Chapter Eighty Eight - Who Gave Loke Catnip?

Adjusting was difficult - even with Maggie's wheelchair, I had trouble maneuvering. I couldn't reach what I normally could (at least Laxus was tall) and had trouble doing basic things, like bathing. Instead, I would wait until I got to the guild, and the girls would help me bathe.

If I wanted to get clean, we had to ban all of the girls younger than me. If they were there it just sort of turned into a huge party. Evergreen, Erza, Brandish and Sorano behaved, and Levy probably would too, but if we let them in we had to let everyone else in; and Lucy, Juvia and Millianna could not be trusted in a bathtub. Kagura and Yukino actually behaved pretty well, but it was easier to just ban all of them and be done with it.

Because of this, and because I was building up my magic again, Laxus and I (as well as just about everyone else) were constantly sleeping at the guild - the training room had become a giant bedroom, and Fairy Hills, Valleys and Fields were completely empty. We had only stayed at my house for about a week before giving up and 'permanently' living in the guild with most of the kids until I recover.

Speaking of Laxus, he was still having some difficulty comprehending his extremely large family. Mari had fallen in love with Cana easily, as well as Jellal, and it was obvious that both she and Gildarts still had feelings for each other. Laxus admitted that Mari didn't want to enter the guild when they first arrived after escaping, and from the sound of it (to me at least) she didn't want to come back to find out that Gildarts was in a relationship. That, in addition to being related to the Royal Family, meant he was having issues. He went from him, Makarov, and Porlyusica and then to him, Makarov, Porlyusica, Jellal, and Mari, and then to him, Makarov, Porlyusica, Jellal, Mari, Gildarts, Cana, Toma, Ame, and Hisui. Plus, Ame was pregnant.

The Heartfilias were also staying in town - with Fantasia coming up, and Layla and Lucy clinging to me, (as well as Lucy and Brandish joining us for the sleepover parties) they ended up at the guild a lot.

I will admit, I was spoiled. But after the few months I'd had, I think I deserve it.

Most of my time was spent snuggling up to the kids, who would literally fight over who spent time with me, so much so that we had to create a schedule.

And by fight, I mean fight. Lucy, especially, had taken to challenging just about everyone so she could constantly be by my side, and after watching her go extremely overboard (trying to use Urano Metria against Orga was way too far), we told her that she'd have to follow the rotation schedule or she wouldn't be able to spend time near me at all.

This made most of the kids, especially the new ones and/or the younger ones who weren't close to being powerhouses yet, much happier. It also gave some of the more idiotic (read: tsundere-ish) boys an excuse to spend time with me.

Like Gray. I've hit him twice so far, for being an idiot. I had hoped that with having his entire family in his life, he wouldn't be as moody as last time around, but he still seemed to be going through a phase.

I just hope that this phase ends at some point. In his other life, it hadn't, and he turned into a huge ass brooder.

Lyon isn't much better either, to be honest, but at least he spends time with me on his own accord.

We spent a lot of time planning out Fantasia, and I helped the best I could (even though I wasn't able to do a lot). We started off by making floats, and painting them.

A paint war didn't really erupt this time, though I think the kids wanted it too, because of how longingly they looked at the paint. It seemed as if they didn't want to do it because they didn't think they could include me.

Even when fighting broke out between Gray and Lyon, and it nearly escalated into an out of control paint war, it died down just as fast when Ultear glared at them and they guiltily looked away from her and me.

(Honestly, I think the only one who would let their rivalry get to them would be Loke and Corvus).

Of course, I didn't care, so I started a paint war anyway.

By the time we were done, the kids were happy, we were all covered in paint, and we'd have to restart most of our floats...if not all of them.

Oh well.

At least paint is easy to get out of my hair now, seeing as it's mostly nonexistent.

The nights were difficult, at first. Laxus felt like he shouldn't be able to be by my side, and I also felt like he should be...but was also still a bit scared of him.

Because my body fucking sucks.

So we were dealing with that, the best we could. After a bit more than a week of sleeping in the same bed together, I began to relax more around him. Now, I only tensed if he surprised me.

Though there was still a bit of an underlying fear.

As I said, after that first week, we gave up at staying at my house (because it was unnecessarily difficult) and ended up sleeping in the guild with everyone else, and now I slept with Laxus by my side and a small pile of fairy children.

We finished making the floats, and I played the song we were going to sing for the kids. Makarov just about had a stroke when he heard it. I didn't think it was that bad, but yeah, some of the dicks on the council probably won't react the best, which is why I basically asked Toma for immunity.

All the kids who wanted to sing in the parade sang the song for me, and I picked out the four best ones to perform it live; Erigor, Lyon, Cana, and Macbeth, who had joined Monsters in My Mind (with Erigor, Jellal, Bickslow, Freed and Laxus).

Erik refused to sing at all, and seemed to have joined me in the 'Not Singing Group'. Sorano decided to become a solo singer (the first one to choose that), and Sawyer joined Between the Lines with Nab, Jet, Droy, and Wally. While Richard didn't sing, he sort of monitored them, and helped out with their playing, probably because his brother was in it.

I think that Orga (whose singing wasn't as bad as it would be eventually) wanted to join Monsters in My Mind, but if he did, he'd be the youngest in the group. Right now, the youngest was Jellal, who was eleven. Orga was seven, over ten years younger than Erigor, the oldest, who would be nineteen in December.

So instead he joined Making Memories, which kind of turned into the default band.

I swear, if I hear any of those damn kids making a Hufflepuff joke...

It was definitely by far the biggest house/band.

Then, we started choreographing to the song. Both magically, and physically, especially now that the floats were done.

I wanted to dance and fight.

That, in addition to the lyrics, should definitely send a message to Ivan and the others. Technically, I shouldn't be able to walk for another few months, or might even end up permanently handicapped (like walking with a limp) instead of healing properly. Instead, I'll be moving like crazy in about a month.

Hahaha, fuck you, Ivan.

Then, we used magic in tune with it; using our magic to help enhance the effects and the lyrics to the song.

The kids were having a lot of fun, using their magic to the song, and they also liked dancing with someone else...when they weren't too busy fumbling or blushing over their partner.

Okay, so maybe I was playing with some pairings.

Including my own.

Laxus, my partner, still couldn't dance.

Jellal and Erza were extremely cute together, as were Gray and Juvia (I might have demanded that they pair up for the dance, not that any of them actually seemed to have any objections).

Loke was having the time of his life, and was getting more than a little out of control with all of the free will I was giving him on the choreography for the project.

The reason why? It turns out Millianna decided to share some catnip with him when she realized that Loke was technically a lion.

Which made him get really passionate about dance (and also really cuddly with Lucy, who didn't really mind. Corvus did, though, which started another guild brawl).

Every once in awhile, when Loke's passion for dance got really bad (apparently catnip can last awhile if you give a shit-ton to a Celestial Spirit), Corvus would open his gate on his own, sock Loke in the face, and then disappear back to the Spirit World. Loke would chase after him, back to the Spirit World, and we would all get the chance to relax.

Erigor was the lead singer for the song, with Lyon and Macbeth as backup (with the exception of the chorus, where they would all sing) and Cana would accent the lyrics, as the only female of the group.

Since they didn't really have to dance, the four of them were all very happy with their situation, and were spending time practicing their instruments and rehearsing their performance.

For now, since I still couldn't walk, Laxus was practicing our dance with Mari, so they could try to bond. It was actually working pretty well, because Mari was apparently very patient, and was walking Laxus through the steps.

According to Loke, I picked up choreography pretty quickly (though he apparently based this off of how I adapted to hand-to-hand combat with Phoenix and Corvus, so I don't know how accurate it is) and decided that I would apparently be fine with what he had planned for my role.

I decided not to question him. There was no point.

Macao also took me aside while we were planning, and asked me a few questions, and I gave the green-light for his own plans.

And then I was well enough to start dancing...though not really. It was only because while I was standing I was also constantly pushing Saturn's Healing Winds through my legs, in order to give me enough strength to stand.

Phoenix wasn't exactly happy with what I was doing, but I refused to back down. This was what we were going to do.

He said that, if I was to do things the right way, I should've been fine by the end of October. But because of the way that I was doing it, he said that I'd probably have to add more recovery time after the parade in order for me to get completely better.

I agreed - I didn't want it to get worse, or be unable to heal properly - but I was going to deliver this message, even if it was stupid of me.

I started off slowly; standing a bit each day, and then walking, and finally, running.

And then I had five days to learn the dance.

I glared at Loke, standing in the middle of the room with my hands on my hips. "You better have made this simple."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" he said arbitrarily.

"Don't push her too hard," Corvus said, leaning against the wall and observing. "She's still recovering."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Loke yelled at him, which made Corvus get all defensive.

"I'll do what I want!" Corvus replied.

Phoenix sighed. "Guys, focus," he pushed them apart. "We're trying to teach Elle, here, we only have a few days, remember?"

"Elle should be fine!" Loke said, waving off the concerns. "I'm honestly more concerned about her partner."

All of us slumped over. "Yeah, you're probably right there."

"I am right here, you know," Laxus said, sitting on the floor a few steps away, watching from the sidelines. His mother was giggling behind him.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" he said to her.

She shook her head. "Sorry, Laxus, but you're a hopeless dancer. You're too stiff, and it's so weird."

Laxus huffed. "Lots of people are stiff."

"Not wizards," Mari retorted.

I was confused. "What do you mean?"

She looked over at me. "Wizards tend to be better at musical things. The rhythm of music resonates with magic itself - imagine as if everyone's magical energy gave off a different magical sound. It's one reason why Enno's magic can get so powerful if she finds the right song - the right frequency to connect everyone at that moment. It also why it's pretty easy to sense another wizards' magical power. In addition to that, because of the way that most wizards fight, they generally become more and more graceful, and become better and better dancers. Also, because of the way that our lungs change in order to absorb more Ethernano, mages tend to have more powerful voices."

I stared at her, wondering if this was true, and remembering how Zeref said that Stellar Magic was on a higher frequency.

I had liked to dance and sing in my last life (though I wasn't very good at either). But I haven't really tried to sing since I arrived, with the exception of 'Happy Birthday' every once in awhile, and some other things. But I never really tried.

When I was younger, I had wondered if I could be a pop star.

...When I was younger, I wanted to be a lot of things. A veterinarian, a CIA agent, an astronaut... It literally changed almost every week. Eventually, I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to be any of those (even the semi-more realistic goals) and understood I'd probably be working in an office my whole life.

I much preferred being a mage.

"So what, maybe I'm not graceful!" Laxus said. "I don't see you getting on Gildarts's case. He's not graceful, he just breaks everything he touches!"

"He can still dance," Mari pointed out. "You know that he's going to be my partner for the parade. I've practiced with him and I've practiced with you, Laxus, and he does a much better job; which is saying something, because Gildarts is very clumsy."

"He's also older, so he's had more practice," Laxus pointed out.

Loke sighed. "Can we please get back to work, people? Elle needs to learn her choreography."

They sighed and we went back to work, the other kids slowly trickling in from their regular training.

I had been training my magic, too - small things at first, until I got stronger and stronger. As far as I could tell, most of my magic power was still there, I just had to fine tune it. For instance, I could brute-force my way out of most stuff, but I didn't have any precision, so that's what I was focusing on (especially because precision was a key point in using Saturn's Healing Winds).

I would make tiny pseudo-stars out of Venus and Mars, and tiny statues out of Mercury or Uranus or Earth. I also spent time trying to combine Jupiter and Saturn and Neptune into miniature storms in my hand. Orga liked playing with those a lot (when I was able to make them successfully). As I continued doing such things, like shaping Mars and Neptune into solid shapes (which was hard, as they were constantly moving, being plasma and liquid (versus Venus, which could actually be solidified)), I also practiced some other spells.

The kids especially loved to play with my creations. Orga and Juvia really liked the storms, and most of the boys played with the statues I made. Lucy, Jellal, and Yukino and Sorano especially liked the tiny stars of Venus, especially when Brandish used her power to make them bigger.

I noticed that magic was coming to me a lot easier, and Porlyusica finally told me why. "Silly girl, you've finished your childhood. You're maturing, and puberty will probably start sometime soon."

I blinked at her. "What?"

"Your Magical Overload is gone. In fact, it seems to have vanished around your birthday, which is very good indeed. If you had been constantly drained of magic while you still had it, it could have been extremely detrimental to your health. That's why we didn't put the bracelets back on. I thought you understood that."

I noticed she didn't say 'cuffs' and I was grateful for that. Honestly, I just thought that they hadn't put them back on yet because I was still recovering from my magic draining and because it would remind me of my time in Ivan's possession.

But instead...I wouldn't have to wear those again.

I could feel my nose start to burn, and my eyes well up, and tried my hardest to stop because there was no way I was going to cry over something as stupid as this.

I was never going to wear a bracelet again.

"Okay, so apparently Elle is not good at picking up choreography," Loke announced.

"Shut up!" I yelled, punching him. "I haven't been able to stand in around three months, I think I'm doing pretty fucking well."

"You're doing well," he said, backing away in case I started hitting him again. "But you're not good."

"THEN SIMPLIFY IT!" I shouted.

He slumped over. "Fine."

I rolled my eyes and sat back down as Loke decided to plan out a new dance.

So apparently I wasn't that good at dancing in either life.

But maybe I could sing in this one?

I'd have to try it out eventually.

I'm switching talents with Elle here. I wish I could sing well (I can't :(, but Elle will be decent and unique (not exactly good, though, just one of those unique voices that people either love or hate)) and I, personally (me, Becky, the real narnia, author-chan) also pick up choreography at a scarily fast pace. If it's not to complicated (aka, nothing I'd have trouble doing physically) I can pick it up really quickly, and a lot of the time my musical theater teacher or musical directors would use me to help teach other kids.

I can also do an almost perfect imitation of Britney Spears' singing voice. But it's not my real voice and it doesn't exactly sound good.

I originally wasn't going to have Elle have a good voice, but I also didn't mean for music to become such an integral part of the story, and you'll understand why I gave her a decent voice when she finally sings. :D

Also, ANNOUNCEMENT TIME: As some of you know, I am Jewish. Chanukah (the fucking internet says I'm spelling it wrong but they're the wrong ones THIS IS HOW YOU SPELL IT) starts on the evening of the 12th. That's when the next chapter of Ripples will be up.

I do not have enough time or content to post a chapter of Ripples everyday, but I do have some saved up content. Because of this, I will be posting something everyday. Likely, over the spectrum of Chanukah; 3 chapters of Ripples, 1 or 2 chapters of Dreams of Dragons, and several oneshots. Possibly the start of a seven or eight shot that I'm around half-way done with.

Just want the ones of you who don't follow me to know. And yes, they will all be Fairy Tail.