Author's Note:
Sorry this is really short! I'm trying to add some fillers before the actual action, but I have some really good ideas I want to write about! Hope you like this chapter!
Chapter 7: Training
Astro (1st person) POV
"Alright! We're here!" Erza shouted.
Our group, group one, of Fairy Tail finally arrived at the beach, the place we are going to train in. The other group went to the mountains. Apparently, the others came here before, but left to some trip to the spirit world or something.
I had never been to the beach, but I immediately decided it was to hot. The ocean was nearby, and the breeze was cool, but the sand and temperature are way too hot for me to handle.
I sighed and walked towards the others. Maple was following me like usual. Erza and Lucy were wearing bikinis and wanted to go swimming later. Maple wasn't wearing a swimsuit like the others because we (mostly me) didn't want to go swimming, so she wore a baggy t-shirt and khaki shorts. I wore pretty much the same thing. I decided to strike a conversation.
'Have you ever been to the beach? I think it's too hot here…'
'No, but I'm sure it will be fun. Let's do our best in training!'
I just sighed. Maple is an optimist all right. The sun was getting to me. Even in my human form I hated heat. It's like my fur would soak up all the heat leaving me a fluffy heat-pack.
Natsu and Gray had already started their training. Natsu was pulling tires while Happy flying beside him and Gray was using ice-make while Erza tried to cut whatever he was making. Lucy meditated under a beach umbrella and I decided not to bother her.
"So, what do you want to do?" I asked Maple aloud. "Everyone else left to do their own training."
'Hmm…Let's have a friendly battle.' Maple signed back.
Wait, did she say friendly battle?! Every time I asked her for a battle, she refused because she apparently dislikes violence. Now here she is asking for a friendly battle?! Woah…I don't see any reason to refuse!
"Okay! Let's do this!"
We both headed towards a spot farther away from the beach, so we wouldn't disturb any beach-goers and got warmed up. I knew that Maple is way stronger than I am because her magic is a higher rank than my own. I only got to see her use it once. I still remember what happened that day…
Flashback
I ran as far away as I could. That stupid idiot Ludrag. He forced me out of the guild, but it's not like I wanted to stay anyways. I reached a clearing and sighed, slowing down. When I arrived, I saw a peculiar sight.
There was a small girl surrounded by Vulcans. She had dark black hair and looked about the same age I was. She wore tattered clothing and looked hurt bad. What really shocked me was her eyes. Her eyes looked dull, like she was sad about something. Her right eye was bleeding, but not red blood, gold blood. That was strange. The girl was staggering as she had a few bruises, probably from the Vulcans.
"Hey! Get away from her!" I yelled running into the fray. Why was I helping this girl? Maybe because she was defenseless? Maybe I was just curious? I don't really know.
I ran towards her, but she signaled that I stay back. I stopped, and she did the impossible.
She took all the Vulcans out in one blow. There were probably, like what, twenty?!
She put her hands on the ground and the earth erupted with thorny vines. The vines wrapped around the Vulcans and threw them almost fifty feet away. I don't know if the Vulcans survived or not because of the strength they were thrown at, how far away they were thrown, or the fear of this little girl taking out their whole tribe.
I turned to the girl and she smiled. I took this as a thank-you-but-I-got-this smile and I just walked forward, smiling.
"My name's Astro. Woah, you took out all those Vulcans by yourself! What's your name? Hold on, let me help you bandage that eye."
She shook her head. She couldn't speak? I still wiped up the blood and wrapped some bandages from my bag. I wasn't a doctor or anything, but the wound seemed to have already been healed. She looked at me quizzically, but wasn't hostile, so I continued. I didn't want to ask about her golden blood or anything to make her uncomfortable, so I just worked in comfortable silence.
After a while, the girl pointed towards a few trees. I looked closer and noticed their bright, orange leaves.
"Those are maple trees…Wait, so your name's Maple?" I asked hesitantly if I got her message correctly.
She grinned and nodded.
We both just sat in the grove of maples and enjoyed each other's company. Even though she couldn't speak, her company always made me happy.
End of Flashback
That's how Maple and I first met, in a grove of maple trees. I also saw her strong magic firsthand, so I know she is strong. Her magic only lets her manipulate stuff around her like plants or sand. She can't bend metals, but she can pull them from deep in the ground and shoot them like bullets. If there isn't anything to manipulate, she can call her spirit animal and destroy me in less than a minute. Maple is also very fast. If she's serious, she can run a mile in about five seconds or less. I've got to be prepared for anything she throws at me.
"Okay, let's start!" I shouted from across the field.
Maple nodded, and we stood in fighting stance. I moved first. I morphed into werewolf form and tried to shoot a beam of light at Maple, but, of course, she dodged. She was way quicker than I had imagined, it was almost like she could fly or glide across the earth.
Maple shot a stream of water in my direction. Wow, she already knew my weakness. Water makes my fur heavy and I collapse. How did she know that?
I dodged and ran up quickly. Maple jumped back, and she had small pieces of sand already collecting in her hands. She shot a sand sphere in my direction. I kicked up some dirt in defense, but the impact blinded me. I made a mistake. I tried to escape the dirt cloud, but Maple was faster. The dirt started to clump on my fur until I was trapped in a rock. I couldn't move. How did Maple make small dirt particles so strong?
"Aw…Come on!" I cried. It would take days to wash out this dirt, even if I sounded like a girl.
Maple scratched her head sheepishly and I noticed all the dirt leaving my fur, there wasn't a speck of dirt left.
"Wow thanks! I thought I would have dirt in my fur for weeks!" I laughed gratefully as I turned back into human form.
Maple nodded and smiled. I knew I was no match for Maple, so was agile and strong. Even though she had a timid nature, if she gets serious no one can beat her. I was immobilized and considered this a loss.
"Let's get back to the others, I don't know if they're done training yet."
Maple nodded, and we headed back to the beach.
Lucy noticed we were back and nodded smiling.
"Hey. You guys should get some ice cream or something. It's getting pretty hot, but everyone else is still at it."
"Ice cream?" I looked puzzled. Maple too looked at Lucy quizzically.
"Wait. Don't tell me you've never heard of ice cream!? You're even worse than Wendy!" Lucy groaned. "First you've never been to the beach and now you've never heard of ice cream!?"
"ICE CREAM!?" Natsu heard our conversation as he came over drenched in sweat. Erza and Gray also came over for the ice cream.
"Wow you guys are like country kids that don't know anything about the city." Lucy muttered to no one in particular.
"Well if you've never had some, I'll buy some for you." Erza offered.
Maple shook her head, but I drooled. Ice cream sounded so good right now.
"It's okay. I'll buy you some. You guys don't owe me anything, just a nice gesture, you know. Plus, you guys don't have any money and I have more than enough." Erza said warmly smiling at the two.
Maple bowed deeply in gratitude. I just nodded. Erza can be nice sometimes.
"Hey Erza! Get me some too!" Natsu grinned.
"Get your own. You have your own money." Erza deadpanned.
"Aww…" Natsu was still grinning as he got into the line.
We all sat down a few minutes later with the cool delicacy. I looked at mine hungrily. This flavor looked the most appetizing and it was called 'chocolate caramel' apparently. I chomped down on it as the cold feeling left me refreshed. I looked at the others. Erza was enjoying her mint chocolate chip with a pleased expression on her face. Lucy had chocolate. Natsu was enjoying his strawberry but was eying Lucy's ice cream almost like her was going to steal it… Gray was enjoying his cookies n' cream and Maple was licking her chocolate almond with a happy expression. She clearly enjoyed the sweet treat as she chewed the small almonds hidden in the sugary treat. I finished mine quickly and gazed at the bright sun. So many new things were happening in my life…I wonder what new experiences will await in the future.
Author's Note:
Sorry how this chapter is so short and basically a filler chapter ;-;
The next one is too, so sorry in advance... I will get into the action soon! I have so many ideas, I really hope you readers keep reading!
-V
