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This article Wings of a New Companion, is the sole property of CPU Noire and as such, no user may edit this article without explicit permission from the aforementioned creator. If you wish to use this article in any way, please ask me first |
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This article Wings of a New Companion, is the sole property of Per and as such, no user may edit this article without explicit permission from the aforementioned creator. If you wish to use this article in any way, please ask me first. |
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A Dream
"Wen...Dy." A small, female voice was calling out in the mind of Wendy as she slept. "Find....me."
Wendy shot up, gasping like she had run a mile. She looked around. The room was still dark, and she saw too many figures on the bed. Jason had insisted that Wendy was the only one allowed to sleep next to him. Did this stop any of the others? Not a chance. Wendy had been curled next to Jason's torso, Vivian was at his side and Mary curled next to her. Iris was sleeping in-between Jason and Vivian, and whether they had found it uncomfortable before, they were all sound asleep now.
Jason had definitely found it difficult to check in to a hotel this time, because traveling with four girls tended to draw the odd look from everyone, and he couldn't pass off the "wife and kid" story anymore. Iris had actually shouted out "Traveling Circus", which, miraculously, the clerk seemed to buy after seeing Iris do a few odd things with walnuts.
Wendy curled back into her sleeping position, waiting for the sun to rise.
Iris fidgetted around as her eyes snapped right open- it was natural for a squirrel to be up so early. Skeptical, she hopped straight up like a flash, sniffing around like a chicken; something wasn't right, that for sure. Suddenly, from the bottom of her throat, she bellowed, "ALRIGHTY! LET'S TRY AND GET SOMEWHERE TODAAAAAAAAAAY!"
Vivian shot straight up, if yanked by a puppeteer's string. "Holy- ...dammit, Iris...Ever thought of keeping your mouth shut? People are trying to SLEEP."
Jason, seemingly still asleep, gripped Iris' tail again, pulling her back down onto the bed and refused to release his grip on her tail.
Iris let out a sharp moan that was almost, well, suggestive. Her knees knocked together as she collapsed, being a panting, sweaty mess, crying out, "Ma-master...Grab me harder...!"
Vivian went red at this sight as she elbowed Jason. "Let go. It's too damn embarrassing."
Wendy shook Jason away as he let go of Iris' tail. Mary rubbed her eyes, yawning cutely...before utterly collapsing into sleep again, dragging Vivian back down to the bed with her. She breathing was light as she slept on.
Vivian impacted on the bed with a loud *thud*, before continuing to mumble, attempting to send herself back off to sleep rather calmly. "I guess we can have thirty more minutes....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...." of course she fell asleep about twenty seconds later, holding her little sister rather tightly, refusing to let her go.
Iris, of course, managed to wander outside to try and run around in the fresh air, performing cartwheels to keep herself in shape. It was almost offp-putting, that.
Jason rose quietly due to Wendy's shaking, and looked around the room. "It's only about 4:00 AM. Did you have a nightmare or something?"
"Sort of..." Wendy murmured, racking her brain for the dream. "Someone was calling out to me...calling for help."
Jason mulled that over. "I guess it's something we'll have to look into." He frowned, a vein throbbing in his head. Iris was outside, working out and causing more noise than anyone should in a hotel. "Iris, get back in here." He hissed, but her ears made it possible to hear him.
Iris glanced at Jason with a shit-eating grin. "...Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine." She wasn't too happy about this; a free spirit like her certainly didn't like being confined anywhere. However, she did as told; being practically his pet, even though she was uncharactistically grumbling about it the whole way.
"Thank you." He acknowledged her. He actually reached up and stroked her ears, which was something she enjoyed, since he knew he was basically keeping her from doing what she liked.
Iris fell back ever-so-slightly, as she purred like a cat(?). Her muscles relaxed as she began to roll around on the ground playfully; she yelled out in a rather squeaky voice, cacaphonic as it was for him to pat her more.
Vivian, extremely pissed off as it was, stood up and stomped on Iris multiple times until she stopped yelling. "...Stupid rodent..."
Jason drew Vivian in, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Vivian, since I've already consented to the harem idea, can you please not physically everyone who is in it? I can feel the jealously emanating from you." It was unusual of Jason to pay this much attention to someone. And then, in a move that would surprise anyone who could see it in the dark, he kissed her, albeit very briefly. "We have problems to deal with beyond your petty jealousy, and a trip to the E.R. is not on today's agenda."
Vivian nodded with a slight blush as she inched back, remarking something along the lines of "Tch, shut up..." in a rather haughty manner, before immediately calming down. "...Right. Now what was that about that voice Wendy heard?"
"I heard a voice calling for help." Wendy explained. "Specifically calling to me."
Mary frowned. "That's...suspicious."
"But also worth investigation." Jason pointed out. "Psychic voices...even as a mage, hearing voices isn't a good sign."
Vivian rather calmly stated as clearly as possible, "Well, then. Perhaps you can track that voice?" She heartily patted Wendy on the back. "I'm sure it's easy. Of course, people tend to do that...a lot." Psychic voices, that was.
"I don't think that's possible..." Wendy replied, looking downcast. "I don't have that type of magic."
"I don't think any of us do." Mary frowned.
Vivian sighed. "Well, dammit." She couldn't understand why nobody else could follow voices they heard in dreams. Either that or she'd smoked up a whole bunch of crack that one time at summer camp. "...Well, now what then?" She grumbled to herself, "Stupid useless psychic voices can't even follow 'em good for nothing..."
Meanwhile, Iris remained fast asleep on the floor; her snoring fluctuated between loud and quieter than a mouse. "...Shh, I wanna eat bacon in the bathtub..."
"It's fine, Vivian." This was the second time in a day Jason hadn't called her "Vivian Starrkewolfe". "If this voice wants Wendy, she'll just have to listen harder. Luck will be a key."
Vivian crossed her arms. "I see. Well, dammit. We're more lost than a..." she pressed her finger to her lip in thought. "...I dunno. But we're lost, okay?"
Tracking a Voice
"Is it really alright to just leave her?" Wendy asked as they walked outside of the hotel with Iris. "Vivian...didn't seem happy."
"Mary trusts her more than us, she'll adjust easier if Vivian helps her along." Jason explained. "We're going to find the voice that calls to you."
Iris couldn't help but shiver with delight; at least now, finally, she had Jason all to herself. Though she wanted Vivian as well...dammit, she couldn't decide what she wanted more! She bellowed, "Alrighty! I will find the SOLUTION!" Idiot. It was like saying "I will achieve my goal!" while doing it; it meant nothing!
"Iris, could you please calm yourself?" Jason reprimanded quietly. "We have to focus on the task at hand. Do that for me."
Iris glanced down. She felt kinda bad, going against Jason's wishes, but she couldn't help herself in all honesty. "Alrighty~" she attempted to keep calm, though no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do it; so instead, she bit her tongue and slammed her jaw completely shut.
"Wen...dy. Wendy Marvell!" Wendy stopped short, holding her head. Jason turned immediately, reaching out for her. "Is something the matter?" His concern was obvious. This was the girl he'd defend more than anything else.
"It's...calling again!" She cried, falling to her knees as the voice shouted in her head. "I'm...seeing something!"
Iris urged Wendy, "Yes...Go towards the light, Wendy! The light needs you!" of course, she was expecting Vivian to jump out of nowhere and slap her upside the head by now. "...But seriously, run forward and don't turn back."
"Vivian..." Jason flashed her a warning look. "That's inappropriate at this moment, do not speak of such things." The warning in his tone was clear, but it wasn't like he'd punish her.
Tears welled up in Iris' eyes as she cried out, "....Buuuuuuuuuuut that's what my great-granny said to say whenever things like that happen...!" Of course, her great-grandma was a certified old coot- and nothing would change that. Her family was bigger than the whole population of Mizuho- though out of all of them, something went wrong in regards to the chromosomes.
Jason sighed, and, exasperated, stroked her tail again, allowing the moans to slip through her mouth as he focused on Wendy. "Wendy, what can you see? Is it anything of value?"
"A...a forest..." She struggled, trying to hold onto the vision before it faded. "...A dim lit...forest..." It faded as soon as she saw this.
"Eghhhhhh....!" Iris cried out as she just allowed Jason to persist in well...performing his 'can't-believe-its-not-sexual' movement, with his hand against her tail, before briefly managing to let out a strained, yet somewhat in denial, "...L-Let go...! I think I can help...!" ...for once she was useful.
Jason released her tail. "You speak as if I'd abandon you for uselessness." Jason's voice had a minute trace of hurt in it, but nothing easily readable. Wendy went a bit limp, but could steady herself. "If you can help, please, do offer your assistance." Jason allowed Iris as well to rest on his arm. Gripping her tail like that always made her weak-kneed.
Iris managed to use her hidden claws to use Jason as a impromptu scratch post while clutching his arm; her face burrowed into his shoulder. "Lead the way, then~" Though, she managed to keep her eyes out for anything of note.
Jason wrapped his arm around her, helping her steady. "Don't rush yourself. I know that feeling makes you uneasy. But it puts you in line, so it is necessary sometimes." He gently helped her try to steady herself, and Wendy was beginning to recover from her telepathic ordeal.
Iris blushed slightly, and for once, acted like a proper girl. Her body relaxed somewhat as she let out a rather content sounding sigh of relief- utterly happy with this situation. "...T-Thank you." ...Since when did she sound like Viv?
Jason nodded. "I can feel you are content. Being here with me. The first person that was ever like that was Wendy." He checked Wendy's head to see if it was hot, making sure she was just fine. "I suppose...yes, your harem idea will work just fine."
Iris could barely contain her glee; her eyes lit up in a rather...anime-esque fashion, sparkling like they looked like stars. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight~!" though she suddenly, shut her mouth, as she quickly remembered what Jason said about it beforehand.
"Iris, didn't you say you could help?" Jason asked, as he finally stood up. "If you can, please do. So we're not flying blind."
"I can help too!" Wendy piped up. "I know what I saw, so I can describe it!"
Iris, for once, remained completely calm, and rather seriously stated, "Focus, Wendy. Just focus and try and visualize what you saw. Try and imagine what happened, and see your environment as if it were the visions. Then, walk towards the voice. Trust me. It shall be perfectly okay." Her mind seemed to blank at this. "....Erm, what did I just say?"
"So...you took a degree in child psychology." Jason snarked, though his face was as deadpan as ever. "Talk about unexpected."
Iris laughed. "With a minor..." she paused for a second and put on a pair of sunglasses. "...In pain. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She suddenly straightened up and continued, "...Though, this will work. Trust me on this one."
Jason ruffled her hair in an obviously affectionate way. "Of course. I trust you implicitly." Wendy, ignoring the twinge of jealously this stabbed her with, followed Iris' instructions. "I ca..I can get a hazy picture. It's a forest. It's...it's the forest we have not far from the city!"
Iris seemed to be pleasantly surprised by this outcome. "...Wow, I honestly didn't think that'd work, but hooray! Iris: 1, Vivian: 0. Purrfect!" ...Wait, did she think she was a cat now? "Let's hurry!"
Jason picked Wendy up into his arms, deciding it would be easier for her to guide them like this than to have her walk with her eyes closed. This made Wendy's stomach swoop, but she felt superior now. Jason was holder her, Iris was walking. The smugness served her well. "I'll keep looking into the forest, all we have to do is run there."
"Come on." Jason ordered Iris as he started moving, leaping from building to building with Wendy in his arms.
Iris couldn't help but show off- even though nobody was watching, she was flipping around like a ninja, jumping around like nobody's business; while she suddenly, for some unfathomable reason felt jealous of Wendy. she was capable of just ignoring the idea to knock her out of Jason's hands 'by accident' and continue to follow the two. "I have a guess we'll be there if we keep up this pace for another five minutes~"
"Good speed." And then, as if he was empathetic to her mood, Jason turned to Iris. "You're very aigile. Beautiful movements. I'm impressed."
Iris seemed to blush at his comment, a basically silent "...T-Thank you" escaped her lips as she moved around; though she managed to keep herself afloat in the air for a good few seconds; pointing out, "Just ahead, right now!"
Within that time, they made it into the forest, running easily through the trees. "You have a good sense of direction." Jason noted. "But of course. Squirrel." He ducked an oncoming branch. "We're nearly there." Wendy said, her eyes still closed. "I can feel it."
Iris suddenly quickened her pace, before stopping right in her place- on the ground, for one. "...Wendy, go forth. You should be able to solve this yourself~"
"It's in the center!" Wendy instructed and Jason took her to the center of the forest, ducking and dodging trunks and branches with ease. Jason abruptly stopped, setting Wendy down. Getting an odd feeling that Iris was too pumped to stop, he turned on the and spot, and sure enough, she was headed fast in his direction. He moved swiftly, the moment she got close, he ducked and grabbed her, holding her bridal-style like he had Wendy just a moment ago.
"Injuries averted." Was all he had to say on the matter.
Iris, by now, was complaining. "Are we there yet? ....This is taking too long. I'm bored. And hungry." And probably a whole lot of other things which had nothing to do with anything, such as pro-abortion.
As Jason set her down, Wendy tugged on the sleeve of his hakama. He turned his attention to her. "So, what led us here?" Wendy was pointing at the ground, and she looked worried. Jason looked at where her finger pointed, and instantly recoiled, showing visible disgust for the first time.
It was a small, cat-like figure, beaten and unconcious. Jason glared at it with utmost contempt. "It's an Exceed...."
Iris became alert and she ran towards the little cat, grabbing it with her grubby little fingers and cradling it with worry. "...Wendy, quickly! Heal her!" She as extremely worried; there was no way she could leave a fellow sentinent animal in danger, there was no doubt about that.
"It was calling to me anyway." Wendy took the Exceed from Iris's hands, rather more forcefully than she normally would have. She called up the clean air around them, a forest setting was perfect for her magic, surrounding by nature, and her hands began to glow. She placed them over the Exceed, and the healing process began.
Jason, however, looked at the creature with mistrust lighting his eyes. While Exceed had been proven harmless, he had never gotten over their behavior in Edolas, and was uncomfortable around this one.
Iris immediately noticed how Jason had been rather odd (well, odder than usual) since setting his eyes on this little cat; of course, curious as she was, she couldn't help but ask, "...Hm? Don't you like cats?"
"I'm fond of...cats, yes." Jason stretched the word, showing he differentiated Exceed and cats. "I used to own nine. This is a different creature. An Exceed, cat-like creatures of little to no magic power. I've simply had bitter experiences with them."
Iris seemed slightly confused by Jason's words; she made no distinction between 'Exceed' and 'cats'. "Well, think about it. THIS one means you no harm, does it? Then you should have no problem with helping out."
"You obviously want it to be healed." Jason shrugged. "And so does Wendy. It was calling out to her. I'll give you both what you want, of course."
Iris let out a sigh of relief. "...Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou~" She leaned in and gave Jason a rather...passionate kiss on the lips after hearing his response.
Jason was more than happy to reciprocate, despite his stoic attitude he enjoyed indulging in behaviour like this, but was abruptly stopped by Wendy, who had cleared throat. "I don't think it's the time for that, we have to get this kitty back home." The Exceed, despite being healed, was unconcious in Wendy's arms.
Iris shouted again, and louder than before, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwright! Now, I wanna hug him and hug him!" she attempted to reach for the Exceed with her grubby little hands before immediately ceasing. "...But kitties are too easy to squish...It's a cruel world..."
The New Companion
"So...this is an Exceed?" Mary asked, peering at the cat-like creature that was sleeping quietly on the bed in the hotel room. "Seems so...cat-like."
"One would assume they're related to cats." Jason replied, eyes locked on the Exceed. "They're harmless when they're not playing humans for fools." His voice was still full of contempt.
Mary walked over to him, placing a hand on his face. "You don't like the Exceed, do you?"
"I have my reasons." He replied, rather mysteriously.
"You don't have to worry." Mary smiled, brimming with more confidence here than she ever had in Crudelis. "You promised to protect me right? So I'll protect you from all your worries as well!"
Jason couldn't help but feel warmed by this, and he was glad he'd taken this girl in. "Thank you. But in this case, it's less worries and more wounds of the past."
Iris was still extremely concerned by what Jason meant, and thus decided to prod at him for a while, "Well, what is it~?" Iris asked like a curious child who did not know when to keep her mouth shut, prodding at that problem. Every time Jason turned away, she persisted, jumping in front of him, heckling, "Come on, come on." while invading his personal space.
Jason stroked her tail immediately, as he knew it would quell the action. "What do you girls say to a story? Nothing important, but just a minor bit of my past."
Mary Jane nodded, and tugged on Vivian's arm. She'd been about to smack Iris again. "Onē-chan, don't you want to hear?" Wendy was sleeping next to the Exceed, but it didn't matter, she'd heard it all before.
Vivian held her head in absolute exhaustion, though nevertheless, she replied, "Ah, well. You woke me up anyway, let's see if this little tale can keep me up...."
Fairy Tales
"It's nothing of any importance." Jason said, sitting back in a chair. Iris chose that moment to sit on his lap, trying to keep all his attention. he stroked her tail yet again, and she slid right off, moaning. "Let's not antagonize Vivian this early into the story."
Iris pulled her best 'troll face' which was plastered upon her face. It was quite epic. "Ehehehe, Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiv~"
Vivian's eyes suddenly went bloodshot as she screamed out, "Iriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!" however, about ten seconds later she calmed herself down. "Ahaha, sorry...Go on."
"I'm not from this world." Jason said this as if it was the most casual thing in the world. "There's another world that co-exists with this world. It's called Edolas. In Edolas, magic wasn't as abundant as it was here. People used Lacrima, it was a valued power source. Here, it's common everywhere. Exceed..." He gestured to the one Wendy was cuddling with. "...were at the top, humans subservient to them. It later all turned out to be a farce, Exceed are no more powerful than the average housecat...with some rare exceptions."
"How did you come here?" Mary Jane asked, curious. "If you're from Edolas?"
"Lacrima. A unique Lacrima that produces large qualities of magical energy, almost endless in fact, was implanted into my body." Jason didn't look pleased or unhappy with this. "The Reverse Anima, which sucked out all the magic in Edolas, including things with internal magic, like the Exceed and mages, specifically those who had come from Earthland. Fairy Tail." He added to answer the girls' confused expressions. "The Reverse Anima apparently mistook my Lacrima for internal magic, and I was brought here, to Earth Land. I met Wendy only a few months later."
Vivian, she didn't know why, but she suddenly thought about all of this. It really wasn't a fairy tale. Though going by this crazy as hell world, every single word that left Jason's mouth was probably true. "...I see. But this one possibly isn't so bad; think about it. I'm sure that many Exceeds were left in the dark about the farce and perhaps this one didn't mean to act all high-and-mighty about it. ...Of course I could be wrong like I always am....but still..."
"Not every Exceed was aware that it was a farce." Jason replied, confirming Vivian's statement. "In fact, some Exceed were sent here as Eggs, so it's quite possible this young Exceed knows nothing at all."
Iris nodded, with a faux-cheery tone, she basically demanded, "So, listen to us~ This little kitty has nothing to do with your past scars. Besides, moving on from past experiences is part of life~ If you don't get over this, then you'll never grow as a person."
"Common knowledge." Jason waved what Vivian said away airily. "I'm not complaining, I'm merely wary. And I'm rather pleased to be away from Edolas."
Mary tilted her head, curious. "Why?"
"Well, I have you all now." He said as if it was obvious.
Vivian's cheeks turned slightly red; though she quickly hid it via using Iris as an impromptu shield, using her tail to hide her embarrassment; Iris actually let out a soft moan at the moment that Vivian grabbed her tail. "...R-Right."
Iris let out a strained, "...B-Besides, this'll b-be fun-nnnn~Eh!"
Mary blushed slightly, and then clung to Vivian.
Suddenly, a groan came from the Exceed.
Iris's ears perked up; as she exclaimed extremely loudly, "Quick, everyone! Just approach it slowly and-" she, of course, did the polar opposite and ran over to it, hugging it with all of her might.
Vivian smacked Iris on the ass and gently took the Exceed, cradling it within her arms. "...Feeling any better now, hm?"
"...I can't feel my back..." The Exceed replied. So her voice was feminine. Wendy started to stir. "W-where's the Exceed!?" She nearly panicked before seeing Vivian was holding it.
"Give her back to me. She was calling out to me." Wendy asserted.
"She is right." The Exceed replied, looking up at Vivian. "But thank you for being concerned."
Vivian rather slowly handed Wendy the Exceed, remarking to herself under her breath, "...What's up your ass..."
Iris just seemed happy that the cat was perfectly fine- though she seemed to not know that she almost killed it.
"Why were you calling out to her?" Jason chose that moment to speak to the Exceed. "And for a better question, what is your name?"
"I'm Yasaka." She replied, curling next to Wendy like a kitten. "And I called out to her...I'm not sure." She seemed puzzled by this herself. "I felt drawn to this girl, and, after I was injured, I knew she would find me if I called to her."
"Telepathy..." Jason growled.
Vivian relaxed slightly; she muttered, "...Well, there you go, Jason."
Iris continued to prod at Jason, questioning, "Can we keep 'im!? PLEASE, PLEASE!?"
"Jason, she came for me..." Wendy murmured, looking at him with pleading eyes. "I want to keep her with us."
Jason let out a drawn out sigh. "Fine...do what you want." He looked at Iris. "Yasaka belongs to Wendy, she chose her. Don't fawn over her."
Iris let out a barely audible, "I promise nothing~" though she was quickly reigned in by Vivian's fierce backhand.
Wendy gasped in delight. "Thank you!" She smiled broadly. "Yasaka, you're one of us now!"
"And what exactly is "us"?" Yasaka asked curiously. "You're a motley little crew, I'll give you that much."
"We're Akatsuki." Jason explained, shaking back his sleeve to reveal his Guild Mark. "An Independent Guild bent on giving this world a new order."
Yasaka smirked. "That'll be an interesting thing to be a part of." She looked up at Wendy. "I guess you're my partner now, Wendy."
"Yes!" Wendy agreed, and was most accepting of her new Exceed companion.
In the Magic Council's headquarters, a powerfully-built soldier reached his hand to the floor and operated on the touch-type display that rose up from the floor silently. The holographic display again lit up the space above the quarters, showing the photo of Vivian's face. "...It seems that the heartbeat of Fiore is resounding with the Tyrant Dragon again."
A elderly woman glanced at the soldier, questioning, "...You mean...?"
The soldier nodded sternly. "...Correct. Soon, if events continue to transpire as if we did not expect them, then Vritra will be released from its seal and Earth Land will be in danger once more."
Guran Doma tapped his staff on the ground, staring straight at the soldier and declaring, "...Barakiel. I do believe that you know what to do. Track down the container of Vritra's soul and destroy it; leave not even a single trace. ...And also, see if you can obliterate that Independent Guild off the face of the earth as well, hm?"
Barakiel bowed. "...Affirmative."
END