In the depths of Fiore's underground, a small group of elite dark mages had been assembled, with different personalities and attitudes but following under one leader. The most intelligent man in Fiore, the one who freed them, was sitting at the head of the table with a hand on his chin and a disappointed gaze, "So they were dismantled..."

How troublesome...

The man sighed, his disappointment wafting across the room as his adopted son spoke to try and ease his worries, "Father, if you wish it, we could always go and punish the guild that-"

"That destroyed one of our branch guilds?"

What an imbecile!

The man almost laughed at his adopted son's naivete, but he held it back, and the most that escaped his lips was a slight chuckle. It took all his control not to mock his pawn openly in case he squandered that desperate desire to be helpful that he so enjoyed, "Leave them be; nothing of value has been lost. Nothing will be gained from starting a war with a Wizard Saint just for some trash being burnt."

The man smirked silently as he waited for his dog's obedient reply.

"...Yes, Father."

He could tell his adopted son was displeased, as were the rest of his dark guild, but that didn't matter.

"What would you like us to do now, Father? We have searched nearly all of Western Fiore."

They didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

"Search to the east then..."

He would use them as he pleased and take what he desperately desired when the dust settles.

"If nothing shows up there, feel free to move the search to the rest of Ishgar..."

It didn't matter how long he had to wait.

"There's only so many places an ancient weapon can be hidden."

Brain always prided himself on being a patient man.

Cait Shelter was an ancient guild, and its guild master, Raubol, was an ancient man with tan sun-kissed skin, a great white beard, and a small, hunched figure. He wore a chieftain's headdress with purple feathers adorning its crown, lacked a shirt, and wore animal skin pants crafted by his fellow tribesmen long ago.

"Guild master..."

He had lived for decades and had been dead for centuries.

"Guild Master!"

If there was one thing he had learned, it was patience.

"GUILD MASTER!"

So why couldn't his guild members learn some, too, and let him sleep off his drink in peace? It was the middle of the night; there shouldn't have been anything drastic enough to warrant his attention. Whoever they were, probably Pepe, if he went off the feminine and angry voice, should come back and get him when sober. Like tomorrow afternoon once the illusion of a hangover wears off.

Maybe if I stay still, she won't-

"I see you trying to fake sleep."

Dammit!

Raubol groaned as he lifted his head groggily off the back of his chair, his closed eyes now lidded as he turned to Pepe, standing in front of him with her iconic feather in her long black hair. A look of disappointment on her face as she spoke with a fed-up attitude, "Are you finally ready to start acting like a guild master?"

"But my hangover..."

"You don't get hangovers," She retorted, shaking her head as she glanced at the night sky and the moon shining through the window, "You don't sleep either; none of us do."

"Yet it's still fun to dream," Rauabol replied with a wistful sigh, his grogginess gone instantly as he reclined on his chair in the center of the guild hall and asked with a vague interest, "So, what happened? Did Wendy make it back okay?"

"She did, although she seemed tired during the walk here."

"Ah, I figured that might happen; she probably had to use her magic the entire train ride," Raubol said with a sigh, a sniffle escaping him as he wiped a stray tear from his eyes, "Poor Wendy!"

I was so worried for her! I should pamper her all day tomorrow to make up for it!

Raubol drunkenly sobbed at the thought, his cries halted as he spotted Pepe cut in with a dry tone and sarcasm that cut worse than any knife, "So you thought drinking was the answer?"

"Drinking is always the answer!"

"You're impossible," Pepe said with a frown, turning towards the door she'd entered before facing her guild master, who had stopped himself from crying, but just barely. The atmosphere seemingly changed as she spoke with a new seriousness, "I came here to tell you that Wendy brought a guest."

"Wonderful! Did she make a friend?"

"No!" Pepe growled with a twitch in her eyes as she saw Raubol shrink like a scolded dog. Pepe decided to retract her steps so Raubol didn't start crying again; she couldn't deal with that when she was alive, and she wasn't going to deal with it when she's dead, "I mean, yes, she did, but no it's not wonderful, he's suspicious, and he keeps asking to meet you."

Pepe felt reassured as she saw Raubol sit up straighter, his eyes narrowed as he nodded firmly with a slight murmur, "I see..."

"Thank you," Pepe said with relief now that her guild master took the situation seriously. Her posture more relaxed as she filled the master in on the current situation now that he was listening, "Qecha and Magna just got him to back off and take a room for the night, but he'll probably ask again in the morning, so-"

"I should go greet him; where are my manners?"

Raubol's booming laughter struck Pepe in the lungs, her eyes wide with shock and pure, unfiltered rage as she saw the guild master shimmer out of existence. The sound of clenching fists filled the now silent guild hall because she knew the guild master had just decided to visit their newest guest.

"I wish I could smoke."

She had been dead far too long to deal with her guild master's bullshit.

Siegrain sat on his bed after trying and failing to get a conversation with the guild master of Cait Shelter. His eyes closed as he tried and failed to find sleep. Wendy was back in her room, and he had been given one of the few guest rooms in Cait Shelter, so at the moment, he only had his thoughts to keep him company. To keep him patient as he waited for the morning so he could once again ask if he could meet the guild master.

This is...

Safe to say, he failed to find enough reasons to stay in this room till morning broke.

Pointless.

Siegrain stood up from his bed, a sigh leaving his lips as he opened the window of the small room he had been given. The cool night air greeted him as he gazed at the cat-shaped guild hall at the center of this small town.

I'll find him myself.

Siegrain hadn't come to Cait Shelter not to look for his brother. If Magna and Qecha were insistent on blocking him, then that was fine; the guild master should be in the guild hall—the most significant building for the most important person and all that.

I'll have to be quiet...

Siegrain decided he would find this elusive guild master now rather than waiting for the morning; there was no guarantee they wouldn't make up new excuses to keep him from seeing the man anyway. It was better for him to find and confront the hidden guild master now while the rest of his guild was asleep.

Otherwise, they might try to block me again.

Siegrain narrowed his eyes at the guild hall, at his target, before putting a foot on the window sill. He was halfway out the window to his room when he heard an aged chuckle come from behind him, "Oh? Did we have the same idea?"

Siegrain flinched, one of his legs already over the window sill before he turned to see an older man standing by the door. Siegrain stared long and hard because it had happened again; he hadn't sensed the man at all; it was like he had come out of nowhere.

How do they keep doing that...

First Qecha, then the lady, then this guy; he was convinced. Something was going on, and he wanted to know what it was.

How do they keep popping up out of nowhere?

Siegrain narrowed his eyes at the man as he lowered himself back into his room. His movements measured as he sat on the window sill with his back to the sky, his eyes never leaving the older man for a moment. He was about to ask how the man snuck up on him not-so-subtly, but his words died as the old man spoke with a childish curiosity, "I must say I didn't expect you to come back here."

Siegrain felt his words catch in his throat as he gazed with wide eyes at the old man, his heart racing and mind whirling as he heard the man chuckle deeply; "Oh, was I wrong?"

Siegrain forgot all about his earlier suspicions; they weren't important compared to the person before him. This had to be Raubol, the guild master of Cait Shelter, who talked to his brother a year ago.

"You seem surprised, kid..."

He was the person Siegeain needed to find.

"Are you not Jellal?"

This older man could tell him how to get to Jellal.

In the dense forests near Fiore's eastern edge, a village sat that hid from everyone and everything. It was made of wood and straw, and in the middle of the night, atop the sizeable cat-shaped guild hall, two figures could be seen under the moonlight. One teenage boy with blue hair and another old and skinny man with a jug of beer to his lips. He drank it with utter delight, letting out a crisp breath and smile once he'd finished the beverage.

"Ah! That hits the spot!"

Raubol chuckled as he wiped a few flecks of beer from his white beard. His cheeks were red as he glanced at Siegrain and held out a cup, "You want some?"

"No, thank you."

"Oh, come on, you're no fun," Raubol said with a drunken tongue, a hiccup escaping his lips before he giggled and put his cup down. He stretched his old bones as he looked and caught the impatient eye of the young kid in front of him. The kid's restlessness only prompted a chuckle from the old guild master, "My, my, you're in a hurry, aren't you?"

"I want to find Jellal as soon as possible."

"What's the rush?"

"He might be-"

"You're going at life too fast, you know," Raubol spoke, ignoring the words that left Siegrain's lips and shrugging off the icy glare that the blue-haired teen sent him. Raubol only laughed heartily as he looked up at the sky and held his cup to it in toast, "You're young! You should be having fun, not worrying over every little thing!"

"This isn't just every little thing."

Siegrain scowled as he sent a thread towards the cup to try and snatch it out of the old drunkard's hands. His eyes widened as the cup shimmered out of existence a second before his string would have caught it, and the old bastard only laughed harder, "Nope! Yoooooou said you didn't want one, no takebacks!"

"I wasn't trying to drink it."

"That's what they all say," Raubol muttered with a chuckle as he reformed the cup in his other hand, ignoring Siegrain's glare as he drank another glass. A refreshed breath left his lungs as he finished it and let the cup shimmer out of existence. He had A goofy grin as he shook his head and turned to the boy on his last thread of patience, even if his bland tone suggested otherwise, "Are you done?"

"Drinking? Of course not," Raubol was tempted to create another cup just to see the boy's reaction but decided against it. Instead, he leaned a chin on his palm as he sat with crossed legs and gave a resigned sigh, "I'll drink till I'm dead and even after."

"That isn't what I meant."

"It's what you said, though," Raubol gave the boy a reprimanding finger wag before tilting his head as a threaded, dull dagger flew past it. Raubol chuckled as he held his hands up in surrender and met the thoroughly enraged gaze of the hormonal teen in front of him with a breezy smile and swift tongue, "Alright, alright, I give."

I can always drink later.

Raubol silently snickered as he put his hands down and watched the boy go from murderous to only a little homicidal. Siegrain's eyes narrowed, and his posture bristled as he opened his mouth to say something before Raubol cut him off with an off-handed gesture, "So, you want to know where Jellal went, I take it?"

Siegrain's breath caught in his throat at Raubol's words, his eyes laser-focused as he nodded silently. He didn't trust himself to speak; he just listened. This was it; this was when he'd finally start his journey to find his brother.

"Well, you see..."

Siegrain's body leaned forward unconsciously, and his entire mind focused on Raubol's words. His brown eyes wide to make sure he didn't miss a single moment of-

"I have no idea," Raubol said with a sheepish chuckle, watching as the boy nearly fell over in surprise. Raubol closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned his chin on his palm; then, he did himself a favor and formed a mug to intercept the sharp dagger thrown at his side. Raubol only opened a single eyelid to peek at the boy leveling a glare colder than Isvan at him, "What do you mean you don't know?"

Siegeain wasn't buying it; this older man and his entire guild had been suspicious since he arrived. It was like they were messing with him like the robes used to do when they got bored; he was sick of it.

"Don't play games with me."

Siegrain wouldn't let the older man fool around with something this important. If this was his version of a childish prank, then Siegrain wasn't going to-

"I'm not."

Raubol's flat words threw the wind out of Siegrain's sails, the blue-haired boy gazing with wide eyes as Raubol met his gaze flatly. Seriousness and honesty were etched into Raubol's expression, a sign that Raubol wasn't lying or messing around anymore.

"I'm being serious."

The fact that Siegrain could tell the older man was sincere only worsened the sting of disappointment.

"Jellal never told me where he was going," Raubol said with a shrug, trying to sip his drink only to frown when he realized it was empty. The dagger had been lodged into his wooden mug, and beer had seeped through the new entryway and onto the ground. Raubol frowned as he took the sword out and tossed it off the roof, tossing the mug over the top soon after since it wasn't helpful anymore, "He just asked me to take care of Wendy, and I did; that was the extent of our conversation."

He sure was a quiet one... polite, unlike his brother, who wasted my alcohol.

Raubol sighed at the thought, his attention going from his drink to the boy as he saw Siegrain looking at him with dull acceptance, "You're serious..."

Raubol didn't feel as good as he thought he would now that the boy finally didn't think he was a liar, "I am."

"You don't know."

"I'm afraid I don't," Raubol said with a little more care than previously, his eyes sympathetic as he saw Siegrain slump over in defeat. Siegrain put his head on his knees with his arms wrapped around them like a disappointed child as he murmured under his breath, "Great."

I wasted everyone's time for nothing...

Siegrain had been so sure this would be the place to search for Jellal, but there was nothing. Raubol didn't know where Jellal had gone, and Wendy didn't either. Cait Shelter had nothing left to point him to Jellal's trail; he had made a big show of ditching Vera, and so far, he had come up with absolutely nothing.

I'm still at square one.

Siegrain felt his nails dig slightly into his arms as he stewed in frustration, disappointment, and a whole mess of other emotions. All the while, his expression was kept quiet as he silently burned holes into his feet.

I'm still just waitin-

Siegrain's thoughts halted as a sharp smack landed on his head. The warring ideas shook out of his head and replaced them with annoyance as he turned dully towards the guild master of Cait Shelter. Siegrain's bitterness faded slightly as he noticed Raubol watching with a sympathetic smile before the old man shook his head and spoke softly, "You need to learn to relax..."

Raubol clapped his hands, startling Siegrain from his darker thoughts; Siegrain's eyes went from narrowed suspicion to confused silence as Raubol stood with a grin. Raubol let his illusions dance through his fingers as stars fluttered in his hands like fireflies. Nothing more than a mirage, but it was hundreds of years ago he had been enamored with these illusions, and centuries later, that hadn't changed, "Life's fleeting..."

Siegrain watched in a daze, his eyes wide as he saw the mini stars blossom, flowers of golden light floating around them like a breeze carried them. The cyclone of light-filled flowers rose to the sky until they were floating overhead of Cait Shelter, lighting up the sky like floating lanterns and leaving a beacon over the entirety of Cait Shelter, a torch in the middle of the woods.

"It'll burn out for everyone eventually..."

Siegrain kept his gaze on the sky and the moon, watching the flowers wink out of existence one by one. The night inched back into its previous territory, yet Siegrain didn't even notice it because they revealed the stars twinkling overhead with every flower that died. The stars had always been there; he just hadn't noticed them until Raubol spoke with a childish laugh that echoed into his ears, "So you should enjoy it..."

Siegrain turned to Raubol, his eyes wide as he saw the old man staring at the sky with the wonder and excitement of a child, "Don't let things you can't control weigh you down."

It was a simple message, probably a true one, but to Siegrain, it was harder to accept. He desperately wanted to see his brother; he needed to find his family, and he wanted it badly enough that he ignored his friend's warnings and chased after it anyway. Siegrain would find Jellal; he would do it as soon as possible...

"Is your magic..."

But maybe for a little bit...

"Only illusions?"

Siegrain could entertain the master of this guild hidden from the world's troubles.

"Now that's a better question!"

Raubol said with a booming laugh that echoed through the quiet air, Raubol only giving Siegrain, who was watching with a more relaxed and curious gaze than at the beginning of the conversation, a slight smirk before shrugging, "Of course it is."

Raubol only used illusions; even in life, he had used them more than any other. Some considered them weak, but he considered them magical. He remembered the first time he let his imagination come to life, "I love illusions."

Raubol smiled as he created a minor illusion of clouds around him, hiding his body from Siegrain's wide-eyed gaze so he could disappear and let the poor boy sleep, reflect, or do whatever he wanted. Raubol left him with a puff of smoke and a parting message.

"What else would I need?"

To Raubol, at least, he figured the boy would appreciate it more than others.

Siegrain sat long after Raubol had vanished in a cloud of smoke. Raubol's departing words faded from his mind after staying there for far too long.

The stars...

Now, hours later, after his earlier thoughts and worries had taken a backseat so he could stare up at the sky, a new idea clung to his psyche.

The stars are brighter here.

The stars were brighter there, in the guild hidden away from civilization. Nothing was blocking them; nothing was stopping him from gazing up at the sea of stars that littered the sky. All of them looked down on him like they were trying to comfort him, to tell him that it was okay, he had time, and he didn't need to hurry.

This guild is quiet...

It wasn't Oak Town, and he still preferred the quiet castle city to it, but he would never find a quieter guild—a quieter place to sit and think without the raging thoughts and memories weighing on his shoulders.

Seven would have liked it.

She would have loved this place; she loved quiet things. She took the beauty of everything and tried to make it known to him, even in the darkest of times. She made the most of everything they had in that dreary little lab, and he could never thank her enough.

'Your magic is beautiful.'

Seven made the most of everything.

'Just like you.'

Even his mediocre magic which was almost as weak as Raubol's illusions.

What should I do...

Siegrain took a deep breath, his eyes lingering on the stars with a slight lull in his mind. The night breeze carried his thoughts through the night sky so he could see them without any obstacles.

With my weak magic?

Raubol had thrown himself into it, disregarding the world's opinion of the logistics. The older man had lived a life foolishly devoted to one magic, and he hadn't regretted a moment of it. Raubol had lived his life chasing a foolish dream for foolish children.

I need to find Jellal...

Siegrain didn't have that option.

I can't be weak to do that.

Siegrain had been shown as much back in Oak Town when Jose beat him effortlessly. Some walls couldn't be crossed with just thread magic, and Siegrain couldn't take the chance of Jellal being one of those walls.

"What would Seven do..."

He needed to start looking at all the magic he'd learned in Oak Town as more than baggage. He needed to start using it when he fought, not just let it sit on the sidelines.

"What would Vera do..."

Yet he wanted to ignore that fact so badly it hurt.

"What should I do?"

Siegrain had spent his entire life letting decisions be made for him; the only real decisions he'd ever made were deciding to learn new magic.

I still love my magic too much to let it go.

And searching for his brother.

I still have no clue where Jellal is.

So far, he had yet to do either correctly; he was at the same place as he was at when he left Oak Town; no, when he first arrived there following the footsteps Vera had taken into that 'haunted' tower.

But I'm still alive...

Nothing had really changed since then.

And I can still keep searching.

Nothing changed and maybe that was fine for now.

'You're going at life too fast.'

Siegrain heard Raubol's aged voice as he forced himself to relax, his shoulders slumping slightly as he looked up at the stars and stood up. His breath was slow and steady as he let the issues of his magic and his brother and everything blink out like stars.

'You need to learn how to relax.'

Siegrain closed his eyes and tilted his head to the sky, a deep breath leaving him as he let his mind settle.

It's not the end of the world.

The door to new magic was already open; he just hadn't walked through it yet, and maybe that was fine. Perhaps it was cowardly; he was confident that Jose would call it such, but he wanted to cling on to his thread magic a little longer, at least until he left this place, where no one would care if he did nothing with all the magic he had stored in his head.

As for Jellal...

It's only a minor setback.

Siegrain had failed to find traces of Jellal, but that wasn't the end; it was just the end of that lead. He would find another, he would find Jellal, and he would start searching for new information as soon as he left Cait Shelter, but worrying over it now wasn't going to do anything.

I won't find him any faster if I worry.

It would only tire him out, and then he wouldn't be able to do anything even if he did find Jellal.

So maybe I can enjoy this quiet place... away from everything.

Siegrain let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he let his shoulders roll slowly, his muscles relaxed and eyes sliding open as he felt the breeze on his back and through his hair, "The stars are brighter here..."

The stars were still shining; they shined brightly enough that Siegrain decided he wanted to see them as he fell asleep. He wanted to watch them without a wooden roof to block his view, and the first idea that came to his mind was the one he chose.

"I hope they don't mind this too much..."

Not because it was a good one; it would have been pretty rude if he had been honest; no, he chose it for a simple, selfish reason that he wouldn't have pandered to normally.

"Raubol was the one who said to take it slow."

It was because it offered the best view.

July 10th, x778

Wendy woke up in her cot early in the morning, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light trickling into the window.

Huh... did I fall asleep?

Wendy yawned as she sat up, a slight frown on her face because she hadn't meant to fall asleep during the walk to Cait Shelter. She got tired after telling Qecha about Oak Town and everything she saw there. She had wanted to stay awake till they got to her guild so she could introduce everyone to Siegrain, but she couldn't.

"I wonder if Siegrain got to meet everyone..."

"He did, didn't say much, though."

Wendy yelped as she tumbled off her bed and onto the ground. Her covers flew everywhere as a booming laugh sounded above her, and a sharp hiss came from the woman she knew as Pepe, "Raubol! Stop laughing!"

Wendy sniffled as she looked up, her eyes wide as she rubbed the bruise on her forehead and saw Raubol, Pepe, and Magna standing at her door. With Pepe whirling around to scold Magna the second she got Raubol to stop laughing with a well-placed smack to the back of his balding head, "And you, Magna! Don't scare her like that!"

"I didn't mean to."

"Shut it! You hurt Wendy!"

A loud smack and a yelp could be heard, Magna's grumbles as he held the back of his head out of habit, canceled out by the sound of Wendy's giggles. The two older guild members, chuckling as well as Magna, rubbed the back of his neck and muttered under his breath, "I don't see how this is my fault. If anything, you should be yelling at that kid she brought over."

Magna felt a shiver crawl up his spine as Pepe narrowed her eyes at him, "That kid is tired and is allowed to rest wherever he pleases."

Magna quirked his eyebrows at Pepe; he had known her for centuries; she wasn't a saint. If Magna had tried to sleep where the kid ended up sleeping, he'd wake up in a grave... again.

What's with her?

Magna narrowed his eyes at her; his suspicion was heard loud and clear by the older woman as she rolled her eyes and whispered into his ears, "The guild master said he gave the kid 'the talk' yesterday."

"Oh shit," Magna mumbled lowly with wide eyes, glancing at Raubol for confirmation only to see the old bastard chuckling to himself like a naughty teen. Magna then admitted that, yes, the blue-haired kid deserved to sleep wherever he wanted. He could have Magna's bed for all he cared; no one deserved to go through that.

Poor kid, maybe he was too petrified to-

"What's the talk?"

Magna nearly choked on his lungs as Wendy's innocent words cut through the room like a knife. Magna and Pepe looked at Wendy with wide eyes because they forgot her dragon slayer magic, which gave her heightened senses. Then, flicking their head over to Raubol, who was grinning like a kid that just got candy, "Well, Wendy, when a man and a woman-"

"NO!"

Magna and Pepe, in a rare show of teamwork, tackled their guildmaster to the ground and smothered him. Pepe got the covers from Wendy's bed and handed them to Magna, who wrapped their guild master like a cocoon before tying it off; Raubol was dead anyway so he wouldn't run out of air. Magna then carried the old idiot over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and called back to Wendy before running out of the room, "I'm going to take the guild master for a walk; see you later, Wendy!"

Wendy could only watch in confusion as Magna ran out of the room with the guild master, her focus taken by Pepe as the older woman smiled and pulled Wendy to her feet with a forcefully cheery voice, "Come on, Wendy, let's go meet all the other guild members! They all want to know about your trip to Oak Town."

"Really?"

Wendy grinned brightly as she saw Pepe nod, and her earlier question was forgotten. She really wanted to tell everyone about her trip to Oak Town.

"Um... Pepe?"

She also really wanted to introduce everyone to her new friend from Oak Town.

"Can we get Siegrain too?"

Wendy watched as Pepe looked at her wide-eyed before chuckling and nodding, "Of course, you'll probably have to wait a bit, though."

Wendy tilted her head in confusion, following Pepe outside before her question of why she couldn't talk to Siegrain was answered in the most obvious way.

"He's a bit hung up at the moment."

A new threaded hammock had been added between the ears of Cait Shelter's guild hall, with a snoring, blue-haired teen nestled inside it for all to see.