Last Edited 04/09/2019
Important! Alright, so I made some changes to the plot, mostly involving Lori's sensitivity to magic, although a lot of the other stuff that happens during Hargeon will also change, as a result. I've already gone through the first two chapters, and while chapter 01 only really had minor edits and an extended scene to cover the changed events with Bora (you guys might want to go back and read through that bit again), this chapter got entirely rewritten. Because so many of the next few chapters are going to end up just as rewritten as this one, I'm deleting those from the site and reposting as I finish going through them. It shouldn't take that long this time around because I'm kind of on a writing binge, at the moment, but it's mostly Hargeon that's changing, regardless. Everything afterwards should turn out mostly the same as before, though I will be going through the other chapters for minor edits, while I'm at it.
I'm only deleting all these chapters because of how much rewriting I've been doing; my original plan was to work through the edits and post them up all at once, but given how much this one thing is changing, I decided that this way would work out better for you guys. Just don't forget to go back and check out the edits on chapter one; most of them will be during the second half of the chapter, for those of you who might not want to reread the whole thing.
Chapter 02
"Hey, Lori, look! Fairy Tail has been causing trouble again," Lucy told me excitedly, pointing at something in the issue of Sorcerer Weekly on her lap.
"Yeah? What'd they do this time?" I leaned over to glance down at the article in question, spotting the appropriate picture immediately.
It showed what seemed to be a small town in the aftermath of a disaster of a mage fight; the shot was taken from a distance, displaying several ruined homes on what appeared to be the remains of a higher end residential area, though I couldn't tell any more than that from the photo. Lucy pointed briefly at the article below the image and began paraphrasing what she'd read.
"They wiped out the Devon thief family, but it seems like several of the neighbors' houses got destroyed, in the process," She said, looking up at me with an amused grin on her face. "How do you even cause that much property damage accidentally? That's way overboard!"
"Overboard doesn't even begin to cover it," I replied, rolling my eyes pleasantly at her observation, "but then, Fairy Tail is pretty well-known for stuff like this. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even get a reward for doing the job, in the first place, as much as the damages would cost."
"Probably not," Lucy agreed, flipping the page absently, and as she did, her expression lightened in awe and curiosity. "Oh, Mirajane is the centerfold! Do you think someone like her would be so reckless, Lori?"
"She doesn't really seem like the type, though, does she?" I responded, and Lucy smiled, her expression seeming to convey that she agreed with my assessment. "But don't forget that she is part of Fairy Tail; she's bound to be reckless, sometimes." Her face shifted in contemplation, so I knew I'd gotten her thinking; I just hated that I couldn't tell her any more than that without revealing knowledge I shouldn't be privy to.
"I wonder what they look for in a mage, though?" Lucy asked aloud, glancing thoughtfully up at the sky. "I know it's supposed to be invitation-only, but that doesn't give us a lot of information. Is there an interview process? Do we have to learn some strong magic?"
"I'm sure we'll figure it out," I told her with a reassuring smile, and she answered me with an excited grin of her own.
"Yeah, we will! There's no way I'm giving up on this; the Fairy Tail guild is totally the best!" Lucy exclaimed energetically with a large grin on her face, and I couldn't help a fond smile of my own.
"I see; so you want to join Fairy Tail." The voice came from Lucy's left, and she shrieked in surprise, sliding over into me when Bora popped up out of the bushes like the creeper he really was.
"S-Salamander!" She exclaimed in shock, and I scowled over at the man, rising to my feet as he stepped out onto the cobbled path with us; an instant later, Lucy stood and joined my side with an affronted look on her face.
"Oh, man. I've been looking all over for the two of you," He said, ignoring the fact that he'd interrupted a private conversation, "I really wanted to invite you lovely ladies to the party on my ship, tonight."
"Your charm magic won't work on us," I told him, eyes narrowing into a warning glare.
"That magic's weakness is awareness," Lucy explained, lifting a hand to point at him dramatically. "It's useless now that we know you're using it."
"You're mages, aren't you?" Bora questioned with a self-satisfied smirk, although it came out sounding more like a statement. "I knew it from the moment I saw you together, but it's no matter. The invitation to my party still stands."
"Not happening!" Lucy exclaimed, crossing her arms. "We're not going near a party thrown by a creep like you!"
"A creep? Me?" Bora blinked, his face adopting a horrible imitation of a pout, and I scoffed.
"Using charm magic on all those women," I clarified, voice firm and disapproving. "There's a reason it was banned, you know."
"Do you really want to be popular that much?" Lucy asked with a glare.
"Don't worry about that; it's all in good fun," Bora explained, winking at us, as if it would help his case. "I just want to be popular at my party. Can you really blame me for that?"
"Yes," I responded with a scowl. Bora ignored me.
"You're an idiot. Charm magic isn't even close to true popularity," Lucy told him, turning to give me a questioning look, and I knew she was ready to bail. I nodded.
"Wait!" And, apparently, Bora caught that exchange. Goody. "You want to join Fairy Tail, correct? Have you ever heard of Salamander, from Fairy Tail? Hmm?" He smirked like the cat that caught the canary, and I scoffed.
"You're telling me that you're a Fairy Tail mage?!" Lucy exclaimed, a shocked expression on her face.
Bora nodded smugly. "I am, and if you both come to the party, perhaps I can talk to the master for you?"
Lucy positively glittered in excitement, but I was not so happy. I really hadn't wanted to have to deal with this party, but there was too much at stake not to go. Fairy Tail was one thing, but all those women would be in danger if we bailed, especially considering that Natsu's motion-sickness would end up complicating things.
"Of course! It'll be a wonderful party, won't it?!" Lucy gushed, clasping her hands together eagerly.
Bora seemed to sink in relief at that, smirking in satisfaction.
"And you're sure you can really get us in?" Lucy asked, looking up at him with naïve hope on her face.
"I sure can. Just don't tell anyone about the charm spell, okay?" He grinned, and Lucy nodded rapidly in agreement.
"Okay!"
"Well, I'm off, then. I'll see you both at the party!"
"No. Not happening," I told Lucy, walking along down the street ahead of her. "We already have dresses, Lucy. We don't need to get more of them."
"But this is Fairy Tail, Lori!" Lucy explained with an almost whining tone in her voice. "You don't want to, at least, look? What if we find a good discount?"
"The dresses we have are fine; there's no point," I responded firmly, glancing briefly at the shop windows, as we passed. "What we really need is some food; we haven't had anything since breakfast, and it's already after two."
"Aw, but Lori!"
"No, Lucy, and that's my final decision," I said, turning a corner as we came up to it. Surely, there was a restaurant around here, somewhere? "Besides, how are you even sure he's telling us the truth? That guy is way too nasty for Fairy Tail." Lucy faltered and didn't answer, so I paused in my search to look back at her with a gentler expression. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean about it, but dresses can be expensive, and we need to save what money we've got. The party is tonight, anyway; we'd never find something new in time." Lucy's gloomy expression cleared a little at my words, but she still looked a little down, so I continued. "And as for Salamander, well, we'll go check out the party and keep an eye on him, but I really don't trust that man."
"I get it; I really do, Lori." There was a sort of downhearted look on her face, but I saw understanding in her eyes, as well, which lifted my spirits a bit. It meant that she'd be okay. "It's just that this is the first real possibility at an invitation that we've had."
"I know," I told her with a soft smile. "You're allowed to be excited; that's completely normal. I just want you to be careful because we really don't know that man."
"Okay." Lucy nodded, her expression serious but happier, all the same. "I can do that."
I jerked my head toward the street ahead of us, grinning a little. "Alright, well, let's go find something to eat."
"Yeah, okay."
Lucy took my hand and turned to walk down the street again, visibly more active than before, and affection filled me as I looked at her. Squeezing her hand a little, I turned my gaze to the shops around us, keeping my eyes peeled for restaurants. I glanced at the signs and displays, and finding nothing, I moved on; we came up on another corner a few minutes later, and I pointed it out to Lucy with my free hand. She met my eyes once, and then, we turned, heading down this new street together.
And then, I saw it.
The sign said "The Little Easy" and there was a glass window along the front wall; I couldn't see inside clearly from my angle, but there was a section of outdoor tables along the front that made its food-related properties rather obvious. It was the customers that drew my attention. Or, rather, the pink and blue hopefuls drooling over everyone else's food.
"Hey, I know you!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing at Natsu with her free hand, and I dropped the other one absently, as she did. "You showed up before, with Salamander and those girls!"
Natsu looked up at us with a grin, heedless of the angry customers on either side of him; he was leaning up over their table, rather close to their nice-looking steak platters. A table over, I spotted a little blue cat peeking at some kind of fish plate, ignoring the patrons, who were glaring and trying to shoo him away.
We'd left Natsu and Happy rather abruptly the last time I saw them; Lucy had been so angry over the situation with Bora that she'd stormed off the moment he was gone, and I hadn't had the chance to get a word in, edgewise. It was, admittedly, a little troubling, but I knew Natsu would crash the party tonight, so I hadn't bothered to worry over it, too much. Lucy belonged with Fairy Tail, and that was a truth I knew with absolute certainty.
"What are you doing?" I asked, gesturing vaguely at the scene he was making. "You do realize that's not your food, right?"
"Man, that steak looks really tasty!" He glanced back down at the plate with an excited, hungry gleam in his eyes. "Wish I had one!"
"Then, go get one!" Lucy yelled, pointing at him with gusto. "Don't just stand here staring at someone else's food! That's rude!" The customers around us nodded emphatically at her words but otherwise said nothing, predicting, perhaps, that their words would fall on deaf ears.
"The entrance is right over there," I told him, pointing at the doorway sitting just ten feet away, but when Natsu saw said entrance, his eyes got all glassy and a rather dejected look came over his face.
"I can't; I don't have any money," He told us with a melancholy expression, looking as if that was the worst news he could possibly dish out.
"Aye," Came a higher-pitched voice from a table over, but the little blue cat that had spoken didn't even bother looking up, as he did.
"Seriously." A rather dispassionate frown tugged Lucy's lips downward, and I rolled my eyes a bit at the ridiculousness of it all.
"So, you go to a restaurant where paying customers are eating and you fawn all over their food because you can't afford to buy any of it?" I asked, summing up the situation, and several of the patrons around us gave vocal agreements to my assessment.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Natsu agreed with a nod and a reflexive grin.
I couldn't help but sigh. "Come on, then," I told him, pointing at the entrance with my thumb. "I suppose we can treat you, this once." I met Lucy's eyes with a shared frown, and I saw enough acceptance in hers' to know that she was okay with my offer.
"Really?" Natsu's face lit up at my words. "Awesome!"
"Aye, Sir!" Happy exclaimed, jumping away from the table he'd been eyeing with an excited smile.
Cheering erupted from the customers around us, glad that Natsu and Happy were no longer their problem, and I felt my face warm a little at the attention. Turning, I made my way over to the entrance and pulled open the wooden door, glancing back over my shoulder at the others.
"Well, let's go, then," I told them, gesturing inside with one hand. "I'm hungry, too, you know."
Natsu grinned exuberantly, throwing up his arms in an approximation of a cheer, and beside him, Happy did the same; I rolled my eyes and turned to step inside, lips twitching a bit at their sheer energy. I heard them all follow me inside an instant later, and as we stepped past the entryway, a hostess stepped out from behind a podium set up at the edge of the main dining area.
"How many?" She asked politely, reaching out for a stack of menus.
"There are four of us," I told her, and she blinked, looking over our little group more closely, until her eyes finally fell upon Happy.
"Oh, I'm sorry," She said, gesturing down at him, "but we don't allow pets."
"Happy's not a pet; he's my friend!" Natsu exclaimed angrily from beside me, his fist clenching reflexively, and I reached over to place a hand on his shoulder, shooting him a look when he met my eyes.
"I understand that, Ma'am," I told her firmly, keeping my tone even and polite, "but he's not a normal cat; he's a mage, too."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" The hostess' eyes widened as she looked between Happy and the rest of us. "I didn't know."
"That's okay," I responded with a smile and a shake of the head. "Magic comes in all shapes and sizes, and you were just doing your job, besides; you can't be faulted for that."
"Well, then." She gathered up a handful of menus and silverware, smiling back at us as she gestured at the dining room. "Right this way."
She led us through the dining room and to a booth toward the back, separated just a little from the other patrons, for added privacy, and as she laid out the menus and silverware in the appropriate manner, we slid into our seats with Lucy and I on one side and Natsu and Happy on the other.
"Your waitress will be with you shortly," The hostess told us cheerfully as she looked around at us, "but can I start you off with some drinks, while you wait?"
"Just water, for me," I responded, and she turned to the others, who all ended up repeating my order.
"Alright, then; four waters coming right up." She said, and it was only after she'd walked off to gather said drinks that the others turned to me.
"That was pretty quick thinking back there, Lori," Lucy commented, smiling over at me proudly.
"Yeah, how'd you know that would work?" Natsu asked curiously, crossing his arms while he looked at me over the table.
"It's like mage was some kind of magic word, or something," Happy piped up, sitting next to the wall up on the table, likely due to his height.
"It wasn't really that difficult," I told them, fiddling with my hair nervously. "There's all kinds of magic out there, so places like this are usually more lenient with mages, because of it."
"Oh, okay." Natsu nodded, grinning reflexively, and I smiled back automatically. "It's still pretty cool that you knew that, though; you must be really smart."
"No more than Lucy; I'm just resourceful, is all," I responded, trying to ignore the warmth in my face, at his praise.
"Alright, here you go," The hostess said, coming up out of nowhere and setting a little round tray with four clear glasses of water onto the table between us. She grabbed the drinks two at a time, placing them in front of each of us, and then, she gathered up her tray and stepped back from the table. "Your waitress should only be a few more moments; I hope you enjoy your meal with us!"
"Thank you," Lucy told her, picking up the menu in front of her as the hostess left us to our own devices. "I guess we should actually look at these before the waitress does show up, huh?"
"Oh, wow, I completely forgot," I murmured aloud, blinking in shock as I looked up from the club sandwich in front of me.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, looking at me from over her own meal, grilled chicken over a bed of seasoned rice. "What'd you forget?"
Natsu grunted a little, but he was so preoccupied with the three large platters in front of him that he didn't bother looking up. He took a large bite out of the burger in his hands, chewing noisily, and beside him, Happy was munching just as loudly on a cut up piece of raw fish.
"We never actually introduced ourselves; I don't even know your names, yet," I said, and Lucy froze, her eyes wide.
Across from me, Natsu choked and started pounding on his chest in an effort to dislodge the food in his throat, and Happy dropped his piece of fish back onto the plate with a dramatic shriek, his little blue paws coming up to cup his face. "You mean, your names aren't actually Thing 1 and Thing 2?!" He exclaimed rudely, pointing at us and looking, for all the world, like we'd done him wrong, somehow.
"What?! No!" I responded fiercely, relaxing only marginally when, beside him, Natsu finally managed to force down the food he'd gotten stuck in his throat. "That's not even close to being accurate!"
"Where did you even get that?!" Lucy asked, her expression torn between irritation and shock.
"So, what are your names, then?" Natsu spoke up, pulling the attention away from Happy as he looked over at us curiously. "I didn't even realize we'd missed it."
"Oh, well, this is my sister Lucy," I told him, gesturing to my left, and Lucy gave an awkward little wave while still managing to look angry at Happy's comment, "And I'm Lori." I held my hand out across the table. "It's nice to meet you, um, officially." Natsu grinned and reached out to take my hand in his, and as his fingers closed around mine, heat seared through me with an intensity that tore the words right out of me. "Oh, wow, you're so hot!"
Several things happened at once, then. Next to me, Lucy choked on air, torn somewhere between shock and hilarity, but across from her, Happy didn't have that problem, laughing and pointing obnoxiously over at me as if I'd just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. I let go of Natsu's hand abruptly, tucking it back into my lap as my face reddened irretrievably in mortification, but his grin only widened, in response.
"Yeah, that's always like that; sorry I didn't warn you," He told me, reaching back to ruffle his hair absently. "My name's Natsu, by the way, and that's Happy."
I tried to hold his gaze, but when my face only reddened further, I had to look away, mumbling something incoherent as I went about busying myself with my food. The conversation died out after that, though Happy kept snickering from time to time, and even Lucy seemed to take pity on me because she stayed quiet and managed to avoid teasing me, as she usually would. Instead, we all focused on our food, the rest of us eating much more neatly than Natsu, even Happy, who seemed content just to have some fish in his belly. By contrast, Natsu gorged on his, moving from one plate to another so fast that I feared he'd choke again, though he managed to pause every so often for a drink of water. It was sort of fascinating, in a really disgusting way, but the longer I watched, the more my appetite seemed to suffer, so I'd had to make myself look away, at last, focusing intently on my sandwich.
"Man, that was good!" Some time later, Natsu burped loudly across from me and leaned back against the booth, rubbing his stomach contently. "I'm so stuffed!"
"Oh, hey, I am curious about something, though," I said, looking over at Natsu questioningly, as I did. "When we ran into you earlier, you seemed to be looking for someone?"
"Aye!" Happy crowed in agreement, lifting one paw in emphasis while using the other to pack away his leftovers. "It's Igneel," He said, by way of explanation, and beside him, Natsu nodded.
"I heard a rumor that a salamander was coming to this town, so we came to check it out, but it turns out that it was somebody else," Natsu explained, crossing his arms with a disappointed look on his face.
"He didn't even look like a real salamander," Happy commented, and I felt my eyebrow twitch a little. Honestly, if I didn't already have all this information, I'd be completely lost; it seemed that Natsu and Happy were really bad at explaining stuff.
"I don't get it," Lucy said, looking between them in confusion. "How could a person look like a salamander?"
"Hmm?" Natsu blinked over at us, looking as if the answer should have been obvious. "Igneel's not a person; he's a dragon."
Lucy screeched in shock beside me, and I jumped at the action, reaching out to steady my water glass when it tilted. "Why would a dragon show up in the middle of town?!" Across from us, Natsu and Happy froze, eyes wide in stunned disbelief. "Don't tell me you only just noticed; it's completely ridiculous!"
"Lucy, don't be rude," I whispered, choking back a laugh at the looks on the boys' faces.
"I'm not rude; they're just dense," She said, looking over at me defensively. "So, are you ready to go, yet? We still have to get ready for later."
"Oh, yeah, I'm done," I told her, reaching down to grab our little backpack from the floor by my feet.
Undoing the closure, I shoved my hand inside and pulled out the wallet I'd stored in the hammerspace inside, grabbing the bill our waitress had left on the table with our food, as I did so. Consulting the check for the appropriate amount, I dug out enough cash to cover that, plus tip, and then, I folded it all into the little ticket book and set it down at the end of the table.
"Goodbye," I told the boys, waving a little as I stood so Lucy could slide out behind me. "It was nice meeting you; maybe, we'll see each other again sometime?"
"Wait just a minute!" Natsu exclaimed fiercely an instant later, and I turned toward him as he leapt from the booth and came to stand in front of me, Happy following right behind him.
I blinked in confusion, looking from one to the other, but Natsu didn't wait for me to ask questions, bounding forward before I could even blink. I jerked back instinctively as he closed in, but his hand grasped my arm and pulled, and suddenly, I was surrounded by scalding heat. My nose was pressed harshly into his collarbone, so closely that all I could smell was woodsmoke and spice, and as I twisted my face to the side, squirming a little at the tightness of his arms around me, a mass of blue and white fur blinded me. There was a weight on my shoulder and little blue arms wrapped around my head, and it would have been kind of sweet, if not for the fur in my mouth and the smell of raw fish that assaulted my nostrils.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lucy demanded from somewhere behind me, voice firm and angry. "Let go of her!"
"Thank you for the food!" Two voices yelled in sync, one of which screeched directly into my ear, and I jumped at the shock of it, letting out a shriek that was muffled by the mass of fur attached to my face.
"I said, let go!" And then, the weight attached to my head was gone, pulled away harshly and loudly by my irritable sister. In the next instant, I was hitting the floor with a screech, accompanied by similar yelling from Lucy, behind me. "Hey, let go of me! Don't you have any manners?! I don't want a hug, you jerk!"
"Thank you!"
End Chapter
This was totally not how I pictured this chapter ending, but Natsu just really seemed to want a hug, this go around, and you all know how he can get, sometimes. ;)
Anyway, it was a lot of fun to write, although I cut back a little on the typical restaurant stuff, to help it along a bit. The rest of Hargeon will be different, from here on out, so don't forget to keep an eye out for updates over the next couple of weeks.