Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail, Pathfinder, or Dungeons and Dragons.

A/N: Okay, this is the second of three chapter updates this story will be getting before I move on to the sequels. Now this chapter is going to cover a subject that I believe I haven't cover yet in my other stories and that is the canon nature of Romeo and Wendy's relationship.

Special thanks goes to Tenryu no hoko, who is basically a beta for this story.

Please leave a Review, Fav, or Follow, if you want. Also check out Elemental Spirit Mage (where Romeo is a summoner and train by Lucy), Wild Master, and A Child of Fire and Brimstone.

Chapter 6

Cold Shoulder

As soon as the sun came up, Romeo was making his way to the guildhall, his eyelids heavy due to the small amount of sleep he got last night, no thanks to Lindsay and her little games. Because of her, his relationship with his father after being gone for a year and a half wasn't off to a great start and he left the house early before anyone else woke up just to avoid an awkward confrontation first thing in the morning.

As he finds himself walking through the nearly deserted streets, he couldn't help but notices some of the stares he was getting as he made his way to the guild. Now they weren't judgmental or anything, he just took note that people were staring at him for longer than a natural glance dictates before returning to their business and he could feel more than a couple of eyes on his back as he walked on by. He shrugs it off and kept making his way to the towering building, walking through the front doors and straight into one of the last people he expected to see today.

Unlike Lindsay, the girl sitting down at the closest table to the door hasn't changed much over the years, her body now similar to Levy in most aspects. She still sported the same long twin ponytails and she was still moping the floor with dark mages, dark guilds, monsters, and the likes in a sundress, saying that it provided her with a freedom of movement than other clothing styles simply couldn't provide. Luckily at the advice of Lucy and the other ladies of Fairy Tail, she decided to wear shorts underneath to keep from giving whoever was around her an unexpected eyeful whenever she soars through the air or delivered an absurdly high kick into her foe.

"Wendy?", Romeo says, catching the girl's attention as she looks up from the newspaper she was reading, "When did you get back?"

The dragon-slayer tilts her head and she tries to put a name to the person in front of her, "Romeo?" only to received a nod in return, "Holy smoke, Romeo. You're back from Tenrou already?"

"Sure am", he says as he walks over to her, stopping just a few feet in front of her.

"Wow, and here I thought they were really going to try to have Carla and the others fly and pick you up from there if the waters didn't calm down.", Wendy says.

Romeo takes a deep breath, remembering the awkward conversation from last night he had with his father, "Y-Yeah, that would be crazy."

"Now tell me, what's all this I'm hearing about you being able to cast fire magic?", Wendy asks, getting straight to the point as her tone took on a serious vibe, "It's all I been hearing around the guildhall since I got in about twenty minutes ago."

"Wow, that didn't take long", Romeo thought and deciding that actions spoke louder than words, he merely held out his hand and produce a fireball, it's radiating glow attracting the attention of those around him. Wendy's brown eyes widen in surprise as she gets up and extends a hand to hover over the flames, taking in its warmth.

"But how?", she asks.

Romeo dispels the flame and shrugs, "Honestly, I have no idea. I just happen to be on Tenrou when this whole thing happen and somehow it skipped me."

Wendy puts a hand on her chin in thought, "I wonder?" she said but before she could dwell any further, Mira pops up behind her.

"Oh, hi Wendy, I didn't know you would be here today. And what's this, you're talking to Romeo of all people? You two are awfully close to each other", she said as a grin began to stretch across her face from ear to ear.

"What are you talking about? I call you yesterday morning and told you that I would be back today. Plus, I call and told you two weeks ago that I was heading back from Pergrande while the rest of the guys were staying", Wendy explain and Romeo could feel a headache starting up.

"Oh, did you tell me that?", Mira said, faking ignorance, "I must have forgotten all about that."

"Sure you did", Romeo grumbles, not all that surprised that Mirajane was still up to her old tricks. Ever since Wendy got back from Tenrou Mirajane has been constantly badgering the two young mages in an attempt to get them together despite the fact that neither one of them saw the other in that light, something they have told her time and time again. Luckily though she has tone it down as the years went by but Romeo had a sinking feeling that she was to start it back up again.

The Sky dragon-slayer seems to have caught on as Romeo catches her let out a sigh in frustration and hoping to stop this from going any further, he quickly changes the subject.

"Are there any jobs available that I can go on? I need to get back into the swing of things and I also need some spending cash", Romeo asks Mira whose face darkens upon hearing his request.

"Actually...Master Makarov has a job for you in the office he wants you to take on", she says.

"Oh really?", Romeo asks.

"Yeah, you might want to go see him now", Mira suggests.

Romeo gives a nod and makes his way toward the office, leaving Mira and Wendy alone for a moment.

"Was it getting difficult maintaining your cover?", Mira asks the dragon-slayer once she sees Romeo disappears behind the office door and she nods her head.

"Dragon-slayer magic is rare, healing magic even more so", Wendy explains, "I had to forgo healing Natsu after he got into a scrap with some of the locals just so I wouldn't blow my disguise. We had to take him to a nearby hospital to get fixed up and they charged an arm and a leg."

"Well, I can see why Erza decided to send you back. She and the other's magic are far more common than yours and Lucy can just use her Silver Keys if she has too", Mira states.

"True, but I still don't like it", Wendy admits, "The whole world is in a mess right now yet here I am just sitting at the guild."

"I see", Mirajane says before motioning a hand to the table next to them, "Mind talking with me for a minute, Wendy?"

Guild Master's Office

"The Snow Devil of Mt. Hakobe", Master Makarov proclaims as he slams the job flier on the desk, a picture of a skinny icy hand with deadly claws in the center of it, "An Ice Elemental that has been terrorizing the villages of the mountain for quite some time.

Romeo picks up the flier and reads it aloud, "Reward: Four hundred thousand jewels."

He then looks down at the day the job was posted, "This job has been open for a year. Why has no one else been able to deal with it?"

"Ice Elementals are especially weak to fire magic", Master Makarov explains.

"I figure that but we have guys like Laxus, Mira, and Erza who are powerful enough to simply overwhelm that so why haven't been able to deal with it?"

As if on cue, the Lightning Dragon-Slayer opens the door and walks into the room, "Because they don't want us there."

"Excuse me?", Romeo asks.

"The villagers in the mountains are just a few of the people within Fiore who are angry with Fairy Tail over our involvement in the Alvarez Invasion", Makarov explains, "Apparently, some troops from the invading forces broke off from the main body and ravage the villages while we were dealing with the main force. They just got back on their feet not too long ago thanks to Queen Hisui diverting money and resources their way."

"So because of that, they're not going to accept help from us to get rid of this Ice Elemental?", Romeo questions, only to get a nod in return from the guild master,

"If we were to go up there, we would receive no lodgings, no payment, nothing. In fact, Gajeel with up there a couple of months back and they threaten to have him arrested for trespassing", Makarov said.

"So they are dead set on hating us even at the expense of their own safety?", Romeo asks, wondering how anyone could be so stupid.

"Anger makes people do foolish things", Makarov answers.

"Then what about the other guilds then? Sabertooth? Lamia Scale? What's their excuse? Don't tell me they don't have anyone who can take on an Ice Elemental", Romeo questions.

"They have sent people, didn't work", Laxus says.

"What about Jura?", Romeo asks.

"He and the rest of the magic council are helping Queen Hisui in trying to prevent a war. They simply don't have time", Makarov answers.

Laxus then spoke up, "Besides, it turns out this Ice Elemental is different than the others."

"Hmm?", was Romeo's reply.

"It only seems to attack during a blizzard, possibly using it for cover. A couple of mages from some of the other guilds have tested this theory and sure enough, they were attacked while in the midst of a snowstorm. Once they manage to engage it, they found out that their magic had little to no effect on it", Laxus finish.

"How? It's an ice elemental, even Gray should be able to take one down and he uses Ice Magic", Romeo states.

"Not this one apparently. We have eye witness accounts saying that their magic had no effect on the creature and it simple fled after a brief fight but not before severely injuring a mage or two in every encounter", Laxus says, "The mages usually stay in the village for a time after their encounter and during that period no attacks are reported. But as soon as they leave, they start up again."

"So it's staking out the village then, waiting for them to leave", Romeo says, surprise that a creature of Mt. Hakobe could be this intelligent outside of Vulcans.

"Correct. This cycle has repeated itself at least four more times but always with the same result. From what I learn about Ice Elementals, as well as other elementals, they grow more and more resistant to physical attacks as they age and the oldest Ice Elementals are some of the toughest creatures around. Still, this one being resistant to magic, in general, is highly unusual.", Makarov explains before holding a single finger, "But thankfully it has been discovered that it's still vulnerable to fire."

"So they've been using what? A burning torch and fire tip arrows?", Romeo asks.

Makarov shakes his head, "The villagers, the soldiers Queen Hisui sent up there, and other mages have tried that and while it does inflict damage upon the creature, it's never enough to put it down. It has been theorizing by some scholars in the capital that this creature is indeed an Elder Ice Elemental and it can only be put down through a powerful concentrate blast of fire or fire magic if there is a mage available to do it."

"But if these villagers hate Fairy Tail, what makes you think they're going to accept me helping them?"

Laxus merely shrugs, "Simple, you're the only one who can right now."

"I'll get going then", Romeo says, trying his best to keep his emotions in check as he was high as a kite after hearing those words of praise from the dragon-slayer, "I'm the only one who can do this. Finally, the guild will see me for what I'm truly am. Do this one job, Romeo, and you'll be on your way of finally stepping out of the shadows!"

"Oh, and make sure to take Wendy along with you", Makarov tells, drawing a baffle reaction from the boy.

"Wait, what?"

Main Floor of the Guild

Wendy stares across the table at Romeo, her face drawing the same confused look he had just a few minutes ago inside the Guild Master's office.

"Tell me again why he wants me to go with you", she says.

"Master Makarov said that you have experience in dealing with Ice Elementals from your jobs with Natsu and the others in Iceberg, so it would be a good idea to bring you along. He also states that your super senses will prove invaluable in tracking it", Romeo explains.

"Then why didn't he assign Laxus to help you? He has hunted down Ice Elementals before as well", Wendy questions.

"You have heard what Laxus did to me yesterday, right?", Romeo asks while subconsciously placing his hand on his gut.

"Yes, I did. But I fail to-oh, oh okay, I get it", Wendy says, figuring out where Romeo was going with his question, " Moving on, I just got back and Carla is still at the Exceed's village with Happy and Pantherlily but when does he want us to leave?"

"As soon as possible", Romeo replies, "According to the weather reports, there's suppose to be a blizzard coming in later on today in the mountains and that's when it like to hunt."

"Fuck", Wendy curses, causing everyone in the vicinity to gasp.

"I really need to stop hanging around Gajeel so much", the dragon-slayer comments as she shakes her head.

Watching the two young mages from their position in the office doorway was Master Makarov and Laxus, having a quiet conversation.

"Think we should have told him the truth?" Laxus asks after a moment.

Makarov shakes his head, "Let's see how he handles this job and we'll proceed from there. Everything is hanging on a web of thin delicate threads and Romeo is caught right smack dab in the middle of it even if he doesn't realize it yet."

Sometime later

After getting back to his house and thankfully avoiding an awkward conversation with his dad, Romeo pack up his things and meet up with Wendy on the outskirts of town, once again trying his best to pay no mind to the looks he was getting from people as he walks by them.

"I hope this doesn't become a routine thing", he tells himself as he and Wendy went on their way to Mt. Hakobe, catching a carriage that would take them to the main village.

"Akura Village", Romeo read aloud from the flier, "That's who is putting the job out seeing how they're the richest village on the mountain, which isn't saying much when you stop and think about it, while also using some of the funds provided to them from the crown."

"Hmph", Wendy responds as the fire mage notices her looking a little green.

"Motion sickness, huh?", Romeo says, recalling that while hers wasn't as bad as Natsu or Gajeel, it still made her queasy and unable to move much during travel.

Speaking of the Fire Dragon-Slayer, Romeo would have to remember to ask Wendy how he's doing, whenever she was feeling better.

The carriage drifted through the mountain path, the entire area blanketing in a sheet of white as snow began to fall all around them. Inside of the horse-drawn cart, Romeo was looking out the window and taking in the beauty of the scenery as the dreadful cold was kept at bay by the fireball that was currently hovering a few inches above his head while Wendy was laying down on the seat with her back to him in an effort to quell her upset stomach.

The carriage arrives in Akura Village six hours after the pair departed Magnolia, the wheels skidding to a halt outside what looks like the largest building in the community., possibly the inn. Romeo opens the door and hops out with his traveling bag strap to his shoulder and began taking in the sight of all the surrounding buildings and people walking outside. Most of the village was obscured by the coming storm but he could see the outline of a few buildings. Turning back to the cart he sees Wendy slowly getting out, hunching over upon setting her feet on solid ground with her hands on her knees.

"Are you going to be okay?", he asks and only gets a thumbs-up in return from the dragon-slayer. After she recovers they made their way to the building and went inside just as the snow started to really pour down. In the middle of the spacious lobby with a roaring fireplace on its left and a dining room on its right, they found a small desk where an elderly woman with faded red hair and dull green eyes was reading through a log. Romeo and Wendy walk straight up to her.

"Excuse me", Wendy began and the woman looks up for a moment, takes a good look at the pair and went back to her book.

"We don't want your kind here", the lady said, catching both of the young mages off guard by her bluntness.

"I beg your pardon?", Wendy recovers.

"I said", as the lady looks back up from her book and glares at the two mages, "We don't want your kind around here. I know who you are, missy. You're from Fairy Tail and this village has a thing against guilds who drag innocent people into their wars."

"Now ma'am, with respect", Wendy began.

"I suggest you leave. You will find no coin here or even a warm place to sleep", the lady once more blurts out and Romeo could see that Wendy's patience was reaching it ends as he notices her hands slightly trembling as she grips the desk. He then spots her grip tightening so much on the wood that cracks were starting to form.

"And to think she's the calmest one of Team Natsu. Even Lucy has been known to erupt on people but not Wendy", Romeo tells himself before an idea occur to him, "Master Makarov did say that these folks might be getting desperate in ridden themselves of this Ice Elemental. I wonder..."

"Listen, we just want to help", Wendy says in a strained voice, her patience reaching its limits. While most people would still say that she's an angel, she wasn't that same little girl anymore from years back. Hanging around the other dragon-slayers over the years has made her start to take on parts of their aggressive attitudes, especially Gajeel. Now while she wasn't the one to punch first ask questions never, even her kindness wasn't limitless.

"And I'll tell you again, we don't want Fairy Tail's help. So how about you-" the lady replies right before.

"Guess we'll be going then", Romeo interrupts and Wendy's rising anger momentarily fades and she turns around abruptly to see him heading toward the door.

"What about the job?", she shouts at him only to be ignored as he opens the door.

"Brrrrrrr!", he lets out while shivering, "It's getting cold outside! I might have to do something to keep myself warm", he states as he raises a hand and a stream of fire erupts from it. The flames swirl around the boy, covering him in a line that went around his waist before crisscrossing over his chest.

Wendy hears the woman gasp behind her and glances over her shoulder to see that she had both hands covering her mouth, eyes widen in astonishment.

Romeo turns back around and gives the lady a nod, "Sorry to waste your time, we'll be on our way."

"Wait!", the woman cries out.

Romeo turns back around with a quizzical look in his eye, "Is there a problem, ma'am?"

The woman comes from around the desk and moves toward Romeo, completely ignoring Wendy, "Sorry about my rudeness from earlier. The Snow Devil has everyone on edge these days. I'm Yuna Durane."

"Romeo Conbolt, Miss Durane", he replies.

"Are you here to get rid of the monster, Mr. Conbolt?", Miss Durane asks.

"Yes, *we* are", Romeo answers while nodding to Wendy, "We're here to fight the beast."

Miss Durane turns back around to the girl who now leveling her with a heated stare.

"Sorry about that, young miss. Lots of sleepless nights recently."

"I bet", Wendy growls but notices Romeo shaking his head behind her.

Swallowing her dragon's pride, not as easy to do nowadays as it used to be, Wendy plasters a fake smile on her face, "It's no problem, but is it possible for us to get some lodging while we're on the job?"

Miss Durane claps her hands together, "Well, let me see what I can rustle up. Also, I assume you want to speak to the mayor as well."

"If you could get a hold of him for us that would be nice", Romeo told her and the lady sped off to a door on the right side of her desk which led into an office, entering the room and closing the door behind her.

Through her draconian hearing, Wendy picks up the sound of a communication lacrima starting up but ignores this as she turns her attention to Romeo who merely shrugs before dispelling his flames.

"Did you know that would work?", Wendy questions him while she clearly hears Mis Durane in the other room saying something along the lines of "He can cast fire magic!"

"I had a hunch since Master Makarov told me that fire seems to be the only thing that affects the creature...", Romeo began.

"And a mage who can still use fire magic just so happens to show up at their doorstep despite being from a guild that they so adamantly despise. And sure enough, they were quick to change their tune", Wendy finishes.

"Don't get your hopes up, we still haven't even talked to the mayor yet", Romeo reminds her as Miss Durane comes back out of the office.

"Well, I just got off the lacrima with the mayor and he said that as soon as the blizzard passes, he'll come see you here in the inn", she announces drawing looks of confusion from both the fire mage and dragon-slayer.

Wendy was the first to speak, "Has the creature been attacking the town?"

"Oh heavens no! That would be too much even for us mountains folks!", Miss Durane answers.

"Then why can't he come see us now? I know the blizzards up here can go on for quite a while, probably even until the morning", Romeo questions, "The sooner we get information about this monster the sooner we can get rid of it."

"Well...", the woman hesitates and her smiles drops, "He rather not take that chance. You know the old saying "Sometimes it's best not to tempt fate", right?"

The two mages look at one another for a moment.

"Well, I guess we'll wait then", Wendy says.

"Wonderful!", Miss Durane says, her smile instantly coming back, "So I can book you two down for a single room during your stay?"

"No, separate rooms please", Romeo answers while Wendy nods her head.

Miss Durane finds herself surprised by this notion, "Oh, I'm sorry, I figure you two were a couple."

Wendy shakes her head, "No ma'am, we're just friends-"

"Guildmates", Romeo corrects her and this time it was Wendy's turn to be surprised as she snaps her head at him

"We're just guildmates and we'll be needing two separate rooms for our stay", Romeo says.

The desk clerk snaps out of her stupor and produces two keys, each one with a number etched on them. Romeo grabs the one in her left hand and heads to the stairs, without noticing that Wendy was watching him until he turns the corner. She then looks back at Miss Durane and quietly took the key out of her hand and made her way upstairs.

Two hours later, Wendy was in her inn room, pacing back and forth from one end to another. She has been doing this for well over an hour and a half and it doesn't look like she was stopping anytime soon. Every now and then though she would stop and focus her hearing to make sure that the only thing going on outside was the snow falling to the ground, but after not hearing anything suspicious she went right back to her routine.

"Not friends. Not friends, only guildmates. Who does he think he is?", she asks herself, "Everyone in Fairy Tail is friends with one another. I even consider Macao and Wakaba my friends, despite their perverted tendencies. How could he not consider us friends?"

The slayer stops mid-pace and looks up at the ceiling in thought.

"Maybe I'm overreacting, I've been doing that a lot recently", she said, thinking back on everything that has been happening, not with just the effects of the Extinguishing but more personal manners.

Her most prominent personal problem all started back before the global magical epidemic, back at Master Makarov and Porlyusica's wedding. The elderly couple had just been married at the altar and the ceremony had moved to the dining hall where everyone was having a good time. Wendy found herself so deep in a conversation with Kagura that she didn't even notice that Porlyusica was getting ready to throw the bouquet from the other side of the hall. She also didn't know that even at her age, the potion maker still had quite an arm and flung the flowers clear across the room and straight toward their table and what happened next was one of the few times Wendy has ever cursed her enhance reflexes. On instinct that has been hone through countless battles, the moment Wendy saw something flying toward her general vicinity out of the corner of her eye, her hand instantly reach out to intercept it. It wasn't even two seconds after she caught it firmly in her grasp did she realize what it was and that's where her torment began.

Nearly every day since then, she was bombarded with the same questions over and over again by Lucy, Levy, Cana, Mira, and the rest of the girls, including Erza and Carla who have gotten with their respective other, (though Wendy suspects that Carla only doing this because she doesn't want the dragon-slayer to be alone the rest of her life). It as if the bouquet had a spell on it that caused her friends to all of a sudden intrude into her personal life.

"When are you going to get yourself a boyfriend, Wendy? When are you going to find the love of your life?", Wendy says, doing a terrible imitation of Mira who asks her these very questions this morning after Romeo left to go see Master Makarov. Frankly, it was starting to get on her nerves. To be fair, she did try dating Mest once she turned seventeen, or at least the equivalent of that since she was really over four hundred years old, but that ended within a month after she got fed up with how the now official Rune Knight Captain kept treating her like she was still a little kid. But at least for that month, everyone was off her case but as soon as she was back to being single, the vultures starting circling again.

And worst of all, they were probably now only going to intensify their attacks now that Romeo was back if Mira's antics earlier today were anything to go off of.

"Why can't they leave me peace? So what if everyone else is pair off but me? So what if even Asuka had a little boyfriend of her own? Chelia and Beth are still single and no one from their guild gives them crap about it!", Wendy asks herself, her irritation now started to rise, "I can be single and happy, right? There's no law saying I have to be with someone, is there? Arrrrgh!", she growls as she strikes a nearby dresser, easily breaking a chunk of it off with her dragon strength, "Everyone needs to stay out of my love life or lack thereof!"

In a moment of clarity, Wendy was starting to realize that this was maybe the real reason why her patience has faded over the years. What used to be nearly infinite in dealing with anyone who wasn't a dark mage or enemy of Fairy Tail has now shrunk considerably due to the constant questions and whatnot. But for now, she needed to clear her head. She would soon be up against a dangerous creature in its own element and she couldn't have these thoughts clouding her mind. She needed some answers and she needed them fast.

Romeo was lying down on the bed in his room reading a book while listening to the howl of the blizzard outside when a knock came at his door.

"Who is it?", he calls.

"It's Wendy", came the answer on the other side, "Can we talk for a moment?"

Romeo gets up and heads toward the door, opening it up to reveal Wendy with a, if he didn't know any better, displeasing look on her face.

"Can I….help you?", Romeo asks, a little unsure on how to proceed with this unique situation. While Wendy has shown a negative side of her to others outside of the guild, it was rare to see her with such an expression directed at someone from Fairy Tail or one of the allied guilds. At least, he has never seen her do it.

"Do I do something to offend you?", Wendy asks right off the bat, catching Romeo off-guard. When he recovers though, he shook his head.

"No, not that I can think of", he tells her, wondering to himself where exactly this was heading.

"Then what was all that when we were checking in?" she asks.

Romeo puts one arm on the doorframe and leans into it while looking down into Wendy's eyes, "What exactly did I do?"

"You told the innkeeper that we were only guildmates", she answers.

"We are", the fire mage replies.

"Aren't we friends?", Wendy asks.

"Friends would be a strong word seeing how we rarely interact with one another", Romeo tells her.

"Excuse me?", Wendy says, taken aback by his answer, "We talk all the time."

"We do? Really? When", Romeo says,

"Why we talked just-" Wendy says but gets interrupted by an inhuman roar that echoed throughout the entire village, making the blood run cold in her veins at the mere sound of it. Both her and Romeo instantly race to the window in his room that looked out into the center of town but all they could see was white as the snow came plummeting down.

A few moments later, they heard the roar once more only this time it was followed up by a chorus of human screams.

"That's coming directly across the way from us!", Wendy says.

"Go get something warm on and I'll meet you outside! Hurry!", he tells her.

Wendy gives a nod and sprints back to her room while Romeo merely curses under his breath as he opens up the window and prepares to jump out.

"Of course it would be today! It would be just my luck it would start attacking the village the day we show up!" as he leaps out into the blizzard.

A/N: We will see how everything goes from here.

Please leave a Review, Fav, or Follow, if you want. Also check out Elemental Spirit Mage (where Romeo is a summoner and train by Lucy), Wild Master, and A Child of Fire and Brimstone.