Disclaimer: I wish Fairy Tail was mine but it belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Chapter 4
"First you need to concentrate. Think about where you are and who you are, then become aware of your surroundings. Use your magic to feel. Spirit magic draws strength from the environment. Everything uses energy. The magic you use is just a name for the type of energy in your body. The trees, the grass, and everything else have their own energy too. You just have to learn how to use is. Once you are able to do this, you will become more aware of Acnologia's parasitic magic and be able to dispel it. Think of concentrating the power within you." Saku instructed.
Lucy sat in a lotus position at the center of the field. After the introduction of spirit magic, Saku introduced herself as a spirit mage and told Lucy of the way to nullify Acnologia's haze. Since Lucy was pregnant, Saku explained that the haze had to be expelled before Lucy gives birth or else it may have bad effects on the baby. Currently, Saku was teaching Lucy how to feel with spirit magic first.
Sweat lined at her brow as Lucy concentrated. Her eyes snapped open.
"Ugh, Saku, I can't feel anything. Are you sure this is what I am supposed to do?"
"Yes now be quiet. You are a celestial mage, it means you have an affinity for spirit magic. Think about something familiar and try to contain you magic within that. Then use it to see if you can feel any magic around us. Earthland is full of magic. Once a mage use their powers, their powers go into the surroundings. There is always a never-ending flow."
Something familiar, hmm, familiar… flames!
Natsu's flames were always familiar to her. Every time they went on a mission, every day when they go to the guild, even in her apartment when Natsu would accidentally set things on fire. Lucy chuckled at the thought. Flames were always familiar to her. Flames were Natsu. Lucy shut out the painful memories regarding Natsu and Lisanna. Instead, she focused on the flames, Natsu's bright warm flames. In her mind's eye, she imagined a burning flame building up inside her. A gold, wild flame concentrated at her heart. She tried to draw all her magic into the flame, feeding it more fire, more energy and making it grow bigger.
"You did it." Saku whispered.
Lucy opened her eyes, careful to maintain the flame within. She looked at herself in surprise.
"I – I – I am glowing." She stuttered in shock. She was surrounded by a golden halo of flames. They appeared at the surface of her skin, but did not burn her.
"Yes you are." Saku smiled. "Now, try to feel that same energy you just concentrated with your magic from your environment.
This time, Lucy kept her eyes open as she looked around. She tried to recall the sensation of feeding the flame with her own magic and tried to find energy around her. She honed in on a daffodil in front of her. As she concentrated on the flame, she tried to feel with magic instead of looking for it. To her surprise, the warm glow extended out of her body like a small tendril of flame. It reached towards the daffodil and Lucy could suddenly feel its energy. Since it was a small flower, there wasn't a lot of energy but Lucy could "see" that the energy was there is small bits floating around the flower.
"Saku, I feel it."
"Describe it to me." Saku urged.
"It is really fluffy, like clouds but at the same time silky in texture. It is in small bits and pieces around the daffodil.
Saku nodded in encouragement.
"Now, try to absorb it into yourself. It will feel as if you are pulling on the energy. Use your own magic to pull it into yourself."
Lucy reached out towards the flower again. The golden flames licking at the surface of the flower, but not harming it. She imagined the energy particles floating into her flames, and her flames consuming it until they were one and the same. It was a lot harder than she had thought. There was a distinct difference between the energy in her magic and the energy of the flower. Lucy pulled and tugged, but the energy stubbornly refused to meld into her own magic. Already, Lucy was feeling the drain of keeping the flame up for so long. With a sigh, she let go of the flame and let her magic dissipate.
"I can't do it. It was like trying to meld to opposites together. Furthermore, I am already feeling a drain in my magical reserves. How is this possible Saku? I wasn't even using magic."
"Well, I suppose it is god enough for today. Instead of thinking of it as opposites, think of it ass two pieces of the same puzzle. You just have to fit them together." Saku then frowned. "Your magical reserves are rather low for a celestial mage. We will have to work on that. Once you get used to spirit magic, it will lessen the strain on your magic reserves since you will be drawing energy directly from the environment. Furthermore, your magic capacity will increase along with your training. Today, you are already tired and I won't have a pregnant woman overexerting herself."
Saku looked at the sun. It had already risen above the horizon during the time Lucy started training.
"Come along now. It's time for breakfast. I'm sure the others are already up."
She then began to move back towards the direction of the house.
-Back in Magnolia-
Natsu glared at the mission board. After trying to track down Lucy's scent from her apartment with no apparent success, he returned to the guild in order to look for her. Gray and Erza were acting strange. Both of them told him that they were going on a solo mission and that he could do whatever he wanted except look for Lucy. They claimed that she needed time and that she would come back when she was ready.
Despite common belief, Natsu was not dense. Admittedly, he may have been dense when he was younger but ever since meeting Lucy he had become more aware of the world around him. After all, there was a difference in being stupid and choosing to do stupid things. He knew that Gray and Erza probably blamed him for Lucy's disappearance. He was so preoccupied with Lisanna that he forgot his partner. In his own opinion, he blamed himself too. Now he stood contemplatively before the mission board, trying to figure out which one he could take to search for Lucy. After all, it wasn't like he could announce he was looking for the blonde. Lucy explicitly stated in the letter to leave her alone and give her time. But then again, on matters regarding Lucy, Natsu rarely listened. Once, she had told him to stay out of her apartment and stop climbing in through the window. He persisted in doing what he liked and she never locked the window despite her complaints. Natsu figured that this time wouldn't be any different.
When he found out she was gone at first, disbelief rooted him to the ground, and raw pain ran through his heart. Then, he was filled with inexplicable anger at whatever that had caused Lucy to run away. Finally, when he read her letter, he was filled with determination to get her back. After their trip to Edolas, Natsu was struck by the similarities and differences between the relationship of Lucy Ashley and Natsu Dragion, to his and Lucy's relationship in Earthland. Looking at their counterparts, Natsu realized that on some deeper level, they loved each other. It was the same feeling that he had towards Lucy. Although he was elated at this, for the first time in his life, Natsu was scared. He had heard about what love could do, and he didn't want it to ruin his relationship with Lucy. If he told her his feelings and she didn't love him back, it was going to change their relationship forever. He was a coward to not tell her.
I won't screw up this time Luce. I promise. I won't let you go like Igneel did. I will make sure I have the power to let you stay. Luce, I was such a fool.
Natsu finally decided on the mission that would lead to where he and Lucy first met – Hargeon. The job requested a mage to capture some rogue bandits around the area. It gave him the perfect excuse to snoop around.
"Mira!" He called to the barmaid, "I'll take this one."
A/N: So I just wanted to clarify some things about the layout of the chapters. Since Lucy and Natsu are currently separated, they each have their own timeline. That is, Natsu is going to do some stuff and Lucy is going to do some stuff, but not necessarily at the same time. In the very near future, I will be merging the two timelines together when Natsu and Lucy meet. Once that happens, it will be present time all around. Thank you, those who reviewed. I am so surprised and grateful to the warm reception. Hope you enjoy this!
