Fluff, fluff, evil plot, fighting, cliffhanger - You are all so welcome! Hahaha
Juvia was sitting on the edge of the fountain in the garden of the Pradesh estate, bare feet swishing back and forth in the cool waters. The crescent moon was high in the night sky, a warm gentle breeze blowing in off the Grass Sea. Loons were cooing off in the distance with crickets and frogs acting as the background music to the bird's calls. The guild was partying for Lucy tonight, even though the celestial mage was still sleeping after wearing herself out. Not that Juvia could blame Lucy, she had slept for a really long time after her battle too. Laxus had joined his team for a drink around eleven or so and headed back, to what she assumed was Lucy, right around midnight which was when she had also made her escape. Vander had been whirling her around on the dance floor when he wasn't on stage singing with Cristoff who had all but stopped her beating heart.
The lunar dragon slayer had pulled his hair off his broad shoulders when he was pulled onstage. His black sleeveless shirt showed his years of training in the gym and stopped just shy of his pants, showing off his v-lines. Juvia wondered what it would have been like to lick them, before shaking her head of such thoughts. He was currently rolling his hips in time with the beat, the white leather pants clinging tightly to his taut ass. That was the moment Juvia had decided to get some air before she melted and she really didn't want to do that in front of her new guild. So here she was under the serenity of the night sky playing in the water.
Gray and Juvia had left after Tartaros, finding an abandoned town to live in together. They were roommates that were spending all of their time together, well for the first month anyway. Gray had started to leave for days at a time, then weeks, before he would return wanting to get laid. Juvia knew their relationship wasn't healthy, but she had wanted it for so long that she figured that it would be fine. Then he was gone for six long weeks and found out she was pregnant, which she had been elated about. Gray was furious though, calling her all sorts of names and telling her to just leave and never return. Juvia took his words to heart and left, wandering around for a while before running into Gajeel who had set her upon this mission. While she was chasing a bandit one evening she had fallen down a steep ravine, losing the baby that she was carrying. She'd pushed all feelings to the side after she was healed and continued on her way until Lucy found her and she started to revert to her normal self. Wasn't until she had actually told Lucy what had happened had she begun to heal though. "Maybe Juvia really is unlovable?"
"Bull shit!" Juvia spun her head around to see Cristoff standing a few feet behind her. Her blue eyes widened realizing she had been caught talking to herself. "I don't know what man has put such garbage in that brilliant mind of yours Juvia, but I'm calling complete bull shit."
"Cristoff doesn't know Juvia well enough to make a decision. Juvia doesn't think Juvia is loveable, not at all." Cristoff sat down next to her so that his back was facing the fountain, eyes focused on the moon.
"Why are you thinking such absurd things?"
"Juvia was reminiscing on Juvia's time before Lucy found Juvia and she started healing."
"Will you share your thought with me, Juvia?" Cristoff was more than curious to know who had caused the perky bluenette to doubt herself so much. She had been flitting about the women when they were rescued, ensuring they were well cared for. She was also helping Wendy adjust to life in the guild, Lucy not far away from either on the two ladies. You could tell there was a deep pain within her though, something she was struggling to deal with, and maybe he could help bring the smile to her face again?
"Juvia loved a man that was in Fairy Tail and had followed his after Tartaros. He began to act weird but Juvia figured it was how he was dealing with his own grief after the battle. Juvia was pregnant and told the man, who was unnaturally cruel to Juvia and told Juvia that he didn't want the baby and that Juvia was to leave, so Juvia did. Juvia fell really badly and lost the child Juvia was carrying," the water mage sniffled a little and wiped a stray tear away. "Juvia couldn't keep her love with her and then Juvia lost her baby, so there must be a reason Juvia can't be loved by anyone."
"I can't pretend to know what was going through that man's head but I will hurt him for putting you through all this pain. You didn't create the baby on your own, Juvia and he should have been man enough to help you too," Cristoff took a deep breath to calm himself, and his dragon. He caressed Juvia's pale cheek with his large, rough hand before continuing on with a kind smile. "I can't even begin to understand how you must feel after losing your child Juvia and I am so sorry for your loss. I am hoping you will let me check you over to ensure that you are alright and there is nothing lingering that shouldn't be." She simply nodded her head at the dark-haired man, so he lowered his hand from her cheek, down her arm and across her abdomen while keeping eye contact with her. His hand glowed a soft white as he checked her ovaries and uterus, noticing that there was nothing wrong he pulled his magic back but kept his hand on her stomach.
"Juvia would like to thank Cristoff for his help," she whispered as she leaned closer to the tall man. Cristoff sits frozen, from both anticipation and excitement as she leaned in, so her foreheads rested against his. Their eyes close, both their breaths are shaking as Juvia gently leans in and kisses Cristoff's soft, warms lips. They pull apart after a moment, drawing shaky, shallow breaths. Unable to contain himself anymore, Cristoff holds Juvia's head in his hands and pulls her into a passionate kiss. Her hands worked their way up to his neck from where they were resting on his sculpted pecs, feeling each crevasse, each line along his perfect male physique. Before it went any further Juvia gently pulled away from Cristoff, cheeks rosy from their make-out session. "Goodnight Cristoff."
Juvia swung her feet out of the fountain and walked back into the guild, Cristoff watching her as she left. "Goodnight sweet Juvia," he said loud enough that she paused before continuing on inside. Cristoff groaned as his stood and readjusted himself, sighing, shoulders sagging slightly. "You had to pick someone who needs fixing as our mate, didn't you?" He spoke to no-one in particular but his dragon was chuckling at him. Cristoff enjoyed a challenge and now that his mate was identified he would spend as much time getting to know her while helping her heal, no matter how long it took.
Lucy woke up feeling extremely warm and safe, safer than she had ever felt while sleeping next to Natsu. It felt like home and she was relishing in how comfortable that felt, plus it smelt like a summer rain in her room. She cracked an eye to see if she had left a window open to find a curtain of blonde hair in her face. Opening both eyes and sitting up slightly, she stared open-mouthed over the fact that Laxus was sleeping with her, in her bed. What was he doing here? Had they done anything? She flipped the covers off her body only to find herself in a tank top and sleep shorts, flushing red and wondering who the hell had changed her.
She felt the bed shift as Laxus rolled closer to her form, throwing an arm around her waist and nuzzling into her hair. He purred as his nose pushed the hair away from her neck, taking a deep inhale and finally relaxing again. Luzy was frozen in her bed. Mind racing a million miles an hour trying to filter through everything that she knew about dragon slayers, which turns out isn't a hell of a lot. No-one in their guild had taken a mate, hell none of them had even dated just fucked when they felt the need, including Natsu on occasion.
"Mhmm, mate," Laxus whispered, completely out of it still. Lucy's heart was hammering in her chest as she stared at the ceiling that seemed to be closing in on her. The room was getting really small and she was having a hard time breathing, she needed open spaces. Right now! She carefully left the tender embrace of the lightning slayer, grabbed a thin robe and dashed like a mad woman out of her room. She ran downstairs, seeing everyone sitting at the dining room table laughing and they all paused briefly to wave her in. Lucy shook her head and backed up several steps before bolting, her only thought was escaping, needed to get away from the confines of the house.
Someone grabbed her shoulder and she shrieked, her automatic reaction was kicking the perpetrator somewhere solid. Lucy heard a groan, looking over her shoulder to see a stranger laying on the ground. "Shit! I am so incredibly sorry." She kneeled down next to the silver-haired man, rolling him onto his back so that he could breathe easier from the kick she landed to his ribs. "Are you alright?"
"Damn girl, that was solid. You looked to be hyperventilating in the streets and wanted to make sure you were ok," the grey-eyed man replied taking a couple of deep breaths before sitting upright. "I assure you that I will be just fine in a couple of minutes. Are you alright?"
"Me? Ah yea, well I will be?"
"You don't sound too sure."
"I found something out that has thrown me for quite a loop is all. Sorta freaked and ran," Lucy laughed nervously as she stood, looking down and realizing she was running through the streets in Pelerno in her robe and bare feet.
"Can I help you get to where you need to be? Or will a search party be coming for you?"
"I just need to head back to the guild. I'm sure they'll keep the dogs in for a little while longer."
"You're a mage?"
"Yea. Just recently inducted into White Sea," Lucy proudly flashed her guild symbol to the man. "Sorry, where are my manners. I'm Lucy."
"Hestor," he politely smiled at her, which turned her insides and not in a good way. "This . . . this is just too perfect." He grabbed hold of her wrist and they disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Hestor and an unconscious Lucy landed in an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town thanks to a teleportation lacrima. "Who would have thought that I would land the same no-talent woman that was with that sneaky shadow shit, Vander. You, my dear, are going to make for a very nice pawn in my game of chess." He gently laid her on the cold tile floor before calling for Jasper.
"You called Master?"
"Can you put her under your hypnosis magic? She'd our key to getting into the guild today and seeking out retribution on the guild."
"Of course, Master. It won't take more than a second." Japer's magic gathered in his hands and began to glow an unnaturally dark green.
"Jasper," Hestor's smirk took over his entire face. "I want you to implant your magic through her lips."
"That would mean it needs to be activated this way as well, Master."
"I know and that's the best part!" Jasper did as Hestor wanted, kissing the blonde while pushing his magic throughout her mind and body. She wouldn't recall the last five minutes, but he would be able to control everything she did once he kissed her to activate the spell when his master wanted it. "It's done, Master."
"Take her back to where I was last at. Pretend to be the man that she kicked in the ribs and assist her back to the guild. Tanin has supplied you with a fake guild mark and beads to keep Kaleb out of your head," he grasped the man's upper arm and pulled him in close. "Don't fuck this up for me Jasper." The mage nodded before breaking the lacrima to transport them back to the side street. He heard Hestor cackle as he disappeared. Jasper lay on the ground, pretending to be in pain as Lucy came back to her senses.
"Oh, my Mavis! I'm so sorry, here let me help you up," Lucy helped the man to his feet dusting him off. "Did I hurt you badly?"
"No Lucy. I am perfectly fine," he said with a smile.
"Do I know you?"
"No, but I watched her match with Master Kaleb yesterday and you were amazing!" Lucy blushed from the praise the man was giving her. "I'm Jasper a hypnotic mage at the guild."
"It's nice to meet you, Jasper. Don't suppose you can help me find my way back? My friend Wendy will be taking her ranking test shortly and I would like to be there to cheer her on." The dark orange-haired man offered his arm to Lucy, who giggled before accepting. The amicably talked about nothing in particular as they walked back to the guild. "I need to change before I head out. Will I see you at the match?"
"You most certainly will Lucy."
"Great. Thanks again!" Lucy ran to her room, called Virgo and Cancer out to help her get ready, said a quick thank you and goodbye before running down to the training grounds. The stands weren't as filled as her fight but there were still a few people interested in seeing what the young dragon slayer from Fiore could do. Juvia and Evergreen waved her over, happy to see that she had made it in time. Emzadi, Kaleb, and Thane would do the evaluating for this match, but the other Pradesh siblings and Cobra weren't here yet. Bickslow was chatting with Freed and Laxus over how long they thought the match would take, betting amongst themselves. Lucy wanted to look back to Laxus but couldn't force herself to do it, not knowing what she knew now.
"Good morning everyone," Kaleb's voice sounded over the speakers. "This will be our last ranking match for a while and will be with our esteemed second in command, Cristoff Pradesh, and the young sky dragon slayer from Fiore." Cheers erupted as everyone took their places in the training arena, a purple barrier protecting the onlookers from the attacks that were sure to fly.
"Good luck, Wendy!" Lucy shouted to the younger woman whose smiled widened at realizing her sister was here to watch her. Wendy had been a nervous wreck all morning, even though Carla had woken up and tried reassuring her that she'd be fine. She was going up against an extremely power slayer who's healing powers eclipsed hers on all fronts. She had gone up against enemies before, had been defeated and succeeded but this was different. It wasn't life or death here but she still needed to give it her all. Wendy's long dark blue hair was done in two french braids that would be kept out of her face, a suggestion from Evergreen who had braided her hair for her earlier. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a sleeveless tank top that was cut low that was showing the small amount of cleavage she had, and black running shoes.
Wendy took a deep breath right before the bell sounded, both slayers launched at one another fists at the ready. Neither landed their punch, Wendy had rolled mid-air to dodge Cristoff landing in the dirt as she skidded back a short way. Wendy blew a couple jets of concentrated air at Cristoff, wanted to see if he's dodge or deflect the attacks. They were fairly fast in succession but Cristoff sliced through the first one and dodged the second two, so he was powerful enough to negate some of her attacks and quick enough to dodge several at once. It was to be expected of the lunar dragon slayer, brother of the guild master.
Cristoff sent a decently powerful dragon roar Wendy's way, she just smirked and tightly wrapped the air around her in hurricane speeds that nullified his roar. She was surprised to see he was testing her powers out too since she figured he already had a relatively good idea where her power sat. "Sky Dragon Wing Attack." Wendy expelled a whirlwind of air from her arms to attack her surroundings, seeing how fast Cristoff could dodge the wicked slices of air magic she sent off. He countered by slashing his hands in a downward motion sending moon white light out, the two attacks met creating a small explosion. He surprised Wendy by coming in fast with a variety of punches and kicks, landing the last kick on her person and pushing her into the barrier.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" She yelled the minute she stood up, the gale force wind funnel hit Cristoff in the chest and nailed him to the ground with a thud. Cristoff was on his feet fast, "Lunar Dragon Claw of Light." The nail of each finger was glowing as he formed an X in front of his body before pushing his arms outwards sending ten razor-sharp blades directly at her. One clipped her exposed upper arm and a second caught her thigh but she didn't go down, well not until Cristoff punched her in the face and sent her spiralling into the ground. Now, now she was pissed.
"Dragon Force!" Wendy's light brown eyes turned pink, along with her hair which was now wavy and pointing upwards slightly, having been loosened from the braids during the battle. White scales, similar to that of Grandine's, sprung out of her back with smaller ones on her hands and feet. She saw Cristoff's eyes widen as she entered the next level of her dragon mode. Wendy posed herself as if she was about to start a race, gathering wind beneath the balls of her feet before pushing off at lightning speeds. She managed to catch the lunar slayer off guard as she landed several punches to his person before hovering in the air by using small air bubbles under her feet. She was inspired by how Bickslow flew around on the babies so after a lot of practice she was able to keep this up for a while, but it was made easier while in dragon force.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art - Shattering Light: Sky Drill!" Wendy formed a fast wind barrier with her arms spread out and moved them in a counter-clockwise direction, causing the barrier to contract inwards towards her opponent in a cylinder of racing winds. "Fuck!" Cristoff had nowhere to go to escape an attack of this magnitude so he covered himself in rays of moonlight to block some damage that he would endure. The crowd was quiet as they waited with baited breath to see where the two mages stood in the arena. Cristoff's shirt and pants were torn in many spots and he was panting slightly from exerting that much magic to protect himself, not expecting that much power to come from Wendy. It was clear to see that she was pretty much done, sitting on her knees in the sand breathing heavily. He moon jumped to right in front of her and she waved her imaginary white flag, she was out of magic and incredibly tired.
"Damn little blue!" Vander scooped the small bluenette into his arms so he could take her to Xally for healing. "I knew you had fangs but who the hell knew you had so much bite as well." Wendy laughed at Vander, perfectly content with being looked after. "Kaleb is awarding you S Class little blue. You should probably get your ass to Xally too before she has a conniption." Cristoff rolled his eyes and followed his younger brother to the medical center where they were sure to find their sister.
"Wendy was incredible!" Lucy gushed to Juvia and Evergreen as they made their way down to the training grounds so they could exit to the main floor. She was so proud of her little sister and couldn't wait to tell her just that! The rest of the Thunder Legion was walking quietly behind the three women, who were also impressed by how far Wendy had come since she first joined the guild.
"Hey, Lucy!"
"Oh, hey there Jasper. What did you think of the ranking bat . . . " Lucy was cut off by Jasper pressing his lips to her own. Her body felt sluggish, her mind hazy as the world began to disappear before her. She could definitely see what was happening around her but had no control over anything, similar to how she felt when she was being sacrificed to the Infinity Clock. All of this because someone kissed her? She was missing a big piece of the picture.