"Duplicitous Duo"

"Duplicitous Duo"

Magnolia

Since becoming an S class wizard, Zachary took his drive into Fairy Tail far more seriously. He now was no longer a 'kid' wizard trying to impress the drunks in the guildhall-- but someone at the forefront of being the guild's well known wizard and with the desire to make them a respected guild once more, Zachary was determined to take on more difficult jobs than just investigating some monsters or finding a lost item.

Dressed in his blue jacket and with Astral, the little adorable star fairy resting on his head, he now stood before the job board mulling over his next big quest. He had many adventures and collected many Spirits keys to help him. His summons was not just strong, but he also was strong in a new form of magic he learned for his S class trial. If anyone had any doubts about what he was capable of, they would learn better after clashing with him.

Still, with power came responsibility, and he was determined to put his power to good use. Zachary would read the board, a bit stumped at what to take. While he could have gone to the top floor and take one of the more 'difficult' jobs, he wanted to take a harder regular one in order to better grasp his new magic and make himself better known in a city. As he was reading each job cluttered on the request board, Astral, the little star fairy on his head, looked at the board for its pictures and colors. Curious, the little star floated off Zachary's blue-haired head and grabbed a random flyer of a bright purple color. Pwetty! Pick this wone, Pick this wone! he chirped.

Zachary gave a half-smile as he took the flyer, seeing it being a babysitting job. "Maybe next time, Astral-buddy. We want a grand adventure to go on,"he said as he put the flyer back.

"You should do one that has a good quality of experience, not just about increasing your 'fame'," a broad sounding voice spoke behind him.

Zachary turned to find none other than Leo, aka Ajani, behind him. In his idle form, he appeared as a tribal were-lion with white fur and leather armor. The lion had his arms crossed as he looked at Zachary and the board.

"Leo? When did you appear?" Zachary asked, not recalling summoning him.

The lion scoffed with a grunt and a brush of his paw. "I'm more than capable of coming here on my own magic. I was observing from the Celestial World and figure I come and give you a hand selecting it. If you are planning to do a big job, no doubt you will need me there, right?" he asked.

Zachary smiled as he saw the lion beside him, and appreciated his initiative. "Yeah. That's very much appreciated, Ajani. Thanks." he said with appreciation.

Astral's face lit up with joy to see Leo before him. His little arms went up in the air. Yay-yay! Leow's hewe! Huggies! Astral cried in tele-talk and flew to try and face-hug the lion, something it tried to do often to people.

Leo's face skewed with alarm and intercepted the cute star-critter with his paw, holding him easily in his paw and keeping him at a distance. "For the love of Andromeda, what is it with you people and hugs?" he growled, causing a chuckle from Zachary as Astral continued to try and fly forward against the large arm.

WC: 580

As the trio viewed over the job board, another figure would soon approach the board too, a playful smirk crossing her features. It had been a little while since she’d last seen Zach and his spirits, with the kitsune having gained access to her third magic in the meantime and the brunette couldn’t have been happier with how things were going. The power of the vampire now resided within her, alongside her other slayer powers which had all seemed to find perfect harmony with each other. It felt so good and Menka had a swagger to her movements, even more so than usual. Her battle with Scrooge in Clover Town had been a nice little test for her powers and she was more confident than ever in her skills and what was more, she’d come to enjoy the thrills that came from combat. The vixen had come to understand that she could get the same sense of passion and lust that she got from rolling around with her partners, which just might have been the link that she’d been missing all along.

Watching the three, her crimson orbs would fall upon the tall looking figure standing besides Zach. He didn’t look quite human and judging from the growl to his voice, the kitsune was willing to take a guess that this was Leo, the Zodiac spirit that Zach had told her about the last time they’d spoken. He didn’t sound too happy either and as Menka’s ears twitched with curiosity, she’d walk up behind the spirit and whisper into his ear, “Oh, come now. There’s no need to be like that. What’s wrong with a hug now and again? It might help you to loosen up a bit.” Her tone was flirty as usual, despite the fact that she’d never met the spirit before. “It’s nice to meet you, Leo?”

Chuckling, she’d turn her gaze to his summoner, looking over the blue haired summoner. “Hey there, Zach. Anything caught your eye?” Referring to both herself and the job board. Given the state that he’d found her in last time, Menka hadn’t been able to truly appreciate her rescuer properly. That wasn’t going to be the case today. The brunette was as fit as ever and as her eyes turned towards the board, she’d chuckle and add, “So, who are we going to help out today?” She was pretty eager to actually get out there and do something other than mingle for once and felt quite inspired by her last few successful jobs. What trouble could they get themselves in today?

(431 Words)
(431 PWC)

The seductive and sly fox was quick to act as she spotted Zachary and company and snuck up drawn to the uptight Leo. Leo's ears and whiskers twitched as he spun around and jumped back, startled by the seductive tone and words.

Astral watched on calmly, clearly oblivious to the antics Menka liked to play, while Zachary looked surprised to see her, but melted into a sigh as he realized Leo was perfect 'prey' for her.

Menka! Astral chirped in greeting to her. The sweet star fairy clearly was too innocent to really tell anything about her flirtatious nature. He was in reality no different from a baby in development.

Recovering from the surprise, Zachary smiled. "Leo, Menka. Menka, Leo. Menka is one of my guildmates I am helping out," he explained to Leo.

Leo had a flustered look on his face as he looked over the shorter kitsune sorceress. "Er-- N-nice to meet you, miss," he said formally, trying to keep up his more noble, regal behavior.

At Menka's question regarding the job board, Zachary turned to it, still in search to find a suitable job. "I haven't really made much of a name for myself since becoming S class, so I figure now I should hit the ground running sort-of-speak," he said as his hand skimmed the flyers on the board.

It was then his hand stopped at one that seemed to interest him. A flyer with multiple silhouettes with question marks in them. At the top was written in big, bold letters "Dobblegangers". Curious, he picked up the flyer and read the description aloud. "What about this one?" Zachary said and began to read it. "Reports in the town of Cedar of numerous crimes being committed and vandalism at the hands of different people-- all whom later when question state they are innocent and/or have airtight alibi despite eye-witness testimonies of the perpetrators. We have reason to suggest this is the work of a potential shape-shifter or other means of false-identity. Requesting help to discover the perpetrator. "

As many of the words went over his head, Astral gave his usual clueless coo and tilted his head at the topic at hand. Leo, however, was deep in thought with his arms crossed his naked furry chest . "Hmmm... that will be a tricky one, but I think that would be one worth doing. People being accused of crimes when they are in fact innocent is a worthy cause to help. Shapeshifters by nature are a dangerous lot." Leo said matter-of-factly.

"I hope you are not counting Tama among them. You know she hates that stigmata," Zachary said in defense to one of his other spirits-- one Menka had yet to meet but would possibly like. Tama, short for Tamamohime, was a fox kitsune celestial spirit that had shown nothing but loyalty and dedication to Zachary since day one. He was well aware that the reputation of such creatures was in their lore, but he never thought less of them at all.

Leo, clearly surprised by that, showed a regretful look on his face. "I meant no offense to Lady Tama. Still, it be foolish to underestimate this matter. Shapeshifters create chaos and turmoil as easily as breathing. Whole wars could be started by their madness. " he explained.

While there was a risk of stereotypes with tricksters or those called that in history, Zachary saw his point. It was a different kind of danger than just fighting some bandits or some dangerous monster rampaging the countryside. Still, this was the kind of mission to help prove himself among Fairy Tail. "I say we take this," Zachary said as he held up the flyer. "Menka, you want to join us?" he offered.

Yay! Astral cheered fluttering around Menka. Menka! Come with us! Come with us! Fwiends! He clearly was excited and wouldn't stop till he got an answer -- eventually plopping on top of her head.

WC: 659

“I think you’re judging us a little harshly, Leo,” the kitsune cut in jokingly, amused by his rather stereotypical view of shapeshifters. Sure, she'd played a few tricks over the years but that was just a part of who she was and that was the same for most of her kind. “I’m sure if you gave me the chance, I could show you that we’re not all malicious creatures who like to cause mayhem.” He was just too good a target for her teasing and the brunette knew already that she was going to have a lot of fun hanging around the strapping lion. Damn, he was muscular and it was hard for the kitsune’s gaze not to start wandering. The fact that she’d detected the slight stutter in his voice when he’d spoken to her only made him more of a target and she wondered if perhaps she could maybe get him to lighten up a bit. A challenge for sure but one she relished.

“Sounds like fun,” she replied to Zach’s offer, chuckling. It seemed like it was going to be a tough one but the vixen was confident that they’d be able to find the troublemakers. Brawn wasn’t going to be the go to way of solving it for sure although that didn’t worry Menka too much. It was just going to take a little brain power in order to figure it all out. Alright, she wasn’t the brain of Earthland or anything but perhaps her own shapeshifting skills could be useful. “I suppose we’re going to have to have to be on guard in case Leo’’s prediction comes true and they try to start a war or something.” The smirk that crossed her face and the look in her eyes was more than enough to show that she was teasing the lion again.

Feeling a slight weight upon her head, Menka’s ears would twitch and her eyes rose upwards to see the little star. Smiling, she’d pick up the little star and hold him in her arms. “Of course I’ll go with you,” she added to the little spirit, her hands briefly glowing and producing a nice treat for the little guy. She’d become fond of the little star so quickly and Menka couldn’t help but create a cookie for him whenever she saw him. He was small for sure but his appetite for cookies seemed to be endless. It was a good thing that she’d gotten a grip on her cookie slayer by now and in a way, she thought that perhaps continuing to feed him with her lovely treats was a source of thanks for him saving her.

Her interest had been piqued by the conversation about another of Zach’s spirits earlier and she piped up again, “You never told me that you had a shapeshifter among your spirits. You’ll have to introduce me to her some time.” Truthfully, she hoped that she'd meet a lot of Zach’s companions over time. Leo and Aquila were certainly quirky in their own ways and Menka felt a kind of connection between herself and those of the spirit realm.

(523 WC)
(954 PWC)

Menka's teasing was only souring the lion's mood. Sure she was an attractive woman even more so as a kitsune, but Leo-- Ajani-- was not one to be easily swayed by such things. He was the leader of the Zodiac and wasn't willing to allow this woman to rile him up. Still with his arms crossed, he firmed up his face and just huffed in agreement to what she said, appearing as stalwart as he aimed to be. "Fun wouldn't be the word I choose, young lady. Do be sure to keep your wits with you," Leo said in closing.

Despite the icy exchange with Leo trying to be so tough and stern, Zachary rubbed the back of his neck. At least he was interested in participating. "Well, that's great then. We can all go together. Let's get the next train and make our way there. " he said as he took the flyer and got ready to check it out. All the while Astral cheered that Menka would join them on their quest.

***

Before long they were at the train station. Catching the latest train was no problem and they arrived just in time. While it would take them a couple of hours to reach it, it was better than t o travel by foot or by carriage. The ride would go smoothly, unless Menka was like a dragon slayer and possibly get motion sick? Hopefully not.

They got a few stairs by the other passengers and the occasional train staff, but nothing pertaining to rude. Not for Menka, but for Astral and Leo-- who took a seat with the others. For the moment, Leo leaned against the seat with his arms folded, his eyes closed as if he was taking a catnap. Astral would float occasionally between Leo and Menka's head. As they rested Zachary took the chance to address Menka to her previous question. "You mean Tama? Yeah, she is a Kitsune similar to you, but she is a Celestial Spirit of the "Fox" constellation. She is actually from the far east, lore wise. " Zachary explained. Clearly to compare her to Menka was like to compare Apples to Oranges, but still, he suspected the two would get along to a degree. "One of her skills is shapeshifting, and she is able to fight well too. She was once used by royalty as a bodyguard, or so she told me."

WHile Leo was indeed quiet and seemed to be asleep, he was still aware and listened as they talked. Needless to say, some guests were anxious to see a giant man-lion sitting in the seats nearby.

"I really put alot of skill into this magic. I even learned how to have summons with me all the time if I wanted. Take Leo here," Zachary explained, "He is in familiar form. Celestial Spirits can change their appearance, but I found a way to summon them in a state that consumes little to no magic whatsoever, so I can have them nearby as long as i want. They have to be close but its more like my immediate surroundings act as a field for them to remain nearby. Actually, let me explain with an example."

He soon dug out another one of his keys from his pocket, revealing a silver key with the head tip of an 'owl' design. "Open, Gate of the Wise Owl. Noctura!" He called, causing the key to flash and a puff of white light smoke to appear between them.

From the smoke, the flap of wings could be heard as a snowy white owl emerged. The elegant owl had minor decorations along with her wings, breastplate and talons, showing she was no ordinary owl. She soon fluttered down to Zachary and perched herself on his shoulder.

"Spirits like these require little magic power to maintain in this world. But I can make other spirits like Aquila into such a state. More often than not, when they do-- they become smaller and cuter in appearance than their normal forms. " he explained and soon raised a hand to the owl. "Menka, meet Noctura the wise owl spirit. She is a knowledge spirit, like Crux the cross. But she likes to be called Prof. Nyx" he said.

The owl gave a soft flap of her wings and soon bowed a head to Menka. "A pleasure to meet you," she cooed politely.

Fwuffy biwd! Astral chirped, happy to see Nyx again.

WC: 746

Fortunately, Menka didn’t have any problems with transport and happily sat alongside the lion like spirit, occasionally glancing over to the supposedly sleeping Leo. His coldness to her had no effect whatsoever on her efforts to get him to crack a smile and if anything, only encouraged her further. Hard to get didn’t bother her and she’d managed to melt a few icy hearts before. Sooner or later, she’d have him eating out of her hand or maybe she’d be eating something of his? It was hard to tell with the lion although at least right now, he definitely seemed like the type who wanted to be on top. Time would tell.

To learn that Zach had a kitsune spirit brought a smile to her face and it made perfect sense as the summoner went on to explain further. What better spirit could there be for the fox constellation than one of her kind? She wasn’t surprised by her shapeshifting and simply replied, “It’s a trait that all kitsune share. I look forward to meeting her later.” It wasn’t often that she met another of her kind although she’d happily already come across Kumiko, another member of her species who was in Fairy Tail. Of course, Kumiko was far younger than Menka and still innocent to the more...adult activities that kitsune generally liked to get involved with. There were many rumours that swirled about just what herself and her king got up to and not all of them were pure fiction. If she was honest, she’d always encouraged such rumours as it gave her an extra hint of mystery when she encountered people. She couldn’t help but wonder just what Tama was like and her curiosity was well and truly piqued.

As he went on to speak about the details about his magic, Menka did her best to follow what he was explaining. It sounded like a way of keeping his magical reserves up from what she could gather and sounded like a useful ability indeed. She honestly had no idea how taxing it was to keep spirits in the mortal realm but if they were as taxing as slayer spells then she could definitely see the benefit. Force, of course, was off the scale when it came to sapping energy and the kitsune’s was rather limited with how long she could keep it. The plus side? She was a tour de force while it lasted. A part of her hoped that she’d get the chance to use it during the job in order to feel the pure passion that came from activating it. On the other hand, she tended to end up grabbing hold of the first pretty person she saw and tried to make love to them. Was that how Force was supposed to work? She had no idea but it tended to lead to rather awkward, or blissful, scenarios.

To her delight, Zach would then proceed to give her an example of his abilities by summoning what looked to be a battle ready owl. With a nod of her own head, she’d reply with the same politeness, deciding to go straight to using the owl’s proffered name, “Nice to meet you too, Prof. Nyx.”

Curious about Zach’s ability, she asked, “So, if you needed to use the spirit in battle or something, could you transform them back to their normal forms or do you need to send them back to the celestial realm first?”

She then flashed a grin at the sleeping lion, “I guess that means you must look like a cub when you’re in that form, right?”

(603 Words)
(1557 PWC)

At best her 'armor' was ornamental as she was not a battle suited spirit, but useful in many ways. Her adornments were to illustrate the wisdom she held, much akin to the goddess Athena, whose symbol was too an owl. Along with her snowy white feathers, which Zachary loved, bits of starlight was laced into her form, showing every so often with movements of her body.

"While I did learn a bit of magic from my mother, Nyx has also helped me develop my magic regarding Celestial Spirits," Zachary explained to her. "As to answer your question, it's the former, but can go either way. Opening their gate can be done when they are in familiar form, just depends on how much via the magic output. "

The comment to Leo caused a grumble, clearly showing he was awake. Those nearby would be startled, even Nyx flapped her wings in mild alarm. "What Zachary calls 'Familiar Form' is a form I am already in. I have been taking this form long before he and I formed a contract. It is the form I used to conserve my personal magic and endure surviving in this world better. " he said in a straight forward response, "I'm not a kitten"

A nervous chuckle escaped Zachary at Leo's response. "He's right. Among all my other spirits, Leo has quite a flexibility of forms and has long endurance when it comes to magic energy. When he get's serious, that's a whole other story." he commented with a grin to the lion.

"We Celestial Spirits are not cut from the same mold sort of speak despite our constellations," Nyx informed, speaking up with the tone, wisdom, and respect of a wise sage or teacher. "Many spirits are set apart by many differences from a number of forms to t heir individual magic powers. Some can even be so drastic you wouldn't think they were related."

There was a whole field of study for Celestial Spirits, and even Zachary was still exploring it. Even while Zachary knew more than others, he still had much to learn, as a Celestial Wizard and a mage in general. Most of the complicated natures of the Celestial World he did learn from Prof. Nyx herself.

"Anyway," Zachary started, changing the subject, "We will need Nyx's perception to handle gathering facts. And if Leo is willing to participate, he is certainly going to be an asset to us. I normally wouldn't call on him unless it was absolutely necessary but sometimes he is a lot nicer than he pretends to be."

Leo cracked open an eye to glare at Zachary for the comment. While seeming bothered by that, he didn't voice it and just let it slide.

WC: 457

The temptation to laugh at Leo’s response was tough for Menka to get over but she just about managed it, even if another smirk did cross her features. She hadn’t really jumped when he’d suddenly spoken, her keen senses able to just about detect what he was up too. She just didn’t feel any nervousness around the Zodiac spirit which truthfully was how she felt everyone. It was natural for her to just be casual and his animal traits actually kind of attracted her to him. There was kind of a wild vibe to him and it wasn’t hard for the kitsune to imagine what he was like in battle or other strenuous activities. She was actually looking forward to seeing him in action, having never seen a Zodiac spirit fight before although she’d make sure that she gave him some space. Her gaze briefly looked over the grumpy spirit again who’d seemed to have missed her attempt at humour, causing her to reply with, “You can say that again.”

Her attention was then caught by the wise owl who spoke up about the nature of spirits. After witnessing the changes that Zach’s stellar evolution had brought out in Aquilla previously, Menka wasn’t too surprised to hear about just how different certain spirits could become. One thing was for sure, it was a complicated business and the vixen suddenly had a deeper appreciation for the simplicity of her own magics. As much as summoning interested her, Menka had eventually come to the conclusion that it just might not be for her. Perhaps one day she’d come across a key and maybe use that to help her but to make contracts with an entire group? No, she didn’t think so. The kitsune’s battle style had changed somewhat and somehow, she had the feeling that it wouldn’t mesh all that well while trying to summon and command spirits at the same time. Still, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t still curious about Zach’s magic.

There was something in particular that she was intrigued about and asked without thinking too much, “So what forms do you take when you’re in the spirit world? When you have the chance to unwind and not on the job? What’s the spirit world like itself? Is it similar to Earthland or completely different?” Alright, she didn’t ask just one but since they were all linked in some way, she felt it was fair to ask. She didn't think it was too personal to ask about the home world of the spirits but she wouldn’t be offended if they didn’t want to speak about it either.

“No doubt you spend your time chasing all of the pretty female spirits,” the kitsune added, her gaze once more shifting towards the lion briefly, before facing forwards again. He was just so fun to tease and Menka wasn’t sure if she’d ever get tired of it. “I bet that when you’re at home, you’re a real wildcat. Wouldn’t expect anything less from the leader of the Zodiac.”

(507 Words)
(2064 PWC)

"Oh, the same as if we were here. But the Celestial World is a nice place, though very different from Earthland. A lot of small planets and stars always around, but depends from place to place there." Nyx explained as she tilted her head a bit every so often, moving like a true owl.

And there it was. Menka finally laid out the clear flirtation to Leo as she hinted how much of a wildcat he was at home. This made his body tense up at the accusation. "Er-- Hey I am nothing short but a noble warrior. I wouldn't dare act like that," he said defensively, though perhaps not too convincing. He clearly was upset by that accusation how he growled in defense.

And that was when things got worse...

"Stay away from MY Leo!" a voice suddenly meowed.

Zachary's eyes widened a bit at the sound of the voice. "Oh no..." he groaned. "Hello Amythest...

A puff of smoke appeared before them between their seats-- and out came a small 'kitten' spirit. One with light pink-colored fur and a lean build. Clearly she was not the same type of cat as Leo, but a lynx type creature. The constellation of the Lynx spirit. The feline spirit was Amythest, one of Zachary's earliest spirits and one of the more 'difficult' ones to work with. Apparently, she was listening in from the other side and decided to pop over in familiar form.

Being no bigger than a small cat much like Menka teased, Amythest hopped up on Leo's lap since space was limited between the car seats. The cat placed herself between Leo and Menka. "Keep your mitts off, Tramp! Leo is my king cat, got it?!" she meowed defensively.

"Spare me..." he grumbled, a bit of red showing behind his fur. "Honestly, I have no clue what either of you are talking about..."

Now Zachary felt a bit bad for Leo. Amythest, since the day Leo joined them, had always expressed a clear affection to Leo. While Leo never reciprocated, he never dismissed her either. Still, her advances were rather one-sided. Still, now she got worked up to have Leo be approached by another 'female' interested in him. A self-appointed rivalry now with Menka.

Between Zachary, Menka, Astral and the other spirits, that little area was starting to cram up a bit.

WC:394

“Oh, I see,” Menka purred, more like a cat than a fox, “So you’ve already got yourself a mate, King Cat?” Her tone was as playful and teasing as it could be, her eyes shining with mirth at the sight before her. “If you’d told me that before then I wouldn’t have been so forward with you.” Yeah, right. The kitsune had never cared much about being attached and that went for other people too. As far as she was concerned, everyone was fair game for her. In fact, the idea of being with one person for life was rather strange for her but then again, not many lived for as long as she did. Besides, why limit yourself to one person when you could experiment with more? “Or is that you have multiple mates?” It wasn’t just Leo that she was teasing now.

Looking down at the kitten, Menka twitched her ears, “Well, Amethyst,” she chuckled, “Maybe we can share him between us or perhaps come to another arrangement?” The vixen was pretty sure that there was little chance of that happening but just getting a reaction from this sweet looking spirit would be enough for her. ‘Tramp,’ wasn’t even close to the worst that Menka had been called in her long life and she just shook it off as easily as she would a jacket. “Maybe you’d like to roll around with me instead? In your humanoid form, of course.” This little job was becoming more fun and entertaining by the minute although a voice in the back of her mind was saying that perhaps trying to wind up Zach’s spirits might not have been the smartest idea. Still, she couldn’t resist the opportunity while she had it.

Amused by the whole thing, she’d then switch her gaze to their summoner, “You’ve sure got a feisty one here, Zach.” She half expected the kitten to try and scratch her, given how testy Amethyst appeared but perhaps it was all just for show. The cat truly seemed to be in love with Leo which was rather cute, even if the lion didn’t replicate those feelings.

(357 Words)
(2421 PWC)

All the while this happened, Astral was watching with interest as he cooed and fluttered about. Realizing now the conversation going too 'mature' for him, Zachary tried to protect him in vain and reached up for him. He took a gentle hold of the star fairy and tried to cover his 'ears' so he didn't hear the naughty words Menka were suggesting.

"Um, Menka... maybe we should keep things PG in front of the little guy here?" he asked, showing his face was red with embarrassment.

He wasn't the only one as Leo said nothing to either question as, now starting to show his impatience. "This is absurd. I never agreed to be anyone's mate," he denied. Still, Amythest didn't really hear him.

"Not a furball chance in hell, lady! Leo's mine! " she growled possessively and nudged her head against Leo's stomach, the only part she could reach in her small form while on his lap. "Leooo! You're not gonna let this hussie seduce you away from me, are you?" she asked.

"Er-- I don't even know what we are talking about anymore!" he growled.

Zachary just shook his head in embarassment, as did Nyx on his shoulder closed her eyes as if to try and not see the scene before them. All the while, Zachary tried to keep the conversation from getting to Astral, who clearly wouldn't know what they were talking about. At Menka's inquiry, Zachary nodded. "Amythest is ... a bit of a handful to work with at times. I lose good pay paying her in salmon." he said.

"Hey!" she interjected.

Finally a growl escaped leo as he still sat there. "That's enough. I'll keep an eye on you lot from above," the lion said in a grumpy tone, clearly at the edge of his patience. With his words, his white fur began to shimmer and light began to eclipse him. "Call me when needed, Zachary..." In that instance, Leo vanished in a soft flurry of starlight and Amythest on his lap flopped down onto the cushon below.

Awwww... Astral cooed with a sad tone in their heads. Lewo went bywe-bywe...

A sigh escaped Zachary as he rubbed his neck. "I guess... we might of teased him a bit too much," Zachary said with a touch of regret. He loved Leo's company and enjoyed it when he was around. He didn't seem mad but still, it was peculiar situation that one would normally withdraw from and he did.

Things would slowly calm down as the train announced they would arive very soon to Cedar. While with Nyx, Amythest, and Astral and Menka, they would soon start their new job together.

WC: 446

The look on Menka’s face during the rest of the journey never changed from one of pure mirth. She didn’t feel any regret whatsoever at what had happened, knowing that it’d all been in good fun and that the King Cat would no doubt get over it. For the supposed leader of the celestial spirits, he was certainly touchy but given how affectionate Amethyst was towards him, she mused that there probably was a gentle soul under there somewhere. He seemed honourable enough and although she’d teased him endlessly, that didn’t mean that she didn’t respect him. Saying that, she’d still take it upon herself to get him to at least smile or perhaps even crack a joke if it killed her. “He’ll realise that we were only joking. I’m sure he’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

The rest of the journey was kind of quiet but gave the kitsune the chance to think a bit more about the job. Despite her gentle teasing to Leo about his stereotypical view of shape shifters, there was some truth to his opinion. Not all of those with her abilities were as playful as she was and she’d met one or two of her own kind who used them for nefarious purposes. The trick though was that the changes were usually only skin deep. A shapeshifter could take on the form but personality, memories, routines? They were something else and there were very few good enough to be able to truly take on the form of another. It just took a bit of seducing...deducing, to find out the difference between the real one and a fake.

Her thoughts were disturbed when the train finally reached Cedar, the location of the job and the start of what could turn out to be a very topsy turvy mission. Just who was messing around and causing trouble anyway? A spirit with a grudge? A bunch of thieves and bandits? A mastermind trying to pull off a nefarious scheme? Any of those were possible although Menka couldn’t help but admit that in her youth, she might well have tried to do something like this herself. She’d pulled off a few schemes in her lifetime and had manipulated more people than she could count. It was just too easy sometimes and the general public weren’t exactly the hardest targets. Greed seemed to be in the hearts of many people, a trait that was easy to manipulate.

Once the group had left the train, she’d then turn to Zach and ask, finally focused on the job, “So, did the flyer give any more information on this shape shifter?”

(441 Words)
(2862 PWC)

Their arrival into Cedar proceeded without issue. Amythest, who only appeared in spite of Menka's teasing and flirting, retreated back to the Celestial World. That left the current company with Zachary-- Astral and Nyx the Owl. Hex remained on Zachary's shoulder as Astral hovered on Menka's head, being comfy with the new fox friend he had the pleasure to make.

The city of Cedar was rather modern, with streets buildings and different levels that ran up and down the slopes that soon led to the harbors below. however as you traveled through the town, it had the tall towers of a major city. It was under the control of another guild, but taking on a job here wouldn't cause any problems as they walked and talked.

"Well, according to the client, the shapeshifter isn't exactly making his efforts unknown. The trick is finding him prior to his actions," Zachary explained. He recalled talking over the lacryma phone he had but the details were hard to truly grasp. "According to them, all the 'suspects' were all accused of crimes where they were clearly caught on camera or seen committing the crime. However, most of them had alibies and some were even assaulted prior to the incident. The subjects don't recally by whom, butt since they were shapeshifters, it's likely wouldn't matter." Zachary explained.

"I actually have something to add that is a bit important," Nyx suddenly jumped in. "I didn't realize it till you said it but I heard news of these incidents in Cedar. There is a connection to those accused and attacked."

Zachary was very curious to hear what Nyx had to say as the owl fluttered off Zachary's shoulder to a nearby bench post to perch on and turned to address him and his friend. Nyx had a 'wise' aura about her, and how she addressed them made it clear she was to be well respected for her knowledge and expertise. "There were a rash number of Celestial Wizards contracts broken -- and all from wizards in THIS region. I don't think that is a couincidence. I just checked the names of them too. Most of them were among the victims-- their keys are broken as well."

Zachary's eyes widen at this news. He had not known that, and felt a sudden sense of dread at the idea. He didn't just come to stop this catastrophe, but he was now a prime target as well?! He was a bit at a loss with that news.

Ooooh? Astral cooed, unsure for the sudden increase in tension.

Zachary grimaced a bit as he tried to think. "Could it just be a coincidence?" Zachary asked Nyx.

"It's hard for me to say. I'm a knowledge spirit-- I'm not omniscient," the owl hooted with a flap of her wings, "But while I understand your concern, this COULD be an opportunity."

The positive tone to the owl gave a good hint. If wizards like Zachary was a target, they could make him bait to lure out the enemy.

Despite a heavy sigh coming from Zachary, he didn't look surprised or upset by that. "Honestly, I think that is a good idea..." he admitted.

WC: 531

The vixen remained silent while Nyx and Zach spoke, pondering over what she was hearing. Her expression didn’t change all that much, despite the danger that there could well be for her summoning friend. Yes, there was a risk that the trouble makers could target Zach but it wasn’t as if her fellow mage was weak. Would their adversary take the bait if they got a sense of just how strong Zach was or would they just not appear and wait for another target? There were ifs and buts to it, yet, the fox couldn’t think of an alternative as it was and so found herself, with a touch of scepticism, agreeing with the idea. “I suppose it’s our best course of action although I reckon that maybe you should try to hide your true strength. The weaker you seem, the more of a target you’ll be.” If it was her in the attackers position, she’d certainly observe her victim a little first, before getting close.

In an attempt to help soothe Astral’s confusion and possible worry, Menka would gently place a hand on his head,fussing over him a little. “Don’t worry, little guy, everything’s going to turn out OK.” The danger to Zach was considerable but the kitsune was just as concerned for the little star. Sure, he wasn’t a spirit but Menka couldn’t help but be concerned anyway, as he certainly looked like one in her eyes. It was that thought which led her to another. The same could be said of her and perhaps her being in her usual form would just be another reason for the attacker to be wary. Perhaps she should take a back-seat or maybe take on a different and less imposing form? It was in her box of tricks to do such a thing, of course.

Thinking about it further, she’d then ask, “Is there any information on just how badly the victims were beaten? There’s a big difference between knocking someone out and beating them to a pulp after all and it could give us a hint as to just how malicious they are. They seem to obviously have a grudge against celestial wizards but none of them were actually killed, were they?” For Menka, it was important to at least get that fact proven first, just so they knew a little about just how maniacal their foes were and more importantly, just how big a risk there would be to Zach.

(412 Words)
(3274 PWC)

Nyx hooted as she relayed the information about the attacked victims. "Well, they are all alive, if that helps. But they are all in the hospital to be treated for wounds, but oddly too they suffer a drain in magic energy. Before then, they go missing for a time. It's hard to separate the guess work from the facts since they go missing for a time." the owl shared with them.

Despite the fact of Zachary being proper bait for these people, the big issue was to be able to tell where their target was when they could look like anyone. But they had no other choice and he rather volunteers for it than to just find out later. "It's okay. I think we can pull t his off. We just need to be careful. Besides, I think I have some fun ideas about how we can lure out our target." Zachary said with a smirk. If he was going to serve as bait, he was going to at least have fun putting on a show.

They soon were near the town square. A pristine white circle area with people wandering around and going about their daily lives. Lots of kids were there too. In the center was a large scale fountain. It was a pleasant place to start. If they wanted to get attention, this was the best place wide in the open.

Approaching the fountain, Zachary took out a few of his keys. Nyx and Astral flew nearby as they watched. With a deep breath, Zachary addressed the surrounding people. "Attention citizens of Cedar! Welcome to Fairy Tail's stellar circus!" He announced in a childish show of bravado, acting out the role of a street performer. With the keys in hand, he began to open the gates as he faced the fountain. "Open-- Gate of the Eagle! Open-- Gate of the Wolf! Open-- Gate of the Sea Serpent!" Zachary called out, dipping one of the keys into the waters of the fountain. With the names called, points of light shined around him as the gates began to open. "Come out-- Aquila, Sirius, Cetus!!"

Puffs of smoke soon followed causing the watching citizens to look in interest. Out from them appeared thee, creatures. One was Aquila, the wise cracking eagle Menka already met. The other was a blue armored wolf creature who let out a loud howl. Last, but not least, was a beautiful aquatic creature with prismatic skin. She let out a soft and elegant call like a siren's song, only to make her beauty more special.

The sheer appearance of these creatures captivated a few people, especially children nearby. Zachary sure knew how to make a traveling performer get some attention. All three of his spirits were strong in some regards, but they looked awing and whimsical enough to encourage friendly visitors. Given time, they likely would draw out the attacker-- since no way they could ignore 3 Celestial Spirits out and about like that.

WC: 499

While the vast majority of the visitors were watching Zach and his spirits, there were a few of the older folks of the town who were watching something else. Honestly, Zach’s little plan hadn’t really given Menka much of a role to play and so she’d just made her own. She played the role of a street dancer, performing for those who had dirtier minds. It didn't bother her much and she quite enjoyed parading her body around for those who desired to watch her. Her admirers' eyes followed her every move and the kitsune had to do her best not to laugh at what she was witnessing. She was doing quite well for herself too, having placed a cup in front of her in order to receive any jewels that the crowd might have wanted to give her. Was she exploiting them? Yeah, she was but why not make the most of the situation while she had the chance? No one was hurt by her performance and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

It might have seemed as though she was getting in the way by detracting some of the attention but the truth was anything but that. The more people that were clumped together, the greater risk that someone could get hurt, something that she honestly was just a little concerned about. Zach hadn’t seemed too worried about the potential risks and so it had fallen to her to consider them, much to her surprise. Herself and Zach might have been able to defend themselves from the attacks but that might not be the same for the crowd. It was a dangerous play that they’d decided to make and the vixen had to admit that she still wasn’t 100% certain about it. Hopefully though, her concern would be for nought and they’d capture the devious shape shifter.

One of the young men watching definitely seemed captivated by her performance and started wolf whistling after a while, causing the brunette to twitch her ears in response and give him a flash of her nine tails. He was a confident boy for sure and if the situation wasn’t so serious, she might just have made a move on him. Though, she had to keep him at arms length and could do little more than just smile and tease him with her body, much to his and every other red blooded male in the area's pleasure.

(407 Words)
(3681 PWC)

Admittingly, the plan was on the seat of Zachary's pants to try and draw attention by a 'magic show' street performance. But it wasn't like it wasn't a fun idea to put his spirits out on display to have fun. Well this was one way to get what they needed as he regarded his new summon, Aquila the eagle, Cirius the Wolf and Cetus.

"Well, this is one way to kill two birds with one stone, so they say," Zachary commented.

"HEY!" Aquila cawed, mock-offended.

"EH-- Sorry!" Zachary replied sheepishly to the eagle.

People started to come over and Zachary saw even Menka start to dance and get into it. She put out a cup for tips for their efforts, which wasn't a bad idea but she was a great dancer. Very graceful and elegant. With the proper wardrobe, she would of even done more too. He wasn't as lewd minded as some of the men who came over to witness, but she was doing a good job and Zachary choose to recognize her for the good dancing. "Wow Menka. You're really good at this kind of thing," Zachary said with a comment.

The performance lasted for a half-hour as they drew in a crowd, a majority being children for Zachary while the men looked to Menka. However, one of Zachary's spirits was quick to try and move on as HE too made a lewd wolf howl and soon hung around Menka, breaking his role as an exotic beast to do tricks-- who wanted to do tricks with Menka instead.

Sirius the wolf, howled as he wagged his tail and looked to Menka. "Wanna make a duet, baby?" he said offering an arm to dance.

Zachary rolled his eyes as he looked at his two other spirits. They were putting on a better show. Aquila did aerial tricks in the air and using his wind magic to draw in the air symbols and fly among near the onlookers for a good surprise. While Cetus in the fountain was beautiful to look at. And to aid Menka's own performance, Cetus blew out bubbles of water into the air-- which would float with prismatic effects and soon pop-- releasing harmless water vapor but would produce beautiful rainbows as the sunlight caught the droplets just right.

Despite the simple attempt, they were drawing quite the crowd as Zachary acted like a ringmaster, directing his spirits.

However, as they entertained the guests, a certain figure was watching with interest. In the shadows overseeing the festivities, a pair of eyes observed, and they grinned with wicked intent....

***

Time passed and the performance got some good praise, even some earned them a few spending jewel enough to give them something small to work. After their initial performance ended, the crowd began to disperse a little, leaving a few kids curious and some adults to gawk at Menka.

However, the children still there were quick to come up to Zachary, in awe he was a Fairy Tail Wizard.

"Wow, your magic is so cool! " One said.

"Your Celestial Spirits are so beautiful. I wish I could summon some myself," a young girl said.

"Fairy Tail is awesome! I can't wait to grow up to join too!"

Zachary blushed as Astral sat on his head, enjoying the positive energy and seeing Zachary happy to have such a positive audience. He couldn't help but smile at that.

WC: 571

The kitsune took a liking to the wolf very quickly and no sooner had he extended his arm to her, she’d accepted the offer and started to dance with him. From the looks of the faces of the guys watching, they seemed to be a little jealous but her movements were so alluring that they just couldn’t look away from her. The sounds of jewels dropping into the cup seemed to get louder and louder, which caused the vixen to smile even wider. It hadn’t been the first time that she’d performed for a crowd and doubted it would be the last. Alright, usually she was doing it for slightly more nefarious means by performing a con or two of her own but still, she had experience with it. The wolf was a pretty good dancer too to his credit and he had so much energy that she couldn’t help but feel it too. He was a well toned spirit indeed and if all of the people weren’t watching, who knew what might have happened next? As it was, Menka simply enjoyed herself, playing her part as best she could. She reckoned that she and Sirius might just have been more of a lure than Zach and his spirits were but didn’t focus on that much. It wasn’t a competition and they were all working for the same cause, of course.

Sadly though, it couldn’t last forever and as Zach reached the end of his performance, Menka reluctantly brought hers to an end too. The crowd weren’t too happy about it but the cheers that she got sure made up for any sadness that they might have felt. Some of them even threw pieces of paper into her cup and Menka didn’t have to be a genius to tell what was on those. She was going to have a heck of a time going through all of those numbers but that was just part of the fun. She was always up for making new friends and she reckoned that she’d made an entire crowd of them.

“Where do I send fan mail too?” One of the crowd shouted, his eyes glowing with lust.

“Oh, just send it to the Fairy Tail guild,” Menka replied wickedly, “The admin there will make sure it gets to me. The name’s Menka, guys but I’m afraid that this is just a one time thing....”

“How much for a private dance?” Another yelled, laughing.

“You’ll have to ask me about that in private, won’t you?” The brunette replied, chuckling.

The crowd didn’t seem to be shrinking too much though and so the vixen decided to just host a little Q&A for a bit. They seemed fascinated with her and she had no problems with that. She just hoped that the stunt worked out and that the attacker would soon make their appearance.

(478 Words)
(4159 PWC)