Time skip, with the girls again…

The sun was out and the birds were chirping. Lucy and Juvia got up and started their day. When they were both ready to go, they decided on where they needed supplies. "Camping Goods and the Grocery store sounds like the best options." Juvia said. Lucy nodded. "So, which should we go to first? Lucy thought about it.

"I think we should go to Camping Goods first." Lucy said. "But we need to make a list. I'm thinking a tent and bug spray. What else do you think we need?" Lucy asked.

"Juvia was thinking a large pot, and some lanterns. But do we really need bug spray?" Juvia asked. Lucy looked at her.

"Yes. I get bitten up a lot." The celestial mage said matter-of-factly. The blunette just shrugged and they went on their way.

When the two mages got there, they split up. "Juvia will get the lanterns and pot, if you get the tent and bug spray, and then we can meet at the checkout line." Lucy nodded and they split ways. Juvia picked up a large metal pot, and went to find some lanterns. When she found them, she also picked up two flashlights as well as some warning flares before heading towards the front of the store. On the other side of the store, Lucy had found a tent that fit three people, so that her and Juvia would both have space to stretch out. Then she picked up some bug spray before heading back to the front of the store. On her way back she passed the fishing and hunting section, and made a split second decision to get a fishing rod and a pocket knife since they would be staying in the woods for a while. When she returned to the front of the store she saw Juvia waiting for her. She walked up to her and told her she was ready to checkout. "Juvia too." Juvia said. "Juvia also got some extra supplies that Juvia didn't think about before."

"Me too." Lucy said. "What did you get? She asked the blunette next to her.

"Flares and flashlights." The blue haired water mage said. "What about you?"

"A fishing rod and a hunting knife." the blonde replied. Juvia nodded. Soon after they checked out and left the store. "I think we should drop these off at the hotel room and then go to the grocery store." Lucy said. The water mage agreed with the celestial wizard and they went on their way.

In the meantime with Fairy Tail…

"Everyone! May I have your attention please?" Mirajane said shouting from behind the railing of the second floor. For the most part, everyone turned to look at her, but Natsu and Gray were still fighting. Fed up with their antics, Erza gave them both a swift bash on their heads and told them to pay attention. Master Makarov walked up and stood on the railing clearing his throat.

"As some of you may have noticed, Lucy and Juvia haven't been here for a while. They have both taken a leave of absence from the guild." Many of the wizards became shocked or saddened, but Natsu was furious.

"There's no way! We have to bring them back!" He yelled. He missed his blonde best friend and refused to let this happen. Gray was shocked and had a look of worry and guilt on his face. Natsu was setting everything on fire in his anger. The master hit him in the head with his gigantic fist.

"Be quiet Natsu!" He yelled. "I wasn't done." The master cleared his throat. "As I was saying, they took a leave of absence from the guild, but we have just received a letter from them." The guild looked up at him with perked ears. "I will read their letter right now." The master cleared his throat before he began to read.

"Dear minna,

Hi! I miss you a lot. I hope you are doing well. I am doing pretty well. Please don't worry about me, I'm coming back, but I wanted to do some training on my own to get stronger. I have a new crystal orb mini if you ever need to reach me. Anyways, I just wanted to tell you not to worry. Juvia and I have decided to send a letter to you from every place we go. In this letter we even have some photos from our time in Hargeon. We'll send more after we leave our next destination. I love and miss you all!

Love,

Lucy"

The master handed that letter to Mira, and then began to read the second of three letters in the envelope.

"Dear minna,

Hello everyone! I miss you all a lot! But I miss Gray-Sama the most! (The guild sweatdropped at that.) Lucy and I are having a lot of fun. We beat some kidnappers in Hargeon and did some sightseeing. We have the pictures in this envelope. I hope you are all doing well! I miss you a lot! I can't wait to see you again!

Love,

Juvia"

The master handed that letter to Mira and gave her the photos after glancing over them. "Mira can you find somewhere to hang those up? It seems like we'll be getting more." Mira nodded and headed downstairs to a board that she had coincidentally just cleared off. She tacked up the letters and the photos on there so that the whole guild will be able to see them whenever. "Okay, brats," Makarov said. "One more letter left." He cleared his throat.

"Dear Minna,

I have missed you greatly, but we are ok. In fact, we're having a lot of fun! However, that is not what I want to talk to you about. Have you ever heard Lucy say anything about red eyes or the name Rosa? If you have, or you know any information on it, could you write me back about it? But please don't tell Lucy about it. Thanks!

Lots of love,

~Juvia"

Master looked a bit confused at this, but looked around anyways. "Do any of you brats know anything about this?" Everyone shook their heads. "Hmm." He said. "Mira, put these with the others please." The white haired take over mage nodded and pinned it to the board. Many of the members went over to check it out. Natsu, however, wasn't having it.

"This isn't okay!" He said fire coming from his mouth. "I'm going after them, who's with me?"

"Aye!" Happy said excitedly. Gray sighed before agreeing to go too. Erza decided she'd go too, just in case they actually found the two girls. Also, she needed to keep the two mages in line. Natsu smiled.

"Alright! Let's get our friends back!" With this, the rowdy group left for Hargeon, hoping to track down the two mages.

Back with Lucy and Juvia…

"Ahh." Lucy said dropping the groceries on the ground. "It's been a long day." She plopped down on her bed and looked up at the water mage next to her. "I want to just relax the rest of the day. Do you want to hit the bathhouse?" Juvia thought about it and then agreed. "Also, when did you want to leave tomorrow?" The blonde asks her blue haired friend. Juvia looked at the celestial wizard next to her.

"Juvia was thinking after dinner tomorrow night and we'd make it there in the early morning." The water wizard said. "We could sleep in a bit, and then pack and check out right before lunch, which leaves between lunch and dinner to sightsee and shop before we grab dinner and board the train." Lucy nodded.

"Sounds good to me! In that case, let's hit the bathhouse and go to bed." The blonde girl exclaimed. They both changed and went to the bathhouse. Once they were there they sunk into the water. "Ahh." Lucy sighed with a smile. "It feels so nice." The blunette just nodded. Some time passed and the blunette sat up.

"Hey Lucy?" The rainwoman asked the spirit holder.

"Mmh?" Lucy replied with her eyes still shut.

"Would you like Juvia to scrub your back for you?" The blue haired woman asked. Lucy opened her eyes to look at her friend.

"Oh, sure!" Lucy said blushing slightly and turning her back to the water mage. Lucy smiled as Juvia worked on her back. It feels so nice! She thought. When the water woman was done, Lucy turned to her and asked, "Would you like me to do your back for you?" The water mage nodded.

"Yes please!" Lucy smiled and washed the back of her blue haired companion. When she was done, both girls decided it was time to head back to their room. The two women changed and ordered room service for dinner before eating and going to bed. The two quickly fell asleep so that they could pack in the morning when they woke up.

With Team Natsu:

"Ugh." Natsu groaned sick to his stomach. "I h-hate transp-portation." He choked out with tears in his eyes. Gray looked at his green faced fremesis.

"It doesn't look like transportation likes you either, flame brain." The ice wizard snickered. Natsu looked up at Gray and went to say something back, but his retort never made it out of his mouth because they made a sharp curve that caused Natsu's stomach to flop and made him cover his mouth to keep from puking. Happy tried to offer Natsu a fish, but it didn't help. Gray looked over to Erza who had been quiet for a while due to her being enraptured in a book. He noticed that her face was a bright pink so he leaned over to see what she was reading about. "Whatcha reading Erza?" The requip mage's face suddenly became the same color as her hair as she turned to Gray in alarm, clearly only just noticing his presence.

"N-nothing." The flustered redhead stammered. Gray leaned over her shoulder to see.

"Come on! Let me see!" The ice wizard said. Erza, turning even more red, refused.

"No way!" Yelled the requip mage, as she punched him in the stomach knocking him out. In her flustered state the scarlet haired warrior didn't notice the little blue exceed hovering over her other shoulder. Happy snickered.

"You're reading about dirrrrrrty things Erza." The flying cat said. "Just wait until I tell the rest of the guild." He laughed. A tick mark appeared above the blushing woman.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" The fairy queen yelled before backslapping Happy right into Natsu's stomach, effectively knocking them out too. She sighed, trying to cool herself down. "At least I finally have some peace and quiet." The warrior looked out the window at the night sky full of stars. Lucy would think it was beautiful. The redhead thought. "Lucy." The requip mage whispered sadly. "Where are you?" She sighed as she thought of her sister figure. "I miss you."

She wasn't the only one who missed the celestial spirit mage. Back in Magnolia:

Leaning out one of the windows at Fairy Hills was a blue haired woman looking at the stars. "Lu-chan." She said sadly to no one in particular. "Come back soon." She whispered before sliding back into her apartment and shutting the window.

Not too far away was another blue haired mage. The young girl and her cat had just left the guild for the night and were just heading home when they looked up at the stars and their hearts ached. "Lucy-san." Said the child. "I miss you." A few tears dripped from her face as she thought of her older sister figure. She would have loved tonight. The young blunette thought sadly. She always loved to see the constellations of her spirits. The young dragon slayer studied the constellations her friend had taught her for a few more minutes before continuing on her way home.

Inside the guild, which had been unnaturally quiet for the past few days, were some other sad hearts. The Strauss sisters were both at the bar a little down in the dumps. The older one missed the two girls she had come to think of as friends, and the younger one was racked with guilt. She had known that Lucy had feelings for the fire dragon slayer, which is why she didn't immediately try to jump back into the thing her and Natsu had before, but when Natsu confessed his feelings to her she just couldn't contain her excitement. She hadn't known the two girls for very long, but she knew they were both nice, and she felt horrible that she might be the reason that they had left.

On the floor above them, Master Makarov was looking at his paperwork sadly. Two of my brats gone at once. He thought sadly. Hurry home children. Come back soon.

Time skip, with Lucy and Juvia:

The sun had long since raised when the two girls awoke. Stretching, they checked the time. 11 AM it said. Lucy went and showered as Juvia packed. Then the two girls swapped as Juvia showered and Lucy packed. By the time they were done it was 12. Lucy summoned Virgo to take their stuff and then the two girls checked out. They walked over to Lucky Hispida's again, and just so happened to cross paths with Lucy's father. "Lucy!" The two girls turned to look at him. "What are you up to?" Jude asked.

"We were grabbing lunch because we're leaving tonight on another mission. Would you like to join us?" Lucy asked. Jude nodded and smiled.

"I'd love to. Thank you for the invitation." They all made their way inside and had a lovely lunch together. When it was time for Jude to return to work they parted ways. Lucy suggested finding a magic or weapons store. Juvia agreed and they walked off to wander throughout town. Finally they found a weapons store. They both entered and walked around the store. Lucy wanted something she could use to fight with if her spirits and whip was taken from her. She saw a sparkly white and silver dagger in the corner of her eye and grabbed it, as well as a matching strap for her thigh to hang it from. On the other side of the store Juvia had found a retractable staff which she decided she liked and both girls went up to pay. As Juvia was checking out, Lucy found a matching white and silver belt and grabbed that too. By the time they left it was 2:30. They decided to go hang out in the park for a while. They grabbed snacks from a street vendor and just sat in silence eating. Then they took some pictures and walked around town for a while. At some point they had found a place to send letters from and decided that it was a good time to send the letter now, so that it would reach the guild tomorrow morning. They both wrote letters before adding the pictures and addressing it to the guild. On their way out of the post office, Juvia turned to the blonde next to her.

"Hey Lucy?" The celestial mage turned to acknowledge her blue haired friend. "Do you have any ideas on how to pass the time?" It was 3:45, but their train didn't leave until 8:30. Lucy thought for a second before an idea struck her.

"How about we go see a movie?" Lucy asked Juvia.

"Juvia likes that idea." The water mage said. They got to the local theatre at around 4, and decided to watch the new rom-com called Love Isn't A Word I Know.

Meanwhile with team Natsu...

"Do I hear fighting?" Erza inquired threateningly. The two mages in question froze before quickly denying it. Team Natsu, with the exception of Lucy, Wendy, and Carla, had arrived at the train station early that morning in search of their two runaway friends, but to no avail. Ignoring the two boys glaring daggers at each other, Erza began to think of where to look next. They had just spent the day walking around town hoping to run into the two mages but it seems they would need a more precise way to locate them. With an idea, she turned towards the two idiots and the cat that were currently in her company. "Stop acting childish and come with me." She demanded and started walking, dragging her obnoxious amount of luggage with her. Immediately the other three fell into line, walking in the direction of the red headed S-class mage. Not long later, they got to the mayor's office. They asked him if he had seen the two mages and he said yes but told them that they had already left town. The mages thanked him and left his office full of disappointment. They headed back to the train station to interrogate the workers, but none of the workers Erza left conscious had seen the missing Fairy Tail wizards. Saddened, disappointed, but not surprised, Team Natsu checked into a hotel hoping to find their friends the next day.

Back with Lucy and Juvia…

"Ahh!" Juvia sighed as the two girls walked out of the theatre. "That was a really nice film." Lucy nodded with a smile. Taking a look at the clock nearby, it was 6 pm.

"What should we do now. We still have some time before we need to find food." Juvia stopped for a second before looking around. She spotted a little park on the other side of the street with a great place to take a picture of the sunset. Her eyes widened with excitement.

"Let's take some pictures of the sunset and then grab dinner. By then it'll be time to board the train." Lucy nodded and the two girls took off towards the park. They took some pictures of the sunset itself, and then a nice brown-haired man offered to take a photo of the two girls which they quickly accepted. After a few selfies, the two girls went out in search of a restaurant. They found an Italian place about 15 minutes away from the train station. After a nice, fulfilling meal, the two girls left the restaurant for the train. Making it 15 minutes before it left, the two girls bought their tickets and then boarded their train, heading towards their next adventure.

Time Skip…

"We will be arriving at Cedar station in 15 minutes. I repeat. We will be arriving at Cedar station in 15 minutes."

Hey everyone! It's Salem. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to upload! I'm going to try and upload more often. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it's more of just filling in events between Hargeon and Cedar. I expect we'll get to the training section within the next three chapters. As always, please leave a review! Constructive criticism is very welcome, but if you only want to be rude please keep it to yourself. Also, I just posted another story so please check that out too. Thank you for all of your support! I really appreciate it!

Lots of Love,

~Salem