Chapter 10
Lucy frantically packed a bag with as much cold weather clothing as she had. Truthfully most of her wardrobe was for mild to hot climates so her suitcase seemed pretty empty after she got done. She frowned down at it while subconsciously rubbing a finger back and forth along her lower lip in concentration. At least she had already planned on going shopping at the specialty store she had found mentioned in one of the catalogs Mira had. She had asked Mira if she could hold onto it for the time being.
Lucy pulled out said catalog to peruse over it once again. The name Frostbit Fashions adorned the top of the cover. (It was apparently both the name of the clothing line and the store.) Lucy flipped toward the back of the magazine where there was an order form and a map with the store location. The map pointed out that the shop was located on the border of Seven and Iceberg just north of Bosco. Lucy let herself cringe for a moment at the memory of how Bora, "fake salamander", had attempted to kidnap her along with a slew of other young women. She allowed herself a minute of breathing and working through the memory before she lingered over some of the clothing designs. Once she had been through the catalog another time she placed it on top of her meager selection of clothing in her bag.
Lucy arched an eyebrow at what she found in the space where the catalog had been (in other words it had been hiding underneath it). Well crap! There staring her directly in the face was the pamphlet the princess had passed out during the symposium panel she was on. With the excitement of everything else she had completely forgot all about it. Well, at least we will have some time to look over it on the train.
Lucy really wished that she could take another "business line" train on these trips. The idea of Natsu being on a train for exceptionally long stints of time was not a wanted thought. Mentally visualizing his nauseated butt face had her out her apartment door instantaneously and heading toward a little shop in the nearby Magnolia shopping center. It was moments like this that she loved living only a hop skip and a jump away from the shops.
Once she arrived at her destination she looked up at the sign and crossed her fingers hoping the store would carry what she was looking for. Lyrica's Lacrimas and Libations was owned and operated by Lyrica Florian. She was a mage who mostly specialized as an apothecary. She made potions, cordials, tonics, and elixirs of a wide variety. Her twin brother Lyrian made a selection of small lacrimas with similar spells imbedded in them that achieved nearly the same purpose only they were more potent, had a longer duration, and virtually limitless uses. Because of this the lacrimas were a great deal more expensive than the liquids. Lyrian often didn't work on the sales floor because of how much of a toll his magic could take on his body. It would be too easy for him to come down with magic deficiency syndrome.
The ding of a silver bell on the door announced the celestial mage's arrival. "Lucy, hey there! How are you?"
Lucy smiled at Lyrica and immediately began to explain how she was going on an extended trip away for a bit. "The trip itself is going to be pretty long and because of Natsu's motion sickness I want.."
Lyrica interrupted and held out a hand palm up toward Lucy, "Say no more. Did the potions work out well the last time?"
The last time Lucy had Natsu try the motion sickness potion it had the side effect of the baby faced male growing a thick layer of facial hair. He had been running around like a raving lunatic, giddy over the fact that he was enjoying a train ride without the nasty side effect when the chin follicles sprouted. Apparently he had been trying to prove to several of his male peers that he did in fact go through puberty by attempting to grow out his facial hair. So when the hair sprouted he ran around even more giddy than before and exclaiming how he would show all those who had been giving him a hard time. If he were an exceed she would swear he had gotten into the catnip. The whole thing was only mildly annoying until the beard grew so long he tripped over it and fell straight into Lucy's chest. Once again another moment that ended in Lucy's mortification, and Natsu slamming into the opposite wall as a result of the 'Lucy kick' she aimed at his chest.
"Oh, actually the potion didn't work out so well."
"Oh? Why? What happened exactly?" The concern was clear on Lyrica's face.
Lucy briefly described the facial hair side effect. She left out the embarrassing moments and her colorful violent tendency because those weren't really pertinent to the information Lyrica actually needed.
Lyrica made a face. "Oh, that batch. Yeah I accidentally dropped one of my facial hair tonics into the cauldron when I was making that batch. I'm sorry. I'll tell you what. I will let you take two bottles free of charge for the mistake."
Lucy felt justified and relieved but two bottles wouldn't be enough for the trip. She actually was more curious to know about a lacrima designed to do basically the same thing. So she asked, "Does Lyrian make motion sickness lacrimas?"
"Sure, he does but we are currently out of stock."
Lucy tried not to show the disappointment on her face and settled for the two free bottles. She also ended up purchasing 8 more because she knew that she would need them. Luckily the glass bottles were unbreakable but the clink of them striking each other in the shopping bag still made her jaw clench tightly.
Before heading back home with her purchases Lucy made one more shopping trip to the grocery store where she purchased a huge bag of snacks for the trip. Everyone on the trip was supposed to supply their own snacks but she knew Natsu would still at least eat part of hers. Mira offered to make a slew of snacks before the trip so hopefully her motherly preemptive insight in all things Fairy Tail would feed them for a decent length of time.
oOo
Yukino stopped at the spot that Lucy had mentioned she used for her own meditation. She smiled up to the crescent moon hanging in the night sky. Then proceeded to get comfortable on the patch of springy grass before she began meditating.
It didn't take long for Luna to appear. "Hello once again, Yukino."
"Hello, Luna. I saw that it was a clear night, and we will beginning our first jaunt of our journey tomorrow. I wasn't sure when I would have this opportunity next so I wanted to learn what I could tonight."
"Yukino, tell me what did the moon look like tonight as it hung in the sky?" Luna circled Yukino as she awaited her answer.
"It was a crescent." Yukino answered with conviction.
"Good, I wanted to make sure you noticed things like that because the magic I will teach you is dependent upon not only if you can see the moon in the sky, but also the phase of the moon."
Yukino shook a bit because that statement made her a bit worried. "Does that mean that I won't be able to have access to your spells during certain phases of the moon?"
Luna reached out her ethereal hand and gently touched Yukino's shoulder. Where her hand rested Yukino felt warmth. The sensation soaked into her pores and spread throughout her body, calming her concern. "No, Yukino, the phase of the moon simply determines the spell you can access at that time. Because it is a crescent the only spell you can utilize is one that brings forth a crescent spear to your side. But before you cast it you must look to the moon and channel my energy. You do this simply by saying a simple incantation, 'Yuna, by the light of the moon this night. Please I ask you to share with me magic in sight.'"
Yukino took a moment to concentrate on the words and memorizing them before Luna proceeded on with the explanation of the next step.
"The spell of the spear doesn't have a name. The spell doesn't need one because the spear itself is called pearl partizan. Do you know why I am telling you this?"
Yukino nods. "Yes, it's because the spell itself is calling forth that spear to my side, and I need to know it's name because when an ancient magical artifact or weapon has a name it grants the person who knows the name it's power."
"That's a long kept secret I'm surprised you knew of it." Yuna's tone reflected how impressed she was by her knowledge.
"When I worked briefly for Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron I was given a tour. There was a room full of display cases that held ancient magical artifacts and weapons. The king collected them from all across Fiore so they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Arcadios, the Squadron's chief, explained to me that each magical item had a name but the reason there was no name labeling each artifact and weapon acted as an additional security measure. That's when he explained about how the names were needed to access the item's magical power." Yukino hadn't told any other this information. She was sworn to secrecy. The only reason she shared it now was because in truth she hadn't verbalized it. She had only shared it from a meditative state. As long as she didn't speak it aloud it couldn't be overheard.
Yuna smiled at her. "To call the spear to you. You need to say, 'Luna with your ethereal light bring forth your pearl partizan to assist me in this fight.'"
Yukino was surprised she had to call out the name aloud to bring the weapon to her. What if she dropped it during battle?
"I see the worry in your eyes and don't let it concern you. While the spell does send my spear to you it only casts a replica of the true weapon itself. If the replica were to be held in the hands of someone else it would simple cancel the casting magic and disappear. Now I send you back to the grassy spot you are meditating from to practice the magic I gave you."
"Wait, what about when I no longer need the spear?"
"It will sense when you don't require use of it."
Yukino blinked open her eyes and stretched out her neck. She didn't know how long she had truthfully been seated but her muscles ached a bit from holding the position. She stood and brushed off the grass that clung to her skirt. Then she looked up at the moon and smiled. She had to practice right? "Yuna, by the light of the moon this night. Please I ask you to share with me magic in sight." Her body shimmered with a silvery glow for a second and she felt the magic settle into her body. "Luna with your ethereal light bring forth your pearl partizan to assist me in this fight."
She felt the weight of the weapon in her right hand before the spear solidified and took shape. She knew she only had a few moments to appreciate the workmanship before the spell dissipated. The weapon was a shimmering silver metal. The hand grip on the long shaft was a pale blue with a criss-crossing pattern she assumed assisted with the hold of the weighted weapon. The ornamentation on the butt of the spear was a glittery pointed star that seemed to cast its own light. The bladed part of the head of the spear was made of two crescent moons aligned back to back.
She was able to practice some combat moves with the weapon before it was called away from her. The remnants of the magic of the spell made her a bit giddy, and she hoped that would be able to sleep tonight.