![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
Arcadia decided to give herself a short break from the crowded city life of her new home in Magnolia and the cities she had visited on jobs. Maybe to many, Magnolia wasn't all that crowded, but to Arcadia it certainly was. Her new room in Fairy Hills gave her welcome respite and quiet, but today she was feeling like some fresh air.
So after breakfast, she skipped heading over to the Fairy Tail guildhouse, and headed on out of town a short ways for a short hike through the East Forest. The young slayer breathed in deep, loving all the vivid scents and sounds of the woods around her. She ran and laughed, arms outstretched to tag the branches of bushes and lower tree branches as she ran past. Arcadia jumped to catch or touch leaves or branches that were just out of her usual reach.
Arcadia froze when she picked up a few strange scents ahead. She quickly climbed up a nearby tree, finding a strong branch perch in. Her deep green eyes caught sight of a small group of children, all just a couple years younger than Arcadia. She squeaked when one of them spotted her sitting up in the tree.
It was a girl, and she pointed Arcadia out to the rest of the group. Arcadia grumbled to herself, and jumped on down. She smiled to them, ”I'm Arcadia.”
The girl smiled back and nodded, “I'm Sakura. This is Jimbo, Layla, Sofie and Kei. If you don't mind us asking, what were you doing up there?”
Arcadia's deep green eyes searched the forward away from the younger children. It would be a little embarrassing to admit she had been hiding from them. She didn't know for sure it was just a few girls and boys playing out in the woods when she first detected them, but she was sure that part wouldn't make it sound any better out loud. She shrugged nonchalantly, ”I was just seeing how high I could climb this tree. What're you all playing out here?”
Kei looked sideways at Arcadia with a tone that made it sound like it wasn't any of her business. “It's just tag.”
Sakura gave Kei a look, shaking her head, and offered a more friendly smile, “Yeah, we've been playing a little tag. You wanna play?”
The offer struck a chord in the young slayer. Thinking all the way back to her time with her foster mother, Khione Glacier, Arcadia couldn't remember the last time she got to just simply play. For the longest time, she'd been training to one day fight at Khione Glacier's side. Arcadia smiled warmly, ”Yeah! Why not!”
No sooner had Arcadia agreed to join their game then all at once Jimbo, Kei, and Sofie declared at once, “Not it!”
Sakura and Layla echoed them slightly out of synch with Layla one syllable behind Sakura, “Not-ot it-it!”
After a moment of confusion on Arcadia's face the other children laughed and Sakura explained, “That means you're it. You have to try and tag one of us, and then one of us will be it.”
The simple description reminded Arcadia of a similar game she had played many times back in Dragnof, so she shook her head, ”Eh... I knew that! Heh, this'll be easy.” The cute little fangs in Arcadia's mildly predatory grin, probably startled the other children from any easy taunts they might have otherwise flung at Arcadia after her initial confused reaction. The other children ran off in different directions when Arcadia charged straight ahead into their midst.
They all started to laugh, that is until Arcadia quickly focused in on Sakura. Arcadia's slayer speed helped her quickly close the distance, and with her focus on one , she was not distracted. Then Arcadia's speed was turned against her when Sakura used a tight turn around one bush to avoid Arcadia's first attempt at tagging.
When Jimbo slowed down to laugh at Arcadia's miss, he made inadvertently made himself a target of opportunity. Suddenly he was in a lot easier reach than Sakura,, and five rushed steps later, he was unable to jump back in time to avoid Arcadia's outstretched fingers, ”Tag! You're it!”
Arcadia sped off laughing, and the game wore on. Even with her advantages in speed and agility, Arcadia would find herself it a few more times that day. She could dodge or outrun a number of her pursuers, but sometimes one of the other children was still faster or just had the right angle to cut off her escape. That afternoon, Arcadia made five new friends, and she started thinking what Wizard Tag might be like to play, when ALL of the participants had and were allowed to use magic during the game.
Word Count: 794/500
So after breakfast, she skipped heading over to the Fairy Tail guildhouse, and headed on out of town a short ways for a short hike through the East Forest. The young slayer breathed in deep, loving all the vivid scents and sounds of the woods around her. She ran and laughed, arms outstretched to tag the branches of bushes and lower tree branches as she ran past. Arcadia jumped to catch or touch leaves or branches that were just out of her usual reach.
Arcadia froze when she picked up a few strange scents ahead. She quickly climbed up a nearby tree, finding a strong branch perch in. Her deep green eyes caught sight of a small group of children, all just a couple years younger than Arcadia. She squeaked when one of them spotted her sitting up in the tree.
It was a girl, and she pointed Arcadia out to the rest of the group. Arcadia grumbled to herself, and jumped on down. She smiled to them, ”I'm Arcadia.”
The girl smiled back and nodded, “I'm Sakura. This is Jimbo, Layla, Sofie and Kei. If you don't mind us asking, what were you doing up there?”
Arcadia's deep green eyes searched the forward away from the younger children. It would be a little embarrassing to admit she had been hiding from them. She didn't know for sure it was just a few girls and boys playing out in the woods when she first detected them, but she was sure that part wouldn't make it sound any better out loud. She shrugged nonchalantly, ”I was just seeing how high I could climb this tree. What're you all playing out here?”
Kei looked sideways at Arcadia with a tone that made it sound like it wasn't any of her business. “It's just tag.”
Sakura gave Kei a look, shaking her head, and offered a more friendly smile, “Yeah, we've been playing a little tag. You wanna play?”
The offer struck a chord in the young slayer. Thinking all the way back to her time with her foster mother, Khione Glacier, Arcadia couldn't remember the last time she got to just simply play. For the longest time, she'd been training to one day fight at Khione Glacier's side. Arcadia smiled warmly, ”Yeah! Why not!”
No sooner had Arcadia agreed to join their game then all at once Jimbo, Kei, and Sofie declared at once, “Not it!”
Sakura and Layla echoed them slightly out of synch with Layla one syllable behind Sakura, “Not-ot it-it!”
After a moment of confusion on Arcadia's face the other children laughed and Sakura explained, “That means you're it. You have to try and tag one of us, and then one of us will be it.”
The simple description reminded Arcadia of a similar game she had played many times back in Dragnof, so she shook her head, ”Eh... I knew that! Heh, this'll be easy.” The cute little fangs in Arcadia's mildly predatory grin, probably startled the other children from any easy taunts they might have otherwise flung at Arcadia after her initial confused reaction. The other children ran off in different directions when Arcadia charged straight ahead into their midst.
They all started to laugh, that is until Arcadia quickly focused in on Sakura. Arcadia's slayer speed helped her quickly close the distance, and with her focus on one , she was not distracted. Then Arcadia's speed was turned against her when Sakura used a tight turn around one bush to avoid Arcadia's first attempt at tagging.
When Jimbo slowed down to laugh at Arcadia's miss, he made inadvertently made himself a target of opportunity. Suddenly he was in a lot easier reach than Sakura,, and five rushed steps later, he was unable to jump back in time to avoid Arcadia's outstretched fingers, ”Tag! You're it!”
Arcadia sped off laughing, and the game wore on. Even with her advantages in speed and agility, Arcadia would find herself it a few more times that day. She could dodge or outrun a number of her pursuers, but sometimes one of the other children was still faster or just had the right angle to cut off her escape. That afternoon, Arcadia made five new friends, and she started thinking what Wizard Tag might be like to play, when ALL of the participants had and were allowed to use magic during the game.
Word Count: 794/500
