Meeting a Fairy (Obel/Closed for now)

As Malm stepped off the train, he took a second to take in the sights. He had finally made it to Magnolia Town. The Plant Mage had heard several good things about this place. Like how it is famous for how many festivals it holds a year and the fact that this town is the home to the famous wizard guild; Fairy Tail.

For a good while there when he was first training to use his magic, Malm had thought about joining a guild much like Fairy Tail. Yet recent events had made such things unlikely to happen. That's not to say he didn't want to join a guild one day, but he doubted it would happen anytime soon. Besides, from what he understood, Fairy Tail would probably not be a good choice for him join seeing how chaotic it supposedly was. Malm could not honestly see himself dealing with something like that everyday. And that's not to mention the fact that if he joined a guild, he probably wouldn't hear the end of it from his two teammates who both seemed to share amnesty to guilds.

Well... Maybe one day.

As Malm walked through the town, he was a bit disappointed to see that he had missed one of Magnolia's famous festivals as he saw the townsfolk cleaning the town up. That was too bad as he was hoping to be here during one. Well that at least it gave him a reason to come back here some other day. He just needed to pay closer attention to when the town would be hosting it's next festival.

Obel drifted through the streets until she came across her favourite place to read; a small wooden bench partially hidden by the branches of a willow tree. She sat down and arranged her layered dress around her before pulling a dusty book out of the teddy shaped bag slung across her chest. As she opened the book at the page she was last reading a large silver wolf appeared and curled up at her feet. "Hello Hinata,"She said to her companion after scratching him behind the ears. A slight breeze ruffled Obels long white hair as she sat motionlessly reading.

"Look out below." A burly man's voice called out from somewhere over Malm.

Malm paused and looked up as he heard this wondering if the man was talking to him. Sure enough he was as Malm saw something that resembled a sign swinging straight towards his face. He managed to duck out of the way just in time. Malm looked back up, proud of his sudden reflexes, right before he felt something wooden painfully hit the back of his head, causing Malm to collapse painfully onto the sidewalk.

"Sorry about that kid. I guess I lost my grip when I was trying to take down the festival's sign." The man apologized as he pulled up the sign with the remaining rope. However, the man grew worried as he heard no response from the kid who just got struck, "Hey kid. You doing okay? Kid?"

Malm just laid there on the ground with no real response, seemingly having been knocked out by that last blow.

Suddenly a loud crash interrupted Obels reading, she glared around her to see who made the noise. To her surprise she saw a gaggle of villagers crowding round an object on the floor. Intruiged Obel stood up and made her way over to the crown, all of which were pushing and shoving or calling out for someone to get help. The little girl managed to squeeze through the small spaces and make her way to the front only to be met by disappointment, lying on the ground was not an object of interest- it was a boy. Obel looked at the boy for a little longer then decided, out of courtesy, it would be best to go and see if he was okay. Ignoring the peoples warnings to stay back and wait for professionals Obel ran forward and checked the boys pulse, he didnt seem to be responding yet his eyes were moving. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Malm let out a soft groan of pain as he laid there and tried to mentally figure out what had just happen.

What just happened and why did the back of his head hurt so much? Oh... That right. Something smacked him upside the head, but what was it? Could it of been the sign? Something told him that it was most likely the sign. It must of swung like a pendulum and caught him when his guard was down. Probably should of stayed ducking down instead of standing upright when he did. That was something to keep note of in the future.

Malm then felt someone pickup his arm and touch right below his wrist. Was someone checking his pulse? Did he look to be in such a bad shape that they someone believed he could be dead? Malm didn't knew, but it decided it was best to find out as he hesitantly opened his eyes.

The light blinded him for a quick second before his eyes fell upon the girl checking his pulse right before she asked him if he was alright. "Yeah, I... I think so." He told her as he used his right hand to quickly inspect the back of his head. It was sore to the touch, but at least there didn't seem to be any blood or open wounds. So that's a good sign. "The back of my head hurts... alot. But other then that, I think I'll be fine." He added as he began picking himself back up.

The boy seemed to be able to respond, claiming that he was fine but his head hurt. Obel crouched down and pushed her long white hair out of her face then pulled the boy into a sitting position, she inspected the back of his head before telling him that no serious damage had been done. The crowd around the started to drift away due to the lack of injuries, soon they were the only ones in the area as dusk fell upon them.

"Yeah. I guess I should count myself lucky." Malm told the girl after she informed that he hadn't seemed to have suffer any serious wounds. While he got that from his own quick examination, he did appreciate that her checking for him as well. Though that's not to say he didn't feel a little uncomfortable as she was examining the back of his head.

Malm then noticed that the small crowd around them was now starting to disperse. He guessed that once they had learned that his injury wasn't serious, they decided to return to what they were doing. He did feel bad that he worried all these people for nothing. Probably wasn't exactly a good first impression either.

"Well thanks for your help miss. I'm guessing that you probably have other things you want to do other then making sure a complete stranger is okay. So allow me to get out of your hair." He said as he stood up, stumbling a bit as he wasn't all there yet, "I'm Malm by the way. It was nice to meet you." He added with a small smile.

Obel smiled a litlle as he apoogised "Try not to hurt yourself again in the future and I'll see you around, hopefully."What he said was true, Obel did have a rather busy schedule at the moment and this meeting hadnt helped although I was a nice break from all of her jobs. Obel stood up "I guess this is goodbye then."

"Yeah, I'll try not to." Malm said in response to the girl's request that he tried not to injure himself. Ironically, as he said this, he attempted to rub the back of his head before a sharp pain reminded that it was probably not a good idea at this time. "So I guess I'll be seeing you." With that, Malm began to walk away.

Something didn't feel right to him though. This woman had just helped him out, and now he was just leaving her. Yet what exactly could he do for her in return.

"Uhh... Miss. I'm sorry to bother you so soon after we said goodbye, but I don't feel right just walking away after you had just helped me. So is there anything I could do to repay your kind gesture? Maybe I could buy you lunch or something like that?" Malm offered to Obel as politely as possible, hoping that she didn't see the offer as anything more then what it was.

Obel considered his question for a while before she said what she wanted, "Take me to the sweet shop and the library, I need to get some more books and sweets." She might as well make the most of having someone to speak to.

"Okay then. That works for me. Though I should probably warn you that I'm new to town and I don't really know my way around yet." He admitted to her, hoping that she might be able to take the lead. Other then that though, he had no complaints in accompanying her during these few tasks. It seemed like an easy enough job, and he might get to learn his way around town while he's at it.

"So which one are we going to first?"

((Sorry for the relativly short post.))

"hmmm... well I could go to..." Obel began mumbling to herself about her options and which would be best to go to first. After several minutes Obel sighed heavily, she had made such a big deal out of a simple choice. "Lets go to the library first, they wouldnt let us enter if we had food on us... Is that okay?" Before waiting for his response she began to walk off down the streets, the wolf by her side.

"Yeah. That's perfectly fine with me." Malm said as he followed after the girl.

As the pair walked, he noticed the wolf walking next to Obel. It was pretty obvious to Malm that the wolf must be loyal to the girl for him to follow her like he did. He wondered what the wolf's name was, if it even had one. Though now that he was thinking about it, the girl had yet to tell Malm her name.

"Uhh... Miss. If you don't mind me asking, but what is your name?" Malm asked, slightly embarrassed. He couldn't believe he had only asked her that question until now.

"Uhh... Miss. If you don't mind me asking, but what is your name?" The question shocked Obel as it erupted the comfortable silence. How could she have forgotten something as simple as telling someone her name?
"My name is Obel. Please pronounce its as Oh-Belle not Oh-bull like many delinquents do." After the words came out Obel realised they sounded harsher than intended and blushed a little as a result. Being harsh and cold to people was natural for Obel however with Malm it didnt feel right- he was too kind even when she was rude.
Trying to pretend she hadn't spoken the way she did, she picked up one of the flowers from the stall they were walking past and handed it to her wolf. It was a blue rose. Her favourite, no matter how fake the colour was, as it had many memories attached.

"Uhh... Okay. I keep a note of that then Obel." Malm said, making sure he pronounced Obel's name right as he did so. It seemed to be a touchy subject for her, so he preferred to avoid it.

Malm then took notice as picked a blue rose and gave it to her wolf. He didn't pay it much mind though. He was currently more curious about her wolf then why she picked a blue rose.

"So... Uhh... What is the name of your friend there?" Malm asked curiously as he glanced at the wolf.

Obels eyes lit up at the mention of her wolf, this was something she could talk about easily rather than having to create awkward conversations herself. "This is Hinata" the 5ft 10 grey wolf almost seemed to nod by her side, "He has been my friend since I was five... In fact he has been my only friend since I was three. The last bit of that sentence werent even embarrassing to say to Malm, she had never had friends and she accepted that. "I found him in the woods by our family manor, he was injured so I tended to his wounds and once he was healed he followed me around everywhere, he still does." Both Obel and Hinata seemed to grin at that last part.

It seemed the girl and her wolf companion, Hinata, had close connection after all. Malm suspected as much seeing how loyal Hinata was to Obel. He was depressed to learn that the wolf was the girl's only friend, yet surprisingly she didn't seem to be effected all that much by it. It made the green haired teen wonder why Obel didn't have any friends when she seemed to have a relatively friendly attitude. Was it right for him to ask her about that though?

"Sorry Obel, but I find it hard to believe that Hinata here is your only friend. Surely there must be someone else who you consider to be a friend?" Malm asked, having second thoughts that he should even be asking something like this. It seemed to be something to personal for Malm to stick his nose in, but it was to late for those now.

Obel whispered to Hinata "The usual place" before watching the wolf trot of into the distance with the rose held carefully in-between its teeth. She was trying to put off answering the question Malm had just asked however she knew that she must answer soon or he would think her ignorant or deaf. Obel rubbed the top of her arm as is she had been punched there "Um.... well... When I was younger I didnt have any friends because I was always at home in the family manor. I didnt need to go to school because I had a tutor... My parents were always busy too so they didnt take me anywhere, this didnt bother me though because we had a library and instead of making stories with friends I read other peoples... Then something happened then I was 12... I left home... Because I never learnt social skills as a child I never made friends when I ran awa- I mean left home." Obel shuffled on her feet awkwardly hoping the library was close.

((Hey Obel. Could you possibly look at reducing the size of ypur avatar a bit? It's obscuring part of your post.))

Malm found himself quickly regretting asking that question. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable about the subject, and why shouldn't she. Malm would admit that he didn't really have much of a social childhood either, having only one true friend before he started on his journey, but even then, Malm had to interact with several other people during the day. From the sounds of it, Obel didn't even have that. She just had her books and Hinata.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir up bad memories." Malm said with a frown as he turned his head away from her. He didn't even dare question her about her little slip up as he believed he made a big enough mess of things already, and didn't want to make things worse.

"So... Uhh... How long have you been living here in Magnolia?" Malm decided to ask in hopes the question would distract her from the question he asked earlier.

((sorry I never realised. I am working on it.))
"Since I left home. I came straight here, I had heard rumours of how magnificent this place was and wanted to see for myself. And of course the rumours were true." They turned a corner and there stood the library towering in front of them. It was an old but grand building, with intricate stone work and beautifully carved doors and windows. Without hesitation Obel ran forward, tripping on her dress slightly, and entered the library. She had spent so much time in this building since she left home that it had become in a way part of her.

((Thanks. It looks much better now.))

Malm nodded his head as he listen to what she said. He was happy to see that she wasn't hung up by his earlier question. He was worried that she would hold some hostility against him because of it.

Then as they turned a corner, Malm could see the library right in front of him. In an instant, it seemed like Obel had just disappeared from his side. Yet when he turned to look at the library, he saw Obel running straight towards, nearly tripping over her dress in the process. That girl must really like books.

"Hey. Wait up." Malm called out as he ran after Obel.

As soon as Obel entered the library she ran to the largest shelf of books, scuttled up the ladder to the top shelf, and started to pull handfuls of books out eagerly, showering herself in the dust of the neglected objects. Once she could no longer carry any more books she awkwardly made her way back to the floor and spread the books around her, opening the books at pages that appeared to be random.
The silence of the library cloaked the little girl as she became oblivious to the world around her, completely engrossed in the words before her. There is no friend as loyal as a book.

As he entered the library, he took a second to take in the sight. He didn't believe he has ever seen more books gathered in one place before. In fact, he doesn't believe he's ever been in a library before. Well... He's been in a private one, but that's a different thing altogether.

He then looked over at Obel to see the girl already surrounding herself with books. Malm just rubbed the back of his head (or at least he tried to, but ended up instinctively moved his hand away as he felt a spike of pain when he touched it) deciding it's better to just leave her be. Not being much of a reader himself though, he didn't really knew what he should do while he waited. So he decided to just wander around the library to see if he could find anything of interest.

After several minutes of flicking through the pages of the books surrounding her she closed the books, put a few back on the shelf then piled them on top of each other so that she could carry them to the library desk. The stack of books in Obels arms was so high it was taller than her. Slowly she made her way to the desk and wrote her name down on the list of people taking books out. Deciding to leave the books on the desk and pick them up later when she was by herself, she made her way over to Malm.
"Are you ready to go?"

As Obel looked through her books, Malm took the chance to look through the selection of titles the library. Nothing really of interest popped up for the teen til he noticed a little book titled "Unusual Flora in Fiora". Curious, he pulled it out and skim through a few pages. He didn't get much of a chance to look through it any further though as Obel suddenly asked if he was ready to go.

"Uhh... Yeah." Malm said as he quickly put the book back in it's place on the shelf before turning to face her, "So the candy shop is next, right?" Malm asked before noticing something odd, "Where are the books you wanted to check-out?"