Ghost ships, was it?

Frankly, after that suffocating adventure on Tenrou Island, one would be inclined to think that the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail would be content to slither back to Magnolia and hide in the comfort of his own home for the coming weeks as opposed to throwing himself at the very next adventure that was to come his way. That was not Houren's way though, and as the group recuperated for a bit in Hargeon after landing there and saying goodbye to Captain Seagull, the Fire Dragon Slayer headed off towards another exciting adventure before making his way back to Magnolia.

It was unfortunate to say but he didn't have much time to explore when they first came here from Magnolia. After all, they spent most of their time looking for Captain Seagull and when they had finally found him, it was already time to head towards Tenrou. They didn't even so much as have a nice and simple meal in one of Hargeon's many fine establishments before heading off, and to the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail, that was truly a waste, much too great a waste to be taken lightly. That's why, now that their little adventure in Tenrou Island had concluded, the Fire Dragon Slayer made sure that sufficient time was allocated for them to actually be able to enjoy Hargeon in its glory instead of skipping it by.

After all, who knew when was the next time they'd be here?

Maybe it'd be soon, maybe it'd be later but they almost certainly would not be together and frankly, that was just the way the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail liked it. Whether they wanted to recuperate before making the long journey back to Magnolia, or eat, or see the sights like Houren, he didn't really care. He had heard stories of the ghost ships that could sometimes be seen from the lighthouse and that was his main interest today. It was a slight shame that it was not yet dark out, but the Fairy Tail mage decided not to let that bother him. True, his chances of actually seeing something spooky would be much lower, but he was just as interested in learning about the lore of the people as he was interested in actually seeing something supernatural.

The Fairy Tail mage looked out to port, noticed that activity there wasn't really all that busy right now, so thinking that perhaps he would be able to get inside the lighthouse, he knocked on it. Rather than waiting for someone to open the door, and mostly because the door had opened by itself after the Fire Dragon Slayer's first knock, Houren peered inside and had a look around. The interior of it reminded him of a comic strip that he used to read about a boy who lived in a lighthouse with his alien friends, but of course, the lighthouse in the strip was a lot more cozy and inviting; this place was anything but that.


505/500

The Fire Dragon Slayer, in the end, happened to explore the lighthouse in its entirety, but it looked like nobody was home. When the Fairy Tail mage ended up at the very peak, he saw a note from the lighthouse keeper who said that he was currently away for something, and that there was quite literally nothing in the lighthouse that was of any material worth. In other words, this message was to tell thieves that even if they break into this place, there would be nothing here they could steal. There were somethings that Houren could see could certainly have had some sentimental value, but that was even more subjective than material value. Besides that, he also had no intention at all of stealing anything, so that was pretty much out of the question as well. He put the note back exactly where he found it, thinking that perhaps before the lighthouse keeper returned, there would be more ruffians coming into this place.

"It wasn't as though I was planning on stealing anything. Besides, wasn't it a little bit too easy to break in here? The door wasn't even locked," it was clear from his tone of voice that the Fire Dragon Slayer wasn't all that happy with the accusing tone that the letter took, but he quickly came to the conclusion that possibly, the reason it was so easy to break in was because the lighthouse keeper had been gone a while, and someone had already broken in before Houren had decided to come here. In any case, the Fairy Tail mage knew he, himself, was innocent and that was all that really mattered to him in the end. He had wanted to catch a glimpse of a ghost or two, but it looked like that would have to wait.

The Fairy Tail mage would be leaving Hargeon incredibly disappointed about the fact that he wouldn't be able to explore more about the stories behind the lighthouse, but he supposed it wasn't really all that important. The idea of finally going back to Magnolia made him forget all about the unproductive time he'd be spending in Hargeon. "Maybe next time, then," the Fire Dragon Slayer was talking to no in particular as he headed down the stairs and out the door, making sure that everyone was just as he had left it. He considered helping the lighthouse keeper lock the door or secure it so that it would be harder to get in, but that would probably serve to creep him out rather than garner his appreciation.

Houren looked at the area around him, honestly feeling happy just because he was on the mainland and not on Tenrou Island, taking in a deep breath of that Fiore air before heading to the area where he knew Tori, Sael, Winderlin and Kazumi would be, so that they could finally begin what would probably be their final adventure together - the trip back to Fairy Tail, hopefully not the long way around.

501/500

-exit-