Chapter Six

Lack of Cast

On an early Saturday morning, Natsu covered his head with a pillow to muffle out the obnoxious wake-up call ringing in his ears. He knew he was asking for trouble when the armchair had evicted him with a sore back, and exiled him into the welcoming town of pink fluffyville he called her bed. So he'd expected a good yelling from Lucy, or who many guys back at the guild like to call her, the Blonde Beast. Except… her roar sounded way too giddy than usual. He peeked out from under the pillow. Lucy wore a grin as if she'd received news of someone having a baby. She seized him by the wrist and pulled. "Come on! Get up, Natsu! We got to go to Fairy Tail now!" Repressing a groan for another fifteen minutes of snooze, he let her drag him out of bed and into the guild hall.

A long line of wizards had formed in front of the mission board, signing up for today's audition, and extended towards the center of the room. Lucy and Levy squealed in unison, clasping their hands together and bouncing on their toes, while Natsu exchanged a mutual glance of indifference with Happy.

Women.

Operation Dragon Prince could still make leeway with or without the extra drama. Then, Natsu took this moment to scope out his potential opponents. Enthusiastic determination masked every face of earning the spot under the limelight, except his own. He already got an advantage that could crush the competition: the sacred, in-depth knowledge of the Dragon Prince's character, graced by Director Lucy herself.

"Hey, Natsu." Happy tugged at his pants. "Let's take that bandit mission before someone else finds it first."

The sudden proposition jarred him out of focus. "You're not gonna audition?" He raised a brow.

Happy shook his head. "There's no need to. Lucy's got enough people to audition for the roles. And plus," His wide eyes darted left and right before he cupped his mouth in a loud whisper. "This play is a joke."

He blinked. Not because this was all news to him - he already knew this play was a joke - but the fact that his best friend had proposed to abort the mission. An unexpected behavior that produced an opportunity to escape the risk of being casted as a laughingstock. Sure, he didn't mind people poking fun at his dance moves and other actions that showcased variations of his stupidity. That stuff happened by choice. But never in a thousand suns would he stoop so low in turning his dignity into a punching bag for the whole world to use. Punching a bandits' face in would bring more satisfying justice than saving some old geezer's marriage with warm, fuzzy feelings. But aborting a mission also clashed against supporting a teammate.

Groaning inwardly, Natsu looked towards the stagefront where Lucy and Levy stood. Levy drew out the word 'Copy' in the air with her finger, forming a spell incantation, and swiped it onto the manuscript with her arm. Lucy watched, her big, brown eyes and smile illuminating her face, as a tower of scripts piled high. And she immediately handed a copy to each auditionee. She answered questions, placed her hand on shoulders for encouragement, and giggled at what may had been flattering comments. A few days ago, she wouldn't even let him have a sneak peek on her finished novel. It was too embarassing, she'd told him, clutching the papers snuggily into her chest and out of his reach. Seeing her taking risks now was a fresh reminder of why he recruited her into his team. Nice as she was by first impression, she shared his craving for wild adventures that he embarked on. And this mission was her way of satisfying just that, even if this was anything but adventurous.

"I skimmed through the entire script last night." Happy continued. "There are only three major male characters: the royal prince, the king, and the Dragon Prince." He narrowed his eyes, balling his paws onto his sides. "The royal prince is more like your typical girl's fantasy of the perfect boyfriend. Tall, handsome, rich, you name it. And the king." He shook his head. "A pansy and a pushover. He's a panshover!"

Natsu cracked a smile at the wordplay and kneeled down for Happy to look up. "Look, I get it. This mushy romance crap makes me gag as much as watching Lucy try to be sexy. But Fairy Tail's reputation is riding on this mission. It's best to work together to get the job done, ya know?"

His ear twitched, a sign of mental cogwheels turning in his tiny brain. "I guess so." With sunken ears, he kicked lightly on the wooden floorboards. The dust swirled up aimlessly, clouding the sun rays from pouring through the high-ceiling windows. "Just wish the tiny dragon character wasn't such a pansy."

Natsu stole another glance over at the stagefront. Wendy, the youngest dragon slayer in the guild, and her Exceed, Carla, received a copy from Lucy. He formed a smirk, along with an idea. "Least you can still impress Carla with your acting skills."

Both of his ears stood erect and his tail curled up. "Carla? You think she'll be watching?"

He shrugged, folding his hands behind his head. "I don't see why not." He grinned. "This play's pretty much a chick flick, so there's a good chance that every girl will be watchin' you show your stuff."

Happy raised his paw, almost making a vow. "There's only one woman I got my eyes on."

He couldn't had been more right. With only a few Exceeds milling about on Earthland, he didn't have much options. But reminding him that would only douse the hype Natsu had aimed to accomplish.

"Natsu! Happy!" Lucy called out, grinning, and waved them over to her.

Happy pressed onward, already targeting Carla as his main audience for his role as the trusty dragon. Only, Natsu trailed behind, observing the cat's newfound zeal. Even with half of Fiore's women population of his kind, Natsu vowed to not make a fool of himself just to impress one.

The smell of fish stirred Natsu to open one eye halfway. In a blur, a blue form gave way to Happy's round face looking down on him. He pulled the fish away from his nose.

"They're done reading." He said, biting off the face of his snack.

Natsu slowly pushed himself up on the sitting booth and stretched his arms out with a yawn. It was about time. Earlier, Lucy had decided to hold a cold reading session with the group, and he'd complained about the sheer waste of time. The whole purpose of Old Gramps, their headmaster, lending the guild's stage to them was to conduct an audition, not to sit around and read the scenes all day.

Only, Lucy sighed irritably at this. "Natsu, how are you going to audition for your role if you don't read your scenes?"

"Easy." He smirked. "I got Happy to read 'em for me."

"Eh?!" Happy's mouth dropped. "Why use me? It's your role, man!"

"I'll get you a nice, big fish."

He gave him the cold stare. "Bribing me with fish, huh?" After a momentary pause, he relented. "Do your worst, villain."

"See, Luce?" He grinned with pride. "Happy agreed. I got the villain thing down packed without reading."

She facepalmed. "This isn't going to end well."

And she was right. She'd already wasted more than half of the day, yapping her gums about every single detail of the mission, instead of doing what they came here to do in the first place. But he refrained from telling her that; it would only cause her to catch a hissy fit with him, wasting both of their time. People would ask him how he survived the wrath of Fairy Tail's renowned princess. His answers had ranged from "skill" to "magic." Any answer was better than "beats me." Lucy gave mercy to whoever she deemed worthy.

Natsu relaxed himself, resting both arms on the back of the booth, when Lucy stepped onto the stage with the clipboard at hand, shifting her attention towards them. "Okay, before we get started on the audition," She said, "I'd like to thank you all for joining me on this mission. This totally means a lot for our client, who's counting on us to do what he loves to do. To tell a story that will inspire, not just his wife, but to anyone with the capacity to love others, even to those who are undeserving to be loved. Why? Because love conquers all things, strengthens and heals all bonds. It brings joy, forgiveness, and patience towards one another."

"Alright, we get it, Luce! Just start the audition already!" Natsu interrupted before her speech could waste another hour.

"I'm getting there!" She retorted, ignoring the sound of a few people laughing at their exchange. "So without further ado, our first one up is..." Glancing down at the clipboard, she looked up with a grin. "Vijeeter. Come on up." She waved him over and descended the stage to take her seat behind the parchment paper and fresh ink bottle.

A brown-haired guy dressed in a black suit stepped onto the stage. Without a word, he immediately started dancing ballet. Awkward silence filled the room, and then, a steadying ambience of euphoria. Happy wagged his tail, purring happily, as a couple of oohs and aahs resonated from the spectators. Natsu looked towards the bar counter and the secluded corners of the hall. The strong wizards seemed to remain unaffected by this emotion-inducing magic spell. He glanced over at Lucy, in case to stop the performance for her to concentrate. But she simply raised her hand and Vijeeter ended his dance with a final pivot, frowning as always. "Vijeeter, have you picked a scene to try out?"

He looked left and right, and shook his head.

She smiled. "I don't know if you realize this, but we're not producing a musical."

His brows rose up in surprise. Then, he lowered his head dejectedly and dragged his feet off the stage. With guilt plastered on her face, Lucy dipped her quill into the ink bottle and jotted down a few notes. Natsu couldn't believe what he was seeing. The same woman who got on his case for not reading a scene was searching for ways in how to fit someone worse than him into the play. Granted, he already knew she was the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. But that didn't stop him from predicting this particular habit in becoming a hindrance later on in their mission.

By evening, Lucy had went down the list of names, asking what role or scene they would play. Then, they endured the long, monotonous recitations, stiff acting, and soft-spoken personalities. After Wendy finished her audition as the princess' maidservant, Lucy checked off the last name on the list. The majority of the spectators were leaving their tables to sneak in another mission before ending the day or turn in early. They had enough of watching disappointing performances back to back, including Carla, who joined the multitude to not keep Wendy staying up too late.

Lucy sipped on her hot cup of tea that Mira Jane had brewed for Team Gear and Team Natsu. "Alright, last one for the night." She said wearily, setting the cup down. "Natsu, Happy, you're up."

"Aye sir!" Happy spread out his wings and flew towards the stage, leaving Natsu behind once again. As he made his way onto the stage, script at hand, Lucy continued with her instructions.

"Ok guys, you'll be doing the Dragon Prince scene on Act One. I'll prompt the scene as the princess for you."

Natsu stared at her. He never told her what role he was auditioning for. Hell, she didn't even ask him, like she did with the other auditionees. Assuming his interest of the Dragon Prince must'd seemed conspicuous enough for her to figure him out, he smirked. "I don't get a say on this?"

Her smile exposed an amusing glint of mischief in her eyes, as her fingers rolled the quill around deftly. "I figured you'd prefer us to not waste any more time with chit-chat." A brief pause followed along with her sheepish grin and slight blush of embarrassment. "And we only got about a half hour till the guild closes for the night. So make it count."

He chuckled softly. "You don't have to tell me twice." With Happy waiting on the sideline, Natsu prepared to impress the only audience left in the guild, who watched him with genuine eagerness.