Early, the next morning, Cassian was already standing at the train station, waiting for Gray, who did not make him wait long.
They greeted each other shortly, and then immediately headed towards the platform, where the train that would get them as close as possible to Tuly Village.
Ray was still clad in his dragon armor, while Gray wore a white coat, over some darker shirt, along with black pants and shoes… at least, that was what he wore most of the time… from time to time, he suddenly stripped down to his underwear, without even noticing it.
Indeed, apparently most Fairy Tail mages, Cassian hat gotten to know, were truly eccentrics.
The train ride took about two hours, and while he could've flown that distance in a quarter of the time, if even, it was nice to travel in a normal setting for a change.
Also, flying got surprisingly fast boring. Cassian also did not want to be asked, if he could take people along, from time to time, simply because he could travel through the skies.
Regardless, as the train finally their stop, both of them left their seats, and soon found themselves outside of the station.
"Okay, we should head to the client first. Maybe something changed, since they set up the job request." Gray explained to him.
"I agree. But, before we meet them, please wear your clothes again…" Cassian responded with a sigh, and already walked ahead, while the other guy quickly dressed himself again.
The village wasn't exactly big, but one thing seemed very apparent; there must've been a catastrophe in the last weeks, if the destruction of some of the properties was anything to go by.
"Wait! This is Tuly village… Natsu came through here…" Gray suddenly realized, after remembering a small part in the newspaper from the day before yesterday. "Let's just hope Natsu didn't show his guild mark…"
Soon enough, the duo found the small cottage of the mayor, who was also the client. It was a simple house, really, just as one would expect in a village, like this one.
Gray took a step back, and let Cassian deal with it, acting as an observer of sorts.
Cassian appreciated this, went to the door, and knocked on it. A few moments later, a short, elderly man opened the door, and looked at Cassian, with a somewhat annoyed look on his face.
"What?! Have you guys come to announce that you are going to cause havoc, like that damned brat, a few days ago?!" The mayor demanded.
"...we came here for the Hodras job…" Cassian responded with a lot less enthusiasm, as he had had just a few seconds ago.
This answer made the mayor's face light up, in mere seconds, "Oh, that is wonderful! Please, come in, for a cup of tea."
"…"
'Are all people in this world, this weird?' Cassian thought to himself, before he responded, "Ah, thank you very much for the invite, but we would like to take care of the monsters immediately, if you don't mind."
For some reason, this just made the mayor's smile grow even further, "Wonderful! Youngsters that actually want to work, for a change. Just give me a second, I will lead you over there myself."
After he said that, the mayor quickly closed the door again, leaving the two of them standing outside there, by themselves.
Cassian couldn't help it, and turned to Gray, "Say, is such behavior normal, for clients to have? And, I thought you generally have to show your guild mark, to make sure they know your identity…"
Gray just looked at him, slightly amused, before eventually shrugging, "The behavior always depends on the client. You can have luck, or misfortune, when you take a job, since you don't know the client, beforehand. As for the second thing, that would only be the case, when you don't take on a job through the proper means. Otherwise, these things will be taken care of by the guild."
A moment later, the mayor came out again, now having also put on a coat, before he then proceeded to lead them towards the fields, all while talking with Cassian, nearly the entire time.
On the way, the duo was able to see the chaos Natsu had caused, just days ago. Destroyed houses, and many people trying to rebuild them.
Eventually, they reached the fields, and Gray and Cassian could finally lay their eyes on the damage caused by their objective.
Nearly an entire field had been destroyed. The Hodras must've simple marched all over it, before disappearing into the nearby forest again.
"Please, take care of these creatures. If they destroy even just one more field, then we won't have enough food for the winter." The mayor pleaded once more, while even bowing to the two of them.
Cassian put one hand on the older man's shoulder, causing him to look up again, "Don't worry. Since we took this job, we will make sure to complete it."
From the side, Gray could only nod in approval, when he heard the words of Cassian.
With everything said, and done, the two mages made their way over to the small forest patch, following the obvious trail, left behind by the Hodras, directly into the forest.
It took the two a while, but eventually, they managed to find the small horde of pig-like monsters, on a small clearing, relatively deep in the forest.
The two of them were currently hiding on the very outskirts of the small clearing, still scouting their prey.
"So, how do you want to do it? Alone, or with help?" The more experienced mage asked Cassian, with a small challenging grin.
He could only think, for the moment, before making sure of a little something, "Say, Gray, what kind of magic, do you use?"
"Ice magic, why? Got something in mind?"
The response made Cassian grin a little, "Well, that makes it even easier. I'll explain it to you, real quick."
A short moment later, both of them had made the plan, and were ready to execute it.
Cassian was standing slightly behind Gray, who was already starting.
The black-haired young man put his clenched fist, onto his left open palm, gathered his magic, and then started, "Ice make: Floor!"
In an instant, ice began spreading from where he stood, covering nearly the entire clearing, in mere seconds. The Hodras barely had any time to even understand what had just happened, when a loud sound echoed through the silent forest.
When the monsters turned towards where the sound had come from, they immediately noticed a human figure propelling himself forward, with tremendous speed, with a sword of light, in his right hand.
Cassian estimated the distance, and when he was about five meters away from the Hodras, he jumped, using the last bit of his Mana Burst, to bridge the last few meters.
Then, when he was finally above the ten or so pigs, and began descending from the air again, he directed his sword, courtesy of his arm prosthesis, towards the closest Hodras' neck, cutting straight through it, as if it was a hot knife, through butter.
He landed on the back, of the just killed monster, before he already started moving again. Cassian then proceeded to jump from pig to pig, ending their lives quickly, and relatively painlessly.
It took about a minute, until he was already finished with the last member of the small hoard.
When they were all eliminated, he landed back on the floor, and nearly fell flat on his face, due to already having forgotten about the ice.
Cassian also dismissed the sword of light, before practically falling to his knees, with a pale, and pained expression on his face.
'How could… anyone… use this freely…?' He questioned in his mind, while now actually experiencing the after-pain of the noble phantasm.
Gray also noticed the pained expression, and after deactivating his spell, he quickly ran over, "Hey! Are you alright? What happened?"
The worry in the questions seemed genuine, but being still in pain, Cassian could only offer a wry smile, "Yeah, everything's fine."
With the ground unfrozen again, Cassian used the chance to sit down, for a second, while Gray examined the slain Hodras.
"...we're done here, then?" Cassian asked weakly, intent on not using this sword again, if the situation didn't require it, explicitly.
After checking them, Gray could confirm that all of them were definitely dead, and since Hodras were very territorial monsters, no other hoards should be around this are, "Yeah, looks like it. Good work!"
He then offered Cassian his fist, which the sitting guy bumped with his own, before standing up again, finally beginning to recover.
The blonde looked at the remains of the monsters, "Say, do we need to take them along? As proof, or something?"
Gray seemed to consider it for a second, but eventually just shrugged, "Nah, I don't think so. We can take one head, and tell them where to find the rest, if they want to. This region doesn't really have any monsters, normally, and Natsu just got rid of a bandit group that made this region their playground, so no need to worry."
Trusting in the more experienced mage, Cassian went over, and took the nearest head, before heading back to the village, alongside Gray.
It took them a few minutes, but soon enough, they reached the previously destroyed field, and already saw the somewhat anxious mayor waiting there.
When he noticed the two of them, he seemed to calm down in an instant, eagerly awaiting them, where he stood.
The duo walked over, and explained everything quickly, which prompted the elderly man to sent two middle-aged man into the forest, to retrieve the monster bodies.
This made the two mages a bit regretful, since it wouldn't have been much work to at least carry two, each. But, what was done, was done.
In a happy mood again, the mayor, once again, led them towards his house, where his office was situated as well, and quickly retrieved the money, after they declined his offer for tea, once more.
With the payment received, the duo was tempted to simply head back already, but this time, since they had taken significantly less time, than both had thought, they chose to head back on foot, or if they changed their minds halfway, there was always still the possibility of flying back, but that was the last resort, since there should also have been one train stop on the way.
---
A few hours later, in the midst of some very dense forest, which was located somewhere close to Magnolia, the two of them were still walking.
"You know, you can just admit that you have no idea, where we are…" Cassian teased the black-haired ice mage, who clearly had lost his orientation.
"I know exactly, where we are!" Gray countered, before continuing to grumble, "I could need a toilet, though…"
"Did you say something?"
"Nope. Just, give me a minute, nature is calling…"
"…" Cassian watched, as Gray suddenly disappeared into some bushes, before looking down, to where his comrade had just been standing. Now, there lay a small pile of clothes.
'Why does he undress, before even finding a spot…?' He wondered, but simply chose to wait there.
Cassian then barely had the time to sit down, for a second, before fighting noises suddenly reached his ears. He didn't hesitate, and immediately jumped up again, rushing straight into the direction in which Gray had disappeared into.
"Gray!"
His call went unanswered, and he already made himself ready for a fight, as he got closer and closer.
There were barely a few meters, until the trees made way, to where the sounds came from, so Cassian made himself ready and took out Durandal. Using the light sword from Airgetlám would probably only be a hurdle.
He had to admit, Bedivere was a monster, if he could wield that for so long.
Finally, he escaped the thick vegetation, and when he was out, raised his sword above his head, "Mana! Bu-!"
Cassian never finished that sentence, though… since, the one fighting Gray, was none other than Natsu…
"…" With Durandal still raised above his head, he just stood there, with a dumbfounded look on his face.
It seemed like, Natsu only now noticed him, "Oh hey, Cassian! What are you doing there?"
"Aye!" Happy added his usual one-liner.
Hearing the carefree tone, Cassian suddenly felt very awkward, and just slowly lowered his sword again, "I'm beginning to question that myself, Natsu."
-x-
I know the fight was rather nothing, but it were just some weak magical beasts, so please bear with it.
The next real fight will be against Eisenwald. Following that, the good fights should become more frequent, just as interactive training sessions.