A Phantom 《FAIRYTAIL X READER》

3: A Phantom's Haunting

'Shit,'

She hoped he was alone— she was told that he would be alone. But the moment he entered the forest and walked off the trail, she felt the souls of 2 more.

A younger woman, and a much older woman dead ahead, sitting in one spot of the forest. Unlike the man she followed, their souls were more lively, buzzing and reactive. The smallest sounds made one jump, while the other would humour the situation.

If anything, they were more desirable than the man. But he is pretty, she'll give him that. A banal little soul with a pretty face

_______________

"You took your time," The banal soul rolled his eyes, though didn't express any ill thoughts towards the woman who told him that. Instead, he manoeuvres around one of his dear comrades, so he can sit in front of them before the bonfire. His lips curled up into a small smile, though his eyes looked dull with exhaustion.

"Another dead end— I just don't — I don't get it,"

One of the older souls of the group smiled slightly. She brushed the locks of her long black hair back and tucked it behind her ear.

"Don't fret Jellal, the culprit hasn't done much damage to be considered an actual threat,"

"Yeah but I'm tired of running back and forth!" The younger soul whined, throwing her head back. She quickly lost balance, and fell to the grass with a small 'oof'. Though, despite her little slip up, she smiled through the joking glance that came her way.

Jellal sighed and laid back onto the grass, his eyes fluttering closed, "I can't help the feeling this was all some elaborate prank,"

"A prank?" The older woman chortled,  "Please, who would prank you? Zeref?"

Jellal licked his lips, and folded his arms behind his head. He crossed a leg over the other and stared up at the myriad of stars littering the night sky.

"Natsu?" His suggestion caused the sounds of chuckling and laughter from the two women in the group. And while his suggestion is not credible, it was the only thing he could think about that makes sense. Nothing makes much sense. Who can ever prank him— a dark wizard hiding from the Council? They would've tried to run him in, not make him run around in circles.

Unless…

"Perhaps we've been purposely led here," The laughter stopped abruptly, and the sounds of crickets became more evident. The hooting of owls became louder, and the cool night breeze blew past roughly over the crowns of the tall trees.

"It's the only credible thing I can come up with. Perhaps this was some kind of ploy to get us here,"

Before the older woman could ease his worries, he suddenly sat up. He brushed dirt from his hair and got to his feet. He patted his coat down, and made sure his hood was up. He tucked his longer blue hair inside his hood, giving the two women one nod.

"I'll investigate the forest…. I can't help the feeling that someone is here already,"

The older woman suddenly stood up,  "Jellal, I sense no one in this forest— you're imagining things just like how you imagined that wolf,"

He grumbled underneath his breath,  "I'm sure it was there… but that's not the point," 

He manoeuvred around the bonfire and to the path he came from. He shot the pair one last glance of assurance, and descended down the path and into the darkness. The light from the bonfire became nothing but a speck of orange when he trudged through the deeper parts of the forest. He strayed far away from the borders of the dark forest, choosing to instead investigate the places someone would most likely hide in.