"Oh, Nozomi," one of the guild members- the one who had told her the rumours about the Salamander- lifted his hand. "Welcome back!"
"Your tip was fucking useless," Nozomi huffed. "Only Salamander there was someone pretending to be me using charm magic! It wasn't even a girl; it was a guy!"
"Pft-!" The guild member spat into his drink with laughter. "Hahaha! Did he wear a skirt at least?"
Nozomi growled and gave the guy a swift kick, much to Lucy's surprise, and much to my own amusement.
Of course, that kick then started off a brawl with many joining in on the fight, and I watched the chaos with a merry smile on my face.
"Oh dear," Mavis sighed with a fond smile. "It had been a bit of time since Nozomi started a brawl, but I guess old habits die hard."
"Yeah, she went… What, two weeks with no brawl?" I nodded. "I'm legitimately impressed!"
Mavis giggled in amusement at my words and sighed. "All this racket is going to bother Master; he's currently talking over the Lacrima to discuss the upcoming annual Guild Master's meeting."
"All the more reason for me to not get involved," I told Mavis. "I'm sure he won't do anything bad, probably just give them a scolding or something."
Having been in this world for half a year, I knew Makarov really was and warm and kind as he was depicted in the show. He really was like a loving grandfather… Even a parent. He was there whenever any member of the guild wanted to talk, even dropping important things to do so. He would offer advice, but never give them the answer- guiding them to the answer instead.
He was, without question, a good man.
'… Huh, side note, there are almost no 'Evil' Makarov stories, despite sharing a similar role with the Third Hokage in Naruto,' I made a random mental note, just my mind grabbing a stray thought and making a connection.
BB, who had remained silent, made a humming noise and nodded, but didn't do anything beyond that.
I took a sip of my drink before I set it on the counter. "Keep an eye on my drink for me, Mavis," I told her. "I'm gonna make sure the new girl doesn't get caught up in the fight."
"Good," she nodded with a smile.
I sighed and cracked my neck. "Haste."
My perception of my surroundings gradually came to slow as my body began to move faster. I casually walked forwards, ducking out the way of kicks and punches, bobbing and weaving through attacks, before I came to stand at Lucy's side, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She turned to me with a surprised look on her face.
"I'll take you to the counter," I told her, deliberately slowing my speech a bit so she could hear me at a normal speed. "I wouldn't want you to get caught up in the brawl."
"Oh, thank you," she responded with a smile. I nodded and began to help her through the fight. I even had to help her duck under one of Nozomi's punches as she leapt across the building at Gray.
Finally, we made it to the counter. I took a seat and allowed my spell to dissipate.
"Thank you for the help," Lucy said gratefully.
"Not a problem," I waved it off. "I'm Ash Crestfall, I'm a B-Rank Mage at Fairy Tail."
"Oh, it's nice to meet you," she smiled. "I'm Lucy, I'm a freelance Mage, but I'm hoping I can join Fairy Tail today."
"I'm sure you'll manage it," I returned the smile. "Oh, and this is Mavis. She's Fairy Tail's barmaid, and she cooks a mean pasta. I highly recommend it."
"Oh, you're just trying to butter me up," Mavis laughed. "It's working."
I chuckled before I grabbed my drink and took a sip. While Lucy spoke with Mavis, I gave Lucy a once over.
While I'd never really been Lucy's biggest fan in the series, I couldn't deny that- up close- she was very beautiful. It was no wonder she had such confidence in her own beauty and sex appeal, she was gorgeous. Her body was curvy, her hair was a beautiful shade of blonde, and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement and joy.
I spotted the keys on her waist and hummed. "Celestial Spirit Mage?" I asked Lucy.
She turned to look at me. "Oh, yes!" She smiled. "Right now, I have three Gold Keys. Does Fairy Tail have any other Celestial Spirit Mages?"
"There is me," I smiled. "But I only have a Silver Key and a Gold Key."
"You have a Gold Key?" She gasped. "Which one is it?"
"The Maiden, Virgo. She specializes in Earth and Chain Magic…" He paused. "She's also rather good at household chores, she enjoys acting as a maid."
"Really?" She blinked. "I'm jealous, I wish I had a spirit that could help out around the house…" She grumbled. "I have Taurus… He's a good guy, but he's a perverted bull. Aquarius barely listens to me and brags about her boyfriend, and Cancer is… Honestly fine, he helps me with cutting my hair."
I chuckled and reached into my jacket, secretly accessing my re-quip space and pulling out my Silver Key. "You can have this if you want," I offered to her. "Virgo is really all I need, and I'm stronger than most Silver Spirits, so this key doesn't help me all that much."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "Woah, isn't that the Polaris' Key!? He's one of the strongest Silver Spirits!"
"Go ahead," I smiled at her. "I never formed a contract with Polaris, and I'd rather this key go to someone who will use and appreciate it rather than it potentially just gathering dust at some magic store."
"In that case, I'll take it happily, thank you!" She said gratefully as she took the key and slipped it onto the ring on her waist.
"Word of advice, try picking up some Re-Quip Magic. It's magic that allows you to store your items in a pocket dimension that can only be accessed by the user, it'll make sure something like someone stealing your keys will never happen."
Her eyes lit up. "Really, there's a magic like that? Do you have a book?"
"Once you join the guild, head to its library," I suggested. "Once I joined, that's what I did."
"Oh boy, did he," Mavis laughed. "He spent two weeks in the library without leaving. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he just read and practised a non-combative magic until he learned it. I actually went to check on him because I was concerned since I hadn't seen him at all!"
"Two weeks!?" Lucy gasped. "How did you survive?"
"I'm not human," I told Lucy. "I'm from a special race that are known as Flugel. We're sort of like angels."
Lucy blinked and chuckled, "Good joke, but everyone knows that angels have wings and halos."
Mavis and I shared a look before Mavis began to giggle, turning away and covering her mouth. I just sighed, an amused smile on my lips.
Lucy turned to Mavis. "What's so funny?" She asked.
"He's using transformation magic," Mavis giggled. "Despite his confident act, Ash here is a little shy. He doesn't like being stared at. His eyes are- as you'd expect- eye catching enough, what with pupils in the shape of stars. But his halo and wings are a bit much, so he keeps transformation magic on to hide his halo and wings."
"… You're kidding, right?" Lucy asked.
Mavis just turned to me. "Ash?"
I sighed and dispersed my transformation magic, my wings flaring out with a loud 'flap,' causing a few feathers to shed off and land on the ground around us. My halo made of blue flame revealed itself above my head, spinning around idly.
Lucy's jaw dropped. "You… You're really an angel…" She gasped in shock.
"Yep," I nodded and took another drink. "Hence, I don't need to eat or sleep. I used to be human until I awoke my bloodline and changed… I'm going to be stuck in this form for all eternity."
"Wow," she stared in shock. "Can I touch your wings?"
I blushed. "No," I shook my head rapidly. "My magic power flows through my wings, it makes them incredibly sensitive to touch."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She blushed, quickly connecting just how sensitive my wings must be in her mind.
Quickly re-applying my transformation magic, I turned to Mavis. "Shouldn't the Master be coming out to break up this fight?"
She nodded. "Yes, he should be out right about now."
No more than five seconds later, a huge black giant appeared in the guild hall. "Would you kids stop that damned racket!?"
"He's huge!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes bulging as she stared at Makarov, who was in his Giant form.
Of course, with Makarov stepping in, everyone quickly settled down and stopped the fight.
"Hm…?" Makarov turned his gaze to Lucy. "A newcomer?"
"Eek! Y- yes!"
Makarov quickly shrunk down to his normal form, wearing an almost jester-like costume with a striped orange and blue hat, a white shirt with a black Fairy Tail logo in the middle, along with an orange jacket, pants, and a pair of dark red pointed shoes.
He gave a friendly smile and lifted his hand. "Hello! Nice to meet you!"
"He's so small!" Lucy exclaimed in shock again, and I chortled… While Lucy's 'straight man' role got boring really quickly in the anime, it was another thing to see it in real life.
Fucking hell, I might actually like Lucy this time around.
I leaned back in my seat as Makarov jumped up onto the banister and really started to lay into everyone, pointing out the ways they fucked up on missions… Nozomi's were still the worst, even though she was a bit more level-headed as a girl.
She was still destructive; she was just a bit calmer than Natsu would be.
"But… Screw the council," Makarov finally said, igniting the papers in his hands and tossing them aside. Nozomi jumped up, devouring them with gusto. "Listen! Magic is an unreasonable power, but it is born from reason! It is not some miraculous ability, it is the combination of the spirit that flows within us and with the spirit that flows within nature itself, incarnated into physical form!"
He stared down at all of us with a warm expression on his face. "It requires a strong mind and focus. In fact, magic is pouring out of one's entire soul!" He grinned. "One cannot progress in the way of magic by being mindful of the watchful eye above! Be not afraid of those fools on the council and follow the path you believe in! That's what it means to be a Fairy Tail Wizard!" He stuck his hand up in a familiar symbol, the same one that Laxus had shown to him so long ago.
Of course, the guild cheered, and all made the same symbol. Even I couldn't help myself, sticking out my index finger and thumb with an amused smile.
This was Fairy Tail, a guild more akin to a family.
Mavis smiled as she stared at Makarov with fondness, incredibly proud of her godson… He had turned this guild into a place she had only dreamed of back when she had been the Guild Master, and she couldn't be happier to see how connected everyone was to one another.
"Amazing…" Lucy smiled. "He's an amazing Guild Master, I've never seen one like him."
"He's one of a kind," Mavis agreed. "Anyway, you wanted to join Fairy Tail, yes? You'll have to fill out a few forms first for legal reasons, but how about first we get you your Guild Mark?" She smiled and reached under the table, pulling out a stamp.
"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "There's no like, test or anything?"
"Of course not!" Mavis smiled. "We're family here, you don't test family."
"Cough, S-Class Trials, cough," I responded.
Mavis snorted. "That's different and you know it."
"I know, just having a bit of fun," I smirked at her.
Lucy looked a bit confused, but the smile never left her face. "So, how does this stamp work?"
"It's a magic item that allows us to directly mark members of the guild with our mark," she told Lucy. "It serves also as a form of identification, as anyone who sees it will know you are a member of Fairy Tail. It carries a unique magic signature so, when scanned, it shows you are a member of the guild. This helps keep track of legal guilds and their members for the Magic Council. We can do the stamp anywhere on your body, in any colour you want."
"Oh, I see," she nodded before she placed her right hand on the table. "I'll have it on this hand please, in pink!"
She nodded and gently placed the stamp on Lucy's hand before she pressed down. A glow of white came from the stamp before she pulled it off, revealing the Fairy Tail mark now on Lucy's hand.
"Congratulations!" She smiled. "You'll have to fill out some paperwork but, besides that, you're an official member of Fairy Tail now!"
"Thank you so much!" Lucy smiled, clearly happy.
I smiled, glad that canon was on track-
"Ugh, I have had it with you two!"
… Before the sound of Levy's yelling showed that not everything was going to be remaining the same.