Phoenix Fire || Fairy Tail [1]

𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐢. 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭

Adell rolled his eyes. "You'll have to try harder than that."

Pouting, Rose motioned for Kou to let him know that it was okay to move. While Kou tried to find a good spot to sit, she crouched beside the circle of rocks and ignited a fire. Her gaze fell upon the dark coat which Adell had left draped across a tree branch – the hood was lined with fur, and it looked pretty warm...

Rose grinned, her second evil masterplan already in action. She quietly snuck across the clearing and snatched Adell's cloak from the branch, making sure not to rip it. The soft fabric felt nice on her fingertips. Before Adell could catch her, she moved to hide.

"What are you doing?"

Rose nearly jumped out of her own skin. The dark-haired girl turned around slowly, smiling at her red-haired companion innocently.

"Nothing?"

"Okay, then... you better not be trying to sneak up on me again."

Rose let out a shaky breath as Adell walked away. Had he not noticed the cloak which was obviously his in her arms? Or did he just not care? To be honest, she was confusing herself more with her pranks than she was him.

"Oh well." Rose shrugged her shoulders and shook the cloak out, throwing it over her own shoulders. "It makes a pretty good blanket. Maybe I'll be a burrito in my next life..."

Contemplating reincarnation as a burrito in her next life, Rose returned to the fireplace. Kou had rolled a tree trunk over to act as a bench, so she plopped down beside him. Adell was in front of them, stirring the stew in the pot a few times before leaving it to thicken.

Rose pretended that she hadn't just stolen his cloak, conversing with him as though nothing had happened.

"Hey, Rose? What kind of magic do you use?" Kou looked towards the dark-haired girl with round green eyes.

"Me?" Rose pointed at herself. "Oh, I'm a flame phoenix slayer. Adell's a requip mage." "Woah, that's so cool! Can you show me? Please?"

Rose sent Adell a pitiful look, begging him to avert the conversation. He merely smirked at her. "Yeah, Rose. Why don't you show him?"

"Why are you like this?" Rose sighed and gave in, much to Kou's delight. Adell poked his tongue out at her.

"Oh, by, the way, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"My cloak looks ridiculous on you. Seriously, you look tiny."

◊

"Holy shi—"

Rose was cut off before she could finish her sentence. Adell made a jabbing motion with his sword at her stomach. She twisted and lit her fists, feinting a hook at his face before dancing out of his reach.

Adell had definitely gotten stronger in the time they'd spent apart. The timing between his attacks was minute, and in addition to his already ridiculous talent, he was also able to shift seamlessly between weapons. In a flash of light, the sword in his hand was replaced with another. The blade had a reddish hue.

Adell didn't use armour like most users of requip – instead, he focused on the weapon itself. He specialised in swords, but Rose knew he was definitely capable of using a few other kinds of weaponry.

"Flame Phoenix's Screech!"

Rose decided to use long-range attacks until she could develop a proper strategy. She ducked away from a swipe, only to have her leg kicked. She rolled out of range and quickly leapt up in time to dodge another slash.