The Road to Magic ~ {RP Thread} ~ (Semi-Advanced)

Kauma casually regarded the boat, hands in his pockets. He did have to admit: he'd had no idea the situation outside of Magnolia had gotten so bad. Hargeon had been almost completely annihilated by a combination of weather and those weird wraiths he kept hearing about. Still though. He couldn't believe Shirona hadn't sent him after the artifact. He had more experience hunting these kinds of things than anyone else in the guild.
Part of him had been hesitant to offer to bring along Lucia and Ferrara. A faraway, ancient, uninhabited land was basically screaming danger and death. In fact, he hadn't been going to bring them along. Until Lucia caught him packing up his things and he pretended like he'd been going to ask them to come along the entire time to avoid a major fight. Part of him still thought it was a terrible idea, and wanted to send them home.
It sucked about the boat. He'd been confident at least one soul would be around to take them where they needed to go. Wherever that was. On second thought, it was probably better. How did you explain to a captain that you needed to go to an uncharted island that might or might not exist?
As he analyzed the situation, Kazuma vaguely became aware of Lucia yelling in his ear. "Keep it down, Firebrand," he told her calmly. "Do you want to draw something nasty down on us right of the bat?" he asked her blandly, rolling his eyes. His amber eyes narrowed. "I can sail this thing." His voice was confident, unwavering.

OOC: Yay! More characters shall be introduced as the plot progresses!

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Looking out onto the open sea Ferrara couldn't help but wonder if Team Dragon Slayer would end up in over their heads unlike ever before. Sure they had gone charging into fight with the odds all against them and come out relatively fine, but this was different, this was a new land that was completely unknown to them. She had no doubt that Kazuma and Lucia would fare just fine, after the boat ride of course, but would she? She was supposed to be the Iron Dragon Slayer, the name alone sounded as though it belonged to a fierce warrior exactly the opposite of a little girl who suffered from crippling social anxiety. However as Ferrara's gaze traveled over the remnants of the port town she felt her heart burn with a need to keep such a fate from befalling another town and hundreds of other lives.
Turning towards the boat Ferrara shuffled over to Kazuma's side and looked up at him with wide chocolate brown eyes. "Can you really sail this ship?" She asked curiously.

Smoke and ash drifted through the air like ghosts swirling back and forth between abandoned buildings as a lone figure made her way down the empty streets of Hargeon. Her onyx heels glinted in the dying flames as she stepped over the remains of what looked to have once been a bakers cart now smashed to pieces and charred by flame. Whiskey brown eyes looked around at the port town as the woman dressed in black leather pants and a coal colored corset studded with rubies along the cleavage made her way to the docks. Her raven hair was braided over one shoulder to keep it from getting in her way if the wind picked up. As she moved through the rubble her poise and composure mixed with her dark apparel reminded her of a past she wished to bury.
Upon hearing voices carried on the winds Regina paused in her tracks uncertain of who else might be lingering in the wake of this mass devastation. Perhaps they voices came from benevolent mages coming to aid any possible survivors or perhaps they came from looters come to exploit the towns misfortune. Either way she could not risk the possibility of being seen and possibly recognized. Cautiously she moved into the shadows, her golden brown eyes fixed on the port as she moved to inspect the source of the sound from her hiding spot.

OOC: I'm totally fine if Kazuma or Lucia sees her, they are dragon slayers after all so they'll probably smell her.

Kazuma had technically lied. He'd never piloted a ship of this size before, one that typically took dozens of crew members to man. But at Ferrara's imploring gaze (you know, the one that makes him melt inside), he started really, seriously considering how he was going to do it. Smiling his typical confident smile down at Ferrara, he said, "Don't start doubting me now, Little Bullet. This'll be a piece of cake compared to some of the other things we've had to do."
Again, a stretch of the truth, but the more he talked, the more confident he actually felt. Lucia would most likely succumb to motion sickness immediately (like she had in the past), so that left her out of commission. As for Ferrara, he wasn't sure. She seemed determined to him this time, in a way she hadn't been before.
Kazuma figured he could use the wind to fill and manipulate the sails, pushing them in whatever direction he felt like going. A couple of things interrupted his thoughts. The first was a gentle sea breeze stirring, and with it, an unfamiliar scent; there was someone else here. He turned his head casually in the direction the wind had come from, trying not to alert whomever might be lurking about that he knew they were lurking about. And then, a little distance away, he identified the very distinct figure of a person. Though further than most were able to see, having some dragon attributes had its perks other than just pointy teeth. His sight registered the figure was female, and carrying what he believed to be a staff or a walking stick. Though whether or not he knew her, or even if she was friendly, he couldn't say.
The back of his neck tingled and this time his head snapped around, certain that they were about to be ambushed, that the girl down the shoreline was some kind of distraction, and that her companion was about to pounce and attempt to gut them. But when no attack came, Kazuma's eyes narrowed and his scanned the inky dark shadows of the buildings. It took a few moments, the crevices were dark for even his eyes, but then he did in fact realize another person was concealed there. Were these two together after all?
Kazuma gently coaxed the wind into blowing from that direction, so subtly to avoid notice even by his team mates. The scent that met his nose was familiar, and caused his shoulders to relax, at least a little. Upon further investigation though gentle prodding of nearby magical senses, his suspicions were confirmed and he smirked a little. "Regina," he muttered under his breath.
The other girl though was still a mystery. She was too far for him to sense her magical signature. Obviously, Regina was no threat to him and his crew, but what about her? Kazuma turned his body casually away from the boat as if he were facing Lucia, although really he was subtly trying to face the stranger. "Notice anything strange, Firebrand?" he asked imploringly. Behind keeping them safe, Kazuma was doing his best to help the two girl's hone their skills as Dragon Slayers. If Lucia just turn around and saw the stranger, or even scented Regina, he'd be pretty pleased with himself. "Or you?" he asked, looking at Ferrara.
Slyly, he smirked at the shadows where he knew Regina had hidden herself and sort of waved his hand in a tiny gesture. All the while, he kept watch on this other girl without directly acknowledging her presence.

OOC

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Regina kept her gaze on the figures gathered by the port. Her lush red lips pulled downwards into a scowl as she noticed one of the figures turn in her direction. She watched carefully, her breath even as she waited for the figure to move in her direction to get a closer look. She would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised when the figure turned away, she knew that whoever was out there had sensed her presence and was clearly cocky or a fool, perhaps both, for not investigating further. Knowing she needed answers without getting closer Regina used her Arc of Embodiment magic to summon a tiny pair of magical binoculars. Placing the device over her eyes she fixed in on the figures at the port and felt her heartbeat calm the slightest bit at the sight of Kazuma and his team standing at the docks. Watching for a moment longer she noticed Kazuma's body language was still stiff, instantly the sorceress's already alerted senses heightened as she knew Kazuma too well. His body language practically screamed that someone other than herself was watching him and his group.
Not wanting to expose her position Regina stayed where she was and watched. Whoever it was Kazuma had spotted had now appeared on the path beside the Dragon Slayers. Instantly Regina stiffened knowing that she had no idea who the person was or if they were a threat to her.

Ferrara smiled up at Kazuma as he assured her of his ability to captain the ship. Her smile faded as Kazuma began to look around clearly having detected something. Sniffing the air quickly she focused on picking through the scents surrounding her. "I...is there someone out there?" She asked and sniffed again picking up on at least two different scents coming from opposite directions. At the sudden sound of someone approaching Ferrara jumped into her normal hiding spot behind Kazuma and Lucia in an attempt to avoid being seen by the newcomer to the group.

A few feet away from Freya a tall white haired figure drifted soundlessly though the walls of the buildings. Hisashi looked around carefully at all the destruction laid out before him. Something inside of him seemed to feel familiar and even pleased with the sight of mass devastation and the feeling made him uneasy. He knew that his past was uncertain, no one knew who he was or what he had done, all he could hope to do now was try to make up for it. A very trying task for a man with no memory.

Secretly, Kazuma's chest surged with pride at Ferrara's ability to pick out those around them. Lucia... he wasn't so much. But as the figure approached them, he relaxed. If this person truly was their enemy, her gait would not have been so casual. He waited, without a word, for her to approach them.
Unlike Lucia, when she came within earshot, he didn't respond to her right away, instead choosing to glance her up and down a few times, clearly taking her in. To his surprise, Kazuma recognized her. Sort of. He didn't know her name, or anything about her. But her face was familiar; fuzzy, but familiar. Where had he seen her before? He thought maybe some of the events when all the guilds gathered together?
It clicked a second later, and he tapped Lucia's shoulder. "Cool it down, will you? She's just a Sabertooth wizard." He shook his head, turning away from the girl now, uninterested. "Guess that answers my question on whether or not she was a threat to us," he muttered, just loud enough, then went back to examining the boat over his shoulder.
Also quite aware of who was behind him, he tapped Ferrara on the shoulder, then winked and smiled, subtly indicating his pride in her as he gazed up at the masts of the boat. And he hadn't forgotten Regina either, knowing she would reveal herself on her own time. She'd probably notice there was no danger after all, and step out, or wait for Lucia to scare off this Sabertooth member.

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Despite not saying a word, the corner of Kazuma's mouth quirked up into a smile. He never thought he'd live to see the day when he'd meet someone more easily riled up than Lucia. He'd made, what? One slightly dismissive comment? And this girl had just exploded like someone had killed her puppy. It almost, almost, made him want to laugh.
Kazuma turned his head to look back at the girl, revealing his little half-smile tot he group. "Actually, I just remembered your face out of the nameless masses you call a guild," he explained. "I don't have the slightest clue what your name is, which is fine with me, and yes, Fairy Tail is here to get that artifact, and I, in particular, am most definitely in it just for the fame." His words sounded serious enough, but there was a clear under current to his voice, like he was oversimplifying it. As if he were explaining it to a child.

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When Kazuma informed Ferrara and Lucia that the approaching mage was not a threat the Iron Dragon Slayer remained in her hiding spot behind her guild mates. Her hands reached up to grab hold of Kazuma and Lucia as the stranger grew closer and closer. Looking at the ground instead of at the Sabertooth guild member Ferrara frowned as the woman blew up at them for being at the port. The moment the eleven year old heard the woman in front of her start throwing names and insults at Fairy Tail the little girl bit the inside of her mouth. She wished she could be brave like Kazuma and Lucia and tell the girl off but her fear felt like it was crushing her. Looking up at the stranger for a brief moment Ferrara shuffled her feet nervously. "W-we only w-want t-to help." She uttered softly and instantly whimpered as regret for her words crushed down on her.

Watching cautiously Regina analyzed the situation noticing some obvious tension between the Dragon Slayers and the new comer. With a sigh she heard Lucia begin to yell before the girl seemed to notice her volume and quieted down. Taking the fact that no one was ripping anyone's throats out as a good sign the regal woman emerged from the shadows and walked across the broken ground as if she were gliding on air. Approaching the group with the poise and composure of a queen she looked at Kazuma and nodded her head in greeting. Her eyes then traveled over Lucia and Ferrara, her history with both short and in Lucia's case rather rocky. After examining the familiar faces Regina turned to the girl standing in front of them and with her usual abundance of sass asked, "Who are you supposed to be?"

Looking over at Freya with a soft smile Hisashi shrugged his shoulders. "Lucia and Ferrara are just children and they look up to Kazuma. They are trying to do a bit of good in this world so don't expect me to crucify them for that." He stated calmly. "And we both know everyone should have seen this coming." He pointed out. "Kazuma does like heroics." He added as he touched down on the ground beside Freya becoming solid once again.

Melliny walked along the streets of Hargeon, unsure about her surroundings. What happened to the bustling port town she had heard so much about? It all seemed so abandoned, which caused her to be uncharacteristically calm, mostly because she was a bit afraid. She walked on though, keeping her head held high. It was odd traveling on her own for once, her friends had refused to accompany her to the port and now she knew why. She became mildly upset by the thought of this though. Why hadn't they warned her about it's condition? Why did they make no attempt to stop her?

She shook the thoughts out of her head and kept walking forward, her stride changing into more of a happy little skip. If there was almost no one there in the town with the dark atmosphere, then she wasn't going to let it put a damper on her bright personality any longer. Therefore she skipped along the path she was on, singing an upbeat song to herself, sticking herself into her own little world.

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OOC: OH SHOOT HECATE JUST IGNORED REGINA!!!!!!!!!!!!