Hey everyone! Gosh, thank you all so much for your support~ It means a ton to me :D I'm really excited to write this story, and I'm sorry for the slow beginning, but the Miraxus is comin' in full force, y'all XD
Anywho, I'm rather excited to say that I'm starting to snuggle back into my writing style, and even though it's still not great, I feel like I can finally improve :D
Thank you, Miraxus! XD
After a rather eventful night, Mirajane crept from her room to find four randomly thrown together 'beds' sprawled out around the small living room floor of her cabin. Three of them were alive, gently moving up and down with the breathing of their owners, but the one farthest to the back of the room was cold and empty.
It would be cruel to ignore that, right?
With a sigh, the demon mage took a quick head count, spotting every type of hair and helmet there was to spot except for the spiky, yellow thunder head. She heaved another sigh, this one much bigger than the first, and turned on her heel towards the door. For a moment, she questioned leaving her two younger siblings alone with the Thunder Legion hanging around, but one glance at the three mages burrowed under their blankets and drooling reassured her that they would be fine... As long as they didn't start arguing. So, without looking back she curled her pale fingers around the cold door knob and slowly creaked it open, slipping out with hardly a sound to tell where she'd gone.
Immediately the smell of the ocean hit her, along with a few punches of early-morning sunlight. The demon mage squinted her eyes at the glow and looked around, searching for any sign of the thunder dragon.
The aftermath of the storm had bathed the a cool, crisp color. Above the mage there were swirls of blue and grey, twisting and crashing into each other, their colors reflected on the ocean in front of her. The sand was alive with the light, its white grain sparkling like millions of little stars poking through the night as the eldest Strauss continued narrowing her eyes in pursuit of the familiar yellow head. To be honest, she wasn't totally sure why she'd come out looking for him. A large part of her was worried that he was out causing trouble, harassing girls or maybe blowing something up. Another part of her, however (one that she really didn't want to admit was there) was genuinely curious about why he'd go off on his own like that. As far as Mirajane had been able to tell, after his return to the guild the dragon slayer had wanted to spend more time with his team and make up for lost training time or something like that. Lost training time usually didn't include going off alone in the wee hours of the morning, though.
After several minutes of searching, the demon mage spied a distinctly electric crop of hair sitting in the sand in the distance, along with several early-morning tourist playing volleyball on the beach a few feet away. The wind ruffled the eldest Strauss's snowy hair as she let out a sigh and tucked a stand behind her ear, trudging her way towards the ocean, towards the dragon slayer. Her slender legs moved quickly; she didn't want to waste any more time on him. Plus, she was starting to get a little worried about exactly what would happen back at the cabin if it was discovered that the two of them were gone. Or, more specifically, what the others would be thinking.
When she finally reached the dragon slayer, her feet subconsciously stopped moving and she froze, directly behind him. He was sitting quietly in the sand, the furry collar of his coat waving in the wind like an old flag with knees curled loosely near his chest, spread out in a relaxed way. His elbows rested on their caps lazily, with his rough fingers tightly intertwined in front of him, white-knuckled and tense. Quirking her brow, the demon mage traced his line of vision up to a red-headed young girl in a scarlet bikini, her slender body glistening with sweat as she laughed with her friends; the ones playing volleyball. Mirajane grimaced and rolled her eyes, planting her pants sharply on her hips and walking around to the right of the dragon slayer. He caught sight of her and turned slightly, raising his brow in her direction.
"Enjoying the view?" She asked coldly, her normally sweet voice dipped in venom. She wasn't totally sure why she had decided to be hostile toward him, but she felt like the thunder mage deserved some sort of punishment for oogling so early in the morning. At least wait until after breakfast.
The dragon slayer looked up at her, his brow raised in surprise for a moment before a smirk crept onto his scarred face. "Yeah, it's pretty well endowed." His grinned widened, exposing his sharp, white teeth.
Mira scoffed and pursed her lips, staring intently into the eyes of the dragon slayer. To her surprise, he broke her gaze and almost timidly turned back to face the ocean, his lips curled into a frown. The demon mage studied him for a moment, her eyes glazing over the deep, concerned crease in his brow. Exactly what went on in that thick head of his? At that moment she could've sworn that he almost looked like he actually regretted what he'd said, although that was unlikely. For some reason, the oldest Strauss had come to terms with and excepted every member of the Thunder Legion except the spiky haired dragon slayer. She didn't really know why, but she had such insanely mixed feelings about him she could've made a cake with the batter. He had turned his back when they needed him, and then caused the guild so much pain, but at the same time he'd saved them all when they needed him most. He was part of the guild, part of their family. She could except that, couldn't she?
Only if she had to.
"Actually," He said, ripping the demon mage from her thoughts with a surprisingly calm voice. "I was looking at the ocean. It was just my fantastic luck that red hair over there jumped in front of me when you showed up." He said dryly, half smirking to himself as his eyes scanned the horizon. The demon mage felt her expression soften slightly as the dragon slayer turned to face her again, his brow cocked confidently. "We're here for a reason, right? I came to watch out for these idiot visitors. Just because they happen to be gorgeous girls bouncing around ain't my fault." He laughed lightly, his grin fading as he turned to face the waves once again.
Mira looked at him sympathetically, her cerulean eyes bubbling with guilt and surprise. "He came to do the mission?" It felt way to impossible. Laxus Dreyar was being responsible? There was a pause before the demon mage smiled warmly, looking down at the electric head below her with an odd sense of pride. "Well," She said, quickly regaining her bubbliness. "You haven't had breakfast yet, right? You should come back to the cabin. You left with out saying anything; the others might be worried."
Laxus chuckled. "Nah, I taught them a long time ago that worrying about me is useless. I can handle myself just fine. They should worry about themselves." He stood, brushing off his knees and arching his back in a stretch. "But you..." He started. "You, uh..." He deadpanned at the arched eyebrow look she was shooting him."You're little kiddies won't be too happy." He grinned and turned in the direction of the cabin, shoving his hands dejectedly in his pockets.
The demon mage sighed and trudged after him, just barely catching his grin morph into a frown once again. He looked almost annoyed, and the small portion of his face she could see from behind had become a mixture of self-disappointment and annoyance. However, the oldest Strauss couldn't help be feel successful, if only a little bit. After all, she had moved the almighty dragon slayer. She had figured that when, and if, she found him, he would refuse to come back to the cabin, not willingly stroll along the beach-side path.
Laxus Dreyar was one of many things, one of them being stupidly stubborn and rock-like. Moving him was like moving, well... a mountain, really.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence, and the two S-classes mages completely absorbed in their own little thoughts. When they entered the cabin, however, they were greeted by several long snores, along with Evergreen's sharp eyes prodding them from her place on the couch. Her book was once again nestled in her hand, her pale legs crossed sternly and her brow raised. A smile tugged at her lips.
"On your honeymoon already?" She droned, her tone as dry as the sand falling off of Laxus's shoes. The dragon slayer was annoyed at first, but then his face split into a grin.
"Mira here was just chasing after me to confess her undying love. I always knew she had the hots for me, though." He chuckled, a stupid smirk plastered on his scarred face. Behind him, though, Mirajane's mouth was hanging open in shock, her brow creasing dangerously as she clenched her pale fist at her sides.
With a quick humph, she blew passed the dragon slayer and into the kitchen, busying herself with breakfast and going at pots and pans with a vengeance. Laxus raised his hand after her, his eyes wide with regret and his mouth forming soundless words as he groped for her attention, but he gave up quickly. After all, why should he apologize? Dragons were creatures of habit, even bad ones. He didn't need to apologize for being himself, right? Even though he didn't want to be that way anymore.
From the couch, Ever shook her head, her eyes shut in thought.
After several minutes, the electric-headed dragon slayer turned and disappeared back to the outside, leaving only the hollow echo of the door and the ghost of his swishing, furry coat.
This time, Mira didn't go after him.
Before much longer, another door softly closed from down the hall and the youngest of the Strauss siblings appeared, rubbing her eyes sleepily, but still smiling warmly when she spotted her sister. As she walked over to the demon mage, being sure to take great care in stepping over the legs and wooden dolls scattered around the floor, she felt a chill wafting around the older girl in the kitchen and furrowed her brow worriedly. There was a great magic aura around the woman, the same one she got when in her demon form, only it was heavily tinted with disappointment.
"Sis?"
Mira blinked, her head shooting up from the small frying pan she had been focusing on. At the sound of her little sister's voice, all traces of displeasure fell from her face, leaving only a weary but still warm smile in their path. The demon mage set down her cooking utensils and brushed her hands on the simple sundress she had picked out as she took a step towards her sister. "I'm sorry, Lisanna," She said gently, running her hand through the young takeover mage's short, white hair. "Did Laxus wake you?" Her tone turned cool at the dragon slayers name, although the ice only peeked through. She wouldn't let it show just yet.
The youngest Strauss shook her head, smiling slightly. "No." She scrunched up her brow and narrowed her eyes. "Why, did something happen? You seem upset, sis. You know you can tell me..." She moved a little closer to the demon mage, as if to reassure her statement. Mira only smiled sweetly and kissed her little sister's cheek fondly, turning back to her cooking which was now popping and sizzling wildly.
"Breakfast is almost ready." She chimed. "Why don't you go wake the boys?"
Lisanna nodded, trying to reassure herself that there was nothing wrong with the older demon mage. What she didn't see, however, was the mountain her older sister was leaning against.
...
After a short, rushed meal, the remaining three members of the Thunder Legion (along with the Strauss family) headed out to explore the resort and check the progress of the repairs on their cabin. After chatting with an extremely nervous employee, they had been told that the water damage was "severe" and repairs could take up to several weeks, which left them to search for Laxus and decide their next course of action. The Strauss's had graciously agreed to accompany them, although Mira was still battling with some, well... Some seriously pissed off feelings. She really wasn't sure what to think of the stupid, electric dragon slayer, and frankly she didn't know why she was even trying to figure it out. He had seemed to gentle, so caring, so vulnerable when she had found him on the beach, his normally beady eyes filled with honesty, and for just a moment she had allowed herself to except him as a changed person. However, his attitude in the cabin had flipped the demon mage's approval upside down, and she was completely miffed at him and his stupid, toothy grin.
Hence the pissed off.
...
After about an hour of aimlessly wandering around after the dragon slayer, the six Fairy Tail mages had stopped in a small forest clearing just under half a mile from the beach to rest after the intense heat had sucked up both their energy and their spirit. What the sun didn't bother drinking up, though, was the sweat pouring off their temples and trickling down their necks.
With a groan, Lisanna folded her hands behind her head loosely and closed her eyes, letting out a tired sigh and arching her slender neck. "We've been looking for Laxus for hours!" She exagerated. "Can't we just go to the beach for now?" She whined, the neck strap of her black bikini pointedly peek-a-boo-ing out of her dully yellow shirt and waving it's ends around in the air.
"Beach! Beach!" Bixlow's babies echoed, floating around the moist heads of the mages.
Elfman made a face at the little dolls, his thick brow arching in their direction. "A real MAN doesn't complain about not going to the beach!" He said, earning a huff from Evergreen, who was busy fanning herself. Her hazel hair was glued to her forehead, little droplets hanging off the tips.
"You big oaf; I swear there's nothing but empty space inside that thick skull of yours." She droned, her eyes shut and her lip curling to one side as she spoke, her thin eyebrows quirking awkwardly as sweat trickled around them.
Elfman stood up, his fist clenched intensely in front of him as he let out a battle cry and faced the fairy mage. "A real MAN would never take insults from some stupid woman!" He roared, rushing towards Evergreen with his beast arm drawn back. The fairy mage jumped from her place nimbly, leading the male Strauss to slam his 'thick skull' into the rock she had been resting on. Freed, Bixlow and Lisanna watched in half annoyance, half amusement. They were bored, and this was their entertainment.
What ensued was lost on Mirajane, however, as she had picked up on powerful magical auras somewhere nearby and was already straying from the group and trudging deeper into the forest.
Before she realized how far away she'd gotten, she had succumbed to an eerie, forest-like silence and was creeping around bushes in pursuit of the oddly familiar presence.
A grunt broke the still air, shattering it around the demon mages feet. Her pace quickened, and before she knew it she was running towards the sound.
The magical energy became a song, slow and powerful.
It called to her.
It sung to her.
It was so gentle that she wanted to run her fingers through it's hair and smile at it.
It was vulnerable.
Within a few seconds, the oldest Strauss reached another small clearing, this on much more condensed then the last. The air was salty and wet, and she could hear waves dangerously close to the forest; gentle, powerful.
A body thumped at her feet, the unconscious form of a mage. There was a hood over his face, and his limp body spread out pitifully before the demon as her eyes traced the familiar magical feeling up to an electric crop of hair, the sweat and blood mixing and staining over the yellow locks in an ocean of swirling and dirty red.
A toothy grin.
"Hey Mira."
Welp, I've been wanting to make longer chapters, but I dunno... I guess I'll just let them come naturally ^^" This is crazy fun to write, so thank you guys tons for reading! Your support keeps me going when I want to nap :)
I hope the ending there didn't suck too much. I'm writing at like, 3:00am and my brain is fried, haha...
Ha. Anyway, thanks again you guys, and see you next chapter! :D
~Kishi
