Action

[crash_mage]

[When Gildarts woke up in the bay, he'd just chalked it up to a night of heavy drinking. After all, he could hold his liquor better than anyone in the guild. ...Except maybe Cana. Still, he decided that it was probably best to just return to the guild hall and see if Mira would fix him something for his hang over. He began wandering aimlessly before finding himself in Fayren, leaving man-sized holes in several buildings as he wandered. Eventually though, he did find himself walking through one of the guild hall's walls, stopping when FINALLY something familiar snapped him to his senses.]

...This looks like the place but...

Comments

[explodewiththerage]

[Luckily he caught the scent right before the explosion of the wall so he had just enough time to tackle Regina and Justyne to the ground and out of the way.]

As soon as he hears Gildarts though he quickly gets up with a big smile on his face.]

Gildarts!

[crash_mage]

Natsu!

[Well that's a good way to get the old guy smiling.]

At least I know I'm in the right place! How ya been?

[explodewiththerage]

[Well same goes for Natsu since he's sorta like a second father figure after Igneel.]

Been working on jobs and building this place up. Though that's only since coming here.

[crash_mage]

What do you mean 'coming here'? This isn't Magnolia? I just figured someone was asleep at the switch with the town shift.

[That's when he glanced around.]

...Who're the kids?

[explodewiththerage]

[He's not surprised in the least. Gildarts while freakishly powerful was a bit of a "in his own world" kind of guy.]

No it ain't. Remember that mess with Edolas that we told you about?

[He turns to the two girls one definitely older than the other and helps them up.]

They're Justyne and Regina. We saved them from a witch during one of the jobs so we took them in. There's Neveren too but I think he's upstairs in his room right now.

[crash_mage]

Yeah, the one where I was supposedly so awesome and powerful I'd gone off in a search for the ultimate enemy to fight with my bare hands, so you guys didn't run into me?

[Yeah, he's kind of in denial that he was probably some farmer in that world. Though once Natsu introduces the kids, his face changes from shit-eating grin, to a genuinely warm smile, kneeling down to get on eye level.]

Nice to meet you two. Don't let Natsu's looks fool ya. He may look scary and mean, but there's not a softer marshmallow around.

Threadjack! (Natsu-mun has gone to bed for the night :) )

[celestial_wizard]

[ O-oi Regina's a grown woman. Although she is shortish. She does think he kneels down to get on eye level with Justyne though, the smaller girl staring wide-eyed at Gildarts because he took out a WHOLE WALL. By Walking through it. Regina pats Justyne on the head, smiling meekly. ]

Oh no, we don't fear Mr. Natsu - I owe him my life - and I am indebted to him for it for saving my charges as well. I don't know what I would do were they devoured as was threatened for me.

[ At this point the small conversation is interrupted by a dynamic entrying dog! In that Herb, having heard the fuss, comes barrelling down the stairs, barking. Hot on his heels is a smaller boy intent on seeing what Herb is barking about. Hot on THEIR heels is Lucy. ]

Hey, Nev, hold on don't go rushing off you two, i- [ ...WHOAH. She stops short in surprise. ] Gildarts?

[ She glances at the girls and Natsu as in disbelief. Is she seeing things? Because if she is, then apparently so is everyone else! ]

So much later... Sometime after the sun sets?

[frostheartedrose]

[Bridget drifted towards the guild hall with her mind on other things and annoyance clear in her pale eyes. She'd been looking forward to having a nice breakfast after a long, hot bath maybe followed by a bit of beast-hunting. Not to mention some potential side jobs that had come up.

But no, she'd barely managed to throw on a skirt, tunic, and corset before heading out to deal with a trail of destruction. Each place she stopped at had a wall or two that had simply been crushed. Nobody had been harmed, but there was a very clear description of a large man with a rather absent-minded expression. Bridget had raised an eyebrow at some of the women's dreamy sighs.

So here she was at the end of the trail at last. There was a cup of steaming tea in one hand and a stack of bills in the other as she stepped through the last hole-in-the-wall and glanced around the guild's main room. It really wasn't a surprise to her that the trail ended here.]

Sounds good. :D

[crash_mage]

[By that time, Gildarts had settled in, and was having himself a nice large mug of beer. It wasn't the same as the guild back in Earth Land, but it wasn't bad. All the kids were lively enough to keep things entertaining, and the people Natsu and Lucy had saved were good people too. When he heard someone coming through the hole he'd left - and had promised to repair tomorrow - he turned to see who it was. Once he saw the lady standing there, he put on his best smoldering look and swayed over to her, the affects of the booze making themselves apparent.]

To what do we owe the honor of being graced by such a vision of lovliness~?

Yay!

[frostheartedrose]

[Yup, all five feet of her all in black. She took a sip of her tea and waved off Regina's hesitant greeting. Pale blue cat-eyes watched as the man she was looking for started coming over with a flirty look and a tankard of beer. Probably not his first of the evening but he didn't seem more than pleasantly blurred.]

Two things, actually. The sun set and you have collected a nice stack of bills during what's probably your first day here.

[Yup, she's willing to put the stack of repair estimates right in front of his face to redirect that focus for now. So what if she's floating to do so? Another sip of tea and Bridget lowered them so she could see his eyes. He did have nice eyes at least even if beer-breath wasn't as enchanting as he might think.]

I managed to convince the worst tempers into just giving you the repair bills as long as you go apologize tomorrow. And there are five women and two men of various ages who wanted to add their names and addresses on the side.

[crash_mage]

[He may have been attempting to read the estimates through bleary and blurred eyes, leaning in when she pulled them away, throwing him slightly off balance. It took a long moment, but he finally put two and two together, looking out past the hole in the wall that Bridget had come through, face contorting into a combination of fear and apology.]

Crap, I walked through some buildings again didn't I? Crap... I keep forgetting Magnolia's the only place with a Gildarts shift... I'm so sorry, I'll do what I can to put things right!

[frostheartedrose]

[Oh dear, he was a bit farther on than she'd first estimated if moving paper shifted his balance. But her eyes do soften a bit when he seems to be genuinely contrite. Well, at least her night wasn't going to start with a confrontation.]

'Gildarts Shift?' I'm sorry I'm not sure what that would be but no. You are in a whole new dimension. Or perhaps a set of dimensions since there seem to be five linked together. I don't recommend getting drunk for a while after tonight until you have a better grasp of the surroundings.

[After a hesitant pause.]

It would certainly make my job easier if you stopped going through walls and just learned to fly instead.

[crash_mage]

Heh, yeah... see, I kinda have a bad habit of not paying attention to where I'm going... and my magic makes anything I touch explode as if a dragon punched it... so Magnolia came up with this system that shifts the buildings around until there's a straight path from the entrance of town to the guild hall.

[He offers his hand, grinning a bit lopsidedly.]

I'm Gildarts, by the way. Maybe we could talk about the issue of money over drinks~?

I kan reeed gud!

[frostheartedrose]

That... It must be nice to have that luxury.

[The words were only slightly dry but the envy was real. Bridget had never been allowed to consider herself as more important than a whole city to the extent that the city changed to accommodate her. But then again it had been a long time since she'd actually called any city 'home'.]

You're used to charming women, aren't you.

[That wasn't a question, Gildarts! But she's going to sigh and give in this time. And that offered hand will be taken by one that could have been a dragon's in compact size. Even if he had Crash on by accident it would only be a passing irritation of spending a few moments repairing the damage.]

Bridget, and only if you're buying, Gildarts. I'm more active at night so I take dark shift here as assistant Guardian for the time being. I'll allow you to buy be breakfast as long as you understand the joke.

[tenkuunomiko]

A-Ah Gildarts-san!

[ Wendy picked up his scent when he got closer to their current Guild Location. The girl was surprised to see more of her companions here, but equally happy. She was outside somewhat sweeping up some of the dirt lying around the area. It was a bit lonely without Charle to talk to, but she was doing her best.

Those poor buildings though. ]

[crash_mage]

Well hey there Wendy. Good to see we have someone that can help Lucy keep Natsu from burning the place down.

[Have a pat on the head.]

[tenkuunomiko]

Ah-- I don't really...

[ She looks a little embarrassed. She smiles shyly at the pat on her head. ]

Did you get here recently, Gildarts-san?

[crash_mage]

Oh stop that, Wendy. I'm willing to put money down that you'll be picked for the next S Rank trials.

[He grins a bit, the 8 contestants he'd pick popping into his head. The thought of 3 Dragon Slayers, Cana, Juvia, Gray, Levy, and Elfman all competing getting him excited already. ...Especially now that Laxus was free to be a part of the exam.]

Hmm? Oh, right, yeah... Just woke up a bit ago. Must've fallen asleep on my way to a job or something.

[tenkuunomiko]

Th-that's much too soon Gildarts-san...I can't possibly b-be--

[ She was much stronger than her past self, but that didn't mean she was prepared to take the S Class Mage exam. She wasn't even sure how that would have ended if not for the infiltration and the attack of Acnologia. Wendy's hands went up as she somewhat flailed in embarrassment at his compliments. ]

Everyone woke up in the same way. Do you know where we are, Gildarts-san?

[fairytails]

[ Aaand when he arrives at the guild, there's the First Master, sitting on a counter because chairs are for chumps. She's beaming at his entrance. ]

Gildarts!

[ Did he ever officially meet her? Doesn't matter, she recognizes him from the island. ]

[crash_mage]

[He'll just beam right back, make his way over, take a seat and...]

...Do I know you? Usually I don't forget someone with a face as cute as yours.

[Yup. Definitely thinks you're one of the new kids to join the guild during that 7 year gap...]

[fairytails]

You know flattery won't get you anywhere with me.

[ Then why are you smiling so much, Mavis? ]

I'm Mavis Vermilion. I was watching over you all while you were on Tenrou Island. [ Also she helped out with the Grand Magic Games, but you disappeared for that one. A shame, they could've used the help. ]

[crash_mage]

It's not flattery if it's-- wait...

[He's just gonna.. kind of point for a second.]

You're Mavis? I mean, I know it's not uncommon for people to live well past a hundred years old with the right kind of magic but...

You look so young...

[fairytails]

You... know my grave is on the island, right?

[ Gildarts, do you know what it means when people have graves? ]

[crash_mage]

I thought that was something Makarov cooked up as some overly complicated clue to lead the kids to the Fairy Glitter marker!

[Wait a second...]

Does that mean you're a GHOST!?