Phoenix Fire || Fairy Tail [1]

𝐯𝐢. 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞

𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙-𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙯𝙖𝙮𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙡𝙛
❛ 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘥 ❜

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Rose glowered at the board which held the guild's pitifully small collection of requests. She had planned on seeking out a decent request to take on as her first, but all she could see were bothersome ones like missing posters for pets. The phoenix slayer pressed her lips together into a thin line, her aura cold. It seemed as though shadows were manifesting around her hunched form when she returned yet another pathetic excuse for a quest to the board.

"Having trouble?"

Rose turned and was greeted by Lucy, who smiled at her warmly. "If you want, Team Natsu is going on a job today. You could join us!"

Rose stared at Lucy for a moment, pondering the offer. Was she genuinely asking, or was it a lie? Did they plan on stabbing her in the back once they were away from the guild? It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried that... still, looking at the hopeful glimmer in Lucy's eyes, Rose couldn't find it in herself to believe the innocent girl would pull such a thing.

"Well... If it isn't too much of a bother, I'd love to tag along with you..." Rose rubbed her arm self-consciously and tried not to fidget beneath Lucy's intense gaze.

"Awesome." Lucy grinned and held her thumbs up. "Meet us at the railway station at noon, okay?"

Rose bobbed her head in agreement, waiting until Lucy was out of sight before she exited the guild herself and returned home to prepare.

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Rose fidgeted with the bottom of her dark grey sweater, making sure that it was properly pulled down over the white shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail with a black ribbon, and her scarf was coiled around her neck as it always was. The boots she wore cut off below her knees, and a black skirt brushed against her skin a few centimetres above her knees. The dark-haired girl had determined that this would be the best choice in clothing since she didn't have any details on the actual content of the mission.

She'd strapped a dagger to her thigh, just in case.

"We're here!"

Rose looked up and recognised the group of mages approaching her. Lucy and Gray were in front, with Erza dragging Natsu behind her. Wendy and the exceeds trailed after them, not too far behind.

"Shall we get going?" Rose asked stiffly. She had begun to think that maybe they had arrived early and left before her, but that seemed to not be the case. Lucy nodded in response, shouldering her messenger bag. "Sorry we're late, Natsu didn't really want to get on the train."

Rose gave a subtle incline of her head, boarding the train after Erza managed to force Natsu in. They walked down a narrow passageway carpeted in red, before finding a few seats towards the rear end of the train.

Rose perched herself on the seat nearest to the window, on the same side as Erza and Gray. Lucy, Natsu and Wendy took the seats opposite them along with the two exceeds. Cylene wasn't able to come due to the possibility that she would draw too much attention.

The train lurched forward just as they settle into their seats. Natsu's face gained a green tinge before he collapsed onto Lucy's lap. The blonde sighed and pet his pink hair reassuringly.

"I'm gonna... ugh... die..."

Lucy's attempts to calm him did nothing to reduce the groans which he emitted. He curled up on the seat as if expecting the position to drown out the rocking motion of the train. Rose felt sympathy for the dragon slayer, despite the fact that they barely knew each other. She had motion sickness too, though it only occurred when she was on a boat.