Because of Makarov's kindness, I was able to stay in Fairytail for a whole week, but if I'm being honest, I didn't even need a week; by day five, I'd already decided this place would be my new home. Ever since that fateful day when I lost my village, I'd never felt at ease, though here, in Fairy Tail, it was different; it gave me a faint sense of familiarity, one that reminded me of my village.
Although Cana was younger than me, she reminded me of Savanah, always sticking by my side, trying to teach me; Laxus, who I didn't interact with much, was just like the older children; Macao and Wakaba reminded me slightly of my father, as for Makarov, well, he was much nicer than old man Cho, so it was an improvement if anything.
However, every now and then, flashes of my village would overlap with Fairy Tail, and after so long in the forest alone, I would be lying to myself if I didn't want that back, a place to call home… A family.
"Heh, what did I say?" Glancing at Makov's smug smile, I growled in annoyance; despite him being better than old man Cho, he was equally just as annoying. "So, where do you want the symbol?" With a curious expression, he held the stamp in his hand, prompting me to turn around as I pointed at my back while brushing aside my hair. "My whole back."
Makarov said nothing more; using his Giant magic, he enlarged the stamp before slamming it onto my back, causing me to feel a comfortable sensation, only for him to retract the stamp from my back. "There, done. You're officially a Fairy Tail, Cooper!" Walking towards a mirror, I looked at my back, observing the big purple Fairy Tail mark that covered my whole back, and although I didn't pick the color, it was a great contrast against my caramel-colored skin.
However, while observing the symbol, Cana suddenly hugged me. "Great! I'm so happy for you, Cooper!" Growling at Cana's physical intimacy, I waited for her to finally release before I touched her head. "Hmph, you're to call me Big Brother now, understand, Cana?" With a firm gaze, I stared at Cana, who furrowed her brows before tilting her head in confusion. "Eh, but why? I've been in Fairy Tail longer?" "Because I'm older, stronger, and I said so." Folding my arms, I rebutted Cana; my tone held no room for refusal, but she was a tough person to satisfy.
"Can I call you Big Bro instead? Big Brother is too long." "Tch, sure, fine, whatever." Chuckling, Cana hugged me once more, followed by Wakaba lifting me into the air with his smoke. "Now, as per tradition, I think it's time to celebrate our new member!" Stated Wakaba loudly with a faint grin, his words echoing throughout the guild while everyone cheered in agreement.
Quickly, barrels of alcohol were brought out along with trays of food, and just like how they'd acted in the past couple of days, it got loud and rowdy; members were eating, drinking, and dancing to their heart's content while the more aggressive ones started to arm wrestle, along with other playful demonstrations of their strength.
As for me, while I usually prefer to watch from a distance, except when fighting is involved, since this celebration was specifically for me, I was the center of attention. "How old are you, Cooper?" "12." With a grin, Macao slammed a cup of beer in front of me while patting my back. "Haha, well, it doesn't really matter your age; if you're old enough to give Wakaba and I a beating, you're old enough to drink in my book." Grabbing the cup, I downed it within seconds before wiping my mouth while slamming it back onto the table, earning me grins from several others.
"Haha, you can really drink, Cooper! Let's make a bet: the last one to drop unconscious gets 5,000 jewels!" "Haha, you're on, buddy!" With words of challenge, several others joined in and began to chug bottles of beer; I also did the same, drinking cup after cup. Minutes passed, and by the time I finished my twentieth cup, everyone else was just now hitting double digits, but from how they were slowly blinking, slurring their words, and struggling to keep their balance, they were moments away from dropping.
"A-Ah, I-I'm n-nob boing t-tob l-lose." Not even a minute later, the man collapsed onto the table before rolling onto the ground, and just like that, one by one, everyone else slowly began to drop until it was just Macao and I.
"Y-You can really hold your own, f-for a 12-year-old." Macao said with a drowsy expression, causing me to faintly nod as I finished my thirtieth cup, which was when I was finally starting to feel slightly tipsy. "Just fall, you're not beating me." Macao refilled his cup and took a few more sips before slamming his head onto the table as he fell unconscious. Smirking in victory, I tossed my cup behind me, accidentally hitting someone in the head, which, ironically enough, was the catalyst for a Guild fight, which happens just about every day.
Leaping onto the table with a grin, I jumped right into the fray, punching and kicking while receiving several attacks; however, halfway through the fight, I saw Laxus and couldn't refuse the opportunity to continue our last fight. "Laxus!" Yelling loudly, I charged through several tables and rammed into Laxus, who quickly caught himself, though he didn't look pleased. "Stupid child! I'll put you down for sure this time!" Gritting his teeth, Laxus lunged at me, brutally punching me in the stomach and slamming me through multiple tables before I managed to stop myself.
"Hehe, this is fun!" Punching my fists together, I fearlessly dashed toward Laxus, who did the same to me, the two of us entering a magic-less fight that required everything I had not to be knocked unconscious by his heavy blows.
'I think… I think I'm going to love it here.' With a feral grin, I spat blood onto the ground while eyeing Laxus, who wiped blood from his nose, only for us to once again engage in battle.
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Coming to, I rubbed my head and slowly stood up while observing the guild, which was full of bodies and destroyed furniture; I slowly walked towards the bar, where Makarov was sleeping, while remembering what had happened last night. 'I fought with Laxus and was eventually knocked out… It was a good fight, though.' Although I may have lost my fight with Laxus, I didn't go down easy; I gave him a rather nasty beating as well, so I was more than satisfied, though I am curious how strong he was with his magic.
Shaking my head, I hopped onto the only stool that wasn't completely broken and drank some water before approaching the request board; now that I was officially a Fairy Tail member, I was allowed to take these jobs; as for what Wakaba said regarding supervisions, well, everyone but me is asleep. 'Besides, I'll just take an easy job to start.'
Standing in front of the request board, I searched through the numerous jobs, attempting to find one that would be best for me. "Hmm, scout the Location of the Dark Guild Illusory? Nah, I want to fight something, not scout. Requesting protection against a rival trade–, lame. Capture a group of Dark Mages hiding near Cedar… Now, that doesn't sound bad." Smirking, I grabbed the job and turned around, intending to head straight for Cedar.
Walking past the destroyed tables and unconscious guildmates, I exited the Guild, stepping out into the city of Magnolia, only to freeze the moment I took my first step. "How do I get to Cedar? Matter of fact, where is Cedar?" Realizing I could not get to Cedar, nor did I know where it was, I groaned before turning around and entering the guild. "Tsk, looks like supervision is a must." Clicking my tongue, I searched through the guild, looking for Macao and Wakaba, which took a minute as the latter was drunk in the library; as for how he got there, I've got no clue.
Dragging Wakaba and Macao through the guild, I approached Makarov while placing the job request on the bar beside him. "Macao, Wakaba, and I are doing this job." He was still very drowsy and tired, so he wasn't all there, which made things easier for me. "Y-Yeah; j-just let me sleep." Nodding, I continued to drag the two out of the guild and down the street of Magnolia, heading toward the train station as I figured that would be our fastest mode of transportation.
"Hopefully, these two will be awake by then." While walking through Magnolia, we happened to pass by that kebab spot I had when I first arrived; coming to a stop, I reached into Wakaba's pocket, grabbed a few jewels, and handed them to the woman for three kebabs, which were all for me. "Mhm, delicious."