- Spoiler:
There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
Well this was new.
Vandrad had come to the job board with the intent of doing his daily routine. After he had finished his morning workout, he would clean himself up, grab some food to eat and then meander to the board in hopes of finding something to pass the time. It seemed a bit odd, even to him, that he had settled into this kind of routine within the confines of the guild. He had come here with a singular goal – of learning more about his father and if he happened to remain alive. And he still intended on pursuing his answers; with the help of the insufferable bitch known as Mercury, he had learned quite a bit about the former Rune Knight’s past. He had also discovered that there was a Mythal Ragnos currently operating as the Director of the Rune Knights. What the familial connection was there, he couldn’t quite tell but it was a source of information no doubt. Seemingly it should have been a fairly easy assumption that the Prince’s next step was to go to Era and talk to Mythal.
But he had paused. It wasn’t for any mistrust of Mercury – as infuriating as she was, she had proven to be honest with him through their two interactions thus far. Plus he had seen the articles she used as references with his own two eyes. But it had all come into the light fairly easy. It was possible that the circumstances were truly quite random and beneficial but Vandrad had never believed in such luck. He’d left rather quickly from his home in Bellum without leaving much of a message behind. But his family would no doubt have an idea of where he was going – his mother had only recently informed him of his true means of birth. Perhaps she had gotten ahead of him and planted certain seeds of misinformation. It wasn’t beyond her; he’d seen the way she smoothly navigated the courts of Bellum. As a woman who didn’t like to lose and did everything in her power to win, he wouldn’t surprise him if she had pulled some strings to lead him down a path she wanted.
So rather than rush along with his head down, he decided to take a step back. He wanted to watch how things played out – see how the wind changed when he wasn’t charging in without thinking. He was more interesting in seeing if more answers would find their way to him purposefully or if they would come in seemingly coincidental circumstances. Then he would be able to surmise just what was happening. So to that end, he fell into the practice of acting like a full fledged member of Fairy Tail. He went on jobs, he trained in the training hall and he provided a service to clients that better built the rapport of the guild. It was mindless work for the most part but that in turn gave him the clarity to see every angle at the same time.
But there was a sudden intrusion into his practice. He’d come down to the board to find a job and there he had discovered a letter pinned to it, his name written neatly on its face. His brow had furrowed in interest and curiosity – was this simply mail or perhaps something from another guild member? He took a moment to glance around, interested to see if someone had put the envelope there and then stayed near by to watch him. The last thing he needed or wanted was some kind of secret admirer. When he didn’t spot anyone obvious, he finally turned back and pulled the letter down so that he could read the contents inside.
It was not what he expected. Not at all. Apparently one of Fairy Tail’s aces, Nessa Lux, had heard a bit about him from ‘the grapvine’. He imagined that was word among other members. She went on to ask that he take a job for her, as she was going to be out of town. It seemed simple enough a task… until he read what it entailed. It seemed that Fairy Tail took the time to attend local schools in Magnolia, allowing guild wizards to go over and provide lessons for the younger generation. And in this particular instance, Nessa was planned to go over combat training with some of the more… unruly students. Unruly usually translated to smug, abusive little bastards that thought they knew everything about the world. Vandrad scoffed at the thought, even more so when he read that she specifically wanted him to keep the roughness down for the sake of the guild.
He sighed softly as he folded the letter up. It would be unwise to refuse a job handed down specifically from his guild’s ace, as it might prove detrimental to his continued career here. And the prospect of instructing a class on combat wasn’t unattractive – it was the clientele that proved the issue. He had trained all sorts in his time in the military but never outright children. By the time the bright-eyed grunts got to him, they were matured enough to at least understand that following orders was in their best interest. But Vandrad had heard enough about school children to know that he couldn’t just walk in there and immediately be considered an authority figure. He needed to establish dominance from the moment he got there… and somehow still keep from being ‘too rough’.
It was going to be a challenge. He did wonder how Nessa had come across information about his jobs. He knew very little about the Fairy Tail ace, having only done minimal research about his fellow guild mates. Based on what he’d found, she seemed like a true blue sweet woman; a bright purity within the ranks. It was possible she was just that intune with the rest of the guild’s members to have honestly heard about his exploits, though he then wondered how anyone else had heard. His first instinct was to assume that somehow, someway, this was that blasted Mercury’s fault. But he would have to wait to prove that later.
He apparently had a class to teach.
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marzia at shine & gs.
