A Dino Tamer In Fairy Tail

Kael laid the girl on his newly crafted bed, his jaw tightening as he glanced at the pristine wooden frame. His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath, muttering to himself. "I spent all day building this, and now someone else gets to use it before me again. Didn't even put my own ass on it."

Bobo waddled in, flapping his wings as if to add commentary. Kael shot him a glare. "Don't even start, Bobo. I'm having a moment here."

The dodo squawked indignantly and plopped onto the floor near the bed, curling up. Kael sighed and turned his attention back to the girl.

She was still unconscious, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. The faint moonlight streaming through the gaps in the hut illuminated her face, highlighting the exhaustion etched into her features. Whoever she was, she'd been through hell.

Kael leaned his spear against the wall and crouched beside her, his brow furrowed. "What am I even doing? I don't know her. For all I know, she could be dangerous." He shook his head, running a hand through his messy hair. "But I can't just leave her like this, can I?"

With a resigned sigh, he got to work. He fetched a clean cloth and a small bowl of water, carefully wiping away the sand and grime from her face and hands. Her skin was pale, marked with cuts and bruises, and her clothes were little more than rags.

Kael frowned as he worked. "Escape, huh? From what?"

As he finished cleaning her up, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him of the half-prepped dodo meat waiting by the fire. He stood, stretching his sore back. "Alright, let's get something cooking. If she wakes up and I don't have food, I'll look even more useless than I already do."

Kael set to work cooking over the small fire pit. The smell of roasting dodo meat filled the hut, making his stomach churn with both hunger and impatience. He glanced over at the girl every so often, half-expecting her to wake up and demand answers.

Bobo, ever the opportunist, sat nearby, staring intently at the meat as it cooked.

Kael smirked. "Don't even think about it, buddy. You already ate earlier. This is for her. And me. Mostly me."

The dodo let out a soft chirp and tilted his head, as if offended by the accusation.

Kael chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, right. Like I haven't caught you stealing food before."

When the meat was done, Kael plated it on a flat stone and set it aside to cool. He sat back, resting his head against the wall, his eyes drifting to the girl on the bed.

She stirred slightly, her brow furrowing as if caught in a bad dream. Kael watched her for a moment, his thoughts racing. What could she possibly have gone through to end up like this?

His gaze flicked to his bed again, and he let out a quiet laugh. "You know, this is my bed. My hard work. And now I'm stuck sitting on the floor while some stranger gets the VIP treatment. Life's fair, huh?"

Bobo let out a low chirp, waddling over to nudge Kael's arm.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kael muttered, scratching the dodo's head. "Quit acting like you're the wise old mentor here."

---

The first rays of dawn were starting to creep through the cracks in the hut when the girl finally stirred. Kael was crouched by the fire, poking at the dying embers, when he heard her let out a soft groan.

He turned to see her eyes flutter open, her gaze darting around the room before landing on him.

She shot up into a sitting position, her body tense and her eyes cold and wary. "Who are you? Where am I?" she looked around for her sword but she couldn't find it.

Kael raised his hands in a calming gesture, trying not to spook her. "Hey, relax. You're safe. I found you on the beach last night. You were unconscious, so I brought you here. Oh, and I put your sword over there." He pointed to a small wooden table he had made.

Her eyes narrowed, scanning him for any sign of deceit. "And I'm supposed to believe you did that out of the kindness of your heart?"

Kael shrugged. "I mean, I didn't exactly have much of a choice. It's not like I could just leave you there. Besides, you don't look like much of a threat right now."

Her glare intensified, and Kael immediately regretted his choice of words.

"Okay, bad joke," he said quickly, holding up a piece of dodo meat. "Look, I even made you dinner. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have bothered cooking."

She eyed the food suspiciously, then glanced at Bobo, who was perched nearby and watching her intently.

"...Is that a dodo?" she asked, her tone flat. She saw dodo farms before, but this one was really big compared to the others.

"Yeah," Kael said, grinning. "That's Bobo. He's kind of a pain, but he grows on you."

Bobo squawked indignantly, flapping his wings.

The faintest hint of a smirk tugged at her lips before she quickly masked it with her usual cold expression. "I see."

Erza couldn't help but think about everything that happened before she got here. Her presence here meant that she had truly escaped this cursed tower but at what cost? Her friends, including Jellal, the one she trusted the most, she left everyone behind.

...

The atmosphere was rather heavy, Kael could see that something serious had happened before she arrived here. But he was nobody so he had no right to ask her questions about it. Wanting to relieve the tension, he took the initiative to speak.

He handed her the food and sat back, giving her some space. "So... what's your name?"

She hesitated for a moment before answering. "Erza."

"Erza," Kael repeated, nodding. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kael."

She didn't respond, instead focusing on the food in her hands. Kael watched her carefully, noticing the way she ate quickly but methodically, like someone who wasn't sure when their next meal would come.

'She must have been malnourished before to eat like that.'

After a moment of silence, she glanced at him, her eyes sharp. "Why are you helping me?"

Kael leaned back, rubbing the back of his neck. "Honestly? I don't know. Guess I'm just not the kind of guy who can turn a blind eye when someone's in trouble."

Erza studied him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "You shouldn't trust people so easily," she said finally, her tone almost bitter.

Kael chuckled softly, though there was little humor in it. "Yeah, well... you shouldn't assume everyone's out to get you either."

Erza's gaze hardened, but she didn't say anything.

Bobo chose that moment to waddle over and nudge Kael's arm, squawking softly. Kael sighed, shaking his head. "What, Bobo? You want her to pet you now or something?"

The dodo squawked again, tilting his head at Erza.

Kael smirked. "Guess he's decided he likes you."

Erza blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone. For a brief moment, the tension in the room seemed to ease, though her guard remained firmly in place.

Kael stretched, standing up and gesturing toward the door. "Anyway, you're welcome to stay here until you figure out what to do next. Just... don't steal my bed again, alright? I worked hard on that thing."

Erza raised an eyebrow but said nothing, her lips twitching ever so slightly in what might have been the faintest hint of amusement.

Kael grinned, grabbing his spear and heading for the door. "Come on, Bobo. Let's give her some space."

As he stepped outside, the sound of Bobo's squawking and Erza's faintly exasperated sigh followed him, and for the first time in a long while, Kael felt like things might not be so bad after all.

But something had finally caught his attention.

Kael paused just outside the hut, gripping his spear tightly as his mind replayed the girl's name. Erza... red hair... a hidden eye... His thoughts churned, a sudden realization dawning on him.

He turned back toward the door, muttering under his breath, "Wait a second... Erza? Red hair? The eyepatch? That's way too specific..."

A nervous laugh escaped him as he paced in the sand outside. "No, no, no. There's no way. But what if... what if this is actually the Erza from Fairy Tail ? Did I somehow end up in her world?" He stopped mid-step, his grip tightening on the spear. "But then again, how would that even make sense? And of all the abilities I could have gotten in this world, dinosaurs ? Really? Not magic? Not dragons?"

Bobo squawked, snapping him out of his spiral. The dodo stared up at him with its usual blank expression, as if silently judging him.

Kael glared down at the bird. "Don't look at me like that, Bobo. This is your fault somehow. I don't know how, but it is."

The dodo tilted its head, chirping innocently.

Kael let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, let's think logically. If this is the Fairy Tail world, that explains why she's here. But how did I get here? And why is Erza from the Tower of Heaven phase showing up on my beach? Shouldn't I be worried about demons or guilds instead?"

Given her condition and age, she probably just left the tower and therefore hasn't joined Fairy Tail yet.

He crouched in the sand, staring out at the horizon. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he shook his head. "Of course, I end up in some dangerous anime world, and my only advantage is taming prehistoric chickens and maybe a T-Rex if I get lucky. Fantastic. Totally what I'd want to survive here."

He glanced back at the hut, his expression softening. "But... Erza. If it really is her, then this isn't just some random world. It's Fairy Tail. I might've landed in a mess, but at least it's a familiar mess. And who knows? Maybe a dino system is exactly what I need to survive this crazy world."

Kael stood, determination hardening his features. "Alright, first thing's first: make sure she's okay. Second: figure out what the hell's going on. Third... maybe tame an another dodo or something better. Because there's no way I'm making it in this world without backup."

Bobo chirped, hopping around him.

Kael rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're technically backup. But you're not exactly intimidating, buddy."

The dodo squawked indignantly and waddled back toward the hut.

He stopped at the doorway, glancing back at the rising sun. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, I guess."