It had been a few years now from the time when she had ran away from Acheron. He must definitely be out looking for her. The thought of incurring her father's wrath made her shudder in dread and fear.
"What did ya' want again, lady?" the bartender demanded in a gravelly voice, polishing the tall glass that was in his hand.
Tugging her cloak closer to shadow her face in the inner darkness of it, she squirmed agitatedly in her seat, trying to think of something.
"Um...would there be a menu of some kind, perhaps?" she asked him, timidly.
He snorted and whacked the bar top with his huge fist. "There ain't menus here, sweetheart. You must be in the wrong place for this. Fancy a beer?"
Just then, someone took a seat beside her.
"Beer," the voice ordered.
"Aye mate," the bartender responded and turned his back to the girl. The voice was distinctly male. Laura angled her head slightly to get a glimpse of the stranger, trying not to be obvious. Unfortunately for her, he happened to notice her watching him. The spiky black turned to her and she got a full view of his face.
"Somethin' on my face?" he asked brusquely.
Laura quickly looked away, without answering. She could sense vast magic in this man. She knew that he was a tough mage. The eighteen-year-old heard him made a rude sound before he faced forward.
The bartender placed a big mug filled with the liquid before him and he downed the half its contents in a few seconds.
"Made up yer' mind yet?" he asked her, wiping his hands with a dish rag.
She shook her head hastily and the older man left. Laura took a deep breath and turned to the stranger beside her. "I'm sorry..." she began.
The guy almost choked on his drink as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What are you sorry for?" he asked her incredulously.
She played with her finger nervously, unsure how to phrase her question. "What does it taste like?" the girl managed finally.
There was silence after her question as she waited keenly for his answer. Her eyes narrowed when he burst out laughing.
"Did I say something droll?" she asked him.
The nineteen-year-old guy nodded his head. "Never met someone who doesn't know what beer taste like and comes waltzing into a bar without any idea." He thrust the now half empty mug at her. Warily, she leaned forward to take a sniff. Her face scrunched up in revulsion. It had a sharp smell that made her eyes water.
"Might be a little too strong for you...maybe you could try a fruit cocktail instead?" he suggested, still amused.
"Is that beer too?" she demanded promptly.
The man shook his head."No, but it does have a touch of alcohol to it. Do you want to give it a shot?"
Laura nodded slowly. Apparently, he must have discerned her disinclination. "Don't worry, you won't get drunk," he reassured her.
"Okay..." she finally gave in.
The stranger ordered one for her and it came soon enough. Laura studied the glass that held a strange crimson colored liquid and smelt it. The stranger was right. Indeed there was a delicate, almost imperceptible scent of alcohol as compared to beer. She took a cautious sip. It was thickly saccharine and tasted of fruits, just like the name implied.
"Good?" the stranger asked her.
Laura smiled slightly at him, but suddenly realised that he could not see her face because of her cloak so she nodded in response.
"So, why the creepy cloak?" the mage asked her. "Trying to hide from someone you know?"
The Slayer's back grew rigid but then relaxed. She knew that he did not know about her. She shook her head and let out a nervous laugh.
"No. It's just the outfit," she lied. Laura wondered if he knew that though but the stranger did not pursue the subject further than it already was.
"Name's Gale Redfox," he extended one hand. "What about yours?"
The eighteen-year-old placed her glass down on the table top and wiped her damp hands on her skirt. She had contemplated on lying to him since she knew that they would not meet again after this but she did not. Laura took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Laura Kobayashi , pleasure to meet you."
"What are you doing out here anyway?" Gale questioned, looking at her inquisitively.
Laura took another swallow of her drink to buy her some time. She had to think up of some kind of excuse to give him.
"I-I...well, I got kind of lost..." she stuttered, regretting the words almost instantly. The justification was ridiculous and judging by the guy's face, he too saw through her lie.
Gale smirked. "Can't tell, huh? I'll live, don't worry."
"Sorry," Laura replied woefully.
"Are you in any guild?"
The girl blinked, staring at him in bewilderment. "Pardon me?"
"A guild?" repeated, this time slightly doubtful. "Do you even know what a guild is?"
I didn't even know that they existed at all...
Laura shook her head. "What are they?"
"Guilds are large groups of mages that band together...something like a brotherhood. Do quests and stuff like that," he explained.
The Slayer listened in fascination. "Are you in one as well?"
Laura could detect a minor change in his expression but it vanished as soon as it did. He gave her a smile and changed the subject. "How about joining up with Fairy Tail instead?"
"Non non. Come over to our side, my dear," a voice cut in smoothly.
Laura's eyes widened and she looked up to find a very gorgeous-looking guy who looked not much older, staring down at her.
"Blue Pegasus; Killen Lates ," Gale spoke up flatly.
Without warning, he reached over and gently drew back her hood. Her long black hair with purple highlights spilled out, cascading gently past her shoulders.
The two of them stared at each other, stunned. A second passed before Laura hastily covered her face with her hood. "What are you doing?" she demanded crossly.
"Please forgive my insolence, Laura Kobayashi ," Killen told her with a charming smile as he kneeled before her and kissed her hand.
The Slayer jerked her hand from his and wiped it roughly on her cloak. "That's sickening; mind you, how in heaven's name do you know me when I've never met you in my life," she snapped.
"I heard you talking with him earlier on," he told her as he took the other vacant seat beside her.
"So, why did you come here for besides the obvious?" Gale asked him, his voice saturated with scorn.
Killen smirked. "What I do here happens to be none of your concern after last time."
That did it. The nineteen-year-old man was out of his seat so fast that Laura did not have time to react. His hands were wrapped around Killen's collar.
"Try saying that again?" he snarled threateningly.
Laura knew that this was going to start spiraling into a bad episode. She had to intervene somehow but she did not want to be at the receiving end of someone's punch especially Gale's. The eighteen-year-old was about to throw herself bodily in between the two males but someone else had already beaten her to it.
"Stand down Gale," a deep voice ordered. "Killen doesn't mean any harm when he said that." The stranger was yet another attractive older guy with an artificial tan.
The muscular mage refused to back down as he turned to the intruder with a smirk. "Ren Akatsuki, huh?" There was a note of challenge in Gale's voice. Before Ren could say anything, Laura quickly placed a trembling hand on Gale's own. He turned to her, irritated and she shook her head at him. He muttered something crude under his breath, shoved Killen aside and shrugged off the girl's hand. He grabbed his duffel and left the bar.
Mute, Laura could only stare at his retreating back in bewilderment.
"And what do we have here?" Ren spoke up, leaning forward. He acted like the previous incident did not just happen.
Instinctively, Laura backed up a step and held her hands up. "I just came here for a drink is all," she laughed nervously. "Nothing unusual there though."
He stepped nearer to her. "Yeah, but what's unusual is a pretty girl like you is without a guild. Why don't you join us and be a member of the Blue Pegasus Guild?"
"I'm not a mage," Laura lied automatically. "So I'm afraid you got the wrong girl."
The two of them stared at her wordlessly, caught off-guard.
"But you're so cute..." Ren began.
"Nope, I'm as absolutely normal as they come," the eighteen-year-old insisted audaciously. "If you would be so kind to excuse me, I have some chores that I have to urgently attend to."
Laura knew that this was her chance to escape while these two tried to digest her 'truths'. Quickly, she made her way to the door.
"What about a mascot?" Ren called out hopefully. "You'll make an awesome one."
In response, Laura simply bowed politely and ran out of the door.
"Oh well..." Ren sighed unhappily. "At least we tried."
A little too hard, in my opinion...
Killen's gaze travelled over to the spot where the girl was standing earlier and shook his head obstinately. "No Ren, that girl is lying to us."
The thirty-year-old stared at his young team mate in puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"
"Laura Kobayashi is a mage, there's no doubt about it."