{Prologue}: Encounter In The Village

Before his journey to Magnolia could start, he needed to stop by his old village to fetch what little money they had saved up over the years. As this wasn't a pleasant return for the boy, he walked with a quick pace into the village. He passed burned houses one after the other, with only the occasional one left intact, he wondered why that was, but he put the thought at the back of his mind for now.

He didn't wanna run since during Blue's combat lessons he'd learned that running would leave you open to attacks as your focus would be split between managing speed, stamina and bodily control. So, in case those weird knights were still around he made sure to tread carefully. As soon as his eyes landed on the small ruined shop, he started to tear up.

Micah wiped his face and spoke with an uncertain tone. "No more crying, I promised pops that, and I won't fail him twice." He walked directly into the shop, only stopping momentarily to close his eyes and say another silent farewell. Not to Rufus, but to this shop. It had still kept him warm and safe through his childhood, even if it always were on the verge of falling apart.

After ransacking his room and Rufus' for whatever money they had left, he made his way out the door again, not bothering to take the backdoor this time. But as he stepped out, he very much wished he had taken the back exit. His eyes immediately caught three people in the not-so-distant distance, he would have snuck back inside again if it weren't for the fact that they had spotted him too.

'Damn, are they enemies? Blue, you got any info for me?' In a fit of panic, he spoke to the woman living in his head. He heard a subtle groan and then her voice came, soothing this time instead of stoic.

'Sorry, Master, I am not capable of sensing intentions anymore. Though you can or should be able to, it depends on how much of my powers you've mastered.' Blue was about to explain, and he so wanted to listen, but the three had already started walking towards him. He brought his fists up half-assed and he felt the butterflies in his stomach as they came closer. This would be the first fight he would be in. But, why were they smiling? The leading person, a short blue-haired girl had a smile on her face, albeit it was a smile out of sympathy. He had seen plenty of customers wearing that same smile when talking to him.

"Hello, you can bring those fists down, we're not here to fight." Said the girl. The two guys behind her looked at Micah warily, very protective of the girl noted Micah internally.

"Why? And why are you approaching me so casually, it makes you open to attack."

"Hahaha, not with a stance like that. I don't claim to be a martial artist by any means, but even I know that you would trip over your own foot if you attacked like that."

"Eh, oh, I-I see. I apologize!" Micah said on instinct. When working for Rufus, he quickly picked up the habit to just apologize even if he or Rufus was in the right. That would always be easier than watching Rufus argue with strangers for hours on end. That habit might be rooted a little too deep in him.

"No, no, don't apologize. It's me that should apologize. I should have announced my intentions before just approaching a stranger in this place. My name is Levy McGarden, by the way. This is Droy and that is Jett. They are nice, just a little wary of strangers so ignore them if they seem rude." As she said that, Micah noticed Droy's and Jett's glares intensifying.

'Do they like her or something? I haven't even shaken her hand and they look to want to bury me alive.'

"Don't worry about it... Mr...?" Levy hinted a little awkwardly.

Micah wanted to slap himself in the face as he realised. "Right, sorry! Micah, I'm Micah. Nice to meet you, Levy." Then he looked at the boys and showed a somewhat strained smile. "Nice to meet you too."

"Ignore them, they will lighten up eventually." Levy dismissed her teammates and refocused on Micah. "That's a really pretty name you have, why are you here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I could ask you the same thing, you know. But, to answer your question, I was just picking up a few things. I was actually just about to leave." Micah noticed as soon as she commented on his name, the killing intent of Droy and Jett went through the roof.

"Huh? What would there be to pick up in this vill..." Levu suddenly slapped her hands over her mouth hard. "Y-You're a survivor?!" She felt so stupid. How did she not think of that? Raids aren't absolutes, there could always be survivors.

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, what are you all doing here? As you can see, there is nothing here. What the bandits didn't take, those weird-dressed knights took not soon after." All three of them tilted their heads at that.

"Knights? Oh! Do you mean the magic council? That would make sense, I suppose. I'm surprised you don't know about them. I thought everyone did." Levy said, slipping into her normal persona almost too easily.

"Well, maybe you should get out more, Miss Levy. With how I grew up, I didn't know mages existed until my da... My old man gave me a few history lessons way back. He was pretty smart for living in such an underdeveloped place." Micah felt the lump return to his throat but forcefully shoved it down again.

"I-I'm so sorry, he sounds to have been a good man." Droy actually spoke up this time. They all heard him, he used the past-tense. It also wasn't the hardest thing to figure out. Everyone always lost something or someone when attacks like this happened.

"Yeah man, that sucks. I'm sorry!"

Levi immediately punched Jett on the arm and glared at him fiercely. "Can you not sound so bored when you say that. Show some damn respect!" She was annoyed with the casual wording of Jett's apology.

"Stop that! I have cried enough for a lifetime it feels like. Tell me about you guys instead, what are you doing here?"

Levy looked at him weirdly but still proceeded to tell him. "We are here on a mission. We belong to a mage guild and we took a request to track the bandits down that raided this village. We aren't gonna fight them or anything, we're more of infiltrators than anything. We're just here for information gathering."

Micah's eyes lit up for a second. "Mage guild? That wouldn't happen to be Fairy Tail? I know it's somewhat close to here." He might have just stumbled upon some good fortune so his mood improved immensely.

"Yes, actually. We are proud Fairy Tail wizards!" They all showed off their tattoos. "A-Are you looking to join a guild?" Levy asked with a childish smile that completely betrayed the careless tone of her voice. Her smile jolted awake something in Micah, his emotions came sprinting to the surface again. The innocence and genuinity in that smile compared to those two bandits shook him and the tears started falling again.

"Shit! Sorry, I-I don't know what's come over me." Micah turned away from them. Droy leaned in close to Levy and whispered something into her ear. To this, she nodded solemnly.

"Micah, you don't have to apologize, I thought I made that very clear. If you want, we could end our mission early here and take you to the guild. There is no better way to join the guild than a members recommendation. And I'd like to think I'm pretty well-respected." Levy tried to sound as cheerful as possible. Her heart was aching just from imagining what he was going through.

"No, it's fine! I need to make this trip myself. It's something I promised the old man I would do." Micah was breathing in and out slowly. As he was calming his heart, Levy's smile resurfaced in his mind again. It was the polar opposite of the bandit's smile, which was filled with evil.

"Are you sure? It's still not entirely safe. The bandits could still be around." Jet asked.

"No way, not when Fairy Tail's strongest trio is on the scene. I bet those bandits have already run away. The powerful Levy surely scared them away." Micah joked, almost managing to say that whole thing without his voice breaking.

"You're smarter than you look, you might actually be able to make something of yourself someday. Keep the compliments going and I'll be sure to teach you all I can." She laughed, relieved that he seemed to be back to a somewhat stable mindset.

"I really don't wanna leave like this though, but we need to finish our investigation, but after that maybe we can catch up to you," Levy said.

"Yeah, you three go on ahead. I'm not only smarter than I look. I'm stronger too! No bandit will get the upper hand on me again." He said and showed her a confident thumbs-up, still with his back faced towards the trio.

"Okay. W-We'll see you later than, Micah." Levy said.

"Yes, you will! Farewell for now." He hit them with a smile that only levy returned. Jett was brooding over the closeness that Levy had established with Micah so quickly. Droy just stood there looking upset. With that they went their separate ways, Micah could now finally make his way to Magnolia. And, maybe he could drop Levy's name if he arrived first, that might make his recruitment smoother. Or make them suspicious of him.

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End