Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rating: T

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Next-Generation

Protagonists: Lucy's son, Natsu's daughter

Description: 17 Years have passed and everyone's gone their separate ways. Lucy's son seeks to join Fairy Tail, hoping to find the answers he needs.

Full Description: Seventeen years have passed for the Kingdom of Fiore. Everyone has gone their separate ways. For Lucy's son, he's grown up on stories of a certain guild in Magnolia. Hoping to find the answers he's been looking for, he goes off in search of this guild, only to find the nakama he never knew he had.

XXXXXXXXXX

My name is Claire. Claire Laytis. I best start from the beginning. All my life, my mother has spoken of a wizards' guild in the city of Magnolia. A guild she herself joined after abandoning her family fortune. Through all the trials and hardships, every member of that guild treated her like true nakama. It was the first and so far only place she's ever felt like she truly belonged. If her stories are to be believed, it's a guild where legends were born, and will continue to be born well into the future. It's a guild I myself have traveled in search of, seeking my own answers. A guild called... Fairy Tail.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fairy Tail: Legends

By Cyberweasel89

Prologue: Sunny and Claire

XXXXXXXXXX

For the bustling town of Elbaf, the coldness of winter was only a deterrent to daily life. For those who took the time to notice it, snow blanketed the ground, ponds had frozen over, and the brilliant frost sparkled in the sunlight.

At that time, a young pilgrim made his journey through the wintery woods outside this town. Spiky blonde hair and brown eyes, his black suit surprisingly clean despite his travels. Not a thing on his person aside from his clothes, not even a bag or pack. With the activities of the Powder Gangers in this area, one can never be too careful. Carrying luggage would make him an easy target for a mugging. No trouble yet, at least. This dashing young man was determined to reach his destination safely.

He paused, though, when he saw steam rising in the next clearing. Steam? In a forest in winter? Curious. So curious, in fact, that his own overpowered his caution. He approached the edge of the clearing, ducking down behind a fence of thick shrubs. His curiosity rewarded him with a sight that would warm any man in the dead of winter.

A beautiful young woman about his age, lounging on a rock with her feet in a steaming pond. With a slender body, pale peach skin, shapely hips, and voluminous breasts, her body was a sight to behold. Her impossibly long, midnight black hair lie splayed out behind her, a brilliant ebony fan. And, most titillating, she was clad only in matching bra and panties. The young man stared in admiration for several long moments until he was brought back to Earth Land with little warning.

"I know you're there, tiger. I'm not shy, and neither should you be. C'mon out so we can chat."

To say he was surprised would be accurate. He certainly didn't think she could detect his presence when he was hidden and her eyes were closed. Still, not one to disobey a sensual female voice when he hears one, he stepped into the clearing, but made sure to give the young woman plenty of space.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't peeping or anything." He explained with a confident smile.

"It's okay, tiger. You're young. We both are. It's hard to resist staring for a boy your age. Besides, I'm not ashamed of my body. Feel free to look all you like."

He chuckled. She seemed so laid-back, it was almost disarming. "Very nice. I'm actually worried where my eyes might wander."

The mysterious beauty giggled, leaning her head back to look at him upside-down. She had tranquil dark blue eyes. "You don't look all that worried."

He countered with a playful smile of his own. "I just have an excellent poker face. But more importantly, what can Claire Laytis do for you on this fine morning?"

"Claire, huh? Have any clothes, Claire?"

He was not expecting that question. Still, he maintained his composure. "Now that you mention it, yours seem nowhere to be found. What happened to them?"

The young woman just gave a mysterious smile. "It's a long story, tiger. I just need a shirt if you can spare one."

"Of course. I'm not one to pry into the lives of strangers. It would be my honor as a gentleman to assist a beautiful damsel in distress. Requip!" In a flash of light, a white button shirt was in his hand. He tossed it to her. "I'm sure you must be cold. I can offer more, if you'd like."

She caught it, turning around to face him finally. "Ah, a wizard. Nice. But nope. I'm not cold at all." She replied matter-of-factly. "Just can't head back into town half-naked, is all."

Claire smiled, admiring the woman's body one last time while she slipped his shirt on. "Nice to see you have common sense. It seems lacking in most people these days."

Once she had finished buttoning the shirt, albeit only the bottom few buttons, she pulled her legs into a pretzel sitting position and flashed her savior a mysterious smile. "Thanks, tiger. I owe you one."

"Hm." He teased, a mischievous smile on his face. "Nice way to thank someone who just saved you from public exposure."

The girl just smirked, reaching up to cup her sizeable bosom and give it a squeeze. "Then… shall I let you touch my boobs?"

His flailing and shocked response, akin to recoiling from a sudden fright, elicited some elegant laughter from the girl. "Relax. I was joking. But I do know a way to properly thank you."

Claire looked on with cautious intrigue as the beautiful stranger reached through the opened front of her shirt, formerly his shirt, and seemed to be fidgeting behind her back. His raised eyebrow soon became wide-eyed shock when she pulled her now unhooked bra out from the front of her shirt. Then, to further his shock, she stretched out on her rock and slid her panties down her lengthy legs. She promptly tossed the undergarments to her savior, who snatched them from the air without thinking.

"Something to remember me by." She explained with a wink. "Behave, tiger."

The mysterious beauty stood up, and Claire not-so-subtly gaped at the view of her sizeable bosom and alluring cleavage, unhindered by her bra and put on display through the unbuttoned top half of the shirt. Then, he followed her swaying hips as she walked away, staring in awe at the lowest curve of her round rear peeking out from under the bottom of the shirt. When she was out of sight, he stared down at the lacey lavender bra and panties in his hand. Chuckling to himself, he pocketed the lingerie with Requip and set off on his way. "Looks like kindness pays off." he joked to himself.

XXXXXXXXXX

The young traveler finally arrived in town, where he made his way to the train station. He first approached the conductor, an old man who seemed to be checking his pocket watch with unusual frequency.

"Have a minute, old timer?" he greeted as he approached. The old man pocketed his watch and turned to face the approaching young man. "When's the next train to Magnolia?" he asked.

The elderly conductor furrowed his bushy gray eyebrows. "Not until tomorrow, I'm afraid. We were on our way there not half an hour ago, but we sustained some damages from a Powder Ganger attack and had to stop here in Elbaf for repairs. Check back around noon tomorrow. We should be ready by them."

"Damn. Well, thanks for the info. I guess I can do some sightseeing and rent a room for the night."

The young man turned around to leave, but caught his foot on something and nearly lost his balance. When he had corrected his stance, he looked down to see a person lying there just in front of the passenger coach's door.
"Uh… Hey, old timer." He called behind him, squatting down to examine the seemingly unconscious person. "Is this guy alright?" he rolled the person over, and found it was a girl his age with pink hair tied into a high ponytail. Compared to his formal suit, tie, and dress shoes, she was dressed much more casually. Blue denim overalls, a yellow T-shirt, dirty sneakers, and an odd white scarf that looked like scales.

"Oh, that poor girl hasn't been feeling well the entire trip." the conductor explained, clearly concerned. "Seems she came down with a bad case of motion sickness."

Claire looked down at her again, gently nudging her shoulder. "Hey. You okay?"

The girl moaned, but froze to sniff the air. Her eyes shot open, and she sat up. "I smell... rubber."

Claire scratched his head in response. "Rubber? You can smell it?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah... It's..." Her eyes shot to the blonde young man's pants pocket, giving him only a moment's notice before she tackled him to the ground. Before he knew it, she was on top of him, rummaging through his pocket. She promptly procured three little plastic-wrapped packets, red, blue, and yellow, with the logo 'Jimmy Hats' on the wrapper. "What are these?" she innocently asked.

"Uhhh... That's um... Bubblegum." He mumbled, trying to hide the unease in his voice.

The girl's face lit up. "Sweet! My favorite! Can I have 'em? Pretty please?"

Claire just sighed in exasperation. If she got off of him, she could have 'em. "Sure."

"Sweet! Thanks, dude!" She promptly tore open the blue packet and stuffed the blue rubber ring in her mouth. "Huh. Interesting texture. It's like... ribbed, or something. But I like the rubber flavor. That's hard to find. Most gum has some sweet flavor or other."

"Glad you like it. Now... could you please get off me?"

"Oh, sorry, bro." She quickly stood up, offering Claire a hand, which he accepted and allowed the girl to pull him to his feet. Soon as he was standing, her stomach growled. The girl blushed, rubbing the back of her head. He had to admit, she was cute.

"Hungry? C'mon. I'll treat you to a meal, on me."

The girl's eyes sparkled, gazing up at the taller boy with gratitude. "You'd do that? For me?"

"Of course. I can't leave a pretty young lady starving, now can I? Let me just check for a restaurant nearby." Claire held up his arm, where two circles, one with buttons and one with a data readout, were projected above his wrist. He set to work typing on them with his other hand.

"Oh, you have Archive?" the girl asked, gazing at his wrist with interest.

"Yeah. I know I don't look it, but I'm a wizard. And it looks like we're in luck. There's a restaurant just down the street from this station." He explained, flashing her a charming smile.

"Sweet! Let's go!"

He blushed and looked away when he saw his new friend blow a distinctly phallic-shaped bubble. Sighing, he took off down the street, the girl following him.

XXXXXXXXXX

The restaurant was a casual affair, which fit his new friend's overalls and sneakers just fine. She ordered a mammoth burger, jumbo chili hotdog, slice of deluxe pizza, spicy taco with the works, and a large cola. Claire just ordered a salad and tea.

"Really? Just a salad? Aren't you hungry?"

Claire just chuckled, smiling at his spunky new friend. "I am. But I don't eat as much as you, it seems."

"Yeah, but why a salad? That's just green leaves!" she stated incredulously.

"I'm a vegetarian." He explained with a smile.

"Vege-what?"

He could only chuckle at her innocence. "Means I don't eat meat."

"Then what do you eat?"

"Fruits, vegetables, breads. Milk and egg products are okay, too."

"Why the hell would you wanna live like that?"

He chuckled again. "It's a long story. Let's just say, I care about my friends, and wouldn't want to see them eaten."

She dropped the subject there. Mostly because their food arrive. Claire politely ate his salad, but his new friend seemed intent on attacking, no, destroying her food. He just chuckled, finding her enthusiasm quite endearing. "So, what brings you to Elbaf?"

The girl at least had the etiquette to swallow her mouthful before responding. "I'm here to meet a friend of mine. She's a pen pal. Said she'd meet me in Elbaf."

"Hey, that's interesting. I'm here to meet a pen pal too. First time meeting him. We decided to meet up here in Elbaf."

"Huh. Cool. How about we hang out together until we find 'em?"

Claire smiled charmingly in response. "Sounds like a good plan. Let me christen this new partnership by paying for lunch."

The girl paused, her eyes tearing up. "You... You don't have to do that for me."

"I know. But I insist. Just let me grab my wallet. Requip!"

Claire held up his hand to summon his wallet, but instead found a set of lacey lavender bra and panties in his hand. He stared at the undergarments with unease, turning to see his new friend staring in shock. Her face quickly changed to disgust. "PERVERT!"

"No, wait! I can explain!"

"Pervert! Lecher! Sicko! Get away from me!"

Claire shot to his feet, only to get slugged square in the face by his companion, sending him tumbling to the ground. When he pulled himself up, she was running out the door. "Help! Help! Pervert!"

Sighing, Claire Requipped the lingerie for his wallet and paid for the meal. He walked out rubbing his jaw. He had to admit, she had a strong left hook for someone three quarters his height.

XXXXXXXXXX

About an hour had passed, and the young wizard found himself on a bench by a magazine stand, gazing with delight at the latest issue of the Weekly Sorcerer. This week had a full photospread of Wendy Marvell, Fairy Tail's it girl. He had to admit, the bikini photoshoot was quite enthralling, even if she was nearing the big three-oh.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

Two women were approaching. They were about his age.

"Where are we going?"

"There's Powder Gangers at the entrance to the forest! They're meeting with the mayor! We gotta go see!"

They ran right past him.

"Why?"

"Because nothing interesting ever happens in this city!"

"Excuse me?" The girls stopped to turn and look at Claire. "What will you do if the Powder Gangers want trouble?"

"Well, despite being such a large city, we don't have a militia."

"Any wizards?"

"No. We don't even have a magic shop. We get by only on travelers stopping by, since we're in the middle of a crossroads between so many different towns."

"Amy, he's cute!"

"Shhh! Don't let him know we think that, Jo!"

"Thanks, ladies."

The girls watched as he walked past them. "Um... where are you going?" one of them asked.

"To stop the Powder Gangers, hopefully."

The girl set to whispering and giggling to each other. They followed after him, giggling and chittering all the while.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What do you want with our town?"

An old woman at the front of the crowd of townspeople addressed the Powder Gangers. Cane in hand, short and wrinkled, the mayor did little to intimidate the gang of convicts.

A Powder Ganger stepped forward. Evidently, he was the leader, at least of this group. He was the only one wearing an armored vest over his Central Fiore Correctional Facility uniform of a light blue button shirt, dark blue jacket, gray slacks, and brown boots. Everyone in the gang wore some variation of the uniform of the prison they overthrew, be it the light blue shirt and slacks, the dark blue jacket and slacks, just the slacks, or all three. The jackets, shirts, and even the leader's armored vest all read 'CFCF' on the back. Most had personalized what they wore, such as rolled-up sleeves, shirt or jacket buttoned, open, or partly buttoned, or even parts of their uniform torn off, like the sleeves and pant legs. But all of them had belts with small bags hanging from them, be they at the waist, across the chest and shoulder, or around the biceps. The only one without bags was the leader with the armored vest. He didn't need any. He had tricks of his own.

"We just noticed that your town here has been sitting untouched, so close to our territory, for a long time. We just thought we'd do some expansion." He explained, smirking at the mayor.

"What are your demands, then?"

"To ask for exactly what we want, which is everything, would effectively wipe this town off the map. The boss may want that, but I don't. So I'm willing to cut you a deal. You'll pay us for protection. At the first of every month, you'll supply us with a cut of your best food, booze, and a few of your young ladies for us to rent. In exchange, we'll leave you alone to live your own lives."

The mayor gazed downward, a thoughtful look on her face. "

"Mayor! You can't actually be considering their offer, can you?"

"Well, what do you expect? We don't have any way of fighting back! It's either give in or lose everything we have!"

"How about I give you a third option?"

Clair stepped forward, putting his hand on the mayor's shoulder. She looked up at him, only to see him flash her a smile. He continued walking forward until he stood between the townsfolk and the Powder Gangers, his hands in his pockets.

"My name is Claire Laytis!" he announced to the Powder Gangers. "Leave peacefully right now, or I'll be forced to defend this town on behalf of the innocent people who live here!"

"What do you want, kid?"

"What, does he expect to take us on himself?"

"Let's get 'im! We need to make an example of anyone who stands against us!"

The leader of the group regarded the young man with scrutinizing eyes, studying him. "Hold on, boys. This guy's a wizard." Evidently, he was made leader of the squad for good reason.

"I don't care if he's a wizard. We're Powder Gangers! He's just a kid! He can't beat us!"

Each of the Powder Gangers pulled out one of their bags, tossing them up and down threateningly. "Wait, guys! Don't!"

As if that was their cue, they all charged forward. Claire only smirked. "Big mistake. Requip!"

Holding up his hand behind his back, he summoned a golden key, then held it up to the sky. "I call upon the gate of the minotaur! I summon thee, Taurus!"

XXXXXXXXXX

The pink-haired, ponytailed girl in the overalls was walking down the street of Elbaf, in deep thought.

"Maybe I reacted too strongly, too quickly. It was just a bra and panties. I mean, I didn't even stop to hear his explanation. I just jumped to conclusions." She mused to herself, ending with a sad sigh.

"Hey, c'mon, we gotta go see!"

"See what?"

"There's a wizard named Claire Laytis fighting off some Powder Gangers by the entrance to the forest! We gotta go see!"

"Why?"

"Because nothing exciting ever happens in this town! This is our chance to see a real fight!"

The pink-haired girl turned to watch the two teenaged girls run by saying this. "Claire Laytis?" she gasped.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Powder Gangers stopped dead in their tracks, staring down the muscular form of a holstein minotaur with a giant battle axe. "Moooooo!" he roared.

"Hey, Taurus. Long time no see." Claire greeted with a wave.

"Moooo! Do you have it, Sir?"

"Not sir. It's Claire. Claire Laytis. And yeah, I'll give them to you before you go. For now, mind doing me a favor and whupping these guys, please?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Let's just say I have a bonus in store. There's something in the latest issue of the Weekly Sorcerer that is relevant to your interests."

"Moooo! I'll be done with these non-women soon, then!"

"Thanks Taurus. I owe you one."

The Powder Gangers had been staring with awe at the spirit-wizard exchange before them, but the moment the Celestial Spirit turned around and charged at them with his battle axe, they snapped into action. Claire turned to see the leader with the armored vest step toward him, ignoring the fight between Taurus and his men.

"You're different from these grunts. You're smarter. More perceptive. And unlike them, you're a wizard."

"Pretty good, kid. Luckily I'm smart enough to know that with your spirit busy, you're defenseless."

Claire just smirked. "You're smart. But not smart enough. Requip!"

With a shimmer of light, two ornate pistols appeared in the young wizard's hands. He aimed them forward at the Powder Ganger. "Guns Magic!" He fired, but found the bullets skewered on the Powder Ganger's index fingers, which had become long and pointed like spikes.

"Spike Magic!" His index fingers returned to normal, depositing the punctured bullets on the ground. "Now you'll see why they call me Spike!"

All five fingers grew into spikes, and he charged forward, thrusting his hand with a cry of "Spike Jab!"

Claire jerked to the right to avoid the blow, but saw Spike's other hand upon him. He ducked down, rolled to the side, and pointed his guns when he came to a stop. "High Explosive Shot!" He fired, and when the Powder Ganger tried to pierce the bullets, he was met with an explosive blast. He waved the smoke away, looking dirtied and slightly burnt, gazing to and fro wildly to find where the young wizard was. "Anti-Personnel Shot!"

The Powder Ganger looked up to see Claire in the air. He rolled to the side to avoid the gunfire, bending over in the direction of where the young wizard would land, as if to charge with a headbutt. "Sea Urchin Spikes!" His hair turned into a series of spikes atop his head, and he charged forward. Claire had just landed on his feet, but fell to one knee, gasping for air.

'Damn... my breathing...' he thought to himself. He tried to block the spiked headbutt with his forearm, but all it did was transfer the otherwise fatal blow of spikes to his face or chest to a now bloody arm. Spike jumped back to avoid a possible counter attack, but Claire had fallen onto his back, his arm bloodied and his breathing quick and shallow.

"Heh heh! You're not so tough. Guess it's just a matter of finishing you off." The Powder Ganger clenched his hand into a fist, sprouting spikes all over it. "Spiked Hook!" He stepped forward, but stepped back again when someone jumped in between the two combatants. "What do you want, kid? This is no place for little girls."

The pink-haired girl smirked. "You'll change your tune soon." She pulled her arm back, and Spike was shocked to see it stretch back a great distance like elastic. The crowd scattered to allow her arm to stretch past where they stood. "Rubber Dragon's..." Her arm snapped back, sending her fist flying forward. "Pistol!" Her fist nailed him square in the face, sending him tumbling backward. When he pulled himself up, he was knocked down again by a stretching downward heel kick. "Rubber Dragon's Axe!"

He pulled himself up one more, only to instead be met with a downward hammer fist blow. "Rubber Dragon's Hammer!"

Spitting out a mouthful of dirt and blood, Spike jumped to his feet, wiping the red fluid from his mouth. "So you're a wizard too, huh? And a Dragon Slayer at that. Who the hell are you?"

"None of your business! You'll be beaten to a pulp in a second!" the girl responded with indignation.

"Cute. But it seems you're a barehanded fighter. And that's where I have the advantage. Porcupine Spikes!"

Spikes sprouted all over his body, in all directions, and he threw his head up with a mad laughter. "See this? You can't touch me now! All you can do is-"

He was cut off as he was punched right in the spiky face. The girl pulled back a bloody fist, while Spike scrambled to his feet in alarm. "What the... But... You...!"

"I don't care even if you've got the most invincible armor in the world. I'll still beat you to a bloody pulp." The girl cracked her knuckles threatening. "Rubber Dragon's... Gatling!"

Claire stared in shock as a flurry of punches were thrown at the spike-covered Powder Ganger. All he could do was attempt to thrust a spiked finger forward before she began, but she merely ducked under it, the finger merely cutting the ribbon from her ponytail. At such rapid succession, it was almost as if she had many arms flying at him at once, like the barrels of a gatling gun. When she pulled her fists away, they were completely soaked in blood, but Spike fell to the ground, his eyes blank as he lost consciousness. Though the pink-haired girl stood proud for a few epic moments, her now freed hair blowing in the breeze, her face eventually screwed up in pain, and she fell to her knees, holding her bloodied hands up to her face to blow on them, as if that would ease the pain. Claire got up and ran to her, Requipping a first aid kit.

"That was... wow. I didn't know you were a wizard. Thanks for saving my ass." Claire said as he slathered a disinfectant onto her hands and began wrapping them in bandages.

The girl chuckled, despite the pain she was in. "I didn't do it for you. I came to save my best friend Claire."

The young wizard paused. "But... I'm Claire."

"No you're not. You're a guy. Claire is my pen pal that I came here to take to Fairy Tail."

Claire stared in shock. "Wait... you're Sonny?"

"Of course I'm Sunny. How'd you know?" she asked, a rather adorable clueless expression on her face.

Claire just sighed. "I'm Claire. Your pen pal. You're Sunny. My pen pal. We assumed the other was the opposite gender, possibly because of our names and what we wrote about."

The girl tilted her head to the side. "Um... Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now, I think it's about time I explain what happened in the restaurant."

Sunny just sighed, giving the young man a smile. "Don't worry about it. I overreacted."

"No, you were right to react the way you did. Some girl in the forest gave me those when I lent her some clothes to wear back to town. I should've gotten rid of them, but I Requipped them without even thinking..."

Sunny's face went blank, as if thinking. "Wait... did she have incredibly long black hair and dark blue eyes?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Dammit! I am gonna kill her when we get back!" the girl screamed.

"Get back? Get back where? We?" Claire sputtered in shock.

Sunny turned to him, smiling warmly. "I'm takin' ya to Fairy Tail. It's what we planned, right Claire?"

Sunny just stared in shock... he had to admit, when she smiled so warmly at him, he could see why they named her Sunny. And with her hair down, she actually was kinda... He shook the thoughts away. Misunderstood gender or not, she was still his best friend.

"Of course. Thanks, Sunny."

"Hey, it's the least I can do for my best bud." She assured him.

"Mooooo! I'm done, Claire!" Claire spun around to see Taurus standing in front of a pile of thoroughly beaten Powder Gangers. "Where is my treat, Sir?"

"Not sir, Claire, Taurus. And here ya go." Claire held out his hands and Requipped two magazines. One was the latest issue of the Weekly Sorcerer he had been looking at earlier. The other was what seemed to be an adult entertainment magazine about breasts, titled "MILK". Taurus hurriedly took them from his Celestial Wizard's hands, snorting excitedly as he gazed at the covers of both. His face turned serious, though, and he looked at Claire expectantly once more. "Oh. Sorry, Taurus. Forgot." He Requipped something else, tossing a bottle of chocolate milk to the minotaur.

"Mooooooo! Thank you, Claire!"

"Anytime, Taurus."

The Celestial Spirit vanished back to the Celestial Spirit Realm, and Claire sat down on the ground, sighing tiredly. Sunny walked up to him, leaning forward curiously with her hands behind her back. "What was that about? Was that a porn magazine?"

Claire chuckled uneasily. "Yeah... uh... My Celestial Spirits are nakama. Not tools or pets. I like to thank them for helping me whenever I can. For Taurus, I supply him with adult magazines and chocolate milk. As long as he's happy and knows I appreciate him, I don't feel bad about calling him for help. Heh."

Sunny smiled mischievously at him. "Oh? And are you suuuure you don't enjoy some of those magazines yourseeeelf? Hm?"

The young wizard covered his eyes, falling onto his back and writhing about. "No, no, no! I'm not some perv! And don't you even dare ask me what I do for Virgo as thanks!"

Sunny just laughed. "Wow. Celestial Spirits, Archive, Requip, and Guns Magic? You sure can do a lot. Not to mention the first aid training. How'd you get so good at so many things?"

Claire stood up, lowering his gaze to the ground sadly. "It's... We should probably get a room at the inn for the night. That train will be leaving for Magnolia tomorrow at noon."

The girl's stomach growled. Claire just chuckled and gave his friend a warm smile. "But we should probably go get some dinner first."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Uhhh... Sunny? Are you okay?"

The train was chugging along, the woodland scenery passing by the window. But Claire found his best friend Sunny was... acting strangely. She kept groaning, clutching her stomach, and making gagging noises. "Ugggghhhh... I-It's just... m-motion sickness... I got it from my damn father..." she moaned.

"Hmmm... Try this. Switch seats with me."

Sunny did as told, switching seats with Claire so she was now sitting by the window.

"Gaze out the window for a while. Focus on the horizon in the distance. See how far the scenery stretches ahead of you? It's a big, open space. Full of wonder, full of mystery. The gentle breeze, the sounds of the birds chirping, the babble of a slow brook. Quiet, calm, and peaceful. Now... how do you feel?"

The girl sighed. "A... A little... better... but... kinda sleepy..."

"That's good. Go ahead and take a nap if you can."

The girl did, closing her eyes and slumping back against the seat. Claire went to browsing the news using Archive on his wrist, but jolted when his friend slumped up against his shoulder, sleeping peacefully. A deep blush spread across the young wizard's face, and he could only look the other direction and pray the ride didn't last too long... because he surely wouldn't.