Orelia's normally fluffy hair was drenched and clung to her face uncomfortably. As much as she preferred being outside at nearly all times, she'd rather be in a clammy cave than basically swimming through such a deluge. Luckily, they'd all woken up before the rain really settled in, so they'd had time to hide most of their camping gear - and Orelia's beloved book - suspended from a branch beneath Natsu's traveling cloak.
"Natsu-niiiii," she grumbled as she wiped hair and water out of her eyes, "do we have to train in the rain?"
"Yep! We've only got a few days left before we have to hit the road! Besides, the rain'll let up in an hour or so. It'd take about that long for us to find shelter, so what's the point?" The pair finally made it to the giant puddle that was Natsu's training area.
"I don't think I'll be able to talk to Sol today…." Orelia said, sadly. "There's too many clouds in the way."
Natsu tried not to look too relieved. "That just means we'll do combat training instead! I wanted to start teaching you how to defend yourself anyway. Alright, watch me and try to copy what I do!"
He stood, legs akimbo, right elbow tucked to his side with his left arm and fist extended. Orelia fell into the same pose, fighting the urge to wipe water out of her eyes.
"Okay, basic punch first. As you push straight out with your fist," he demonstrated slowly as he spoke, "you're going to twist your hand and put your knuckles on top. Pull your other arm in at the same time."
Orelia copied.
"Good, now do the opposite side. Breathe out with each punch."
She copied again.
"Alright, now faster. Make sure to tuck your thumbs around your fingers or you'll break them when you hit stuff."
They both performed a few more punches and Natsu stepped back to observe her. She had good form, kept her back straight without instruction, and was very quick on the uptake - again. Seems like she won't be hard to teach, he thought.
"Okay, keep that form and do one hundred sets. That means one hundred with each arm. I'm gonna go work on my own stuff and I'll be back in a little bit to check on you, sound good? You can count out loud if that helps you keep track - that's what I used to do!"
Orelia nearly fell over. One hundred?! She nodded anyway with furrowed brows - her stubbornness winning over her objections.
"One…. Two…. Three…."
By the count of eighty, Orelia's pace had dropped significantly. Her legs were tired, her shoulders and arms burned, she wanted to wipe her wet face, but she wanted to impress Natsu-nii more. She continued, hoping the rain would finally let up so she could feel Sol's warmth on her cold skin. She was glad Natsu had stayed near her to practice - she could feel a bit of heat with each of his attacks and that helped her to stay the course, though it just wasn't the same as the sun.
"Ninety-one…. Ninety-two…."
The rain dwindled to half-hearted mist.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-NINE, ONE HUNDRED!"
Orelia cheered triumphantly and collapsed on the soggy ground.
"Hey!" Natsu jogged over to her prone form. "You finished before I came to check on you - good job! I expected you to take a break part-way through!" He crouched next to her. "You're all soggy and gross. I can help with that."
He stood and posed, fists together, and expelled an intense heatwave that immediately evaporated any moisture within a 50-yard radius.
Orelia stared. "Can you teach me to do that?! I hate wearing wet clothes!"
"Probably! But we need to know if you can produce your own fire first. That's why I had you practice punching! Ready for your next subject?"
"Mhm!" Orelia jumped up and resumed her punching stance, relieved to finally have dry hair.
"Here we go," Natsu began. "I know you can feel your magic, so concentrate on it and try to move it to your hands. Then, when you punch, let it out right at the end!" He demonstrated and a jet of fire flew from his fist.
Orelia copied the movement, but there was no fire.
"What did I do wrong?" She looked to Natsu with disappointment only to find him ogling her.
"That is so cool," he said in apparent awe.
"Huh?"
"Your hair is fire."
"WHAT?" She frantically patted her head trying to save her hair, but Natsu stopped her.
"It's not on fire it is fire!" He hoisted her up and all but sprinted to the nearby stream unsure how long the phenomenon would last. The stream was swollen from the recent rain, but smooth enough to see a decent reflection.
"Look at yourself!" He said and held her at arm's length above the fast-flowing water.
He was wrong. It wasn't cool, it was totally awesome! Where her peachy hair usually sat was a flowing, seaweed-like fire - starting blue at the roots and fading into violent tendrils of orange, red, and yellow. It was beautiful and startling. Natsu put her down on the pebbly riverbank.
"How do I turn it off?" She asked, a little nervous.
"I dunno…. I've never been able to do that. Maybe dunk your head underwater?"
She tried it and only produced an inordinate amount of steam… and got her clothes all wet again.
"Nope. Maybe it's like a light switch in your brain? Do you remember how it felt to turn it on? Could you do that, but backwards?"
The suggestion didn't really make sense, but Orelia mostly understood his meaning. She closed her eyes and concentrated on pushing flames into and out of her hands, unknowingly making her hair-flames surge a bit, then concentrated on absorbing them until they vanished. She slowly opened her eyes and inspected her rippling reflection.
Her hair was back to normal.
"Well," Natsu said, "I guess this means you can make your own fire, so that's something we can work with! I bet with some training, you can control where it appears. I used to accidentally set my feet on fire instead of my hands… and my hands on fire instead of my feet…. Plus it took me forever to breathe fire on purpose." He paused, not wanting to consider his own suggestion. "Maybe… the next time you talk to Sol, you can ask about it?"
Orelia perked up a bit at the thought. "It's still so cloudy though…. I'll have to wait til later."
"That's okay! We still have a lot to work on even without worrying about magic!" He picked her up and placed her on his shoulders again as they headed back to the clearing. "Now, if a stranger grabs you - that'll never happen if I'm around, but just in case - if they try to cover your face with their hands, bite 'em! And if your hands are free, go for the eyes! Don't try to play fair with someone who's a lot bigger and stronger than you!"
Orelia collapsed on the ground by the cold remnants of last night's campfire. High kicks, lunges, squats, push-ups, jump-tucks… all one hundred sets apiece, plus random sprints around the clearing. She was exhausted and more than a little hungry.
Happy should be back with lunch by now, right? She thought.
"NATSUUUU!"
There he is.
Obviously distressed, Happy hovered in front of Natsu holding a piece of paper.
"I told you they'd have it out for us! Look what I found!"
Natsu took the paper and frowned.
"Is this supposed to mean something?" He asked.
"What is it?" Orelia jumped up to look. "They look kinda like people. Is the one with pink spikes supposed to be you? I guess the poofy orange thing is me. Our teeth aren't really that scary looking, right?" She prodded her canines gingerly.
Happy scowled. "You guys stole that book and now the library is telling everyone you're thieves! Lucky they didn't see me when you took it, so nobody tried to throw me in jail while I got fishing line! Oh, and I got your yogurt thingies, Reli." He handed the girl a bag full of parfait cups and a spoon.
"Thank you, Happy." Without looking up, she took the bag to her spot and dug in.
Natsu shook his head and looked at the paper again. It read:
BOOK THIEVES. Male, young adult. Female, young child. Names unknown. If sighted, please alert local authorities. Do not serve! Protect your wares! - Head Librarian
"Geez, really? It's just one old book. That library hag's overreacting. And this drawing's terrible - nobody would recognize us from this anyway!"
"Natsu, you two are the only people with those hair colors in the whole town - plus, spiky teeth aren't all that common, and these flyers are everywhere! The police have them. The guards at the gates have them. They're in shop windows. Everyone would recognize you!"
"Aww, who cares? We're only gonna be here for another week anyway. Let 'em think we're thieves! At least we didn't wreck the town."
Orelia spoke up. "Natsu-nii, do you have anything to write with?"
"Uh, I think we can use charcoal, but what for?"
"I wanna write the library lady a letter! But I don't know how to write all the words…."
"I'm not very good with words either… but I'll help if that's what you wanna do. Let's eat lunch first though!"
A few days went by with training and meditation ruling Orelia's and Natsu's schedules. Orelia hadn't been able to contact Sol again since her first trance episode, though not for lack of trying. Natsu wondered if that was more Sol's doing than Orelia's shortcoming, and he appreciated the star's consideration for his nerves. He felt that Orelia needed to refine her magic a little more before contacting them again.
Orelia had been practicing her punching form for what felt like hours trying to produce some kind of magical attack, when, suddenly, it happened.
"NATSU-NII, COME LOOK!"
"Your fire hair is super cool, Reli, but I'm gettin' kinda used to it."
"Not that, meanie! Watch!" She punched with her left hand and what looked like miniature tongues of fire erupted from her fist, curling around randomly before they dissipated.
"Whoa, those didn't look like normal flames! What was that? Do it again!"
She produced a few more in rapid succession.
"I bet if you give it a name you'll be able to make a special attack out of it! Like this!" He turned to face the opposite side of the clearing, and shouted, "FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" A much larger than usual flame consumed his fist and set the scorched grass on fire again.
"Uh… ok." She thought for a moment and mustered up her resolve. She wasn't sure the name was correct, but it felt right. "I don't really know what's gonna happen, so watch out…"
"I'll be fine! Go ahead! Just do whatever feels right!"
After a slow breath, Orelia galloped forward, lept into a lunge position, and thrust her left hand forward, palm out, shouting, "SOLAR FLARE!"
The resulting explosion rocketed her backward into an astonished Natsu. The ground shook, the air shimmered, and massive tongues of flame whipped around the clearing making the surrounding trees sway in their wake.
"Are you sure you're only five!?" Natsu asked. "I was only expecting a little puff of sparks or something, but you would've demolished the whole clearing if it wasn't already empty!"
Orelia didn't respond - didn't move. Looking down, he noticed her normal hair... and glowing eyes. He groaned in frustration. Propping her up against a nearby tree so he could watch over her as he resumed his own training, he thought to himself, If that old fart keeps you there for thirteen hours again, we're gonna have to have a talk.
"Welcome back, child!"
Orelia scowled into the golden haze. "I've been trying to talk to you for days, and then it happens when I don't try…."
Sol laughed their musical laugh, "I brought you here to congratulate you, yet you complain! Your efforts have not been in vain, child, but your first excursion here left you quite drained. I thought it best to wait before speaking to you again. The next time you try to speak to me, I will answer."
"What did you want to congratulate me for?"
"Why, you've remembered a spell! We thought you'd be very pleased with yourself! Solar Flare is the first spell we taught you - the first spell we teach all Starchildren."
"But I didn't remember… I just tried what felt right and woke up here. Does Natsu-nii know I'm here?"
"Yes, he's not panicking this time, so not to worry. I'll send you back soon. Now, how do you think you knew to call that spell by its correct name? It's because we taught it to you in your former time. Your mother had hoped beyond hope that your magic would be less than destructive - more like hers - but to no avail. We stars can't help but to be overly energetic! We tend to produce some… flashy results. She was very happy that you would be able to defend yourself, at least."
"You know a lot about Mama… but what about Papa? You haven't said anything about him…."
"I'm sorry, child, we never knew your father. He was gone before we met you or your mother. Your mother couldn't bring herself to speak of him very often. She would say that he wouldn't want her to dwell on the past. All we know is that he sacrificed himself to save you both. You were born into a very troubled time and were lucky to leave it. If not for a good friend of your mother's, you would have been lost as well. It would have been a shame to lose a Starchild so early. But, like we said, your mother was a clever woman. She made sure you appeared in a time that had a chance to achieve peace - in which you could grow into the mage she knew you had the potential to be. If not for your parents, you would already be in the afterlife with them, child. You owe them much respect."
"I can't speak to Mama anymore, huh?"
"No, child. She lived long enough to make sure you were in safe hands, but her spirit is no longer in this plane. I will answer more questions when you return. Until then, rest. You will feel weak when you awaken; you used more magic than you should have on such a cloudy day."
"Wait! I'm supposed to ask you what my mama's name is!"
"Child, the answer to that question would only bring you pain now. Have patience."
The world was blurrier than it should have been, and Orelia realized she was crying. Her parents were dead. She would never see them.
"Natsu-nii, can we go home?" She sniffled.
"Hey, you're awake! I was about to take you back anyway - it's dinnertime and…. Oi, are you okay?"
Orelia wiped her nose. "My mama and papa are dead…. Sol told me. And even if they weren't, I'd never be able to meet them. I'm not from now... I don't have a family…." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't remember what Mama looks like, and I never met Papa…."
"Reli, look at me." Natsu sat on the ground in front of her.
"Huh?"
"You have a family. Happy and me are your family. And when we get to Fairy Tail, they'll be your family too. You'll have a grandpa, and a bunch of crazy aunts and uncles, and even a cranky grandma who hides in her house most of the time. We're never gonna be apart again. Understand?"
Orelia, still crying, nodded and crawled into Natsu's lap, hugging him around the middle.
"Okay, okay," Natsu said, patting her head, "are you hungry? Because I'm starving."
She nodded again, but didn't let go.
"Wanna ride?"
Another nod.
He lifted her onto his back so she could wrap her arms around his neck.
By the time they got back, she had cried herself to sleep.