feral | sting eucliffe

XXIV | TE

Episode 24: The Encryption!

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"S-CLASS?" Y/n blinked. She was standing at the balcony of the Fairy Tail building, plucking a piece of paper off of the board. Staring at it some more, Y/n's hair pricked on the back of her neck when she felt someone looking at her. Turning her head around with a curious look in her eyes, she was met by the gray eyes that belonged to Laxus Dreyar.

Normally, she didn't feel intimidated by others, but his large presence merely terrified her. Nonetheless, he was the Master's grandson, so she had to show extra respect to him in a way. Mirajane—who had headed up to the balcony to ask the Master something—looked over in Y/n's direction, noticing how she seemed to be in a staring contest with Laxus.

She chirped cheerily, "Don't mind him, Y/n. He's just observing and looking around. Sorry if he seems like a bit of a creep." The girl innocently nodded, slowly returning her attention back to the corkboard in front of her. Mirajane looked past Y/n, glaring at Laxus before offering him a sweet smile that read 'if you try anything, I will murder you'.

Getting the message, Laxus winced, a huff escaping his lips as he descended the stairs and turned to look at other things. A satisfied giggle left her mouth as she went back on her way. Y/n compared the papers in her hands, reading what she could. She was never the best when it came to literacy and neither were her companions.

Chase was the best at it, but where they grew up only allowed them to read a certain amount of books, so she didn't understand a handful of the words. However, staring at the images and deciphering what she could, Y/n managed to grab a certain understanding of it. Feeling the back of the paper with the pads of her fingers, she grew confused.

There were tiny engravings in the back of the paper, nearly impossible to see unless you had heightened senses. She mumbled the phrasing, tracing it with her finger. Nati sumus, de terra est, et lapis, et revertatur ad eam. Ipse beseeches possit praemium enim fatis scriptum est in sidera. She managed to make it out, brows furrowing.

She didn't recognize the language at all; never in her life had she seen such a strange and daunting translation. Her attitude perked up, however, when realizing that the blue-haired girl from the train could possibly be of assistance. Chase seemed to be close with her, so asking her to help her with this wouldn't be such an anxious task.

Descending from the steps with the paper in hand, Nikos stopped her, confusion in his eyes. "You're not actually planning on taking that, are you? Master restricted us to regular missions since we aren't exactly labeled as 'S-Class' wizards." He voiced his opinion, blinking at his little sister as Y/n shook her head. 

She had a sheepish smile, mixing a lie with a truth. "N-No. I just don't understand part of it, so I'm going to ask Levy for some help." Nikos nodded slowly, a smile showing up on his face. "Oh, okay. Have fun with that!" The snake boy waved, leaving to go off elsewhere in the guild. It didn't surprise her that he bought into it so quickly; he absolutely hated reading.

Y/n made her way towards Levy, slamming the paper down harsher than she intended. Levy jumped in her seat and Gajeel's overprotective protocol activated as he looked over at Y/n with a slightly harsh glare, making her stutter out an apology. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to slap it down like that, but that isn't my point. Can you help me with something, Levy?"

She smiled, a warm glint in her brown eyes as her blue hair swished when she nodded. "Sure, of course! What do you need help with?" Y/n gave an awkward smile, fumbling with her fingers as she looked over at the shorter female. "Um, is there a library in the guild?" Levy smiled, nodding before heading towards a door just on the side of the bar.

Opening it, a staircase grew visible. The lights must've been automatic because once they set their first step on the staircase, the entire room lit up. Y/n still held the paper in her hand as she came to the bottom of the stairs, following after Levy as she started chattering about her favorite books. Although Y/n desired help, she politely listened, chipping in every now and then.

"So," Levy paused, spinning around. "What's your favorite book?" Y/n blinked wildly, not expecting that question in the slightest. She moved her hands in a flurry of motions, the paper flying with her movements. "O-Oh, we never really got to read growing up and even if we did, it was mainly spellbooks. So, I don't really have a favorite."

Her eyes seemed more focused on the paper that Y/n had picked out, blinking as she pointed. "Isn't that an S-Class mission? What are you doing with it?" Y/n held it up awkwardly, waving it. "Um, I was looking at them and I picked up this one, but then I noticed there was odd lettering on it. I remember what it is and I can decipher it, but it's in another language."

Levy smiled sheepishly, pink tinting her cheeks as she averted her eyes. "Ah, sorry. I completely forgot you asked me to help you with something! I always get caught up with books," She tilted her head, beaming. The h/c haired girl just took her apology before the two settled down at a table, flipping the paper over. 

Levy handed her a notepad, "Why don't you write it down so I can translate it?" Y/n's cheeks flushed as she looked down at her hands, clearing her throat awkwardly. "U-Um, I-I can't write." She fumbled with her fingers, growing more and more embarrassed by the second. Levy gave her an awkward look of her own, but didn't pressure her.

Instead, she moved on to a different solution. "How about you just say it then? I can write it down and then translate it!" The bookworm waved her pen as she offered an alternate idea, her voice holding its own lace of cheeriness in it. And the two girls did just that.