[Video] 94 bottles of beer on the wall | Someone's got a cold

[mira_strauss]

A-A-AH CHOO!

[The video feed shows Mirajane Strauss practically buried in blankets, tissues overflowing in the wastebasket beside her, and a half-eaten bit of toast next to her.]

Sowwy ebewyone. I habe to take a leabe of absence fow a while.

[She honks rather loudly into her next tissue clearing her sinuses a little and clearing her throat with a raspy cough.]

Sorry about that. As I said I'll have to take a few sick days from bar-tending for a little while, but I should return before Valentine's day. I'm terribly sorry I've been gone for so long, but I have not been doing well at all. Have I missed much in my time apart from all of you? I seem to remember being frozen into a block of Ice and that seems to be the cause of my current malady.

I'd like to thank everyone who has been looking after me these past few weeks, and I hope you're all having a better day than I am.

(Private to Erza)

I'd like to especially thank you Erza. You've been a true friend, and a great girlfriend.

[She offers Erza a playful wink... which might be slightly ruined by the wheezing cough afterwards, but Mirajane tries to laugh it off in good cheer.]

(Private to Mavis)

I'm so sorry I've been so absent lately, I hope you're not disappointed in me.

(ooc: Hi everyone, I'm back from my hiatus and I'd like to make an apology for my crummy health. The entire month of January was pretty bad for me, and I didn't get a single day of RPing in. I hope to come back more with my other characters to, but I figured I should start with my muse who's most active in the community.)

Comments

Video

[heavensmostwanted]

The more I hear about this ice situation, the more I almost regret missing it.

[Almost though. For as powerful as he was, this place already had their own sets of guardians. Better to let them work with stuff like that.]

Video

[mira_strauss]

You missed it too huh? Well unless you were turned into a giant ice cube like me, that probably means you're relatively new here!

[She offers him a friendly wave from her bed, still mostly buried in blankets.]

Hello, my name is Mirajane Strauss, and I'm the bartender of the Fairy Tail mage guild. Nice to make your acquaintance!

Re: Video

[heavensmostwanted]

I actually just ignored it. Seemed like this place already has it's own squads to deal with that stuff.

Anyway, name is Naoki Kashima and--wait there's a mage guild here?

Video

[mira_strauss]

If you ignored it, that's probably how you didn't know that there's a mage guild here. Our guild is located in Fayren which is where most of all of this had happened, and I was one of the first to speak out against our new tyrannical ruler. Of course I did so before anyone knew the level of power she wielded and before I had time to react, so that's how I spent the last few weeks in an ice cube. I'm just glad she decided to use me as a trophy example to others who might oppose her rather than kill me outright.

[She shrugged, and promptly changed the subject back to Fairy Tail.]

Fairy Tail is a great mage guild though! All the mages there have their own niche magic or ability that makes them an important member of our guild, although that doesn't mean we would turn away a prospective member simply because of overlap. My specialty is takeover magic, specifically demonic takeover magic, but I'm well versed in a dozen other forms of magic as well. It's a requirement for an S class mage to know at least more than one type of magic, and I decided to learn as many as I could master so that I'd be able to help teach our other guild members.

Re: Video

[heavensmostwanted]

[He would have questioned that a bit more, but he didn't think it would be useful. Things seemed to have returned to normal, and she was frozen anyway. But the magic she had made him flinch a little.]

Wait so you can just possess demons?

[Private Video] -> Action?

[fairysoul]

Don't be silly, Mira. Why would I be disappointed in you?

[The camera shows Mavis approaching a door and right on cue, Mira will hear someone knocking softly at her door.]

May I come in?

Action?

[mira_strauss]

I-

[She was about to respond when she heard the polite knock at her door, and giggled at herself for not anticipating in advance that Master Mavis would probably come to see her. Fortunately what she had probably wasn't contagious, so Mavis would likely be perfectly fine even if she hugged her. Not that Mirajane would encourage a hug at the moment given how weak, dizzy, and icky she felt... she didn't exactly want to get anything on her Master's clothes.]

Hehe, thank you Master. You can always come-

[She was about to say Mavis could always come in, but then she remembered that she actually had a girlfriend now, and there are some things that you just don't want your mother figure to see you doing.]

V-visit me.

[That was a polite way of wording it, keeping the intent but still suggesting that the knocking was an appreciated gesture right?]

Well anyways... you know how much I love to keep busy and keep the guild hall running? Well, any time I have to leave it because of my health... even if it's not my fault... I still feel a bit like I'm letting everyone down. People rely on me after all, and I hate to disappoint anyone. That hold's especially true for you, Erza, or anyone else in the guild.

Action!

[fairysoul]

[Mavis peeked in, before pushing the door open with her elbow. She was carrying a tray with soup and some more toast. She could tell that Mirajane didn't have much appetite but one is supposed to feed the cold, right?]

Then I always will.

[She winks. She could tell what thoughts had crossed Mirajane just now. She had had to do the same when Zeref moved in with her.]

Do not worry too much about that. You sure do a lot to keep the guild running but we can help with that too. Besides, Jack is here and so is Tatlyn now.

[mira_strauss]

Th-*cough*-Thank you!

[She laughed at Mavis' wink, aaaand a part of her still hoped Mavis didn't know what had crossed her mind, but another part of her suspected better. Mavis had a knack for reading people almost just as well or better than she could. She waved her half eaten piece of toast, trying to reassure Mavis that she did have food... but that soup did smell pretty good, and her throat was kind of sore for the toast.]

It's reassuring to hear that Jack is able to handle the reigns in my stead... So what kind of soup do you have there?

[ video ]

[deathsought]

Mira?

{ A sigh, of course she'd be sick from that episode. At least Mavis was still okay. }

I hope you don't take it personally if I keep my distance. The curse is every bit as effective on microbes as it is on any other living organism, and the last time I fell ill was decades ago. I'm in no hurry to experience that again.

[ video ]

[mira_strauss]

[Okay that earns a bit of Mirajane's musical laughter, which turns into a sound a bit more like a broken brass instrument when Mirajane starts coughing and blowing her nose again.]

Ahem... sorry about that. I'm just glad to know that you care, and I don't want you catching my cold simply because your curse of contradiction would probably encourage it on you. It's hard to imagine having a cold that gets worse simply because you hate it, and gets better only when you get used to it or care about its well being.

[ video ]

[deathsought]

It's not quite that complicated. I think even Ankhseram would admit that viruses are the one living thing in any world that nobody would miss if they all disappeared.

A shame Wendy isn't here. I understand her magic can actually cure certain illnesses, as long as they're minor.

[ video ]

[mira_strauss]

It's probably best not to lament the what ifs, and focus more on the resources we do have readily available. I've fought plenty of colds before I even met Wendy, and I'm sure that I'll face plenty more without the aid of her healing magic.

[Though even she can admit Wendy is probably the person she'd be most overjoyed to see right about now.]

Were you and Wendy close when she was last here?

[She did seem to remember Erza mentioning that Wendy had been here before, and somehow Mirajane could picture Zeref and Wendy getting along rather well.]

Video;

[twin_tailed_wolf]

This looks like a job for the resident healer~

[Look at this wolf-eared brat being so eager to help. Mavis was so kind to give her a place at Fairy Haven that she has to spring into action when it calls.]

I can't cure sickness though, so can I help you with anything? I'm right down the hall and all.

Video;

[mira_strauss]

Haha-*cough, hack*-haha... ahhh... If only things were that easy right? Heh... sorry, please don't make me laugh too much right now.

[Mirajane winced at her sore throat, shook her head, and smiled warmly at the wolf eared young lady who'd joined their ranks recently.]

I'm very grateful for any assistance, but between Mavis, Erza, and a few others I think my cold might get smothered to death under all the care I'm receiving.

[And then a stray thought crossed Mirajane, and she snapped her fingers with another hoarse laugh.]

You wouldn't happen to be a singer would you?

Re: Video;

[twin_tailed_wolf]

Singing? No, unless howling counts.

[She holds up her tin whistle for the camera.]

But I can play the tin whistle. Are you about to ask me to cover for you in the entertainment department?

Video;

[mira_strauss]

Oh no, no, no! N-Nothing... nothing quite that ambitious.

[She really didn't want her patrons throwing things at the poor girl simply because she was trying to entertain them and annoyed them instead.]

It's simply that when I get sick with a sore throat I miss being able to sing, so it lifts my spirits a little when I can hear other people singing.

[Video]

[swordprincess]

[Karla looks at Mirajane's position, frowning in concern. She can certainly relate, having just suffered a similar illness a month ago...]

Oh dear...you look terrible.

[Video]

[mira_strauss]

KARLA!

[Mirajane seemed to perk up in her bed slightly, leaning closer to her communication with a great big grin on her face.]

I'm so happy to see you care so much about my health! Does this mean you think of me as a close friend now?

[It wasn't that Mirajane lacked friends, more that she thought Karla did, and that she wanted her to have as many people she could trust and care for in her life. She was such a nice young woman, it seemed a shame that she didn't have even half as many close friends as Mirajane did... then again she was sort of a quiet girl.]

[Video]

[swordprincess]

[The sudden excitement almost startles Karla, and she blinks at the screen for a moment.]

Ah...well...I...I still don't feel anything...I mean...I appreciate that you've been so kind to me...and I think we could be friends...but...I just don't feel it.

[There's a big frown on her face. Why can't she feel anything...?]

[Video]

[mira_strauss]

[Mirajane gives a long drawn out sigh, and waves her piece of toast at Karla with a reassuring smile.]

Aww, don't worry about it. These things take time! Some people are more trusting than others and can open up and befriend people really quickly. Some people need to know someone for years before they'll consider them close enough to be considered a friend they trust and care for. A lot of factors come into play when it comes to that sort of thing, like how you were raised, if you've ever lost people when you were young or if you've ever been abandoned by someone you care about.

[She shook her head, remembering a few unpleasant memories herself.]

The point is, I'm willing to wait however long it takes for you to consider me one of your friends, and the fact that you care about my well being is still a step in the right direction.

[Private Video]

[redhairedknight]

[Erza gets the brief feeling of butterflies in her stomach at that wink, even as it's interrupted by Mira's coughing fit. She's not used to having that kind of affection directed at her, or at least, she's not used to noticing it.

Right now, she's in the library, looking up remedies for colds. Her medical knowledge consists of wrapping people up in so many bandages that they can't move, and while that may work for the sort of treatment that Natsu or Gray require (or discourage them from beating each other up too badly), it's not going to help much with a cold.]

I feel like I could have done more, but I'm glad to hear it - you deserve the best of both. If there's anything you need me to bring you, let me know.

[Private Video]

[mira_strauss]

[Mirajane felt better just seeing that kind of glow on Erza's face. More than anything she wished she could give Erza a great big hug and tell her how much she loved and admired her... but she suspected that she was a bit on the gross side for a hug, and she didn't want to get Erza sick if she was contagious.]

Mmm, I'd love some hot chocolate right about now... nothing too dark or sweet, maybe tempered with a bit of milk.

[It just popped into her head without her really thinking about it... and here she was planning to tell Erza how much she appreciated her! Oh well, she supposed she sort of already did that. That didn't mean she couldn't suggest a thing or two to pick up Erza's spirits or motivate her a bit more.]

Erza... may I compare you to a summer morn?

[Mirajane was a song writer, and while her voice wasn't really well equipped to sing while she was so hoarse with a cold, she could still wax poetic about her love.]

The dawn peeks over the horizon, The smell of roses from the garden permeate the air,
Gentle shades of amber and scarlet from the morning sun cascade across a distant field of golden wheat outside an open window,
A sweet strawberry cake rests on the kitchen table, with the most delicious creamy icing.
Birdsongs sing through the countryside, heralding the dawn in a triumphant chorus,
And I softly whisper the words of the love this dawn brings to me,
Erza Scarlet.

[She couldn't be with Erza in the physical sense at the moment, and she couldn't do much with her current health, but she thought that little bit of waxing poetic might in some way convey her love and gratitude.]

[Private Video]

[redhairedknight]

[Closing her book to give Mira her full attention, she wipes her eyes after hearing that touching monologue. It brings to mind the sort of plays that she's wanted to act in for years - touching, dramatic love stories that were remembered for ages - and it's clear that Mira's speaking from the heart.]

...That was... beautiful. And it made me a little hungry.

[Figuring that thanking her in person would be well worth the risk of catching a cold, she begins to gather up her reading material.]

I'll bring you that hot chocolate as soon I can. In the meantime, try to relax - after all you've done for the guild here, you've more than earned it.

[Private Video]

[mira_strauss]

[A light blush dusted Mirajane's cheeks, which could be a combination of embarrassment of having gone so over the top, her deep attraction for Erza, and just a hint of fever. Still, she smiled warmly and almost dreamily at Erza.]

Thank you, but any words I can conjure up will always pale in comparison to the beauty I see in you Erza.

[She blew a kiss at the video feed for Erza.]

I love you, and I'm looking forward to being with you soon.