Snowflakes In The Dark

12: Daring Does and Don'ts

The next day was a relief. The Magic Council only really wanted to use Erza as a scapegoat for what happened with the Eisenwald guild. Morana was thankful that was the case, but still, it was a close call.

The guild was loud...too loud for the ice dragon as she sat next to Erza who was eating. She could tell there was something on her mind but knew not to probe.

"Who would have thought fresh air smelt so sweet!" Natsu shouted as he threw his fists in the air. "I'm gonna breathe it in all day!" He started running around the guildhall breathing fire out of his mouth. It was annoying to Morana who just wished for some peace and quiet. She was contemplating going for a walk but was still frightened by the presence of the Magic Council. She was lucky that she wasn't at the guild when the messenger came by for Erza.

Jet, Droy, and Macao sat at a nearby table, "Shut up." Jet grumbled. It was clear several members were getting annoyed by Natsu's hyperactive behavior.

"Put a sock in it, man!" Droy said.

Mirajane smiled as she worked behind the bar, where Master Makarov sat. "Isn't he precious when he gets all excited?"

"I can't believe that stupid arrest trial was just for show. All that worrying for nothing." Lucy rested her head on a table a bit further away from where Erza and Morana sat.

Gray put his hands together, "So she wasn't a sacrificial lamb, but a scapegoat."

Elfman who sat next to him pales, "You must be one heck of an ice wizard, 'cause even your jokes leave me cold." Natsu ran past, which caught Elfman's attention, "Hey Natsu! Are you going man-to-man against Erza?"

Both Lucy and Morana groan in annoyance. "Oh no.."

That sparked Natsu's attention. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. What do you say? Should we pick up where we left off?" He challenged Erza. "Hey! I want a fight with you too Morana! You had a no-show and that ain't right!"

"I'm not in the mood right now," Erza said. There was a warning tone in her voice as Morana decided not to respond. Instead, she took a sip from her iced sweet tea.

Of course, Natsu doesn't take no for an answer as he ignited his fists in flames, "I'm not lettin you off the hook that easy!" He started charging toward both females.

"I swear," Erza whispered before quickly getting to her feet and slamming her fist into Natsu's stomach. The fire dragon was out like a light. "How's that? Are you satisfied?"

Everyone was laughing at the lame fight, but Morana had her eyes on the door. She could feel the magic pressure coming from outside the guild. It was faint and not recognizable, but it was there and it was slowly getting stronger the closer it got to the guild.

"Sir, is something wrong?" Mirajane giggled as she took note of the guild master's off behavior.

"I'm fine...just sleepy." He answered her. He could barely keep his eyes open. "He's coming."

It wasn't long till the mages of Fairy Tail fell to the ground in a dead sleep. Erza struggled to stay awake as she was kneeling on the ground. Makarov was hunched over but could still keep his eyes slightly open. But he was shocked when he saw through his tired eyes, Morana. The ice dragon paid no mind to what was going on. Instead, she took in the sudden peacefulness of the guild.

"What?" He mumbled.

A young man walked through the guild of sleeping mages. He wore a dark blue cloak and his arms and legs were mostly covered in bandages. A dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector covered the top majority of his head. While a green mask that obscured the bottom half of his face helped hide his identity from his guildmates. One thing that stood out was the magic staves on his back, which are held by a dark green strap going across his main body.