Joining Fairy Tail was probably the best thing to happen in Melody Cross's life. Things started to look up for her and Suki a bit, but she felt so out of place and out of her element that she always kept to herself. She took jobs alone, ate and drank alone, didn't participate in guild events during festivals- choosing to sit back and watch. Suki would always try to get her involved with more things, but Melody was content pulling her weight around the guild hall, helping with repairs and renovations, helping clean dishes and wash clothes. And even still, she never really said a word to anyone.
As the years went by, Melody grew up and was able to pass the S-Class wizards' trials. Upon claiming the S-class rank, Melody Cross was given the nickname "Raindancer" due to her signature spell, "Heaven's Sorrow", which summoned torrential rains that followed her every movement as she danced around her enemies, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Remaining very secluded and introverted, Melody didn't have any friends and being an S-Class ranked wizard didn't help her much in that regard either. However, Gildarts was determined to change that. Proposing something fun, wild, and crazy, he managed to convince Melody to go along with him. It was the day she met Sting Eucliffe, the current guild master of Sabertooth, and it was a day that she would never forget.
"Gildarts, are you sure this is a good idea?"
Gildarts chuckled. "Why not? Those Sabertooth guys have been really annoying lately."
Melody sighed as they stood in the woods just outside of the Sabertooth Guildhall, wondering if she should have brought Suki with them. "Too bad Natsu was out on a job; raiding a guild like Sabertooth would have been right up his alley of fun."
Gildarts smiled at her. "That he would. Now, come on, let's go have some fun. Remember the plan?"
Melody nodded. "You'll create a distraction, I slip in and grab their banner, then we slip out and run."
Gildarts nodded and led the way to the side of the guildhall. Giving Melody a big grin when she nodded that she was ready, he placed his hand on the wall and activated his Crash magik. The wall exploded into dust and tiny cubes, giving Melody the chance to slip in.
Amidst the confusion, Rogue came running out when he heard the explosion and he saw a familiar face. "Gildarts, what the hell?!"
Gildarts just grinned. "Hey, long time no see, Rogue! How's it been?"
Rogue's brow twitched as Gildarts walked forward, everything around him bursting into cubes. "It was good until you showed up and started destroying our guild hall." He stood and crossed his arms. "What do you want?"
Gildarts shrugged and stopped in front of him. "Just stopped by to say hi. Oh, and the Master asked me to deliver a message for Sting."
"What's the message?"
While Gildarts continued to distract Sting and the rest of the guild, Melody had climbed up the wall and to the second floor, sneaking along the balcony railing until she reached where the banner was held in place just above the hearth.
'I can do this.' She thought to herself, slowly standing and reaching over the railing to pull the banner up and over. But before she could get very far, someone grabbed her from behind and pinned her against the wall.
"What have we here?"
Melody looked up to see before her a slim, yet muscular, toned young man with spiky blond hair, slitted, dark blue eyes with a thin scar above his right eye, a crystal drop earring in his left ear, a white Sabertooth guild mark on his left shoulder. He was wearing a blue vest with golden outer edges and inner edges covered by a prominent trimming of gray fur over a short, cream top, leaving his muscular upper abdominals exposed, dark blue gloves reaching up to his mid-bicep with their upper edges being adorned by light gray bands hanging down, loose, cream-colored pants similar to Natsu's, but held up by suspenders attached to the pants' loops by square-shaped golden rings, distinctive dark blue galosh-esque footwear that reached up to his thighs and attached to the upper edge of his pants- the soles bearing rectangular protrusions pointing upwards on their front portion, like square fangs. She found herself blushing as his grip tightened slightly on her wrists as he reached up with his free hand to cup her chin.
The young man restraining her was Sting Eucliffe. When amber golden eyes stared up at him through teal blue locks of glossy hair, Sting found himself speechless and his cheeks burned. The young woman before him was a bit shorter than him, about his age, well built for one as petite as she was with a well endowed chest that bore the mark of the Fairy Tail Guild, her skin slightly tanned, wearing a soft periwinkle tunic with light gray leggings, a silver ring with a brilliant aquamarine stone on her left middle finger, and a pair of small silver hoop earrings in her ears. Her lips were nearly as rosy as her cheeks. This girl, she was more beautiful than any girl he had ever met.
Melody stared up at him, seemingly just as mesmerized as he was. She noticed his grip had loosened on her wrist, so she drew down her hands and found herself placing her hands on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding as much as hers was.
Sting didn't flinch when this strange woman placed her hands on his chest and found his hand moving to the side of her neck. He could feel her heart racing as much as his own.
'What do I do...?' they both wondered.
A loud commotion down below broke the spell and Melody slipped out of Sting's arms when he looked towards the commotion. She grabbed the banner and hopped onto the railing. She looked back to find Sting staring at her and she gave a small bow, smiled, then called out, "Water Dragon Roar!"
Sting watched as the strange woman called out a Dragon Slayer spell, a whirlpool manifesting, then watched as she used the strength of the whirlpool to launch herself over to the wall with a giant hole in it. He looked down to see Gildarts and the strange woman wave and turn to run away with their prize in hand.
Rogue sighed and rubbed his temples, only looking up when Sting came down to join him. "As you can see, Fairy Tail is up to no good."
Sting didn't even care about the hole in the wall, or the fact that Fairy Tail stole their banner. There was only one thing on his mind. "Did you see the girl with Gildarts?"
"Yes, why?"
"Who is she?"
"Melody Cross, S-Class wizard nicknamed the 'Raindancer'." Rogue explained. "Why?"
"She's a Dragon Slayer..."
"Oh?" Rogue looked from Sting to the hole in the wall, then back to Sting. "Sting?"
"Melody Cross, huh..?" Sting said aloud to himself. He found himself smiling and put his hands behind his head.
Rogue watched him turn away and start walking towards his room. Shaking his head, he gave out instructions to repair the damage done to the guildhall.
Down the road, passing through the village just outside of the Sabertooth guild hall, Gildarts and Melody came to a stop to catch their breath.
"That was great, Melody!" Gildarts laughed. "You should have seen their faces when you used your Dragon Roar!"
Melody blushed and smiled, then her mind returned to the young man who had restrained her. "Gildarts, who's the young man with blonde hair, a scar over his right eye, crystal drop earring in his left ear? Guild mark in white on his left shoulder?"
Gildarts looked at her. "That sounds like Sting Eucliffe. He's their current guild master. Why?"
Melody blushed and looked down at the banner folded in her arms, a smile growing. "Sting Eucliffe..."
Gildarts saw her blushing cheeks and beaming smile. He grinned and stopped in front of her. "What's this? Does the little Raindancer have a crush on the White Dragon Slayer?"
Melody looked up at him. "He's a Dragon Slayer, too?"
Gildarts chuckled and winked at her. "Sure is. Don't worry, I'll keep this little secret."
Melody felt her blush deepen and she looked behind them at the distant Sabertooth Guildhall. Her smile grew and she looked down again at the banner, her hand smoothing out the fabric where the guild mark was. 'Sting Eucliffe, huh..?'
Sighing to herself, Melody fiddled with the ring she bore on her middle left finger, the ring Aquaria had given her before she disappeared. 'Why did you leave me...? Why couldn't you have just stayed here...?' She stood and made her way out of the guild hall, but she was so lost in her thoughts that she ran into someone. She was almost knocked back, but whoever it was had caught her. She looked up and blushed when she saw a rather handsome young man with blonde spiky hair, brilliant blue eyes with slitted pupils, a crystal earring in his left ear, and the mark of the Sabertooth guild in white on his left shoulder. "I-It's you..!"
The young man's eyes widened, but then they softened and he smiled. "It's been awhile, Melody Cross. Are you alright?" he asked, helping her stand upright.
Melody nodded. "Y-Yes, t-thank you..." She felt her cheeks burning and she stepped back, bowing her head. "Please forgive me..!"
The young man chuckled, then looked up as Elfman came over.
"What'd you do to our little Raindancer?"
"She ran into me and fell, so I caught her and helped her back up. That's it." Sting said, grinning at the man. "Besides, what makes you think I did anything?"
Elfman rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'll take you to see Master Makarov."
