Fairy Tail

Chapter 1

Tegan Veil

The feeling of darkness surrounded her, the water flowing seamlessly with the waves of the sea. Compared to the size of the waves, she was a tiny thing, her choppy hair floating around her.

Before all of this, she'd been running for her life. A group of men had been chasing her, chasing her right to the edge of a cliff. They'd been shouting about the child of prophecy, a child of their god, given the color of her hair. Personally, she'd never seen another with her hair color, the top a pale white like the moon, and the locks underneath being a plethora of aqua blues. Even stranger was her eyes. They were a multitude of purples with flecks of gold inside.

She'd been caught stealing food, only to have people gasping around her and shouting. All of this over a mere apple, the size only being relative to that of her tiny fist. Instead of cutting her hand off like she had thought they would, they chased her, wanting to make her a sacrifice to their long-dead god.

A bright shimmering blue was the only thing that she saw before she closed her eyes one last time.

xXx

Chatter filled the streets of Magnolia as children ran around giggling, tossing balls back and forth. The sun shone brightly in the sky in all its brilliance. Even the birds seemed happy, chirping to their hearts content. One in particular, flew through the masses, settling itself on the balcony of an open window. It hopped around a bit, pecking at the stale crumbs that had been left out the day before, its wings fluttering as it puffed itself up.

Inside, passed the curtains was the quiet sound of breathing, only being interrupted by the pecking outside. Sheets rustled with a groan as springs squeaked. Before too long the sound of a thump was heard, then a strand of colorful curses. Sadly, all of this was a normal occurrence as the owner pulled themselves from the bed, purple eyes glaring toward the bird seated outside.

"Damn birds, always waking me up."

The voice was distinctly feminine, the young woman running a hand through her choppy hair in an attempt to tame it. After that, she pushed herself up off the floor where she had fallen, dusting herself off as she moved toward her closet.

"I wonder if Laxus is back yet?" she spoke quietly as she rummaged through her clothes.

In all reality, there really wasn't much to choose from, much to her young friend Levy's dismay. The young azurette was always threatening to drag her out of her home and to the store, complaining that she needed to try and look more feminine. Personally though, the woman didn't care, merely grabbing a pair of ruddy cargo pants from a small cubby inside. She hopped around for a moment or two, sliding her legs through as she tried to keep her balance, before snatching a blue crop top from a random half bent hanger. This left her midriff open for viewing, the toned valley of her stomach protruding slightly against her pants due to the tight waistband.

Once she was done with all of this, that's when she made her way out, the bird on her window watching as her form faded into the distance.

Tegan 101

The moment she set foot inside the guild, a flurry of pink was sent flying passed her head, yellow static crackling from scorch marks.

"Well, that just answered my earlier question," she sighed, rolling her eyes as she made her way up toward the bar.

"Yo! Tegan, what's up?" Gray called out, the young ice mage making his way toward her.

Looking up, Tegan rose a pale eyebrow in question, her eyes scanning his bare chest. Out of her periphery, she could just see the hint of something eyes, deliberately keeping her eyes trained on his face.

"Gray, your clothes," she pointed out, watching as his eyes went wide in realization.

"Damn it!" he yelled, quickly running off to find his clothes.

Tegan would never understand this habit of his. For as long as she'd known him, Gray had a strange habit of stripping his clothes. It didn't matter where he was at or what he was doing, it always seemed to happen and half the time he didn't even realize that he'd done it.

"You damn pervert, are you trying to traumatize her!?" her pink haired friend yelled, flying forward to punch Gray.

Tegan merely sweatdropped, a puff of air escaping her as she sighed. Her two friends, Natsu and Gray, they were always fighting. It didn't matter what it was about. In fact, they could merely be taunting each other and Natsu would practically tear apart the guild hall half the time if he wasn't stopped. In fact, it was about how Mira and Erza used to be when they were younger, the first of the two standing behind the bar with a charming smile on her face.

"Morning, Tegan," Mira greeted, her eyes alight as she caught sight of her friend.

"Hey, Mira," she replied. "I see Laxus is back."

"Yep. He just got back about an hour ago," Mira told her, tapping a finger against her chin as she hummed, before remembering something. "Oh yeah, he said something about wanting to talk to you actually."

At the mention of that, Tegan deadpanned instantly.

"Talk or shock?" she groaned, looking up toward the second floor of their guild hall.

It had been established a long time ago that Tegan was of qualifying S-Class status. The only issue was, she didn't really want to be S-Class. Being S-Class meant realizing the true dangers of her powers. Even though she had powerful magic, it was still dangerous. Her most powerful and destructive spells could easily get her killed if she wasn't careful. Then again, the same could technically be said for any of Fairy Tail's many mages. Still, due to her status, she was able to freely walk around the second floor.

"Try and play nice," Mira chuckled, tilting her head to the side.

"Shouldn't you be telling him that?" Tegan asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Mira merely smiled at her friend before handing her a drink, moving to the side as she cleared the way to the stairs.

"Well, if you see me flying into a wall, you know why?" Tegan laughed halfheartedly, the corner of her lips tugging slightly as she made her way upstairs.

"Hey, where'd Tegan go?" Natsu asked, looking around only to come up empty-handed.

xXx

"Laxus."

"Tegan."

The two stared at each other, not blinking an eye as they stared one another down. Out of nowhere, a chair broke against the balcony, shards of wood flying and raining down on the two. Within seconds, Tegan was at the railing, her drink now forgotten on the floor and eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Damn it, Natsu!" she yelled. "Stop throwing shit!"

This earned a chuckle from Laxus, the older mage watching as the younger one growled. He always found it funny, how quick her temper could change. Normally, she was rather quiet and calm, but then she could easily be yelling up a storm the next moment. It was no doubt a result of her dragon sake. After all, as a water dragon, she likely took on certain attributes of her nature. Just as the sea can be beautiful, so too can it be deadly. This was Tegan in a nutshell which is why he always found pleasure in messing with her.

"Mira said that you wanted to talk to me?" Tegan asked, suddenly calm as though nothing had transpired between her and the fire dragon.

Instead of saying anything right away, Laxus pulled something from his pocket, tossing it her way. Tegan's hand shot up, easily catching the object in her hand. She gave him a questionable look for a moment, before looking at what actually lay in her palm. It was a token of sorts, an insignia stamped into the tarnished metal.

"Gray Scale?" she breathed out, her eyes shooting back up to Laxus' grey-blue orbs.

"I know it's not much, but I think we're getting closer," he told her, before looking out at the guild.

Down below, their fellow guildmates were enjoying each others company, no knowledge of what was going on upstairs. They could hear Elfman Strauss going on about what it was to be a real man, the large man having a slight crush on her. Over in a corner, Reedus sat painting, a smile on his face as he watched and listened to the chatter around him.

"Have you told your grandfather about this yet?" Tegan asked quietly, staring down at the token in her hand.

"No, not yet," he told her. "I figured it was only right to bring it to your attention first."

"Thank you," she whispered, gripping the trinket tightly in her hand, before pocketing it to keep it from her gaze.

It was quiet for a moment as Tegan closed her eyes, drawing in a breath of air. So many things had happened over the last few years. During her time in Fairy Tail, she'd bounced around a bit, helping out with missions here and there. She never really had a rival per say, unlike Natsu and Gray or Erza and Mira. Yes, she had her squabbles every now and then, but who didn't.

"Hey."

Upon hearing the lightning mages voice sound, Tegan turned her head toward him, a questionable look on her face.

"You know, you could always come with me on a mission some time and we could try and sort this out a bit better?" he offered, arms still folded over his chest.

"And where would the fun be in that?" she joked lightly.

"You know, I could always fry your ass," he countered, a smirk now plastered on his chiseled face.

"You're a dick, you know that Laxus?"

"Yeah, well you can be a real bitch at times," he replied.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Shut up lightning brains!"

"Why don't you make me sea witch!"

"Why don't you say that to my face spikey!"

"Maybe I will tranny!"

"Why you-!"

Before they could do anything else, Master Makarov interrupted them, the tiny man silencing the both of them with an evil glare.

"Enough you two!" he shouted, stopping them in their tracks.

"Sorry Master," Tegan sighed, bowing her head in apology.

Laxus merely laughed at her.

"Come on, Old Man, I was just starting to have fun," Laxus chuckled.

"Laxus, I said enough," Makarov announced. "Now… how did your mission go my boy?" he asked, completely switching gears as he took on an almost cheery tone.

"Weird," Tegan muttered.

Both men merely ignored her comment, turning toward conversation. After a moment, Laxus stared at Tegan, receiving a nod in return.

"I believe that we're one step closer to Gray Scale," Laxus revealed, Makarov's eyes widening slightly.

"What?" he gapped. "What have you found?" Makarov asked quickly. "Tell me."

"Master?"

The voice belonged to Tegan, drawing the master's attention as she pulled the token from her pocket. She was a bit hesitant in bringing it forward, the small round coin clutched within her hand despite how it subconsciously burned away at her nerves.

"What do you have my dear?" Makarov inquired, watching as she uncurled her fingers.

His eyes fell upon the token immediately, quickly grabbing it from her outreached hand. Stamped within the metal was an emblem that he was all too familiar with.

Over the years, Gray Scale had grown from a guild of few to a guild of many. Unlike most dark guilds though, they tried to keep their associations and plottings securely under wraps, covering their tracks where ever they went. The only problem with them was the fact that they were indeed a dangerous guild. Their headquarters in particular were nonexistent, leaving behind only a single token for entrance. The fact that Laxus had found one was a mere question of luck if nothing else. Finds like these were extremely rare.

"Where did you find this, Laxus?" Makarov asked, turning to his grandson.

"On my way back, I came through a small village in the forest," he began. "Apparently, someone had come through a while back and dropped it," he explained.

"I highly doubt things are that simple," Makarov said simply.

Tegan nodded her head in agreement. Members of Gray Scale didn't just go around dropping their tokens unless there was something to be said by them. This got Tegan wondering though. Why would someone from Gray Scale show up in such a small village and leave a trace behind? It was no doubt deliberate.

"Regardless, the village head gave it to me when he saw me, saying that it was bad luck for his village or something," Laxus said.

For a moment, it was quiet between them. Makarov was thinking about something, but neither of the young wizards knew what that might be.

"Tegan," Makarov spoke, turning to face her.

"Yes, Master?"

"I want you to accompany Laxus back to that village," he stated.

"What!?" she exclaimed, eyes going wide. "You can't be serious?"

"I believe that I'm quite serious my dear."

Laxus stood there snickering at Tegan's dismay. He always found her reactions hilarious. Even when they were younger, he'd always find himself laughing when she disagreed with something because the expressions that she made.

"Come on, Tegan, I won't bite," Laxus teased, earning a glare in return.

"Master, Laxus would fry me before lifting a hand otherwise," she complained, trying to weasel her way out of having to go.

"Now, now, my dear. It can't be that bad," Makarov tried. "After all, the two of you used to go on missions together without problems as children if I remember correctly."

With the reminder, Tegan was silenced, drawing in a breath of air. She knew that would be used against her.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "When do we leave?"

"I would like you to take care of this as soon as possible, so tomorrow preferably."

xXx

Sitting on her bed, Tegan let out a sigh. She hadn't expected to be leaving with Laxus to check up on Gray Scale. If anything, she'd rather stay far away from it all.

Looking in the mirror, Tegan looked herself over, her baggy cargo pants hanging from her hips while the straps of her crop top rested on her shoulders. The almost cream colored pelt she had was wrapped around her hips as per usual, the plush fur a welcomed relief against her sun-kissed skin. Her skin in particular was a rather large contrast to her hair though, the pale white top contrasting greatly with the blues underneath of it. At one point, she could remember Laxus and Bixlow picking on her about it when she was young. The later of the two would merely do it just for kicks, poking and prodding as they went back and forth picking at one another for their 'oddities'. After all, other than her hair and eyes, Tegan looked far more normal than Bickslow did. Even with that though, over time she had found that he wasn't that bad of a person and was rather easy to get along with, strangely enough.

Next in Laxus' little group was Freed. That man in particular was rather different. Compared to the rest of them, he was a rather presentable gentleman. Always dressed to impress as some would say, his bright almost neon green locks sticking out the most. Freed was also friendly, treating Tegan as a friend like most of the guild did. He was also possibly the greatest rune mage that she'd ever come across.

Lastly, there was Evergreen or Ever for short. Ever was probably the biggest drama queen on the planet. Not that she didn't have her good qualities, but she would simply kill Tegan if she took her out shopping of all things. If she and Levy ever tried that together, Tegan swore that she'd die. Either that or she would actually go and ask Laxus to just electrocute her instead, that way she wouldn't have to go through the whole ordeal.

"Why am I surrounded by crazy people?" Tegan asked aloud, running a hand through her choppy hair.

She looked at the strands, contemplating on if she should let it actually grow out or simply chop it off. Then again, if she chopped it off, it would give Laxus more reason to call her a tranny. The only reason he started it was because even after she started growing into a woman, she still dressed like a boy. It wasn't her fault though. She felt comfortable dressing the way that she did. By dressing a particular way, it avoided drawing any further attention to herself than she normally did by walking around. Unlike Cana who paraded around in a bikini top of all thing and her boobs practically hanging out.

Regardless, she had always found herself lacking in one way or another, never truly feeling like a normal woman. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was a dragon slayer like Natsu and Laxus. With such great power came a bridge between some people. Some men would feel inferior at the thought of dating a woman more powerful than they were. Perhaps that's why in her own little mind, she actually liked the company of Laxus and Natsu. Even though they were men, they both held onto the same destructive power that she did. As a result, she felt more equal than she did unbalanced.

Shaking her head, Tegan stood up, pulling her pack out from underneath of her bed. She then pulled open one of her drawers, tossing a few things in, before moving to the closet. She paid little attention to what she grabbed before throwing it in as well. Once she was done with that, she opened the drawer to her nightstand, carefully pulling out a small pouch full of lacrima. Each was filled to the brim with water magic. She figured that if they were going out to look into Gray Scale, then it was a safe bet to bring a few with her, just in case.

"Hey!"

Jumping at the sudden noise, Tegan dropped the pouch, the small crystals falling to the floor and rolling over the wooden boards. Turning her head, she saw Laxus sitting on her windowsill, a glare on her face as she picked up a glass and threw it at him. He merely chuckled though, catching it in his hand before it hit him in the face.

"Nice try," he smirked, showing off his pearly white canines.

"I swear, the next time you do that, I'm just going to punch you in the face!" she exclaimed in frustration, running a hand through her hair again.

"Just figured I'd stop by to kick your ass in gear," he shrugged.

"And why would you bother with that?" she asked snidely, raising a brow in question.

"Because I wouldn't want Gramps harping on me for leaving you behind."

"Wait, what?"

As soon as she said that though, Laxus was already back outside and walking off, not bothering to look back.

"Hey! Wait!" Tegan yelled, scrambling to snatch up a few lacrima from the ground, before following out the window.

She didn't even bother with anything else as she ran after Laxus, calling for him to wait up as she tossed her pack over her shoulder. All she knew was that she was in for a long trip.

Alright everyone, that was chapter one! I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeing as this is my first FAIRY TAIL story, I hope that you'll REVIEW and MESSAGE me on your thoughts and opinions. Right now, pairings are open, but I'll need to decide on what to do. Hopefully with everyone's help. I'm currently leaning toward either Laxus or Gajeel though.