There never was a dull moment in the Fairy Tail guild. Quite an endearing sounding phrase for an outsider to hear. Just imagine all the fun and excitement you could have in the Fairy Tail guild? However being a member was a different story, as Alicia quickly learnt over the years of growing up in this rough house. Indeed there never was a dull moment in Fairy Tail. It was the curse Alicia had to live with as she sat behind the bar trying to fill out paperwork. She glanced up to see Vero making his usual grand entrance, debating whether or not she should tell him that a good magician never uses the same trick twice. Sanguin and Raghu were brawling near Zy and his friends. They were talking rather loudly, but at least they weren't causing a commotion. Ben had just finished wiping his guildmates of their money and was heading out somewhere to go and read, apparently. There was just so much distracting her that she was finding it near impossible to complete her paperwork in piece. She would need to convince Pollux to let her use the library as her office. It wasn't as if anyone actually used it.
"Hi, Miss Alicia," A familiar voice called out. She raised her head slightly to see Mary, one of the Guild's strongest wizards. "The mission I grabbed early this morning has been completed. Just letting you know. I also accepted an alternate reward that wasn't on the flyer. I finally can add a Great Vine Dancer to my garden." Alicia smiled back at Mary. Her garden was quite a stunning display of exotic beauties and it was very well maintained. It was a very popular attraction of the guild, although most would need to be careful not to tread on any of the plants lest they wished to face certain death by Mary's hand.
"Mary, as your fellow guild member and friend I am delighted that you completed the task and spared the client their money." Her tone quickly changed to that of a more serious one, turning from praise to scolding. "However as this Guild's head of finances I shouldn't have to explain to you that every reward you receive has fifteen percent removed from it as tax to help fund the guild. Now I can't really take fifteen percent of a seed, can I?" For Alicia to talk so boldly to an S Class Mage would have seemed ridiculous to anyone else, but most in Fairy Tail knew that this was the way. While she would never be acknowledged as a mage, every member of Fairy Tail knew that without Alicia performing all the tedious acts that not even Master Pollux could be bothered with, the Guild would have crumbled a long time ago. Alicia softened up a bit to Mary, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Please forgive me for sounding rather harsh. That seed will grow, so I will consider it an investment. I'm just a little more on edge about finances since we haven't been taking as many jobs as of late, and our expenses are always through the roof. We have to pay for maintenance, food, alcohol, accommodations, new resources for our archives and most of all..." Alicia was interrupted by Chloe charging out from the ground near Yukiko and Pollux, shattering the earth below and leaving behind a gaping hole in the Guild's floor. "... collateral damage."
Meanwhile Zy was watching Vero make his dramatic entrance. Everyone had their eyes on him and his flashiness. What a show off. Still, Zy didn't mind the guy. They weren't the closest of friends, but they didn't hate each other either. When he came to sit next to them, the other began to fill him in on what they were talking about.
"Elliot here thinks the Boogeyman is coming to get him," one of them teased, which was met by immediate protest from Elliot.
"I never said that! I'm just saying that there's something not right about that request for Haven." The others laughed at him, and Zy slung an arm around him and began to jab him in the side.
"Why don't we all go spend a night at an inn in Haven? We can have our very own ghost hunt."
"Now you're just teasing me!" The group laughed, when a lady walked by and was stopped by Vero for some more of his dramatic antics. He felt a little jealous when he made the girl at their table swoon over him. If she was that impressed with Vero's simple tricks, then Zy would have no problem winning her over. He made a quick motion with his fingers, and the squeals of delight suddenly turned into cries of fear as the gold dust that was floating around her head turned into a swarm of vicious bees before everyone's eyes. She flailed wildly, knocking over the table and everyone's drinks in the process.
"Get them off! Get them off!" She screamed, and Zy burst into laughter before dispelling his own illusion.
"Haha! You should have seen your face! Wow! That was hilarious!" He was practically on his side, but no one was laughing with him.
"What the hell is your problem, man?" Zy stopped laughing, looking up to see how furious everyone was with him. The girl was on the floor crying, alcohol spilt all over her.
"You just had to take it too far again, didn't you Zy?"
"Why are you always like this?" Zy stood up, backing away from the group. He instantly regretted what he had done.
"I'm sorry, I... I just. I didn't mean for that to happen, I'm so sorry." Zy turned away from them and ran away, cursing himself for being such an idiot. He was about to leave the guild when he suddenly bumped into Ben.
Alicia had heard the commotion with Zy and Vero unfold, but she was too focused on Chloe causing yet even more extensive damage to the guild that she didn't pay attention to it. She was about to go and yell at Chloe, when a stranger approached her asking to see Master Pollux. She immediately stared back at him, still fuming from her vented anger.
"Whatever it is I'm sure it can wai- Oh, you're new." She quickly regained her composure, embarrassed that she'd almost yelled at someone she'd just met. "My name is Alicia Vermillion. I am Pollux's granddaughter. I'd be happy to take you to see him." As quickly as she had turned hospitable, she returned back to being angry at Chloe as she lead the stranger towards her and the guild master.
"Chloe! Your skull is as thick as the rocks you wield! Do I physically have to drill it into you? Stop creating holes in the guild!" Alicia was so mad that she completely forgot about the stranger standing behind her. Meanwhile Pollux was laughing, patting Chloe on the head.
"Your aim is getting better child. It's good to see you so eager to practice your magic. It is who you are, after all."
"Grandfather we can't afford for you to be condoning this sort of behaviour. Just look at our bills!" Alicia flashed Pollux a long piece of paper, which he examined before jumping in shock at the final value on the paper.
"Dear lord that's a lot of zeros. Alicia for heaven's sake never show me that piece of paper again, I might have a heart attack." Alicia groaned. There was no winning with these people. Never a dull moment in Fairy Tail. She couldn't help but feel sorry for poor Yukiko, being thrown into all this mess. Speaking of Yukiko, she realised that she hadn't seen her at all during this ordeal and she could swear that she was right next to Pollux.
"Grandfather, where is Yukiko? Chloe didn't obliterate the poor girl, did she?" At the mention of their newest guild member, Master Pollux looked around in confusion.
"That is a good question. Yukiko! Where are you girl?" They looked under the bar and the tables but couldn't find her.
"Um," the young girls voice echoed from above. "I'm up here." Alicia and Pollux looked up to see Yukiko practically touching the rafters of the massive guild hall, her wings casually beating back and forth and keeping her in the air effortlessly.
"Simply magnificent," Pollux stated, watching in awe. "I thought it would be rude to ask, but I have been wondering about those wings since I first met you. Whether or not they were cosmetic or actually functional. Turns out it's the latter."
"Wizards use flying magic all the time Grandfather, you should stop staring at her like she's some kind of animal at the zoo." Alicia commented, although she was equally interested in the little flying girl.
"Yes but I sense absolutely no magic power around those wings. That flight is as natural as a real birds. Never in my life have I seen a human who was born with wings. This is why I love Fairy Tail. Every person I meet is as magnificent and fascinating as the last."
