that out though. He hadn't even had to move in all that time, instead getting carried on Arvid's back. He was pretty sure his friend wished he could be that lazy on the regular.

"We already gave the report for the mission. You can go if you want," Arvid commented, continuing to work on the wand structure. He was trying to make it have some curves that were inspired by the way the cobra's body moved in the air. "I'm sure you have better things to do than sit here with us."

"Nah, not really," Cana replied, sounding perfectly happy with the situation. Arvid personally didn't see it, what with the now temporarily bedridden and unable to even speak Saul and himself, who wasn't doing much other than carving a bloodhorn branch. Which was awesome for him, but he knew it was boring for other people.

Especially for people like Cana gave him the impression of being.

"Besides, you guys are hilarious," the girl continued, making him blink and for once look at her. "Much more fun than I expected, no offense."

"None taken," Arvid replied almost on instinct. He truly didn't mind though. He was only friends with Saul and Miko back in Wintergreen and it was precisely because he wasn't much "fun" to be around, according to the rest of the people their age. It wasn't even that he didn't understand. Woodworking and wood carving weren't what one would call popular hobbies and fun for group settings.

"I think I like you, guys," Cana commented casually and he blinked before a smile spread on his face. "Sight's not so bad either," the girl added with a wiggle of her eyebrows, which was even more confusing than what she'd said before. However, Arvid decided to let the matter go and be happy with having a new friend in Fairy Tail.

'Great start, I gotta say,' he thought to himself, smile still in place as he turned back to his carving. 'We got a good job that went well and even made a friend while at it… Well, I guess Saul could not have gotten bit, but he'll get to be in bed for the rest of the day. He'll like that.'

He resolutely ignored the glare his friend was sending his way.

"So, are you going to stay here until he can leave?" Cana asked, making him hum. "I'm going to spend some time at the Guild and then probably take an easy job for the day. I can introduce you to some people," she offered.

His knife stopped against the wood for a moment before he chipped away at the already almost unrecognizable branch. He didn't reply to her for a long moment, considering her words, her offer. It wasn't anything too big, of course. Hell, Arvid had been looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing what kind of mages were there at Fairy Tail. Who else other than those that appeared in magazines was there? How were those mages that he knew about when they weren't being the absolute badasses he knew them to be?

Yet, at that very moment, he felt… afraid. Because Arvid had no experience at all approaching people, it was always others that came to him. Miko had pushed herself into his circle and dragged Saul into it. Most other interactions he'd had with others had been through carpentry jobs.

He hadn't gotten there to just be an outsider though, had he?

Pushing down his nerves, he looked at Saul. Much as he wanted to fool himself, there was no misunderstanding the glare his friend had been directing at him for a while now. He knew he'd messed up, getting overly excited and focusing on the materials for new wands. He'd always been like that. So, now he was feeling guilty and just leaving his friend in the infirmary felt… wrong.

Except Saul had stopped glaring at him, his expression now blank. After a moment it changed again into something exasperated that Arvid knew very well after so many years. Eventually, his friend rolled his eyes and then gave the smallest twitch towards the door with his head.

Arvid smiled nervously.

"I guess I could go for a bit," he commented, not moving from his spot and instead chipping another piece from the wood he was carving. Just because he wanted to and he said he would, that didn't make it any easier.

"Great, let's go!" Cana said, grabbing his arm and shaking it. With a nervous chuckle, Arvid gave in.

Sometimes one needed a push or two to do things.

[}-o-{]

[Cana Alberona]

She couldn't decide if she should feel guilty or not, quite honestly.

"So, you make your own magic? They can do whatever you want? That's so cool!" Marie said excitedly. Much more excited than she should be, Cana noted, but that was hardly surprising, really. She thought the hair twirling and coy look Carolyn was wearing were worse, actually.

Not that it was saying much, really.

"It's… really not all that," Arvid mumbled, leaning away from the girl and putting on a nervous smile that was actually working against him. "I haven't managed to make a wand that doesn't crumble away after a use or two yet," he explained, as if that were in any way important.

Poor fool just didn't get it.

It was hilarious.

"I'll get it though, I'm sure," the young man added, confidence overpowering his awkwardness as he sat a little straighter… Which was actually worse for him. Then again, Cana didn't know what he could do to help his situation, really. At least, nothing that would be in character for him, from what she gathered so far.

A funny situation was made even funnier when she chanced a look around the guild and noticed several male members glaring and side-eyeing Arvid and the Armory Girls. That was what the fairly appropriate team of four girls went by, referencing their varied weapon choices. They were no magazine models, really, but Cana guessed any man wanted to be fawned over by a group of girls all at once.

Which was probably why Arvid was the one at the receiving end and not them.

Cana sat back with a pint and enjoyed the show the new guy brought with him. It had been the right choice to invite him and just as good a choice to start introducing him to some people. He seemed like he'd do well, from what she'd seen. She'd been prepared to help him out a little, since he seemed kind of shy, but he showed to be more sociable than he let on.

Then again, he said he'd worked at a shop, so maybe that helped? He certainly seemed to struggle more with anything deeper than small talk, demonstrated by his rather depressing – or amusing, depending on who one asked – showing then and there. That had been closer to what she expected.

Not that he really needed help to get people to like him, with that golden retriever attitude of his and his looks. At least the women around would welcome him with open arms, to say the least, and the men… Well, they wouldn't be too mean, if they knew what was good for them, Cana imagined. And that was the worst of cases, since Arvid really just didn't seem like the kind of guy someone could dislike.

"Huh?"

The awkward cut through even more awkward conversation caught Cana's attention as Arvid seemed to look away from the four girls and off towards the tables away from the bar counter. Following his gaze, she saw nothing but some other members and none of them seemed to be doing anything weird… at least not that she could notice. She knew Fairy Tail had a way of stripping one of their sense of normalcy.

"That blue… Excuse me," Arvid mumbled, getting up from his stool and walking off, leaving behind four very confused, flustered girls. Evidently, they had no idea what had just happened. In fairness, neither did Cana. 'Blue?'

'Oh…' she thought, blinking and feeling a little worried and disappointed. 'Another one?' she wondered, watching Arvid walk towards Team Shadow Gear. It seemed that they were in for another Levy fan, by the looks of it. Poor girl didn't have enough trouble with Jet and Droy?

"Is that Depth Flower?" he asked, making Cana blink all over again.

Apparently, he hadn't walked up to Levy… but Droy?

'Huh?'

"Huh?" the boy said eloquently – and unknowingly – voicing her thoughts. "Who are you?"

"Arvid Sawyer, nice to meet you," the man introduced himself excitedly. "So, is that Depth Flower?" he repeated as if there was nothing else in his mind at that moment. Looking closer, the guy did indeed have a flower growing on a pot on the table, which wasn't really all that special. Droy was always showing off pretty flowers with his magic to try and get Levy's attention.

It never worked, but the guy was persistent if nothing else.

"I… Yeah, it is."

"Neat. How'd you get it to grow here though? That grows underwater in the ocean," he asked and Cana could almost see his eyes shining. "I read that flowers are super hard to get. It wilts right away out of the water too, how?"

"I use Plant Magic," Droy explained, more than a little out of it. Cana could understand. Few times did he get addressed so out of nowhere and so fervently.

"Where'd you read that?" Levy asked, joining the conversation curiously.

"I got this book about alchemical reactions a while back and it mentioned this flower," Arvid explained, still having only eyes for the flower and Droy, which was a little odd, Cana would say. Levy had that nerdish, shy girl look that seemed to appeal to guys. And then there was Arvid, not even looking at her. Then again, as an actual shy girl, the bookworm didn't seem to mind this all that much. "That's awesome, man. Are you using magic so it won't wilt?"

"I… Yeah," Droy answered, finally looking like he was getting it together. "I got a seed for it a while back and I just made it grow. It's a little draining to keep it healthy, but I thought it was very pretty," he explained, a similar excited look appearing on his face that was nothing like the infatuated expression he usually showed.

Evidently, he quite enjoyed having a chance to talk about his plants.

"It is," Arvid agreed with a wide smile that dimmed a little. "Shame that I don't think I could use that… but oh well, that's very neat."

"Use?"

"I use Wand Crafting Magic… And Wand Magic too, obviously," he answered, finally looking around to notice there was an empty seat across from Droy. "Do you mind if I sit here?" Arvid asked then to the three occupants of the table.

"Not at all," Droy readily agreed, followed closely by Levy.

"Sure."

Poor Jet looked like he was a little slow on the uptake… which was kind of ironic, considering his High-Speed Magic.

"So, about this book…"

[}-o-{]

[Saulus Lambent]

Saul laid on a soft bed of the medical wing of Fairy Tail, looking at the white stone walls contrasted with the pastel-colored furniture that littered the room. the light of the afternoon sun filtered in through the window, giving the place a homely glow.

'What to do now?' he thought, trying not to wince as he shifted on the bed.

The wound on his shoulder was still healing and the anesthetic effect of the venom was wearing off. Just like that pink hag of a nurse, Porlyusica, said it would. Or that's what he gathered between the amount of insults she was throwing his way.

'I'm bored…' Saul sighed, regretting telling Arvid and Cana to leave.

He didn't regret breaking his friend out of his shy spiel – as annoyed as he was with the guy still – and making him leave to interact with the rest of the guild instead of fretting over him. However, that left him with nothing to do other than mulling on his thoughts of the fight. He couldn't even sleep given that his shoulder wound flared annoyingly whenever he shifted.

Without them, the place had descended almost into silence, only interrupted by the drumming of his still numb fingers against the smooth wood rail of his bed. The distant sounds of ships and the docks' bells echoed faintly and the muffled conversations at the Guild Hall reached his ears occasionally. Enough for him to realize it was there but not make out what the voices were saying.

In the solitude of the room, his thoughts moved to his friend and the girl who had, oh so graciously, chaperoned them during their first quest at the totally not exorbitant cost of forty percent of the profits.

'Senior tax, my ass. She didn't even do anything,' Saul complained inside his mind, feeling scammed.

All she did was walk with them, poke fun – and sometimes poke literally – and then laugh at him the whole way back. He had heroically saved the whole damn thing from going to shit with his new spells and all he got was mockery and to get paraded around the city. Something for which he was still angry at Arvid.

Did they really have to stop and haggle with the butcher guy before taking him to the doctor?

Granted, he had gained back some points by bringing him back without Saul having to move a finger. That was pretty much his dream way of transportation, the kind he didn't have to work or pay for. However not only had it been embarrassing when people stared at him, but also quite awful. His whole body had felt an atrocious mix between numb and nauseous with the annoying flare of pain on his shoulder being the only thing he could vividly feel at the time.

Had his tongue not felt like lead at that moment, he'd have-

A knock came from the door at the opposite wall of the room, the one that connected the medical bay with a short corridor and after that, the Guild Hall.

"May we come in?" someone said, without waiting for an answer before cracking the wooden door open.

Wakaba walked through, smiling at him. His pipe puffed a column of smoke that parted itself on its own before touching his strange brown pompadour hairstyle. Behind him came Macao, the old purple-haired man who just lifted a hand as a greeting while both took seats on the two chairs Arvid and Cana had been using before.

"Yo, we heard how the mission went from Cana and Arvid. We thought we'd stop by and see how you were holding up," Macao explained.

"I'm doing great. I love spending my afternoon on a hospital bed watching the paint dry. It's my favorite pastime," Saul drawled though without any real bite in his words.

The purple-haired veteran mage chuckled, not fazed by his sarcasm.

"Well, according to Arvid, at least the bed part is true."

'They got me there,' he admitted in the privacy of his mind.

"Still, good work on your first completed quest. Those are always memorable," Macao added, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head. "You even managed without breaking anything, which is probably some kind of achievement around here."

"What?" Saul raised an eyebrow. He had heard before that Fairy Tail, for all its popularity as one of the strongest guilds, also had the reputation of being one of the 'liveliest' of them all. Still though… "I thought all the destruction was mostly exaggerated," he asked.

"Oooh, kiddo. You have no idea," Wakaba said with a cheeky smile while taking another drag at his pipe. "Most, if not all of them are real. Hell, we have a full list just called 'funny first quests' saved up to tell every other party to get a laugh." the man chuckled, the mention apparently bringing funny memories to the front of his mind. "You two probably are getting spared since it was pretty normal… Even though getting dragged across the city while paralyzed is quite funny."

"Thanks, your amusement truly makes the suffering worth it," Saul deadpanned.

"You're welcome, kiddo," Wakaba said with a wave of his hand as if to shake the gratitude away from his grinning face.

Bastard.

"So," Saul sighed. "About those stories?" he asked leadingly.

He'd admit he was curious. Also, he was bored and a nap was still out of the question.

A few stories of someone else's misery ought to make him feel better, Saul believed.

"Well," Macao started. "Natsu, for example. He was about… ten, I think?" The man asked while looking at his friend who nodded in response. "-when he joined. I don't remember the details, but he picked a quest to get some flowers because he thought the forest might have some clues about his dad."

A slight wince left Saulus at that, but it went unnoticed by the two men who continued the tale.

"The whole thing ended up with half of the forest set on fire and at least half a dozen villages reporting a demon was loose," the purple-haired man continued. "When we asked him about what the hell happened, he said, and I quote, 'Neither Igneel nor the flowers can hide if there are no places to hide,' with the most self-assured, megawatt smile I've ever seen." Macao chuckled before he continued his tale. "Hell, he somehow topped that off after that quest when…"

'Salamander,' Saul vaguely linked the name with the epithet as he continued hearing the story with increasingly raised eyebrows.

Natsu Dragneel, an up-and-coming powerhouse from what little he had read. One of the most bombastic members, though there were no actual photos of the guy. Saul wondered why he hadn't seen the guy inside the Guild yet. From what he was being told, he wasn't one of those people you missed if you were in the same room as them.

Also, what kind of magic do you have to have to burn an entire forest as a ten-year-old?

"I remember Erza's," Wakaba quipped, laughing along with his friend. "She threatened her employer with her sword and forced him to run around his park because she thought the man was too fat and that was unhealthy. Apparently, the guy has a gym now and is terrified of redheads, last I heard…"

'Titania,' he remembered, one of the youngest people in history to get the title of S-Class mage at fifteen.

"Gray flashed half a town in broad daylight. Twice!…"

"Elfman broke down crying when he realized he'd have to use bait worms to catch some strange fish at that lake, so Mira decided to…"

".. And the less we say about Gildarts' the better."

The duo continued their rambling, mouthing off different members and their first adventures, which, more often than not, ended up in some kind of disaster. Saul recognized the names of some members, his mind struggling to link the names of guys he had read and so many idolized like celebrities with the admittedly stupid or outright destructive tales.

'Did we really join the right Guild?' he wondered.

Perhaps they had been scammed and put under an illusion at the entry. His eyes went to his arm and the glinting gray mark on his forearm. There didn't seem to be any defects on the aesthetic logo that proved this wasn't Fairy Tail but a bunch of dedicated knock-offs.

"Yep! Still at Fairy Tail, kiddo," Macao seemed to have read his mind as he guffawed at his incredulous expression. "Sorry, no take backs. You're stuck with us for life now."

"I'm regretting all my life choices," Saul declared dryly.

"Par for the course for new members. You'll get used to it, no worries," Wakaba said with a grin.

Smoke came out of his pipe and moved unnaturally to the side and out through the window close to his bed. Even when a pleasant chilly breeze entered the room and ruffled the thin see-through curtains, the smoke continued its path, unfazed by the wind currents. He also took note that the smell of tobacco hadn't reached him, not even once even though the man was smoking right next to him. All he could smell was the sweet fragrance coming from the vase of lilac flowers on the night table next to him mixing with the slightly pungent and sterile scent of antiseptic and other medicines.

'Must be quite a pain to control,' Saul thought.

If their magic worked as similarly as they looked, he could only imagine how much of a struggle it was to control that smoke with just passive magic instead of a proper spell. Even with a spell, maintaining substances that normally didn't want to stay put was quite taxing. Burst attacks were easy since all one had to do was gather the ash around and release it, almost the same went for his Sables.

He hadn't thought about how much he lacked control until he compared Wakaba's version of the spell to his lackluster attempt. Suddenly, as the two men continued talking, Saul felt small. He truly was a nobody between monsters and it had never been so evident as it was at that moment, with a rather mundane use of magic instead of the outlandish tales he was hearing.

The conversation continued even though his mood had taken a blow. Saul still did his best to hear the two men's stories about other guild members. Minutes became hours as time seemed to fly by. The filtering sunlight soon changed to a warm dim orange hue as dusk approached.

The rowdy cheers of the Guild members became more apparent. Most of them had returned by then from their daily quests and with them, they brought new stories to share among themselves. In the distance, he could also hear the distant bells of Magnolia's cathedral signaling the end of the day.

The feeling on his legs had slowly returned to him while keeping the conversation, although, admittedly, maintaining a more quiet role in it. Macao and Wakaba spoke plenty on their own, after all. At some point, he had even managed to stand and stretch, feeling the soreness of the paralysis slowly disappear from his body.

The wound on his shoulder had stopped flaring as whatever balm-like substance the hag nurse had applied on it ran its course. It was clear that she knew her stuff. Now, if only she had stopped complaining and ranting every few seconds while healing him, Saul would have had a good opinion of her.

Would it have killed her to be a bit more amicable and less anti-social?

Some people…

Even after that, things dragged on. Now that the soreness was gone, he could properly enjoy the warm comfortable bed so he wasn't moving any time soon. He was sure Arvid could handle himself just fine making friends at the Guild. Saul, for his part, hated people. Quiet places were better.

Meanwhile, Macao and Wakaba kept going, talking about nothing and everything. Stories about the Guild slowly became questions about his life and the village Arvid and he had grown up in. About their friendship and some funny stories between the two, something he was more than eager to share with those two gossip hens. A few embarrassing stories about his friend were enough to settle the debt for dragging him across the city, Saul decided magnanimously.

"Well, it's getting late," Wakaba said, staring at the slowly setting sun on the horizon descending beyond the sparkling waters of Lake Sciliora. "The missus is gonna get pissed at me if I come back late again."

"Yeah, I need to go prepare. I got a date with this girl tonight-" Macao explained.

"Dude! Again?!" Wakaba interrupted with some exasperation.

".. .Listen, I know it looks bad but look at her," The man said, taking out a picture of a bombshell of a woman Saul was sure was at least ten years younger than Macao.

"... Nice," Wakaba answered simply, dropping his complaints. "What about your kid, though?"

"Romeo is at his mom's now, so it's the one night a week I have the house for myself," the man explained.

"Didn't you say you were dating the baker girl," Saul asked, remembering some previous fact that the man had bragged about not an hour earlier.

"... I mean, yes. But it's nothing official or anything. Besides, it's not like she'd find out, right?" the man said with a shrug before stopping and directing a worried look at him. "Right?"

"... and you wonder why your wife divorced you," Saul drawled.

"He got you there, bro," Wakaba unhelpfully added.

Macao looked like he got physically struck before muttering something Saul couldn't catch.

"Anyway, I gotta go back and get Arvid. Knowing the guy, he probably skipped lunch to work on wands or something," he sighed. "It was… nice talking with you both."

"Cya later, kiddo," Wakaba said while waving his hand. His action was mirrored enthusiastically by a now depressed Macao. "Nice talk. Don't be a stranger, okay? Let's talk over a beer next time." the man added with a smark, the smoke of his pipe briefly transforming into the shape of a pint before drifting off out of the window.

"Yeah… I think I'll like that. See you both later," he added as he closed the door. He didn't remember the last time he had a pleasant conversation with someone that wasn't his family, Arvid or Miko.

'They are alright,' Saul thought in the privacy of his mind.

It felt odd still talking with what not so long ago were celebrities and legends in his mind. However, as they conversed, his image of the country-famous Firestorm duo crumbled. In its place was just Macao and Wakaba, two old guys in a perpetual mid-life crisis.

As Saul walked through the small hall and into the Main Hall, he realized they weren't the heroes he imagined them to be, but, for some reason, he felt that was for the best.

He quite liked that, he decided.

[} Chapter End {]

Arc: A little downtime chapter to sip some interaction with the guild members.

Adrian: I was going to say the aftermath of the mission, but I don't think it quite applies? Anyway, Arvid and Saul are getting acquainted with the Guild and its people, it seems. Wonder how things will go on that front.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Random Adrian Question: Any guesses as to what Arvid wand results will be with the windweaver materials?

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJ