Souls Betwixt (Dark Souls / Fairy Tail) (Complete)

Quick note up ahead: there are some spoilers to Dark Souls in this, major spoilers for Fairy Tail, and AU elements to the latter. Though that is mainly me improving or changing the... lacking parts of its plot and filling some holes.​

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The flame burned bright, an end and a beginning.
​

Then from the dark they came, and found the souls of Lords within the flame.

With the strength of Lords, they challenged the dragons for dominion of an unformed world. From this first spark sprang forth the age of fire. Yet without the betrayal of Seath the Scaleless, it may have never been. An Everlasting Dragon working with the gods to tear his kin from the heavens, forever brandished as traitor and lauded by their slayers.

Alas, that was history, however ancient it may be; one could not quite tell the passage of time in this frozen realm. Snowfall covered distant valleys in a white blanket, though it lay empty near the unseen walls. Derelict suspension bridges harbored the only entrance, leading up to a fortress cresting the central mountain peak. Dozens of feet had disturbed the snow here, bare or armorclad; wingbeats announced predators sailing by, thin humanoids bearing black wings and razor sharp beaks.

Through this serenity strolled grace, beauty crafted into eternal marble. Covered in ivory fur thick enough to be mistaken for cloth, her bare feat left tracks several times the size of any other resident. A thick tail emerged from the fur, idly swaying with her gait; amber eyes gazed at the world, their pupils slitted.

She came to a halt when the muted sound of scrabbling feet reached her ears; a barely clothed body approached, empty eye-sockets pointed straight at the larger woman. Her frame was emaciated, nearly empty of blood and devoid of skin, a living mummy more than a person. The human woman waved a chipped steel sword, mindlessly shambling ahead as instinct drove her to attack. The woman in white sighed imperceptibly before raising an ebony scythe; her assailant did not react to the fearsome display. A surge of draconic might ran through the weapon as it swung, the sound of displaced air followed by a thud.

"Another taken by the Darksign," Priscilla murmured, standing vigil as the Hollow bled her final drops of blood from where she was bisected. "May thou rest peacefully, now." The undead did not reform to rise again, for the dark hole previously marking her chest had flickered out. Others watched the proceedings from a distance, humans and monsters both; no one objected when Priscilla gathered the human's halves in one hand and her meagre possessions in the other.

Taking a detour to the outer wall, she gently deposited the corpse in a dedicated pit; several crow people floated down to inspect their next meal, the closest of which received gentle pats. A few appreciative croaks sounded while another took the remaining clothes and weapon off her hands. Priscilla did not much care what happened to them from then on. A blast of arctic cold froze the blood and grime on her hands, which she then brushed off before continuing her stroll.

The many actual crows cawed at her as she passed. Soon enough, she was weighed down by tiny bodies as they landed on her shoulders. Smiling indulgently, Priscilla settled down and let them pick crumbs of dirt from her fur. They shuffled around until they were satisfied with her, allowing careful pets by fingers larger than their heads. Other undead stumbled by, awkwardly greeting her with bows or a few words; she inclined her head at each one with a faint smile, content that only one had hollowed entirely. They were banished just like her, or sought shelter in the world the painter god Ariamis made. They were welcome to stay.

After several hours, Priscilla once again traversed the stone bridge leading to her tower; it guarded the only exit, with her being the gatekeeper. Though she understood how to leave the painted world an age ago, she had since stayed. There was nothing beyond its walls for her. Rather, Priscilla saw off those who wished to leave with a smile and a bid of good luck. Few ever went, for proper death was too enticing a prospect. No one but her could administer it to the undead, so many braved the isolation they abhorred.

Settling down with her legs arranged sideways, Priscilla wound her tail around herself and began to watch the unchanging snowfall for a time. Her mind was calm and at peace, Priscilla likely the happiest of all beings in this forsaken land.

A year passed like this; the unchanging sky and weather accomodated her serenity, the only sign of activity an occasional breeze playing with Priscilla's fur. She sat motionless, eyes staring ahead unblinking. Her mind moved beyond the realm of words, slumber, and waking alike. A moment of eternity passed as she immersed herself in her birthright.

Then, all of a sudden, her tranquil world shattered. The dark skies became bright red and shudders ran through the air. Pure power erupted in front of Priscilla, the dragon flinching back and making to stand; a sudden vortex aborted the motion, lifting her off the ground before she could get her bearings. She barely managed to snatch her scythe and frantically hooked it around a dilapidated windowframe. Its blade cut through the stone without so much as slowing. Whirling through the air, Priscilla screamed as the sky swallowed her; everything became dark and her senses were assaulted by alien powers. She fell, up and down at the same time.

It was but a moment of utter disorientation, followed by surprise when something eerily familiar blurred past in the other direction. It carried the scent of fire that made her blood boil in instinctual rage; that moment, too, passed as fear and worry wormed their way back to the forefront. Priscilla whimpered through her endless fall, only for it to end as suddenly as it began. There was light.

She landed hard on loose earth, momentum driving a tear into the ground as her fur was stained brown. Impact drove the air from her lungs, leaving her a heaving mess.

Once her recovered, Priscilla lay silently, face buried in soil. Her scythe clattered on the ground as she slowly rolled over and stared at the canopy above; undisturbed, as if half a ton of dragon did not just arrive violently. The air was oddly rich and dirt clung between the scales on her forehead.

Moments later, a soft caw distracted her from the irritating sensation; Priscilla stood slowly and took in her surroundings, but found herself alone with exception of a single crow. It watched from a nearby tree, meeting her gaze at eye level. She reached out hesitantly. The bird snuggled against her finger without hesitation, which calmed her somewhat. It then hopped onto the offered digit with another caw. Priscilla pet it absently. The motion calmed her racing heart and anxiety. She left the painting; or rather, someone or something tore her from it. It made no sense.

Bidding the crow to take distance, she carefully cleaned her fur again by freezing the dirt solid and picking clumps out of it; her feathered companion immediately moved to assist on her back. During the mindless work, Priscilla took stock of her situation; the light was different here, brighter than at home. It felt like actual sunlight where it broke through the foliage. Trees surrounded her, their leaves vibrant as they formed a thick canopy. A forest, the very first she ever beheld. Some anxiety returned with that observation; Priscilla had no idea where she ended up. The scents were unlike anything she ever smelled before, the trees were unfamiliar, and there was an actual sky. A world without boundaries or limits, it made her want to dig a hole and hide in it. Although draconic pride would not let her follow such impulses, it could merely dull the worry, not disperse it.

Once done with her fur, she quickly picked up her scythe; the familiar feeling grounded Priscilla and she reflexively moved her tail. The dagger she always carried was still there too, instinctively squeezed between her tail's base and back. It made her relax further, knowing she had something familiar in these unfamiliar circumstances.

After a time spent studying her surroundings, bereft of life for all native critters fled her presence, Priscilla began to walk. The crow rode on her shoulder, its presence silently appreciated.

Her quest for a way back met with failure; in fact, she found nothing and no one in the sprawling woodland. Before she knew it, the bright light dimmed and faded entirely. Priscilla could still see as her eyes cared naught for a lack of illumination, yet a part of her feared the night regardless. The irony of an Everlasting Dragon being afraid was not lost on her, but the steady undercurrent of anxiety carried any amusement away. Priscilla fell still, hoping that dawn would come in time; her crow friend made a nest in her fur to roost, cawing once more as if to reassure her. Her lips twitched into a faint smile before she turned invisible, decision made to wait for daybreak.

Meanwhile, Priscilla's mind raced as she tried to figure out a way home; she wanted to go back to her serene isolation, undisturbed by any worldly matters. In her developing trance, she even missed the first light of dawn.

Despite her experience thus far, the forest was not deserted; quite the contrary, in fact. Life settled back in at the perceived absence of a potential predator. Only to stir once again when another, equally as terrifying being stalked the area in search of herbs. Clad in a crimson coat whose high collar ran out in tooth-like protrusions, an old human woman marched with practiced ease. Wrinkles born from decades of frowns and sneers had dug deep into her expression, underlining her piercing red eyes. Dull, dark pink hair crowned her head, bound into a tight bun with but two strands freed to frame her face.

The elder's gait was purposeful and strong; that was, until she noticed a giant footprint she knew had not been there the previous day. Large enough to fit either of her boots at least four times. Another sneer worked its way onto her features.

"Gods damn you, Makarov;" she quietly cursed at no one, "you have been doing this for thirty years and it hasn't been funny just as long. How immature can you be? Can we not go two months without ominous footprints?" Her reflexive anger faded somewhat when, just before she dismissed the matter, it occurred to old Polyushka that these were not imprints of boots, but of naked feet. Moreover, they stopped just before where she stood. As if whoever made them took flight right there; a glance to the untouched canopy told her to discard that option.

Then a single caw drew the elder's attention upward, where a crow peered down at her; it sat in mid-air, which told Polyushka all she needed to know. Once she clearly noticed the bird, it took wing and left her with whatever visitor there may be. Polyushka sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That better not be you, Makarov. If you learned invisibility just for another stupid prank, I will personally mix laxatives into every drink you have for the rest of your life."

Yet no matter how much she cussed, Polyushka knew it was not him; Makarov did not know any such magic and was rarely inclined to learn something new at over eighty years old. Before her stood an invisible giant who had yet to react to her presence. Carefully reaching out toward the footprint's position, her hand quickly sunk into some kind of unkempt yet silky material. Whatever it was, Polyushka grabbed it tightly and pulled with all the force in her aging body. A feminine gasp sounded from above and she let go.

This was followed by a quiet rush of displaced air before a new footprint appeared two metres distant. The occurence repeated when Polyushka thoughtlessly made to follow; she managed to hear a faint rustling this time, though. Straining her ears further, she barely noticed soft breathing that the forest's ambient noise hid thus far.

However, as her patience with the phenomenon waned and she remembered this was, in fact, a person, she transitioned into a glare. "Stop playing games and reveal yourself already!" she snapped at the intruder. "Who are you, what are you doing in my forest?"

Nothing happened at first; the silence remained long enough that she already made to rant further, but a soft, meek voice began to roll through the twilight before she could: "Apologies, fair dame, I was unaware this be thy demesne. Wouldst thou find it in thy heart to forgive mine transgression? 'twas a blunder most involuntary, I assure thee."

Her scowl faded in favour of abject confusion. Polyushka stared into the air, trying to parse that sentence; she barely managed by the time the unknown woman continued: "I find myself abroad and bereft of familiar landmarks. Wereth thou willing to provide directions, I shall avaunt at once."

She slowly put down her basket, freeing both hands to rub her temples; it was too early for that kind of nonsense. Halfway between annoyed and resigned, the elder could not muster much heat for her response: "Show yourself."

The stranger complied this time, appearing from one moment to the next; despite being prepared, Polyushka was bewildered nonetheless. Her surprise then persisted due to the sight itself; a woman clad in thick, silvery furs of an animal she could not name. The giant scythe she held casually gave Polyushka pause, but there was not even a hint of aggression in her posture; in fact, she seemed to shy away even though the human woman had to crane her neck for eye contact. A pushover then, or someone delicate; neither of which she was ready or willing to deal with.

Seeing that the stranger wilted visibly under her prolonged stare, a stray branch poking the back of her head and tangling itself in her snow white hair, Polyushka rallied the tiny bit of compassion in her old heart and forced her expression to soften. Results were mixed at best. "I am not angry, I just don't like people. You did nothing wrong." The giantess relaxed notably, meaning she was doing well enough. "So, to clarify: You don't know how to get out of the forest?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then how did you get here?" Her question came out a bit sharper than intended, but there was no adverse reaction this time. The girl, and Polyushka could not think of someone this meek as a woman, hesitated.

"I doth not know. Matters of the arcane befell mine home, tearing myself away and into thy demesne."

"I see. Magic, then." By herself, she figured this one must be far from home. The way she spoke was difficult to follow at best, though she could infer enough from the parts she did know. After pondering the issue for a minute, she heaved another sigh. "Follow."

Polyushka began to walk, her social battery exhausted to the point she did not even check if she was followed. Not that she really had to, considering how the girl's feet audibly sunk into the ground with every step. The branch that tangled in her hair earlier broke off, then was idly pulled out of its prison and discarded. They walked the forest without issue, it being familiar to the elder after living in it for decades. And if nothing else, Polyushka could at least appreciate that her mystery visitor did not speak needlessly; she followed as softly as possible, barely audible despite her size.

Half an our passed in silence before they reached the forest's edge; once the canopy broke up and only singular trees covered the path ahead, one could see a city not far distant. Sturdy stone structures grasped several stories high, making for an imposing sight even at a distance. Polyushka pointed at it, idly noting how the girl squinted against the direct sunlight. "This is Magnolia. Go there, the wizard guild Fairy Tail can probably help you find the way home. Just ask for directions if you can't find it, it's the most gaudy building in town."

The stranger stared as if she never saw a city before, lips moving silently. Moments passed like this, then she bowed her head. "Thou art most kind, fair dame. Thou have mine gratitude."

Polyushka waved her off and brusquely turned around. "Yes, yes. Now get going."

And she shuffled away. Polyushka snuck a glance after a few steps, but found no trace of her; only a trail of footprints slowly meandering toward Magnolia. She huffed, shook her head, and continued to walk. This was not her problem anymore.

Meanwhile, Priscilla had halted her approach to once again squint at the massive city. The sun shone brightly, which she took to meaning that Lord Gwyn was still in good health. Once her eyes adjusted, she studied her destination, noting it to be easily twenty times her homely fort's size. The buzz of countless voices reached even the place she stood, yet unseen. Priscilla did not quite want to reveal herself again; while the lady of the woods did not have much of a reaction, she could hardly fathom an abomination such as herself being welcome among the residents.

Only now did she realise that the human never gave her name, and neither did she. Then again, did it matter? Priscilla chased the question away and wondered whether she could just move toward the countryside. If she sought Anor Londo of her own devices, she ought to find it eventually; then again, the gods would not tolerate her presence outside the painting. Which led her attention back to Magnolia. A part of her demanded she march in and challenge the people with her presence, slaughter them if they objected. Priscilla ignored that part with practiced ease, rather listening to the one that was truly her and not racial instinct; by herself, she did not expect a warm welcome. She hoped for acceptance, though; it had been a long time since her banishment, perhaps things changed.

Ever so slowly, her feet began to move again. Invisibility faded away as she approached the town, finding a well maintained stone road to wander on; going by its size, she assumed that to be the main road while passing between the first buildings. Priscilla took careful steps, intimately aware of the many stares her appearance gathered; being over six metres tall where even the largest human barely passed two did its part in that. Thankfully, there were no terrified screams or attacks; some tiny humans pointed at her with bright eyes, but normal-sized ones dragged them away.

Once it became clear the inhabitants were more curious than afraid, Priscilla's tension faded somewhat. She allowed herself to be distracted by the surrounding splendor. Magnolia was like a new world entirely, filled with more people than she ever saw in one place. Well-crafted stone and wood buildings lined every street, ranging from properly built shops to living quarters; many a road followed channels of clear water on which boats carried loads across town. They fed back into the bay Magnolia was built at. Tiny humans congregated around more exotically garbed individuals in the streets, shrieking and laughing about tricks they performed. She never heard anyone or anything shriek in delight before.

Priscilla wandered the streets aimlessly, uncertain where to go and uncomfortable at the thought of interrupting any humans; they all appeared so busy, always moving and in need of being places. She did listen to their conversations however, soaking up whatever the locals were interested in; some terms were quite strange to her ears, yet now that her nerves settled, Priscilla realised that the forest-dwelling human had been confused by her way of speaking also. So for her first hour or two, she adopted the local idioms as best as she could. It would be put to the test sooner than she expected.

"Do you need help?"

The question tore her from wandering and observing. Priscilla glanced around the ground, but found no one nearby.

"Up here!"

Raising her eyes, she spotted a human woman sitting on a rooftop, kicking her bare feet. A light pink dress ran down her entire body, fastened to her neck by a red ribbon. Luscious, pale blonde locks ran down her back like a river, their tips pooling on the roof around her. She appeared somewhere in-between regular size and the tiny ones, with a bright smile and brighter, green eyes.

Surprised, Priscilla needed a moment to gather her bearings. "Indeed, I...." She trailed off in an uncomfortable pause, sorting through the new vocabulary. "Um, I seek a place called 'Fairy Tail'? Doth thou, ah, do you know the way?"

If the stranger was bothered by her anxiety, she did not show it. If anything, her smile grew a size. "Of course!" she responded cheerfully and made to point. "You follow the main road thataway, then turn left at the crossroads over there. You can see it from here, actually. Up there, the large building. That's the guild hall."

And it was true, Priscilla could see an imposing as well as gaudy building from where she stood. The large cathedral sitting toward Magnolia's center had been her only other candidate, though she doubted it before already. She knew cathedrals. "Oh, I see. Thank you kindly. May I ask thy-" She turned back, but the human was gone. "-name....?"

After a confused glance at her surroundings that yielded no trace of her mysterious helper, Priscilla put the matter aside and followed the instructions given. She grew a smidgen more confident as she walked the streets; people gave her enough space to walk and even minded the tail, some even waved at her. In those cases, she waved back shily.

The guild hall soon arrived before her, larger than most buildings in town bar the cathedral she noticed earlier. Priscilla studied it for a minute, noting the large sign she could not read, and a guild mark heralding its affiliation; this one reminded her of a bird riding an arrow downward, if more abstract. It was held in a bright crimson. The doors stood wide open, allowing laughter and conversation to carry outside.

This was when another issue presented itself: the gate only reached Priscilla's belly. She crouched to peer inside, but even that yielded precious little, making her wonder how to enter.

For the second time in an hour however, someone took notice of her predicament and spoke up: "Need some help?" The question drew her gaze to a male human with spiky, orange hair. He was clad in dark pants and an orange shirt, over which a leaf green jacket sat. His glasses glinted in the sunlight while he waited for Priscilla's response, wearing an easy smile that she returned tentatively.

"Indeed I do, kind sir. Yonder building, is this Fairy Tail?"

In her relief, she completely missed the confused blink about her phrasing. The man nodded slowly. "Sure is. Why don't you come in?"

"Um, I would. However...."

She motioned for herself, which visibly confused him. "Can't you just shrink back down?"

"Pardon?"

"Uh... I mean, you're using body alteration magic, right? For the tail and everything?"

Now it was her getting confused; the suggestion appeared to make sense to him, but she never heard of such among the soul arts. "Tis not magic I ever witnessed, much less learned."

The human stared up at her for a long moment. His gaze wandered down her body, befuddled. "Wow. Okay, uh, that could be a problem." He paused to consider and took a few quick steps to peer inside, nodding to himself. "The ceiling is a lot higher, so you can probably stand inside. Just, you just need to get through the door."

Priscilla glanced between him and the door, then back. Heaving a troubled sigh and mumbling about the indignity of it, she bent down to finally receive her first real sight of the guild hall. No one obstructed the entrance once the man moved aside, at least. Small mercies. Clutching her scythe in one hand, Priscilla crawled into the building, well aware of the momentary silence; all conversations halted as people watched her entrance, though they quickly returned to their own matters. She rose as soon as she was through the door, thankful for a high ceiling. There were at least another two metres of space, allowing her some comfort.

The immediate issue settled, she took in the room; it was warmer inside as dozens of people ate, drank, spoke and laughed, or played cards on one particular table. They were dressed in a variety of colours and cheerfully displayed various kinds of magic to each other. Even though she towered over the room, no one seemed to think much of it.

As the atmosphere washed over her, Priscilla's attention was drawn by the people with the cards; they sat closest to the entrance, surrounded by a small crowd that watched a clearly female human turn them around one after another. The images meant nothing to her, though they certainly held some kind of gravity to the buxom brunette slapping the table. "See!" she slurred, paused to down her entire tankard, then slapped the table again. "It's been like this all day! Death reversed, Emperor reversed, Wheel of Fortune reversed! This just can't be right, drawing only major arcana and only in reverse. It's like the world's going to end!"

"Maybe your magic just fails?" a blunette commented from the small crowd, one finger on her lip as she studied the cards. "Fortunetelling was never all that precise, right?"

Her comment earned a stink eye and a soft bat to her shoulder, which transitioned into a wave. "Levy, sweetie, magic doesn't just fail for no reason. I've drawn about every bad constellation of major arcana and that's got to mean something." A certain tension rose with the brunette's insistence, though Levy did not appear convinced.

"Well," a white-haired woman interjected as she passed by, carrying three plates at once on her arms, "no one can see the future in detail. Maybe Natsu did something silly and changed fate forever, and now it has a headache."

She chuckled and twirled away, askance stares following her. Cana mutely shook her head, just as Priscilla decided this line of conversation made little sense to her. A weak pressure against her leg brought someone else back to mind; he leaned against her while looking like he had a religious experience. His unintelligible mutterings faded when Priscilla addressed him: "Art thou alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." A whispered "so marvelous" was lost to her and he shook his head, then waved over the barmaid. "Hey, Mira. Is the master around?"

Now that she treaded nearby, Priscilla took notice of her charming, wine red dress and kind disposition. The woman smiled just as easily as everyone else seemed to, shaking her head in response. "Afraid not. Friend of yours, Loke?"

"Nah, we just met. She wanted to come here for some reason and had some trouble getting in." He trailed off at that point, gaze growing distant again until Mira snapped a finger in front of his face. "Oh, sorry. Anyway, I don't know what you need, but Mirajane here can probably help you. If not her, then Master Makarov."

Priscilla inclined her head in greeting, somewhat surprised that the woman before her did not seem the least bit intimidated by their size disparity. Rather, she beamed up at her. "I can't say if we can help just yet, but I can certainly try! What do you need?"

Others became attentive as she spoke, following their conversation while Priscilla pondered how to relay her issue best. "I seeketh, er, seek guidance more than anything. I find myself far from home. Doth thou, ah, do you know which way Lordran lies? Or Anor Londo, perchance?"

Mira's eyebrow scrunched as she pondered the question. Unfortunately, she ultimately shook her head. "I am sorry, but I don't think I ever heard either of these names before. Did anyone else?" A quick round of no's followed from the people around them, which made Priscilla deflate. Mira comfortingly patted her knee. "Again, sorry. But if you're that far out, did you find the guildhall by chance?"

"Not quite," she returned hesitantly. "A kind lady told me to come here."

"Oh? Anyone I know?"

"I doth not know. Her claim lies on the nearby greenwoods." She motioned in the direction she believed the area to be and Mira mulled it over.

Before she could respond however, another woman snorted and bent over in laughter. "Ahaha, P-Polyushka?! You met the old crone and say she's kind!?" She kept laughing throughout, drawing chuckles out others. "This is the best joke I heard all year!"

"Shush, Laki," Mira admonished the purplette. "Granny is nice enough if you don't bother her too much. And our visitor is a polite one. Actually, what's your name? I'm Mirajane."

"I am Priscilla, and I am grateful for your kindness."

They exchanged smiles, one bright, one still somewhat hesitant. Mirajane studied her for another moment, humming to herself. "Say, Priscilla. Do you have a place to stay, or something to do until you find a way home?"

"Not as such, though I shan't be without clues for long."

"Hm. One more question then: are there people missing you, wherever your home is? Anyone waiting for you?"

This one brought her to think. Priscilla lived all her life in an ethereal prison, populated by crows and the forsaken who hoped for salvation from eternal torment. They would miss her, if not for her own sake. Hesitantly, she shook her head. "...I do not think so. But it was always so tranquil."

Mirajane nodded in response. "How about you join Fairy Tail instead?" she proposed gently, much to Priscilla's shock. "A life lived alone is not worth living, in my opinion. And even if you rather leave later, we can help you along the way."

An unknown kind of warmth surged through her entire being, constricting her throat with never felt joy. Such kindness from virtual strangers, offering her a place to belong where no one ever wanted her before. Priscilla nodded mutely and Mira's smile grew two sizes. Neither woman paid attention to Cana's exclamation in that eternal moment, for the Death in front of her flipped itself upside down. Upon checking the card, a flummoxed Cana found The World instead.

 

"The basis of all magic in Earthland is Ethernano, a particle the planet produces. It flows through leylines beneath the earth like blood flows through a creature's veins, filling the atmosphere anywhere and everywhere. The first step to becoming a wizard is to open one's body to external Ethernano."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic"

---

An half hour had passed since she was asked to join a wizard guild. Priscilla still felt a little fuzzy, having sat down in a corner near the bar while Mirajane worked. The prospect of being welcome was as alien as being free, yet no one objected to her presence; if anything, as news spread people raised their mugs her way or waved cheerfully.

Once the other white-haired woman had a moment of respite between bringing out food and drink, she gathered some sort of parchment and began to fill out a pre-written form. After glancing at some sort of list however, she quietly muttered to herself. "I really should have remembered it by now." A glance flew to Priscilla, who suddenly felt a little worried they had to send her away after all. "You would not happen to have citizenship in Fiore?" She mutely shook her head, never having heard of any realm by that name before. Mirajane sighed. "Well, this complicates things a little. You need to be a citizen to join a guild. But it's nothing we can't-"

She interrupted herself when a tiny human entered, what little hair he had white like theirs. His bald forehead was wrinkly, expression relaxed.

"Oh, welcome back, Master!" Mirajane's greeting was echoed a few times and Makarov's demeanor became warmer. He immediately took notice of the new arrival, studying her just as she studied him. The barmaid motioned needlessly. "This is Priscilla, she wants to join our guild. Magic should be fine, what with her body alteration."

"Tis not body alteration." The other woman faltered and glanced Priscilla's way, who shook her head. "There is a misunderstanding. This is I, without any alterations made."

The elderly human hummed in thought as he pondered the situation. Then he grew in size without preamble, momentarily stunning Priscilla; by the time she gathered her wits once more and scrambled to her feet, he stood at her height and offered a massive hand, smiling. "No matter, we can take care of the problems. If you want to join, you're welcome." She could not help but smile, though the hand confused her; he seemed to pick up on that. "Don't be shy, take it."

Her first handshake went well enough after that, though some people snickered in the background. Mirajane smiled at the sight of them. "You have to know," she explained, "body alteration is a complicated but quite potent branch of magic. The master is one of the few people who mastered it."

"Indeed." She quietly thought back to the many humans she killed, and how swiftly they were dispatched without ever getting near enough to strike her. Then again, most of them were simple hollows, incapable of higher thought or strategy. Shaking off these thoughts in favour of more relevant ones, she turned to Mirajane while Makarov shrunk back down. "Now, how would I obtain citizenship?"

"Oh, that's easy. You can apply for it in the capital. Unless you're a wanted criminal, they'll definitely let you take the integration test. That's basically answering questions about Fiore," Mira elaborated without prompting, for which she received a grateful nod. Priscilla seated herself again so as to be closer to the people she spoke with.

"Er, quick question," Loke joined in from a nearby table, "but how is she going to write her answers?" Priscilla reflexively raised one hand to study her fingers, each of which were large enough to cover over one half of such a page in height. The quill Mirajane used was positively tiny to her, which appeared to give everyone else pause as well.

Laki nodded from where she sat opposite to Loke. "He's got a point. Of course you can do it with passion, but-" "Yeah!"

Another joined their group; a large, muscular man with spiky hair as white as Mira's and a scar running down his left eye. He thumped his fist on the table, startling Laki. "If there's a will, there's a way!"

"That's not what I was saying, Elfman!"

"Of course you were, you just said it! A real man doesn't take back their words!"

"I'm a woman!"

"So what?"

Priscilla watched first with mild curiousity, then worry as Laki stood to square off with the larger human. It magnified when the purplette decked him in the face, only to be sent flying on the turnaround. Elfman pursued and the matter deteriorated into a brawl from there. Mirajane and Makarov watched on with faint smiles, which disturbed her. "Ah, should you not, well, call them to order?"

Mira just shook her head. "No, no. I'm not Erza, they can have their fun."

"...does this pass for entertainment here?"

"Only within Fairy Tail."

Makarov nodded sagely at the barmaid's words. "Ah, what is a little brawl in the family?" he asked the room with a chuckle, then turned to Priscilla. "But Loke had a point. Filling out applications will be an issue for you, my dear. Nothing that can not be worked around, though. You would not happen to know telekinesis?" An empty mug began to rise into the air for emphasis.

Priscilla shook her head, idly taking note of the floating, glowing runic circle behind Makarov's hand. "The arcane appears far less developed in mine homeland."

"Well, we'll have to teach you some magic while we're at it. But as long as you can learn the things they'll ask, you will be fine."

His confidence reassured Priscilla, but another sideway glance at the parchment on the bar quashed it somewhat. "Um, there is a slight issue with that." She hesitated, embarassed. "I, ah, find myself unable to read the local script."

Makarov and Mirajane shared a look over this revelation while she fidgeted, but they were interrupted when an airborne Laki slapped into Priscilla's chest. She caught the purplette instinctively, peering at her with worry. "Art thou alright?"

Laki waved her off as well as she could while held by two giant hands. "Yeah, yeah, fine." She tapped Priscilla's fingers and was let go, shouting before she even hit the ground: "Elfman, you ass! Don't throw me at the new girl! That's a spanking for you!" A dark brown runic circle popped into existence next to her, right before a large wooden club grew from the ground for her to pluck. Laki grinned maniacally as she began to chase the larger man around the room, running over other people in his haste to get away. Others soon added their own magic to the mix.

The group of three watched this for a time; Loke left at some point, though he did not join the escalating brawl. Priscilla took great interest in the various forms of magic on display, but was soon distracted by a flicker of scarlet in her peripheral vision. A woman had entered through the gate, wearing the most severe expression so far. Her crimson locks fell down in an orderly fashion, covering a proper knight's breastplate that ran out into a short, blue skirt. She had questions about the viability of something that left her thighs undefended and whether the black boots reaching just below her knees were any help. Those questions were answered in a span of five seconds, when the new arrival beheld the chaos.

Scowling, she entered the fray and layed down a naked man with a single blow to the face. Laki and one other followed before people took notice and the brawl broke apart. Mirajane sighed theatralically while the newcomer began a loud lecture on decorum. "Looks like the no-fun knightess is here. Anyway," she continued, turning back to Priscilla, who had trouble taking her eyes off the woman. "-I'm sure one of us can teach you to read. And here comes Erza."

Her lecture concluded, the redhead approached them with a nod to Mirajane before addressing Makarov. "Mission complete, Master." The elder simply nodded, after which Erza took a moment to study Priscilla. "And you must be new, though I do not see a guild mark on you."

She nodded, slightly intimidated by Erza's clear prowess while beating down the urge to crush the upstart at the same time. "I have yet to become a member. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, dame Erza."

The woman herself was taken aback and Mirajane broke into haltless giggles, apparently unconcerned by the scowl sent her way. Brave or foolish, Priscilla reasoned. Mira then relayed the situation to Erza, whose expression turned from contemplative to resolute in moments. "I can do that," she immediately volunteered, much to the dragon's surprise. "I taught Natsu how to read and write, I can teach you too. The bigger problem might be reading on pages so small, or turning them. But levitation magic can help with that. Don't worry, I can teach you that, too." A faint smile graced the redhead's lips when she saw how much her future student brightened. Some others who heard the proclamation winced, but refrained from commenting. "But that is for later. I am curious about where you are from. What is this 'Lordran' like?"

Priscilla mulled it over while more people settled around them; she did not have much to tell them from her secluded life. All she had were sparse second-hand accounts of the few undead brave enough to seek conversation. "I am afraid I spent mine life in seclusion. Thus all I can give you are tales I was told myself." Erza nodded with a soft frown, but did not interrupt so she continued: "Lordran is known as the land of ancient lords, where most battles during the First War were fought. Surrounding it lie the realms of Carim, Vinheim, Astora, Catarina, Thorolund, and Oolacile." Recalling the conversations in question, Priscilla figured those were the relevant ones. She only ever met humans from Vinheim and Oolacile within the painting, though.

"That is interesting," Erza interrupted curtly, "but what is there exactly about Lordran to know? Places to be, the people?" Her frown deepened when Priscilla remained silent. "You said you met some, no?"

As the silence grew longer and more awkward, Makarov took pity on her. "I know that no kingdom by either of these names can be found on Ishgar," he swiftly changed the subject, causing Priscilla to deflate some more. "Perhaps somewhere beyond Alvarez on the northern continent?"

"So what's the magic like where you live?" the naked man chimed in. Unruly, black hair set a stark contrast to his surprisingly pale skin; he started when someone else tapped his shoulder and pointed down. "What the- when?" he muttered to himself while putting on clothes people handed him. Priscilla watched the procedure with abject confusion, which was not lost on many; indulgent smiles were passed around.

"Gray's teacher insisted that to learn Ice Make magic, he had to attune himself to the element first," Mirajane elucidated kindly. "Which mostly means being naked in the snow. It turned into a bit of a developed habit for him after a while, to the point he doesn't even notice when he does it. Don't mind him."

"I doth not. Tis of no concern. Now, as in regard to your question," Priscilla continued with a glance to the fully clothed Gray, "I do possess cold-related powers of my own, among others."

"Oh, really? Let's see them then! I'll go first!" Without waiting for input, Gray took a stance, legs spread and one fist placed on his open palm. Everyone else took a few steps back while yet another gleaming circle appeared, this time in blue. Gray focussed on a point in front of Priscilla. "Ice Make Gemstone!" he called. The room grew colder with his words as a solid ice sculpture formed between them, perfectly carved into a giant diamond's shape.

"My word!" Amazed by the feat, Priscilla leaned forward to study his creation. "How marvelous, such fine make. I fear mine dost not compare." When Gray waved her forward to display, she inhaled deeply before spewing a wave of frigid air. It rushed past Gray with little effect, though everyone else was shuddering. Clothes were frozen stiff and hoarfrost settled on the ground. "This be the extent of mine, for I never quite desired to delve further." Feeling rather disappointed in her lack of ability, she ignored the attempts to reassure her while in thought. Then she perked up. "Although I can display another technique."

And then Priscilla turned invisible; her vanishing from one moment to the next created quite a bit of excitement. Throughout it all, she missed the calculating looks from Makarov, Erza, and Mira. The guild master studied her thoughtfully once she reappeared; there were exclamations how no one could even sense her there and thought she teleported away.

"That was awesome," Laki cheered. "Come on, what else do you have?"

"Ah, well, nothing, I am afraid." Her denial was accepted well enough, though she took notice that neither the master nor the two women flanking him appeared convinced.

Elfman took over from the crowd then: "So how's about your own experiences? You've got to have met a few people at least, or done a few things. What's this Lordran place like?"

"Oh, I doth not know much of Lordran, let alone its neighbours. Word of mouth is all I have, mainly from...." She hesitated here, realising that telling them of her banishment would yield more questions she did not quite want to answer. At the same time, stopping now would be just as suspicious. Sighing inwardly, Priscilla finished the sentence: "From the humans banished to the world Ariamis made."

Thankfully, there was more intrigue about someone having made a world than the rest of that statement; she explained with some relief when Erza asked for details: "The painter god Ariamis drew a world into a painting, unto which the gods would foist heretics and other undesirables. A truer piece of art hath never been crafted, paint so vibrant it became reality." She continued to speak of the mountain fort housing those who stepped into the painting, growing more animated as she did. Over the memories of her peaceful life, Priscilla missed how the intrigue slowly turned to understanding and pity.

Someone else changed the subject soon enough and she was introduced to more people. She quite enjoyed everyone being so happy to have her, mostly listening to the various wizards chat and banter. As it grew late and most of them filed out to go home or start a job however, Makarov joined her once again. With but Mirajane and Erza left, he rested his small body on top of the bar.

"There was something else about your magic, was there not?"

Priscilla sat frozen for a moment, hoping the problem might just wither away with time; it took long seconds before she realised her approach would not work. Hanging her head, the dragon nodded. "Mine banishment to the world Ariamis made was not undeserved. I am loathe to but speak of it, lest thou become disgusted with my presence."

While the elder mulled over her reasoning, Mirajane required little consideration. She adopted a more gentle smile and climbed onto Priscilla's lap, immediately drawing the taller woman's attention. "Fairy Tail does not care who you were or what powers you call upon," she began softly. "I devour demons and steal their powers, Evergreen can turn whoever she looks at to stone, Bixlow can steal their souls from eye contact. All that matters to us is to hold together." A fist pressed into Priscilla's fur, right against her chest. "Only this matters."

"Oh."

Despite her getting the point however, she remained hesitant. Makarov noticed too, for he followed up moments later: "You do not use Ethernano in the magic you showed us so far. That's not an insignificant change in technique, but it makes your invisibility especially potent. What usually invalidates it is the opponent's ability to sense your Ethernano. But that aside, Mira is right. Whatever power you possess, we will welcome you regardless." He paused momentarily while Erza and Mira both nodded their agreement. "Were you banished into this painting for actual deeds committed, or merely for possessing this power?"

Though their reassurances relaxed her, the subject of her imprisonment brought back old shame and hesitation. Yet these people were nothing but kind to her, so she felt she at least owed them full disclosure. That decision did not make actually speaking any easier, though. "I recall that, upon my birth, I was filled with conceit. Being born Everlasting is blessing as much as curse. My creator is a kinslayer and my conception unsanctioned by the gods he allied with during the First War. I am but a crossbreed, and in my hands rests death. Any and all beings, I can consign to oblivion with but a touch. The newborn me thought it a gift, and swiftly slew a god. That was all it took for Anor Londo to realise, and seal me away forever. Such power dost not belong."

Silence answered her. The women were taken aback by the unexpected tale of godslaying; Erza searched Priscilla's expression for falsehood while Mirajane warred between being impressed and worried. Meanwhile, Makarov rubbed his chin in thought. "Death magic, then?" he mused, not expecting a response. "Perhaps Godslayer magic, if such a thing can still exist. And it sounds like a potent kind, too. You will need to have that sanctioned when you go through the application for citizenship. That is, they will put your name in a registry to check against if crimes are committed that fit your kind of magic. It's a lot easier than risking incarceration for unsanctioned dark magic."

Priscilla slowly perked up again, well aware that not a single word was spent on the less savoury implications or concerns. All three must have understood that if she wished it, they would lie dead in an instant.

Her mind drifted back to the subject at hand, only to stumble on another one entirely. "I heard word of 'Jewels' a few times. Wouldst that be quantum?" Seeing Makarov's confusion, she rephrased: "Er, currency? I hold nothing to my name, I am afraid."

He gave a dismissive wave in response, expression melting into a reassuring one. "It's fine, the guild can cover a few small fees for you."

"Except," Mirajane chimed in thoughtfully, "there are costs of living to consider. I don't think we have that in the budget, what with the many fines recently." She threw a telling look at Erza, who huffed and ignored her. Priscilla herself grew more depressed in the meantime; she understood the concept of currency and pride made her refuse leaning on others to cover her expenses. But what else could she do?

When the impromptu standoff between Erza and Mirajane ended, the redhead's gaze trailed sideways. "If you're willing to part with your scythe," she began kindly, "I would buy it. It is a little larger than most of my arsenal, but I can certainly find a use for it. It is of fine quality, from what I can see."

Priscilla's hands instinctively held tighter onto the weapon, an almost blank stare directed at Erza. She could not even comprehend letting go of her scythe. What came out of her mouth was not a blanket refusal, however: "Pardon, but how wouldst thou wield arms of such size?"

Instead of explaining with words, the human woman made a crimson circle appear; a dozen longswords materialised moments later. They floated around her in a lazy circle, following commands she but thought. The display impressed Priscilla again and reminded her of the telekinesis they mentioned before. At the same time, her mind still warred between the desire to keep her beloved scythe and the refusal to depend on others. It was hers and no one elses.

In the end, she deflated. "This... no. Prithee do not ever request my scythe. It grew from the last gasping archtree's branch, channeling my Lifehunt so often it became as fine steel." Erza nodded slowly, not quite understanding. Priscilla did not notice, mind captivated by another idea. "Yet, if thou collect armaments," she began, then hesitated, once more debating if anyone could be trusted with even a fragment of her power. Another glance at Erza reminded her where she was and how much trust they afforded her. That made the decision easier. "I could offer my dagger."

Rising up, Priscilla slowly reached beneath her tail and stopped clenching it; the unblemished steel blade was freed, far too short to be more than a tiny knife for her purposes, but just the right size to a human. Erza gawked when it came to light from underneath Priscilla. Mirajane giggled while the redhead's face grew closer to her hair in colour. "W-Where did you just pull that from?!"

Priscilla, nonplussed by the scandalised inquiry, waved her now free tail a little more to work out a cramp. "I carried it pressed between mine back and the base of mine tail. First for safety, now out of habit."

Mira's giggles grew louder even though she covered her mouth while Erza tried to preserve her dignity. "...I see," she commented drily. "Does this have any special properties?"

"Indeed. Tis a fine blade, though never truly tested. I carried it most of my life and as time passed, proximity imbued within it death of a different kind. No wound this dagger strikes shall heal. It will bleed until no blood is left to be shed."

The laughter was gone instantly, followed by Makarov's wry smile; a far more wary Erza accepted the presented weapon moments later. She took some distance from them and made several swings to test it. A sharp noise followed each strike as she cut the air, musing to herself: "Hm, more of a shortsword than a dagger. Well-balanced." The weapon gleamed in what lamplight still illuminated the empty guildhall, about as innocent as sharp steel could appear.

This was when Makarov entered the conversation again, tone sharp: "Don't even think about gouging her, girl. A weapon like this is worth at least ten million Jewels in the right circles." His warning given, he turned to Priscilla who could glean nothing from the number. "But would you truly leave something this dangerous with people you just met today?"

She softly lifted her shoulders like she saw the humans do. "Tis all I have to barter, not to mention thou place much trust unto me as well."

"...well, you're not wrong," the elderly man agreed with a soft chuckle.

A sort of contemplative silence fell afterward, all four following their own trains of thought. Priscilla questioned her own decisions while Erza pondered the weapon offered, whispering with Mirajane. After some time, she turned back to the giantess and made an offer. "How about this: you leave this blade with me and I cover everything for the next year in exchange. Food, drink, shelter, supplies, whatever you may need."

Priscilla blinked at her a few times, dumbfounded by the generous offer. "That sounds quite alright," she agreed with a bright smile. Going by Makarov's grimace, there could have been a more favourable deal, but the dagger had no actual value to her in the first place. It was more like a childhood toy she could pass on to another, who would put it to better use.

Erza returned her smile and the weapon vanished, then she stepped up to shake Priscilla's hand. "It's a deal then." She ended up unable to grasp more than two fingers, but they made do. "This will do well for hunting magical beasts."

"Now," Mirajane interjected once they were done, "I wanted to ask, you're half dragon?" She became sheepish when Priscilla's tail thumped the floor in lieu of an answer. "Well, I figured, but I'd like to hear it."

The dragon herself sighed softly. "I am," she confirmed, "though not half. There is no being half dragon. One either is, or is not. I am Everlasting." Instinct declared she should crush them for implying she was less than a true dragon, but was once again ignored.

"So it wasn't that your father was a dragon and your mother, uh, something else?"

"Not as such," Priscilla denied. "The closest to a father is my creator. I doth not know whose soul mine descends from." She could guess, knowing whose great soul the kinslayer had free access to, but that was not confirmation.

For some reason, Mirajane was more confused by the answer she got; Erza snapped her fingers moments later, preventing further inquiries. "You were created, then?"

"Indeed."

They left it at that for the night and made ready to lock up. It took some explanation to make Priscilla understand why she could not just wait here for their return; at this point, Mira hardly even wondered how she did not understand the need for rest. "At least Natsu will be interested in this," she told Erza idly, who nodded. Her former rival helped put out the last few lanterns, the master already gone.

Priscilla waited for them at the gate, too polite to just run off; it was endearing in a way, Mira found. Then her thoughts derailed when the dragon lady crawled out ahead of them. Erza clicked her tongue. "We need to see about undergarments, too," she commented as they walked outside.

"Pardon?"

"You aren't wearing any."

"I do not see the issue?"

The women exchanged glances, then Mira motioned for Priscilla's getup. She glanced down while still not comprehending the issue. "Is there something about mine fur?" And suddenly, Mira realised they barely skirted by a small catastrophe; it was not that their prospective member wore no panties, she wore nothing at all. Who would have guessed Mirajane might ever be glad about excessive body hair?

Erza huffed at that, about as exasperated as Mira felt. "We definitely need to see about clothes," she noted drily, which still confused Priscilla. At least she did not question why clothes were needed, though Mira would have to have that conversation with her sooner rather than later. She herself did not much care, but it was just so much easier to comply with what the general populace found acceptable in this one instance.

After saying good night to Priscilla, the two women began to walk home; them living near each other meant they could keep chatting a little longer. Mira absolutely wanted to hear her old rival's thoughts now: "So, do you actually believe what she said about that dagger?"

"She will be one of us," Erza retorted evenly, "so I rather extend too much trust than too little, and she doesn't strike me as a liar either way. I wouldn't want to test her claim anyway."

"Mhm, if it is real and you hurt a person, there is no saving them."

Both fell silent momentarily, trying to imagine an artifact this potent. Erza nudged Mira thoughtfully "We will see how it turns out. I would have helped pay for setting her up regardless. Put aside a beast hunting mission from the board for me tomorrow morning."

"Can do," Mira agreed with a giggle. "S-Class?"

"If there are any."

"Alright. You always like testing your new toys. Oh, and speaking of-"

She was immediately interrupted, the redhead easily guessing Mirajane's oncoming tangent: "No, we are not having that discussion again. And stop gifting me those things."

"You should try them sometime, that would make you less stiff, too."

She giggled again when Erza did not respond, well aware how stuck up the other woman could be on the subject. They soon vanished into the night, no more words spoken beyond a soft wave to bid the other good night.

 

"Slayer magic is by nature purely combat oriented and exclusive. The user's magic deals tremendous harm upon its target (to be referred to as 'focus') while also adopting prominent traits of said focus. Gaining such a focus and thus developing Slayer magic requires one to live close to the targeted creature as one's magic develops; it is notoriously difficult to train for most species, mainly because any worthwhile creatures to focus on would not accept humans nearby. Tales exist of seasoned wizards developing Slayer magic after butchering large numbers of a given species, and in some cases devouring their hearts. They have never been confirmed, however. In addition, it is impossible to develop a focus for one's own species, so the horror that is Humanslayer magic shall be forever withheld from the world.

As additional properties, Slayer wizards have difficulty learning any other discipline of magic, the reason of which is still unclear. Offsetting this downside however, Slayers are able to assimilate additional powers into themselves through frequent and painful consumption; this is most often seen with elemental powers. Slayers attuned to an element become immune to it, and may consume it to refresh their internal magic reserves.

The most well known type of Slayer magic is Dragonslayer for its pivotal role in wresting Earthland from dragon rule. Without any dragons left bar Acnologia however, it has not been seen in centuries. There are myths of Godslayer magic having existed in ancient past, but none of them were ever confirmed."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

A cave wall was an odd change in scenery, Priscilla found. Where the endless, starless sky of Ariamis' painting gave her a feeling of freedom, these slabs of rock had something claustrophobic that she appreciated much the same. Small cracks ran through the stone, forming patterns she idly followed with her gaze. Eons of natural processes created this place exactly as it were, yet another instance of eternity asserting itself.

She was situated near the forest, having roamed around after saying goodbye to Erza and Mirajane. Ever since finding and claiming this cave, Priscilla mostly just pondered the past day. She was delighted by how eventful it had been after an age of sitting on her hands, more or less; not to mention, for the first time in her life she met people who welcomed her without any reservations. Perhaps it was a trick to lower her guard, she mused, for it absolutely worked. But if it was, she would deal with the matter once they revealed their true colours; fretting over it now would only sour her mood.

Her thoughts began to stray as time passed and despite Priscilla's excitement to see Mirajane and everyone again, she only resurfaced at noon. Blinking into bright sunlight that fell through the cave's mouth, the dragon lady tried to figure out how long she was lost in thought. It could have been hours, days, years. Hopefully not years, that would be bad for her budding relations.

Priscilla considered dropping that particular habit on her way into town; she could not afford to lose so much time when dealing with such short-lived species. At least it had to stop until she got used to her new situation.

Thankfully, Magnolia appeared no different than before. Mirajane greeted Priscilla with a smile the moment she crawled inside, having chatted with a group of three seated around one of the tables; all of them were unfamiliar, not to mention clearly curious.

The man wore an elegant red suit with four golden buttons and equally coloured clasp on the leather belt, a sabre strapped to his waist. Light green hair ran down his back in waves, rivalling Mira's mane. The woman was garbed in leaf green, a short dress barely reaching the middle of her thighs and cutting off around her bust; Priscilla wondered how it actually stayed in place, but decided the question was not worth pondering. A brown leather jacket with fur trims covered otherwise bare shoulders, contrasting somewhat with the hazel colour of her hair. Last was someone she could not quite place, seeing how their face's upper half was hidden by a knight's helmet. They were dressed in black with vertical, white stripes. Two thick pauldrons covered their shoulders, carrying skull imagery and purple linings that ran over the broad chest as well.

She approached them carefully, trying not to bowl anyone over. Mira waved cheerfully. "That's her," she told the three, making introductions for Priscilla as well. "This here are Freed, Evergreen, and Bixlow. They form the Thunder Legion."

"A pleasure," she greeted them with her best smile; Freed just nodded back, as did Evergreen, though her response appeared somewhat less friendly. Haughty, perhaps? Bixlow, then, gave her a big grin and a thumbs up.

"Nice to meetcha, big girl! Make sure to pay Freed company while he's stuck here, yeah?" He motioned for the other man, who scowled at him. Bixlow only laughed, though. "That's what you get for getting hit like that, don't come whining now!"

Leaning forward ever so slightly, Priscilla could not spy any particular injuries. Considering that Evergreen also began to laugh at their companion's discomfort, she accepted the matter without further questions. "I see. I wish you a speedy recovery, then."

"Thank you, and do not worry. I will be out and about soon enough, if only so Laxus has at least one competent person along." His baritone was pleasant to hear, not to mention so dry it immediately hammered the laughter from the other two. Bixlow raised a middle finger while Evergreen huffed, crossing her arms. Freed ignored them in favour of giving Priscilla another nod. "Now, while it may be rude, perhaps we could speak later? The three of us have not eaten yet."

"Certainly. Until later, then." She then paused half a step away, remembering what she learned the previous evening. "Oh, ah, and Bixlow?" The masked man glanced up from his plate. "If it were possible, I would rather keep mine soul."

He snorted for some reason. Evergreen choked on her drink, heavy coughs transitioning into roaring laughter. Even Freed showed a smile, though Priscilla herself did not quite get what was so funny. She tilted her head somewhat, but received another thumbs up. Bixlow cackled quietly. "Aye, can do. Not like I wanna go to jail, anyway."

Still confused, she left the merry group alone; actually speaking with Evergreen and asking who this Laxus person was could wait until they had their meal. Now however, she found herself without anything to do; Erza was absent, having already headed out on a mission to test her new acquisition and letting someone appraise it. Mirajane was busy bringing out various orders, so she did not want to impose. As Priscilla glanced around in search of a way to pass the time however, her gaze fell on the second floor.

Meanwhile, Laxus himself enjoyed a hearty ale on that same floor. Looking out onto the taproom from his table, he could feel himself standing above the rabble. Somewhat, at least; he did not need the extra height for that, considering the only two people taller than him were Elfman and the master. Then again, his grandfather cheated with body alteration. Meanwhile, Elfman was a freak of nature just like his sister, if in a different way.

Nodding to himself, Laxus took another sip and relaxed after a job well done. He cut an imposing figure even at rest, feet propped onto the table only he occupied, his purple shirt barely able to contain bulging muscles. A long, black coat hung over the chair's back, lined with white fur.

It was not so bad in the guildhall, he mused. Always loud and bright.

Then an unfamiliar voice interrupted his quiet musings. "Excuse me?" the woman asked softly, drawing his gaze to the railing. Someone peeked over the edge, their inhumanly large, amber eyes with slitted pupils focussed on him. They almost gleamed in the light, sitting in an equally large forehead. "May I inquire as to the purpose of this second floor?"

Laxus was still floored by the sight, missing even his usual bravado when he answered her: "It's for the S-rank wizards and no one else."

A slow blink was the only visible response, then the eyes flicked to the job board behind him; it appeared little different from the one down below, except that it was not plastered with job requests. "Ah, then there are different ranks within a guild?"

"No," Laxus denied, still befuddled but also curious where this would go. "There's S-rank and everyone else. They call it differently for each guild."

She nodded, almost scraping the railing with her large forehead. Were those scales he spied behind the snow white hair? "I see. My thanks, I shall leave thee to thy beverage."

Just like that, the eyes vanished from view. Laxus considered his empty mug momentarily, then placed it down and stood to check what was going on. He must have had more than he thought, seeing how he missed the six metres tall woman walking in. Mira waited on a table right now, so it could not be her pulling another prank with transformation magic. No, some kind of giantess had just tiptoed to look in on the second floor.

He sat back down with a confused sound, wondering where that girl came from; there was no Ethernano around her, like it swirled around his grandfather whenever he changed size. The conundrum bothered him enough that he clasped Mira's arm when she sashayed past. "New girl?"

Unbothered by his touch, the barmaid came to a halt and nodded cheerfully. "Oh yes. She came by just yesterday." They both watched the new girl kneeling to speak with six-year-old Romeo; the little boy beamed and eagerly shook one of her fingers with both hands. Mira sighed. "How can someone that big be so cute?"

"Beats me, 's long as she's good." He shrugged and propped his feet up again. "Bring me another."

The demand was delivered with a slap to her shapely rear, which earned him a coy giggle. "Coming right up~!" Mira called back as she sashayed away, though her gaze soon traced someone else. "Ah, Levy!" And there she went, hurrying down the stairs for one reason or another.

Laxus studied their prospective member a little longer. He noticed her draconic traits because only a blind man would not. Just imagining certain other peoples' reactions had him grinning.

From there, time passed rather quickly; Priscilla herself was amazed by how soon four days were gone while she busied herself. First she learned to read and write under Levy, though Erza returned on the third day and took over. She also reported that her usual appraiser popped a blood vessel trying to analyse her new dagger's composition, and offered a million Jewels just for the chance to examine it in-depth. Erza declined the offer for now and tested the weapon on a dangerous magical beast, stabbing it a few times before leading it on a merry chase. It bled out in minutes, which massively reduced collateral damage from her usual approach.

Though happy to hear the knightess was pleased with her acquisition, Priscilla cared more about her own pursuits. She already knew the local alphabet and numbers by the time Erza took over; within the third and fourth day, she grasped addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. She could even handle human-sized books with some care, though flipping singular pages took some practice. Unfortunately, writing on forms so small turned out to be impossible.

The first real issue appeared once they transitioned to magic, however; Priscilla simply could not get it to work. Erza tried her best, ran the dragon lady through every beginner's breathing exercise to imbibe Ethernano from the air; it should work, but it did not. Priscilla figured that this Ethernano was what made the air feel so rich on every breath, from which it should follow that she had it in her body. Yet there was no internal flow that she could detect.

Erza, Mira, Levy, and Freed surrounded her, trying to figure out the problem. Neither could help, for they all sensed Ethernano with ease born of instinct. "Odd," Freed commented idly while going through a tome detailing the process again. "We covered most exercises outlined by the book, and I don't know any different ones. Not that it matters too much, I hear you possess some quite potent techniques already." The praise did little to reassure Priscilla, which he realised as well. So with a glance to the women, he broached another subject of interest to distract her: "I was meaning to ask, if your magic does not work through Ethernano, how else does it come into being?" Levy nodded along, the blunette just as curious; they were fellow intellectuals after all.

For her part, Priscilla hesitated visibly. She knew it was alright to be open here, but she still shied away from revealing too much of the differences between them. It took her a moment to gather her wits and begin: "The arcane I ever witnessed is borne of the soul, of the faith, or of the mind, not of Ethernano. It mote be but a different kind of energy. Mine own is... different still. I would prefer not to speak of it."

The Everlasting did not engineer natural forces into the effects they desired, or cried upon a greater being for aid; rather, they forced their will onto reality itself and bend the laws as they wished. Priscilla willed the world to grow cold for frost, and willed herself invisible to other beings if she so desired. Yet how would she explain such to these small beings before her? She was no scholar, never having felt like figuring out more than a basic understanding. It sufficed for her, not to mention that enforcing even just transient change upon reality was tiring after a time. Invisibility came the easiest, as the human mind cheerfully accepted an excuse to ignore the impossibility of her size and traits; anything lesser than a human required even less effort.

"Well," Levy mused, thankfully distracted by what Priscilla did divulge, "I like me a challenge. Don't you agree?" Freed nodded, though Erza's scowl made it clear the redhead thought otherwise; she stared at the open book as if it insulted her lineage.

Suddenly, a loud bang distracted everyone; the gate slammed open, revealing a single man in the entrance, illuminated brightly by the afternoon sun. "I'm back!" he shouted into the room, to great cheer and greetings from the people present. Priscilla made to study him as he strolled inside, clad in white pants with a dark waistcoat falling over them. The vest he wore barely covered half of his upper body, leaving muscled arms and a toned stomach clearly visible. A bright grin displayed prominent canines. Spiky, pink hair crowned his head.

"Welcome back," Mira greeted the man as he approached; she and Erza both stood a head taller than him, though no one appeared to care. Then again, the knightess' greeting had the newcomer's grin freeze up.

Priscilla, meanwhile, was held by a strange surge of nostalgia mixed with all-consuming rage. The mere sight of him incited such strong feelings, making her wonder who he was. They were suppressed regardless, with ease born of great practice.

She was thankfully distracted by a tiny, blue feline fluttering inside on pure white wings. "I'm back too!" he cheered with a bright grin. "We did it! And Natsu burned down a forest!"

"Hey, it wasn't a forest! Just a few trees!" Despite his desperate defense, Erza already had Natsu by the ear and made to lecture him while the cackling cat dashed away. Upon spotting Priscilla however, he somehow wound out of her grasp. "Ohhh, new member! Hey there!" Erza still stared incomprehendingly at her empty hand, giving him a chance to approach. "I'm Natsu, nice to meet you!"

"Likewise. I am Priscilla." She smiled down at Natsu, whose grin remained in full force. "I understand thou employ fire magic?"

"Kinda? I'm a fire Dragonslayer!"

"Natsu!"

Mira's shout barely registered; Pris had recoiled on the last word, eyes narrowing in fright that washed away all curiousity. Her hand instinctively began to feel for the scythe she leaned against a nearby wall, the motion missed by all except Erza. The perceived threat remained unaware as well, having turned to Mirajane with an almost petulant retort: "What? It's what I am, no sense not saying it!"

"Priscilla is part dragon, what is she supposed to think hearing that?"

This brought him up short for some reason. "Oh... wait, what?!" And when his gaze landed on her again, there was no malice but an awed smile. "You're half dragon? Really?"

Her searching hand paused, just as it made to close around the scythe's shaft. There was such exuberance in his behaviour that she hesitated from escalating; pushing back the fear and another surge of inexplicable wrath, Priscilla responded cautiously: "Part dragon, if thou must. I am never less than one. However, I wonder why a self-proclaimed dragonslayer would react so jubilantly to the matter."

"It means Natsu's magic is especially good for fighting dragons," Erza provided with a contrite look. "He never actually fought one. We probably should have mentioned this earlier, my apologies."

She accepted the new information with a thoughtful hum, inclining her head in acceptance of the apology. Natsu's excited demeanor drew Priscilla's attention back soon enough, though. "Why didst thou learn such magic, if not to use it?"

"Never met one before," Natsu responded with a shrug, "I mean, besides Igneel, and he taught me everything. I just kinda became a Dragonslayer along the way. Oh, Igneel's my dad, a fire dragon. Do you know him? Have you seen him?" The words came quicker toward the end, becoming oddly insistent as he searched her gaze.

Priscilla took a moment to think; there were several questions she needed to ponder. "A moment, please," she requested before delving into her mind. Rage still simmered beneath the surface, spiking with every glance she took at Natsu. Something about him felt familiar, likely his intricate connection to fire, like all lesser life at home. Not to mention that he practiced magic directly dangerous to her kind.

Having found a suitable response to her own issue, she considered the name Natsu offered. Priscilla knew the names of all ten thousand Everlasting Dragons; Igneel did not sound too different, what with Seath, Ankhseram, and Kalameet among them. A moment of going through them all told her he was not kin, however. Another kind of dragon appeared to live in these lands, perhaps wyverns or other lesser variants. Priscilla decided not to actually voice that thought, unwilling to insult Natsu at this juncture. "My apologies," she ultimately settled on, "but I never met a dragon by that name."

"Oh... well, no matter. I'll find him eventually." As her eyes focussed on the room around her again, she found Natsu wearing another grin and holding up a fist. "Nice to meet you, Pris."

"...Pris?"

"Yeah. You don't like it?"

She had not expected a pet name of sorts; lesser races were quite fond of them, though. Before Priscilla could say so, she spied Mirajane tapping her fists together behind Natsu's back. Looking at him again, she realised what the barmaid meant and carefully tapped her knuckles against his still raised fist. Then she answered the question. "I am not opposed, merely surprised."

"Great!"

They were interrupted by a happy squeal, accompanied by light sensations from down her body. Priscilla glanced behind herself and found the cat nuzzling her tail. "It's so soft and fluffy!" he cheered before burying his fuzzy face in it again.

"Happy!" Erza chided almost instantly, marching forward. "You can not just...." She interrupted herself when Priscilla waved her off, a placid smile on her face.

"It is quite alright, I doth not mind. In fact, mine tail appears quite popular." Especially the tiny humans seemed delighted by it, excepting Makarov. She shifted in place and gently swung her tail forward, taking care not to dislodge Happy. "Help yourselves, if you wish."

The invitation was cheerfully accepted; Natsu petted her fur with childlike joy, soon joined by a giggling Mirajane. Levy gushed about its softness once she got her hands into a patch, drawing comparisons to her favourite pillow. Erza appeared more hesitant, but ultimately took off one bracer to run her bare hand through the fur. Her expression shifted back and forth in a way Priscilla could not quite understand. "It is... very soft," she murmured while putting the armour on again. Her gaze wandered to the joyful gaggle surrounding her. "But why is everyone so enthralled by that?"

"Now you make it sound like you don't like fluffy things," Mira teased the redhead while Natsu rubbed his cheek against Priscilla's tail. It was endearing in a way. Once he let go however, he cheerfully marched to the nearest table and sat himself down.

"Anyway, Mira! I want five steaks and a mug of apple cider!"

"And fish for me!" Happy added while joining him.

As the barmaid strolled away to deliver his order, everything returned to being calm. Things became less eventful and even attained a rhythm of sorts; Priscilla continued learning at breakneck speed, finishing with the local script but a day later. Levy and Erza were quite proud with this accomplishment; their praises made her happy in a weird sort of way. She felt validated, for the first time in living memory.

Being able to read, she requested several large candles from Erza and borrowed books from Levy; two nights were then spent reading by candlelight in her cave. The people putting up decorations of some sort in Magnolia did not concern her much, and neither did their excited chatter. Fiore's history interested her a lot more, especially once she realised what was missing from it; even when going so far as to study the continent of Ishgar in its entirety, Priscilla failed to find so much as a mention of the First War, Anor Londo, or even the Lord of Sunlight himself.

Even if this place were located on the other side of Earthland, they should not have forgotten everything. Especially when, and she reassured herself of the fact the sun kept reappearing on the horizon, Gwyn ought to still be alive.

From this realisation and some inquiries with Levy's team Shadow Gear, she slowly formed an alternative theory. With magic being so different and much more versatile, with no gods being known, it became ever more solid. Just like the world, which was far more solidified than she ever heard her own being. Earthland's core was solid earth and molten rock, where Lordran rested on the top of archtrees and the primordial sea beneath.

Perhaps, she reckoned, Earthland was not her own world at all.

 

"An important matter to consider is that magic is not merely a product of the concious mind. No, it is intricately tied to the heart. Emotions can add and detract from the magic we cast, increasing its potency or altering its properties. Not even I can fathom how such a matter can be transcribed to the sciences, but it remains a consistent phenomenon: magic itself is alive, and it responds to powerful feelings."

-excerpt from "The Love of Magic"

---

Morning dawned on Magnolia. It had been exactly one week since Priscilla met Fairy Tail; eight days since her arrival in Earthland. She stood outside, awaiting the sun's arrival onto a nearly golden horizon; a murder of crows joined her silent vigil, their occasional cawing almost like conversation. They made their nest near her abode, claiming the entire copse as theirs.

She now understood just why she felt weird ever since her arrival. An underlying sense of dysphoria had accompanied every waking moment, yet the novelty of her situation and various other emotions drowned it out. The memories of her first three days were just as vivid today as they were on the day right after, however many centuries may have passed since then. Priscilla perfectly recalled the violent surge of disgust and anger when first she stepped into the light of Gwyn's sun. The overwhelming desire to call challenge upon the gods and the Lords, to rend them asunder.

The moment her eyes first opened, she had scorned her creator, kinslayer that he was. Belittled him cowering before the Lords like a subjugated beast. Thinking back, she wondered just why he took her scorn so evenly; only in retrospect did she suspect there to be more to his indifference. So long ago, she suspected it was pride in his deeds, though he never said; not even over whatever insult she deigned to levy at him. And yet, thinking back to the times their gazes met, hers full of unbridled arrogance and his... solemn, perhaps?

Now though, as the first ray tinged her ivory form in gold, she stood under a sun that invoked no revulsion at all. Merely a sense of wonder held her mind while the shine warmed her body.

"Was this your design?" She asked the world, but received no answer. Even though she expected as much, it made old anger stir deep within Priscilla. What had he known that she did not? Why did he turn against their kin, becoming no more than a living trophy? She did not know, and likely would never know. A growl loosened itself from Priscilla, making the entire area shudder. There was no cause great enough to justify his betrayal, and there would be no clemency. Yet with that same thought, she realised that he must have known that, too.

Putting the thought aside and disregarding her anger for something more productive, she transitioned into Erza's breathing exercises. The air carried an undercurrent the likes of which she never knew before, which Priscilla presumed to be Ethernano; yet even though she could barely taste it on her tongue, she had no idea where it went once inside her body. All she received from the entire ordeal was an, admittedly pleasant, sunbath.

Makarov's words came to mind by the time she sighed and made to head for Magnolia: her own powers did not use Ethernano while every magic in Earthland was built on it. Another point in favour of this being another world entirely. At least the meditation helped dispel residual anger; humans were ever so fragile and would likely not survive it. Especially the tiny ones, who she noticed were mostly around in groups or with supervision from a regular-sized human.

Entering Magnolia proved no issue as before, though there was a clear buzz of excitement in the air; people set up stalls and chatted with each other despite the glaring sunlight. It intrigued her, but she decided against asking the townsfolk upon realising how busy they were. Once inside the guildhall however, she settled next to a blue-haired man in a white suit and his regular drinking buddy with the pompadour. Both raised their tankards in greeting.

"Good morning, Macao, Wakaba."

"Aye, nice to see you about bright and early!"

She left Wakaba's greeting uncommented, aware that neither of them normally appeared at the guildhall before noon. "I was meaning to ask, is there a particular reason for the town being in high spirits?"

"Oh right, you don't know!" Macao chuckled, slamming his tankard down with unnecessary force. He ran a hand through his short, blue hair, then waved for the city surrounding them. "The harvest festival is the day after tomorrow!" That made sense to her, as the name was quite clear. Except Macao was not done: "Which means that the Fantasia parade is coming up, too. Fairy Tail's own celebration, y'know? It's always the festival's finale!"

Wakaba nodded along with his friend, drawing from a wooden pipe as he spoke. He followed up with a puff of smoke. "Look forward to it, Pris. You've never seen anything like it before!"

Now however, they had her slightly concerned. Priscilla hesitated. "I, ah, I am not all that good with celebrations. Or crowds. Perhaps I should better keep my distance."

"Nonsense," Macao denied her immediately. His jovial smile had not changed at all. "Everyone can take a few hours to celebrate. It's not like you have to join the parade, yeah?" When Priscilla continued to fidget, he heaved a sigh, which then transitioned into a cheshire grin. "Oi, Mira! Pris here doesn't wanna watch the parade! Come here and talk some sense into her!" His traitorous shout alerted just about everyone present and she was soon swamped in people; they all talked over each other, attempting to convince her to join.

Though she was overwhelmed by the attention, by herself Priscilla wondered again. If this, all this, was truly his design, perhaps she might call the kinslayer by name again. At least in the sanctity of her own mind. A small concession, given for a great gift.

Some time later, Romeo wandered in and chattered at Macao to take a job from the board. Priscilla idly listened in, only to learn his classmates made fun of him because Macao only hung around drinking; a quick review of her memories confirmed the matter, at least for this last week. Macao just ruffled his hair and told him alright, that he would head out the day after Fantasia. Wakaba laughed at him throughout, though.

The mention of classmates intrigued Priscilla, however. A few inquiries taught her valuable lessons: first of all, where she only heard about personal tutors before, Fiore apparently institutionalised learning about 40 years prior. Makarov spearheaded that particular change around the time he became guild master and it saw great success. With the vastly increased turnout of scholars Fiore received from the following generation, other countries quickly followed suit if they had not done it already.

Moreover, from conjecture she finally understood what was different about tiny humans. Children. They were yet maturing, their minds more malleable and less grounded. The tiniest ones could not even walk or speak, which now neatly slotted into her understanding of humans. Priscilla already realised that the smaller ones appeared, almost as a rule, dumber than the rest. Makarov made a clear exception, but any deeper conversation she tried with a child ended with them not understanding or giving weird answers. And it finally made sense; they were not born fully formed like dragons were. Not just their bodies needed to grow, but so needed their minds.

The mere idea made her shudder; requiring precious amounts of time to become self-sufficient was unthinkable. Priscilla grew to thrice her initial height as well, but her mental faculties were fully developed at birth. Then again, she, too, needed them to be tempered by experience. At least that finally explained why so many others found it funny when she tried to engage a child in deeper conversations. Yet another experience to temper herself, at least.

Sighing at the thought, a somewhat embarassed Priscilla dove into her next tome. This time she would learn about Fiore in detail, not just the kingdom's history. Her first shock followed soon after; there were millions of humans living in Fiore alone, despite it being only one kingdom among dozens on Ishgar. Despite her general awareness of the numerical difference between Everlasting Dragons and lesser beings, she never considered the overall numbers. There were ten thousand dragons, not counting herself who was not born at the beginning of all. Magnolia alone had almost as many humans.

She knew intelectually that a race as vulnerable as humans required numbers so as to not face extinction. Likewise, the part of her that was dragon knew that the overall value of the human race did not compare even with this numerical disparity. She disregarded that particular musing, instinct overridden by opinion. Priscilla understood that nurturing them was far more rewarding than scorning or crushing them. With how kind everyone had been to her, that belief had grown stronger than ever before.

Just as she thought that, Wakaba threw his mug at Cana and another brawl started. Priscilla quickly scooted back against the wall so as to evade ballistic furniture and guildmembers.

She was just about to turn the page however, when Gray smacked into her collarbone with considerable force. Priscilla's back hit the wall, leaving a light indentation to no real pain for her. A fleeting "Sorry!" from Mira was all the apology she got, Gray caught somewhat clumsily before he could fall. The barmaid snatched a chuckling Wakaba's hand from her rear and threw him a stern look; the pipe in his mouth moved down as he smiled innocently, only to receive a flick to his forehead.

"Are you alright?" she asked Gray then, her book forgotten for the moment. He muttered something about crazy strong women while she set him into her lap, but did no more than rub his abs where Mira punched him. Seeing that she had him here however, Priscilla glanced at the book she began. "If you have a moment, could you explain something to me?"

"Uh, sure." He squirmed a little where the ends of her fur tickled his skin, but remained in place. "I think I'm done brawling for today." He took the tome from her hand and checked its title. "History? Yeah, sure. I know a bit. What do you need?"

Delighted, the dragon lady asked her questions and received answers; Levy was absent, and Gray quite pleasant to be around also. Unfortunately, his knowledge soon ran dry beyond a few anecdotes here and there.

After some time, he tapped her hand for attention. "Say, I was thinking. How about we have a spar sometime? I'm curious how you fight."

While unexpected, she already knew how to answer this particular request: "I would rather not. Inflicting harm on another is not something I want."

"Don't worry about that," he reassured her immediately, slapping a fist to his chest with a big grin. "I'm pretty tough and I've got my magic to protect me, I'll be fine." When her glance immediately flicked to Mirajane, who was busy righting tables and benches after the recent fight, he shrugged. "Mira just hits like a train. But really, don't worry. If I get beaten up, that's on me for challenging the giantess."

He appeared so convinced that Priscilla wondered if, perhaps, she could find some enjoyment out of such a practice. She never considered to playfight, for lack of a better term. "Well, I guess I could try? If just to see why everyone here takes such enjoyment out of battle."

"That's the spirit!"

"Tomorrow, though. Thou art injured." She stared Gray down when he made to protest, depositing him on his feet to drive the point home. He stopped arguing soon enough and said goodbye, leaving Priscilla to her studies.

However, word spread like wildfire; when she met Gray for their spar the following day, almost the entire guild crowded around them. They picked a remote spot outside of town, distant enough not to affect Magnolia with their fight. Nonetheless, even some townsfolk were present to watch and cheer, several of which Priscilla identified as young women; their attention rested squarely on Gray for some reason she could not quite discern. Either way, Priscilla was proud she started to figure out signs of age on humans by now.

"This sucks!" Natsu complained at the side, more to the area in general than anyone in particular. "I mean, I know I can't get a crack at her next, but I wanna!"

Reassured that the Dragonslayer would not do anything reckless, she focussed on her opponent. Gray idly played with the hem of his shirt before shaking his head and not disrobing. Mirajane drew lines on the ground to mark their impromptu arena on the even grassland, having volunteered to referee; that was another concept foreign to Priscilla, but she took it in stride.

Once Mira was done, the white-haired woman stepped back and studied her handiwork before nodding. "Alright, everything's ready. Outside of the circle, everyone!"

The people complied at once, leaving only her and Gray to size each other up. It felt weird, staring down at a man who barely came up to her knee. If he was intimidated, it did not show on his expression. Her scythe remained outside the circle, carefully guarded by Erza; likewise, Priscilla already decided not to use her invisibility. Both because it felt unfair under these circumstances and because her pride dictated to triumph without it. Next however, she fretted that there were formalities she missed, but then decided to do what felt appropriate. A soft incline of her head was answered with a nod and a grin, reassuring Priscilla. Mira smiled, raising both arms between them.

"Begin!"

She was out of the circle in a flash, mere heartbeats before a spell circle popped up in front of Gray. He wasted no time casting, shouting his first creation her way: "Ice Make Hammer!" An oversized weapon formed swiftly, barreling at the giantess who refused to back down from his challenge. She lumbered forward and took the hammer to her chest, where it splintered into tiny pieces. Its momentum slowed her momentarily and Gray was running sideways, following up with javelins.

Pivoting in response, Priscilla cut off his path and threw a clumsy punch that Gray barely ducked under. He kicked her wrist to no effect. The overextended dragon righted herself with some difficulty, giving him time to get distance. "Alright," he shouted, "let's see if I can get you down! Ice Make Arena!"

The name confused Priscilla momentarily, giving him enough time to freeze the ground solid. She carefully tested her weight and found that the thick ice held, giving her little purchase; Gray already slid into her leg with force, making the dragon stumble with a grin. It turned into shock and was accompanied by a yell when her tail slapped him in the face reflexively. Gray went flying and came to land hard on his back.

Priscilla frowned, unhappy with both her own lack of capability and the slippery ground. Cold was her domain and she refused to let a human use that against her. Raising her foot, she stomped down and broke the ice, then spewed a cloud of frost at him; Gray took it without issue, naked as he was after disrobing. Then his smirk returned, just as he readied another creation, hitting the ground to unleash it. "Ice Make Geyser!"

A wave of ice spilled forth, sharp edges everywhere daring her to take it. A surge of pride made her do just that, dashing forward to wade through the cold without issue; it did not even reach her neck, ice splintering against the superior force. The sight seemed to surprise Gray, who was still getting up. He leapt immediately when Priscilla lunged forward, barely evading half a ton of dragon lady barreling over where he just stood. The ground was torn up, stripping all ice away and allowing her to flow back into a standing position.

Once she realigned herself, Priscilla immediately lunged again, forcing Gray to dodge once more. An errant swipe caught him mid-air, sending the man flying; this time he rolled to the circle's edge and past it, coming to lie with a groan.

"That's it!" Mira called into the momentary silence. "Priscilla wins!"

Through the following cheers and congratulations, the dragon wondered why it did not feel at all like victory. Gray had not been a challenge, at least when they both held back. At the same time, he certainly was more skilled than her. Studying the torn meadow, covered in glinting shards of ice and tufts of silvery fur, she had to admit it to herself: the deciding factor was neither skill nor power. Her body simply stood superior.

Sighing softly, Priscilla began to investigate a weird sting on her arm, only to find it marred by crimson; one of Gray's attacks must have done more than nick the skin. A small trickle of blood ran down from the wound, since dried by the cold.

"That sure was something," Gray commented when he reached her, rubbing the back of his head with a grin. "You hit hard, you know?"

After biting down the urge to stomp him into the ground for challenging her in the first place, Priscilla inclined her head. "Quite. Though you were by far the more skilled combatant today. My display was shameful, at best."

"That is fine," Erza chimed in with her usual serious expression. Her gaze flicked to Gray and she punched him in the chest. "And you put your clothes back on!" That done, the redhead's attention went back to Prisclla while Gray scampered off. "You never really fought before, have you? It comes with time and a good teacher. Your footwork is sloppy and you waste far too much motion. I can help you work on that while I am around."

"Thank you kindly."

It was all she could really say; Erza would not take no for an answer, Priscilla understood that by now. Yet at the same time, things she needed to learn kept piling up without any end in sight. At least they were all curious things that ignited new passion within her, a love to learn all there was. Perhaps she could become a scholar after all.

As for her own disappointment, Priscilla soon received a reprieve from it. Laki, Loke, and Natsu decided to make sure she joined them for the harvest festival, walking around with her as they explored the various attractions. Most of them appeared to be food however; Natsu stuffed his face half the time, exasperating Laki who had no idea where he put all of it. Priscilla could merely shrug when the purplette sought her wisdom on the matter. She did not even understand the appeal of food to begin with, only that lesser races needed to draw nourishment from it.

They passed games of various kinds and Loke played a few, winning several plush toys that he handed over to various swooning women. He threw a wink to Priscilla at some point, but its meaning was lost on her. Laki just threatened him with a mace when asked about it. It was outright bizarre.

Priscilla's personal highlight were the children, though. They flocked to her from throughout the crowd, exclaiming over her size and squealing in delight when she allowed to ride on her shoulders. Some climbed onto her tail and played there, making the sight of her rather quite comical for the townsfolk. Priscilla did not mind, sometimes carefully stroking their heads as she was used to doing with the crows.

Not that her companions were without tiny admirers; especially Natsu appeared to be well-liked, playing tag and play-fighting with some of the younger children. He playfully called for help when a half dozen toppled him over, laughing all the way.

Through the merriment, Priscilla did spy a familiar face. The blonde girl she met on her first entry to Magnolia, who told her how to reach Fairy Tail. She appeared in various places, soaking in the atmosphere or spooking people before running off with a bright giggle. Once Priscilla even saw her speaking with Makarov, both of them smiling. She decided not to interfere despite her burning curiousity about the mystery girl.

Nonetheless, a soft warmth pulsed throughout her body with every smile and every laugh. It nearly overflowed during the Fantasia parade itself; even though Priscilla merely stood along the street to watch, it was mesmerising. Various carts moved through Magnolia, artfully decorated in dozens of styles. On them stood the Fairy Tail wizards, alone or in groups as they displayed their magic in the most creative ways. Natsu spewed embers skyward, adding thousands of tiny stars to the night sky. Gray scattered icy flowers across the onlookers, glinting in the colourful lights his fellow wizards produced. The Thunder Legion surrounded Laxus on their own cart, supporting the crackling arcs of lightning he emitted.

It was when they passed by that Laxus' head turned minutely, sizing Priscilla up. She held several awed children in her arms, allowing them to see past the crowd beneath. Laxus offered a faint nod before looking ahead again, his magic throwing sparks of a different kind.

She knew that this night would forever take a special place in her memories. Humans were indeed precious, Priscilla thought. And tonight, even her dragon instincts were silent on the matter.

 

"Battle magics are optimised for destruction or subjugation, which greatly enhances their damage potential. They lack other applications due to this optimisation, whereas non-combat magics offer greater versatility. The latter is often unable to harm humans by itself, having been optimised to function on objects and materials, or the caster's own body. Many of them were adapted to battle regardless due to human nature; we naturally seek ways to hurt our enemies with the tools at hand. As a rule of thumb however, the less innate combat potential a magic has, the greater the wizard required to excel with it in battle."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

After another three days of study, just as August turned to September, her tutors decided Priscilla was ready to take the exam. Before that however, Mirajane had other ideas.

So it was that on the dawn of her third week in Earthland, she stood alone in the empty guildhall. Rain pattered on the road outside and roof above, hiding the noise of whatever few dared brave the streets. Priscilla's gaze sat firmly on a group of women determined, brandishing an assortment of sharp knives. "Is this truly necessary?" she asked sadly.

Mirajane nodded, wearing a soft smile while running fingers over the blade in her hand. "Yes, my dear. It is high time, really."

Arrayed around her, Levy, Laki, Cana, Erza, and Bisca voiced their agreement. The last one's presence befuddled Priscilla the most, for she barely interacted with the sniper before. Her usual short, black dress had been exchanged for comfortable shirt and pants, the hat crowning her green hair nowhere to be seen. She displayed clear determination, much like the rest.

Priscilla fidgeted, but ultimately heaved a sigh and sunk to the ground in defeat. "Very well. I submit." She was tired of pushing back, as Mira did not take no for an answer over the last minutes. "It is just difficult to come to terms with." Steel glinted as the others closed in on her. "Ever since my birth, my fur remained unshed."

"Don't worry too much," Cana comforted her while climbing the giantess. "You will feel much better once that stuff is off you. I always do after shaving."

"Still amazing that it grew so long," Levy mused on the other side, a silvery strand sliding through her fingers. "How old are you?"

Priscilla shrugged, which almost threw Cana off. "I'm sorry," she apologised quickly before answering Levy: "And I do not know. Time has little meaning to one who forever lives. It may have been decades, centuries, or even millennia."

The blunette was taken aback by her nonchalance, but Laki waltzed past it with a whirring knife. "Let's hope it was a thousand years or two, this looks like a lot of work and I don't want to repeat it anytime soon." She examined the day's first chopped strand, cut off just above the skin. Holding it up for comparison, they could all see it was as long as her forearm.

After that, the women began to shave away at her overabundance of fur in earnest. Priscilla held still at first, seeing that at least two were on her shoulders and working down her arms. With nothing else to do, she listened to the rain and studied the empty taproom. "Is it truly alright to monopolise the guildhall like this?"

"It's fine," Cana reassured her, then frowned and swung her knife with greater force. "But damn, that fur of yours is sturdy." She muttered something unintelligible while attacking another patch, hacking at it. "They really build them different where you're from."

Priscilla did not comment, still uncertain how to break the news of being from another world entirely. She doubted they would believe her. For now however, with Erza swiftly slicing free her right arm, she could move again. "May I assist? Could you spare a blade, that is?"

The redhead considered for a moment before quietly producing a butcher's knife out of nowhere; unfortunately, the handle was so short Priscilla could hold it with only three fingers. Erza immediately noticed the uncomfortable grip and snatched it away, only for Mira to dart by and whisper in her ear. Whatever she said, it left her friend displeased; Erza complied nonetheless, next producing what was a greatsword to her. One of the largest in her possession, which even the knightess herself could not lift without using magic.

To Priscilla, it was little more than a well-sized dagger. She grasped it firmly with one hand, a faint smile on her face. After thanking her guildmate-to-be, she stretched out one leg and began to work. Soon enough, they found that the roots did not sit all over her body, but rather along arms, legs, back, and collarbone. Unfortunately, while some clumsiness with their knives did not matter much for the humans, her own strength meant that she soon sported red scabs on her pale skin, like blood shed on pure snow.

"It is quite alright," she reassured the others once Laki noticed. No one was convinced, but they let her continue trimming fur regardless. This ordeal already took long enough, even with her aid.

"This really is a lot of fur," Bisca mused about halfway through. She held another arm-length strand, carding her hands through it. "Sturdy and soft. I almost want to wear it." She paused, pulling the strand up to her eyes for study. "And dirty. I didn't notice earlier, but there's clumps there. Are you living in a cave or something?" she teased with a quiet chuckle.

"Well, yes? Is that a problem?"

All work ceased momentarily; Bisca stared between Priscilla and the others. They stared back just as surprised. Mirajane gently pressed a palm to her forehead. "Of course," she murmured, voice still audible in the empty room. "There isn't really a house fit for her size. I didn't even stop to think about that."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Laki interjected, clearly upset for a reason Priscilla could not fathom. She fidgeted again.

"It was of no concern?" she tried hesitantly. As evidenced by the outrage all around, that was the wrong answer. Priscilla sighed to herself, the differences between herself and humans highlighted once again. "I am not being modest. It does not matter much to me, being just about immune to the seasons."

None of the others appeared swayed, though the protests fell away as everyone went back to work. Bisca frowned, glancing back up at Priscilla while trying to hack off another patch. "Did anyone ever tell you how arrogant you can sound?" she asked. The dragon startled at that, accidentally throwing off Laki and cutting herself. "...sorry, I should have waited for a better moment." Bisca then became aware of Mira's and Erza's stares; the gunslinger threw back her hair defiantly. "Don't give me those looks, you know I'm right."

"She doesn't mean it," Mirajane warned, to which Bisca shrugged. Before their standoff could truly begin however, a giant hand grasped her around the waist. Bisca rose into the air, coming face to eye with a blank-faced Priscilla.

Both sized each other up quietly for a long moment, everyone else still in wonder. Priscilla felt a thousand different emotions, from shame about having failed to indignation of having her attempts disregarded. She could succinctly explain all the reasons to her superiority, but as she began to learn, humans did not much care for facts like these. It was not much different to how the Lords once defied the natural order, if more pitiful.

"I try," she ultimately said, voice soft. "what more can I do?"

Bisca had no response to that, and was soon set back onto the ground. Priscilla slumped, gingerly placing down the greatsword as she pondered once more. Mira rubbed her now bare shoulder comfortingly. "You're doing well enough," she soothed the ancient being, "it just takes time to learn how to behave around people. No matter how fast you learn, you can't change that."

"I suppose so."

"That said," she added with a glance to where Cana was heatedly debating with Bisca about what to say to the sweet dragon lady and what to leave out, "how about we take a break? It's been a while and I'm hungry."

Priscilla shrugged once again before glancing down at herself. She still had a thin coat of fluff where the roots sat and recalled mention of shaving it off afterward. But aside from that, only half a leg and her back still needed trimming; her tail as well, though the fur there would stay by some kind of consensus she was not privy to.

Regardless, the air felt different on her bare skin. Priscilla slowly examined herself while the other women settled at nearby tables; Levy wiped her sweaty forehead, clearly unused to this kind of prolonged exertion. Cana stretched languidly. "This really is backbreaking work," she mused, but paused with her arms in the air, eyes on Priscilla. "Hey Pris, mind if I climb up for a moment?"

Confused as to her intentions, the giantess agreed nonetheless. Cana stalked over with a thoughtful, somewhat curious expression and began her ascent. Her sweaty hands slid off the smooth skin however, sending her back down several times. In the end, she grumbled and climbed onto Priscilla's leg instead, carefully balancing in the taller woman's lap. From there, she stared intently while those around them became exasperated.

"Seriously? Do you have to do that?"

"Have some decorum, Cana. This is rude."

Bisca just grunted assent with Laki and Erza, though the brunette ignored them. Priscilla tilted her head, but had to actually voice the question because Cana failed to notice. "Is there something peculiar about mine bosom?"

In lieu of an explanation, Cana barely tore her gaze away to meet Priscilla's. "Can I touch them?" She said no more, though the chorus of groans implied what everyone else thought of it. Priscilla failed to see the issue and nodded, which summoned a beaming smile onto Cana's face. "Yes!" she cheered and hugged one of the dragon's breasts. From her perch, she peered down at the other women and stuck out her tongue. "And don't give me that! These are the size of my waist and she makes them look good!"

She kept cuddling Priscilla's soft flesh, irregardless of the muttered complaints below. The dragon herself still failed to see what the entire excitement was about. Going by how Cana herself pronounced her bust with but a few scraps of concealing cloth, the chest must be a part of human customs somehow. And apparently, touching another's chest without permission was a big no. Maybe letting strangers touch it also belonged among those taboos? Humans did quite a few things she did not understand the reason of.

"I heard a commotion," Mira announced her return at that point, before spotting where Cana went. She seemed nonplussed, her tone even. "But yeah, I noticed that too. Pris is so tall these proportions still work. They might even look smaller than yours do in that glorified bra."

"That's enough," Erza declared and rose to drag Cana away. Priscilla pre-empted her by plucking the brunette off of her body and setting her down; though clearly disappointed for a moment, Cana soon shrugged it off. The redhead remained standing however, her gaze running over the giantess. "Though I admit that you are quite beautiful, Priscilla. There are no blemishes to your skin, beside those scales."

This, now, flummoxed her again. She was aware of the scales running along her forehead in a tight band, but never paid them much mind. They ran to her cranium and flowed down her spine from there, ending right above the base of her tail. The make of her skin never appeared as relevant.

Leaning down to study Erza in detail, she tried to spy what kind of blemishes the knightess meant. Her breasts slapped onto the wooden floor with the slightest twinge of pain, clearly a bit more sensitive than the rest of her. Priscilla disregarded the discovery in favour of a squirming Erza. After a few seconds of silent study, she did spy some tiny patches of reddened skin on her face, as well as some kind of pustule on her forehead, partly hidden by her crimson bangs. A sideway glance to Cana's bared midriff revealed the brunette's belly button, which she also lacked. All of it interested Priscilla, though. "I fail to see the connection between beauty and a lack of blemishes," she admitted, once again turning to Erza. "A clear and uninterrupted pattern is indeed beautiful, yet would it not be more curious to not be entirely pristine?"

She slowly righted herself afterward, allowing the distraught redhead to disengage. Mirajane chuckled on the side and elaborated on the subject: "Maybe it isn't like that for you, but us merely human girls want to look pretty to attract a partner. Isn't that right, Bisca?" She suddenly leaned her hands on the surprised sniper's shoulders, smirking down at her. "How is it going with Alzack?"

"I-I don't know what," she began to stutter, but broke off with a heavy sigh. "Oh, who am I kidding. Nothing's going on. It's like he doesn't notice any of the hints I throw at him."

"At least you have your eyes on someone," Levy commented with grumbly cheer. "None of the guys here interest me all that much. Well, maybe Natsu or Gray. Or Elfman," she added with a mirthful grin toward Mira. "Any chance I can take your baby brother for a ride?"

"Go right ahead," the older woman retorted at once, a saccharine smile on her face. "But you know how sensitive he is. If you hurt him, we have a problem."

Levy shuddered for some reason, but no one commented on it. Cana just laughed and downed a tankard she organised herself in one pull; then she refilled it from the barrel next to her table. Even Bisca smiled again. Priscilla was quickly lost on the subject, but stayed her tongue.

"Anyway," Erza interrupted any further banter, a light scowl back in place. It softened immediately however, the knightess' gaze on ground level. "I was meaning to ask, could I have some of your excess fur? I believe it is long and sturdy enough to craft something from."

"Of course," Priscilla agreed immediately, ignoring yet another chorus of groans. "You may use as much of it as you wish. It is the least I can give in return for all the selfless aid you offer me."

Erza made to argue the point, but relented when Cana playfully covered her mouth. "Let her have this," she muttered to the redhead, who stared at her momentarily. "She's big on returning the favour, in case you didn't notice."

"I did notice," Erza snapped after pushing the offending handing away. "No matter." She then produced a large sack and a broom; Priscilla helped fit bundles of fur into it until there were only token amounts left on the ground, which Erza levitated without any visible strain.

Just as the last silvery strand was packed away, Mirajane returned once more with a large tray on each arm; a roasted pig rested on each one, surrounded by various side dishes. Crunchy salads, tomatoes, carrots, berries, it was a small feast for just them. The clarion call of "Food's ready!" immediately drew all humans around the table Mira picked as her destination; Levy and Bisca quickly took plates and cutlery off of her. Priscilla watched curiously, only to be surprised by one of the trays being set down for her. Mira smiled brightly. "You must be hungry, too."

Befuddled, the dragon stared down at the pleasantly smelling, golden brown meat. "Not exactly?" she ventured with clear hesitation, well aware of the gazes on her. "I do not quite need sustenance the same way humans do. Although I can eat for pleasure," she added with a wince when Levy's eyes bugged out. "I just have not bothered for a long time... if ever?"

Priscilla had to spend a moment thinking back, only to realise that no, she never ate anything throughout her life. There was one odd human who requested she be devoured whole, but was declined out of revulsion for a lesser being. Perhaps she should have acquiesced after all?

"Well," Mira broke into her train of thought with a wobbly smile, "there's a first time for everything. So you enjoy it and I'll make more if you're still hungry afterward. Or if you want more, I guess." She motioned for the pig, then her gaze fell on Priscilla's empty hands. "Though I guess you can't really hold a tiny knife or a fork... hm."

The way she studied the taller woman's fingers had something almost predatory; much to Priscilla's relief, the impish smile that followed went another way. Erza appeared to catch on immediately and scowled. "No," she denied the unspoken request, only for Mira to start pouting. "I said no." The pout grew stronger; somehow, Mirajane even managed to make her eyes glisten with unshed tears, making Erza waver visibly. "I can't just... argh, fine! Just stop doing that!"

"Yay!"

Mira cheered. Meanwhile, everyone else stared dumbfounded at Erza of all people having relented. She muttered something under her breath while a crimson spell circle popped into existence, followed by a shortsword and a trident of some sort. Both weapons floated over to Priscilla in a silent offer. Once their purpose registered, Cana and Levy broke into haltless giggles. A cheshire grin took over Bisca expression and Laki snorted quietly.

The dragon was unaffected, having understood the idea as well. She cautiously grasped the offered tools and thanked Erza, whose eyebrow twitched despite the genuine gratitude. She may never have used cutlery before, but observing the goings-on around the guildhall gave her a decent understanding. Yet another human custom, though she understood the value of keeping her hands clean and not getting dirt on the food.

Once everyone was seated and the human women each had a piece of meat and vegetables however, Priscilla made to skewer her full pig. It was placed on the table next to everyone else and in easy reach, except that she held a sharp sword and was quite strong. Leaning downward, the giantess studied the wood a moment longer before putting both weapons down with a quiet clatter. "While I am grateful," she apologised to Erza, "I am not comfortable risking the table's destruction. May I eat with my hands instead?"

She received a thoughtful frown, followed by a nod. Erza was usually quite intent on proper tablemanners, so Priscilla felt glad the redhead accepted her reasoning.

She grabbed the warm meat with both hands and raised it to her face, studying her first meal. It appeared so odd from up close, so unlike how it had been in life. Now it was but fodder, nourishment she hardly needed. A waste, perhaps? Regardless, it was already dead and if not she ate it, then someone else would have. Priscilla opened her mouth to take a bite.

Next to her, Levy and Cana were wolfing down their food with delighted hums; Erza ate with methodical precision while Mira did so almost gracefully. Like Laki, Bisca went somewhere in-between the two duos, but paused to take a sip from her tankard. She absently glanced to Priscilla and, in a moment of clarity, realised what was about to happen. "Wait!" she called to avert disaster, "you don't-"

Crunch

"...eat the bones."

The nauseating sounds repeated, cracks and pops following each other every time Priscilla chewed. She had taken the entire head off her pig in a single bite. Everyone except Mira shuddered under the noise, far more violent than eating should ever sound like. They watched as the fascinated giantess finished her bite and swallowed. She licked some fat her lips and smiled, only to become aware of the stares. "Pardon, did you say something?"

Bisca stared, once again made aware just how different they were. Mira thankfully saved her from having to explain, knowing she would ramble: "Humans normally don't eat the bones. They're too sturdy for us to chew and we have trouble digesting them, too."

"Ah, I see. How fortunate that I am not human."

The declaration was followed by another crunch. What may be the worst about this experience however, was that Priscilla looked so incredibly happy; she devoured her very first meal with such reverence that none of them could bear to tell her otherwise. Not even Erza, stoic as she was, would disturb such innocent joy. At least it was over soon, the entire pig gone. The crunching of lettuce that followed, they were at least used to.

Bisca sighed, finally returning to her own plate. She muttered a quiet "Thanks, Zeref,", to snickers from Cana and a sigh from Levy.

"This doesn't even have to do with magic," the blunette chided. "And stop bringing up Zeref everytime something goes wrong. I keep telling you, he isn't even responsible for half of what people say he did. And half of the things he did do actually resulted in groundbreaking improvements at the time."

"You keep telling us that, but the point stands," Cana retorted, another filled tankard already in hand. "Besides, it's funny. Bottoms up!"

While the brunette chugged her ale under Levy's glare, their discussion had drawn Priscilla's attention. "Who exactly is Zeref?" the dragon inquired, which distracted her bookish friend (?) somewhat. Levy made a sweeping motion for the world around them.

"Zeref is... basically the dark wizard. No one even knows when exactly he lived in the last few hundred years, but we know he created like ten flavours of death magic. Just about every demon alive was made by him, the like. I'd have to grab a list of all the stuff we know he's responsible for, and there are at least five different cults in his name in Fiore and the surrounding realms alone." She hesitated and threw a caustic look at Cana, whose mouth was too full with meat to argue. "And because it feels like he was just about everywhere, magically, if something bad happens, people keep saying it must have been him even though there's no proof. I'm trying to put together a book on him and I get the feeling about half of the neat stuff we have these days is based on his work. Somehow."

Her rambly explanation complete, Levy stuffed her mouth with food and began chewing angrily. Mirajane rubbed her shoulder, though Cana just shrugged and Erza gave no indication of her feelings. Priscilla, meanwhile, pondered the existence of such a being; she was more than a little interested in this dark wizard and what kind of person he might be with the power he held. "For shame that humans live such short lives," she mused, "I would have loved to hear his wisdom."

Levy nodded her agreement, but everyone else appeared more hesitant about the prospect. Priscilla flung the last bit of spicy bread down her gullet and sighed; a filled stomach felt odd, but not unpleasant. She was a little warmer and the taste had been incredible; it held so many flavours she never knew. "I believe I like eating," the dragon declared, which immediately dissolved the tension; all her new friends snickered among themselves.

Once the meal was done and Mira spirited their empty plates away to clean up, they went back to work. This time a variety of razors came out, meant to trim the fluff that remained of her fur. This time Priscilla had to lie on the floor so the humans could get at her back; they just could not stay on her without the fur to grab onto. It did not help that Erza, Levy, and Bisca were all skittish about putting pressure on her skin, or grabbing anything beside her arms for support. Which was why Cana dutifully cleaned her collarbone once it was her front's turn, then Mira took care of the rest.

With another thin layer of fluff on the ground, the group doused her in copious amounts of water to wash off any residue; she was completely shaven by that point and glad for it. For the first time in an age, water did not soak into her fur but rather slid off her skin. It felt nice, all things considered.

The rain stopped by now, revealing a gentle afternoon sun outside; they had begun in the morning and her friends were clearly somewhat tired. At the same time however, they all glowed with pride at a job well done. "Thank you, again," Priscilla told them while still examining herself.

"Don't mention it," Mira responded for everyone before clapping her hands. "Now for the next part!" She immediately had Priscilla's attention, though none of the others appeared surprised. "She should be here any moment now."

Just when the giantess realised Laki's absence, the other woman strode inside with another in tow. Her face held some wrinkles reminiscent of Makarov and half of her viridian hair had turned grey. She was dressed in a conservative, dark dress, eyes twinkling as she strode after Laki with her head held high. Priscilla immediately was the focus of her attention, though Mira distracted the newcomer with a hug that she returned. Only then did the barmaid make introductions: "Priscilla, this is my favourite tailor, Holinda Greene. I call her auntie, though."

She received a rough pat on the head. "Always so disrespectful to your elders," the tailor chided, though she wore a faint smile on her thin lips. Then she stepped forward, sizing up the confused Priscilla with a click of her tongue. "At first I thought you were joking, but she really is that big. Ah well, no matter. I always like a proper challenge. Your name is Priscilla, dear?"

"Yes. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, madam."

The sudden bark of laughter surprised her. "Oh my, and finally a polite lady for this wretched guild! I waited for this day for fourty years!" That said, Holinda produced several tape measures and a piece of parchment. "Now then, stay still and let me get to work."

The others milled around while Priscilla did as told, feeling decidedly odd as the instruments measured just about every one of her proportions. Height, waist size, bust size, hip size, then the neck and thighs, calves, feet. Even the circumference of her head was jotted down for some reason. At some point, she could not help but remark on the preparations, fully aware what a tailor would need these measurements for: "Is this truly such an important matter?"

"Of course it is!" Madame Greene responded without hesitation. "Clothes maketh man! They're relevant from first impressions to continued good relations, no matter where you go in the world."

"You remember what I told you before?" Mira added gently, reminding Priscilla of the fact public nudity was, in fact, illegal in Fiore. Gray suffered quite a bit from that one. Some cities had apparently implemented areas where it was allowed with some stipulations and Magnolia could not care less, but generally it was not appreciated. Priscilla nodded gently, to which the other woman giggled. "Not that I don't get it. I'd like to go streaking once in a while, too."

"Yeah, no," Levy interrupted the teasing before it could cause confusion, "I doubt she gets a kick out of it like you do."

Priscilla idly wondered if people would kick her if she went outside in the nude, then put the matter aside and let them bicker in the background. Madame Greene shook her head as well; the tailor flashed a smile when the tape measures began to roll themselves back up and flew into her robe's pockets. "All done, dear. Now tell me, what do you want to have? We need to make you a full wardrobe eventually, but that will take time."

She pondered momentarily, having not the slightest idea of propriety in regard to clothes. Then she glanced at Mira again, whose favourite red dress hugged her body and fell down to her ankles. "Perhaps something in the vein of Mirajane's attire?" she ventured. Madame Greene nodded her understanding and made another set of notes, then ended in a sizable number; seeing the intended prize, Priscilla worried about remuneration for a moment. Then she recalled her previous arrangement with Erza. The redhead had seen as well, going by the scowl on her face.

Once the tailor's business was done, she had to traverse Magnolia while invisible; though reassured that the people here would not mind, Mira recommended she go fully clothed first. A reputation like that did not go away easily. Priscilla saw the wisdom in that, but felt any reputation could be washed away in a hundred years. Except perhaps this Zeref, so she may be wrong.

Regardless, an exhausted Madame Greene presented her with clothes the very next day; she proudly explained how she worked through the night and threw all her magic into the job while producing five garments in total; first was a pair of oversized socks that fit her feet snugly but which she took off for a lack of shoes. Then followed plain white undergarments, one of which Priscilla could not make heads or tails of; Mirajane had to help her put it on and explain how to close the clasps behind her back. Those, too, fit her snugly.

Lastly, the tailor presented a flowing, dark blue gown. It had some faint silvery accents and embroidery stitched onto every trim, reminiscent of dragons. Priscilla carefully tugged it over her head, making absolutely certain not to tear it in her inexperience. It fell lightly over her waist, running all the way down to her calves; the dark colour contrasted with her ivory skin, but overall she received a pleased nod from the tailor. "Wonderful, dearie," she praised while Priscilla examined herself in a supersized mirror. "Does it fit everywhere? Not too tight?"

"Not at all," she denied at once. The cloth hugged her body just about perfectly, accomodating even her tail without much trouble. "I can see why Mirajane puts such faith in you. This is splendid work and beautiful craftsmanship." She twirled around once, making the hem flutter around and sending loose papers airborne. Both humans chuckled.

"Bah," Madame Greene spat good-naturedly. "Enough flattery. I know I'm that good." She appeared happy to hear it regardless and saw them off after discussing which articles to create next.

Their reception around Magnolia did not change much, however. Priscilla had already been greeted with warm smiles and cheerful waves wherever she went, what with her clearly being a Fairy Tail wizard in the populace's eye. Mira giggled every time someone just stopped dead in their tracks at Priscilla's sight, though; why exactly, the dragon did not quite figure out.

Her examination was set for the following day, which meant that Priscilla met Master Makarov just after dawn; the elderly human greeted her somewhat grouchily, which she attributed to the early hour. He quickly intercepted the giantess before the guildhall, ushering her away and toward the railway station; halfway there however, he paused with a glance back at Priscilla. "Hm. You're too big for the train. Carriage won't work, either." He muttered under his breath a little longer, but shrugged in the end. "Eh, whatever. Hold still."

"Very well?" She could not help but question what he was planning. At the same time, Priscilla was secretly disappointed that she would not be able to travel by train after hearing about them from Levy. Great contraptions of steel and wood that ran by powerful engines, some via magic and some by burning coal, quickly traversing the country over a network of rails. The minutiae of it intrigued her.

Further thoughts were interrupted when Makarov grew in size, easily matching and then exceeding her until she stood facing his broad chest; he all but glared down at her, although his disposition immediately turned sunny. The physical display had her feel a little faint regardless. "Now it should work," he declared... and picked her up. One hand carefully lifted her by the knees, the other arm slung around her shoulders so Priscilla's head rested on it. "Hold on tight."

Some people stopped to watch the display, but she only had eyes for the powerful being carrying her. Doing as he told without question, Priscilla wrapped her arms around his neck; her heart fluttered again when he smiled down at her. Then they lifted off the ground through his magic, dispersing all the attraction in favour of pure awe. Within minutes they were far above the ground, leaving Magnolia behind with a curious gaggle of crows following them.

Priscilla had often dreamt of wings, of embracing the sky as was her birthright. Only after she long gave up on it however, it finally came true. The wind tussled her hair and ruffled the hem of her dress, held steady within Makarov's arms. Even as the birds returned home after seeing them off, they soared across the sky; for but a moment, she could imagine herself ruling it like her kin did for eons. Her gaze flitted this way and that, spying mountains and canyons, rivers and woodlands that bordered empty plains. Cities she saw, large and small. And eventually, one that was greater than any she beheld before, excepting but Anor Londo itself.

It rose from the plains, protected by stone walls at least twenty metres high and five metres thick. Countless houses grew inside in an orderly fashion, clearly organised into districts. The occasional spot of green was visible as well from up above, as were several large hills sprouting like mushrooms in-between. One such hill held a magnificent castle, though the others were devoid of buildings.

Priscilla wanted to ask a thousand question, but they were all drowned out by the joy of flight. She could not bring herself to speak, to miss even a moment of this experience. By the time they landed a short distance from Crocus, she reached a state of bliss.

Makarov carefully set her down then, though her knees almost buckled. They felt like jelly after such a wonderful experience. Priscilla embraced him the moment she stood on her own feet, drawing a wheeze out of the human. "Thank you," she murmured. "This meant more to me than you will ever know."

He just chuckled, a calloused hand rubbing her back. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

Once she let go, he shrunk back down to child size and settled on her shoulder, dirty shoes vanishing in a puff of magic. He motioned for the city gate. "Off we go. Be sure to walk slowly and get a good look, we have some time."

Priscilla nodded her assent and approached the gate, carefully smoothing out her dress and hair like she saw Mirajane do on occasion. Oddly enough, the flight here had turned her white mane into less of a mess than what the barmaid sometimes sported. She might have to inquire about it later.

The guards at the gate were clearly disturbed by her arrival, though Makarov's presence quickly resolved any issues and they were let in. Just as well however, Priscilla noticed the many gazes coming her way in minutes; there were even more people here than in Magnolia, and they appeared warier of her than the humans there had been. "Don't think about it too much," Makarov reassured her along the way, "they just aren't used to someone your size."

She accepted his wisdom and focussed on the city itself, marveling at its rugged beauty and spread. Magnolia was already a shock with how lively it got, but Crocus reached an entirely different level. Not at all like her tiny fort with a few dozen inhabitants and hundreds of crows, though the local birds were just as numerous. One brave specimen actually sailed over and landed on her free shoulder, cawing as if in question. She gave it a soft pet, received another caw, and moved on; the bird soon took off again, though the master had noticed. "Birds certainly like you," he commented from the side.

"Crows were always dear to me," Priscilla returned without looking at him, her eyes glued to the various structures she passed. "And I was always dear to them."

He made an understanding noise and left her to gawking at the capital, sometimes giving her directions so they reached their destination. What few children they saw at this time of day were just as interested in her however, free from wariness unlike the adult humans. Some of the older ones, teenagers she thought they were called, appeared to observe her as well. Priscilla noticed one whose white hair was oh so similar to hers and Mirajane's, though she wore it short and dressed in short pants and a thin, dark top. The girl quickly averted her eyes when she met Priscilla's and the dragon moved on. Makarov muttered something about delinquents, but she figured he was talking to himself and left him be.

They reached the office soon enough and took care of everything; after devouring several dozen books and notes, not to mention spending every hour of every day learning about the world around her, Priscilla passed the test with flying colours. She received several parchments officially declaring her a citizen of Fiore, copies of which were kept for the government to reference. Thanks to ahead warning, she even managed to think of a decent last name; her papers read Priscilla Primordio, though she felt she would not use that much.

Makarov then directed her to a nearby building, where he once again filled out paperwork for her. This time however, he had most everything already prepared. Within the hour, she was officially a member of Fairy Tail. But that was not the end of it, for he immediately directed her onward to the Magic Council's branch office in Crocus; the council itself was situated elsewhere, in Castle Era to the east, yet there was a constant flow of applicants. Humanoid frog people made the majority of staff here, all of them scribes and minor officials. They received information about tasks to be completed, put job offers together before sending them off for sanctioning, and handled legal matters.

Her being present to have death magic sanctioned did cause a bit of a stir, but Makarov's presence as one of the Ten Wizard Saints thankfully smoothed things over. Priscilla presented herself as docile as possible just in case, though; it irked her a little to be incessantly prodded and questioned 'about her intentions', but such was the burden of associating with fools.

After reviewing that thought, she firmly decided not to say it out loud. At least they did not demand she demonstrate. Someone might die of fright.

Once they were done and Makarov shook hands with yet another old friend of his, she could not help but remark on it: "You seem to know a great many people, Master."

"Oh, you know how it is," he laughed. "You just meet people over the years."

"Indeed you do, little man."

The new voice immediately made Makarov's laughter dry up; Priscilla's head turned to find a truly odd being. She was not even sure this one was human, for his gnarled skin resembled bark more than anything; crowning his head was not hair, but a growth akin to some green vegetable she never asked the name of. He grinned wrily, sauntering up to them with measured steps and the steady tap-tap of a stave covered in blooming flowers. "Unfortunately, you never quite managed to grow up despite your age."

"Master Sequen," Makarov greeted the newcomer with a shallow bow and a faint smile, though it fell away entirely when ancient fingers patted his head. He was not deterred, though. "I did not expect to see you today."

"Please, Makarov. It's 'Uncle Warrod' for you, how about you call me that again? It's been, what, seventy years since the last time?" When the younger man only muttered something unintelligible, Warrod Sequen chuckled heartily. He then offered a sweeping bow toward Priscilla, who felt decidedly out of place at this point. "And who would this lovely lady be? Another of yours?"

"Aye," Makarov agreed, clearly glad to no longer be the focus of this man's attention. "Priscilla, meet Warrod Sequen, a fellow Wizard Saint and one of our guild's founding members. Master Sequen," he continued, putting so much emphasis on the title that even the wooden man rolled his eyes, "meet Priscilla, our newest member as of about an hour ago."

"A pleasure," she murmured, reluctantly offering her hand. To her surprise, several thick vines grew from his stave and made for a proper shake. Warrod smiled.

"Much the same, my dear. Now, I would love to chat, but I do have more business to attend to. Although," he mused cheerfully, completely ignoring the small crowd of onlookers his presence alone had drawn, "I think I have at least a moment more." He waved his stave again and one of the crimson flowers grew in size, then floated up to tread itself into her hair. Warrod smiled. "There we go. A splash of colour for the lady. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

Then he strolled away without even waiting for a response. Makarov sighed good-naturedly and led her outside. "My godfather," he explained on the way. "He had this odd sense of humour for as long as I've known him. Ah, to the right now."

Priscilla just hummed in agreement, longing for a mirror of any sort to see how she looked now. Thick petals rested on her crown and just out of sight. Before she could indulge in a tiny bit of vanity however, Makarov stopped her in front of a different building. Tempting scents clung to it and the old human bid her to wait, which she did with some awkwardness; peoples' gazes were drawn to her once again, not a few of them fearful. It made her uncomfortable to be viewed with such wariness; she wanted to be back in Magnolia. She also wanted to stomp on the vermin.

When Makarov returned, Priscilla had retreated to a more desolate corner, expression carefully blank. He swiftly joined her and held up a black, round shape of a sort. When Priscilla crouched to study it better, a soft and sweet scent entered her nostrils. The Master began to grin at her surprise. "It's nothing big, but I felt you could need a little snack. There will be more later." He offered the pastry again and placed it on Priscilla's palm. Then, after a moment of consideration, he quickly cut it in half. "There, that should work. Come on, try it. Just don't try to grab the cake, it comes apart pretty easily."

She followed his advice and carefully brought her hand back up, pushing half of the cake into her mouth. Sweet, bitter flavours immediately assaulted her in the most pleasant way. Priscilla fell still to enjoy them longer, radiating bliss to the point Makarov chuckled. "Figured you'd be a chocolate kind of girl," he congratulated himself. Priscilla did not care, greedily chewing and swallowing, only to follow up with the cake's other half.

Once she was done, she stared down at the empty platter and barely stopped herself from licking it clean. The sweetness still lingered on her tongue, she needed more. Throwing a pleading look to Makarov, Priscilla made her request: "Can I have another? Please?"

He gently shook his head and took the plate. "Later. You can buy as many cakes as you want, too. Just don't bankrupt Erza, please." The reminder challenged her restraint once again; right now, Priscilla wanted to buy everything this bakery had in store and eat it all. She never felt such strong impetus to gorge herself. How did she miss out on the joys of food for centuries? Why did she never try?

But, later. Makarov was right. Not that it prevented the dejection from being audible in her quiet "Okay". Over her mood however, she missed that just about everyone present for the scene lost their fear.

Makarov gently patted her head and motioned for the distant walls. "Let's get you home now," he declared. Priscilla followed obediently.

The flight back was relaxing once again, washing away whatever wariness remained after their stroll through Crocus. She noticed that Makarov appeared less energetic once they landed outside of Magnolia; he wordlessly settled on her shoulder again, his forehead glistening with sweat. Upon reaching the familiar brick road, Priscilla paused and wreathed the soles of her bare feet in frost. A few taps removed the frozen dirt so she dragged less of it around town. Makarov made an understanding noise as she moved on.

The day's next surprise awaited her at the guildhall. Priscilla stared dumbly at the giant gate dominating its facade, easily large enough for her to pass through upright. The guild sign had been pushed upward to accomodate this contraption. "He did well for what little time he had," Makarov commented on her shoulder, motioning to open up when Priscilla glanced at him. "Go ahead."

A closer inspection revealed that the larger gate was actually an addition; the original one still existed and could be opened by itself, but pulling on the upper portion would open the whole thing. So Priscilla reached out and let herself in, only to be met by violent cheering the moment light fell inside. She could not help but stare at the crowd spread around decorated tables, all smiles and joy. Greeting her as one of theirs.

She shuffled inside and was immediately the center of attention. The Master slid down her shoulder at this point, shaking hands with a redheaded man clad in rugged clothes from pants to cloak. Cana surged forward as well, throwing her arm over the man's shoulder and waving up at Priscilla. "Heya, Pris! Meet my old man, Fairy Tail's best builder! He made the door for you! He's our most dangerous battlemage, too!"

He chuckled and threw her a sloppy wave while Priscilla crouched to meet him. "Ignore Cana, I'm a nice fellow. Name's Gildarts, welcome to Fairy Tail."

"Thank you kindly. I am Priscilla." He shook two of her fingers without hesitation, though she could not help but ask: "How would one become known as the most dangerous person around?"

"Hm? Ah, I focus on Crush magic entirely. Got so good at it I can use it on people. Kinda nasty when they explode to pieces just from a touch, you know?" He chuckled at first, but it turned into a belly-laugh when Priscilla's finger twitched in his grasp. "Don't worry, I don't do that much! Crush magic is made for safely tearing down old buildings and stuff, or to separate different materials. I love that stuff a lot more than fighting. If you need anything built, I'm your guy."

He pointed at himself with his thumb, sporting a self-assured grin that finally wiped away Priscilla's anxiety. In a way, he was a little like her.

"Now for the main event," Mira chirped as she carried a large stamp toward them, a skip in her step. "Where do you want your guild mark, Pris?"

She had put some thought to it; the guild mark was used for identification as much as a symbol of unity. It could go anywhere. After just a moment of hesitation, she presented her right foot; low enough to be easily visible for humans, and on a part she doubted would be covered. Being barefoot felt better for her than wearing shoes and seemed to yield no repercussions. Some snickers followed the decision, though Mirajane dutifully pressed the stamp on top of her foot. It left behind a crimson imprint on her skin, once more close to a stylised bird taking flight.

From there on, she was enveloped in a party. Various people stepped forward to talk to her, Cana rolled up a barrel of ale that Priscilla accepted this time; she chugged it all to cheers, delighting in the fruity taste and even the slight burn it left in her belly. Her newfound love for food soon had Priscilla sampling just about everything available on the lavish banquet the guild prepared.

"Oi Natsu," she heard in-between conversations and a silly dance with Levy, "I heard rumours about someone called Salamander being around Hargeon. You hear about that yet?"

Natsu, meanwhile, threw away his empty plate with a big grin. "That must be Igneel!" he cheered and already collected Happy from his fish-induced food coma. "I've gotta go check right now! Be back later!" He rushed out of the hall to various people wishing him good luck, though Priscilla heard him complaining on the way out: "I was in Hargeon the other week, how did I miss him like that?!"

Regardless, she enjoyed herself immensely. By sunset, she lay on the ground surrounded by her exhausted guildmates. Some were nestled against her side and Cana snored on her belly, perfectly content with the spot.

Priscilla stared at the wooden ceiling, soaking up the moment's tranquility for as long as it would last. She was happy.

 

"Celestial Spirit Magic is special among the many disciplines. Although by far the easiest type of summoning magic due to the Spirit World's adjacency to Earthland, it remains a difficult skill to learn unassisted. Many prospective wizards dream of it for the prospect of calling contracted companions to battle nonetheless. The advent of Gate Keys, objects containing the complicated formula for a given spirit's gate into our realm, made learning Celestial Spirit Magic far more accessible. It no longer requires years of study and practice to open one's first gate. However, darker minds always dream of easy glory on the backs of another's power. Celestial Spirits are not tools and not slaves; though their contracts bind them, mistreating one will eventually earn ire, be it from the spirit in question or their loved ones. Even the many tales of a heartless summoner's demise rarely avert such tragedy from unfolding."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

Decisions, decisions.

Priscilla knelt before the job board, mind frozen in indecision. Her even breaths made Nab's hair flutter this way and that as he pondered the many pinned offers like she did. She had been here an hour without progress; Loke already joked that she would turn into another Nab if she took any longer. From what she gathered, the man in front of her was seeking the perfect job and had done so for the last year, always studying the board. In a way, Priscilla understood his predicament. There were so many different offers to pick from, a myriad of tasks that needed doing. From hunting a large ape called Vulcan, to assisting an understaffed orphanage until replacements for a late caretaker could be found. How did anyone decide which task they wanted to work on?

"You're still here," a familiar voice chirped, "that's no good." Looking down, Priscilla found Cana holding up a sheet of parchment. "Here you go," she declared. "Your first job."

Priscilla blinked down at the brunette in confusion before taking it off her to read. A job over 2,000 Jewel, about enough to buy food and drink for a human. The description was short and concise: 'pick up two barrels of ale from the brewery in southern Magnolia, deliver to Cana Alberona'. She read it twice just to make sure, then stared at the woman herself again. Cana grinned. "This isn't a prank or something, I mean it. Our newcomers can take some easy jobs like this to get into the flow. I'm pretty sure half the guild made one by now, they're all around the tables." She motioned for the room as a whole and indeed, Priscilla noticed quite a number of expectant looks and people pointing to parchments placed before them. A chuckle reminded her of Cana's presence, the brunette waving her own again. "They're inofficial and don't pay much, but it's a nice start. Bit of a tradition, too. Especially our younger members can earn some pocket money without running off into danger."

She certainly saw the wisdom in this idea, though it felt a little demeaning all the same. Then again, if it was tradition, Priscilla might as well. She carefully plucked the job from Cana's hands and nodded. "Very well, I accept. If you would excuse me?"

"Sure, sure. Don't dally, I'm running dry here!"

Priscilla was already rising and strode away; it was a quick trip through town, though she had to stop twice to ask for directions. The people at the brewery already had barrels prepared for Cana, who apparently paid them in advance to always have some ready; Priscilla pressed them to her chest as she wandered back, greeting people as she went. By the time she placed the goods down before a cheerful Cana, she realised her first job went by in a flash. It was that easy.

A number of paper notes were placed on Priscilla's palm, tiny to her and thus difficult to interact with. She studied them for a moment, her 'client' already halfway through the first barrel. After carefully depositing the money in her pocket, she approached Levy. "May I ask you a question?" Priscilla asked politely, only to receive a nod from the eating blunette. "Why is the local currency called Jewel?"

Levy frowned in thought and made a motion to wait, then finished chewing and followed up with a mouthful of cider. "Ah, that one," she began before digging through her everpresent bookbag. "I definitely read about that before... ah, there." Pulling one out, she quickly read through a few pages; Priscilla waited patiently until her friend looked up again. "Okay, so. We used to have real jewels, gemstones, and gold to trade, but that stuff is heavy. Carrying large amounts of money became a big problem. So the kingdom collected all that stuff and replaced it with paper money, which is easy to carry and to use. Basically, a thousand Jewel represent a tenth of an actual jewel down in the royal vaults."

"I see. But what if someone stole these precious gems? Such endeavour appears quite lucrative, no?"

"Sure," Levy agreed with a snort, "but only if you're suicidal. We have, I think three? Four? Four wizard guilds around the country that only train battlemages to protect these vaults. They have squadrons of elite soldiers and royal wizards standing guard, too. Not to mention how there will be bounties on your capture across the country in days. You see why that's a bad idea?"

Priscilla nodded. She had forgotten that where there was treasure, there were guards. Now that her curiousity was sated however, she wondered on the subject they just broached. "How many battlemages are there, actually? I did not spy too many jobs related to fighting."

Levy already opened her mouth, but Mira gave her a gentle push from behind; she snuck up on the two of them, apparently without work at the moment. "Eat your food before it gets cold," the barmaid chided. "I'll take this one."

So while the blunette dug in dutifully, Mirajane explained to Priscilla: "You already noticed that people need help with just about anything, and there is an incredible amount of different magic disciplines." She idly produced multi-coloured sparks and then turned herself into a tiny mirror version of Priscilla for emphasis, continuing in her own voice: "Some are focussed on fighting, like my Take Over or Natsu's Dragonslayer, but most aren't. Although that doesn't mean only battlemages can fight," she quickly added while turning back to normal. "The world is dangerous after all, so just about everyone knows how do some harm."

"I see," Priscilla finished, "so while there are some guilds who train mainly battlemages, most prefer greater variety?"

"Exactly. Now, what kind of jobs do you feel like doing?"

And there they were, back at her original conundrum. "I do not know," she admitted, deflating somewhat. "The selection is just so great, and I still have trouble with learning any magic beyond what I already know. How do I know I can actually complete the task at hand?"

Mira gently patted her hand where Priscilla settled on the ground, though it was Levy who answered her: "It's not just the magic, you know? The important part is you." She pointed at the giantess, who nodded hesitantly. "And if you're too nervous to go alone, I can tag along to help. It's really not that hard."

"Al and I can help out too," Bisca volunteered from nearby, motioning between herself and the gunslinger, who offered an encouraging smile. "Though you probably don't want us outside of a hunt. It's what we do best."

"You can take Elfman, too!"

"Don't just volunteer me without asking, sis!"

His shout from half the room away did finally crack Priscilla's mood. She chuckled softly and thanked them all for their kind offers. "But for now, I prefer to fulfill a few more tasks around Magnolia. Dost thou have anything for me, Mirajane?"

"Certainly! Here you go."

So she went, still uncomfortable about battle and with difficulty entering buildings, but content about her situation all the same.

Meanwhile, a young blonde brimming with nerves entered Magnolia for the first time in her life. Lucy marvelled at the sight, so unlike Crocus or her own quiet estate. This city brimmed with life and an undercurrent of joy even an outsider could get washed away by. Ahead of her walked Natsu, a big grin stuck on his face. They met by chance in the port town of Hargeon and he saved her from some con artists, then even offered to introduce her to Fairy Tail. It was like a dream come true and now she was here!

Within two minutes of entering the guildhall however, Natsu started a fight over being given false information. Lucy took cover in a panic as more and more people began to join into the brawl, admittedly somewhat scared by the sudden violence. By her side stood the Mirajane with a lenient smile, the two women watching on.

A soft voice called from behind them, but was lost in the mayhem; Lucy only realised someone new entered when Mira half-turned and waved cheerfully. "Ah, Priscilla! Come over here!" she called, then deflected a ballistic man coming their way, throwing him back into the brawl without a word.

When the blonde finally managed to tear her gaze away from the brawl, she only saw the hem of a dress. Then she looked up, and up, and further up still; before her stood a bonafide giantess, easily over thrice her size. White-haired like Mira and clad in a similarly conservative dress, but of much fairer skin. Not to mention her garment was of a deep blue where Mirajane wore wine red. Lucy cowered, feeling more than a little intimidated.

Then the giant lady crouched down, still larger than Lucy but with a gentle smile on display. She reached out with one finger that the newcomer first thought meant to poke her, but was merely offered. "I believe we have not met before. My name is Priscilla, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"O-Oh." She quickly grabbed the offered finger, wrapping her entire hand around it. "Thank you. I am Lucy."

"She is our new blood," Mira added from the side, having taken as much from what few words they exchanged so far. "So treat her kindly." Then, toward Lucy, she motioned for the giantess. "She joined not that long ago herself, so I hope you two will get along."

"Officially, I joined yesterday."

"Psh, who cares about officially?"

While this exchange took place, Lucy's brain slowly sorted through the overload and began to work again. She pressed a palm to her forehead with a sigh, muttering: "So that's why she looks so familiar." Only when the banter stopped did she realise they heard and quickly raised a magazine from her pack. "There was something in the Weekly Sorcerer yesterday."

Quickly flipping through the pages, Lucy got to the picture of Priscilla's face and a few lines of speculation who Fairy Tail's newest member was. The giantess took it off her hand curiously. Mirajane chuckled. "Jason will probably show up sometime soon, then. He always comes by to interview the new members."

"What exactly is the purpose of such prose?" Priscilla inquired next, which deeply confused Lucy. When it became clear the far taller woman was serious, she gave her a quick rundown of entertainment. Whenever people had nothing to do, they sought something to pass the time; magazines like the Weekly Sorcerer were sold around the kingdom, both to pass on information and to entertain people. Priscilla nodded along absently, thumbing through the magazine. Then she paused and held it down to Lucy, whose mostly memorised lecture petered out. "What about this?"

"Errrrr...."

Mira's laughter echoed in Lucy's ears while her cheeks grew hot; the page Priscilla presented held a pin-up poster, specifically one of Mirajane posing in a red string bikini. Lucy knew for a fact there were at least a dozen more on the following pages. But how should she explain that particular market?

Another voice joined Mira's laughter before Lucy could stop sputtering. Glancing sideways, she became aware of a busty brunette sauntering their way; Cana Alberona only wore a black bra to preserve her modesty, as she was known for beside her prodigious liver. Right now however, Lucy was distracted by a lithe yet strong arm wrapping around her shoulder; the same happened to Mirajane as Cana brought them both together. "Now isn't that a thought?" she teased with a nod to the pin-up. "How about you let her try to model? There's absolutely a market for giant beauties."

Mira's laughter had subsided into a few final giggles. She absently gave Cana's head a pat and disentangled herself, making the brunette hang onto Lucy. "Maybe later, once Pris got more comfortable with life around here." She snatched the Weekly Sorcerer from the larger woman's hands then. "And I'll explain this one to you later. After all...."

She left a pregnant pause as a loud crash interrupted them. Lucy flinched and whirled around, to find Natsu on the ground as a giant stomped on him. Master Makarov quickly came to shout at the guild, ending their little brawl... and then telling them it was just fine, as was the general amount of collateral damage they produced. Lucy could only stare as people cheered all around her, in awe of the sheer charisma her new guild master brought to bear.

In fact, this awe held long after she got the guild mark stamped to the back of her hand. She quickly got into the process of settling into Magnolia and found a cheap place to rent within the day, partly thanks to Mira's help.

Now in the privacy of her new home, Lucy continued to cheer and squeal; she wanted to join Fairy Tail for years and finally her dream came true. In fact, she decided to treat herself and drew a bubble bath in celebration of her first evening in Magnolia.

After stripping down however, once Lucy turned around, she found someone else already in the tub. A fellow blonde stretched languidly under her dumbfounded stare; her hair fell in waves far longer than Lucy's own, even though that reached to the small of her back. Big, green eyes met her brown ones and the stranger beamed at her. "This tub is great, Lucy! Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

Her only response was a squeak, followed by a mad scramble for a towel. By the time Lucy covered herself and made to lay into the intruder however, she was gone. Not even a strand of hair remained, as if she had never been there. Lucy's head swivelled around, but she found no trace of her. When the stranger failed to reappear after a minute, she hesitantly sunk into the bath after all to calm her thundering heart. It was not even being seen naked that she minded so much, but rather that someone invaded her new home.

When she shared that story the next day, the majority of her guildmates seemed to recognise the girl she described. Priscilla was present also, settled on her haunches in a free space left on the floor. She hummed in thought once Lucy finished. "That does sound familiar. Reedus, would you make a drawing for us?"

"Oui," the rotund painter responded, already preparing his everpresent easel. Lucy gathered he painted pictures to life normally, using his own skin as canvas, but for this he went the conventional route. Then, much to Lucy's astonishment, Priscilla closed her eyes and gave him exacting specifications for the person they were talking about; within a quarter hour, the entire guild beheld a lifelike portrait of the mystery girl.

Even without half the details, Lucy would have recognised her easily. "That's her," she confirmed, and others quickly added that they saw her around town, too.

"Then don't let it bother you," an aged voice interrupted their gathering. The crowd parted for Makarov, who strolled up to them and received the painting from Reedus; a thoughtful gaze ran over it momentarily, then he huffed. "That little minx just has too much fun spooking people, especially our guild. She helps out just as much, though," he finished with a nod toward Priscilla, who inclined her head.

"I mean, I guess?" Lucy hesitated, feeling sheepish at talking to the master directly, "but it still scared me."

His arm elongated and wound up around her then, gently stroking her head in a clearly practiced manner. "Don't worry, my dear. The next time I see her, I will remind her not to get carried away. It won't happen again." Despite being seventeen by now, Lucy still leaned into the comforting touch and let herself be soothed. Her cheeks grew warm with embarassment upon realising that she did so in front of everyone, but no one so much as acknowledged it. Makarov then took the portrait off of them and wandered away, letting the day proceed.

Priscilla addressed her soon after, curiously leaning closer. "I was meaning to ask," she began, "what kind of magic dost thou employ, Lucy?"

The question brought a grin to her face; any chance to show off was welcome. "Oh, I'm a Celestial Spirit wizard." The puzzled look that earned her only spurred Lucy on; she giddily presented her keyring and went through what she had. "Just a moment. Let's see. Not Aquarius," who'd spank her for a willy-nilly call, "not Taurus," as reliable as the horny bull was, now was not the time, "maybe Cancer?" A glance to Priscilla's orderly mane of white hair told her there were no haircuts needed. "Nah. Hm." Her three golden keys disregarded, she paused at the first of four silver ones. "Now here's a thought," Lucy muttered, then stepped over to the bar. "Er, Mira? Is it alright if I bring a songstress for a bit?"

"Absolutely," the older woman responded with a bright smile.

Permission thus assumed, Lucy backed off a bit while several people began to pay attention, unhooking the key as she did. "Watch me, then." Channeling Ethernano through her arm and into the key, she felt it resonate with the world. "Open, gate of the harp! Lyra!"

Reality tore with the ring of a bell where she drew the key, admitting a mousy human girl with voluminous, chestnut hair covered by an old-fashioned cap and tiny white wings. Her blue dress flared out around the waist, reaching all the way to her ancles; it was a few shades lighter than what Priscilla wore, but also adorned with dark yellow heart motifs. With her came a person-sized harp that floated along. She greeted the room with a beaming smile. "You called? Who shall hear my siren song today?"

Lyra took a moment to recognise her surroundings, though her expression remained unchanged as she turned to Lucy in full. "I see you finally joined a guild. Congratulations!" Then Lucy found herself in a tight embrace that she returned with a huff.

"Fascinating," Priscilla murmured above them; her gaze flitted up and down Lyra's form, the spirit either unaware or undisturbed by the giantess. "So thou art a summoner?"

"Yup! I form contracts with celestial spirits and call on them for help."

"Speaking of, you should call for me more often. I do love to sing for you."

Lucy finally let go of Lyra and held her at arm's length; the harp spirit's impish grin immediately gave her tease away. "I can only summon you twice a month and you know that," she deadpanned.

"We can always renegotiate! You were so boring when we met!"

Now there were snickers around them and Lucy heaved a sigh. Then she waved for a free space next to the bar. "Whatever, just... just do your thing, okay? I'm sure everyone wants to hear you sing. Pick whatever you want, except elegies or other sad stuff."

"Can do!" She did not take offence, well aware how Lucy reacted to reminders of who she used to be. Or rather, how she tried to be, for her father's sake. Well, no more. Lyra set up her harp under curious gazes that turned mesmerised as soon as she struck the first note. Her first song was fast and joyful, perfectly encapsulating Fairy Tail; after that, she just kept going while Lucy settled at a table.

"I sustain them with my own Ethernano," she explained to the nearby Priscilla, then thanked Mira for a mug of juice she did not order. After a few sips, Lucy continued: "Lyra can stay for as long as I have power to give her."

The giantess nodded thoughtfully, herself munching on some sort of steak. "That sounds problematic in combat," she mused out loud after swallowing. Lyra's second song washed over them, so they kept their voices low to not interrupt.

"Kinda yes, kinda no? Lyra is not much for fighting, I have Taurus and Aquarius for that. It is good practice, though. The more I have my spirits along, the easier it gets to keep them sustained. Efficiency takes time, and my body can keep more Ethernano over time."

"I see."

Priscilla left it at that with a faint frown for some reason. She appeared more interested in listening to Lyra's ethereal performance, who remained for about an hour to entertain the guild. Lucy could understand that, at least; no one left the room bar a single person, a bespectacled man dressed in baggy clothes. Curiously, the moment he entered was when Lyra's eyes homed in on him, making him freeze. She winked, and he fled back out the open gate. Must be shy, Lucy reasoned. Lyra did all of that without interrupting her song, too.

For the last song however, Mira tapped Lyra's shoulder and whispered with her for a moment. The harp spirit's everpresent smile grew into a cheshire grin, which worried Lucy. Thankfully, they had nothing embarassing planned; rather, Lyra began to thrum a folk song and the two turned it into a duet. Now even Lucy was entranced, though the performance ended far too soon for her liking.

Once the harp fell quiet, she joined the thunderous applause. Lyra bowed at the waist as she became translucent, Lucy's power all but used up. A moment later, she and her harp were gone. The noise slowly petered out and everyone started chatting about the performance. More pertinent to Lucy however, Mira pushed a small stack of bills into her hand. "You definitely found a generous audience around here," the model remarked with a coy smile. "Do bring Lyra around again, I would love another duet."

Lucy quickly pocketed her earnings with some excitement; she had not even thought about getting paid. "I'm sure she will be happy to hear it," she chirped back. "She loves if people love her songs." Though that meant shopping for Lyra was a chore, as she did not want anything particularly much. Aquarius could be lured with some nice oil for her scaly lower half, most of the pin-ups from Lucy's magazines went to Taurus, and so on.

"Such ingenious spellcraft," Priscilla murmured, mostly to herself. Lucy glanced up at the giantess whose gaze still rested on the spot Lyra stood. Then it snapped to her. "Tis summoning indeed. Where art such spirits called from?"

"Uh, they live in the Celestial Spirit world?"

Priscilla huffed in response. "Such an ingenious name," she retorted drily, to which Mira giggled. Lucy had to smile as well, at least until the far taller woman continued: "So the existence of other worlds is known?"

Now she was in unfamiliar territory. Lucy shrugged lightly, uncertain how to explain. "Kind of? We know summoning is possible, but the only place we figured out how to summon from is the Celestial Spirit world. So either there are no others, or getting at them is a lot more complicated." She raised her keyring again for emphasis. "If someone hadn't figured out how to make these keys, it would take a year to learn just one gate."

"You mean years," Mira interjected politely. When Lucy's incomprehending look hit her, the model was taken aback. "Really? A gate in just one year? From what I hear, it is more like three or four years. Up to five for a zodiac gate."

"Weird, I never heard that." Lucy glanced down in thought, going back to her past training. "I know I needed fourteen months or so for Aquarius' gate, and she's a zodiac. But I was seven... and after that I just got lazy because keys are so much easier. Oh, there's Natsu."

She missed the widening of Mira's eyes; by the time Lucy's attention flickered back to her, the model caught herself and shooed her away to talk to her first friend. Within an hour or two, Lucy and Natsu were both roped into a rescue mission for little Romeo's father, who went on a mission almost a week ago and had not returned. She did not mind it much.

While those two headed out to look for Macao, Priscilla remained in the guildhall to pick her first 'real' job. After a lot of thinking, she signalled Mira and tapped a specific sheet; it detailed a job about assisting with a construction project. The barmaid took it off to read over. "Not the most lucrative, but it suits you," she commented. "You can definitely move heavy loads. And this one is outside."

Then Mira clapped her hands with delight, waving the parchment. "Oh, your first real job. I will send word along and make you a big lunchbox. You go and prepare, yes?"

"Of course. Until later."

She said goodbye to a few other people and left the building, now headed in the exact opposite direction of her previous accomodations. It turned out that Gildarts was not called in just for the new gate; no, Makarov also requested he build her a home into the cliffside. Perfectly sized for her, sporting smooth stone walls and an admittedly spartan furnishing. Then again, Erza having to field the admittedly discounted price made Priscilla feel a bit of pity for the redhead's wallet. At least she earned well enough not to become destitute despite the many expenses.

Striding through spacious if bare corridors, Priscilla approached her supersized wardrobe; Madame Greene filled it slowly, though there was a bit of a selection already. After some consideration, the crossbreed stripped out of her first gown in favour of dark blue shorts and a thick, brown vest. Arms and legs remained mostly bare, the same as her feet, in expectation of travel and construction.

Next she picked a loaf of bread from her sparse pantry, rubbing it to crumbs between two fingers to feed the crows. They followed her from the forest, now settled in small nooks and crannies along the cliffside. "I will be gone for at least a few days," she explained to the birds as they pecked up her offering; they seemed to listen as well, cawing in response and flapping their wings. Priscilla smiled. "Not to worry, I will be fine. Take care of yourselves as well." More caws answered, almost enthusiastic.

Picking up her scythe at last, she locked the door and headed out. Its weight felt comforting in her hand, a safeguard against whatever dangers there may lurk. She faintly considered leaving it here, but venturing beyond Magnolia was different than wandering streets that became familiar by now.

Mira greeted her with a large bag containing a wooden crate, which Priscilla hefted up easily. "Acalypha it is, yes?" she reaffirmed, to which the dragon nodded. "Good, that's not so far." The two of them began to walk next to each other; Priscilla aimed for the westward road out of town, though it took her friend a few minutes to realise. "Um, how are you planning to get there, anyway?"

The giantess made certain her pack was secured, completely missing the question's intention. "On foot," she declared, then fell into a slow jog. "Acalypha isn't that far! See you!" Priscilla turned around to wave, then sped up into a run. The earth shook under her steps, some vibrations running up Mirajane's body as she stood there, watching the rapidly vanishing crossbreed with a mixture of amusement and incredulity.

 

"Magic is actualised by shaping a miniscule amount of Ethernano into a spell circle, then funnelling more through that same circle to get a 'reaction', or the effect. Effects vary by circle, though each discipline has the same base form; that is why people often focus on spells of the same discipline when branching out. Each discipline is aligned to a basic concept the magic revolves around, such as script magic, wind magic, or body alteration.

Casting magic is like exercising a muscle; it gets easier with practice as the body becomes accustomed to the way Ethernano is channelled. In difference to physical muscles however, a wizard will never forget a magic circle once ingrained."

-excerpt from "The Heart of Magic"

---

The cool morning air brushed past Priscilla, whose pace had slowed to a tranquil walk. She already spied Acalypha from the mountain path earlier and now that dawn broke, she knew she would arrive soon. Two crow chicks rode on her shoulders as she approached the village, resting their wings after their first flight. The mother settled on Priscilla's head, head swivelling between her young. Once both had recovered somewhat, they all took wing. Priscilla watched them leave from the corner of her eyes, but focussed on the awakening village ahead. She knew the moment she was spotted, seeing how the farmers froze up momentarily; it still pained her, but acceptance had settled in by this point. She would have to earn recognition as a friend first.

So thinking, Priscilla offered the astonished villagers a friendly wave as she passed by, scythe clearly resting at ease; she never stopped gripping it, though. No one stopped her from walking into town, from where finding the construction site was easy enough. There was only one spot covered in building materials, with two dozen men and women already setting up. They, too, paused at the sight of her. Once it became clear Priscilla was headed their way however, one burly man stepped forward to meet her. "You need something, miss?"

"I believe so," she responded kindly, stretching her foot so he could clearly see the guild mark on its back. "You are with the Hammer Brothers construction guild, yes?"

His demeanor flipped from wary to cheerful in an instant. "Ayup, that we are! Didn't expect a gal from Fairy Tail of all guilds, but you'll do nicely. I'm the foreman 'round here." He then waved her forward. "Come along, I'll show you what we'll need you for."

Priscilla followed, listening intently to everything he told her; some of the workers' gazes kept trailing after her for some reason, but the foreman quickly shooed them back to work when he noticed. Not that it stopped the whispers, though she did not get to hear what they said; the spurts of laughter and general good mood were promising nonetheless.

Soon enough, she was carrying materials around as the foreman asked her to. Stone, wood, tools, whatever needed moving quickly reached its new destination. Priscilla even enjoyed the physical labour, unused to it as she was; she never experienced something like this before, not to mention that she could watch the building take shape along the way. The Hammer Brothers had already partly completed the ground floor before she arrived, but with her help it was done by lunchtime. It felt invigorating, to know this creation was something she contributed to. Two of the craftsmen were wizards as well, their talents making the process even faster.

During lunch, Priscilla settled alongside the construction workers. She fielded questions as to her size and rejected joking attempts to poach her for their guild. All while devouring the oversized sandwich Mirajane made, a revelation which immediately brought her a dozen trade offers; even the foreman was willing to offer a bit of his meal to get a chance of sampling something made by Mira. She certainly was popular.

"What exactly is this building meant for," she asked after the hail of bartering, various morsels arrayed around her for when she was done with the sandwich. "The job offer did not say."

"Mercenary guild," one of the women supplied from her right. She sported muscles just like the rest of her team, but also a friendly smile. "Don't know the name, but they're new and wanted to put their base here."

"Makes sense too," another chimed in, "there's no other mercenaries near these parts, so they can get all the local jobs." Nods followed the statement while Priscilla filed the information away.

From there, they continued with the construction in good time; though a skeleton of wooden beams was quickly erected however, the second floor needed less direct aid from her. The foreman quickly put Priscilla to work putting plates into place for the floors and ceilings, with others climbing around her to secure them. Then came the roof, which she supported from the outside.

After a total of but four days, they were done. The work went off swimmingly through teamwork and the aid of her size; Priscilla spent the nights roaming around Acalypha out of curiousity, exploring in order to understand the area better. She did carry a map, but seeing a place felt different than just knowing about it.

On the fourth day's evening, the Hammer Brothers held a small celebration and feast for a job well done. Some of the townsfolk joined them and so did Priscilla, who politely accepted their invitation; she was careful not to eat too much of their food, though. This was why she only took her leave after sunset, leaving behind a band of cheering workers and craftsmen. Her heart soared with joy about having helped to create something, a home for others.

The darkness consumed Priscilla soon enough, though there was enough light for her to find her way regardless. She kept replaying the various small events from past days in her head for a long while.

About an hour into her walk home however, she passed by a crackling campfire. It cast the shadow of a lonely traveler eating his dinner, who noticed her at the same time she saw him. He raised his hand in greeting. "Well met, miss! Please, the night is cold. Come and join me at the fire!"

Priscilla considered to decline and move on home, but decided she had some time to spare. So she inclined her head and strolled up to the man; firelight cast long shadows over his face, but well illuminated his pitch black robe. Golden trims along the high collar and a white cape fastened around the chest were the only other colours beside his lightly tanned skin. Dark eyes studied her as she approached and settled down next to him, his gaze conveying an almost palpable sense of curiousity. "I see you employ body alteration magic. You are a wizard, then?"

His voice remained soft and friendly. Priscilla herself quickly shook her head, since used to the question: "I am a wizard, but this body is my normal form. There is no magic involved in it."

"Oh. Intriguing." He studied her momentarily, then glanced down at his own meal. "But where are my manners, may I offer you some dinner? Though I am afraid I do not carry enough to feed a lady of your size."

She chuckled and accepted a cooked potato to be polite, but left it at that. "It is quite alright. I ate plenty before leaving the nearby village." He nodded and they ate in silence for a moment, but his previous observations struck her curiousity. "Art thou a wizard, then? To be so intrigued by magic?"

"I am," he confirmed after another bite. "Though I am mostly a scholar, always pursuing secrets I have not yet unearthed." Glancing up and seeing Priscilla's suddenly pensive expression, he turned to her fully. "Is there something that bothers you?"

"Yes, well," she began hesitantly, uncertain whether she should bring up her troubles with a stranger. Then again, what could he do with that information if he wished to harm her? "Perhaps you would have some insight into an issue of mine, good sir. You see, I find myself unable to sense Ethernano, which makes actually learning magic a bit of an issue."

The stranger listened intently, but did not respond at first. A thoughtful silence draped over them while he stared into the crackling flames. When he glanced up at her again, it was with a somewhat firm disposition. "I will go out on a limb here," he began slowly, "and assume you are not from this world?" Seeing Priscilla's clear bewilderment, he elaborated: "Not being able to sense Ethernano is the norm in residents of worlds where there is none. Every being born on Earthland has that sense, though most need to hone it first."

She was stunned still; here was a man who deduced her origins correctly on just a single piece of information. "Is it that obvious?" she could not help but ask. "Beside my body, that is."

"Not at all," he denied with a dismissive wave, his smile reemerging. "As I said, I am a scholar. Oh, but do not worry: you can not sense Ethernano, but it is an inclusive particle. Anyone can use it, regardless of whether they have the senses for it. Now, where exactly lies your problem? Do you have trouble forming the spell circle?"

So distracted from the previous subject, Priscilla hesitated momentarily; it remained embarassing to make no progress whatsoever. She forced herself to explain, though: "I never went past the attempt to imbibe Ethernano. Without being able to sense it within me, I assumed I did something wrong and failed to complete that first step."

To her astonishment, he scoffed in response. "That is not even a step. It takes no effort to complete and everyone does it. I can see where the issue stems from, though; whoever told you this assumed that it helps you get a grasp of the Ethernano. Breathing exercises and the like are meant to help train dormant senses, so they are useless to you. The actual first step is to activate your internal Ethernano." Priscilla hung on his lips even as he fell quiet to think. Only when he asked her a question did she snap out of it: "Is there anything you feel about existing in Earthland that is different to your world?"

"Oh, well." She thought back over her experiences thus far, but figured the kinder people and different sun were not what he had in mind. The sun had her think of that morning after her realisation however, and she reflexively took a deep breath. "The air feels richer. It has something almost spicy, or a tone of sweetness. I thought such mote be Ethernano."

"Hm." If he was bothered by Priscilla's slip into her dialect, he did not show it. "Did anything change with your body from breathing the air?" She immediately denied that, which drew another thoughtful noise from the scholar. "So either it is inert or you do not notice for lacking the required senses. Well, it should not matter. What you need to understand is that Ethernano reacts to intent. Will, if you want. Merely willing it to take form is enough. The difficult part lies in learning how to focus one's...."

He trailed off when Priscilla began to gleam in rainbow colours. "Huh."

The dragon, meanwhile, felt her lips curl upward into a beaming smile. She impulsively reached out and grabbed the surprised man, hugging him to her chest. "Oh, thank you! This is incredible! Progress, and so simple at that!" She barely remembered not to use her full strength in time; even then, he had to slap her chest several times before Priscilla released him. "Pardon, I got too excited," she apologised after gently setting him back down on his previous spot, dishevelled as he now was. "And thank you, truly. This means a great deal to me."

At first he only took a deep breath and ran a hand through his black hair. Curiously, he did not seem angry. "It's alright, I understand. Though I did not do much for you beyond clearing up a misconception. But I am curious now: how did you pull it off so quickly?"

Priscilla made to respond, but was pre-empted by a loud caw. She glanced up and so did her new friend; the sight of hundreds of birds surrounding them clearly unnerved him while she merely smiled at the lot. "Be not afraid," Priscilla soothed the human, "they mean no harm. Crows and ravens are the eyes, ears, and messengers of Velka, the goddess of sin. She designs for the punishment of all sinners, although her birds were always fond of me. I believe they are here for me."

"Fascinating." He studied the murder just as they studied him, expression inscrutable now. "Do you believe this 'Velka's' influence reaches into this world?"

"I doth not know, yet it is reassuring that the birds continue to look after me."

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but apparently thought better of it and turned his attention back to Priscilla. "Anyway, about my other question?"

"Well," the crossbreed began with a nod, "when you explained that all I need to do is will Ethernano, everything became simple. The dragons in mine realm could always will reality itself to comply with their desires. Being part dragon, so can I. The idea is the same, although Ethernano seems almost enthusiastic to do as I want it to."

"Wow. The idea that one could affect reality itself by force of will." He paused to shake his head with a soft chuckle. "That is a novel one. I would love to learn more about this, but... later. Do be careful though; the dragons of Earthland are long gone bar a single one, but a few Dragonslayers are still alive in this age. They might take exception to your presence."

"It is quite alright," Priscilla reassured him. "I am grateful for your warning, but I already met one such Dragonslayer recently. He is a pleasant young man and we get along well."

"That is good to hear. Now, magic. What kind were you thinking to learn first?"

Now it was for her to hesitate. She had quite a few options, courtesy of her guildmates. "Well, the Master suggested illusions or telekinesis. Erza offered to teach me Requip so I can store my scythe and carry other materials around. The plant magic Droy showed me was intriguing as well, and what little I heard of Living Magic sounds interesting, too. There is just so much to pick from," she lamented.

After giving a sage nod to agree with the final comment, he made a thoughtful noise. "Let us ignore Living Magic for now, that particular discipline starts at difficult and becomes incredibly complicated before long. How about body alteration? That would allow to actually enter buildings without issue."

"While that does intrigue me, I do not want to change my body in any way, for any reason."

Her response came so swift that it took him aback momentarily. Then he chuckled. "Ah, my bad. Even in another world, draconic pride is still the same. Forget I said anything. Although, all things considered, I believe the best course of action is in learning magic based on utility first. I can think of a few that could help with your current predicaments, and do request this Erza for Requip; it is one of the most useful magics in existence. For now however... how about Diver?" Seeing that he had her attention, the scholar elaborated: "Diver is magic meant for traversal; it allows the caster to phase through just about any material except living beings, though non-magical plants still work. It solves the clear issue with entering buildings you face, is easy to learn as it is but one spell, and quite potent for anyone with a creative mind."

"That does sound tempting," Priscilla agreed. "Perhaps it is best to begin with something simple and work my way up."

"That is always a good approach." So said, he put some more wood onto the fire before raising a hand; it took but a moment for a dark purple magic circle to form, standing still in place. "This is the circle for Diver. Try to imitate it with your own Ethernano, but make it visible first. Yes, like this." He watched for a moment as fluid light left Priscilla's hand, slowly contorting as it began to imitate his own circle. "You have a decent speed forming Ethernano even as an initiate, that is good. Native wizards can form circles without revealing them beforehand, which gives potential opponents less time to react to their spells. If you end up in a fight, forming your circle quickly is the best option to not receive nasty counters."

She nodded absently, grateful for how freely he offered information. Her focus lay on the spell circle however. Now that she wished for more than light, her Ethernano revealed itself to be a snowy white.

Within ten minutes, she had roughly imitated her impromptu teacher's creation. The moment she actually willed Ethernano into it however, she sank into the ground. "Bravo," he praised while the circle over his hand faded. "You learn fast. Now, the trick to moving with Diver is the same as it is with magic in general. Simply will yourself in the direction you wish to traverse."

Priscilla followed his instructions with an ever-growing joy, willing herself down into the earth to her neck; it changed her perspective in an odd manner, having to look up at a human for once. Her gleaming spell circle remained in place however, mainly because she wanted it there. He studied her handiwork up close for a moment, then pointed at specific parts. "Now for some theory: the outer ring and this constellation of open and closed spaces are Diver's base, they allow the phasing. This inner matrix to the center is what lets you see through the elements you traverse. I believe it goes without saying that having one without the other is problematic."

She nodded along and willed herself out of the ground, leaving behind a small crater about two metres deep. No dirt marred her body, but he still clicked his tongue in obvious distaste, which worried Priscilla. "You need to practice," he explained with a motion toward the freshly made hole. "The art of Diver is to leave the medium untouched. Only a brute tears it apart."

"I see." Even as she said it, her pride roared to perfect this first magic as soon as possible. The implied challenge only added to it. Priscilla immediately recalled the circle she had been shown and began to refine her own. Now that it was only detailwork however, her mind kept wandering and she decided to keep up the conversation: "Now that I think about it, Diver was among the disciplines everyone brought up for me. But they disregarded it for being weak. I take it you disagree?"

Her question earned an odd mix between huff and snort. "Few magics are more powerful than others," he declared at once. "Some are just more useful for the situation at hand, and some just require a greater wizard to cast. There is potential in all magic and any who disregard it are fools. If we take Diver for example, it has always been a beloved art for inflitrators and assassins. They can circumvent every wall of even the greatest stronghold. Archeologists adore this magic, for it allows to traverse any structure, even if submerged or collapsed. A skilled battlemage can use it to strike from all directions and use the terrain as a shield from retaliation. The applications are manifold, if indirect. Diver is perfectly valid in itself and even more impressive when supporting another discipline."

Once he finished his small rant and Priscilla agreed with the points he made, she went on to another subject that interested her: "Perhaps the issue is that I am surrounded by career wizards who know a plethora of helpful magics. Some bias is to be expected, but I will take your words to heart. Though I admit, I do not see Diver compare to something such as Mirajane's Take Over in any way, shape, or form."

She immediately had his attention then. "Mirajane Strauss? Nicknamed the She-Devil?" Priscilla never heard that before but nodded, which drew out a thoughtful sound. He stared down at the ground while she worked, speaking slowly: "From what I heard, Mirajane became infamous through her Take Over, which I will note for discussion's sake is a dedicated battle magic. I give you that the discipline is quite versatile as well, but also highly dangerous. When claiming another being's soul, the caster has to subjugate them in a battle of wills. Failure means to be possessed in turn. But to get back to Mirajane, the subject of her has intrigued me for a while now. Is it truly keyed to demons?"

"I believe so, at least she said that it is. Elfman, ah, her brother, he once mentioned that she awakened her magic when a demon attacked their village." He got sparse about details afterward, but she figured that was the main part of his bragging about his big sister at the time.

"Hm." He sat quiet for a long minute, giving Priscilla time to smooth out another edge. When he did speak, it was with hesitation: "What bothers me there is that demons in general are not aggressive or destructive. The only ones engineered for battle are Etherious, an artificial subset of demonkind. From what I read and heard about Mirajane, her destructive potential is in line with Etherious. So her Take Over may somehow be keyed to them instead of regular demons."

This entire explanation gave her pause; the way he phrased it all made Priscilla wonder. "Did, perchance, Zeref create these Etherious demons?"

The lack of a response was answer enough. Priscilla made an understanding noise and went back to her work, figuring this was not a subject he wanted to talk about. By the time he did speak again, there was no mention of her question: "And if freshly awakened magic immediately allowed to use Take Over, that means it is ingrained into her soul. Or inherited from her parents, if you want. I generally do not want to make too many assumptions on this matter." Seeing that the dragon paused her work to peer at him curiously however, he sighed and kept going: "The only native user of Take Over is the Vulcan, a large, er, you-sized ape whose survival strategy is to Take Over other races and procreate that way. They are known to steal human identities, too. So the implication is that your Mirajane has a Vulcan somewhere in her ancestry, likely among the last two generations. And, well, about half of all children directly sired by a Vulcan regress into Vulcans at some point in their lives. I do not know enough about the process to say what triggers it, though."

Now she understood why he did not want to go into it. The implications were unfortunate, especially when considering Elfman as well. She tried not to dwell on it and changed the subject. They went back to the more general study of magic and Ethernano, which made for far better conversation.

After an hour of work, her Diver circle resembled what she had been shown exactly. Priscilla quickly tested it and sunk into the ground fully, being able to peer outside from her new hiding spot; she floated around and reappeared a dozen metres from where she started, not a single speck of dirt out of place. This earned her actual applause and further praise from her kind teacher; afterward, they continued to talk until morning. Priscilla soaked up everything he told her like a sponge, learning more about magic in a few hours than she had over the past weeks. He seemed delighted to have such a captive audience, too; they mostly covered various basic theories, a lot of which would further help with Diver, too.

Moreover, he demonstrated several disciplines for her amusement; body alteration to shape his body into her size, Diver just a mite more refinement than Priscilla's, gravity alteration to mimic flight, and plant magic that grew out a new tree from the hole she tore earlier.

The fire had long since died when dawn broke, though neither of them cared for it. With sunlight peeking through the canopy however, Priscilla realised it was time to move on. "I believe I must leave now," she admitted with no small amount of displeasure. "They are going to miss me back at the guild if I stay for much longer. Would you be interested in accompanying me to Magnolia?"

His eyes widened on the last word; tired as he had been before, now he was wide awake and shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he declined at once, wincing when Priscilla's shoulders slumped. "It has nothing to do with you. It is, I just can not go to Magnolia. My wife lies buried there. I can not take being near, is all."

"I see. I am sorry to bring up bad memories." She had not expected that, but it made sense. Now it was for him to be distraught, except that Priscilla lacked any way to soothe him. How did one deal with the grief? She did not know.

Ultimately, she leaned forward to shake his hand as best as she could. "I am happy to have met you. Please be safe on your journey."

He tried for a smile, though it was clearly fake. "You as well," he wished her, waving when she returned to the road and moved along. Soon excitement took over and Priscilla's gaze turned forward as she began to run, thus missing how dozens of trees behind her withered to death in seconds. Left behind was but a man, standing amidst the sudden devastation.

 

"Much thought has yet to go into the connection between magic and the soul. While we know its building blocks, we can not even guess its origin or true form at the point of this writing. Countless mysteries still surround the most integral part of any living being on Earthland."

-excerpt from "The Love of Magic"

---

Priscilla returned by midday, having run most of the way in her excitement. Her mind had revolved around showing off her sudden progress and once Magnolia came in sight, she dove downward. Magic made her phase through the earth just as before, allowing the dragon to swim underground. She giddily made her way around town with complete disregard for streets or buildings, amazed by how simple it became. Now the difficulty lay in recognising the right building from her new perspective.

It took a few minutes to distinguish the guild hall from below; afterward, Priscilla was almost distracted by some kind of basement chamber she could not peer into. She stared at it for a while, wondering what may be inside to be warded so well. By the time she decided it was not her business at the moment, just about everyone above was watching the ground.

Remembering that yes, wizards could sense the Ethernano she now used, Priscilla willed herself upward and sheepishly rose out of the ground in front of Mirajane. "I have returned," she announced to the oddly silent hall, aware of the wariness surrounding her. It melted in seconds, to be replaced by a dozen conversations and quite a few voices welcoming her back. Mira beamed up at her.

"You figured out your magic?"

"Indeed I have. A kind traveler helped me understand the issue in detail."

"Wonderful! I am so happy for you!" The human woman crouched to leap upward, coming to rest around Priscilla's neck in a fierce hug. She held her gently with one hand, then placed her back down. Mira cheerfully twirled around with flying skirts and marched back to the kitchen. "That sounds like we should celebrate!"

Her call was taken up by various people and within minutes, Priscilla was the center of another party. In retrospect, she fully agreed that Diver was the perfect start to magic for her; she could dive into the ground to look people in the eye, enter buildings of appropriate size without needing giant gates, it was wonderful!

As parties in Fairy Tail were wont to do however, at some point it transitioned into a brawl. Priscilla enjoyed her time regardless, sitting at the sidelines with a few others who stayed out of the fight. She was just licking the last bits of a cake off her gums and teeth when the Master approached, dodging a threeway grapple with ease born of experience along the way. "Welcome back," he greeted her with a faint smile and a pat on the head, arm extending like rope. "It may be a little early to lay this on you, but I found something that might help figure out where you're from." He immediately had Priscilla's attention, alongside Levy, Alzack, and Loke. The giantess worried however, still uncertain if she should even reveal being from another world.

Unaware of her thoughts, Makarov settled next to them and brought out a parchment filled with notes. "Now let's see," he muttered, then spoke up to be heard over the ruckus around them. "I did some digging about places that giants like yourself might live, figured they might know more. Nothing about this Lordran place you mentioned, I am afraid." She nodded wordlessly, unsurprised but intrigued. "Now what I found is that there's a place called Sun Village, where only giants live. It was built around some kind of temple with a sacred flame, but there were few details available. The place lies quite far away, but you might learn something there."

While she knew there would be nothing about Lordran there, the prospect of seeing such a place intrigued Priscilla; the idea of a sacred flame was a loathsome one, but she ignored that instinctual feeling. Not to mention that she appreciated Makarov going through the trouble of finding this knowledge for her. "It may be worth investigating," she noted thoughtfully. "How far away is it exactly?"

"About two thousand kilometres. There are several countries between Fiore and Sun Village."

While the number left Priscilla nonplussed, it certainly agitated the people around her. Especially Alzack immediately argued with the Master that such a large distance would take an age to traverse, what with no trains going that far while the giantess did not fit in any carriages or magic mobiles. Priscilla herself recalled how far Acalypha lay from Magnolia and did some mental math, only to find a very simple solution. It would not take that long.

"I would not mind going on foot," she interrupted the argument. "I can move much faster at my size, terrain is not much of a problem now that I learned Diver, and a little journey would be quite nice." That shut them all up, not that Makarov was entirely happy.

"It is a long journey," he cautioned, "not something to be undertaken lightly."

"You could just learn more magic," another voice drawled. When their heads turned, they found a man strolling through the ongoing brawl, taller than just about everyone else in the room. Even fully clothed, Priscilla could see the well-defined muscles lining his entire body; his blond hair stood in spikes and crackled with electricity. Though she had seen Laxus before, he still struck an imposing figure. He grinned on his way past them. "If you're too slow, then-"

That was as far as he got before Cana slammed into his face, rear-first. Laxus was thrown to the ground heavily, coming to lie with the brunette sitting on him. An unrepentant Mira stood a few paces distant, having thrown her friend to begin with; a sardonic smile graced her usually friendly expression, morphing it into something more sinister.

"Why hello there, handsome," Cana purred with barely concealed laughter. "Come here often?" Others had been snickering already, now some broke into full-blown laughter. Laxus, for his part, simply turned to yellow lightning and zapped out of the room without another word. Only a faint scent of ozone remained.

While the humour in that situation remained odd to Priscilla, his departure gave her an idea. Within the hour she began to practice with Diver, mainly to grow more proficient and efficient at its use. Just as she hoped, with not her body but her will in charge of moving forward, she could be even faster. The run back to Magnolia winded her somewhat, so an alternate means of travel was appreciated.

She spent two days training until she felt ready to head out. Just as she made to do so however, Priscilla spied Lucy and Natsu coming into town, with Happy toddling along. She willed herself upward and greeted them while phasing out of the ground. "Welcome back, you three!"

Lucy jumped back with a squeak and Happy fell over, but Natsu just waved happily. "Hey, Pris! Good to be back!"

"That scared me!" Lucy complained; the blonde took a deep breath before looking between Priscilla and the ground. "Was that Diver?"

"Just so." The dragon was still proud of her achievement. "I believe I have become proficient by now."

"You're definitely better at it than the Duke was," she muttered. From some further inquiries, Priscilla soon learned that Lucy posed as a maid for a nobleman to complete a job about stealing a book. Said man apparently deployed a crude version of Diver. They did manage to complete the task however, so she congratulated them before saying goodbye; Lucy and Natsu made their way toward the guild hall.

For Priscilla, a new journey began. She quickly stretched her developing powers and soared across the land, transitioning between running and diving whenever either her mind or her body began to flag. Sometimes she slowed to a tranquil walk among nature, spending some minutes soaking in the serenity of untamed woods, vast plains, and glittering lakes.

By nightfall, Priscilla already left Fiore. Not that she knew where the border lay. Though she did not need rest like lesser species, she took an hour in the mornings and evenings to wind down. Every day around noon, Priscilla consulted her map and oriented herself, ensuring she still moved in the right direction. She swam through lakes that lay untouched by human hands, crossed underneath daunting canyons, and raced with dinosaurs across the tundra. What few beasts dared bother her fled the moment Priscilla channelled her Lifehunt; even apex predators could recognise the looming specter of death.

Her grasp of Diver grew more proficient by the day; she could feel it becoming ingrained to her soul, more and more so with each use. On the third day, Priscilla took a longer rest at noon to study the changes. She pressed a hand to her bosom and pulled, exhaling as her soul followed. As all she ever beheld, hers too was flame. Unlike all the rest however, hers was devoid of colour, a pure white that remained perfectly still. Not a single flicker, no motion, eternally bound in a single moment unless she desired it move.

She held the flame in hand, studying it once again; it cast light that illuminated the half-dark as rain poured down around her. Thankfully, her map was in a water-resistant pouch she borrowed; her clothes would need some time to dry however. Unlike other souls, Priscilla's did not emit any warmth. She pondered willing the rain to stop and her clothes to dry, but the exertion did not appeal. Her soul shifted idly, forming into Diver's spell circle without any issue; just as she felt earlier, it was not a scar etched into her very being, but a simple imprint of the flowing Ethernano.

Still, she wondered; Ethernano followed her command without question, far more easily than reality itself. What if she channelled it through her soul like the gods were fond of doing? Perhaps that would offer an easier means of casting the soul arts in this world.

So Priscilla breathed, willed glowing Ethernano into her soul until it began to flicker. The rain sputtered momentarily. Pathways built of the magic particle began to guide her alien might into the world around her, until the rain stopped coming entirely.

She stared at the world around her in wonder, carefully holding the thread of power active. Earthlanders liked to name their spells, likely to help them draw an instinctive connection to the spell upon calling its name. What she just achieved was unprecedented, so Priscilla felt she ought to name it, once a good title presented itself. The world held its breath until, moments later, she released her grasp and rain continued to pour down on her.

Sighing, the crossbreed let her soul flow back into her body and made to move on; Diver protected her from the rain henceforward. Once she reached a point where no more water fell from the sky, she cautiously stripped down and took another break, her clothes wrung out and slowly drying in the fleeting sunlight. She used the time to keep practicing her newfound skill.

Once the cloth was barely damp anymore, Priscilla kept going and travelled through the night. Sometimes she saw humans, but kept her distance and moved past without bothering them. No one here knew her and so there would just be more fear she did not desire. When the fifth day of her journey dawned, she realised that the surroundings began to grow larger. Trees became notably bigger, various kinds of plants had turned from tiny to small, and it all kept increasing in size as she moved.

Just before noon, she felt something call her eastward; a siren song the likes of which she knew not, yet recognised in an instant. A great soul suffused the area, basking it in warmth and strength. The temperature rose considerably as she approached, turning Autumn to Summer in the span of a few kilometres. What leftover dampness clung to her pants and shirt evaporated, a pleasant heat caressing her skin alongside the thin tendrils of whatever spirit resided nearby.

And there were walls, rising a hundred metres high. Massive constructs of stone that almost rivalled the splendor of Anor Londo's skyline. Hulking figures stood guard atop. Priscilla felt her step falter momentarily, but forced herself to move forward. She lowered her scythe and strode along the dirt path, well aware of the gazes her figure soon drew. Booming voices shouted and a guard met her at the gate.

Now it was for Priscilla to crane her neck, for the armoured man stood about six times her size; she did not even reach his knee. He quickly crouched and she wondered if this was how everyone else felt around her. It was humiliating in a way, but she lacked the usual anger; size meant nothing in the end.

"Why hello there, little lady! What brings you this way?"

His voice shook the ground ever so slightly and he smiled, revealing teeth the size of Priscilla's hands. She ignored all those signs of physical prowess and inclined her head. "Well met, good sir. Do I stand before Sun Village?"

"Aye, you do. We don't get many travelers, though. Most get kinda scared by how big we all are, so it's only a few traders and caravans."

"I am familiar with that predicament," she admitted with a faint smile, immediately taken by his kind demeanor. "While not of your prodigious size, I still stand above any human." Not counting Makarov and others like him. "Regardless, I was intrigued by the tales I heard of a village of giants and of your sacred flame, so I made the journey from Fiore. May I enter?"

"Ah, of course! Come in, come in!" A giant hand reached around her, gently pushing Priscilla forward and inside. She stumbled into a super-sized village, actually a city by anyone else's standards. It felt barely different from the others she had seen, except for the fact everything was so big. The marketplace stood out at once, being located right behind the gate. The guard followed after her, his lumbering steps sending tremors through the earth. "Welcome to Sun Village!" he bellowed cheerfully.

Priscilla inclined her head again and made her way inside. At first she could move around well enough, but people quickly noticed her; she was a little surprised that they watched their step so carefully, having prepared to dodge their feet.

The reason for their care became apparent soon enough, though. A delighted shout of "You're small!" drew Priscilla's attention to a side alley, where she found a beaming human woman; light red hair cascaded down her back and a cream-coloured dress fluttered around her thighs as she rushed forward to meet Priscilla. "I barely meet anyone my size, or at least close! Hello! What brings you to Sun Village?"

"Idle curiousity," she deflected the question somewhat, crouching to offer the human a finger to shake. She did it with great enthusiasm. "What of yourself, miss? Are you a resident?"

"I am!" She hesitated somewhat after that, letting go of Priscilla's finger. "But I guess it's obvious I'm adopted, right?"

"It is."

The atmosphere became odd then, neither of them quite certain how to proceed. As her initial elation faded, the human began to realise she just approached a random stranger. Priscilla herself lacked knowledge of the correct protocols to follow in these lands. After several awkward seconds, she decided to do as Fairy Tail taught her: waltz over any inconvenience without acknowledgement. "Would you care to show me around, then? Oh, and I am Priscilla."

"O-Oh, of course!" It seemed that course of action was correct, seeing how her expression brightened immediately. "I'm Flare. Come on, this way!"

Introductions out of the way, Flare quickly introduced Priscilla to life in Sun Village. Just as she initially observed, it did not much differ from most villages except for the larger size. She beheld oversized buildings and farms, was introduced to several kind giants who tittered at the sight of Flare's renewed enthusiasm. The human woman seemed to be treated like a beloved daughter by just about everyone, though some patted her head more like she saw people do with a pet. Perhaps that was just the size difference at work, though.

"I lived here for as long as I can remember," Flare provided along the way, "they found me toddling around in the woods. Everyone is really kind here, so they took me in and raised me. I help out where I can too, just like the others."

She kept chattering, laying out just about every facet of life in Sun Village over the course of an hour or two. Priscilla listened with rapt attention, but soon found herself disinterested with many a thing she heard or saw in other villages before. The points where Flare went into her own tasks were more to her liking, as the human's diminutive size allowed to climb into various contraptions to fix them, or to hunt super-sized vermin with her own fire magic.

"So you are a wizard, then?"

"I am," she confirmed, a crimson spell circle flickering to life over her hand for emphasis. It produced a merrily crackling flame. "The Great Flame blessed me. I used to have darker hair you see, but a few years ago I was praying and my chest burned a little. After that, my hair turned red and I suddenly knew how to do this. So I kinda took up teaching myself. We don't have any wizards here."

"Intriguing," Priscilla commented. She studied the woman in front of her thoughtfully, tried to discern what this flame may have done. It was certainly what emitted such pressure on the area, beckoning the dragon to approach and witness its splendor. From her observations, people here were exceptionally healthy; that was likely the flame, too. Not to mention that it felt oddly familiar, yet also completely different. "Would I be allowed to step before the Great Flame?"

Flare immediately turned around with a bright smile. "Of course! Anyone can see the Great Flame, just, uh, not today. The custodians only allow entry during the day, we burned too much time." She glanced up at the sky, which made Priscilla realise that it had grown dark around the village. No stars were visible, their light drowned by the fire crackling at the shrine above them; its rays illuminated all of Sun Village, almost like it were still bright.

As if on cue, Flare yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. "It is getting late," she muttered more to herself, then glanced up at Priscilla. "I got so caught up I didn't notice how much time passed." She still smiled though, making the dragon quash an impulse to coddle her. Meanwhile, Flare looked this way and that, suddenly sheepish. "Uh, I guess you don't have a place to stay right now. You could come to my place, I have the space? And we could talk some more, maybe? I'd like to hear about where you're from?"

"Of course." Not only had Priscilla no reason to refuse, she did want to speak more with Flare. She was a pleasant young woman. The fact she appeared genuinely happy to have met her only added to that opinion. She did shoo her to bed after a late dinner and some more conversation, though; despite her protests and wanting to hear more of Fiore, Flare was soon out like a light.

Priscilla considered the oversized bed Flare offered, as well as the comparably small house that still dwarfed her own home in Magnolia's cliffs. She climbed under the covers mainly for the novelty. Then she waited for dawn while lost in thought, trying to prod the great soul nearby into revealing itself to her; she had to give up around the time Flare woke, figuring that she needed to be closer to the Great Flame. At least the bed was soft.

After a nice breakfast of giant fruit that she quickly annihilated, Flare led her up to the one place they had not been before; the shrine this village was centered around, elevated beyond even the walls so that blessed light could cover the fields and forests beyond. An ornate gate stood open, guarded by two still figures decked out in armour; the sight of them reminded Priscilla of foreign memories, giants clad in steel that wielded bows the likes of which could pierce a dragon's wing. Hawkeye Gough taught her kin to respect his archers, forced them to crawl in the mud for fear of their prowess.

She shook off these feelings and the memories that sparked them; the people here were not the same.

Moments later, all of it was washed away when she beheld the flame itself. It roared a dozen metres high, formless, without any visible fuel. Its gentle warmth soaked into her body, all the way to her soul; Priscilla stopped dead in her tracks, eyes glued to its magnificent form, flickering without any sound whatsoever. Without ever having seen the First Flame, she still felt even that could have hardly been brighter.

Faintly aware of Flare pulling at her hand and some other villagers kneeling before the flame, Priscilla was rooted in place. She stared unblinkingly as her entire being roiled; the anger of dragons roared at such mighty flame, a goddess acknowledged its splendor, and a girl stood in awe.

Then she moved as if in trance, ignoring Flare beyond making sure not to kick her. The redhead followed until Priscilla stopped before the flame; just as she figured, the great soul she sensed was here. Streamers of it flowed along the area, strongest within this shrine. She reached out with her mind to touch the Other, felt how it was entwined with the flame. She felt its desire to nourish, to grow.

Instinct had her grasp for the Other, willing all these streamers to coalesce within the fire. She barely even realised what she did until Flare's gasp broke into her reverie; the Great Flame flickered and twitched. Giants scrambled to their feet and Flare pulled on Priscilla's free hand. "What's happening? Are you doing this?!" She shouted frantically, almost making the dragon cease her channeling. But curiousity and the desire to meet another greater being won out in the end.

Moments later, the flame settled in a new form, the shape of a great beast. A crimson skull's outline formed amidst the orange fire, sharp and angular as its eyes met hers. Four massive legs took shape to support a thick body, ending in a long whip of fire reminiscent of a tail. Lastly, two great wings folded on its back.

Priscilla stared at the dragon, and the dragon stared at her. The world stopped.

Then both inclined their heads; this being was not kin to her, but it was nonetheless a powerful one and deserved respect. "Hail, oh guardian of Sun Village," she greeted them. "I am Priscilla."

"Be welcome, traveler," the other dragon answered in a rumbling baritone. "I am Atlas Flame, last of the fire dragons."

His words caused a stir amongst the crowd already drawn; just about anyone took a knee, prostrating themselves before their deity. Priscilla stood, however; respect she would offer, but not reverence. If Atlas Flame took offense, he did not say. Rather, his head turned this way and that to study the faithful without comment. Having had a moment to mull over his greeting, Priscilla decided on her next words: "Art thou the last dragon, then? A friend revealed to me there is but one left alive." Before Atlas Flame had any chance to respond however, another memory resurfaced and Priscilla had to frown. "Although I heard one Igneel is-" "My king yet lives?!"

Though near impervious to heat, even Priscilla began to sweat when the apparition entered her personal space. A spirit of pure fire hung in front of her face, glaring at the crossbreed as if he could force the knowledge from her by willing it so. Her foot rose on base instinct, but she firmly planted it back down without so much as giving an inch. Priscilla's expression firmed up somewhat. "So I was told," she answered at last, well aware of the bewildered gazes her demeanor now drew. "His adopted son, Natsu, last saw him but a scant few years back. Are there more dragons that still exist somewhere, then?"

The flame dimmed, almost extinguishing itself as Atlas Flame seemed to realise something. His ethereal body slumped ever so slightly, and he retreated to lounge on the pedestal. "So he is not. The prince must be mistaken. Igneel died as we all did, and only Acnologia remains." He growled at nothing, then flared back to life and focussed on Priscilla again. "I am but a lingering spirit, devoid of the might I once held. My body spends warmth and life to those around it, in accordance with my king's desire. Igneel was not wrong to nurture humans."

He rambled along, as if in thought. Priscilla could not help but smile; her posture shifted to something less confrontational already. Now she inclined her head. "They are oh so inspiring in their own way. I concur."

"Are you not human?"

The question was asked in curiousity, but it made indignation pulse through Priscilla's entire being. She narrowed her eyes momentarily and willed Atlas Flame's form into a humanoid one. The dragon let out an undignified squawk and fell forward, before his form bulged back out as she lessened her grasp. "I am less human than you are, Atlas Flame," Priscilla declared curtly. "It would behoove you to remember that."

She paused then, well aware her pride got away with her. The presence of dozens of wary giants and several heavily armoured custodians suddenly weighed on her mind, made a shiver run down her spine; she just assaulted and rebuked their deity.

Likely before they even realised what happene, Atlas Flame's roaring laughter rang out along the entire village. His gaze remained on her at all times and once he was done, he inclined his head. "I see. My apologies, it was the form that gave me a wrong impression. You are indeed more than that. Not a Dragonslayer, though. There are but three. You are not Acnologia, either. I would recognise that."

"You mentioned that name before," Priscilla distracted him, unwilling to get into this in front of a crowd. "Acnologia. Who are they?"

"The dragon king," Atlas Flame scoffed, a puff of sparks showering the crossbreed. "The last living dragon, and the one who slaughtered us all. How long has it been since he killed me?"

Suddenly, secrecy no longer mattered. Nothing but the words she had just heard did. Priscilla's blood boiled and the air grew heavy. Flare scrambled away from her side as the banshee wails of fallen dragons howled through the entire shrine, then abruptly cut off. "A kinslayer?" she asked into the grave silence, her voice deceptively soft. No answer was needed. "That is what brought your proud race low? A kinslayer? Where do I find him?"

Even Atlas Flame shuddered under the sheer loathing her gaze carried, fighting down the urge to flee. "I do not know," he answered, "and I ask you not to throw your life away. Many thought they could best Acnologia, and all were struck down. If you seek his fall," he advised the seething dragon, "find the Dragonslayers. You already met my prince, so see to it that he is ready. Upon him and his rests this task, to rid the world of the last dragon."

Priscilla forced herself to calm, but it was difficult. Every cell of her body screamed, demanded she find the kinslayer and tear him limb from limb. The dragons of Earthland were not kin, but oh so close. And here, too, they had gone nearly extinct because the one to live committed the greatest sin.

"I shall do so," she ultimately ground out, "but for now, I would rather speak of kinder matters. My own experience with kinslayers make this not a fruitful subject." The lesser dragon leaned forward again, studying her with clear interest; Priscilla considered to be difficult, but he was open with her so far. Sun Village lay far distant from Fiore, so why not reciprocate? "Thou bared thy soul to me, allow me to do the same."

A soft tug produced the static flame from her bosom, though flickers of rainbow colours ran through it as her feelings kept fluctuating. Atlas Flame was dead, and so what she interacted with was his very soul given form. Now Priscilla presented hers to the fallen dragon, who studied it intently. He breathed in, making it flicker just once. "How nostalgic," he rumbled. "This flame, it reminds me of King Igneel's scent, in a sense."

"I-Is that really your soul?"

The timid voice gave both of them pause; once more Priscilla remembered the presence of people around them. Flare crept closer again, peering upward in awe that hid a storm of different feelings. The dragon nodded, befuddled. "Tis my soul." Then, thinking back and failing to recall even a mention of souls, she wondered. "Can the people of these lands not express theirs?"

Flare wordlessly shook her head and Priscilla felt like clutching her soul, lest someone snatch it. Atlas Flame spent these moments studying Flare, leaning closer until the human woman began to sweat from his heat. She slowly turned, coming face to face with him. The dragon breathed in once more.

"I remember you," he said. "You blaze with desire, ever since your soul sang when I gave it but a spark. What is your name?"

"F-Flare, oh great Atlas Flame."

Sidelined for the time being, Priscilla watched her newest acquaintances speak with each other. With no rebuke given to the redhead's earlier interruption and Atlas Flame's clear interest, others began to speak up as minutes passed. Their reverence seemed to amuse the dead dragon, who made to answer their questions without hesitation. Some were more curious about Priscilla however, who realised they looked at her with a certain appreciation and awe; having channelled the dragon's spirit into a form they could interact with, she could follow the sentiment.

At the same time, she felt she might have to stay at least a little while. Depriving them of a chance to speak with their god felt simply wrong, but Priscilla had her own reasons as well; she did like Flare and her curiousity about the native dragons was awoken, too. Fairy Tail would be alright without her for at least a few more days.

 

"Of the many worlds that may exist out there, I know of five, of which I visited three. The spells necessary to traverse realms are complicated, powerful, and dangerous; even more so than the mere summoning from other realms. Therefore, I will withhold knowledge of them beyond the confirmation that it is indeed possible. While my experiences in these worlds could fill another book, the important takeaway is that each one was different from Earthland in some fundamental way. Edolas appeared closest, though Ethernano was finite there. Unfortunately, it ran out at this point in time. Travel to Edolas is impossible and they will never wield magic again."

-excerpt from "The Love of Magic"

---

"The soul arts," Priscilla intoned, "require no outward power to draw on. All one needs is a suitable catalyst to channel the strength of their soul. The practice was born in Vinheim, but ultimately is but a lesser version of what the clerics call miracles. They pray upon the gods to bless them with but a smidgen of their might, who in turn channel the force of their greater souls. Assuming they so desire, of course."

Around her improvised pedestal settled a weird crowd; Flare listened with rapt attention, almost at Priscilla's feet. All around were intrigued giants, not even wizards but interested nonetheless. And amidst blazing heat, Atlas Flame sat on his haunches. They all followed her lecture, soaked up what little knowledge she had of Lordran and its arcane mysteries. Priscilla originally wanted to relay just what she learned of magic in Earthland, for Flare's sake, but her captive audience slowly made the crossbreed reconsider.

"I can not yet say whether the soul arts are attainable in this world," she closed gently. "The ability to express one's soul is innate in mine, it needs not be taught or learned. While our souls define us, they are ultimately malleable, they can grow and be split apart to share with another. Humans, I hear, offer but a single spark of their souls to their unborn children, from which another flame will eventually grow. Yet its ultimate size and strength always depend on the person."

"It is a cycle," Atlas Flame rumbled thoughtfully. "But one that needs a beginning, like our blazing sun above. The first souls, where did they come from?"

"The First Flame." Even she spoke the name with reverence, regardless of all hatred. "No one knows what caused it to blaze and end the age of ancients, during which dragons ruled forever. The souls of Lords were found within the flame, the three gods among gods. With them came other, lesser souls and from all of these descend the rest. For as long as there is fuel, fire will grow strong after all." The fiery dragon huffed, intimately familiar with this truth.

Priscilla smiled as well, though it grew more somber as others came forward with questions. Flare was the most interested in the feeling of expressing one's soul and how she might train herself to do so. The giants inquired more about Lordran and the surrounding countries. Once they were all satisfied however, she decided to make her announcement: "Now. I know it has only been four days since my arrival, but I am beginning to miss Fiore. Therefore, I decided that tomorrow morning is the time for me to start heading home."

It felt odd but oh so right, calling Fairy Tail home. Priscilla barely spent a month on Earthland, but she would not miss it for anything. She was well aware of the disappointment surrounding her, but none of the giants took offense; Flare hung her head though, the young woman's despondence weighing a little heavier on Priscilla. Without any other humans around to connect to, she quickly bonded with her. It was tempting to invite her along, but at that point Priscilla had already turned down an offered escort and doing so was awkward, in a sense.

Nonetheless, the giants insisted on holding a small feast in her honour that evening; Priscilla granted them a chance to speak with their deity and taught them a great many things, after all. During the feast however, Flare approached her sadly. "You really can't stay a bit longer?" she asked, deflating a little more when the crossbreed denied her. "Yeah, I figured. There just isn't much here, is there? Just the Great Flame."

"Do not speak like that," she chided gently. A sizable hand closed around Flare's waist, drawing her into a gentle embrace. It felt a bit like holding her old doll again. "Many kind and wonderful people live here, but it is just not where I want to be. You can find kindness everywhere, Flare. It blossoms even in a cruel and dangerous world, clawing its way to the surface no matter what. That is something I always admired about humans, too; so small, so fragile, yet they never falter. You won't give in either, will you?" Flare's face was hidden from view, but she squeezed a little tighter. Priscilla smiled. "Learn and grow, and if you ever feel like seeing what I saw, venture out to see it all. And yet you will find that your heart remains here, for as long as this is home to you."

She left behind a thoughtful redhead, wandering up to where Atlas Flame oversaw the feast. People fed the resting dragon choice cuts of various meats, all of it charred black and consumed within moments. His gaze met hers the moment she neared, though. Priscilla inclined her head. "Thou may not be kin, not quite, but I respect thee nonetheless. It was a pleasure and an honour to meet you, Atlas Flame."

He nodded in turn, though his burning head tilted ever so slightly. "Are we not both dragons? You were quite insistent on that."

"Tis a conundrum, truly. The Everlasting Dragons are my kin, and we art nature itself. Thy kin of this realm art more powerful in body and worldly might, yet not Everlasting. Thou dost not grasp the threads of existence as I would." She chuckled softly, reaching out a hand to wave through an errant flare. It came out with reddened skin. "Such is mine great vice, pride. My kind always stood at the pinnacle of existence, so offering true respect to another, lesser being means to accept them as one would kin."

"Ah, yes." Atlas Flame nodded again, glancing toward the merry villagers. No one paid attention to their conversation. "I understand now. We were all like that, once upon a time. I do not care which of us is truly greater. Adoring the mortal races is not quite the same as respecting them."

"I appreciate them and how much they did for me, truly. Yet-"

"Enough," the burning dragon interrupted her instinctive defense. "I understand. This is a nuance only something tiny like a human would be upset by." Atlas Flame chuckled, a gentle warmth flowing with the noise. "They live such short lives, yet so many of them burn so bright in what little time they have. Break so easily, yet seek challenge wherever they can. I am glad I saw the worth in them, like my king did before me." He paused and studied her one last time, then bowed his head fully. "Fare thee well, Everlasting Priscilla."

"To you as well, Atlas Flame. May you burn ever brightly."

The party soon wound down and Priscilla spent most of the night talking to Flare; her newest friend could not quite fall asleep anyway and milked the crossbreed for every bit of knowledge she would divulge. Copious amounts of notes were taken until dawn broke, at which point Priscilla made ready. She said goodbye and waved until the village left her sight, then transitioned into a run.

Her thoughts kept racing along, too. She met one of the native dragons and was approved of; having never once met kin beside Seath, whose opinion did not matter, she doubted they would accept her as easily as Atlas Flame did. Nonetheless, even a lesser dragon's acknowledgement gave her hope; perhaps one day, Priscilla could live up to her legacy.

As she sorted through the many things she learned the past few days however, a curious thing stood out: Atlas Flame said that Igneel was dead, spoke of it with certainty. Yet Natsu was just as certain the fire dragon king lived. She assumed Igneel appeared as a spirit like Atlas Flame did, but decided not to mention it to Natsu until she knew for certain; humans rarely took the death of a parent well.

The return trip took another five days, mainly because Priscilla continued her methodical approach to the journey. She would not allow complacency to make her lose her way. Not to mention that she continued to practice her magic. Yet without a need for sleep or longer rest, she walked through the guild hall's gate exactly two weeks after her departure. "I have returned!" Priscilla announced herself, to cheerful greetings.

"Man, that was fast!" Jet called back while tipping his large, brown top hat; he dressed in the usual fur-lined jacket, also brown, over a dark pink shirt and dark pants. "Did you turn around on the way or something?"

"No, why would I have done such a thing?"

The surrounding chatter stuttered momentarily. Priscilla figured it must be that crossing several countries in a few days was not something humans could do. Well, their loss. She clapped her hands and strode inside properly. "Mirajane, my usual please." The barmaid darted away for a roasted pig she somehow removed the bones from, for some reason. Priscilla settled in her usual spot. "I have seen so many interesting places along the way, it was wonderful!"

"Heh, I can imagine." Levy leapt into her lap the moment she was seated, grinning up at the crossbreed. "Stuff happened here, too. Fairy Tail's strongest team to date formed, you know? Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Erza. Isn't that something?"

"Oh, absolutely." She had not seen Lucy fight yet, but the other three were known quantities. The blonde in particular groaned at her table down the hall, however. "Though Lucy does not seem happy."

Levy giggled. "It's because the other three attached themselves to her now," she revealed. "So wherever she goes to do some small work, they show up and break stuff." Others joined her laughter while Lucy herself glared daggers at them. Priscilla idly ran a finger over Levy's head, making the blunette quiet down.

"Why did this team form to begin with?" she asked next; Levy indulged her readily, explaining that a dark wizard guild by the name of Eisenwald tried to unleash death magic on the border town of Clover; the same town where the guild master league held its annual meetings, and where Makarov had been at the time. It was a relief to hear everything was resolved and the cursed flute destroyed; Natsu went into great detail about how it turned out to be one of Zeref's demons and they fought it down outside of Clover.

This was the first Priscilla heard of dark guilds too; they were apparently declared such for accepting requests for assassination and other unacceptable practices, such as kidnapping or disturbing the peace of a realm. The Magic Council decided if a wizard guild had turned dark and members of dark guilds were hunted via bounty.

"I am glad you warded off calamity," she congratulated the four; Natsu and Gray smirked, Lucy smiled, and Erza... pouted. In fact, she had done that this entire time, sullenly holding a tankard and keeping her silence. Priscilla tilted her head. "Erza? Are you alright?"

No response came, her attention somewhere else. Lucy winced in sympathy and waved Priscilla off. "Leave her be, something weird happened earlier." The blonde threw a glance in the same direction Erza was looking and Priscilla followed her gaze, where she saw someone new. Clad in a dark coat, pants, and cloak, every inch of otherwise visible skin was covered in gauze. The only part visible was his pale face and shock of blue hair. The man nursed a drink at the table furthest away from Erza, five staves leaning against it. Lucy sighed. "Yeah, uh, him. That's Mystogan, one of our S-rank wizards. And he kinda looks just like someone Erza knows."

"First time anyone's seen his face," Laki added from where she leaned against a support beam. "He usually hides it with a bandana and everything. With the tantrum Erza threw earlier, I can see why." The redhead's eye twitched and Laki immediately hid behind Priscilla, who was busy wondering how someone could hide their appearance so totally for years. It must be exhausting.

When Mystogan's gaze flickered to their corner however, it stopped on the crossbreed. He blinked several times, rubbed his eyes, then glanced down at his mug. After looking at her again, he placed it down and stood. People watched him approach and Erza tensed, but he ignored her in favour of Priscilla; they stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment. Then he nodded to the door. "Walk with me."

"Very well?"

She was not quite sure as to his intentions, but a fellow member of Fairy Tail would not have nefarious plans. Some muttering went around as they left the room, Mystogan striding ahead and toward the nearby forest. He held his silence until they left town, having since ignited her own curiousity for where this was going. When he did speak, it was a simple if nonsensical question: "Are you from Edolas?"

She stopped, then he stopped and turned to meet her gaze. Priscilla shook her head, still confused. "I never heard this name before in my life," she told him. Mystogan sized her up in response, but nodded. Tension faded from his body, so she decided to inquire further: "Where exactly does this realm lie?"

He frowned at her, momentarily pondering what to say. "Edolas is the world I come from," he began in the end. Priscilla's eyes widened and she motioned for him to continue. "Ethernano is limited and a lot of people have strong resemblance to people here on Earthland. The humans there hatched plans to steal Ethernano from this world, but I heard nothing from them the last few years. I was working to stop them, so the silence bothers me."

"Most intriguing," Priscilla murmured in response. She was not quite sure how to feel about the theft of a nearly infinite resource, but figured it depended on the method to it. "Would it be possible to visit this world?"

This earned her a shrug. "I don't know for sure," Mystogan admitted. "I tried to open a gateway there last week, but it didn't work. As far as I know, contact is broken and I am stuck here."

And there was another piece to the puzzle. Priscilla nodded. "I begin to understand. You wished to vanish back to Edolas once your mission was complete, thus concealed your face to not create misunderstandings. I assume you, too, resemble someone who exists in this world?"

"Correct. But now I'm stuck for who knows how long and the masquerade grows tiring. It would have failed sooner or later, anyway." Mystogan sighed at that, running a hand over his face. "At least I'm not exactly like him. He has a crimson mark along his face."

"I see." Recognising that this line of inquiry would not go anywhere at the moment, she decided to change the subject. "Would you tell me more about Edolas? How does it differ from Earthland?"

"Very well." They continued to walk as he mulled it over, giving Priscilla time to appreciate that here was another who came from a different world; she idly wondered how many there were when Mystogan began: "Beside the dwindling Ethernano, I think the most curious thing are the Exceed. You have seen Happy before? He is one. Humanoid felines that hatch from eggs, an inherently magical species native to Edolas. I don't know why they appeared on Earthland, but I know they only arrived a year or two before me."

"Curious," she agreed. "Though I have never heard anyone refer to Happy as Exceed before?"

"They wouldn't know." Mystogan ruffled his blue hair as he explained. "For some reason, only Exceed eggs appeared here. I didn't say anything about them yet because people would ask questions." She nodded along, the conundrum he faced quite clear. "Anyway, some of them bonded with humans like Happy and Natsu did, others went and formed small communities all around Fiore and the surrounding nations."

"You should tell someone."

When her proposal was heard, Mystogan's turned his head her way; he almost ran into a tree in his path. Priscilla trampled a bush underfoot without notice, explaining her reasoning: "They are but children still, no? They have nothing left of whatever culture they came from and live in a new world. The least they deserve to have is a name to call themselves by, instead of 'cat'." She grimaced, then thought back to her own youth. "Although it surprises me that they would not know, come to think of it. Are there no racial memories for them to carry?"

Mystogan mutely shook his head, giving her pause. "Oh well," Priscilla murmured, averting her gaze sheepishly. "That is just me then." Instead of dwelling on it however, she quickly followed up on the subject: "You mentioned the Exceed are inherently magical. I heard something similar about the local Vulcans and that they naturally use Take Over. Do Exceed have innate magic, too?"

"They do," he confirmed with visible surprise. Perhaps he had not expected her to draw that conclusion. "Aera is innate to Exceed. It grants them wings to fly with and lets them lift great weights. Aera is actually one of the few true flight magics. Master Makarov uses gravity manipulation to get something similar, but it's not the same. Easier, though. I guess." He paused and ruffled his hair again, thinking.

Priscilla used the time to interject: "Do you think Happy would be willing to teach me? Can it be taught?"

"Aera is hard to learn for non-Exceed," he cautioned immediately. "I heard some humans here learned it, but only one really made it her specialty. Aera is not some small magic you learn for convenience, so unless you have a good reason you shouldn't."

"I see." Priscilla considered reminding him of her being a dragon. She always desired the sky and wished to fly. If nothing else, she could see about learning the spell circle and work on it when there was time. Then again, there were more pressing disciplines to learn. Despite her decision however, she was curious: "Do you know any of the wizards who learned Aera?"

Mystogan frowned, but shook his head. He carefully maneuvered them onto a dirt path, leading back to Magnolia. "Only one, and only by reputation. Oracion Seis' Angel is infamous for dominating the sky. She is the best air superiority wizard on the continent and known to rain destruction on her enemies from above."

"Pardon, I have not heard of Oracion Seis before?"

"One of the major dark wizard guilds," he explained. "They lead the Baram Alliance of dark guilds with Grimoire Heart and Tartaros, but we don't know much about them. They are nomads, which is why none of us could root them out yet; it doesn't help that every single one of them is a match for most of Fairy Tail's wizards."

"Even the S-rank wizards?"

"Don't put too much stock in the rank. It doesn't make us stronger than the rest, it just means we passed the test. I'm pretty sure Natsu could beat most S-rankers by now. No, I don't know how, it's just a feeling." Her question pre-empted, Priscilla just nodded. "But yes, they are infamous for a reason. I'd say we would need all our S-rankers to beat them head-on. Me, Erza, Laxus, Gildarts, and Mirajane. Which we can't do," he finished with a sigh.

"Because Mira can't use her Satan Soul?" she guessed. However one's mind could block use of certain magics, Priscilla still did not quite understand that. Another human thing.

"No, because the Council would come down on us." Mystogan sighed, explaining without any prompt: "For some stupid reason, the ban on wizard guilds fighting each other includes dark guilds. Erza skirted the rules with Eisenwald because the group was small enough and she the only S-rank, but if we put together an elite force strong enough to take Oracion Seis...." He trailed off there and shrugged, conveying the idea well enough.

However, Priscilla was confused now. "And they would not change the legal code to cover such an oversight?" Much to her dismay, Mystogan snorted.

"Not this Council, no. They see that Fiore is stable and figure everything works as intended, so they aren't changing anything. Meanwhile, the big dark guilds are just about immune to us and break the laws however they want."

She committed every piece of his little rant to memory, nodding along while wondering if perhaps she should read up on local law and join this Council. Mystogan shook his head one last time however, then glanced her way again. "Enough of that," he declared. "Where are you from? You suffer the same problem with Ethernano I do, and I have never seen anything like you before on my travels."

She could deflect the question again, but felt no real reason to. So Priscilla inclined her head at him. "A world without a name to itself. Always in flux, blossoming beneath Lord Gwyn's sun. Souls are more free there, without any Ethernano to be found. It is quite a different world from this one, or Edolas."

"I see. Is there magic then, without Ethernano?"

Priscilla indulged his request and spoke of the soul arts again, as well as divine miracles; her knowledge barely scratched the surface, but it was enough for Mystogan. They soon left the woods and returned to the guild hall. She noticed that Cana and Bisca joined Erza for a drink while the redhead moodily ate strawberry shortcake; Priscilla recalled that it was Erza's favourite, but today it seemed unable to lift her spirits. Makarov was present also, offering a faint nod to Mystogan as they separated.

While the taciturn wizard returned to his quiet corner, Priscilla approached Erza. Now may not be the best time, but she felt that perhaps a distraction would do the redhead good. She waited until her friend was done with the cake before speaking up, though: "Erza? Would you be willing to teach me Requip?"

Her ploy worked and the knightess let herself be distracted; so Priscilla spent a few hours learning the basic item box. Combat-speed requip like Erza herself used was a level of mastery she would not approach anytime soon, but her scythe could be stored away into the afternoon. "Just be careful about how much you store," Erza cautioned her once they were past the first stage. An ivory magic circle gleamed between them. "Your item box is tied into mental space, so you can always sort through it. But the more you put into it, the more space it takes up in your head."

Priscilla decided not to mention that she felt no strain at all. Pointing out differences between herself and a human would just lead to unnecessary tension.

Once she was proficient with the item box and earned praise from her tutor for how fast she learned, Priscilla moved over to where Natsu was once again stuffing his face; apparently, it was time for dinner. Lucy sat two seats away to avoid any spray and flying bones, while Gray opposite to him kept grousing about his table manners.

"I was meaning to speak with you," she began after settling by Natsu's side; he glanced her way curiously, but only stopped eating when the next part registered: "Upon my journey, I met a dragon." Natsu immediately perked up, trying to swallow everything in his mouth and coughing heavily. Lucy gave his back some rough slaps while Priscilla waited for him to be receptive for more information. Most of the guild was listening in already. Once he calmed down and made to ask, she shook her head. "Not Igneel though, I am afraid."

"Oh." He deflated somewhat, only to shake it off and lean forward eagerly. "Who did you meet then? And where? I never heard of any dragons around before!"

Priscilla bit her tongue thoughtfully, unwilling to disclose what she heard of the plan to kill this kinslayer. Whoever conceived it must have put measures in place she was not aware of. "I travelled to Sun Village, far away from Fiore," she ultimately began. "The master figured the giants there may know more of my origins, which they sadly did not." She nodded to the elder, who sat on the bar counter. He frowned, but did not interrupt. "However, the sacred flame they rever turned out to be the remains of Atlas Flame, a fire dragon. His soul still lingered and we had a pleasant conversation. Unfortunately, he did not know of Igneel's whereabouts either."

"Ah, that's alright. I'll just need to keep looking." Having shaken off his funk entirely, Natsu bounced on his seat with a cheerful grin. "What was he like? What did he say? Hey Lucy, can we go there and see him?"

"The journey would take ages," his partner immediately refused with a grimace. "We don't have the money, anyway."

"Aww."

When he turned back to Priscilla for his other question, the crossbreed pondered it momentarily. "We spoke of many things, of magic, of the village, of humans." She went through her eidetic memory and paused at one particular notion. "Curiously though, he called you Prince. Igneel is apparently king of the fire dragons."

It took a moment for the news to register, but soon there were people snickering all around them. Gray outright laughed while pointing at the dumbfounded Natsu, as did Happy. Lucy just pinched the bridge of her nose.

Then Mirajane sashayed along, placing another helping of steak and potatoes in front of Natsu. Only it was arranged like a crown. The barmaid curtsied and hustled away under cheers and laughter. Natsu laughed, too; he held his belly by the end of it, wiping a tear of joy from his eyes. "You mean it? Me, a prince?" Priscilla shrugged in response, at which point the Dragonslayer jumped up. "Alright then, I need a court! Happy is my vizier!" The Exceed cheered from beneath the table. "Erza is the guard captain!" He even ignored the little glare she threw his way for making a scene. "The master is my royal adviser!"

Makarov just huffed while the room broke into cheers with every announcement.

"And Lucy?" Priscilla could not help but ask, curious.

"The queen!"

His immediate response startled the blonde, who began to stammer something unintelligible. Natsu only realised what he just said when the room responded with whistles and applause, blushing as pink as his hair. Priscilla needed a moment longer than that to get the implication.

The teasing continued from there, slowly petering out as people began to head home. Priscilla almost did the same, but decided to pick her next job first. She crouched before the job board as the taproom emptied, pondering what to choose.

That was when a hand tapped her thigh, belonging to Levy. The blunette waved once Priscilla noticed her. "Heya, did you find your next job yet?" When she shook her head, Levy nodded. "Okay, so, thing is, Shadow Gear is teaming up with Elfman for a mission, and it's a juicy one. Some remote village near the border went dark, no word from anyone for a while. People are worried. I'd like to have an extra set of eyes around, if you're interested? And, well, only Elfman is really a fighter, so in case something happens, too."

Priscilla's gaze wandered to Natsu, which Levy noticed even while she rambled at her. The blunette immediately shook her head and waved her hands. "Nope, absolutely not! Natsu would destroy half the village and any clues with it. Same for Gray, or Erza, or Lucy, or about half of the others." She stopped herself there and chuckled. "Well, we kinda also want you because you don't break everything you touch."

The taller woman could not help but agree. Collateral damage was a staple of many Fairy Tail wizards, even Priscilla heard of that. She pondered the matter a moment longer before nodding. "Very well, I will join you."

 

"The Unison Raid is a curious phenomenon. Commonly seen in two wizards combining their magical power into a vastly superior spell, this technique is not exactly one which can be learned. Rather, Unison Raids are a property of magic's inherent will and how it aligns with the caster; if two or more people cast magic side by side while holding the same state of mind, their magics will synchronise and combine. This is most common in battle brothers/sisters familiar with each other, though even absolute strangers may trigger the technique. Neither does it require positive emotions like desire to protect a loved one; any shared emotional state with the same target suffices."

-excerpt from "The Love of Magic"

---

A soft rain fell as they headed out, staccatos of thin droplets quickly soaking Priscilla's dress. She sighed softly and considered using Diver to escape it.

"Aww, having trouble?" Levy teased. A circled 'Cover' floating over her head repelled the rain. Jet and Droy carried normal umbrealls while Elfman bore it stoically. The blunette was far too cheerful about Priscilla's annoyance, though. "I thought you don't care about the cold?"

"It is not the cold, nor the water. These clothes clinging to my skin is irritating, though."

"Ah."

"And I believe shedding them to walk without is inappropriate?"

"Yeah. Though I guess most people wouldn't complain if it's you."

"How so?"

Levy just laughed in response, leaving Priscilla to wonder what she meant. None of the men chimed in either. Once it became clear she would get nothing about the subject, she huffed before moving on: "Where are we headed? You said close to a border?"

"A small village called Starlet," Jet noted. "You heard about it?"

"As a matter of fact, I have." Having studied her maps for a decent amount of time, she could recall them without issue. "About 300 kilometres from here, near the border Fiore shares with Ka Elm. I assume you will take the train?"

"Well duh, that's why we're going to the train station." Levy giggled, but the sound quickly petered out as she peered up at the giantess walking with them. "You can take the train, right?"

"No, I shall go on foot." Priscilla shrugged off the surprise, wondering why word did not spread yet. "It is how I traversed the country thus far, and that is more than enough for me. I like to see the various areas, anyway." She stopped herself there, unwilling to justify herself further.

For their part, the humans accepted her reasoning without complaint. Levy did wink at her, though. "Alright then, we're riding the train to Akane and walk the rest of the way. You better be there before we solved it all," she teased. Priscilla arched an eyebrow at her, another gesture she learned from those around. The blunette just laughed.

"I'd race you if it wasn't that far," Jet joked with an easy grin, fixing his hat in place. "I can't really keep up my speed magic for that long. Whatever, you got most of the day to get there; trains don't go from here to Akane directly, so we need to switch a few times. Think you can do it?"

"Obviously." Priscilla already did the math, though her confidence would not even need it. The others grinned in response, then waved when she split off outside of the station. "In fact, I shall take my leave now. Until later."

"See you!"

The various calls that followed Levy's were quickly drowned out by the rain; Priscilla took up speed and dashed away, avoiding deeper puddles so as to not splash water everywhere. She dove underground to move faster, but resurfaced outside of Magnolia; under cover of trees, she quickly disrobed and pushed everything into her item box. What little rain made it through the canopy felt much nicer on her skin, not to mention that the practice with spatial magic was helpful. She carried provisions, her scythe, and several sets of clothes with her now. Other supplies would certainly follow.

Activating Diver again, Priscilla began her day trip in earnest; she paid special attention to avoiding the occasional village or town however, mainly so her nude form would not draw anyone's ire. She had soon outrun the rain that plagued Magnolia.

That same rain still fell outside the train Levy just entered. She watched it pelt the station's stone floor from inside the cabin. A towel covered her head, courtesy of Droy. The plant wizard carried extra clothes while Jet had food and Levy brought any books they might need. She sighed softly, hoping that Priscilla would be okay like she said. Then the idle thoughts were put aside, seeing that it was time for business. "So, what do we actually expect? Sickness, some kind of plague? Army movements from Ka Elm? Some dark guild or a cult? Maybe just a misunderstanding?"

"Hard to say," Droy answered first as he set up a small drying spell for what parts of their clothes got damp by rain, and Elfman in general. "There are too many different things that could have happened. I'd like the misunderstanding, though. Some people just ran late or they had an emergency in the village or something. Would be nice."

"We can't discount it," Jet added from his seat next to the plant wizard. He leaned back staring at the ceiling, arms crossed. "But none of us really thinks it was just that, right?" Everyone shook their heads in response, to which he nodded. "Figured. I guess the crown posted that commission because it's so close to the border?"

Levy pointed at him with a nod. "Yeah, sending soldiers would make Ka Elm nervous." She chuckled then, throwing a coy smile to the hulking man sat next to her. "But if it is something dangerous, well, we have Elfman and Priscilla. Should be fine."

"Don't jinx it, Levy!"

"Come on," she groused back at Jet in immediate annoyance, "that's superstition. The facts don't change just because I say something."

"Sure," he agreed, pointing back at her, "but we don't know the facts right now, do we?"

"Your point?" She stared at him expectantly for a moment, but rolled her eyes right after. If he wanted to play that game, fine. "Alright, listen here: Let's get married when we're back. There is no way I'm going to die along the way, and neither are you. I'm sure it's nothing. I have no regrets. I'll retire after this one. Priscilla is on her own but I'm sure she'll be fine. There's something I need to tell you after this. Did I forget one?"

Levy paused to think back over the list she just rattled off, but Jet's heavy sigh made her grin regardless. Elfman nudged the laughing Droy with his foot. "What's she doing?"

"Reciting every death flag from novels she can think of."

"Whazzat?"

"People call them death flags because the character who says one of these ends up dying soon after," the plant wizard explained. "It's a stylistic thing authors like, dunno why."

Elfman nodded at that. "Makes sense," he muttered, leaned back as he was. "Really should pick up more books sometime. I haven't read many the last few years."

"Well," Levy teased, "it takes time getting this buff." She jokingly patted his muscular bicep; much to her delight, Elfman blushed brightly. Teasing him was just too much fun.

Playing over his embarassment, the large man made to stare outside, watching the countryside flowing by; the train got going at some point during their conversation. Elfman frowned after a moment, though. "I don't like the rain," he murmured.

"Oh come on, not you, too!"

Despite Jet's complaints, they soon settled back into a comfortable silence interspersed with banter. The four had to switch trains twice. By the time they arrived at the final station, a sunny though somewhat cold afternoon greeted them. Looking around the city of Akane, Levy recited some things she read over the nearby beach resort to fill the time; there was no Pris in sight. Everyone took a few minutes to stretch, then Levy got back to the matter at hand: "Starlet is thirty-five kilometres out from here. We probably won't make it before nightfall."

"Yeah." Elfman nodded, arms crossed as they often were. He clearly stood out amidst the crowd, standing taller than just about anyone. "You read anything about local inns?"

"There's a respectable place down the main road, but it's probably very busy," Levy ventured, only for a head to emerge from the ground. The blunette leapt back in surprise, pressing a hand to her chest. "Geez, Pris, don't scare me like that!"

"Apologies." She began to rise, absolutely drawing attention to them now. A fully clothed and dry Priscilla soon stood with them, hands clasped behind her back. As they repeated their previous musings however, the issue of time visibly confused her. "There are still several hours of sunlight. Why would the path to... ah." Her gaze went as low as their legs. "That makes sense. I suppose I could carry the four of you?"

Levy had to think about that one for a bit; riding on a giantess' shoulders was enticing, but at the same time she could tell at least Elfman did not like the prospect. At the same time, it meant being there a day earlier. That took priority. "Sure," she agreed with a renewed grin and raised her arms like she had not in over a decade. "C'mon, pick me up!"

"Do we have to?" Elfman whined, then growled when Levy winked down at him from Priscilla's shoulder.

"Yup. Speed is key this time. If we don't make it, we can camp out."

Despite her decision as the de-facto leader of their group, the men decided to walk at first. After making sure that no carriage went to Starlet, they began their march; everyone was a little antsy, but Levy calmed herself by hugging a silky soft wave of hair to her face. After a few minutes however, it became clear that Priscilla easily outpaced anyone else with her larger strides. "Long legs sure are convenient," Levy joked, but got no response from the giantess.

At the same time however, said giantess leaned down and picked up Elfman as well as Droy. Both squirmed and complained, but she simply hugged them to her chest for stability. "You two are too slow," Priscilla commented, then nodded down at Jet. "But I believe you have speed magic?"

"Aye. Set the pace, I'll be with you."

And she did. Were Levy a tad slower, she would have fallen off the moment her huge friend leaned forward to speed up. She barely managed to sink her hands into Pris' hair, holding on tight; nonetheless, Levy went trailing after the larger woman momentarily. Her feet left clear imprints in the dirt road, sending tremors through the ground with every step. Levy's surprised squeak quickly turned into a whoop as she pulled herself back; wind began to sweep through her deep blue hair, breathing elation into the young woman. A blur shot past them as Jet used his magic, racing ahead before slowing down to let Priscilla catch up.

Levy giggled about his posing, well aware that full speed would not last him the whole distance; Jet's pace soon evened out and he ran by Priscilla's side. Levy slowly made herself comfortable, one hand holding on the collar of her friend's deep green dress and the other grasping her ivory hair. Yet as the elation began to fade, she could not help but worry about what may lie ahead. Despite covering many possible cases on the train, there was just too much yet unknown.

Unaware of Levy's trepidation, Priscilla enjoyed the run with Jet. They made good time and reached Starlet as the sun began to set. That was where her own good mood began to waver, however; the village lay empty.

They slowed to a stop right after the first houses, but found no one to greet them. There was no trace of the villagers; open doors and windows stared at the five like empty eyes. The humans were more uncomfortable with the silence than Priscilla, but even she felt a certain wariness around this area.

It quickly became clear there was no immediate threat. Without any traces of battle to be found, the group split up to cover more ground before dusk. Levy rooted around inside the buildings, only to find almost every internal surface covered in a fine coat of dust. Elfman adopted the nose of a hound and attempted to track by scent what may have happened; he mostly found a foreign yet familiar smell lying over everything. Jet darted across the area in search of clues, being the first to come across the hole dug in the marketplace. It led nowhere.

While Droy gently interrogated the surrounding plants with mixed success, Priscilla strode along the main road. She tried to figure out what may have happened from context clues. Villagers did not just leave their home like that, especially not without a trace and no word to anyone. Into her musings, she heard a faint crunch that gave her pause; it sounded different than the packed dirt giving way.

Raising her foot, Priscilla studied a small pile of black crumbs. Just a few paces away lay something of a similar colour, little bigger than her nails. The shape was vaguely humanoid, if more in line with a burned cookie. Now that she knew what those were after Mira baked a few weeks back, the comparison felt apt. Thoughts of the giant biscuit she had been given were pushed aside in favour of the odd little thing she found; Priscilla lifted it gingerly and, once she noticed more nearby, ate the tar-like substance with a grimace. It tasted even worse than it looked.

"Found anything?" Jet inquired as he passed by her; Priscilla handed him one of the black thingies but had nothing else to report. He huffed. "Yeah, same with me. I-"

They were interrupted when Elfman came by from the opposite direction, his canine nose twitching. He was clearly pale, peeking into a nearby shed before recoiling. Priscilla rushed to his side immediately, but the smell answered any questions she might have had. Sickly sweet rot, with excrements mixed in. Flies inhabited the shed, their quiet buzzing now audible.

"What's in there?"

She quickly stopped Jet from looking and pulled Elfman away, then reached inside to bat the insects away. Going by the size... "Child. I reckon it has been dead for days. I don't see any injuries either, so poison or thirst?"

"Shit," Jet cursed, just as pale as Elfman now; he quickly dragged him away and Priscilla followed. No one needed to say it, but they all knew something horrible must have happened. This belief only affirmed itself when, soon after, Elfman caught another trace. Bodies were left in several corners, having died while hiding from whatever evil came upon Starlet.

Just as the last ray of sunlight vanished beyond the horizon, a scream echoed over the dead village. Jet whirled around with a gasped "Levy", then darted away. Priscilla recognised her voice as well and got running, Elfman hot on her heels. They rushed back to the torn-up marketplace, where their friend was found. Priscilla ground to a halt just behind Jet, frozen by the sight.

Levy lay on the ground, shuddering as blood began to soak her waist and back. Above her stood a woman of sorts; she wore a mask that only revealed eyes and mouth, black before the face but white steel above and below. A large, purple gem sat front and center atop the helmet, which opened on both sides for tufts of green hair, or perhaps ears. More importantly however, the hands sprouting from her purple sleeves were leathery, sporting vicious, bony claws; the same went for her legs, making the stranger reminiscent of a bird.

"How disappointing," she mused in a dark but melodious voice. "No more than a few meaningless wizards." Her clawed foot tore up the ground idly as the woman studied them. A cold gaze ran over each of them, then flicked to Droy who arrived from elsewhere. "No matter, I got what I needed and even get to play a bit. How unfortunate for the lot of you. Maybe I keep one... but not her." A nasty grin followed the last bit, then the woman placed her foot on Levy's back and pressed down, making her victim gurgle in pain.

"Let her go! Supercharge!"

Jet charged as fast as he could project his spell, leaving everyone else behind. The bird-woman only managed two steps before he reached, but she braced and caught his dropkick on her arm. The force pushed her several metres back, but her hand already closed around Jet's ankle by the time she stopped. Everyone moved forward to assist, but none reached before their friend was slammed into the ground. The woman pulled and hammered him down with contemptuous ease, leaving deep gouges in the packed dirt. Then she braced and whirled him around by the leg, right at Priscilla.

She had to stop herself and catch her bruised friend, letting Elfman and Droy charge ahead of her. Carefully placing the beaten wizard next to Levy's unconcious form, she watched vines break from the ground to bind their assailant; the moment they touched the woman, they twisted and grew into fanged maws, viciously snapping at Elfman who roared and punched them away. The stranger smirked at the sight of his fur-covered, clawed hand. "Take Over?" she taunted haughtily, then caught his fist. "How curious. But only that one arm, huh? How about-"

Priscilla was moving again, but they were too far away. Droy grew more vines and bundled them up as desperate steps carried her forward, wide eyes focussed on how Elfman was pushed back; he stumbled from the overwhelming force. Her claws grew to the size of blades and lashed forward.

The dragon pushed herself further and kicked, catching the monster in her chest and sending her flying; a spray of blood followed her path however, accompanied by Elfman's scream. His severed arm landed with a hollow thud, soaking the earth in crimson. Priscilla could not help but stare at her maimed friend, not for the gore but for his pain; Droy was taken aback as well. "We've got to go!" he shouted while new vines grew to grab Elfman and his arm, constricting the wound to stem his bleeding.

"And who said you are allowed to, hmm?"

Kyoka relished how their eyes snapped back to her, unharmed as she was. Smoothing out a few creases in her leotard, she idly strolled back up to them. For Kyoka was Etherious, an archdevil even, and thus a gaggle of humans required neither finesse nor subtlety. Her lips drew back to reveal sharpened teeth. "There is no escape," she admonished them with faux gentleness, though her gaze rested mostly on the giantess. "Then again," Kyoka mused, "maybe I will keep you. Another soldier would never be remiss."

The larger woman's eyes narrowed. She snarled, her slitted pupils following Kyoka's every motion. The tail intrigued her to an extent, but she would figure it out soon enough. Then a magic circle gleamed and the other woman vanished underground; Kyoka clicked her tongue and counted to two, then darted forward to evade the larger body's reemergence. Diver was always so bothersome to fight. Then again, not so much now. Not when the one in question had 'friends' along.

She allowed herself a satisfied grin when her hand closed around the plant wizard's face, dragging him away and tearing through his pitiful creations like paper. She made several metres before the giantess even began to move, slamming her captive's head into the nearest wall. Then again, and again, and again; Kyoka's grin grew with each impact, seeing how it visibly scared and enraged her final opponent. Yes, some mutations and alterations, that one would make a fine soldier.

The wall breaking distracted her momentarily. Kyoka peered down at the unfortunate wizard and arched an eyebrow in surprise. "My, the stone gave before your head did. How impressive," she drawled before letting go. Even through a protective shell of Ethernano, humans hardly stayed concious through such small impacts. Then Kyoka ducked under the lunging giantess, who crashed into the building and tore it down entirely; a cloud of dust covered them, but Kyoka simply sauntered out of it, toward her first victim.

"What is the matter?" she taunted the general area, presenting her back and swinging ponytail. A third eye grew at the back of her head to observe secretly, finding no trace of her final opponent. She could sense the Ethernano underneath just fine, though. The moment it darted upward, Kyoka took a single step and delivered a devastating kick to the emerging woman's abdomen. She folded over the demon's foot and went flying, five bloody gouges marring her rump; impact broke yet another little house. The fact she drew blood on the first hit intrigued Kyoka once more. "Oh?" she taunted the rising giant again, "what is this? Magic, but not even basic protections? What kind of failure are you?"

A devastating growl filled the empty plaza, but Kyoka paid it no mind. The posturing of weaklings mattered naught. She simply turned around and approached the blue-haired woman, since unconcious. The bellowed "Leave them alone!" went ignored also. An annoyed huff preceded her foot grabbing onto the downed woman's shoulder, claws tearing into her flesh for hold so she could turn her around, see her face.

Kyoka turned back to her approaching enemy, smirking as she beheld the tears in her dress. They were surrounded by four beaten wizards, though none of them would die quite yet. She just needed to push the Diver-user a little further so she lost her composure fully. "There was never any doubt how this would end, you know?" A trace of glee followed Kyoka's announcement, riding in her voice even though she tried to sound gentle. "I will kill them and take you away to fight for us, for Tartaros. You should feel honoured, very few get that chance." She chuckled and raised her foot. "But first of all, let me remove the trash."

And suddenly, something deep within her screamed. She never felt it before, a sudden shudder the moment the final word was spoken. Kyoka hesitated, her gut revolting as fear never felt coursed through her entire being; a pit opened in her stomach, every hair on her body stood on end. The snarl had fallen off her opponent's face, to be replaced with disgust.

Before she could expel the foreign sensation, the world ground to a stop. Her foot remained in the air, hands at ease, the smirk still half in place. Only Kyoka's eyes widened as she felt her entire body lock up. No wind blew anymore, no distant sounds reached their ears. It took a moment for her to realise that even the beating of her heart was absent. Another sense screamed then, making Kyoka focus on the being before her; she blazed with Ethernano, a veritable sun of magical power. It coiled around her in an utterly alien way, carrying along something foreign and indescribable; it hooked into reality itself before subduing the very fabric of existence, keeping Kyoka and everything around her frozen.

She stared, unable to do anything else. She could not even shudder under that disgusted glare, the very same she herself wore when disposing of human trash. This was no human though, Kyoka now knew. This was an apex predator the likes of which she never witnessed before.

"Legacy of Reign Eternal," the woman proclaimed her spell's name, more an afterthought to the frightful display. Her voice rolled like thunder in the absolute silence of a world unchanging; then she stepped forward, looming further over the frozen demon. An ebony scythe appeared in her hand, the sight of which made Kyoka flinch despite the bindings. Every fibre of her being was ablaze with horror and the desire to flee, but she was trapped in her own body and could only watch the end approach.

Once half the distance between them was breached, Kyoka's unconcious terror magnified further. Then she saw them, from one moment to the next. They filled her vision to the distant horizon: dragons, one and all. They arrayed behind the giant in many forms, scales of stone shedding dust, wings fluttering in the nonexistent breeze. Only one was different, taking center stage behind her yet towering above even Priscilla. Pearly white skin gleamed in the approaching night, no scale in sight; it hunched on the ground, no legs to be seen as gossamer wings folded on its back. There were no eyes, yet she knew the creature attentively followed her every motion.

Some glared at Kyoka, some outright refused to behold a pitiful nothing like her. Yet they all screamed, shouting defiance against gods the likes of which she could not imagine. Their roars filled Kyoka, echoing through her very being as they battered at her soul. She understood now, and so she broke. Were her heart able to stop beating instead of being frozen, she would have died of fright that very moment.

The monster before her was a Unison Raid. An entire race once genocided, ten thousand godlike beings poured their fury into her. She wielded their wrath as her weapon, and now it all pointed at Kyoka. To hunt all life they held in contempt, to snuff it out like a candle's flame.

It was not fair for such a being to exist. Yet in that same moment, Kyoka understood that life was not about fairness. What was she but a speck of dust in the eyes of nature itself?

Priscilla's scythe descended desceptively slow, its blade almost embracing Kyoka's neck. A single tear brimmed in the demon's eye as she met the goddess' gaze, silently begging mercy. Priscilla but sneered and Kyoka knew there would be none. Just as the scythe was pulled back, she saw the truth.

Kyoka believed herself the apex of Earthland, member of its greatest race. Now however, a moment before her death, she understood that she was nothing.

 

"Living Magic brings with it many a problem. Being constructs made of Ethernano at base, the early stages consist of creating automatons that follow set routines but can not think for themselves; the pinnacle is to create true life, to induce a soul. However, with a soul comes free will, and one never knows the personality a new life will take."

-excerpt from "The Soul of Magic"

---

When Levy came to, night had fallen. She lay still and felt the throbbing of her wounds; something hit her from behind before she could focus on any defenses. It hurt, but she was alive.

She vaguely remembered talking before everything went black, now an eerie silence hung over her; the moonlight cast long shadows as she slowly turned her head. A gentle breeze kissed Levy's clammy skin; she shivered, then realised that her dress was gone. The only cloth she wore were her panties and some kind of bandages that sat loose around her wounds. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up to another odd sight.

Priscilla sat in front of her, with everyone else placed on lumps she vaguely identified as oversized clothes. The giantess shuffled around with wood and various distressed noises, only to pause every half minute to check the area for threats. The next time she did so and beheld Levy's sitting form, the tired blunette waved lamely. "Hi," she rasped, her throat dry.

"Levy. Thank goodness you are...." Priscilla trailed off, almost having dragged her into a crushing embrace. She barely refrained, turning back to the innocious wood and glaring at it. Just as Levy wanted to offer help, a wave of heat followed the fire igniting. It immediately cast light on the dragon lady's own state, her dress lacking half its skirt and sporting a splotch of crimson around the stomach. She did not seem to care, rather fussing over Levy with quivering eyes. "I am so glad that you woke up. What do I do with Elfman?"

The blunette followed her motion to her guildmate's unconcious form; what she saw chased the weakness away somewhat, drawing a horrified gasp. His arm was gone, separated just below the shoulder that Priscilla wrapped in bloody cloth; the limb itself was placed next to him.

Levy immediately marshalled herself and drew on the yet untouched Ethernano within. "Solid Script," she intoned as the spell circle came, drawing a word in the air with her finger. "Constrict." The letters quickly arrayed in a circle as she willed them, coming to rest along Elfman's shoulder and pressing tighter to ensure it would not bleed. "We need to freeze the arm," she continued. "Maybe a doctor can put it back on." An icy breath followed at once, freezing the detached limb solid. Levy had little hope, but she never read much about the field.

Jet and Droy seemed fine at first glance, both of them resting on the same bundled shirt. In fact, Droy began to stir as she studied him. Levy looked down at herself with a sigh, not quite willing to flash the poor man. He was already crushing on her, she ought to not make it worse. "Where is my-" she began, only to spot her dress nearby. Moreover, she finally got to see her assailant, dead on the ground in a scarlet pool, almost black. The head was cleanly removed, a single bloody tear frozen on her slack face.

A shudder ran down her back at the grisly sight, but Levy forced herself to ignore it and grabbed her dress, carefully sliding the thick, dark yellow cloth over her shoulders. It was definitely not thick enough for an Autumn night, but better than nothing. She even managed to get dressed before Droy actually came to, her friend snapping to attention with a shout that roused Jet. "What the- owwwww." Though it quickly transitioned into a pained moan; Droy cradled his face, wincing. "I feel like someone slammed my head into a wall."

"She did," Priscilla confirmed tonelessly; her helpless gaze was now on the men. "I do not know how to treat internal wounds. I'm sorry."

It took some time to calm their distraught friend; while Levy did that, Jet as the least injured of them quickly began to cook something. They all drank from their waterskins, too; even just plain water felt divine to her parched throat, made her feel a little less weak.

Then Elfman woke up with a start, first wiggling a little in his spot before Droy helped him up. The horror on his face when he realised his arm was gone, Levy knew it it would follow into her dreams for a while. Elfman stared at the bloody bandages, his breathing growing ever more laboured. Droy talked to him quietly, too quiet to be heard over Levy's own work comforting Pris. Then Elfman shuddered and began to cry, wailing in despair that ran all the way down her spine. He accepted a hug from Droy, who kept whispering at him; at this point Levy considered joining them, what with Priscilla being more focussed on Elfman as well, but her aching wounds demanded she stay still. Jet checked over their bandages and applied new ones in-between tending to the food, being the only one with some nurse training.

Minutes passed eternally slow but eventually, the stew was ready; it's rich scent woke Levy up a little more. Pris refrained, insisting the others eat as much as they could; Levy offered her a weak smile and dug in, unwilling to argue right now. Even Elfman ate after they talked him into it, visibly forcing down every spoonful; Levy understood that, she was not hungry either.

"Well," she broke the heavy silence after a time, uncomfortable with how everyone stared into the fire. "The good news is we figured out what happened here." No one was happy about it, not even Levy herself. "The bad news is we don't know what this woman wanted. Or who she is."

"Or what she was," Droy added with a glance at the corpse no one bothered to remove. He shivered and looked away, much like the rest of them. Elfman did not, though; he stared at the dead woman with an inscrutable expression.

When he answered the question tonelessly, the pit in Levy's stomach grew deeper: "A demon. Sis bleeds that colour when she's in Satan Soul."

Her own curiousity and the need to ask a hundred questions were buried by apathy and the understanding that now was not the time. She winced when her own wounds acted up, but was distracted when Jet nodded his head. "Makes sense, nothing else could be that horrifying. Thanks, Zeref." For once, she did not argue the point.

"I heard that Zeref's demons are called 'Etherious'," Priscilla provided softly, her expression oddly blank; she had their undivided attention at once. "They are supposedly built for combat. If it is any consolation, she was crying before the end." This, finally, reminded Levy who must have dealt with the monster after she fainted. The others seemed to pick up on it, too.

Droy was the one to ask the question for all of them: "Okay, so, how did you kill her?"

They had to wait for a while; Priscilla's face remained expressionless as she gazed into the flame. She must be aware of the four stares almost boring a hole into her skull. When she did respond, it was barely audible: "Lifehunt. My death magic."

A crow cawed somewhere in the darkness while Levy stared at her friend, uncertain how to respond. She had no idea Pris held that kind of power and momentarily felt fear. It was quickly replaced with worry, though. Before she could even decide how to react, a growl rolled over their campfire.

"And you couldn't use it earlier?" Elfman ground out, snarling at Pris. "Take her down before, before-" "No."

And Priscilla snarled back, her glare so furious that it made a chill run down Levy's spine. "No," she repeated with forced calm. "I could not."

"Well, why not?!" Elfman shouted, uncaring for their friend's behaviour. He glared at her, dared her to respond, and was stopped short when she did.

"Because I hate it!"

When Priscilla shouted back at him, her words echoed across the countryside. Distant birds took flight and the wildlife fled. She leaned forward until her face was right in front of Elfman, teeth bared. Levy was taken aback by the aggression, but it did not escalate like she feared; Pris grimaced and slowly settled back down, both hands pressed to her temples. "I hate it," she reiterated for her silent companions. "I am a dragon, no matter my attempts to pretend otherwise. You art human, so small in comparison. If I deigned to crush you underfoot, who were to bring me to justice? Who but myself can stop me, especially here, where there art no gods?" Her clear disgust petered out with each word, the small rant ending in a sigh. "Had I known, I would have done it earlier. But I could not know it would be like this. I must not indulge in my power lest it consumes me again. I do not want to hurt you, ever. And I will hurt you, should I ever forget what it means to cherish life."

Levy had no idea what to make of this; in fact, she began to realise that she did not understand how her friend's mind worked at all. "I believe you", she began with the one thing she knew, for she had never seen Pris that distraught before. "But I don't understand."

The admission earned her a faint smile, though it lacked warmth. "Of course you don't," Pris agreed. "You never had to fight your own nature or risk calamity befalling those around you."

"...but I did. I get it now."

All eyes snapped back to Elfman, pale as he was in the firelight. Tears trailed from his eyes, words but a whisper: "I get it."

It took Levy a moment longer to make the connection and old pain flared in her chest for a moment. Time took the sting from it, but she doubted it would ever truly fade. Jet and Droy grimaced as well, though Pris was obviously unaware. The giantess schooled her features, gently leaning forward. "Would you tell me?"

Elfman stared into the fire for a long time, not even acknowledging when Shadow Gear clumsily rubbed his back from one side or the other. The tears stopped from time to time, only to start up again. In the end, he hugged himself with the one arm he still had. "I killed my sister. My little Lisanna," was how far Elfman got before breaking into sobs again. Jet took over comforting him while Levy explained to Priscilla.

"Mira took them to hunt an S-class beast a few years back. No one really knows what it is, but it's called 'King of Beasts'. Long story short, Elfman tried to use Take Over, and, well, lost when trying to subdue the monster. It ran berserk. He managed to suppress it in the end, but only after, you know." She helplessly twitched toward the vulnerable man, uncomfortable with the subject. "He and Mira both blame themselves for her death."

Priscilla nodded sadly, then reached out and grasped Elfman in her arms. Cradling him to her chest, she joined their efforts to comfort him until the weeping stopped. "You should sleep," the giantess ultimately murmured. "I will stand guard for the night. You all need rest."

They accepted her words without complaint. Elfman was spent and Levy, too, was tired. Her wounds ached and her dress stank now. She slipped out of it again, all previous considerations ignored, and wrapped into a blanket on her bedroll. Then she snuggled against Elfman for warmth, the others soon following. By the end, Jet's head rested on her thigh and Droy leaneed against Elfman's back. A silent giant towered over them, the quiet crackling of fire and their own exhaustion taking them to sleep in minutes.

The next morning, Jet and Droy helped break camp while the two truly wounded sat aside. Elfman kept staring at the nearby corpse, however; after a time and a nudge from Levy, he offered his opinion: "Should take it along. Sis might want it."

Priscilla wordlessly swept up the body and flash-froze it, then produced a bag to store it in. No one complained when she picked them all up afterward, to be carried back; it was not a pleasant journey, even though the giantess tried her best not to aggravate their wounds. No one spoke, all caught in their own grim thoughts.

Their reception back in Akane was shocked; people immediately directed them to the local clinic and the doctors took a look at Levy and Elfman in minutes. Burning alchemical substances were applied, compresses pressed onto the open wounds; Levy received stitches, though she was already resigned to visible scars at this point. Unfortunately, Elfman's arm was a loss; the nerves were too badly damaged to be reattached.

"Is there no magic to heal him?" Pris inquired quietly from her spot outside of the window, hopeful eyes on Levy. The doctors were busy fussing over her friends now, giving the blunette time to dash her hopes.

"Healing magic was lost long ago. No one really knows how it works and the scholars haven't figured out any more than the very basics." She winced over how visibly the other woman's face fell. "I don't know why it's lost, people debate about that a lot. But nobody has any real idea. Sorry."

Several hours after their arrival, the doctors were done with them. Jet and Droy miraculously came out of it with no more than nasty bruises; Priscilla's injury, now hidden by a fresh dress, had already healed. The clinic did not quite want them to leave, but Levy talked them into it. "We have to get back to Magnolia," she ended reassuringly. "Once we're there, we will go right to the local hospital."

"Magnolia," the middle-aged woman mused with another glance at her, then she huffed. "Ah, right. Fairy Tail. I did not even think about the guild marks. That makes sense. Be sure to see the doctors there, you in particular need rest."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Jet chimed in with a faint grin, one hand landing on Levy's head. "We're going to make sure she goes there. Elfman, too." She swatted the hand away indignantly, but did no more than pout at him. The doctor chuckled, nodding along. Then Jet went to another uncomfortable subject: "How much for the treatment?"

He was waved off immediately. "There is no need. We will send the bills to your guild for processing, as usual."

And so they left Akane, successful but subdued. Jet and Droy helped Levy and Elfman onto the train, making sure both of them were comfortable. Before that however, Levy thankfully remembered something that still had to be done. "Pris," she called to her quiet friend, "you need to go report to our client. Someone's got to and we, uh, can't." The giantess nodded at once and Levy felt relief that this would be taken care of. "It's her highness, Princess Hisui. She had the mission posted. You'll have to go to Crocus."

Pris hesitated upon hearing the name, making Levy realise she never told her who the job came from before. An oversight, but she could apologise later. Her friend nodded and shooed the blunette onto the train, then turned and dashed away with a final wave.

She certainly had not expected to be meeting a princess anytime soon, but it was just as well for Priscilla. Someone with such power was to be treated carefully so as to not make them an enemy, but she felt confident in her ability to keep the peace by now. Alas, her own mental state was worrying.

Emotions whirled through the dragon's mind, the tantalising scent of power great. She wanted to use it again, make her mark upon Earthland, teach the paltry lesser beings their place. Fighting back against base instinct like this left her agitated ever since the moment her Lifehunt came to the fore; the wrath of a species coursed through her veins. Yet Priscilla kept pushing it back and moved on, channeling her wild feelings into urgency. She was not forced to bend to lesser beings' laws and customs, rather she decided to indulge them for her own convenience. And so she rushed along toward the capital.

Crocus was just like during her previous visit, though this time she had no Makarov to guide her. The dragon barely stopped at the gate, having displayed her mark-bearing foot for identification; the intimidated guards shied away when she inquired about where to find the princess, more brusquely than she usually would. They pointed the way to the royal castle however, confirming what she already suspected. Priscilla moved on without hesitation, walking with such purpose that the populace picked up on it; crowds parted for her at once, likely intimidated by her grave expression. She did not care, too busy wresting her nature back into place.

Approaching the palace itself, once again the guards shied away and almost earned her disdain. Only a single guardsman mustered the courage to bar her way. "H-Halt!" he called, clearly relieved when Priscilla did stop. "What do you seek here?"

She studied his shuddering form momentarily, commending his bravery but annoyed by the interruption in the same breath. Priscilla exhaled quietly, then forced her expression to soften while presenting her guild mark again. "Her highness, Princess Hisui had a commission posted that I completed. I wish to report my findings, and it is quite urgent."

The man nodded along and stood at attention. "Understood, ma'am," he began with a note of respect that pleased her inordinately, though there could always be more of it. "I will pass on your message, please wait here." Then he turned and fled inside, leaving Priscilla to shuffle closer to a wall so as to not block the path.

She waited patiently, pretending not to notice how antsy all the guards still were. The journey and this conversation helped calm her roaring feelings some more, allowing them to settle; she would prefer to meditate for a year or two, as she often did, but figured now was not the time. Two years were a long time to humans.

After about twenty minutes, the clack-clack of armoured boots on the gray cobblestone drew her attention to a new arrival. Out of the castle stepped a hard-faced man, his features sharp and eyes calm; unlike the familiar guardsman leading him, he was not the slightest bit intimidated. Clean-shaven and with an unorderly mop of black hair, clad in better and fancier armour than those around him. He approached at once and offered a shallow bow.

"Apologies for the delay, madame. Her highness' presence is required for a meeting with foreign dignitaries, so I will receive your report in her stead. My name is Arcadios, personal knight attendant of Princess Hisui. Please follow me."

Priscilla inclined her head in turn and moved after the knight, who led her into a sizable courtyard; no prying eyes or ears in sight, surrounded by a well-tended garden. She studied it for a few seconds, mainly just curious what kind of plants royalty preferred. They were rather quite ordinary, much like the species she observed around Fiore. Some unusual, likely foreign specimens were placed in-between. Everything was arranged in a wholesome, peaceful manner, quite unlike the report she had to give. It almost felt like she tainted the place with her words.

Arcadios listened calmly, though he became tense the further Priscilla got in her recounting. Curiously, he barely batted an eye at the mention of death magic, beyond asking whether she was sanctioned. Soon after, she gently opened the bag she still carried to let him see the frozen corpse inside, which was proof enough of her claims.

"Thank you for your rapid response," he answered once she was done, though his voice wavered ever so slightly. "Despite the grim outcome, it is better we know what happened in Starlet. I will see to it that your companions' hospital bills are covered as well, as her highness would wish. Now, I believe we should cover your payment."

He then handed her a stack of bills, seventy-five thousand Jewel in total, as well as two rare tomes and an enchanted dagger from the royal armoury. Priscilla stowed it all away carefully, to share with her friends later. The cold bag caught her eye again and she motioned for it. "I hope there are no issues with my keeping the body? I will offer it to someone who can use it better than any of us."

"Mirajane, I presume?"

"Yes."

"Of course. I have seen all I needed and will inform her highness at the earliest convenience. I believe that concludes our business?" She nodded and was quickly led back to the main gate, where Arcadios offered her another bow. "Well met, madame Priscilla. Thank you for your service, and I wish your guildmates a swift recovery."

"Thank you, sir Arcadios," she responded with a curtsy of her own. "And fare thee well." With this, she immediately activated Diver and sunk into the ground, rushing away toward Magnolia; now that the task was done, Priscilla's mind was only on her friends.

Arcadios, meanwhile, huffed at the flabbergasted expressions on the younger guards' faces. They acted like they never saw a wizard before, which was just immature. Then again, even he had never seen a wizard of that size and beauty make such a rapid exit; it felt almost rude, were he not aware of her companions' state. So instead of wasting time with being annoyed, Arcadios headed back inside to inform the princess and his majesty of these developments.