Lucy danced around happily as Natsu threw the final punch
"' oh man I can't wait to turn this one in, our reward's going to be huge'"
" our reward, Happy and I did all of the work so the way I see it we deserve all of the reward"
" Hey I helped too"
"but you didn't even leave the road"
"hey these are new shoes and they cost more then your worth, so unless you want to!"
"alright fine I'm sorry, you can take your stupid reward. as long as you.."
at that moment an overbearing presence emerged from that tree lines and shook Natsu to the core... Erza
"quit messing around you too we don't have time for this foolishness"
She then proceeded to drop a large bag that had been drapped over her back, it was almost as big as natsu and was full of the crests that a mercenary band had been using to identify its members.
"I have completed my share of the mission, where is yours"
Lucy proceeded to reveal what now seemed like a rather tiny sack that had been attached to her belt
"h here's our share"
"wait you forgot this one"
Natsu exclaimed almost triumphantly as her proceeded to take it from the mercenary that he had just finished fighting
"like that one matters you idiot" Lucy exclaimed as she proceeded to wave her fist wildly at Natsu
"well maybe next time you should help instead of" Natsu began to fire back before he was interrupted by the loud bang of Erza punching him in the head
" How dare you, you expect her to help while wearing those shoes, I have half a mind to leave you here to thing about what you've done, and you"
she turned he gaze towards Lucy
"where did you get those, I've been trying to find a pair for years ?"
"I I could show you if you want"
stuttered Lucy, counting her blessings
"Very well, we shall leave immediately"
"but I..."
"If you have no objections then we will leave imidiatelly"
Lucy proceeded to snatch the last emblem from Natsu and walk away triumphantly
" hmmmmm, this time Natsu must learn from his mistakes. you will stay here"
Erza then proceeded to follow Lucy as she stroked her chin, deep in though
"Hey guys can I just"
"No", and if you attempt to follow us then by my pride as a fairy tail wizard I will be forced to punish you"
Natsu, realizing that his actions where futile proceeded to sit down in the mud and contemplate his next move
great, how long am I stuck here he thought to himself
after a few hours of doing nothing the wait was starting to drive Natsu crazy,
"stupid Erza"
"how was I supposed to know about the stupid shoes"
"If I could do that over again I'd totally..."
Natsu heard a rustle as a figure emerged from the bushes
"Erza" Natsu shrieked
"I'm sorry please don't kill me"
a soft sweet laughter emerged from the bushes
"wait a second you sound like a girl, your not erza"
"you are right, this Erza sounds terrifying"
"she is, she's like ten feet tall and as tough as nails"
"what is a nail?"
the voice asked, sounding intrigued
"What, how could you not"
Natsu stopped mid sentence when it occurred to him that he had no idea who he was talking to, he then proceeded to turn and face them
"who are."
"I am Aretha, daughter of forests"
"Hi Athera I'm Natsu, son of dragons"
"truly? I meet a dragon once, he was very nice but would not leave me alone"
she seemed to go deep into thought
"yes, I can remember he called himself the jade dragon"
"well that explains it, he's a pervert and you're..."
Natsu stopped mid sentence as he noticed how alluring the girl in front of him was, for some reason, as if he couldn't control what he was saying his finished his sentence.
"beautiful"
Aretha smiled
"why thank you, I used to be told that quiet often in my home but since I left I have rather missed it"
"where do you come from" Natsu asked intrigued by the mystery woman
" why from the northern forests of course"
"wait you grew up in a forest?"
"yes, me and my many sisters. it is wonderful back home but I was told that I had to leave and explore the world. apparently I am from it and although they raised me they knew that one day I would have to leave and return to the world of man"
"wait the world of man, who raised you?"
"why it was fairies of course, I thought that a child of dragons would know of my kind?"
"wait you're not human, you look pretty human to me but now that you mention it you do smell different"
"I was born human but raised as a fairy, so although I may not be small and have wings I am a fairy. the same way that I imagine you were raised by dragons. if I am to be honest I have yet to meet one of these fabled humans, I have been lost ever since I left my home thirty moons ago"
""wait so you've been lost in the forest for thirty days?"
"yes it's why I was so glad when I found you, it seems that since I left for the wonders of the outside world you have been the strangest thing that I have encountered"
"well you see that there" Natsu pointed to the road
"that's a road, if you follow it you'll get to a village that's full of people and those wonders of the outside world"
"That is truly marvelous, I thank you Natsu son of dragons I will go and see one of these villages that you spoke of"
"wait come with me, I can show you lots of things that you wouldn't be able to find on your own "
"perhaps one day when our paths meet again"
"how can you know that will happen?"
"because I can feel it in my heart, goodbye Natsu the dragon, it seems that your friends have returned"
off in the distance Natsu could hear Lucy, Grey and Erza calling his name, and he turned his head to look
"are you sure you don't...'
but when he turned his head back she was gone