The sun was barely peaking out from edge of the horizon, casting small streams of golden hues that seeped into the cloudless deep blue sky. The shape of a girl was outlined by the light as she walked away from the sunrise. The rays seemed to shy away from her as if she were a magnet repelling the beautiful glow as she walked closer towards her destination, a large building that stood a small walk away from the closest city.
Her pale blonde hair shone as it flew behind her in her hasty walk. Her eyes were narrowed, trying to decipher the words on the building that was still too far away for her to get a clear look at. She was trying to read it, but she didn't really need to. She knew this was the place. This was where she had been traveling towards almost all of her life, though she hadn't even known it most of the time.
The closer she got to the building, the tighter her chest became. Her heart rate sped up, her skin turned clammy, and she began to gnaw on her lip from the nerves. What if they know? She thought fearfully, almost turning around from the implications of them knowing would mean, but she felt a pressure in her mind, urging her forward.
Go, the voice urged her. This is where you belong. This is where you will finally fit in.
She wanted to let the voice comfort her, but before she could sink into Jett's words, a sound disrupted her thoughts. It was a loud, joyful laugh. She stopped in her tracks. Her feet seemed to be glued to the ground as blood drained from her face. A smell had invaded her senses, a new smell, yet there was a twinge of familiarity in it. It was a very nice smell; a deep woody scent that smelled vaguely burnt, like incense.
Its him, Jett. She threw her thoughts back at him. I can smell him so clearly, what if he can smell the same?
She didn't know whether to be excited or terrified. On one hand this was the guy she had originally heard about and realized she needed to meet. He was the whole reason she discovered this place. On the other, if he found out who she was, if he could smell her, he would most likely kill her. She could feel Jett's frustration through the link. He wanted to be here with her, to guide and help and reassure her, but there were multiple reasons he couldn't. The one they both agreed upon, though, was that he had to canvas the area and make sure there was no trace of him anywhere nearby or traces of anyone else who wielded the dark magic. She had her own reasons for wanting Jett to not be there on her first introduction with the guild, though. One being that Exceeds drew unwanted attention, and two being that Jet was the most protective Exceed in existence and he would not allow her to go to the lengths she needed to talk to the dragon slayers.
He won't. Don't forget what your purpose was in the first place.
She cringed away from his words and immediately withdrew from their link. She didn't want to be reminded of that, especially so close to the guild. She was terrified that they would be able to hear her despicable thoughts of why she existed in the first place just because she was thinking them. They would never trust her. They would probably kill her on sight.
"Hey!" A voice shouted at her and her blush deepened. It was him. Calling to her.
Wild rosy hair ruffled in the wind as a large smile was painted over the mans face. She could see his prominent canine teeth even from the distance, and she could smell the burning wood smell even clearer now. His skin seemed to glow, as if a fire burned beneath his skin, which she wouldn't doubt.
She turned her head over her shoulder swiftly, hoping there was someone behind her that he was trying to talk to. Nope. Just her.
"Hi!" She called back, and forced her feet to move forwards, back on its trek to the place she had been dreaming about for months, Fairy Tail.
The man she knew to be Natsu smiled welcomingly as she walked up to him. He shoved his hand out as soon as she was in front of him.
"I'm Natsu." His grin was infatuating and completely contagious. He looked as though he was enjoying every breath he took.
"Christi," She replied, taking his hand nervously. The heat from his hand was immediately noticeable, though it didn't burn. It was as if she were touching sand that the sun had been beating down on for hours, warm yet comforting.
His face screwed up for a brief moment as she saw him inhale. She froze. This was it. He would smell her, he would know and he would probably kill her.
"Nice to meet you, Christi!" He replied enthusiastically, though his face was still slightly scrunched up and his eyes seemed to be looking past her.
"You too," she rubbed her hand behind her neck anxiously, hoping he would give up on trying to pinpoint her scent because she could clearly see that was what he was trying to do. "Is Master Makarov here?"
Natsu refocused his eyes on her, "Yeah... You thinking of joining this amazing guild?" He seemed to forget about his previous frustration and gave another toothy grin. She realized her stress was starting to evaporate the longer she stood in front of him. He seemed to be the friendliest guy on the planet, yet from what she had heard from the stories of him, this was not always the case. She could not imagine him being the guy who had defeated so many dark wizards, the guy who terrified people to their core.
Christi nodded shyly, not wanting him to question her about her magic.
"Awesome!" He shouted and grabbed her wrist excitedly and pulled her through the doors of Fairy Tail without another thought.
As soon as she stepped foot inside she could smell the difference between being outside and in the building. The trust and friendship was palpable. All sorts of different people, with all sorts of different features, were scattered throughout. Some were sprawled out on the benches and tables, some sat at the bar, a few people stood in front of a giant board that had different sheets of papers pinned to it, and some people seemed to just be aimlessly walking around. Whatever they were doing, though, they all seemed comfortable and happy. Like they were a family.
"Natsu! Where have you been!" A voice shouted. Suddenly a figure was standing right in front of Christi and Natsu. A girl with bright red hair that framed her face like a raging flame stood there, her narrow features drawn into a snarl. "You are late." She stated simply, though her eyes shone with ferocity.
Christi knew this girl, "Erza," she said in awe, completely transfixed by the utter power this girl emanated. She was terrifyingly beautiful. She had never seen Erza before, but there was no one else that could as perfectly match the descriptions she had heard.
Erza's eyes shot to Christi, not seeming to have noticed her before. Her eye brows raised as her features seemed to soften somewhat. "Yes, that is me. Who are you?" She spoked bluntly, not bothering to be overly friendly or polite.
Natsu threw his arm around Christi with another manic grin. "Jeez, Erza, will you chill in front of the new recruit! You're gonna scare her." He gestured towards Christi with a smile, "This is Christi, she's about to go talk to Master Makarov," He wiggled his eyebrows excitedly, "About joining!"
Erza's eyes narrowed. She studied Christi closely, and suddenly Christi was frantically sifting through her memories to try and remember if Erza could read minds. If she knew who Christi was. Her eyes shot to Natsu and back to Christi again before she stated emotionlessly, "Good luck. He's upstairs. You," She shoved her finger at Natsu, "have some explaining to do. Grey! Will you show Christi here to Makarov while I talk to Natsu?"
A man lifted his head up from the tables and gazed lazily over at them. His black hair was falling down in front of his face messily and, Christi noticed with a blush, he was only wearing long boxers. His muscle lines were incredibly defined, but she forced herself to look away before her gaze could travel down his shoulders and to his torso.
"No." The man, Grey, shouted back before shoving his head back on to the table.
Erza's face darkened dangerously. "Grey." She snarled, her voice dangerously calm, though obviously threatening. Grey shot up immediately and, with an air of dissatisfaction, walked over to them.
Natsu groaned. "Put some clothes on, you perv."
"Why?" Grey snapped back with a sneer, "Scared your little friend is going to be more impressed by me?" He flexed his arms mockingly to Natsu, who lifted his lip in a snarl.
"There's no way anyone would be more impressed by you!"
Grey's face flushed, "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah!"
Natsu lunged to Grey, his fist suddenly aflame as he struck Grey's jaw. Grey stumbled back and brought his hands up in front of him as he shouted off a spell and ice erupted from his palms, striking Natsu in the stomach with the icicle before they both disappeared in a whirl of ice and flames.
Erza looked at her for a moment as annoyance marred her face. She took a deep breath before shouting over her shoulder, "Mira! Will you show Christi here to Makarov? I'm going to kill Grey and Natsu."
The mass that was Grey and Natsu froze. Erza's eyes darkened and annoyance seemed to radiant off of her. Christ stepped back fearfully as she suddenly began to glow. One moment she was in a normal steel armor top with a blue skirt, and the next she was in full on battle armor.
"I'm sorry-"
"Erza wait-"
Before Christi could see Erza make a move on them a gentle hand pressed into her shoulder. "Ignore them, they're always this rowdy. It's how they show that they love each other."
Christi looked up to the voice and saw a beautiful woman with snow white hair that flowed to her shoulders and the kindest eyes she had ever seen.
"I'm Mira." Her pearly teeth shined from her smile as she leaned in to hug her. Christi tensed, not used to such intimate physical interaction before she returned the hug, trying to avoid being too awkward. "I can sense you're strong. I'm sure Makarov would love to have you join us, if you still want to after seeing all of this." She giggled as she looked behind Christi.
Christi peeked over her shoulder to see Erza standing over Grey and Natsu, who both appeared to be knocked out on the floor. "I'm Christi," She told Mira as she looked at the boys with worry, before smiling back at her, "And don't worry, I don't scare easily."
Mira laughed, but Christi's smile dissipated as she thought about why she didn't scare easily, and the things that truly did scare her. If these people saw the things that scared her...
Mira tugged on her hand gently, "Thats good. Follow me this way," She led her though the room towards the back of the building.
Christi ripped her eyes away from the trio and shot them to the crowd of people that were watching her and Mira curiously. She sifted through the faces with her senses completely focused, searching for two faces in particular. Two smells. She didn't know exactly what they were, but she knew as soon as she got a whiff she would recognize them as dragon slayers.
She closed her eyes as Mira led her and took a deep breath, trying to focus on her deadly lessons from the past and immediately inhaled the scent that smelled vaguely like wildflowers and a hint of something else. Something that all dragon slayers had in common, that cloying smell of dragons that seemed to live and breathe inside of them all. The smell that was impossible to forget.
She focused in on the smell and saw a young girl with long dark blue hair talking to a white Exceed. Both seemed interested in the conversation as their eyes flitted to Christi then back to each other, as if she were the topic of their discussion.
Do they know? She found herself worrying again, before she was distracted by another smell.
The next smell was much more distinct, Christi didn't exactly know what steel smelt like from personal experience, but it resembled a coppery, metallic scent and she knew exactly who the scent belonged to. Her eyes shot to the last dragon slayer in Fairy Tail, Gajeel. His tanned skin and long black hair were noticeable enough, but they would have been harder to find if it weren't for the fact she could trace his metallic dragon slayer scent to the exact place. She found herself opening her mental link with Jett back up to excitedly whisper, I found Gajeel and Wendy and Natsu! And Grey and Erza! And Mira is walking me to Makarov right now! I'm so nervous! But I'm so excited!
She could feel Jett's anxiety wash away as their link was reconnected. I'm excited for you. I wish I was there, but Christi, you cant just block me out because I frustrate you. How can I make sure you're safe if you're pushing me out?
Christi felt a pang of guilt and was about to apologize before the back of the figure she knew to be Gajeel turned around. Her body froze. His cold eyes seemed to drill through her, causing her whole body to shrink away. He sniffed the air and Christi's blood went cold.
He knows. He knows, Jett!
Calm down, he doesn't know. Because he cant know. Because you don't give off that scent. Don't stress yourself out for no reason. Jett's wise thoughts helped soothe her. He was right, of course, but it was hard to believe him under the intense scrutiny of Gajeel's glare.
After she let herself relax and break eye contact with him, Christi gasped as her gaze drifted from his cold eyes and onto the rest of his face, where small dots of iron trailed down his nose and over his brows.
Jett! Gajeel has iron on his face! His features! They match his magic! Christi could barely contain her excitement, which was clear to those around her as Gajeel and Mira's eyes focused in on her curiously.
"Are you okay?" Mira replied, following her gaze to Gajeel's intense stare. She bit her lip, "Oh, don't mind Gajeel, he looks scary but he's really a softy."
Gajeel scrunched his eyebrows up, easily being able to hear them though they were across the room. "Am not!" he shouted back then with a huff he turned his back to them to go back to chewing on what Christi could now see was an iron rod.
"Sorry," Christi replied, not meaning to insinuate she thought Gajeel was scaring her or anything, just that she was surprised to see that he carried bits of iron inside of him, that his features were physically altered by being a dragon slayer.
"It's okay! Here we are!" Mira waved her hand out, motioning for Christi to step up the stairs in front of them. "I believe the Master has already been made aware that you're here."
"Okay." Christi nodded slowly but did not move from her spot. The old nerves seemed to be crawling back from inside her and planting her to the ground again. He was the last obstacle. The last one to see her for what she truly was. He was the last person that would keep her from belonging to a family for once in her life, despite what she was.
She took a deep breath.
He's going to love you, Jett told her reassuringly, and if he doesn't I'm going to kill him.