The Skull Hidden in the Sand

Riddle Me This

A/N: profile page for the other two greeters assigned to Fairy Tail. Thanks to @i-will-find for the name suggestions!

Knock, knock.

"Huh? Whazzat?" Natsu sat up in bed, hair fluffier than normal.

Knock, knock.

"Aye, aye, I'm comin'..." Natsu plodded over to the door and opened it. "Oh, hi Erza."

"Mira needs everyone in the lobby please."

"Kaaaaay." Natsu yawned and stretched.

Erza raised an eyebrow at him. "Where's everyone else?"

Romeo poked his head out of the bathroom, holding a toothbrush. "Freed's reading on the balcony, Gajeel and Lily left to go train, Jellal's getting dressed, Bickslow's talking to his 'babies', and Laxus and Gray are still sleeping." He recited.

Just then, they heard Laxus yell, "DAMMIT ICEBOY!!" followed by a loud crackle, a thud, and a cry of pain.

"WHAT THE HELL, LAXUS?!"

"I SAID NO STRIPPING!!"

"Never mind about that last part. They're up." Romeo disappeared back into the bathroom.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave." Erza commented. "Try to hurry. Mira's in 'Matchmaker' mode and I don't think she'll take kindly to lateness."

"Okaaaay." Natsu mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "We're -yawn- comin'."

~Timeskip~

"Alrighty then~! Now that everyone's here..." Mira shot a brief glare at Gajeel, who had protested about trying to train and had had to be dragged back to the hotel. "Are you guys ready for our first game~?"

"AYE!!" Natsu and Happy yelled. Wendy giggled.

"Okay, this is how it works. Each pair has to solve riddles to find a specific object at a specific location and bring it back. Some of you have harder riddles than others to make the contest a little more fair. First group back wins."

"Is there a prize?" Gray asked.

"Yep~!" Mira giggled. "The first group is allowed to make one request, anything at all, of the last group back."

"You're gonna be my slave, Stripper!"

"As if!"

"No interfering with other teams and meet back here when you're done. Pairs are-"

"Natsu and me, Levy and Gajeel, Juvia with Gray, Wendy and Romeo, and Erza with Jel-I mean, Mystogan." Lucy interrupted.

Mira looked a little taken aback. "Yes, how did you know?" Lucy just gave her a look. "In any case," Mira continued. "Here are your first clues." She passed out small scrolls, one to each pair. "The game begins NOW!!"

"Alright, Luce. LET'S GO!!"

"Wait, we don't even know where-" Lucy's protests were cut off as Natsu took off outside, dragging her along.

"Good idea, Natsu-nii!" Romeo took off after the dragon slayer.

"Good luck everyone!" Wendy called as she ran after Romeo.

"...somebody needs to talk to Romeo. One Natsu is enough." Gray said finally.

"Gray-sama." Juvia tugged on his arm. "Our riddle." The scroll read:
I run, but never walk. Have a mouth, but never talk. Have a bed, but never sleep. Have a head, but never weep.

"Let's see what we have. Lu-chan and I love riddles." Levy unwrapped her scroll to read:
I have a town, but no houses.
Lakes, but no water.
Forests, but no trees.
Mountains, but no rocks.

"Wait, Natsu! You don't even know where we're supposed to go!" Lucy managed to stop the runaway slayer by yanking backwards on his scarf. "Now let's see..." Her scroll read:
Past the wall of see-through sand,
past the water none can drink, sheltered in rocky arms,
slightly sunk within the green

"R-Romeo-kun, wait!" Wendy panted slightly as she caught up to the boy. "What does the riddle say?"

"Huh? Oh, it says..." He carefully untied the paper, revealing a single sentence:
Find the water like fire.

"...that's all?"

"Mira-nee's probably taking it easier on us, since we're the youngest. Hmmm..."

"Erza." Jellal said quietly. He tilted the paper so she could read.
I get wetter and wetter the more I dry.

"Charla, let's go get some fish while we wait!"

"I don't approve of Wendy being alone with a boy. I think I'll-"

"Uh-uh, Charla. You're not supposed to intervene~. Go have some fish with Happy." Mira interrupted.

"Yay! Let's go, let's go!"

"B-but...!"

"Have fun~!" Mira waved as the exceeds disappeared toward the dining room.

"Branching out a bit, Mira?" Erza asked.

Tee-hee!

Feel free to guess the riddles, if you'd like. (The next chapter'll have answers.) Lucy and Natsu's isn't solvable, though, since it refers to a very specific spot by the Lodge. Try not to search the internet unless you're really stuck. Anyhoo, enjoy~!