Stop the Traitor!

It is often said that the best way to enjoy a city is by spending money there – and Garlim was no stranger to that saying. Ever since he had arrived in Magnolia he had been spending his hard-earned jewels on food and drink, wasting it away in a matter of days. His last job had paid well, but his funds hadn’t sustained his lifestyle for very long. He needed more, and he needed it fast.

The only problem, of course, was the difficulty of finding a well-paid job. Wizards like him, who didn’t belong to a Guild, weren’t privy to the more difficult jobs that wizards within a Guild were requested to do. And of course, with difficulty came a much greater reward – which Garlim really needed.

He let out a soft sigh as he stood in the wide street. He was leaning against the exterior of a quiet restaurant, holding a box of cigarettes in one hand as he tapped a cigarette against the exterior of it. His whole life he had rejected the advances of various guilds, refused the companionship that came with it, turned down the dependency he would have on others. But now, more than ever, the familiar tug grew within him. Not only would he get a bigger paycheck, but the strange need for a friend was growing stronger too. Somebody to share with, somebody to train with – somebody to spend time with.

He pushed himself up from the wall, placing the cigarette in his mouth as he did so. His fingers moved to the end of the cigarette and a burst of electricity dashed around them, literally sparking up the cigarette in the process. The Lightning Wizard took a long draught before beginning to walk forwards. Before him, the huge guild hall of Fairy Tail loomed in all of its magnificence, dwarfing the few structures to stand close enough to it to draw a comparison.

This was it. His way of life as he knew it was over – no more would he roam the world, no more would he have the true freedom he had always craved. He would have to give it all up, here and now, for the chance to finally live.

Words: 370

A slight wrinkle crept along Garlim’s nose as he heard the words spoken at him. His head turned slightly to take her in, and his eyebrow rose slowly. Standing next to him was a girl, her blonde hair pinned upon her head. He gave a soft chuckle of derision as he took another draught from the cigarette, blowing the smoke out in front of him.

”Tougher things have tried to kill me, sweetheart – none have succeeded yet.” Although his words were antagonistic, he moved his fingers up to his cigarette and released a small burst of electrical energy. It shot the length of the tobacco tube and set it completely alight, causing it to fall to the ground in a pile of ashes, forgotten in a small gust of wind that picked up a moment later. ”And smelling nice is the least of my concerns right now.”

When she spoke of a rat however, Garlim’s ears picked up. Even to his novitiate mind, that sounded suspiciously like a job. His demeanour changed entirely as he took on a professional manner, his back straightening and his eyes narrowing as he weighed up the possibilities. A traitor, huh? If there was one guild in the land he would have counted as loyal, it was the Fairy Tail guild – but apparently his trust was misplaced. And if a guild like Fairy Tail was putting out a job, that could mean only one thing – it would be one hell of a payday.

”Garlim. Garlim Yuki,” he said, looking down at the hand that was offered. Multiple scenarios rushed through his head of turning down the handshake, but each of them didn’t end particularly well. He extended his own hand and met Anastasia’s, cracking a rare smile as he did so. ”I guess you’re my backup, then?”

Of course, Garlim hadn’t been requested to do this job – he doubted that he would have been accepted even if he had applied. Guild matters were handled by stronger Wizards than him – a lot of them being exclusively for the best of the best, the S-Class Wizards.

For the first time, Garlim really got a good look at Anastasia. She didn’t look like much, but Garlim was world-weary enough to know that appearances weren’t everything – could she really be an S-Class Wizard? The thought lingered in his mind for several seconds before he dismissed it – surely, he would know if he was standing next to such a paragon of power? But still, there was something about this girl that reeked of strength – and he was keen to find out what it was.

”So, who contacted you about this job?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. If they knew who had requested the job, they could get more information about what they had to do – unless, of course, Anastasia had found that out already when she took the job. A small smile crept onto the Lightning Wizard’s face, and he turned to Anastasia with a smile. ”We could always just raze it, of course,” he said, raising his hand and displaying the small bolt of electricity that danced around his fingers. He didn’t really consider it a viable option – he highly doubted that he could take even the weakest of the Fairy Tail members down in a fight. But still, it was nice to dream.

Words: 578
Total: 1432 / 10500

Aversion crashed down Garlim’s spine like a waterfall as he heard another voice behind him. He turned quickly, only just managing to keep his face as neutral as possible. A spattering of red started to grow up his neck as he took in her minute outfit, and cleared his throat before turning back to face the guild. ”Going after girls isn’t everything in life,” he said off-handedly, but turned his eyes to lock them with the newcomer. ”Women, on the other hand…”

Before he could finish what was sure to be a well-thought out flirtatious comment, the doors to the Fairy Tail guildhall opened. Garlim’s head snapped back round to lock eyes with the man, sparing the slightest of side glances when Anastasia warned him off an assault on the guild. He offered a shrug in response – it was probably for the best.

As the man spoke, Garlim found his eyebrow slowly rising until it met his hairline. The man talked far quicker than most people that the Wizard dealt with, but he managed to get everything that he needed – or thereabouts. Of course, there were a multitude of taverns within Magnolia – finding the one that the traitor was drinking in would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Just as he was about to ask for more details, the man vanished into what seemed to be a party behind him, the doors slamming shut in the group’s face.

He scratched his head as Anastasia began to talk to him, and once again could do little more than shrug. ”I know most of the taverns in the area, but it’ll be a stab in the dark to find the right one.” He turned to look at the other woman, a small smile curling on his face. ”I suppose you don’t visit the seedier establishments in town?” he japed, before chuckling to himself. He scratched his head once more as his fingers moved automatically to his pocket, pulling out his box of cigarettes as he did so.

”The most likely place is probably the Wandering Cleric Inn, it’s about three blocks east of here,” he said, pointing in a vaguely eastern direction. ”Couldn’t hurt to start there, right? Unless you have other ideas, of course,” he said, looking between the pair. If they were going to work together, he would have to concede at least some of the planning to them – if they wanted to, of course.

Words: 408
Total: 2290

Almyra never really understood Ana's aversion towards Magnolia. Sure, the last time they had been there, the Priory of the Wyrm had attacked, leading to various shenanigans including killing a dragon and destroying a magical pillar using only a dumpster, as well being hunted by various monsters, riding in said dumpster like a boat as the entire city flooded, only to have all the water removed by a giant tornado that somehow didn't damage the buildings at all, only to have the water come back, only boiling, and then be removed again. But the important thing about all that peril and adventure was that it had brought her, Ashe, and Anastasia together as a group of friends, and later, a team. Nao was also introduced to her and Ashe during their time in the hospital recovering from the injuries they had sustained during and before the event. Sure some Fairy Tail mages could be rather eccentric, and perhaps sometimes too self-centered and annoying, but deep down they were generally nice people, so Almy didn't mind them. Though Ana did seem to be bothered by a lot more things than Almy. The young chaos theorist was never bothered by much, unlike most people. She had long ago come to the conclusion that her knowledge of the world and deeper understanding of causality than most, coupled with the ultimate mortality she would someday face, lead her to appreciate everything in life, even the small things... especially the small things, a lot more.

The young woman was simply relaxing on Ana's ship, drawing some pictures in her book when her friend came aboard. They spoke briefly, Anastasia bringing up the job that she was currently on to find a traitor in Fairy Tail. This job rather intrigued Almyra. She was very good at finding people, and the idea that someone would betray Fairy Tail intrigued her. What were they doing to betray the guild and why? Such information sparked her natural curiosity for all things. This man's identity and actions could prove to be useful data for further calculations as well.

"Could I help you find him? I'm really good at finding people." She asked Ana, who smiled in response and answered in the affirmative, happy for Almy's help on the job. Almyra suspected she would also be glad to have another familiar face helping out aside from Taliyah, who seemed to spend most of the time trying to aggravate Ana. Her friend informed her of the location she and Garlim planned to meet at, as well as the inn Garlim suspected the traitor to be attending. Almy took in all the information Ana gave her like a sponge, before responding.
"Alright, I'll be there, but I want to explore a bit first and see how the city has recovered, and maybe see if I can find some information."

She didn't wait for a response from Ana, but simply gathered up her book and doll and left the ship. After such some time wandering Magnolia, having fun with exploration, and helping people out who were still recovering from the Priory attack, she found the inn Ana had told her about, and the spot where she and Garlim were to meet. By the time the two arrived in the building across the street from the Wandering Cleric Inn, Almyra had already been there for a few hours, and could be found surrounded by papers, her book directly in front of her. On all of the papers around her and the pages of her book, various mathematical formulae and complex graphs and drawings were visible, completely indecipherable by anyone without the same gifts in mathematics, imbued knowledge, and magical abilities as Almyra. Her eyes were aglow a soft green color as she used her magic.

Amor Fati Side-Effects:

Spells used: Amor Fati (Non-combat use)
MP: 52%