Sera's Story

It was the early morning, and just like any other morning, in the Guild, a certain woman sat at the bar. Her fiery dark eyes surveyed her domain, watching as fellow guild mates walked in and out and about her Guild. Not many had arrived probably because it was still pretty early but not for her. She was an early bird amongst the sleep ins and she was proud of it. Leaning back on the stool she sat upon, Anaida placed her elbows on the bars countertop behind her and breathed a sigh of content.

However it seemed her peaceful morning wasn’t about to stay peaceful for very much longer. Already she could see some of the more rowdy members coming in both new and old. Anaida didn’t pay much mind to it since she hoped with her being present they wouldn’t do anything stupid. For now Anaida would simply stay where she was and relax while drinking her morning coffee.

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Bare feet made no noise upon the dirt ground as the strange haired female moved swiftly towards her home. A small white fabric bag was thrown over her shoulder with a plain brown rope tying it closed and she walked with her head held high, tough she was given another false lead. Despite coming back from her little quest nearly unharmed (her clothes were dirty and a few bruises and scratches littered her pale creamy skin) a rage similar to a dragons boiling fire unraveled within the girl.

Sera soon reached her home, not only two blocks from her Guild, when he starting scanning the herds of people for her target. On lookers watched the red head wearily. Her temper was getting the best of her, and with each step she took the paved ground beneath her feet simmered and steam rose up, someone was going to meet the dragon daughters rage today, and everyone near by didn't with to be a part of it. Once her target was in sight, in the market place at his fish stand, Sera started towards him. The crowd split for her n the account that steam was raising from her skin that was turning pink like the after math of a sun burn.

Yukio Kimura, a scrawny man with black slimy hair and pale ashy skin. The man had his back turned from Sera, that was his first mistake. She stopped her bag to the ground with a thump, the man turned, he didn't have time to process what happened next. Sera slammed the man into the wooden stand behind him, both her fists steaming and bunching up the fabric of his shirt. Slowly,she lifted the man from the ground.

"Kusotare," She seethed, "You set me up!" Sera shirked and shaking the paling man, her hands close to bursting into flames. Everyone in the market area stopped to watch, knowing the fury of a Fairy Tail Guild member if provoked. The man struggled helplessly as Sera clenched her teeth so hard on lookers could hear them grinding together.

"If you ever send me into a trap again," Her hair cast a shadow over her eyes, making them seemingly glow red like the embers of a fire. "I will castrate you." She puffed out steam from her nose, simmering the mans skin until he had a mild burn, and then she released him. Sera turned without another word, lifted her bag from the ground, and headed home. The imprints of her feet had been burned into the ground where she was standing, and the mans shirt where she had held onto him was burnt slightly and crispy.

"Idiot," She tisked under her breath.

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Aina wondered sightly around the guilds pub, watching as the few early risers of the guild shifted into their daily actions. Aina sighed to herself, wishing more of her friends were early risers like herself. The pink haired girl tilted her head to the side and pretend to be in deep though for about thirty minuets. A sudden thought seemed to awaken the pinket.

"Baa-Chan~!" Aina called in her soft child like voice before throwing her small form at the elder mage and wrapping her arms around the woman in a possessive hug. "Baa-Chan~! Baa-Can~! Can you guess what day it is, Baa-Nee-Chan??" The young child called out in a sing song voice as she hng off her her beloved Guild Master. Out of everyone in the guild, apart from Sera, Anaida was the one person Aina adored the most. Despite the nickname that the other woman loathes, Aina used it out of a show of affection, like a cat killing a bird and leaving t for it's master on the front step.

"Today is the day Sera-Nee-Chan comes back! Aren't you happy Baa-Chan?!" The girl gave the older woman one more affectionate squeeze before dancing away to fawn over other guild members and joy about her friend returning from a month long journey. She danced around the room chanting in an almost tribal manner 'Sera-Nee-Chan' over and over again, until the large doors to the guild reticence swung open and a red head stepped in. She fire haired girl smartly side stepped the pink haired girls enthusiastic hug and swiftly went to greet Anaida and explain how her lead had been flase and an ambush.

Shinzaemon woke before dawn, a habit he'd developed long ago. After all despite his lineage being that of priests,wizards as they were called here, his line family had been poor and essentially lived as farmers. With a grunt he lifted his old and sore body out of bed and began his morning stretches and exercises, another habit long since cemented in his day. The stretches started simple enough, but grew increasingly difficult and by their conclusion some two hours later the old man was drenched in sweat. Shin proceeded to shower before changing into his usual outfit, the robes he'd inherited that boosted his Heavenly Arts-magic as it was called here. Aside from the robes he packed a set of beads-once more an old heirloom- this time coming from his former master in what Fiore called Territory Magic, money, and finally a small set of scrolls. He left his house at perhaps five in the morning if his gauge of time was accurate.

This had been a rare morning for Shin, there had been no letters,visitors or gossip indicating he needed to see a part of his extended adoptive family immediately. That didn't mean he didn't still do a quick form of rounds or wouldn't do one this afternoon, but it meant his morning was far quieter than usual. However, the scope of his free schedule allowed for a rather interesting encounter- a certain angry Dragon Slayer. His smell probably gave him away despite his own lack of shoes, he'd long since recognized the lot had impeccable noses. The fact he'd followed the girl would only increase the likelihood of his detection, however he truly didn't care on that matter.

" Anger and the actions of those who indulge cause more problems than they solve young Dragon Slayer." His tone was calm and level, utterly neutral if one were to be precise. Since this was more of a reminder than a lecture, Shin saw no need to attempt adding a name to his advise. The relative volume of the neighborhood was lower than that of his voice, and he was well within easy hearing distance.

"Assuming the man had actually intended to set you up, your threat is more likely to ensure his future success than discourage him in the future. A calm and dignified response much more intimidating than a child spitting fire, nor does it hurt the image of those around you. If my years have taught me one thing, those that lose their calm first are also the first to lose."

Hannah

There was nothing quite like the morning sun... Or rather, nothing quite like pulling a kart full of brand new weights down the market place. Hannah made quite a lot of noise in the early morning, as she stringed along training equipment on her way from Holly's (whom she had probably woken up with said noise) house to the guild. Hannah was in good spirits, enjoying and even humming to the rattling sounds that followed behind her. She had bought it with the reward for her latest mission, but not for herself. No, all this was for Aaron... Although he did not know it yet (nor had any say in the matter) Hannah intended to set it up before he would arrive in the guild this morning. Nothing quite like bench pressing to start off the morning, right after twenty laps around the guild hall and a hundred sit-up's!

When Hannah neared the market plaza however, she found a crowd around a blazing pillar of fire. Hannah knew what that meant; Sera had returned from her mission and she was not happy. Hannah pushed her way through the crowds to see what played out, but the target of Sera's anger had already ran off. Instead, Shinzaemon was there to give Sera his advice. Although Hannah would always take the old man's words seriously, she did not feel that was what the dragon slayer needed at that moment. Instead, Hannah walked up to the pair (rattling, noisy kart prattling behind her) and reassuring touched Sera's upper arm.

“Tell me what happened.” Hannah asked Sera. She felt for her guild-mate, always chasing even the faintest lead. Hannah occasionally joined her, but even though she prided herself in her tracking skills, Hannah had been of little help in the search for Haitxuck as of yet. “Come to the guild with us. Your family will help you. Won't we, Shinzaemon?” Hannah nodded at the old mage, as she put her arm around Sera. Even if the search for her dragonic father proved fruitless, Hannah wanted to reassure Sera that she had Fairy Tail to count on.

Sorry, wrong place.

Opening your eyes to see the sun rising over the beautiful lake in Fiore would be considered the most peaceful relaxing thing in the world. At least, to Damia it was. So relaxing in fact, that he never wanted to wake up in the morning. However, like always, he slowly rolled out of bed until he fell on the floor and rolled around some more until he grew tired of it. From that point, he stood up to make his bed and went to eat. After eating he cleaned his bowl, went to take a shower, and from there he was ready to set foot on the road to his guild. Most people who saw the boys room would think that he was some type of neat freak even though that wasn't the case. He just liked to do as little work as possible to get the job done. As he saw it, by cleaning after yourself after you do something, you don't have to ever do those all day chores he dreads so much. Nope, a calm comfortable day sounded much better to him. He'd even settle for a loud fun day. Now that he was on his way to a place where days can vary, he hummed a little tune, excited to figure out what type of day it would be.

The walk was nice enough to tell him that nothing was really going on this morning. After his first wild morning in the guild, he found that he should always expect a burning set of buildings or random crowds of screaming people. This was just to relieve shock, but that didn't stop it from being an everyday possibility. Making it to the guild hall without any incidents happening the lad was free to enter his second home.

"Hey. I've been waiting for you," a familiar voice called.

"Huh?" Damia looked over to see it was none other than Garr, the latest victim to his schemes. "Oh. Good Morning, hehe."

"Don't hehe me pal. You told me that the guild master was giving rewards to those who mopped the whole floor and I was lucky enough to think to ask her before I started mopping."

"Wow really? Good job man. You cracked my evil scheme."

Garr spat into his holding cup. "Yeah, well now she wants to see you. So who's laughing now? Hehehe." The dwarf of a man walked away happily.

The words he left behind only seemed to slowly seek in Damia's stomach. There was nothing more time consuming than the hour it took to clean the whole entire guild hall. If that wasn't bad enough, the one person who he had to listen to no matter what. The one person who could make him do all the chores at once with no questions asked. The one person in the guild who he conceded to. She was the very same woman who he had to speak to. Passing through a couple of his guild mates, he quickly said "hi" to each of them before going in front of the woman. "Uhhh. Hey auntie." He greeted. The woman gave him a stare which almost made him leave the scene. "So uh... Yeah...... I was ...... Yesterday......" He quickly noticed that he had no excuse that he could give to her while she was looking at him like that, so instead he just bowed his head waiting to get hit.
"Ughh," he softly grunted. Raising his head and rubbing it with his right hand he said, "So yeah, I'll get the broom now."

While sweeping he noticed that everyone else was enjoying their morning conversations so he scanned the area to see who he could mingle with. Over to his right and where the bar was, he saw Sera, Hannah, the old man, Anaida, and Miyuu, who seemed to hate him for some reason. Across from the bar over to the mission board, he saw Seto and Aaron. He really didn't feel like having a conversation about working. Soon he saw Roxie and Tiny, but he waved off the idea about hanging out with them so early in the day. "Wow." He thought out loud. "I'm really getting old huh. I use to have a whole bunch of energy in the morning." Since it seemed like a good idea to let everyone talk amongst themselves for now, he kept on sweeping in hopes that someone would come in and talk to him............and that he would never have to sweep again.

The sun was busy shining down by the time Holly decided to lift her head from a bundle of blankets and quilts. She vaguely remembered Hannah crashing through the crisp morning silence at some point but that was a fuzzy memory of the past. Holly was no early riser, and despite being a pretty girl she rose like the dead. Yawning dramatically, she rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to try and control the flowing mane of blond hair she had, as well as get ready for the eventful day ahead. The rent for her apartment this month was fastly approaching and therefore it was time to find another job.

It took quite some time to select the right underwear and outfit for the day. Eventually refreshed and looking pretty in a floaty blue dress in the shape of a bluebell, Holly rushed down the street waving at a few locals she recognised. A slice of toast hung from her mouth as she tried to run and chew at the same time, a more difficult task than she initially thought. On her way she could already hear the murmurs of Sera being back, a rumour she gladly chose to believe. The dragon slayers had a peculiar relationship, leaving Holly craving and despising Sera at the same time.

Reaching the guild a few members saw her coming and hastily removed themselves from firing range. The sheer looks of panic on their faces fired her up even more. Bursting through the open doors she tumbled over a bar stool but managed to keep her footing. Climbing on top of the stool, and earning a few groans, her bright eyes scoured the guild for a flash of fiery hair until they settled on the one and only... "SERA!" She yelled.

The sun shone, brighter than usual. It was as if someone had turned up the brightness as it pierced through the woods like a knife through butter. Julius rolled over before jumping up as if someone had thrown water on him. Squinting his eyes he tried to make sense of everything that happened and why he was in his bathroom lying on the floor.

"You do know that we have you outnumbered right?" A brutish looking man said as five other men dressed in tattered clothing surrounded Julius.

"I don't think that's ever mattered before. And gentlemen I'm not going to fight you all will be fighting yourselves." Julius laughed as he turned around and began walking away. In a matter of moments there were screams of fear as Julius disappeared into the darkness.

"Damn it!" Julius yelled as he splashed water on his face. He looked at his reflection in the mirror noticing his trademark golden eyes. It was supposed to be a simple job, sneak into the bar, steal the treasure back and return it. So how in the hell does it turn out that they have a dark mage hiding in the ranks, even though he got the treasure it still seemed to be mind boggling.

He grabbed his brown towel and wiped his tan face, not remembering the time. Ten past seven, he was running late but it didn't really matter seeing as how he had a long night. He ran into his room, hopping over his stool and grabbing a blue dress shirt and white tie; running out the house without having his shirt on yet, he caught a few glances as his black and white crest shone in the middle of his chest.

He noticed a couple of burn marks that were imprinted to the ground and thought of only one person. The red haired dragon or spit fire as he called her, Sera. This made him a bit more excited, because he could possibly see the elegant and ever beautiful Holly. Walking through the doors, he took in everything. The S class mages each in their own corner, the guild master drinking, the old man and the dragons. He gave a small nod to everyone as he went behind the counter and began prepping meals for everyone that would be going on a job.

After a few weeks away, Zane finally returned back. The Dragon Slayer dragged himself off the train before collapsing on the platform, he lifted his head for a moment before going back to laying on the platform for a few more minutes, "I wasn't mean't for that kinda travel, I'm gonna be sick... he then dragged himself to a garbage can. Most of the people didn't stare or even paid attention as this was always what happened to Zane after travelling on any mechanical means of transportation. It still didn't stop a few people from asking if he was alright. His only reply was a sort of grunt as he barely moved from his prone position on the platform.

After gathering his strength and letting his stomach settle, Zane made sure he had everything before moving on, he'd decided to stop by the Guild and check up on everyone before going back to his place for some much needed rest and relaxation after his time away. Along his way he bought a few things from the stalls, which he promptly stuffed inside his bag that contained a few books and other things that he needed on his travels.

He walked through through the door and glanced around, he took in a deep breath. It was good to be home after the trip and it looked like everyone was already here and the day was already under way. Zane smiled as he moved towards the bar beginning to cross the room, he spotted the Guild Master who had probably already been here since early morning and nodded to her with a smile. Zane stopped in his tracks and turned to hear Holly on a bar stool yelling Sera's name. "Good, Sera's back as well..." he smiled and chuckled as he continued making his way to the bar noting to talk to Sera about how her trip went.

"You are absolutely right Hannah, people are not meant to be alone. That is why we work together to lighten the load." Shin felt his back beginning to ache, his earlier rounds were beginning to catch up with him.

" Now you girls enjoy yourselves, there's a seat with my name on it and tea to be had." He threw something of an apologetic smile towards the pair, just a hint of his old mischievousness visible beneath it all. Shin took the chance to take his leave and have a seat, the ache subsided somewhat. Sure enough he also placed an order of tea, specifically ginseng to help him ease back into things.

His tea had barely arrived before Holly arrived, her loud greeting to her fellow dragon slayer was something he'd rather expected. The girl had her own ways of showing affection, and it was always a sight he enjoyed seeing. His gaze continued to pan across the room, Seto and Aaron were having one of their usual youthful comparisons. Shin felt a slight pang of sympathy for Aaron when he remembered Hannah's gym equipment, she always seemed out to beef the young man up. The idea made him question whether or not he should consider his own youth wasted, after all when he was their age the closest thing to a friend he had was certain individual out to kill him. Shin shifted his gaze again to avoid falling into the embrace of nostalgia.

Virgil and Elizabeth were the next pair he came across, if he had to say so himself he felt the pair oddly suited for one another. After all, one could almost say his interactions with the two were rather identical. If anything, the biggest factor second to their gender was Virgil's own behavior; were he a bit less reclusive, his grandchild like impression on Shin would be equal to Elizabeth's impression as his own granddaughter. Despite his urge to tease the two a bit, Shin let the pair continue their own conversation...he could wait. From there he shrugged and focused on his tea, he'd catch up with his rambunctious 'family' after a bit of rest.

Hannah

After speaking to Sera, Hannah found her way through the guild hall to an unfortunate target. “Aaron!” Hannah shouted cheerfully across the room, frantically waving with her one hand and pulling her kart filled with training equipment with the other. On her way, she passed Seto, whom she asked; “Anything good today?” Although that was more of a casual greeting than a conversation-starter. After all, Seto and Hannah usually let their weapons and magic do their talking for them.

When she reached Aaron, Hannah put a hand on his bicep and smiled as she squeezed it. “Good. It's getting bigger.” Hannah grinned, complimenting the godslayer. “I have a surprise for you to get even stronger.” She stated cheerfully, although with all the noise she made, the new set-up Hannah brought along could hardly be called a surprise anymore.

“First you need to warm up. Twenty laps around the building.” Hannah suggested enthusiastically, before turning to Damia as well. The young crystal mage was even more scrawny than Aaron. That wouldn't do in Hannah's eyes. A strong mind in a strong body, was her motto and to that end she was willing to support all of the guild to buff up... Whether they welcomed her help or not, Hannah's enthusiasm was unwavering.

“You can use muscle too.” She stated bluntly. She snatched his breakfast right under his nose and put it on a different table, then pinched Damia's arm and shortly shaking her head. “Join Aaron on his runs.” She almost commanded the boy, despite having no authority over Damia whatsoever. “You can eat after exercises. It is bad to run on a full stomach.”

{Wrong Location, sorry.}

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Sera had slipped away after letting the guildmaster know how her mission went. She was honestly trying to avoid some of the more rowdy guild members and perhaps catch a nice nap somewhere. So she went to the infirmary. Sera took a quick shower there, trying to wash off the some of dirt and grime that tends to stick to you when you travel for a long period of time.

After her shower she changed into a pair of clean yet plain white pants and a light blue shirt that was a little too baggy for her. She was in the middle of applying some of the gentler medicines to the bruise on the left side of her face when a firm voice laced with authority cut through the air.

“Attention Fairy Tail!!”

Sera turned quickly and fled from the medicine room, with purpose she strode into the main bar, where everyone was gathering. Her wet hair left a trail of droplets in her wake.

“We have received a request from a small town by the name of Annandale.” Silence filled the room. “This request will be asking us to risk our lives for strangers and to possibly fight strong opponents, but I have confidence that as mages of Fairy Tail you will be able to confront your opponents.” Sera leaned back against the wall. It seemed she wouldn't be getting that nap anytime soon.

“Now to the task we have been given, we Fairy Tail have been asked to deal with a guild by the name of Nightmare Hearts.” Why did that sound familiar?

“They are a dark guild and have been terrorizing the town of Annandale.” Ah yes, they were in her bingo book. “We have been given little information on the key members of this guild due to only the small fry going out into town.” Sera opened her eyes and searched the faces of her comrades, seeing mixed emotions, some of them might need a push at the right time.

“I need you lot to get into your teams and we will head out as soon as possible.” Sera grimaced at the grim silence that soon filled with anxious chatter. Of course not everyone in the guild would be going to aid the town, no only the most skilled would be sent.

She let out a small sigh, and pushed away from the wall she had been leaning on. In a mere second the red head disappeared back into the infirmary, and a minute later reappeared in the main room, now wearing her normal get-up, which consisted of the plain white connected shorts and shirt, and her white fabric shoes.

"Help is on the way." She hummed under her breath, steam lightly raising off her her body as she dried her hair. Despite her faceaid, it bothered her when dark guilds took to bothering such peace full towns. It wasn't fair, and it needed to be put to a stop. One way or another.

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Aina sat silently and listened to Baa-Chans speech, and then she listened to all of the chatter in the room afterwards. Her faceade was failing and her mind was whirrling. It had been a long time since Baa-Chan had orginized such a large mission. They might as well be declaring war on this dark guild. Aina knew one thing for sure.

They would put down that guild like the dogs they were.

"So you wanna team up with me Dami?" Aina heard Roxie say to Damia. The small girl let loose a large squeal of complete glee, spun around, and threw her arms around Roxie. "Dai-Pyon and Roxie-Neesan!! We could all work together! " The small girl grinned in such a happy way that it would be hard to deny her child like face.

The girl hopped down from her seat and released Roxie so she could turn towards Damia, a pout taking up her full lips and her puppy dog eyes coming into play. "Pretty please, Dai-Pyon?" The pinkett cooed and batted her eyelashes, fake but surprisingly real small tears escaping from her large pink, smoldering eyes. Aina turned towards Roxie, her bottom lip trembling slightly. Other than Baa-Chan and Sera, Roxie and Damia had to be her two most favorite people, and she often claimed they were her favorites in the whole wide world.

"Pleaseeee~!?" The small girl swooned, practically ready to fall to her knees and beg.

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Sera got a much later start than everyone else, she had some personal matters to attend to, and there for, she was rushing to catch up. If it were anyone else, they would be half a day behind their guild, since it always took that lot half a day to reach their destination, however Sera was pushing herself to catch up with them. She only rested once, right before she caught up with her guild - so she wouldn't fall over in the middle of a fight. However, when Sera did catch up, it wasn't what she expected at all.

Sera let out a sigh and rubbed the back of her neck. This place was like a silent wasteland, and she didn't seen anyone. "Next time I'm just gonna travel with them, back-up be damned." She grunted as she came to what appeared a cross roads. Sera let out a small growl. She wasn't sure which was to go now, and it wasn't like she could call out to anyone. "There a bunch of bloody grown people, they should be able to take care of themselves." She let out a sigh, and plopped down onto the ground right there, in-between the cross road.

Crossing her legs, Sera closed her eyes, made fists with both of her hands, and put them together as she focused. She could feel the fire in her stomach swirling around restlessly, and she could feel her power reserves slowing building from the three hours of meditation and rest she had prior to arriving here. If Sera could just find someone, she could be of help.

With her enhanced hearing Sera could hear talking not too far away, it was to the left, but to the right she could hear what sounded of a struggle. Two things happened at once though, screams pierced the air and the sound of wind picking up pushed her hair back from her shoulders.

Sera jumped to her feet, her eyes flying open in the process, she took off in a run towards the breeze, instead of the screams. She was following her gut. As she ran, she could make out a voice. "Well, if that wasn't a trip down memory lane, I'm not sure I can help you." There was a pause, she was getting closer. "But it's not like you'll have long to remember, anyway." Sera frowned as she came upon the scene below her, Shin, the old man who often gave her advice, was getting attacked by some weirdos.

In a flash of bright orange, Sera suddenly stood in front of Shin, her arms thrown out as fire gathered in each palm, before she slammed them both together, making one of her favorite yet slightly destructive moves; Dragon's Brilliant Flame. A large wall of fire shot towards the three figures in front of her and Shin, before the fire exploded all together where the enemies had once been, leaving a small but gaping crater in it's wake, though it was clear there had been a chance to escape.

"Woops," She mumbled, looking at the small hole before glancing back at Shin. "Sorry." Sera's face flushed. Undoubtedly he would lecture her for jumping in without thought and intervening in such a manner, but she would pay for the damage done, of course.

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Aina glanced at her teammates, ignoring the slightly disapproving looking on Dami's face, instead of lowering her fire, she extended it and morphed it, making it wrap around the dark mages and form cages over each of them. Not injuring them, but if any of them tried to touch the fiery purple bars, they would be burned.

“Boys, am I getting old?” Aina rolled her eyes at the woman. Clearly conceded.

She watched silently as she woman summoned what appeared to be a large wind-up key, and put it in what had once been her 'chairs' back. The woman twisted it a couple of times and the man began to shake. A bad feeling started in Aina's gut.

“Gustav, be a dear and change these fairies their diapers for me.” She ordered, and then the man burst forward with a new speed. He ran up a tree and from there jumped right over Aina's flame circle, which made rage fill the small girls stomach. She slamed her hands together as the man - thing prepared to deliver a series of kicks that could connect with all of her team.

Aina wouldn't stand for it. She didn't want to resort to this, but she had little choice. For a second, her pink eyes flashed purple, and then the fire was leaking out of her conjoined palms, and wrapping around her body.

"Gashadokuro, Purple Flare." Her voice rung out high, and then, with a burst of purple light a giant skeleton in-golfed in the purple flames stood in the wake of the small girl. The skeleton reached out and ex-chairs leg, and held it up side down, before throwing it towards the woman who was digging around in a bag.

"Surrender now." Her once high pitched voice came out as a deep leer as she gazed down at the dark mages through the gaping skeleton eyes.

Shinzaemon didn't achieve any further recognition until after his opponent made mention of Seto. The figure was of great likeness and while crude the description was spot on in regards to his 'son's' older character.

" Oh so you're-" Shin had to cut his words short as the figures attacked and merged into a sickle of wind. His defense was simply to step into the prison he'd made earlier with Ih Ragdo. The difference of an additional spacial boundary should easily keep him safe. A gout of flame washed over his sphere instead, from his best bet the heat or the accompanying explosion had been his barrier this time. He knew of only one mage that would be so reckless with that kind of firepower, and sure enough the read hair was cleanly visible as the dust settled. He dispelled his sphere, it would be easier than altering the properties to allow conversation.

"While I must compliment your sense of timing Sera," Shin reflexively crossed his arms while choosing which words to say towards the young dragon slayer. "It would be shameful of me to let you go without some form of lesson on restraint...or for that matter interrupting the conversation I was having with one of Seto's old playmates." At this point Shin turned to hunt for the man in question. From his own appraisal of Sera's explosion, a Wind Mage with that caliber was either smart enough to ride the explosion or fast enough to have gotten out of the way.

"However, in this case...a bit of shame might be necessary. If possible I want to draw more of them here." Shin quickly gave up his hunt, his artificial right eye could see just fine. But the overlap with his nearly blind, natural, left eye made such a task too difficult for him to properly trust his vision.

(Disregard this, I posted in the wrong location.)

The arrival of the dragon slayer was quite a surprise to Boreas, but not enough for him to lose his focus. A forceful gust was enough to extinguish the flames that were headed his way, but they had saved Shinzaemon from his attack. Annoyed as he was by the newcomer, the fact that Shinzaemon had now realised who he was brought a twisted smile to his face.
"So I'm not the only one you know." Boreas grinned, "I could ask you why you find Seto so special, but why ask now when I could ask you while you're gargling on your own blood? I'm sure it would make the story much more entertaining; it always does. I'm afraid I don't recognise the girl; perhaps your senility has rubbed off on me. Since this was going to be between the two of us, be a dear and crush her skull for me, would you?" Boreas took a slight pause to add more effect to his question, but didn't leave long enough for Shinzaemon to give him an answer, "No? I levelled the playing field for you, so it's only fair that you do the same, isn't it? Actually, scratch that, I'm sure you'll enjoy watching me tear her limb from limb while you await your own demise. I will, at least."

Boreas turned his attention to the pink-haired young woman, his eerie grin still plastered across his face. She was far younger than Shinzaemon, so with any luck she'd be an easier target, and easier to frighten; Shinzaemon's complete lack of shock after witnessing him murder his own ally in cold blood had been rather disappointing.
"So you're a fire mage, are you?" Boreas asked, but continued before she could give an answer, "I'll have you know the last fire mage I killed took me a grand total of five seconds to take out, but I suppose your righteousness inexplicably makes you better somehow. Just provide me with some entertainment!"
With that, Boreas extended a palm towards her, creating a magic circle that unleashed a flurry small, razor-like projectiles. With any luck this girl wouldn't be nearly as good at dodging as her ally; she didn't look the sort of person who would be. However, as Boreas well knew from working with all manners of peculiar people, looks could be deceiving.

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"While I must compliment your sense of timing Sera," Sera looked away from the older man, building up a sigh. "It would be shameful of me to let you go without some form of lesson on restraint...or for that matter interrupting the conversation I was having with one of Seto's old playmates." sera looked down, hopefully it wouldn't be a long lecture today.

"However, in this case...a bit of shame might be necessary. If possible I want to draw more of them here." Her head snapped back up, and she couldn't help but grin at the older man. "I can do that," She nodded her head, looking at the small hole before glancing back at Shin. "And old man...I can be your eyes." Sera's grin stretched. "You can trust me," She stood up strighter and turned towards the hole as the smoke began to clear, a figure could be seen.

"So I'm not the only one you know." The man grinned, "I could ask you why you find Seto so special, but why ask now when I could ask you while you're gargling on your own blood? I'm sure it would make the story much more entertaining; it always does. I'm afraid I don't recognize the girl; perhaps your senility has rubbed off on me. Since this was going to be between the two of us, be a dear and crush her skull for me, would you?" Sera tensed at the man words, her rage building as she clenched her fists. Steam began to roll off of her limbs. "No? I leveled the playing field for you, so it's only fair that you do the same, isn't it? Actually, scratch that, I'm sure you'll enjoy watching me tear her limb from limb while you await your own demise. I will, at least." He turned towards her.

"So you're a fire mage, are you?" He asked, but continued before she could give an answer, not that she was going too. "I'll have you know the last fire mage I killed took me a grand total of five seconds to take out, but I suppose your righteousness inexplicably makes you better somehow. Just provide me with some entertainment!" Sera crouched low as Boreas extended a palm towards her, creating a magic circle that unleashed a flurry small, razor-like projectiles.

She felt the heat building up in her feet, and so without a word, Sera pushed up, off of the ground, and into the air. Her body twisted and turned, evading the magical projectiles that flew at her, through she wasn't fast enough. Two of the razor sharp gusts of wind sliced through her left cheek and her right side, but that didn't stop her. She landed on all fours, and took off towards the male.

"You wont be ripping me apart," She snarled, dodging more of the projectiles as she got closer, flames began to rise from both of her arms. "Scum like you, who wold hurt your own comrades, don't deserve to be in a guild!" She pushed off of the ground completely as her body twisted in the air, completely in golfed in flames, she spun so fast only the flames were viable as she shot at the man, straight on. Even if she missed, he would feel the burn just from her close proximity.

"Scum like you, who would hurt your own comrades, don't deserve to be in a guild!"
Boreas barely had time to avoid the girl's attack, but was able to lurch backwards and summon a wall of wind to protect himself from any flames that strayed to far towards him. However, he could still feel the intensity of the heat even through his wind barrier, as if it shared the dragon slayer's rage.
"Oh please, spare me your lectures." Boreas groaned condescendingly as he regained his footing, "Perhaps you're the one who doesn't deserve to be in a guild; you are acting rather recklessly. So recklessly in fact, that because of your impulsive actions," Boreas was suddenly silent as he snapped his fingers, releasing a powerful blast of air that smashed in the roof of the house behind him, causing him to grin maniacally, "Civilians might get hurt."

Boreas turned around to admire his handiwork, all but forgetting Sera's presence. The roof had completely caved in and the window panes had completely shattered. No noise but the sound of the occasional brick tumbling could be heard from within.
"I wonder how many people were in there." Boreas pondered aloud, "Maybe there was nobody in there, hence the dull lack of any reaction. Although that's being rather pessimistic, maybe there were a couple and their child in there, trying to cower away from the conflict outside, only to find themselves right in the middle of it. Perhaps the lack of noise is due to the fact that they were all crushed by the rubble instantly. Or maybe," The pitch of Boreas' voice was now beginning to rise slightly with excitement, "Maybe the child is still alive in there, but she is struck dumb by the pain of being buried under rubble and the horror of having to gaze upon her slain parents? Well, we'll never know until someone clears the rubble." Boreas turned around to face his opponents again, the sneer on his face growing ever wider, "Shall I do it again?"

Shin sighed when he saw Sera's reaction to the wind mage's provoking...at this rate he'd have to settle with one encounter at a time and risk running out of energy. However, one benefit of Sera's barrage of flames was that it allowed him to walk towards a location that gave him a straight shot behind him. Better yet, his good eye told him that he could cover the distance with one teleportation. The issue was the young man seemed rather adept at psychological warfare. Shin couldn't speak for Sera, but Shin's senses as a warrior told him the potential of civilians still being around was zero.

"Shall I do it again?"

Shin used that as his window to attack, his teleportation was off; he was more above the young man than behind.

" You talk too much," Shin resorted to his original magic at this point. He'd already put his hands forward before moving, as such he merely released the spell Heavenly Beams. It was his fastest attack and he'd launched at close range, however its power was very low. To prevent a strong gust from blowing his own attack back into his own face, Shin forced himself to warp his own space again to gain even more height. His maneuver more than doubling his current distance to the ground, belatedly he recognized this left him in his opponents territory.

Shin halted his momentum by solidifying the space immediately beneath himself. The improvised platform giving him both a better view, while simultaneously making him something of a target.

"Besides, any survivors would have already begun screaming long ago. They've either run or more likely, are dead... am I right?" Shin hoped to buy some time to reorient himself through conversation. His dulled reflexes were still trying to adjust to his former position. He took a knee, clearly his earlier state of excitement would be needed if he wanted to keep up or win. The sensation of his old staff pressed against his forehead brought him some focus, and he was at least grateful when the sensation of the world spinning began to fade.

"You talk too much."
"I like to think that I just have lots of interesting things to say." Boreas shrugged, "Besides, would you rather the last moments of your life were filled solely with the noises of conflict?"
Boreas responded to Shinzaemon's attack by shredding the beams with a wall of wind, smirking triumphantly as the beams of light broke against his shield of wind. He had not been expecting the old geezer to pull heavenly body magic from his sleeve, but he didn't seem too capable with it.

"Besides, any survivors would have already begun screaming long ago. They've either run or more likely, are dead... am I right?"
"Probably not." Boreas sneered, "They'd be screaming a year ago, but not any more. They have the sense to keep quiet if they want any chance of survival. Their screaming can be rather annoying, and you know how I deal with annoyances."
As he spoke, Boreas swirled his hands around in circles, creating a vortex of air that extended higher and higher until eventually it had completely encased all three combatants, the only exit seeming to be the vortex's opening, which seemed almost as high as the clouds.
"Why don't we make this a bit more interesting?" Boreas suggested with a playful smirk, "This is my Storm Wall. Anyone can enter from the outside, but anyone who tries to leave will be shredded by the winds. And it just so happens," Boreas left a short pause in which he snapped his fingers, "That you might be on your way out."
The wind suddenly intensified within the vortex to a strength that was easily enough to impair one's balance, and possibly enough to drive them right into the Storm Wall. Boreas, however, stood perfectly unaffected in the only space of calm air within the Storm Wall, commanding his magic away from himself.

---

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Miyuu was relatively confused, especially when she, for some brilliant reason, followed her guildmates to Annandale. Now, she had kind-of figured that something was up, but nothing could prepared her for what was to come. First, was the force field, which looked enough to keep people from entering or exiting. Though from how easily Anaida took it down, a simple Lava Burst would have easily broken the pitiful barrier. Finally, Miyuu understood what her task was in Annandale, hunting down Dark Mages and drive them out of the city.

Miyuu was one of the last to move out, and of course, she was solo in her pursuit, yet she paused before really moving in and spoke, "Anaida, do I have permission to use my Magic?" she asked, knowing what her spells have done caused many lives to be lost, and have the chances to level the whole town. It's not something she wants to repeat again with the mass destruction and loss of life. Miyuu also had the problem of the town's buildings, most of them were wood, which needless to say, burned when extreme heat was close. That and the few times she used it, even her lava burst ability has slipped out of control and left a few craters in the landscape of Fiore.

"Use it if you need to Miyuu." Anaida replied, though continued, "But, try to keep your damage to a minimum, and stay from where you'll do irreversible damage. Soon after, Miyuu moved out, knowing what she has to do to keep all safe. Other than the Dark Mage, they won't get mercy from the little Lavamancer known as Miyuu. Terrorizing a small town reminded Miyuu of her home, where some bandits ran around for a few months. Though this time was different, instead of someone else dealing with them, Miyuu and Fairy Tail has to deal with them, good thing too, she wanted to do something other than sleep in the Guildhouse.

While Miyuu ran around the streets, which it wasn't a super hasty speed, more like a jogging pace, normal for Miyuu on a mission. Typically, Miyuu would be far more cautious, but this time she wasn't in more of a battle hunger, she wanted to punish the Dark Mages that were here. Eventually, Miyuu decided to get to the rooftops, in theory she could see far better with a higher vantage point. Slowly she climbed her way like an assassin onto the rooftop of a home before moving on the roofs leaping from building to building. She enjoyed runs like this, where there is an element of danger to them. Miyuu stopped looking around seeing how far the next bunch of buildings were from her, she thought to herself before nodding.

Miyuu walked back to the other side of the roof she was on and got into a more sprinter-like stance, she was going to jump across using her magma plume to propel her upwards with her momentum, easy enough in her mind. Though it wasn't, she began running at a full sprint using the rather light frame she had and decided to take out her staff and used it like in a pole vault to launch her a little further. All seemed to be as Miyuu had planned in her mind, and soon the magma plume to launch her up again and jump from it, that was the wrong part of her plan, she didn't anticipate the force of the plume launching her high into the air, and way off target.

After a few minutes of flying it seemed, when it was more of thirty seconds, she realized she was now falling to the ground, and noticed where she was going, the massive funnel cloud extending far above her height in the sky. Miyuu's mind raced as she thought of multiple outcomes of the impact, Oh great... I'm going to die- she thought before hitting the side of the wall and after being carried a little, and even slowed by the wind, she finally landed on the ground rather gracefully.

Rather, about as gracefully as a drunken horse. Miyuu got a foot down and tried to stop, but ended up on her face behind Shinzaemon with her arms splayed out. Miyuu sat up, figuring that her foot was caught up by a stone from the street, or just the amount of momentum she had gotten from her fall, as she rose, she looked at the three others, One was Sera, the other was Shinzaemon, and the third was unknown to Miyuu, he was dark and looked like a huge threat. Though she looked to Shin and spoke in a hushed tone,

"Sorry to intrude Shinzaemon, but may I ask whom the dark man is?" she asked keeping her eyes on the man in case of an attack.

Shin couldn't suppress his surprise at the statement given by the other mage. After all, if the man wasn't lying then Shin would have to also take care to avoid casualties- something that effectively sealed off his stronger spells at this point. The shock was enough for the man's next move to actually pull him off his platform. Only decades of experience allowed Shin to quickly sculpt another spacial prison to act as his safety against a gust that would otherwise force him into the wall of wind.

He belatedly realized that his opponent had been speaking, however it was probably to taunt or gloat in response to his most recent technique. Shin again felt excitement, he'd never fought a wind user of this caliber before. He looked around, from what he could see the gust was a constant. I can cover this much with a strong stance... who'd think an old fart like me would have to go back to the fundamentals Shin couldn't help but grin at the irony as he took a wide and low stance before dispelling his spacial barrier. However the arrival of a young woman from his guild, Miyuu if he wasn't mistaken took his attention.

"No need to be formal, Shin is just fine...as for him. Let's just say he's a wind mage in need of some discipline."

Beyond that he couldn't exactly think of anything to tell Miyuu, Seto's story wasn't his to tell and he didn't exactly recall the young man offering his name.

"Also, while I lost track of her Sera should be around here somewhere. Hate to say it, but I was really relying on her so far. This guy is too fast for my old eyes to keep up with and her fighting style was perfect to keep him from using that speed. Also if his words are to be believed, the entire town is effectively hostage...effectively sealing away my stronger techniques." Shin's grip tightened on his staff at the admission.If he wanted to win this fight, he'd have to either sacrifice town's folk or hope someone else can turn the tables for him. That much was as obvious to him as the ground beneath his feet.

That's it! Shin got an idea on how he could turn the tables himself- however given the circumstance he'd much rather avoid the attempt. After all if the wind mage had back up, Shin wouldn't have anything left over for the fight afterwards.

"Miyuu, I don't suppose you've got an ace up your sleeve...or a way to let us move the battlefield do you?"