Sylvester woke up in his hotel bed. The damage from his last fight in the physical tournament had set him out for quite a while, physically as well as emotionally. The sting of defeat burdened him. He hung around in Baska for a while after, but something felt off. It felt as though Syl had overstayed his welcome- he had been there for much longer than he thought he’d been. It almost felt like he had stayed in Baska for eight months, give or take a few days. As such he felt that now was as good a time as any to get a move on and vacate the city, to return to the home of his guild- that being Magnolia town.

He packed up his things, making sure to grab each item in his possession. There weren’t many. He had been teleported to Baska around the time of the tournament from Crocus, where he had initially traveled to do some work. Syl’s essentials were on his person during the moment of teleportation, and they were currently with him as he readied himself to journey homeward. He checked out of the hotel, before realizing that there was no way for him to embark besides by foot. This realization was met with a dejected sigh. In spite of this, taking on the challenge in earnest, Sylvester would begin his trek towards Magnolia. He left the city, passing by the location of the arena, Great Baska Rock, in the process. He had a faced great victory in the first round, taking out a guildmate with one fell swoop, but met with defeat in the second. Everyone loses from time to time, he reassured himself. It was a teaching opportunity, one he definitely learned well from. People who won every battle rarely grew in character; the key to dynamic growth as a person came from the myriad of different experiences undertaken. That said, though his defeat may have been a figurative step backwards in his short term self-esteem, it was was a step forward in Sylvester’s overall journey of growth.

As he neared the Baska city limits, he felt a burden lifting. He was once again homeward bound, and was ready to return to his guild. He had not seen his guildmates in quite some time, and he was enthusiastic to get to know any new members who had joined. It was almost certain that some had, given the guild’s reputation and the fact that he was gone for so many months. He took in the nature around him, as he noticed things he did not before; the leaves of the trees, the dew on the grass; a deer-like mammal peeked at him through a clearing in the woods, and bolted when Syl waved hello towards it. Darn, he thought to himself. I just wanted to say hi. He seemed somewhat disappointed that the animal had not responded in a more positive manner. It would have been unrealistic for the deer to come towards Sylvester, or something corny like that, but he would have rather had the deer not run away like it did. That got him down for a little bit; what if the deer was a manifestation of other people’s reactions towards him? What if he was repulsive? What if nobody liked Sylvester, and his outgoing personality was just a means to mask his deep insecurities concerning his physical, mental and social standings?

He was probably overthinking this.

In spite of the deer he continued to walk. The trip from Baska to Magnolia would be a long one, almost as long as the time Sylvester had been absent, but he knew it would prove worth it in the end, when he would reunite with his family. There was also a noticeable lack of jobs in Baska, and Syl had to find a new way to get the coin flowing. He had heard all sorts of rumors about work turning up in Magnolia, and found that the only way to confirm them was to travel there himself. He was well on his way now, and was happily anticipating the idea that work would soon be getting done. There was definitely no shortage in the need to get things done; Sylvester was a young man who required a busy schedule or he would stagnate and grow unmotivated by the boredom. The issue at hand here was the fact that Syl already had stagnated himself for a large quantity of months and was now biting at the leash to get some work done, or something. He had been on the road for a long time at this point; he had stayed over in some towns and inns when it became dark, and when he became weary. He was not carrying much, save for a bag with some exercise clothes and some necessities, like cash and identification. His wind magic had not been used effectively in a while, and in a sense, he was itching to bring it out upon his foes. Hopefully, Magnolia would offer some sort of relief of this boredom.

Soon, before he knew it, he saw the Magnolia city limits. He was finally home, he thought to himself- with these thoughts came a great feeling of elation. There was a sense of release and relief as he walked into the city, and made his way towards his guildhall, expecting a warm welcome. It was rather late at night, but the guild was usually still as populous as ever…


Three days later, Syl was incredibly bored. Magnolia town was not, in fact, the place for him. He found that due to the influx in Fairy Tail members, there was a shortage of jobs, which was a big problem for him. He realized soon that he would need to travel to some other town, and work there. Hargeon seemed as good as any; the portside city always had work for young wizards, and even though it may have been busy work which proved to be quite boring, it still paid well. Syl would just need to find a way to make things interesting. He packed his things, and headed out of Magnolia, southbound toward Hargeon. He had to pass through the mysterious Dahlia town on his way there, and while there he made sure to stay inside during the night to avoid any unwanted confrontations. Eventually, as he began to smell the sea air and seabirds began to fly overhead, he knew he was coming close to the city by the ocean. Hopefully he would be more fortunate in finding work there. If not, being away from his guild meant that he would likely be able to meet new people and establish new friendships.


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