Phoenix Fire || Fairy Tail [1]

𝐯. 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧. 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙫𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖
❛ 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶? ❜

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"You have to admit, the best one out of all of these is C," Rose prodded Cylene's side. The wyvern shot her an annoyed look.

"You're just saying that because C is the option that gets you furthest away from everyone."

Rose paused. She couldn't deny that; it certainly was part of the reason why she preferred this house to the other two. Besides that, there was also the fact that she'd always wanted a big house to herself (though she'd never been able to because of her tendency to move around).

"Well, it's also safer for you if we choose C," Rose pointed out. It was true. There'd been plenty of incidents in the past where Cylene was nearly kidnapped from right under Rose's nose due to the greed of poachers – her scales were quite valuable, and it wasn't uncommon for rich people to pay obscene amounts of money to get their hands on wyvern scale jewellery.

Cylene grumbled and sat down on the tabletop haughtily, scrutinizing the three fliers advertising homes in Magnolia. The two had spent the better part of their day searching for suitable houses, having spent the night at an inn, before heading to a real estate centre where they were shown various buildings which could be bought or rented.

Option A, Cylene's favourite, was a flat just across from Lucy's apartment. Rose thought it seemed practical, but it would be too close to other people – Cylene would have to be on guard constantly. Not to mention, it was annoying to have to pay rent. She'd rather buy a house so she wouldn't have to concern herself with a landowner 24/7.

Option B was a room at Fairy Hills, the dormitories where many of the girls from Fairy Tail stayed. The problem with this, however, was not just the ridiculous rent, but also the annoying rules you'd have to follow to stay there. Rose wasn't one for communal living, either, so it was for the best that she didn't choose Fairy Hills.

Option C was Rose's favourite. As Cylene had mentioned, the house was at the fringes of the town, partially concealed by the treeline. The agent had told her that it was on the older side, but the previous owners had remodelled the insides into something more comfortable before placing the building up for sale. Despite this, no one had wanted it, because it would be a pain to travel between town and the house. Rose didn't mind this. It wasn't like she'd be staying here for long... the house was temporary.

That didn't stop her from getting excited about it, though.

Rose's fondness for the remote location was largely due to her familiarity with the wilderness. She'd been brought up in it, after all, and it was much more comforting to her than the hustle and bustle of the city. Cylene wouldn't have to be worried about getting caught, either.

"Come on, it's not like we're going to be here long," Rose complained, waving the flyer about in the wyvern's face, "doesn't it look like a nice place to stay?"

Cylene studied Rose seriously for a moment.

"You really don't plan to stay here, do you?"

Rose got up and tucked the flyer in her pocket and turned away, already opening her bag so that Cylene could hop in.

"No... I don't."

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Rose wondered if, perhaps, her newly purchased house gave off too much of a 'creepy-old-lady-in-the-woods' vibe. It sort of did, with its white framed windows and grey walls. A cobblestone pathway wound between overgrown rosebushes and through a trellis concealed by a towering bougainvillea shrub.

"It looks huge!" Cylene exclaimed, "isn't it a bit too much for something you only plan on keeping for a while?"

Rose could sense her companion's accusatory tone – why would she get such a home if she didn't plan to keep it?

"I might not sell it when we leave," Rose replied plainly as they passed beneath the white trellis, "we could come back and visit every now and then. It's easier than carrying everything we own with us, anyway."

Cylene huffed, obviously annoyed by the phoenix slayer's reasoning, and leapt out of the bag to glide over to the front door on her own. Rose tugged the keychain out of her pocket and picked one that had 'front door' engraved on its side. A short twist and a bit of awkward jiggling the key in the lock later, she was able to convince the door to ease inward reluctantly.

To be honest, she felt sort of nervous. It was the first time she'd owned a house. Was there some kind of protocol for moving into a new home?

Rose breathed in to calm herself before taking the first step, closing the door behind her after Cylene had entered too. They emerged in an empty living room with dark wooden floors and eggshell blue walls. There was a wall of arched windows set in white frames to their left and a staircase along the wall to the right. Through the clear glass, she could see an unruly garden of wildflowers and herbs. She'd have her hands full trying to get this place to reach her standards.

Nevertheless, it was beautiful. Rose had only managed to afford it because she had a lot of valuable items she'd collected over her travels which equated to the worth of the building. Its value had gone down a lot due to its location... not to mention, there was still the matter of purchasing furnishings.

"Why is being an adult so hard?" Rose muttered to herself, reaching into her pocket to retrieve a crumpled floor plan. Apparently, there were two bedrooms upstairs with adjoining bathrooms. She didn't really need the spare, as Cylene preferred slept next to her. Besides that, there was a room which had previously acted as a study or an office – also something she'd never use. Rose considered it a bonus.

"Congratulations," Cylene began as Rose set her bag on the dusty floor, "you're a homeowner!"

"Great," Rose grumbled, already dreading the housework associated. She could barely tame her hair. How the hell was she supposed to keep a building and its surrounding garden in liveable conditions? 

Published: 09/07/2017

Edited: 03/03/2019