It was too quiet.
For almost thirteen years, Nora had closed her eyes every night with the familiar sound of Ren's breathing and moving nearby—no matter where they were.
At Beacon, Jaune's snoring and mumbles and Pyrrha's steady breaths had joined Ren's night sounds. It took Nora ages to stop missing Pyrrha's sounds at night, even when Ruby joined the remaining three members of Team JNPR on the road for all those months with her quiet breaths interrupted by the occasional snore, toss, turn, and gasps awake which she did not like to talk about. Sometimes, Nora would still catch herself listening for Pyrrha.
Qrow joined the group after Oniyuri, his breaths ragged with Tyrian's poison spreading through his veins and turning his blood purple. Nora was glad when those sounds went away, and grateful that it was because the Huntsman's life was saved rather than ended.
Ren and Nora had still shared a room in Mistral, and Jaune came in and joined them more often than not. Ruby would as well at first, but as her teammates began to arrive, she stayed with them. Still, Nora knew that they, Qrow, and eventually Oscar were close.
In Argus, the first few nights while several of the group were missing in the wilderness were restless, but then each team and Miss Calavera had their own room in the Cotta-Arc house while Qrow and Oscar stayed in the living room. Still, dread over what they had learned and anxiety over what they were going to do made it hard to sleep.
In Atlas, Team RWBY was given a dorm-room while Oscar stayed with Team JN(P)R in theirs, and Qrow had his own place while Miss Calavera stayed with Dr. Polendina. In that temporary safety with her friends all around her, Nora had slept soundly.
When Nora blacked-out after breaking that door down to get to Penny, she had her friends with her. As she faded in and out of consciousness, someone had always been with her—right up until that last time, that last blackout, the last time she closed her eyes before she left Remnant.
She had been alone, then.
The point was, for thirteen years, Nora had never been alone when she fell asleep—willingly, at least.
That first night on Earthland, when the adrenaline crashed after her departure from Remnant, Nora had been able to find sleep because her body forced her to.
The second night was a different story.
It was too quiet.
Nora was still in the little room in the guild-hall, as she could not yet walk on her own and the Fairy Tail communal residence—Fairy Hills—was a short distance away.
It was dark, and though Nora had been assured that the building was totally secure, she felt unsafe.
A Communication Lacrima sat on a small table within reach of Nora's cot. She had been told to use it in case of an emergency, and that she need only touch it and think of 'Mirajane Strauss, Fairy Hills' to contact the other girl.
Nora stared at that lacrima's outline in the dark, her breaths shaking. 'What am I supposed to say? "Hey, I can't sleep"? That's not an emergency, dummy...'
The Huntress closed her eyes and raised her fist to her mouth, biting her knuckles as her eyes grew watery, then she let out a soft sob and curled up a bit on the cot.
The door to the room suddenly opened, and Nora opened her eyes and looked up fearfully, only to blink in surprise before looking away.
"I thought this might be the case," Makarov admitted quietly, walking over to the chair Mirajane left beside Nora's cot, hopping up, and sitting down. "A bad dream?"
"... Can't sleep," Nora confessed at a whisper. "It's too quiet."
"Hm." Makarov frowned. "I know little of war, aside from what my father could tell. I imagine it is a noisy affair."
"It is," Nora agreed. "But..." She closed her eyes. "I've never actually... had a room to myself before. For thirteen years, I've never-..."
"... Been alone," Makarov murmured in conclusion, and Nora raised her blanket a bit to cover her mouth and nose as she sniffled. "It's too quiet." A silence fell, then Makarov stood up. "I have an idea."
The master of Fairy Tail left the room, and when he came back, he was holding what looked like a smaller and different sort of lacrima. He held it out for Nora to see, giving a small smile.
"My grandson sometimes found it hard to sleep when he was younger," he explained. "His sense of hearing was much too sharp, so if he went to sleep without something keeping the night-sounds out, every bump in the night would startle the poor boy awake. However, if everything was blocked out, he would be too unsettled to find sleep." He tapped the lacrima, watching as it lit up a soft gray color. "He had a pair of headphones he would use with this, but since you just need some sort of noise, I hope it's alright that I could only find the lacrima. It's a Sound Lacrima, one that produces natural sounds like ocean waves, rain, and thunder—things like that, or any combination."
Nora blinked, surprised, then she frowned and lowered the blanket a bit. "So, like... the sea in a storm?"
"Hm." Makarov smiled and brushed his hand over the lacrima, and Nora's eyes shone as she was suddenly listening to the sounds of crashing waves, whistling winds, falling rain, cracks of thunder, and the swish of lightning. "Indeed, Miss Valkyrie." His expression softened. "I know it is no replacement, but... do you believe it could help?"
"... Worth a shot," Nora decided, and Makarov set the lacrima down on the table. "But empty buildings give me the heebie-jeebies..."
"It will liven up," Makarov assured her. "And you will be moving to Fairy Hills in no time." He gave a small smile. "And... if you should require any assistance, you need not worry. My office is not far."
Nora blinked, surprised. "Wait, you're staying the night?"
"Of course," Makarov assured her, walking over to the door. "Just as I did last night, though that was merely curtesy for a guest and worry for a child I wished to help." The master of Fairy Tail glanced back at Nora, nodding. "You are a member of Fairy Tail, now. That makes you family—and when my family needs me, I am never far away."
Makarov left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Nora alone with the sounds and soft light of the Sound Lacrima.
Slowly, the Huntress closed her eyes, and she let herself drift off into that stormy sea.
/\/\/\/\
Nora sat in her wheelchair in a corner of the guild-house's main room, drinking a mug of orange-juice and looking around at all of the people that had come to be there over the past three days, having returned from their jobs. Most of them failed to notice her or just gave her curious looks before moving on with their days, but some had come over to speak with her and they had engaged in some small-talk.
At that point, Nora had briefly met people by the names of Wakaba, Vijeeter, Nab, Reedus, Laki, Jet, and Droy. They all seemed different, and nice in their own way, but as quickly as they came, most of them were gone.
Mirajane was Nora's only constant when it came to speaking with people, coming over whenever she wasn't working at the bar, and Elfman came in second in that regard. Both of them seemed to keep their eye on Nora, and Nora assumed that they had either been asked to by Makarov or they just took it upon themselves.
"I still think you should have let me push you, this morning," Mirajane remarked as she sat in a chair beside Nora's wheelchair, watching as the Huntress wrote her name out over and over again in an attempt to steady her hands. "You could have hurt yourself."
"Hurting me would be letting my muscles deteriorate," Nora insisted, switching the hand holding the quill and dipping it in ink again. "My aura can only do so much if I don't help it. I can't let myself slack, or it'll take even longer for me to be back in fighting shape."
"Hm." Mirajane shook her head, exasperated. "Have you always been this stubborn?"
Nora put on a devious grin. "Mira, I hate to tell you this, but I'm only gonna get worse as I get my ability to move back."
"Oh, you sound real sorry," Elfman joked, watching over the two with crossed arms and a smirk. Nora raised her quill and flicked ink at him. "Hey!" Mirajane giggled, and Elfman huffed. "Looks like you're getting your coordination back."
"Yep!" Nora chimed, grinning. "Think I can try walking, now?"
Mirajane crossed her arms. "No."
"But I-"
"No!"
/\
Thirdly most-frequent in visits was Levy, who seemed intrigued by the Huntress and the strange weapons laying on her table like they belonged there just as much as the mug of juice and Nora's arms.
She hadn't said anything about them yet, but Nora assumed that she would eventually; the Huntress caught the solid-script mage looking at the weapons and her scars, and Levy just seemed like the type that was naturally curious.
Like Ruby.
Maybe that was why Nora had not said anything, yet.
That, and Makarov's whole thing about there possibly being some danger for Nora if anyone ever learned the truth about where she came from...
"The designs here are very intricate," Levy noted, examining Magnhild with care.
Nora had given her consent, so long as the younger and smaller girl did not touch any of the weapon's triggers. The last thing she needed was for Levy to accidentally use her weapon to blow a hole in the guild-hall, or accidentally shift it into a hammer and drop it on her aura-free and breakable feet.
Both options were bad.
"Shifting between elegant with this line-art to organic with these winding vines to... something almost-like graffiti tagging here, with this emblem." Levy's eyes shone as she looked up at Nora. "It's a work of art."
"It was made by a thirteen year-old who doodled in her books when she should have been taking notes," Nora remarked, glancing down at the weapon. "Luckily, she was good with memory and was better in a forge—but... I do admit that I went a little overboard."
"You did this?" Levy asked, surprised. "It's incredible." She giggled softly. "It makes me wonder why you'd join this guild at all. You could easily make a living in metal-working, and I bet it would come with a better reputation."
"Hm." Nora glanced down, then she looked over at where Mirajane was working behind a counter and chatting with some other members of the guild at the same time. The whole space had gotten so lively so quickly... "No one else seems too worried about reputation."
"We are a top guild in terms of success-rate and strength," Levy conceded. "But we're kinda notorious troublemakers."
Nora looked at Levy, offering a tired smile. "What makes you think I'm not a troublemaker?" She gestured to her bandaged marks. "I didn't get these while sitting at home and playing nice with the other kids."
"Hm?" Levy blinked, then she laughed and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, flushing in embarrassment. "Fair enough!"
"... Settle something for me," Nora said, and Levy lowered her hand. "I'm trying to decide which story to go with. Should I be -hm- sorta (I guess) ridiculous and say 'struck by lightning, didn't die' or... be really ridiculous and just do this?" She picked up a fork, held it between her face and Levy's, and used her eyes to gesture to a nearby lacrima-outlet before looking back at Levy with a smirk. "How 'bout I show you?"
Levy gaped, then she raised her hands to her mouth to stifle giggles as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "N-Nora..!"
Nearby, Jet and Droy—who were always around the blue-haired girl, as Nora had noticed—burst out laughing as well and Jet actually braced himself on Droy to keep from falling over.
Nora grinned, setting the fork aside, then she hummed and looked down. 'Back to the dumb jokes, already? That was fast...' She glanced up at Levy, sighing, then her smile brightened again. 'At least I'm able to make people laugh.'
/\
Cana was the fourth most-common visitor, and Nora was not really sure what to think about that.
The teenage card-mage was a surly drunk, her mood could shift from boisterous and friendly to serious or even temperamental like the flip of a switch, and it made Nora a bit uneasy at times. However, the girl seemed harmless enough when she approached Nora, and the card-mage seemed more than willing to make up for Nora's reluctance to speak with her half of the dialogue.
"These cards let me predict things," Cana explained as she laid out ten cards from the deck she had made Nora shuffle. "I'm pretty accurate."
"Really?" Nora raised an eyebrow.
Cana chuckled. "Not a believer, eh? Well, I'm not a repeated S-Class candidate for nothing." Her expression briefly dropped, then she looked at Nora with a grin. "This configuration is the Cross and the Staff. I read them in order like this: present, a challenge you currently face, your backstory, something more recent-" She pointed to each card. "Y'know, to make a believer out of you. Then, I tell you something that's coming up soon, the best possible outcome for what's gonna happen then, factors that already exist, anything from the outside that might affect things, what you can hope for or be afraid of, and my final prediction of what's gonna happen."
"Hm." Nora blinked. "That's pretty neat."
Cana grinned, then she took a swig from her tankard before she turned the first card over and examined it. "Let's see… Ooh. Your present gets a 'Death'."
Nora tensed. "What?"
"Death." Cana held the card up. "It means that something's just ended for you and you're in a transitional phase. You might be resisting it, but it's good for your growth."
"... Oh." Nora took a deep breath. "Okay."
Cana picked up the second card. "A challenge you currently face… That's a wand." She glanced at Nora. "I would've expected something more having to do with the injuries that have you in a wheelchair, but nope: this says that you're struggling with something that's more on the spiritual side. It might be something like your drive or creativity, or it could be your courage, trust in yourself, or strength."
Nora was decidely not liking this. "Okay…"
"Let's see, backstory…" Cana picked up a new card. "Huh. The Fool." She looked up at Nora with a small smirk. "Bit of a wild one, weren't you? Reckless, maybe a bit innocent?" She raised an eyebrow. "But… there was something that you held back."
"... Yeah," Nora agreed, nodding slowly. "That's pretty spot-on."
"Hm." Cana grinned, grabbing the next card. "I can now tell you something a bit more recent, so brace yourself." She held the card up. "The Devil. You have recently had to come to terms with your attachments, restrictions upon yourself, and your beliefs." She tilted her head. "Been having some dark thoughts, huh?"
Nora took a sharp breath. "Cana, d-do you think we can do this later?"
"Hold on, I'm getting to the good part!" Cana insisted, taking another swig of booze, then she picked up the next card. "You will soon be facing… the World." She held the card up. "You want closure, to belong?"
Nora tensed, her eyes wide. "I-I-..."
"Best possible outcome?" Cana held up the next card, grinning proudly. "Nice, a cup! That's love and connection!"
"... Huh?" The Huntress blinked. "Can you repeat that?"
"Heh." Cana set the card down. "It means that, at best, you'll have luck with relationships and forging new bonds." She picked up the next card, humming. "Factors… That's a pentacle. You have any issues with how you look at yourself that we need to worry about?"
Nora froze, then—trying to recover—put on a deadpan and pointed to her scars, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
Cana snorted. "Well, with that attitude, I don't think we have much to worry about. You've got the confidence of a champ." She grabbed the next card. "Let's take a look at outside interference…" She took a look. "The Hermit? That's a weird one…" She glanced up at Nora. "As far as I can tell… someone who is gonna have a lot to do with your soul-searching might step in at some point, some sort of loner who's gonna help you figure things out when you're feeling pretty low."
"Hm." Nora frowned at that. "Alright…"
"Hopes or fears…" Cana selected the next card, and she snorted. "Oh, you're gonna be real pissed at me for this one." The card-mage held the card up, batting her eyes. "The Lovers."
Nora deadpanned. "Cana-"
"I'm kidding, it doesn't always mean that." Cana chuckled. "It can mean finding peace, choices, or self-love." She picked up the last card. "And for my final prediction..!" She held up the card, grinning. "Strength! Pretty clear what that means, huh? You're gonna be a badass, Valkyrie, one way or another!"
Nora blinked again, then she gave a small snort and shook her head.
Yeah, Cana was alright.
Yang would have liked her.
/\
As the day went on and she was left alone for a while, Nora absent-mindedly thought about how she had quickly—almost thoughtlessly—joined the guild within hours of leaving Remnant. The Huntress supposed that she might have just clung to the first kindness she had encountered in her devastation; whether that was healthy or not, she could not say…
She just thought about how much she had been allowing herself to smile in the company of others, and her heart starting to sink more and more as guilt began to eat at her.
After all that happened, she was smiling? With Ren gone and her remaining friends either dead or fighting for their lives, for their world?
How could she be so stupid, so empty-headed, so Nora?
The Huntress suddenly became aware of a commotion and looked up to see a brawl, a boy called Gray who had a habit of randomly stripping and a newly-returned pink-haired boy called Natsu at the center of it.
Nora blinked, then she simply went back to her orange-juice. She would have gotten involved if she was the same person she had been when she first arrived at Beacon and both of her legs were functional, but since neither were the case in that moment, she kept herself calm and quiet as she watched... and mentally placed her bets on Natsu, just for pink solidarity.
And there she was going again.
Nora gritted her teeth, clenching her fists and closing her eyes.
None of this was right.
She should have been on Remnant, fighting with her friends or dead beside them, not in this warm guild-hall which smelled of food, booze, and smoke and rang loud with animated chatter and laughter.
There should have been explosions, gunfire, growls, and screams all around her as Ruby and Jaune shouted orders which she and the rest did their best to follow, their weapons swinging and blazing as rounds, blades, and the brunt of Magnhild met the enemy—Grimm or whatever—because that was where Nora belonged, fighting alongside her friends to do what was right.
If they won, they won together.
If they lost, they lost together.
If they lived, they lived together.
If they died, they died together.
That was the rule, after Pyrrha—and they broke it without giving Nora a choice, so why did Nora feel like the traitor? Like she ran away and left them all behind?
Because her injuries left her vulnerable to their choices? She had to save Penny, right?!
Nora rested her forehead on her hand, sighing and closing her eyes.
It was all just a mess...
"Annoying, isn't it?" A voice asked, and Nora looked up to see a young man that Mirajane had told her about. Apparently, his name was 'Loke' and he was a huge flirt—and Nora was around seventy-percent sure that he had been caught up in the brawl and thrown aside like a ragdoll just moments before. "Gray and Natsu are like little children, always fighting."
"Hm."
"So, what happened to you?" Loke gestured to the wheelchair, raising an eyebrow.
Nora tensed, then she decided to go with the same vague excuse she had given anyone else who had asked. "Fight went sour, but I managed to deal with it."
"Oh?" Loke crossed his arms. "After all that? You must be powerful."
"Yeah, sure." Nora looked back at her orange-juice, frowning.
"I've never seen you before. New to the guild?" Loke asked, and Nora did not reply. "I'm newer to Fairy Tail, myself—been here a little over a year. It's a great place, everyone treats their fellow guild-members like family."
Nora hummed. "That's what I've heard."
"So, what's your name?" Loke went on.
Nora sighed and closed her eyes, realizing that this would not be over any time soon. "Nora Valkyrie."
"Valkyrie?" Loke pulled up a chair and sat down across from Nora. "Interesting. The Valkyrie were winged women of legend, powerful warriors known for strength as well as beauty. It suits you." Nora did not look at him. "... It might suit you more if you smiled."
"What?" Nora opened her eyes and looked up at Loke, raising an eyebrow.
Loke lightly gestured towards the girl. "You don't seem like the sort of person who acts this way, if you don't mind me saying so. A frown doesn't suit you."
"Yeah, well-" Nora rested her chin on her hand, planting her elbow on the table. "I don't feel like smiling, right now. Sorry."
Loke rolled his eyes. "Everyone gets injured on a job, once in a while-"
"It's more complicated than that," Nora said immediately, then she cringed.
Loke raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"None of your business." Nora looked back at her juice, her shoulders raising a bit. "Just leave me alone."
"... Hey." Loke gave a real smile as he scooted his chair over to Nora and went to place a hand on her shoulder, but he glanced at her bandages and quickly rethought it, retracting his hand. "Look... We're members of the same guild, now—and like I said, members of the guild are family. You can talk to me."
Nora glanced away. "Hm."
"I assume that your reluctance is due to my reputation." Loke gave a light smirk, pushing his glasses up. "Well, I'll be the first to admit that I can be a bit forward…" He lowered his hand and grew serious. "But I really would like to help you, Nora."
"Look." Nora frowned as she looked up at him, growing annoyed. "I don't need help, okay? I just need to deal with this on my own."
It was mean, and Nora knew it—and it did not make sense. Elfman and Mirajane were helping, after all.
But the more people who 'helped', the more risks Nora found herself taking.
Jaune and Ren helped, and they were gone.
Everyone was gone.
"... When someone is grieving, they need others to be there for them more than ever," Loke stated, and Nora's eyes widened before she looked up at him. "It's okay to need help." Nora gazed at him, then she looked down. "Alright, don't tell me what's wrong—but at least try to smile. I hear that it can help." Nora closed her eyes. "... Come on, Nora! Just a little smile, please..~!" Loke started to act over-dramatic, and it sort of reminded Nora of herself. "The suspense is killing me!" And it took all of Nora's willpower not to grin. "I'll go and get myself punched by Natsu again if you smile for me! I'll do it, you've made me crazy!"
'… Oh, come on,' Nora thought, feeling her resolve crack.
"Saw your lip twitch!"
"... Fine!" Nora opened and rolled her eyes before looking at the boy with a smile, and Loke gripped his chest, his eyes wide and his jaw slack. "Are you this dramatic, all the time?"
Loke raised the back of his hand to his forehead and feigned a swoon. "I am witnessing the smile of a goddess!"
"Really?!" Nora was suddenly doing her best not to laugh at these antics. "You are such a little-!"
"Aw, Loke! Leave her alone!" Cana walked over, smirking as she slammed a tankard down, then she blinked. "Oh, shit. You made her smile-smile. Nevermind, carry on."
"Haha." Nora rolled her eyes again, then she looked up at Cana with a light grin as the card-mage pulled up a chair. "Have I really been that mopey?"
"Maybe," the card-mage teased lightly. "But that's okay. You look like you're in pretty rough shape." She raised an eyebrow as she sat down. "It… really must've been a Hell of a fight."
Cana had been avoiding that topic.
Maybe, after the reading earlier and this new development, she had decided she might get a real answer.
"Heh." Nora looked at her bandaged arms before looking back at Cana and nodding. "Yeah, it was pretty brutal."
Loke tilted his head. "How brutal?"
"... I was part of a small, covert team infiltrating a corrupted military base in order to access the commanding officer's personal terminal and launch a powerful cross-regional communication system to send a distress call," Nora began, folding her hands, and the two mages blinked. "See, this officer was in charge of protecting two settlements, one more well-off and one less—but when an attack came, he chose to abandon the impoverished half of his people.
My team chose to send a distress call to both warn other lands of the threat and call for help so that we could defend the half that he was choosing to leave behind." Her eyes narrowed. "While the six of us were inside his base, we sent one of our teammates to secure safe transportation out while the other five of us went after the terminal. We managed to reach the objective, but we were ambushed by four specialists sent by the officer.
One of our teammates was an incredibly powerful mage, and the officer decided to cut her off from the rest of us and have his specialists take her on four to one. They wanted to capture her, maybe even kill her." Nora gestured to her wounds. "Luckily, I specialized in the sort of power he used in the trap, though it was more powerful than the sort I was used to. I got these while busting us out and evening the odds."
Cana and Loke's jaws had dropped, then Cana raised her tankard. "Fuck. I'll drink to that, my funky little redhead chick."
"Heh." Nora looked away, smiling awkwardly. "It was nothing, really." She reached over and patted Magnhild. "Just… being strong and hitting stuff, really. That's what I do best."
"That doesn't really look like the best bludgeoning weapon," Loke joked, and Nora pulled the weapon into her lap and shifted it into its hammer-form, causing him to blink. "... I stand corrected."
Cana's eyes widened. "Holy shit!"
"Hm." Nora grinned, idly noticing Levy looking over at her and the weapon with sparkling eyes. Lots of people were suddenly paying attention, but Nora kept her focus on her weapon, Cana, and Loke. "This is Magnhild. I forged it when I was thirteen."
"You made that?!" Loke asked, then he chuckled and shook his head as Nora shifted the weapon back into its grenade-launcher form. "Truly a woman of many mysteries and talents! I bow before this newbie!" He actually stood and gave a bow. "Bravo, goddess!"
"You're terrible," Nora told him, smirking as Cana laughed. "Both of you. This is exactly why I sit alone."
"Not anymore." Loke stood up straight and stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking down at Nora with a smirk.
Nora blinked, then she huffed and rested her chin in her hand again. "Stubborn."
"Very," Loke agreed, grinning.
Cana held her tankard up. "And hammered." She blinked, then she pointed at Nora. "That was not intended to be a pun! Don't laugh at that!"
"Laugh at that!" Loke hopped in place, his eyes shining. "Please, laugh at that!"
Nora snorted, smiling at the two.
Maybe they were both alright.
/\/\/\/\
Three days later, Nora took a deep breath as she walked across the backyard training area behind the Fairy Tail guild-hall and faced a punching-bag, raising a pair of wrapped fists and glancing down at her trembling limbs with a worried frown.
"Are you alright?" Elfman asked her from the sidelines, his arms crossed, and Nora closed her eyes. "It's only been six days. Mira says she doesn't think you should be walking, yet." He cringed. "If you get hurt doing this, she's gonna have my head."
"I'm fine," Nora told him, then she opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "I need to get this under control. I can't spend my life locked-up in that guild-hall."
"Cabin fever?" Elfman raised an eyebrow.
Nora gave a small smirk. "Cana predicts that I'll break a chair over someone's head within the week if I don't get off the grounds. Wanna volunteer to face the rampaging alien, Elfman?"
"I'm a real man!" Elfman insisted, uncrossing his arms and flexing his muscles. "I can handle anything you can throw at me… once you're better!" He pointed at Nora. "I would never hurt a comrade, and no real man would hit an injured person!"
"Heh." Nora shook her head, grinning. "Alright, alright. Sorry…"
She looked at the punching bag, and she began to strike it, gritting her teeth a bit as the impact and the vibrations up her arms seemed to aggravate her injuries. She knew that getting her muscle control back would hurt after the last near-week of working on basic mobility with Mirajane in her free time, but that did not mean that the exercise would hurt any less.
"H-Hey." Nora decided to try and make some conversation to distract herself. "Know anyone with a weight-bench?"
"I have one."
"Maximum weight?"
"Uh… A ton, I think?" Elfman shrugged. "But I rarely go that high, unless I'm using magic." He glanced down at his arm. "My beast-arms can handle more."
"Perfect." Nora gave another small smirk. "Think I can get Mira and Cana to sit on either side of the thing for extra weight?"
Elfman blinked. "... Wait, what?"
"Kidding!" Nora told him, grinning, then she snorted. "Mostly."
There would be too much of a risk of unbalancing the weight with the slightest difference—but after spending so much time indoors, Nora was raring to go and up for a challenge. That, and messing with Elfman was just too much fun.
"You sure you wouldn't be up for a sparring match?" Nora glanced at Elfman again, raising an eyebrow. "No magic, no aura, no semblance, no weapon. Just fists." She winked, smiling deviously. "I promise I'll go easy on you."
Elfman blinked, then he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "... You're injured."
"Heh." Nora lowered her fists and rested them on her hips, turning to face him. "I'm trying to get back into fighting shape, and this bag will only do so much. You gonna make excuses or lend a hand?" She snorted. "Unless, of course, you're too scared."
Elfman's eyes narrowed. "Hold on-"
"Ooh, watch out! That seven-foot wizard's got nothing on this idiot Huntress who was in a wheelchair two days ago! Oh, or is this still about the alien thing?" Nora held her hands up and waved her fingers as she crossed her eyes. "Booga-booga! So scary..!"
"Alright, that's it." Elfman walked over, annoyed, then he sighed. "... If I see you're in pain, we stop the match. I meant it when I said I would never hurt a comrade." He held his fists up. "But if this is gonna help you get better, then it's the duty of a real man to make it happen!"
"That's the spirit!" Nora raised her fists to guard her face, her eyes glinting. "Let's see what you've got!"
Elfman, looking Nora up and down, seemed to decide it would be best to test the waters. He threw a light punch which Nora easily dodged before coming up on his side and delivering a swift jab.
The mage grunted, then he smirked. "Okay, not bad."
"Seeing how much you can take," Nora explained as she moved back, letting Elfman take up his ready position again. "I've never really sparred with someone who doesn't have aura. I need to make sure I won't hurt you."
"Oh, don't you worry about me," Elfman insisted, then he threw a kick which Nora easily ducked before the girl slammed her knee against his support-leg, causing Elfman to drop down onto one knee. "Whoa!" The mage looked up, his eyes wide, as Nora again moved back to let him recover. "You're tougher than you look."
"Heh." Nora smiled deviously. "I get that a lot."
"Do you, huh?" Elfman stood, raising an eyebrow. Nora nodded, and he blinked. "That hammer of yours was pretty-..." Elfman cocked his head to the side. "Huh. Guess I should've figured—different planet, different rules."
Nora tilted her head as they started circling each other. "What do you mean?"
"You don't use magic, and you said you wouldn't use that aura stuff," Elfman said. "But—no offense—you're pretty tiny. Folks from where you're from must just be stronger."
"Nope." Nora shook her head. "There were folks bigger than me, and I was stronger than them."
Elfman blinked. "How?"
"I dunno." Nora shrugged, being completely honest. "I worked for it, I guess." She moved one of her detached sleeves and its associated arm-band down, revealing the toned muscles covered by electric scars. "It just never showed up too well, I guess. I just stayed -well- pretty tiny." She looked up, grinning as she fixed her sleeve and arm-band. "It surprises the heck out of bad guys."
"... Heh." Elfman smiled, raising his fists again. "Alright, then. Show me what you've got, alien."
Nora raised her fists as well, nodding. "You got it!"
/\
Hours later, Nora stretched her sore arms as she walked back into the guild-hall with a wide-eyed Elfman covered in dirt and grass stains.
"Not bad for my few sparring matches, eh?" The Huntress glanced up at Elfman, grinning. "Same time tomorrow? You can show me those beast-arms you mentioned!"
Elfman blinked, then he grinned back. "Oh, it's ON!"
"Hey, YOU'RE NEW!" A voice shouted, and Nora blinked as something pink darted into her view. Natsu was suddenly right in front of her, his eyes scanning over Nora as the blue cat which was always nearby—Nora heard it referred to as 'Happy'—flew over with a pair of white, feathery wings and rested on his pink hair.
"Uh… Yeah," Nora agreed, nodding. "I've been here for six days, and-"
"Where's your mark?!" Natsu grabbed Nora's wrist and lifted her arm above her head as if he thought she was somehow hiding it, his eyes still scanning her up and down.
Nora deadpanned. "The same place as your boundaries—that is, nonexistent at the moment."
"HA!" Gray laughed from nearby.
Nora glanced at him, smirking. "Don't laugh when your clothes are in the same boat."
"Huh?" Gray blinked, then his eyes widened as he looked down at himself. "AH!"
"No guild-mark?" Natsu asked, confused, but he released Nora's wrist. "But-..?"
Nora looked back at him, crossing her arms. "Can't get it just yet." She gestured to her scars. "Still healing up."
"Oh." Natsu only just seemed to notice Nora's marks, then he cringed. "Sorry." He then tilted his head to the side, blinking. "Hm. That's weird..." Natsu squinted, then he leaned over and sniffed. "... You smell weird."
"I just got back from training." Nora raised an eyebrow, then she leaned over and sniffed him right back. "And you're not exactly a daisy patch yourself."
"That's Valkyrie, for ya!" Cana held up a barrel from where she was seated, grinning broadly.
"Heh." Natsu had started to grin himself, tilting his head. "Well, let me know when you're done healing up!" He slammed his fists together, smirking. "I gotta welcome you to Fairy Tail properly, Valky!"
"Uh, Valkyrie," Nora tried awkwardly. "My name is Nora Valkyrie."
"Save your breath," Gray insisted. "He's an idiot."
Natsu looked back at the ice-mage with a glare. "SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU PERVERTED ICICLE!"
Nora blinked as the two boys proceeded to launch themselves at each other while Happy flew to a safe distance and began to cheer for Natsu (how he could speak, Nora did not even want to begin trying to ask), then she shook her head and pointed away. "Yeah, I'm just gonna... go..."
"That's probably for the best," a blonde girl Nora had heard referred to as 'Lucy' agreed, her eyes wide. "Escape while you still can."
Nora nodded, then she turned her head to look around before waving at where she could still see Cana seated at the counter near Mirajane.
Nora walked over, Elfman not far behind her, and she grinned as she rested her hands on her hips and stretched her back. "Craaazy Thursday, eh?"
"We've seen crazier," Cana told her, smiling. "You seem a bit better."
Elfman huffed, sitting down. "She's a bit more than that. She's tiny, but she can lift me over her head with one arm."
"Oh, really?" Cana teased, raising an eyebrow.
Ellfman nodded, a haunted look in his eyes. "It was like I weighed nothing to her..." He glanced at Nora, then he smirked and winked. "Hehe."
"Good to know my muscles haven't deteriorated," Nora remarked, winking back, and Mirajane looked at her with wide eyes. "See, that's why I started pushing myself around in the wheelchair on day three. Gotta keep the conditioning up, Mira."
"... You're -like- five feet tall," Cana said slowly.
Nora deadpanned. "I'm five-one, okay? I earned the inch, respect the inch."
"Elfman is six-foot-ten and built like a brick house," Cana went on, her eyes wide. "Do you use some sort of strength-based magic?"
Nora blinked, then she looked away awkwardly. "Well, my abilities do let me increase my strength, but... I wasn't using them at the time."
"... Next time there's a full-guild brawl, you're on my team," Cana decided, clapping Nora on the shoulder.
The Huntress snorted. "Whatever you say."
"I'm glad to see you are doing better, Nora," Makarov spoke, walking across the counter to approach the Huntress. "How are you acclimating to Fairy Tail?"
"It kinda reminds me of how a school I used to attend could be at times," Nora replied. "Though, there was no alcohol. It was just a bunch of teenagers with powers under one roof, and that was enough to create all the crazy we needed."
Makarov chuckled. "It usually is." He glanced at Elfman, raising an eyebrow. "That's your work?"
"He took it like a champ," Nora proclaimed, holding a fist up, and Elfman grinned and bumped it. "I had to go easy on most folks back home. It's nice to know some people here can keep up." She looked away, a little awkward. "I could... forget my own strength, sometimes."
"You remembered it, today," Elfman joked, lowering his fist. "And it's nice to have a match with someone who isn't covered in fire or ice, or who I might break."
Nora looked over at Elfman, smiling. "Any time, alright? Girl's gotta train, after all."
"Hm!" Mirajane raised a hand to her mouth, beaming, then she blinked before her eyes narrowed and she rested her hands on her hips. "Wait, we argued this morning about you walking. What were you doing training, let alone sparring?"
"... Bonding," Nora replied with as straight a face as she could manage. "You learn more about folks in five minutes of fighting than in an hour of talking." She gestured to Elfman. "Like him? I learned that while he can judge by appearances at first, he gets over pre-conceived notions very quickly and admits it. I appreciate that." She grinned, lowering her hand. "Also, Cana's not far off with the brick house bit. He definitely hits the ground like a sack of bricks."
"Hey!" Elfman complained, playfully nudging the Huntress as Cana laughed.
Nora looked at him, grinning. "Hey, you can get me back with the beast-arms tomorrow."
"What?" Mirajane's eyes widened. "You will not!"
"Hey, come on—it'll be fun," Nora insisted, smiling. "Live a little, Mira! I'm recovering, not made of glass!"
Mirajane crossed her arms. "You have to take things slowly, or you could hurt yourself more."
"But I've been stuck in here for days..!" Nora complained, leaning against the counter and draping an arm over her head. "I gotta get out, and I mean OUT."
"Soon enough, Miss Valkyrie!" Makarov laughed at the girl's antics. "Soon enough..." He hummed, then he drew something and held it up. "I've been meaning to give you this. I had a few procured for you, and I was wondering if they would work with your powers. They seemed to work for my-..." He shook his head, then held the object up. "I was hoping you would give it a try?"
"Hm?" Nora blinked, then she took the crystalline sphere into her hand, examining the glowing lightning-bolt shape at its center. "Whoa."
"A lightning-lacrima?" Loke walked over, an eyebrow raised. "What's that for?" He glanced at Nora's emblem, blinking, then he looked at Nora curiously. "Are you a lightning-mage?"
"Huh." Cana blinked, seeming to give Nora's scars a second look. "You did say-..." She became confused. "Okay, I'm kinda confused now. What kind of magic do you use?"
"It's... kinda complicated," Nora admitted, glancing at her new friends with an awkward smile. "I'm strength-based, but I do work a lot with electricity." She looked at Makarov. "Do I just break it?"
"That, or simply will it to activate," Makarov told her, then he smiled nervously. "Though, err... I'm not certain-"
"I won't do it here," Nora assured him, grinning and winking.
Cana snorted. "You act like it's some show. Sounds like Laxus might have something to worry about."
"Laxus?" Nora glanced at the card-mage, an eyebrow raised.
Loke snorted. "Don't get Cana started."
"PLEASE, get me started!" Cana grumbled, then she glanced at Makarov. "Sorry."
Makarov sighed, shaking his head. "It's alright."
"I get the feeling there's some backstory here," Nora remarked, placing the lightning-lacrima in her bag.
Mirajane shook her head. "Now, now—speaking ill of someone who isn't here to defend themselves isn't right, and Laxus is still our comrade despite his... abrasiveness."
"... So, the general consensus is that he's a total jerk-wad?" Nora asked quietly, leaning towards Loke. "That's rough."
The boy gave a strained smile. "Understatement of the eon. Word is that he was a sweet kid and that he even used to be the 'big brother' of the guild, but he had an edgy teen phase and eventually went full-jackass."
"Oh, geez." Nora raised an eyebrow, surprised. "That bad?"
Loke winced. "Having met the guy? I don't like to talk bad about other people, but... he does like to near-electrocute people for fun and laugh like a psychopath while doing it. That, and he wears cheetah-print."
"... Okay, cheetah-print is definitely a red flag," Nora decided, and Loke nodded with a grave expression. "I mean... I guess it could be wor-"
"With leather pants and an ankle-length fur coat."
"... Okay, you said a string of words that each make sense separately," Nora told Loke. "But all together, my brain refuses to process them."
Loke shook his head, grinning. "Just wait until you see the headphones."
/\/\/\/\
The next day, the Huntress moved into the girls' dormitories at Fairy Hills, where Mirajane loaned her a short pink night-dress to sleep in, and Cana took notice and raised an eyebrow.
"Why's she loaning you clothes?" The card-mage asked, tilting her head as Nora worked on her laundry in her borrowed pajamas.
Nora looked over at the card-mage with an awkward smile. "I, uh... I kinda have nothing besides my weapons and the clothes on my back until I recover enough to go on a job and get some money."
Cana blinked. "Like... nothing-nothing? Like, 'you were homeless'-nothing?"
Nora held her hands up. "That's a bit far, but-"
"HEY!" Cana shouted, wrapping an arm around Nora's shoulders and spinning her around, and Nora blinked as every other girl in the laundry room looked at her. Cana pointed at Nora, her eyes narrowed. "We've got a guild-mate with NOTHING to her name! We really gonna accept that?!" She held a hand out. "Any spare anything, people?! Pass it up!"
"That's really not necessary," Nora tried, her face flushing in embarrassment.
"I've got an old jacket and some shirts that might complement your epidermis quite nicely!" Laki offered, smiling brightly.
Nora raised an eyebrow, grinning awkwardly. 'Still not used to that...'
Levy waved. "I have some leggings that might work, and some blankets and pillows for your bunk!" She winked, holding a finger up. "And maybe you can try some of my headbands! They'd look cute!"
"Cana, what have you done?" Nora hissed as girls started offering up clothing suggestions, all while Mirajane laughed and shook her head.
Cana blinked, surprised. "Ah... Sorry."
"G... Guys, please?" Nora held her hands up, and everyone looked at her. "Where I'm from, there are actually some rules about the clothes we wear, so—while I really appreciate this—I can't just-"
"There are rules?" Mirajane asked, surprised.
Nora rubbed one arm awkwardly. "Kinda? It's a cultural thing. If we don't have a physical feature that compensates, our clothes have to go with our names..." She noticed the looks she was getting. "Oh, um... Where I'm from, everyone's gotta be named for a color." She waved her hands a bit as she explained. "If you're like my friend Jaune and named for 'yellow' and you're a blonde, you can kinda cheat and wear whatever you want—but I was named for a pink flower, so I always have to wear pink."
"Huh." Cana looked at Nora in surprise. "Do you even like pink?"
Nora shrugged. "Yeah, I like soft shades and even some bold shades. But those bright shades that hurt your eyes?" Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. "No, thanks." She looked up at the other girls and grinned nervously. "So really, thanks—but I can wait until after I can work. I'll just have to do a lot of laundry, that's all."
"... I've got a few pink t-shirts, if you don't mind motivational sayings!" Laki decided, placing her hands on her hips and smiling. "And I have a pink hoodie I sometimes use for my solitary traverses into the wilderness! I've been meaning to get a new one, anyway."
"I have some pink headbands, and some socks!" Levy realized, resting a finger on her chin. "And I think I have a pair of pink leggings somewhere."
"I have some stuff I accidentally turned pink in the wash," Cana drawled, looking at Nora with a grin. "I was smashed and washed my whites with some reds."
"I have lots of pinks," Mirajane said, beaming. "And don't ever be embarrassed to tell us anything about your culture, Nora. You're a member of Fairy Tail now, so these are things we'll have to know as members of your family."
Nora blinked, then she looked down shyly. "I-"
"You like blue, don't you?" Laki asked, and Nora looked up at the other girl as she adjusted her glasses. "It's the other color you wear besides pink, and you wear it close to your face. Your eyes seek out their kindred." She smiled. "And you wear white, black, and some green, red, silver, and gold, too... Can we include some of those pigments, if we come across them in our quest?"
"... Yeah," Nora said shyly. "And I'll make sure to give everything back once I've made some money."
"Don't even worry about it!" Levy insisted, placing her fists on her hips. "You're a member of Fairy Tail! It's our job to look after each other!"
"Hm." Nora looked down, frowning.
Cana noticed and blinked, then she looked up with a grin. "Alright! Let's see what we got!"
Nora ended up with more than she expected.
Cana provided three pairs of denim pants (one blue, one black, one white), two tank-tops (one white, one black), some pairs of socks (two pairs black, three pairs white), a white denim jacket, a blue denim jacket, and four t-shirts and three tank-tops that had been stained pink in an accidental red-wash. She also gave Nora a pair of old black sneakers which were a bit big, but fit well enough.
Levy provided some leggings (four pairs of black, one pair of pink), three headbands (one pink, one blue, one green), and two pairs of pink socks. She also gave Nora a blue blanket and two pillows for her bed, and then she handed Nora an empty sketchbook and some pencils, citing Nora's apparent creativity given the stencil-work on Magnhild and encouraging the Huntress to pursue the talent again.
Laki gave Nora five dress-shirts (two pink, two white, one blue), two pairs of black leggings, two pairs of black dress-pants, and a worn pink hoodie. She also gave Nora a blue jacket, a blue nightgown, a green bath-robe, a pair of tall white boots, and a few hair-ties.
Mirajane brought out an old trunk from when she was younger and explained she was looking for clothes more-suited to Nora's tastes. She managed to find a pair of black shorts and a black tank-top to replace Nora's in case anything were to happen to her set, then she gave Nora a pair of denim shorts and a few more t-shirts in various colors.
Nora folded all of the clothes and put them in a small dresser in her dorm-room, then she looked at the blanket and pillows Levy had given her and the notebook and pencils resting atop them, taking a deep breath, before looking at the girls standing in her doorway with a small grin.
"Thanks, guys," she said quietly. "I... really appreciate all of this."
There were other girls in Fairy Tail, but the long-time members seemed to keep close. Cana, Mirajane, Laki, Levy, and two absent girls who were named Bisca and Erza were all situated at one end of the hallway while the rest of the girls in the guild seemed to keep to the other end.
Why Nora was being allotted one of the empty bunks roomstheirs while the other girls who were newer to Fairy Tail kept their distance was a mystery to her, but she figured that Mirajane might have something to do with the inclusion—and if not her, then Cana or Levy...
"You don't have to thank us," Laki chided, then she smiled deviously. "Just a warning: when nighttime falls, the rumblings of Cana's restful 'peace' could awaken the Vulcans of Mount Hakobe and bring them down upon us all."
Or maybe that was it.
The long-term girls were just used to Cana, while the newer girls had not built up a tolerance.
Fair enough.
"Hey!" Cana complained, aggravated. "At least I don't have guys busting down the doors! Levy has Jet and Droy constantly trying to get in, Natsu constantly wants to fight Erza, you'll get sick of watching Alzack pine after Bisca by the end of the first week, and Elfman sometimes forgets he's a dude when he wants to talk to his sister."
"Oh, Elfman…" Mirajane sighed in lament, shaking her head.
Nora snorted, sitting on her bed. "I grew up sharing living-space and our school's dorms were co-ed, so I'm used to noise and guys. It takes a lot to scare me off."
"You didn't run when Macao came back with Natsu, Happy, and Lucy and told everyone he'd been a Vulcan," Levy noted, grinning. "I'd say you passed the first test."
Nora shook her head. "Believe me, I've seen and heard weirder."
It wasn't like Nora knew what a Vulcan was, anyway. Probably some sort of ape-thing, based on what Elfman said that first night.
And with magic, all bets were off.
/\
It was better, Nora decided. Not perfect.
Cana's snoring and Makarov's lacrima, along with all of the other night-sounds from all of the mages in Fairy Hills, were securing and definitely much more relaxing than sleeping in that quiet guild-hall—even knowing that Makarov was staying in his office at night.
But Nora was still in a room by herself, listening for the sounds of a constant companion of thirteen years which she would never hear again.
'Good night, Ren,' came the traitorous thought after Nora bit her tongue to keep the words from being spoke, then she closed her eyes.
Sleep came readily that night, but it was far from easy or peaceful.
It was still dark out when Nora's eyes snapped open and she sat up, grabbing at her chest and gasping for breath, then she closed her eyes and put her face into her hands.
All she could see were faces and eyes, faces and eyes.
The Grimm, fanged and glowing like hellfire.
Their enemies, grinning or scowling and filled with madness or malice.
Her friends, screaming and filled with so much fear...
"I'm sorry," Nora whimpered, her voice breaking, then her body began to shake as sobs wracked her form. "I-I'm so sorry..."
It would have been better, Nora thought, if she had died on Remnant. Not perfect... but better...
Now, she had no choice but to be brave.
It was not right.
It was not fair.
/\/\/\/\
It had been eight days since Nora arrived in Fiore when Makarov had to leave to attend some meeting of the guild-masters in Clover, a settlement some distance away from Magnolia.
Nora had begun to study maps of Fiore in her free time to become accustomed with her new surroundings, so she had a pretty good idea of where the master of Fairy Tail had gone, though her mind was still reeling from the idea that there were seventeen million people in the kingdom. She doubted there were that many people in all of Remnant.
Nora had studied maps of Magnolia in the past two days, and she felt she had the city plan memorized. She could not wait to test her knowledge whenever Mirajane let her leave; or, a devious part of Nora suggested, whenever the Take-Over mage was unfortunate enough to lower her guard long enough for the Huntress to slip out of the guild-hall.
Nora kept her eyes on the maps, but she did listen in as Mirajane had to explain to Lucy the hierarchy of magical authority in Fiore. It surprised Nora that a mage who was native to Fiore did not know these things, but Lucy's lack of knowledge was Nora's gain as the Huntress now knew about the Magic Council, the Guild Master Leagues, and dark guilds.
Lucy was apparently bitter over a job that had gone wrong with Natsu and Happy, and she thought she had been only chosen for it because she was convenient. Natsu insisted that they were a team and that he chose Lucy because he liked her, much to the blonde's restrained embarrassment.
'Cute,' Nora thought, smiling at the two young mages, then she looked back at her maps. 'Wonder how long they're gonna dance around that. Poor kids...'
Not look after that, Nora got to watch as Gray and Natsu locked horns again while Loke swooped in to flirt with Lucy, all of which just made the Huntress snort into her orange-juice.
"W-Wait!" Loke suddenly jumped back and away from Lucy. "You're a celestial wizard?!"
"Huh?" Lucy blinked, raising an eyebrow.
Happy looked up from where he was chewing on a fish. "Aye! She's got -like- a cow and a crab!"
Nora raised an eyebrow, glancing at the blonde curiously. 'I wonder what that means.'
"Fate, what cruel tricks you play on me!" Loke shrieked, then he turned and ran. "I'm sorry! It seems we are destined to be star-crossed!"
"Heh." Nora blinked before she raised an eyebrow again, grinning, as Loke dove beneath her table and clung to her leg like a terrified cat in a thunderstorm. "You good, buddy?"
"Protect me, goddess!" Loke cried, and Nora sighed and reached down to pat his head twice. "Thank you..." He suddenly tensed. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what? It's -like- crazy loud in h-" Nora blinked, then she closed her eyes and focused. Gradually, the din of the guild-hall dissolved, and she could hear rumbling footsteps approaching. Her aura prickled. "... Something's coming. It's close."
"Erza," Loke decided, and Nora opened her eyes. "Protect me..!"
The doors to the guild-hall were kicked open, and a figure in armor strode in, carrying a massive horn decorated in gold and jewels above their head as a hush fell. The figure dropped the horn in the center of the room with a loud crash, then they rested one hand on it and looked around.
"I have returned," a young woman with long crimson hair announced, resting her free hand on her hip. "Is the master here?"
"Welcome back." Mirajane smiled, walking over to face this new arrival as everyone else stared at her in awe and Lucy even blushed. "Master Makarov is at the regular meeting."
"I see." Erza placed her other hand on her hip and nodded.
"Erza-san?" A man asked weakly, and Nora tilted her head at the address. She had heard some people tag words onto the ends of people's names while others had chosen not to, and she was still trying to figure it out. "What is that giant thing?"
"The horn of a monster I defeated," Erza replied simply. "The locals decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir. Got a problem with it?"
The man and those around him immediately raised hands in surrender. "NO, NOT AT ALL!"
"... All of you!" Erza suddenly shouted, her eyes narrowed, and the entire guild-hall snapped to attention. "I heard a bunch of rumors while I was gone, about how Fairy Tail keeps causing problems. Master Makarov might forgive you, but I will not!" She turned her gaze to her first victim. "Cana!"
"Ack!" The card-mage, who had been in the process of downing a full barrel of ale, nearly choked.
"How dare you drink in such an undignified manner?!" Erza demanded, then she closed her eyes. "Vijeeter, take your dancing outside! Wakaba, you're dropping ash on the table!" She glanced to one corner of the room. "Nab, just hesitating in front of the request board as usual? Take a job!"
"Sheesh." Nora frowned at the armored girl.
'She's like if Pyrrha became a drill-sergeant.'
"Shh!" Loke waved frantically. "You're protecting me, remember?!"
"Macao!" Erza turned to her next victim, who looked at her in alarm, but she merely sighed.
Macao's eyes widened. "Say something, damn it!"
"You all give me such trouble." Erza raised a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. "I'll let it slide today without saying anything."
"Uh..." Nora raised an eyebrow. "Bit past that."
"She'll hear you, she'll hear you!" Loke warned, shaking his head. "Just keep your head down and your eyes averted, and you might survive."
"Are Natsu and Gray here?" Erza asked, lowering her hand.
The boys, who had arms wrapped around each other and were in the process of shaking hands, looked at her with strained smiles and pained eyes.
"Aye!" Natsu said hoarsely.
"H-Hey, Erza!" Gray greeted. "The both of us are getting along great today, as always!"
"Aye!" Natsu said again.
Nora blinked, then she clapped a hand over her mouth and doubled-over in her chair, wheezing. "Oh, my gods..."
"I see." Erza crossed her arms. "Well, even the best of friends fight at times." She opened her eyes, giving a somewhat-devious smile. "But I like it most when I get to see the two of you getting along."
Gray grimaced. "Um, 'best friends' is a little-..."
Natsu's eye twitched. "Aye."
Nora looked down at Loke, grinning. "Just what did she do to get you all whipped like this?"
"She beat Natsu when he challenged her, she beat Gray when he stripped, and she beat me when I flirted." Loke shuddered. "She is She Who Knows No Mercy, and I can still feel the bruises."
Nora raised an eyebrow. "So, whenever someone does something she doesn't like, she just beats the snot out of them?"
"Pretty much."
"Ah."
Erza ended up asking Natsu and Gray to help her with something, requesting that they make the necessary preparations to leave with her in the morning to settle some important matter. This seemed to astonish everyone else in the guild-hall, but Nora?
Nora was remembering the first day at Beacon Academy with Ruby and Weiss and wondering how well that plan was going to go for Erza—at least, at first.
"So, they basically think that it'll be the strongest team to ever come out of Fairy Tail?" Nora asked, raising an eyebrow.
Loke, who was still hiding under the table, nodded. "Yep."
Nora nodded back, picking up her mug. "Got it. Personally, I think she's gonna have her hands full trying to keep them from not killing each other, but I can see why getting them to work together might work out well." She took a sip, then set her mug down. "My friends, Weiss and Yang, were pretty ice and fire-based. Personality-wise, they could clash—but they were strong together, once they got over it."
"Natsu and Gray have been at each other's throats for a decade," Loke remarked as Nora picked up her map again. "I don't see them 'getting over it'." He blinked. "... Scream and run."
"Huh?" Nora raised an eyebrow, then she looked up to see Erza approaching. "Oh." The Huntress set the map down as the armored girl crossed her arms. "... Hey?"
"Mirajane has informed me that you are new to Fairy Tail and that your name is Nora Valkyrie," Erza stated. "She says that you come from outside of Fiore, that you use a mix of carrier-type and non-carrier-type abilities, and that you are currently recovering from injuries you received before joining our guild. Is this correct?"
"You do your research..." Nora slowly nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up... I basically just know that your name's Erza and you apparently kick a lot of butt when stuff's not going how you want it to." She shrugged her shoulders, then she held a hand out. "But, uh... Nice to meetcha?"
Erza did not break eye-contact. "Who did this?" She bypassed Nora's hand and moved some of Nora's hair aside, her eyes narrowed as she examined some of the scars on the Huntress's face. "I would have you tell me."
"Oh, I-... I kinda did it to myself." Nora looked away, lowering her hand. "See, to get to this friend of mine who was in trouble, I was breaking myself and some other friends out of this trap so-"
"Who trapped you? What became of them?"
"They're far away from here." Nora looked up at Erza. "They don't know where I am, and they probably wouldn't care. I wasn't really important to them, so they wouldn't waste time to come here after me, so... you don't have to worry." She looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "And even if they did come, I'd handle it. I'd make sure they didn't come anywhere near-"
"When you joined our guild, you became our comrade," Erza stated. "Your enemies became our enemies. If they came for you, we would stand with you." Nora looked up at Erza, her eyes wide, but the knight merely raised an eyebrow while keeping her expression neutral. "Of course, you could just spare time and tell me who and where they are so that I would have something to do once Natsu, Gray, and I are through with our mission." Her eyes narrowed. "Even if these injuries were inflicted before you joined our guild, they will not sit right with me so long as the perpetrator goes unpunished. It would be shameful to Fairy Tail for a comrade to have been wounded so with no repercussion to the offender. I would see the matter resolved, unless you would like to settle it yourself upon the completion of your recovery."
"... I knew what I was doing." Nora gave a light grin, shrugging her shoulders, and Erza blinked. "Yeah, I was under pressure... but I don't regret my choice." She shook her head. "This isn't something that has to be avenged. And the guy who sprung the trap?" She sighed quietly. "He was a good person, once. He just... changed... And I hate to say it, but he's gonna get what's coming to him if he hasn't already." She looked up at Erza. "Don't worry, alright? It's over."
Erza blinked again, then she closed her eyes and nodded. "Very well."
"Alright." Nora offered her hand again. "Nora Valkyrie. Nice to meetcha."
"Erza Scarlet." Erza took Nora's hand and shook it. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."
/\
That night, Erza took it upon herself to inspect situation in Nora's room.
Honestly, Nora did not even know why she was surprised.
"Everything here is someone else's," the knight remarked, looking in Nora's dresser.
Cana watched Erza from the hallway with the other long-term girls, frowning. "No, they're hers."
"Hm?" Erza looked back at the card-mage, an eyebrow raised, then she blinked before actually seeming to grow a bit flustered as she saw Nora sitting awkwardly on her bed in the nightgown Mirajane had given her. "I see. Forgive me."
"It's all good." Nora looked down. "Once I start earning, I can get my own things. I really need to get moving soon, so I can make rent."
"I can cover your first month," Mirajane chided her, only to blink as Nora groaned and pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them there. "Nora?"
"Mira, I really appreciate everything you're doing for me." Nora sprawled out on her bed. "But I have to leave the guild-hall eventually. You can't protect me forever."
Mirajane blinked again, then she sighed and looked away. "I know... You've been working so hard. Elfman thought that you were ready to start taking easy jobs after your first matches, and he can be even-more cautious than I am at times." She closed her eyes. "I just worry."
"I know." Nora sat up, frowning. "I know that everything everyone's doing is them trying to help, but... I guess I never had that happen, before—at least, not where it ended anywhere good." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm used to taking care of myself or me and one other person taking care of each other, and then I'm used to being part of a team where we have each other's backs or I'm looking out for them... I haven't had people just look out for me like this -like- ever." She noticed how the other girls were looking at her and blinked, then she flopped onto the bed again. "That, and I'm just stir-crazy. I need to move."
"Hm." Erza smiled, walking over and sitting down beside Nora. "Perhaps we can find something for you to do upon Natsu, Gray, and I's return. I trust you'll be in better health by then?"
"Whatever condition I'm in, you'd have to break my legs to keep me in the guild-hall another week," Nora stated, her eyes narrowing. "'Cause I'm really starting to crack."
"You really can't stand cabin-fever," Levy remarked, grinning.
"I would never survive prison," Nora agreed, nodding gravely.
Erza seemed amused. "Then, you should not be much of a problem for me."
"I wouldn't go that far." Nora held a finger up. "I guarantee I can get into plenty of trouble without breaking laws. Just wait until I get sugar or caffeine in me."
"Hm." Erza smiled as the other girls laughed. "You certainly are quite the character."
"What can I say?" Nora shrugged again. "I'm self-aware."
/\/\/\/\
The two days that followed were apparently pretty hectic as Erza, Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had to stop a dark guild called Eisenwald from using a demonic flute to murder the guild-masters.
That was a thing.
The group returned to the Fairy Tail guild-hall on the morning of the fourth day, having walked back, so Nora had been in Fiore for a total of twelve days at that point and was well on her way to recovery.
"How's it feel, being protagonists?" Nora joked as she looked at the four battered mages and the exhausted blue cat, watching from her table as they wolfed down some food at a table nearby.
Natsu looked up at her. "Can't talk, Valky. Must eat."
"It's Valkyrie." Nora deadpanned. "My name is Nora Valkyrie."
"And he's still an idiot," Gray reminded her. "He challenged Erza to a fight, after all."
"He challenged me, too," Nora remarked. "As soon as I'm patched up, we're throwing hands. Can't use my weapon, though."
"Why not?!" Natsu demanded, swallowing his food and slamming his hands on the table.
Nora frowned. "Same reason why I don't fight Elfman with my weapon: it's dangerous, and I don't wanna hurt you by accident."
"Them's fighting words!" Natsu insisted, standing up on the bench. "You've gotta fight me at the top of your game! Otherwise, it's not fair!"
"You can fight me without magic, if that'll make things fair," Nora offered. "It can just be a contest of hand-to-hand."
"Nope! Your weapon versus my magic!" Natsu slammed his fists together. "I can take whatever you throw at me!"
Nora sighed, resting her chin on her knuckles. "Magnhild's designed for heavy-duty armor-busting, and you don't even wear clothes that cover your entire body. I'm not going to use it on you, and that's that."
"I'm a Dragon-Slayer!" Natsu informed her, resting his hands on his hips. "It takes a lot more than whatever that thing can do to take me down!"
Erza glanced at Natsu. "If Nora advises against a certain form of combat, perhaps you should listen." She glanced at Nora. "However, you should not underestimate Natsu."
"I'm not trying to offend anyone." Nora held her hands up. "It's just that I can forget my own strength and, given how bad I've been, I'd rather not get him stuck on bedrest. He'd probably burn the guild-hall to the ground."
"Fair enough," Erza agreed, her tone light with amusement. "But first, we shall see how my bout with Natsu goes. I'm certain that it will be quite the match." Her eyes glinted. "And if you're so worried about this armor-busting weapon, perhaps you and I could have a match at some point."
"Heh." Nora smiled awkwardly. "I don't know... Magnhild's really more for monster-hunting."
"You said it was for armor-busting," Erza said, her eyes narrowing.
Nora nodded. "Yeah, that's right. The monsters where I'm from had armor, so it needed busting."
"Monsters?" Lucy recoiled, her eyes wide. "What kinds of monsters?"
"... The kind that needed to be fought." Nora reached back and rested her hand on her weapon. "So, I really don't know if I should be using this thing on people—especially allies."
"Well... if you've got a monster-busting weapon, why not fight a dragon-busting wizard?" Natsu asked, grinning. "I can take it!"
Nora huffed. "Natsu, seriously-"
"I will put it to the test," Erza decided. "I can hardly call my armors capable if they cannot withstand a monster-hunting weapon." She put on a devious smile. "Before you shall face any other member of Fairy Tail with your Magnhild, Nora Valkyrie, I will be your opponent. Once you are healed, it will be so."
"... Great." Nora sighed, closing her eyes. "Thanks."
'Lucky me. I might be the girl who blows-up Erza Scarlet or smashes her bones, if she doesn't somehow do that to me first. Great job, Nora...'
/\
That night in the dormitories, Nora shook hands with a green-haired girl in a big hat.
"Nice to finally meetcha, Bisca," she said, smiling. "Nice work, tracking down the goofballs in the desert."
"Heard a thing or two aboutcha, Valkyrie," the other girl replied, grinning. "They say you're packing firepower."
Nora smirked, pulling her hand away and grabbing her grenade-launcher from her back. "This is Magnhild. I can fire one or six grenades at a time, and it packs a punch."
"Nice!" Bisca's eyes glinted as she ran a hand over the top of the weapon. "She is a beaut. Where'd you get it?"
"This tends to be a shocker, but I made it," Nora said, and Bisca looked up with wide eyes "Where I'm from, warriors forge their own weapons. Half of my first year of formal training was spent teaching us how to work forges and create all kinds of weapons." The Huntress smirked. "If it can slice, smash, or shoot, I can design and build it. You want a sword that spits fire and turns into a machine-gun? Screw it, I can make it happen."
"Transforming weapons?" Bisca asked, surprised. "What kind of magic do you use for that?"
"That, I actually don't need magic for," Nora admitted, and Bisca's jaw dropped as Magnhild shifted into its hammer-form between them.
After a moment, Bisca met Nora's eyes again. "... Did we just become best friends?"
/\/\/\/\
The next morning, everyone gathered to watch Natsu and Erza fight.
Nora, grateful to be out on the street and not in the guild-hall, the dormitories, or the training field, found herself picking up on some of the gossip.
Apparently, while Gray and Natsu may have been enough to form the strongest team when in collaboration with Erza, they were not the strongest mages of Fairy Tail.
Erza was Fairy Tail's strongest woman, and Fairy Tail's strongest men were that Laxus guy the others had mentioned and a man named 'Mystogan'.
Cana muttered something about 'Gildarts' as well, but Nora was the only one who seemed to hear her.
Just as the fight was getting started, a frog-like creature that was apparently a messenger for the Magic Council arrived, charged Erza with eleven counts of property damage from the Eisenwald incident, and arrested her.
Hours later, the guild-hall remained eerily silent.
"... Gods," Nora murmured, sitting at her table and staring at the ceiling.
'I guess the same stuff happens no matter where you are, huh?' She wondered to herself. 'People who try to do the right thing are taken by the ones in power and punished like they're the enemy.' She glanced over at where Natsu had been apparently transformed into a lizard and restrained beneath a glass on the counter. 'And we're just supposed to accept it.'
Nora hesitated, then she hummed and grabbed her mug, standing and walking over to the counter. "Hey, Mira? Can I get some water?"
"Of course." Mirajane nodded, smiling sadly as she took the mug.
"I can't just stay here!" Lucy insisted, standing up. "Let's go testify on her behalf!"
"Lucy..." Nab cringed.
"No, wait!" Makarov told the blonde, his eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?!" Lucy demanded as Mirajane handed Nora the mug of water. "This arrest is an injustice! Once they decide on a verdict, it'll be too late!"
"It doesn't matter how fast we go," Makarov said, his eyes closed. "Even if we leave now, we won't make it in time."
"... You'll make a run for Erza if I let you out?" Nora asked quietly, glancing at the lizard as she slid the mug close to the glass. The lizard blinked, then it seemed to think, and Nora blinked. "Wait a second-"
Makarov cast a beam of magic that knocked the lizard and the glass off of the counter, and it was suddenly a sheepish Macao laying on the floor and smiling up at everyone awkwardly.
Nora blinked again, surprised, then she grinned and offered the man a hand. "Smooth."
"You think so?" Macao took her hand as everyone else just gaped, and the Huntress pulled the middle-aged mage to his feet. "I owed Natsu one."
"So, where is Natsu?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.
Gray's eyes narrowed. "He didn't go after Erza, did he?"
"Of course, he did." Nora released Macao and glanced back. "One, he cares about her. Two, no one else gets to beat Erza aside from him."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Elfman looked like he did not know whether to be stressed or angry. "That guy might actually try and punch a Council member!"
"Silence, all of you!" Makarov commanded them, then he closed his eyes. "We will wait patiently for the results."
"... Should we start pooling money for bail?" Nora asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow, and the master of Fairy Tail immediately nodded. "Great, 'cause I'm broke."
/\/\/\/\
It was Nora's fourteenth day in Fiore when she finally managed to slip out of the guild-hall to explore Magnolia.
Everyone else was busy celebrating Erza and Natsu's return, the accusation and trial having merely been a show put on by a council needing to flex its muscles, so it was easy for Nora to make it outside of the doors and into the streets of the little town.
With the map she had memorized fresh in her mind, she began exploring the streets and finally taking in her new surroundings, her bag at her side and Magnhild at her belt but her hands swinging easily at her sides as she moved about and observed.
No walls.
No defenses.
No patrolling guards.
No alarms or intercom system.
No tired Huntsmen and Huntresses with haunted eyes.
Just streetlights, shops and residences, and happy people living their lives.
A world without the Grimm.
What had Nora done to deserve the chance to see this, let alone live it?
"Hm." Nora frowned, folding her hands behind her back and rolling on her heels as she walked, leaning forward a bit before righting her posture.
The Huntress idly noticed a sad-looking little girl looking up at a tree lining the street and blinked, glancing up to see a ball stuck in the branches, then she drew Magnhild, extended it into its hammer form, and reached up to knock the ball free.
The little girl caught the ball and looked up at Nora, her eyes wide. "Whoa!"
"Heh." Nora rested the base of her hammer's handle on the ground and leaned against the weapon, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "Sorry for being flashy, but I doubt that I could've reached it either." She stretched up her free hand. "Short girl problems. But that's what giant hammers are for."
'I could have jumped,' Nora decided as the little girl's eyes lit up. 'Or climbed. But just look at that smile.'
The little girl giggled, and Nora collapsed Magnhild and put it on her back. "Be careful, alright?"
"Alright!" The little girl agreed, and Nora started walking away, glancing back to wave. The little girl waved back. "Thank you, Miss Wizard!"
Nora blinked, then she looked forward, frowning. "You're welcome..."
The Huntress frowned for a few more steps, then she smiled again.
'Wizard,' she thought, shaking her head. 'I can only imagine what the others would think, if they heard that. Most of them would laugh right in my face...' She huffed, closing her eyes. 'Or accuse me of identity theft. Sorry, Ozpin...'
/\
Nora was all over Magnolia, visiting every site she could from Kardia Cathedral to the train station, and she eventually familiarized herself with the town.
Once she was comfortable, Nora decided that she had probably been away long enough and that someone (*cough*Mirajane*cough*) might have started to worry, so she made her way back.
As Nora strode towards the Fairy Tail guild-hall, she raised an eyebrow as she saw a strange, cloaked man leaving but she grinned and waved at him regardless.
"Hey!" She greeted, and she paused in her tracks when she saw his head briefly turn towards her before turning forward again. "You see Mira in there?" He kept walking, and Nora blinked before shrugging her shoulders. "That's cool, I'll track her down." The Huntress started walking again, not letting this dampen her hard-raised spirits. "Good luck, out there!"
She heard the man pause his steps and looked back, seeing that he had turned to look at her, and she smiled when he raised a hand to give a small wave 'goodbye' which she returned before he turned and kept walking away.
Nora entered the guild-hall and blinked again, seeing everyone laying about with confused expressions and Natsu actually passed out on the floor, and she snorted. "Wow. Looks like I missed some 'welcome home' party…" She noticed Mirajane and made her way over to her, frowning as she got down on one knee and offered a hand to the disoriented girl. "Or not. What happened here?"
"Mystogan." Mirajane accepted the offer of help, cringing as she held her free hand to her head and sighed. "He doesn't let anyone aside from the master see his face, so he knocks us out when he visits to get a new job. No one really knows why."
"He seems shy," Nora responded automatically as she helped Mirajane to her feet, and the bartender looked up at her with wide eyes. "I mean, until he was sure I was friendly, he barely acknowledged me. He didn't say a word at all, but he gave this cute little wave after I wished him luck on his job, so he is a nice guy-"
"You saw him?"
"Uh, yeah. Not his face, but-..." Nora gestured to the door. "Just out there. He's the cloaked guy with all the weird sticks, right?"
Mirajane slowly nodded. "Yes, that's Mystogan. You saw him." She blinked, then she smiled. "And look at you, up and about! You left the grounds?"
"I wanted to see Magnolia," Nora admitted, looking down sheepishly, then she looked back at Mirajane. "All of the training I've been doing to rehabilitate means nothing if I don't put myself out there, you know?" She tilted her head. "You're not mad?"
"No." Mirajane shook her head. "Of course not." She looked up, her eyes shining. "Does this mean-..?"
"Yeah." Nora nodded, grinning. "It looks like I'm ready to get back in business…" She took a deep breath, hoping she was not about to push Mirajane too far. "So, I guess it's time for me to get out there and prove my mettle."
"... That means you'll need your guild-mark," the white-haired young woman decided, giving a bright grin. "I'll have to know what color you'd like and where you want it."
They stepped out of the room just as Lucy seemed to be getting the same explanation about Mystogan from some other members of the guild, and Nora tried not to think too much about the muffled shouting and loud thuds which she heard outside as she admired the many different ink colors Mirajane showed her.
Mirajane pulled the stamp away from Nora's left upper-arm, revealing a brand-new, baby-blue Fairy Tail guild-mark.
"Perfect!" Mirajane beamed as Nora regarded the mark with a raised eyebrow. "And it covered-up some of the scarring."
"Looks good." Nora rolled her arm, then she looked at Mirajane with a smile and nodded. "I guess I just have to head over to the boards and pick out a job, now."
"That's right!" Mirajane agreed as Nora hopped down from the stool. "I recommend starting off with something simple, something that appeals to your talents."
"Let's see, that would be… being strong and hitting stuff," Nora remarked, half-bitter but keeping her tone light as she glanced back at Mirajane while she started walking towards the board. "So, demolition. That's-" Nora ran into something and grunted, then she cringed as she realized it was a person. "Sorry, I-"
She noticed how quiet it suddenly got in the guild hall and blinked, then she glanced around and saw everyone looking at her with wide eyes—like they were planning her funeral. Nora blinked again, then she looked up at the person she had run into with a frown.
The man standing before her was dressed in brown and black, and he wore a long fur coat over his broad shoulders and black headphones with silver spikes over his ears. He had short, messy blond hair and he towered over Nora by at least a foot.
His gray eyes were narrowed as he smirked down at her, an eyebrow raised as he grew a little curious. One of his eyes had a lightning-shaped scar going right over the eyelid, and it oddly reminded Nora—with a pang in her chest—of Weiss.
"Well, well, well…" He crossed his arms, letting them become visible from underneath his coat. He looked like he could snap a Beowolf in half with his bare hands. "What do we have here?"
"Laxus." Mirajane spoke in a warning tone, her eyes wide as she stepped forward—like she was preparing to intervene. "She's new to Fairy Tail, and recovering from injuries."
The man, evidently Laxus, chose to ignore Mirajane completely and keep his focus solely on Nora. "I asked you a question, pipsqueak."
"... My name is Nora Valkyrie," Nora told him, her aqua eyes narrowing as she kept her voice steady.
Laxus's eyebrow raised further. "Valkyrie, eh?"
"That's right," Nora said, and she found herself relaxing.
Laxus might have looked like he could break a Beowolf, but Nora knew she could break an Ursa.
It would actually be pretty great to show that off to someone aside from Elfman.
Those thoughts alone were enough to ease the Huntress.
"That has got to be the stupidest name I've ever heard," Laxus told her, looking Nora up and down. "Especially when it belongs to someone who looks like you."
"Well, the first thing I think of when I hear 'Laxus' is laxatives," Nora remarked immediately, and the man blinked. "So, if I put that out there-" She reached out and poked his brown cheetah-print shirt. "Who wins the Stupid Name Contest: me, or you?"
A pin could have been heard dropping.
Mirajane was looking at Nora with wide eyes, her hand raised to her mouth.
Cana, Loke, and Elfman were slack-jawed.
Lucy, Happy, and Makarov seemed concerned.
Natsu grinned in anticipation, watching the scene eagerly.
Gray and Erza's eyes had widened in surprise, but they seemed more curious than anything else.
Bisca, Laki, Macao, Wakaba, Reedus, Vijeeter, Jey, Droy, Levy, and the rest looked like they thought they were about to witness a murder.
Nora found herself thanking the gods, Light and Dark, for her lack of a filter.
If that was the last thing she ever said, she knew that her friends would forgiver her. Worth it!
"... Oh." Laxus's eyes narrowed. "Trying to act all tough now, are you?"
"Must be easy to tell." Nora started to smirk, and she crossed her arms and tilted her head. "They should really hand you an award for the show you put on, big guy. Five stars, a must-see."
The whole guild-hall seemed to be holding its breath.
"Tch." Laxus bristled. "Why in the world does the old man keep accepting smart-mouthed little punks like you into the guild?"
"Hm." Nora raised an eyebrow. "Let you in, didn't he?"
Loke actually wheezed, and Cana snorted into her barrel of ale.
Everyone seemed to be relaxing slightly, realizing that this was—for the moment, at least—a war of wills rather than a brewing physical altercation.
Laxus was not amused. "Don't compare yourself to me, pipsqueak." The words left the blond as growls, and Nora noticed that some of his teeth were fanged. "Whatever power you think you have, it ain't enough for you to be breathing in my direction, let alone pulling a stunt like this."
"I've made it this far." Nora let her hands fall to her sides before she rested her left hand on her hip. "Just what kind of magic do you use, to make you act like this much of a diva?"
"... Why don't we take this out back, pip?" Laxus offered, starting to smirk again. "I'll give you a personal demonstration."
Murmurs filled the guild-hall with tensions rising again.
Nora knew that she was being baited, but she took a deep breath. "... Why not? You're o-"
"Laxus," Makarov spoke up with a warning tone in his voice, and everyone looked over at him. "... Do not pick this fight."
All went silent again as Laxus blinked, surprised, before turning to face the master of the guild with a grin. "What are you worried about, old man? Aren't all your little mages supposed to be able to handle themselves?"
"Indeed," Makarov replied. "Which is why I am asking you to reconsider. Challenging Miss Valkyrie would be a mistake."
Laxus raised an eyebrow. "A mistake?"
"... Your power and hers are quite similar in nature," Makarov elaborated, his eyes narrowed as he stood up from his place on the wooden countertop. "But the overwhelming strength she holds within… To put it simply, it is as if she was designed specifically to combat you."
"Wait..." Nora blinked, surprised. "Oh, right. You're -what?- a lightning-mage, right?" Laxus looked back at her, his eyes narrowing, and Nora's smirk returned. "Heh... Don't worry, Laxatives—I'll still take that challenge of yours, if you're still feeling confident."
"Miss Valkyrie!" Makarov shot a glare at her. "You are still recovering from your injuries!"
"... Elfman, status-update on my recovery!" Nora shouted, deadpanning.
Elfman groaned and held up an arm. "She threw me across the river two days ago, and I ran out of things to pile on top of the bench-press yesterday..."
"Heh." Nora grinned, crossing her arms. "So... fight?"
"No!" Makarov insisted. "I forbid you and Laxus to fight!"
Nora huffed. "But he started it!"
"I'm aware, but I'd prefer it if you didn't kill my grandson!" Makarov explained, frustrated. "So, I am finishing it!"
A hush fell over the guild-hall.
Everyone seemed bewildered, but none more-so than Laxus and Nora—but each for an entirely different reason.
"... That's your grandson?" Nora asked, looking at Makarov in confusion as she gestured to Laxus with her thumb. "He's an asshole."
"Ha!" Cana wrapped an arm around her stomach and near-doubled-over, her face flushed as she began to laugh. "You tell 'em, Nora!"
Nora cleared her throat, a little awkward. 'Well, that just sorta slipped out. Yang would be impressed...'
Makarov sighed, closing his eyes but not denying the accusation. "Miss Valkyrie, please."
"Alright, alright..." Nora looked up at Laxus, seeing that his smug look had started to return, and she huffed again as she looked away. "... You really think I'd kill him? Please, I'm no killer—and he's just a bully..." Nora looked back at Laxus, smirking. "Bullies just get their legs broken."
"What?!" Laxus looked between the girl and his grandfather with some degree of disbelief and anger.
Makarov crossed his arms. "Miss Valkyrie! No leg-breaking!"
"Aw…" Nora pouted, rolling her eyes. "You suck the fun out of everything…" She looked at Makarov pointedly. "Fun-sucker."
"Hm." Makarov closed his eyes, then he sighed and opened them. "Enough. Do not make me separate you two."
"Fine..." Nora shrugged her shoulders, then she turned to the board again. "I have better things to do, anyway." She gave a casual wave over her shoulder as she walked away, smirking. "Later, Laxatives."
"Tch." Laxus turned away, scowling and trying to hide the confusion and embarrassment. "Go to Hell, you little gremlin."
"Should I name-drop you?" Nora asked, and she snickered as she heard the lightning-mage growl. "Hey, you made it too easy!"
/\/\/\/\
Between knowing only one of Fiore's two core languages and being more than a little riled-up after meeting the infamous Fairy Tail jerk-wad Laxus Dreyar, Nora found that she could not decide on any of the limited job requests she was able to read that night, so she decided to sleep on it.
When she returned to the guild-hall, she had just enough time to notice that Laxus was still skulking about on the second floor, bristle, make her way over to the request board, and start trying to make her decision again before-
"Oh, no! Master!" Mirajane cried out, running down the stairs from the second floor to approach Makarov. "One of the requests on the second floor disappeared!"
Makarov spat out his ale, and Wakaba regarded the white-haired girl with a frown. "Say what? A request is gone?"
"If it was put up on the second floor, then it's an S-Class request," Macao noted. "Right?"
"Who would be stupid enough to take something like that?" Laki asked warily.
'Or competitive,' Nora thought, looking back and noting with unease that there was a shock of pink hair missing from the guild-hall. It appeared that Natsu's determination to fight powerful wizards had evolved—and he had decided that if he could not beat them, he would join them. 'Poor kid's going to get himself killed.'
"A cat," Laxus spoke up, his eyes closed and his arms crossed, only confirming Nora's thoughts. His relaxed posture and smirk showed just how little he cared. "I saw a cat with wings tear one off."
Mirajane looked up in alarm. "Happy?"
"Which means it's Natsu and Lucy!" Macao realized, his eyes widening.
Wakaba's eyes narrowed. "What the heck are they thinking?!"
"Going out on an S-Class quest without permission?" A wizard Nora had heard Bisca refer to as 'Alsack' asked, frowning.
Bisca rested her hands on her hips and huffed. "I always thought they were dumb, but not that dumb."
"This is quite a serious violation of the rules," Laxus remarked in a condescending tone, then he opened his eyes. "If they make it back, they're expelled—right, old man? But with their skills, they won't be coming back from an S-Class, will they?"
Nora's hands shook, and she quickly reached over to grab one wrist with the opposite hand to try and steady it. She blinked, then her face fell.
How many times had she seen Yang do the same thing?
"Laxus." Mirajane was up the stairs and approaching him, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed. "If you knew, why didn't you stop them?"
"All I saw was a cat burglar run off with a scrap of paper," Laxus replied coyly. "I had no idea that was actually Happy, and I never would have thought Natsu would go on an S-Class job."
"Then, you're even more stupid than you look," Nora remarked dryly, and Laxus shot a glare down at her. "Oh, gee. A cat with wings taking an S-Class request after Natsu's spent the last gods-know-how-long challenging every powerful wizard in sight for kicks." She raised an eyebrow. "It's really Happy and not one of the two-dozen other winged cats we have here in the guild-hall? Y'know, this is exactly why we need to get Animal Control Services in here: to prevent more of these unfortunate misunderstandings from occurring in the future."
"Ack!" Elfman clapped a hand over his mouth and wheezed, slamming his hand onto a table a few times to try and maintain control.
"And Natsu's gone and run off on a death-quest?" Nora feigned a gasp, raising a still somewhat-shaking hand to her mouth and tilting her head. "My gods! Who'd have thunk it, Laxatives?"
"Why, you-!" Laxus stood up, his fists clenching at his sides as many of the others in the guild hall failed to conceal their laughter.
'You're welcome,' Nora thought, seeing that Mirajane's death-glare—which had been directed towards the annoying jerk—had started to subside a bit.
"This is not good," Makarov cut in. "Which request is missing?"
"The cursed island," Mirajane replied, still giving Laxus a furious side-eye. "Galuna."
"What?!" Makarov asked, and Nora glanced across the guild hall as several other members of Fairy Tail let out exclamations of alarm. "Laxus! Go bring them back!"
"You're kidding me." Laxus scoffed, waving his grandfather off. "I've got work to do." He raised an eyebrow, his smirk returning. "Aren't the wizard's in this guild supposed to be able to take care of themselves?"
"I'll find them," Nora found herself speaking up before she knew what she was doing, and everyone looked at her in surprise. The young Huntress's shaking hands clenched into fists at her sides as she walked over to face Makarov, her eyes narrowed. "I'll find them, and I'll bring them back."
"Nora." Makarov turned to look at her, stunned, then he frowned. "Miss Valkyrie, I-"
"Look, I know you're about to tell me that I can't do it for one reason or another," Nora told him, frowning. "But I have training with tracking in unfamiliar territory, and they can't have gotten far." She gave a small smirk. "Besides, I can just tell them that you'll send Erza after them if they don't come back with me. They'll probably beat me back here."
"Or take that as a challenge, knowing Natsu," Gray spoke up, walking over to stand beside Nora and looking down at her. "To handle him, you'll need some backup—and I have experience." He extended a hand. "Gray Fullbuster. We never formally met... It was Nora Valkyrie, right?"
"Right." Nora shook his hand, nodding. "Nice to meetcha." She raised an eyebrow, still smirking. "I'll get Lucy out of the way when you and Natsu have your grudge-match."
Gray gave a small smirk. "Heh."
"Miss Valkyrie, I really must advise against this," Makarov pressed, his eyes narrowed. "You've only just recovered from-"
"Yeah, but here's the thing." Nora held a finger up, deadpanning. "No offense, but if I have to spend one more minute in the presence of your jerk-wad of a grandson, I really will break his legs." Laxus scoffed at that, and Nora stuck her tongue out at him before turning to Gray, crossing her arms and nodding. "I'm ready."
"... Alright." Gray gave a small nod. "Just keep up, okay? I'm not slowing down for you."
"I'd hold it against you if you did." Nora gave a light smirk, and Gray turned and ran out of the guild-hall.
Nora looked back at Laxus with one last glare, then she turned her back on him and ran off after the ice-mage.
Once Nora and Gray were gone, activity in the guild-hall gradually resumed.
"Stupid pipsqueak." Laxus scoffed, rolling his eyes as he sat down again and looked away from the open doors.
Makarov looked up at his grandson, his eyes narrowed.
"Do not disregard that girl, boy," he warned the lightning-mage sternly. "She is stronger than you know."
"Don't be so dramatic, old man." Laxus smirked, crossing his arms. "I didn't sense any magical power coming from that loud-mouthed little-"
"Some things are stronger than magic," Makarov insisted, then he looked towards the doors warily.
'All the same… Please, be careful.'
Well... this was a fun one.
I decided to just sorta cover the majority of Nora's recovery in one chapter. She's definitely not 100% just yet, but I didn't want to draw the main portion of the physical healing part out any longer than I had to with so much more to be explored.
I knew I had to address what the main cast was up to in order to establish foundations as well as chronology, but with Nora being bound to the guild-hall for an extended period, I felt like it would be a good opportunity for her to bond with other characters first before she started getting involved in plot-things.
Mirajane and Elfman, being the ones who know the truth about Nora, were obvious choices for starters.
Mirajane being around Nora's age but being a nurturing, caring figure in Fairy Tail was something I wanted to look at here; I figured that, given her background and personality, she would take a responsible and protective role over this small, injured, and traumatized girl who showed-up and joined her guild. I wanted to explore a sort of conflict between Mirajane's cautious, caring nature and Nora's reckless determination, and I wanted to leave it ambiguous as to who was right and who was wrong regarding how Nora's recovery was being handled. Neither of them are doctors or psychiatrists, they are just handling things how they feel is best because of their experiences.
Elfman is a bit more lenient and there is some wariness given Nora's origins, but he is still obviously being cautious with her. I wanted to develop their relationship as one of mutual respect because—let's face it—it's pretty awesome to imagine a 5'1" Nora Valkyrie and a 6'10" Elfman Strauss throwing hands and Elfman just being immensely impressed by this warrior who is nearly two feet shorter than him but can lift two-thousand pounds over her head without even thinking about it. Plus, we barely get to see Nora really sparring in RWBY and Elfman's the biggest of the good guys. I like the idea of them being excited to find someone they don't have to go easy on.
Did I consider the fact that Mirajane and Elfman were looking at a small, short-haired, blue-eyed girl in pink and taking her under their wings about halfway through this and start hating myself?
Yes. Yes, I did.
Makarov is being Makarov and just doing his best for all of his reckless disaster-children. He wants to look after Nora because she's just a kid and this man has the base-instinct of "PARENT", but he is also aware that this is something he has not dealt with before. This girl just lost her entire planet and is going through traumas and adjustments that he cannot fathom, so he is trying to let her take the reins and go at her own pace while also keeping a watchful eye over her and stepping in when he has to. He can also tell that the "family" but is kinda throwing her, so that's why he's distancing himself from the familiarity the others are immediately showing at the moment; he is trying to give Nora time to adjust and open up to him instead of trying to force her to open up by urging and prodding. He's worried by Nora's sudden leaps forward, and he's clearly distressed when she's one of the two people running off to Galuna Island to get Happy, Lucy, and Natsu. She's a kid, she's hurt in so many ways, and she's new to this world—and he does not think she's up for this just yet, but he's putting his trust in her strength. Meanwhile, Nora's still so-so with him; she trusts him to an extent, but does not quite know what to think or feel about this whole situation.
Next, we have Levy. I wanted to explore Levy's scholarly nature and how she might interact with someone like Nora, being immensely curious. Levy's also incredibly kind, so I knew she would not cross any lines. In RWBY, the writers kinda forget Ruby's nerdy, intelligent, weapons-geek side every once in a while, so I wanted Nora to sort-of see that in Levy—and I wanted to address something that no one else seems to have noticed...
Oh, my God—Magnhild is BEAUTIFUL! I know that everyone is always flipping out over every other weapon in the show, but just LOOK AT THAT! Nora's skill as a master weapons' smith and designer has clearly been overlooked, and I for one will no longer be allowing that. Go take a look at a few close-ups of that weapon, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
We have Cana as well, and let me tell you: I researched Tarot cards for hours to try and work that reading section. I found several articles which assured me that there were basic rules and that a lot of it is up to interpretation, and I tried to tell myself that "Hey, Fairy Tail's a different universe and I can bend the rules a bit"—but yeah, still stressed. Be kind, I tried.
Nora was jumpy and uncomfortable around Qrow when he was drunk, so I sorta brought that back with Cana when addressing her drinking and Nora's uncertainty with her—especially that, with Nora being from Remnant, she probably looks at Cana as an underage drinker. There is also Nora's continued wariness with magic given her experience from Remnant, and Cana's use of magic with her was a mixed experience that ended in an overall positive way and got Nora to lower her guard somewhat.
I wanted it to be Loke who helped Nora when one of her bouts of depression and guilt hit, because I knew he would get it. Plus, I figure they could make good Chaotic Otherworldly Redhead Sibling Content given their hyperactive yet quick-witted and snarky personalities.
I want to include Laki, but I'm trying to find my stride with her. So far, I've just sort of decided that Nora heard the way she speaks and decided "alright, you do you" and that they've just sort of been cool with each other.
I got some interaction in with Macao, nothing special—and she knows Wakaba, Jet, Droy, and Reedus. I plan to do more with them later on.
I had Nora establish some friendly familiarity with Lucy, Happy, Natsu, and Gray before Galuna Island, enough to where she would know their names and have spoken with them a few times but not be deeply engrained in their memory as of yet.
Erza, however, being one to take on an active and responsible role, would go out of her way to approach and familiarize herself with a new member of the guild as well as establish that bond of loyalty; I imagine it as a sort of 'Trial by Erza' given Nora's vague origins, with the knight prodding the Huntress just to make certain that all was well while Makarov was away. Nora, while remaining vague, passed the test.
Bisca's just happy to see another girl who's packing some firepower around, and she's going to ask for some transforming weapons the first chance she gets. Enough said.
Mystogan just had a "wait, what?" moment on the street as some random girl decided that he was friend-shaped and Nora can recognize social anxiety a mile away.
Now, let's see... Who am I forgetting..?
Oh, yeah.
I've been developing this story for years, and I'm pretty sure that the scene where Nora Valkyrie meets Laxus Dreyar was one of the first I laid down and it has changed very little since.
What happens when a Huntress who absorbs electricity to charge her muscles and has nothing left to lose runs into a lightning-mage with bad attitude and no idea what he's getting into?
My favorite main-cast RWBY character ends up calling my all-time favorite Fairy Tail character 'Laxatives'.
Boy, oh boy—this is gonna be fun, especially considering that only three people aside from Nora know why she isn't at all intimidated by one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages.
I don't know about you guys, but I think it's hilarious to imagine everyone else in that guild-hall seeing the girl who was in a wheelchair nine days ago looking at their second or third most-powerful mage (who is fourteen inches taller than her and built like a tank) with a smirk on her face and agreeing that they should take the fight outside, all while their master and the powerful mage's grandfather panics.
That, friends, is an introduction.
I wanted to depict Nora in a certain way, starting off quiet but determined to get better and occasionally having her slumps, especially when confronted with reminders of what she lost and concepts that are difficult for her—like teams and families. I also wanted to continue that expression of guilt, how she catches herself getting comfortable or happy and hates herself for it, and I wanted her to get help but not find resolve.
She can't stand sleeping in the quiet. She blames and distances herself. She hasn't laughed since joining Fairy Tail. Everything seems to remind her of something she lost.
And just look at what she said to Makarov when he needed someone to go after two missing kids.
That, I admit, really hurt to write.
Will that stop me?
Nope.
I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks! :)
