Hey, everyone. I'm back with the second chapter of "Geoffrey's Legacy".
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Fairy Tail - all rights and stuff belong to Hiro Mashima. If I was the one to start Fairy Tail, fan-service wouldn't be so prominent and there would be side-series' focused on Irene's ascension to a Queen, how the Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and Phantom Lord guilds came to be, Makarov's rise to Guild Master and how Gildarts joined Fairy Tail and became Guild Ace. I only own self-made characters, magic and storylines (I don't).
Enjoy and don't forget to review.
"Study the past, if you would define the future." - Confucius
Chapter 2
As Lorraine Xantine had suspected, Gajeel Redfox wanted to do very little talking. Because he'd taken a really easy Job from the Job Description Board, which required them to take out some thugs who happened to be harassing Oak Town, stealing and committing arson on houses in the southern part of the town.
Gajeel grumbled about the small pay in form of 10,000 Jewels, and would have quit had the nineteen year old not reassured him that he'd be able to have 70% of the reward in the end of the Job they will take together.
He seemed more than content to hold onto the piece of paper which described their job, and feast on a random scrap of iron he'd found. Gajeel had wanted to go straight to the thugs and deck them in the schnoz personally, but Lorraine managed to convince him that it'd be smarter to inform the mayor of Oak Town first.
That they're gonna go beat up the thugs and drag them back so they could be punished. And then go collect their reward as part of the Job's success for Phantom Lord.
"So, Gajeel, do you have parents?", Lorraine inquired, glancing over at her fellow Phantom Lord Mage who grunted, tossing his half eaten piece of iron aside.
"Nah, I'm an orphan. Never knew my parents, probably died soon after I was born, but starting from five years old, I was raised and taught magic by a dragon. Sounds fucking stupid, I know, but he brought me up in an abandoned iron ore mine. Then, Metalicana, my foster dragon and father figure, suddenly vanished on my twelfth birthday. I've never gone to look for the bastard, and I don't really care if he shows up again.", the long spiky haired teen replied, trying to sound 100% convinced that he wouldn't care.
Talk about a chip on your shoulder. He really missed this Metalicana even if he doesn't want to admit it at all..., she thought in observation.
"Brought up and taught Magic by a Dragon... in an abandoned iron ore mine? To be honest, given the kind of world we live in, that actually doesn't sound too far-fetched. Also, has anyone ever told you that Metalicana sounds like some sort of heavy metal band?", Lorraine asked, mimicking the action of bellowing into a microphone.
The question earned an amused snort from Gajeel who had imagined his adoptive Dragon father to be playing a guitar and a cool fedora that were made for his enormous size. He remarked, "A few times. What about your background, living the life as a happy-go-lucky princess, and then, sudden tragedy? Gihihihihi."
Lorraine wondered if her ears were clogged up with wax, because Gajeel's laugh was the strangest thing she ever heard... and the most ear destroying. It sounded like he was scraping pieces of twisted metal against each other and purposefully dragging them, alongside some of his fingernails, against a rough chalkboard.
"Hah, funny, my life was the furthest it could possibly be from being the life of a
'happy-go-lucky' princess. Despite the efforts of my mother, Cynthia, who gave birth to me in X760, my life was a complete sack of shit, up until I fled to Habanera Town in January X773 - after that jackass of a father killed my mother. I wasn't well educated, due to his... own issues, so I had to go to school and be educated on multiple areas. I was able to persuade someone to give me a job when I was thirteen - allowing me to accumulate jewels and live in my own property from fourteen, all the while learning my various forms of Magic."
She finished, "I made many friends while living and learning in Habanera Town; some adults, and others being girls my own age. With the forms of Magic that I had learned, I also took jobs which would normally be reserved for Mages belonging to Guilds, and then became a professional hunter in mid-X777 - hunting animals and even dangerous monsters just for the thrill. I left to join a Guild about two weeks ago, an obvious point since I was in Phantom Lord and annoying you."
That prompted Gajeel to stop in his tracks and glared at her with a dark look on his face as the son of Metalicana bluntly called out, "You're lying."
Lorraine halted with him, a blood vessel nearly bursting in her forehead as she rounded on the 5'5ft raven haired teen who remained unflinching, despite her obvious anger towards him. "Excuse me!? You don't even know me, what part of that is a lie?!", she yelled.
Gajeel simply tapped his ears in response, "Some part of that story was a pile of bullshit. I don't know which part, but I could tell that you weren't telling the truth. And that the way you speak was too rehearsed."
"And how can you can tell?", the blonde challenged, feeling peeved at her fellow Mage's criticism.
"It's all thanks to my Magic that I was taught by Metalicana, Iron Dragon Slayer Magic, came with the added bonus of enhanced senses, especially hearing and sight. Your heart rate increased, and your voice rose in pitch by a miniscule amount. I'm essentially a walking lie detector.", he explained, showing his confidence of his abilities.
Ah, crapbaskets! Just my luck. I am surprised Master Jose didn't say anything about it when I joined the Guild. Yet Gajeel saw through me., she thought in nervousness.
"What's Iron Dragon Slayer Magic? And you're right, I wasn't telling the whole truth, but I'd rather not talk about it, especially not with you, someone who doesn't seem to be the sort who deals with sensitive stuff.", Lorraine told him, fixing her eyes on him.
Gajeel snorted as they continued walking, nearing the residence of Oak Town's Mayor named Tuare Ninya Veyron, "You got that right. If you wanna go do the
'my life is a sack of shit, and I need a strong shoulder to cry on' routine, don't pick me to provide that shoulder for you. I ain't got time for that pansy ass nonsense, and as for Iron Dragon Slayer Magic, I'll show you later."
'Tch, it better be worth the wait, or I'm putting an arrow so far up your ass, you won't be able to pull it out.' Lorraine thought as they stopped outside a fancy-looking building, clearly owned by someone who could afford to throw away jewels on expensive luxury. The front door opened, courtesy of a smartly dressed, middle aged but sharp and strong looking, greying butler, before Lorraine could even knock on the door.
"Welcome to Lady Tuare's manor. I am Sebas Tian. She has been expecting you, Phantom Lord Mages.", the butler politely greeted them, allowing the two to enter.
She and Gajeel took a few steps inside as an elegantly dressed woman, clearly Mayor Tuare Ninya Veyron herself and aged somewhere in her late-thirties, gracefully descended down a flight of stairs in the building, smiling warmly as she stepped outside to greet them.
Before Lorraine could get a word out, Gajeel shoved the job description close to her face, prompting the woman to quickly step back if she didn't want to end up with a nasty bruise on her forehead. Although Sebas Titan had frowned in disapproval at such rude action towards the lady of the manor he faithfully served under but so far he kept his mouth silent and not take action unless she ordered him to.
Although annoyed at such act by Gajeel up close all of a sudden, Mayor Tuare quickly shrugged that off with a professional look and began to speak that also didn't sound as arrogant as the duo expected her to.
"Ah, thank you for coming, subordinates of Wizard Saint Jose Porla. As you already know, we're having trouble with criminals who insist on stealing from us and burning down homes. They always come from the forests over there. It would be wonderful if you could take care of them, um...", the female Mayor of Oak Town trailed off, pointing at a section of the vast forest behind them where the group of bandits were hiding there.
"Mages of Phantom Lord. Lorraine Xanthine, and this is Gajeel Redfox, he's a second cousin of mine. Clearly younger and rather unruly, I mean look at those facial piercings and shaven eyebrows... I apologize ma'am, I'm going off track, I promise we won't let you down, ma'am.", the blonde woman flinched as her accomplice jabbed a finger into her ribs.
As they turned around to leave Mayor Tuare's manor and proceed on the Job to go find and beat up some thugs, Gajeel hissed, "I can speak for myself, thank you very much. Last time I checked, I ain't mute, and I definitely ain't your cousin. Also, we won't let you down, ma'am. Heh, look at you, Girl Scout."
"I'd much rather be a Girl Scout, than have the attitude of a dangerously undisciplined thug who thinks it's okay to practically disrespect and nearly assault clients. I mean, Gajeel, you nearly punched her in the forehead. Do you want her to cut our reward by a significant amount, like thirty percent, or give us a bad review?", the female Phantom Lord Mage shot back.
She then added, "Not to mention, her butler looked like he's gonna tear you apart with his bare hands. And then clean what's left of you and take out the trash afterwards."
This elicited an irritated growl from Gajeel. He turned his head away from her, sneering, "And this is why I go on Jobs alone. So I don't have to put up with other people's bullshit. I pity people who end up getting into romantic relationships. Having to put up with the nagging of the other person, 24/7."
"Well would you look at that, I never knew
'romantic relationships' were in your vocabulary, and I wouldn't speak too soon if I were you. You might get unlucky, end up in a relationship with a girl who can put you in your place - yourself being the one doing the nagging.", Lorraine retorted.
Gajeel crinkled his nose in disdain, appearing to be disgusted by the thought, "In your dreams. I never nag, and I definitely ain't getting into a something stupid like a romantic relationship. As for you, I couldn't see anyone wanting to do anything with a irritating, loudmouth blonde like you, gihihihihi."
*
The nineteen year old scoffed, "Someone not wanting anything to do with me? Dream on! I could probably get more girls than you could ever hope to have? However, maybe you're just not into girls, you know, perhaps you secretly root for the other side, but don't want to admit it?", the blonde suggested, smirking and raising an eyebrow.
As they walked into the forest, a look of abject horror found its way onto Gajeel's face, his brain quickly catching up and working out what she meant.
"What the fuck, no way, don't even suggest that I'm gay?!" Gajeel snapped, nearly falling into a ditch.
Lorraine grabbed the back of his shirt's neckline, pulling him back before he could fall into the muddy water. "You know, that's a really vehement denial. Are you sure that you don't want to tell me anything, I mean I won't judge you for being gay, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I think you and Totomaru would make a great couple... even though he's six years older than you, and acknowledging the fact that you're a minor."
As they leapt over the ditch, easily landing on the other side, Lorraine noticed that Gajeel had converted the flesh on his right fist into iron. She playfully nudged him, earning a rough shove in retaliation which nearly knocked her off balance and into the wide ditch, "Hey, lighten up, I was just teasing you. Perhaps you just need help getting that eight foot
'antihumour' pole out of your ass."
Gajeel rounded on her, threateningly raising his fist as he bared his teeth, "That's it, you keep your mouth shut or I'll-"
"Hey you two, stop arguing with each other and stay where you are!" A weasly voice cut in, infuriating Gajeel even more as they turned towards the source of the interruption.
It was a skinny young man with brown hair, tatty clothes, nervous eyes which darted back and forth between Gajeel and Lorraine, and a wicked looking knife possessing a serrated edge.
Nervously, he tried to sound threatening to little success, "Hey, lady, your backpack. I want it. Take it off and give it to me, and while you're at it, give me those mesh warmers on your elbows, your trainers, the sliver earring, and the bracelet. Just do as I say and nobody has to get hurt."
Unshaken by the weak verbal and physical threat, Gajeel yawned and settled into a frog-like crouch, giving Lorraine the go-ahead. It was clear that he wanted to see what the newbie member of Phantom Lord can do herself.
She flexed one of her hands, warning the criminal, "You know, we're both Mages, and I use Requip: The Archer. Trust me on this, this is going to end terribly for you, and I really don't want to give up my backpack. I think I'd rather keep it for another... I don't know, three, maybe four more years."
"If you were smart, at this point you would've already ran away from us and gone to find somebody else, an easier target, to rob. Now,
Requip: Flatbow.", the blonde finished as she summoned the aforementioned weapon, and then summoned an arrow with two red Magic Circles whose intricate symbol on the center is that of an medieval archer's cap with a bow and arrow.
"Mages? I don't care about that, pretentious pricks that you are, just hurry up and give me the backpack.", the man flinched, almost dropping his knife when the flatbow appeared as he tried to act tough in front of two people who can use Magic.
Lorraine partially nocked the arrow, held the flatbow towards the ground, and asked, "If you're so eager to have my backpack, then why don't you come and get it. Surely, for a criminal like yourself, you're tough and strong enough to handle a bit of pain."
Raising the flatbow and pulling back the bowstring, Lorraine fired the arrow into his right knee before he could ask what she meant. The man staggered, falling backwards, and he would've screamed if it weren't for the nineteen year old who pressed her hand against his mouth, preventing him from making nothing more than prolonged muffled noises.
The Iron Dragon Slayer walked over, smirking as he sneered, "If you scream when she moves her hand, I'll shatter the bone in your shin, then break your wrist and one of your collarbones. One crippled leg is bad, but two? Life wouldn't be worth living."
Setting the flatbow on the forest floor next to her, Lorraine moved her hand away and immediately clenched it, ready to punch the young man in the face if he tried to scream. Through teary eyes, he frantically said, "Please don't hurt me! The guys that I were with are four-hundred metres away, huddled around a camp fire as they share horror stories and show off the stuff that they've stolen!"
He added in confession, "I've never stolen anything, or burned down any houses! I'm just a lookout, but I thought I'd try my luck with you two!"
"Awww, that wasn't fun, and that was easier than I expected it to be. Hey, you're the worst criminal I've ever met. I thought criminals were meant to be hardcore fuckheads... well, most of them at least. Stop being a little bitch and grow a pair.", Gajeel looked disappointed, but then mashed his iron fist into the man's collarbone, breaking it with an audible
'SNAP!'.
Lorraine had to cover his mouth with her hand to suppress another scream, rolling her eyes as Gajeel transformed his fist back into ordinary flesh - gleefully snickering as he did so.
"Gajeel, was that really necessary?" Lorraine snapped, watching the young man's chest as his breathing slowly transitioned from hyperventilating to deep, rapid breaths. The fourteen year old was about to answer the question when his accomplice suddenly punched the wounded man in his temple, knocking him unconscious. As his limp body began to slump, Lorraine pushed him over - leaving him out cold on his right side.
"Lorraine, was that really necessary?" Gajeel deadpanned in response.
Lorraine laughed as they stood up and dragged him over to a nearby tree, "Touché. Anyways, he'll live, but he probably won't be walking again. As for his collarbone, I guess we'll find out in the foreseeable future. Come on, we've got some criminals to beat up and a lot of valuables, possibly unbelievably expensive or highly rare ones, to rescue, recover, and return."
"Yeah, yeah, quit badgering me, I already know the details of the job, I haven't forgot. I ain't got a short term memory. Why didn't you leave your backpack in the guild? It's not like we're going to be camping out. Also, I can definitely hear the crackling of their camp sites fire." Gajeel told her as they started walking.
Lorraine shrugged, "Well, I don't exactly know where I'm going to be sleeping - Master Jose didn't tell or show me whether Phantom Lord has dorms, so I'm carrying it around until I find out. And everyone in the guild looks really shady, I wouldn't trust them to not look through and take something from my backpack."
"Fair point. By the way, that was some good shooting. I've never seen someone raise a bow and fire off an arrow so quickly - although it's not like I watch archery competitions. At least I know that you'll be able to handle yourself." Gajeel commented after he had observed her in action.
Lorraine glanced over at him before she gave a cheeky smile, "Wow, am I going deaf, or did you just give me a compliment? I'm saving that, I don't think I'll ever get another one."
"Yeah, whatever... I was feeling generous." Gajeel grumbled the last part to himself. Suddenly, something caught his eye, just as his leg stepped over and into it.
Courtesy of his Iron Dragon Slayer durability that's far tougher than regular human skin, the teen smirked as a bear trap snapped shut, the jaws shattering as they fiercely smashed into his lower leg but they end up being completely shattered as a result. "Gihihihihi, a bear trap? These guys might be trash, but they definitely have good taste. Gihihihihi, if you were in my position, you'd be screaming like a bitch.", he commented with amusement.
Lorraine stared at the destroyed bear trap that failed to even make an Iron Dragon Slayer flinch and believed that it's part of his Magic enhancing his body to be tougher than a regular human.
It's safe to say that a poor schmuck with a metal weapon will be in for a surprise when they try attack him to no effect., she thought.
"Oh please, you must be out of your mind if you think I could be taken out by a mere bear trap. Still, I'm surprised you even saw it. Normally you appear to be zoning off. I guess you have a higher attention span than I thought you did.", she retorted, taking the remains of the trap and flinging it aside.
On the other hand, Gajeel shook off the remains of the destroyed bear trap from his undamaged leg. "What an absolute joke, using something that only Rune Knights, petty civilians, and the worst mages would fall for. What did they think would be coming for them, stealing from the town that Phantom Lord is situated in? Now I'm even more eager to beat them up and put them in their place.", the son of Metallicana stated, sporting a bloodthirsty grin as he sniffed around and after locating the targets, he stormed ahead with great speed.
Lorraine had to pick up the pace and catch up to him, running as fast as she can with the flatbow in her right hand. "Yeah, leave me behind so you can hog all the fun why don't you?", she sarcastically called out.
Reaching their destination, the Phantom Lord Mages came across the camp a few seconds later. Lorraine nearly running into Gajeel when he'd suddenly stopped but she stopped herself in time.
Standing beside him, she saw that the camp was a semicircle of thirteen men, all of them sitting down and facing away from the duo - showing off their prizes to each other - with the oldest being in his early forties. One was repeatedly throwing a Communications Lacrima Crystal into the air as if it were a ball to play with, another had an expensive looking watch on his wrist, whilst another appeared to be hilariously clumsy as he carelessly swung around an ornamental katana, almost beheading one of his friends in the process.
"Your call, Gajeel. Show me what this Dragon, Metalicana, taught you.", the blonde requested, prompting Gajeel to step forwards, smirking and eager to show off as he kicked a fallen branch aside.
The men were so preoccupied with themselves, they didn't even hear the noise made when he kicked the branch on purpose.
The son of Metalicana took a deep breath and cupped his hands in front of his mouth as if he is going to blow a trumpet, a green colorred intricate Magic Circle with a draconic symbol appearing in front of him as he did so.
Lorraine whistled loudly, getting the attention of the entire group. Suddenly caught off guard, the bandits quickly dropped their ill-gotten stuff, before scrambling to get their weapons and defend themselves.
But it was too late as the raven haired teen narrowed his eyes and called out, "You dumbasses chose the wrong town to steal from. Now, be torn to pieces!
IRON DRAGON'S ROAR!"
Lorraine widened her eyes as a powerful tornado, colored dark grey due to the amount of iron scraps that was in it, raged forwards from Gajeel's mouth and engulfed the men, putting out their fire in the process. She watched, awed, as the attack carved up the ground and shredded trees, reducing them to miniscule stumps. Eventually, the son of Metalicana stopped his attack, allowing Lorraine to see the complete aftermath of his Iron Dragon's Roar.
The ground looked as if someone had taken multiple giant rakes to it, scraping as hard and fast as they could without any form of organization. The men were even more unfortunate. Most of them were lying on the ground, moaning in pain as their limbs been twisted into awkward and painful positions, while the iron shards had shredded their clothes, making them appear to have charged through barbed wire, and embedded themselves into exposed flesh, suffering bleeding wounds all over their bodies.
Only one, who'd dived for cover, had managed to escape the onslaught. Disentangling himself from one of the moaning men, he grunted, hurriedly scrambling to his feet. As the bandit began to run away and abandon his associates, Lorraine nocked an arrow and incapacitated him by shooting the arrow into his left thigh. He cried out in pain, staggering in his tracks. The wounded criminal tried to get up, but was then knocked unconscious, dropping like a sack of potatoes as Gajeel threw a sizeable rock into his head.
"So that's the Roar of an Iron Dragon, huh? Well, thank goodness I wasn't on the receiving end of that.", Lorraine noted out loud as they began to go around to each of the men, taking any items that were in their possession and forcing them to stand up despite their protests.
She pulled the arrow out of her victim's leg, hooked her arms underneath his shoulders and dragged him over towards the other men, forcing two of them to hold his deadweight, ignoring their pained protests.
Gajeel retrieved a nearby sack which escaped obliteration by his attack, going around and filling it with the stolen items. He considered taking the Communications Lacrima Crystal for himself, but decided against it. He would have no use for the device, would probably just end up breaking it, and if Jose ever wanted to summon him for a private meeting, then he could always just send a Thought Projection to get him. The Dragon Slayer of Metalicana sniffed at one of the watches, huffing when he couldn't smell any iron in it.
"Now, as you can see, it's the end of the line for you guys. My partner and I are going to follow you back to Oak Town, and if any of you step out of line, or try to run away, you won't like what'll come to you." Lorraine warned, literally slapping a pained smirk off one of their faces. Hearing heavy footsteps approaching, she turned to see Gajeel walking over to them, a bulging sack held in his arms.
"I'll carry the stuff, so your flimsy arms won't complain about carrying it." He told her, a mocking smirk plastered to his face. Lorraine rolled her eyes, shoving the first man and
'encouraging' him to start moving.
Getting all the men over the ditch had initially been troublesome. None of them possessed the physical conditioning that most Mages did, so they couldn't simply jump over to the other side, and they didn't want to wade through the muddy water. Gajeel refused to take a short trip over a nearby bridge, so Lorraine had him turn his arms into two iron poles - allowing the men to use his arm as a small walkway.
Nearly forgetting about the man she'd knocked unconscious and kneecapped, before being brutalized by Gajeel, the blonde woman jumped across the ditch while holding him in a fireman's carry. Joining her and getting the men to start moving again, Gajeel looked vaguely impressed that she was carrying someone else, probably weighing quite a lot more than she did, on her shoulders.
Lorraine gave him a pointed look that said,
'Yeah, bastard, I'm stronger than you think.'
Gajeel's face gave away the fact that he wanted to say something, but whatever it was, he considered against it. Lorraine didn't mind, she'd get it out of him another time by driving him up the wall with her brand of madness.
One of the men sighed, nearly tripping over a rock, "Guys, can you believe it? We got taken out by a blonde chick with a bow, and her emo friend who's what, fourteen, maybe fifteen? Pretty sad when you think about it, even if they did use Magic."
Lorraine would've retorted to his comment, but Gajeel beat her to it as he called out. "I'm fourteen, and there ain't anything sad about it. You guys just suck in the fighting department, that's all. Your awareness could do with some work, I was surprised when you guys didn't hear me kick a branch. Seriously, how long did you lot think you could keep committing arson and theft, before you got taken down.
'Yeah, let's steal from a town with a guild in it. A really good idea, right guys, we'll be able do this forever'."
Some of the younger members of the gang, despite their moderate injuries, couldn't help but snicker at the expense of their leader. Their said leader got red in the face after being savagely roasted.
Lorraine cleared her throat, suppressing a laugh, causing the leader of the gang to leer at her, his eyes lecherously scanning her figure, lingering on her covered bust for longer than she was comfortable with, "Yeah, laugh all you want now, Blondie. Once I'm out of jail, I'll be coming for you first. After I'm done with her, I'll be going for you, punk."
"Awww... Look at you, acting all big and threatening a girl, although given who I am, and who you are, it feels empty. Until you learn Magic, keep your lousy mouth shut. But given how old you are, it's pretty much too late for that. Do you feel threatened, Gajeel?" Lorraine asked, looking over at the Iron Dragon Slayer who shook his head, smirking at the humiliated criminal leader as they passed the trees and re-entered Oak Town.
"Alright, hurry up and get your asses into gear, I want to be back in Phantom Lord as soon as possible!" Gajeel yelled at the frightened bandits, forcing them to break out into a medium paced jog.
As they rapidly advanced through the outskirts of Oak Town, spotting some of the houses which had been burned down, several passing residents of the town came over to help the duo from Phantom Lord lead the men over to the mayor's house. They were pleased to see that the criminals being captured as karma happening upon them.
Surprisingly, Mayor Tuare Ninya Veyron was standing outside her house with a bag in her right hand, and her butler Sebas Tian stood next to her, the former standing right where Lorraine and Gajeel had left her. A bright smile appeared on her face as the captured criminals were made to stand in a line in front of her.
Lorraine had a few arrow nocked, ready to shoot incase any of the men tried to make a move for the mayor. So far, none of the bandits had done anything at all but it's better safe than sorry.
The butler, despite appearing to be old, didn't bat an eyelid or complain despite the weight of the sack that Gajeel had just handed to him. In fact, it even looked like he carried it with one right hand as it's simply like paperweight to him.
He's definitely not some regular butler., Lorraine thought in observation.
Sebas Tian said, "Thank you, good sir. Ma'am, I'll be sure to distribute the stolen goods to their rightful owners."
The said butler then walked off, heading towards the town center, soon vanishing amongst the masses of people. After watching him leave, the mayor assigned a several of Oak Town's guards to get the men imprisoned so they could await their rightful punishment.
Finally, Mayor Tuare addressed the two, "Thank you, both of you. I'll be sure to send a messenger to the Magic Council so they know that Oak Town is no longer being disturbed. Here's your reward, 10,000 Jewels, as stated in the job request. I'll be sure to send good word to Wizard Saint Jose Porla."
"You're welcome, ma'am. If you ever need someone to sort out a disturbance in Oak Town, whether domestic or foreign, you know where to find us.", Lorraine took the bag of Jewels as the mayor retreated back into her house, satisfaction flowing through the former's body.
Shrugging, the duo began to walk their way back to Phantom Lord, splitting the jewels between them in the way the nineteen year old had promised - 7,000 Jewels to Gajeel, and 3,000 Jewels to Lorraine.
On their way back to the guild, Lorraine glanced at Gajeel, almost doing a double take when she saw him munching on a piece of mangled iron. What baffled her was where he could've got it from. Surely there hadn't been a random piece of iron in the middle of the forest, had there?
She frowned, confused, "What the hell? Where did you get that piece of iron from? I could've sworn you weren't carrying that when we came out of the forest."
Gajeel grunted, "Remember the bear trap which nearly took off my leg? This twisted piece of iron is that trap. While you were taking your sweet time in figuring out a way to get those guys past the ditch, I briefly went back for the bear trap. It smelled and tasted of iron, so I crushed it and stuffed it down my shirt to have as a snack later."
Lorraine gave him a bewildered stare, "You, Gajeel Redfox, are the weirdest person I've ever met, and I'm probably going to be saying that many more times. Seriously, does your diet consist of iron and nothing but iron? I mean, I get that iron is good for the body, but do you ever consume other things. It's a wonder how you're not suffering from a vast number of deficiencies and diseases."
Gajeel yelled in annoyance, "Goddammit, quit badgering me! You ain't my mother
*, or any female relative for that matter!
'And this is Gajeel Redfox, he's a second cousin of mine.' For the record, I actually do eat other stuff, if you really must know. Have you seen a fourteen year old with arms like mine? No... I didn't think so. Protein, essential minerals and carbohydrates, with fats and other stuff sprinkled here and there."
"What about you, on a diet? Gihihihihi." the Iron Dragon Slayer then asked her in turn, laughing at her expense.
"On a diet?! Do I look like I'm on a diet, you cheeky bastard?! How about I punch you in the face and break you nose, give you a really large hint about whether I'm on a diet or not?", Lorraine threatened, de-summoning her flatbow.
"Alright, alright, no need to get so pissy about it. Besides, you punch me in the face, I'll punch you right back and then blast you with my roar attack. I wouldn't want to do it, mess up that pretty face of yours. Still sure about punching me?" Gajeel haughtily retorted, showing off his sharp canine teeth and willing to carry it out.
Lorraine really wanted to knock the cocky smirk off from his face. But not today as she can tell that he is stronger and his Dragon Slayer Magic ain't something to be trifled with.
"... One day. One day, Redfox, you'll never see it coming. Nor will you hear it coming, I promise you that." Lorraine said, pushing open Phantom Lord's doors. She walked through and slammed the both of them in Gajeel's face, but he swiftly retaliated, kicking one of them open.
The blonde had to jump out of the way to avoid having her face imprinted into the side of the door, while the hinges groaned in protest.
Lorraine flipped him the bird and made a beeline straight for Totomaru. The twenty year old sat up in his chair, setting aside his cider, "Well, it looks like you made it. Although it'd be pretty embarrassing to know that you screwed up an easy Job, take out a few thieves troubling Oak Town, and I see you're getting along with Gajeel, flipping the bird at him and all. Did you see his Lost Magic in action, the Iron Dragon Slayer Magic?"
The blonde nodded, "Yeah, he took out a bunch of guys with his roar attack. The aftermath of that thing was pretty savage. I mean, you'd think a Giant had been dragging his fingernails through the forest."
"What have you been doing whilst I was out, drinking cider and getting tipsy? Get off your ass and go on a Job, or show me where the female dorms are. There's no way in hell I'm sleeping on the floor like a homeless person.", she inquired.
Totomaru waved her off, "Mmmmm, I'll go on a Job tomorrow, probably take you with me, and after I finish my cider, I'll show you where the female dorms are. By the way, did you get anything to do on the job, or did Gajeel hog up every opportunity?"
"Nah, I got to shoot a couple of guys. The first interrupted an argument between Gajeel and I, so I put an arrow through his knee. Afterwards, he broke one of his collarbones and I knocked him out. The second escaped the wrath of Gajeel's breath attack, allowing me to put an arrow into his left thigh. It wasn't much, but I still managed to contribute." Lorraine commented, smiling as Totomaru began subconsciously massaging his kneecaps.
"Stop worrying, I won't put an arrow through your knees, unless you give me a good reason to." Lorraine reassured him, drinking a sizeable portion of Totomaru's cider just because she could.
The older man blanched, ignoring the fact that Lorraine had down half of his remaining cider, "Right, that makes me feel so much better. Just don't do anything to piss you off, and I don't get an arrow through my knees. It's a wonder how you haven't kneecapped Gajeel yet."
"It was tempting, especially with some of the comments he made, but Gajeel would probably have no qualms beating me to death if I did, whether or not he had knees to chase me with.", Lorraine replied, shaking her head to rid her mind of the nightmarish image.
"Also-"
"Hey, Blondie!" Gajeel interrupted whatever Totomaru was going to say, prompting the two of them to look over at the Iron Dragon Slayer who held a cold glass of lemonade in his right hand.
With their attention on him, Gajeel continued, looking uncharacteristically awkward as he turned his head away and grit his teeth, "You're alright, not a bad partner, I'll give you that."
Lorraine blinked, "Er, okay, thanks."
Widening his eyes in shock, Totomaru spat out his drink, "What!? What have you done to him, he just gave you a compliment! I've gone on one-hundred Jobs with that jerk, and not once has he complimented me. Just insults, insults, and more insults! And if my Gajeel-ese is up to date, then he basically said -
'You did good out there. You and I teaming up would be cool, but don't get your hopes up'."
The nineteen year old chuckled in amusement, "He said that? That's awesome, although I think we'd end up killing each other if we were on a team together."
Author's Note: Okay, Chapter 2 of "Geoffrey's Legacy" is done and I hope you like it guys. Lorraine having completed her first Job of handling a local bandit gang with Gajeel after recently joining Phantom Lord and they managed to get along with each other somewhat in their own way. Especially in a Legal Guild that is Phantom Lord, a complete opposite of Fairy Tail.
*Oh the irony as canon Gajeel would eventually hit off with Levy McGarden as a couple (even after their first meeting wasn't nice and he admitted that it was his most despicable sin when fighting Bloodman of the Spriggan 12) and later they are expecting to have a child of their own together as shown in Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest.
*The closest thing Gajeel got to a mother was Councilwoman Belno and he reminded her of her deceased son who was said to greatly resemble him. Belno's assassination by Tartaros really hurt Gajeel who remembered her wishes for him.
Enjoy and don't forget to review.