Of Fire and Ice

C.4

We got to the town by sunset, and decided to save the job until tomorrow. Natsu found us a cheap inn to sleep in.

"Don't do weird stuff when I'm asleep, okay?" I warned and he nodded. "Wasn't planning on it, anyway." He huffed.

We lied down and went to sleep, and I was woken early by Natsu. "What. The fuck. Do. You. Want." I hissed slowly. "We've got to go get the job done." He rolled his eyes and I buried my face in my pillow. "What time is it?" I asked. "Nine." "That's wayyy too early." I groaned.

"Come on. Get up or I'll do the job by myself and take all the money." Natsu said and I shot up, glaring at him. "You wouldn't dare." I growled. "Go back to bed and watch me." He said and I pushed him away, standing up to get ready.

Once I was all set, we left for the dude's house. We found it and were ushered into the living room to discuss business.

"I didn't realise it would take two wizards." The man said slowly. "It's not. This is her first job. I'm just here to show her how to do things correctly and not mess up." Natsu said and I tried not to look at him in confusion. "I see. Now you two are from Fairy Tail, right? You lot have a tendency to wreck things." He said and Natsu smiled sheepishly.

"Well I'll show you the house I want burnt to the ground, young lady. For ten thousand." He said and my eyes widened. "Sorry, sir. But the ad you put out said eight thousand." I corrected him. "Oh, I raised the price last night." He said and I grinned. "Well, I'm not complaining." I said. "And at least you're honest." He nodded, getting me to flush.

He got up and beckoned us to come with him. We walked outside and he pointed directly across the street. "That's the house. No one is in it now, so don't worry about fatalities, but I want it burned to ash." He nodded and I did too. "I can do that."

"You're not going to ask why?" The man said and I turned to look at him. "I'm very large on respective privacy, and I just assumed that if you wanted a task such as burning a house down, it would be better not to ask questions." I said thoughtfully. "You're a clever girl. Off you go. I'll be watching." He said and I nodded. "Are you coming, Ari?" I asked and she went and rested on Natsu's shoulders. "No way. I know not to get near you when you're playing with fire. I'll watch." She said and I hummed, nodding.

I closed my eyes and focused on getting dragon wings to come out of my back, and once they were there, I flew off above the house and took a deep inhale. I blew and flames erupted and swallowed the roof of the house. I then flew around the house and focused breathing on the walls turning it to burnt ash and rubble.

I focused also on keeping control, and not slipping up as I normally do. My eyes were burning and tearing up from all the concentration, and my teeth ground together as the house burned under me and soon, all that was left was a blackened layout of what used to be a grand house.

I flew back to the door and got rid of my wings. "Anything else I can do for you?" I asked, waving my hands over my face to try and dry up the tears in my scorching eyes. "I am very impressed. Thank you so very much. Step back inside and I'll pay you." He said, so I followed him in, and the other three followed me.

We went to what seemed like his office, and he went into a drawer and started counting out bills. Only, he didn't stop at ten thousand.

"Twelve thousand for you." He said and my eyes widened. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm confused. I thought the last price you told me was ten thousand? Where did the extra two come from?" I asked, only to have him chuckle. "Let's say, one thousand five hundred for impressing me, and five hundred for being pretty." He said and I smiled widely. "Thank you very much, sir. If there's any job in the future that you need me for, my name is Henley Targaryen, and you can find me at he Fairy Tail guild." I said and held my hand out to him. "I'll keep it in mind, miss Targaryen." He shook it.

I gathered up the money and we left. We got to the hotel and I counted some out, and held two thousand in my hand. I held it out to Natsu, and he just stared at me.

"What's that?" He asked. "I didn't deserve the last two thousand. Actually... hold on." I hummed, counting out a total of four thousand and held it out to him. "The original price was eight thousand. I can't take the extra four with you getting nothing." I said and he just laughed. "You earned that. I can't take it from you. Besides, Happy and I have enough money. You need the money, Henley." He shrugged, pushing my hand back to my chest.

"Natsu..." "Henley." "I'm serious!" "I'm serious too. I didn't help at all. This job was all you. The money is all yours." He said and I sighed, giving in.

"Now let's eat!" He said excitedly while Happy cheered.