Chapter Three:
Waking up in the mornings wasn't hard for me. Every morning since I arrived at Fairy Tail, I would wake up, get dressed in almost identical outfits, and put my hair up. I knew most of the people in the guild were not morning people, and they would wait until almost noon to get there. So I resorted to sitting in the corner on my own, researching. I lived in the women's dorms, so I wasn't too far from the guild. This morning when I woke up, though, seemed sort of chilly. It was fine with me. As a water dragon slayer, I was comfortable in all temperatures. My powers weren't restricted by temperatures. In hot weather, I could control steam. In cold weather, I could use a limited amount of ice. Ice was harder to control. It was stiff, but powerful. I knew there was an ice make mage in the guild, but I rarely talked to people other than Natsu or Lucy. Or Happy, but he and Natsu-san went hand in hand. This would be my second week in the guild, and so far I had only gone on three short missions. I was thinking of taking one today, since I needed to buy some clothes more suitable for winter. My outfit that day would have to be a bit more warm than usual, since I could feel the cold moisture in the air. I pulled on a tight black turtleneck, but it still exposed my stomach, which I always liked to leave out to let me see my tattoo. I wore black leggings and black boots with white fur trim. I took a jacket as well, draping it over my shoulders after I tied up my hair. I pulled out the book that I bought most recently, The History of Liah, and headed for Fairy Tail. It was colder than I anticipated outside, and I was grateful that I took my jacket. I quickened my pace, my feet making scuffing noises on the cobblestone pathways. A few people were out, but many people seemed to be staying inside on this cold morning. I heard a slight rumble in the sky, and felt the air heavy with moisture. It would rain. I felt my shoulders relax. The rain was very relaxing and energizing. It was a good cleanse for me. I got to the guild as it started sprinkling. When I went inside, there was only one other person, besides Mirajane. It was the water mage, Juvia. She sat at the bar with a smile on her face, looking up at the roof. She turned her head towards me, and I nodded politely at her before I hung my coat up near the door. It was warm enough inside.
"Good morning Mari-chan!" my eyes widened a bit at the cute honorific.
"Morning Mira-san." I said back.
"Good morning Mari." Juvia smiled.
"Morning Juvia-sama." I looked up to her a bit, since she was such an amazing water mage. She was extremely powerful, and I knew without a doubt someone you wouldn't want as your enemy. I walked past them and went to my usual table in the back corner, near a window. I wanted to see the rivulets of transparent water streaming down the panes. The soft light that managed to filter through the clouds bathed everything in almost an ethereal light. I opened my book and began reading, completely lost in the vivid descriptions and history of Liah. This was my heritage. But the book was a little… dull, you could say, choosing to talk more about the lineage of the royal family more than any events, and I found myself staring out the window more often than not. I was completely zoned out, and I didn't snap back into it until Lucy sat in front of me, freeing me from the rain's spell.
"Mari?" she waved her hand in front of my face.
"Oh, hi Lucy-san." I said.
"I called your name a few times, are you alright?" she looked concerned.
"Ah, yes sorry, I was just watching the rain." I smiled at her and looked back out the window. She let out a small gasp.
"Mari… I think this is the first time I've seen you smile." she grinned at me. I immediately stopped my smile, a blush peeking through on my cheeks.
"Oh, I see. I'm not very… fond of showing emotion." I looked down at my hands, pushing my pointer fingers together.
"No it was cute!" she laughed. I felt my face go redder.
"I'm not cute, I'm mature." I muttered.
"Mari, it's okay to be cute. But you're also mature, yes." she grabbed one of my hands, stopping my fidgeting. I admired her guild mark again. It wasn't foreign to me to see one anymore, since I had mine in black on my stomach next to my other tattoo. Lucy has asked me what it means, but I wasn't able to tell her since I don't know myself.
"Uh, thank you." I nodded at her before looking out the window again.
"This weather stinks." Natsu complained, flopping down in the chair next to Lucy.
"No it doesn't." I retorted quickly, feeling defensive of the rain.
"Well yeah not for you, but for me I feel gross in the rain." he grumbled. I looked back out.
"It's peaceful." A silence followed my words.
"Natsu, my rent is due soon. We should go on a mission tomorrow." Lucy said with a slight whine in her tone, breaking the thick quietness of the guild.
"It's supposed to rain tomorrow too!" he groaned.
"Fine, I'll try to find one with indoor requests." she stood and left Natsu and I alone at the table. I didn't really understand Natsu sometimes. Sure we some stuff in common, but we were two different sides of the same coin. Happy had once described us as day and night. I had agreed. I studied him as he traced the grooves in the table before looking back out the window. He did not seem to want to stay still, at all.
"How does your magic even work?" Natsu broke the silence. Another thing we disagreed on, peace and quiet.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, you can control water. So, doesn't like, everything have water in it? Where does it come from?"
"It's almost exactly the same as yours, but I'm much more powerful with a water source." I explained. He blinked for a second.
"Do you know basic fighting skills?" he stretched. I gave a snort.
"You would think that my dragon would let me go off in the world alone without knowing how to spar with enemies?" I felt my eyebrow raise. He shrugged and yawned.
"You seem pretty weird, so I dunno." he gave a wide grin, and it let me know that he was joking. I think. Lucy came back with a paper.
"Natsu, look at this. It's a request to defeat a dark guild a few towns over. The reward is enough to pay my rent for months! Do you think we should ask Gray and Erza to come with?" she questioned.
"Erza's on a mission. But ice-brain could be good help." he nodded. "How bigs the guild?" he squinted at the paper. The rain seemed to put a damper on his personality, because otherwise he and Lucy would be out the door instead of still contemplating.
"I feel like we should get more help, the guild is pretty big… plus they have some strong mages." she frowned. Natsu flicked his eyes up to mine with a grin.
"Wanna come with us and ice-princess on a mission?" he asked. I sat back in my seat for a second. Would it be alright? Lucy looked at me expectantly.
"Yes." I nodded, hoping that this wouldn't end in disaster. Lucy had told me stories, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be witnessing that kind of, well, stupidity firsthand.
"I'll go tell Mira!" Lucy squealed and hopped away.
"Welcome to Team Natsu!" Happy shouted.
"Aye!" Natsu grinned at me. I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth.
"Aye." I repeated softly. Hopefully, I would not regret my decision, and maybe I would make another friend.
