Beginnings IV

[Saulus Lambent]

'Maybe I could sneak back in through the forest? Doubt they will notice, but Arvid will most likely just tell on me as revenge for making him lose time,' Saulus thought to himself. No matter how much the teen tried, he couldn't come up with a plan to get out of this.

His mom was too determined to see him go with Arvid, and he couldn't back down now. At first, he thought he would be able to weasel out of the trip during the long month of preparation. He truly thought that either Arvid's or the woman's excitement would petter out and leave him alone to continue lazing around.

Oh, how wrong he had been.

It became abundantly clear to him after two weeks of preparations that neither of them was backing down. Saulus guessed to himself that the work of trying to convince either of those stubborn goats to change their opinions would be way harder than just going through the damn trip. How sad was that?

'But gods above, why did it have to be so early in the morning?' he thought. The disheveled teen, who looked like he was forced out of his bed, looked up towards the early barely-lit sky.

The sun hadn't even fully finished coming out of the horizon yet. The cold crisp morning air rushed into his lungs, making his breath visible at every exhale. The few rays of sunlight that reached the village illuminated the cold mist of humidity formed from the evaporating frost in the grass. Arvid and himself found themselves facing the entrance of the village from the outer side of the wooden door and barricade Wintergreen relied on to keep most monsters away.

In front of them, a small group of people came to see them off. There weren't many of them here. Just his mother, Miko, her parents, and the few odd villagers that were friends with either of them.

Saulus focused his barely open eyes on his mother, trying to will her to stop this madness with the power of his gaze. It became apparent that his barely awake self was not strong enough for such a high ordeal when the woman just smiled warmly at him. 'Why couldn't I have telepathy magic or something?'

'Well, it was worth the try, I guess. But still, why so early? Couldn't we do this in like, the afternoon or something?' It was bad enough that they would have to walk the mountain down for hours just to reach the train station. The heavy backpacks that his mother seemed determined to shove the whole house into, would make that trek even harder.

It was as he tried to get the annoying straps that held the heavy load from digging painfully onto his shoulders that the aforementioned woman spoke.

"My baby, finally leaving on his first trip," she said with a watery smile. She clutched a handkerchief in her hands. Normally, Saulus would be embarrassed at his mother calling him that in front of his friends, but he was honestly too sleepy to even care at this point. Besides, maybe he could use emotional attachment as a weapon for her to not let him go. "I am so proud of you! Please take care of yourself and remember to write at least once a week."

'Well, there goes that idea,' the teen thought to himself. She had already gotten in one of her moods. He might as well try to convince a wall to let him go through it. He loved his mom, but changing her opinion when she got like that was just a waste of time.

"Arvid, I know it is asking for much. But I believe this will truly be an important part of his life for Saul. Please, take care of him."

"What am I? A baby? He is the same age as me, you know?" Saulus retorted with a snort. Besides, it wasn't like it would be a very long trip. Once they got rejected from Fairy Tail, they would probably just wander around for a little while and then come back home. Climbing the mountain path back up would be a pain, though.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Lambent. We'll take care of each other," Arvid replied, a beaming smile on his face as if they hadn't woken up at a godawful hour of the day and didn't have a hellish trek ahead of them.

Rushia just nodded in his direction before looking Saul in the eyes. For a few seconds, she just didn't say anything. The woman took a moment to approach him before pulling him into a hug.

"Please, son, promise me that you will try," she whispered, an almost… pleading tone in her voice that Saul had never heard from her before. "The world is a big place, and I am sure that you will find your path if you are willing to look for it," she told him, pulling away slightly, just enough for her to look at him with teary eyes and a shaky smile. "No matter what you decide to do, remember that I will always support you as long as it truly makes you happy."

Saulus raised his hands and hugged his mother back.

"I was planning to use emotional damage too. Seems that you beat me to the punch," he whispered to her. A lump in his throat made his words come out with a slight waver.

His mom only chuckled a bit, leaning back into the hug.

"I am a hundred steps ahead of you, kid."

The woman let go of him and took a step back towards the village. The handkerchief clutched in her hands coming to her face to clean her now red eyes. Even as she cried though, she kept her smile on her face.

Almost as if they had rehearsed it, Miko stepped forward after her.

"I guess this is goodbye, huh?" she said with a smile that threatened to break into a sob at any moment. "I will miss you both, guys. Life here will be so much more boring without my two friends. Yes, even you Saul."

"Your care for me warms my heart, Miko, truly. I will certainly miss your food, can't say the same about your company, though," Saulus drawled. His voice was dripping with sarcasm, but there was a slight smile on his face. The teen guessed it was their way to show mutual love.

"I would like to remind you that you still owe me money," the girl said as she raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Hmm? I thought I was going to pay for that with a dat-," he couldn't finish his words before Miko practically teleported to his side and covered his mouth with both her hands. It didn't stop him from continuing mumbling though.

Or doing something else, for that matter.

"Eww!" was all she said as she backpedaled, looking at her saliva-covered hands in disgust. "You little shi-!"

"Language," he said with a smirk. Retribution was so sweet sometimes.

"You should have known better than to do that, Miko," Arvid commented, making the girl stiffen momentarily. "Both, covering his mouth and letting him go without paying."

"I guess you are right," Miko mumbled, looking away from him for a moment.

Then she took a few steps back and faced them both. The sun was already peeking over the mountain to their side. The girl stayed quiet for a long minute, just looking at them from her spot in between the small group and both would be travelers.

"I-," she said before cutting herself off, going quiet once again. Neither of them pushed her though, letting her gather her words. "I can't go with you right now," Miko stated grimly, turning to look down at the floor. "There is too much to do here, and even if I leave it behind, I am not ready to do the things you both can. I would only be dead weight."

"Don't say that, Miko. You aren't-" Arvid started then, only to be cut off by the girl looking up at them. She wasn't wearing a sad expression though, she was looking more determined than ever, which was saying something.

"I am," she said firmly, there was no anger or frustration in her voice. She was stating a fact, something she knew was the truth. "I am not ready for this trip, but…" She looked directly at them, both of them.

There was an odd light in her eyes. Her ever-present frown was there, as always. However, it somehow conveyed something different from annoyance this time. It reminded Saul of the expression she'd had when trying to make that wood sculpture.

"But, I will change that. No matter how long it takes, I will not let myself fall behind," Miko declared. Her hands balled into fists so hard her arms were shaking. "I will catch up with you two. Just keep moving forward. Soon enough, I will join you, so don't you dare to stop."

"... We'll be waiting then," Arvid replied, a soft smile on his face. "Wouldn't be the same without you there, after all."

"What the guy said," Saul agreed with a nod. "Make sure to catch up soon. I don't want to carry you around, walking with this backpack is hard enough as it is."

"Saulus!" his mom screamed from the background. He didn't pay her attention though. He just looked at Miko, who stared back, before giving him a firm nod.

She would get there. If there was someone who could do it, it was her. She wouldn't let anyone hold her hand when she got like that. She would get it done herself, of that he was sure.

"The ball of sunshine that's Saul aside," Arvid started, giving him an amused smile before turning back to Miko and opening his arms. "Do we get a hug before we leave?"

The girl was on him before he even finished speaking, making the man chuckle.

"You will write, right?"

"With all our stories," Arvid answered softly. "I'll even make Saul write a bit himself," he added, turning to give the man himself a grin. "No promises on how much that'll be. I don't have Mrs. Lambent's superpowers."

"You know I can hear you, right?" he grumbled.

"I'll take what I can get," Miko replied with a watery chuckle before letting go of Arvid and moving towards Saul. The girl stood in front of him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him. Saul, for his part, let out a sigh, already knowing what she wanted.

"Only this once," he said to her. He extended his arms and took her in a hug that she returned with a victorious smile.

"Agreed. This feels gross," was what she said, but there was no hiding her happy tone. Neither of them moved to break the hug either, which was just as telling. "Make sure to stay safe, okay? Remember to write too."

"Will do. Besides, I am sure I won't need to do it for long. You will probably join us soon enough," he whispered to her. "Either that, or we'll come back in defeat and shame."

Saulus could practically feel the eye roll.

"Always so negative."

"Realistic," he corrected.

"Whatever you say… I will miss you, dork," she said while patting him on the back for a moment.

"...Yeah, me too," was all he could respond before breaking the hug and letting his oldest friend, someone he had come to see as a sister in a way, go back to the group.

"... Let's go before Saul starts crying, ok?" Arvid suggested then.

"If anything, I will fall asleep before that," He readily answered. "Are you sure we can't spare a short nap before we-"

"Nice try, but no," his friend interrupted with an amused grin. The smile slowly fell off though, as Arvid turned to look not at Miko, nor the small gathering of people, but at the village. Saul followed his gaze and it didn't take a genius to figure out that Arvid was looking in the direction of his place. "... Take care of yourself, Miko," he said then, giving their friend one last smile before taking a step down the road, Saulus close behind already grumbling slightly about his bag being heavy.

"Take care, baby. Remember to call me if you find a girl you like!" On second thought, maybe leaving as fast as they could wasn't that bad of an idea. With that in mind, Saulus increased his pace a bit. Arvid snorted in amusement by his side but followed the increased pace.

"Goodbye, you two!"

"Don't forget us when you become famous!"

He heard the sound of steps behind them. Turning around slightly, he saw that Miko had rushed a bit forward. Then she placed both hands around her mouth and screamed at them.

"Take care, you two! We will see each other again, I promise!"

She then waved energetically, at their backs. The village was already getting further away and the path forward was already getting deeper into the forest. Her voice must have resounded across the entire valley. The echo carrying her last words to them.

"See you both at Fairy Tail!"

[}-o-{]

[Arne Sawyer]

"Arvid's still not up?!" he called from the workshop, frowning as he continued working on a piece. There wasn't much he could do without an extra pair of hands, however. If his son didn't hurry up, he'd have to move on to another project in the meantime.

"I'm going to check on him!" he heard Aina reply from the kitchen. He also heard a lower "Let the poor boy sleep in for once!" as his wife likely started going up to their son's room.

He guessed he could let his son sleep in a bit though, if he really wanted. Arvid had been spending the last few months working himself to the bone to earn scraps. Arne wasn't too sure what urged his son to do so much for so little when they were fine economically speaking. Sure, they weren't rolling in money, but they didn't want for anything.

That was how the Sawyer family was, always steadfast. In the seven generations that they had lived in Wintergreen, they had always stood tall, no matter what. Even when the mountainside went up in flames, or the one year when the snow storms grew the wildest in recorded history. The Sawyers had always been fine, regardless of everything else.

Arvid had always been a very passionate woodworker though, Arne knew. He put a lot of work on his projects, after all. Even went further than necessary to make his pieces better, with some youthful flare to things. Arne couldn't say he liked that much, but if it made his son happy, then he could be fancy all he wanted. It could be just that Arvid was feeling more motivated than usual as of late too, he supposed.

'Or maybe he finally found a girl and wants some money to treat her with,' Arne considered, his hands continuing to work the wood almost by themselves. 'That'd make Aina happy,' he mused. Arvid had never really shown any interest in girls, after all, and that was a source of concern for Aina, who had to hear from all her friends how their children were already either about to or on their way to give them grandchildren.

"I'd much rather travel," Arvid had said once when they'd offered to give him some extra money, if that was what was stopping him from looking for a girlfriend. Arne remembered, after all, that he'd had a bit of trouble on that front before he'd manned up and asked for it. Arvid wasn't quite like him though, so he'd thrown the poor boy a bone.

"Travel where?" Aina had asked, surprised. Likely because she didn't get to hear the boy constantly babble about this place or that other one. As if there was anything out there that they couldn't find in Wintergreen. "And why? We have everything we need here," his wife had said, voicing his own thoughts on the matter.

"To the big cities, to greater places," Arvid had told them with a big excited smile on his face. "There'd be so much stuff that we'd never get here. Sculptures, mansions, bigger mountains, more beautiful forests, deserts, the ocean. I want to see all that."

"For what?" Arne had asked with a confused frown. "You don't need any of that. It's just a waste of time and money," he'd explained to his son then, making him deflate. Honestly, young people were so weird now. He didn't remember being that much of a dreamer when he was Arvid's age.

"Arne!" he heard his wife cry out and he immediately froze, hearing the anguish in her voice. A second later, he was already storming in her direction, towards Arvid's room. Had something happened? Was his son sick or something? Had he injured himself?

He'd told him not to work too hard.

Instead of his son in bed like he imagined, however, he saw Aina sitting there with a piece of paper in her hands. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and she held a hand to her mouth as she looked at the sheet. Concerned, Arne moved to sit beside her, placing an arm around her shoulder to pull her to his side and then tilting his head so he could read the letter.

"Dear mom and dad," he read in his son's overly artistic writing. "I'm sorry that I can't say goodbye properly," Arne saw right afterwards, making his eyes widen and his face pale. "I can't risk you not letting me go, however. I'm sorry for doing this too… but it's something I have to do. I want to see the world, see what it can offer me and see what all I can do. I'm sorry that there won't be a seventh generation of Sawyers in Wintergreen now, but… I need to not be that. I want to be just Arvid, at least for a bit. I'm being selfish, and I know it, but I won't give up on this. I'm sorry, mom, dad, but I will be going away for some time. If it helps, I promise that I'll write and I'll come back eventually. For now, there's a whole world out there for me to see and experience. I love you and I'm sorry. Arvid."

"Our baby, Arne," Aina whimpered then, her voice barely a whisper. "Our baby ran away," she sobbed, breaking down crying even harder than before, her shaky hands letting go of the latter. The sheet fell softly to the ground but neither of them made an effort to pick it up. "He left," Aina wailed, throwing her head against his chest and pulling harshly on his shirt as if she wanted to bury herself there.

All Arne could manage to do was pull her into a hug, softly patting her back as he tried to process what he'd just read.

His son had left.

His son had left.

He wanted to ask how such a thing could have happened. He wanted to demand answers for the myriad of questions plaguing his mind. However, he had all that he needed in his head and his mind chose that moment to lay it all on him.

"Dad, look what I made! Isn't it pretty?" a young Arvid exclaimed, beaming at him as he showed him a small sculpture of an animal. Arne didn't even remember what it had been, just his response to it.

"Didn't I tell you to finish this piece before doing something else?" he'd asked, pointing to the unfinished work for their latest job. It had been a long day and now he'd have to work even harder than usual to finish it in time. 'Why did I never notice the look on Arvid's face?' he wondered at that moment, looking back at the dejected look on his son back then.

"I'd much rather travel," Arvid had told them, sitting at the dining table, looking full of determination and excitement. "I want to see it all," their son had said, looking like he was already traveling in his own mind. And Arne's response had been…

"It's just a waste of money and time," he'd told his son then. And there it had been, the same reaction from Arvid again. His shoulders sagged, his face fell and the hurt flashed in his eyes once more. 'Why didn't I notice?' Arne asked himself once more, feeling like someone was burying a knife in his heart.

"I can do other things, you know?" Arvid had told him, not so long ago, exasperation in his voice. There'd been a tinge of something else there that Arne hadn't noticed either, a hope, a resignation, and a desperation. And all Arvid had gotten was…

"It doesn't matter. The business comes first." Why had Arne said that? Why had he said it like that? Why couldn't he have said something else? Why couldn't he have said it differently?

He tried to remember, then, Arvid's expression at that moment. He was momentarily relieved to recall that it hadn't been the same dejection again. However, what had replaced it hadn't been much better. His son had just given him this almost neutral expression, with a hint of underlying resignation that Arne hadn't noticed.

How?

How could all that have happened, right in front of him, without him ever noticing any of it? 'I'm a terrible father,' Arne thought, despairing as he recalled instance after instance of his son telling him, directly telling him, what he wanted to do. Arvid had told him time and time again, his dreams and wishes… And he'd dismissed it all. It was all just the silly thoughts of a young man, right? Childish ideas that would soon pass.

Except they hadn't and Arne had been wrong.

So very wrong.

The legacy of the Sawyer family from Wintergreen had left, and he'd done so thinking that his family didn't support him. 'Seven generations… and I ruined it,' Arne thought, tears running down his face and vanishing inside his beard. The legacy of a family that had stood tall and steadfast in the face of adversity. The legacy of a family that had worked tirelessly through the years to make sure that the next generation had what they needed, that their children wouldn't want for anything.

The legacy of a family whose main objective was to care for the next generation…

Arne was a failure.

[}-o-{]

[Makarov Dreyar]

They were it, the Strongest Guild, the most cheerful, the most united.

The entire place was like a big home filled with just as big a family. They drew power from those bonds, using it to make themselves stronger and remain strong in a completely different manner when life decided to challenge them in a more personal manner. The place was all that its founding members had dreamed of and more.

People often forgot, however, that even the strongest had their weak moments. Sometimes, those that were always happy would not be. Often, one's best quality could also be the worst.

It was one such case for them, that day.

The sky mourned with them, rain falling like a cold touch but also a comforting pat. Makarov didn't have to look behind him to know that his family was crying. They were all devastated and so was he, because what else was one to be when they lost a sister or a niece or a granddaughter or a mother? What else could they feel, but their hearts bleeding and the stabbing pain of loss?

He looked at the gravestone then.

Lisanna Strauss

beloved sister

and a friend

to animal souls

X768 – X782

It wasn't the first time Makarov lost someone from his guild and it likely wouldn't be the last. However, it would never stop being painful and it would never get easier, he knew. This case was even worse too, because Lisanna had been so young and so bright…

But life had other plans for her, unfortunately.

Makarov closed his eyes then, hearing his family mourning and joining them, if silently.

A tear might have fallen from his eye, or it might have been the rain.

Who was to know?

[} Chapter End {]

Arc: And with this, we have reached the end of the prologue arc for Magical Routine.

Adrian: Such a cheerful note to end it in, right? :D

Arc: Well, at the very least he realized what he did wrong, right? That is a step forward. A little bit late, but hey! Progress.

Adrian: With this arc done, we'll probably give more attention to other projects for a bit.

Arc: There are quite a few chapters of other stories to keep you guys entertained while we scratch our heads in confusion on how to continue with this one.

Adrian: Silly Arc, still thinks he can plan stories while working with me. Anyway, see you guys on the next update. We hope you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to leave a review. They are a great source of motivation.

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