It was a normal evening at the Fairy Tail guild hall when the stranger approached...

•••

The guild hall was filled with the joyous sounds of drunken squabbling and fighting Wizards, just like nearly every evening.

Cana guzzled down barrels of booze, an amused grin on her face as she watched Gray and Natsu's brawl on the floor of the guild hall. Rowdy cheers from drunk guild-mates coaxed the two on, and their friends cheered their names just as gleefully.

"Win for me Gray-sama! Juvia believes in you!" The Water Mage called from the crowd.

A blue little winged cat circled above, ready to assist his best friend if needed, "Get him! That a boy Natsu!" Happy called out, watching fight intensely from the air.

"You're goin' down this time Pyro!" Gray declared as he punched his opponent across the face.

"Not a chance, Ice-Freak!" Natsu retorted, punching Gray in return.

Not everyone was cheering however. Levy sat quietly at a table with a book, and Gajeel's cat, Pantherlily, slept quietly beside her, with his head rested against her shoulder. Gajeel and Elfman observed the brawl quietly from the bar, with the ladder making quiet comments about how he was more manly then both fighters. Erza, Wendy and Lucy sat at their own table, chatting to each other about their latest Mission they all went on, and Evergreen sat alone at the end of the bar.

Cana slid over to sit by Evergreen, drunk as a skunk and wearing a goofy grin. "Why the long face Evergreeeen?" Cana asked, holding out the end of the sentence for a few moments and grinning at her guild-mate.

Evergreen scowled. "Well if you must know, I'm upset because the rest of the Thunder Legion took a quest without inviting me. Freed said it was a 'boy's only quest.'" She grumbled, sticking her fingers up to signify the air quotes around the words.

"Aw don't get all bent outta shape, you could always take a job with Elfmaaannnn." Cana remarked with a wink.

"Now why on earth would I want to do that?" Evergreen demanded, her voice laced with annoyance. "Exactly what are implying?"

"Ooooh you know what I mean." Cana giggled.

Evergreen just stared at her blankly for a few moments. "Cana, you're drunk."

"Maybe you're the drunk one!" Cana retorted with an accusing tone, accompanied with hiccups.

"No, I think Evergreen's right, Cana." Mira spoke as she walked up to them behind the bar, "Perhaps you should slow down a little."

"Cana? Slow down?" Lucy had overheard from her table and turned to face them, an amused expression on her face. "Yea right! Whenever there's a party, Cana's always-"

*Thump!*

Lucy's statement was interrupted by the sound of the large guild doors opening. Everyone stopped what they were doing before, and their heads turned to see who had barged in.

A chilling figure stepped into the guild hall from the dark outside. She wore plain brown robes that drug the ground and covered her feet. Her long, dusty blonde hair fell loosely on her back, and her face was covered by a cruel, beaked mask. Tinted glass goggles covered her eyes, making her face completely unseen. She stepped further into the guild hall, slowly panning her head from side to side to glance around the room.

"Please," she spoke, her desperate voice muffled by the leather mask covering her face, "I am a sick traveler, and I need sanctuary for the night."

(To Be Continued...)