Most Uncomfortable Mission

[Ren Caverly]

Ren was going to a tournament soon. She was getting to see Kotone soon. Things were going to go so well, so soon. Okay, seeing Kotone would be good. The tournament would be… awful. Kade seemed excited, but all Ren knew was that she had to attempt to beat other people. Ren could not beat other people. She was trying to be confident, but Ren was not confident. She wasn’t going to let herself be scared or upset though. She was going to be calm. She just had so many emotions to deal with right now and she needed a way to let them out. She looked over the job board. This was a strange habit of hers. Kade seemed to have made an impact on her because she kept looking at this board. Were there new ways to help people? Should she go out of her way to help people? She wasn’t a hero, but she was a nice person. Not a good person, she was bad luck… but… she could use her magic well. She nodded to herself, tugging her hoodie a bit closer. There were no jobs, so she would go looking for a job. First Ren went to pack.

203/500

[Ren Caverly]

She had been on a trip to Magnolia and given her spending money to a girl to buy some costumes. That had been strange. She had just been walking along and then suddenly she was accosted for a job. Except he didn’t seem to care who she was, and he didn’t seem to want to talk. Somehow that translated into her taking a job for Fairy Tail. She didn’t know much about Fairy Tail, but if people needed helping, Ren supposed she would help them. It was the right thing to do, the especially for a Lamia Scale member. She was going to be representing her guild soon, she needed to remember this. So she had taken the job, found a girl, and bought stolen items from her. Then she’d been reimbursed. It wasn’t how Ren expected things to go, but she had made everyone happy. The girl needed money for whatever reason, and now she had it. The show needed their costumes, and they had that too. Even the stuffy quiet guy might have smiled. She wasn’t really sure about that though. He might not have known how. She hoped she didn’t run into more stuffy quiet men… or men. She just wanted to be alone, but she knew she needed to take whatever she stumbled upon for this adventure.

424/500

[Ren Caverly]

So with a backpack on and the appropriate belongings intact, Ren headed out on her own. Being on her own was nothing new. She had long since lost the ability to tell if she was more afraid of being alone, or of being around people. She wasn’t around people much during parts of her childhood, then when she was it was bad, then the only person she was around was bad. Then when she was alone she nearly died. She never recovered from her self-imposed isolation since joining Lamia Scale, but at least she was helping people. After travelling for a few days she found a boy who seemed to be attempting to cough up internal organs. She knew no one would do that willingly so he must be struggling with something. Ren very awkwardly walked over to him.

“Um… S-sir…?” she asked. The boy who turned to her was pale, probably a few years younger than her, and sporting a bright blue tattoo on his face. She blinked quickly, recognizing the guild symbol on his face. “U-um… are you.. f-from Blue Pegasus?”

He coughed again, a few times, basically retching terribly. “Yeah,” he paused to hack a bit, “What’s it to you?”

627/500

[Ren Caverly]

“N-nothing. I mean… you just… I saw the t-tattoo. Would you… like help getting home?” she wasn’t sure what to do about this. He didn’t seem to want her help, and he was a wizard. She generally helped people without magic. The ones who asked for it. He wasn’t asking. She felt bad leaving him alone like this, but Ren was very obviously in no state to argue. Then again… he was in no state… at all.

“Home? No! I’m on a job. I just… caught some bug on the way…” he got that much out before renewing his vow to hack up a lung or something else no doubt less firmly attached than it had been previously.

“… A job? B-but you’re so sick. I… I’m in a guild. Do you think… I could maybe do it for you?” she asked shyly. He didn’t react at first. This gave her almost a full minute of feeling awkward before his eyes turned to her again.

“Are you really?” he asked her. Ren nodded quickly. “Well… I guess I don’t want to get the client sick… If you explain that I got sick… I guess…” he said reluctantly. Ren gave him a small sympathetic look, but it vanished when he focused on her more.

840/500

[Ren Caverly]

Ren received an explanation about this job. The boy didn’t seem to know too much, but he knew enough to get her to the “client” as he put it. Apparently she was supposed to be a pretty lady named Linda. Ren liked pretty ladies. From afar. She liked them from very far, like maybe if she was on the roof of Lamia Scale and they were walking around outside. That sounded stalkerish. She cringed at herself, even while alone. Ren didn’t know how to do this. Yes you do. No, she had no idea what to do. Yes you do. She was going to mess this up. You’ll be fine. The woman was looking for a Blue Pegasus member, and Ren was… Ren was… A part of Lamia Scale. A whole fully-fledged member, and an adult. She didn’t feel like an adult. Ren walked until she saw the house. She ran her fingers through her hair a few times. It was normally quite well maintained, but now it looked a bit messy. She scratched it down again. None of this was helping her calm down. You can do it… just go. Ren drew a shaky breath, making sure, a few times, that this was the house, and then knocking on the front door nervously.

1054/500

[Ren Caverly]

The door swung open quickly and the woman on the other side was indeed pretty. Her eyes were shining blue and hopeful. She looked so alive and awake. She had sea green hair and appeared to be to be young enough but several years older than Ren. Ren was less nervous for a moment, but then she remembered that this woman was looking at her. Her eyes settled on Ren and she gave her a curious smile, a hopeful smile.

“Hello. Can I help you with something?” she asked, her voice delicate and earnest. Ren could see why people would want to help her. She seemed much nicer than just any old “client.” That term was so clinical. So… cold. Did wizards really see people like that? Just someone dishing out money to be passed around? Was that why the boy had allowed Ren to do the job? Not because he wanted the job to be done well, but because it was just one paycheck to be passed up and being out of bed that long was no longer worth his while? She felt strangely protective of this woman. It was an uncommon feeling, but it was definitely there. She tried to stand up with a bit of confidence now. She was going to help her… as soon as she figured out what this woman actually needed.

1281/500

[Ren Caverly]

“Hello Ma’am. Are you… Linda?” Ren asked quietly. The woman smiled.

“Yes, I am. And who might you be? Oh! Are you from Blue Pegasus?”

“N-no, actually I met a boy from Blue Pegasus. He was on his way here, but he was really sick. And I offered to come and… do this for you. S-so, what exactly is it you need done? That is, if you don’t mind me taking the job for you. I promise, I will do well,” Ren said with a small nod. She wanted to seem confident, even if she wasn’t. She didn’t even know what the job was, but she promised she would get it done. She would.

“Oh, well that’s very sweet of you,” Linda told her, “You see… well, have you ever been in love?” What sort of a question was that? Ren looked confused, and then shook her head slowly. She’d had Kenji, but that was neither love nor something she wanted to think about ever. So she didn’t mention it. “Well I am in love… and I need to send a letter to my darling Mark. You see, he’s in Era.”

Ren immediately choked. In ERA?! The color drained from her face as she continued sputtering, being effectively incapable of properly responding to this. ERA?! She could not go to Era. Not Era. Anywhere but Era. Literally. No, no, no.

1511/500

[Ren Caverly]

Linda looked at her, appearing concerned for Ren’s well-being. Then she looked worried about her letter. “You… can do this for me, right? Its very important that he get this letter,” she insisted. She looked delicate again. She must really love this guy. This Mark. But… Era. Ren squirmed.

“Um… y-yes, I can do that. Just a simple delivery. Walk into Era, find your Mark, give him the letter… and...?”

“Oh, he will pay you. You won’t have to worry about coming back here. It includes some plans for our next meeting and I need it to arrive before the mail service would deliver. Does this make sense?” she asked, her voice softening to Ren now that she had again agreed to the job. Era…

“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that… Um, alright. Era… yeah… I can do that for you.”

“Do you know how to get to Era?”

“Yeah…”

“Thank you,” Linda said, beaming with appreciation. This was apparently so important to her. It was nice to know Ren would be helping someone, but terrifying to know that it would require her to go back to her home town to do it. She hadn’t been there since the war, since her parents abandoned her. Since before she met Kenji. This was going to be absolutely awful… she just knew it. But she would keep on a positive face and get this done for Linda.

1746/500

[Ren Caverly]

Soon Ren left for her walk to Era. She wasn’t particularly thrilled, but she wasn’t going to complain in front of Linda. She got more and more uncomfortable as she continued walking though. It wasn’t enough to be helping someone, now she was heading back there. As she got near enough she kept her hood over her head. She wasn’t going to be recognized. She looked like a completely different person now, but still. All the negativity and hatred spilled on her growing up wasn’t just going to be forgotten. She awkwardly sat the edge of town, but a moment later two men stepped out from behind a few trees. They had masks on, but couldn’t see Ren’s face either.

“Give us all your stuff!” They said. Ren pulled her hood down. “Hey, it’s a girl… even easier picking,” that one said to his friend. Ren guessed he must have been smiling. She wasn’t a particularly violent person, and she wasn’t usually one to use her magic without cause, but right about now, she wasn’t in the mood for this. They were Era area goons. Which meant she couldn’t waste her time. She needed to get in and get out. She wasn’t foolish enough to ask them to leave her alone. She knew goons better than that.

1963/500

[Ren Caverly]

“Go ahead and fight me so I can get this over with,” Ren said, loud enough they heard her. They started laughing, saying something about the little mouse wanting to fight. Yeah, yeah, she didn’t look formidable. Well she wasn’t in the mood. The standoff continued.

“Come on, girly. Just hand over your stuff. We won’t even hurt you.”

“Nope,” she said. They started walking toward her. She blinked. It was easier to focus on them than to think about the town they were near. If she thought about Era she would be shaking and sick, but thinking about these goons? Oh, she could handle this right now.

One of the men eventually got close to her, and tried to grab at her, but her arm coated in shadows and she swung it against him. Her forearm taking the blow he then tried to send at her. It repelled him back, knocking him away, and she cast her shadow whip at the other man, tripping him and tossing him in the opposite direction. She casually kept walking. They were just goons, and she didn’t want to be here. She still had the whip for when one of them tried to run at her, but she simply smacked it against his chest hard, no doubt leaving a welt, and convincing them both to leave her be. From there she awkwardly found Mark, and a silent exchange of letter for jewels took place before she hurried off. She did not want to be in Era.

2216/500

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