Month Ends
For the rest of the month, Alex and Liam explored the continent. They roamed randomly for the most part, usually picking their direction based on something random. One day they would follow the wind, the next they would go a different direction because a big rock was shaped like an arrow, so they followed its guidance.
Alex had made a pack that strapped to Liam's back, it's function was to deploy a set of wings he could use to fly with. It was a copy of the magic Exceeds used 'Aera'. It was the simplest flight magic he could think of and didn't use all that much magic power to keep active for long periods of time.
Alex made sure that neither of them missed out on daily exercise and training. True to his word, Liam didn't complain at all and actually seemed to enjoy the random exploration. Alex made him fight a few beasts to get used to his magic in combat situations and restock their food supplies.
As they had been sticking to more of the natural wonders of this continent(forest/mountains) and not the man made ones (cities), they hadn't run into too many people. This suited them both just fine though, Alex already wasn't a huge fan of people to begin with and it seemed like Liam also wasn't one for casual conversation with strangers.
Liam asked lots of questions about Ishgar and Alex's guild and had a few questions about life in general. Alex answered them as he could and was thankful the orphanage had taught Liam to read and write to a passable degree, he didn't want to be the one to have to do that.
The more the young wizard learned about Guilds, the more he wanted to join one. Alex laughed at his enthusiasm and said he could come to Fairy Tail at the end of the month should he so desire. Liam had only nodded noncommittally. Alex wouldn't force the young wizard to do anything, though he was getting used to the boy.
During one of their adventures, Alex had introduced Liam to the wonders of white-water kayaking. They raced a couple times down a river but had to stop after one of the monsters swallowed Liam whole. Alex had rescued him quickly and laughed at him good naturedly.
Liam adamantly denied being in real danger, saying he could have frozen his way out of there if he had more time, though he did quietly thank Alex for the save. Alex didn't let him live it down for a few days, throwing casual good natured jabs about the situation whenever he could.
This actually strengthened the bonds between each other and Liam even tried returning the favor, though he couldn't figure out the timing to deliver said 'jabs' it was still amusing.
Wendy and Carla had called a couple times over the month to see how his adventure was going and catch up. He had introduced them to Liam and also asked about their own time in Fairy Tail. Wendy was very happy to talk of her own adventures to Liam and Alex. She told them she had joined Natsu's team and had gone on a few adventures with them.
She said repeatedly that she was very happy being teamed up with them and was learning a lot. Alex was happy to hear this and even Liam was infected by her excitement. Wendy had a way to make people forget about any worries and just smile.
During one of her calls she made to them, she had done it from the guildhall and Alex could see the usual brawl going on in the background. The lacrima canceled the sound from the background but Alex still laughed at the sight. He noticed a few familiar 'Enemies' in the background and asked about it.
As it turned out, Gajeel the Iron dragon slayer and a Girl called Juvia had joined the guild. Alex wasn't really surprised, Master Makarov was too nice sometimes and he actually expected this.
When asked if anything else exciting happened, Wendy started telling him about how Loke turned out to be a celestial spirit who was banished from the spirit world and Lucy saving his life by appealing to the spirit king directly.
'Guess my presence won't change everything eh?' Alex had thought at the time. Wendy went on to tell Alex about how they had met some of Erza's childhood friends while they were at a resort. They had been enslaved on an island and forced to build something called 'The tower of Heaven'. Though one day the leader, A man named Jellal, randomly started freaking out. He started saying something about being controlled before destroying the tower with his own hands and freeing all the slaves.
Erza's four childhood friends didn't know where Jellal had gone too but he refused to go with them to find Erza. Wendy said they were all really nice and she especially liked Millianna. Alex smiled when he heard the tower of heaven was destroyed and happy everyone was released safely.
During their conversation in the guild, Mira had approached Wendy to join the conversation. She wanted to know what Alex had been up too, but when she got a look at Liam she started gushing over the child.
She commented many times on how he was 'just too cute' and she wanted to meet him. Alex and Wendy laughed while Liam blushed furiously. They ended the call with Alex letting them know he would see them all at the end of the month.
Alex and Liam continued their adventure. Alex had created a map at some point and used magic to fill it out. He was adding landmarks and the towns they came near so he could easily find his way around this area when he came back in the future.
He had decided against searching out August for the time being and was content to just scout/explore. They had even stumbled upon a massive city and Alex had to ask some locals to get the name, It turned out to be the capital of Alvarez, Vistarion.
They didn't enter the city as Alex could sense many very strong presences there and his paranoia was acting up again. Alex used his mana sight to try to get the layout of the city but it was such a jumbled mess of buildings that he gave up shortly afterwards.
Their exploring led them back to the east coast again and they decided to finish their adventure on the coast. They made their way down the coast, surfing on days when the waves were big enough and wake boarding on calm days. Alex had taught Liam how to drive his boat and they had a blast on the water, even hooking tubes up and giving strangers rides when they were in areas where there were big beaches.
The end of the month was fast approaching and the day of departure was soon here. Alex and Liam said goodbye to the few drinking buddies they had met on the beach and Alex pulled out his jet. This was the first time Liam had actually seen it and he couldn't help but ask "What the heck is this? I thought you said we were going to fly to your home?".
"This is called a Jet. It Flies through the sky like the boat does for water, though this is much, much faster". Alex replied simply. Liam didn't question it too long but still had a very confused look while Alex showed him how to fasten the seatbelts, he was also curious why Alex told him to keep his flight pack on 'just in case'.
"In case of what?" He asked. "In case something stupid happens" Alex shrugged not saying anything else on the topic. Liam rolled his eyes at the lack of information he had come to expect from Alex this past month. Though Alex was very helpful on important stuff, he had a flair for the dramatic that usually went over the young wizards head.
While helping Liam get situated, they had drawn quite the crowd because of the strange look of the F-14. Alex ignored the onlookers and smirked at the thought of them all being blown away when he took off. Using Magic to float off the ground and point in the direction of Ishgar, Alex told Liam to hang on.
Liam only had time to be confused for a few seconds before they took off, he wanted to yell or cry out in surprise but found out he couldn't until they stopped accelerating. Alex laughed at the stunned look on Liam's face when they reached cruising speed/altitude. After a while of flying they entered the Ishgar continent.
Though Alex didn't know exactly what part of Ishgar he still headed south. They stayed on the coast until Alex saw some of the landmarks denoting Fiore. Turning inland, Alex slowed their speed. Fiore wasn't a very big country and he didn't want to miss anything that would let him know if they were traveling in the right direction.
Since he had flown around Fiore many times it didn't take him long to figure out where he was and head towards Magnolia. When the city came into view Alex had a mischievous smirk on his face that slightly unsettled Liam and he subconsciously gripped the handles of his seat more firmly. Alex brought their altitude down to just over the tallest buildings and increased his speed slightly to do a 'flyby' of the guild.
The noise and wind displacement from the plane flying as fast as it was should be enough to shake the windows and confuse everyone in the guild. They whipped past the guild and headed out over Lake Siliora before Alex slowed his speed and turned around. He didn't know if it worked but was still laughing like an idiot at the thought.
Liam just shook his head not really understanding what just happened. When they got near the guild they noticed a big crowd standing out front looking out over the lake, Alex also noticed a couple windows in the guild and nearby buildings being shattered. "Well shit... Guess It was too effective" he muttered under his breath. He knew he would be getting a bill for that, but still thought it was worth it.
Alex brought the plane to a stop right in front of the guild. Hoping out, he greeted the group with a casual wave. "Yo! You guys miss me?" he asked with a cheeky smile.
"You brat! You broke all the windows out of the guild building!" the master was the first to speak.
"Alex!!" Wendy shouted before running up to give him a hug, Carla floating behind her. "Have you gotten taller?" Alex teased as he returned the hug. Wendy just pouted at him before giving him a quite "no".
"How was your trip Alex?" Carla asked after a moment. "It was fun! Very relaxing" he answered casually.
"So where is Liam?" Mira asked as she approached Alex.
"What no, How are you Alex? Just straight to Liam? I see how it is, I've been replaced" Alex said with an overly dramatic tone and exaggerated sigh.
The girls laughed at his act before looking at the small figure climbing down from the plane.
Before Liam could even react he was already being suffocated in Mira's hug. "Such a lucky little punk" Alex muttered quietly before chuckling.
"Wendy, Carla, Mira. This is Liam, I kidnapped him from his family because his hair looked cool. Liam, this is Wendy and Carla" he said pointing at the blue haired girl and white cat.
"And the one currently suffocating you is Mira" he continued.
Everyone had gone completely silent at his words but it was broken shortly with Liam's yell "You did not kidnap me you jerk!!" Realizing Alex was making a Joke, most of the members chuckled before Master Makarov walked over to them.
Alex was about to greet the master when they overheard Liam talking with Mira. "It's nice to meet you too, umm miss Mira, but could you let me go now?" he asked in a quiet voice as Mira was still gushing over him.
"No! You're freaking adorable!" She said. Liam just let out a defeated sigh, he didn't have anywhere near the strength to resist Mira so he could only accept his new lot in life.
Wendy joined them shortly and the three of them started a conversation about the trip he had in Alakitasia with Alex. Alex left them too it and started filling the master in with the details about their trip, though Makarovs focus was on the plane in front of him.
The Idea was fascinating and the speed was unlike anything he had seen before short of teleportation. Alex explained it to him but also told him it wasn't something he was planning to sell, it wasn't even able to be used by people who couldn't levitate it off the ground so you could land and take-off.
Makarov told Alex that he was able to do that and asked if he could get a 'jet-plane' made for himself. Alex just shrugged and said he would do it when he got some free time.
He greeted the other members of the guild before storing the F-14, he turned to Mira and the others before saying he was going to head home and get Liam settled in. He told them they would be back tomorrow for him to join the guild proper and greet everyone officially.
Mira reluctantly let Liam go with a kiss on his cheek, much to his embarrassment. Alex asked where his kiss was and Mira just smiled at him, waving them all off with a kind smile.