Small but Mighty
Written by Mugen7
"And though she be but little, she is fierce." – William Shakespeare.
Wendy Marvell... The kid intrigued him.
She was, quite literally, a breath of fresh air; the makeup of her scent composed of a seasonal freshness that denoted a flowery repose. But that detail seemed to be mostly filtered out, overshadowed by the core element that was found in her aura.
Since the day Wendy joined the guild with her haughty white cat, Gajeel kept a close watchful eye on her.
She was shy, quiet, sensitive, and scatterbrained whenever a nervous wreck. But she was cheery and urbane, always giving people an honorific (as is customary of those from the far east to do) and with that winsome charm of hers it was no wonder the Fairies were so drawn to Wendy from the get-go. And as timorous as she was, Wendy was the eager sort; once she broke past the awkward phase the blue-haired lass was very communicative, avid to chatter and make friends, and play nice with her new social group and anyone else who exhibited a friendly vibe; a surplus of motivation to further her relations with those she liked.
'She's a natural fit.'
Expansive and direct with her expressions, conjoined with a zestfulness that could be found in any breezy youth. Except Wendy's was magnified greatly when she was galvanized by a spirited environment; any and all trace of her being a mousy child was thrown to the four winds once she was in an ideal habitat.
... She was also a bit clumsy.
'Watch yerself kid.' Gajeel watched from his place up high as the young girl tripped over her feet because her nose was stuck in a book.
The minor and fleeting sheepishness that followed made him smile. Wendy quickly picked herself up and headed over to a vacant table as her feline partner scolded her for not paying attention, yet the girl cared little about her accident; she just smiled and continued to read her book.
'A real bookworm, ain'tcha?' He mused, seeing the similarities between the child and her fellow blue-haired guild-mate.
Scrupulous; she studied the passages of her large book with the same kind of keen focus and engrossment the Solid Script specialist had whenever she herself perused through a book, drinking in the knowledge and archiving it in that noggin of hers. Howbeit, Wendy was more forthcoming about sharing anything she learned with those around her, whereas Levy, from what Gajeel noticed, didn't share much of the girl's candidness.
'Well, she's got Bunny Girl and Thunder-breath's fanboy to swap notes with at least.'
Young, and intelligent. A quick learner, of that Gajeel had no doubt; another bluestocking for the roster.
'Kid's gotta bright head on her shoulders.' He had observed Wendy long enough to know for certain that she wasn't like Salamander or himself, or the blond spark plug for that matter. Whether it be an actual fight or just the common guild skirmish, Wendy... did not like to fight. The girl would rather put her academic skills to test and improve her mental acumen and ability as a healer than put up her dukes and go a few rounds.
The truth itself was... odd. A Dragonslayer who didn't enjoy a good fight. The concept alone was enough to confound Gajeel and yet – with that pure and gentle heart of hers – it made sense.
'Guess that's what makes 'er... her.'
He likened Wendy to an arbiter, using her agile mind and nimble hands to diffuse any mounting conflict than to see it escalate into something irredeemable.
'With their luck she'll be the next disciplinarian.' Gajeel thought, giving a quick survey of everyone present in the guild before coming back to Wendy. The girl may not be as in-your-face as Titania, but, she could be frightening nonetheless he reckoned.
'The quiet ones can be dangerous.' And it was with that particular quality that had redirected Gajeel's attention to something else pertaining to the girl. Subtle as it appeared to be he knew it was there; a more radical side to Wendy's, dualistic nature.
On the surface was the humbly spoken and ebullient young girl; selfless, willing bring aid to those in need of a pair of healing hands, and calm and affectionate, like a gentle breeze in the springtime.
Beneath the lightness and youthfulness of the girl's spirit, however, lied a tempestuous force of nature. Wild and emotionally stirring. An intense and cataclysmic storm patiently waiting for the calm to pass and relinquish its secure hold on the girl, letting her inherent powers run free. To undergo the mercurial shift.
It was precisely the existence of this dormant storm that evoked Gajeel's draconic instincts, what enkindled his own magic through a resonance, and roused his primordial half upon sensing the primal entity that lurked deep within the child.
Her very own mass of destruction.
'How...?' Gajeel had wondered on numerous occasion. Just how it was exactly for one so small to be so... mighty?
'None of 'em know just how strong the kid really is.' And he wouldn't put past Wendy herself to be completely oblivious to the more intrinsic part of her being; pacifism and ephemeral insecurities clouding her eyes to the truth of her own latent potential, of the beast sat behind the beauty.
'Ignorance is bliss I suppose.'
... Air. An important facet to the girl's power. Wendy didn't entirely breathe the same air as himself and everyone else, nor was it the type of air she wholly used in her Dragon Slayer arts. The other was an awesome, higher air; supreme and otherworldly.
'Just like Hers, right...?' Gajeel recalled a time where his father mentioned a sky dragon in passing once. Motherly, polite, and nurturing, yet strict when she needed to be; the latter characteristic augmented by the magical beast's air of authority. And classic to those of her race, the dragon possessed an intimidating presence that Metalicana said could even put the likes of the Old (and those of the Ancients that lived long enough) on edge.
A sky dragon so distinguished and powerful and free, with a transcendental might and dominance over the wild blue yonder itself. A dragon who could not only control the wind and manipulate the air... but also "quintessence", an superlunary element that circled the blue-haired sorceress naturally, much like it did whenever Lucy summoned her spirits.
The extent of Wendy's power however was just a sliver of that dragon's (her mother's) true elemental might. Once the girl managed to unlock the full force of her Dragon Slayer Magic though, her power would be boundless and overwhelming. Undetected. Gajeel could only imagine it; even in her present state Wendy's power already seemed to reflect as such; she had the limitless resource of "lesser air" at her disposal, ready to be used however and whenever.
'This kid,' he grinned and attempted to stave off the strong urge to laugh out loud. The realization was so absurd it was riotous! Compared to the likes of himself, Salamander, Laxus, the Daemon, Scarlet, of everyone...!
Wendy Marvell was something else entirely.
'She's real special.' Wendy was worth so much, was so much stronger than what she herself and the others realized.
... If only she was willing to discover what she was truly capable of. If the girl were willing to become unbound – to awaken – then her power would become a facsimile of her mother's.
'Guess time will tell.' It'd be interesting to see by how much she would grow as a Dragonslayer, what she'd become like in the future.
'Suppose I should go an' say hi.' Gajeel moved himself out into the open, figuring it was high time he made himself known to the kid.
He may act cold and distant, but that didn't mean he couldn't mingle with the newbie now could it?
They were kin after all.
Fin.