To cure a lonely condition [Lance]

Nessa was once again on the move, it seemed to be all she was doing lately. Going from job to job, life was crazy, but crazy in a good way. She was enjoying the pace of things, moments were flying by and boy were they entertaining. So when her Auntie Antoinette had put the request to her that she pick up a package for her, who was she to turn it down. Her Aunt had a lot going on at work and didn't have the time to travel to Talonia. Plus it gave Nessa the chance to have a two day break from, well just life. She had only been to Talonia a few times and the inn she was staying in was relatively comfortable. Having picked up the package the day before. She had stored it at the inn and was out exploring.

She had experienced various parts of Talonia; restaurants, markets, lots of stores but she had no yet bore witness to Solemn Park. She had been told it was a sight to behold, much bigger than the parks at home. She wanted to see it for herself, maybe grab a bite to eat. Nessa much preferred this to staying indoors. She would be heading home tomorrow morning which meant she only had one more day to relax and enjoy her freedom. Not that life was restrictive, it was more chaotic. Like a rollercoaster at full speed. To slow down, to take it easy just for a little bit, that was bound to be good for her. Then by all means she could return to the hectic life of a Fairy Tail wizard.

She found an ice cream stall, and proceeded to buy herself a vanilla cone. Making her way through the park, she had to admit the rumours were right. Solemn park was beautiful and very relaxing. She was pleased she got to see it. Deciding to rest and enjoy the sights, she found a bench and plopped herself down. Listening to the various noises around her that accompanied the pleasant sights. People laughing, children playing, bird chirping. It was all so lovely. She licked her ice cream, enjoying it's sweet taste. She wouldn't have minded some company and thought about who would be good to have brought along. Her dad always enjoyed a nice park, Edward was starting to get a bit bored of them, his prepubescent nature seemed to be creeping in. Then there was Aven, Rina, and even potentially Marcus. Although she really doubted Marcus would be interested in a park, he didn't seem the type. Although maybe she was jumping to conclusions. Either way, it was the perfect place to sit and have a good natter, it was just a shame she was on her own.

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

Nessa was enjoying the sweet taste of her vanilla cone, making work of the excess ice cream before it melted from the warm day. It was the little pleasures like this that just brought Nessa's day together, she couldn't imagine a peaceful day like this being soured. And in hers eyes company couldn't make it worse, she welcomed it. So when a young guy sat next to her, she had no complaints. Giving him a polite smile although she wasn't sure he saw it. She continued to sit and eat, when suddenly he spoke to her. His words taking her by surprise. There were two reasons his words shocked her, one because he had spoken to her out of the blue with no indication of interacting with her before hand. Two was that his question wasn't a greeting of sorts, but a question about the evil of the word. She looked at him for a moment, before pulling herself together, wiping her mouth in case she had any ice cream on her lips. He had asked her a question, and it would be rude not to answer. 

"I guess it's because joy comes from good, and if there was no good there would be no evil. If we just embraced the fact that the world sucked what would be the point of getting out of bed, people need something to look forward to. It's human nature I suppose." She answered with a casual shrug. It was a good thing she had experience with this topic, it seemed to be coming up a lot lately, but she figured it was something to do with the fact she was now fighting for the light. Trying to do good and working against the bad herself. 

"I personally think there's a lot of good in the world, you just need to know what you're looking for. Like if something makes you happy, then that's good right?" She said with another lick of her ice cream. She didn't know why the man had approached her and asked such questions, but she didn't mind it either. She found it funny how she had just been thinking about how nice it would have been to have company, and the universe had delivered. Even if it was a stranger, he clearly wanted some clarity, and she was happy to help.

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

Nessa tilted her head in thought, contemplating his next question. Assuming he was talking about the psychological damage that loss could brought to someone. Losing what it was that made you happy, sure made you feel like you could never be happy again. She felt like that the entire first year after losing her mum, but slowly with the help of her family. She had pulled herself together, and found a new normal. Her heart would forever ache, but she knew if she stayed the way she was. She would've only continued to make her father sad, her mother wouldn't have wanted that.

"I think … if there was a time that a person was capable of being happy, then the possibility of being happy still exists. I personally don't think you can lose that. I just think it might be buried deep inside that person. But if something is buried, it can be dug up again right? Might just taking a little elbow grease." She said adding a wink to her little metaphor. She noticed her ice cream, dripping down her fingers, and bringing it to her mouth she took another lick. Then proceeded to clean the excess of her hands. Unknowing smearing a little of it on her nose.

She pulled away from the ice cream once more, listening to his next question. He wasn't looking at her when he asked. She couldn't help but wonder if he was referring to himself. She looked at him for a moment, before scooting a little closer to the guy. She leaned down so she could see his face, "Sure, if they don't wanna do bad things anymore, why not? I don't think it's fair that people can't be allowed to change their ways if they want to. I don't know if you're talking about yourself or someone else but how about this? Whatever sins you may or may not have committed. I forgive you." She said, ice cream still on her nose, smiling at the guy in that perky way of hers.

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

Nessa watched as the guy looked up at her, a slow smile creeping onto his face. Suddenly he sat up and wiped her nose with his finger. Her eyes crossed for a moment as she tried to follow it, before refocusing on him. She watched as he popped his finger that now had the ice cream off of her nose, into his mouth and commented on the flavour. She brought her hand to her face, slightly embarrassed, but then followed it with a little laugh. Only she would manage to talk to him so seriously all the while having ice cream on her face.

She checked her face with her free hand making sure there wasn't any more ice cream, once if was clear. She proceeded to lick her ice cream carefully this time, listening as he teased her about how trusting she was. She smiled, nodding at him. "I've been told that before, I can't really help myself, I just think everyone deserves a chance." She admitted, she knew she trusted to easily, she had learned that lesson a long time ago with Rex. Yet, it didn't stop her from wanting to give people chances and make friends. If the consequences for offering her friendship came back down on her, she would just have to face them. She could not regret her lack of caution, because not trusting someone you knew nothing about, just didn't feel very fair to her.

She noticed his sad sigh that followed, as he proceeded to introduce himself. He seemed to be really at odds with himself. She wanted to make him feel better, but she wasn't entirely sure how. "Nice to meet you Lance, My names Nessa Lux. And you are welcome to know more if you like." She told him happily. She was happy to open up to a new person, obviously there were some things even she wouldn't talk about, but she knew she could just skate around those subjects. "Oh yeah, you asked me what makes me happy didn't you? Well, I guess a lot of things, hanging out with friends, shopping, partying. But most of all, I really enjoy helping people."

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

She began to work on her ice cream again, it was pretty much done, with mainly just the cone left to get through. She bit into the cones edge, covered her mouth as she chewed it, listening to him. She wondered why he hadn't spoken to someone for a while, he seemed like a perfectly reasonable guy. Maybe something happened and he had lost his friends, she knew the feeling well. It wasn't for her to speculate anyway, everyone had a story. But when she looked at Lance, all she saw was a guy that needed a friend, someone to give him a chance. Getting lost is easy, finding your way out again, that's the hard part.

She watched as a child ran over with a ball, her eyes following the ball as it hit the guys feet. She watched with a small smile as Lance returned the ball to the child, politely suggesting that they be careful. There's no way this is a bad guy... She thought after watching the scene. "I know, my cousin's the same way. Oblivious to everything around him." She said casually, smiling at the thought of Edward. Although she had to admit, the boy was started to grow up a bit.

She polished off the last bit of her cone, wiping her mouth and brushing her hands together to get rid of any excess crumbs. That had been good, but it hadn't quiet satisfied her, maybe she could grab a bite to eat somewhere. As if on cue, Lance's stomach rumbled catching her attention, she raised a brow at his question."A couple of days? Lance, you've got to be joking, that can't be good for you!" She told him in a concerned tone. As she listened to his offered, she sighed before giving him one of her brightest smiles.

She stood up, brushing down her dress and placing her hands on her hips, "Well no matter, I'd be honoured to join you. You know, I saw a local buffet not to far from here on the way through. From the looks of it they have everything, I mean it, everything for a set plate price. Also from the sounds of it, you need filling up." She told him with a teasing wink, she figured a buffet was the easiest choices, you could just pick what you wanted that way. Without the awkward back of forth of what you do and don't like to eat. Nessa wasn't especially fussy when it came to food either. She began to lead the way, making their way through the park slowly. She looked over to him, wondering how to continue their conversation. She didn't exactly want it to grow into a quiet lull. "So are you a part of a guild Lance?" She asked, she hadn't seen a guild mark, but she knew some people kept theirs hidden.

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

Nessa smiled as his mom remark, she couldn't help herself sometimes. It was important for her to make sure her friends were looking after herself. And the way things were going with Lance, she could definitely see him becoming a good friend of hers. At least she hoped so, she loved surrounding herself with people, it felt right. Plus he seemed like he needed it, she couldn't see any reason not to befriend the guy.

She listened as he mentioned having been in a guild before, her eyes dropped to the burn mark on his hands. Eyes widening in surprise, her jaw dropped, before morphing into a face of glee. "That's such a strange coincidence, I'm in Fairy Tail right now. I mean I've not been there long but it's my home away from home now." She told him happily, pleased to have something in common with him. She wondered why he had left, but decided not to pry, it seemed like a sore subject. It was most likely something he didn't want to discuss. So instead of questioning him, she decided to fill the space with talk of her own reason for joining Fairy Tail, hoping it would help him feel more at ease with her.

"I mean, I've had my eye on them for years. I've always wanted to be a mage so, it was between them and Crystal Swan. Then I bumped into a member of Fairy Tail and it just click that I had to join them. It's been a real whirlwind since but in a good way you know. I have so much fun, and I've grown a lot." Her smile was filled with a genuine warmth and happiness as she spoke of her guild, she loved Fairy tail and felt like joining them was the best decision she ever made.

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

Nessa nodded, she didn't know the names he mentioned, but understood the guild had a long and intricate history. One she was yet to fill herself in on, maybe one day she'd learn more about the past of her guild. But generally, she wasn't asking too many questions, there was a weird vibe when you brought up the past. Like it wasn't to be spoken of, despite her curious nature, she had suppressed it enough to mind her manners and not push for answer. To hear Lance offer to tell her stories in the future made her happy, "I would love that." She replied.

As they entered the buffet, Nessa took a deep breath, the wonderful assortment of smells reaching her. It all smelled and looked so good, she couldn't wait to try it. Apparently neither could Lance, who eagerly rushed forward to pay for his plate and set about getting his meal. She was pleased that he approved of her choice of places to eat, and that he enthusiastically helped himself to a great portion. If he hadn't eaten in days, this was bound to replace any sustenance the boy lacked. Nessa paid to, and went around collected a plate. Hers wasn't quite as large as Lance's, having a nice curry dish and rice. With some battered prawns on the side. She brought them over to her table, "Bon appetit!" She said happily at Lance who had already dug in. Picking up her spoon, she scoop up some katsu curry and rice, raising it to her mouth. Relishing the taste as she chewed, she listened to Lance. Reaching up to covered her mouth, she chewed a few times before swallowing.

"It's Sorano Granon right now. She's awesome, she's really quiet and cool-headed. The aces at the moment are Mura Kensho and Rina Everglades. They're pretty awesome too.  You know, when I first joined, I was super worried they wouldn't like me, but luckily I seem to get on with everyone so far. It's such a relief." She admitted to the guy.

FATE HAS MARKED ME AS A VILLIAN

EVEN THOUGH I'M JUST CURSED

"Oh yes, I'm really loving it. I feel at home there." She answered him with an honest smile. She really was, it was so much fun to be a part of such a welcoming and lively guild. Each day seemed to offer her a new adventure, she seemed to be coming home each night with a new story to tell. Having her family on the edge of their seats every time, it feel good. She had always listened to the tales of her Dad and Aunt growing up. So it felt good to be offer to do it back, to show them she was growing in an experienced and useful mage. She could genuinely see the pride in their eyes when she talked about her achievements and what she was trying to do. Sometimes they offered advice or words of caution but most of the time it was praise. Thanks to that, she always returned to the guild more driven than the day before.

Nessa brought another spoonful to her lips, enjoying her dinner as Lance then went on to talk about his understand of her emotions. Chewing her mouthful slowly, her eyes grew sympathetic as he talked about his loss. Asking her if he could find somewhere good, she swallowed her bite. Sitting up straight, she leaned forward in her seat as she spoke. "I mean of course there is, I know the world can seemed really dark at times but when there's dark, there's light right? There are plenty of places I'm sure will accept you. I'm sure Fairy Tail would, or there's like Crystal Swan, umm I'm not sure about any of the other guilds. I haven't met many mages yet,"  She told him, she hadn't really interacted with many mages outside Fairy Tail, there was that Liam guy she had met from Crystal Swan, but really that had been it. Maybe she should make more of an effort with other guilds? It was just easier to hang at Fairy Tail. At some point she would need to broaden her horizons.