"Vali, we need you back in Worth Woodsea. Your father can't lead us like he could in Iceberg. He's not the same man anymore...and Bunda, nobody takes the lad serious. We need you." Vali sighed and shook his head. His job was so much more demanding now than it had ever been before. You would think that with his father, the rightful Jarl of Skaal's return that things would be easier. Wrong. The old man's return only made things so much harder. Val went from a reckless teenager to a man with the power to control in a matter of months. It was overwhelming. "They can wait until after I'm done with my business here. I just executed my own mother for fucks sake, can I have time to grieve?!" He spoke frustratedly. Val was here to show this country that his people were assets. Joining Fairy Tail, helping to fend off the demons, all of it was to ensure that if and when the time came for Fiore to approach his people, he could show them records of the good he's done.

"Lord Vali, I apologize but-" As one of his men began to speak the young lord noticed what appeared to be a woman leaned up against a wall, examining her leg. Stopping his warrior from talking, Val shot up his hand. Quickly he turned to face his men. "Look, tell my father and Bunda that I'll be back as soon as I can. No later than tomorrow night, alright?" His men nodded and turned to return back to Worth Woodsea. Meanwhile Val quickly made his way over towards the woman. "Miss, you are hurt." He said softly before kneeling down to put his arms under the woman. "We need to bring you to a doctor." He'd say as he gently scooped the woman into his arms if she allowed him to. Being cautious of her damaged leg, he would make sure that he didn't move it too much.

"I am Vali Onfroy from the fairy Tail guild." He'd ensure her. Fairy Tails name held a lot of weight throughout the country. People usually eased up when they came across people who were apart of the guild, proof of their reputation. Vali had managed to build quite a name for himself since joining a few months back. In total it's been nearly seven months. His guild mates have grown to trust him, some even looked to him for guidance. Right now this woman would have to trust Val just like his peers did if she wanted to fix that leg up.

The woman was in his arms, safe and sound. As long as he was with her he would make sure that nothing would hurt her. The woman however, was older than she looked from afar. When she revealed to the elf that a lich had been responsible for her pain, the fairy tail mage frowned. Liches existed where he was from, most of them being seers and fortune tellers though. However, there was one- a legendary lich only told in stories. The fact that they existed was nothing short of logic. Hell, elves and nephilims, dwarves and nekomatas they all seemed like things out of some weird story. The woman was from Fairy Tail too. Her name was Judith and she had a son named Waylon who was also apart of the guild. Considering she was a new member she probably hadn't a single idea about who Val was.

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am. I think it not a coincidence that I am your savior today." He chuckled. "I expected Fairy Tails best fighters to be in Astera. I do not remember a Waylon though, but if if he is strong then he should probably be here to fight the demons." Vali spoke. He didn't train Fairy tail for no reason. He specifically took time out of his schedule to have a session with his guild mates so that they would be ready when the time came. That time was now. "Do not worry, we will find a doctor and they will fix you up in no time." He smiled warmly. The viking walked towards a local doctors office as quick as he could. "What kind of information did this Lich want from you, ma'am?"

"You will be back on those feet before any of your family sees you. If your daughter is a Rune Knight then maybe I can follow up on this with her. We can not allow a Lich to roam free, especially if he is going around harming beautiful young ladies like yourself." With a confident smile he faced forward, sure that he would get this elderly woman the help she deserved. Noting that she had a daughter in the Rune Knights, the woman known as Judith continued to speak. In fact, she seemed to be  a talkative old woman. Perhaps it was the nativity that came with old age but she seemed to easily be giving out her entire life. Val would of course do nothing with this new knowledge. Nothing Judith said would help him with his ambitions. Still, if there was someone out there harming innocent people- a Lich at that, Val would probably have to get to the bottom of it. Judith was still a member of his guild and that meant it was his duty to protect her.

There it was, the doctors office. As Val approached it with the helpless woman in his arms, she made a comment about demons and thanked him for what he was doing. "No need to thank me, M'lady, you are my guild mate." As he pushed open the Door to the office open, he saw that there was a shitload of people inside. Nurses seemed to pace back and forth, others quickly tending to patients. The place was so crowded and everyone seemed to be irritated. Val's eyes darted around the area with the woman in his arms. "Yes, Hi, how can I help you!?" A nurse approached him with a forced smile. Her eyes were widened with circles underneath, almost as if she was undead.

"Uhhh, it looks a bit crowded here, we will find anoth-" "no please, it's fine. Just with the demons and all that jazz, there's been a lot of people on the brink of death, no biggie haha! We've got it ALL UNDER CONTROL!" The woman shouted. The half-elf looked down at Judith. "We can go to another office if you want..."

Logically none of it made sense. How was this brittle elderly woman able to move with one of her legs being broke. The bone was snapped from the looks of it, so it shouldn't have been that easy for her to walk. Still she managed to hop out of Vali's arms before making her way over to her next destination. The viking was rather surprised, mostly because of her age. However, Fairy Tail members had a tendency to be a bit more hardcore than others. The nurses quickly came to the elderly woman's aid. Even if she didn't wish for the help the nurses would be there to help her move to wherever she wanted to go.

With other patients just as important as this woman, the other nurses returned to do what they were doing prior to the dramatic scene Judith had caused. It was bad enough Vali was a seven foot giant covered in metal plates and a cape with pointed airs sitting behind his jaws. The young lord smirked, folding his arms as Judith began to approach was seemed a small area where the supplies were. When she grabbed them, the head nurse was baffled. "Ma'am, I'm sorry but there are other patients who need these supplies just as much as you do so gonna ne-" Judith had completely ignored the nurse though, telling her guild mate that she would deal with the rest outside. The elf nodded, then turned to the woman as her face boiled with a red color. "HEY YOU OL-"

Throwing his hands up in defeat, he stepped in front of the nurse as she moved towards Judith. It wasn't right for Judith to take the items selfishly like that but she was his guild mate . This nurse was becoming a bit too hostile for his liking. "Hey hey, do not fret, miss nurse. I will get you your supplies back, aye? We only need a little bit." He evilly smirked. Charm was a deadly weapon, especially when it was used like an assassin. Nobody could escape Vali's charm. The Nurse rolled her eyes. "You have ten minutes before I call the knights." She turned before walking away. The titan sighed, quickly leaving the office and finding Judith tending to her wounds.

"You are more trouble than I expected." He chuckled. Wherever Judith was Val would be crouching beside her. "Maybe taking all of these supplies was a little over board, aye?" chuckling again. The woman had managed to take a big roll of wrapping fabric, a handful antibiotics, a surgery kit, and then some.

"With everything that is going on this is probably the least of their worries." Vali moved back to give Judith room as she fished through the borrowed supplies. The Elven lord watched with his arms crossed. Whilst the woman tended to her leg she spoke once more admitting that she felt as though she owed Val a favor now. That, however, was impossible. The viking was doing this from the kindness of his heart. Any guild mate of his was family.

"Nonsense, Judith. I expect nothing more than your friendship-" From behind him, the door to the doctors office slammed open, irritating the bells above it. "Hey! Okay I know I said ten minutes, but there are people literally-fucking-dying in there, and I can no longer allow your selfishness and disgusting behavior to waste. my. time!" The nurse exploded from within the building. She stormed her way over towards the duo specifically going for Judith. With a sigh, Vali turned and stepped in front of the Nurse. The noble desiertan placed one of his hands on his hip becoming a brick wall.

"Relaaaaaaaaaax, relaaaaaaax." Val huffed. "We are already done, right Judith?" He asked. Hopefully the woman was skilled in the art of medicine and health. This nurse was unhappy with what was going on here. Her eyes bulged from her head and steam erupted from her ears like chimneys. Alas she was no match for someone like the almighty Vali Onfroy.

The nurse was highly upset. Maybe to Judith she could have been angrier, but the nurse was under an unusual amount of stress due to the climate of Astera, and she needed to work efficiently. Judith handed the supplies back to the nurse, explaining that she had problems that made it hard for her to be around large crowds. Even adding that her own experience seemed to be enough for her to fix her own problems. The nurse's mouth dropped open wide, as if she couldn't believe how the elder woman had been speaking. Even after explaining herself, Judith still spoke to the nurse with a demanding tone- or at least that's how the doctor felt. Vali on the other hand looked back and forth between both women. He wanted to laugh at how the nurse was reacting but you know how women are, laughing would only add fuel to the fire.

"You seriously think that what you did is okay? You are just as selfish as anyone could be! You aren't the only one with medical problems, this is a NURSE'S OFFICE." The nurse began as she snatched the supplied away from Judith. "You just took supplies away from someone who's suffering from a collapsed lung and a SIX broken ribs!" The nurse shook her head and turned towards Vali. "You're lucky that I didn't call the authorities because if this man dies- Illumin forbid- then it is on her hands." The nurse finally stormed away back to her line of duty, mumbling as she did so and slamming the door behind her.

Tucking both his lips in, the Elven viking watched the nurse as she left, each of her buttocks switching in that nursing outfit she was sporting. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the country today, aye?" He spoke to his guild mate with a chuckle. "But at least you are going to heal well."

In the end all that mattered was that Judith was feeling a lot better. As the pair of Fairies walked off Judith seemed to reflect on the situation. She understood the nurse and wished for her stress to be relieved. She ensured that she would heal better now so long as nothing else happened to her. Her next comment was one regarding the state of the town. "I am afraid that things will only get worse from here. The realm of men lost the battle for Astera, yet it does not look like that." He added. Judith was a lady who thought aloud as if her elderly brain was trying it's hardest to keep her thoughts together. Moments later Judith seemed interested in what Vali's life was about. If she wasn't a Fairy then the viking would have told her close to nothing, but he trusted his guild mates because they earned it. "I am a very complicated being, I would not know where to start." He laughed. "I have been in Fairy Tail- and this country- for about six months. I was one of few who helped bring life and order back to the guild, I plan on becoming guild master." Maybe his reasoning was a tiny bit selfish but the well-being of every Fairy Tail mage was a top priority. Losing his mother only made him want to go harder to accomplish his goals, although a darkness within him was brewing.

As the titan and the spirited woman walked beside each other, she was impressed by Vali and his peers accomplishment. It was true. If it wasn't for him, Tomoe, Shin, and Aisha the guild would have none to turn to. Although these days it felt like he was the only one left. Sage was nowhere to be found, Tomoe vanished and Aisha is probably working towards her personal legend, just as Vali was. "Thank you." The viking lord nodded with a sigh as Judith acknowledged how saddening it must have been to see the guild in such a shape. "Aye." The woman continued on. She spoke a lot, but her words were wise. In fact, the greatest point she made was that things can change but it is how we adjust to the change that matters- at least that's what he took from it. The gods always seemed to place people in his path- odd people who easily stand out. Each of them all had a different impact on his life. Each of them all seemed to be helping him towards his goal, even if they didn't know it.

Perhaps he was just as effective in their lives and he didn't know it. After all, he always left his mark. Judith words couldn't have come at a better moment. The young lord was still grieving his mother. He killed her... and in his heart was a pain so sharp that it hurt when he even thought about it. He was angry at himself but blamed the world for forcing his hand. His hate for Fiores government has never faded, but now he didn't want to hide it anymore. His thoughts could bring him to a darker path and the way he handled his obstacles would determine the person he would become. The viking looked away. "Aye." he agreed, thinking deeply about Judiths words.

Finally though, Judith admitted that if Vali could lead by example based on who he currently was then she would stand behind him. With that in mind Vali nodded with a confident smile towards her. The titan elf was confident that he wouldn't walk a darker path. "Thank you. You have a wise voice. If you stay around, our guild members will look to you. And when I do become guild master, I hope that I can look forward to you speaking up when you feel you need to." Being a ruler of two villages meant that it really didn't matter how others felt. However, his Icebergan people were opinionated and spoke up whenever they thought they needed to. The lord of Skaal respected that but his word was law in the end. That wasn't the case for the guild master position- especially if you were the guild master of fairy tail.

He imagined that if people didn't agree with their master they could leave or even retaliate. Fairy Tail was a proud bunch, they wouldn't tolerate a monarchy...would they? Then again, they never faced someone like Vali. He was naturally a conquerer, he could do anything. He sailed the sea, revived an ancient Icebergan settlement Worth, he took control of a large tribe of Nekomatas, and he killed his mother. Perhaps Vali was a dangerous man to get involved with after all."Hopefully there is a guild to turn to come back to when this is all over..." The demons were doing great at what they do. The ruler of their world would reward them. They had yet to make a visit to towns like Orchidia or the northern part of Fiore but if they were in Astera...it couldn't be long. That's when it clicked.

Val's eyes widened. "Fuck. Apologies m'lady, do you think you can get home on your own from here? I have to go, there is something I need to do." Obvious worry in his voice. He realized that he needed to get back to worth woods quick. He had to make sure there were no lingering demons there. He stopped and looked at Judith awaiting her response. If she would rather have him take her home then he would, no problem. He wouldn't be upset or annoyed, he'd understand. She had survived the wrath of a Lich. Vali would have to check into that soon.

Vali sighed. Quickly he thought to himself. He had important things to do but he couldn't just leave his guild mate out here- not in this condition. Biting his lip he was quick to Coe up with a solution. Swiftly he fished a steel dagger from his ankle before handing it to Judith. "Your husband is not here now, so take this." He lightly smiled. "In case you need to defend yourself though I doubt you will need to." It was broad daylight, who'd really attack a helpless old woman when everyone was looking? Vali stepped forward to place the dagger in her hand gently if she allowed him. "It was nice meeting you, friend. Until we meet again." With that he turned to face the direction of Worth Woodsea, realizing that now more than ever it was important for him to be at his village. Without another word he turned to leave. the Lich would not be dumb enough to harm the same woman again he hoped, and if he did Vali would personally make it his business to avenge her. For now though, he needed to worry about his own life.