Fairy Dragon

And yet another guild lost to the sands of time. Akeya knew that such a thing was just the way of existence, but it could get rather annoying to have settled in and then to have to change location and affiliation all over again. It was enough to make her consider abandoning the guilds altogether and just strike out on her own... But no, that would be detrimental in the long run. A guild was a reliable source of work, as well as granting some protection. Not that Akeya didn't think she could take care of herself, but the easier path was to minimize the need for self-protection by using the name of a powerful guild as a shield.

This time around she'd join up with Fairy Tail. Her time in Onyx Moon had given her some insight in the guild, including the fact that freedom and independence were celebrated. That sounded perfect to Akeya, who would rather she had to deal with as few limitations and rules as possible. As long as the guild could provide her work and keep trouble off her back that was all she asked for and anything more she'd actually rather do without.

Although she'd heard some things about it being a family guild. She just hoped that they didn't insist on everyone being all chummy with each other: she didn't go around actively antagonizing people but she wasn't very good at the whole friendship thing. The best she could do was be polite and cooperative when it was needed and then try to keep to herself when possible.

Walking through Magnolia Town early in the morning she headed straight for the guild, hoping to get there before the town became active. She'd been in this town several towns before, so she knew what it was like: in the morning it seemed calm and peaceful, and then when the sun reached its zenith you'd be lucky if you weren't swamped by a bustle of activity. The citizens certainly loved to take advantage of the fact that they had a mage guild protecting them, as well as the prosperity that such a guild brought to the city.

Given that Akeya herself wasn't really the type to wish to mingle with crowds she'd rather avoid that. Of course given that she was planning to join the guild that might be difficult... Oh well. Something to worry about afterward. The downsides of a busy city didn't outweigh the benefits of the guild itself.

For the occasion of joining the guild she'd chosen to use her human form. Her draconic form was... better left hidden at times like these. Fiore wasn't a place which discriminated against non-humans (for the most part) but being a humanoid at the very least still made life easier. Of course her human form had some similarities to her draconic self... Shaking her head Akeya dismissed the thought. It was different enough that, as long as she was careful, nobody should be any wiser. Nobody who had no need to know, anyway.

Having the street to herself she glanced at her surroundings with yellow eyes, gaze lingering on the cathedral in the distance. A landmark for the entirety of Fiore... She rolled her shoulders and her gaze traveled further. Of little interest to her. What humans wished to dedicate their wealth and fortune to was of little concern for her. At the very least it could be considered impressive that humans managed to create constructions like that even without the use of magic.

A quick glance towards her own shadow eased her concerns about more important matters. Everything was still as it should be. She already had a plan for how to present herself at the guild: if her information about the place was correct it shouldn't be too difficult. Then again despite her long-term membership of Onyx Moon she'd never been very interested in Fairy Tail, so most of her knowledge was more superficial than she would have liked now that it was time for her to put that knowledge to use.

Turning into Dragonbane Avenue (a name which earned a frown and a light scoff from her before she smoothed out her facial expression) allowed her to see the guild in the distance, her stride hastening slightly as she headed straight for her target. The sun was quickly rising into the sky, and she hoped to be done with this before noon arrive.

She had things she wished to attend to today aside from getting herself a new source of income.

Current Appearance:

WC: 759
PWC: 759
TWC: 759

Despite everything that had occurred for the Onmyōji back in the other realm visited through one of the Wakusei Portals, he returned home in one piece. The blonde bastard son of a noble from Magnolia had been escorted to safety after his rash decision to celebrate his birthday in a realm inhabited mainly by anarchists and people with bounties on their heads. The journey had let Mura through an entire human trafficking group, properly bending them over and ruining their insides. And now, back in his favorite town, Mura reached the nobleman’s house to meet the kid’s mother and retrieve his reward.

“Thank you plenty for your troubles, Guildmaster! I know by the time that my son has brought you more trouble than needed, but I am only grateful… please, accept my coin,” the noblewoman thanked him before handing him a hefty pocket of Jewels to indirectly show her wealth as well as pay the wizard for honest work, “And you, you brainless son of mine! What went through your mind to convince yourself to go that far for your birthday?!” Her rebuke of her son echoed through the building, fading away as Mura moved on with his payment. The request was answered and satisfactory, and he was to return to the guild to confirm that.

“Gotta make use of that whetstone, maybe…” he mumbled while glancing over his katana sheathed and strapped onto his hip. Harusame had endured plenty, and its edge needed polishing.

“… Am I the only one who’s anything close to curious about the blonde wench we left alone over there?” the green dragon’s ghost asked in worry, “You know, the one who made an attempt at your life?”

“Something tells me she has her hands full just being there… besides, she wasn’t that hostile. She proved cooperative in the arena,” Mura responded, “I doubt that she could’ve murdered me or anything. But hey, maybe we’ll meet her again… hopefully in different lights.”

“Yeah, hopefully… sweet Ashura, she was someone special. Beira was her name, right?” Kyuken expressed while biting his lip in pitiful yearning, “Hnnng… her image lingers in my mind. I doubt I can sleep anymore…”

“Assuming you sleep at all.”

“And who are you to assume such things, eh? Just because you don’t doesn’t mean I abide by your rules!”

The two ghosts began shouting at each other along the rest of the way towards the guild hall. Good thing that they were ghosts and practically unnoticeable by most of the public. Otherwise, people would get annoyed by their noise.

Back at the guild, Mura just now realized that it was about dawn… or a bit later, but people had yet to go out and do their daily work. Oh well, the floor wouldn’t broom itself… on with the white cloth on his forehead and clean the floor. Hopefully, Kumiko would find it inspiring from him as a Guildmaster to tend to his guild hall.

WC: 492
PWC: 492
TWC: 1251

Coming to a halt right in front of the guild Akeya looked up at it with raised eyebrows. She'd heard that Fairy Tail's guildhall was remarkably simple, but this still surpassed her expectations. From the outside it looked more like an office building or an apartment than the headquarters of a mages guild. Akeya had been part of several guilds by this point, and seen the headquarters of several others, and she could say with confidence that mages tended towards the grandiose and the flashy: Blue Pegasus's guildhall had been like a humongous temple, held up by pillars and filled with statues. The West Fiore Trading Company's headquarters could easily have been called a seaside fortress with all the defences, and underneath was Onyx Moon's guildhall as a series of caverns.

A relatively normal-sized building? That was new and actually so surprising that the disguised dragoness had to shake her head and remind herself that for most people the Fairy Tail guildhall was already a relatively large structure.

Not that it mattered much. Akeya hadn't much intention of visiting this place often, except to pick up new jobs. If the architects had opted for a more conservative design, sacrificing aesthetics for efficiency and pragmatism, that just meant that it would be easier to finish her business inside before heading back out again.

She was mostly surprised that a guild which promoted family while being situated in one of the biggest festival hotspots of Fiore would settle for something this mundane. Maybe they found it cozy?

Shaking her head again she stepped forward and pushed the doors open, stepping inside and looking around. Just like the exterior the insides also looked positively normal, almost drab, compared to what she was used to. What did stand out was the man standing amidst it all cleaning the floor, as if oblivious to the fact that he was probably one of the most powerful people within several hundred kilometers. Mura Kensho, guildmaster of Fairy Tail. Akeya couldn't quite remember if she'd ever met him in person but she did know of him and his reputation. After all Fairy Tail had been in an alliance with Onyx Moon for quite some time before things went downhill. Why he was sweeping the floor as if nothing was out of the ordinary she didn't know: maybe Fairy Tail encouraged its officers to help out with mundane tasks when possible?

Akeya quickly decided that she'd start out acting like she didn't know who this man was. After all she was currently in disguise: she'd have to reveal her true nature down the line (guildmasters tended to react poorly to members concealing their true identity) but she'd wait until a better opportunity. Such as one where they weren't standing in the reception room of the guildhall where literally anyone could just walk in and listen in on them.

"Excuse me, are you part of the guild? I'd like to join."

Fortunately Akeya's human form already looked like the kind of person who'd be to the point, so she didn't have to fake some annoying personality. She just looked Mura up and down with her bandaged hand on her hip, displaying a small amount of patience which was almost hidden by a desire to be polite.

WC: 546
PWC: 1,305
TWC: 1,797

The dust hiding under the tables were the most difficult to get to… as they required the shaman to lift the table up to allow the broom to work. AS that was his greatest obstacle as of yet, everything else went smooth as butter; in a few minutes, the guild hall sparkled gloriously thanks to his help. There wasn’t much more to broom, but he would have a whole other situation to attend to once another person entered through the doors… wait, this early? He was right to hear footsteps approaching him, right?

It turned out that one other soul found it necessary to show up here at this hour. However, much to Mura’s interest, the woman addressing him was new. “Hmh?” he let out, focusing his gaze on her. She was quick to inform him that she was interested in joining the guild, which left a lot to imagine… maybe she was from a land far away who had heard of them. Or maybe she had just mustered the courage to come up and meet them now? Or maybe Mura actually didn’t know every single soul in Magnolia Town…?

She didn’t emit the aura of a total newbie, though… not at all. A wizard of Mura’s caliber could sense other magical signatures with quite the precision, and hers was excessive. A similar dread fell upon him as when he was in the presence of his power house category of guildmates… but there was more to it than that. As a matter of fact, he thought he had a scent of a recognizable person in the ragged stranger (a scent of white hair and heterochromatic eyes)… but he couldn’t put his finger on it, exactly.

Anyway, no matter the reason, a smile grew on his face upon her request. She showed interest in becoming a possible guildmate; anything else could wait. “Sure. Let’s find a seat and talk, then,” he replied just as straight to the point as she sounded to him, his thumb pointing towards the front bar, “Want something to drink?”

Whether or not if she needed refreshments from the bar, in which he would walk up and fetch two mugs of apple juice for them both (no drunkies in the fucking morning), he would find them a seat on one of the more fashionable, wooden tables that gave the guild hall somewhat of an inn-like aesthetic to it, much akin to its past versions. Sitting opposed to her, he would start the talk: “It’s… not often that we meet recruitees who already pack a lot of magic in them. Say, have you been in another guild before, or is it purely your own works?”

WC: 447
PWC: 1251
TWC: 2244

It looked like Mura either was playing along with her game or genuinely didn't realize her true identity. For the moment either answer worked for Akeya, as she'd rather not have herself outed in the middle of the lobby even if there didn't appear to be anybody present right now. She waited silently for the guildmaster to make the next move, since there wasn't much else for her to say until he'd either voiced acceptance of her application or told her to buzz off.

The smile was confirmation that Mura wasn't going to turn her away... at least not immediately. Akeya nodded as he invited her to sit down, offering refreshments at the same time. "Sure." Folding her arms she watched Mura get the drinks, then walked over to the table he indicated and sat down, her hands placed on the wooden surface as she looked straight at Mura with golden eyes. She didn't touch the drink immediately, instead focusing on the man himself as he asked his first serious question.

"I've worked with other guilds in the past, although I'd say my power is a result of my own training more than anything others have done for me." Even when she was a member of a guild Akeya had the habit of acting independently. She took jobs on her own, executed them on her own, and trained on her own. She was not averse to teamwork but she didn't seek it out unless she thought it would be vital to the success of whatever mission she was facing.

Except those rare times that she tried to socialize a little bit more of course. While she was fine living by herself Leila had taught her that there was value to be had in forming connections with others, even if those connections weren't deep or intimate. "I could explain in more detail, but it would be better if that was done somewhere out of sight. There are some things better kept secret." Taking the offered mug of apple juice she sipped from it, raising her eyebrows at the unusual taste. Not that the apple juice tasted off, it was just... she didn't often drink these kind of things.

As she spoke with the guildmaster she also glanced around the lobby. It looked as normal as the outside. Was Magnolia's top guild really this simple? Going by their reputation you'd almost expect a castle or a temple, like the other guilds tended to go for. The raven-haired woman didn't let her gaze wander too long though, her focus on Mura himself as she studied him calmly. Could she trust him? She wasn't entirely certain about that. If she wanted to join Fairy Tail she at least had to reveal her identity to the person in charge, if only because being discovered down the line would only make things difficult. But she didn't know how much Mura knew of her, and whether he'd be the kind of person to accept someone who faked their identity as much as she did, who gave no sign of feeling any sort of allegiance for anyone other than herself.

WC: 522
PWC: 1,827
TWC: 2,766

Hmh… already from her first reply, Mura could tell that she preferred tending for herself… or at least held a lot of independence. That was fair, solid traits, but if Mura was to answer the question he gave, he wouldn’t leave out many people from Fairy Tail… most had been key figures in his development on a magical and physical level, and he was very clear on that. He could see some parallels in Akeya that reminded him of Vandrad… which allowed him to not get too uppity over her reply. Maybe she was just the shy type… maybe.

While taking another sip of his mug, she also added that she wouldn’t want to go into details when other people could hear them. Maybe she really was a shy type, but… her clear voice sounded like it belonged more to a soldier than to a classic virgin hiding in her boudoir. “I understand if you want to keep it secret, but frankly, I don’t know if it’ll surprise me too much. Alas, you don’t have to tell me now…” He put the mug down on the table and focused his gaze back at her, his smile having turned into a serious, default setup with no muscles lifting his mouth or eyebrows to express cheer. “I won’t force you to join a team and be with them all the time, but believe me when I tell you that mutual connections between guildmates goes a long way. But it wouldn’t bother me too much as long as you aid the guild with your magic and intel when needed.”

Somehow, Mura was unsure of his judgement of her. He was usually the type to first know a person well after they had gone out on a quest with each other, but would she even want to do that right now? Hopefully, so.

“You do seem more like a lone wolf in my eyes… if I’m to be completely honest,” he spoke to her again, this time another faint smile rising up on his face, “But I don’t think that’ll amount to any issues here. No matter how you intend to work here, just know that every guild member in Fairy Tail can count on my ear and arm to aid and benefit them.” He began sounding like his earlier days as an Ace of Fairy Tail, where his most obvious trait was simply listening to people’s problems in the guild and giving them advice on how to tackle with personal issues… sometimes, he just lent a shoulder for them to rely on. He, himself, knew that he often yearned for that kind of shoulder too, and he would often find them in his wonderful guildmates.

“Can I depend on you to prioritize the guild’s and its members’ safety and the future of our influence and work? I simply want a clear answer to that,” he then asked her. They all fought for a future of existing, to still be a busting guild and to stick together. Mura would never allow the guild to fall down without him doing his damned best to keep it up and running, and he hoped the same from his guildmates… yet…

Deep inside, he came to realize something. Perhaps, not everyone shared such intimate feelings for the atmosphere here, and he couldn’t force people to love the guild - especially not completely new members. It required time… and perspective, really.

WC: 572
PWC: 1823
TWC: 3338

Akeya was actually surprised when the guildmaster appeared to have no concern about what secrets she might be holding. She had thought she'd put it in a way that would get his attention, but apparently Mura had decided to take a more casual approach. She blinked before smoothening her expression, drinking some more of the apple juice even as Mura began to explain that her secret wasn't too important to him at the moment, and that he wished for her to at least consider working together with others even if he wouldn't push the issue. Of course the leader of Fairy Tail wouldn't just accept that she wasn't much for becoming friends with others: the guild which saw itself as one big family would put great stock by such bonds.

Putting down her mug she looked Mura in the eyes, her golden eyes clear and sharp. "I am aware of the benefits of teamwork. However not everyone is suited for bonds stronger than mutual cooperation. As for magic and intel... If I wasn't willing to aid the guild when needed I wouldn't have applied to join." She quirked one eyebrow at that, as if to question Mura whether he thought she'd tried to join Fairy Tail on a mere whim. "Rest assured that if Fairy Tail requires my assistance I'll do my best to give it."

She saw no need to go against that. Even back in Blue Pegasus and Onyx Moon she'd been willing to aid the guild when needed. She had nothing against cooperation and teamwork: she simply didn't feel anything positive towards it either. It was beneficient at times and detrimental at other times.

The suggestion that she could lean on him when needed made her smile faintly before she emptied her mug. "Well, I'll find you if I ever need such a thing." She knew she was sounding rather dismissive, but she couldn't make that sound any softer. Or maybe she just didn't care enough. She rarely suffered from distress or depression, as her emotions weren't very strong to begin with. If the guildmaster could help her with a practical issue she wouldn't hesitate to make use of his offer, but he was probably hoping for something a bit more... personal than that.

At least he was taking the matter seriously. Even if they disagreed she couldn't fault someone for holding their own opinion if they at least were serious about it.

"As I said before, if the guild needs my assistance I'll do my best to provide. That also counts for individual members, although that of course depends on whether they actually need my help or if they're merely trying to have me do the heavy lifting for them." She rested her bandaged arm on the table. "It would be dishonest of me to promise that I would put the guild above my personal well-being, but I can promise that my problems won't bring harm to the guild." Given her habit of using disguises and her other habit of ensuring there were no witnesses to her less savoury deeds there wasn't much opportunity for any trouble she got into to come back to the guild she was part of at the time. And if things got that bad... well, she'd just abandon the guild. She knew enough about Fairy Tail to be aware that earning the ire of the guild was almost always going to be the bigger of two evils. Several of the members were powerful enough to give Akeya pause, the guildmaster included, and they didn't look kindly upon those who betrayed their trust.

"I hope you aren't going to demand that I dedicate my whole being to the guild."

WC: 617
PWC: 2,444
TWC: 3,955

While it was great to hear that the cloaked sorceress would lend her aid to the guild she wanted to join, she really stuck to a sort of… socially distancing stance? Well, it sounded like something extremely personal, so Mura didn’t dwell deeper into that. As a matter of fact, she was by no means inexperienced in the works of magic, and if what she said was true about her having been in other guilds before, then that too was a bonus to her little verbal application here.

Especially the part when she promised that her own, personal issues wouldn’t detriment the guild brought ease to the Guildmaster. True, he and the rest of the guild would be there to help with all, but many a time in the past had the guild gotten mud on the walls because of *cough* certain individuals and their extreme tendencies which put quite a bad light on Fairy Tail.

To her comment about dedication, he lifted a sloppy hand and responded: “Not really. Without a doubt, the guild fills a lot, but you always have your own life next to it. That goes for everyone… I can’t really vouch for myself, for the guild fills more of my being than many others. Y’know, being the Guildmaster and all.” It was clear that over the various years, Mura from Midi became Mura of Fairy Tail - the guild was a part of his solid identity and being. He couldn’t compare that to a new recruit, especially not with the difference in years being here. In the end, there was always something that drew his heart to the guild hall no matter the circumstances… and it was likely the case for other Fairy Tail Wizards.

The elevator further ahead of the guild hall - on the wall next to the bar desk - opened and revealed Mura… another Mura. Now there were two Mura’s in the guild hall, and the one from the elevator held a wooden box. The Guild Mark was to be stamped via the stamping tool in the box.

“… Oh ye, if you don’t know, my name’s Mura. Mura Kensho.”

“…”

“Oi, Kyuken, go greet her. You wanted to do that, right?”

“N-No, she’s… uhhh… I’m n-not in the mood.”

“… Fuck, what? Wait, hold up… no saliva leaking from your mouth. Eyes aren’t red. Neither are your cheeks. And you’re shivering… are you afraid of her?”

“N-No, of course not… w-why would I be afraid? I’m a ghost! I’m Kyuken, damn it!”

While Kyuken got terrible vibes from the cloaked lady, Zirconis felt none but a sense of familiarity from her. Maybe it was the sharp, yellow eyes or her wild garments, but he wasn’t as easily swayed by one’s choice in fashion or in the soul of one’s eyes as Kyuken was. But Kyuken was a special case, a nut case that was.

“… Uh, I don’t know if you can see those two, but I bet you can once you’ve gotten your Guild Mark,” Mura continued after, hopefully, getting a name from the raven-haired woman, “Just tell me where you want your Mark to be stamped on.”

A light bulb burned away the anxiety from Kyuken’s face, for he now had an opening to recover his reputation via Mura’s phrase!

“On the tit, on the tit, on the tit, on the tit, on the tit, on the tit, on the tit-“

The dragon’s ghost bit a chunk off of Kyuken to shut him up, before he embarrassed them all in front of their new guildmate.

WC: 597
PWC: 2420
TWC: 4552

"Good, and understandable." Akeya replied calmly as Mura assured her that he didn't expect every member of the guild to dedicate as much to it as himself. Of course the guildmaster would be more invested into the guild than the average member, and as long as Akeya wasn't expected to put the guild above her own self then everything would be fine.

Although she did do a double take when another Mura showed up. She hadn't been aware of the fact that apparently Mura could split himself up into multiple bodies... unless one of them was a fake and merely looked like him. She'd have to look into that: if he truly could create and control multiple bodies that would make him more powerful than she'd originally thought. She herself may focus on pushing her own abilities to the limit, but it was fatal to underestimate the power of many bodies moving in complete unison.

"I'm aware of who you are, yes." She quickly stated when Mura introduced himself. "I generally try to keep track of important and powerful figures." While Mura's raw power might not match her own he was still a powerful mage and leader of Fairy Tail. He had to be recognized as such and only people with a limited perspective would not know of him. "From what I've heard you might be the youngest guild master on record, at least for Fairy Tail." She'd never been entirely sure how old Ruvel was. He looked like a child but she suspected that whatever had happened to him in the past meant that his appearance wasn't a reliable indicator of his actual age. Like her own: she looked like she was in the prime of her health as a humanoid but she was several decades older than that.

Of course in her case it was because as a dragon she didn't suffer from the negative effects of ageing but...

Her thoughts were interrupted when she sensed two other people in the room. While Akeya didn't have a special bond with the spirit world she did have senses beyond the standard physical five. Aside from the magic sensory ability that all magic users possessed she could also sense emotions and, by extension, creatures. As such she narrowed her eyes, golden orbs focused on where she could sense fear. While she couldn't overhear their conversation she did have an idea of their location.

She returned her gaze to Mura when he mentioned that she'd be able to see the two people directly once she'd received her mark. Given that she didn't want her ability to see spirits to be limited to those whose existence was apparently linked to Fairy Tail she'd have to find a way to eliminate that problem. For now, however, she'd stick out her right hand, palm upwards, presenting it to the guild master. "Put it on the palm then." It was a good place to put a mark which you might have to show someone but which you also wanted to hide at times. The moment you put on a glove the mark was hidden.

Of course when one of the spirits began to suggest her breast she could sense a surge of arousal from said spirit, and her response was immediate: Lifting her left arm jagged shadows burst forth with jagged crimson edges, wrapping around arm and hand to form a monstrous claw. Akeya held out the claw towards the spirit, large talons threatening to tear into him even if Akeya couldn't see his actual form. At the same time her expression remained calm and neutral, as if nothing was out of the ordinary while she kept her gaze on Mura. "As for my name, you can call me Akemi."

Claw:

WC: 625
PWC: 3,069
TWC: 5,177

It was always funny to meet someone who recognized him. Yeah, he should grow used to it by now, but it always felt out of this world given how long and far Mura had gone to get to this point. Man, the younger Mura would drop his jaw if he came to realize just how powerful and famous his older self would become. It was a warm feeling…

… That was one thing she was wrong about, or at least got false intel about. Sorano-imouto… she was younger than him by a couple years. The Guildmaster of Fairy Tail before him. Hearing the sorceress’ comment made him lower his eyes a little, thinking deeply about her. It came out of nowhere, but… it made him moody.

She reached out her palm and asked for the Guild Mark to be stamped there, in which Mura moved the stamp tool closer to it. However, Kyuken’s repeating blabber appeared to have been heard by her - maybe she could hear spirits, which caused her to take a rather hostile stance with her entire arm and hand cloaked by the manifestation of a ruthless, monstrous grapple of a hand with long, sharp clows and a deep-black aura making it up. That magic… it scared Kyuken shitless. His eyes had lost life, and he was holding his breath while tears almost trickled out of fear.

Zirconis, too, was thrown aback. That suggested what kind of nature that her magic was… Zirconis looked distraught too. And the clawed, volatile fashion of the clawed hand… clearly animating the limb of a larger, monstrous being… so maybe, it was a type of Dragon Slayer Magic. Just like Kumiko’s, Althea’s, Arcadia’s and many others across Mura’s time in Fairy Tail. He came to understand how Dragon Slayer Magic felt and looked like, their similarities and boundaries.

And holy shit, what an aura.

Slowly, he put the stamp on the palm of her right hand, sweating a little bit. “I-I’m sure he was just-“

“M-M-M-M-Mura, c-calm her down, p-p-p-please, I b-beg you…” Kyuken whispered to the shaman, his teeth hammering against each other. Mind you, at this point, the ink from the stamping tool dried and presented the Guild Mark on Akemi’s right hand’s palm, so she was able to see and hear the two ghosts now.

“… A-Ah, Akemi. Fair name,” he commented. Despite being a Wizard Saint, Mura was on edge by the display. Maybe he should ask her about it…

“That hand… it’s a hunch, but is that a type of Lost Magic? It feels so similar to Dragon Slayer Magic, though…”

“That’s because it is…” Zirconis remarked, “Try and trust your senses a bit more, Mura…”

WC: 450
PWC: 2870
TWC: 5627

Akeya could now feel the fear wafting off of the invisible entity, radiating like a beacon. She didn't know exactly who or what it was, but it looked like it wasn't immune to intimidation even though it should know that Akeya couldn't actually see it. Not that that would stop her from attacking as long as she could use her other senses to locate it... Regardless, she was having her intended effect. She didn't mind people showing their appreciation for her attractive form but she wouldn't tolerate excessive perversion.

Somewhat surprisingly she also appeared to have an effect on Mura and the other invisible entity, despite them not being the target of her threatening gesture. The demonic claw was solely aimed towards the hidden Kyuken, but from the looks of it Mura wasn't immune to her intimidating aura either. Akeya's golden eyes had never left Mura's face, studying him with curiosity even as she held her hand out so he could give her the guild stamp. The sooner she received that the sooner they could move on and get to more important matters.

"Calm down. I haven't done anything yet." While her threat was real Akeya wasn't going to actually harm the scared invisible entity unless it tried pushing its luck after the warning. With the stamp having been applied to her hand Akeya pulled it back at the same time as she dismissed the demonic claw that had covered her left arm. She kept her right hand open to prevent disturbing the ink as it dried on her palm, glancing at it as the guild mark adopted a silver colour. She then turned her glare towards the two now visible spirits. "If you don't want to be scared you should be more careful with what you say."

Of more interest than the swordsman was the other spirit, however. Akeya raised her eyebrows when she looked at the spirit dragon. It wasn't like she had some kind of supernatural ability that allowed her to sense other dragons but she still hadn't expected one of those invisible beings to be a dragon, much less a spirit dragon. The raven-haired woman stared at him for several seconds before looking back towards Mura, placing her right hand back on the table now that the ink had dried. "...Lost magic is one way to describe this." Her voice was flat but she was cautious as well...

Her control over both light and dark meant that she was very good at deception. She'd done her best to make the claw look demonic and twisted, or at least monstrous rather than distinctly draconic. Unfortunately Mura's magic sensory was apparently sharp enough to tell that it was related to dragons, even if he himself wasn't confident enough to believe in it. But with Zirconis confirming that it was dragon magic the secret was out: Akeya couldn't deceive a fellow dragon about her magic once they'd already guessed as much.

"If you want to know more about my magic you'll have to find us a spot where we won't be overheard." She looked around the main hall of the guild. "Just because there's nobody here physically doesn't mean this place isn't too open." She had already accepted that she'd have to tell Mura about her true nature but she wanted to keep the amount of people who knew at a minimum. "And I sincerely hope you can keep those two from listening in as well, otherwise I'll have to make sure they remain silent with something a bit more dangerous than a single claw."

As she spoke she stood up and stretched. She wasn't used to sitting down, at least not on an actual chair. It was funny now that she thought about it, but she was pretty much always either standing or on the ground. Chairs and benches were... kind of ignored.

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… Kyuken wasn’t really going to clam down anytime soon, and Mura could see that on him. After the quickdraw that Akemi pulled, transforming her hand into that monstrosity of a spell in the blink of an eye, who wouldn’t be on edge? Mura managed to put himself back on track, for he had now enrolled a new member of Fairy Tail - the illustrious sorceress Akemi. Powerful, beautiful, and on bad terms with the easily frightened samurai spirit. If anything, this would help Kyuken with his perverted habits, for he often lived by them… and often intended to die by them, as futile as that would be for a ghost.

So, in a way, Akemi was already helping Mura with his glowing friend’s idiotic shtick.

Zirconis looked more skeptical than afraid, even when Akemi eyed him for a handful of seconds. When she replied about Lost Magic, Zirconis found it as a confirmation of his statement earlier - she, akin to Althea, possessed dragon-slaying ‘slayer-o-ddraigs’-like Dragon Slayer Magic… and a pretty chaotic one, judging purely by the graphical display of her claw before.

Thoughts swirled across his mind when she wanted for them to find a private spot, wishing to avoid eavesdropping and nosey ears and eyes. Those were the terms if he wanted to know more, which was found really, really weird by the Guildmaster. It was a first, really; one of his guildmates wanting a private chat with him about something this early on in their career as a Fairy Tail Wizard and, somehow, making it sound a little urgent and more important than he could assume by his own knowledge. After raising an eyebrow to her term, he began thinking of a good place… somewhere people rarely stepped by…

No, Kyuken, she wasn’t trying to seduce him. Shut up. He would turn her down, anyway, if that was the case, but it felt far from something as careless as wanting a private place to up one’s appeal.

“… I know a place,” Mura suggested while pointing up, although his plan required them to move down, “If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead us to a secluded place far from civilization… man, I haven’t visited this place myself in a while-”

“Wait, do you mean the-“

“Shh, don’t let the name out loud…”

“W-What… what about us, then?”

“You two stay here, in case Kumi-chan gets bored,” he informed them. The hard-working kitsune appreciated their company after fulfilling her self-imposed duties.

If Akemi would follow him, he would return to the elevator and open it by using his Guild Tattoo as a barcode on the surveillance Lacrima planted next to the elevator’s door. He would wait for Akemi to enter before taking it down.

In the middle of the upper wall of the guild hall, past the bar and the lounge, the elevator was located and mainly used not only for people who couldn’t walk - hey, you never know - but mainly as the only known way of transport down to the base bottom of the guild hall’s structure where two notable figures were located; the crystalline statue containing the Fifth Guildmaster of Fairy Tail, and the portal that led to Fairy Tail’s most hallowed grounds since the foundation.

Tenrou Island.

And Mura would simply walk out of the elevator once the designated level was reached, not saying a word until he passed through the portal and hoped for her to follow suit. The atmosphere changed into a world fueled by orange shrubbery, looking like fall while the leaves were as fresh as ever before. Tall trees reaching up to the sky, eternal spirits wandering everywhere, shy Fairies going into hiding, and the large Tree of Tenrou rooted in the middle of the island… any Fairy Tail Wizard could immediately feel the very air’s effect infusing their magical pools with a strange emotion. For Mura, it was… slightly homesickness.

“… So, now that no human soul other than us are present-“ he spoke to her, “What is it that you want to share with me?”

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As expected Zirconis wasn't letting himself be frightened easily. Given that he was a dragon, albeit a spirit dragon, it stood to reason that a display of another dragon's power would make him wary and suspicious rather than startled. Of course Akeya was confident that even among dragons she was a powerful specimen, but the difference wasn't so great that she expected the rest of her kin to bow down and worship her. No self-respecting dragon would, anyway. She knew that throughout history there were those who would declare themselves the rulers of dragonkind. Gods, kings and queens. Acnologia was one such entity.

However such ideas were for lesser beings. Dragons were highly independent and solitary, not to mention territorial and proud. They didn't form societies or groups like mortals did. For there to be a single ruler of dragons was a preposterous notion: at best a particularly powerful entity might be able to force a handful of dragons to obey their command, and even then only for as long as it took for the dragons to either lose their patience or find a weakness to exploit.

But that wasn't the main topic here. The other spirit, some humanoid swordsman, looked like he was still likely to wet himself. The natural response for a lesser being, even though Akeya could tell that this spirit was powerful, fearful attitude aside. If he resolved himself and stood steadfast he could actually pose a challenge in his own right, even if she found it doubtful that he would actually be able to beat her. Maybe she should calm him down? No, doing so would reveal more cards than she wished to reveal. It was already bad enough that she'd have to make the guild master aware of her true nature: anything more than that was unnecessary and detrimental to someone like her, who preferred to keep things under wraps when possible. At least Mura was finally seeing the need of some secrecy himself.

"Good. It'd be better if we get this out of the way quickly." She glanced back towards the spirits, nodding as Mura confirmed that they would have to stay behind. "I'm going to trust that you will listen to the guild master when he tells you to stay. If you don't..." She left the threat open-ended even as she walked forward to follow Mura, watching him use the elevator before stepping inside next to him.

When they reached the bottom level, the hidden basement, Akeya's eyes were drawn to the crystallized figure. Her golden eyes actually widened as she recognized him, ignoring Mura for a moment as she instead approached the statue and studied it with genuine surprise. "So that's where he ended up..." After several seconds she scoffed and placed a hand on her hip. "It figures that a man like him wouldn't die the normal way." Heero had been flamboyant, self-absorbed, boastful and noisy. However for quite some time he had been one of the most renowned, if not the most renowned, mage of Fiore. Akeya had never really liked him on a personal level but she could respect his power, and only a fool would deny that he was an unusual man. She wondered if he was stuck like this permanently, a crystalline headstone for his own grave, or if one day he'd return.

Shaking her head she left the statue behind and followed Mura through the portal. The truth was that this was long enough ago that she was probably one of the few people left who'd met Heero in person. Most sapient beings living in this realm had a significantly shorter lifespan, and because of that shorter memories and attention spans as well.

Stepping through the portal (with some caution, mind you) she wasn't sure what would happen next. It was clear that this was meant to relocate her, but not every portal worked the same. In the case of this portal she found the world around her fading away, replaced by a thick, cold grey mist that swirled around her. It was so dense that she couldn't even see the ground beneath her claws. More importantly, she couldn't sense Mura either. A trap?

Seeing something moving up ahead Akeya lowered her centre of mass and walked forward warily, ready to unleash hell upon any would-be assassin. Instead she found a gravestone rising up from the fog, ominous and solitary amidst the desolation of perpetual fog. She still couldn't see the ground, but she presumed that the headstone marked a grave.

Her golden eyes narrowed when she saw what was written on the grave. It was her name. Not the fake name Akemi, but her actual full name. There was no date on the tombstone, but the fact that whoever made it knew her real name and had apparently caught her going through the portal was already problematic enough. Was the gravestone a warning? Or had the portal simply sent her to the wrong location?

Regardless, she quickly responded to the taunt by ripping the carefully sculpted stone apart with one swipe from her monstrous dark claw, sending small fragments flying off into the distance. Once she did that the fog rapidly faded away, leaving her standing on Tenrou Island next to Mura, as if she had appeared out of thin air. She quickly glanced around, but there was nobody around other than the guild master and various mythical creatures which were quickly categorized to belonging on the island.

"...Maybe it's because of the time of the year..." She muttered to herself. Halloween was close by after all, and while most people treated it as nothing more than an opportunity to celebrate the truth was that during All Hallow's Eve otherworldly forces could easily reach into this realm and cause strange phenomena to occur.

"You might want to be careful going back through that portal. For now, however..." with one wave of her arm a cloak of darkness poured forth and surrounded the two of them, forming a dome which would hide them from the outside world. She was willing to believe that nobody else was in this mythical place, but it didn't hurt to add another layer of security.

That said, this place was making her feel... tranquillity. Contentedness, perhaps? There was something strange in the air here. She could feel a certain resonance between herself and the atmosphere. She couldn't immediately pinpoint it, but she could already guess that this place was special for members of Fairy Tail, which included her now that she'd received the stamp.

At first the dark dome obscured all vision, but slowly stars would form throughout. An individual spark of light here and there, followed by entire constellations until it was like the dome was shaped out of a piece of night sky itself. This would allow Mura to see that Akeya's form had changed: aside from becoming taller her pale skin had turned olive, her golden eyes had turned emerald, and her clothes had changed into something more suited for her new appearance. An appearance that included a powerful tail, scales on her arms, legs, back and sides, horns on her head, and large wings folded on her back.

Planting a claw on her hip like before Akeya looked at Mura, studying him to see how he would react. "I am the Twilight Dragon Akeya. I hope it's obvious why I would rather as few people knew about this as possible." The truth was that thanks to Akeya's secretive nature she was simultaneously renowned and a mystery to the world. The average person probably had never heard of her, but those who were more deeply entangled with the more... interesting parts of reality should be aware of her. The assassin who started out in the old guild of Blue Pegasus, remaining there until the guild's eventual demise, and then appearing to act as an independent mage but at the same time having some connection to Onyx Moon until recently that guild disappeared as well.

"Given that Fairy Tail was in an alliance with Onyx Moon you might have been informed as guild master that I was also part of that guild. As such you shouldn't have any complaints about me joining Fairy Tail, given that I was already an ally beforehand." The problem of course that her reputation was that she was a cold and pragmatic assassin, showing little real emotion and always focusing on completing her missions efficiently and furthering her own goals. Mura seemed like the kind of guild master who wouldn't mind too much as long as she showed no intentions of bringing harm to the guild, but it was always possible for her expectations to be mistaken.

Appearance:

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Hmh. It took a hot minute for her to arrive through the portal - maybe she noticed something interesting back in the basement. Thinking that through, it wouldn’t take a genius level of intellect to assume that she might’ve glanced over at the large crystal back there, the one containing Heero. Why did Heero want to get enclosed in a crystalline substance like that? While his magical prowess was still present - weakened due to the fact that it was a dead corpse, mind that - Mura couldn’t decide whether Heero just wanted his remaining magic power to charge the guild like a battery or if he just thought it was cool. His testament was so weird…

Then again, if he had lived a little longer, maybe he would’ve reconsidered his last resting place. Seeing his corpse yet standing inside that crystal reminded Mura of his younger past; back when he was accepted into the guild by Guildmaster Heero, learning from him, going on his first international quest with him, fighting him, and… seeing his corpse return to the guild on that depressing day.

Heero reminded Mura of all of his old guildmates who were no more… his Mistress and Mentor, Kanix, was gone, and his senpai Ken was gone as well. He was the last one remaining in his old team, and Fairy Tail had undergone a lot of opposition and challenges throughout its recovery. Fairy Tail… in his eyes, the guild hadn’t changed as much as other people would think; yeah, they were active freedom fighters and renowned mercenaries to the point where some far ends of the world feared them rather than respected them, but in his eyes, it was still his precious gathering of mutual souls where camaraderie found its way through members’ hearts no matter their backgrounds. It wasn’t just because of his magic that he saw the guild in such a spiritual manner.

Maybe it was Sorano-imouto’s decision back in Lucie’s trial… or maybe it was when the guild grew with Nessa or Aven or Althea or… or maybe it was earlier than that. Maybe it had always been seeded deep inside his heart, and he just noticed its presence during hardship. Maybe he noticed it after those hardships became ease - how the guild flourished with Vandrad’s efforts, or maybe he noticed it just here and now. Maybe he noticed it when hotheads like Magnus challenged everyone to a fight, reminding him of the boastful Heero so many years ago, or maybe… maybe he noticed this feeling when Leo returned.

It was difficult to say when exactly he noticed it, but it bubbled up when he was amongst his guildmates. His beloved guildmates. All of them. It was a fire… no, hewas a fire.

And this fire swore to take care of the guild… so that when he would, on one fateful day, meet Heero again in the fields of the afterlife - the one who sacrificed so much for him, who embodied the warmth and strength of bonds that he intertwined with ever since stepping into the hall for the first time - he would tell them everything…

“… Shadows…”

“She manipulates shadows? A Dragon S-… S-…” Zirconis stammered, coming to quite a realization upon the arriving dots on the black scene, imitating the night sky itself. They felt like they were in space, surrounded by the constellations and the void between them. However, the heaven was but a brief spectacle that died out in comparison to the appearance of Akemi in front of them.

She had a strong, reptilian tail grown out of the lower end of her spine. Scales, small and large, coated large parts of her now matte, dark skin - they shined a grim, dark-violet color like the feathers of a raven. A pair of rigged horns had sprouted out from her skull, and a pair of large, draconian wings were spread out.

Then, she made it all clear to him - although he could definitely see the similarities to a Dragon, Mura had never seen a dragon take on a humanoid form. A first time for everything.

And she was a previous member of Onyx Moon… that said, Mura did remember intel about a particularly deadly dracomage in that guild, but no more details were revealed to him back then. So this dracomage was actually the Twilight Dragon, Akeya, who now appeared before him… funny how things strung back together throughout the years.

“… Y-Yeah. I see… if you wish to avoid attention, then smart move. Although…” he responded, his eyes glancing over her dragon-like features with mild amaze, an almost childish one. Most of Fairy Tail and Magnolia had already seen dragons, so Mura couldn’t see why Akeya wanted to keep it a secret… maybe she had past enemies who tried to track her down, or maybe it was a whole other matter that he couldn’t begin to imagine. He assumed, at least, that there was a reason - and a pretty good one. He put faith in that and continued. “W-Wait, so… Zirconis was right! You do possess Dragon Slayer Magic - or, well, Dragon Magic… your own, natural magic, that is… Man, Thea-chan- I mean, Althea would be super-thrilled to meet a Dragon.”

Althea was, in Mura’s eyes, Fairy Tail’s proud example of a human being who possessed the ancient power of a Dragon - a Dragon Slayer. Given her past, though… maybe ‘relieved’ would be her reaction to meet a Dragon who wasn’t like her Mentor, that weirdo. Mura felt that an interaction between the two of them would prove interesting.

“Is this your real form?” he asked - I mean, just glance at Zirconis, then glance at any other dragon in Mura’s life - Akeya stood out sharply with her bipedal, humanoid form. She could be a hybrid, but he felt that it was more like Transformation Magic in play, but then again - she just said that this was a secret of hers.

“I’ve never seen a Dragon take such a… human-like appearance.”

“Me neither. It’s pretty cool, like a human-dragon hybrid.”

Mura was hyped to face a Dragon like Akeya. And to have her as a guildmate was even better. While she had made things clear about her preferences concerning teamwork, comradeship, camaraderie and the like, Mura concluded that she was polite and reasonable despite her reputation.

“And your magic power is off the roof, I wonder how far it can go… you look a bit like me when I use Zirconis’ magic-”

His free hand grasped the green spirit ball that was Zirconis, much to the green dragon’s surprise, and let it leak into his chest before spreading his arms out. His veins pulsated through his skin, and a green aura leaked out of him in various areas, imitating fire before solidifying in the growth of large, green gems and dark-green scales. A pair of uneven fins burst out from the sides of his skull, substituting horns. The night sky around them were hugged by arms of green, powerful Dragon Magic expanding from his position. While they appeared more asymmetrical on Mura’s figure, the scales coating his skin resembled Akeya’s form but in its own way; a fusion between him and Zirconis resulted in him being able to channel the dragon’s power through his own, human body…

Given the difference between a human and a dragon, it didn’t last as long as with Kyuken.

“That’d make two, real dragons in Fairy Tail, as of today.”

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Akeya didn't protest as Mura clearly satisfied his curiosity in studying her new appearance. Given that she usually relied on disguises and transformations to hide her draconic nature it wasn't terribly surprising that when she finally revealed themselves some people would become rather absorbed into taking note of all the little details. Although she did raise an eyebrow when he left his reply to her first comment open-ended. Was he wondering why she'd been so insistent on showing him her true nature when at the same time she was trying to keep it a secret? She couldn't read minds, so she couldn't know for sure. "Given that you're the guild master keeping you in the metaphorical dark could become a problem in the future, but other than that I prefer to not have too many eyes on me." Given that she was a self-proclaimed assassin and all around not very good person she didn't want people scrutinizing her every move, even if to the average person she was probably less dangerous than most wild beasts.

"It would also be difficult to hide this from another dragon, yes." It wasn't like dragons had the supernatural ability to sense other dragons, but given that most dragons used a similar kind of magic it was pretty easy to recognize. Akeya didn't know Zirconis, but she imagined that like herself he used the kind of elemental magic that dragons were famous for. Even if her element was... a bit unorthodox.

She snorted when Mura commented on the fact that other guild members would be enthusiastic about meeting a dragon. "I'm not planning to reveal myself to every member of the guild. So whether she gets to meet one depends on whether it becomes necessary for her to be aware of it." Akeya admittedly didn't know anything about this Althea person, but if she was just one of the many members of the guild then most likely she'd be left ignorant.

"Of course it isn't." She stated with a slightly disappointed look in her emerald eyes. "This form is merely convenient. My true self would be difficult to hide, and makes communication with mortal-sized individuals difficult." She wasn't entirely pleased that Zirconis was here, but since he was the one that had figured out that she had dragon magic she guessed it couldn't be helped. She looked at the dragon spirit. "I'm aware that most dragons don't. There's not much reason to if you don't interact with mortals on a regular basis." If she lived somewhere out in the middle of nowhere with nobody else around Akeya would also probably stick to her real form more often.

She didn't really have anything to say about the compliment to her magic power, mostly because to her it was stating the obvious. Dragons were always powerful: at least, ones which weren't considered failures by their own kind. While Mura wasn't weak by the standards of mortals, and in fact was powerful enough that he could face a hostile dragon and escape with his life intact, that didn't remove the fact that for dragons the standard level of power was a lot higher.

Instead she watched with curiosity as Mura began to perform some kind of technique with the dragon spirit. Seeing the two of them merge her eyes widened, but then she began to smirk with some amusement, especially at the end result. She even went so far as to chuckle a little. "...Hah. Talk about ironic." She titled her head as she studied Mura's new appearance, nodding in agreement with his observation. "Although it appears that the first dragon is bound to you. That said, it is rather amusing that your method of using his magic is to let it flow through your body. It's like a temporary version of what dragon slayer magic was supposed to be: dragon magic sealed inside a mortal body." She folded her arms as she watched him with some curiosity. "Of course I imagine that this won't last very long: dragon magic is not only powerful but more primal than what mortals are used to. As you're probably aware dragon slayers slowly turn into dragons themselves as the magic changes them, but in your case since it's a temporary infusion it'll just run out." Akeya did know quite a bit about how dragon slayer magic worked, as she found it a curious subject. In the face of the might of dragons, gods and demons the mortals sought ways to harness that same strength, and their answer had been to become like that which they rivalled.

It was still hilarious to her that these days most of them didn't realize that doing so meant they slowly abandoned that precious humanity they valued so much. Dragon slayers became dragons, god slayers became demons, and demon slayers became... well, something divine, at any rate.

"So how long can you maintain this form?"

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Hmh… nah, Althea would quickly divert her interest into something else, wouldn’t she? Would she? He barely knew.

And she did make a point in the fact that, if you lived in a secluded area all by yourself, any entity would feel more comfortable in their real form - whether they be demons, dragons or divine entities. It wasn’t like Mura would want to stay in a human form among human-fearing rats, would he? If he ever found himself in a world of rats, that would prove troublesome… but could he really imagine how it was to live like that? He didn’t think he had the facilities to relate at all, so perhaps he should just think about something else…

Her little chuckle made Mura aware of her interest in the technique he just performed to bind Zirconis’ soul through him. She had been very focused and kept a grey face from the beginning of today, so this was a little jab to the side - in a pleasant way, however. Yes, Zirconis was bound to him through this spell, and with that, he could draw strength from the spirit of the dragon… as Akeya- no… as Akemi put it, it was like a temporary version of Dragon Slayer Magic - just exclude the ability to eat jade and emeralds, since Mura’s body wasn’t that of a Dragon Slayer at all. It was due to its pure focus on the auric presence of Dragon Magic in him that also proved to grant some drawbacks - being that he couldn’t eat magic and that his body could only harbor Zirconis’ spirit for a short time…

Depending on what he was doing.

Whether or not this would surprise Akemi, Mura didn’t actually know that Dragon Slayers slowly turned into dragons themselves per using their magic overtime… that actually came as a shock to him. “I-It does that to them?” he asked her, honestly a little worried… it would be a side jab if Althea suddenly went full dragon without being aware of it. Did Althea know this, herself? No, she must’ve; Akemi made it sound trivial.

… How would an Althean Dragon even look like? Y’know, given her stoic nature - okay, maybe she would vow revenge if someone stole her crepe, but stoic nonetheless in other aspects - maybe she wouldn’t mind transforming into a dragon. Yet, he felt that he needed to inform her, at the very least - unless if she knew, already. Then it was just him who needed to read some more…

“… I hope it won’t be too much for her.”

Yup, stuff for future thoughts. Akemi did also ask him about how long he could keep this. “Not for long… I’d say 5 minutes max. It does depend on how much mana I expel in battle, though,” he answered. His muscles sored up pretty quickly when Zirconis harbored his body - the stress on his limbs was in constant unrest.

“…” Akemi did seem intrigued by this in a way, in which Mura smirked back, “Say, it might not be true Dragon Slayer Magic, but I bet I can hold my own against the genuine article.” He raised his clenched fist towards her and took a defensive stance as the green aura around him mimicked leathery wings. His teeth grew sharper, and draconian traits began to intensify ever so slowly…

Then, he began swinging his hands around with crooked, bent fingers. The green fires coming from them had dark-black nuances and strong, sharp contrasts that looked as ferocious as Akemi’s dragon arm from before. Those lights released shards of jade tough as ever in his tracks as he clawed the air around him, simply showcasing his capabilities with the Green Dragon’s spirit. He would enclose a foot in tough emerald growing out like the expansion of ice, then kick out and watch as the block of gem exploded and sent shrapnel in that direction. Unlike when he swung his katana, these moves looked like they aimed to rip flesh rather than just kill immediately. They looked predatory, as expected.

One of the auric wings could be used as a fan blade. By turning his torso, Mura let the wing slash the void - remember the night sky they both found themselves in at the moment - and leave trails of green, burning aura behind as slash marks. At last, with a violent haste, his muscles began to twitch rabidly… and a gust of gems surrounded his person, until he was a black silhouette in the middle of a green storm.

It was risky to continue, but it hadn’t been 5 minutes quite yet.

“I-I don’t know why, but I reaaaaally want to beat you up right now…!” Mura suddenly spoke to Akemi out of nowhere, his form still coated behind the green hurricane that shook the void of space around them, “Z-Zirconis, what’s this? Huh… you think you’re stronger?! But you’re dead…!”

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Akeya raised an eyebrow as Mura reacted to her statement with surprise. "You weren't aware?" She would have thought that the guild master of Fairy Tail would be a knowledgeable man, even if he was still young. While the average mage might not know about the true nature of dragon slayers, and many dragon slayers in fact didn't learn of this until after they'd already began to use the magic, she had expected differently from someone like Mura. However her expectations didn't change the facts, and she'd just have to explain things in a bit more detail.

"As already stated, the core idea of slayer magic is that you imbue yourself with the essence of a powerful creature. The standard examples being dragons, gods and demons." Akeya kept her arms folded as she explained the basics. "This allows mortals to use similar abilities and, in theory, attain a similar level of power. As you're most likely aware in practice most slayers take a long time before they can be considered in the same league as the creature they're imitating. However their odds of achieving that level of power are still better than those of other mages, especially once their magic begins to change them."

"Truthfully it's only common sense that attempting to imitate the power of a magical creature would come with side effects. From my understanding the first mortals who internalized dragon magic had hoped to become as powerful as a dragon while remaining themselves. When they found out what I just told you they didn't react well." She snorted at that, looking rather disdainful and without sympathy. "Most of you mortals, humans and similar, have this strange belief that there's something amazing about your own species. Of course dragons like myself also have such pride but it's easier justified for us. After all, we are powerful enough that mortals would seek to imitate us in an attempt to share in our magnificence. Mortals, on the other hand..." She shrugged. She doubted Mura would be happy if she just began to bash humans and similar creatures. "Regardless, as slayers improve and refine their magic, making it their own, their own being also changes to match the magic. Dragon slayers become draconic, god slayers become diabolic, demon slayers become divine. There's a lot of variables involved which affect the speed and the completeness of such changes. Most dragon slayers can spend years looking almost completely normal before they realize there's scales on their back and their toenails are beginning to rip their socks apart." Which she herself found hilarious.

She raised an eyebrow when Mura appeared to be concerned for someone. Given what he'd said prior about someone called Althea wanting to meet the dragoness Akeya could make a guess at who he might be worried about and why. "If you know someone who uses slayer magic while being unaware of this you might want to inform them. There are ways to delay the process... if you can think of a reason why you'd want to." So far as she was concerned any sensible slayer would welcome the changes. It wasn't like turning into a dragon robbed you of anything important after all.

Her other eyebrow went up when the guild master began to talk about matching a genuine dragon in strength. She observed with some curiosity as he began to showcase some of the power this ability gave him, including sending jade shrapnel into the night sky that enveloped the both of them. From the looks of it... "A drawback of internalizing the magic of a dragon while said dragon's ego is still active." Zirconis's personality was interfering with Mura's and making him behave differently. An issue that standard slayers didn't face. Mura on the other hand relied on a dragon's spirit to achieve this form.

"You might want to reconsider that." She stated dryly as Mura, or rather Zirconis, challenged her with visible aggression. "For starters, we're too close to the portal. You might damage it if you aren't careful." She was somewhat doubtful that Zirconis would heed her advice. A nigh-universal trait for dragons was a territorial attitude: they didn't like other dragons entering what they considered their domain, at least not without showing proper respect. Given that Akeya had just walked in here it wasn't a surprise that Zirconis would now want to establish himself as in charge.

While Akeya remained calm she'd unfolded her arms and lowered her stance a little, her emerald eyes now studying Mura/Zirconis with more caution. "I exceed you in raw power, and this is not the ideal time to compare our respective skills. I suggest you cancel that form before this escalates." Given that Akeya wanted her true identity to remain a secret for most of the guild she didn't exactly want to throw around her magic in a place which other guild members could stumble into.

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TWC: 12,123

Despite Zirconis’ beckon for combat, Mura listened to Akemi’s explanation about how Slayer Magic meant more than just take on the figurative forms of the sources from which that Lost Magic originated from. It was an old piece of lore that Mura hadn’t known until now, for guess what? He had never heard about that side effect from any of his closer friends and guildmates who wielded the same type of magic as Akemi.

He had never seen Heero transform into a Dragon, and the late Master never informed Mura of such a thing. He had never seen Althea take on the physical form of a Dragon or any bodily alterations pointing to said species’ characteristics besides during the casting of her Dragon Slayer Spells. Ibara never turned into a Dragon himself - at least not in Mura’s vicinity. Neither had Hana shown any signs of such all those years ago… neither Gamon nor Haru nor Winter nor Kumi nor anyone else. And if said case was the same for other types of Slayers, then… that would put Menka and Thost in the limelight too. Did they know about this? He should inform them, lest they meet a shocking transformation without direct approval or desire…

Then again, would it be too bad to transform if they possessed Transformation Magic as a hotkey? That way, they could still sustain… but would it be the same-

It felt like a personal preference in the end, over which Mura had no authority. At least, informing them was necessary, so he kept it at that.

Yeah, Zirconis wasn’t being very considerate to the area around them - or, at least, around the space that they found themselves in. Tenrou Island could get injured pretty badly from an all-out dragon brawl, which was the last thing that Mura wanted to deal with later on. However, to suppress a dragon’s will was no walk in the park, and his veins began to press further up on his skin over time.

Steam erupted from his clenched teeth, signaling a somewhat decrease in aggression exchanged by another struggle; to make Zirconis calm down. While it was Mura’s body, he never underestimated the kind of influence that Zirconis or Kyuken played on him when they merged souls like this. Still, Mura’s muscles tightened up and suddenly began to deflate again, while the green aura stopped leaking from everywhere and, instead, collected itself right in front of his chest as a green blob of life energy was slowly phasing out through his ribcage.

With a last push, Zirconis was finally purged from Mura’s body - his face told that he less than appreciated that action. He growled silently, simply dissatisfied…

“*huff*… Gee, Zir, don’t get so fired up so quickly,” Mura moaned in discomfort, “S-Sorry about that, Akemi… I guess being around another dragon got him rivved up.” While scratching the back of his head, it really felt like a lot of time had passed by between the two of them. Was the sun still up outside of the shadowy atmosphere?

“… So! Well, I almost forgot to ask earlier - you got any place to stay?” Mura decided to change the subject to something more practical and, perhaps, necessary to the Twilight Dragon, “Behind the guild hall, across the grass field, is a complex where you’ll be assigned a room and storage for your equipment- in case you need such.”

Since Akemi had made it clear that she preferred solitude in her endeavors, Mura felt that getting her out on the field was suitable. She didn’t seem like the person who would want to get to know the other members well. “If any issues arise, you can always share them with me or with my Aces - Nessa, Aven or Althea - so… if that’s cool and all, why don’t ya come with me again? Got some work to keep you busy.”

His next plan was to go through the portal and return to the guild’s basement again, then approach a table with job files sent to the guild by clients all over Earthland. These included, for instance, a beckon for guards to escort illegal immigrants trying to flee Pergrande, a desire to have a certain noble in Minstrel’s head chopped off, a call to have an old Etherion Cannon made by the Magic Council destroyed completely as well as many other types of labor that said Magic Council wouldn’t have a guild near the heart of Fiore performing behind their backs… especially not in destroying objects that they could use for later. That would be considered a terror act, no?

Well, too bad. Fairy Tail wasn’t that bratty, little kid who always annoyed its mother just to the brink of meltdown before stopping every single day. Akemi was likely at terms with that, already…

WC: 806
TWC: 12,929

Akeya watched with some curiosity as there appeared to be an internal conflict in the double entity standing before her. Zirconis was clearly itching for a fight, but Mura wasn't in agreement, judging from the way his muscles were bulging and he was straining against his own body, resisting the dragon spirit's desires. The fact that he could even do so was already impressive: Akeya didn't know much about this Zirconis, but if he was a proper dragon his force of will should be considerable enough that overwhelming and suppressing it would be no small feat, even for a guild master.

It didn't look like Mura was going to lose the contest of wills, so Akeya relaxed and watched as slowly all that magic which had been seeping from the transformed man began to gather and concentrate into a single spot, reforming Zirconis's spirit form as Mura managed to cancel the transformation and separate the two of them. From the looks of it the green dragon wasn't particularly happy, but quite frankly Akeya didn't care much about that. "It would have been better if he'd stayed behind." Was Akeya's rather blunt response to Mura apologizing for Zirconis's behaviour. "It looks like he's pretty territorial." She turned her gaze to Zirconis, emerald eyes glaring at him with the assassin's usual intense focus, as if she was trying to pierce him with her concentrated glare alone. "Nevertheless, it's impressive that you could force him out after his pride had already flared up." She might not be very open and warm but she could give credit where credit was due.

"Well, it's unimportant. As for whether I've got a residence, I can find a place to rest when I need one." Her voice was a bit curt as she said that. She did have a lair, carefully hidden, but she wasn't about to say it straight out. The less people tried to figure out where her home was, the better. Less bodies to bury, and if she eliminated the guild master of Fairy Tail for being too nosy it would be more trouble than she could handle. The guilds of Fiore might often be in competition with each other but none of them would react kindly to one of their leaders disappearing. And then there were the Rune Knights... Serilda and Mythal were no joke, and the fact that Serilda liked her wouldn't mean she'd be pardoned for murder.

Considering Mura's offer the dragoness folded her arms before nodding. "I suppose it's useful to make use of that, if only so as to keep up appearances. Somewhat unusually I've never held a strong desire for a lair. It hinders mobility." Once you had a home you would develop the habit of trying to not stray too far from it, whether consciously or subconsciously. Akeya would rather not have people notice that she often lingered in a certain area.

She gave another nod as the spiritualist suggested getting her started on her first job for Fairy Tail. "A sound idea." It was why she'd joined the guild after all. Swiping the air with one claw the dome of starry night dispersed, light and dark swirling around Akeya and returning her to the appearance of Akemi before she stepped through the portal and followed Mura to where the jobs were waiting for someone to claim them. As she had already been expecting the jobs were right up her alley. She could perform well out in the open but her speciality meant she excelled in situations where a certain level of subtlety and stealth was required.

Eventually she'd have to at least learn the name and appearance of the other members of Fairy Tail to avoid problematic encounters in the field, but for this first task she'd take the assassination job and head off to do something she actually wished to do: hone her skills, and eliminate her target while meeting all the criteria within the margin of perfection.

WC: 663
PWC: 7,467
TWC: 13,592

13,592-2,244 = 11,348