“So just take turn right at…. This pass-” Khalash points to an small intersection on the map, accenting it with a slight push a couple of times. “-and it should be a straight shot from there out.” Sael nods, clueless on how he’s going to get to the intersection in the first place. Not wanting to worry his client he assures them that he’ll be fine. Discreetly folding the map into one of his vest pockets. “Thank you for taking this job on such a short notice Sael, I know that you probably wanted a day off or so before you got back onto… whatever it is you wizards do.” Oh! That was so sweet of him. The cloudy teen gave a slight smile to the man, “It’s fine, now go already! You’re going to miss your massage.” He reminded. Then just like that they went off there separate ways. Khalash heading down to get a foot massage from some pretty lady, maybe. While he had to walk a mountain to meet a man in the middle of nowhere. “I really should’ve taken the day off.” I pouted.

The trip out of Magnolia was a long one, but the trip through the forest was even longer. The recent rain and residual puddles had left its mark on the dirt roads. Every footstep left a disgusting plop and he had simply given up on trying to clean his boots. Sael could’ve easily avoided this problem by conjuring up a cloud to do the walking for him, though that rather seemed like cheating didn’t it? He already floated all the way from Hargeon to here, he had his time to fly. Now he had to walk like every other mage. If he asked himself, it wasn’t too bad. Just that his feet were dying.

The steady beat of his steps setting his pace kept him from falling over from exhaustion. Just one foot, then another… good job Sael, keep it up. The cloud mage, setting into a constant pace for himself, decided to focus on his surroundings as he made journeyed on. His eyes immediately turned to the sky, the stress in his body just melted away at the sight. The blue hues stirred with the white clouds, and oh, the trees. Those beautiful greens, rather refreshing honestly. Being out and about, not clustered in a crowded guild hall. As much as he loved his 'family' they kinda had a few destructive tendencies he’d rather not be a part of.

"Hehe..." Sael chuckled to himself. Houren seemed like the responsible type of guy but he didn't really hesitate to blast a dude apart if they stood in the way of Fairy Tail. Even Tori, Houren's apparent opposite, seemed to share that with him. Though that wasn't nearly as surprising. She kinda did give off those kind of vibes. Kazumi- Well, let's just say he's seen what she can do first hand.

On a lonely path somewhere in the East Forest, carrying a small bag stuffed with all sorts of goodies to deliver, a young man's sorrowful sigh could be heard. Then a slight chuckle after, though it was also sorrowful in nature. "And here I said I wouldn't get so depressed over that."

578/1000

It took him a while to reach the Hermit's house: He had forgotten the exact description of the place. Trust me, it was like trying to find one tree the in the middle of a forest. Actually, now that I think about it, that's exactly what it was! Sael had wandered the forest for what seemed like- thirty minutes. Turns out though that it was already encroaching three hours so he needed to speed things along. So call him a cheat but he floated up into the sky to search for the house.

This time his search only lasted for fifteen minutes, a huge improvement over three hours if I do say so. I excitedly knocked on the oaken door of the Hermit’s tree house. “Food deli-!”

“KYYYYAAAHH!” A screech pounded at Sael’s ears.

“AH!” The cloud mage screamed as he fell over, defeated and in pain. “So.. much… pain…” He wheezed. The hermit laughed at the young fellow delivering his food. “Haha! Not so fun when its you huh? Hehe. Anyways I’ve had my fun, once your ears stop ringing feel free to try again.” They chuckled to themself as Sael struggled to get back up. The hermit's head peaked through the door once more, "Well don't dawdle, I'm sure you've got other places to be squirt." They reminded, their head slowly disappearing behind the door frame. He was starting to hate this guy already.

Sael didn't stay too long, just enough to introduce himself and get his business settled. It was strange though... When  he went to give him the bag the hermit told him to sit in the waiting room while he fetched something from the back room. A little curious, and slightly worried, he did as he was told. Then not a moment later the old hermit appeared again with a bag of herbs in tow and some herb in hand. Without much preamble he thrust it into my hand and sent me on my way. "A little something for the road."

It wasn't actually that bad really. A bit of an odd swirl of sweet and spicy. Though there was a natural coolness to it that just completed the whole ride. He should've asked for two before he left. Though you live and you learn. The sun had made excellent progress over the sky by the time Sael met back with Khalash in the afternoon. It was a quick exchange, both were eager to get to bed after a long day. Both for different reasons of course. By the end of the day Sael was tempted to use his new pocket change to get a foot massage like Khalash had, but maybe tomorrow. Right now he just wanted to sleep. It was a slow walk to get back to the guild but he sighed, relieved, when the familiar walls of his home came into view.

Quietly, he pushed past the doors and slipped up the stairs into the living quarters. His eyes briefly turned to a room marked, 'Kazumi', and his smile faded, if but for a moment. Guilt flashed through his heart and shame through his body as he fell onto his bed and relaxed into the troes of sleep.


[EXIT]
568 + 578 = 1146/1000 [MISSION COMPLETE]