Chapter 19 - Day of Detours

Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul

The three girls departed immediately after Amber stepped out, deciding to accompany her on the walk home. It was a beautiful day, though Shelly was more interested in the small blue gym bag Amber had somehow acquired during their visit. She already had a pretty good guess where it had come from, but wanted to ask none the less. "So, where'd you get that?" She said, trying to fight back a sly smile.

Amber was slow to answer, knowing how this conversation would go. "Jaina gave it to me." Thinking quickly, she figured it was best to add something else before Shelly had the chance to say 'I told you so'. "You were right, she's a lot nicer once you get to know her a little."

Feeling the wind had been taken out of her sails a little, Shelly nodded. "Yeah..."

The conversation stopped dead, though nobody seemed to mind too much. Carra had fallen back a little, trying to keep pace with Chico, and noticed a slight clacking sound coming from Amber's new bag each time she took a step. "What's in it?"

"A bunch of stuff Jaina thought I'd need." She was about to elaborate, but in remembering what Jaina said about a toothbrush she thought it best to be as vague as she could. "I haven't really gone through it though, but she said it was for my next job."

The guild entrance came into view around the bend of the forest, and Shelly stepped out ahead of the others. "Hopefully we'll be able to plan our next one a bit better. But at least you've got a change of clothes now." She stopped when they got to the door, waving for the others to wait up. "Sorry, I've just got to pick something up real quick."

Amber and Carra nodded silently, but just as she opened the door they heard someone call. "And, punch!" The three of them exchanged glances, becoming curious enough to enter the grounds together. Quickly looking around the courtyard for the culprit, they soon found Terra standing in the dusty corner next to the entrance.

She stood in a fighting stance, and had her bandaged arm extended out in a powerful punch. Next to her was another girl around Shelly's age with teal pig tales and a white t-shirt, attempting to mimic Terra's pose. "Punch!"

Watching the other girl throw a punch, Terra withdrew her hand and shuffled her feet closer together, before bringing her knee up to her chest and thrusting out her leg with a powerful thrust. "And Kick!"

Her companion attempted to do the same, but was much slower and far less composed in her actions. "Kick!" She wobbled slightly, but looked to be doing her best to keep up the position for as long as Terra was.

After a hearty laugh, Terra lowered her leg and began patting the girl on the back. "Very well done, student Sasha. You are becoming quite the adept fighter."

Breaking her stance, Sasha hunched over and rested her hands on her knees. Apparently the workout had proved much more strenuous on her than it had been on Terra, despite the latter's words of praise. "T-thank you..." She said between gasps for air.

Without skipping a beat, Terra shifted her attention to the new arrivals, who had all been mesmerized by the show for a moment. "Greetings companions!" She bellowed, quickly drawing up to them and throwing her arm around Amber's shoulders. "Are you ready to do battle yet, companion Amber?"

Amber recoiled instantly; after the morning she'd just had, the thought of doing anything physical almost made her throw up again. "S-sorry, I don't feel like it today." She wormed out of Terra's grasp, slowly becoming repulsed but the smell of sweat. "Maybe later."

Seemingly content, Terra stepped away and placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, later then." With a glance up at the sky, Terra wiped her forehead dry on the back of her bandaged hand and made for the door. "Well, I must be getting back to town. Waylind is returning today, so I should be on my way."

"Who's-?" Amber cut herself off when Shelly raised her hand.

All was silent as Terra marched off, and it wasn't until she had left that Shelly answered. "Her boyfriend. He's a mage here too." She moaned, apparently a little annoyed by her abruptness. Just as Amber glanced back at the door, Shelly shot her another sly grin. "And you thought Jaina was the weird, what do you think of her?" She said, pointing towards the guild entrance. They all giggled a little; it was clear she wasn't looking for an answer, but just poking a bit of fun at her in her own way.

Having taken a moment to rest, Sasha had finally caught her breath and got up to speak. "So, your name's Amber right?" She asked, brushing the dirt off of her pants.

She nodded slightly, unsure of how she'd know her name. Sasha picked up a light blue hoody lying next to the guild's wall, which Amber found a somewhat familiar sight. "Y-yeah, I am..." She wasn't able to place her finger on it, but seeing Sasha hang a small key around her neck and don a light pink cap jogged her memory. "Wait, where you one of the girls from yesterday?"

"So you do remember me." She said, apparently happy that she'd left an impression. "Yeah, me and my friends where leaving with Isa yesterday. My name's Sasha, nice to meet you." Amber nodded again; it was a little refreshing to find that not everyone in this guild wasn't quite so... Quirky. As she fought to hold back a laugh, Sasha suddenly turned her attention to Shelly. "Speaking of, what'd you need to talk to her about so badly?"

She exchanged a quick glance with Amber, who hoped against all hope that she wouldn't have to explain everything all over again. Picking up on this, Shelly waived the question off. "Oh, you know, we just needed help with something." The look on Sasha's face told her that she wasn't convinced, but Shelly pressed on regardless. "Sorry if we messed up your plans though."

"It's fine. The job was just here in town, so we didn't have too far to go." Sasha shrugged, giving up on getting any more of an explanation. Apparently in a bit of a hurry, she turned to the door and said. "Anyways, I should get back home too."

"You don't want to hang out?" Carra asked sheepishly, stepping out from behind Shelly now that Terra had left.

While appreciative of the offer, Sasha shook her head. "I promised my dad that I'd help him with something, and I've been kind'a putting it off for a while." With a slight wave, she threw her knapsack over her shoulder and headed for the door. "See ya' later."

They all waved back, and Shelly began leading them to the guilds main building after she had left. A defining ring suddenly echoed through the door the second they opened it, causing all three of them to clasp their hands over their ears. Amber sank to her knees, trying as hard as she could to drown out the sound. It stopped just as suddenly as it started, and Shelly peaked in to see what had gone on.

Inside was a mostly empty guild hall, save of course for her father Davin, who was standing over a messy haired blond buy with thick round glasses. Splayed out over the table he was working at was a collection of machine parts, and the ringer from the arena sat in front of the boy next to a Lacrima battery. "Sorry sir, I thought for sure that was the problem." He said, looking up at the guild master. "Somehow it got louder."

Davin seemed to be in a daze, having burrowed a finger into his ear. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

The blond boy apparently had some new idea, and began grabbing up parts to test it out. "Perhaps if I-."

"You know Hammond, maybe it's best if we just retire this old thing." Davin said, quickly grabbing the machine and holding it out of the boys reach in an attempt to save what little hearing they still possessed. "It's got to be around the same age as you by now, so it might be a bit of a lost cause."

"If you say so, sir." Hammond shrugged, slowly turning to the door when they heard Amber and the others entered. "H-hey Carra." He said, his face turning a slight shade of red.

Carra waved back, completely oblivious as to the reason she'd been singled out. "Hi."

"Dad, what're you guys doing?" Shelly cut in, glancing at the partially disassembled machine in his hand.

With a bit of a sigh, Davin flopped down into one of the chairs and tossed what remained of the alarm on the table. "Well, Hammond wanted to try fixing our bell for the arena ever since it broke a few days ago. But from the sounds of it, it might be time to get a new one." A small smile crossed his face, and he touched two wire ends to the battery, causing a short burst of sound to echo through the building. "Get it? Sounds?"

Shelly glanced back at Amber, ignoring Davin's terrible attempt at a dad pun, to find her still holding a hand over one of her ears. Amber silently begged her not to tell them about her problem with loud noises, and Shelly seemed to agree. "Do we really need to get another one?" She asked, turning back to her father. "All they ever do is break."

"Well, not always...: Davin argued, seemingly unconvinced by the tone of his voice.

Sensing she was on the right track, Shelly turned to Hammond next. "We have to call you over every month because something's come loose, or broken, or something. It's got to be annoying right?"

"I-I really don't mind..." He stuttered.

"Come on Dad, it hurts my ears." Amber stifled a laugh, remembering that was exactly how she had explained it Shelly. She found it funny that Shelly was using it as an excuse, despite it actually being her who was uncomfortable with the noise. "I can hear it all the way from Jaina's house." Shelly continued.

After a long sigh, Davin slowly nodded in agreement. "I suppose it does get kind of distracting." Watching him now, Amber noticed that he had put on the same face as he had yesterday when Shelly was trying to talk herself out of trouble. "Alright, I guess ‘'three, two, one, go' works just as well, right?"

Amber couldn't help but smile, especially after Shelly winked at her over her shoulder. "Thanks, dad."

Davin smiled as well. It was apparent that he had a hard time saying no to his daughter, even if they both realised it. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off his knees to get back to his feet, then tucked what was left of the alarm under his arm. "Right, well; I guess I should store this thing away before someone blows an eardrum."

Suddenly, the side door to the library burst open and a voice bellowed out. "What is all that racket!?" Standing in the doorframe was a rather beautiful young woman with chestnut hair and light pink eyes. At first glance she looked to be wearing a shrine outfit, though it had been modified to be a little more generous with the amount of skin it revealed. She also had a large red bow tied in the back of her hair, whose ends waved back and forth as she surveyed the room with a scowl. "Well? What are you peasants doing?"

"Just some maintenance." Davin assured, returning the woman's glair with a small smile. "The bell for the arena broke, and we were just trying to get it up and running again. Sorry if it’s been bugging you."

"Yes, well I'm trying to read. I can't concentrate with that thing emitting that god awful-." She cut her rant short when she noticed the others in the corner of her eye, and her attention quickly centred on Amber. "You... I know you."

"C'mon, be nice to her. She's new." Shelly cut in. Carra hid behind her again, picking up Chico, and Hammond sunk down behind the table he was sitting at. "Her names Amber."

"I don't care what her name is." Her tone lowered, but her temper apparently hadn't improved one bit. "What I do care about is why she was with my darling yesterday evening." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Everyone's eyes fell to Amber, who was left absolutely clueless as to what was going on. She looked to Davin for assistance, only to find him pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I'm sorry, I don't-."

"I saw you, with that flying cat the Dragon Slayer keeps as a pet." She accused, apparently feeling as if she had Amber in a corner. "I demand to know why you were following him last night."

"I didn't follow anyone home, Zeke was just taking me to Axel's house." She thought back, straining to figure out whatever this woman was talking about. Suddenly, she remembered they had encountered someone else along the way. "Wait, do you mean that Raven guy?" Davin raised a finger to shush her, but Amber had another thought when she remembered that she and Zeke where alone. "Hold on, how'd you know we-?"

"A-ha! So you did follow him." She accused, outright ignoring Amber's question. She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, apparently feeling victorious in some fashion. "Well, that 'guy' is my beloved. And you would do well to remember that he and I are engaged."

"She says..." Shelly mumbled.

"I heard that!" She snapped.

"Hey Clair, cool it." Came a voice from the corner. Amber spun around to find an older man sitting in one of the corner tables with a newspaper in hand. She hadn't noticed him before, she was sure of it because the large ponytail of black dreadlocks he sported was definitely something she would have remembered. "I don't think she'd have fallen for the guy after seeing him just once."

"Silence, Mace!" She demanded. "I'm telling her to stay away from my darling."

"Yeah well, I think she got the picture. So give it a rest." He said, staring back at her with a pair of cold yellow eyes. She stared right back at him, as if they were having a telepathic conversation, but suddenly crossed her arms and marched away without another word.

The room was plunged back into silence the second the doors to the library closed behind her, save of course for the man named Mace opening his newspaper again. "T-thanks..." Amber stuttered, grateful for the man's help. "It's was more than once though..." She added, glancing at Shelly. "We met him earlier, right after Shelly-."

"Yeah, you might want to keep that to yourself." He interrupted, not even looking up from his newspaper. "Clair gets wind of that, you'll never get her to shut up."

Amber was startled by his abruptness. It was like they're feud was all just one big inconvenience to him. She was beginning to grow sick of being the center of attention when Shelly gently tugged on her arm. "C'mon, we should get going... See you all tomorrow." She mumbled, glaring at Mace. Carra followed after her with Amber in tow, trying not to look as dejected as she felt.

"Bye..." Hammond waved, a little dumbfounded by their abrupt departure. He stood up when he came to his senses, just as the three of them got to the door. "Bye Carra."

She waved back briefly, but soon disappeared with the others, leaving the ends of her long pigtails trailing through the door the last sight of her. Hammond slumped down again, a little disappointed, causing Davin to chuckle to himself. "Better luck next time, kid-o."

It was only around three in the afternoon by the time they had left the guild, but Amber was already ready to crawl back into bed again. She asked Shelly and Carra not to ask about her encounter with Raven the previous night, and they were both courteous enough to oblige. Following Jaina's advice, they all headed back to Axel's house, as Amber had decided she'd had enough excitement for one day. It was a little difficult to convince Shelly and Carra that she'd be ok without them there to watch over her, but soon they had said their goodbyes and headed home themselves.

She set about brushing her teeth the second they had left, washing away whatever taste remained from that morning. Fearing that Jaina would be right about her earning an unflattering nickname, she even carried on until long after her gums began to bleed. After convincing herself that she'd done a good enough job, Amber curled up on the couch to try and nap the afternoon away. She lost track of time as the day seemed to blink bye, the sun appearing lower and lower in the sky each time she opened her eyes. The front door opening was enough to stir her awake again, and she sat up just as Axel strolled into the kitchen.

"Hey." He mumbled, going straight to the sink to wash his hands. "Have you been sleeping there all day?"

Amber shook her head. "No, I went out for a little while." She thought about explaining further but realised she had no idea where to begin, let alone how much she actually wanted to share. Quickly looking for a new subject, she asked. "Where'd you have to go?"

"We went to the pier." Zeke said, soaring through the kitchen and land next to her on the couch. "Some of their machines broke, and Jon volunteered to have us to go down and help keep thing's running."

"Because, you know, human battery." Axel cut in, holding up two fingers with electricity arcing between them. Amber giggled a little, during which Axel moved hungrily to the fridge. "Anyways, you guy's hungry? Because I'm starving."

"Yeah." Zeke beamed.

"Sure." Amber's stomach suddenly gurgled, making her remember what Jaina had instructed she do to get over her stomach-ache. "Something with meat. Please."

"Like there's any other way to eat." Axel said with a sarcastic grin. After setting a pan of oil on the stove top, he began chopping a bunch of assorted vegetables into thin strips. Next came a cut of meat, which he cut into cubes and added to the now sizzling pan. Amber watched him work, again becoming transfixed on what he was doing. After a adding a few ounces of sauce to the mix, he glanced back at her over his shoulder. "So uh... Sorry about the mess in your room." He said, breaking her trance. "I didn't really think about where to put it."

Amber shook her head, realising that she had been staring at him. "I don't mind." It wasn't necessarily a lie; she had spent so little time there that she hadn't actually took the time to look around. "What is all of it though?"

"A lot of it is stuff people give us for doing a good job." He shrugged, placing a lid on the pan he'd been piling food into. "I've got that bed, a few dressers, three world globes, a bunch of books..." Axel scratched his chin, straining to remember if he had left anything out. "And a fish tank."

"A fish tank?" Amber snickered.

"Yeah I use to have it all set up too, but..." He turned around, crossed his arms, and leaned back on the counter. A slightly annoyed look grew on his face, and he nodded down at Zeke. "He kept eating all the fish, and I got sick of buying new ones."

"It's not my fault they all looked so good." Zeke argued.

Amber giggled again, and Axel rolled his eyes. "Anyways... Dad says it's rude to refuse a gift, so it just kind of sits around collecting dust." He took the lid off whatever his making to give it a quick stir, then resumed the conversation. "Guess now that you'll be living here, I've got an excuse to get rid of it."

It took a moment for Amber to comprehend what Axel had just said. She'd assumed this would be a temporary thing, especially considering the rocky start they'd had. "You don't mind if I stay?" She asked in disbelief.

"Not as long as you don't get Shelly mad at me again." He joked. Amber giggled as well, feeling much more relaxed around him now than she had before. "But yeah; I guess I owe you after all the crap you put up with. So, what's mine is yours."

"T-thanks." She said quickly, not wanting to dwell on the subject any more.

Axel seemed to pick up on this as well, and let the topic end with that. In the silence, the sizzling pan brought his attention back to the meal he was making and he soon returned to his work. After about a minute, he shut the stove off and headed into the den with a trio of plates. "Dig in." He said, handing one to both Amber and Zeke. He sat on the floor in front of the couch, resting his own plate on his lap, then glanced over his shoulder. "Where's the remote?"

"I got it!" Zeke barked, jumping over the armrest and onto the side table. A TV next to the bay window clicked on, tuning into the middle of what looked like a sports event. Amber hadn't noticed it before, so the sudden flash as it came to life was a bit of a surprise, but she soon got over it as Zeke moaned. "Boring..." And flipping do another channel. This continued for a while; a drama show, a comedy sketch, a documentary, each one apparently failing to catch Zeke's interest. It began to become tiresome, and Amber decided to focus on her dinner once she heard Axel begin into his.

He had put what he made into a wrap, and the smell alone was enough to make her stomach growl. She forgot about Zeke's channel flipping and took a small bite. Her cheeks flushed red the second it hit her tongue, and she covered her mouth despite everyone's attention being on the TV. "Wow." She thought aloud, glancing down at Axel. "It's really good."

"Yeah, having a chef for a dad'll come in handy on occasion." He bragged.

"You mean Jon, right?" She asked absentmindedly. "Didn't you say your dad was a dragon though?"

Zeke suddenly stopped flipping channels to look at her, which made Amber await that she'd crossed a line. "Well, yeah... Before dad took us in, we had a dragon looking after the both of us." Axel spoke relatively calmly, but it was clear that he was bugged by the topic at hand. "He taught me how to use magic, but Jon was the one who raised us."

Zeke let out a long sigh. "Axel..."

"I don't really want to talk about it." He interrupted, taking a big bite of his wrap as a sort of final statement.

It was apparent that she wasn't going to get the full story, but Amber figured it only fair to let it go seeing as how she'd said pretty much the same thing to Jaina earlier that day. "Sorry..."

She felt a slight tug at her waist as she began eating again, and glanced down to see Zeke staring up at her. "Hey Amber?" He asked, a mischievous grin splitting across his face. "Are you-?"

"Don’t..." She slapped her shirt out of his tiny paws, hoping against a repeat of his attempt to cheer her up the night before. "Don't do that again." Zeke stumbled back with a small pout, but Amber couldn't help but smile. At least he was trying.

He also pick up on this, and his usual beaming expression returned after a second. He quickly jumped up onto her lap, much to her surprise, and began pawing at the back of Axel's head. "Hey Axel, did you know she's ticklish?"

Axel glanced back at her, forgoing his brooding relatively quickly. "Really?"

Amber puffed out her cheeks. "Let's see you try to keep a straight face when you've got a small furry thing crawling all over you." Axel and Zeke both burst out laughing, and it didn't take long for her to join in as well. It wasn't long before all they went back to watching the TV; but Amber, after all the ups and downs that last week had held, didn’t want it any other way.

Next Chapter – Cohabitation