"Oi! Wake up kid! Gotta get headed to the guild soon! Wake up dammit!" A large hand on my shoulder with a vice like grip shook my entire body violently, waking me up. I quickly sat up and looked around myself. Where am I? Oh yeah, Gajeel's house. The large dark haired man stood over my bed and smacked my face to help me wake up. "We're leavin' in 'bout twenty minutes. Levy has breakfast waitin' for ya in the kitchen."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks Gajeel. I'll be out in a few, Dexon still drunk on the couch?" Last night we'd gotten to talking about different opponents we'd faced in the past. Gotta say these guys are pretty tough to have beaten Grimoire Heart and come back without any repercussions other than a few broken bones. Anyhow, Dexon had started drinking and passed out totally shitfaced about midnight. No way was I sleeping in the same room as someone who smelled that strongly of booze.

"Nah, Lily already woke him up an' got him to eat some kiwi to calm that monster of a stomach. Get dressed!" at that Gajeel turned around and walked out of the small room, slamming the door behind him. The room I was staying was big enough for you take about 2 steps in, a dresser next to the door and a cot on the opposite wall, there was a nightstand at the foot of the cot which Gajeel had made himself out of Iron, which matched the grey paint and black carpet well.

I stood up and started to slip on my shirt, as I had slept in my jeans alone. Then, tied my bandana around my neck and laced my boots up. Walking out into the living room, the smell of bacon and eggs caught my nose like it was actually calling my name. Gaaalllee, Gaaallleee. I was only a little starving.

The room was very interesting decorations wise. Gajeel, in all his might, had been able to keep the black carpet as well as the leather and chrome furniture when Levy had moved in but that was about it. The walls had several pictures of the two hung up and had been painted a sky blue color. Bookshelves rose floor to ceiling everywhere and each and every single one was packed to the brim with books, each shelf having a genre of its own. You could tell the horror area was where Gajeel read from because the whole thing was littered with little bits of Iron he'd been munching on.

I stepped into the kitchen and took a deep breath, the salty and sweet smell of breakfast encasing my senses. The floor was made of black and white tile, like an old diner. The iron furniture continued into this room, and on top of the reflective metal surface I assumed was their table sat a large plate of bacon, eggs, and a piece of toast. Levy stood at the sink, washing the dishes thoroughly. She turned around for a second and smiled brightly, the large scar on the side of her face demonstrating that the little woman in front of me had seen some much darker times. I nodded my thanks and sat down, beginning to wolf down the meal. I could hear the other three males in the house talking in the living room, Lily and Dexon discussing their transformations. Sadly, I finished eating quickly and took Levy the plate.

"Thanks for the food, It was really good."

"Don't worry about it, you're gonna be staying with us for now and I wanted to welcome you here. Go on ahead with the boys, I'll finish cleaning up and meet you all at the guild." I nodded and walked into the living room, where Gajeel was laughing his ass off at the two Exceeds. Lily was poised to fight, a small sword held tightly in his little paws, Dexon wielding his axe in his right hand, his left reaching out in front of him.

"Don't you dare insult me in such a barbaric way! I'll throw you into the very pits of hell for this!" Lily roared.

"All I did was say that kiwi isn't that good! Dude what is your deal?!" Dexon looked a little afraid, his tail hairs all standing on end. Gajeel was laughing even harder now, his tongue pointing straight out of his mouth as tears crawled out his eyes. I stepped in between the two with my hands held out to the sides.

"What the hell is going on here?!" I demanded, a growl rumbling just beneath my voice.

"This vulgar beast insulted kiwi! That fruit was deemed the fruit of the Gods you sack of crap!" Lily yelled. I snarled at him, baring my large canines. He took a step back quickly and I could see a little fear in his eyes.

"He gave me some kiwi to eat to help my stomach, which it did. All I said was that the skin was gross to eat 'cause it felt like a squirrel crawled down my throat. That was it Gale I swear!" I put my arms down and sighed.

"Okay, Dexon I know ya talk all the time like that but that was too far for someone we just met. Come on man, really?" He hung his head a little and put his axe back on his back. "Whaddya say?"

"I'm sorry" He mumbled. Lily put his sword away and nodded in acceptance. I walked over to the door and yanked my jacket off of the hook it dangled from, slipping it on quickly. "Where are you going Gale?"

"Headed to the guild, I wanna find a good job soon so we can get some money for an apartment. I'm sure before long these guys'll get tired of us messin' up their day" Gajeel stood up and strutted over, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

"Don' worry about it none kid. I know what it's like to live on the streets, ain't pretty. Stay until ya can stand like a man." He threw on an extremely dark brown duster and called over his shoulder. "See ya later Shrimp!"

"Stop calling me that!" He chuckled at Levy's response and opened the door, leaving it open for us to follow him. Our little group caused the crowd to part as we walked down the cobblestone path to the guild hall. The morning sun was nice and warm, heating up my back while the morning air chilled the rest of me. The sky was brilliantly blue and totally clear of any clouds, huge flocks of birds flew by overhead. We passed a bakery and the smell of fresh baked bread rushed past on a gust of wind. I looked ahead at the guildhall, its pale stone walls were blindingly bright as the sun reflected off of them. It was astounding.

We finally approached the large doors to the guild, walking into the sound of people already pumped with energy. Smiling to myself, I walked over to the job board and saw that it had been updated from yesterday, a few new jobs dangling from it precariously. I skimmed them quickly with a hand in my hair, Dexon at my heels.

"Kill a river monster, 1,000 jewel. Nah, I don't get along with water. Work special effects for a play, 1,500 jewel. No thanks bud. Hmm...this one's interesting." I pulled a flier off and read it over.

WANTED: 2-4 wizards

Location: Jade Mountain Range

Job description: Any who take part in this job will be on a crew to help clear rubble from a mountain passage that has been blocked for a year. Any and all help is welcome. (Note: It is preferable to bring a healing mage with you, as the work is dangerous)

REWARD: 50,000 Jewel

"Hey Dexon, take a look at this one." I handed it to him and he put a hand on his chin in consideration.

"The pay is good, and the job shouldn't be too hard. If it's just you and me we can keep the whole pot to ourselves but I saw the Jade Mountains right after I hatched, they're steep and really gravely in some spots. We really should bring a healer." We both quickly observed the Guild, not seeing anyone who looked like they knew healing magic. We hadn't been here for even a day yet so asking people to go out on a job with us was probably a bad idea. I heard the floor behind me creak and I turned around to find Wendy standing there, looking as if she'd planned on scaring me.

"Wendy?" my head tilted in curiosity and she snapped into a more normal posture, looking out of the top right corner of her eye. I smiled and shook my head. "Trying to scare me?"

"Shh! I thought it might work okay? You used to be all jumpy when we were kids and I was trying to see if you still were, that's all." She gave me puppy dog eyes and in a pouty voice said "I promise I won't do it again ein stor." I smiled at my nickname, feeling my chest burn bright with with pride. I reached out and ruffled the dark blue locks of hair and smiled at her.

"'S all good litte ein. Hey, you're a healer right?"

"Well, kinda. I can do more than just heal, enchantments are my best area in magic. Why do you ask?"

"Y'see, we found this job to clear some mountain roads but it said to bring a healer cause the area is dangerous. Wanna join up?" I handed her the flier and she read it quickly looking back up at us. "O' course we'd split the pay evenly." She nodded and shouted over her shoulder at Carla.

"Carla! Gale invited me out on a job with him! It seems like it might take a few days! Mind staying here to tell Natsu when he gets back? He wanted to go see you know who."

"Leave it to me! Gale, you should tell Gajeel where you're going too!" She called back. I nodded and waved my hand high in the air, getting Gajeel's attention across the room. He jutted out his chin as if to say "what's up?" I held up the poster and pointed at the door, he nodded quickly and I looked back at Wendy.

"Seems like it's all sorted out now don't it?" I smiled and threw my arms behind my head.

"Close to it anyway, we need to pack and find out when the next train leaves." I felt the color drain out of my face at the mention of a train. Wendy took notice and waved a hand in front of my face. "You okay?"

"Yeah! Just...not a big fan of trains...or wagons, boats, and those magic cars" I felt all my manliness seeping out of my body when she giggled at hearing me say that.

"Don't worry about it, we figured out that pretty much all Dragon Slayers get motion sickness, even Gajeel. I have a spell to help you out with that!" My heart lifted and I grabbed her hand quickly.

"Thanks a ton Wendy! You're a lifesaver!" Her face went bright red and she looked at the hand I had grasped between my own. My ears got hot and I let her hand go just as fast as I'd taken it. "So anyway, packing right?" Wendy nodded sheepishly and I saw Dexon below me trying hard not to laugh. "Whaddya laughin' at ya damn cat?"

"Nothin' Gale, nothin' at all! Go ahead and take Wendy to her place, all we got is still in a bag at Gajeel's and I can grab that pretty quick if I fly."

"Alright. Don't pack any extra booze, we already have a whole bottle of whisky in there for you" I added as his wings unfurled from his back. He leaped up and hovered there for a second, giving me a two-finger salute before zipping out the door. I turned back to Wendy and offered her my arm. "Ready to go?"

"Of course!" she wrapped around my arm and we walked out of the door.

WENDY'S POV

Gale's arm radiated heat into my smaller body as we walked, and a wave of happiness rolled over me. His ears were all red tipped! The streets were full with people trying to get their errands done early, one man down the street was swearing about the awful deal he was getting for a sword.

"This place always so...alive?' Gale asked, an eyebrow raised. His nose kept twitching as he sniffed the air. I could understand, Mrs. Eizen just opened her candy shop and the bakery was running full steam, the air was sweet and light,filling your lungs with each deep breath. "I don't mind it too much but some of these people look like swindlers."

"Some of them are, it's like this anywhere you go around here lately though. The next few towns over are dealing with it too. It'll clear up soon enough, we normally don't get worried about Magnolia until they file a job with us, until then they can handle themselves pretty well."

"Ah, now I'm starting to get a better feel for how you guys work. Gotta say I like it. You're like a guardian, if anyone messes with Magnolia the Guild backs them up in a heartbeat. It's like everyone here is just one huge family." a hand went up to his bandana and began to rub the silky fabric and he was silent for a moment. "Been a long time since I had a family" Gale's eyes seemed to look a thousand miles away, as though he was remembering something.

"Gale, hello?" I waved my hand in his face and he shook himself awake, then turned back to me.

"Sorry! All good now! I forgot to ask earlier but...where are we even going?" He looked over at me and my heart skipped a beat, our faces were barely even an inch apart because I'd leaned into his arm and wow his eyes are pretty, they seemed almost black most of the time but the sunlight had turned them into a rich red color, they were so deep I felt like I could fall in.

If he noticed he sure didn't show it, because he gave me a puzzled look. I turned my head forward and let go of his arm, beginning to walk a few steps ahead. We rounded a corner and I gestured to a large brick building that sat on top of a hill. The curtains were all pink and an orange fairy tail banner hung out front.

"Up there! That's the Fairy Tail girl's dorm. It's a really nice place. They've even got a hot spring! The only problem is it's really expensive, I've had Makarov hold my rent back for two months now, and he's getting a bit impatient. That's why I'm really glad I can help with the job!"

"How come I ain't heard of the boys dorm?" Gale's head was tilted to the side with an eyebrow slightly raised. I could feel a chill run down my spine at the memory.

"I'll just tell you this much, Gray is an Ice wizard and Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer. Putting those two in the same building for more than a week is asking for trouble." He nodded in understanding and I turned to the dorm. The main doors were solid oak with small stained glass windows in the center of both depicting Mavis, Fairy Tail's first master. I opened them and peeked my head in silently, making sure nobody was indecent before letting a man inside. Just like I thought, the halls were silent except for the cries of pets in different rooms. I nodded my head and led the way inside, my hands behind my back as I stepped lightly on the limestone tile. The walls were made from a thick dark wood, the supports holding the roof overhead with same structure a mineshaft would use, and small lights were hanging off the walls to light the long hallway.

Gale followed behind me, looking intently at the different doors to rooms, all of them suited to their owner in one way or another, all had their names painted above it. Erza's just had a very large slash through it from when she had gotten angry at her book, Cana's was dented all over from her trying to get in while drunk, and Lisanna's had scratch marks all along it, a hazard from her animal soul take overs. At the end of the hall we turned right and followed and set of stairs up to the second floor. My room was the first one on the right, and compared to the others it was still pretty, the wood stain looked almost new.

"This is it" I told Gale, who was staring at the door across from mine. It was Laki's room and being a wood-make Wizard of course it was absolutely beautiful, carved into the lower half was a depiction of Magnolia, flying over the town was Igneel and the other dragons. "Hey Gale, are you okay?" I leaned around his body and put a hand on his arm, trying to look at his eyes.

"How does she know what they look like?" he asked, still staring at the door with wide eyes.

"Four years ago they were the ones that destroyed the Face bombs, Grandeeney said that they'd been living inside of us to create anti-bodies that would stop us from turning into dragons like Acnologia did. Everyone in Fiore saw them, how did you not feel their power?"

"I was training with the battle mages in Alakitasia. I didn' even get back to Ishgar, let alone Fiore, until a couple o' months ago." He put a hand to his bandana and gripped it tightly. "I know Zepoura ain't in here though," his voice was monotone and quiet, the longing look in his eyes obvious and bleak. Suddenly, he raised his hand and smacked himself so hard I could hear it echo through the hall, then started to shake his head violently. When he stopped, he looked at me with the same smile on his face as before. "I ain't need to be thinkin' 'bout things like that anymore, come on, I wanna see yer place."

"U-uh...Right!" If he doesn't want to talk about it I won't make him. I'm sure he'll tell me at some point. Opening the door I stepped into the large apartment. It opened into the living room, and to my right was the hallway that lead the bathroom and my bedroom. The kitchen was hidden just around the left side of the door, forming an L shape with the living room. The carpet was brown, black and white, it felt soft like animal fur. I had a couch set against the wall closest to me and across from it was my lacrima vision, currently tuned onto the news, between them was a light coffee table made of balsa wood. In the corner was a desk piled with books and drawings. The kitchen had white linoleum tile and an island with a oven in the bottom of it, the wraparound counters were polished granite and the cabinets were made of oak.

"Woah…" Gale looked absolutely amazed, his eyes wide as he studied the counter carefully. "With a kitchen like this you must cook all the time!" my face went pale and a chill ran down my spine.

"N-not really, I'm an awful chef. It's just one of those things I've never been able to get a hang on" I muttered, feeling extremely embarrassed. He smiled and looked over at me.

"In that case you're in luck. I may not be the best cook in the whole world and definitely not as good as Gajeel from what Levy told me but I'm pretty damn good. My potato soup is as good as a royal chef's guaranteed." He put a hand on his hip and held his chin slightly higher, clearly wanting to let his ego show.

"Oh really now?" Time to tease him a little! I walked over to him slowly, getting within mere inches of him, then began to trace his peck with one of my nails lightly. I smiled when I saw the chills run down his spine, then looked up into his eyes. "Maybe you can make it for me sometime?"

"I-I...U-u-uh, um… I uh…" his jaw dropped and the tips of ears looked like they might actually catch fire, "Y-yeah, s-sounds good." I grinned and backed up, holding my hands behind my back.

"Thanks Gale!"

GALE'S POV

I can't be the only one who finds that slightly unfair right? I mean, come on! If she does that again and tells me to jump off of a cliff I might actually do it! She got dangerously beautiful since we were kids. Not only is she just a few inches shorter than me but she also has these amazing eyes and her figure is like...wow...I don't even know what to say right now. She read me like an open book!

Wendy vanished down the hallway into her room to pack her bag, while she did that I scoured through her cupboards to see what I might be able to cook with when we got back. And...well the good news is she's not running out of sweets anytime soon. I've never seen so many frosted animal crackers in my entire life! After about fifteen minutes of standing there and feeling very awkward she popped back out of the room with a bag slung across her shoulders, it had little green animal paws painted all over the white canvas. She smiled lightly at me and I returned it.

"Ready to go?"

"Whenever you are!" I smiled at her excitement then looked up at the clock, and my jaw dropped once again but for a different reason.

"Dexon is gonna kill me" the blood drained from my face and dread settled over my body before fear grabbed my spine and shook me. It's always a rollercoaster of emotions like that when you're late with Dexon. Mainly because he will actually try to murder me for being more than five minutes late. I said we'd be really fast, and now it;s been almost forty-five minutes…

"What's wrong?"

"WE GOTTA GO LIKE NOW!"