Chapter 56 - Chaperone

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

It was midday by the time Amber arrived at the guild. The last week of rest she'd taken had done her some good, but it had also made her crave some time outside. Isa's house was nice, and hanging out with her at night was enjoyable, but Amber had grown rather restless after doing nothing for a week. Isa had left earlier that day, and although she was against the idea initially, she promised to wait for her at the guild if she felt well enough to make the journey.

As she made it part way through the courtyard, she could faintly make out the sounds of someone yelling on the other side of the property. It was muffled and overlaid with laughter, so it was impossible to tell what was being said, but whoever it was seemed to be enjoying themselves. Curious, and in no hurry to spend any time inside today, Amber decided to investigate.

She followed the voices between the guild hall and the library, and trailed along the wall of the arena as the yelling and laughing grew louder. Behind the arena was a small clearing that Amber had no idea even existed, which also acted as the stage for what looked like a mock battle.

"Go!" Leena ordered, gesturing with one of her gloved hands at a woman across the field from her. "Stop her evil plans!" A glowing mass of wood and leaves rose from the ground, and rushed their opponent. Sasha dashed forward as well, her blue pigtails bobbing with each step she took.

Across the field stood a woman, flowing bright green hair, a tight-fitting leotard, and two sets of bat wings sprouting from her head and lower back. Amber through her face looked familiar, but couldn't recall a name. A large, playful grin was plastered across her face, and she gracefully jumped over the wave of leaves flying her way by a hairs margin. She landed between Sasha and Leena, though landed may have been the wrong word. Her feet stopped mere inches before touching the ground, leaving her hovering in mid air.

"Sorry girls." She called in a playful tone. "Gotta' do better than that!"

Sasha followed up, running at the woman and attempting a wide kick that looked impressively similar to that of Terra's martial arts skills. Impressive or not, the green haired woman flew forward with a flap of her wings and caught Sasha in a close bear hug. "Oh-no!" Sasha cried.

"Time to fly!" The woman called, taking to the air and twirling like a dancer. The spinning increased the higher they flew, and Sasha latched onto the woman so as not to be thrown clear. After making it almost eight feet in the air, the spinning finally began to slow, and the woman gently touched back down and lowered Sasha to the ground.

She seemed woozy, couldn't seem to find her balance, and covered her mouth with a sickly, nauseated look on her face. "Oh no!" Leena called, despite laughing at her friend's predicament. "Our comrade has fallen!" It was obvious that this was a play fight, but Amber couldn't help but giggle at how serious Leena was taking this. The hero costume she was wearing didn't help things either. "You fiend, we'll make you pay!"

"You will?" The woman teased, beckoning her to try. Leena waved her hand, and the collection of scattered leaves jumped to her side, forming into a somewhat humanoid shape. They went on the offensive again, but the woman suddenly sunk into the ground in an instant. A black spot zoomed through the grass, and the woman re-emerged behind Leena with an arm wrapped around her tummy, pining her arms to her sides. "Well..." The woman mused. "What if I do this?"

Her wings began to vibrate, morphing into a pair of large, black hands. "You wouldn't!" Leena laughed nervously throughout her struggling to get free.

"Coochy-coochy-coo." One of the hands poked Leena just behind her ear, making her burst out I a fit of laughter. "How about... Here?" the other hand poked her in the tummy, to similar effect. "And... Here?"

"B-Bell!" Leena screamed between laughing fits. "Bell, the h-heroes are in tro-Ha ha!"

Nothing happened, and soon the green haired woman began to lose interest. "Bell?" She called over her shoulder. There still wasn't a response, and the woman released Leena in a huff. "What kind of teammate-." She spun around, resting her hands on her hips in disapproval, and her eyes instantly fell to Amber. "Oh... Hey Girl!"

"Hello." Amber almost jumped out of her skin. Bell was standing just a few feet away from her, but she'd been so wrapped up in the fight that she hadn't noticed the small girl at all. "W-what're you doing here?" She asked, fidgeting from one foot to the other.

"Uh-oh..." The woman said sarcastically. "I think she's embarrassed, Amber. You found our little secret training ground."

"Y-yeah..." Amber nodded slowly. "Who... Are you?"

A look of shear shock fell over the woman's face. "What? We went on a big job together Amber, how could-?" She stopped a moment and took a look at herself, quickly gripping at her scalp. "Oh, right... Gimme a sec." A magic circle appeared on the ground below her, and the woman disappeared in a flash. By the time Amber looked back, she was greeted by one of Kat's trademark grins. "Better?"

Amber nodded slowly. She knew exactly what that was. After their last job, and seeing Jak use it probably a dozen times by now, there was no way she could forget it. "You use Take-Over magic too?"

"Yep. Shadow Magic ain't the only trick I've got up my sleeve." She said with a small shrug. She checked her watch, and her goofy demeanor evaporated instantly. "Oh crap, I'm running late. See you girls later." Offering no other explanation, Kat dashed around the building and disappeared from sight.

Left a little stunned by her sudden departure, Amber slowly turned around, only to find Leena beaming up at her. "Greetings, citizen!" She shouted. "What brings you around today?"

"Just... Getting some fresh air." She mumbled. Leena was only standing a few feet away, why did she feel the need to yell? It honestly reminded her of Terra. "What are you guys up to?"

"Training..." Bell mumbled. "We're taking a job today."

"But I think Kat through of it more as a game." Sasha giggled, brushing some dirt off her knees once she was able to find her balance again. "We really are no match for her."

Amber through back, but no mater how much she racked her mind, she couldn't ever remember Kat taking anything seriously. Considering how much everyone kept praising her strength, she couldn't tell if she found it amusing or frightening. "So what job are you taking?"

"Don't know yet." Leena announced, proudly resting her gloved hands on her hips. "C'mon, we could go pick one now." Without waiting for a response, Leena marched off to the guild hall, with Sasha and Bell quickly in tow. Having nothing else to do, Amber followed after them as well.

The girls where all crowded around the request board by the time Amber stepped inside, whispering to themselves and pointing to some of the job flyers. She found Isa sitting alone at one of the tables in the center of the guild building, a collection of forms splayed out on the table around her. She looked up a moment when the guild's doors creaked closed, stopping whatever she was doing to offer a warm smile. "Hello." Amber waved back, and Isa stretched her arms out over her head. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." That wasn't really true; her skin itched under her bandages and she was already feeling warn out, but she didn't want Isa to worry. Something she'd learned over the past week was that Isa could get very fussy when she worried. "What're you doing?"

"Paperwork..." Isa sighed, picking up her pencil and returning to her work. "Whenever jobs go bad like yours did, we have to make a record of it. And seeing as how it was a job from the Council, they need a copy of everything too." Amber nodded and sat down. She couldn't fathom why that was necessary, but she certainly didn't have the energy to argue about it. After watching her write for about half a minute, Isa suddenly sat up straight and pushed a stack of papers towards her. "Oh yeah, I need you to sign these."

Amber was caught off guard. "What are they?"

"Injury insurance." She said proudly. "It was Davin's idea when he took over as Guild Master for Jaina. If you get hurt while taking a job and need time to heal, we can pay you to make sure you don't fall behind on your rent or anything."

Amber looked at the forms, but it was a mess of long words and blocks of text that she couldn't make heads or tails of. "So... I get paid to do nothing?"

Isa paused a moment, touching her pen to her lower lip. "Hmm..." How to explain...?" She thought a moment longer, and her eyes eventually drifted to the job request board hanging on the guild's far wall, where she apparently got an idea. "OK, so you know how each job had a bounty posted on it?" Amber nodded slightly. "Well, that's what you guys get for completing the job, but a client also has to pay the guild to display the job request. That's how we make sure all the jobs we get are serious offers and not jokes or pranks. That money goes to paying electricity bills, the food Jon makes us..." She stopped a moment to look back at her. "And... Helps us can take care of anyone who get's hurt for a while."

Glancing back down at the forms again, Amber felt like she had a better understanding. None of the words made sense, but Isa seemed to have a talent for making things easier to understand. "So, I just write my name down somewhere?"

"Mm-hmm." Isa nodded, returning to her work once again. "The only hiccup is that you can't clam any reward money while we're paying you. So, you won't be paid if you take a job while you're recovering. And it only lasts for a couple weeks, after that you'll be on your own." Amber nodded again, that didn't seem like too big a problem. The reward for completing the council's request was pretty hefty, even considering that they ended up taking down an entire crime ring in the process. And it was nice to know that she wouldn't end up burning through all the money she'd saved up since joining the guild.

"Found it!" Leena announced, tearing a poster from the cork-board and holding it up for all to see. Amber and Isa both looked up just in time to see her She dash towards them and slapped the paper onto the table. "I've located our quest!"

Isa chuckled, as did Amber after an encouraging glance. "You'll come with us, won't you?" Sasha asked as she and Bell joined them. "It's... An out of town job, so..."

"What?" Isa seemed caught off guard, and took a quick second to look at the flyer Leena had chosen. A grimace fell over her face, and she quickly looked around at the mess of paperwork before her. "Oh... I'm sorry girls, I can't today."

Leena, who'd looked so cheerful the whole time, gained the saddest look Amber had ever seen. "What?" She slumped back into a chair, tracing her finger in a circle across the table. "But you promised..."

Isa looked disappointed, maybe even more so than Leena, and reached over to pat her on the back. "I know honey... I'm really sorry, but I've got a lot of work to do." That didn't seem to help, and Amber could tell from the look on her face that Isa was beating herself up inside for going back on her word. "What about Kat? Is she still here?" She suggested. They all shook their heads, and Isa thought a moment longer. "What about your sister, Bell?"

She shook her head as well. "Nuh-uh. Clair doesn't like easy jobs." Amber felt bad for them too, but Clair probably wasn't the best person to ask. She just couldn't picture her standoffish attitude meshing well with Leena's high energy. "Can't we just go ourselves? It's only an E-rank job, and we're only going to Johdine for the day."

"I'm sorry, rules are rules." Isa said while shaking her head. "You can't take out-of-town jobs until one of you turns eighteen. And after what happened last week, I really don't want you taking any risks."

The mood dampened. Leena looked almost heartbroken, and while they seemed to understand the reasoning, Sasha and Bell looked disappointed as well. Without any clear solution available, and trying to be of help, Amber slowly raised her hand. "I... Could go with them."

Leena shot up from her chair. "Really?!"

"No." Isa said flatly. "Amber, you're suppose to be resting. And that form you just signed prevents you from collecting any reward money." The more she spoke, the less confident she seemed, something that they all picked up on instantly. "You girls can wait a few days, can't you?"

"But we've got school." Leena argued. "This was the only day this week we could spend on a job." Isa recoiled a little. Sensing an opening, Leena grabbed the flyer off the table and pushed it at her, making the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. "Pleeeeeease Isa? Let Amber come with us?"

Isa's mouth hung open, but the word no couldn't seem to leave her mouth. It didn't look like she wanted to turn them down, but at the same time Amber was suppose to be recovering. The scene looked oddly similar to Shelly begging her dad to let her go with them on their job to Creighurst town, and Amber began to giggle when she noticed it.

Looking carefully at the flyer one more time, Isa gave a long sigh. "Oh, fine..." She said finally. "But you'll be coming back on the last ferry home. No overnights, alright?"

"You mean we can go?" Leena beamed, looping an arm around Sasha and Bell.

"Are you listening?" Isa huffed, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks. "We don't need anymore trouble, so if you don't finish the job by today, come home."

"No problem, citizen!" Leena pumped her fist into the air, grabbing the job flyer off the table and marching out the door. "We're off to make the world a better place!"

"Thanks a lot Amber." Sasha waved to them, before she and Bell left as well. "We'll wait for you at the gate."

The guild hall doors creaked closed, and despite not looking at her, Amber could feel Isa's disapproving gaze on her back. "You didn't have to do that, you know..." She sounded more saddened than annoyed, and when she turned around she found her glumly staring down at the assortment of papers she'd been working on when they first arrived. "You're suppose to be resting. And you won't get paid for this. You should just stay home..."

Amber grumbled slightly. She knew Isa meant well, but she was beginning to go stir crazy waiting for her injuries to heal. "I know that... But I'm board. I want to get some fresh air." She stood up and stretched out her back, knowing that staying any longer would just give Isa more time to think if a better reason for her to stay behind. "Besides, you guys are always helping me. I can help out sometimes too."

"You don't owe us anything, Amber." She argued. It looked like she was going to say more, but she just shook her head after glancing at the piles of paperwork around her. "But if your set on it, fine. Just be careful this time, alright?" Amber nodded one last time and followed after the girls without delay.

Almost an hour later, Amber and the group had set out for Johdine. Instead of taking the train, like she'd done with every job she'd taken with Axel and the others, they where traveling by ferry this time. Amber found it a pleasant change, trains where noisy, and the ride was uncomfortably rough. The gentle bob of the ocean waves was rather calming, and it was nice to travel without having to watch Axel become violently motion sick along the way.

She waited in a small cabin, deciding that she should get some rest while she could, meanwhile the girls all watched the boat leave the dock. They returned once the novelty had worn off and Merow city was just a speck on the horizon, and all three of them sat down on the seat across from her.

"Thanks again for coming along." Sasha said appreciatively, leaning against the cabin window from the window seat. "I don't think Isa would've let us go otherwise."

"I don't mind." Amber waved them off. After hearing what Isa had told her before leaving, she didn't want them to think they where indebted to her. "I've been meaning to get out and do something since..." She stopped a moment, staring at her heavily bandaged hand. "Well, since this happened."

The girls all stared at her hand as well, and Amber realized they'd been staring at her bandages for the last little while now. "Where you frightened?" Bell asked suddenly, sitting closest to the door.

"Bell!" Sasha shouted in disapproval.

"Where you?" Leena asked again, sitting between her friends and sounding less dramatic and more serious. It as good to know she at least had a serious side too her, especially since Amber was now chaperoning them on a job. "Everyone says you and Shelly got kidnapped by dark mages."

Sasha gave them both a discouraging look, but she no-doubt looked just as curious now as well. "Y-yeah, we where. Geno was there too." There couldn't be any harm in answering a few questions, could there? She didn't want to scare them through, so she tried to be as vague as possible. "But... Yeah, I was pretty scared. I just kept thinking about what I had to do next, what I had to do to survive."

Bell turned her head to the side, making Amber realize she'd had a slip of the tongue. "Survive?" She was the only one who seemed to think her choice of words sounded strange, but that didn't seem to stop her. "What do-?"

"What magic do you use?" Leena blurted suddenly. If it weren't for the curious twinkle in her eye, Amber could have sworn she was trying to divert the conversation. Maybe she was smarter than she gave her credit for. "You must've had to fight if you got all cut up, so what magic do you use?"

"Uh..." Amber didn't have the words.

None the less, her belt flew away and transformed into Armeria sitting on her lap. "I'm Armeria." She said simply. "I can turn into weapons. Amber uses them to fight."

The girls initially recoiled in surprise, but Leena instantly leaned forwards in aww. "Awesome!" She shouted, leaning back again. "So, like, swords and shields and stuff?"

"Yeah." Armeria nodded. "Knives too. And a pair of blade rings she likes to use."

"What about other stuff?" Sasha added, touching her finger to her upper lip while she thought. "Like a spear, or a hammer?"

"Or a big scythe!" Leena added. "Like all the bad guys in cartoons use."

"W-well..." Amber was caught off guard. Normally when she explained her familiar's abilities, saying she could shape-shift was normally all it took. "Armeria can't change her weight, so something heavy, like a hammer or an axe, wouldn't really work. I haven't tried a spear through. And a scythe..."

"We tried once." Armeria interrupted. "It's a dumb idea for a weapon."

"What about a chain?" Bell suggested, having been thinking to herself for the last little while. "Rift does it whenever he fights in the arena. If he can't catch his opponent, he'll make a bunch of chains to slow them down."

Armeria tilted her head back to look at Amber, who just looked back at her in surprise. "I... Hadn't thought of that before." With that idea in mind, Amber couldn't help but think back to all the times a move like that would've come in handy. There must've been at least a dozen separate occasions while fighting Bloody Smile alone. "Maybe I should."

The girls all began to giggle. Leena quickly reached across Sasha and plucked a water bottle off the table under the cabin window. "I can do this." She unscrewed the cap and removed one of her long gloves, then turned the bottle on it's head. The water collected in the palm of her bare hand, but instead of dribbling onto the floor, built up into a small orb. Leena stopped pouring, and a bubble appeared on the surface of the orb. It widened and shrunk a few times, swiveling to face each person in the cabin, before standing up on a pair of liquid legs in Leena's hand. "It's called Doll Play Magic. I can animate any inanimate object, so long as it's malleable, or there's a lot of it." The orb of water suddenly jumped out of her hand and back into the bottle, where the bubble that served as it's face blinked out of existence.

Glancing out the window, Amber began to wonder what kind of limitations a magic like that had. If she could do that with just a bottle of water, what sort of things could she do out here on the open ocean? "It'd be really big." Sasha said suddenly. "We practiced down on the beach once. Leena made one almost thirty feet tall."

Amber was caught off guard, thinking she'd missed some part of the conversation. "W-what?"

Her confusion was met with yet more confusion, but Leena quickly shook her friends shoulder. "Uh... Sasha, she didn't say anything." Sasha did a double take, and Leena added. "She only thought it."

The confused look changed to an expression of dread instantaneously. Sasha pulled her cap down over her eyes and covered her ears, as if she where trying to shut out her senses. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She begged, bringing her knees up to her chest. "I know it was rude. I swear I didn't mean to..."

Not knowing what to think, Amber looked at Leena and Bell for an explanation. "She can use Telepathy." Leena explained quickly. "It let's her read people's minds, but she's not that good at it yet." Sasha calmed down once Amber heard that explanation, but still seemed very sheepish. "She can use Telekinesis too, moving stuff with her mind. She's a lot better at that."

Sasha was still blushing, but it seemed to be from the praise now, rather than from embarrassment. Bell snapped her fingers, and a small, glowing box appeared in the air in front of her. "Shape magic." She snapped her fingers again, and a pyramid appeared in her other hand. She flicked her fingers, and the pyramid doubled in size. "They're like building blocks, except I can change their size however I want." She snapped her fingers once again, and both objects disappeared. "They're as hard as rock too, so they really pack a punch if I throw them at someone."

Amber nodded, feeling a little better about coming along now that she new what these three where capable of. No doubt that was why Leena brought the subject up in the first place. "I'm really sorry..." Sasha said again. "I don't like reading someone's mind without their permission."

"It's fine. Really, I don't mind.” Amber stifled a laugh. It was an impressive talent, and it seemed just right for someone like Sasha to have. "So what job did you chose?" She asked, realizing she'd offered to go along with then without any ideas as to what they where doing.

"Glad you asked citizen!" Leena bellowed, returning to her superhero persona. She dug through a fanny pack that she'd brought from home, retrieving the job poster and began reading it aloud. "Job rank: E class. Reward: four hundred jewels. Location: Johdine." She paused a moment longer, and her eyes grew in anticipation as she reached the bottom of the page. "Mission: rid the island mansion of ghosts!"

Next Chapter – Isle of Ghosts