The forest was quiet. Animals went about their business, and two travelling merchants rode their horses and cart along the road. That is, until suddenly the ground started trembling. The merchants looked around them nervously, as if they had already expected something like this to happen. Though soon the trembling started causing cracks to form in the ground. And a moment later the small cracks connected and ripped open the earth. The crack was heading straight for the merchants, albeit at a slow pace. This finally scared the merchants enough to make them run. "Start running! Just go! They already said there's an angry spirit here and they weren't kidding!" One yelled, spurring his horse to start galloping. The other merchant soon followed suit, the two of them racing away as fast as they could. Once the merchants had left the area, the ground calmed down again. And the crack that had formed quickly closed as well. The culprit, however, was not a spirit. As hidden behind the trees and bushes stood a young man, grinning at his little accomplishment.

"Just another two days and we should be okay to move again." Ansel spoke to a second, smaller and even harder to see figure. "I just feel sorry for all those people, being scared away like that." Valier replied. "Anyway, let's get back to the cave. If the road stays this busy I'll need all the rest I can get." The man spoke with a sigh, turning around and heading back.

The last two days had been pretty difficult for Ansel. He couldn't make a campfire. As people would see the smoke outside, or if he made one inside the cave he wouldn't be able to breathe after only a few minutes. So he had been eating berries and roots to at least keep his energy up a little. Valier was lucky in that regard, since he loved raw fish. Once they were in the cave again, the little cat couldn't help himself, and asked the same question he had asked since they had arrived there. "So...thought of where we're going next yet? We can't keep wandering aimlessly forever..." Ansel let out an annoyed groan, shaking his head. "I told you, once I have a place in mind I'll tell you! It's hard to find places where everyone isn't immediately suspicious when someone like me walks in you know!" "Then start bathing more often and wear shoes for once!" Valier retorted. "Oh shut up!" Ansel exclaimed with a slight grin. "Just keep a lookout like usual okay, Valier?" "Yea yea, just go to sleep already. Just don't 'accidentally' slap me again when I have to wake you up." The cat replied before moving to sit at the entrance a few feet away.

“You really think that’s a wizard master?” A slightly panic sounding Lucy said as the members of the guild gathered around their master listening to him giving out instructions to gather any remaining wizards.

“Of course it’s another wizard.” Another blonde spoke up, “How many times has anyone gone somewhere and it’s actually been an ‘evil spirit’” She said going air quotes with her fingers before resting her hands on the hips of her blue jeans.

“4 out of the 7 I went after.” Someone spoke up from the back. “I had 1 turn out to be an evil spirit.”, “And me.”, Me too.”

“Alright, I get it.” The blonde yelled to cut off the individuals listing off how many evil spirits they had met. “Master, let me go. I don’t think it’s an evil spirit. And if it is, I’ll leave.” She said with a nod.

“Taunie, you’re in charge of bringing the wizard back.” The master said with a nod and the blonde in the blue jeans with the white top turned and left.

Taunie Evens soon found herself walking along the road, she pulled her blonde hair back into a pony tail and blinked her blue eyes. Soon she was close enough to the ‘haunted area’. Placing her hands on her hips she let out a sigh. Fine, let’s get this over with. She pulled her hands from her hips and cupped them around her mouth. “HEY! HEY SPIRIT! HERE’S A NEW TARGET FOR YOU!” She dropped her hands from her mouth and extended her arms out. “SHOW YOURSELF! I’M NOT SCARED!” Unlike a lot of her cohorts in the Fairy Tail guild, Taunie was a risk-taker whether she went at it alone or with others, she was never afraid and wanted to do what she could help her friends and her ‘family’ stay safe.

Suddenly something hit Ansel on the head. He jerked awake, sitting up and flailing an arm around him to get back at whomever was hitting him. "Whuh?! I'll bury ya for that!" He exclaimed. Though his fist wasn't hitting anything. As this time Valier was prepared for the fist coming towards him and had ducked out of the way. "Your own fault for being such a deep sleeper! Wake up ya lazy ass and listen!" The cat scolded him, pointing towards the cave entrance. It took Ansel a few moments to get his bearings, but then he heard it too. "I'm not scared!" was the only part he heard though.

"Ugh, this is getting annoying..." The man grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he got to his feet. "And I was having a nice dream this time too..." "Let me guess, you were eating magma rocks again?" "Yes, but still!" He protested. It was time to do his little angry spirit act again though, so he headed out once again.

Once he was about 60 feet away Ansel came to a halt. There was still plenty of space between him and this woman whom had decided to challenge him for the forest to keep him from being seen. He then raised one foot, a small magic circle appearing beneath it as he did. Then, putting a bit of strength into it he stomped the ground. His foot immediately caused the ground in quite a large area to tremble similar to a small, but noticeable earthquake. "Let's see how brave you really are..." He thought as he listened for the woman's reaction.

There was silence along the trail. Maybe it’s just some people freaking out or way too drunk to be out and about. There were more possibilities than an evil spirit, on top of it being a wizard hiding out. But why would a wizard be hiding out anyway? There was nothing to fear unless he was breaking magical law than yeah, he probably should be running.

The ground beneath her feet shook slightly. An earthquake? Her gaze looked down at her feet watching the rocks at the toes of her shoes jiggled against the ground. “REALLY?” She called out. Her voice filled with laughter as she threw her head back, holding her stomach. Her laugh was a sarcastic one booming through the area. “YOU EXPECT THAT TO AFFECT ME?! COME OUT AND FACE ME!” She spun around in a circle, cupping her hands around her mouth. “HEY! COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!” Taunie stopped spinning, her hands place on her hips as she tilted her head to one side and tapped her foot.

Ansel smirked. This girl was either very brave or was smarter than your average person going by. He decided to bet on the former for now though. If at all possible he didn't want to reveal himself to anyone until he was properly healed up again. The man raised his foot again, deciding that he would use his big guns this time. The magic circle forming under it was several times bigger now. And once again he stomped down hard on the ground. Which in turn burst open forming a large crack that headed straight to where the woman was calling from. The quakes accompanying this were also several times stronger. To the point where one would think a proper earthquake was happening. Though on a very local scale.

"Let's see how brave you really are." Ansel thought. Though if this didn't work things would get a lot more difficult. As then his only two remaining options would be to fight or to run and find another place to hide. And he hated running away, but also didn't like having to go through the trouble of spending energy on fighting.

Taunie’s foot bounced up and down, as if she was waiting for the spirit to just come forward. “Come on! I haven’t gotten all day! You can’t be that scared of me! Or… can you?” She asked in a teasing tone as she crossed her arms under her chest and continued to look around. You’ve got to be kidding me. She thought, that was until the ground under her started to shake even more. Her body jerked into motion and she dodged the split in the ground by doing a front handspring.

“Finally! I thought you’d never act up you stupid spirit.” Her body twisted in the direction of the forest and in a moment she shot out her hand. A magic circle appeared and a single thick chain shot out. In a strong swing, she launched the chain into the forest. It attached onto something and she gave it a pull. The something was surprising light and flew back to her without much weight. “Whoa!” Expanding out her arms, she caught the thing flying towards her.

Her chain disappeared and she opened her arms to find they were filled with a brown cat. “Oh! Hello there.” She said with a smile as she loosened her surprise grip on the cat, “were you the one who caused all these problems?”

Instead of reacting like how everyone else had reacted, this woman was only spurred on by Ansel's admittedly kind of weak scare tactics. To his surprise, rather than even getting nervous, she immediately turned to the crack's source and whipped out a magic chain. Only instead of grabbing him, the chain latched onto Valier and yanked him away before he could react.

"Anseeellll!!" Valier yelled as he disappeared into the bushes. Though he quickly regained his composure as the woman that had caught him loosened her grip. "You caught me by surprise, woman, but I'll kick yer ass all the same if need be!"

Ansel was quick to follow. He put both his hands to the ground, rocks crawling up and engulfing them to create two large rock gloves. And then he immediately dashed after his little friend. Once he cleared the bushes he finally saw what he now assumed was an opponent. "No one kidnaps my cat! Give him back, now!" He growled, a rather angry look on his face.

Magic energy had started emanating from his body as well, so he certainly looked quite threatening. The problem was, however, that he wasn't fully recovered yet. He still had a wound on his left side that hadn't fully closed just yet, and his left arm was still bruised and weakened. Plus his magic power wasn't completely restored. He thought one opponent wouldn't be too difficult to deal with though.

“I caught you by surprise?” Taunie responded with a laugh as she let the struggling cat fall from her arms. “I’m sure I did, have you been the one giving me a startle?” She responded with a giggle as she placed her hands on her hips as her chairs vanished and the magic circle disappeared. Staring down at the cat, she was surprised to see it dressed in clothes. After working with the family at Fairy Tail, she was used to a talking cat but someone dressed in cloths is very different.

Suddenly a fully powered wizard jumped out from his hiding whole. His hands were two large rock gloves and he was roaring at her. Holding up her hands she took a step back from the talking cat. “Calm down tiger, not kidnapping anyone.” Her right wrist lowered as she pointed to the rock-gloves. “You the one causing all the noise around this area?” A smirk moved across her face as she slowly lowered her hands, allowing her arms to drop to her side. “I’m impressed, you’re talented. I have someone who wants to talk to you. I’m here to ask you to come with me.”

Tilting her head to one side, she watched the guy closely, he was obviously a hot head but… would he actually come willingly. “I’ll buy you both anything to eat of your choice when we get there and if you don’t like what he has to say you can leave. It’ll cost ya a three hour walk and me a hefty amount of jewel to feed you both. Come on, it’s free food.” She gave a shrug, really? If she knew anything about men it was that turning down free food was a difficult choice.

Ansel lowered his fists a little when the woman explained that she wasn't kidnapping Valier. Plus she didn't look anything like the dark guild that had been after him. "You could say that. Though I was just scaring people away from my hiding spot." He answered. He was found out already anyway, no need to be all secretive any more. "Heh...talented would be an understatement. Not everyone can just learn dragonslayer magic. So...you found me. Now what? What do you want?" He then asked, still being on the defensive side. As the woman was clearly out to find him specifically. And he didn't know her motives yet.

She was then quick to come with an offer. A rather generous one of free food at that. His stomach rumbled a little at the mere thought of a proper meal once again. After all he had been living on what he could find in the forest for the past two days, while spending as little energy as possible. "Free food? Why didn't you start with that rather than yanking my cat away from me?" He spoke, the rock surrounding his fists now crumbling and falling to the ground. "Before I go anywhere though, there's two things I want to know. Who wants to talk to me, and what is your name?" Ansel didn't trust anyone that wouldn't even introduce themselves. "I'm Ansel, and that's Valier by the way."

A dragon slayer? Her head jerked back in surprise as she blinked her blue eyes at him. "Oh wow an earth dragon slayer. That's only slightly new." She said placing her hands on her hips. "I know an Fire Dragon Slayer and a Metal Dragon Slayer so your form is only slightly new." Taunie let out a sigh as she realized just what trouble this guy was going to be. Not by any fault of his own but most dragon slayers have been hot tempered and quick to fight. On more than one occasion she's been party of the group to rip the two Dragon Slayers away from each other and now... the possibility of having a third one was a pain in the ass.

His comment about knowing her master's name and her name made her jerk her head back in surprise. "Oh I'm sorry. Next time when the earth starts to shake and crack I'll shout free food instead of dodging and trying to catch whoever did it." She rolled her blue eyes rather dramatically before giving him a nod. "Though an introduction is more than fair now that you're not trying to knock me out or scare me away. I'm Taunie Evans and my master, Master Makarov wants to talk to you."

A smile moved across her full lips, "I applaud your ability to protect your friend and keep yourself hidden for so long without getting caught. If you don't like what the master has to say than I'm sure you'll be fine on your own. I can see that." She slid her hands into the pockets of her pants. "There's safety in a family Ansel. We may not be the biggest, and we may not make the most money but we look out for our people. No matter what." Her bright blue fairy tail symbol visible on her right shoulder blade thanks to her tank top as she turned her back to them and began to walk in the direction to Fiore.

Ansel looked a bit confused at Taunie's sarcasm. "Well yea, you should. Who wouldn't want a free meal?" He replied, as if it made perfect sense to offer free food to earthquakes. The mention of a fire and metal dragon slayer sounded familiar though. Like he had heard of them before in some way. It was only when she named the guild's master that he realised whom she was taling about.

"Wait...so you're from Fairy Tail? That guild that always causes trouble for the council?" The man sighed, not being too sure if this was a good idea any more. He knew that what the newspapers and rumours said couldn't always be trusted, but this particular guild was the subject of those a bit too often for his liking. "This sounds like it'll be really troublesome... But I guess I can at least hear Makarov out." At the very least he would get free food, and with any luck he could rest in Fairy Tail for a while too. While the rumours and news labelled them as huge troublemakers, they also seemed like one of the most powerful guilds in Fiore. So it would likely be a safer place than a cave in a forest.

"Cmon Valier, let's go." He spoke, turning to follow Taunie. "Mph...if you day so." Valier replied, following right behind. "A warning by the way. Some bad people are after me. If they find out where I am, they were come in large numbers. So I want to stay out of sight as much as possible until I've fully recovered." Ansel mentioned as they walked. Taunie was in just as much danger as he was as long as they were together, so he figured she should at least know what she was getting in to.

His mention of her guild made her smirk. Her blue eyes twinkled in excitement as he mentioned that her guild was the one who caused the most problems for the Magical Council. “Despite the press we get. We fight for what we believe in and complete our missions despite the cost. Sure,” She said with a shrug as she laced her fingers together and rested her palms against the best of her head. “Some of us seem to overdo it, often. But you’ll meet a group that cares about each other more than the Fairy Tail guild. Despite how much we bicker back and forth.” A nod rose and fell her head with a chuckle. “If you think we’re bad out and about, you should see the bills that come once a month for fixing the guild.”

“It’s gotten worse since the Iron Dragon Slayer joined our guild, he seems to like to pick a fight with our Salamander and always causes some form of cosmetic problem to the guild. But all and all, it’s just family member’s fighting.” At the mention of bad people being after her, her arms fell from her head and dropped to her side, her blue eyes flicked to him as they walked.

“Bad guys?” Her eyes suddenly started to twinkle as she jumped slightly in excitement. “Alright! Hopefully we’ll run into some along the way. I haven’t had a good brawl in a while!” Like a lot of the members of the Fairy Tail guild, Taunie really enjoyed sparing and fighting. “But if you want to ‘stay out of sight’,” She repeated with a smile to him. “I’ll protect you. But if you really want to stay out of sight, we can hide when others come. But in Fiore, just stick by me and you’ll be fine.” Giving him an honest and gentle smile, she nodded to him as they continued forward.

Ansel frowned. "You protect me? I don't need protection. It's just that I'd rather avoid fighting with them rather than confronting them." He wasn't worried about being in the city itself though, as this dark guild would likely be too scared to attack in a town. Let alone in the town where the famous Fairy Tail guild was in. "Also, good to know you're not one to shy away from a fight. I fought thirty of those guys before. Separately they're weak, but they rely on swarm magic. Basically they all use the same summon spells to overwhelm their opponents. So having more on my side will drastically reduce the chance of getting hurt."

The two kept on walking for an hour or so. And Ansel didn't have too much to say during that time. He was used to travelling with just Valier by his side, so it would take some getting used to when there was someone else around. But then trouble finally found them, in the form of the people that were after him. "Finally found you! We knew you couldn't hide forever!" A voice exclaimed from the bushes. And out sprung a dozen men dressed in cultist-looking robes. "You're coming with us whether you like it or not, our boss has use for you." The guy standing in front spoke, an evil grin on his lips.

Ansel groaned, hanging his head a little. "Seriously? I barely show myself and already I have to deal with you guys from Velvet Night again? I'm too lazy to go anywhere with you, beat it!" He grumbled. Though then he had an idea. His frown turned into a slight grin as he looked in Taunie's direction. "Say, you seem quite strong. Maybe you can handle them by yourself? I'm not really in the mood for any fighting." That was Ansel's trademark laziness. If he could avoid exerting energy, he would. And right now such an opportunity might have presented itself in the form of Taunie.

“I don’t need protecting.” That statement made Taunie roll her eyes. He obviously has never been with a group, much less a guild. There was so much more to ‘protecting’ then he was even aware of. He should know; he’s the one who looked exhausted as if he was running for his whole life and never once received a break. He wouldn’t have to run any more, he wouldn’t have to worry (at least not that much) and he could afford a place that wasn’t a forest.

They walked in silence, the blondes fingers interlinked behind her head as they walked, her blue eyes scanning the scenery around them. Maybe if she ran away she could hide out in a forest like this. Then again she probably wouldn’t get away with calling herself a ‘spirit’ like he could. Control of the earth really did give him an advantage compared to most. Maybe he could give the fire and iron dragon slayers a run for their money. She was getting sick of their bickering.

When the men jumped out with evil grins on their face; Taunie let out a small sigh as her hands fell from behind her head to her side. “Friends of yours?” She asked gesturing to the men in the robes before the exchange begin.

A smirk moved across her face when she was asked if she could handle them by herself. “Hey the master’s paying me to deliver you there so he can talk to you. Be a pointless take if you don’t come back with me or if I’m dragging a corpse. Besides, my last fight was a rather sad one. I had to use tactic and bribery.” She shot him a look, the smirk still on her face before she stepped forward in front of Ansel. “Sorry fellas, he’s with me. Step on your merry way before you get hurt.”

The group of eight men let out a laugh, some of them actually holding their stomachs. “Yeah right”, “Boy she’s funny”, “Best joke I’ve heard all week”, and the like were said from the men. This only made Taunie smirk wider. It only took a moment before she leapt from the ground and flew through the air towards the men. Her arms spread out and magic circles formed around her hands. Bringing her arms back, four chains flew out of each circle and the blonde flung them down, the men were so surprised by her reaction and how quickly she created the chains only a few had time to get away before she locked down a few men almost instantly.

Her head turned, the sound of a magic circle being created drew her attention to the left. A man was creating a magic circle which launched a blast of fire at her, and from her right was a blast of water. Just before they connected with her, she kicked off the ground once again and did a backflip dodging the blasts. The clash of elements launched the two wizards back on their butts, the expectation being that the intensity would have shattered Taunie but instead it shattered one another. Taunie landed on the ground and tied up the two men who were rolling in pain on the ground.

Her intensity turned, the smirk never leaving her face as she turned to the last person. He stared at her in confusion and shock as she made a chain in each hand and cracked the chains against the ground. “Who are you? You crazy girl!” He yelled as he cracked a magic circle under his feet and hand his hands up into the air.

Taunie threw a chain at the man’s wrists, wrapping the chain around each of them and giving them a pull, tying them together and stopping the magic circle from forming. “Who I am is none of your concern, all you need to know is that this guy is under my protection until my master says otherwise. Now, it’s time for you to go!” With that her chains wrapped around his body and she gave a strong pull, throwing the man into the air and sending him off into the distance leaving nothing but a star. The other men knocked out and tied up.

Sighing she lowered her hands and her magic circles vanished before she turned her attention back to Ansel. “Shall we get going?”

“I don’t need protecting.” That statement made Taunie roll her eyes. He obviously has never been with a group, much less a guild. There was so much more to ‘protecting’ then he was even aware of. He should know; he’s the one who looked exhausted as if he was running for his whole life and never once received a break. He wouldn’t have to run any more, he wouldn’t have to worry (at least not that much) and he could afford a place that wasn’t a forest.

They walked in silence, the blondes fingers interlinked behind her head as they walked, her blue eyes scanning the scenery around them. Maybe if she ran away she could hide out in a forest like this. Then again she probably wouldn’t get away with calling herself a ‘spirit’ like he could. Control of the earth really did give him an advantage compared to most. Maybe he could give the fire and iron dragon slayers a run for their money. She was getting sick of their bickering.

When the men jumped out with evil grins on their face; Taunie let out a small sigh as her hands fell from behind her head to her side. “Friends of yours?” She asked gesturing to the men in the robes before the exchange begin.

A smirk moved across her face when she was asked if she could handle them by herself. “Hey the master’s paying me to deliver you there so he can talk to you. Be a pointless take if you don’t come back with me or if I’m dragging a corpse. Besides, my last fight was a rather sad one. I had to use tactic and bribery.” She shot him a look, the smirk still on her face before she stepped forward in front of Ansel. “Sorry fellas, he’s with me. Step on your merry way before you get hurt.”

The group of eight men let out a laugh, some of them actually holding their stomachs. “Yeah right”, “Boy she’s funny”, “Best joke I’ve heard all week”, and the like were said from the men. This only made Taunie smirk wider. It only took a moment before she leapt from the ground and flew through the air towards the men. Her arms spread out and magic circles formed around her hands. Bringing her arms back, four chains flew out of each circle and the blonde flung them down, the men were so surprised by her reaction and how quickly she created the chains only a few had time to get away before she locked down a few men almost instantly.

Her head turned, the sound of a magic circle being created drew her attention to the left. A man was creating a magic circle which launched a blast of fire at her, and from her right was a blast of water. Just before they connected with her, she kicked off the ground once again and did a backflip dodging the blasts. The clash of elements launched the two wizards back on their butts, the expectation being that the intensity would have shattered Taunie but instead it shattered one another. Taunie landed on the ground and tied up the two men who were rolling in pain on the ground.

Her intensity turned, the smirk never leaving her face as she turned to the last person. He stared at her in confusion and shock as she made a chain in each hand and cracked the chains against the ground. “Who are you? You crazy girl!” He yelled as he cracked a magic circle under his feet and hand his hands up into the air.

Taunie threw a chain at the man’s wrists, wrapping the chain around each of them and giving them a pull, tying them together and stopping the magic circle from forming. “Who I am is none of your concern, all you need to know is that this guy is under my protection until my master says otherwise. Now, it’s time for you to go!” With that her chains wrapped around his body and she gave a strong pull, throwing the man into the air and sending him off into the distance leaving nothing but a star. The other men knocked out and tied up.

Sighing she lowered her hands and her magic circles vanished before she turned her attention back to Ansel. “Shall we get going?”

Ansel rolled his eyes when Taunie claimed he was with her. Sure he was promised a free meal, and she was leading him to Fairy Tail. But to imply they were a theme went a bit too far for him. Not that it mattered for now. He had only agreed to see the guild master so far. Nothing else. He decided to just let it be, as right now he had something else to focus his attention on. Namely seeing Taunie's skills in action.

What happened next caught him quite by surprise though. "Eight chains at once..." Valier mused, a look of surprise on his face as well. "Impressive...even most skilled mages would have trouble casting that many spells at once." Indeed, most mages kept to one or two spells at a time. Maybe three at most. Though maybe they were wrong. Maybe it wasn't six spells, but two spells casting multiple chains. Either way, it was impressive. Ansel dropped to the ground, crossing his legs and enjoying the show. At first he thought she might need some help, but that worry was clearly unwarranted.

The fight was over rather quickly though. The enemy group was just a scouting party of cronies, but still it was interesting to watch. Once Taunie was finished she turned to him again and implied they should keep on going like what had just happened wasn't even worth a second thought. He grinned, getting to his feet again and nodded. "Guess so. I had heard rumours of Fairy tail being Fiore's number one guild when it comes to power. And if it has more mages like you those rumours are likely to be true. I might even be interested in duelling you at some point, if you're up for it..." Just like Natsu and Gajeel he wanted to test his strength whenever possible. And this woman that came to pick him up out of nowhere felt like she would be an interesting opponent. Though that was something for another time, if ever. As for all he knew he would be on the road again in a few days. Clearly Taunie intended for him to join the guild, but that wasn't the kind of decision he would make on a whim.

A chuckle left Taunie as they began to walk again, leaving the men knocked out and, most likely incredibly confused when they regain consciousness on the ground. “We’re pretty awesome. Strongest maybe but the best guild, you bet. We don’t call ourselves number one if we didn’t have the ability to back it up.” She said with a chuckle as they walked. Her hands slid into the pockets of her jeans as the three made their way down the path.

This comment about wanting to duel her made her chuckle. “I don’t duel with people who aren’t from the guild. If I’m going to get into a fight and use magic outside of the guild it’s for a mission, or sometimes a bet; but I’ve found that I can end a lot of arguments with my fists without my magic. So why waste it?” She said with a shrug as they walked. A smile moved across her full lips as they walked through the forest.

A longer time of silence fell between the two as they walked before she asked the question that had been on her mind for a while. “Hey Ansel… why haven’t you joined a guild?”

Ansel thought it to be a bit of a strange mindset that she'd only fight guild members or for a bet or something. It kinda sounded like she'd only fight with her own family, since she had referred to them as a kind of family. Though there was probably a reason of some kind behind it. Not something he was too interested in asking about at the moment.

After walking in silence again for a while Taunie decided to ask him a question instead. One he hadn't put too much though into himself, actually. "Not really sure why... I guess because I've been doing fine on my own so far? Plus I wanted to see more of the world after Galzra disappeared..." Those reasons were indeed true, but there was an underlying reason even Ansel himself didn't fully realise he had. He was looking for a place to call home, but just hadn't found one yet. He had visited Lamia Scale once, but it's guild master was just way too creepy for his liking. And Phantom Lord when it still existed felt like the kind of guild where he couldn't be lazy. One of his favourite ways to pass time. Plus the place was pretty close to a dark guild in terms of mentality in his mind.

After a few moments of pause he added "Ah, that's the name of my stepfather by the way." He was talking about the earth dragon of course. Unlike most dragonslayers he had some very vague memories of his human parents, so while he respected his dragon parent greatly and did see him as a father, he didn't see him as his first father.

Taunie has actually opened her mouth, ready to ask who Galzra was, but he answered it before she had the chance to question him. Oh, so his ‘stepfather’ disappeared as well… was he honestly raised by a dragon like the others?? Man… some people had some interesting childhoods compared to hers. Hers was simple and nothing important and she knew if she went home saying that being a wizard was too hard that she would be welcomed back home without any questions. Most people in Fairy Tail really didn’t have that option but, she was one of the lucky ones.

They finally reached the Fairy Tail guild hall after small chat but mostly silence and no more problems. “I’m back!” The universal cry of anyone entering the guild hall echoing thanks to her booming voice. Natsu was the first one up and too her. “So did you find the spirit? Was it cool?”

“You know, it wasn’t all that bad.” She said with a chuckle before giving Ansel a small push forward. “Come on I got a reward to collect.” Her tone was a teasing one as she ventured inside and headed towards the master who was sitting cross-legged on the bar. That was until she noticed that Natsu and Gajeel had found their way quickly to the fellow dragon slayer.

“You mess weird.” Natsu said as tactful as ever with his choice of words.

“You don’t look like no spirit.” Gajaal said crossing his arms.

“Guys back up off of him.” Taunie called back with an eyeroll. Bring something new into the guild and those two flock to it, but something about their reactions and Natsu continuously sniffing him told her they might be onto him being a dragon slayer as well.

(I think it would be better to say he smells 'familiar'. :P)

As the door to the guildhall opened, Ansel immediately noticed that the place was quite lively. There were plenty of people about. Talking, having drinks, arguing, and some other things. It looked more like a gathering of friends than just a place wizards went to, to get jobs. And right away one guy came up to them. A white scarf, red hair, a vest, and his fairy tail mark visible on his shoulder. Just like the rumours had said. So right away Ansel figured this guy was Natsu Dragneel.

Before he had the chance to say anything though Taunie was already pushing him towards the back of the building, talking about getting her reward. He had almost forgotten that this woman was actually just doing a job, so of course there would be payment. "No need to push, geez..." The man grumbled as he started walking. Though as he did, now he was the target of a few questions. "I never called myself a spirit. I just let people believe what they wanted." He answered casually. Sure, it had been quite useful for him to keep that rumour going, but still.

Before he could even ask about what Natsu's statement was about though, Taunie intervened again. Ansel sighed, shrugging a little. "We can probably talk all we want once I met this guild master of yours. I was planning on staying a day or two anyway." It was only then that Valier finally made his presence known. "Stop ignoring me you red-haired bastard!" The cat exclaimed, kicking Natsu in the shin. Though it didn't really hurt of course. The boy looked down, surprise in his eyes as he saw whom had kicked him. "What?! Another cat? You mean Happy isn't the only one?!" "That Valier. My friend, and yes, a cat. You mean you know one too?" Ansel replied, picking up Valier and putting him on his shoulders.