"Another dragon slayer-"
"That's awesome! I'm all fired up! We are fight-" The pink hair boy was met with a metal fist in the face.
"Fool! Did you not hear that this friend of his is injured right now?" Erza glared, sending Natsu to hide in a corner.
"Yeah, something about a deep sea diving adventure that went wrong. Cecil heard about the possibility of finding something about Levianna. Lana didn't elaborate much, so I'm hoping to get a letter soon. They want to join Fairy Tail as well." Allen directed to the small man who did not return to his position on the bar just yet. Makarov held up a hand, the other behind his back and smiled.
"I can tell you are a good boy, Allen. You're friends are welcome to join. Just when they get you, you tell them to pay me a visit and we'll get them stamped." He then turned to return to his place by Mirajane.
"Thank you master." Allen called out. He sighed as he looked down at his keys on the table. A heavy weight hit him, making his shoulders sag and head fall. Not a physical burden, but one still of epic proportions.
I need a place to stay. Even if he looked the bad boy part, Allen did not like spending his nights out in the wilderness.
"What's wrong Allen?" Lucy asked, seeing his downcrested state.
"I forgot about securing a place to stay the night." He said, almost feeling a glare from the diamond eye on Fenrir's key.
"Why not stay at Lucy's?" Gray said, receiving a smack from said blonde.
"Yeah! Sleepover!" Natsu and Happy cheered.
"NO!" Lucy yelled at them.
"Is it cause you liiiikkkkkeee him?" Happy cooed, taking off in flight so Lucy couldn't strangle him.
"Shut up you dumb cat!" Allen laughed as watched Lucy chases the blue cat.
"I agree. Then tomorrow, we could take a job to help finance Allen's investment in a home." Erza said, receiving a crying Lucy face.
"Not you too Erza." Lucy sighed, sitting down in defeat.
"Alright let's go!" Natsu yelled, running out the door and Happy followed.
"I'm really sorry Lucy. I can stay another night outside if-"
"Nononono. It's fine. If you staying the night keeps you from staying outside in the cold. You are welcome… but it doesn't mean that they have to stay too." Lucy glared at Gray and Erza who were making their way out.
"We'll be by soon after we pick up somethings." Gray called out.
"Guess we should head out too." Lucy said, standing up, motioning for Allen to follow. They said good bye to the last members there and headed out into town. The people in the streets had dwindled compared to the morning. The glow of the street lamps were strangely comforting in the night. He was so used to sleeping in the woods by now, that the city was indeed a bewildering sight to behold.
When they hit the river, they followed it down and stopped at a two story building.
"Well, here it is. Not much, but perfect for me." Lucy said with a giggle. She opened the door and allowed Allen in. When they got to her main room, Lucy let out an angry groan.
Natsu was sleeping on her bed with Happy on his stomach, cat napping away. Her window was also thrown open, allowing the cool air of the night to sink in. She walked over to them, sparing no pleasantries as she threw them out the open window, shutting it.
"Why can't they learn to use the door?" She let out a low growl. "Sorry about that. I'll see if I can find some blankets for-" Lucy turned to Allen, and nearly screamed at the sight of him. He had just taken off his trench coat and laid it neatly on a chair. For being around her age, he was well sculpted, which didn't help the flustered blonde as she turned away from the sight of the shirtless man.
"I hope you don't mind me keeping my coat right here." She peaked back towards the plum haired male, sighing in relief to see that he had put on a white t-shirt. But her face still was red when she noticed the shirt only outlined all his muscles perfectly. A knock on the door saved the blonde the embarrassment of having to explain her red face. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by Erza and Gray, along with a tired Natsu, who was rubbing his head.
"Man Lucy, why did you have to throw us out like that?"
"Cause you were sleeping on my bed and used my window as a door!" She yelled.
"Lucy is so loud." Happy said with a yawn, receiving a glare from her.
Once everyone was settled in, Allen was bombard with questions. Trying to answer them they best he could into the night, everyone eventually fell asleep.
"Your mind seems troubled dear." Fenrir said through their mental connection. He sighed, looking out the window.
"I just hope Lana and Cecil are okay. "
"They'll be fine dear. They are strong." Fenrir's voice faded and Allen sighed, sinking back into his sleeping bag.
I just hope I made the right choice. Was his last thought before drifting of into sleep.
"Ahh…" Allen looked at Natsu from across the way. He was laying on Erza's lap, looking very sickly from the jostling of the train. He couldn't believe it when he woke up that Natsu and Happy had already procured a job for them. It was even harder to believe that the team was letting him go with them.
"He has extreme motion sickness." Lucy said from her seat beside him. Gray was on her other side, sleeping while Happy had found his way onto Allen's head for a comfortable spot to sleep.
"Maybe it's a dragon slayer thing. Cecil has trouble as well… but not that bad." Everyone seemed to tense as Natsu lifted his head up, cheeks bulging and face green. Erza just knocked him out with a swift punch to the gut, causing the boy to fall back into her lap.
"You really have peaked my interest in this friend of yours. You were former guild mates correct?" Erza said, her brown eyes piercing through his own. He laughed nervously then allowed a sad smile to appear.
"Yeah. We were. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here right now." The comment illicted a surprised reaction from the girls, even waking Gray up. "I had been wander around, trying to find someplace to take shelter. Next thing I knew, I was pushed into the ocean and at the time, I didn't know how to swim. I thought I was a goner, then I saw this girl with hair the color of the sea coming down. She grabbed my hand and swam me to the surface. She withdrew the water from my lungs with her magic." He leaned back, leaving out the part where he summoned Fenrir just to cry and hug someone. "Then she took me to Blitzkrieg's guild hall. And well, that's how I became a member there. After that, we found Lana together after-" Allen paused, a dark look crossed his face as he clenched his fists. Lucy seemed to catch on and placed a hand on his shoulder in concern.
"It's okay. You don't have to tell us." Allen shook his head and smiled at her.
"You'll find out somehow anyways. When we reach our destination and Natsu… is conscious, I'll tell you about the land I come from." They all nodded in response, but deep down, they knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant story.
It was a few more hours till they reached the town their job was in. Search the forest besides the town to take out a pack of monsters that had been attacking the town. Erza went to contact the mayor, who briefed her that they only came out at dawn, leaving the group to wait till then before they could do anything.
"So what's this about your home land?" Natsu asked, looking up from the many dishes he had surrounding him.
"Aye!" Happy lifted a paw, before returning to his fish.
"Well, a few weeks journey across the sea, is the country of Nanryu. It was a beautiful place, till the tension between the two sides finally built up that there was a full blown out war. Guilds like Blitzkrieg were on the front line. At the time, I only had Fenrir as my spirit, so I wasn't much help. So I learned healing magic from Alma Asterson." The name seemed to have a spark of familiarity in Erza's eyes.
"Alma? You don't mean the great healer Alma?" Allen nodded.
"I was wondering if you knew her. She was from Fiore. She was an amazing teacher and taught me all she could during the small moments of peace between battles. After the war ended, Blitzkrieg had found itself weakened and our guild master was ready for retirement. It was a unanimous decision to come to Fiore for one last job. Many of our higher mages had family here, so we decided it was best that the guild disband. I went to find more Celestial Spirit Keys while Cecil and Lana went to find Levianna. " Allen finished, looking up at the now starry sky.
"I see. So what made you decided to join Fairy Tail." Lucy asked with genuine curiosity. Allen smiled and closed his eyes.
"I missed being a part of a guild. Not only was Lana and Cecil going to join, I really did miss the feeling of family, and there was no other guild talked about more on those terms than Fairy Tail." When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of everyone smiling at him.
"Yup! We're one big happy family! So that means that you and I will have to fight some time." Natsu said, taking the taller boy into a headlock. Allen laughed nervously while everyone laughed whole heartedly.
"I'm all fired up! Let's get those monsters!" Natsu cried, holding his bicep in his hand and a grin split across his face. Everyone agreed and headed towards the location that the monsters were told to come out of.
"Now everyone, be ready!" Erza yelled to the team, summoning one of her swords. They spread out, creating a barrier that would catch the monsters in one of the mages grasp. Erza was in the middle, with Gray and Natsu out to her far left and Allen and Lucy to her far right. The ground seemed to shake as the sun peaked over the horizon.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Allen asked the blonde, whose knees were clinking together. She gave him a smile and held up a shaky hand. A roar ripped through the silence and four large monster emerged from the forest. Natsu, Gray and Erza each took one, leaving the last one to Allen and Lucy. The blonde took a deep breath before grabbing on of her keys.
"Alright! Open, gate of the golden bull, Taurus!"
"Moooo! Man, Lucy, your body just gets hotter every time." The bull man's comment caused a twitch in Lucy's smile and a slightly angry glare.
"We're in the middle of a fight you pervy bull. Get 'em!" She commanded, pointing at the monster.
"Anything for mooo-ou." Taurus charged forward, axe drawn. He swung at the monster, seeming to do no damage to the hard, scaly hid. The monsters tail swung at Taurus, but the bull managed to dodge it. Allen had never seen a Zodiac spirit in action. It was quite amazing, but he seemed not to be fairing so well. Reaching for his own keys, Allen grasped one with a tiger on it but frowned when he remembered that Tigrara could only be summoned when it was raining.
Guess I have no choice…
"Open, gate of the northern wolf, Fenrir!" Allen called out. A dark purple smoke filled the area, and from the mass glinted a silver spark. It leapt forward and the monster let out a cry as fangs seeped into it, crushing the armor scales with a brutal force. Lucy stood back in awe. The smoke cleared to relieve a giant wolf; fiercely baring it's fangs as it ripped off an arm of the monster and digging its claw into the monster's chest. A black substance spilt from the wounds, and the monster fell.
Lucy had never seen a spirit so massage and terrifying. She couldn't believe that this wolf was the same as the woman she met yesterday. It's presence was so over bearing that even Taurus seemed to shake at the sight.
"Th-the northern wolf." Lucy looked at Taurus with a bewildered look before allowing him to return home.
Is Fenrir actually feared in the Celestial Spirit World… but it was more like Taurus was shocked to see what she looked like rather than her being here.Lucy thought. She would have to ask Allen about that later. Now, she and Allen had to stop Natsu from destroying half the town in his fight.
"Well, that could have gone worse…" Lucy sighed. Her portion of the reward wouldn't be enough for rent that month. She would have to go on another mission soon. Everyone was tired from the battle, so the mayor suggested that they stayed at the town's hotel. Her face frozen in pain before it relaxed away and a smile slipped onto her lips.
"Yes, luckily this town was nice enough to allow us to stay here." Erza said, her words being jumbled as the masseuse chopped away at her back. The hotel's spa was amazing and was even better as they sat in the sauna.
"My, you humans like it hot." Lucy screamed, holding her arms up as her eyes bulged out at the wolf woman who as currently sitting next to her in only a towel. She turned her gaze to allow Lucy to see her silver eye. "Allen thought I scared you and wanted me to apologize."
Well that isn't really an apology. Lucy thought with a sweat drop. She then waved her hands in front of herself and laughed nervously.
"It's okay! I wasn't scared. You took that monster down really quickly."
"Yes, I must remark on your power. You are the strongest spirit I've encountered so far." Erza said from her spot on the bench. This comment earned a wag of Fenrir's tail.
"A compliment from you is a compliment indeed," Fenrir purred.
Great, now she likes Erza more. Lucy didn't know why she thought that in such distain but brushed it off and turned to now see the wolf woman had discarded her towel. Her jaw dropped. Even Erza's face showed blush.
"Ahh, this reminds me of the small spring by my home. It feels great." Fenrir said, completely ignoring the stares from the other females. She looked down at her imaginary watch before bidding the girls farewell and returned to the Spirit World. They both stared at each other awkwardly before letting out a sigh.
"That was so refreshing." Lucy said, as Erza and her had gotten out of the sauna and dressed. The boys were waiting for them so they could catch a train back to Magnolia. Natsu turned green at the idea of the train and was knocked out by Erza before he could start throwing up everywhere.
When they finally got back, Allen went out in search of an apartment. Talking with a few people led him to a blue, two story apartment, much like Lucy's. The door was opened and dust was coming out in puffs. Grumbles where heard and Allen approached the door to see an old lady on the inside. Sweeping away like it was a contest, she seemed a little mad as one of her swipes caused the broom to fly out of her hand and out towards Allen. He caught it before it could hit him in the face.
"Um… sorry to disturb you ma'am, but I was wondering if this was the one apartment for sale on this block?" The old woman looked towards him and walked over.
"Well are you just the cutest boy I've ever seen! Why yes it is! You may call me Granny May, I own this place. The last bum who lived here skipped out last month. I haven't gotten around to cleaning the place up. For you… 60,000 jewel!" Allen blinked in surprise. This little old lady, with her gray hairs tied back in a bun and a shawl over her peach dress was offering an apartment like Lucy's… for cheaper.
"Wow! Really, thank you so much!" Allen said, shaking the woman's hand. He reached in and gave her the money for the first month. She counted it and laughed, taking her leave, but not before smacking Allen's rear. The purple haired boy blushed and his mouth hung open at the action. "A perverted… little… old woman." Allen had been hit on by women before, in fact, they came in all ages. But it was the first time that an old woman had smacked his rear.
Allen sighed, before looking around the apartment. It came with all the base amenities, so he was lucky he didn't have to buy anything. He would have to spend some time cleaning though. That lady must have gone on a rampage trying to get all the dust out. The kitchen was on the first floor with a laundry room and the living room. Upstairs consisted of two bedrooms, along with the bathroom being up there.
"It's more like a small house then an apartment," Allen said to himself. He realized that the bed was lacking bedding and the kitchen was missing a lot of kitchen utensils.
"Guess I will have to go shopping." Allen sighed, sitting next to the desk by the window. Looking out, his eyes widened when he realized that across the river, was Lucy's place. His face heated up and he turned away.
Oh, boy. What have I gotten myself into?
So since I am notorious for not finishing stories, this will kinda be short like a real story arc in the anime. To tell yall the truth, I already have a bunch of scenes typed up that I want to get to. I don't want to rush it but I also don't want to put that expectation that it will be long cause I psych myself out. The only thing really on my mind right now that I'm not sure of is how to introduce Loke/Leo in. I have a thought but it would be spoilerish to say outloud. I don't know. Just keep up being awesome and stuff.
Thank you CottonCandyLover50Berri and RebeccaCrystalVermillionLohr for you reviews. I don't care what you say, I just love getting them. They make me happy and want to continue with the story.