A/N: There isn't a lot of action in this chapter, just talking. But it's important talking. Also I like writing people getting to know each other better through conversation, so uhh...there's a lot of that in this story in general I think. I'm obsessed with dialogue.
Anyway, thanks for the follows and such! I do read all of the reviews you leave for me, so special thanks to those of you who did so :)
After socializing long into the night, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy headed back to the cabin in the woods for the night and for some more much-needed rest.
Lucy yawned, stretching her arms high above her head. "It feels like it's been two days, but it really only happened last night," she said. "Meeting you, I mean. So much has happened in this short time."
"Yeah. And you mentioned a job."
"Makarov is your guildmaster, right? He's very knowledgeable."
"Yeah, and?"
She sighed. "You just want me to get to the point, don't you?"
Natsu waited expectantly.
"Come on, just tell us already," Happy said.
"Fine, fine. There are several dark guilds around Fiore that the guildmasters suspect are working alongside some of the corrupt magistrates we eavesdropped on last night in order to revive Zeref's demons. There is one dark guild that's become active recently, and he's asked us to go stop it."
Natsu grinned. "Sounds great! When do we leave?" After yesterday's brief fight, he was just itching for some action. He'd almost gotten it by fighting Gray, but of course Erza had to be there the whole time and put a stop to any attempts at fighting.
"Not so fast," Lucy said. "This isn't just an ordinary dark guild; it's one of the strongest. Even I've heard of them. I had an encounter with them once and barely escaped with my life after battling only one of their members. We have to gather a team first. Just in case."
"I can take 'em," Natsu said. He lit one fist on fire. "The only active guildmember in Fairy Tail I haven't been able to defeat is Erza, and Erza's the strongest there is."
"He actually suggested we take Erza along," Lucy said.
That took the wind out of Natsu's sails. "Oh. They must be really strong, then."
"Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. But you know Fairy Tail best, so I'll listen to your advice for assembling our team. Makarov said that five or six of the strongest should be enough to guarantee a victory."
"Five or six? That's a lot. Let me think. Hmm…"
There was Erza, of course, then Natsu himself, and Lucy too. Gray was considered one of the stronger members of Fairy Tail, as much as Natsu hated to admit it, so he might be a good choice if not for the fact that he's, well, Gray. And despite her size, Wendy was a capable fighter. Levy's magic was good in a pinch.
"We have to bring Charle," Happy said, pressing a paw to Natsu's face. "Hey, Natsu, let's bring Charle."
"I already have Wendy on my list," Natsu snapped.
"Wendy? That sweet little girl?" Lucy said.
"She's a dragon slayer," Natsu said. He grinned at her. "Just like me."
"Dragon slayer?" Lucy looked startled for a moment. She turned her gaze forward, eyes wide as she watched the path before them. "Wow. Fairy Tail is really amazing. That's such rare magic."
"Not as rare as yours," Natsu pointed out. "You're the Celestial Spirit."
Lucy smiled. "I guess so. I'm so used to it that I forget my magic isn't seen very often. It's really nothing special."
"Summoning magic takes a lot of magical energy," Natsu pointed out. "Well, so does dragon slayer magic, but the application is completely different."
"So Wendy, Erza, and who else?"
Natsu counted on his fingers. "Me, you, Wendy, Erza, and as much as I hate to say it, Gray."
"He's an ice mage," Lucy said.
"Right."
"You two argue a lot."
"He's an irritating bastard," Natsu said.
"Fire and ice. It's obvious why you don't get along."
"Shut up."
"What about Levy? She seemed nice. She's a script mage, right?"
"I was thinking about her," Natsu said. "Her magic can be useful in a pinch. Like if I need to refuel on fire or something. She's good at that sort of survival stuff. And she's smart, so she knows a lot about written magic and how it works."
"Why don't we bring Mira?" Happy said.
Natsu waved away the suggestion. "Mira stopped fighting years ago." When Lisanna died. "She's strong, but she'd never agree."
"It's worth a shot to ask," Lucy said.
"No," Natsu said. "We can't ask Mira." He could feel his voice getting darker, but he didn't care. He didn't want to think about this. Mirajane and Elfman were the two people that, no matter how strong they were, Natsu definitely could never ask to fight.
Lucy quickly backed off. "Oh. Okay."
"So is that our team then?" Lucy said. "Us, Erza, Wendy, Gray, and Levy."
"Jet and Droy won't want to give Levy up," Happy snickered.
"They're just gonna have to live with it, because we need her to write us some food. There's no way I'm letting Erza cook for five people and two exceeds," Natsu said.
Lucy snorted. "That's the real reason? You want her to make you food?"
"And fire," Natsu said. "And aren't half of Zeref's demons from books? Levy knows a lot about that sort of stuff. She might be able to decode some written magic."
"That's actually a good point," Lucy said. "Okay. Then we have our team. That's six people and two cats."
"Exceeds," Happy corrected.
"Six people and two exceeds. If they're all as strong as you say they are, we should have no problem with that dark guild."
Natsu made a noise of affirmation. And the conversation fell quiet.
The crunch of their footsteps on twigs and gravel only barely covered up the rustling sounds of the woods around them. To Natsu, it was a familiar sound. Even away from home, trees were trees and rocks were rocks. But this particular sound, the sound of these woods, was one he missed.
"Say, Natsu?" Lucy broke the silence.
"Mm."
"Tell me about yourself."
He wasn't expecting that question. "Uhh, like what?"
"Just…where you came from, what you do. That sort of stuff."
"Well, uh. I'm looking for my dad, Igneel. He was a dragon, you know. The one who taught me my magic. He disappeared suddenly one day when I was little, and I ended up at Fairy Tail. I've been looking for him ever since." Natsu shrugged. "That's really it." That was all the important stuff, anyway. She didn't need to know anything more than that.
"So you were raised by a dragon?" Lucy said.
"Yeah."
"Was he a nice dragon?"
Natsu jumped in front of her. "Of course!" he exclaimed. He began walking backwards as they continued through the forest. "He would always play with me and he even taught me history. I don't know who my parents were or anything, but he took me in and raised me. He was super strong, and just awesome!" He fell into step beside Lucy again. "That's why I have to find him. He wouldn't just disappear like that."
"I see," Lucy said.
"I hatched from an egg," Happy offered. "I turned six last year."
"Do exceeds use cat years?"
"I don't know," Happy said. "I'm an orphan, too."
"I'm not an orphan," Natsu said. But he knew Happy was right, in a way. Until he figured out what had happened to Igneel, he was essentially an orphan. It had always been that way. He didn't even know who his biological parents were, or why he'd been left all alone in the forest like that for Igneel to find.
"I'm not an orphan, either," Lucy said. "My mom died seven years ago, but my dad's still alive. I haven't seen him in years, though. Not since I became the Celestial Spirit, as people call me."
"Does he not approve of you going all vigilante?" Happy asked.
Lucy laughed. "Who do you think has been trying so hard to hunt me down all this time and get me arrested?"
"So he calls the cops on you?" Natsu said.
Lucy turned her face toward him with a bitter smile that looked more like a grimace. "That's an understatement," she said. "He's even threatened to have me hanged before."
Natsu gaped. Was she for real?
She continued, "I was born into an elite household, and my father controlled my life down to the very last detail. I was basically no more than an object to be sold to the highest bidder by marriage when I turned sixteen. I wasn't even allowed out of the house, or around any peers. So, one day, I escaped.
"I already knew my father would be furious that I tried to run away, but when I met Plue and started chasing down bad guys, he just went ballistic. He completely disowned me and wiped my name from the records; it's as if I never existed, as if I was never his daughter." She sighed and scuffed her feet against the ground. "Basically, if I'm ever caught, I'll be murdered on the spot," she grumbled.
"Oh," Natsu said. He wasn't sure what he could say in response to that. "That sounds…complicated."
"Yeah. But the elite class is supposed to protect the citizens it governs. The reason I keep doing what I do is to protect my people." Lucy reached for her belt and pulled out a key. "Come on out, Plue."
There was a short flash of light, and then that huge white wolf appeared again. Seeing it for the second time, Natsu noticed that the wolf had an orange spiral protruding from its forehead. A unicorn wolf?
The wolf nuzzled against Lucy's leg, and she reached down to stroke its fur as she walked. "Plue taught me how to survive out here. If it weren't for him, I probably would've died. I was just a foolish, pampered little girl running away from a home I hated. At the time, I probably would've welcomed death with open arms. But now, I'm glad Plue saved me."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Natsu asked. He was beginning to get suspicious of her motives. She'd been so shifty this morning, and now she was spilling everything. For what reason?
"We're going to be working together, after all," Lucy said. "It's only natural that I be honest with you. Also…" She clasped her hands together in front of her. They bounced against her thighs as she walked. "…I thought you should know why I do this. Why someone like me who supposedly punishes lawbreakers is suddenly working with an illegal guild. Now you know my circumstances."
"I don't know what you mean by circumstances," Natsu said, "but it sounds to me like you'd fit right in around here."
Lucy smiled tentatively. "That's good to hear."
"Anyway, the point is, you just wanna beat up a bunch of bad guys, right?"
"I guess you could put it that way," Lucy laughed. "These demons have been killing countless innocent citizens. If there's any way I can stop the people behind it, no matter who they are or what their motives, I'd be a happy person."
"You're like a hero," Happy chimed in.
"I'm no hero; I'm just a highborn girl who ran away," Lucy said. "And this pampered princess is going to be the one sleeping on the floor tonight. It's your house, and besides, I've got Plue. I usually sleep on him every night when I'm by myself, so I don't see why it should be any different when I'm at your place."
"Fine by me," Natsu said. Yes, he'd get his bed back! He was wondering how he could convince Lucy to give it up tonight, but it looked like that wasn't necessary.
"That's what I talked to Makarov about in the office, by the way," Lucy said. "He recognized me, somehow. The general public isn't aware of my identity, although I imagine that those in the upper ranks of society are more privy to such gossip."
Natsu wasn't sure what a privy was — Lucy's high-class vocabulary was lost on him — but he knew that Makarov lots of connections, so that's probably how he knew about Lucy's origins. Not that it really mattered. If they were going on a job together, she was part of Fairy Tail, and Fairy Tail didn't care about people's personal history. Well, they cared to the extent that one would care about any friend's life, but there was no discrimination or special treatment. If you were a guildmember, you were a guildmember. That was that.
He told her as much, and she smiled in response.
"Fairy Tail is a nice place," she said, staring up at the stars, the wistful smile on her face glowing with the light of the moon.
"Yeah," Natsu said, too distracted by her visage to think of anything else to respond. This girl kept drawing his attention, and he had no idea how to deal with it.
She wasn't any more beautiful than, say, Erza, or Cana, or especially Mirajane; she was on their level, beautiful for sure but no more or less stunning than the rest. So why? Why only her? He hated when this sort of thing happened. He hoped it went away quickly like it always did.
Happy was hovering by his head. "You okay, Natsu?" the little blue cat asked.
"Of course!" Natsu chirped, grinning. He had more important things to worry about now. Like putting together their team to go demon-fighting.
Lucy didn't know the members of Fairy Tail, given she'd only just met them today, which meant it was Natsu's responsibility to get everyone gathered and make sure they knew what their objective was. And Natsu was always a staunch loner, so he had no experience leading a team on a job. Heck, the past couple years he'd hardly been around Fairy Tail at all; things and people could've changed a lot in his absence.
He'd just have to hope it all worked out. It was a sudden mission thrust upon them, but it seemed like Makarov was trusting them with something really important and Natsu didn't want to let him down.
"Oh, and before we go to sleep," Lucy said, breaking the silence just as Natsu's house came into view. She whirled around to face him, skirt twirling. "I should—" She paused, and seemed to reconsider. "No, never mind. We can do that later."
Natsu decided it was best not to question it. They'd already revealed a lot over the past 24 hours they'd known each other; anything more could wait.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
