Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]
CHAPTER START---
---March, X774, 1 Year After Meeting August…
Stepping out of the luxury train car and onto the Magnolia Train Station platform, Oberon grimaces at the sight of the grey clouds lingering above the town.
They formed an oddly perfect circle toward the far end of the town, in the direction of the guildhall, bringing back memories of his battle against the Lightning Titan a year ago. Glancing at the horizon, he sees the bright yellow sun dipping below the sea as day becomes night.
But what catches his eye is the mural painted onto the wall of the station. An image of him battling a great sea beast amid floating rocks in the open ocean, a picture that became popular over six months ago when his target brought the fight too close to a populated port.
Some people recognize him, as the only real difference is him being slightly taller, now 13-years-old, and he politely greets them in response. Aries and Virgo walk behind him, noticing a few small changes in the town since they've last been here.
"That's strange," Oberon mutters as they walk past the Magic Shop, noticing that the name has changed. "Maybe her dad took over…"
"It has been over a year since you've been here," Virgo says. "It would be strange if nothing changed in that time."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Aries hastens her pace, moving to stand much closer to Oberon as they approach the guildhall. "The rain is on the guild," she says.
"It's a Magic of some kind, yes?" Virgo asks, narrowing her eyes at the cloud covering the edge of town, constantly starting and stopping sudden bursts of rain.
Oberon shrugs. "If it was dangerous Master Makarov would have dealt with it. Right now I just want to get some food, then go home and sleep."
As they enter the rainfall area, the droplets seemingly stop a foot above them while they approach the large wooden doors of the Fairy Tail guildhall. With a wave of his hand, Oberon opens the door, revealing the rowdy Fairy Tail guild within.
All attention is immediately on him, and the resounding cheer echoes through the building.
"Oberon is back!" More drinks are poured and gambling winnings are handed out as the party starts all over again.
Oberon weaves through the crowd of people asking about his Jobs, making his way to the bar where Makarov and Gildarts are drinking, while Macao is at the far end chatting with Enno.
'Oh, she's back again,' he thinks while floating into a seat beside the older men.
"What the heck took you so long?" Makarov asks. "Do you have any idea how long I've had to carry this thing around?"
Makarov Requips a small golden medal into his hand and gives it to Oberon.
"There, now you have something to show that you're a Wizard Saint, just like mine."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about this thing," he immediately Requips it away. "Anyway, what'd I miss around here?"
Makarov takes a sip of his beer before speaking. "With the guild, nothing much. That Seal you made for Gildarts and Cana works like a charm, good job on that, even though this idiot kept messing it up."
Gildarts frowns. "It's the first time I've had to use a different Magic, give me a break."
"Aside from that, we got a few new members, including two kids."
"Any interesting Magics?"
"Nothing you'd really care about," Makarov spins in his seat and gestures to a table at the other side of the room. Oberon sees Laxus, Cana, a younger boy with black hair, and a girl with blue hair, all playing cards with snacks on the table. "The boy is Gray, he came from up north. Just said since Fairy Tail has two Wizard Saints it's his best bet at becoming stronger. Ice Make Magic."
"I already have that."
"The girl is more interesting. She's a Water Magic, with a lot of potential."
"The rain?"
"Yeah, that's Juvia's Magic. It comes and goes depending on how she's feeling, you can imagine what life is like when you cause constant rain around you."
"Probably lonely."
"Master Makarov couldn't really help her," Gildarts says. "Says you'd be better at it. The Magic Council gave him and Master Jose the call but we figured she'd be a better fit here."
"Alright, I'll take a look tomorrow. Right now I need to get some food and sleep. Maybe I'll go check Alana before heading back to my place."
Gildarts and Makarov stiffen at that, but before Oberon can notice, Gildarts pushes off the bar and begins walking to the second floor. "C'mon, we'll wait for you food upstairs."
Oberon thinks nothing of it and floats a step behind Gildarts, leaving Aries and Virgo to catch up with everyone else.
When they get to the second floor, Oberon sees the S-Class Job Board doesn't have anything interesting right now, so he sits on the railing while Gildarts leans against it, looking out at the bustling guildhall.
"You've been gone for a while, kid, a year and a half."
"Almost. Honestly I could have gone another few months, but I ran out of interesting Jobs to do, and I have some business things to handle."
"Profits coming in?"
"More like money going out," Oberon says. "I got a message through the Magic Council down on the Southern Isles, a big auction is coming up, and I finally got invited."
"Do you remember that first week you joined the guild, we spoke about girls, that kind of stuff, yeah?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, I told you the being S-Class was one thing, but, going the extra mile like we do, going months or years away. It makes relationships tough. Not just romance, but, family and friends, even places like this. You go away for long enough and suddenly you feel like the odd man out, because the world keeps moving even if you aren't here."
Oberon looks out at everyone below, smiling at the rowdy crowd. "Everything seems the same. Yeah we got some new people, and Enno is back. But, this is still Fairy Tail."
"Not exactly what I was talking about," Gildarts sighs. "Alana's grandmother died a few months back."
"What?" Oberon turns to him. "Is that why the store's name changed?"
"Partly. They sold the shop, her dad got a pretty good job somewhere else, so, the whole family moved."
"But…oh," Oberon's shoulder slump as he processes it all. "I guess I should have expected this. Everyone has their own adventure after all, right?"
"Exactly. You're a smart kid, so I'm not surprised you got it so easily," Gildarts ruffles Oberon's hair, annoying the boy. "Now, how were those Jobs of yours, and how much stronger did you get, mister Wizard Saint?"
"Oh I got a lot stronger. But the main thing is I figured out how to stop people from teleporting away from me. That was so annoying, but now I can stop them a lot easier."
"Ohh, learn any new Magics?"
"Nothing too useful, just more of the usual support Magics."
They chat for a few more minutes before Enno waves up to them, signalling that Oberon's food is ready to go. As they're walking down the stairs and over to the bar, Laxus appears as a lightning bolt beside them.
"Hey mister Wizard Saint, welcome back," Laxus says as he falls into step beside Oberon. "How was the trip?"
"Fun, lots of new sights."
"Mhm, the gramps tell you about Juvia?"
They each take a seat at the bar, rejoining Master Makarov. "Yeah, Water Magic girl, I hope teaching her isn't annoying."
"Nah, she's pretty easy to talk to, and she listens," Laxus gestures to where Gray, Cana, and Juvia are still playing cards. "She's kind of shy though. But at least you don't have to take that stripper on Jobs to show him how Guild Wizards operate."
"Stripper?"
"Gray has a habit of taking off his clothes. Anyway, Jura is coming over tomorrow."
"No, can we go back to that other thing first? Why does he take off his clothes?" Oberon asks.
"He's a weirdo," Gildarts says. "Hopefully he grows out of it."
"Yeah, I try to ignore him as much as I can. All he cares about is fighting, so annoying, especially because he's super weak."
"He's a child, 8-years-old," Master Makarov says.
"So was I."
Everyone nearby turns to Oberon, speaking in unison. "You don't count."
"Fine, whatever," he mutters. "How come Jura is coming tomorrow?"
"About a month ago he asked us to give him a heads up when you're back. Apparently he has a member of Lamia scale that wants to talk to you."
"Alright, well, I need to go eat and get to bed. You can all enjoy my welcome back party for me. I brought some gifts but I'll hand them out when everyone isn't half drunk. Laxus can bring Juvia over tomorrow so I can check on her Magic, but I plan to sleep in so…lunch time."
"Got it, sunrise," Laxus says as Oberon hops off his seat and begins moving to the door.
Oberon pauses for a moment, then responds without looking back. "Bring food, and don't wake me up…"
CHAPTER END---