(A/N) Ah, welcome back! I know it's been a long hiatus, but IRL comes first. Hope you all are ready for this.
I know that I've thrown you all through an emotional roller coaster, but let's get the ball rolling! Today is the day we've all been waiting for, the thing all of us have been wanting since the beginning. Romeo will be narrating today. I just have one last question for you...
"Do fairies have tails?"
Wendy was sleeping again on the back of Rose's back. Her steady breathing calming me down as I held her close to my chest with one hand and the reigns with the other. The mountains ahead of us stood mighty in the dying light of the evening as the snow reflected the golden rays of the sun. No moment so far had been this peaceful, just my girl and I on our way home.
I still couldn't believe how far we've come from that run down city all the way back to my home in the crisp and clean mountain range. It was almost laughable what we went through, but also glad to have the worst of our journey behind us. Through it all, I always had a feeling we would make it back in one piece.
Not to mention we now have a way to possibly take care of the infection once and for all. Who knows, maybe I'll write it all down in a book and publish it after Wendy and I get famous for finding the greatest discovery since penicillin and vaccines.
My breath came out as a cloud and momentarily blocked my vision. I wonder if my dad could see me now. Was he proud? I couldn't really tell anymore, but I knew he might be happy I actually took interest in a girl, let alone talked to one. I really hope he was watching us from heaven or wherever he ended up.
We rounded the weaving corner of a small cliff, the final "challenge" that hindered our adventure. A smile tugged at my mouth when I saw the looming compound walls that sat on the partially frozen river. In the spring, the ice that disturbed the ice flow would melt and the hydropower would be used again.
I took my arm away from Wendy and laid it on her shoulders. "Wen, wake up." I gently shook her, her blue hair swished as she raised her head from a sleepy slump. She raised her head to see the great walls of Fairy Tail. It was just how I remembered them when I left all those months ago. They were always so tall and mighty that I strained to keep my head up.
"So that's your home?" she asked, turning to face me with those chocolate brown eyes that made me melt every time. I couldn't help but kiss her tiny nose at her smile, innocent and full of hope. The eyes that could only belong to her.
"Yup, and it's your's too." Wendy's grin only grew as she faced forward. I let go of my hold on her midsection and held tight to the reigns, looking over her head to steer Rose forward.
Galloping up to the front gates, I saw a flicker of movement. They must have seen our arrival.
Stopping at the massive gates, Wendy dismounted first. I followed her while still hold Bale so he wouldn't run away. Soon after, I saw the familiar white head of hair that belonged to Elfman. He recognized me almost instantly and waved down to me.
"Yo Romeo! Been six months you crazy kid! Where've you been!"
"On an adventure! You won't believe it!"
Elfman laughed. It was the same deep voiced tone he always had since I was a kid. "Alright, I'll let the guys downstairs know you're back! And you there!" he called to the pair, shifting his attention to Wendy.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"
When the white haired man had welcomed me, I didn't know what to say. I all could think was to wave up, calling back "Thank you!"
Romeo patted my shoulder, swinging his legs to get off of Rose. "It'll take a minute to get open. You to get down."
"Yup."
Being the gentleman he was, and also because my wound still felt sore whenever I strained it, he helped me off of the horse. For the time being, we waited with our hands intertwined between us and our good stead standing patiently beside us.
There was a moment of waiting before we could enter the compound. They must've been working to get the gate open as quick as possible. It wasn't until about five minutes later that they got the gate open. When the gates opened, what I found amazing!
I saw an entire village. Everyone moved about freely, without fear of anyone hurting them or infected chasing them down. Some walked in groups, others rushed back and forth as if on official business. Most of all, there were children. Not just children who were our age, but much younger children who must have been born in the past seven years. Not only was Fairy Tail surviving the infection, but thriving.
"Romeo!" someone called out from across the camp. We both turned our heads in the direction of a young woman running full speed at us. She skidded to a stop right in front of us and pulled Romeo in for a big hug. "There you are! I thought you weren't coming back."
She released him, making Fireball stumble and shake. "You were gone for too long, kiddo. Did you get taller?" Suddenly, the woman turned on me and plopped both hands on my shoulders. "And who is this cutey?"
I felt my face heat up at the compliment. It's been a long time since another girl called me something remotely nice. My manners moved my body, making me extend my hand in a polite greeting.
"My name is Wendy. It's nice to meet you."
The woman grinned and removed her hands from my shoulders, accepting my handshake. "I'm Lisanna, the animal caretaker." Lisanna broke our handshake to ruffle some of her boy short hair and beam bright enough to light up the night. "I saw your guys' horse and thought I'd take it off your hands."
"Thanks, Lis." Romeo handed over the reins he was holding onto and gave them over to the caretaker. She turned on her heel and lead Rose towards a barn like structure on the far side of the compound. I could barely see Lisanna stroking the horse's muzzle and whispering as if to comfort her.
Once that was over, my partner and I joined hands once more and continued on our way. While we walked around, Romeo pointed out all sorts of things to me.
"Over there is the school house. We only have two teachers, but they really are pretty cool. Oh, and there's the weapon shed! I forgot how big it was." He swung me around the entire place, showing me all the building, introducing me to some of the people, and even brought me up to the cafeteria.
"And this is the mess hall." Romeo stated swinging open a pair of doors to reveal a large room with rows of mismatched chair and tables. Some were uniform and were properly paired while others were simply in disarray.
"Mira is usually the main cook, but she also helps with the hunting from time to time." I turned to him and shoved a hand in one of my pockets. "Is she really strong?"
Romeo nodded while shuddering slightly. "You should've seen what she did to an infected that was attacking Lisanna." He let go of my hand and crossed his arms over his chest. "Never mess with Mira Jane's family."
I perked up and turned to face him head on with surprise. "Lisanna and Mira are siblings?"
"Yep, and I'm more than proud of it!" a third voice chirped, breaking into our conversation. Breaking in between the pair of us was possibly the most beautiful young lady I had ever seen in my life. She was a crossbreed of a supermodel and a goddess with the muscles to prove her almost heavenly status and strength. Even with a tough air around her, she had a perfect face with blue eyes that out sparkled the cleanest water.
This beautiful creature stuck out her hand and graced us with the most warmth filled smile of my whole life. "I'm Mira Jane Strauss. You already met my sister, but I have a brother too. You might have seen him on wall duty."
It took me a moment to calm my internal screaming before a flusteredly shook and hand and began to talk in a whirlwind. "Y-yeah, the white haired guy!" Crap! That sounded completely rude to say about her brother. Should I apologize? Should I leave? Was she going to reenact the saving of Lisanna with me as the bear.
Instead, she just started chuckling and threw me off. "That's him! And don't worry, that wasn't rude at all, so relax a little!"
"Yes ma'am!" I ended with a dip of my head, my bangs brushing my forehead. Mira smiled, a similar to Lisanna's and patted arm. "Mira is just fine!". Mira toned down her smile towards Romeo and pointed a thumb in my direction. "So you brought along a friend, but where's your Dad?"
Romeo's eye became clouded and his composure melted a bit. "I...I need to discuss some things with Makarov before I say anything." He raised his head and gave Mira a sullen look. "All I can say is that the news is double edged."
The woman's grin turned upside down and a hint of sorrow brushed over the room. "I see...are you okay?"The fireball shrugged and something alike to determination lit his eyes back up. "He wouldn't want me dwelling on it. Besides, I've had plenty of time to cope with it."
Mira threw an arm over my companion's shoulder and gave him a good embrace. "You should go see Makarov, he's been waiting on you for awhile now."
"Right." Romeo put his attention back on me as Mira stood by. "I have something to do, but Mira can help you get settled down. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, see ya later?" I asked, raising my fist up for a small bump. He nodded and slapped a grin of his own on. "See ya then." His fist met mine and then he was out the door and back to the cold.
Once he was gone Mira took me by the hand and led me over to the other end of the room. A good twenty people were already there and enjoy a good meal or just fooling around. All of them threw Mira a hello and a smile to me. We walked down the tables and chairs until we came to the back of the hall. There were some barstools sat up, a counter area, and a kitchen visible from a large service window. The older woman motioned for me to sit and she went around to the back behind the window.
"During the day, we like to keep the bar open for those who miss lunch or just need a little something for their stomach. Most of our food comes from the river or our green house. Thanks to an ex-farmer that lived nearby, we also have livestock." she explained while running around in the back getting something together. "Do you want soup or crackers or both?"
Soup, livestock, and even a greenhouse? Did this place have some secret movie theater with a popcorn machine? Up until now, I don't think that would be too far-fetched. "Soup is wonderful, thank you." I sat down my backpack next to the bar stool and let myself stretch out.
"Coming right up!" In an instant, she was back with two bowls of soup and a plate of crackers. She set one plate with a bowl in front of me and the other she ate from herself. "Hope you don't mind if I join you." I shook my head and dove into the food.
While we enjoyed our meal, she also went into more detail about how the camp worked. "You're going to need a job here so you can eat. What can you do?"
Wendy blew at the soup that she had scooped up and shoveled into her mouth before answering.
"I can hunt, skin and gut animals, and track. If I need to, I can also clean, cook, and do little chores wherever you need me."
Mira nodded and dug into her own soup. "I'm usually shorthanded on the weekends and Mondays, so you can help then. The hunting party sometimes needs extra hands, especially during this time of year. Or it neither suit your tastes, I'm sure Levy may need help with medical care around the camp."
I shrugged and gave my soup a little stir. "Anything is fine, but I do know how to hunt. I don't know much about cooking so I have no coordination around a kitchen." As if on cue, I felt my face heating up at my confession of my lack of culinary ability. Mira just smiled and copied my nervous stirring.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you!" she exclaimed.
And there we sat for a good part of thirty minutes enjoying some lunch and a good chat about my new life about to begin. Some stopped by to grab a bite or just say hi to the cook and Mira always went back behind the counter and work with deft precision. Her movements were that of practices grace and poise that only dancers possessed on themselves. I wonder if she was at one point a ballerina.
After I finished my meal, Mira grabbed my bowl and I leaned back, satisfied beyond belief with my full stomach.
"Thanks again Mira, I really enjoyed the hospitality." Mira gave a mock salute from behind the counter while she held onto the dirty dishes. "Any time, Wendy!" She turned on her heel and headed towards the back of the kitchen. Before she rounded a corner, she turned back and threw back another bit of advice. "Why don't you go check out the camp? Romeo won't be back for awhile yet. Take a breather!" With that, she vanished into the back and ceased to make a reappearance for a couple more minutes.
It was a good idea. I couldn't sit around for what might be an hour and hold up Mira while she had her own jobs to wrap up. Besides, now was my chance to get acquainted with my new home! So without wasting anymore time, I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the double doors once again.
When I reached them, I deftly opened the doors and stepped into the frosty February air. Snow had just began to fall softly down to rest atop the layer still unmelted from the sunlight that had been more prominent earlier. More people were milling around the center of the camp than before I went inside for a good lunch made by Mira.
These people were different though, carrying weapons, ropes, sacks, and other hunting equipment leading me to believe they were the hunting party that Mira talked about. At the head of the group was a redhead directing them by giving orders of some kind. I wasn't close enough to pick out any details, but she pointed to different people and they handed over supplies in turn to where the woman pointed. Something about her reminded me of Mulan from when I was just knee high and still wanted to be a princess.
After a minute more, the group split and went many different directions. Some went off in pairs while others went off alone to go about the rest of their by their own agenda. Or perhaps they were going off to another job? I guess I wouldn't know. I stepped down the tiny steps and decided to start making a circle around the camp to get a lay of the land. All the while, I scanned the group that had just out of my own curiosity.
That was when it caught my eye.
A pair of men, one tall with short black hair and the other wearing a black beanie covering a good portion of his head. But from under the hat poked strands of salmon pink that had me frozen to my place near the mess hall. When I squinted to get a better look, I noticed that the taller when had barely visible studs dotting and reflecting off of his face.
"Remember Wendy, piercings are badass. One, I'll let you get your ears pierced to be just as cool as me!"
"It c-can't be.."
My feet moved on their own, carrying me faster and faster towards them. Tears threatened to spill over, but I pushed them at bay. Their forms drew closer and closer as my jog turned into a sprint. When I was close enough to be heard, I let out a shaky call. Even speaking was hard at this moment. "Wait!"
Both of the men paused and turned back to look at me and I slowed to a stop, standing rigid under their familiar gaze. It was them! They had gotten so much more mature, the pinkette sporting a scar just below his jaw lain that seemed to worm onto his face, and the eldest had cut his hair to a more manageable length. Even so they still had that glimmer in their eyes that made me want to stand taller.
It was Natsu and Gajeel. They were alive.
I must've been silent for too long because Natsu stepped forward and raised an eyebrow. Something in his eyes had changed in tone from what I saw from afar. It was something similar to longing. "Hey kid, have we seen you before?" It took me a moment to process that they were here and not just a trick of the mind.
"U-um...I-"
"Wait a minute." Gajeel interjected, moving forward as well to look down at me. His red eye narrowed as he leaned down slightly to get a better look at me. My heart was pounding in my chest under his cold glare that had once terrified me as a child, but now I faced with a straight face despite my racing pulse.
But, Gajeel just sighed and patted me on the shoulder. "Ya' look like someone my brother and I once knew. Sorry to give ya' the business." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his worn out coat and frowned halfheartedly. "So what do ya' need, kiddo?"
I swallowed thickly, my previous urgency failing to take the reigns of my actions. How was I supposed to introduce myself? They must've thought I died long ago and moved on. Was it right to just pop up again into their lived and open up old wounds? I didn't want them to feel guilty.
In the end I brought my bag forward and dug through it. "I just-...needed to show you something." If I couldn't say the words out loud, I would do as my family does and use my actions instead of my voice to do the talking.
From the bottom of my pack, I grabbed my trusty handgun Kurogane, still in its black leather holster that had the initials "GMR". They stood for Gajeel's full name and I knew it was the only way to convey what I needed to say. I sat down my backpack and righted my posture to the tallest I could make myself.
I extended out my hand with the initials facing upward. My lower lip began to quiver and tears finally feel without leaving a huge knot in my throat. Relief unmatched washed over me as I let the words I've always wanted to say all of these years.
"Thank you."
There was a lull in the air around the three of us. I felt the gun lifted my hands and the click of a holster being opened up for inspection of the firearm. I simply stood waiting for nothing, so I turned on my heel and began to walk back to the mess hall. I needed to go somewhere else for a while, somewhere I could be alone for awhile. The tears continued to fall as I went along.
I didn't get very far before I heard boots crunching in the snow after me. My head raised slightly as I turned back to see what was going on through my blurry eyes. I never got the chance to make a full turn before two pairs of large arms encircled me fully in a tight embrace.
The smell of earth and pine wood, the feeling of belonging to someone, not to mention the protection from the wind brought back those days in the country. It was just like it had been like eight years ago despite the height difference.
"It's really you, Little Dragon." Gajeel choked out. I heard Natsu sniffle from the opposite of my oldest brother and rub his face into my hair. "T-this is real! I can't believe it!"
I couldn't hold back anymore. My quiet tears turned to ugly sobbing on a dime as I snuggled into my brother's loving arms. I heard them letting loose their own storm of pent up emotion right along side mine. The cold air froze some of our tears to our cheeks and chins and the snow haloed around our forms that huddled as close as possible.
People must've been staring at us, but I knew we didn't care. For now, it was just us, the winter wind, and knowing that our family was going to be okay.
