*Picture is an edited picture of Mavis I made.
Alright, everyone, here's the next chapter! For those of you worrying about taking up endless chapters on her training, don't worry. While she will be training a bit in each chapter (for now) she will start interacting with actual characters in the next chapter. I don't want the training to be underdeveloped, but I also want to get the story started.
*****
Chapter Two - Elle, Part Two
The first thing I did was read through all of the books on the table.
Well, actually, the first thing I did was explore the house, which was a nice, one story cottage. There was the master bedroom and a guest bedroom, both of decent size. The bathroom held a large bath with a showerhead above it, with a window to let out some steam.
I stopped exploring there and carefully considered my reflection. My hair (which had previously been an extremely dark brown color) was now a dark purple. My eyes (which had previously been a light blue) were now the color of ice.
They weren't big changes, but they were still changes.
I shook my worries away, accepted that I would get used to it, and continued exploring.
The kitchen led off to the kitchen table (where the books were) which sat in front of a pair of large sliding doors leading outside. To the right of the kitchen was a living room, with chairs and a sofa. There was also a door leading to a study, which I loved. There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, all filled with more information; everything from different types of magic, to the history of Fiore, to the laws and monetary system. One of the walls didn't have a bookcase, but instead a map of the country of Fiore, with Alvarez peeking through on the outskirts. At the other end of the study was a window, and under that, a desk.
When I was done exploring the house, I returned to the kitchen table, which was stacked with different types of books on the magic I wanted to learn specifically. I organized them based on the magic type, and separated any sort of intro to magic that I might need.
The most important ones I had to learn first were location magic, and then teleportation magic.
The location magic focused on how to find people, and how to find items. I wouldn't need the items for now, but people were first on the list.
At this point in time, I was nine. Most of the main characters in Fairy Tail were four going on five, or somewhere in that range. The dragon slayers (raised by actual dragons) weren't even in this time period. They wouldn't be until July 7th, X777, which was over five years from now. So I really couldn't do anything for them right now.
Carefully, I wrote out a timeline of upcoming events, which exhausted me. Most of it was guesswork, too. Man, would I love to have some internet. Or more specifically, the Fairy Tail Wikia.
So first things first; practicing magic.
I started with mediating, according to A Beginner's Guide to Learning Magic. Or, as I like to call it, A Perfectly Reasonable Guide to Learning Magic Unless You're A Fucking Idiot Like Elle.
I stopped and glared at the book. Meditating was getting me nowhere. I couldn't mediate. My mind just wouldn't shut down.
Okay, Elle, calm down, you can do this. I reassured myself.
Fifteen minutes later I was getting angry again.
"Ahhhhhh!" I screamed again. I jumped up and started pacing. "Why isn't this working! This is fucking ridiculous! Why can't I-"
I stopped. There was energy coursing through me, I could feel it as I lived and breathed. I suddenly remembered a moment in Fairy Tail Zero, when Zeref taught the group magic. And when that happened, the normal way didn't work for Yuri, he learned by...exercising...
"Whooooohooooo!" I screamed, jumping into the air. "Now we're talking! Time to get this party started!"
I started running laps around my cottage. This was perfect. No, it was more than perfect! Not only was I increasing my magical capacity, but I was also increasing my physical stamina!
Except I forgot that I was never very good at exercising in the first place and that I was also only nine years old.
I had only ran two laps before I ran out of energy and collapsed on the ground, panting.
"Fuck," I breathed. But it was still a good start. Now that I could actively feel my magic, I might actually be able to meditate the normal way, so this was a good thing.
I waited for my (physical) energy to come back, and entered the house so I could get something to eat.
*****
"Fuck!"
I stared at the empty pantry.
I was an idiot. Food should've been the first thing I checked. All my exploring the house, I didn't even open the pantry or the fridge. Now I need to go into town, buy food, and carry it all back here.
I stumbled over to the sink and drank some water from the tap. Unfortunately, I didn't have any cups either, so I had to scoop it up in my hands.
I walked back to the table and grabbed the paper and pen that was there. At least I had that.
Slowly, I began to make a shopping list.
It was pretty basic.
Kitchen shit
Bathroom shit
Office shit
Gardening shit
Cleaning shit
Food
There, I thought.
As for basic kitchen utensils, since I'm living on my own for now and not making any money, don't know how much any of this costs, and don't know how much money I even have, I decided to go as sparingly as possible, only getting one for me and a spare in case I lose one. I could just wash everything by hand, so there was no need for other things.
I had all the furniture I needed (for now) and the electricity and plumping was taken care of (something I needed to understand quickly in case it becomes untaken care of).
Now, as for the money.
I peeked back into my study, where I was hoping there was a safe or something that I had missed the first time around.
Entering the room, I went to my desk.
There was a sticky note that said Under the desk.
I sighed and pushed the chair out of the way so I could crawl under the desk (which I could easily fit under because of my size).
Below it was a safe with a key, which was good because a dragon slayer could probably break in if it was a combination lock. The key was on top of the safe, along with a book and a wallet.
I grabbed the key, book, and wallet, and climbed out from under the desk. Inspecting the book, which was called The Monetary System of Fiore, I saw another sticky note on it that said, 1,000 J equals appr. $20. The amount in this wallet should cover your first shopping trip. The rest is in the safe.
1,000 J was $20? Actually, that makes sense, considering how much Lucy had to pay for a meal and her apartment.
I put the book down on the desk, and pocketed the key and wallet, which contained 50,000 J. I really, really hope that that is overestimating and that the inflation here isn't so bad that it would really cost me $1,000 to go shopping.
I made my way down what seemed to be a trail (well, I really hope it was, but I can get lost really easily), and luckily found myself off the edge of Magnolia.
I entered the town and immediately noticed the guild. I stared at it longingly until I shook my head. No Elle, come on, you need to get ready first. Once you've got everything you need, then you can go to the guild. I turned around, and started looking for a supermarket.
After about ten minutes of searching, I finally gave up and accepted what I didn't want to be true - there were no supermarkets in Magnolia, and possibly not any at all in Fiore.
As I made my way to the Market District, which was easily found after asking directions, I desperately looked for some kind of cart or wagon I could use to carry all of my bought goods, because I didn't want to carry everything back.
I luckily found a furniture shop, where I went in and asked for a cart. I got some weird looks, probably because of my age, but I walked out of there with a large cart for 4,000 J. I've never bought a cart before, so I have no idea whether or not I got a good deal.
I continued down the street where I found an office supply shop, a gardening shop (where I bought tools and seeds for my own vegetable garden), a bathroom shop, and a kitchen shop.
I sighed. All of these little shops were making me tired, and I decided that when I had finished most of my plans that I was going to find someone who would make supermarkets a thing.
I had gotten everything I needed except for food. I started with bread from the bakery, and some meat and cheese from a deli. Afterwards, I went to a farmer's market, where I bought a series of fruits and vegetables that I actually like (as I'm really picky).
Finally finished, I checked how much money I had left and realized that the rest was probably for me to get some clothes.
I eyed the clothes shop before shaking my head. Nope. I could get that another time.
Passing a spices and herbs stand, I got a bottle of salt (already in a shaker, luckily) and made my way back to the forest where I lived.
*****
Sighing, I finally entered my home again and breathed a sigh of relief. I filled one of the cups from the tap and greedily drank down the water.
Sighing (in content, this time) I put down the cup and started unpacking my items. I filled the fridge and the pantry, and put my office supplies in the office/library and the bathroom things in the bathroom. I moved my cart over to an extra space near the entrance of the house, and put the gardening supplies on the shelf above the cart. I guess it was like a mudroom?
I went back outside and decided to try meditating again. Sitting down, I closed my eyes, and, instead of trying to focus on nothing, focused on the magic I felt spinning through my body. I tried to manipulate it, but it was like grabbing water.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to start pushing it. This was (supposedly) the way to increase your magical container. My body was like a bubble, and I needed to stretch it out.
I pushed my magic harder and harder, until I could see a glowing behind my eyes. Opening them, I looked down at my body, which was shining with magical energy, the same color as my hair, a dark purple, almost black color.
I smiled and pushed with all of my might. My pure magical energy shot towards the sky, and I shouted in joy.
Step 1, complete.
I continued pushing my magic until I felt it nearly all disappear. I knew I had to stop before I hit Magical Exhaustion, so I stopped pushing. The loss of the energy and adrenaline running through me nearly made me collapse, and I decided to rest there for a bit, staring at the sky and enjoying the sounds of nature.
As I felt both my energy and my magic start to replenish, I made my way back inside the house, where I showered and changed into a nice dress. While there were a few clothes in my closet, they were nearly all dresses, and my dresser was completely empty except for undergarments. I would have to buy shorts, which I did prefer, as well as tennis shoes, because the only shoes I had were sandals.
After changing, I made me way outside and decided to try teleporting. I pictured the other side of my house and concentrated, almost picturing the space in between where I was and where it was fold, and then ghosting through that to the other side.
I opened my eyes.
Nothing happened.
"Dammit!"
I knew it wouldn't come that easily, but I was hoping it was a bit easier.
Alright Elle, try again.
I closed my eyes and pictured the front of my house. Instead of picturing myself pass through space to that point, I instead pictured myself appearing in the image I had of the front of my house.
I felt my magic rush through me, from the tips of my toes to the top of my head, and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in the front of my house.
I was elated that I did it, but completely exhausted. Despite the short distance, I still felt a large drain in my magic, and decided to get a lot of sleep. Tomorrow I would meditate in the morning, and then I would talk to Makarov.