Home

The land was black and lifeless, the trees of the forest almost stripped of their leaves as the litter the foreground with a clear afternoon sky seems out of place on the background. The trees cling to what they little they had left, only to have it twist, snapped, and be carried off even by the faintest blow of wind. This is the scenery Leo beheld as he looked on the vast expanse of land before him through a side window of a large old stone house. So old that it’s ancient design is prominent throughout, almost as if that was the common architecture of the house’s construction and vines creep through the outer stone walls that was 3 floors high and with an area of two basketball courts placed side by side. His eyes shifting left and right examining all there was until the once defender of Magnolia who wore a black open robe whose ends dangle just above his knees over a silk shirt and cloth pants.

He stepped back and walked bare footed on wood through the corridor of the house which was dimly lit by a few lacrimas emitting light. A green eerie light. He continued walking towards another window, one which displayed the view at the front of his house. He looked on from it and saw what appears to be a thick ghostly fog that was tall as a human gather and pass through his gate, along with withered, fatigued men and women. Some of which carried infants in their arms in comfort sleeping their parent's arms, and still others with small children who held hands with their relatives, worried about their wellbeing, and the rest by able bodied adults who helped their companions. When the fog and seemingly down trodden were by the house's main door, they were stopped and greeted by people dressed with black robes with their hoods covering most of their faces and their arms held together in front of them tucked away by their long sleeves. Behind these eerie figures are men and women dressed prim and proper. Helpers around the house where the men wore white long sleeves topped with a black vest that paired nicely with their black slacks and leather shoes. The women on the other hand wore black dresses that were topped with white aprons, a standard maid uniform all of whom wore face masks. Covering their mouths and noses.

The hooded figures, along with the help bowed before their guests and separated the fog which were actually souls, and the seemingly dying from those that aided them here. The adults, and other children who had places to come back to were escorted back outside the lifeless land via a carriage. While the helpless children who no one anymore due to losing their parents to death were consoled and comforted by the house's help while being escorted inside. While as for the hooded figures and their charge, they cannot be seen where they went through the window Leo was looking out of. He gave off a soft sigh and smirked lightly, thinking to himself that everything is running smoothly. "My...work here is... done..." He said to himself softly with his voice rugged and aged which was followed by a deep sigh of relief as he closed his eyes.

After that, a warmth came to the corridor from behind him. Someone was approaching and he turned to see who it was. It was a small child, old enough to lift a short sword. His child that wore a plain bright yellow dress with a belt across her waist that held a small wooden sword by its hilt, along with flip flops she wore on her feet and made no sound. On her neck was a necklace. The lace were small thin iron chains and by her heart laid the attached yellow diamond held in place by a design similar to dragon’s teeth made from titanium plated with gold. This splendid gift from her father makes the light reflected from her necklace makes rooms she’s on glow with brilliance. His child, Lina, was not fond of cutting her silky white hair, and so it was almost as long as Lina’s height. Her blue eye gleamed with excitement as she approached her father. “Everything seems to be taking care of itself, dad.” She said excitedly in her cheerful high pitch voice. Her body movement gesturing excitement as she shook her body that made her dress make a beautiful pattern at the end of it. Leo sighed, letting air out through his nose as his mouth curved up to a smile while he softly placed his hand on the offspring’s head, rubbing it twice afterwards. “Yes, Lina. We’re going to head home.” and he held her hand as they strolled through the old stone house, walking towards the stair case so they can get to the main floor and leave the house. As they walked on by, he didn’t pay any attention to his surroundings as he was deep in thought, and Lina noticed it too. It appears Lina knows the drill by now it seems his wanders off at the mention of the word home.  Yes, home. For this was but a house to Leo. A structure he eats, sleeps, and works in. For this belonged to his ancestral family. A family he never knew, and was frightened when he knew who they were, but it is a thought Leo never wanted to entertain and so, expelled it from his mind almost immediately at the mention of the word home. Yet, at the same time, it gives him hope. For home is where the heart is so they say. And recently, he has longed to be at home. To be with his family. A smile crept on his face, as he was excited to know what this family is doing now. What - -

His train of thought was interrupted when they had apparently reached the house’s main door. In front of it was a man who wore the help’s clothing with their colors reversed and he didn’t wear a face mask like the rest. His skin pale and almost cold to touch. “Angelo…” Leo mentioned the man’s name in acknowledgement and in turn, Angelo bowed before Leo and Lina “My lord, my lady.” He replied He lifted his body up and continued to speak “Everything has been prepared for your travel. I can assure you we have everything under control here.” Leo nodded in reply and was about to step out of the house. Lina let go of his hand as he was about to do so, so that she can approach Angelo with a hug. But she was still a little girl and her arms wrapped Angelo by his waist while Lina’s head rested on his stomach “Ohhhh I’m gonna miss you!” She exclaimed. Angelo giggled and rubbed her head “I will miss you too young lady. I do hope you’d visit or call us at least.” Angelo replied. To which Lina nodded her head quickly, as if excited by the thought of that proposal. And while all of this was happening, Leo simply looked on. After all, Lina was raised here, despite its gloomy appearance. This was home for her too. This was family for her too. And Leo took it as another sign that his job here is indeed done.


He reaches out with his hand which Lina gladly takes and Angelo turns to see them leave and shut the door, but not before giving Lina a final wave goodbye as a reply to the Lina gave first. The pair quickly took a left turn where they saw a horse and wagon, ready for departure. On board the wagon was two suit cases. One for each of them that stored their clothing. And a knapsack with the color of dirt all resting against the wagon’s corner, and on the floor laid a huge greatsword with the blade wrapped in linen cloth. Lina got on the front of the wagon first rather quickly. Leo really can’t believe how excited she was for this trip. “You’ve never gotten on the wagon first before…” He remarked “I’m just really excited to see the place where your stories took place! Where you grew up!” She replied with much enthusiasm similar to when you’ve gotten all the lottery numbers right so far and just waiting for that last one. Leo softly laughed at this as he had his hands on the edge of the wagon, ready to pull himself up. And so, their journey began when Leo took his seat and whipped the horse with the reins that prompted it neigh and move, leaving the dead forest behind. Minutes into their journey, and everyone was silent and trees slowly started showing life the farther they were from the house. Every tree they passed by had more and more leaves on them, making look more of a proper forest.

The journey was pleasant and uneventful. Leo kept a vigilant watch while Lina slept beside him with her head on his lap. They stopped on an open field on a hill that had tall grass everywhere and just on the horizon was a large town that had a large building towering above it all as a prominent feature, that even from here Leo could make out it was a cathedral. No. It was THE cathedral. But it was not important to Leo as of now. What was important for him on this stop was the old shack they stopped next to in the middle of this sea of grass. He carefully lifted up Lina’s head so as not to wake her and move his lap away. He then placed her head on the wagon seat before he got down of the wagon and walk towards the back to retrieve the knapsack before he approached the small wooden structure. Weed and vines cover the entire structure and moss can be seen on the floors and walls; nature has taken back this structure. He slowly stepped on the bamboo flooring which caused the floors to creak to every inch of muscle he moves because the wood is old, but still strong to hold a man large as he was. Leo took a deep breath and exhaled as he looked around nodding “Yes…” He softly remarked to himself “It seems you only aged a day from when I built you all those years ago old friend.” He gave one of the columns a gentle pat twice before heading deeper into his old shack towards the bedroom. On the middle of the room was a trap door, a huge trap door that Leo lifted up, that showed stairs leading to the basement. He looked on in approval as he inspected that the basement was well preserved. Because before he left, he left a lacrima on the middle of the basement to preserve everything there. No cobwebs, no dust. At the far end of the basement sat two barrels, and beside them a safe. He opened it up and it beheld jewels he had accumulated before he left home, and a piece of paper rolled up into a scroll. He placed them all in his knapsack and he carried the two barrels up to the surface and to the back of their wagon while Lina was still asleep.

After the short pitstop, they continued their journey to the town they saw in the horizon. Magnolia. And it was nostalgic for Leo to be on this town once again that he too was a little excited as well. He didn’t know what to expect as he has heard only rumors about how the town was, about how his home was. He had the hood of his robe over his face once they entered town, trying to keep a low profile, appearing as merchants looking to trade. He didn’t even try to be a know-it-all and presume where his home was. He asked a civilian by the road “Excuse me…” He said slowly. “May I please have directions to a mage’s guild?” he continued. The civilian looked at him with a cheerful face and was eagerly happy to help. “Sure!” the man exclaimed “We have one right here, all you have to do is go along here and make a right on Dragonbane avenue. There’s a huge sign, you can’t miss it!” after which he continued to walk towards to wherever he needed to be. Leo was shocked that he had a brow up when the man said Dragonbane avenue. How quaint he thought to himself. It only affirmed his choice to put a hood over his head.

So it is that he had finally reached home. The guild he had fathered for years. Leo woke Lina up to tell her that they have arrived. “Now as we agreed, contain your excitement and behave yourself, ok?” Leo remarked to the waking child. “Ok…” She replied clearly still sleepy. Lina got off the wagon while Leo unloaded all their stuff onto a trolley he brought out from beneath the wagon while  the sword was holstered onto Leo’s back. He pushed the trolley through the oaken doors that opened for him. He looked around the impressive brick structure and we delightedly impressed to see what was before him. The guild, though had lesser people in it, was actually a well-behaved lot. They weren’t as rowdy as they were back in the day when lightning and fire reigned supreme and when booze flowed like a vast ocean. He even giggled that somehow, most were drinking juice. “Hmmm…” a sound of approval escaped him at the conclusion of his observation. Meanwhile, Lina stood behind him all along, not saying a word. Behaving herself as per her father’s instruction.

Leo looked towards the right to see a counter that had the request board behind it. Clearly it was an area of business and so Leo pushed his items towards it, stopping in front of the desk with no person manned there. He looked at the numerous jobs posted at the request board, picking one he would like to do with someone from the guild so as to see their strength. And he thought of no one better to showcase this than the current Guild Master, whoever it could be as Leo still does not know who he, or she is. And finally he saw one he particularly liked. “Meteor, huh?” he muttered beneath his breath. Afterwards, an attendant approached Leo. “Hello.” Greeting the personnel behind the desk which was a man. They all looked at Leo not bothering to ask any questions regarding anything but business. “Hi, how can we help you?” he replied. “We’re merchants from another town and we would like to sell these two barrels.” Leo announced to him while tapping on one of the barrels. “These are the finest aged palm wines in all of Fiore, along with the recipe for its production.” He added. “These go for 100,000 Jewels a bottle back home.” The man’s eyes widened. If they were indeed this expensive, they must be this good. “I see…” The man replied trying to find composure to hide the excitement at such beautiful business he happened upon. “And what would you like in return?” he asked.

“Simply to let my daughter and I stay here for a while and that you hand me that job request.” Leo answered, pointing to the job he had eyed a while ago. The man looked towards where Leo was pointing and gasped. “But sir, that is a job for members of this guild only.” He rebutted. “I know…” Leo said while motioning him to calm down and listen with his left hand. “Which is why I will seek the aid of your Guild Master. Surely that person’s up to the challenge of a 100-Year quest, right?” He added while he looked at the man who clearly didn’t know what to do because he was stuttering. “Let’s make it simple, shall we? This is an important transaction. A billion, even trillions, or more jewels worth of transaction. Surely, you’d need to alert the guild master about this. So I ask that you please ask him to see me so this can be arranged properly and quickly, please? I’ll give you a 20% tip if that helps hasten this.” Finally, the man relented and grabbed the request from the board and went to fetch the Guild Master, but not before asking Leo and Lina to stay by the desk to which they humbly followed.

Post WC: 2,772
Total WC: 2,772

... Paperwork. You would think that Mura had started getting into this ‘paperwork’ occupation a while ago, right? You would think that he had begun signing stuff concerning the guild along with his Guildmaster and Aces, right? You would think that he knew how to sign anything that wasn’t written in Midian, right? You would think that he would have mentally prepared himself for these signings, readings and contracts, right? He had to officially inform the mayor of Clover Town that the ‘Forsworn’ were taken care of via a letter, but it just hit him… he maliciously sucked at writing in Fiorian. It was a crime to look at. Nobody deserved this inability.

“H-Hey, Zirconis… you know how to write in Fiorian, right?” Mura desperately asked his ghostly pal next to his head. The green dragon head that floated around rose an eyebrow and answered: “Yes, of course.” No more had to be said, for Mura needed that skill right now. This was the first piece of paper that he had to write on, so Zirconis leaked into his ear and merged souls, allowing Mura to use his capabilities. A tad overkill to utilize the powers of an ancient dragon to write on a piece of paper, given by the greenish scales that grew out on Mura’s face, arms and legs, but at the very least, he signed it down with ease now. Maybe he should ask his little sister figure, Sorano, to tutor him in Fiorian handwriting…

“Master Mura, if I may interrupt- what happened to your face?” the man who came from the bar walked in and asked. He hadn’t seen Mura’s magic in much action like this, so he was fair to be surprised by the Acnologia-looking face of his. “H-Huh?” Mura asked quickly. “O-Oh, a man and his daughter are asking for your audience… it appears that they want to go on a 100-Year quest. Kinda irresponsible to bring a child into it, if you ask me, but ANYWAY-” Mura nodded quickly in response and was set on going down to see what elaboration that awaited to be brought out about all of this. It was new to hear about a man and his daughter wanting to go on a 100-Year quest.

The elevator lead Mura down to the guild hall where a familiar figure and his offspring waited. They probably wouldn’t have expected the shaman of all people, and Mura did not expect to see the face of his when he exited. Because that Zirconis was still fused with him, Mura’s face and arms were clad in small layers of random, green dragon scales, and his eyes were lizard-like and rather intimidating. It was an unusual appearance for the shaman, but nonetheless could many people recognize the shota with his Toad Sage Gi, his Harusame and Futsu no Small, Red Dagger. And he very quickly recognized the old face in front of him…

“… L-L-L-L-L-L-Leo?” The scene replayed in Mura’s head, the day where a blonde male returned to the guild and was challenged by a huge figure with lots of awe from the young, inexperienced shaman. A figure with a large sword known as Leonard, one of the previous… not even. The First. The Father of Fairy Tail. And his hoodie did a piss poor job at hiding his face. Kyuken next to Mura's face was able to recognize Leo even better with that old man perk.

His face brightened up, and he was about to cry of joy. “I-It really is you! I never thought I'd say this, but you've changed since back then… I-I mean, spiritually, yeah!” He was in a tad shock that clouded the inner changes in Leo's auric structure, however.

Leo figured he didn't have to wait long for the new Master to show up. The hall was particularly small compared to its previous iterations, and he was really appreciating this compact design. Surely this small space would mean lesser people. Though I hate to have our family's number dwindle, this would also mean that people are closer to each other. Close-knit as they would say. And I love that more. he though to himself while still looking at the peaceful surrounding laid out before him as Lina was humming behind her, sitting atop one of the barrels kicking her feet up and down.

About two minutes went by and Leo thought he should stop starring before it becomes too suspicious. He must remember he came here as a merchant. Blow this cover and people might just freak out. After all, they did name an avenue after him. With this thought in mind, Leo slowly turned around and faced the business desk leaning at it and keeping his head down, though even at this point he is not yet worried because there doesn't seem to be familiar faces around. Well, like he thought earlier, not yet... Because though it would seem that there is nothing to worry about this disciplined and behaved people now, the spirit Fairy Tail never changes, it only adds the qualities of its members throughout its existence. Meaning the old rowdiness might emerge. Leo doesn't know this, but he is careful not to take any chances. At this point he's had different scenarios playing out in his head about what happens if he were to pull back his hood and reveal that the first master was there. Most end up with most of the guild being wasted. And he didn't dare be the reason for the guild to back to their ways and erase the hard work of the current person in charge. Or people. Leo does consider that possibility that more than one person contributed to this beautiful change.

Finally, after a brief moment of Leo being alone with his thoughts, and Lina waving the wooden sword holstered to her side around as if drawing a cute unicorn or something, they heard a ding which prompted both to look towards the elevator. Leo leaned away from the desk and his entire body faced towards its direction. While Lina pushed herself up and away from the barrel, landing on the ground and walked towards her father's left side.  From the elevator, a man emerged covered in green dragon scales and had eyes that of a lizard. But what made Leo smile and widen his eyes was the familiar presence coming from him. It didn't matter that, yeah great, someone from the old days might recognize him and he's not sure how he will react. What mattered to him was that he was proud. Proud that his children are doing well for themselves. Lina on the other hand simply tilted her head and pout in wonder as to why the man approaching looks the way he does.

"Mura Kensho..." he muttered from underneath his breath that made smirk with pride. In the meantime, Lina giggled with joy and Leo looked at her, wanting to know why. "Hey dad, it's cool that the Master's a lizard-man. That means there has to be more diverse kinds of people here,right?" Lina said to her father in a rather positive tone, ignorant to the fact that the master had his magic ability in use. Leo was shocked, he laughed at her daughter's remark on Mura being a lizard-man so he tried to explain "What? Hahaha Lina, no. He's not a lizard-man. You see, what's ---" sadly, he was cut off when Mura got close to recognize the hooded figure that wanted to see him.

“… L-L-L-L-L-L-Leo?” he stuttered to what looked to Leo to be in disbelief. Leo remembers the first time he met the young shaman. He was no longer Guild Master even then, but still, to him, all of Fairy Tail is his children. And it is his responsibility as a parent to remember them. This strong sense of fatherhood at a young age to a guild helped Leo a lot in raising Lina all on his own. That aside, he was also really worried about the current disguise he has on. I mean, really? Just a hood over his face? Sure, Leo thought it looked cool but he was smarter than that. Maybe he thought it’ll work like it always did during his years of journey, but Mura did recognize Leo easily. For it appears those who knew him in the past would have shared a special bond with all they have met in Fairy Tail, and if this continues the entire guild might be in uproar. Leo must quell this immediately before it was too late --- “I-It really is you!” Oof, too late. It appears to be getting worse too. From what Leo can tell, Mura was about to cry. Leo motioned his left arm up and made gesture with his hand, moving down and back to where it was only to be moved back down as if saying to take it down a notch, and no one can see it but Leo was actually sweating from under his hood, his cover was about to be blown if he doesn't act fast. It certainly doesn't help that Lina was giggling beside her, obviously trying to contain her laughter from how funny a teary lizard-man looks to her as a gesture to keep her promise to her father that she'd behave herself.

"Calm down, Mura. he said nervously and yet still poised and calm with his actions and voice, but he looks almost as if he begging him to do so. "Yes it's me, I'm back. But please... Keep it down. We don’t want this place to end up like back then do, we? Master?” he added, hoping it would speed things up. “I never thought I’d say this, but you’ve changed since back then… I-I mean, spiritually, yeah!” Shocked, Leo’s eyes widened he looked down for a few seconds, shading his face more than he did. Yet, in a comical sense and in a fit of nostalgia of his former self, possibly that came from meeting an old friend he had the moment to think Hmmm. Maybe it only work if I lower my head like this. Yeah maybe that… Afterwards he looked up again with a fatherly smile, proud at the level of power his “son” now possesses. ”You were able to sense that, huh? I’m so proudly impressed, Mura.” he said to him while holding his right shoulder with his left hand for in this area, underneath his clothing, lies the source of this change Mura detected. ”But you have no need to worry…” he remarked, trying to lift his spirits up with this comforting truth. After all, he was happy to see Leonard Dragonbane. ” Whatever it is you felt is just a part of me growing up. Even as adults we still need to grow up, like you. All grown up now.” he added trying to prove his point and change the subject to a far better one.

After his short explanation, Leo sighed and removed his hand from his shoulder and placed it on Lina’s. ”Oh, and by the way, is my daughter Lina.” Lina gave Mura a big smile and a huge wave after which she said Hi, Lizard-man Mura! Nice to meet you! I'm Lina Lightbringer!" she exclaimed.

Leo did a face palm and sighed for he never got the chance to explain to her why Mura looks the way he does. Leo knelt down and patted Lina twice then rested his hand on her head "No sweetie, I wasn't able to tell you. But that's your uncle Mura's magic. He has connections with spirits and they fuse with him giving him their abilities and appearances. And that's not a lizard, that's a dragon." he said to her calmly up until the part he said that it was a dragon, trying to give it emphasis on how much of a big deal it was."Ooooohhhhh!" her face widened in wonder into learning something new and interesting. "I'm still calling him Uncle Lizard-man Mura. Hehe" she added.

Leo laughed and looked down before standing back up to talk to Mura more "You'll have to forgive her. She remembers people better by giving them nicknames based on her first impression of them. And the name never changes. Believe me, I've tried. But getting back to business, I know I said I'd do a job with you. But that can wait, what I'd really love to do is to talk about how everything is going on here. And are there any people I should take note of? Officials, maybe? Aces? We can talk it over drinks. Here, I even brought the good palm wine from back then. I had barrels at my old shack because I make them myself. And you best believe, with the years it been sitting there, this has a mean kick to it." he said excitingly with a smile on his face, tapping on one of the barrels.

Post WC: 1,539
Total WC: 4,311

Oh, Lizard-Man? That was right, Mura did resemble a draconic humanoid in this state, and it was often his trump card, but Sword-Man would’ve suited him better, right? Maybe he should just end the spirit fusion between him and Zirconis already, but he still had most of his attention to Leo and his daughter… holy crap, he had a daughter now. That was a big thing!

Mura’s eyes shone to the little angel who accompanied the previous Guildmaster. He remembered when another Guildmaster was said to get a child, and how merry the spirit was in Fairy Tail back then. It did beg the question; what had happened to Leonard, and was he… like, fine? Okay? Mura had to think of many things, since… well, the guild had surely changed for the better in his opinion, but it still was a change. And Leonard was an elder who had seen, experienced and fought for much longer than Mura had.

His excitement did tone down per Leo’s honored request. He seemed to warn Mura of what the place could turn out into if people got news of Leonard’s return… oh boy, a lot of guests. Lots of them. Noise and rather too many carefree toddlers in a guild of mercenaries. Then again, he was quite the carefree one, himself, so he couldn’t help but feel a little self-aware. Such double standards, Mura… what a hypocrite.

“O-Oh… sure, yeah, of course,” he replied quietly with both hands clapped together in a praying fashion to excuse the outburst. He and Zirconis, however, were having a conversation in their own realm inside Mura’s mind when the two of them were merged:

“What are you on about, now? Is this guy a Fairy Tail Wizard?”
“Well, yeah… more than that, actually. He’s… he was the First Master. He’s the Founder of Fairy Tail.”
“… Wait, how old does that make him?”
“I don’t know, maybe he’s immortal- wait, that doesn’t even matter! He’s back, he’s back to Fairy Tail! H-How do I… I need to tell him so much. S-So much happened during his absence…”
“Hmh, there really are many things that you need to keep him up to date with.”

Mura felt like that D-Rank toddler again, 12 years old and strolling around the guild hall right after having completed his first quest. Harusame being taller than himself. Back when Kyuken was his only spirit partner. Back when Heero was somewhere drinking and along Kanix, Gamon, Ken, Sorano, Hana-chwan, Corinn, Alyia, Cereth, Éclair, Ezreal, Miyuki, Hera & Haru… c’mon, keep that tear in. It wasn’t in character for Mura to shed a tear out of nostalgia.

Leo noticed the growth in Mura. He even complimented the shaman’s sharp sense of magical prowess, dismissing the change in soul as part of growing up just like everyone else. It was… a tad suspicious, but Mura dismissed it just as quickly. He bowed down to Lina and met her heart-warming greeting: “The honor’s mine. My name’s Mura Kensho.” She seemed in high spirits, befitting of a young child like her… and again with that Lizard-Man.

Mura decided to stay in his dragon form, for it appeared to leak into Lina’s familiar view of him. Although, he father attempted to explain things to her, but it fell short as she had been stuck on Lizard-Man. Mura couldn’t help but giggle as he found her very naïve, which was irresistibly adorable in these corners.

“It’s okay…” he assured Leo. In his heart, Mura wanted to let it all out and explain how things were where they were now, and now was a good time since Leo had brought some barrels of palm wine, which the shaman safely concluded that he had never tried before. “Wow… I-I have a lot to keep you informed with. Okay, then,” he replied with a wry smile as he tapped from one of the barrels, then picked up Lina out of nowhere, found himself a seat at a table near the bar corner and just let her sit on his lap like a grandfather. As soon as Leo found his seat and drink, then Mura would begin his speech… but he felt the lack of courage in his heart. It was as if he was full of sorrow for a moment only to let it pass by like a random thought from a distant past. No, Mura was stronger than that. He truly was…

Leo wanted to know how things were, and Mura would deliver:

“I… things are going very great nowadays. We’ve gotten quite a couple new recruits this month alone; this guy, Ghost, who likes science and portals - who might just be the daughter of a high-standing noble who possesses a type of Ghost Magic *shivers* and another lady who can drink more than Kyuken… probably due to her Dragon Slayer tolerance, but who knows. A-Anyway, I don’t think that there are others than me and Sorano whom you’d recognize; we have an Ace named Nessa Cordelia Lux who’s a real sugar star and easy to get along with, and our other Ace, Arcadia Fairchilde, might appear a little young and childish, but she’s great and definitely a mate to rely on… she… she does remind me of a Dragon Slayer version of you, little Lina.” Mura couldn’t help but bop Lina’s nose upon saying that, “And many other guildmates are now part of our family, like Aven with his circles that can do everything, Althea who’s more bratty than Arcadia, Winchas and her fawning over her guns and creations, Garnet & Emperor - they’re pretty short and big-eyed, you can easily recognize them - and I haven’t got to talk with everyone, but I’m sure that Sorano has enrolled a few more… even though she was elected Guildmaster first, I kind of feel like I’m sharing that position with her. B-But we’re actually doing great, I’d just let you know that… but it hasn’t always been the case.” Taking a deep breath, Mura would then continue:

“We… we’re a mercenary guild now. And, uh… Heero’s dead, if you hadn’t heard.” Mura looked down at the floor, “Down in the basement is his body, void for life but still connected to this guild, somehow… after his death, Kanix was elected Guildmaster, and we were exposed to something that changed our relation to the Council… perhaps forever.” He still remembered the day full of tense when a small, frightened girl who barely appeared capable of hurting an ant was revealed to have been carrying the title Coming Storm while being a Fairy Tail Wizard. She was possessed by some kind of demon… that bastard. He ruined her life.

“This girl… Lucie… she was a member of ours. But one day, she turned out to have been a Coming Storm all along, and the Council gave us an ultimatum; discard her and bring her to the Council for a sentence, or keep her and gain the enmity of the Council… she didn’t even have any control of her actions. She was never herself when she committed mass murders, and… we decided to rather want to help her get rid of whatever evil was inside of her instead of sending her to the Council.” He closed his eyes and pictured the girl with tears running down her cheeks, while a guild full of confused wizards - him and Sorano included - were contemplating on what to do. That was when Kanix decided…

“We wanted to help her. She was a Fairy Tail Wizard, she was our little sister who needed our help more than a place in jail… she actually had a demon inside of her that we wanted to cleanse her of, but… I’ve never seen a darker tone in the guild after the day when the Council labelled us a ‘Dark Guild’…” Mura took a sip of his drink, and with that, his thoughts and pictures lived up and motioned right in front of his eyes. The poster on the walls of the Cathedral and streets saying ‘Fairy Tail Outlawed!’. Maybe it was the alcohol - oh boy, this drink was stronger than Mura expected - but… he felt like he was in a daze.

A daze of grieving over the past that should’ve been kept away in his memory. No matter how bright things looked today, he could never really forget the effort and sacrifices that they put into the future…

Content with simply observing the exchange between Lina and Mura, Leo stood there with pride as he noticed that the welcoming spirit of Fairy Tail still endures through the times. Granted the visuals are different from before, but Leo knew its still there. As if he was starring back at an older hall. A wooden one with a high ceiling and him overlooking a large bar filled to the brim with his family of mages, with their voices and arms raised up. Yes this was home, and it was more relaxing too this time around.

Leo laughed as Lina made a Weeeeee sound as she was picked up by her uncle. Her eyes were closed and her arms and feet stretched out as she was being lifted towards the air. Indeed Leo was always happy to see Lina be a ten year old that she was. Because there are times that she talks too grown up for her age, especially when it came to things related to his past and whenever he is reminded of his daughter's unbreakable vow and promise to him. That she would be his light bringer, she would be the one to restore hope to him. And though Leo would often mention that she already has, on that faithful day she was brought to him, Lina would remark that she has still has a lot more ways to go. That she still had to restore the light. Honestly, Leo wishes that she would slow down sometimes, and enjoy her childhood.

Mura made his way to the corner of the bar while Leo simply followed behind. Even as he moved through the crowd, the mages from Fairy Tail barely took a glance. And it was going well so far, no unwanted attention, no disturbances. At this point it looks like it really is no big deal who he is, but he a cautious one. Not one to really take a chance. Not in this place especially.

As they got settled down in their seats, with Lina on Mura's lap, happily holding on to his uncle, and nudging the scales on his body, really curious on them, Mura began to talk about all that has transpired and the new family members that have joined in in their little guild. While Leo opened up the lid off one of the barrels, the smell ooze out so quickly once the top came off. The savory smell of the wine made its way to Leo, making him lean towards and sniff while waving his hand around by the wrist as if guiding it to his nostrils. Yes... that is perfect... he muttered. The fellow from the business desk even handed them two glasses. And even placed a huge box filled with juice boxes for Lina to enjoy. She took a straw with one hand and pierced a box with it before picking it up all just so she can still hold on to Mura.

And thus began the recollection. Mura had started off with news regarding their current roster. He had mentioned a lot of new names to Leo. All with their own unique abilities and personalities. This Ghost person particularly makes Mura shiver and is interested to find out why. He then continued on to say that there is another with whom Leo could potentially be close to, since they both like drinking so much. Which, upon Leo's assessment, is rare considering there's a lot of juice boxes around. What is up with that? But despite the shocking news regarding Sorano and Mura being the only ones left from before caused Leo to pause in great concern, still listening to what Mura was saying. They're the only ones left? What could have happened to the others? Nightken? Kanix? Gamon? Alyia? Heero? I mean, Heero would have definitely stayed. He's Heero after all. Anyways, Mura had moved on to a list of people who were the guild's aces. People that Leo would definitely have to meet for he must know what they're personalities are. To see that it wasn't only their power that made them aces, but also their hearts. For it has always been the heart that was important for him. Nessa Cordelia Lux and Arcadia Fairchilde were their names. Leo rubbed his chin as he took a mental note of them and though he has no clue regarding Nessa's magic, Mura mentioned that Arcadia was a dragon slayer for his remark that he made towards Lina as he bopped her nose that made her take off the straw from her mouth and giggle. Out loud. A sight that made Leo chuckle as he watched and listened.

Mura continued on to mention the other members of the guild, and perhaps a few others that were stamped by the mark by Sorano. Though they were the only ones left, he is content with seeing those that stayed heads the guild now.

Then... Came an atmosphere of distress and seriousness as Mura took a deep breath. One that prompted Lina to let go off Mura and carry her box of juices somewhere else. Heading towards the same employee from before that was meeting her half way. And before Mura could even start, Leo had already a slight idea of what it was about.

And he was right. It was about Lucie and Kanix's decision. One decision he had been able to stay for before wandering out. An event though he only had a vague recollection of, remembers the parts he can recall as if they were yesterday.

At the end of it all, Leo had already drank 4 glasses worth of palm wine and he was still ok. Mura on the other hand looked like he had more despite sipping only once. Which was funny since he could get him wasted with the stuff earlier than he though to bring their spirits back up. With a gentle pat on the table Leo remarked proudly as a father, and gladly as a Fairy Tail mage. "I heard no bad news there. I mean sure the guild went through a tough time but it was all worth it. Because Fairy Tail means being there for each other. For you comrade, friends, siblings... Family. Our values and virtues mean more than a piece of paper that says 'Legal'. So! Let's drink to Fairy Tail." after a while filling his glass with another shot which he raised slightly above the table, wanting it to clash with Mura's before he chug it down.

Post WC: 991
Total WC: 5,302

A portal opened from Arcadia's room in Fairy Hills to the guild hall across the way. The barefoot slayer could not say she was representative of the more recent generations of mages to come through Fairy Tail. She had only been aware of the modern Earth-land for year. Any history more than a year old was only familiar to her if she had read about it or heard stories about. To Arcadia, whoever lent their name to Dragonbane Ave., was probably as long dead and forgotten as all her friends and family in Dragnof, the long dead nation of her birth. Even though she was now 15, to Arcadia's disappointment, she had not grown one bit in the last year.

At the moment, Arcadia could look upon an undisguised Leo and go, Leo who? Once she learned the truth though... the merchandising possibilities could be endless.

She awoke this day quite late, having a brand new distribution deal for movie lacrimas that took most of the night to pull together. It was long past time for Aces to be out of bed, but she felt she earned a little time to sleep in. Still, Arcadia knew she could not sleep the whole day away. She slogged out of that portal in nightgown and robe, her pale blonde hair frizzy and unbrushed, and her usually sparkling faerie green eyes hanging half-lidded in semi-sleep.

Half awake as she was, Arcadia was already on her iLac to get a head start on finalizing that distribution deal. Normally she would wash up and get dressed before heading over to her office in the guild hall. This morning she felt the need for a little juice slush treat before truly getting ready for the day. With the help of her scissors, the handles poking from her robe pocket, it was no more than a walk across the room to get her slush and head back to her dorm to get ready.

The portal closed behind her, as she picked up spoon from behind the bar. Without looking up from her iLac, she greeted those she recognized by scent, Mura and the on duty bar staff. Her voice was the groggy croak of the sleeping dead. "Hey Muwa. Hey Fred."

Arcadia might have noted the new scents, but they could have easily been potential clients. Sadly, dismissed at first sniff by an overtired and pre-occupied mind. The barefoot slayer picked out a strawberry lemonade juice box. Laying her iLac briefly on the bar, she used her slayer strength to stab the spoon through the top end of the juice box. Concentrating magic power until her palm holding the juice box, she flash froze it through and through. Peeling the box off the frozen strawberry lemonade in brittle little pieces, she had an instant popsicle.

The young barefoot slayer picked up her iLac and stared wide eyed at a text she hadn't read yet. Whatever it said, Arcadia was abruptly awake. She tapped the message to call whoever sent it. Her voice more clear and weirdly intense, "Yes. Good morning to you as well. And I can understand that."

"That as well. It's just that I already spent all night going over all of this with your people, and I was under the impression we had come to a deal. The option for a MarVen feature length project was going to be left to be negotiated later."

"Yes, Sir. Five movies. And yes, if they don't work out, we're still open to a single deal on MarVen. We just still need to work out a few details with the author. Mhm great!  Glad we could clear that up too, Sir.  Ta-"

The end of her conversation was abruptly cut being heard in the good hall as Arcadia had open a portal back to her room, taking her iLac and instant popsicle with her. The portal immediately closed behind the barefoot slayer.

Not sixteen seconds later, a smaller portal opened up. It was just big enough for Arcadia's sparkling faerie green gaze plus her mildly embarrassed face to peep through. She glanced between Lina and Leo and Mura. She smiled sheepishly, her voice softer and almost timid"Oh.. Uh. I did smell new peoples. I'm sorry, Mura. Just give me a minute and I'll join the welcoming committee."

The little portal closed and about three minutes later and guilt dressed Arcadia emerged from another briefly open portal, wearing her usual soft pink dress with blue over parks about her waist and matching soft pink capelet. She was still barefoot, and her hair a mess, but she held a skin wand in one hand and her strawberry lemonade popsicle in the other. With wand, she cast an enchantment that straightened out her hair and produced tons of ribbons tied in bows all through her long, long blonde locks. She slipped the wand away, and smiled brightly "I usually save that enchantment for grooming cats, but it'll do. Hey, I'm Arcadia!"

Fairy Tail… during its days as an officially dark guild, Mura started seeing those who brought him into the guild - his previous Guildmaster Heero, Kanix, Nightken, Gamon, Corliss, Julius, Miyuki, Alyia, Éclair, Cereth, and many others simply put on the label ‘people of the past’ on their foreheads as they no longer were found in the guild hall anymore. He could still remember his rather desperate attempt at Tetsukazu, wanting to deal with Ren - the demon that was taking over Lucie’s body and causing her to take on the title Coming Storm. Essentially the sheltered nemesis of the entire guild who brought it to such a low state in society and changed it forever, and… and… Mura couldn’t save her. In the end, after drying himself out for mana to do what he was best at - taking down entities within one’s soul - Lucie felt that all she could do was leave the guild and take her influence with herself. To choose such solitude for the sake of her family… he truly never regretted anything more than that time. That weak, despicable state of helplessness, watching your family - a family that Mura had taken years to accept due to his previous favoritism over his actual, blood-related family - crumble to a handful of deserters actually sliced him down. And oh, how good he was at hiding his indescribable sorrow in front of people…

Sorano meant so much to him. He never cared what she felt or what she lacked to feel. He still remembered their first mission together and her cold-hearted ‘I couldn’t care less about you or the guild’ comment, and he accepted that. And today, she was a Guildmaster. He didn’t know why it never bothered him, that comment from her heart, but it just… he felt like he knew what she had sacrificed to reach such a state of focus and indifference, and he was good at giving her the space that she needed. No matter what she ever thought of him, he saw her as his absolute closest friend today. His cute little sister that no mother could ever give him… as if his mother was even around anymore. Things started looking brighter with the guild and those two, for he had been there to watch and raise it up to the level of power that it was today. He was no longer the foreigner who stumbled upon the guild after a month of travelling from Midi to Fiore; he was a parent.

And so was Leo… why wouldn’t Mura be delighted beyond human capacity to see his Father return?

That was why it hurt so much to think back to those times. And yet… Leo’s words soothed his pain and warmed his heart. For Fairy Tail did mean being there for each other. Mura was there for everybody, and so was Sorano and every other member. It was a trait that the guild could never remove.

Upon clashing his glass with Leo’s, he took another sip and began hiccupping. Yup, the alcohol had affected him now, and he was likely going to show more signs from this point on. “F-For Fairy Tai- *hiccup*… d-damn, how drink is very strong…” he commented, “I-I believe that we brightened up quickly… w-we Fairy Tail Wizards aren’t so easy to break. H-Hec- *hiccup* we even have a place on another planet now.” All in all, it was a rite of passage now. And they passed the test of time.

… Arcadia-chan seemed to be busy with a lot. Her embarrassed expression- nah, he wouldn’t want to ask about that and waited for her one minute preparation. Once she returned with cute ribbons locking her hair, he invited her: “C-Come and sit down with us, Arca-chan *hiccup* w-what’s in this, really?”

“A-Anyway… it took a while for us to return to Fiore again as a guild - we didn’t particularly prefer living in Tetsukazu, which is the planet’s name - but a lot of people had gotten suspicious of our actions back then and didn’t truly trust us to just continue being all-too-favored Fairy Tail. My head… it-it was only after we shoo’d off a siege by Savage Skull that the town renewed their friendliness towards us.” Yeah, that whole ordeal was one of the defining objects that leant the guild’s motives towards a more broad, mercenary-for-sell status. A status that the guild had never even been close to having before; good-old Fairy Tail as mercenaries? Who could imagine that? And honestly, most people here in Magnolia treated the guild all the same - as the happy-go-lucky powerhouses with a lot of points in the ‘Collateral Damage’ skill tree.

“It was led by a woman under the name of Marceline… and they even aimed to take back Lichborne’s Mask,” he elaborated. The mask of the idol of Savage Skull from its bloody past, Lichborne, was the primary target in that siege. “And they actually got their hands on it… but we got it back. Thanks to a very loyal member… and, if the term is right, double-agent. I hope that she’s doing well, wherever she is right now…”

Frey Rune. Seemingly Marceline’s own daughter who betrayed her mother and Savage Skull to bring back the mask of death to Fairy Tail. And now, it was locked down in the vault under the heaviest surveillance and protection. “Urggghh… L-L-Lina, w-what are you doing w-with that p-portal?” He was looking and aiming his eyes at Arcadia, though, having gotten to the point where he couldn’t distinguish between the two appearances. “A-And why do you have r-r-ribbons? S-Since when did y-you get rib-buns… hehehehehe.” Randomly standing up from the chair, Mura’s magic leaked off of his body as the greenish scales slowly cracked off and crumbled away, turning his eyes back to the normal, amber-brown glow and with a lot of reddish nuances on his face.

Now, a dark-purplish aura coated him. Alright, the magic of Hades himself decided to accompany Mura in his drunk mode. “… I-I’m not a g-good d-d-d-d-d- *pause* … d-drinker, other people w-would fare better… w-wait…” Despite having a hilarious daze, Mura looked down in realization. There were people whom he and Leonard knew… who weren’t around anymore.

“… D-Did you hear about, uhm, Heero?” he asked the elder swordsman, “H-He’s at the basement now… he f-fought Acnologia, and… and… he didn’t make it… urrgghhh, I r-really hate this thought.” Holding his right side of his face with a hand, Mura began to sob. Kyuken and Zirconis were out of comments and just watched this rare moment as tears escaped Mura’s eye sockets. “I-I miss them so much… t-time is passing way too f-fast, I… I… I miss Heero. I miss K-Kanix. I miss Alyia. I miss Ken-Ken… m-my head hurts…”

Leo held his glass for a brief moment as he looked on to Mura. He can see the pain this reminiscing is causing. Completely not what he had intended, because he had assumed there would be more good news than bad solely based on the fact that there was still a guild to come back to. He didn't know the effects of Kanix's decisions had, and if he was here for it, maybe things would've gone differently than it did. He took a glimpse around the hall and wondered on while scanning through the faces of the mercenaries present and at the corner of his eye, what looked to be a portal? He wasn't sure, but it was magic none were alarmed about despite being so overt. Then it looked as if Mura has had his spirits raised and he finally raised his glass with Leo's.

After the clash, he chugged the sour liquid caressing his throat with its acidic taste. Leo has begun to show signs of drunkenness after this 5th serving. Being fermented that long has caused the supposedly sweet, fragrant wine with only 4% alcoholic content into a far stronger version being a bit dizzy due to the liquid. Mura wasn't fairing any better either his speech was becoming slurred and was hiccuping a lot. He laughed at what he saw, making him remember his younger years at Fairy Tail, the rowdy and festive years."Yes. For Fairy Tail. Yeah! Really? A new place huh? I would love to see that someday." he replied to all of Mura's slurring. At the same time, the portals that Leo has spotted earlier had been popping back up and again near them and he was really curious why, until one portal nearby gave him the chance to peer through it and saw a pair of cute green eyes briefly before closing again, only to open a portal a bit bigger for a girl about the size as Lina to come through. Immediately, he assumed this was the esteemed Arcadia Fairchilde the slayer Mura mentioned earlier, proven correct by his invitation to join them "Hello Arcadia, I'm Leo. Nice to meet you." he replied, standing up and reaching his right hand for a shake. "That's palm wine fermented so long it turned sour and strong. Normally I only ferment it to the point that it's sweet. But this is delicious." replying to Mura's question.

Continuing to listen to the stories from Mura, Leo was not a one bit surprised that once again, Savage Skull, an exact opposite to the one legal guild Fairy Tail, though it appears they were a blessing in disguise, for they have given the guild the opportunity to elevate the reputation somewhat.

Nodding proudly to the news and details that transpired during Savage Skull's latest attack. Indeed Savage Skull would want nothing more than to be resurrected along with their fallen lord, Lichborne. And if there's one thing Leo has learned while wandering, is that evil will always find a way. And if that helm of that dastardly being still lingers in these halls, he must be ready to defend it. But he was worried about the ominous effects the mask had. If memory serves, that mask corrupts all it touches. Perhaps those effects have been purged? After all, years have passed and not an accident occurred.

As their drinking went on, Mura was getting worse so much so that he had mistaken Arcadia for Lina that he could keep his chuckle at bay for long and just let it ride out. Happily.

Despite being in a tipsy state himself, Leo still opted for another glass. And as he was about to drink it, Mura suddenly emanated a purple aura that raised concern. He put down his glass and patted Mura on the back trying to ease his drunkenness out, even so much as holding his hair back, perhaps this is the part where things get really real and emotional.

And emotional it was, for Mura has finally revealed Heero's fate. His body a statue in the basement, Leo cursed himself for not being able to be there during Acnologia's attack. He remembered starring the approaching darkness down, Slayer's bane - a black katana reforged from the legendary sword Dragonbane - in hand ready. The darkness in his soul picked a really bad time to act up that day.

Things are starting to look really bad for Mura who appeared to be having a mental breakdown, and Leo needed to calm him down and ease him off. So he hugged him tightly, keeping him warm, and murmuring to him that's everything is okay but what he clearly said "I miss them too Mura... I miss them too. Kanix, Alyia, Ken, Heero, even his sister, Alye. I miss them all And if they were here, they'd tell you to get a hold of yourself, be strong and hold your head up high for the future. This your time, my son."

Post WC: 832
Leo's Total: 6,134

Arcadia casually took a nearby seat, occasionally slurping in her makeshift strawberry lemonade popsicle. She didn't know Leo and Lina, but it appeared Mura did. The barefoot slayer decided to listen in, and see if she couldn't learn a thing or two about them before speaking up more herself.

She smiled to Lina, "I can make a popsicle gripe you too, sweetie. Of course, I havta admit most of the juice we got is hella boss even when it's not frozen." Depending on Lina's answer, Arcadia would gladly only freeze a juice box of Lina's choice into an instant popsicle too or not. Either way, she sat back and listened back in, enjoying her own popsicle.

What she heard was rather interesting, learning a little more about that mask Freya had returned. When the mask was brought back the barefoot slayer had been there, but not much had been said specifically about it at the time. All she knew about Lichborne and Savage Skull was that they were bad news in the past. It all added extra perspective to what she knew already.

Being a teenager she, she didn't really see herself as a little girl any more, though she did see someone like Lina who was four or five years her junior as one. So Arcadia's face did not look amused when Mura mistook her for Lina.

Arcadia is not amused:

Arcadia's young face relaxed to mortal again, the slayer letting that one slide. Taking a deep breath, the barefoot slayer thought she would answer the drunken master despite his faux pas. "You know I often use my dimensional scissors when I'm tired, or getting around the elevators or just feeling lazy. The ribbons though... I got this nifty little wand. I think Nessa got one too. It's hella sweet. It does little enchantments like float things around. It makes brushing and adjoining chute little cats with ribbons go much faster. Was first time I tried using it to brush MY hair. The ribbons were just reflex." She grinned sheepishly for a second, "Silly things happen when you hurry."

The barefoot slayer quietly retreated back to her popsicle, quietly listening again... and plotting.  On second and third thought, she decided she couldn't let being mistaken for a ten year old slide after all. Next time she caught Mura napping in the guild hall, he would wake up with bows in HIS hair. She wished to avoid doing anything mean spirited, but it was the perfect excuse to let her mischievous side free.

Listening to Mura fall into an emotional downward spiral did not dissuade her from her little plot. It merely lead her to postpone her mischief until a layer time when Mura was in higher spirits. It could not be the good natured prank it was meant to be if her guild brother was feeling low.

Arcadia's own spirits fell hard the instant her former idol, Acnologia, came up. Her young visage turned crestfallen, and her faerie green eyes watered up. She had sobbed herself out a couple times over since she awakened from her magical hibernation so she was quietly teary rather than truly crying.

As one of the last original dragon slayers to be trained in ancient Dragnof, a younger Arcadia heaped tons of hero worship on Acnologia.  That was back when Acnologia was still more human than monstrous dragon. The pride of a kingdom built on proving what dragons and humans could accomplish together.

Quietly Teary Arcadia:

Arcadia was not used to seeing Mura so low, and if she weren't joining him on that emotional low the slayer might have been more surprised how close he and this Leo person seemed. A teary slayer wished, ”If I had been strong enough to help my mom stop Acnologia, then none of that would have happened.” Sh dried her faerie green gaze on the back of one hand, offering a warm smile toward Mura, ”Then again... no matter how much I really miss my mom and all my friends and  my home in Dragnof, I dunno that I would trade everything I have now to get it back. If my mom had stopped Acnologia back then, instead of Acnologia tearing her soul out, then I would never met you or  Nessa or Aven or or Thea or  Rina or Ms. Sorano or anyone in my third family here in Fairy Tail.”

Mura was not one to break down and cry… usually. He honored self-control and a sturdy, unyielding attitude, but even he had limits, you know? It wasn’t exactly helping with drinking this palm wine, either. Whenever he thought back to his ‘junior’ days in Fairy Tail, he remembered only a group of wizards who took him in like family. A family that rivaled his love and loyalty to his Midian clan, and soon overtook it. Truly, his predecessors would’ve been proud; they had all welded Mura into the Saint of Fortitude that he was today.

This… this was something Mura hadn’t felt in ages. A father figure holding him tightly, not letting him succumb to his sadness but standing right in front of him and soothing his pain. Mura’s drenched eyes closed in slowly, letting his tears finish dropping down on Leo’s shoulder. Whatever pain of loss or home sickness, grief or sense of missing that Mura harbored in his heart, he shared with many others in the guild. And he was now their Guildmaster, so… if anything, what a more senior and experienced Master like Leo said, he should do. It was simple, but it was also comforting to know that he had a whole guild to watch over. Maybe those who’d walk these halls long after him would learn from their old past, his sudden present, Leo’s previous future…

“*sniff*… You’re right. It… doesn’t feel like me to shed tears like this,” Mura commented, “If anything, people used to come to me with personal feelings that put them at edge. I was… very good at comforting them.”

“…” Kyuken held heavy, worrying eyes on Mura after that ordeal. After having been his companion throughout his entire journey as a wizard, Kyuken got to know all of Mura’s sides, strengths, weaknesses and longings… he should be happy right now.

“Hey, now…” Mura spoke towards Arcadia. He didn’t know how, but seeing someone else sad was far different from being saddened himself. He instinctively held a thumb out to wipe the tear of hers off and spoke: “If you miss someone from your past, tell lots of stories about them and end with saying what you learned from it. That… that always helps me. Which reminds me…” Mura turned his face back to Leonard, the mage who must’ve been travelling far more than Mura himself - and Mura had been journeying between dimensions, mind you; often against his own WILL!

“I… uhh, I don’t know how to ask, but… with her being your daughter and all…” Mura threw a glance at Lina’s adorable face and couldn’t help but widen his smile a little, “… Is she a huge admirer of swords too? Did she inherit that passion from her papa?” Discreetly, Mura had already sent a clone away aw while ago to bring him something. He liked how Lina reminded him of a younger Arcadia. If one wasn’t careful, they could mistake the two of them vice versa, but Mura found himself sharp enough to avoid that issue…

…

Lina came back to the area a few moments after Arcadia arrived to happily great the Slayer with a huge smile on her face, almost covering her entire head. He was happy to see the two girls have a good time bonding. The old man’s daughter giggled wildly at Arcadia’s expression when Mura mistook the Slayer for her. The little girl hugged her senior tightly and exclaimed that she was so happy to meet her and that her name was Lina Lightbringer, and requested that she be given a popsicle of her own after witnessing Arcadia do it from afar. Leo was honestly surprised that the rest of the guild weren’t annoyed by how loud Lina’s voice was. Perhaps they were used to it? There are some younger people here after all, much like Arcadia. Now with all four of them bonding on this little humble corner of their hall, their stories continued on while Lina clinged to her new big sister which she aptly nicknamed “Cool Sister Aca”.

While all of this was going on Leo was still hugging Mura on the floor tightly even so much as patting him on the back with the occasional caress continuously trying to soothe his thoughts with shushing sounds and it looks to be working. However, Arcadia the Dragon Slayer began to feel melancholic herself at the mention of Acnologia. He looked at her and began to listen to what she had to say. And was shocked to find out a fragment of Acnologia’s backstory and was interested at the same time, especially to where Arcadia came from because he had never heard of the ancient land known as Dragnof.

Leo released one his arms from Mura to wrap it around Arcadia while she beginning to raise her own spirit up which he thought was really strong and brave of her to do despite the kind of thinking she underwent at the mention of the Black Dragon. Of course, Lina was also there to help the Slayer feel better emotionally and it all looked like a happy little family to those that would see. A slight chuckle escaped him as he thought of a wonderful and classic idea to put a smile on everyone’s face. A move that ever since the guild’s humble beginnings made everyone smile. Made coming back from a tiring job something to look forward to. Made every member of their family feel the comfort of home and peace. Made everyone feel at home.

Consuming what was left of his famous liquid from his cup, Leo excused himself and stood up to walk over the counter for food and went behind it. Naturally, the employee stationed there tried to stop him because he didn’t know who he was but he simply chuckled and softly told the employee ”Oh lad, I have more authority to be here than you’d realize. Trust me. But don’t worry, here’s triple your day’s wage for your trouble.” handing him a bag full of jewels before continuing on to find whatever ingredients there were for his fabled classic blueberry cheesecakes. Fortunately, all the ingredients and equipment were found nearby and Leo went to work mixing them up, even using the elemental powers his weapons possessed to expedite the process. He meticulously handled every mix he made to form the cream, gently placed every piece of blueberry remembering all the times he made these for people in the days of old where everything seemed so clear cut to Leo like his purpose in this world.

Not long after, Leo came back to their table with a beautiful and shiny cake for the four of them to enjoy. And when he got back, he saw Mura was now trying to comfort Arcadia even further with Lina and it warmed the old blademaster’s heart and soul even more. ”That’s really wise of you Mura. Now who’s hungry for some cake?” he announced to their table, once again making Lina show her gigantic smile asking her dad if this was the “Ellie-ssi Us-eum”. Leo laughed at his daughter’s comment but quickly corrected her and reminded her that cake had raspberries instead of blueberries, reminding her that the cake Leo had made right now was simply called “Leocake” while he placed the cake on the table, patting Lina’s head afterwards. Grabbing a knife that rested beside the cake, Leo proceeded to give hand each one a slice.

As they began to feast on the marvelous creation, sweetness balancing perfectly well the berries’ acidity, Mura asked Leo a question regarding Lina and he was more than happy to answer while his daughter made short work of her piece so she can quickly have another one. She looked to be ravaging her cake furiously and Leo knew why. It’s been 5 years since Lina had a taste of any of her father’s cakes and she was in love with them at first bite. And it was at this moment Mura began to ask about Lina, particularly if she took after him as a swordsman.

”Haha well no. Lina is more kind hearted. She wants to give the world light and hope. So she decided that per a family tradition I started, her last name will be Lightbringer. Even go as far as train and learn light magic.” he replied, pausing a while to look at Lina who in turn looked at her and they both exchange small smiles at one another. ”She sees me train with a blade every now and then and she got interested. Said she wants to be able to defend people with it too if in case she runs out of Magic Power casting light shows at people. It became one of our bonding moments as father and daughter. But yeah, she isn’t as passionate as I am.” he continued.

After which he took a look at his slice, hoping to get a piece again and eat it but was surprised to see that it was almost gone. He snapped his head to Lina, eyes glaring at her with Leo’s right brow raised. Apparently the little mischievous angel had been taking bits of her father’s cake while they were talking. The little girl just smiled at Leo which prompted him to chuckle, closed his eyes, tilting his head down shook his head before getting back up to rub the top her head with his left hand a few times before finishing what was left of his slice.

Post WC: 1,091
Leo’s total: 7,225

Arcadia smiled at Lina when  handing over the makeshift popsicle and giggled a little at the nickname. It was hard not so smile with Lina around.  Not to mention it felt kinda cool to get the be the big sister, though she never would have thought herself to be seen as one before. She might have to introduce Lina to the Magnolia Seis sometime. All non-wizard kids close to  Arcadia's age or younger by a year or two that she met playing tag out in the east Forest not long after she first joined Fairy Tail.

That and the group hug helped her forget  all about Acnologia for the time being. She finished up her juice popsicle while Leo  went to work on making cake for everyone. Even with all the magic might around the guild, she was rather in awe by how Leo put some of his to practical use baking a cake in almost no time compared to  how long it would take the normal way.  Cooking is  likely one of the things she couldn't figure out how to do with the magic she knew, no matter how much she practiced.  Her dimensional scissors on theother hand...if she ever camea across the location of lava pools...

She let such thoughts drift away for later. It was time for cake! Arcadia happily dug in, and with a slayer's  appetite, she practically inhaled her first few bites. She slowed herssle fdown though, if only to try and not look like too much of a pig. The barefoot slayer was sure she she'd eat not only her own piece, but everyone else's too if they let her. She made herself take nibbles intstead of stuffing as much as her fork could hold.  

Smilng back to Lina, ”Hey yo get to pick your own last name when your old enough?  That would be pretty sweet. I still have the one my first family gave me when was born. They gave me two middle names. Not unusual for anyone from Dragnof.  I don't really remember much about my first human family, but I do remember about the only time they used my middle names was when I got in trouble somehow. Arcadia Mavis Elaine Fairchilde! You got down here right now, young lady!   Funny enough my dragon mom was the same way.”