8 Chapter 8

Erza dutifully followed after the now quiet Archer. She had told her a lot. About the dragons she possessed. About the supposed gods of the white keys. About the ones she deems her siblings. They all sound interesting and she seemed very fond of them. She couldn't see it but Erza was sure the girl was smiling under that mask. Why does she hide her face anyway? She let her see what's underneath that mask earlier. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her. She looked like a normal ten year old. Of course there's the fangs, but that's nothing. Erza didn't ask her that. She has her reasons and maybe she'll tell her one day. She had a feeling that if she were to ask her at that moment she wouldn't give her the answer she wanted. Archer tends to be very cryptic and the times she does properly answer feel like a miracle.

She's exaggerating.

But still.

Erza stopped beside the silent and now unmoving Archer. There was a cave looming over them and those red eyes stared into its dark abyss intently. She couldn't tell what the mysterious girl was thinking. She was just staring with an intensity. Erza didn't say anything. She hardly moved. She felt like she would interrupt something if she did. Archer seemed concentrated, amongst other things.

And then she moved. One foot stepped ahead of the other and she made her way towards the dark cave. Erza followed. She fell in step with the silent girl. The intensity in her eyes had faded somewhat, but it was still there.

Something wasn't right with the cave.

The moment she stepped in everything changed. It's a tremendous contrast from the outside world. The sun was high and bright in the sky. It was warm and there was a nice breeze. The minute she stepped into the cave it was gone. The cave was darker than the night and freezing cold. Erza could feel the chill in her bones. Her arms went around herself in an attempt to gather some warmth, but it was futile.

Archer glanced at her. She wasn't affected by the cold. Her body temperature refuses to allow it. Erza wasn't like her though. She almost forgot about that. Archer said nothing as she touched the hilt of the Phoenix sword she had given her new friend. She added a new ability to the weapon then and there. She fused more of her magic within, her eyes focused and calculating. When her hand retreated the sword hummed in the darkness between them and did as Archer just instructed it to do.

Erza felt a sudden warmth. It was unexpected. She actually jumped in surprise. The warmth had started at her hip and she looked to her sword that hummed softly, it's red glow the one light in the cave. She then looked up to Archer. She could barely see her face, but those eyes seemed to glow in the darkness they found themselves in. The warmth quickly climbed over her entire being and the cold became nothing.

Wow.

"Did you do that? "

"Yes" Archer said simply, those red eyes staring at her as she tended to so very often. "I must apologize for just dragging you in here without a warning or anything"

Erza shook her head. Archer apologizes to her a lot, she noted. It was always sincere . She meant every word. It was displayed in those odd eyes.

"It's alright" Erza waved her off. She doubt Archer had anything to apologize for. It's not like she forced her to come. She was following of her own free will.

Archer nodded and looked ahead. It was dark. Erza could see nothing. She wondered if Archer could. There was a lot she found herself wishing to know about the odd girl.

Archer held up a hand. Within an instant a small ball of light formed above her palm and drifted into the air. Archer eyed it and hummed contently before putting her hand back in her pocket. The ball of light was small and Erza was not expecting it to be so bright, but it lit up the cave easily. It's white light drowning every shadow.

Archer was moving again so Erza had to follow. The cave was plain. There was nothing, but rocks to be seen. The deeper they went the more the rocks smoothed out. She could feel her given warmth increase when cold starts to make itself known to her. It seems that the deeper they go the colder it gets. Why in the world was the cave so impossibly cold?

Erza stepped over some very sharp looking rocks and continued on. There was nothing to see in the cave. Just rock after rock after rock. The only continuing difference is that they smoothed out.

Again Archer stopped. There was a fork in the road. Archer observed each carefully for a moment before continuing. She could feel the pull getting stronger the closer she gets. She walked into the passage on the right.

Everything remained the same for some time until everything took a sudden change.

Erza blinked in shock when her eyes landed on blue gems? Were they gems? They were definitely not crystals. The deeper they went the more became present. Soon the walls and ceiling were littered with them. A glance at Archer let Erza know she wasn't at all affected. It was hard to faze the girl.

After some more walking and wondering about the gems, they stopped because they came to an end. Huh. There was a sort of podium like rock displayed. It had something within it. Erza got a look at it. A ruby key. It looked as if the rock molded around it. Erza felt more warmth being given to her. She wondered if the intense cold of the cave was because of the key

"There you are" Archer said in a happy tone as she reached out to the key. When her hand came in contact with it there was a dim light coming from it as the stone retreated from its form. Soon Archer was holding the key in her hand. "As easy as that" she hummed and turned on her heel. "Come now, scarlet"

Erza blinked and quickly moved to follow the contented girl.

~~~~~~~

They had returned to their hotel room and Archer ordered some food. She was toying with the ruby key in her hand as she fell onto the bed. Erza was eyeing the key for some time. It had an intricate design from the blade to the bow that swirled into what she thought was a snowflake with a creature wrapped around it. Is that creature supposed to be a dragon?

"Time to let you out, you've been crampt in there long enough" Archer eventually said as she eyed the now pulsating key. "Come forth Glacier, King of the ice and snow dragons"

Was Archer seriously summoning a dragon in their little hotel room? Erza looked to her with raised eyebrow. That doesn't seem very ideal, but she said nothing. Archer tends to do things in her own way, sometimes they are odd and hard to understand.

There was a magic circle on the ground. Its color a blueish white that was emitting a cold breeze that decided the temperature of the room immediately . So it was the key causing the inhuman chill in the cave.

Erza watched as a humanoid form appeared in a bright light. She had to shield her eyes from the intense glow. When it all faded she cautiously returned her gaze.

Huh. Apparently dragons can take on the form of humans. There he stood. A shirtless adult male, who was smiling cooly as he looked at the masked Archer. Why was the man only dressed in a pair of blueish white pants? That was literally the first question in Erza's head. Why was he half naked? She ignored that crucial factor for a moment just to take in his appearance. To define his physical appearance she would have to use the word lean. He had muscle, but they weren't bulking. If he had on a shirt he could easily hide the obvious strenght in those arms. His torso was in obvious display and he obviously worked out. His eyes were an icy blue that stared down at Archer fondly. His hair was the blueish white that seemed to be associated with him. It was long and straight and was pulled into a neat man bun.

"Little Archer, you finally found me" he finally spoke. His voice was smooth, almost icy. "Am I the first to be reclaimed? "

A nod from Archer brought a smile to his lips. A flash of competitive victory flashed in those cold blue eyes.

"I cannot wait to see the look on that fire breather's face when he realizes my victory"

Archer chuckled. "The two of you really gambled on who would be found first? "

"Why yes we did. That fool was all too smug about him being found first I just had to wipe that smug smile off his face"

Archer chuckled again. That sounds like them alright. Glacier and Igneel do not get along. That was something that did not surprise Archer. They are ice and fire after all. Their bickering always reminded her of Natsu and Gray. It was amusing to watch them argue about the smallest thing. Igneel would brag about the fact that he had a student and the other did not. Natsu would even sit there and cheer on his dragon with a total look of glee in his eyes. She almost laughed at the memory of them shivering in fear when Irene stepped in to put them in their place.

Soon ice blue eyes were on Erza and she swore she could feel the temperature around her drop considerably. The man eyed her with a calculating gaze for a moment. He had a hand on his chin and seemed deep in thought. Something must've clicked because he got a look in his eyes and looked back to Archer.

There was a silent question there. One Archer understood. He wanted her to confirm what he's thinking. Was the redhead accompanying her the daughter of the woman that could strike fear in him with her gaze alone? He got a nod. There was no clear emotion displayed on his face at that. Archer found it amusing though. He was probably thinking of everything he could do wrong and get the attention of an angry mother

"Glacier meet Erza" Archer inclined her head.

"It is a pleasure meet you" he bowed slightly. "I am the king of the ice and snow dragons and very good friends with this young Phoenix "

Erza didn't really know what to say to him. She was curious about him though. He was a dragon, was he not? And yet he took the form of a human very easily. She tilted her head slightly, her curiosity showing.

Archer had her eyes on her the moment she made the movement. Erza was adorable at that moment. Archer couldn't help, but stare and take in this rare sight. She was beaming behind her mask.

Erza looked to her, feeling her gaze. Archer didn't look away. She never really does, does she? Why does she stare? She did explain that it was just something she tended to do. Was she studying her? She seemed to be curious about the inner workings of other people, so it could be.

"May I ask why you're shirtless? "

Archer was amused that that was the very first question she decided to ask the dragon. Glacier looked at her confused. He looked down on himself and shrugged.

"I find tops to be constricting and they make me warm, which is not something I like to feel"

Ah, he's like Gray. It must be a habit that comes with ice magic.

"Is it easy to take on the form of a human? " she asked next.

"Yes, very much so" he said with a smile. "It's efficient, don't you agree? "

Erza nodded. It really was. If he was his full form and size it would draw attention. What type of attention varies, but things would take a turn very quickly.

"I shall take my leave now" Glacier bowed again. "It was nice seeing you again, little Archer. And it was a pleasure meeting you little Erza. "

"You're going to rub this in Igneel's face, aren't you? "

"What else must I do, my princess? "

Archer chuckled again and waved him off. With one last smile he was gone.

"Well, you just met a dragon. That is not something everyone gets to say" Archer said.

"I suppose"

Archer glanced her way. "It amuses me that the first thing you asked him had to do with his lack of a shirt"

Erza flushed embarrassed for some reason. It was the one prominent question in her head. She couldn't help it. Wouldn't anyone wonder why a grown man is shirtless in front of two ten year old girls?

"That's one dragon down"Archer sighed and fell into the massive bed. "Thirteen more to go"

"Does he have a slayer? "

"No" Archer admitted. "Maybe he'll take interest in Gray"

"How does one become a dragon slayer? "

"It's a process" is all Archer said as she hopped out of bed and went to the mini fridge. She pulled out two glasses of milkshakes and offered one to Erza.

"What do we do now? "

Archer shrugged. "We're here until that competition so I say we just relax. We can walk around town. Buy stuff. Do this do that"

"I don't have money to spend like that"

"Well I do and I'll be more than happy to buy you anything you want"

"You don't have to"

"I suppose, but is that going to stop me? "Archer raised an eyebrow. Erza sighed.

"You're odd"

"Am I? "

"Yes"

"How so? "

"You're just.. "Erza trailed off not really knowing what to say. There was a lot that confused her when it comes to Archer.

She sighed.

"You're just odd"