What Erik had requested wasn't unreasonable, Alex decided. So she was more than willing to approve his move in with his mate, Kinana. So it wasn't even a week before she had him moved into Kinana's home. The only rule Alex gave him was he had to continue doing jobs for the Council.

No, Alex didn't have any problems with Erik. She did, however, have a problem with Macao. Or rather, he had a problem with her. "Why would you even entertain the idea of him being a member right now?" Macao demanded as Alex cleaned up her office. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as she swept the floor. Macao had been ranting for an hour about how irresponsible she had been with his son the week before. "You should have just told him no. He's too young to be a member of Fairy Tail."

Alex sighed and set her broom down before looking at the furious member. "What do you want me to do?" She asked Macao. "Romeo is a good kid. And he had a point. Cana was just as young as him when she joined. And I had no intention of sending him to do any out-of-town quests for another year. And even then, he won't be doing them alone for even longer. But I'm not going to do any of that behind your back." She crossed her arms and smiled. "I told Romeo he needed your permission before I would let him join. So it's up to him to convince you that he's ready to be a Fairy Tail wizard. He also needs to give me a chance to find him a teacher. Don't worry; I will be paying for the teacher when I do find them."

Macao sighed. "I don't feel comfortable with him going out on the kind of jobs Fairy Tail is known for." He glared at Alex. "Can you guarantee that he won't do more than I think he's ready for?"

Alex shook her head. "I won't make a promise I may not be able to keep. I can promise that I will make sure Romeo is ready for anything that may come his way. And he won't be going it alone until you and I decide he's ready."

"And if I never think he's ready?" Macao raised his eyebrow.

"Then that's how it'll be," Alex frowned at the stubborn parent. "But don't forget, as he gets older, he will resent you and me if we decide to stifle him like that." When Macao looked down in thought, Alex grabbed her backpack from behind the desk. "Look, this is something that you have to talk to your son about, and I won't be involved." She held open the door for Macao to walk out. "You'll be able to contact my lacrima while I'm out. Call me if anything happens."

"Where are you going?" Macao demanded. "The next Master's meeting isn't for another two weeks."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You've been looking at my calendar," She guessed. When the man didn't respond, she shook her head. "We'll have words about your nosiness later." She shouldered her bag. "In the meantime, I made a promise to meet with some people a while ago. So, I'm going to do that." She closed the door, and the two walked down the stairs. "I'm only going to be gone for a couple of days, so please, don't burn down the guildhall."

Alex walked over to Erik and Kinana. "Erik, the Council decided the Nexus guild was getting a little too rowdy. They want you and the others to take care of that."

Erik groaned and set his head on the table. "Those idiots? How they're still a guild is beyond me."

Kinana smiled encouragingly. "At least you'll be done with this job quickly."

"Yeah, but now I gotta tell Sorano she can't train with Yukino," Erik sighed. "She's not gonna be happy about that."

Alex laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, she's going to be complaining a lot. Good luck with that." She waved at the couple and started walking towards the door. "I'll see you both when I get back." "I have some little dragons to train," She thought to Erik.

Erik snorted. "Good luck with that," He muttered as she walked out of the guildhall.

Kinana looked at Erik, curious. "Where is she going?" She asked the Poison Dragon Slayer.

"She promised some kids she'd start training them in magic," Erik said, indifferent. "Pretty sure she mentioned finding a teacher for the little fireball over there too." He pointed to Romeo.

Kinana smiled. "Macao didn't sound too happy when he found out the Master was already talking to his son about becoming a member."

"The squirt's persistent; I'll give him that," Erik chuckled. "You know, he asked to be a member, right? Alex hadn't said anything to him, and she probably wouldn't have for a long while."

Kinana looked at him thoughtfully. "You care about her, don't you?" When Erik looked at her, she smiled. "I can see how much she means to you when you talk to her or about her."

Erik grinned. "She helped my team and me when she didn't need to. She believed we could be better than our history and helped us make that a reality." He pulled Kinana into his side. "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been reunited with you. And I will never be able to repay her for that."

Kinana smiled and leaned against Erik. "I'm glad you're here." She looked up at him. "I heard Alex is going to be hosting the hanami next week. Did she mention what she had planned?"

Erik nodded. "She's got something special planned. But my team and I promised to keep it a secret until the party." He stood up. "I better get my team so we can take care of that dark guild. We don't need to give the Council another reason to put us in jail."

Kinana frowned in concern. "You'll be careful, right?"

Erik smiled and kissed Kinana's forehead. "This guild is full of morons. We'll be home before you know it."

With Alex

Alex smiled and waved at the crew members as she stepped off the Akane Village train. "Now, where are those two dragons?" She muttered as she walked towards the woods.

"They're hiding in the trees," Hotaru said, amused. "I think they're trying to scare you."

Alex smirked. Think I should surprise them? At Hotaru's chuckle, Alex expanded her senses to find the boy's magical signatures. Sting's bright white soul was the first one she found three yards in front of her. The inky blackness of Rogue's was a few feet behind her.

Alex grinned and used her lightning travel to get behind Sting first. She grabbed his shoulder, making him jump and look behind him. "Found you." She looked up. "Stay here while I get your friend."

She then lightning traveled over to where Rogue was hiding. He was already running to find another place to hide. Alex reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Good job trying to find another hiding spot once I found Sting." She smiled encouragingly. "You two made a campsite already, right?" When he nodded, she patted his back. "Alright. Let's get Sting, and let me set my stuff down before we start training."

When they reached Sting, he grinned. "How'd you find us so quickly? That was so cool."

"Good question," Alex smiled. "And once I put my stuff down, that'll be the first lesson today."

Sting's Exceed Lector ran up to them when the trio got to the campsite. "Did you scare her?" Lector asked, excited. "I bet you were the fiercest dragons she ever saw."

"Frosch thinks so too," Frosch said, walking up to the group.

Sting grinned and rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. Alex felt a pang in her chest when she was reminded of Natsu when he did that. "Not exactly, buddy. But we'll get her next time."

"Don't count on it," Alex smirked. She smiled gently and picked up the two Exceeds. "And how have you two been?"

"We've been good, Miss Alex," Lector said, grinning. "We've been helping Sting and Rogue train for the Grand Magic Games. The Master said it's taking place in July, and he wants them to be ready to play."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. "I heard about the King starting some games this year. I'll have to talk to the guild and see if they want to join."

"Alex," Rogue spoke up, cautious. "Master Jiemma was telling us what a joke Fairy Tail became after their most vital members disappeared. Is that true? Are you the leader of a weak guild?"

Alex scowled. "I'm not sure what ideas Jiemma is filling your heads with, but Fairy Tail is not, nor will it ever be a weak guild." She motioned for the two boys to sit down on the ground with her. "Fairy Tail is still recovering from losing a large part of our family, but it's not weak." She smiled. "They just need to be reminded how strong they are, so don't you worry about my guild. Though I do appreciate the thought." She playfully poked the little Shadow Dragon's nose.

Sting frowned. "Why would he say Fairy Tail is weak if it's not?" He demanded. "Is he a liar?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "He's less of a liar and more of a power-hungry moron." She crossed her arms. "My guild isn't full of super-powerful people right now, but we're far from weak. Every single person is family. Any problem someone has, we take care of it as a family. That's where Fairy Tail's power comes from. Not only that," Alex stood up and grinned. "I'll be training them to get stronger physically too. We plan on being stronger than ever when the rest of our family shows up. But first, we start training you two. Shall we begin?"

The trio of slayers found a clear area to train. "Now tell us!" Sting said excitedly. "How did you find us earlier?"

"I followed your magical core," Alex said, looking around their training area. "Every person has one, and each one is unique to that person. Today, I can show you how to recognize someone's core and find them." She motioned for them to sit down. "First, I want you to meditate." She chuckled at Sting's annoyed groan. "I want you to find your magical core. Because if you can't recognize your own, how can you find someone else's?" She sat down in front of them in a lotus position. "Now, focus on the magical energy inside your own body. Rogue, your's is an inky shadow that moves with your breath. Sting, yours is like the sun, warm and bright." She watched as the boys closed their eyes and concentrated. "Let me know when you find it."

She closed her eyes and started her meditation session. She entered her mind space to find Hotaru waiting for her. "Alright," Hotaru said, bored. "What is it you want to learn today?"

"Do Demon's have mates?" Alex asked, looking at her. "I know Dragons have mates, which is why Dragon Slayers do. But what about Demons?"

Hotaru sighed. "Not in the same sense. Demons have fixations. There's a demon that is obsessed with money. And another one that blows things up." She smirked. "And thanks to you, ours is Fairy Tail."

"What was yours before you entered my soul?" Alex asked, frowning.

"I loved storms," Hotaru smirked. "I caused devastating twisters and thunderstorms that took out mountains." Her smile turned sad. "Zeref created me, you know. Very few of us Demons knew that we were created to kill Zeref."

"Zeref made you?" Alex asked, surprised. "How is it I never heard of you?"

Hotaru snorted. "That Devil Slayer Silver destroyed me before Fairy Tail even considered fighting Tartarus. Of course, you never heard of me." She rolled her eyes. "I was planning on leaving the guild to search for Zeref on my own, so Silver killed me. Luckily, I hid my book before he could catch up to me."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense." She frowned and shook her head, annoyed. "I'm getting off-topic. So Demons don't have mates then?" Hotaru shook her head. "Then I did mess up Laxus's future by showing up."

Hotaru snorted and shook her head. "You give yourself too much credit." She crossed her arms. "Laxus never had a mate. It was just luck that you turned out to be his mate when you were pulled into this world. And just because Demons don't have mates doesn't mean they can't be a mate." She smirked. "Laxus chose you. You're allowed to find happiness in this world, you know."

Alex sighed. "I guess that's true." She looked up at the Demon. "I better check on the two Dragons now." She smirked. "I'm pretty sure at least one of them managed to find his magical core."

Hotaru nodded. "When you have the time, we need to talk about what to do about Zero." Alex raised a brow in confusion. "Don't tell me you forgot about him?" Hotaru asked incredulously. "Zero is still free. Which means he's going to cause problems for this country. And who do you think he's going to go after once he gets his strength up?"

"The old Oracion Seis," Alex muttered. "And they're in Fairy Tail." She looked up at Hotaru sharply. "Did you know about this?"

"You were the one dreaming about it a while ago," Hotaru rolled her eyes. "It's not my fault you dismissed potential visions."

"Visions!" Alex yelled. "Those were visions? When did I start having visions?"

"You've been here for almost four years now," Hotaru argued. "How is it you were able to remember the majority of what's happened so far? It wasn't the little list you wrote down in a journal. You barely look at that thing anymore." She shook her head. "The only reason you have lightning magic is because of me inhabiting your soul between here and Edolas."

"So I'm psychic?" Alex asked. "That's crazy."

"Sure," Hotaru snorted. "About as crazy as someone being raised by Dragons or being able to summon any sword and armor needed for any possible scenario." She shook her head. "We can discuss this later. Get back to your Dragon kids." She waved her hand to push Alex out of her mindscape, done talking to her.

Alex opened her eyes to see the two Dragon Slayers staring at her. Sting grinned. "It's about time you woke up." He stood up. "We found our magical cores as you asked us to. Now what?"

Alex forced herself to grin at the two boys. "That's great, boys. Let me know when you can sense my magic core." She slowly began releasing her magic core until both boys raised their hands. "Great," She smiled, genuinely happy for the two. "Now we're going to play a game of hide-and-seek. You two will find me purely by looking for my magical energy. You can not use your Dragon senses to find me, is that understood?" When the boys nodded, she smirked. "Then let the games begin."

So... I have no real explanation for why this took as long as it did. I'm not going to make promises about doing better, but I will try. I still love this story, and I do have an idea of what I want to happen. I'm just having a hard time putting it into words.

So next time, we have to finish training the Dragons, and then there's a hanami to have. Hope to see you then! And if I don't write before the month is over, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, no matter what that may be. See you next time!