Oi, everyone! Thanks for checking this out. I had the idea for a while and finally jotted it down. This fic is about Lisanna (one of my favorite characters) and Sting. Having read another story on this pairing, I thought it was a really cute couple.

Hope you enjoy and leave a review to tell me what you think! Happy New Year :D

It Stings

Lisanna had been back from the dead for quite some time. Readjusting to a world one already knew and factually grew up in should not take a long time. And several months was far longer than necessary. Her sister and her brother were very caring and protective. But even they had resumed their everyday lives and accepted their baby sister as if she had never been gone. Her friends moved on with their lives and one particular boy even had a new love interest. So what was holding her back? She pondered with her head on the bar and observed her sister singing a happy melody.

Her eyes wandered over to the request board and it was pasted with exciting missions and quests. So why was she giving in to boredom? A mage could easily fill their time with fun and adventures. And therefore she strolled over to the board of greatest pass time activities. The blue of her youthful eyes caught a post that drew her in like quicksand. The way an investigator would go about it, she analyzed every detail of the mission. One particular request caught her attention. It started with buttering up the status of their renowned guild.

Fairy Tail, you're the greatest! I am a passionate collector of mystical crystals. Recently I've made a discovery of one very special gemstone. It can be found in the northern mountains. But being guarded by a dangerous monster, I need the help of a capable wizard to retrieve it.

Pay will be 50 000 Jewels

To her it sounded very interesting. Besides, what girl did not like the mysterious shimmer of a beautiful gemstone? She removed the post off the board and reread everything before she safely folded the piece of paper. Then she neatly placed it in the pocket of her blue jeans. She wasn't sure whether she should actually accept it. She wasn't sure whether she was ready to go on a solo mission.

"Lisanna? Can you help me with those?" asked her sister Mirajane and pointed at a tray of drinks at the bar. "Could you get those to Macao and Wakaba?"

"Of course, sis" the white haired girl responded and brought the drinks over to the appropriate table. When she returned to the bar, she had her head fall onto the wooden surface of the counter again and sighed. She was still in a state of wavering. Going on a mission alone might be very dangerous. She could ask Natsu to join her, but he seemed very busy. He and Lucy were fulfilling quests on a daily basis. Even he didn't pay much attention to her anymore although she was thought to be dead for two years. The joyful rush of her return had passed.

"What were you doing by the request board?" asked Mirajane while washing up a few cups and glasses.

"Nothing…" Lisanna could not share that she intended to go on a mission. Especially because she was not certain about it, herself. Instead she decided to talk to her sister about her current life and whether there was a possible guy she could soon call her brother in law. The conversation did not take them very far because Mirajane was never the kind of girl who looked for love. So Lisanna found her bravery and asked her sister's opinion on going on a solo mission. "Okay, now that I'm back in Earthland, I want to make use of my magic and become an S-Class mage like you…"

Mira seemed quite surprise by her little sister's plans but did not attempt to talk her out of it. The younger one was going to leave the nest sooner or later and no one could stop her. Her big sister knew it and the sooner she'd regain her independence the better it was for everyone.

"You know, I've already picked a solo mission" Lisanna confessed and smiled at Mirajane.

"Ah I see. That's amazing. I'm proud of you, Lisanna. You're very determined" were her sister's comforting words. It was an indication that everyone was ready to move forward.

"I will leave soon! So I'll need to pack my bags!" The younger girl said while adrenaline raced through her veins. She was actually going to do it. She was actually going to restart her life in Earthland.

"Who knows maybe you'll meet someone, too. What kind of mission is it, anyway?" Mira wanted to know before her sister dashed out of the doors and left for her solo mission.

"Don't worry, Mira-nee, I'll just have to retrieve a rare crystal in the mountains that is protected by a low level monster. Nothing I can't handle on my own" Lisanna winked and ran out of the doors.

After having packed her bags at home, she left a sweet note for her brother and sister to read when they get home and boarded the train up to the northern part of Fiore.

It was already evening when she met with the client. He was a man in his mid-twenties with dark brown hair and round glasses on his long nose. Behind those, she could see the hazel color of his eyes. He corresponded almost perfectly to the type of person she had imagined him to be.

"You must be the mage from Fairy Tail" he spoke with a gentle and melodic voice.

"Yes, my name's Lisanna Strauss. I understand there is a rare crystal you want to possess" she introduced herself and put on her friendly smile.

"Yes, yes. Please have a seat" the man pointed at a chair in the corner of the room. She looked around and the interior design of his place seemed to be as ancient as the stones he was collecting. Overall, it was a dark room decorated with antique furniture. The chair, nonetheless, was amazingly comfortable. "I spotted the crystal only once and before I could claim it, a monster appeared in front of me and I barely got out alive! Therefore I filed a request to Fairy Tail, the best guild in Fiore, to retrieve it for me!"

"Don't worry about a thing. I'm going to get you that stone" Lisanna assured her client with confidence and headed to the guesthouse after he had given her all the information she needed to head out in the morning.

Mindlessly, she strolled through the streets of that small town and hummed the melody, her sister had sung back at the guild. She opened the door to the guesthouse and accidently bumped into a tall man with blond hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you" she instantly apologized and brushed imaginary dust off his attire. It was just a kind gesture to display her regrets for causing the little incident. He wore strange clothes. His sense of fashion was definitely non-existent. His shirt was so short that his abdominal area was completely exposed. Not even girls wear belly tops anymore. At least he had amazing muscles to show off. His rude behavior wasn't too amazing, though.

"Um… you didn't see me? I'm as bright as holy light. Even a blind person would see me!" He growled like a pissed off dragon and purposely jostled against her shoulder while walking past.

"Jerk" Lisanna called after him and he just waved an arrogant hand to tell her off.

She rose early in the morning and felt the warm light of the sun on her face. She had survived the first night alone and thought of it as an achievement. Then again, nothing special or dangerous happened. The most exciting event was bumping into that guy. She tried to remember his face, but she had only seen it for a split second. He had spiky blond hair and blue eyes. Separating the face from his mean behavior, she'd say he was handsome. The scar over his right eye added to his attractiveness. Maybe she will see him again. Her sister had said so, maybe she would meet someone. Natsu hung out with Lucy most of the times anyway.

Next, she had to slap her own face for even thinking such nonsense. That guy, whoever he was, was an asshole and she would never be with such a person. The best thing she needed now was a little distraction. Accordingly, she got ready to finish the mission.

The client said that there was a cave in the mountains. If she crossed it, she'd arrive at an open area where the crystal could be found. So she climbed the mountain and quickly found the cave. With the help of her magic, she transformed into a bird to remain undetected. Perhaps the monster was simply a wild animal. In the form of a bird, she'd be less suspicious.

From afar she could already see the amber colored crystal the size of a football. It looked beautiful, shimmering like gold and reflecting light like a mirror. Lisanna slowed down to have an eye out for the guarding beast, but it was nowhere in sight. Therefore, she quickly grabbed the rock with her wings and ran back the way she came. Then, a startling noise alarmed her. A vile growl resonated from inside the cave. It was no good. She couldn't pass through. Flying was not an option either. With the artifact in the grasp of her wings, there was no possibility to take flight.

All of a sudden a gruesome creature stepped out of the shadows and charged at her with unimaginable speed. The monster dashed on four legs and had its jaw wide open to feed on a feeble girl. Although light came through from above, she couldn't climb up to escape. The beast was only a few meters away and picked up its speed. Lisanna kept looking up and then to the front. Where was she going to go? There was the option to run past the beast. But that option was too risky. With one claw, the creature could grab her and rip her apart within a second. The other option was going up, dropping the gemstone and survive. She didn't want to fail the mission, though. That wasn't the way to become an S-Class mage. She had to fight. Then again, Animal Soul was not necessarily appropriate magic for offensive battles. It was so depressing.

The monster was almost right in front of her, ready to strike her down. Before it could do that, Lisanna quickly changed her body to the one of a kangaroo whilst her arms were still wings. It was a brilliant idea. Hastily, she put the rock inside her bag and flew up to the open sky. An S-Class mage had to have the wits and creativity to master life threatening situations. And she was confident that she was moving in the right direction.

When she flew past the cave entrance, she dared to peek over her shoulder. She couldn't believe her eyes. The beast ran towards the edge of the cliff and bounced off to catch her in midair. A giant talon with sharp nails reached out for her legs. She tried to flap her wings for a quick escape. Yet, she was not fast enough. Although she could escape a vicious scratch, the crystal dropped out of her bag and fell right into the abyss of a lake underneath. The monster followed its path and fell down as well.

Lisanna survived, but the stone was lost. Or wasn't it? She lowered in altitude and reached the surface of the lake. This was where her magic could help in substantial ways. In the form of a mermaid, she dived into the water and searched the lake for the rock. Not much time passed when she spotted the shimmering crystal. Safely holding the gemstone in her arms, she was too excited that the mission was a success after all. Quickly, the white haired mage headed for the surface when something pinched her mermaid fin.

"Ouch, it stings…" she silently let out into the water. She examined her fin and found a hook inside of it. Some fisher had caught her in the lake. Somehow, she thought, it didn't seem to be her luckiest day. Her attempts to remove the hook remained unsuccessful. Instead, she was being pulled up by the fisher. He must be very strong. Faster than she could realize, she was on dry grounds and glared into four surprised eyes. One pair was a set a sapphire blue and the other pair was black and belonged to a red cat.

"It's a real mermaid and she's very hot. Look at her rack" the blond boy said and eyed her body from top to bottom.

"I'm a cat, Sting. I'm not into these things" the cat said.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not an object…" Lisanna covered her breast although her shirt was already doing a part of that job.

"Here I thought that we had caught a big and delicious fish. Turns out that it was just some stupid mermaid…" the red feline complained about the catch of the day.

"So what should we do with her, Lector?" the young man asked his companion and ignored the girl completely.

"She's not edible, drop her back into the water" was the cat's suggestion.

Lisanna had already turned back to normal and intended to just walk away when a mild push had her fall back into the water. She screeched for a break of a second and went down in the water once more. That guy was such an idiot. It was the same one she met the night before. He really had a way of enraging her. But then he also said that she was hot. Her face tinted a deep red when the latter thought rushed through her mind.

Damn Lisanna! What the hell are you thinking?

For now, it is a one shot. But I might continue it at some point.