A/N: Sup? It's me again with another fanfic! *ahem* I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters. But I do own Asana,

Jeramy, Lyra, Caden, Nelenna... ok you get it... sorry. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 - First Meeting?

"The next round's on me!" Jeramy called, his words laced with a drunken slur. A chorus of hurrahs was all to be heard. I sat in the back of the small bar, watching the inhabitants with indifference. I 'technically' wasn't allowed in a bar (being 17), but since I was 'friends' with Jeramy, and Jeramy was the son of the owner, some strings were pulled and here I am.

I suppressed a yawn, leaning on the palm of my hand as I stared out the darkened window at the people on the street. They were all smiling or some sort of happy. A family of three passed by. Two small daughters were running ahead, laughing. A woman called out to them, a worried expression on her face. Ahead of them a young man kneeled down, his arms extended to the kids. They ran to him, jumping into his embrace.

Something inside me ached as I watched the family. A longing filled me, threatening to consume— Someone slid into the booth next to me, the stench of alcohol heavy. "Come on Asana, have a drink with me."

I smiled faintly, pretending to be disgusted, "As tempting as that offer is, Jeramy, I'll have to pass."

He stared down at me, his expression whiny, "Aww, you're such a spoiled sport."

I pushed him away, climbing from the booth and stretching, "And you're drunk."

He watched, his eyes traveling to the hem of my shirt. Snapping my fingers in his face, he winked, "You know it babe."

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes, "I have to go." I turned away from him, walking to the door.

"I will get you to drink with me," he called after me.

"Good luck with that," I said, the door swinging shut behind me. I made my way down the crowded streets of Magnolia Town. It was a happy place, with friendly people and smiling faces. The residents were at peace. It was definitely one of my favorite places to visit.

"Alright! So where we heading?" someone asked, loud and cheerful. The voice was strangely familiar; like a forgotten memory.

My eyes roamed the sea of faces, searching for the speaker. To my left was a group of four and a blue cat. Just from their appearance, they were a pretty strange bunch. The group was made of two girls and two boys. One of the girls had long scarlet red hair. She was wearing a half of a suit of armor, a dark blue skirt and knee high black boots. The other girl was blonde. Her hair was short, and pulled to the side and secured with a blue ribbon. Her outfit consisted of a fitting white and blue shirt, blue mini skirt and black high-heeled boots. A brown belt secured several small keys and a black whip.

The speaker, I found out, was one of the guys. He was lean and muscular with spiky pink hair. He wore a black waistcoat with gold trimmings over his chest, which was bare, white knee-length trousers and black open toed sandals. He had a thick black waistband on his left wrist and white scarf wrapped around his neck. The other guy was just as toned. His spiky black hair was his most prominent feature. He was wearing a long white coat and black pants. A silver necklace with the pendant as a sword hung securely on his chest.

They all seemed familiar. I had the feeling like I should know them. Maybe from the paper, or overhearing some gossip. I glanced up at the building. In big purple letters was a name; Fairy Tail. A guild obviously.The same feeling of remembrance and longing filled my chest. I debated to walk up to the group. In the end, I decided against it. I was probably just reacting to something I'd seen or heard.

The blond pressed her hand against her face. Her voice was amused as she addressed the boy, "Did you even bother to read the flyer?"

He shrugged, "What's it matter?"

"You're an idiot, Natsu," the black haired boy said. He was calm, shaking his head in annoyance.

The pink haired boy-Natsu, I told myself- balled his fists stepping toward the other boy, "What'd you say?"

There was a slight tugging at the edge of my skirt. "Excuse me." I looked down. A little girl stood at my side. Her small hands clutching the material. She stared up at me with big brown eyes. Her brown hair was pulled into pigtails, on the sides of her head. I kneeled down and her hand dropped. There was something about odd about the girl. She was tense, like she was trying not to shake. "Are you a mage?"

I nodded, a feeling of urgency washing over me, "Sure am. Is something wrong?"

I felt something brake in the air. Water pooled on the girl's rims. Her hands went to her eyes automatically, rubbing at the tears. "It's my big brother," she cried.

Everything around us froze; conversations stopped, the bustle of the town died. Even the bickering from the group behind me quieted. I could feel the eyes of everyone fixed on the girl.

I placed my hands on her wrists, gently pushing them away from her face. My voice was slow and soothing, "What about your brother? What happened?"

Behind me, footsteps closed in. Four shadows stood over us, blocking out the sun. There was a rush of air as someone knelt beside me.

The girl's eyes focused on me, "I don't know. He hasn't come home. He left a few days ago. He said they would be back in two days, and he hasn't came back." Her hands returned to her eyes, water spilling from them in waves. "Please, miss. Find my brother."

My expression softened. It took a lot of strength to not gather her in my arms. I placed my hand on the top of her head. "Don't you cry anymore, OK?" Her hands stopped, dipping away as she looked up at me. "I'll find him. I promise."

Her eyes widened and the biggest smile spread over her features, brightening them. She leaped at me, wrapping small arms around my neck, "Thank you so much!" She let go as a frantic voice reached through the crowd.

"Lyra!" A woman pushed her way to the center, dropping to her knees and wrapping the girl in a hug. Her face was a mess with worry and happiness. She held the child at arms length, her eyes running over her daughter's body, "Don't you ever run off like that again."

"But mommy," she said trying to look back at me, "I got help."

"Help?"

Lyra nodded, struggling against her mother's grasp to point at me. Her face was lit with a proud smile, "Yeah mommy. That lady is a mage and she promised to help."

There was a tired sadness in her dark eyes crossed her eyes as she looked over me. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared.

I sat back on my knees, my comfort level dropping a few notches, "Ma'am, I'd like to ask you a few questions, if I may."

She scanned over the group behind me, "Are all of you going to search of him?" She stood, the child secured in her arms.

My eyebrows dipped in confusion as I followed I stood also, facing the group. I had already figured that it was the four from earlier.

Three of them turned to the redhead, who turned to me. Her eyes were brown and set with a determination that was intimidating. Her voice was hard as she spoke, "I don't see why that would be necessary."

"Erza," the blond said softly from beside me.

"You should be more than capable," she stated. Although is sounded like a question, I nodded sharply.

"Alright," the mother said. She latched a free hand in mine, pulling me away. "I'd like to discuss the details somewhere less crowded."

"OK," I said, although there wasn't a need.

"Wait up!" We both stopped, turning as Natsu ran up to us, the blue cat flying behind him. His black eyes flicked the woman and child before he addressed the me, "Is it alright if I join?"

My expression was guarded, "Why?"

He shrugged lightly, "You never know what'll happen."

"Fine," the woman answered for me. She tugged on my hand, pulling me along. There were no objections from his group as he followed after us.

"I'm Nelenna," she began, showing us to a small table in her dining room. Natsu and I took the offered seats next to each other. "Lyra, go play while we talk."

Lyra nodded obediently running down a hallway. Once she was out if earshot, Nelenna continued, "I'm sorry about my urgency. I just don't want Lyra to know how worried I am," she said, placing a glass of water in front of each of us.

I nodded my thanks, taking a sip.

The cat took a long drink, leaning against Natsu's arm as he spoke his question, "So you think something bad has happened?"

Nelenna nodded, taking the seat across.

I set the glass down. "We weren't given much details by Lyra, but she said that he's been gone for a few days. Why did he leave?"

She stared at the table, her hands folded in front of her, "He went searching for his father. I told him it was a waste. His father left this family years ago, he didn't want anything to do with Caden and Lyra. But Caden didn't believe me, he so admired his father. I think he went searching for answers more than anything." She sniffled, wiping under her eyes. Looking at us, she continued, "I'm afraid I don't have much, but I can offer a reward. Even if you can't convince him to come back home, I just want to know he's alive and unharmed."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Natsu declared. He pushed himself from the table. His eyes were burning with determination, "We'll find Caden."

She smiled warmly, "Thank you. Here's a picture of him."

She handed me a photograph. Natsu peered over my shoulder to get a look. His warm breath sent shivers up my spine. I pushed his closeness away, focusing on the picture. It was of two happy kids; Lyra and a boy nearly two feet taller than her with dark blond hair and his sister's brown eyes. "I last heard their father was heading for Hargeon Town."

"That's just a train ride away," I said, handing the picture back.

She shook her head, pushing it towards me, "Keep it. It'll be easier to recognize him with something to go off of."

"Thank you," I said, my grip on the photo tightening. I looked into her sad eyes, filled with the same determination flowing from Natsu. Standing I reassured her, "Don't worry about your son, Nelenna. We'll bring him home."

She nodded and we set out.

The sun was high in the sky by now as Natsu, the cat and I made out way to the train station in silence.

"Wait a minute," the cat said, it's voice was high and squeaky. Both Natsu and I stopped, turning to the creature. "We don't know each other."

"Hey you're right," Natsu said, turning to me. He stuck his thumb into his shoulder, "My name's Natsu and this is Happy."

"We're both in Fairy Tail," Happy declared cheerily.

"I'm Asana," I said, simply.

They were both silent, waiting for me to continue. When I didn't, Happy spoke up, "What's your guild?"

"I don't have one," I answered. I turned back to the station, walking forward.

It was silent behind me, before I heard quickening footsteps behind me. Natsu ran up beside me, "But wait. Why not? If you're a wizard, why aren't you with a guild?"

I shrugged, stretching my arms in the air, "I guess I never thought about joining with anyone. Besides, it's better this way; no one can get hurt."

"People are going to get hurt wherever you go. There's no stopping that, but in a guild there are others who will support you. It's like having one giant family," he said, with a big smile. "Why don't you join Fairy Tail?"

I only shrugged in response.

Natsu stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Tell you what: while we do this mission, I want you to think about joining. I promise not to say another word about it till we fine Caden."

"Boy, you are serious about this guild business, aren't you?" After a few moments, I put my hands up in surrender, "OK, alright. I'll think about it. Just don't hold your breath."

The faint sound of a train horn sounded in the distance. "Oh, no," Happy said, "We're going to miss the train!"

"Train?" Natsu repeated, weakly. He stumbled a little, before falling against me.

"What is with you?"

"Natsu has bad motion sickness. If he even thinks about things that move, he gets like this," Happy informed.

"That bad, huh?" I mumbled. "It's not that far, about a couple days journey," I said, pushing him upright, "We could walk if you'd like."

He fell against me again, nodding.

I resisted rolling my eyes, "But you have to stand up."

He straightened himself, "Lets go!" Natsu walked ahead, more happy than ever.

"Aye!" Happy cried, following after Natsu.

"What did I get myself into?" I groaned.

"Asana, you comin' or what?"

"Yeah," I said, catching up with them.

A/N: Hey again! I'm going to apologize now if anyone sees too OOC. I sincerely don't mean to if they are. And don't be afraid to write in the review if someone is! Or just comment on whatever, I guess. Anyway thanks for reading!