Slick's Story

Pommel Grade

“AHck!” Came the muffled sound from the kitchen, Pommel, quickly putting her fingers in her mouth. She’d accidently burned herself on the tray for the biscuits she’d been making, pouting a bit as she made her way over to the tap to douse her hand. She grumbled slightly to herself, as today hadn’t been going too swimmingly for her. Just one of those off days, but she was going to turn it around. This was precisely why she was making cookies. For one, they tasted good, but most of the guild usually couldn’t resist the smell, and as long as she stood near the tray and acted cute and charming, she normally received plenty of praise. And boy, did she like being praised.

Grabbing hold of her mittens and much more cautiously leaning into the oven, Pommel retrieved the hot tray, carrying it out over to the serving window and setting it down on the mat she had prepared. “Mmm-mmm! Delicious if I do say so myself!” Biting down hard and munching loudly, she did her best job to make sure most people in the vicinity heard, and hopefully made a big deal of her cooking. Even more important than that however, was ensuring one of her idols in the guild noticed and she made another stunning impression. She sighed, cupping her hands to her cheeks, closing her eyes as she imagined it. According to Sorcerer’s Weekly, Fairy Tail had some of the most powerful S class Wizards around, and what she wouldn’t give for a chance to meet them! First and foremost was Cold Steel herself! There was no cooler female wizard on the planet! Well, maybe Candice Hallows was, but she wasn’t a part of Fairy Tail as far as she knew. She sighed again, mind abuzz with delightful thoughts. Compared to Cold Steel, all the male wizards in this guild were chumps.

"Another win for Fairy Tail!"

Pommel’s day-dream was broken by an annoying chant from nearby, the little lady turning to spot none other than Zane and gave him a slight scowl for interrupting her happy train of thought. Honestly, what was he getting so worked up about? A lame little loser like him couldn’t compare to the great wizards of Fairy Tail. Honestly, he was probably weaker than her; he was almost half her age! Haughtily talking herself up in her mind, she couldn’t help but let out her own laugh of superiority. Yes, she’d be recognised soon enough, and would prove herself capable of living amongst the stars she’d read so much about. The first step, was getting them addicted to her food, then, she’d be taken on as an apprentice wizard and given training. Her plan was foolproof! Genius, even. After all, she came up with it.

“Mmm, not bad Mel… A solid 5/5 stars as always.” Came the voice from next to her, Pommel giving a startled yelp as she jumped back to identify who spoke. Instantly, her expression soured. Ew, it was that creepo again. That Slick guy was always way too close to her personal space for her liking, and having dealt with him when budgeting the food, she’d had more than enough time to decide that she didn’t like his company.

“That's Pommel. And these are not for you!” Grabbing her tray and raspberrying at the suit clad man, she caused Slick to sigh a little, flashing the nicest grin he could.

“Oh come on, these are simply delightful. Why, I’m surprised you don’t run this kitchen yourself with the talent you have.” He smirked, still carefully eating the biscuit in hand. The little girl was usually pretty easy to play, and as expected, a little flattery went a long way to getting her to ease up a bit. She stammered and got a little embarrassed by his words, letting him sample another cookie before remembering she disliked him, giving some irate shouts and shooing him off. With heartfelt thanks and flashing a smile again, Slick strode back over to the noticeboard, giving it a look over for jobs. He’d managed to get through the paperwork for the day, and there would probably be something easy enough for him to get started on.

“Huh. She’s getting better.” He mumbled absentmindedly, genuinely surprised by the improvement in her cooking before eating the rest of his biscuit as he leafed through the posters.

Back at the counter, it was perhaps another sign of Pommel's bad day that she neither saw nor noticed one of her idols enter due to the commotion with Slick.

Riku was so busy painting on a sleeping guild member's face that he didn't realize he'd been caught until he was lifted off the ground. His yelp might have echoed through the guild hall, if it weren't so full of people. "Riku, we talked about this. It's not nice to do that to people without their permission."

"Miss White!" Riku whined, flailing around. "Put me down!"

"Riku," Mary continued in a warning tone. Riku stopped thrashing about, but started wailing loudly, tears flowing down his face on command. "When he wakes up, you're going to apologize, then help clean up. Okay?" Her voice softened at the end. She wondered how anyone could sleep among all this ruckus, but didn't question it aloud; weirder things happened in this guild hall.

Riku continued to scream, while Mary waited. After about half a minute, Riku gave up. "Fiiine," he sniffed.

Magpie set him down with a small smile. "Thank you." She walked off toward the bar, following the smell of cookies. Riku flopped on the floor to pout.

"Hm?" Mary blinked once before smiling back at Emerald as she passed. She hadn't seen the girl do much at all in the way of socialization yet, but she caught the hesitant smile, and while it was only a small bit of progress, she took it as a positive sign. Already Mary thought it was turning out to be a good day.

She reached the bar about the time Zane showed up. Upon hearing his voice, Riku immediately perked up, the waterfall on his face disappearing in an instant. He ran off toward the boy, who was at once younger and much older than him, excited to hear about his most recent win.

Mary sat at the counter, smiling softly as she listened to the confrontation between Slick and Pommel. It wasn't until after Slick slipped away to the noticeboard that Mary looked up, her warm gaze turning to Pommel. "May I have one?" she asked quietly, a tone that suited her thin frame. "They smell delicious."

Pommel Grade

“-And you stay over there you weasel!” The feisty young wizard yelled, fuming slightly and puffing her cheeks as Slick scooted away from her counter. That man was infuriating! Huffing slightly, it took her a moment to realise she actually had company, turning back to see the cheerful smiling face of…

“M-Magpie!” Pommel stammered, her surprise quickly turning into an exclamation of joy, clapping her hands together and giving her own bright smile. “Yes, yes! Of course, take as many as you want! Let me know what you think!” Pommel beamed, thrusting the tray out towards Miss White. It was her! Ranking in at number 32 of the 12th Fairy Tail Power Poll (as decided by fans), the Ice Make Master herself! Sure, that was quite far below Cold Steel, but she was still one of the most respected wizards around, and with her sweet and dainty demeanour, who wouldn’t be enamoured with her?

It took much of Pommel’s restraint not to gush out her admiration for the woman in front of her, though Mary would likely be used to the slightly eccentric girl’s passionate spiels and questions by now. Pommel had been at the guild for a couple of years, and had completely changed in that time from the timid self she’d started out as after initially joining. Unlike Wynter, who, despite Pommel’s best attempts to interact with her, always seemed to comically be called away or otherwise occupied; Magpie had always made the time for her and been there as a strong maternal figure at the guild. In that regard, she was just as inspiring a female figure in her life, and possibly the person she leant on the most. Cold Steel was always just that, the cool, powerful but relatively silent beauty of the guild. Magpie on the other hand was warm, mature, down to earth, and far more approachable to the young wizard. Honestly, both of them were incredible in her eyes.

“So, are they good? I tried adding in some mor-..!” Pommel stopped mid-sentence, freezing and staring across the guild hall to the corner of the room. In an instant, her world shattered, the weight of her body suddenly seeming to drag her down and swaying as if the slightest breeze could knock her down. I-It couldn’t be… How…? It wouldn’t take long for Magpie to trace Pommel’s line of sight to Wynter and Emerald, Cold Steel making a point of introducing herself to the newer member. W-why hadn’t she done that with Pommel? She’d been here far longer than that girl, and they hadn’t spoken once! What did Emerald have that she didn’t? Wobbling until she flopped face down over the counter in a comical fashion, she made an exasperated sound.

Of course, Magpie would be aware of Pommel’s fascination with the Knight of Fairy Tail, along with the fact that she’d refused to introduce herself to her, doing her best to stand out and have herself be noticed by Wynter. Ironically, it seemed something always seemed to get in the way of that dream, be that missions, guild fights, waitressing, the list went on. Slowly raising her head to look up to Magpie, she pouted some, looking downcast.

“What am I doing wrong Maggy..?” She gave another deep sigh, the rough day starting to get to her. Though anyone that knew Pommel would be certain that this wouldn’t last long.

Pommel Grade

"Perhaps you should take the lead and introduce yourself,”

Pommel folded her arms in front of her, lying partially across the counter and resting her chin on her arms to glare slightly at Emerald and company from her position across the room. Hopefully they could feel her death vibes. “No, no, that won’t do…” She grumbled, sitting up slightly as she lifted one arm up to rest in her palm. If she introduced herself to Wynter, that wasn’t enough. She wanted to be spotted and recognised. She wanted Wynter to WANT to meet her.

”You could offer her one of your famous biscuits?" Magpie added cautiously, Pommel glancing over to her before turning her eyes back to the growing crowd around Wynter, the lot of them laughing and having fun. In fact, it looked like Zane was showing Wynter a bunch of his lame jobs he wanted to do and trying to maybe convince her to join him. What a shallow suck up.

“Famously not good enough...” Pommel mumbled, beating herself up a bit more. Biscuits were a stupid idea. How was that going to work? Even if Wynter had a biscuit and enjoyed it, she’d just think she was some stupid maid-hand that knew how to cook, not a prospective apprentice. Why did she have to be so hopeless? The only way she’d get noticed by someone like Wynter was if…

“That’s it!” She pushed herself up off the counter, slamming her hands down and startling awake the nearby sleeping guild member that Riku had been drawing on. “That’s it!” She repeated again, clasping Mary’s hand. “Thank you, I’ve got it now!” She grinned, whipping off her apron and tossing it back onto the hook, vaulting the bar and taking off down the guild hall. Turning slightly as she ran, she waved to Magpie, hopping a few steps forward. “Let Gisbon know that I’m heading out! Oh, and you can have the rest of the tray Mags, you’re awesome!” And with that, Pommel disappeared upstairs to her room.

---

Slick

Slick gave a bemused whistle as he noted the little princess running down the hall. Seemed she was back in good spirits, which probably meant she had another harebrained scheme of some sort. Ah, the enthusiasm and energy of youth… Tapping the request he’d taken in hand, he made a slow move back over to the bar, taking another cookie from the tray as he looked to Mary Whitelocke, twirling it about his fingers as he slid seamlessly into the seat next to her. “Cute kid, ain’t she? What’d you say to perk her up like that?” Leaning back on the bar, he took another bite of his cookie as he watched Pommel disappear upstairs.

“Think she’s gonna have any luck this time?” He added simply, keeping the conversation going as he pilfered another cookie. Maybe that was Slick’s aim all along?

---

Pommel Grade

It didn’t take her long at all to pack. I mean, it was going to be a quick and easy job, right? She’d show all of them. Eyes glinting mischievously, she hurried back downstairs, sliding down the bannister and running over to the request board, looking for a certain person in particular.

“Vernon!” Pommel made the man jump out of his skin, the older fellow only just having fixed the hole made by Slick taking a job. Catching his breath (And papers), he turned to look back to Pommel, adjusting his glasses.

“Oh, hey Pommel. Want the requests Wynter’s been taking again?” He smiled, one of the few males in the guild to have an alright relationship with the girl. Given his time near the request board, he took note of what jobs were taken and by who, and as such, often gave Pommel a copy of Wynter’s jobs so she could marvel over the impressive things she did. Today however, it turned out to be something different.

“Not today Vernon. I uh, I’d actually like to see the jobs Zane took.” She beamed pleasantly, though her request drew the curiosity of the man before her. “Zane huh? Not like you. Branching out a bit in your tastes?” He added hopefully, leafing through his files before pulling the stack of papers out to hand Pommel.

“Heh, in your dreams old man.” Pommel snatched the papers, glancing them over. Perfect! “No, just need them for something, okay, thanks!” As Vernon raised his hand for a fist bump, Pommel met it, laughing as she skipped off down the hall and out of the guild. This was it; she was going to do it! Her first job. Whatever that kid Zane could do, she could manage and surpass. If a little thing like this was enough for Wynter to notice Zane, then she’d floor Cold Steel by doing it bigger and better!

Jogging down to the train station, she’d find the next one heading north, quickly sprinting to get on board as it just so happened to be leaving. The look on their faces was going to be priceless! She’d deal with these… Monsters? Well, yeah… That’d be easy. If Zane could do it, she could handle it! They were probably just some big bugs or something. She sighed as the train began to chug along towards its destination, imagining it. Wynter and her new apprentice Zane would be heading up to their mission when suddenly - wham bam kapow! They’d notice a lone figure standing atop the vanquished monsters! Yes, it was her! Pommel Grade, heroine of Fairy Tail!

“Wow Pommel, you’re amazing, way better than me! I am but a stupid little boy. Wynter, I am not fit to be your apprentice, you should train Pommel as your successor.” Zane would say in that whiny lame voice of his, but it was honestly completely true. He’d submit in bowing to his superior, while Wynter moved up to clasp her hands. “I was so wrong not to notice your true potential Pommel. Please, you must have me as your teacher. I’ll call Sorcerer’s Weekly and arrange an interview at once!”

“A-an interview? Me? Right now? Oh gosh, I don’t know if I’m prepared, and I’m messy from the fight…” Pommel gushed a bit, blushing and holding her cheek. It was too good to be true!

“Nonsense, you look stunning Pommel.” Wynter replied in that cool voice of her, reducing Pommel to a fit of contented giggles as she rolled about in her seat, continuing her elaborately unrealistic dream of the future as the train continued on towards its destination…

Mary sighed. She hadn't expected Pommel to finally take the direct approach, but one could hope. She hated hearing the girl talk down about herself, although it happened often and rarely lasted long. She opened her mouth to say something, but after a moment, closed it with a frown. If Pommel's flamboyance wasn't enough to get Wynter's attention, what would? The poor girl had made herself known to just about everyone else in the guild, at least anyone who'd been there since she came out of her shell, yet the person she wanted to notice her the most was endlessly oblivious.

It came down to bad luck, it seemed. They were always just missing each other, something always just barely got between them and kept them from meeting. Of course, Pommel had had plenty of opportunities to simply walk up and introduce herself, but Mary could see how that just wouldn't be the same. Still, she was starting to get worried that if Wynter ever did notice Pommel, the baker would be disappointed. Pommel idolized Wynter, after all, and as wonderful as Cold Steel was, she was just as human as the rest of them.

Mary jolted upright, pulled suddenly from her thoughts by the banging. Before she could really figure out what was happening, Pommel had clasped her hand, thanked her, then ran off, apron flying in the air behind her. Magpie blinked twice at the spot where Pommel had vaulted herself over the counter, then her vision was intercepted by Slick. The woman was almost positive that there were big, blocky question marks bouncing on top of her head. "What, indeed," she replied quietly, voice a little far off. After a second, she laughed a little. "I haven't a clue, but I'm glad it worked, whatever it was."

She shrugged at his next question, finally finishing off her first cookie. "I hope so. Although, judging from past results..." She picked up another cookie, and looked briefly back and forth between the group and the stairs. In the background, the guy Riku'd drawn on looked quite flustered but had yet to realize what was on his face. Mary decided to give the boy a chance to go up and apologize on his own before she stepped in again, so she looked back to the man next to her. "Did you come over here only to swipe some baked goods while she isn't looking? Not very subtle of you, Slick." She narrowed her eyes, bit her lips remained in a small smile.

When Pommel started shouting at Vernon, it drew Mary's attention again. She quirked her head like a curious puppy, frozen with her second cookie halfway to her mouth. "Hm? Oh-! ...Is she taking a job?" Eyes widened slightly, the woman looked back to Slick, checking to make sure she wasn't the only one surprised at this. "That'll be her first, right?" Considering the girl had been with the guild for a couple years now and had yet to take any jobs from the board, Mary, for one, thought this was quite a big deal. She wasn't sure whether to be worried or proud; which meant she was a bit of both.

She watched as Pommel sped out the door, all but flattening an unfamiliar girl who happened to be on her way in. Judging by Mavis's reaction, she'd never seen the girl before either, which was interesting. Were they getting a new member? Mary's smile widened at the idea of her family growing. That was how she saw the guild, after all: one big, ever growing family. She hoped the girl was going to join, but being greeted by Mavis was like being greeted by a crowd, and she didn't want to overwhelm the newbie so Mary stayed where she was for now.

Just as she was starting to turn away again, taking a bite of the cookie, none other than Cold Steel herself went sprinting out the door after Pommel. "Mm!" Magpie exclaimed, pointing toward the door since she was far too polite to talk with her mouth full. She swallowed hard, feet kicking lightly in another attempt to get Slick's attention while she felt back for a drink, anything to help her wash it down. She finally found a mug of beer and took a long swig, nose wrinkling at the taste. She would have much preferred a glass of milk. "Looks like our Mel may get her wish, after all!"

Zane's usually friendly (and possibly over-energetic) self emerged as Emerald spoke down about herself. His warm smile lit up, and if Emerald had heard anything about Zane, his ability to make people feel welcome and even powerful from his smile almost seemed like a spell was involved. "Just because others are strong doesn't mean your weak. Everyone is strong in their own way at least. And I can tell just from looking at you, one day, possibly one day soon, it might even be tomorrow, you are going to save a lot of people's lives".

However, that is when Zane noticed the situation with Cold Steel. He looked around and heard some of the comment of others (As his senses are enhanced from being a Dragon Slayer), he pieced it together. "Well, I better go help. It IS my job, after all. That said, don't think your slacking just because I am so young but an S-Class". He leaned in closer and whispered the next part in her ear. "I am actually an emotionally scarred 44 year old. Trust me, people can overcome anything with enough willpower, and I bet you have a lot of it".

He smiled at her again and waved, before running off. He stopped for about one second at Mavis and Rin. "Hey, welcome to the Guild! Thanks for joining! Sorry I can't give you the full greeting, I gotta go make sure a fellow guildmember doesn't get smashed".

"I take it that the mission Pommel took was yours? Didn't she notice it was S-Class?" Mavis asked as Zane was already leaving. "And Zane, try to not have us get a large damages bill again!"

"Relax, nothing but mountains and monsters to damage! No bill possible, keeping my promise!" Zane yelled as he ran off.

Mavis shrugged, then looked at Rin. "Well, if its just those two, he should be too busy protecting her to damage...wait, didn't Cold Steel go after her too! Oh no....I am not sure how much a mountain costs, but if those two are going...hey, I can tell, your a power Wizard. How about for your first job going and making sure those three don't wreck...well, a mountain? There are actually quite a few jobs from that area we are going to anyways, so I need as many people as possible to go there and investigate".

Meanwhile, Zane finally reached the train station, only to see the train had already left and Cold Steel about to chase after it. Cold Steel was already away, so he used some boost magic on himself to make him lighter, and then used his fire magic to propel him like a rocket towards the train, the guildmembers, and the mountain. He quickly caught up to Cold Steel, but the train was another thing entirely. It was actually still getting faster!

Zane looked at Cold Steel with a half smile. "Well, guess we are teaming up again. At least Mavis wont have to worry about us breaking anything and having the guild get billed for it. I can't even remember the last time we teamed up anyways, but I am sure it happened at least once".

That was when Zane noticed something. And then, moving so fast it might have looked like teleportation, Zane wrapped his arms around Cold Steel and seemingly held on for dear life. It was because the train, and as a result them as well, had gone over a bridge that went over a giant lake. "Don't let go. Don't let go. Don't look down. Don't look down. You won't fall and drown. You won't fall and drown. Oh please, why cant we get over this any faster!?"

Zane couldn't swim. Well, sort of. Hot springs, ponds, small streams, he was fine with. But for some reason, anything remotely big, and he didn't swim or even float. He just sank to the very bottom. Not many people knew this, but a few of the more experienced guildmembers, mainly ones that have gone on missions with him or knew the truth about him, knew this as well. And as a result, he gained a deep fear of drowning.

"Please go faster..." he said, still panicked.

Meanwhile, Mavis also ensured Slick knew about the future potential damages. Mainly the mountain, since she was worried they might actually get billed for it.

Slick

Slick nodded slightly as he listened to Mary, ever modest about her contributions. Though that said, it seemed that with Pommel almost everything spurred her on. Words of encouragement gave her the strength to pick herself back up, while insults and derision fired up her competitive side. An admirable quality, to say the least.

Steadily making the most of the good food, Mary’s response to his next inquiry was about what he expected. She tended to want the best for everyone, though he couldn’t help but smirk at the last part. Truly, the games that Pommel played to get her noticed by Wynter were one of Slick’s most enjoyable things to watch. Why, that one time he’d made a point to try and introduce the tiny chef to Wynter she’d managed to hide herself by fleeing through the trash chute, and the earful he’d gotten from her afterwards still brought a smile to his face.

"Did you come over here only to swipe some baked goods while she isn't looking? Not very subtle of you, Slick." Magpie probed, seeming just a bit skeptical of the man beside her. Slick provided his best hurt expression.

“Miss Whitelock, you wound me so! Why, I merely wished to enjoy the company of a charming young lady.” Extravagantly exaggerating, he chuckled a bit, straightening up his posture and winking behind his glasses. “Alright, you caught me; Pommel’s none too fond of me, even though I like the princess about as much as her cooking. That is to say: a lot.” Helping himself to another cookie, he stopped before taking a bite, giving Mary another of his amused expressions.

“Although, you’ll never know if that’s what I want you to think. The best way to make something subtle is to make something else obvious.” Slick replied cryptically, turning back to watch the rest of the scene about the guild unfold. After all, he’d meant exactly what he’d said about Magpie. A soft nudge in his side drew his attention back to the noticeboard, watching Mel flounder about with Vernon. Ah, how he envied the comradery he’d grown with Pommel.

"Hm? Oh-! ...Is she taking a job?” Mary inquired, Slick nodding as he noted the papers she collected, turning to meet Mary’s eyes as she looked to him in bewilderment. Of course, he felt much the same, but his sunglasses and expression didn’t really show it. In 2 whole years, Pommel hadn’t taken a single job – Not that he blamed her when the pickings for B-ranks consisted of rescuing stray cats and taking old folks out for the day. As the cherry haired energy ball trotted off out of the guild, Mary followed with another query.

“Looks that way. Well, I’ll be damned.” Slick replied. Adjusting his glasses slightly, he shrugged a bit, before placing an arm around Mary jovially. “Seems like our little girl’s all grown up, eh? Hopefully we’ve taught her all she needs to be successful.” Giving Mary a playful jostling, Slick reached under the bar, pulling out a couple of beverages. Normally the celebration would be saved for after she was successful, but hey, this was still progress worth remembering! Setting them down, he was stopped from doing much more than filling them as a new commotion started, everyone eying up the newcomer to the guild hall. Slick couldn’t help but whistle, eying over the bod of what could end up being the newest babe of Fairy Tail. Heh, Crez’d be kicking himself for missing this one; she looked damn fine in that racy black and red ensemble. Hopefully their eccentric master didn’t end up chasing off another potential with her boisterousness.

If it wasn’t for the fact he was in the company of another lady, Slick would have probably mouthed off a bit or made his way over. After all, with his analysis eyes he was quite readily able to see just how fine a woman that was with measurements like that! Still, he’d keep his composure, idly staring no more so than any of the other members of the guild before returning to what he was doing, looking back down to his glass of beer.

"Mm!" Was the soft utterance from his partner, drawing out another smirk from Slick. Magpie was really cute when she wanted to be, and he couldn’t help but eye her excited expression as she danced a little on her seat and pointed across the room, though with her spare hand she was groping around the bar. He took a moment to appreciate that, before subtly moving to slide the drink he’d poured her into her grasp as he turned to see what the commotion was. Briefly, he caught the tail end of a blue ponytail flying through the doorway, with the Z-meister not far behind.

"Looks like our Mel may get her wish, after all!" Mary exclaimed, the joy in her voice readily apparent. Slick was a little more skeptical, getting up off his seat. “Maybe, but something’s not right if her and Zane are in that much of a hurry…” He moved forward slightly before stopping, eying Mavis’ conversation with the newcomer. With the aid of analysis eyes, he was able to read their lips, and quickly pieced together the information in his mind. Still, this was Cold Steel and Z they were talking about. Even if they could be reckless, there weren’t many more people in the guild that he’d trust to bring Pommel back safely.

Slowly, he took his seat again, looking over to Mary. “Well, I don’t think we need to worry too much. Those two are dependable at this sort of thing at the very least.” He wasn’t sure if Magpie would’ve pieced it all together, but he made the assumption that she was pretty switched on as well. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he felt the soft parchment of paper, and remembered one of the other reasons he’d headed over here. Rubbing it between his fingers, it amazed him how even after all these years; there was that nervous feeling in situations like this.

“And speaking of two, I was wonderin-“

“Oh Mr. Slick!” The young man was cut off by the sing-song voice of Mavis, who made her way over to the two of them. “Sorry to interrupt, but with what’s happening at the moment, would you be able to prepare a budget? Just in case Zane and Wynter get a little too excited.” She smiled sweetly, cocking her head. Slick stopped to look at Magpie, then back to Mavis a moment before shrugging. “Yeah... Sure. In fact, I’ve probably got something already prepared that can be re-purposed.”

Mavis nodded, thanking Slick before trotting off back to do… Well, whatever it was Mavis did normally. Still holding the paper in his pocket, Slick relaxed his grip on it, reaching instead to take another swig of his drink. Well, maybe he’d take that as a sign. He’d ask Magpie to join him on a mission another time.

---

Pommel Grade

“Now, let’s see here…” Pommel stated aloud, pulling out the map of the area she’d packed in her backpack, eying over the upcoming landscape and comparing it to the information in the flier. They were heading uphill into the northern areas, which she’d planned for. After all, it was almost always snowing in the villages near the mountains, and she’d be foolish not to have brought something to bundle up appropriately. The train was planned to stop off in the town of Eloria, a smallish place with roots in mining and the like. From there, she’d need to rent a snowmobile to be able to trek anywhere up the mountain at a reasonable pace. Between the harsh slopes, frigid blizzards and apparently, frequent avalanches, it wasn’t the kind of place to go about on foot. Briefly, she imagined that dork Zane getting buried, but quickly moved past that as the thoughts of her own morbid demise crossed her mind. Best not to jinx herself.

“So the flyer says to come back to the Mayor’s office once the monster problem has been dealt with and report for payment of...-!?!” Pommel’s heart skipped a beat, and her face flushed.

“1,000,000 Jewel?!” She exclaimed in alarm, her hands trembling. T-that was almost one… two… carry the 8… Uh… Geez, she was bad at math… Anyway, a lot times bigger than her wage working the kitchen! She squinted a bit, triple checking the information. Yep, 1,000,000… She didn’t even know how to spend that much money! How could a simple mission like this earn her that much money?! Was wizarding always this lucrative? There had to be a reason…

Moving to read further into the job, a sudden gust of wind ripped the flyer from Pommel’s hand, flying out the train’s window as the cold climate began filtering it’s way in. “Aw, shoot!” Pommel mumbled, poking her head out the side of the window before instantly regretting it as her arms became covered in goosebumps. It wasn’t like she needed the paper to collect the reward or anything, but still…

Sitting back down and shutting the window, she took a moment to unpack her bag and begin rugging up, getting on her winter parka and long scarf, as well as some other extra layers. She’d keep her hands free for her magic, but otherwise she’d be pretty well shielded from the weather. From there, the announcement that they’d be arriving at Eloria Station by Mt. Oldstone caught her attention, and she trotted off to disembark. Thankfully, there was only a light snow at this point.

Trudging down the village path, it didn’t take her long to find and rent the magic snowmobile, getting the magic Self-Energy (SE) plug attached around her wrist. It’d drain a little magic, but the convenience of not needing any real fuel was a big boon, and kept the cost down. The owner had been pretty persistent in warning the girl of the dangers of the mountain, but Pommel could not be swayed. When she made known she was a Fairy Tail wizard, that seemed to relax the gentleman, and he wished her luck and bid her farewell, letting the girl make tracks up the mountain.

At first, everything seemed fine. It was windy and bitterly cold, but there wasn’t really that much danger. In fact, if it wasn’t for the mission, she might have just enjoyed this as a daytrip. Keeping her eyes peeled for any kind of monster, Pommel didn’t notice the rock until far too late. With a crash, she was sent flying face first into the snow, the cable attaching her to the snowmobile snapping with the force of her impact. Groaning she sat up, shivering and rubbing her face a bit. Well great, now she was stuck up here.

“S-s-stupid mountain…!” Pommel grumbled, taking a step back towards where she’d collided her snowmobile, before stopping. Clearly, it wasn't going anywhere. Hesitating a moment, she turned around, and began hiking further up the mountain. She wasn't going to give up because of something stupid like this! "W-wish I was at least inside though..." She mumbled, rubbing her arms some more as the wind picked up. Then, with a sudden yelp, she was gone, leaving nothing but a smashed snowmobile where she’d been.

Screaming in fear and panic, Pommel rocketed down the shaft she’d broken into, sliding down the icy tunnel until it unceremoniously threw her out into another snow pile, this time in even less flattering a pose than after her crash. It seemed she’d been unfortunate enough to have stumbled upon the interconnected tunnels of the mountain where the mining town had made its start, though nowadays they were labyrinthine and dilapidated, as well as home to numerous monsters like Vulcans. Not that our wee wizard adventurer was aware of that.

“Great, just great…” She grumbled, once again blaming the misfortune that this day seemed to be bringing her. Why could nothing go smoothly for her? It was like she was cursed or something! Dusting off the snow from her outfit, she sighed, glancing about the tunnel. “At least there’s light here. About the only thing that could be worse would be a monster getting the jump on me…”

Moments later, a monster got the jump on Pommel.

Slick

Finishing up another swig of his drink, Slick turned back towards Mary, wiping his mouth of the remaining foam. After catching sight of her stripping down, he quickly turned back to his drink, sculling down the rest. Hot damn he would never get used to her doing that! He knew the Mother Bird of the guild didn’t like the heat, but seeing her so confidently flaunt her body still caused him to falter. The gentleman in him declared it rude to stare, but the hot-blooded young male debated otherwise in his mind. Instead, he settled on a compromise, peering to the side of his glasses at Magpie while still tipping up the rest of his drink. For a moment, she seemed to want to question what he’d been talking about, but it was about then that Carson seemed to get his bearings. Slick watched the restraint slowly drain from his guild mate, and chuckled a bit, letting Magpie handle the babysitting. After all, she seemed to enjoy that sort of thing.

"Reverse!" Slick watched Mary wince from the feedback of her magic, striding over to stop the commotion between the boys. Like diligent charges, both moved to her side to receive their discipline, Slick openly laughing aloud as he slapped his leg. Man, he’d never get sick of the atmosphere at his guild. Gesturing to Mary as she returned, Slick winked. “Remind me to avoid you next promotional trial; I dunno if I’d be able to take you Mags.” Chuckling some more, he turned as a familiar voice rang out over the guild hall.

"Well you all seem as lively as when I left you!" The declaration came from by the entrance, Warren standing proudly and grinning like a fool. Slick was quick to wave him down, shouting across the hall.

“Yo, Warren, back so soon? Or did you hear about the new birdy we just got?” Slick sat up and headed to meet the fellow, giving him a firm cross between a high-five and a handshake. Even for the kid that he was, the two had some mutual ground in their appreciation of the ladies, and had at least a general sense of friendly comradery. Using his grip to pull Warren in close, Slick whispered a few choice words about the bust-waist-hip measurements of the Celestial Spirit Mage before they broke, striding back over to the bar in order for Warren to tell his tales to Mary and himself.

When he was done, Slick chuckled some, sitting up. “Well, speaking of jobs, I better earn my keep and get to training. I ain’t being outdone this year.” Placing a fist to his palm, he was of course referring to the promotional examination to become an S-ranked wizard at the guild. First had been Wynter, then Zane, Warren and Jazz last year. Four years running he’d missed his chance, but if his competition was going to be the twins, Mags and Carson, he didn’t feel he had too much to worry about. Assuming Crez wasn’t interested in the trial, he had his partner all set. He just needed one more shot. Briefly, he contemplated the new guild member before shaking his head. Celestial Spirit Mages were a bit of a joke compared to real mages. She wouldn't be any trouble.

“So unless you two will miss me, I better get going.” Taking the job from his pocket, Slick unfurled it, giving it another double check on what was going to be required of him…

Pommel Grade

Dark. Slimy. Gross! Pommel would have screamed, if not for the fact that she was worried about getting this-this thing’s spit in her mouth! Flailing about, she couldn’t get enough traction to make a decent cut as the tongue began wrapping around and pinning her by the waist, attempting to drag her deeper into the pit of its belly. Reaching her arms out, Pommel attempted to grab hold of something, anything to save her. ”Please, someone…!”

Suddenly, there was light, the slimy insides parting way and tearing at the seams as they were sliced to ribbons, yet none of the slices strayed too close to Pommel, eventually leaving her unscathed as a hand reached to her, taking hold just above her hips and pulling her up and free of the now limp tongue. Shaking the gunk from her hair and eyes, she was met with the face of her idol, her brow and mouth intensely firm, but her eyes reflecting the worry hidden behind it all.

"And who said you were useless?" Her saviour spoke. Pommel stared back to Wynter, whose expression had changed slightly. Gone was the fierce warrior, replaced instead by a silent determination and knowing wisdom. Slowly, Wynter released Pommel, letting her ease onto her feet before turning back to face the monsters, striding forward a few paces before stopping, her back to the young mage. As the light of her magic faded, returning a number of her weapons from whence they came, the few sparkles remaining silhouetted Cold Steel, forever burning the memory into Pommel’s mind.

"We all have our starting points. We can't expect to be great just from the start.” Cold Steel spoke, a moment of clarity and peace amongst the chaos of the battle. Time seemed to hang a moment as Pommel continued to stare at her back, mesmerised in thought, before just like that, she darted forward, launching back into combat with some more monsters. All the while, Pommel sat, watching the fight. But somehow, it was different from before. Like she was seeing it in a completely different light. As the last of the beasts near them fell, Wynter rested her spear to the ground, a soft and far gentler smile crossing her face as she turned to Pommel.

"I think you helped more than you realize. I'm certain Zane couldn't handle this on his own, thus you had brought both yourself and me into this job." Pommel blinked, realising that once again, she was being addressed. Tentatively, she raised a hand to speak, but stopped herself. As kind as Wynter’s words were, Pommel could only see them as an attempt to alleviate the guilt she was feeling. It had never been her intention to have things be like this, and she couldn’t take credit for such an idiotic mistake that she’d made. In some respects, this was worse than a lecture. Here she was, listening to her idol give her pity and sympathy, almost as if she hadn’t earned the right to hear the harsh truths.

Looking to the right, she could see Zane still enjoying himself, tackling monsters with all the strength and valour of a hero. Would she ever be on the level of these people? Could she ever compete with them? Or was she to be doomed to the mediocrity and failure like today had brought her? Looking down to her reflection in the ice, she looked like a mess. Her hair was slimy, dulled and tangled. Her clothes were disheveled and torn. She had minor bruises and cuts all over, and worst of all: It was obvious that she’d been crying. This was what Wynter saw. She wasn’t anything special. She wasn’t strong.

…

…And yet.

…

…Pommel smiled. Smiled to the girl staring back at her in the reflection. Giving her the smile she needed to keep going, replaying the words in her head once more.

"We all have our starting points…

"…We can't expect to be great just from the start.” She finished, getting up and standing tall once more.

She wasn’t great. She was terrible, a horrible mess. But that wasn’t always going to be the case. She could be great. Slowly, steadily, she cleaned the slime from her outfit, looking back up to Wynter with her own determination. She wasn’t as good as Wynter or Zane. But deep down in her heart, she knew she could be. This was going to be her start. And when she finished… Well, maybe she wouldn’t have to force that smile in the reflection.

As her resolve kicked in, it almost seemed as if Wynter could sense it, moving over to Pommel and standing before her. "If you want, I can teach you how to fight, since I notice you use blades on your arms" Wynter had glanced down to the girl briefly, before scanning the room for more threats. When her face returned back to Pommel, she’d be greeted with what was possible the most heart-warming of expressions. Tearful, but this time in joy, Pommel could only stammer in flustered joy, her blades reverting to hands as she fiddled her fingers. “I-Hama-wh-ah…the..buh- they..ahhm..uh-hah-“ Pommel had no way to formulate her words correctly, and instead seemed to be lost in adorable girlish embarrassment. Finally, she managed to take a deep breath, her face completely scarlet as she tightly gripped her hands to stop fidgeting, looking down from Wynter so as not to lose her focus again. Then, through a cracked voice, she finally managed to get enough of sound bite together that it made sense.

“Yes.” She squeaked out, barely audible more than a whisper. For a moment, Pommel hesitated, knowing she needed far more strength than that to truly communicate how she felt. She needed to show her conviction to Wynter. Taking another deep breath, she dived into Wynter, nearly taking her off her feet as she hugged her.

“Yes! Yes! I’d love that!” Pommel was laughing now, her smile from ear to ear as she grinned, teeth bared in genuine happiness. Unfortunately for Wynter, this had the unintended consequence of Pommel getting the slimy Gorgirog juices all over her Masamune armour, but alas, at least Pommel was happy.

*Cra-koom!*

Pommel jumped a bit at the loud noise, turning to spot the source. Tracing the smooshed spider in the wall, and the new figure she didn’t recognise walking away, eventually her eyes landed on the girl a bit across the room. “Huuhh!” As Pommel sharply inhaled, Wynter could feel the trembling from the girl's arms as she blinked, confirming that she was really seeing who she thought she was. T-this couldn’t be possible! It was really her! The celestial wolf herself?! What in the world would she be doing here if-Wait, was she here on her own mission to eradicate the monsters? Pommel sighed in admiration, Wynter temporarily forgotten as she gushed over the new arrival, playing back information from Sorcerer’s Weekly in her head. She was even prettier in person! A heavenly body to match her celestial nature! Oh my gosh was that her bow?! Eeeee! This was so exciting! She was meeting another of her idols in the same day! Gosh, if that dork Zane wasn’t here and she could have Jazz, Candice and Magpie around she’d be in heaven!

Making ga-ga noises, Pommel’s earlier trauma was all but forgotten as she turned to Wynter excitedly, pretending like Rin hadn’t already noticed them and hurriedly trying to fix her hair and outfit. “H-how do I look? Is my hair good? What about my dress?” Baffling Cold Steel with her questions, Pommel eventually got a hold of herself long enough to make her way over to Rin, sparkles once again in her eyes as she asked her question.

“A-are you THE Rin?” She moved in even closer. Surprisingly, she seemed a lot shorter than what Sorcerer’s weekly made her out to be, not much taller than Pommel herself. As Rin barely managed to get out her answer, she grabbed hold of both her hands, pulling them up in front of her.

“Y-you’re amazing! C-can I have an autograph? I-is it true you accepted most eligible bachelorette award from Sorcerer’s weekly?!” Pommel pushed in, barely giving the girl a chance to answer her somewhat pushy questions, as well as completely preventing the girl access to her bow and arrow in her excessive excitement. Eyes catching sight of a glint on her outfit, Pommel continued her barrage of questions. “Oh my gosh, are those the spirit keys?! Was that a spirit just now?! Can I meet one? Wait, were you here for a mission? If it’s to do with the monsters we can all work together!” Barely pausing for breath, and probably intimately invading Rin’s private space, Pommel was so excited she would barely register Rin’s body language, nor her surroundings.

Suddenly, the worst day in the world had become the best day ever.

---

Slick

Slick paused a moment as he felt tender arms wrap around him, along with two bouncy buddies pressed against his chest. Was it warm in here, or was it just him? Doing his best to retain his cool composure (After all, he’d chosen the name ‘Slick’ for a reason), the affectionate hug was just a bit too much for the poor (See: Lucky) guy. Stumbling a bit, he looked away from Magpie, hiding his slight embarrassment as he scratched his head. Hoo-boy, Mary really did know how to push his buttons. Swallowing, he noted Warren’s lecherous and unabashed appreciation of Mary’s – Ahem -‘Derriere’. It was so crass the way that boy acted, but then again, he’d been the same in his youth.

"Have fun, okay?" Magpie added sweetly, reminding Slick of just what it was that she was hugging him for. That was enough to bring his thoughts back into line, as he was heading off on his own. Like usual. “Yeah… Yeah, you too Mags.” Slick stated slowly, before remembering himself. “I mean, with goodbyes like that, I should head out more often, am I right?” Hiding his earlier thoughts behind jovial laughter, he shrugged free of Mary’s grip, heading past the noticeboard and the twins on the way out. “You take care too Warren.” He stated simply with a two fingered wave over his shoulder.

That was supposed to be his goodbye line, but he was briefly stopped by Vernon, the man just done with his lecture from Mavis. With a practiced smoothness that the two had rehearsed a hundred times, Vernon slipped Slick another piece of paper, one of the newest jobs that had come in. “This the latest one?” Slick asked, standing beside the man briefly. “Yeah, the only copies are in my records. They didn’t even reach the board with me around.” Vernon replied, smirking in spite of himself.

Slick nodded, patting him on the shoulder. “I owe you one pal.” He stated simply, continuing on the way past. Without a moment’s hesitation, he tossed the job into the lit fireplace, letting it go up in flames. Some secrets were better left buried. With that taken care of, Slick needed to head down to the station, his job just out past Eloria. Seemed some archaeologists had discovered a set of trapped ruins with a rare artifact hidden deep inside. In this case, they needed a wizard to navigate the dungeon and recover the treasure. With his perception and grace, it was the perfect opportunity for an easy job, as avoiding or disarming the dangers of the temple should be easy for him.

Unlike a certain princess, Slick was not so lucky as to catch the train immediately, instead taking a seat on one of the benches to wait for the next train. Adjusting his cuffs and glancing about to see if anyone was around, he pulled out a small coin, and began running it through his fingers as he waited.

Slick

Slick was a little surprised to see Mary enter the station, briefly gesturing a wave, but finding her attention to be elsewhere. Deciding to leave her to her own thoughts, in all honesty, he wasn’t sure he felt up to chatting with her himself, and by the looks of things, neither did she. To his experience, she followed a pattern, like everything. For Mary, her time away from the guild showed a different side to her that he couldn’t pinpoint the origins of. Everyone had their skeletons in the closet, and he was no exception. Maybe like him, she forced herself to be something that she wasn’t.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Slick decided to let her have her space, striding over to the other side of the train once it finally arrived and entering the rear carriage. Not wanting to sit around, he decided to stand out the back; holding onto the rail and watching the station recede behind him. Besides, who knew who he’d meet if he decided to mingle amongst the carriages. No sense inviting unnecessary trouble, particularly before a job.

As the train arrived at the station, he very casually leaned against the railing before sliding over it seamlessly, hands in his pockets as he began smoothly making his way out towards his contact point. Striding past some of the villagers, he looked pretty suave in his suit compared to all the winter gear; not that he’d compromise on his appearance for something like that. Glancing over to some girls that giggled to each other, he flashed them one of his trademark smiles, enjoying their embarrassment as he continued on his way. Yeah, now this was more in line with the Slick he knew. Nodding his head to an unheard rhythm, he entered the local bar, looking for his client.

It didn’t take long to find the most out of place older gentlemen, the moustache and gear he carried not fitting the picture of the bar scene. Ordering his drink and taking a seat, the two began discussing the terms of the job. Slick was either to retrieve the artefact, or disarm all the traps so that the research team could safely investigate the ruins. The latter request would of course earn him far more Jewel, and Slick happily accepted, watching his client’s language and gestures, picking up on little things. Interesting.

The artefact was supposedly fairly ancient, a book with valuable lost magic that could be used to aid humanity, though the specifics he was given were kind of sketchy. Still, Slick was happy to agree, taking the map to the ruin from the client and making his way back outside. It wouldn’t be too far for him to walk, especially with his magic. Gliding across the ice and snow with ease, it wouldn’t be long until he arrived at the temple.

Slick

”So, this is the place, huh?” Slick commented, though for once, he wasn’t talking to himself. With a small pinging noise, the communication Lacrima brought up the face of his client, along with broadcasting his gruff voice in response. “Yes, yes! This is the place. Now, we haven’t ventured far inside, as last time we were here part of the entrance crumbled and almost crushed us!”

Slick looked to the archway leading into the ruins, along with the nearby rubble, surveying it. Finishing his glide and touching down, he took a few steps into the darkened hallway. ”…Yeah? Well, guess that means I’m working blind from here, huh?” Squinting to see amongst the dark - a task made more difficult with the addition of his shades - Slick took the time to draw out his knife. With a simple strike against the wall it let out some sparks, revealing the hall for a split second. That was all he’d need until continuing deeper inside, the visual representation etched in his mind. ”Well Prof, I see 362 one-inch diameter holes interspersed regularly at half-foot intervals along the wall in a grid pattern.”

“Er… What?” The client, Professor Hamilton, could barely see anything in the darkness, requiring Slick to hold his Lacrima close and let the soft glow illuminate the trap he had noticed. ”I’d say there’s probably some sort of trigger mechanism for this that would result in a multitude of darts firing through this hallway, though I can’t detect any pressure plates or tripwires of the sort…” Slick concluded, spinning the Lacrima back to face him. ”Thoughts, Professor?”

The Professor dabbed his forehead of sweat with his handkerchief. “Er, that is… Well, old chap, I’d advise going as slowly and cautiously as possible to avoid triggering them..?”

”Oh?” Slick commented, now standing at the end of the corridor, the darts now clinking against the wall and scattering to the floor, Slick’s movement far too fast to be caught by something so primitive. ”Well, I’m glad I didn’t, as I didn’t notice what triggered those to fire. Guess I’m lucky to be a rebel, eh Hamilton?” Slick smirked to the Lacrima, the professor giving a slow and forced chuckle. “Eh-heh, well yes, quite. I suppose that’s why you’re the wizard exploring and I’m safe back here, eh old chap?” Hamilton softly laughed, shivering a little from the cold weather before continuing. “Just keep at it boy, if you can deal with every trap there’ll be plenty of extra pay for you.”

”Sounds good to me.” Slick replied simply, eying up the next room, which was thankfully illuminated by torches. Several large and ornate pillars decorated the room, but apart from that, there would be no floor, just billowing darkness ending in violent looking stalagmites threatening to impale anyone that fell. Looking upward, some stray ropes hung from the ceiling, ideally spaced to swing across and between them before getting to the other side. Slick did some calculations, working out the distance, and all other essential components.

“So, I guess you better swing across lad?” The professor commented, leaving Slick to laugh, pulling out his knife. ”Not quite Hamilton. See, those ropes will easily break under my weight given how frail they are, plus…” With a simple series of slices, Slick cut the nearest pillar at the base, giving it a simple shove in just the right way. Moments later, it fell with a tremendous crash, wedging between the walls and forming a slightly rocky, but very adequate bridge. With the thundering sound finished, Slick decided to continue. ”…I much prefer walking.” He finished simply, striding across the room to the next hazard.

The pattern would continue like that, Slick easily and simply dispatching each trap like it was nothing. Crushing ceilings, rolling boulder, flamethrowers, caged monsters, the temple certainly had its fair share of dangers released at the wizard. Still, it was all too easy for Slick to work around, and soon enough he found himself eying the final prize, the book sitting atop a pedestal in an ornate looking room. Holding up the Lacrima to the treasure, the Professor began excitedly speaking to him. “Yes boy! Yes! That’s it! Quickly, just grab that and bring it to me and you can get paid!”

”Hmm…” Slick looked to the treasure, then back to the Lacrima. ”Well, I think I did my job enough, the traps are all taken care of, so I’ll just let you come and get it.”

“W-what?! Preposterous! Take that book now or you’re never getting paid!” The professor fumed on the other end of the line, becoming quite frustrated. Slick just shrugged. ”Hey, I signed a deal that I disable the traps, or bring you the book. I did my part that got me the extra pay, so my job is technically done…”

“Why you little… Listen here; I believe that book to be dangerously trapped, so you have to deal with that before I’m willing to hand you a single jewel!” The man threatened, Slick looking to him with a bemused expression. Staring back to the man on the other end, he shrugged. ”Alright, I’ll grab it. Meet you back at the rendezvous point.” Clicking the Lacrima off and putting it into his pocket, Slick turned to look at the book once more.

Moments later, an explosion ripped through the temple, shooting scorching fire and bringing the whole place down. Outside, Hamilton cheered happily, eying up the destruction. Perfect, just perfect! He’d intended to take down several wizards with his trap magic, but at least his solace was that blasted Wizard he’d hired was dead to the bomb he planted! Laughing maniacally and tossing the remote detonator over his shoulder, he’d have to work harder in future to create more devious traps and send out another lot of job requests to lure in more fools. “Not so Slick now, are you!” He cackled gleefully.

”I beg to differ.” Slick whispered, knife now to the throat of the ‘Professor’, dangerously close to slitting it. Fearfully eying behind him, the dark guild wizard spoke. “Y-you! You’re supposed to be dead! How-?!” Slick simply laughed, but saw no harm in giving the man some answers. ”I was on to you right from the start. The way you talked, the way you described it. Everything has a pattern to it, and yours was lying. The way your eyes darted on questions, that slight bite of your lip, the pause to think, you were always suspicious to me, but more so than that, I only needed to look at the traps to see this isn’t some ancient temple. You disguised it pretty well, but even I can tell fresh darts from old ones, purposely cut ropes, and not to mention, really poor advice.” Recollecting his knife, Slick grabbed the man, shoving him down into the snow and pinning him. ”So, since I’m clearly not getting paid in Jewel for my work, I might just take some answers instead…”

---

Beating that bastard down had been satisfying, but Slick had more pressing matters with the information he received. Thankfully, he’d been able to make a makeshift sled to tie the man on. With a bit of analysis, he sent it on just the right trajectory to arrive at the local authorities. They could call the magic council to arrest the man, as explained in the note he attached to the unconscious dark wizard. For now, Slick knew that the dark wizards were trying to lure out wizards to attack and ambush and that meant…

”Mags…” Slick mumbled as he glided through the snow. Patterns. Patterns told him everything. That, and a healthy amount of probability and deduction. He knew what missions were available. Which were here near Eloria. Mary couldn’t resist helping children; she had to be on that mission. Zane and the others were likely also here, but they could probably handle themsel…- As a streak of light impacted the nearby mountain, scattering glitter as it went, Slick shook his head. Definitely handle themselves. But Magpie… She was gullible. Selfless. She'd sooner sacrifice herself than let kids come to harm. Honourable traits, but these weren’t honourable people she’d be facing. They’d twist and turn that against her to take her down. He wouldn’t let that happen. He didn’t want her broken like he was.

As he continued to glide along the mountain, Slick’s mind raced, analysing all the information he had at his disposal. She’d have gone to town. Gathered information, confirmed the clients, just like usual. Then, she’d start surveying the area nearby, likely to the north due to the position of the town hall and the outskirts. Estimating she’d walked at her normal pace, which meant she’d likely be at least another 20 minutes away, assuming she hadn’t already encountered trouble. Hopefully she could handle herself until then, again, assuming that she’d even found a lead out that way…

Slick wanted to trust Magpie could handle herself, but just in case, he’d be there to help her out.

Slick

It was bitterly cold out, and Slick really hoped that wasn't a bad omen. He'd been travelling through the snow for quite a while, and was beginning to question himself and whether he'd made the correct decision. Was his logic off? Did she really come out this way? Or had he been wrong in his assessment and even now she was in danger elsewhere? Of course, she could have been fine. In fact, this was an area of her element. Maybe she'd already saved the children and he'd spend a fruitless few hours searching, only to learn she was back at the guild sipping hot coco and recalling tales with Atra...

It was then that he heard it - A piercing shriek of pain - One that solidified that he'd made the right choice. It was still somewhat far away... Or at least, he thought it was. If only his magic extended to his ears as well as his eyes. Though that said, he wouldn't want to know the true amount of distress in that voice he just heard. He'd never heard Mags hurt like that before; and if he had anything to do with it, he wouldn't hear it again. Gunning his magic, his sliding began to kick up snow behind him, the combination of levitation and air magic making it look like he was skiing across the mountain, a flurry of white flying up behind him in waves.

He didn't hear another scream again; and in some respects, that was even more terrifying than hearing Mags in distress. Still, he could hear the explosions; and Magpie wasn't the kind of women to stop unless she was unconscious or... He shook his head. There was still a battle going on. She had to still be there. Breaking the crest of the mountain, he surveyed the area below him, making out the situation and piecing together information within the split second as he caught his breath.

Mary was clearly injured, having taken a beating. There were two dark wizards he could see, one using a form of chain magic, and the other some sort of explosive orbs. The battle had erupted here, and even if Magpie would normally have enough of an advantage to wipe out even two foes, it seemed she was struggling. Behind Mary, he could make out the cave that had clearly been the focus of some attacks (as well as her protection), judging by the explosive marks and ice shards scattered about. The children were definitely inside, Slick barely able to make out a few of them even with their huddled state taking cover.

"Slick?" Mary had noticed him, and even though he couldn't hear her, the movement of her lips said enough. Winking, he jumped, sliding down the mountain like a snowboarder, before moving towards the edge, leaping off the side in a perfect flying jump. No sense in squandering an opportunity. The enemy was focused on Mary, so this was his perfect chance to strike. With a pinpoint graceful landing, he shot towards the female of the two wizards, Critical Point already in hand as he closed in.

"I'd never normally hit a lady, but..." In a blink, he'd dashed past her, thousands of slices rending through where she stood as he came to stop in front of her and Magpie, standing between them as he turned to face the enemy. "You're clearly no lady." In an instant, it would feel as though she'd been sliced by a hundred slices, the force of the strike winding her and bringing the woman to her knees as she let out a pained gasp. Striding backwards, Slick used the opportunity to regroup with Magpie, offering her his spare hand to get her to her feet, still facing their enemy as he spoke.

"I'd ask if you could still stand, but I know you better than that. So tell me, who's ivory locks and red bubbles?" It was a partly rhetorical question, given he knew that they were adversaries; however, Mags looked like she needed some levity given the graveness of the situation.

"A couple of big bullies." She replied, Slick sneaking a glance to her pouting face as she spoke, smirking as he turned back to the vile man with the tattoos.

"That so eh? Well, it's only appropriate as a gentleman that I handle these two for you. Take the kids to safety and I'll meet you back in town." Slick replied, twirling his knife to a reverse grip. In a moment, the black tattooed chains that had been flying towards them were cut to ribbons, not even having the chance to get anywhere near them. He could tell the man was saying something, but he was far too focused on the conversation with Mary to pay him much attention.

"Was that a joke? I'm not leaving you behind." From behind Slick, he could hear the explosions as they bounced off one of Mary's ice makes. Clearly she had more than enough fight left in her to take on the enemy.

Her words caused Slick to laugh a bit. She reacted just as he thought she would. "Well hey; it was worth a try at least. Can't blame a man for trying to steal all the glory. You know though, I expect at least half the Jewel for saving your..." Slick hesitated a moment as he noticed Mary's compromised outfit, scarcely covering her even on one of her 'warm' days. That brief distraction gave his opponent an in, chains wrapping around his wrists and dragging him down into the snow, quickly being reeled in towards the villain.

Luckily for Slick, Mary was not so distracted. Leaping after him, he watched, impressed as she shot ice razors along the chains, breaking them and cutting into the dark guild wizard controlling them. "Don't tell me you got that distracted thinking about reward money..."

"Heh, on the money toots. Though after that showing I'll re-evaluate my contribution and take a third." Tossing his knife up behind Mary, it struck the orbs that had been closing in from behind, the explosions rocking them, but doing little more than that. "Though we can solidify the details later. I've got Boom Bubbles over here. You take care of the really creepy dude." Sitting up from the snow, he darted his arm upward, catching his knife as it returned from the ricochet out of the explosion.

"Creepy is right." She muttered, wrinkling her nose, but nodded all the same. Slick just smiled a reckless grin on his face. "Last to take theirs down has to buy the other dinner." He added, taking off before her response as he began gliding towards his adversary.

"Alright Bubbles, I've got a date coming up soon, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short." Slick began weaving forth towards her, but his opponent wasn't going to let him approach so easily.

"A date with death maybe!" She broke out into more giggles, the pulsating red energy flowing from her hands to her fingertips before she began flinging them all his way. Still, the wild stream of attacks weren't going to come anywhere near him. For him, it was like it was all in slow motion, but for her, it would be like a blur. The lightest adjustment of the hand, a lean to the side, it was like the explosive shots were phasing right through him, leaving their loud booms in his wake. Taking a step back, it seemed for the first time in the fight, his opponent was getting worried.

"No good... Fine then! How do you like-" In a moment, her eyes betrayed her plan, the expression and words all the clues Slick needed to anticipate her next move. In a flash, he flicked his wrist, his knife intercepting her arm as she attempted to gain the upper hand with their hostages. She yelped out in pain, withdrawing her hand and holding it as Slick closed the distance, getting up close to her face.

"Like I said, I don't normally hit ladies..." His expression was grim, dark, setting fear into the eyes of the female wizard. She quickly drew her hands up, trying to generate another explosive orb to blast him away. All too late. With a simple flourish, Slick spun on the spot, launching into a full uppercut into the woman's chin and sending her flying onto her back. Dusting down his knuckles, he paused briefly to pick up his knife from the ground, leaning in closer to her face to speak. "...But cowards like you don't deserve any respect."

Glaring at him, she once again went to make her move, drawing up energy for her biggest explosion yet. Then it happened suddenly, and what she saw stunned her completely as Slick stood on her arm, holding it at bay. "H-hey! Are you crazy?!" The energy reaction was bubbling to the surface, but he'd prevented the leeway of allowing her to discharge it. With her arm buried into the snow, it'd be going off any second! With a simple smirk, Slick adjusted his glasses with his free hand looking down to her.

"I don't know about you, but I'm confident I can outrun this blast." He replied simply, the female wizard now struggling to try and free herself to no avail. Glaring back up at Slick, the Fairy Tail wizard simply opened and closed his palm a couple of times in a wave. "Adios Bubbles."

A crimson explosion rocked where the two had been standing, far larger than some of the previous attacks of the wizard. Riding wave of snow and debris, Slick came to a stop near the cave of children, glancing back towards where the dark wizard had been. Battered and beaten, she laid unconscious in the crater of her own making, defeated and likely would be out of it for some time. Sighing a bit, he adjusted his cuffs, smiling to the kids, before looking to see how Mags was doing.

"Don't worry guys, Mama Bird will be back soon."