genessia | [Action ..Packed! ]

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[ Action for Fayren ]

It's rare for Lucy to be seen without her friend and partner, Natsu, but she had insisted on being alone today, instead picking out a job for him to take that - with his skills - he might find a challenge in fighting. Maybe. Question mark. Well if nothing else it'd give him something to do while she was gone. All she had to do was stop in at the Inn with some cookies she'd baked for the innkeeper's birthday, and then she was going to head into Genessia City to drop off some books at the local library, and pick up some supplies that Fayren was sadly lacking in. She wasn't expecting to encounter any familiar faces, though if she did she would probably at least be able to manage a polite smile and some light conversation before she moved on. Pushing open the door to the Inn, she poked her head in, "Hello~! Happy Birthday, I brought you a gift!" DELICIOUS COOKIES! FREE delicious cookies!

[ Action in Genessia ]

Shortly after her trip dropping off books in the Genessia library, she decided to pay a few friends a visit - one of her stops being at Maribelle's tea shop, to see if she was about and might like some cookies. She had plenty though, so she might share some cookies with other people she encounters. Who doesn't like fresh baked yummies, right? Though she would be bad if she didn't check in with her partner, and she quickly left a message for him to let him know she'd be on the way home as soon as she finished up this one last favor.

She could have dropped some cookies off for Weiss, but after that..uh..event in Nova City she ..isn't sure she wants to even show her face there again for the next century thanks. ]

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[Steven is all the unsure about a tea shop. It seemed like a pretty fancy place to him. One where you had to use the right amount of forks and had to wear shoes and a shirt and they were pretty serious about it. Buut it can't hurt to check the place out right?

Though mostly he's attracted to the smell of fresh baked cookies and soon finds the person whose carrying them]

Did you get those here?

[ Lucy glanced over at the small boy, a smiling coming to her face. ]

Hi there~. No no, actually I baked these. Do you want some? I have extra.

Do I ever! I mean, yes please and thank you! [holds out a hand and then pauses] Are you sure you don't want any money for it?

[ Lucy giggled softly, shaking her head. ]

No, I'm sure. Besides, how could I ask for money seeing you look so happy? I'll see if they have a bag or a paper plate or something. What's your name?

[Levy tries to stop by Fairy Tale at least once a week if not more often. She'll often bring books or supplies for those who live there but she rarely stays long. Ever since she'd been captured and tortured by Battler she'd focused on keeping herself busy. That way she'd fall asleep due to exhaustion and might be spared nightmares of that time.

Sometimes she'd see Lucy but more often than not she'd miss her busy friend. She rarely saw Lucy leave Fairy Tail though she can't really blame her with everything happening in the city's. When she see's Lucy now she pauses and places a smile on her lips. Her eye looks normal enough though Lucy will probably be able to tell that Levy can't see out of it anymore.]

Lucy. [She steps over to her friend, holding a stack of books for delivery.] It's nice to see you. Are you taking those to a friend?

[She gestures towards the cookies.]

[ Aaaaactually, Levy hasn't been seeing Lucy at Fairy Haven because Lucy rarely has even been there. In fact she's activately been avoiding it and anywhere she'd run into Levy, ever since she found out the girl was murdered - in the newspaper - and Levy never told her she had recovered. Or anything. No, she had to find -that- detail out from Ted, and while she genuinely had been worried and upset for her friend's injury ... it hurt more that Levy wouldn't even speak to her about something as important as that. ]

L-Levy...

......yes. It's the innkeeper's birthday today, so I was making cookies for him.

I see.

[Levy tries to keep up her smile but it's more difficult than she thought it might be. There is a weight on her shoulders, a physical barrier that no one can see pressing against her chest. She knows there is no helping it, they haven't been as close as they were before but it's still a sad truth.]

I can let you go...

[She doesn't know what to say or do or think. Her fingers lace nervously together and the shy bookworm suddenly became more prevalent. What happened to the confidence she'd begun to build?]

[ The real sad truth is that there _IS_ helping it and neither of them have taken the steps needed to fix that gap. Granted Lucy had been alone for a long time since everyone had left her - and that was a very real worry of hers. Especially with the other members being..who knows where. The only ones she could still keep tabs on were Natsu (of course), and Mavis. Erza had left a long time ago, Kagura was... probably gone too. Juvia she saw for two seconds before she'd run off again, and Gray - she hadn't seen him in months. ]

...

[ For a moment or two Lucy wrestled with her decision. On the one hand, she wanted to let Levy go and do her own thing, and if that meant they weren't able to speak as much, then as long as she was happy she was fine with that. On the other, ... Lucy was selfish. Most of her friends had long since left and the number of friends she still had was quickly shrinking as people disappeared. She didn't want to be left alone again. ]

This is stupid.

[ She'd known Levy since she joined the guild, she wasn't sure how to step past the distance between them - but she wouldn't make any progress at all if she didn't at least try. Even if things were awkward. Even if she thought Levy had hid ..what happened to her for some reason. ]

... actually, if you're not busy... why don't you come with me? It's the same innkeep that you stayed with when you first arrived - when we were at the Inn... remember him?

Yes.

[Levy will never forget the first time that she'd arrived in Genessia. She smiles at little brighter at Lucy as if the acceptance was all she needed to be herself.]

I mean... I've wanted to spent time with you... to talk to you but there never seems to be a good time.

[She steps closer to Lucy, aiming to follow the other girl.]

I miss staying at the Inn with everyone.

We've both been busy - You've had the bookstore, and I've been taking on missions and stuff, but...

That's not really a good excuse for either of us is it?

[ She slowed her steps so that Levy could walk at her side. She wanted to ask about her eye, about the bastard who killed her, about everything but - she didn't want to bring up unpleasant memories. She had to bite her tongue to suggest that her friend move back to Fayren, since she was already settled down and happy in Genessia. ]

It's just us now. You, me and Natsu -- and the First and... him.

I never saw Gray, and I only saw Juvia once maybe twice. Erza and Kagura were here for a short while but they're both back home again.

[Levy nods, unsure how else to approach Lucy's question. She doesn't know, it hurts in a way that she can't explain and she's finding that in the end, when everything is added up, she just doesn't have the strength or confidence. She's trying but it's times like these that she realizes she falls short.]

Yeah? I had seen Juvia from time to time. I know she was missing Gray. I didn't really see Erza or Kagura.

[Levy exhales a slow breath.]

How have you and Natsu been? I don't see Natsu at all but I try and keep a look out on the phones for you guys.

Hrm. [ Time to time was more than Lucy ever saw her. Any of them, really. ]

We've been getting by. A lot of the mages we took in ended up joining the guild - unofficially, in a way. I thought about moving out of Fayren once or twice- not because of the Hands of Decay or anything, but just so we wouldn't get caught up in any idiocy from the Guardian [ Scoff. ] or her peers.

But the kids wouldn't be able to come with us, and it'd feel too much like leaving home if that were the case. [ Ah, she was getting off track. ]

Anyway, we don't use the network that much. Natsu doesn't care to, and I sometimes skim it, and just let him know if there's something he should be aware of on it.

{ Zeref nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking as the door swung open, and Lucy began yelling about cookies. Zeref looked to Mavis, seated across from him at their table; he was aware the innkeeper was a strong supporter of Fairy Tail's, which was part of the reason why Mavis was able to talk him into letting them stay for so long during the whole Hands of Decay thing. Her strategy of hiding in plain sight was a good one, and even if it looked like they were gone - or at least, that they've given up - they still hadn't left yet.

Regaining his composure after the still-steaming liquid nearly went down his trachea from surprise, Zeref's eyes flitted from Mavis, to Lucy, and to the innkeeper. Talk about awkward. He wondered if Lucy had been to the Dream Docks, too, after he and Mavis were on a nearly two weeks-long binge there, trying to gain as much information on the Alvarez-Ishgar War now raging in their world in general, and on themselves - and Acnologia - specifically. But with the awkward silence lasting longer than was comfortable, Zeref tepidly turned to the innkeeper, cleared his throat, and spoke aloud. }

I wasn't aware it was your birthday. { A pause, and then flatly: } Happy birthday.

{ Zeref didn't even remember his own. It had been so long that he could only estimate the age at which he became immortal, now. He would be curious to see if Mavis could arrive at the same guess as his own... or how she calculated her own age, given what happened. }

[Having lived for a long time among Fairy Tail guild members, Mavis was not to be startled by someone barging into the room she was in yelling. That was just normal to her. Still she looked up from the book she'd been reading and paused from eating her half of the stack of pancakes she was sharing with Zeref.]

Good morning, Lucy!

[She smiled at the blonde girl brightly. When Zeref spoke up, she looked slightly sheepish.] I didn't know that either... [Then she added cheerfully.] Happy Birthday!

[Mavis hadn't celebrated her birthday in a long time. She used to celebrate it on Tenrou Island with Zeira. And then when she stopped aging and Zeira disappeared, she thought it didn't made much sense anymore. Which was too bad because birthday cakes were usually delicious.]

.......................................................

[ Why is Zeref here? That was Lucy's first reaction, seeing the man drinking coffee calm as you please -- or well, choking on coffee actually. Plate of cookies balanced on her hand, she was torn between staying put and just excusing herself and coming back later. Mavis' cheery greeting makes the decision for her. ~~She throws the cookies in Zeref's face and flees screaming!~~ ]

First..Mavis, good morning..!

[ Who wanted a helping of awkward to go with their meal? Yum Yum! It puts a bit of a damper on the cheery "Happy Birthday"s, as far as said innkeeper was concerned, but he smiles nonetheless. ]

"Ahha, I don't make a big deal of it really. Lucy probably remembers because she stayed in this inn with her friends for a while before she left us. Thank you, Lucy." [ The Innkeeper smiled as Lucy - rather stiffly - moved past Mavis and Zeref's table to deliver the present - though she kept giving short, uneasy glances towards the pair.

{ It was every bit as awkward as he could have expected. Mavis, of course, never one to allow something involving her own guild to end in awkward silence, spoke up, and Zeref was grateful for it, if only because he knew that meant they could finish their breakfast without an awkward pall hanging over their meal. His pupil-less eyes followed Lucy's own as she walked passed; her body language said it all.

Turning back to Mavis, Zeref brought his fork to the pancakes. He was never exactly a heavy eater - a trait that he definitely didn't share with certain other members of his family - but the Curse of Contradictions didn't take away his body's ability to feel hunger. And the inn's food was a pleasant change of pace from what he and Tartaros had been eating in Everglade, before their numbers were reduced only to Sayla, and the Make Everglade Great Again™ policies of their mayor chasing him to Fayren, if only because he really, really didn't feel like getting in a fight with the monsters of Everglade over something so stupid. An immortal dark wizard he may be, but he was, at least biologically, human, and he wasn't going to take the risk of that distinction mattering to them. }

So I've heard. Mavis told me that this would be a good place to stay until everything happening here and in Everglade blew over. I'm glad that I trusted her judgment.

[Of course Mavis noticed the big cloud of awkwardness floating around everyone in the room - it would had been hard not to - but at least, everyone was talking, so it was a start.

The innkeeper was a really nice man. She wished Zeira's father would have been more like him. She was glad Lucy remembered his birthday. She didn't know the celestial spirit mage could actually bake, though. Zeira liked cookies. They should get together someday to bake some cookies, assuming Zeira was still around. It'd been a while since she last saw her friend. But then again, Zeira never actually left her, did she?

Her smile widened at what Zeref said.] It's the best place in the area! Mirajane would love to work here if she's ever brought to this place, don't you think, Lucy?

[ How could it -NOT- be awkward? Zeref was still an enemy, even if there was a truce. Sort of. Temporarily. But truce or not, Lucy wasn't going to pretend she liked him or wanted to be around him. She was terrible at hiding her feelings like that. Mavis may be able to forgive him for what he and his people have done, but Lucy wouldn't. Civility is all he'll get, for now. Especially with what she learned. ]

Everglade? Oh. That. I heard about some of what was going on there.

[ She wished she'd been wrong about the predictions she and Natsu had made too. She remembered the policies that had been put in place - it had been a source of many many facepalms and occasional grumblings about the mayor's stupidity, and disbelief that people would stay to put up with said stupidity when there were other MUCH safer places to go. ]

I think Mirajane would prefer to work at Fairy Haven. [ Lucy mused. ] But if Fairy Haven wasn't there, maybe.

{ Zeref had similar worries when he first awoke at the Dream Docks, after having left Mavis with Eileen. It was an incredible relief to him to know that Mavis still believed what they had said before they entered those devices; that no matter what they learned, they would not go back on what they had said before, that they would try to do in this world what was seemingly impossible in their own. Even the fact that she was alive and well, and outside of that crystal, in their world didn't change that, nor did Alvarez's all-out invasion of Fiore.

Genessia was not Earth-Land. There was no Ankhseram, no Acnologia, no war to worry about. Still, they could feel their Curses were still present, and at the absolute very least, Mavis would have to keep strengthening her control over it for the good of her guild and everyone in Fayren. And he was more than happy to teach her how to do that. }

Mirajane? { Who was that again...? Oh, right. The one Sayla mentioned. } We spent a long time in the Dream Docks. I'm a bit disheartened to hear that Everglade's state of affairs hasn't improved in the meantime.

Well she's so active, I'm pretty sure she'd find a way to do both!

[She smiled, the pride she felt for her guild members obvious in her voice. Then she just moved on to a different subject. Her comment about Mirajana working at the inn had been meant mostly as a compliment to the innkeeper anyway.]

I don't believe you've ever met her in person. [Even if she had no doubt Sayla had told him about her.] She's a very gifted mage of Fairy Tail. [It didn't get much better than S-class.]

I'm glad to be back, still. [Those stays in the Dream Docks were tiring.] It's good to see that you, Natsu, Juvia and Levy are still here. I haven't been able to feel Erza or Gray, though...

Yeah they're...They're gone. Erza was here for a little less than a week, and Gray... I don't know. People have told me that they saw him, but I never did.

[ Except for his first arrival when he was behaving strangely. ]

I think Juvia is supposedly here too but...

[ Lucy almost never saw her. And by the end of the day, Levy will have left too. Lucy really wished she and Natsu would have their turn soon too. In any case, having had enough of being anywhere near Zeref, Lucy turned, ready to bid a good day to Mavis before heading out of the tavern. Though before she even got halfway through her turn, she stopped short, looking like she tasted something sour. She didn't know why she was even going to bring it up when he didn't owe her any answers, but if she could get an answer to even ONE, she would be satisfied. Kind of. ]

You know, I came back from the dream docks myself not too long ago..

... I see.

{ While Lucy and Mavis were speaking, his mind was quickly trying to put the spoken names to faces. Gray was the one who was fighting that apparition of Deliora, wasn't he? And wasn't he related to Silver? And Juvia... He only spoke to her once or twice here, and he remembered seeing her once, on Tenroujima. She was lucky to have survived the Curse after it activated when he felt Acnologia approaching.

He'd only met Erza a few times, here, but he remembered the deal they made concerning his demons. Her being absent made the deal null and void in theory, but Mavis being here changed the game. He'd tell her, and then she would tell the rest of her guild. They had, after all, made a similar deal concerning any member of the Spriggan 12, were they to appear.

As it looked like Lucy was leaving, Zeref reached for his coffee mug, as well as the syrup-stained newspaper on the far side of their booth. But when she turned back, he had a feeling that was more directed at himself, rather than at Mavis. Taking a sip of the coffee, he sighed, his lips turning upward into a wry smile at Lucy's words. }

Did you, now? { He asked. He had a guess as to what this is about. ~~He's only half right.~~} And which member of the Twelve Shields are you going to ask me about?

{ His guess is Brandish. He knew she was from Fiore, and she was uncharacteristically insistent on going with Wahl's proxy and Ajeel to Magnolia. She didn't even like them, and he didn't even bribe her with ice cream, as is usually required. }

[Mavis could feel Lucy's sorrow. And it was understandable. Friends disappearing was one of the hardest and most painful things Mavis had ever experienced in her life. Even if they always remained in your heart, no matter what.

It was bittersweet for Mavis to know that Zeira was theoretically in Genessia but she never really talked to her or saw her. So she could easily relate to the way Lucy felt about Erza, Gray and Juvia.]

We should try to contact her.

[When Lucy mentioned the docks, Mavis tilted her head curiously. She was about to ask what she'd seen there but Zeref spoke first. And his question surprised her. Why did he think she was going to ask about the Spriggan Twelve? ...But this option was better than the alternative Mavis had on mind. Namely: what Zeref was planning to do with Fairy Heart. So she remained silent, waiting for the celestial spirit wizard to answer.]

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