Chapter 5
She had set no alarm. There didn't seem to be a logical reason for her eyes to be blinking open, but something internally had Lucy waking up at the crack of dawn. She looked out the window of her hotel room and frowned at the pink and purple colors of the sky. She nearly laid back down when a realization tickled the back of her mind. She would need quiet to perform the sun meditation. But she would need the sun to be a bit higher in the sky first also. She pulled out her most comfortable outfit she packed, a pair of pink capri pants and a cut off tee with a pattern of small pink hearts. Then she ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower.
She knew she didn't have to rush through her cleaning ritual but something kept pushing her onward. Where her shower would normally take nearly half an hour it took closer to fifteen minutes. The excitement was rising inside of her growing to a fever pitch. But right alongside of this she knew were nerves. She was unsure of the reason behind said nerves. She just was able to recognize they existed. So she took a few deep breaths before pressing onward but it only mildly calmed her racing heart.
Lucy wrote Yukino a quick note to let her know where she was going in case she woke up before she came back. She wasn't sure where to put it and finally settled on the mirror of the bathroom. She figured it was one place that she would eventually look.
Afterward she donned her sneakers and headed to the park. She walked in silence trying any technique she could think of to calm her rushing emotions, but nothing was working. When she reached the clearing she decided to call out Capricorn to help her through this and get her calm. Before she could Loke appeared before her. "Lucy, you got to calm yourself. I know that you doubt yourself from the fact that Luna didn't appear before you last night but I am sure there is a reason why you both didn't acquire Luna's assistance. Just like I am sure She will want to form a bond with you." He stressed the word she as if it weren't merely a pronoun but a title.
"Do you know her?" I turned to Loke questioningly.
"Do I know Her?" He chuckled. "What is the sun, Lucy?"
"A glowing ball of gas. But I.."
"Lucy, don't overthink it. What is the sun?" He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes. The tinted lenses only obscuring the sight of his hazel irises slightly.
"The sun...is...a star!"
"Yes, it's a star. A very powerful star true but a star nonetheless. So yes I know Her. I haven't seen her in a long time however." He looked up at where the sun began to rise in the sky. "I can't quite explain it but something about the thought of you forming a bond with Her seems right to me. So you need to calm your mind, Lucy. Look up at where the sun is now. It's higher in the sky and the park is currently deserted. This is the prime time to meditate. Once you get in position I will leave. I don't want to be cause for any distraction." He kissed her forehead and she smiled up at him.
"Thank you, Loke." She quickly seated herself properly.
"Don't mention it, princess." He winked at her and disappeared in a display of shimmering light.
Lucy took deep breaths and told her heart to remain still and calm. It took her a few minutes before she felt she was truly meditating at all. Once she was meditating her mind merely became a dense empty darkness. Until a half an hour in and a bright orange flame began to light up that darkness.
"So you are Lucy Heartfilia. You remind me much of your mother in vision. Let me see if your heart is as true." A calming heat entered Lucy's chest. "Hmm, I think your mother would be proud of the girl before me."
Lucy cast her mind's eye on the vision before her. Her hair was spiraling curls that seemed to defy gravity floating about her face. Her face exuded love and happiness. She didn't stand before Lucy. She floated. Her whole body seemed to be consumed by flame. But that wasn't the truth. She was the flame. She was the fire. In that instant Lucy knew she would be able to form this bond because she knew how helpful she could be to her team with her support.
"Ah, yes, that is definitely a good reason to form a bond with me: Friends, family, and helpfulness. I can see my powers being a great support to your team also. That being said, if the sun isn't shining then you won't be able to call upon me. It takes a lot of clear thought to summon my magic. I will never appear on Earthland in this form. You will only see me when you meditate under the light of the sun like this. There will be a lot to learn, and it will be a slow process. But I guarantee the spells that I will provide will be worth it. I do suggest you look for other sources of additional flame though. You can't rely on the magic I can supply alone."
Lucy nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"So from this moment onward. We have a bond, a pact. You should meditate underneath the light of the sun as often as you can."
Lucy nodded.
"Also, I see some doubts inside of you. I realize those can't easily be pushed away. But I want to assure you that your magic is powerful. But even more powerful then that is your heart." She touched Lucy's chest lightly. Lucy feared it would burn and hurt much like Natsu's flame had in the past. However, it didn't. It tingled the same as when she searched herself for an answer to a heartfelt question. It only felt calming. She chuckled at her reaction. "My flames could never harm you, Lucy. Oh my goodness! Ha ha! I never introduced myself. My name is Solairia and it is a pleasure to be at your side, Lucy."
Lucy blinked as if waking from a dream. She looked around and realized that the park had become busier. The people of the town were beginning to wake up for the day. She stood up and brushed the grass from her capris. She noted that she hadn't registered the dew on the ground where she sat. So now she had an embarrassing wet spot on the seat of her pants. Lovely. If Natsu and Happy were here they would make fun of her wetting herself. Lucy felt herself blushing and quickly jogged back to the hotel to get changed.
It was now seven in the morning. It was still early but she had to wake up Yukino and tell her what had happened. Maybe not explain in great detail but at least share with her the fact that she got to experience it at all.
She first changed into a pale pink skater skirt that still matched her tee really well. Then she went into the bathroom and discarded the note she left. The silvery-pale blue-white locks of the other celestial mage just barely poked out of the top of the covers. Lucy nudged her gently.
It was obvious that Yukino was used to being awoke by others with how easy she woke up with just one nudge. "What is it, Lucy? Isn't it still a bit early for the symposium panel?"
"For that yes, but I wanted to get downstairs for some of the free breakfast on the buffet. I also wanted to tell you that I formed a bond with the sun spirit. Er, if you can call her that. I'm not really sure if that would be her title or not." Lucy stuck her finger to her chin and cast her eyes upward to the ceiling in thought. She then quickly shook herself mentally deciding not to worry over something so trivial. The important part would be, being able to learn the magic. Lucy continued on talking about her new found bond. "Her name is Solairia and she was so regal and kind. She was surprisingly a bit childish and silly too and somehow managed to easily pull of the balance between the extremes." She grinned in a mixture of happiness and amusement. As if it weren't already obvious on her face she continued by stating, "I'm so excited to work with her."
"That's great, Lucy!" Now her friend shined with shared excitement. "I didn't want to mention it but I could tell you were a bit depressed about not being able to form a bond with Luna. But now it all makes sense."
Lucy nodded. "It does. Even more so than you think." Lucy told Yukino about the cornerstone behind Solairia's power and her friend immediately agreed how it made sense for her to share her power with Lucy. "I didn't ask how. But she knew my mother, or at least knew of her. Perhaps, my mother also had a bond with Solairia... If she did she never told me about it though."
"You were quite young when you lost her. There is only so much a mother can share with her daughter at that age. There is only so much you would understand." Yukino tried to reassure her friend.
"You're right." Her stomach growled loudly. "Get out of bed there is breakfast downstairs with my name on it!"
The breakfast buffet wasn't quite what Lucy had expected. The buffet itself had been pretty much cleaned out. What remained of the scrambled eggs were completely unappetizing, definitely overcooked, and dry. The pancakes texture was consistent with that of a Frisbee. They would probably make better Frisbees than pancakes... "Perhaps we should go out after all."
The two went back to the same cafe they had lunch at yesterday. They each ordered a muffin that ended up being the size of their heads. Lucy ordered a strawberry banana muffin. Yukino ordered a blueberry bran muffin. The coffee drinks were costly but tasted divine. "We are still going to have about an hour before we have to head to the building the symposium is being held in." Yukino stated once they each had devoured the last morsel of their muffins. Being able to eat the whole thing proved how hungry the two of them really were.
"Then let's do some more window shopping. We should continue on the same direction we had been going yesterday."
"I think we should limit it to three stands again, only changing the number if we still seem to have time." Lucy nodded in agreement. "Oh, maybe I can find a pair of gale-force reading glasses for myself."
"They really are a good investment. I mean when it comes to reading for enjoyment I don't tend to use them. But they make it so much easier to get through reading something for a job that is full of history and such. Not that those kind of books bore me. I mean I get a lot of research material from my stories that way too."
"Oh yes I forgot that you like to write! I would love to read something you wrote!"
"Er, well, I don't really share my work with others. I mean Levy is pretty insistent to read my stories. But.." Lucy hedged and looked up at Yukino as she frowned and cast her eyes downward. She looked a little upset by this statement, and Lucy felt she had to immediately rectify that. "I tell you what. I don't feel comfortable sharing the work I am currently focusing on. But I do have one story I finished that Levy has already read and raved about. I could always let you read that one when we get back to Magnolia."
Her friend quickly was shaken out of her doldrums. A large smile made an appearance on her face. "I would like that."
The first two stands they went to didn't really have much of anything. There again was no glass stand to keep higher valued items in. There were no gale-force reading glasses. Again, Lucy thought about how these businesses were wasting their money with the rent fee they paid to put up a stand here. The third stand however at least had a teal pair of gale-force reading glasses. Yukino bought them on the spot.
The two left the market area and went in search of the building that the symposium was being held at. The building was made of limestone. It had large concrete pillars supporting the roof that jutted out from the building. It stood about three stories high. "It reminds me of a courthouse." Yukino said.
"It sort of is. I mean it's the same building that the guild masters meet in. It was the only place remotely big enough to house the symposium in." Here is where the two of them hoped to learn more about their magic. Where they hoped to learn how to expand on their abilities. This was the place and moment where their journey would truly begin.