Chapter Two: Happy
X778.
"Has anyone seen Natsu?"
Lucy looked up from the book she was reading to see Erza looking around with her hands placed on her hips authoritatively. "He was supposed to join me in another lesson today."
The redhead had taken Natsu under her wing to help him learn the ways of the real world. The young dragon slayer had resisted at first, but it didn't take long for him to finally succumb to Erza's constant persistence. Lucy hadn't been surprised that he ultimately gave in; a scary Erza wasn't someone to argue with. So far, an improvement has slightly shown in Natsu, however his sudden outbursts have yet to cease. Every day he would get into a fight with someone, particularly Gray, for no reason at all. It was tiring to get him to calm down and it normally took Lucy coming over and reading to him, along with Lisanna.
Lucy shook her head apologetically at Erza. "Sorry, I haven't seen him recently. He's probably gone out." Natsu often would get moody and would have to go off on himself, to where nobody was sure. More times than not, his friends would try going after him, but he every time he would shrug them off. Lucy had stopped trying to follow when he left; she learned to respect his privacy after he yelled at her for being nosy.
The redhead gave a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose while shaking her head. "You're most likely correct." She straightened up with an irritated scowl, obviously displeased with her student's absence. Natsu was wasting the time she had set aside to tutor him and she was not happy about it. She could have easily gone out and practiced her skills. The S-Class test was approaching and she needed all the time she could get to hone techniques and perfect some of the bumpy areas.
"Why are you worrying about that pyro, Erza? He obviously doesn't care about-"
Gray was suddenly cut off when someone burst through the doors. In came Natsu, carrying something quite large and strange above his head. Lucy's eyes widened as he announced, "I found an egg!"
Sure enough, it was an egg. It was big and white, with spiraling blue patterns all over it. The rest of the guild marveled at it, wondering just what resided within the shell.
"Where on earth did you get that from?" Master Makarov was in his usual place, perched atop the bar with a staff in his hands. He narrowed his eyes at the object, a little concerned that Natsu could have possibly brought a dangerous creature into the guildhall. However, the young mage seemed ecstatic, more enthusiastic than anyone about his discovery. "I picked it up in the East Forest!" Erza frowned at this, finding out where he had been this entire time.
"What's this? Natsu actually did something useful?"
Lucy turned a glare on the raven-haired ice mage, looking ready to defend her friend when Cana suddenly appeared, pointing out that Gray's clothes had, again, disappeared. The blonde relaxed and laughed at the boy as he gawked at himself, clearly baffled as to how his clothes had vanished so quickly.
Natsu glared at Gray next, struggling to keep a firm grip on the heavy egg. "You've gotta be kidding me! This is a dragon egg. I'm gonna hatch it!"
Lucy blinked in shock at her friend while beside her, Levy gasped. "A dragon?" Cana asked, although she didn't seem very convinced. Neither did Gray or Erza, who were normally the most skeptical group of kids in all of Fairy Tail.
Natsu, on the other hand, was adamant about his newly found dragon egg. "Just look at these markings. They look just like dragon's talons!" He carefully set the egg on top of a random, stray pillow before standing back and looking expectantly at the guild master, who eyed him suspiciously. "So, Gramps! Force the dragon to come out!"
Makarov dead-panned at the suggestion before yelling at the pink-haired boy for spouting nonsense. Natsu looked angry with him before the master interrupted, seeming more serious now. "No magic in this world is capable of creating life. Life is born from love. No magic can change that."
The children fell silent at his words, taking in what he had just said. Lucy suddenly felt around in her pockets, withdrawing the golden keys her supposed mother had left to her before leaving her to the guild. She turned them over in her hands, brown eyes thoughtful as she traced the symbols engraved in the handles. Her head jerked upwards as Natsu spoke up again, declaring that he didn't understand. Makarov only sighed at the boy before telling him that it must still be too soon for a kid like him. Natsu looked as if he didn't know whether to be offended or not.
"In other words, if you want to hatch it, you have to try your best at it. Usually, the only thing you do is wreak havoc. This should be the perfect opportunity for you to learn about giving birth to something." Erza's expression became irritated as she bent closer to the younger mage, who leaned away sheepishly. "What do you have to say for yourself for skipping your lesson today?"
"I'm sorry, Erza," Natsu grumbled, averting his gaze from her's as Gray snickered. "I just didn't feel like it today."
Erza scoffed. "That attitude's not going to get you anywhere. Come on, let's go get this egg situated so I can teach you about the proper way of-"
"Hey, Erza! I'm back, let's continue from where we left off!"
Lucy cringed at the familiar voice and turned around to see Mirajane standing at Fairy Tail's entrance, her two siblings trailing behind her. The snowy-haired she-devil always had a bone to pick with someone, especially Erza, as they were a sort of rivals. The day she and her family had gone out for a job, the two females had gotten into a fight before it was cut short by the job she had to go on. Lucy didn't understand how someone could have so much energy after a long day of work. "Come at me!" Mirajane cried, beckoning her guildmate while behind her, Lisanna complained about the constant fighting in the guild.
"Now that you mention it, we still have some unfinished business…" Erza had turned away from scolding Natsu and was now staring down her rival. "Mira!"
Mirajane smirked before launching herself at the redhead, fists poised to strike as she flew at her opponent. "Go to hell, Erza!"
Lucy grasped onto Levy beside her, who clung onto her blonde friend in return. The last thing they wanted was to get somehow involved in the fray, which was what usually happened with a rowdy group like Fairy Tail's. They had to duck when Mirajane flew over their heads and collided with a table, thrown back by a hefty punch from Erza.
"You cheeky bitch!" The she-devil snarled before standing and running back to meet Erza. She avoided another punch and used her momentum to swing her leg at the armored girl, who grunted as she was kicked into a wall. Growling, she stood back up, hurling a spare chair at Mirajane while cursing venomously at her.
"You midriff showing bitch!"
"You prickly bitch!"
"You bony bitch!"
"Fatty!"
"Four-eyed!"
Nearby, Natsu and Gray stared at the girls in disbelief, amazed by the hypocrisy Erza was showing off. "And Erza was prohibiting us from fighting," Gray grumbled. "This is irritating."
"Damn it," Natsu cursed while cracking his knuckles. "Erza, Mira, one day I'll beat the hell out of you both!" Lucy let out a sigh at his words, releasing her blue-haired friend's arm after realizing she was out of harm's way. Mirajane and Erza were only bickering now, standing with their heads close together while insulting each other. In all honesty, Lucy thought it was childish of the older girls, but she wasn't about to say that to their faces. She didn't want to get thrown all the way across the dining hall by two angry mages.
"Seriously," groaned Lisanna while approaching Natsu. "If you keep on acting all high and mighty like that, no girl will fall for you." She smiled cheekily at her friend when he glared at her, saying that it was none of her business. The short-haired girl only chuckled. "Say, Natsu, is it alright for me to help you hatch the egg?"
"What? You'll help out?!" All of the annoyance drained from his features as he stared hopefully at his friend. "Sure!" Was her reply, a happy smile on her face.
Lucy, not wanting to miss out, jumped off of her chair to race over to Lisanna and Natsu. "Mind if I join in, too?" She asked, brown eyes alight with hope. Being rather unable to do much around the guild, it was seldom for her to get to participate in exciting activities. Lucy longed to be apart of something, anything, and this seemed like a golden opportunity. She might just get to help raise a dragon!
"Of course, Lucy!" Natsu chirped while Lisanna nodded enthusiastically. Lucy clapped her hands together happily before turning to look at the egg, gazing at the interesting pattern decorating the shell. It did kind of look like dragon's talons, if she viewed it that way, but to her it looked more like how you would draw wind patterns, or maybe water swirling around. She turned back around when Natsu suddenly asked, "What should we do to make it hatch?"
Lisanna rested her chin in her hand thoughtfully, mulling it over. "You need to warm it up." Her face paled when Natsu grinned deviously and didn't have time to stop him when he cried, "Warm it up? That's my specialty!", and proceeded to unleash a blast of flames from his jaws onto the egg. Lucy and Lisanna screamed at him to stop while others jumped away from the fire in order to not get scalded alive.
"Are you an idiot?!" Gray roared while knocking the egg from Natsu's hands and placing it safely back on the pillow. The fire mage glared at him, but Lucy's scolding voice made him falter. "Not like that, Natsu, you'll cook it!"
"Yes," Lisanna agreed, folding her arms across her chest. Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, feeling silly for nearly burning his discovery. Lucy shook her head hopelessly at the boy, while Lisanna declared that she would be using her own magic to keep it warm. "Take Over, Animal Soul!" In a flash of glittering light, the girl became a multi-colored bird. She fluttered onto the egg, curling her wings around it in attempt to keep it cozy. Lucy marveled at her friend's abilities and had to force down a hint of jealousy she felt at Lisanna's ability to control her powers smoothly.
. . .
Later on that day, the trio had moved the egg to the Magnolia South Gate Park. Lisanna had transformed into a bird again and was now sitting in the same position she had at the guild. Natsu was staring at the egg intensely, not wanting to miss the moment when the egg finally hatched. Lucy sat idly by, reading the same book she had when Natsu first came with the egg that morning.
"This is starting to get uncomfortable," Lisanna groaned, though Natsu paid no mind to her complaint. Lucy looked up for a moment, eyeing the egg before asking if she would like her to take over. The white-haired girl's blue eyes brightened at the offer, morphing back to her human state before standing up to lift the egg. As soon as her fingers brushed the shell, it suddenly fidgeted. Their eyes all widened, Natsu exclaiming, "The egg moved!"
Then it shot up, nailing Lisanna right in the chin. The girl shrieked in shock and Lucy rushed over to help her friend up. They watched as the egg started floating around, heading oddly towards Natsu. The boy snatched it up and stared at it, confused as to why it had came over to him instead.
"I think it likes you, Natsu," Lucy half-teased while pulling Lisanna to her feet. "Could it be that it wants you to warm it up instead?"
"Huh, me?"
"Yeah, it seems happy!" Lisanna piped in while brushing her pink dress off.
The pink-headed boy looked at the egg, awe filling his dark orbs. "So, do you want to be with me?" The egg gave a tiny noise in reply, causing his mouth to spread in a wide grin. "It made a noise!"
Natsu hugged the egg tighter and Lucy couldn't help but smile. Lisanna smiled at the egg as well before an idea suddenly popped into her head. A little gasp escaped her when she suggested, "Why don't we make a home for the egg?"
Lucy hopped up and down in excitement. "That's a perfect idea!" Lisanna blinked gratefully at her while Natsu voiced his agreement. "It'll be a secret base!" He crowed, lifting the egg above his head as if it were some kind of trophy.
Lucy was already hurrying away, filled with ideas of just what they would create. "Let's go and get started before the sun goes down!"
It took them some time to find the perfect place. They all had decided it needed to be in a recluse area, somewhere no one else could find it. It was, after all, a secret base. They were very particular with their searching, ultimately choosing the surrounding forest to be the home's location. It was a ways out, somewhere that not many frequented. Lucy traveled this area and knew it like the back of her hand, but its beauty never ceased to amaze her.
Natsu's first plan of using a bunch of boulders as a shelter hadn't worked as well as he hoped. A few seconds after finishing, the structure collapsed completely, unable to support the hefty roof the boy had tried giving it. Lucy was secretly relieved that their base wasn't going to be a drafty, dark den made of rock.
"Let me have a try," Lisanna persisted as Natsu cleaned up the rubble. "I have a great transformation for this one." Lucy had already agreed that it was best for the girl to try, but convincing Natsu was another thing.
"Fine," the young slayer finally grumbled, dusting his hands off after completing the cleanup. "Go ahead, I don't mind."
Lisanna smiled before suddenly becoming a giant, purple rabbit. Lucy and Natsu gawked at her, saying, "You're huge!"
"I'm just a rabbit," the newly-transformed mage huffed before turning around. "Hold on for a bit," she instructed before going off to begin working on the egg's new shelter.
"Awesome! All I can do is break stuff." Lucy released a giggle at Natsu's statement, amused by how accurate he was. At the same time, however, she felt a familiar twinge of envy, wishing that she was able to help out some way with her magic. She felt useless just standing there, although she did have the job of carrying the egg around.
After some minutes of waiting, the two children's attention was drawn by the voice of Lisanna calling, "Tada!" Turning away from their chat, their eyes widened at the simple but expertly done hut she had created using straw and sticks. Rushing forward, Natsu praised his friend loudly while Lucy followed more slowly behind, careful to not drop the egg. "Hurry up, come on in!" Lisanna called before becoming human once more.
"It's spacious when you get inside," Lucy commented while ducking in, Natsu nodding in agreement. "Great job, Lisanna!"
The short-haired girl blushed at her female friend's compliment. "Isn't it? Anyway, let's have a seat."
The trio settled down on the hay mat pillowing the ground, Lucy setting the egg in the center of them all. "This shelter should protect it from anything," the blonde remarked determinedly, sitting back once the egg was in position.
"We're like a family now," Lisanna mused, her hands placed on her knees while looking at her friends. Lucy smiled softly in response, however Natsu looked perplexed. "What does that mean?" Perhaps Erza hadn't taught him that word just yet, Lucy assumed.
"Well, the mommies, daddy and baby are here, right?"
Lucy didn't miss the blush dusting his cheeks as he replied, "Yeah, I guess that's one way to look at it!" Nor the rosiness emerging in Lisanna's. She smirked at the two briefly before looking back at the egg. "We should probably get to warming it up, you know," she pointed out, scooting closer to the object. Her two friends blinked at her before following in suit, almost forgetting what the whole point of building the shelter was. They all huddled around it, the warmth radiating from it making Lucy sleepy.
"It moved again!"
"I hope it'll hatch soon."
They were all unaware of the figure standing afar, peering intently into the entrance before disappearing promptly.
"The egg! It's gone!"
Lucy shot up in her sleeping bag to see Natsu pacing around the hut, a panicked look in his eyes. Sure enough, the large egg they had been protecting was nowhere to be found, the only sign of it left being the dent in the hay it had made on the ground. Lisanna woke up more slowly, however her eyes flew open the moment she realized that the item was missing.
"Where could it have gone?" Lucy murmured as she walked outside to look with the shrubbery surrounding their hut. "Could it have hatched and ran away?"
"The shell would have remained," Lisanna pointed out, coming to stand beside the blonde. "Someone must have stolen it."
Natsu finally burst out of the den, smoke rolling from his lips in his raging state. "It's gotta be someone from the guild! They must be jealous that we have a dragon egg and they don't!"
Lucy and Lisanna exchanged a doubtful look, but followed as Natsu sped away into the forest and on to the guild.
. . .
From the moment he kicked open the doors, Natsu was already accusing guild members of thievery. Everyone he asked, however, denied stealing the egg. Laxus didn't care enough, Cana and Gray didn't know, Erza was confused, Mira said Natsu probably ate it, which caused the fire mage to hurl himself at the older wizard. Lisanna's sister wrestled him as he continued to accuse her of a crime she didn't commit.
"Guys!" Lucy cried pleadingly, looking irritated with her guildmates. "Please stop! They obviously didn't take it, we need to actually look for it!" Her protests fell on deaf ears as more people became involved in the fight. Beside her, Lisanna sniffled, and Lucy rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
As Mirajane and Erza began bickering about how either of them must have eaten it, Cana suddenly spoke up. "Come to think of it, didn't Elfman say something about wanting an egg like that?" All eyes turned on the brunette, who cringed back uncomfortably.
"Did he eat it?" Natsu shouted angrily, still heated from the fight that had finally ended. Lisanna shook her head desperately, refusing to believe that her sweet brother would do such a thing.
"Natsu, Lucy, Lisanna, I'm sorry.."
Lucy turned away from the group to see Elfman hauling the large egg into the guildhall. Her brown eyes widened; Cana had been right! "So it was you, Elfman," Natsu growled, still displeased that his discovery had been abducted in the night.
"I didn't steal it," Elfman told them honestly, peering from behind the egg. "It's cold at night, and Natsu tosses and turns in his sleep, so the egg was being neglected." Lucy turned an irritated glare at the pink-haired boy, who blushed sheepishly under her stare.
"I can't use magic very well, but I secretly warmed the egg up by myself."
"Thank you!" Lisanna cried while bouncing up and down. Natsu agreed, saying that her brother was truly manly for doing something like that for his little sister. Lucy thanked him as well with a small hug, which he returned after he passed the egg onto Natsu. As soon as he did, the egg finally began to crack.
Gasps emitted from the group, all leaning in to observe the possible hatching of a dragon. Natsu looked the most excited of them all, understandably so, bobbing on his toes as he waited to see what could emerge from the shell. Lucy clung onto his sleeve, brown eyes wide as the cracking began growing.
"I-It's hatching!"
The commotion was beginning to be noticed by the more skeptical guildmates and as they wandered over, their eyes also rounded in awe. Finally, the egg burst, and a blue, glowing object flew into the air. Though it dazzled their eyes, the guild couldn't help but stare as a newborn dragon appeared-
Wait, that was no dragon. It was a blue cat with wings!
Natsu, Lucy, and Lisanna's grins widened as the small animal fluttered around before ultimately landing on top of Natsu's head. Lucy laughed at the sight; the creature really had preferred Natsu from the start! After a moment, the bird-like wings vanished and the cat hopped up and squeaked out, "Aye!"
"It's so cute!" Lisanna squealed while Lucy cooed at it. The rest of the guild began gathering around to marvel at the flying cat, truly amazed that something actually had hatched from the strange egg.
"Look, Natsu," Lucy suddenly said, grabbing Natsu's sleeve once more. "Everyone's so happy because of the cat." Lisanna came and stood by them, gently stroking the magical creature's head. "He's like a bluebird of happiness," she crooned as the cat purred in Natsu's arms.
"Happiness, huh," Natsu murmured thoughtfully. After a moment, he announced loudly, "Then I'll name it Happy!"
The cat's blue ear twitched at the name and its eyes opened, clearly approving the title as he declared, "Aye!" The trio all giggled at the tiny animal, Natsu cuddling it close to his chest lovingly while everyone else chatted around him. Then Happy was raised into the air and was paraded around the guild, while Natsu chanted, "Happy the dragon!", and Happy would promptly follow with a spirited, "Aye!"
And that concluded chapter two of CoF! I enjoyed writing this chapter, although I didn't change much from the actual episode/chapter.
I can't believe this already have 23+ follows! That was fast, wasn't it? I didn't think so many people would be interested that quickly, but I'm glad y'all are.
Thank you for reading! If you or new or are a returning reader, don't forget to follow, favorite, and/or review!
Until next time,
fairlystrange.