Snowflakes In The Dark

11: Recovering and Relaxing It's My Birthday, I Can Do What I Want.

It's been a few days since the Fairy Tail mages returned to Magnolia. It was a big relief to the waiting members, much so to Morana who was finally able to get the medical attention she needed to properly recover from her illness. With that, she was able to recover quickly and move on with her life. Her teammates ended up sharing what had happened in Web Valley, and to their shock Morana wasn't bothered by it. The ice dragon was just happy that her teammates didn't abandon her.

Now was the day. A day that Morana didn't particularly like, but was slowly beginning to appreciate. It was August 8, X784. Her 18th birthday. She had made sure to keep it a secret from her guild, as she hated being celebrated. But that doesn't mean she wasn't going to treat herself to something from her favorite bakery in Magnolia.

Xeraphina was owned by a sweet couple. It was also Erza's favorite bakery as well, which was how the ice dragon found out about it. It was a homestyle bakery and when Morana first stepped foot into the bakery, the poor dragon burst into tears as she never felt safe and comforted like she did before.

A small smile pulled her lips as Morana arrived at the bakery. The bakery was small, but it was definitely the most popular one in Magnolia. It was unique compared to everything else as it stood out among its competitors. It had a light pink exterior. With wide open window walls that displayed many different types of treats in one window, while on the other side of the door was a place for sitting. There were outside tables and chairs that matched the light pink building that was tucked in between two brick buildings. On both sides of the pink building were flowers that crawled up and across making a flower archway. Every season the flowers change to match the mood and holiday. In bright pastel green cursive lettering was the bakery sign. Xeraphina was written out beautifully underneath the flower border. It was a very cute and homey place that had captivated Morana's heart. But it wasn't what was on the outside that tied the knot. It was what was on the inside.

Pushing open the door a small bell went off. The scent of baked goods filled her nose as her muscles relaxed at the safe aroma that consumed her. She always felt like she could be herself here. Having walked in and the scent of heaven washing over her, she looked around at the seemingly empty bakery. There was a long white counter that displayed a glass case of different kinds of treats along the back wall. In the builtin shelves in the wall, held tools, and more treats. To the right as Morana had walked in, there were several more white and light pink tables with matching chairs scattered around. Each one had a tea set. Each one was different from the other, but all were of the same color scheme. Pink, White, and pastel green with flowers of different kinds in different patterns. It was all laid out nice and neat. To the left was the small counter that displayed some special treats in the window. Just past that was more tables and chairs, but there were no tea sets laid out.

The bakery felt like home in the white, pink and pastel green scheme. With bright crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling gave it a nice warm glow inside. Fresh flowers decorated all over the place as a few pictures hung on a wall to the right. There was a memorial picture that took the center, it was of the owners of this bakery. An adorable family. Two older couples stood proud as their excited daughter, who took after both her parents, stood between them for the picture. That was Morana's favorite picture.

The sound of rushing clicking heels caught her attention as Morana smiled brightly. Opening her arms wide as a blur of brown hair rushed right to her. The woman had almost knocked the ice dragon off her feet if it wasn't for a simple shadow spell to keep them both balanced.

"Happy Birthday Sugar!!" The fair woman squealed as she hugged Morana tightly.

Morana chuckled lightly as she returned the sweet hug, "Thank you Aspennie." Once she had spoken, the woman went on rambling incoherently about her worries and treats she prepared for this day.

"My apologies, Morana. She has been excitedly waiting for your arrival all morning." Another voice caught her attention as she looked up. There was Aspen's boyfriend. Kai Valiente, he was a slim young man of average height. He had messy black hair that almost reached down to his shoulders. It was normally well brushed, but Morana could tell in his red eyes that he was exhausted and had been up for a good number of hours the night before. Kai wore a black turtleneck sweater that had its sleeves rolled up past his elbows as a bright pink and with black spots and a green frog embroidered on the apron covering most of his body.