❂ The Lonliest Girl ❂ (Social with Percy)

It was never a good sign when someone was running through the streets of a crowded town, grinning deviously and awkwardly clutching an item that clearly wasn't theirs. Far from the best of the good samaritans, Perseus Dagger still couldn't help but feel the urge to stop him. Maybe in another life with a different family in another line of work he'd have been a hero of some sort. Maybe he'd have been a grand mage from a legal guild, becoming a Rising Star and onward to Wizard Saint, maybe even a God of Ishgar. Or perhaps he'd have joined the Rune Knights, which had once been his dream. Fighting crime, keeping Fiore and her citizens safe, rising through the militaristic ranks by both inventing useful equipment for his fellow knights and becoming an unstoppable force...with magic. The problem with both of these daydreams was definitely one glaring issue. He was Percy and he had not a shred of magical power in his whole body.

This was a common defect in the boys of the Dagger family, lately. Something in their DNA turned off their magic, so the only way to get it was through external means. Thus far his brother, Artemis, had been successful, but Percy was still at a loss. No matter what he did, even the reckless and stupid things yielded no results. Messing with DNA changed nothing either. Until he could crack this problem, the best he could do was give himself a couple weapons of his own design and hope for the best. He may never be a hero or any of the things he dreamed of, but he could use his intelligence and clever inventions to make small differences where he could. This was one of those times.

Reaching out with his right gauntlet, he flexed his fingers and a stream of ice shot out at the cobbled stone path, racing forward toward the running feet and swiftly turning what was once stable steps into slipping and sliding on the frozen street. The thief fell and continued to slide, finally coming to a stop with a loud clatter into a small gathering of trashcans. The two-toned haired boy used the strip of ice to skillfully slide after him, coming to a safe stop just in front of the cursing man covered in garbage. "..That doesn't belong to you, does it?" he asked quietly, seeming either shy, depressed, or both. Either way, he reached down to claim the slightly soiled guitar case, but the thief wasn't keen to let it go.

A fight ensued. It wasn't a very long one. Percy's foe was more accustomed and built for speed. He could tell he just grabbed and dashed, only scrapping with other grab-and-dash thieves. Since Percy had no magic, he'd honed his body and skills in other ways. He might be shy and not have the most imposing posture on average, but he was actually quite strong. Chiseled muscle rippled under his sleek black coat. Even though his foe landed a punch or two, it was he that was knocked silly and finally relinquished his ill-gotten prize. He ran away empty-handed, so the younger Dagger picked up the guitar case and began his search for its owner.

After a few minutes of retracing the direction from which the thief had come, he happened across a distressed girl. The first thing that struck him was her hair. It was two-toned like his, not the same hues or ratio, but it was similar enough to him. He wondered if it was natural or on purpose. It didn't seem to be from damage like his was. The head of research suddenly felt a pang of self-consciousness about the scar on his face and his hair, though he thought he'd long grown used to it. Nervousness settled in his gut the closer he got to her, unable to predict her response to his actions or his appearance. Honestly, if not for the magical aspect of his life, talking to girls was his next biggest issue. Artemis was a natural charmer whose silver tongue and brilliant smile could melt even the most unavailable of hearts. Ever since his younger days run-in with one of Artemis's most...excessive exes, he'd become the anti-Artemis. He could barely speak to a female coherently, let alone be charming.

He stood behind her for a little too long, working up his courage. Hopefully, the smell of some of the trash spillage wouldn't alert her before his voice could, or it would only get more awkward. "U-Uhm," he stammered quietly, already cringing at the uncertain noise. He had to follow it fast. "Does th-this belong to you? ...I stopped a guy running with it...." came more timid words. If she turned to look, she'd see a young man with a bloody lip, holding out a guitar case and only meeting her eyes in short glances. How could someone who so solidly beat up a bad guy turn into such a bumbling mess so quickly?


[wc: 836 || thread total: 1380]

When she yelled he flinched a little, an involuntary movement, but he didn't run or anything. It just startled him. Since he had found the guitar's owner, though, he wondered how much time he should stick around before going about his business. Was there a socially accepted window of minutes one should pause to receive thanks for a good deed? He wasn't sure. The lab rat had fallen a bit short on social graces these days, not helping his already bashful nature. His cheeks flushed just a little as she thanked him and he gave her a little duck of his head as a sort of non-verbal "don't worry about it". Then she mentioned that he looked like he'd gotten scuffed up, causing Percy to blink. Oh right, he'd gotten punched in the face. Reaching the back of his hand to his lip, he hurriedly smeared the blood away so she wouldn't have to worry, but that did indeed aggravate it and make it hurt worse. His face winced. Checking the back of his hand revealed a smear of red, so he was certain he'd done nothing but make the blood on his face more noticeable. Good going.

"Uh, d-don't worry about it. I've had worse." Percy motioned vaguely to the scar over the upper left side of his face and offered a sheepish smile, but it soon evaporated as quickly as it'd come on. That guitar was all she had? Was she being literal? He hoped not. He'd heard the jingling of a few coins inside, but he could tell it wasn't a lot. The dots were connecting quickly in his sharp brain. A girl with nothing but a guitar whose case had some loose cash inside? A busker.

Percy had just met a hobo.

Shaking his head suddenly, he raised his now empty hands to ward off her offer. He couldn't possibly accept such an offer from someone so poor. It wouldn't be right. "Ah, n-no! Uh," the two-toned boy stuttered and stammered, his brain moving faster than his mouth could keep up with. Heterochromatic eyes finally met hers with determination. He'd make a counteroffer...if he could get it to come out of his mouth. "H-How about I take you out to eat instead?" blurted the youngest Dagger boy, face even redder now that he was realizing it sounded like he was asking her on a date. What if she got mad and thought he was pitying her? Was he pitying her?

He'd just come to Magnolia to join Fairy Tail! Why was leaving the lab so complicated?!


[wc: 430 || Group Total: 2135]

Oh good, she didn't seem upset or put off by his offer. Actually, it was quite the opposite! She eagerly took him up on the offer, and before he knew it he was having to nearly jog to keep up with her. As Percy followed along behind, he searched his pockets for a handkerchief. Ah, yes, he did have one. Of course, what was a Dagger without a 'D' embroidered pocket square hidden somewhere on their person? While she picked out the 'greasiest, fattiest food!' he gingerly dabbed at his smarting lip, finally ridding it of all the blood and leaving only the split in the delicate skin. He'd had way worse obviously, but it still didn't feel very nice. As if it would help, the two-toned young man gently sucked on his lip until she finally located the place she wanted.

The injured lip didn't leave his mouth until they were seated over menus and she was speaking to him again. Blinking up at her, he cracked a half-smile before it dissolved into a weary uncertainty. "Ah, I'm not sure yet..." he admitted, lowering his eyes from her excited ones so he could scan the diner's offerings some more. The font was small so he pulled out some sleek glasses so he could read better. While he wasn't opposed to indulging in junk food every so often, Percy was a bit health conscious. One didn't keep a body like his in tip-top shape to try and make up for his lack of magic by cramming greasy meals down his throat. Still, if he ordered avocado and egg whites on whole-wheat toast, it might curb her enthusiasm, and he honestly didn't want that. "Ah..." he stammered again, running a finger lightly down the laminated page. The sliminess was a bit intimidating, but perhaps that was the norm for a place like this? He had to admit, this was the first time he'd been in a diner. The 'seediest' place he and his brother usually went was Maroni's. Chalk it up to growing up a rich boy.

"Maybe the chicken tenders basket," he said at last, unmatched hues lifting up much the same way his tone at the end of his sentence did as if he was asking her approval. "With a lemon fizz and tater tots, I think," continued the older teen, not noticing the drably dressed shrew in the dirty apron that had appeared next to him and was jotting down what he just said. "Dipping sauce?" asked her heavy smoker's voice, causing poor Percy to nearly leap out of his skin. With a small "Ngh!" and a flinch toward the window, his head and eyes whipped up to the woman sporting a ashy brown beehive, feeling as if the wrinkles under her heavily eyelined eyes were devouring him. "Uh...U-Um..." he stuttered on his filler sounds, mind drawing a total blank. His face likewise went blank, diving back into its safely guarded depressive nothingness.

His only option was to ask for help. Yes, the boy who was a borderline technical genius couldn't possibly collect his brain enough to know what sauces there were, let alone which one he liked. Had he ever even had chicken tenders? Between fancy restaurants, the Dagger's personal chefs, and the occasional Maroni's pizza, he wasn't sure he had ever had the cheap food or its apparent collection of compatible sauce choices. "What do you recommend?" he asked her quietly, the timidity of his voice melting away into a quiet, even sound. Perhaps she'd finish his order for him and order her own, he silently hoped.


[wc: 601 || Group Total: 3124]

The human piggy bank across from the homeless girl stared at her in slight awe once she solved the problem in a unique way. Ordering everything was one way to eliminate indecision. His slightly wide eyes weren’t from the price it’d rack up, since he had no worries about cash, but rather from imaging the two of them eating it all. Perhaps her true plan was to have several days of leftovers to survive on...which he had to admit wasn’t a bad plan. “N-No, I don’t mind,” he assured her, finally reigning in his expression and sitting back into his seat to relax. “There’s a lot I’ve never tried, so this will be a nice experience,” he smiled slightly, removing his glasses and folding them, placing them back where they came from.

The little bit she added at the end opened up for more conversation, and the curious young man couldn’t resist. What was her story? What led her to be where she was, getting her little money and guitar stolen in Magnolia? “So you haven’t always been a—...er....” Percy was about to stick his foot in his mouth by calling her a hobo, “...you haven’t always been on your own? Do you mind if I ask what happened?” he asked, interested in finding out more about the street busker. If she’d once had plenty of money, what could have taken her down to this point? Hopefully she hadn’t lost her family, because that would mean he had just opened a can of painful memories about dead loved ones. Actually, asking about it like he had wasn’t likely to dredge up good memories no matter what! Did her family’s business go under? Did they kick her out? Were they robbed? Ugh, what a dunce he was! He could invent wormhole detectors and cybernetics, but couldn’t seem to carry a proper conversation. Social interaction was so difficult...

[wc: 316 || thread total: 3959]

Percy wished the water had come sooner, so at least his sudden choking brought on by the name reveal could have been blamed on drinking. He had inhaled so quickly that his own spit rocketed into his lung, but at least after a few harsh coughs he quieted and merely stared at her with tense eyes. A Bradford. It had to be a Bradford. He was treating an exiled Bradford hobo to a large meal. His family would literally blow their head gaskets. Even now his eyes darted out the slightly foggy diner window to see if he could spot any of the "watchers" of his brood. Giving an account about this was very close to the bottom of the list of things he wanted to do.

The youngest Dagger male had little interest in his family's more businessy affairs, outside of Dagger Corps' Research department, anyway. As she could probably already tell, he wasn't the typical example of a Dagger. He was much shyer. Some would say he was even nerdy, which wasn't really wrong. He felt much more at home by himself tinkering on his gadgets and researching both science and magic avenues of progression for any number of projects. It was better that he was out of the public eye. Percy didn't hold a candle to Artemis's abilities to schmooze. His nervous stutter usually did him in, and anyone that spent enough time with him would see his glaring inferiority complex. At family balls or fancy get-togethers, if his attendance was mandatory he was hugging the walls or hanging out in corners by himself or with someone he was at least slightly familiar with. The distantly aloof card worked well most of the time. He knew full well that the affluential families in Earthland played the frenemy game and it seemed most arduous. Most hated each other for a myriad of both warranted and petty reasons but would play fake nice to keep up appearances and continue the strange rich people dance. Yes, Percy was rich and at times very much acted like a rich kid, but it wasn't in a malicious way.

He did know the Bradfords were particularly abrasive, though. He wasn't sure if maybe they didn't play the game and let their cards be more blatantly hostile or if they were a threat in some way to the Dagger business, but he definitely knew they were high on the Dagger hate list. The nervousness and mild disgust he suddenly felt for her surprised him. Percy didn't think he was one for prejudices, but it seemed even someone like him could fall victim to archaic ways of thinking his family clung to. This Antoinette Madeleine couldn't be all bad. Sure, she admitted she was going to take advantage of his money for food, but at least she was honest. Her past sounded relatable enough. While his parents had been around maybe more than most rich families, he'd still spent a ton of his childhood with Mr. Baldwin, their head of house services and basically a male nanny. He and all his siblings had basically been raised by the swarthy old man. His older sister, Pandora, had all but shunned the family and its riches from what he knew. Artemis reluctantly stepped into his role of heir and thus had to fight all the politics, absurdly high expectations, and rub all the elbows. Percy was left to his own devices with little expectation, which coming from a Dagger perspective, was not a good thing. His family expecting nothing from him was the most hurtful thing a Dagger could do. It frustrated him that he was the lone Dagger without magic and was basically but on a back shelf. No matter what technological breakthrough he made, he got nothing more than an appeasing pat on the back. Had he thought about rejecting his family and running off to build his own worth and life? Sure, but ultimately he chose to stay and try to prove himself to his parents. He could have easily been like her.

He remained silent through the rest of her explanation, face still soft but definitely antsier than before. A hand went through his dual-toned hair more than once. What an awkward situation this was, but he wouldn't be like the others from their world. When she asked his family he sighed in a slightly amused way, sheepishly meeting her eyes with a lop-sided smile. "The Daggers," he said, raising his glass of water to his lips and taking a long drink. "I'm the youngest of the main branch of the family, Perseus. You can call me Percy if you'd like. Most do."

While that counter revelation hung between the two adversarial familys' offspring, the crusty waitress returned with a greasy busboy in tow to help her carry all the dishes. Plates quickly took up the whole tabletop and within seconds they were gone again. Percy had thanked them offhandedly, though he seemed to grow more amused by the second. Before he knew it, a light chuckle escaped. "I-It's like the beginning of a bad joke. A Dagger and B-Bradford walk into a greasy Magnolia diner..." he started, raising a coiled hand to block the loft laughter that wanted to come out. What a strange day this had turned out to be.

[wc: 889 || thread total: 5349]

Despite how it could seem like bad form to start properly laughing only after his joke had nearly caused her to choke, muffled chuckles started to make it past the hand that tried its hardest to stifle them. "Mmm, maybe that was my plan all along," he bantered lightly, still snickering. "You underestimate how much my family hates yours. And yeah, they'd absolutely disown me or kill me if they saw us right now...I've never been much of a rebel, but I have to agree it is more fun." Admitting this surprised the two-toned boy. The confidence the girl across from him oozed from every one of her tanned pores was admirable, even enviable, but he didn't think it affected him as much. Percy wasn't typically someone who fed off of vibes in social situations. If there was something opposite of a special chameleon, that would more likely be him. Yet here he was, sitting with such a ballsy family enemy and having an unabashedly good time.

After sobering a bit, he timidly reached into one of the plastic, wax-paper-lined baskets for his own chicken strip, which he then tested out bite-by-bite in his personal sauces. While his face remained mostly neutral, the slight squinting of his eyes indicated which sauces he didn't care for. BBQ seemed to be lowest on his list, being the stronger of the flavors. Spicy and sweet ones fell in the middle where he was less decided how he felt, while the white sauce quickly rose to the top preference. Actually, he found nearly all the greasy fried foods he dipped it in ended up being delicious. What was this called? Ranch? Percy liked ranch.

As she asked about his family, he sighed and leaned back in his seat, taking a ooey gooey grilled cheese triangle with him. "It's...complicated," he sighed, familiar mental exhaustion washing over him at just the thought. "Business is always great. The Daggers are always on top, always involved, always...on, you know? In my world, every breath is calculated and watched by an untold number of eyes. Everything has implications, whether its true or not. There's always an angle, another place to put our hands, another way to push forward and come out on top. Being a Dagger is to always be under never ending pressure, either forced upon you or drawn out of you in desperation," the youngest Dagger male vented, quite despite himself. It was as if the quick release valve on a pressure cooker had ever so slightly been twisted. He couldn't stop the word vomit. "And as much as the expectations are suffocating and all of it is twisted and antiquated, it's so much worse when they don't expect anything from you. When you've been deemed inconsequential in the long run and no matter what you accomplish, it's not enough for them to even glance your way," he concluded, suddenly scarfing down the sandwich to finally end his quiet, broody tirade. Once he swallowed, he forcefully changed his tone, like only a well-trained rich boy could. "But even so, I love being the head of the Research Department at Dagger Corp. It's a position I earned, and I like the work I do. I'm thankful for it. I have a great team under me and I make my own way with far more freedom than my brother, the heir," he finished up with trained diplomacy. It wasn't a lie. He loved working in technology and medicine, often combining the two. He'd always been an inventor, so it was a great outlet for his ideas, intelligence, and natural skill with technology. "Rich kid problems, eh?" he added sheepishly at the end, then wondered if it was in bad taste, since she was technically no longer a rich kid. He cringed at himself. "So...on that note...since you're a hobo now, where have you been staying?"

[wc: 646 || Percy Total: 3718 || thread total: 6755]

Percy wasn't a big eater, especially of things as heavy as these offerings, so his sampling had drastically decreased in frequency. The only time he really chowed down was when he was in the midst of a bulk-up regiment and had to eat a lot, and even then it was protein and other healthy foods to nourish his muscles. While all of this was delicious, it was also overwhelming and already had him feeling like he'd have to run to Crocus and back to keep it from clogging an artery. It was worse than having a few slices of pizza with his brother every now and then. And yes, he knew this likely wouldn't be a habitual thing, but...it was still so much food. However, he couldn't help but nibble at the onion rings. The breading on those wasn't too thick...

Madi answered his question about her living arrangements, causing him to nearly snort the sip of his lemon fizz out of his nostrils. The carbonation had his nose burning, but at least he managed to not shoot his drink everywhere. "Skeezy hotels?" he asked incredulously once he recovered, frowning. NO, that wouldn't do. It wasn't safe. Counting somewhat on her opportunistic behavior so far, he'd make a new offer beyond just feeding her. "Find a decent apartment and I'll pay the first year of rent," Percy said with a surprising amount of demand. There was little room in his words for questions. It seemed while he was timid on many things (mostly social), his work in his lab and how he spent money were the two things he was very confident with. "We should go look once you're finished eating. Surely you have somewhere in mind?"

[wc: 287 || Percy Total: 4005/3000 for S rank exam || thread total: 4609]