Chapter 12

Fairy Tail was full of life as usual. Everyone spoke loudly, trying to make their voices louder than the everyone else's. Mirajane hurried around, passing out drinks and being her usual sweet self, and a group stood by the door, ready to see their friend off.

Iris stood in front of her friends with a huge smile on her face. She and Lucy had gone out and brought her a whole new wardrobe, so Iris now had her own clothes. Today she wore a pair of black jeans and a loose, blouse. Underneath she wore a white vest top, since the blouse was see through. Her purple hair was pinned back with a pretty clip Wendy had given her. "Thank you," she smiled, her eyes scanning over the group around her. Lucy, Grey, Erza, Wendy and Carla. Iris wondered where Natsu and Happy had run off to. "Thank you for all the support you've given me over the past few weeks." Adjusting to a magic-less life had been difficult, but her friends had made it so much easier for her.

Lucy grinned, "you're family. Of course we'd help you." Iris didn't understand why Makarov let her join the guild, she wasn't a wizard. But he did and Iris was so glad he did. Wendy gave her a hug, "are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Don't worry about me," Iris said, returning the hug. "It's not like I'm alone."
Erza nodded, "she'll have Natsu with her, I doubt he'll let anything happen to her."

"Speaking of, where is Fire Breath?" Grey wondered, wincing when he heard a loud shout.
"Found him," Lucy replied with a giggle.
Iris rolled her eyes, before cupping her hands and putting them in front of her mouth. "Oi! Flame Princess! Get over here!"
"Hey!" Natsu scowled when he got to them, shoving Iris. "You really need to spend less time with Grey."

Iris laughed, "no, you need to be more prepared. You ready to go?"
Natsu nodded, "yeah, I just had to speak to Gramps. Lee's with him, if you want to talk to him."
Iris shook her head. Sure, Fairy Tail had made it easier to get over the incident, but she still felt some betrayal every time she saw her old guild master. "I'm not ready. Not yet."
"I understand."

"Can we really not tell her yet?" Clyde asked, his voice almost a whine. "She's got over her big challenge, shouldn't she know now?"
"Look at her," Makarov ordered, watching how Iris laughed with her friends. "She still has so much of her past to put at ease. Before she works on moving forwards, she needs to let go of all of it."

"She wouldn't need to let go of it if someone had left her with her family," Clyde muttered.
"Lee saved your daughter's life," Makarov reminded, "Amethyst and Helio would have killed her if she stayed here. She would have been much easier to find."
Clyde looked at Lee who had remained with them, despite how awkward he felt at times.
Lee looked sad. "I didn't want her to hurt so many people, I was trying to appease the guild."

Makarov stopped anyone from replying to that. "Can't you see how she's fixing it all? With or without magic, Iris is fixing her issues." Everyone supported Iris's plan once she first told them. Not one person thought it was a bad idea. Nor did they oppose when Natsu offered to go with her. The three of them, Happy included, were going to go around helping everyone they came across, but mainly children. Once Iris saved enough money, she planned on opening up homes for children to live in. For anyone to go to when they were in need. A guild of her own that offered nothing but help.

Iris and Natsu waved goodbye to their friends, promising to keep in touch any way they could. Happy flew next to them. The sun was high in the sky and the weather perfect, a good start for the beginning of their adventure. As the two walked out the guild, Iris's stamp was clear on the back of her left shoulder blade; a purple Fairy Tail mark, clearly stating that she was a part of the guild. She planned on keeping it that way for a very long time.