When everyone was on the ship, Fairy Tail's very own Fire Dragon Slayer gave Captain Seagull a thumbs up, signifying to the veteran sea captain that it was safe for him to depart. With a single heave, Houren brought up the anchor that had kept the ship moored safely in the docks, and soon enough, they were all on their way to the guild's own private island of Tenrou. Of course, it went without saying that this journey wouldn't pass in merely the blink of an eye or anything, so the Fairy Tail members on the ship would need to preoccupy themselves in the meanwhile; Houren did not know the exact estimated time of arrival, but he supposed he'd let everyone know once the island could be seen in the distance.

The Fire Dragon Slayer had self declared himself to be the ship's temporary first mate for this voyage, and in a fashion fitting his self bestowed position, he decided to stick with Captain Seagull for now as opposed to interacting with the rest of his peers. It wasn't as though he didn't want to get along with them, or was purposely ignoring them, it was simply a case of him being interested in Captain Seagull's circumstances more. After all, it had said in Cecilia's letter that this long time seafarer was an old friend of the guildmaster, and by extension, Fairy Tail itself.

How exactly that came to be was what piqued Houren's interest, and when he made this known to Captain Seagull, the sailor had just laughed. "It's a long, long story. You're sure you want to hear it? Really? Well, it happened back when I still wore a younger man's clothes...." he began his tale.

288/1500

Winderlin had an amazing time sitting on the boat. He watch as the anchor came up and watching the crew set the boat off for sailing. Winderlin started to bounce in his own seat. This was amazing, he was being surrounded by water, his favorite element and his powers were based of it. He laid back and put his hand in the water. It was amazing being on this boat. He looked at everyone else and smiled greatly.

"I wanna go in the water and swim. Can I please jump in the water and swim, like pretty pretty pretty please?" Winderlin begged has he intertwined his fingers and gave everyone big puppy eyes. He really wanted to be there in water with all the fish and other creatures. He stared at his fellow companions hoping they would understand and maybe even join in. Horuen started to go on a story rant at this time and Winderlin to be honest wasn't really into at the moment. He sighed in pleasing trying to be convince to his friends. He finally stared at Kazumi hoping that she would give in. "If you say yes and swim with me I will owe you big time. Pretty please?"

210/1500

Sael listened happily to the action stirring up around the boat. For such a small group they were quite energetic, but iven the stories people tell and what few experiences he's had, he really should've expected this. Houren was listening to the captain's tale, regaling us with a wondrous story of his younger days. (Exactly how young he didn't wish to think of, lest he destroy that fantasy of his.) Honestly, I wouldn't mind sneaking into those captain's quarters! He actually decided to join the two older men to stay close to Houren, totally not to leap on him later, oh, that would be silly; on the other hand though he didn't really know the elder Fairy mage all that well-Not that it mattered- and wasn't sure how he would deal with being interrupted in such a manner.

Around him he also payed ear to Ms. Kazumi with Kira and King. The latter excitedly chatting up the pair and trying to convince them about jumping into the water. I couldn't help a small laugh. "Hey King! If she doesn't accept I'll take you up on that offer." I smiled softly. Out of all the people here he rather liked King. From the moment they met he probably wanted to befriend him the most besides Ms. Kazumi and Ms. Kira. Houren, well, that was another story.... "Hm. I could swear I was forgetting someone..." The cloud mage pondered. The vague picture of blonde hair and a sweet face popped in my head but remained, unreadable. Something with a 'T'?

Tori listened on as everyone spoke among themselves. Houren opted to stick close to Captain Seagull, hoping to hear some of the old seadog's origin and how he had come to be close to Fairy Tail. Kazu and her fox decided it would be fun to explore the ship, just before Win had asked her to come swimming with him along the ship as it traveled. In their excitement, Kazu probably didn't even hear Win before she made haste and he probably didn't even notice she had left the deck right away. Sai probably hadn't noticed either, telling Win that he would accompany him should Kazu refuse, which was apparently the case due to her now absence.

Tori chuckled to herself as she stood motionless on the railing of the deck, just looking out to the horizon. Just as many thoughts crossed the ice mage's mind as waves crossed the bottom of the vessel as it glided through the ocean water with not a care or hindrance. What were they going to find on Tenrou Island? Why were they going there in the first place? What was the purpose of this mission? All these and more circled Tori's head like hungry buzzards who found a meal, but Tori, try as she might, could find no answers to satisfy them.

The blonde woman just stared into the blue yonder. She had read in a book once that the open sea had a way of making one reflect on themselves. As it turns out, truer words were likely never spoken as Tori reminisced about her past, examined her present, and pondered her future.

277/1500

"Well... that's more or less the whole tale. Your guildmaster helped me out once upon a time a long time ago, and I've been grateful ever since. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even be here," the old Captain Seagull recounted his tale, not missing a beat or stuttering even once although this story must have happened many years ago back when Houren was nothing more than a boy, or even before he was born at all. Cecilia looked young, but there was no really no telling how old she was, was there? For all they knew, she could have been old enough to have been his mother, or even someone's grandmother; the thought was enough to make him shudder.

The Fire Dragon Slayer reflected on it for a while, thinking about it to himself. He did not necessarily ignore anyone else who was interested in hearing Captain Seagull's story; it was the right of the young to learn from the old, but right now, he was too busy reflecting to think about anybody else. When the Fairy Tail mage had finally formulated his thoughts about the story that Captain Seagull had just told him, it looked like the old sea dog had begun to reminisce by himself, and he probably wouldn't have appreciated it if Houren disturbed him in any way at all.

Winderlin was frantically begging Kazumi about something while Sael also happened to be there, offering his two cents. Captain Seagull, as mentioned before, was busy reminiscing. This led him to approach the only other person who happened to be alone, Tori, and while it seemed like she might have been deep in thought, the Fire Dragon Slayer had already come to think of her as the kind of person who thrived in the company of others as opposed to preferring solitude.

"Are you excited, Tori?" he had asked.

601/1500

Sael bit his lip in sympathy for King when Kazumi shot down his offer. He didn't argue with her reasoning and he felt like it was time to settle down for a rather long and uneventful ride. With a snap of his fingers a rather large puff of cloud mass appeared above him. Somewhere beside him he heard Kazumi yell something and a moment later a splash. Sael immediately snapped his head towards the sound. Running toward the source of the sound. Ignoring the rope looped on the railing.

Sael grinned excitedly when be bent over the "Oh very clever miss Kazumi." Seems she had the brilliant idea to tie herself to the boat in some weird, I don't even know what it was, but anyway she was no riding the waves. Laughing at the two ship loving boys to come and join her. King, being the newest member here, wondered to Kazumi's sensibilities. "More or less, she's still just as cool as ever I'd say." Sael shrugged. Only when King started wrapping himself the cloud mage contemplated joining them. The cloud mage gaped when King somersaulted off the ship. Suddenly feeling a little weak in the knees he reached out to grasp the railing. 'Oh heart don't you go failing me now.' Goodness that was hot. Guess it was a good thing he knew exactly how to cool down.

A wicked grin spread on his face as he stripped down. 'I'm so going to regret this.' his hands easily moved to slip off his shirt and pants, his underwear no exception. Gracefully moving his cloud to cover his more... sensible parts. He knew that the rope was going to chafe against his skin he quickly conjured another construct, "This spell really does come in handy sometimes." He took a moment to admire his craftmenship, stroking the slim clouded arm extending from the palm of his right hand. feeling a little more exposed than normal he set to work tying the rope into how it would go around his body. Then gripping it with his cloud hand he jumped off the boat and joined his friends below. Snapping his free hand once more another construct formed at his feet, a circular cloud.

Sael landing on the water wit ha great splash but otherwise his constructs were holding well. his smile only grew more nervous and he couldn't even bear to look at either of his guildmates, especially King. "Well fancy seeing you both down here! having fun you two?"

697 total WC

Spells used:

As Tori stared out towards the line separating the sea from the sky, her concentration was broken by the one person she didn't expect to engage in small talk during this trip. Naturally she welcomed it, as he was a part of the guild and, by that token, part of the family. This was just the first thing Houren had said to her this whole time in the way of conversation, which caught her off guard for a moment. He had asked if she was having fun, but before she could answer she was interrupted by a series of splashes that differed from the waves crashing against the hull of the ship by which the group traveled. Turning her head to find the sources, she saw that the remaining three members of the group had taken to frolicking behind the boat as it sailed, each one creating water skis or the like from their respective elemental affinities. She chuckled before turning her attention back to the stern man.

"Well, clearly not as much as they are, but I am enjoying myself, yes." she replied, emphasizing the word 'am' as if to challenge any thoughts to the contrary, intentional or otherwise, although not aggressively so. "I'm actually glad the master picked me to go on this trip, even if its an important mission. A lot has happened over the past several months, and I haven't really had the chance to reflect on past choices...especially wrongs that still need made right..." she trailed off, her voice dropping into a somber tone. "Don't get me wrong, this is still a mission at its core, but for me I suppose it's doubling as a bit of a soul searching trip." she explained, as was actually the main reason she accepted this assignment to begin with. She needed a change of scenery, somewhere far away from the things that brought negative memories, at least until she was able to make peace with them and confront her demons.

An instant later, she shook her head violently for a moment as if to momentarily snap herself out of her little slump before she physically turned to face Houren. "Don't mind me, I've been a little moody lately. I don't want to bring anyone else down." she said, this time more cheerfully. "So tell me about you, Houren. I don't believe we ever met before meeting up at the guild hall for this little adventure. But I've heard your name spoken in the guild hall from time to time, as well as out and about in Fiore while I've been out on jobs. I've wanted to meet you for quite some time, we just never have been in the same place before now." she explained, chuckling and waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, ther the other three Fairy Tail wizards were no doubt enjoying themselves, and Tori wondered if she should join them in an attempt to cheer herself up.

781/1500

The things that Tori said to him were oddly profound, a lot heavier than what he had expected; actually, he'd be lying if he said that was true. That is exactly the sort of thing that one would expect to hear when approaching a melancholic looking woman staring out in the vastness of the ocean from a ship that was slowly leaving the country's mainland and to one of the neighboring, probably uninhabited islands. The deep blue, the dreamy sea, the gentle waves that dribbled carelessly into the sand in the distant shore, it was no wonder that one's mind would suddenly be filled with fervent, if not pensive, thoughts.

Soul searching, she had said, but Houren heard it all before. Tori had mentioned something about some events that occurred in the past few months but they really could have been anything. Perhaps she was a recent divorcee who was unsure of her own place in the world, or maybe the loss of a loved one, or hell, she might even have been in a band that recently split up, or she got kicked out of her family home by disappointed parents. It really could have been anything that was bothering her, and there was little chance of Houren being able to guess. In any case, it seemed like it was something serious enough to significantly change the woman's worldview.

"You're feeling unsure about something, so you decided to remedy it by throwing yourself into your work?" the Fire Dragon Slayer inquired, but not at all in a skeptical tone. It was not his preferred remedy, but he supposed such workaholics who could benefit from working even more when stressed did exist in this world. Besides, although this quest was specifically requested by the Fairy Tail Guildmaster herself, it wasn't one of any particular difficulty. And it was lengthy too. If Tori wanted to think, then she had all the time in the world to do so on Tenrou Island.

The fun, recreational events that were transpiring on the other side of the boat suddenly caught Houren's attention and he darted his eyes over to examine them, albeit only briefly as it would have rude to Tori if he stopped paying attention to whatever it was that she was saying. He was content to let them do as they pleased for now, but did not relish the prospect of having to go help them should something go wrong; it was no secret, or at least he didn't go out of his way to disclose it, that he was not a great swimmer.

"I have wanted to meet you too, Tori," the young man crossed his arms and rested them on the edge of the boat, his demeanor shifting from one of curiosity to one of anticipation. "Because I can tell you're the same as me," he purposely kept his words vague, staring out into the all blue like she had been doing earlier.

Houren allowed a good nature laugh to escape his mouth. "I'm not generally this rude to girls, but you reek of Dragon Slayer. Am I wrong?" he kept his eyes fixated on the ocean.

1128/1500

Even though he still had the cloud covering him, well, barely, Sael still couldn't help the instinctive need to bend his legs to cover himself. He would've done it with one of his hands, but one of rather preoccupied and the other he need to be ready in case anything went wrong. Even skidding across the ocean tied to a boat, his jewels were the most important thing in life.

From the corner of his eyes he could hear Kazumi screeching as she wiped out. He turned to check and see if she was fine and she popped back up without much of a problem. Despite his eariler tensions he couldn't help but crack a laugh at Kazumi's excitement. When the crystal mage popped out of the water, after catching her breathe, she suggested King and I contest to see who'll last the longest. Something that King seemed rather keen on. Going so far as to place a bet on it. He didn't mind his terms, so long as he got paid from this mission, he might have enough to pay for a meal.

"Well if it's like than then count me in. I love pasta by the way." He challenged. As soon as those words left his lips though he regreted it, seeing how the water boy was so agile on the water's surface. "No it's fine, because you are gonna 'hate' what I'm about to do next." He smiled. Sael leaped into the air, his clouded arm assisting him in the task. Moving the cloudy water board from under him he placed in where the fist would land, preventing him from falling in the water. Meanwhile he was suspended upside down with his right arm holding him firm. With his position securely locked in place the cloud mage moved onto the next phase of his plan.

He concentrated on the cloud around his waist, condensing it to take a new shape: Speedos, as white as snow. Luckily for all three of him this material wasn't see-through. With a teasing look in his eye he sent King a peace sign with his other hand before sliding it upwards to his hip, pulling slightly on the cloudy material. "Wanna peak?" Sael winked.

384/1081

Spells used:

Houren listened intently as Tori spoke, which is honestly something he greatly appreciated. She had no one to vent to for a while, and no one to really talk to as much as she she'd like to. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really have many friends in the guild. Matter of fact, out of all the people she was specifically able to call friend, Kazu was the only one of them that was in her own guild. This brought Tori to another set of questions throughout the woman's head. Houren asked to clarify about her throwing herself into work to deal with all the stress, which she nodded. "More or less. But it's less about the work and more about the travel, honestly."

It was then Houren cross his arms and approach the rail of the ship. He too stared out to the horizon, but continued to speak. "You reek of Dragon Slayer. Am I wrong?" In an instant, Tori's eyes were as wide as saucers in surprise. Her lips parted ever so slightly as she gasped in shock. It was then she realized that he was right. She could also smell an aura coming from him that she had never sensed before from anyone else. She closed her eyes and smiled, tilting her head down towards the hull of the ship. She chuckled silently before her voice escaped. "I should have known that Fairy Tail would have another Dragon Slayer and that he would find me out before I found him." It was just her luck for something like that would happen.

Without looking up at the man, she would calmly ask one question before waiting for his response. "How long have you known?"

No doubt, the rest of this conversation was going to be an interesting one. And soon, Fairy Tail was going to be exposed to its first encounter of Dragon Slayers. And that encounter would be the start of a race to crown the King of all Dragon Slayers...the Dragon Emperor.

1119/1500

"Ho? So you really are a Dragon Slayer?" there was no boastfulness in his voice, but rather, it was a thoughtful observation. He had been under the distinct impression that Tori was just one of those girls that didn't like to bathe, hence the prominent odor, but it soon became apparent that he was the only one of the group who noticed this about her. Since the majority thought she was perfectly fine, and he was the only one who was experiencing any sort of discomfort in her presence, he came to the ultimate conclusion that it was more likely that his nose had a problem as opposed to Tori's scent. The possibility that she might have been a Dragon Slayer had flickered momentarily in his mind; especially after he saw that she was not participating with the others in whatever it was that they were doing with their magics, which led him to think that perhaps she was keeping it a secret, or was keeping her guard up for some other reason.

A slight smile formed on Houren's lips. "Just a few seconds or so," he said in response to her question of how long he had known she was a Dragon Slayer. He had been able to judge from her exasperated reaction. With his eyes still on the swaying waves, he continued to speak. "I've never met another Dragon Slayer, Tori, so I suppose I'm grateful. Thanks to you, now I know what I'm looking for," the odor she was emitting was almost palpable, not unpleasant by any means, but clearly not one that was normal. The Fire Dragon Slayer was probably able to tell due to his overly sensitive nose. In the future, if he wanted to find another Dragon Slayer, all he had to do was remember this feeling, not the scent since scents were unique to the individual but this pronounced feeling of immediate danger.

Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Slayer stood up to his full height, turned around to face the three mages who were enjoying themselves at the stern of the boat, his elbows resting on the railings. "Once this job is over, I'll probably leave Magnolia for a while. I'm searching for them; other Dragon Slayers, I mean," he casually shrugged off his intent to AWOL from the guild and its affairs, and simultaneously, he shot Tori a knowing look.

"I'm sure you know why," he stifled a weak yawn, wondering whether Kazumi, Winderlin or Sael would be able to proactively defend the guild from whatever would threaten it. Winderlin seemed a little bit self absorbed in having fun, whereas he was under the impression that Sael lacked assertiveness but was a charming lad all the same. Kazumi's showing against Cell had been less than impressive, and while he held no grudges against her for effectively leaving him in the lurch at that time, he knew all the guild members present on the ship had to get stronger; himself most of all.

"I've always meant to do it. Now seems as good a time as any," he finished his statement.

1645/1500

Sael's smile dipped a little when his ploy failed to bring him victory. He did notice Kazumi's interference did have a part in breaking the cloud mage's strategy, as Sael himself had some minor problems himself with the breeze blowing through. King's reaction surprised him though. The waves displacing his own efforts to stay afloat. He felt his arm shaking with the effort to remain upright and at that point it was obvious he needed to abandon his plan. He slide a finger underneath the band on his clouder-wear and roughly pulled the material away from him. For a moment it stretched irregularly displaying his bare hip for a moment before returning to it's natural cloud form. With a irritable groan he pushed off and landed back on his cloud pad.

Sael looked toward's King's confident figure ontop the waves. Boldly declaring himself the winner of this match. For a moment Sael was leaning to believing him, there wasn't anything that he could've done to reach him, or was there? With a snap he brought out another solid cloud. He was hesitant to jump, waiting for the right moment to avoid losing his balance. Lingering low to the pad, then leaping onto the landing pad midair. Leaping again, and again, closing the distance between King and himself. The original cloud board floating behind him. Until he was right beside him, his cloud board riding the wave King had conjured, slightly behind due to the extra arm length. "Seems our contest is coming to a close King, may the best contestant win! Hope you can forgive me for this!" In a semi-desperate bid for a win he brought his other circular cloud board underneath the water King was surfing on, lifting itself until it made contact. When it made contact with the water mage's feet he would direct it to suddenly surf off the wave King had created, with the mage still on top of it. A tactic not quite befitting Sael, but then again... Just because he was mostly nice, didn't mean he wasn't above cheap tactics to win. Especially if they secured him a free dinner.

1420/1500
IC: "Anything for free food!"

It appeared that Houren had not known in advance of the blonde woman's status as a Dragon Slayer, but instead only had suspicions that were were confirmed by the ice user's response. She had given herself away, but when she thought about it, she was not upset. The two Dragon Slayers had hidden for long enough within the walls of Fairy Tail, and surely there were others out there. Houren had mentioned leaving the guild for a time to find them, something Tori had been considering herself in all honesty.

He also mentioned having had the thoughts of Dragon Emperor on his mind for some time, again like the Ice Dragon Slayer. It appeared the two shared more than just a heightened sense of smell, but the ambition of a Dragon to be crowned as the king. Normally, Tori would have been up for the challenge right off the bat, but the events with the Magister's Index, and later Cell, had caused her to question herself and everything that made her who she was. Her loyalty to her guild and her friends, the quandry of whether or not to keep or relinquish the dragon's gift, all of it had been up in the air for Tori thus far. But now, it seemed, that everything was in plain focus. As if a shadowy veil had been lifted from in front of the blonde's vision, she now knew what she had to do to right the past wrongs that haunted her so.

Thinking about it for little more than a moment, Tori knew that Houren had helped put things into perspective, even if it was not his intention. But regardless, she knew what had to come next. She stood to face the man for the first time in their conversation as she made history with this moment. The first time in recent memory of two Dragon Slayers meeting each other's gaze caused the ice user to feel like seconds were lasting an eternity. From her perspective, time seemed to momentarily stop as she stared into Houren's very soul, seeing the essence of the dragon within him for herself and him doing the same.

Without breaking her gaze, Tori would finally speak again to Houren. "I've been thinking of that for awhile now myself. Hearing you say it has made me decide to pursue the end goal as well. And to that end, after this call quest is over. I would like to formally challenge you for the first battle, Houren."

1545/1500

His words had managed to catch her off guard; that was only to be expected since it seemed like she was keeping the fact that she was a Dragon Slayer a secret. After his statement, there seemed to be a silence between the pair of them, but there was no discomfiture at all in the atmosphere. It was clear to him that she was thinking deeply about things, and he was as well to some extent. With that said though, he had already strengthened his convictions about wanting to be the Dragon Emperor long before he had even the slightest hunch that his guildmate, Tori, would be one of the people he would need to defeat in order to achieve the lofty goal that he had set for himself. Besides, could he really blame her for being deep in thought when he practically just admitted to her that, sometime in the near future, he was planning on fighting her?

Tori did not come across as a violent person to Houren, nor did he think that she was the kind of woman to relish fighting. Even so, it went without saying that such things are unavoidable for those who would call themselves Dragon Slayers, and he wanted, no, he needed her to understand that. A consensual bout was ideal, but Houren found himself strangely willing to force her into it if things became desperate enough. Admittedly, he had resolved himself to fight, but hadn't thought too much about what to do if the person he was after decided that they weren't really all that into fighting. He had just naturally assumed that all Dragon Slayers knew that the lacrima in their bodies, the magic that they utilized meant that they had targets on their backs, and they accepted that.

The words that eventually came out of her mouth surprised even him though, with her actually formally challenging him to a fight. He didn't know what conclusion she ultimately reached, but it was obvious to him that the title of Dragon Emperor was on her mind as well. "After this request? Why do we have to wait? I can go righ-...." the Fire Dragon Slayer's voice was drowned out by the ship's bellowing horn, and a command from the ship's command that they would reach Tenrou Island in less than five minutes. He also called for all of them to prepare.

The Fire Dragon Slayer almost bit his tongue but decided that he would address Tori later, as he turned to the three that looked like they were still having the time of their lives at the stern of the boat. "Oi, you guys! Looks like your little competition needs to be put on hold. Let's get ready for docking," when Tori was deep in thought, he had eavesdropped slightly on the events that were occurring on the other end of the boat and knew about Winderlin's impromptu challenge to Sael. The results of the contest didn't really matter to him, but it was time to remind everyone what they came here to do.

2157/1500

Winderlin had this in the bag. He was sure he had the win for this one. There was nothing stopping him from this free diner he was going to win. He surfer to a clear win on his nice blue wave he had. He held himself with victory in his heart and there was nothing Sael could of done to stop him, they were in Winderlin’s prime element. No matter what Winderlin alway has the advantage on Sael. Winderlin smiled and saw free diner but then something happened.

He started to float off the wave he made. Winderlin was completely confused as to why but knew it had something to do with Sael. Winderlin was now on a cloud and Winderlin knew he needed to thinking so he did. He free felll off the cloud and did spin before landing on a water wall he made with one of his spells. Winderlin smirked for a minute since we’ll Sael that he had it and was so cute about it but failed miserably. But this got Winderlin thinking. Sael wasn’t the only person able to play dirty. This was going to be fun. Winderlin snapped his fingers which caused a water sphere to surround Sael. Winderlin knew that Sael could pop this bubble easily but upon doing so he would fall into the water. Winderlin moved the bubble closer to him and the water and smiled kindly. ”That’s true Kazumi we should but your little friend here is going to owe me a diner. Sael buddy you are in my territory I’m so sorry I have to do this to you but that food is mine” Winderlin said as he popped the bubble and wait to see what Sael do next to save his Ass.

With that Winderlin notice a huge island they were approaching. It had a giant tree and forest area and look wonderful. Winderlin was so excited to finally be here at this new place and quite frankly honored since he just recently joined. He couldn’t wait to see what this island had in store for him, and want quest his friends and himself would take, and if anything cool would happen. All Winderlin knew for certain was this was going to be a crazy ride for all of them, and they all are going to love this adventure they have been sent on.


-Exit-
1588/1500

Sael was so sure that he had this match in the bag, but the water magi was much more flexible in his element. Strange, given that his own element was present everywhere and it was much more formless than the water that King manipulated. Right now he was trapped inside of a sphere of King's making, not quite sure what to do. There was still that wave that  King had brought out, then with what else he put up-

Sael turned the sound of his guildmates calling for them up the ship. He would have to settle whatever argument was happening here later, it seems they were approaching the island. Sighing he guestured for his hand to pull him up the rope and back onto the ship, punching through the bubble with easy when it got to that point. "Sorry King, but don't think I pay for food that easy. Though depending on how this mission goes I might get reconsider." He finished with a wink.

As he quickly got changed into the clothes he left up on the deck, relieved that no one had touched them in his absence. While he finished the last of his attire, Sael reflected on the trip to Hargeon, then to this island. Both had passed much quicker than he had expected. Though he knew for certain, this mission still had a long way to go.

-Exit-
1656/1500

Houren seemed to be slightly off put by Tori's sudden declaration of challenging him for the same goal that he himself was pursuing and started to respond in kind before being interrupted by the bellowing horn of the ship signalling the group's approach. She looked up when Kazumi pointed out the island coming above the horizon and it was truly a sight to behold. The canopy of the tree at the heart of the island towered above the sea level, almost to the point one could probably see the coast of the mainland from its peak it seemed. Seeing this just solidified Tori's newly found conclusion of herself and her goals all the more. The grandure of the legendary Tenrou Island, known only to those who bear the Fairy Tail crest, made the ice mage realize how lucky she was to be a part of this guild..this family. She decided that she would do everything in her power to prove herself to her guild, and to be the best she could be for Fairy Tail.

As the ship docked, she overheard Kazumi and company talking about a meal of some sort, likely part of whatever conversation they were having while skiing. Curious as she was, she had little attention to pay to anything else. Her conversation with Houren currently consumed every ounce of brain power she could muster as she thought to herself how she would defeat Houren. True he was a Dragon Slayer as well, but what element did he utilize? What was his fighting style like? These were all questions to which the answers Tori so desperately needed were lost to the aether. Only time would answer them, but unfortunately that put her at a disadvantage as she knew he was powerful, but had no idea beyond that fact. Her only hope was to slip away at some point during this mission if she were to get such an opportunity. She had to be ready for anything and everything. The battle with Houren was fast approaching, and she made a silent vow to herself at that moment to be prepared for it.

-exit-