Hunting For Plushies

-Hargeon Town outskirts, late morning-

Dressed in her green-and-gold outfit with Argent Gloves on her hands, Leona stood just outside of Hargeon Town and waited for her guildmate Haley Musea to arrive while feeling the warmth of the late morning sun on her skin. The Wizard Saint of Courage left her all of her weapons at home except for the knife she carried in her right boot because she did not think that they would be necessary for a simple shopping trip in civilization. The blonde hoped that her status as the Wizard Saint of Courage and power level would be enough to deter trouble. If push came to shove, her Wind Strike Magic and Wind Summon Magic were powerful enough to deal with all but the toughest threats. They were certainly more than strong enough to deal with the average street hoodlum.

Leona patiently waited for Haley next to a wooden bench built near the city limits while stretching her legs. It had been a lengthy walk from Silver Wolf Guild Hall and she had opted to walk instead of fly because she wanted to do something besides fly everywhere for a change. She also wanted to see if any bandits would challenge her on the town outskirts so that she could get rid of them before they attacked travelers to and from Hargeon Town. Leona thought that going unarmed and wearing the valuable Argent Gloves would entice them to come out and go after her, but her reputation must have preceded her because she walked the entire road and did not encounter any outlaws, not even in gangs. At least her mere presence had ensured the safety of a small group of pedestrians who had traveled with her but had long since went into Hargeon Town.

The Wizard Saint continued to wait for her guildmate and remembered what the purpose of this trip was. She recalled Haley wanting to shop for plushies in the town. Leona had never figured Haley to be a fan of plushies, but the blonde did not know very much about her guildmates because she was always on the road or in the office. Leona needed to get out and interact with her guildmates more than she did. Today's shopping trip would be a good step in the right direction... it would be nice to interact with them in an environment that was not work-related.

It was surprising when Leona asked if she could come along. Sure the mage audibly announced her decision to go shopping for a bed's biggest space taker but with jewels under her belt she decided a bit of indulgence would not be too bad. After all she earned these and did not thief them off someone. The proposal to follow her however, that was something entirely new.

Haley always knew her guild mistress to be a mix between intimidating and adventurous. She would never see the guild mistress in one place for too long. Her status as a Wizard Saint, which she learnt from staying in Fiore to be of a significant status. Meeting one of the strongest mages in the world was one thing, but now being under one presented a whole new spectrum. Haley however snickered at a memory. The look on Leona's face when she heard the shopping trip was for plushies. A secret to say the least that Haley had more softer priorities. After all who would keep malleable pillows of animal friends when their work stations is about as hazardous as a Basilisk's mouth?

Sooner or later, Leona's wait was over. There was Haley, cladded in a purple flower dress and jeans, along with a fedora with three crow feathers to the left. To the common person, it was a fashionable choice, the rich dark tones to match a rather peculiar glasses wearing individual. Hopping onto Leona, giving her a quick hug before actually giving her greetings.

"Good day Leona! Come we have little time to waste," It was ironic considering Haley has a reputation for having lots od time to waste while her potions brewed. Haley grabs Leona's hand, dragging the poor girl through streets Leona probably never knew, yet here Haley was, going through them like she has seen them all the same.

Leona was worried that any bandits staking out the roads to Hargeon Town had deliberately waited for a tough target like her to pass by before emerging from their hiding places to attack weaker prey. She was worried that Haley had become a victim of bandits, but as it turned out there was no cause for concern because her guildmate arrived safely on the town outskirts. The brown-haired mage was wearing a purple flower dress and jeans along with a fedora boasting three crow feathers to the left. Leona had never seen Haley wear that particular outfit before, but that was because the Wizard Saint was usually on the road for one job or another. The last time they had met was in Haley's room/lab and the blonde did not remember too much about the meeting other than Haley wanted ingredients for her cauldron.

Leona was unexpectedly hopped onto and hugged by her guildmate; the mage's unexpected application of weight almost threw the Wizard Saint off balance, but the blonde recovered in time to avoid eating dirt and suffering embarrassment. Leona blushed briefly when Haley hugged her but soon recovered from that as well. Next came a whirlwind tour of Hargeon Town courtesy of Haley, who grabbed Leona by the wrist of the left Argent Glove and literally began dragging her through the streets of the port city.

"H-hey, wait! Where are we going?" Leona asked Haley while being pulled through the streets at a frighteningly fast pace. The blonde was barely able to keep moving fast enough to avoid tripping on the cobblestone streets. She never knew that the brunette possessed such strength and focus when it came to finding plushies. Wherever they were going, the pair would be certain to get there in record time.

And their trip came to an abrupt stop. There is was, a gift shop, with green as their main color. It was a humble set up, no flashing lacrima lights or big pointing arrows. There was no fancy get up or anything of the sorts. Instead, all they had was a window to peek at what is inside, a simple glass door and a big hand painted sign with the words "Mermaid Shell Boutique" but the 'S' was replaced by a Mermaid in an oddly similar pose to that of a now disbanded guild. Haley however was beaming at the establishment. Patting Leona on the back, she gestures to enter.

"Come on Wizard Saint of Courage, take the first step inside," Haley grinned. And she would follow once Leona had entered Mermaid Shell Boutique. It was a tiny wonderland of gifts and assortments. From handcrafted rings and necklaces, to expertly sewn stuff toys, it was a store filled with passion. However, there was one thing that stuck out. It wasn't big plush bears at significant jewel prices or rings with pretty patterns. No, it was a store that was a love letter to guilds around Fiore, well except the bad ones. There was tiny little rings with guild symbols, stickers with famous guild members, even hand sewn plush toys that bear resemblance to guildies around. Haley would have disappeared during the moment of sightseeing, before reappearing with a large plush toy.

"Look! It's a big PLUSH TOY OF YOU!" Haley giggles like a little girl as she holds up to Leona a plush Leona. It had the right hair color, the button eyes were silver, it even had tiny Argent gloves on its round hands. It was utterly adorable. Haley then holds up a sword, well a sword the size of a keychain of an Ilac. "They even have a keychain version of weapons! Look this one is the sword that um... Dang I forgot his name..." Haley sighed, before resuming her bright eyed stare at Leona while holding the plush one. "Iswn't it awowable?"

After a brief and fast trip across town Leona found herself standing outside a gift shop with a prominent green color motif named Mermaid Shell Boutique. The blonde barely had time to notice that the S in "Shell" differed from the other letters that had been painstakingly painted onto the sign by hand before Haley was urging her to go inside first. Leona would figure out where she had seen the S shaped like a mermaid later... at the moment she had to oblige Haley's request to go into the gift shop. Leona obliged and the bell above the door DINGed as the Wizard Saint of Courage entered Mermaid Shell Boutique.

-Inside Mermaid Shell Boutique-

Leona entered to find herself staring at shelves stocked with copious amounts of merchandise of all types. The variety ranged from jewelry like rings and necklaces to giant plush bears with equally hefty price tags attached, but the most interesting thing about the merchandise was that none of it was factory-made. Every last item was made by hand and the workmanship showed most prominently in the jewelry, which looked like it had been made by a master craftsman in the Tri-Council City. Leona turned to talk to Haley when she noticed that the latter had disappeared to somewhere within the boutique.

Leona looked closer at the wares and soon located an area of the shop devoted to the Legal and Neutral Guilds of Earthland: all six guilds were represented in sections of shelves set aside just for them. Leona's eyes drifted to Fairy Tail's allotted section and found remarkably detailed plush figures of Nessa Cordelia Lux, Mura Kensho, and Arcadia Fairchilde sitting and staring at potential buyers. Her eyes moved over West Fiore Trading Company's area and saw plushies of Ruvel Mizune, Sol Detholusin, Haraka Omaras, and Kyran Dyer, the last of the quartet was someone she did not recall meeting.

The blonde spotted other luminaries like Johann Von Weiss and Seven of the fairly new Legal Guild Dies Irae plus Samira Nassar, Ryo Knetegawa, Aura Kennyhain, Gaia Sabin, and Imai Uchuukin of Sabertooth. Leona was about to turn and look for her guild when Haley reappeared holding a plushie of someone familiar. Moments later it dawned on the blonde that she was looking at a plushie of none other than herself!

Leona did not quite know what to make of seeing herself as a plushie.

On one hand, the technical details were remarkably accurate. The plush homage to the Wizard Saint had the right hair color and the green-and-gold outfit was accurate down to the folds in the skirt, but the button eyes were silver instead of green. Leona could forgive that small mistake because it had tiny and lovingly made Argent Gloves on its round hands that had strategically placed stitches to simulate the overlapping metal plates. On the other hand, something about it was off-putting. The blonde had never seen herself as a doll before and was feeling strong dissonance as she gazed into its button eyes with a stitched-on smile.

"Um, yeah Haley. It's pretty cute. I like the detail put into it." Leona said to Haley in a cheerful voice as she praised its detailed appearance. Inside she was alarmed that Haley had spoken like she did, but her guildmate must have really adored plushies. Leona had chosen to go on this trip, so she could handle a doll made in her likeness and Haley talking strangely all of a sudden.