A/n Sorry it took so long, I really have no excuse besides that I had several days where I didn't write for various reasons.
Lucy yawned as she woke up, blinking in the light the window let in. It took her a moment to realize why she felt so safe and comfortable, even if there was a weight on her feet. She was in between Bixlow and Freed again. Well... kind of. She was laying on top of both of them, but neither seemed to mind. They were both still sleeping. She blushed when she realized both had an arm around her protectively. It was no wonder she felt safe with them around her.
She smiled. For the first time in forever, she actually had people who cared and understood. She never even felt this safe with Natsu around. It was a wonderful feeling, and she was beginning to wonder if maybe she should ask to join their team. She had never felt so much like she belonged with Team Natsu as she did now. She had never felt so much like she'd actually earned her reward. And she certainly did this time. Aries had prevented most of their half of the ballroom from being destroyed, and Gemini worked well with Laxus and then she'd managed to get the lighter thing away from the mage somehow by herself.
Bixlow groaned and shifted. She grinned at the sight. He looked like he was waking up but fighting it, as most people do when they sleep. She settled back down. They were probably going to wake soon anyways, and she didn't have the heart to wake them by getting out of bed. Besides, it was quite comfortable. She yawned again. It was good to have new friends.
Freed let out a huge yawn suddenly and stretched. He opened his eyes blearily and took a few minutes to register what was going on.
"Good morning Freed," Lucy greeted quietly but cheerfully. He jumped a little.
"Didn't realize anyone else was awake, I'm usually the first one up," he whispered, not noticing where his arm was. Lucy shifted so she could see him better.
"For me it depends on how I slept... I slept pretty great, you and Bixlow make great beds." She watched him go slightly pink. "And having your arm around me helped." She held back a giggle as he removed his arm quickly, going a darker shade of pink. It was cute.
"I er I'm glad it helped," he replied, flustered. She smiled.
"How long does it usually take for them to wake up?" she inquired.
"Not long once I'm up when we're denning... much longer if we're not."
"So we don't need to wait long... good my feet are numb," Lucy remarked. Freed groaned.
"That must be Laxus, sometimes he feels protective, and somehow the end of the bed is the best way to protect us... So he ends up on our feet," he explained. "Not that the rest of us enjoy it much," he added. Lucy snickered.
Bixlow woke next. He blinked a few times before realizing that one of his arms was around Lucy somehow while the other was being hugged by Evergreen in her sleep. He moved the one arm he could and shook it slightly while Freed and Lucy watched.
"It's numb," he told them.
"Did you sleep well?" Freed asked.
"Of course." Bixlow grinned. "It was great! Though my throat is sore."
"Why? What happened?" Lucy queried before Freed could. Bixlow shrugged as best he could.
"Can't tell ya yet, it's part of my story of what I did last night," he responded, grinning. Lucy sighed and nodded. Telling of the story of their missions when they were separated was a tradition of the Raijin Tribe, and last night they'd been too tired to do so. It did make her curious as to why his throat was sore though. She had gotten burned of course. And now that she thought of it, it kindly started hurting to remind her that it was still there.
"Ow..." she hissed under her breath as she moved her arm. The bandages were still in place, so she decided to wait to check on it. Freed and Bixlow glanced at her in concern, but that's when Evergreen woke up, yawning. She took a few minutes to shake the last of the sleepy cobwebs out of her head, by the time she did, Freed had her glasses. She took them, smiling slightly.
"Thanks, Freed," she told him as she put them on. Then she frowned. "Laxus ended up on the end of the bed this time, didn't he?" she groaned. The other three nodded.
"He did," Freed confirmed, sighing.
"Well, he's heavy," Evergreen grumbled as she started wiggling in an attempt to free her legs. It moved to her nearly kicking him after a while since he wasn't budging. She growled in frustration and kept trying. Laxus groaned sleepily.
"Stop it," he mumbled... and rolled off of the beds with a thud. The other four exchanged looks of amusement and stifled glee before they untangled themselves and scrambled to the edge to see if he was alright.
"Ow..." He sat up, rubbing his side. "Must that happen every time?" he asked with an groan.
"Good morning to you too Laxus," Evergreen responded chirpily despite the feeling of blood returning to her numb feet. He rolled his eyes at her. She stuck her tongue out in return.
"Considering you cause us to cease receiving blood to our feet at the least if not more of our legs when you're on the end of the bed... I believe it's necessary," Freed informed him thoughtfully. Laxus groaned.
"Okay okay, I'm sorry." He stood up and shook himself before stretching out kinks from the fight the night before.
Everyone else went through their own morning rituals and woke themselves up further. After a while, Freed decided, and they all agreed, to have breakfast and then finish getting ready for the day before they discussed the events of the night previous. It was a relaxed breakfast for the most part. Bixlow had trouble swallowing, Lucy couldn't use her left arm much because it kept hurting from the burn, Evergreen and Laxus were okay, just a little sore from when some attacks hit, but not too bad. Freed was fairly sore from hitting the wall of his own enchantment. But they all enjoyed the breakfast anyways.
Once they were done eating and getting ready, they settled down on the joined beds. It was more comfortable for discussion than the chairs and even the couch, since some wouldn't be able to be on the couch. They each took turns describing their fights in as much detail as possible. Then came a part that surprised Lucy. It was nothing like she had ever experienced.
"What could've gone better with your fight?" Freed asked Laxus and Lucy. Lucy blinked in surprise and then thought about it, but it was obvious it was a common thing they did since Laxus had a reply ready.
"We should've tried to get the lighter away from the mage sooner, it was obvious early on he relied on it for fire. Also..." Laxus sighed. "If I wasn't so scared of losing myself due to the lacrima, I could've overpowered him sooner." He looked over at Lucy, who nodded.
"Yeah, that's about right... I think I could've been a little more offensive with my whip, and maybe could've picked a better time to get the lighter. I didn't go for it sooner because I helped Sophia and Barney get out of the fighting zone, but I think I didn't pay close attention to the fighting either while I was focused on that and I probably should've."
She glanced around... and saw approving nods. What a change from Team Natsu. If they described what happened at all, it would've been filled with bragging and fighting about who did better, here it was simple facts and then analyzation to improve... If there was any of the latter with Team Natsu, it was usually Erza saying things like 'get stronger' or 'you should've done more to help'. There wasn't any of that here. It was a nice change, and it made her feel good that she didn't make many mistakes.
"One of your spirits could've tried to get the lighter when there was an opening," Freed suggested.
"Huh... hadn't thought of it, I'll be sure to remember that for future reference," Lucy replied thoughtfully. There were a few other suggestions from the others, and that was it. No berating her, no saying 'you should have done it this way!' Instead, ideas for if a similar situation ever happened again were brought forth and discussed, and then that was it. They were already moving onto Freed and Evergreen's fight.
"I think I should learn to be more offensive and active instead of trying to delay the fighting until Freed can join me or relying on my stone eyes. That would have made it go smoother, and I could've worn him down a lot more that way," Evergreen stated before looking at Freed.
"I should not have taken as long as I did with the enchantment, I need to learn to talk to people and write it at the same time when doing large area ones," Freed decided. They discussed other ways to combat a mage like that and other possibilities they could work on. Lucy felt pleased that they actually listened to her and didn't dismiss her because she was less experienced or strong. Then they turned to Bixlow, who surprisingly hadn't said much that morning besides describe his fight.
"I underestimated his magic," he remarked before coughing. He drank some cold water. "I shouldn't have done that," he added hoarsely.
"You said you got dirt in your throat?" Freed queried, looking slightly concerned. Bixlow nodded before drinking some more water.
"And you choked?" Lucy questioned, exchanging a worried look with Evergreen. Bixlow sighed and nodded once again.
"Are you alright?" Laxus finally asked the question they all wanted to ask.
"I'll be fine," he stated firmly. The effect was ruined by the scratchy sound, the slight wince, and him reaching for his water again. There was silence for a few moments and people considered the situation.
"I suppose we should get a doctor here," Evergreen commented casually. Bixlow stiffened and seemed like he was about to protest. Lucy jumped in.
"Yeah, that sounds good, my arm is hurting pretty badly, I think it's a second degree burn, I really should have that checked," she rambled quickly. Bixlow subsided, looking a little surprised. Freed nodded solemnly.
"Maybe we all should be checked... I believe I could have sustained a few fractures from hitting my own enchantment..." Freed mused, testing one of his shoulders. Laxus nodded.
"I wasn't using my usual power, and I know that fire did have a pretty good kick... I probably have a few minor burns to be treated," he noted casually as he examined his arms, and did find a few minor burns he hadn't noticed.
"Yeah, it could be good, the wind mage didn't get me really except for some flying glass..." Evergreen was the most hesitant after Bixlow, the way she was holding onto an arm gave a clue as to why.
"We can handle that if that's all," Freed offered. "Nothing else hit you?" She nodded, looking relieved. "Then we can help you treat those cuts."
"Oh fine, I'll le-" Bixlow coughed and quickly downed more water. "I'll let the doctor check my throat," he finished, looking glum.
"Good. It sounds worse than simple choking," Freed observed before frowning briefly. "When shall we talk to Mr. Montague?" he asked the others. Laxus shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to me," he responded. Evergreen and Bixlow nodded in agreement.
"Probably after the doctor leaves," Lucy remarked.
The others agreed, and Freed left, walking a little stiffly, to go inform a servant of their need of a doctor and to pass the message along that they'd see Mr. Montague after the doctor finished checking them over. He returned and they decided to help Evergreen while they waited, chatting idly about random topics, and having fun in general for the most part aside from injuries. Finally though, after they finished treating the worst of the cuts from both herself and the glass for Evergreen, the doctor arrived.
"I heard you needed to be checked?" he asked. They all nodded.
"I'll go first, I think I just have bruises and some sore muscles," Laxus volunteered. The doctor quickly confirmed it and then Freed was examined.
"These bruises are worse," the doctor observed. "Try not to strain yourself, and it seems you have a sprain in your left shoulder," he added after a few moments more of examination. "Also, some ice will go a long way." Freed sighed and nodded. The doctor put his arm in a sling.
"It could have been worse," the green haired mage stated and moved aside.
The doctor looked to Lucy and Bixlow. Lucy gestured to Bixlow, figuring that if she went first he would try to get out of it. From the look on his face, she was right. He sighed.
"It's my throat..." Bixlow started but ended up coughing. The doctor looked over at the others for more information.
"The mage he was fighting used some sort of earthly dirt magic and got some dirt into his mouth and throat, and he choked," Evergreen explained for him. The doctor 'hmmed' and started his examination. Bixlow seemed to be having to keep himself still, since he kept starting to twitch and then he would stop himself. Finally, the doctor finished.
"There seems to be some damage to your throat. You said it was magical dirt, yes?" At their nods, he continued, "I believe that once the dirt was in your throat it did some sort of magic, like an explosion, which is why it's still sore, and why you choked," the doctor explained. "It's red and swollen on the inside, and it looks like it bled a little bit. I'd advise you to not talk for the rest of the day, and drink plenty of cold liquids, and eat soft food. It should be better in the morning, if not, repeat for the day, if it's still sore two days from now, get checked again, but it should be fine by tomorrow."
Bixlow groaned and opened his mouth to speak, but Evergreen smacked his leg gently. The doctor nodded approvingly.
"We'll make sure he follows the directions," Laxus told the doctor. "He can be stubborn."
"Good, now either of you ladies need to be examined?" the doctor inquired.
Lucy nodded and showed him the bandage on her arm. He raised an eyebrow and started taking off the bandage. He frowned when he caught sight of the burn. He gently picked up her arm and turned it, prodding it slightly. She hissed in pain.
"Good news is there's no blistering... bad news, it's a second degree burn. It'll take 2-3 weeks to heal." Lucy sighed and nodded. "But it'll heal nicely, even though it covers most of your forearm. Just keep moving your arm normally so it heals properly, and keep it elevated for the next few hours to reduce swelling. Since it's not open, bandages aren't needed, so don't worry too much about it." The doctor started packing things up. Lucy sighed in relief.
"Considering how much it hurts, I thought it'd be worse," she admitted.
"That's the problem with burns, they hurt worse than the damage actually is unless it's a third degree burn," the doctor responded. "Now, if that is all, I will be going."
"Thank you," Lucy told him. The others echoed her sentiment, though Bixlow crossed his arms and pouted. The doctor hurried off, muttering to himself about all the patients he had to see that day.
The debriefing went well, even with Bixlow unable to speak. It was easy enough since the others did know what happened so they simply told his story for him. Barry Montague was all full of praise about how they handled the situation. Apparently many of the guests were being dramatic and believed that they had sustained terrible injuries, which was why the doctor they met was so quick about it. In the end, Barry said they'd done everything he asked for, and there wasn't nearly as much damage as there could have been, especially with that fire mage involved. Therefore, each mage got 400,000 J as was stated on the reward. Laxus seemed uneasy about taking it, since he wasn't a Fairy Tail member, but since he helped, Barry was insistent.
Lucy was pleased. If she spent the jewels only on her rent, it'd cover 5 months of rent, plus 50,000 jewels toward the next month's rent. And if she chose to spend some of it on personal items, it'd still cover a month or two at least, and she wouldn't have to worry about it nearly as much as she usually did. She probably could even put some in savings! She filed those thoughts away for thinking more about when she got home.
They decided then to pack up what they brought and head back to the hotel since the situation was taken care of. Once things were settled in the hotel again, they relaxed in the boys' room and started discussing what they would do next, head straight home or what...
"I'm going to train and work on not being a jerk some more, I don't know when I'll feel comfortable enough to return," Laxus admitted with a sigh. The others nodded understandingly.
"I could stay and help, it's not like I need to worry about money for a bit," Lucy offered, the dragon slaying book in hand. "Besides, I want to do some training too." Laxus smiled a bit.
"That and you don't want to be parted from your book yet, right?" he teased gently, but everyone could tell he appreciated the gesture. The others of the Raijin tribe exchanged looks.
"We will stay too then," Freed declared after a moment. Then he faltered. "We wanted to ask you Lucy..." Evergreen rolled her eyes at his pink cheeks and told her for them.
"We'd like for you to be a part of our team," she stated. Lucy gaped then realized her mouth was open and closed it.
"Really?" she asked, in shock that one of the most powerful teams in the guild wanted her. Bixlow nodded and opened his mouth only to receive two light smacks to the head. He rubbed his head and glared at him, but didn't say anything. Lucy giggled.
"Yes, really. You fit well with us, and we can all benefit from having you on the team," Freed responded finally.
Lucy nodded and thought about it for a moment. There were a lot of benefits. She could train more the way she wanted, she could actually help on missions, she could earn more money faster instead of barely scraping by. And, as good of friends she had with Team Natsu, she would have more... friends that probably would grow closer since they actually understand her instead of humoring her. She would still be friends with Team Natsu of course, they were fun to be around, but not really what she needed sometimes. It was time for a change.
"I want to join," she announced suddenly. All four of the others gawked at her.
"It's not a decision to make quickly..." Laxus remarked slowly. Lucy shook her head.
"I've been kind of thinking about it since you all asked me to go on the mission. My mind is made up, the Raijin Tribe is what I need now," she explained, smiling at them all. It took a moment for it to sink in, then they all beamed and tackled her in a hug, somehow dragging a protesting Laxus in with them. After they pulled apart, Freed seemed thoughtful.
"You'll need to fill out a form, since every official team needs to be registered for the Council," he pointed out.
"That won't be much of a problem though, it's an easy enough form," Evergreen responded, rolling her eyes. Lucy nodded.
"And, we'd like you to learn an eye magic of some sort, I can explain the process after you decide what sort of magic," Freed explained. Lucy blinked, and grinned at the thought of the surprise the guild was in for. "It can really be anything, but if it does hit a limit, I'll tell you and we can come up with something else. Something that complements your magic would be best. That's why I chose dark écriture since it utilizes runes." Lucy nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll have to think on that for a while... I think I have a few ideas..." she mused. "But I want to be sure I make the right choice."
"That's probably a good idea," Laxus remarked. Bixlow nodded in agreement, an odd expression on his face, he was in agreement but he was also still pouting about not being allowed to talk.
Evergreen stretched and glanced outside. It was bright and sunny. Birds were chirping outside the hotel window, and it overall was a good day.
"Well, it's only one in the afternoon, I want to go check out the stores Magical Motley supplies, and maybe explore more than that," she announced. Freed glanced outside as well.
"That is not a bad idea, I believe I will join you." He stood up as Bixlow nodded and was glared into not responding verbally. Lucy snickered.
"Sounds good to me," Laxus agreed and stood up as well. They all looked to Lucy.
"Well... I've been to the stores before... and I really should talk to Leo while you're all gone," she said hesitantly. They all nodded in understanding.
"Good luck, he can be stubborn," Laxus commented as he started leaving. Evergreen nodded and waved. Bixlow frowned sympathetically and made a gesture trying to convey good luck. After explaining how he blackmailed Lucy, he felt more comfortable around her, and more comfortable with the idea of possibly asking her out sometime.
"Let us know if it goes alright," Freed requested before following, adjusting the sling on his arm.
Lucy smiled and waved, calling good byes after them before she sat back with a sigh. She pulled out Leo's key and turned it over in her hand a few times, just thinking about what happened, what he'd said, and what she'd learned from Bixlow. She took a few minutes to gather her thoughts before standing up and formally calling him out. She could've just summoned him without even words but she wanted him to know she was serious. There was a glow and then Leo appeared in his typical appearance. She rolled her eyes and let him greet her.
"Hello Princess, how may I be of service?" He bowed and took her hand. Lucy scoffed, still remembering how he reacted, and as such, jumped right in, ignoring the plans she made.
"How about by talking and not jumping to conclusions today?" she said sarcastically as she sat back down. He blinked a few times and stopped mid-motion of pushing his glasses up.
"What? I wouldn't-"
"The other morning you did. Now sit down and we'll try to talk rationally." She pointed to a chair with her burned arm. He gasped and hurried over.
"What happened? Are you okay? Do you need Virgo?" he questioned rapidly as he examined it. Lucy sighed.
"I'm perfectly fine, and a doctor looked it over this morning already. It was from the mission last night," she replied in exasperation.
"But you didn't call me!" he exclaimed, staring at her. She raised an eyebrow.
"I called Gemini and Aries. Aries protected the people while Gemini helped me and Laxus fight a fire mage. In the end we had to get the lighter away from him since he couldn't make his own fire, and I got the burn as I pulled it away. Now we need to talk. Sit," she ordered. He sighed and sat down finally.
"Is this about what I said?"
"More than that actually. So, I heard that you were a bully for a while," she commented casually, waiting to see how he'd react.
"No I wasn't! Bixlow is lying! He's the one who bullied me!" Leo retorted, looking fairly upset. Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't say who told me that," she pointed out. He paled. "Besides, he admitted to blackmailing you and from what he said, it could have been far worse, the most he had you do was run errands. Very few people wouldn't use such a means of control to their advantage."
"I uh well I uh..." he spluttered.
"I'm willing to listen to your side, but it sounds like you really were a bully, good intentions or not." Lucy was staring him down sternly, arms crossed. Loke slouched, sighing.
"I... I kept seeing bad humans everywhere. Controlling things, being arrogant, dictating rules... Uh Levy always had Jet and Droy fawning over her and all I could see was Karen toying with guys..." He was going to say more, desperate to get Lucy to understand.
"Like you did with girls?" Lucy interjected coldly, unimpressed, especially since Levy was one of her good friends. She decided she didn't want to know the reason for any other instances of bullying. He started spluttering.
"Well... I uh it was uh not the same yeah it was totally different!" he exclaimed, throwing up his hands. Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"I don't care what sort of hardships you endured. Nothing excuses that sort of behavior."
"But you've forgiven Bixlow," Leo whined, feeling a bit hurt. Lucy sighed.
"He also still needs to apologize to you, and he does feel pretty guilty about it. And since he hasn't had much of a chance to apologize, I'm letting it slide for now. But he'll get more opportunities soon. I hope by then you're willing to apologize too." She glared at him. "Bullying is never the answer, if you were concerned you should talked to Master Makarov or at least been rational when talking with them instead of pushy and overbearing. You BECAME what you hated in Karen. You've changed now, and I'm glad. But you need to apologize to every single person you bullied before you stopped." She crossed her arms and glowered. Leo, the most powerful and the leader of the zodiac spirits cowered before the disappointed and angry look in her eyes.
"I... alright. I'll do it."
"Good. You can apologize to the Raijin Tribe at any time, but I'm not going back to the guild for a while, I'm going to train with them and Laxus," she explained. "And I'm going to be helping Laxus with true dragon slaying magic." He gaped at her.
"You... trust them that much?" he asked, trying not to incite her anger more. She nodded emphatically.
"More than Team Natsu. They know more about me already. Besides... I'm going to join their team."
"WHAT?" Loke was on his feet before he knew it. Lucy sighed.
"I am. And there's no convincing me not to." She crossed her arms again stubbornly. He stared at her, mouth slightly ajar for a moment.
"But... You didn't even liste-"
"Don't you DARE finish that sentence!" she growled. He sat down quickly and shut up. "You made Evergreen CRY with that rant of yours yesterday. Do you know what else she did in the bathroom? Hurt herself."
"I... I didn't mean..."
"Obviously you still only care for yourself sometimes." Lucy looked away in frustration. He hung his head.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that," he mumbled in shame. Lucy sighed.
"Well that's a start, now you need to apologize to her."
"Fine..." he grumbled, then something seemed to click. "Wait... she harmed herself... like you?" Now it was Lucy's turn to be in shock.
"How do you know?" she whispered self-consciously.
"Wait... Aquarius wasn't lying?" he questioned. "You really have hurt yourself on purpose?" Lucy frowned but pulled down her socks to give him a brief look at her scars before covering them up again.
"It's been a while since the last time... uh Phantom Lord I believe," she informed him shortly before leaning back and avoiding his eyes. He sat there in shock, worry, hurt, and confusion. The emotions flickered on a his face, as if he didn't know how to react. Lucy expected him to react similarly at least to Cancer.
"Why? I don't understand..." he asked quietly. Lucy shrugged, still keeping her eyes fixed on the wall.
"Because when my father didn't care and I had no friends but Cancer and occasionally Aquarius, I needed some relief. Phantom Lord I just felt guilty," she replied dully.
"But... why would you hurt yourself that way? How does that help?" He leaned forward worriedly. Lucy shrugged again, wrapping her arms around her knees, her feet on the chair she was sitting on.
"I don't know how it helps... I just know it does, I feel relief... and sometimes like I deserve it. I suppose it's like when you wanted to fade from existence," she murmured. She jumped when Loke put a hand on her knee.
"I see... I think I understand now," he whispered, sighing. "Do... they know?" he inquired, obviously referring to Bixlow, Freed, and Laxus. Lucy nodded.
"And we talked about it two nights ago. They don't like it but they understand and support us. That's... that's actually one of the reasons I'm going to join their team. I've never had such support before."
"I know Aquarius hates you for it... but Cancer didn't help?" Leo queried, concerned, as he stood up and moved to sit next to her. Lucy nodded slowly, not enjoying going through these painful memories when she still wasn't happy with Leo.
"He... he just said he was disappointed when he found out and disappeared, and we've never talked of it since. Aquarius... Is that why she hates me so much then?" Lucy sighed.
"Yeah, it is. She claims you're tarnishing Layla's life and achievements by harming yourself that way. She tells every spirit you contract. Cancer never said anything to counteract it, so most of us don't... or didn't believe her." He sighed. Lucy groaned and rubbed her forehead.
"Great. I'll need to talk to her sometime... But I think I'll wait until I've gotten a decent amount of training in so that I can seriously talk to her and not get affected badly." Loke nodded, still looking worried.
"If you think that's best." He flinched at the raised eyebrow and 'duh' expression on her face. "I could try to talk to them, do some damage control, if you'd like. I don't think scorning you is the way to get you to stop, but I really don't like the idea of you hurting yourself either... but I can't condemn you for acting similarly to I did after Karen died... It may take a bit of time before I figure out what to say to them." Lucy nodded, eager to move on from the conversation.
"Now, I believe we're just about done for now, I'll call you out during training since I want to learn other techniques besides dragon slaying. Remember though, you still need to apologize," Lucy added. Leo sighed and nodded.
"I'll spend some time figuring out how to apologize. I... I don't want to admit I was wrong, so it may take a while," he admitted reluctantly. Lucy smiled at him.
"Thank you for being honest. And thank you for listening, Loke."
"If that is all, Princess..." He held his hand and took hers to kiss it. "I'll take my leave." He poofed in golden smoke.
Lucy sighed in relief and laid back on the bed, mind reeling from the talk she just had.
"I wonder where most of the shops get their supplies from if not from one of the big businesses... I don't think I've ever seen a shop not supplied by Magical Motley that's this... stocked on various items..." Evergreen commented in awe. "How did we not know of that company before?"
Bixlow nodded beside her, arms crossed, but expression animated as he took in everything. Freed was already off examining the books. Laxus wandered off after him, interested in seeing if there's a dragon slaying book there. It wasn't likely, but anything to help him. Bixlow spotted an area with an amount of weird items. He tapped Evergreen on the shoulder and pointed over there to let her know that's where he would be. She nodded and started browsing from where she was.
The store wasn't lively per se, but it had brighter colors, and quite a few more objects. Most stores that sold magic items had to buy them from someone who had it before. With Magical Motley, the company bought items, but also had many mages hired to make new ones, so the store was filled with reasonably priced items instead of not very full with high priced items. Some mages were even treasure hunters essentially, sent out to look for rare items.
She stopped suddenly when a glint of silver caught her eyes. She turned and looked, gasping. There was a small collection of silver keys. Each had a small card stating the price and what key it was. A few of them included a note stating that it was the only key in existence for that gate.
"Hey Freed, Laxus, Bixlow get over here!" she called as loudly as she dared. Thankfully, the only person there was the person by the cashier, so she wasn't disturbing anyone.
"What is it?" Laxus asked after they were all there. She pointed at the keys.
"We can get Lucy something, I want to thank her... for a few things... and as a welcome to the team gift..." Evergreen faltered as she tried to explain.
"That sounds like a good idea. We could split the cost of a few of them," Freed remarked. The next few minutes was spent debating on whether cost was a good indicator of strength, and how many keys they should get. Laxus also agreed to chip in, because she was able to help him figure out just what was wrong with him.
"Alright, so that key is 20,000 jewels, and the other two are 40,000. That means it's a total of 100,000 jewels, and 25,000 jewels each," Evergreen stated finally, pointing to the keys she meant. They all agreed to it and split up to see if there was anything else in the store that interested them.
Lucy sat up when the others returned. After she calmed down and thought over the conversation sufficiently, she decided to read her book.
"Hey guys, how was the shopping?" she asked cheerfully, not wanting to worry them, though what Loke said was still on her mind.
"Informative, we didn't buy much but instead got a feel for what sort of things were normally in stock," Freed explained succinctly. Something seemed off to Evergreen about Lucy's smile, so she hijacked the conversation.
"How did the talk with Loke go?" she asked. Lucy jumped and then sighed as she laid back and stared at the ceiling.
"It went... He... I can kind of understand where he's coming from... but nothing excuses bullying. I told him he needs to apologize. And you should too, Bixlow, even though it's a smaller thing," she added while she remembered. Bixlow scowled but nodded, figuring that since he felt guilty, it probably was a good idea. "It'll make him happier." She sighed again. "And then I found out that Aquarius tells every new spirit that I self harm, but apparently most don't believe her... That's also why she hates me."
Freed and Bixlow beat Evergreen to either side of Lucy. They each wrapped an arm around Lucy. Evergreen sat down nearby and Laxus moved as close as he could without sitting down.
"And Loke, what does he think?" Freed questioned quietly. Lucy sighed as she leaned against him slightly, grateful for the support.
"He... he doesn't like it, but he realizes that scorn won't help me, so he's going to try to do some damage control, but it might take him a while to figure out how."
"At least he has decent sense now," Evergreen noted, scowling at the situation. Lucy nodded.
"And I'm fine... it just... shook me up hearing that Aquarius... one of my first spirits... One of my mom's..." Lucy sighed.
"Then would you be up to eating dinner out?" Laxus asked suddenly, after checking the time.
"Yeah." Evergreen perked up. "That could cheer us all up!" Lucy grinned.
"Alright, let's do that."
After an enjoyable dinner full of joking, and some discussion about magic, the group went for a stroll through the park. Lucy was oblivious to the others' excitement. Well, she thought something was off, but put it out of her mind since they didn't seem to be hiding bad, if they still were acting that way when they got to the room though...
She was shaken out of her thoughts when Laxus stopped in the clearing they'd done the exercise in. He exchanged excited looks with the others and Bixlow ushered her to a rock to sit dow, beaming and excited as he sat down on a rock near by.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked curiously. Laxus took a deep breath.
"We all wanted to thank you for various reasons. You were willing to look past the terrible impressions I made and helped me with my magic... and will continue to." He took something out of his pocket and handed it to her. Lucy took it and stared. Before she could say anything Freed stepped forward.
"When we approached you for the job, we weren't sure you would accept... and we weren't expecting you to end up a part of the team afterwards, we were just hoping for someone to at least try to be friends with us... we got something more. Welcome to the team." She gaped at the second object she was handed.
"I speak for Bixlow too. You gave us a chance and actually listened to us, and understood, and without pity when it came to my story. And you haven't been scared off by Bixlow's weirdness yet." He stuck his tongue out. "We're all grateful for that." She handed the final object over.
"Three keys? For me? Really?" Lucy stared in wonder at the three keys in her hand. "No one's actually ever gone out of their way to get me one before..." Everyone beamed.
"Well, you deserve them. According to the cards that were on display with them, those are the keys of Lupus, Draco, and Leo Minor," Freed explained.
Lucy shrieked and hugged Bixlow before jumping up and pulling Freed into a huge hug, followed by Evergreen. The Fairy mage giggled when she saw both Bixlow and Freed blushing. Laxus stared wide eyed at Lucy for a moment after she hugged him excitedly before he remembered that he was supposed to return it. Lucy pulled away and danced in the clearing.
"Thank you thank you thank you so much, of all the silver keys I know of, these were ones I'd been looking for!" she squealed.
"You can contract them now, that's why we're here and not at the hotel," Evergreen suggested as she sat down daintily on a rock. Lucy looked at her with wide eyes.
"That's a brilliant idea! Freed, can I borrow a pen and paper? I need to write things down, a formality." She was bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. Then she summoned Leo, asking for the gate name for Lupus and Draco (she knew Leo Minor's and so didn't ask). He relayed them to her, and then chose to stay and watch. Lucy stood and took her stance for summoning a spirit for the first time.
"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open gate of the Ravenous Wolf, Lupus!" She turned the key.
The others were impressed with the display of magic that came from opening a gate for the first time. Leo leaned against a tree to watch, interested to see the new spirits that would join them, and curious about the third key.
A humanoid figure emerged. He had the head (for the most part), torso and hands of a man, but everything else was pure wolf. He had wolf ears, and when he smiled at Lucy, his sharp teeth glinted in the sunset.
"Hello Lupus, I'm Lucy Heartfilia, I am the one who summoned you," Lucy explained to him as she readied the pen and paper.
"Ah, you're the one that's the talk of the spirit world, I am glad to be of service to such a prominent celestial mage." Lupus had a deep and growly voice. He bowed. "I am a proficient fighter, and I can shift fully into wolf form, but not into human. I am not as good as the zodiacs, but if you do not want to overdue it, I am your spirit." Lucy nodded and made a note.
"What days are you available?" she queried.
"Any day, I'm always free for my owner, it's not like I have much else to do," he replied easily. Lucy nodded absentmindedly and wrote it down.
"I'm not your owner, I'm your friend," she corrected. "And I believe that is all, Lupus, thank you."
"My pleasure." His smile once again showed his pointy teeth before he disappeared. Loke sighed and straightened a little.
"I've heard rumors about the various Lupus' in the Spirit world. Most of them are cunning, and occasionally turn on their own without breaking any rules. You'd best be careful around him, though he is a good addition," he remarked worriedly. Lucy nodded, smiling over at Loke.
"I figured as much, he seemed a bit like a slimeball to me. I can handle Taurus so I can handle him, though I may have to wait until I'm better at fighting by myself so if something does go wrong I can handle it." With that, she took the other key.
"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open gate of the First Dragon, Draco!" Everyone held their breaths. A roar echoed out of the light. Luckily it was a much quieter roar than dragons were rumored to make.
Everyone's jaws dropped when the light cleared to reveal a dragon. An actual dragon. With scales that shifted colors every so often, from red to blue to green to orange. And he was also small enough to fit into the clearing. It was still an impressive sight.
"Hello Draco," Lucy called, voice brimming with excitement rather than unease. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, I would like to make a contract with you, if that's alright. What can you do?" The dragon hummed, an interesting sound the way it vibrated through the clearing.
"Nice to meet you, young Lucy. I eagerly accept your offer. It has been far too long since I've walked in the human world," he rumbled. "I was the first dragon to speak. I am what came before the elemental dragons. I breathe fire, I have scales harder than armor, and I can fly. The only magic I can do is color change my scales," they turned from dark blue to a light gray, "shape change," he shrunk and flew over to Lucy, "and I was also granted a human form when I became a spirit. I much prefer this form however. Most dragons have forgotten their origins. I was the first intelligent dragon, I taught other dragons, and before I knew it, there were elemental dragons, young upstarts who didn't care for those of us who could not do magic like them." He perched on Lucy's shoulder. "I can tell you more another time. I'm available at any point you need me. My only request for this contract is that you allow me to tag along like this, as a sort of pet if you will occasionally. I miss this earth sometimes," he finished wistfully. Lucy smiled and pet his head. He let out a sound that was akin to a cat's purr.
"I believe I can do that, though I'll have to keep you away from most of the dragon slayers I know," she responded warmly. "Thank you, Draco. Could you go so I can contract my final new spirit? I can't summon more than two spirits at once, and Leo is already out. Leo waved to the dragon.
"Ah, the leader of the Zodiacs, I look forward to talking with you about young Lucy," the dragon rumbled before disappearing. Lucy smiled and looked at the key.
"One more. Thank you guy so much for these keys," she added. Leo blinked a few times; he hadn't realized that that was where she had gotten them. He realized then that she was right, they really weren't so bad after all.
"It was no problem, and it is fascinating watching you form a contract," Freed replied. Laxus nodded, smiling slightly as he leaned against a tree casually. Evergreen's eyes were sparkly as she fanned herself dramatically, causing Lucy to giggle. Bixlow had his babies floating around, and they seemed to have enjoyed it so far as well. Lucy took her stance.
"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Little Lion!" She turned the key, even though Draco was interesting, this was the one she most wanted to see, especially after she saved Loke. Said spirit choked and dropped his glasses as the light cleared.
"Oh no..." he mumbled as he picked them up. Bixlow, the one nearest, looked at him curiously but then returned his attention to the arriving spirit.
A lioness, looking to be not quite full grown, but also definitely not a cub, appeared. She looked around and padded towards Lucy when something caught her attention. She paused, turned and ran for Loke, turning human as she ran.
"Brother! It's been ages!" she yelled as she tackled him in a hug. He groaned and returned it while he tried not to fall down. Everyone tried not to laugh at the sight of him being so undignified.
"Leo Minor is your sister, Leo?" Lucy inquired finally once she regained control of herself.
"Yes, unfortunately," he mumbled as he glared at the bouncing girl, who looked to be about 15 or 16, and quite a bit like Loke.
"Awww come on you know you love me, besides I have great support magic!" she chattered. "Oh! Change into your lion form, I want to see it it's been so long." The others exchanged looks of surprise, though Lucy was thoughtful, wondering if she could get him to use it. Loke groaned.
"You know I hate it. Now you're supposed to be making a contract," he reminded her as he turned her around to face Lucy.
"Oh right! Hi new owner!" she yowled as she turned back to a lioness and rushed over, leaving Loke to shake his head and pinch his nose in exasperation. Once everyone had their attention on her, he turned and hit his head against the tree.
"Why me?" he moaned quietly. He did love his sister though. She just could be... too much sometimes. It was nice to see her again too, since the last time he saw her was before he was contracted to Karen. Still... she had way too much energy.
Lucy smiled at Loke's sister as she got ready to take notes. The girl turned back to human and sat down, stretching.
"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and I'd like to be your friend."
"That sounds awesome!" The girl's eyes were sparkling. Lucy grinned wider.
"Now what can you do and when are you available?" Lucy asked patiently.
"Well, I can turn into a lioness and fight that way obviously, and I do quite like that form. I use Black hole magic, it's not too evil or anything it's just the opposite of Leo's over there. Instead of light, there's darkness, I'm not sure why it's called black hole magic anyways. I can fight pretty decently on my own, probably above Lupuses in power." She scowled at the thought of the wolves. "But below Draco. I fight best with my brother since our magics complement each other, and it's a great support magic when he's being protective and won't let me fight. When I'm with Leo, I'm nearly as powerful as the weakest Zodiac." She stood back up, jumping slightly. "And call me Kiara, my name is Lea, but I hate it, it's too close to the name Leo, so just call me Kiara." She stretched, thought about what she said and realized what she forgot. "Oh! And I'm available any time, I get bored easily, though that may happen less often now that I can return to my favorite hobby of finding Leo a mate." She smirked. Leo started hitting his head rapidly against the tree.
"Why me? Why?" he grumbled, remembering previous attempts as he dropped his head and started lightly hitting himself.
Lucy covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Freed and Evergreen exchanged incredulous looks before they both looked away, each trying not to laugh. Bixlow laughed so hard and loud he nearly fell off of his rock. Laxus just smirked, though he was snickering slightly as well as he watched Leo get more and more frustrated and red with each hit of his head against his hands.
"What is it Leo?" Kiara asked innocently. He lifted his head from his hands and glared at her.
"You're evil. And call me Loke, Lea. I got used to that name. I'll tell you about it later," he added with a sigh, expecting her next words. She pouted that he saw through her so easily. Lucy added a few notes to the paper she was writing on.
"Well, I'm done here, I'll call you soon, but I think you and your brother have some catching up to do." Lucy stifled giggles at the look he gave her. "What it's getting late after all..." she trailed off, smiling innocently.
"...I'm never going to win," he muttered as he sighed and stood. "Come on sis, let's get you acquainted to Lucy's other spirits." They both started fading, and the last words everyone heard set them off laughing and using each other and other things as support.
"Ohhh, is Aries there? Are you dating her yet?"
"KIARA!" The yell was faint, but unmistakeably a yell.
It took everyone a while to calm down. It took longer before they could look at each other without bursting out in more laughter. At that point, they started heading back to the hotel, avoiding the subject of Loke and Kiara out of fear that they'd never stop laughing again.
The next day arrived, and they set about debating on training. Bixlow was quite vocal, since his throat no longer bothered him. Freed's shoulder was healing nicely, but it would be a few days before he could try using it again, as it was still fairly sore. Lucy's burn wasn't bothering her much at all, she was just eager to get to training.
They gathered in the clearing again. Bixlow decided to work on manipulating his babies faster in case of another surprise attack. Evergreen was trying to think of ways to be more offensive. Freed leaned against a tree while sitting on the ground, flipping through Lucy's book. Lucy and Laxus were doing the exercise of course, sitting next to each other and focusing on the pile of rocks in front of them that were also away from their friends.
Both made steady improvement. After a while, the tingling stopped bothering them. Neither realized it wasn't just them being able to ignore it, their bodies had grown used to it and adapted so the dragon slayer magic didn't hurt their mouths like before. Lucy managed to destroy a smaller rock and gasped in surprise.
"That wasn't all of the magic but that was a lot!" she cheered, pleased with her progress as she settled back down again to try again. Laxus' next attempt obliterated a bigger rock.
"I think... I think I nearly have it," he declared, smirking with a pleased glint in his eyes. They were both about to attempt again, when something made them pause... The Raijin tribe were all watching them intently, looking impressed. None of the three seemed interested in returning to their own training.
It was then that Lucy was struck by an idea. It was a crazy idea, who knew what would come of it, but a mischievous grin appeared on her face at the thought of what could happen as a result... She held the gaze of each of the three Raijin members in turn before dropping her bombshell.
"So, want to try to become dragon slayers?"
A/n So there you have it. Another long chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.