Thanks to my indestructible Magic, Happy was able to get us to the base of Mt. Hakobe before his aera magic ran out; with me taking the forefront, I led the three up the base of Mt. Hakobe while the weather rapidly changed from an evening summer to an icy winter. "H-How did it c-cold so fast?" Asked Lucy while her teeth constantly clattered together. "Mhm, weather stuff?" Said Natsu with a shrug of his shoulders, seemingly unaffected by the cold weather, which should have been a given as he was a fire Dragon Slayer.
"Hehe, Mt. Hakobe is always experiencing a constant blizzard." Said Happy with a smile while sitting atop Natsu's head, using his hair and naturally high body heat to keep him warm. "I-I wish you would've t-told me. I-I would've brought a-a coat." Muttered Lucy while shivering from the intense cold, only for Natsu to create a small flame, causing her to sigh in relief. "Ah, that's so much better."
We continued to scale up the mountain further, eventually passing the halfway point, also known as the limit, since there is no longer a path for us to follow from beyond this point, and we must carve our own through the thick snow. "C-big bro, are you not cold? You've got no shirt, only pants." "Gray's Ice-make magic isn't enough to make me cold, and this weather can't compare to his magic." To show off my resistance to the cold, I dove into the thick, snowy ground before emerging right behind Lucy, startling her.
"I also can't get cold from Gray's magic." Said Natsu mockingly while raising his head, causing me to roll my eyes before returning to the forefront of the group. "So, who were we saving again?" "Macao Conbolt, a veteran mage, so a Vulcan better not have defeated him." Glancing at Lucy, who nodded, I looked out the corner of my eye, spotting a Vulcan poorly hiding in the blizzard; Natsu would've noticed him, but he's rather lackadaisical.
While walking, the Vulcan ever so slowly inched his way closer until he was trailing only a few feet behind, before he charged toward us. "Woman, mine!" With caveman-like language, the Vulcan snatched Lucy and dashed off into the distance, using the blizzard to conceal himself while Natsu chased behind the footprints. "Oi, get back here! C'mon, big bro." Yelled Natsu angrily as he vanished into the blizzard while I casually followed from behind; with Natsu on the job, I wasn't worried about Lucy's safety; besides, from what I've seen of her, she would be able to handle herself.
After several minutes, I entered a cave, where I saw the Vulcan, a minotaur wielding an axe, and Lucy standing behind him; as for Natsu, he was nowhere to be seen. 'Ha, so much for reliable.' Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I approached Lucy from behind, though it seemed the minotaur sensed me and saw me as a threat. "Big chest Lucy, behind you!" "Eh, another Vul–Wait, that's not an enemy, Taurus." Yelled Lucy loudly as she attempted to stop Taurus from attacking me, though she was too late as the minotaur swung his axe at me in full force, aiming to bisect me vertically; however, when the blade of his axe hit my skull, it broke into pieces.
"Celestial spirits are only as strong as the Mage that summoned them, right? You must be really weak then, Lucy." Glancing at Taurus with a raised eyebrow, I shifted my gaze to Lucy, whose expression twitched. "Um, I-I'm leaving now." Without waiting, Taurus promptly dissipated into golden particles, causing me to scratch my head while I approached Lucy, helping her onto he feet. However, just as I did so, the Vulcan made some monkey noises and charged toward us, causing me to frown deeply.
"Oi, bastard, attacking Lucy is a grave offense, you know… She's family now." Just as the Vulcan got close, he punched my body with his large fist, yet even with the ground being icy, he couldn't move me; grabbing his wrist, I raised my arm and dug my fist into his stomach, causing his eyes to practically pop out of his face before he was flung into the cave's wall. I would've killed him, but I prefer not to kill in front of family; besides, I could also smell Macao's scent on him. "T-Thanks, big bro." Said Lucy with a sigh of relief as she plopped onto her butt. "Haa, t-that was scary." "You best get used to it, Lucy; this is the life of a mage, after all."
Approaching the unconscious Vulcan, I saw Macao lying right beside him; clearly, the creature must've taken him over, though one look at him and I clicked my tongue. 'He's dying.' Macao was heavily injured, and if he wasn't treated soon, he'd die. "Is he okay?" Asked Lucy carefully as she stood beside, looking down at Macao, prompting me to shake my head, only for Natsu and Happy to suddenly appear. "Haha, we're back! Now, where are you stupid– Eh, the Vulcan is already defeated?" Said Natsu with a fiery grin as he clenched his flaming fist, only for his eyes to widen in concern when he saw Macao's terrible condition. "Macao! Dammit, is he going to make it, big bro!?" "No, not with those injuries; he'll probably die before we get to the base of the mountain… You'll need to cauterize his wounds." Lowering to my knees, I placed my hand on Macao and infused him with my magic power, which would keep him alive for a bit longer and increase the chances of him surviving Natsu's procedure.
"Cauterize? Dammit! A-Alright, Happy, get the medkit." Said Natsu solemnly as we glanced at Happy, who removed the small first aid kit from his pouch while Natsu created a single but intense flame from his finger. "Hold him down in case he wakes up, okay, big bro?" Nodding at Natsu, he took a deep breath and pointed his finger close to Macao's wounds, slowly cauterizing them together; given all the practice I would have him do on me, he was actually rather proficient at cauterizing wounds. However, unfortunately, Macao woke up halfway through, and I was forced to hold him down lest he mess up Natsu and cause even more pain.
"Here, bite my fingers; we don't need you breaking a tooth." Stuffing my fingers into Macao's mouth, he didn't hesitate to bite down as hard as possible while enduring the pain of his skin melting together for the next minute or so before Natsu finished. "Ha, done. His major wounds are good to go." Said Natsu with a sigh of relief as he leaned back while Macao took several deep breaths; grabbing Lucy's hand, I pulled her to the ground and handed her the first aid kit. "Eh, w-why me? W-Wasn't he just dying? I-I don't think I should do this; I don't even know how to." Remarked Lucy anxiously as she uncertainly held the first aid kit while looking at Macao, only for me to nod.
"That's exactly why. Unless we plan to leave him here, Macao dying isn't a concern; besides, you'll get injured taking quests, so it's best to know how to perform basic first aid, and what better to learn than in a real situation?" Tapping her shoulder, offering Lucy assurance, she hesitantly nodded and nervously began to bandage Macao. "Ouch!" "Eeek, s-sorry!" "Haha, I'm just joking, girly; you're fine." Said Macao with a chuckle as he waved his hand at Lucy, who hesitantly nodded, prompting him to suppress whatever pain he felt.
Once Lucy finished bandaging Macao, doing a rather poor job, she plopped onto her back, mentally exhausted; as for the man in question, he was still injured but looked much better than before. "For a mage like you to be beaten by a mere Vulcan… Shameful." "T-Thats not how you should speak to your senior, Cooper." Rolling my eyes at Macao, I lifted him onto my back and walked out of the cave, prompting Natsu, Lucy, and Happy to follow.
"So, who is the new girl?" "Throw away whatever perverted thought you just had, Macao, and shut up. "Hehe, you know me too well."
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While Macao recounted the events of what led him to being possessed by a Vulcan, we eventually arrived at the guild, where he and Romeo talked before Natsu took him to Porlyusica since he was still heavily injured; as for Lucy, she retired for the day, heading to the apartment she had just bought while I secretly tagged along, curious at what her apartment was like.
Entering through the window, I sat down on the chair and observed Lucy's apartment while she showered; I don't own a house or apartment, but I've visited my fellow guild members' homes, and I had to say she got a lovely place to live. "Huh, I'm pretty sure I've heard Heartfilia before somewhere." Tapping my chin, I lay on her bed, trying to remember where I'd heard that name, though my pondering was broken as Lucy entered the room. "W-What the!? C-Cooper, what are you doing here!? As a matter of fact, how the hell did you get in!?" Exclaimed Lucy defensively as she glared at me while I pointed to the open window. "The window was unlocked." "W-We're on the fifth freaking floor!"
Shrugging my shoulders, I leaped out of her bed and plopped onto her divan. "Anyway, if you don't mind, I'll crash here for the night; Natsu's place is a pigsty, Erza snores, Nab will sneak attack me, Max's place is too far, Levy shares with Jet and Droy, Gray sleeps naked, Laxus and I will fight, Bickslows place is creepy, same with Fried's, Evergreen sleepwalks, Macao and Wakaba are family men, Laki's place is also creepy, Reedus doesn't have a bed, Vejeector also doesn't have a bed, Alzack and Bisca are probably getting it on, and I don't want to intervene, I don't even know where the hell Mystogan sleeps—" I could've kept going, but Lucy interrupted me. "Ugh, alright, fine, I get it! You can sleep here!" Stated Lucy with a sigh as she rubbed her head, while I nodded before drifting to sleep a few minutes later, enjoying the comfortable peace. 'Huh, feels oddly familiar.'