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, Maryâs response to his next inquiry was about what he expected. She tended to want the best for everyone, though he couldnât help but smirk at the last part. Truly, the games that Pommel played to get her noticed by Wynter were one of Slickâs most enjoyable things to watch. Why, that one time heâd made a point to try and introduce the tiny chef to Wynter sheâd managed to hide herself by fleeing through the trash chute, and the earful heâd 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.
âMiss Whitelock, you wound me so! Why, I merely wished to enjoy the company of a charming young lady.â Extravagantly exaggerating, he chuckled a bit, straightening up his posture and winking behind his glasses. âAlright, you caught me; Pommelâs none too fond of me, even though I like the princess about as much as her cooking. That is to say: a lot.â Helping himself to another cookie, he stopped before taking a bite, giving Mary another of his amused expressions.
âAlthough, youâll never know if thatâs what I want you to think. The best way to make something subtle is to make something else obvious.â Slick replied cryptically, turning back to watch the rest of the scene about the guild unfold. After all, heâd meant exactly what heâd 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 heâd grown with Pommel.
"Hm? Oh-! ...Is she taking a job?â Mary inquired, Slick nodding as he noted the papers she collected, turning to meet Maryâs eyes as she looked to him in bewilderment. Of course, he felt much the same, but his sunglasses and expression didnât really show it. In 2 whole years, Pommel hadnât taken a single job â 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.
âLooks that way. Well, Iâll be damned.â Slick replied. Adjusting his glasses slightly, he shrugged a bit, before placing an arm around Mary jovially. âSeems like our little girlâs all grown up, eh? Hopefully weâve taught her all she needs to be successful.â 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 couldnât help but whistle, eying over the bod of what could end up being the newest babe of Fairy Tail. Heh, Crezâd be kicking himself for missing this one; she looked damn fine in that racy black and red ensemble. Hopefully their eccentric master didnât end up chasing off another potential with her boisterousness.
If it wasnât 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, heâd 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 couldnât 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 heâd 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. âMaybe, but somethingâs not right if her and Zane are in that much of a hurryâŠâ He moved forward slightly before stopping, eying Mavisâ 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 werenât many more people in the guild that heâd trust to bring Pommel back safely.
Slowly, he took his seat again, looking over to Mary. âWell, I donât think we need to worry too much. Those two are dependable at this sort of thing at the very least.â He wasnât sure if Magpie wouldâve 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 heâd 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.
âAnd speaking of two, I was wonderin-â
âOh Mr. Slick!â The young man was cut off by the sing-song voice of Mavis, who made her way over to the two of them. âSorry to interrupt, but with whatâs happening at the moment, would you be able to prepare a budget? Just in case Zane and Wynter get a little too excited.â She smiled sweetly, cocking her head. Slick stopped to look at Magpie, then back to Mavis a moment before shrugging. âYeah... Sure. In fact, Iâve probably got something already prepared that can be re-purposed.â
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 heâd take that as a sign. Heâd ask Magpie to join him on a mission another time.
Pommel Grade
âNow, letâs see hereâŠâ Pommel stated aloud, pulling out the map of the area sheâd 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 sheâd planned for. After all, it was almost always snowing in the villages near the mountains, and sheâd 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, sheâd 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 wasnât 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.
âSo the flyer says to come back to the Mayorâs office once the monster problem has been dealt with and report for payment of...-!?!â Pommelâs heart skipped a beat, and her face flushed.
â1,000,000 Jewel?!â 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 didnât 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 reasonâŠ
Moving to read further into the job, a sudden gust of wind ripped the flyer from Pommelâs hand, flying out the trainâs window as the cold climate began filtering itâs way in. âAw, shoot!â Pommel mumbled, poking her head out the side of the window before instantly regretting it as her arms became covered in goosebumps. It wasnât like she needed the paper to collect the reward or anything, but stillâŠ
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. Sheâd keep her hands free for her magic, but otherwise sheâd be pretty well shielded from the weather. From there, the announcement that theyâd 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 didnât take her long to find and rent the magic snowmobile, getting the magic Self-Energy (SE) plug attached around her wrist. Itâd 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 wasnât really that much danger. In fact, if it wasnât for the mission, she might have just enjoyed this as a daytrip. Keeping her eyes peeled for any kind of monster, Pommel didnât 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.
âS-s-stupid mountainâŠ!â Pommel grumbled, taking a step back towards where sheâd 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 sheâd been.
Screaming in fear and panic, Pommel rocketed down the shaft sheâd 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 sheâd 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.
âGreat, just greatâŠâ 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. âAt least thereâs light here. About the only thing that could be worse would be a monster getting the jump on meâŠâ
Moments later, a monster got the jump on Pommel.