Inside of a nice, and cozy little restaurant, the group of four was sitting in a booth.
Cassian, still in his armor, with only the helmet missing, was sitting next to the girl, who they had gotten to know, is called Lucy, and both of them just watched the absolutely disgusting way the other two were eating a multitude of different dishes.
"Fanks for da foo!"
"Yup! Yup!"
Both muttered, while stuffing their faces continuously with different dishes. Though, in Happy's case, nearly all he ate was still just… fish.
Cassian turned to Lucy with a troubled expression, "I am truly sorry for them. I have just met them, a few hours ago, myself, but… I don't know."
"Haha, no worries, at all." She responded with a healthy grin on her face.
At that moment, Cassian remembered something, and his face lit up for a moment, "You said something about a charm spell, what is that?"
"Ah, yes! That salamander guy used a type of magic, which is called charm. This can be used to sway other people's hearts in the magician's favor. Though, the sale of this kind of magic had been outlawed, years ago."
Lucy then pointed at the still eating Natsu, "And just as it was beginning to work on me, Natsu bumped into me, breaking the spell."
Cassian had an intrigued look on his face, while the magic lessons of August and Irene had been extensive, they definitely had not been able to cover all kinds of magics, in the little time they spent together.
While he was still in thought about that, Lucy puffed out her chest, and continued in a proud tone, "I know I don't look the part, but I'm actually more or less a mage myself."
She paused there, giving Cassian a short second to ask what was on his mind, "Is there a specific way mages look? I can say, the ones I've seen until now, looked rather different from one another."
This question seemed to pull her directly out of her own train of thoughts, "Eh? Mages normally wear robes, have wands, magical tomes, or staffs."
"Reawy?" Natsu asked with squinted eyes, clearly not buying it, all while still shoving more food into his body.
Lucy smiled sheepishly at that, "Well, that is just how it normally is. Technically, all mages have different styles, and standards.
Though, this can also wary, depending on what kind of guild they are part of. Some mage guild have something akin to a dress-code, others give their mages complete autonomy."
Finding this topic quite interesting, and especially new, since August and Irene had never told him of anything like this, "You seem to know quite a bit, about mages, and guilds, Lucy. What actually is a guild, and are you in any guild?"
The blonde seemed a bit embarrassed upon hearing, this and shook her head with a wry smile, "No, I'm not. There are all kinds of guilds, but the coolest are also the hardest to get into. *sigh* There is one, I really want to join, though…
Ah, sorry for drifting off. You wanted to know about Guilds… Guilds can be said to be buildings, or organizations where mages gather and confer. The guilds also act as mediators, when it comes to a mages' jobs and information.
I'm surprised, though."
Having registered all the important parts, Cassian looked at her again, "What surprised you?"
This time, she seemed a bit uncertain about what she should say, even going as far as fidgeting with her fingers, "Well… it is just that you seem to have no knowledge of all this, even though… even though you look like this…"
"And how do I look?" He asked teasingly, as he flashed her blinding smile, making the blonde blush, in response, only for Cassian to laugh, the instant the redness settles on her face. "Ah, sorry, I'm just kidding. You probably mean it, because of the armor, right?"
Lucy looked shocked for a moment, before it turned into irritation, before this again turned into acceptance. When this acceptance then turned to amusement, accompanied by a small chuckle, she responded, "Yeah. I mean, that isn't just some random armor, is it? Especially the helmet looks very well made."
Cassian nodded to that, taking his helmet, which had rested next to him, on the seating bench the whole time before, and put it on the table, "Well, yeah. It was a parting gift of my teachers. Though, the dragon head was provided by me."
"…"
"Lucy?"
"…!"
It looked like Lucy was completely dumbstruck. Not being able to understand anything, he just said.
"You- you mean… this," she paused for a second, pointing at the helmet in question, "is an actual dragon's head…? And, you even provided it? As in… having slain a dragon…?"
"How else would I have gotten the head?" Cassian countered, perplexed.
"But dragons are supposed to be extinct!" She blurted out, probably louder than planned.
"They aren't."
When Lucy turned to Natsu, who for the first time, since he had started eating, actually said something coherent, she saw his completely certain, and determined expression.
"Have you also met, and slain a dragon, then, Natsu?"
The pink-haired guy shook his head, "No, but I was raised by one."
"…"
It seemed the world-view of the blonde girl would be more than once turned upside down, today.
"Remember, what he shouted, back when he bumped into you?" Cassian tried to get her to understand, while Natsu was already dedicated towards his meal again.
Lucy put one finger to her chin, and after a moment of thought, remembered what Natsu had said, "Igneel, right?"
He nodded, "And, this Igneel, is in fact, a dragon. One, those two are looking for."
Her shock was significantly lower, this time, but it also turned into confusion, very quickly.
"Then, why were they searching in town, for Igneel? A dragon wouldn't just walk into a human city, like that, right?"
'Thank god, she said it!' Cassian thought, as he witnessed Natsu's world-view shattering, as if his thoughts had never even went that far.
What followed next, was Lucy using this shock, to get out of this somewhat awkward moment, by putting down enough money, to pay for the meal, before hurrying towards the exit.
Though, before she could even reach the door, Natsu and Happy, suddenly jumped out of their seats, and fully committed to a bow, even going on their knees.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FOOD!"
"THANK YOU!"
Judging from her reaction, Cassian was sure to say that Lucy was thoroughly embarrassed, by them. She also wanted to change the topic, saying how they had helped her before, and that they were simply even now.
Natsu was apparently not listening, though, and instead pulled out the autograph from the weird guy, from earlier, and offered it to her, with seemingly real sincerity.
But she wasn't having it, rejected it strongly, even going as far as slapping it out of his hand, before storming out.
Still laughing about the hilarious scene that had just happened, Cassian also got hi stuff, namely his helmet, and Durandal, which had been placed right next to him, too, afore also heading towards the door.
"It was great meeting you, Natsu, but I'll also head on out, now. If fate has it in plan, we'll surely meet again. Also, good luck in your search!"
Cassian spoke, while passing by Natsu, waving at him, and then heading out.
"Yeah, was nice meeting you too. Take care!"
When Cassian got out of the restaurant, he simply wandered around for a bit, not really knowing what to do, now.
Those guilds were quite interesting, but with Lucy gone, for now, there was no one else to ask. Still, his instincts told him that something was still about to happen in this city, and they had been right, nearly every single time, by now.
Therefore, with the decision made to remain in the city for a while longer, Cassian simply enjoyed the presence of people around him, as he walked through the streets.
---
A while later, Cassian could be seen standing on the sandy beach of the harbor, for once, even without his armor, which was safely stored in his bag. Therefore, right now, he was simply a blonde-haired man, who was swinging a sword.
Though, since he did not have many clothes, he did all of that topless, causing quite a few passerbys to make a doubletake.
This whole scene wasn't to just pass the time, though. Cassian wanted to get acclimated to his, although only slightly, changed body. There was also [Appreciation of Swords], which in turn helped him improve his form, nearly with each swing of his sword.
As for the sword in his hand, it was merely a relatively cheap sword, he had bought in a weapon shop, he passed by. It wasn't meant to last, anyway, so the cheap quality wasn't too concerning.
Although, maybe because of his talent, it felt horrible to even hold it. It nearly felt, as if his entire body, and being were rejecting this sword.
Still, there was a specific reason, why he had bought such a cheap sword for merely twenty thousand Jewels; [Sword trial].
But that would need to wait, until he got more and more comfortable with the sword. Right now, he could only train the basics, which he knew, but without a good foundation, everything that is added on top, would only cause it to collapse, eventually.
So, Cassian continued to swing his sword, following nothing, but his instincts, and the feeling of the sword. He swung his sword, until he blurred everything else out. Only seeing his sword. Only feeling his body move.
---
It wasn't until late that evening, when an extremely loud sound, pulled Cassian out of his nearly maniacal training.
When he looked up, there were two things he immediately noticed. The first, it had already gotten dark, meaning that he had been training for many hours already. The second, a giant wave, bringing with it an enormous ship, was heading straight for where he was currently standing…
In the next instant, he changed his stance, held his sword, as if it was in a sheath, before suddenly slashing in a iado motion, while also simultaneously using the skill he had held back, the entire day.
Then, even while still in motion, the entire blade shattered into a thousand pieces. Though, not without also creating a wind slash that somewhat counteracted the wave, causing it to loose a significant part of its momentum.
'Please don't let anyone die…'
The ship still washed ashore, but at least no one was seriously hurt, as far as Cassian knew, and the harbor wasn't unnecessarily damaged.
Just as he was taking a deep breath, and relived the feeling of his last attack, a sudden explosion caught his attention again.
As he looked over, Cassian was able to see how an explosion, accompanied by a sudden wave of fire, erupted from the ship, and a few people were suddenly thrown out.
Among those that looked like they were thrown out just now, was also a familiar pink head, 'This fast…?'
Seeing Natsu involved in a massive brawl, with his friend being one against everyone else, Cassian ran over, and immediately supported Natsu by knocking the two closest dudes out cold, before the pink-haired guy even noticed him.
"What's going on here, Natsu?!"
"Cassian?!" Natsu was surprised by the sudden support, but couldn't resist a grin forming on his face, "They insulted Fairy Tail. ...oh! They also wanted to enslave a bunch of girls."
"…"
Natsu's priorities were truly weird, but Cassian ignored that part, for the sake of his own sanity, and simply helped out, beating these slavers, until all of them lay on the ground.
For this, he did not need his swords, nor his magic. Just his fist were enough, as these guys weren't even mages.
Natsu, though… he held nothing back. Using spell after spell, until all of them had been defeated.
When they were done, and stood among the many unconscious guys, along with Lucy, who had at one point simply appeared next to them, another huge commotion caught their attention.
"Shit! They army is here! Run!" Natsu suddenly bellowed, and began running, while having grabbed Lucy already.
Cassian was stunned in place for the moment. This situation, no matter, how anyone would explain it, would definitely paint him as one of the perpetrators, even if he had been the reason a lot of damage had been avoided.
So, with basically no other option left, Cassian ran over to his bags, grabbed them, and then followed after the trio, who were already on the run.
Thanks to his somewhat superior body, he quickly caught up to them, and ran alongside his friends, "Where are we headed to? Is there anywhere to hide?!"
"Haha, we're going to Fairy Tail!" Natsu cackled.
"What actually is Fairy Tail?!"
---
The next day, in a city called Magnolia, all three of them, as well as Happy, stood before a giant building, with 'Fairy Tail' written in big letters, right above the entrance gate. There were also some interesting fairy design next to the title.
All in all, the building was huge, with multiple floors, and a multiple meter tall door.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"