Chapter Eight — Skye

I awoke feeling the gentle heat being given off from my gem. I fluttered my eyes open and saw Gray staring back at me. As I regained feeling in my body, I noticed that Gray had a hold of my hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he squeezed my hand.

"Groggy and exhausted," I explained, "but I'll be okay."

"Careful not to be too loud," he started. "You're not the only one in the infirmary."

I looked over and saw Saphira laying in the bed next to me. Natsu was asleep in the chair next to her, resting his head on her arm.

"Why are they here?" I questioned.

"You must've been knocked out before Saphira started acting weird. She lost a lot of blood," he elaborated. "You should ask her about her 'shiny box.'"

"'Shiny box?'" I asked.

"What about a shiny box?" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up and saw Kade open the infirmary door and lean against the wall. "Did Saphira do something stupid?"

"Is that not normal?" I asked sarcastically.

"No, it's normal," he explained. "She's a spaz. But I wanna know the details."

"What are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"I came to check on the newly discovered sisters," he stated. "Makarov sent me."

"Why would he send you?" I questioned.

"I'm on Fairy Tail probation," he elaborated. He pushed up his left sleeve and showed off his outlined guild mark. "Makarov also told me that Saphira is off probation. Her outline should've filled itself in."

"Where's her mark?" Gray asked.

"I thought I saw something on her forearm earlier, but I honestly don't know," I responded.

"Which arm?" Kade questioned.

"The one under Natsu's head, I think," I answered.

Kade's face went blank as he processed. "You mean we have our guild marks in the same place?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Shh!" I hushed. I looked over at Saphira and saw her eyes open slightly.

"Kade, what the hell are you doing here?" she muttered as she covered her eyes to protect them from the bright lights.

"Just checkin up on you, blondie," he responded.

Saphira grimaced. "Don't call me blondie!" she grumbled.

"We were trying to figure out where and what color your guild mark was," I stated trying to see through Natsu's head.

"Uh, it's just a red outline and it's under Natsu's head," she said and smiled down at the sleeping mass of pink hair.

"Damnit," Kade muttered under his breath and glared at his guild mark outline. "How do you get it moved?"

"You don't, and just because you say things under your breath, doesn't mean I can't hear them," Saphira said glaring at him.

"Saphira, you may want to move his head and check your mark," I suggested.

"Why should I-" she started as she moved Natsu. Her eyes widened in excitement as the filled in mark came into view. "It filled in! I'm officially a member of Fairy Tail!" she squealed excitedly.

"Congrats!" I cheered.

"W-what's going on?" Natsu asked groggily as he lifted his head.

"I'm officially a member of Fairy Tail!" Saphira exclaimed. "I finally have a family!"

"I'm glad! I knew you could do it!" Natsu said and hugged her tightly.

A smile stretched across his lips as he watched her eyes sparkle in excitement.

"Are you feeling well enough to get out of bed yet, Saphira?" I asked concocting a plan in my head.

"Uh, lemme check," she said as she tried to stand up.

She immediately collapsed and fell to the ground.

"Sapphire, you might not wanna use too much energy yet," Natsu said and walked over to where she laid on the ground.

He picked her up and placed her back in the infirmary bed. She settled into the covers reluctantly. I signalled for the boys to come closer to me as I hatched my plan.

"Kade come with me. Gray, get Natsu to stay with Saphira; I have an idea and I know he'll ruin it if he finds out," I instructed quietly and swung my feet off the side of my bed.

"Okay," the boys said in unison and then scowled at each other.

"You sure you're ready to get up?" Gray questioned looking concerned.

"I feel a little shaky, but I'll be fine. My magic was just exhausted. I wasn't as bad as Saphira," I explained. I casually walked out the door, careful to avoid Saphira's inquisitive gaze.

"Where they goin?" Natsu asked looking intrigued as Kade and I started to leave.

"Oh they're just going to see if they can get Kade's guild mark filled in too," Gray said. "You should stay here with Saphira, in case she needs anything."

I couldn't help but wait at the other side of the wall and listen to Gray's impromptu lies.

"I'm still really tired," Natsu stated.

"Then lay with Saphira," Gray said with a smirk and pushed him over onto her.

He pushed Natsu into bed with Saphira and waited there to make sure he didn't get up again.

"Not a half bad idea," Natsu said and pulled her close to him.

"Wow she fell asleep fast," Gray said looking at an already sleeping Saphira in surprise.

"Oh yeah she always does," Natsu stated and rested his head against hers.

"How do you know that?" Gray asked.

"The week she was chained to me she slept in my room," Natsu said starting to fall asleep.

"Oh, well then," Gray said and waited for Natsu to fall asleep.

Saphira snuggled up closer to him and nestled her head into his chest. He smiled and his body relaxed. A few minutes later Natsu was out and Gray followed after me.

"Why are you just standing there?" Gray asked looking at me seeming rather confused.

"I was curious to see how you would handle the situation," I explained.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Kade questioned.

"We're welcoming Saphira to the guild. We're going to throw a party. But one of you needs to stay here and make sure these two stay in here," I finished.

The boys looked at each other. "NOT IT!" they yelled in unison.

"One of you has to do it," I reminded.

"Make the newbie do it!" Gray offered. "He's still on probation!"

"Exactly!" Kade rebutted. "I'm on probation, so I shouldn't be left alone. Wouldn't want me getting into trouble."

"He's got a point, Gray," I concluded. "Will you please stay and stand watch? Just keep them out of the main area for a while."

"Fine," Gray grumbled. He leaned up against the wall as Kade and I walked away. I glanced back and saw Gray's eyes shooting daggers at Kade.

"He's awfully protective," Kade commented.

"Yeah, he's always been like that," I responded.

"I think he has a thing for you," Kade responded seeming unenthused by this possibility.

"Well I know he at least likes me a little bit. You don't kiss someone you have lukewarm feeling for," I thought.

"Do you like him back?" Kade asked suddenly looking nervous.

"That's a very personal question," I responded taken back by his boldness .

"Yeah, sorry," he responded and rubbed the back of his neck.

We walked around searching for Mirajane to discuss planning with.

"Hey, Skye! What's new?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkling.

"I have an idea," I responded.

"I asked what was new, not what happens every other minute," she laughed.

"We should have a party for Saphira! So she can try to make friends aside from Natsu and the other dragon slayers," I stated my idea.

"Yes! I'll go decorate! Can I leave you guys in charge of food?" she asked looking at Kade and I.

"Sure! Uhm, Kade?" I questioned as Mirajane walked away to collect decorations.

"Yeah?" he responded, seeming unsure of why I was talking to him instead of Mira.

"What kind of food does Saphira like?" I asked realizing I didn't even remember that minute detail from our childhood.

"Everything," he stated with a chuckle. "Cake is her favorite though."

"Well then, Erza and she will get along famously," I concluded, thinking about Erza's unnatural obsession with cake.

"She mostly just likes the icing, but, yeah, she goes nuts over it," he said still laughing.

"You guys may be jerks, but you can't deny you care about each other," I said with a smile.

"She's like my big sister," he stated. "Even if she's annoying and hotheaded."

"It's actually kind of sweet," I said teasing him a bit.

"Don't tell her," Kade demanded. "I'll never hear the end of it!"

"Your secret is safe with me," I promised and guided him to the kitchen.

We spent the next hour or so cooking a wide variety of different foods, in an attempt to please the guild. However, the sheer size of the guild made this quite a challenge. I couldn't help but notice that every so often Kade would pause what he was doing and look up at me.

"What is he looking at? If he is looking at me, then why is he?" I questioned to myself.

I looked up and met his gaze, my face reddened to match the red velvet cake I was icing.

"Could you help me with these?" he asked and held up a tray of mostly un-iced cupcakes.

"Sure," I said, picked up a spatula and started icing cupcakes.

I'm not entirely sure how, but somehow my hand slipped, sending the icing covered spatula through the air. It then landed on the top of Kade's head.

"Oh, oops," I said and tried not to laugh.

He then dipped his spatula in the icing bowl and wiped it on my nose.

"Oh, oops," he added with a cocky smirk.

"No fair! Mine was an accident!" I laughed and did the same.

"That was totally an accident," he said sarcastically.

"It was!" I rebutted.

Our icing battle went on for a while longer, leaving both of us covered in what we were supposed to be putting on the cupcakes.

"I think we need more icing," he said looking down at the empty bowl.

"I think I need a shower," I deducted looking at my hair.

"Mind if i join you?" he teased.

"Yes, I mind!" I responded.

Even though I knew he was joking, well at least I was pretty sure he was joking, my face still turned really red and my heart refused to stop racing. I looked around the kitchen trying to steady my heart rate. My eyes stopped on an open window. Smoke seeped in through the window from the outside. Shortly after noticing the smoke, a ball of fire went flying by the window. It met it's demise after landing in a water fountain.

"There's my pyro," Kade and I concluded in unison watching the fireball fly by.

"No, that's definitely Saphira," Kade said with one cocked eyebrow.

"No, it has to be Natsu. Saphira can barely stand," I explained.

"Care to make a bet?" Kade asked.

"You're on!" I challenged and we started to walk towards the door that leads outside.

"If I win, you have to go on a date with me," he said blushing a little.

I paused unsure of what to say. His offer didn't exactly sound like a punishment.

"Okay, and if I win you have to spend a whole day with Gray being nothing but nice to him and doing whatever he says," I laughed.

"Fine, then. It's a date," he said as we opened the door.

We peered out to see not one, but two fire dragon slayers causing the commotion.

"Whatcha guys doin?" Kade said trying to avoid getting singed.

"Seeing who's the better dragon slayer," Natsu responded.

"I'm totally winning!" Saphira exclaimed.

"Yeah, right," Natsu said with a sarcastic smirk.

"So, who won our bet?" Kade questioned, as he turned back to me.

"What bet?" Saphira asked from a distance.

"Uh, nothing," I lied. I didn't want either of the fire dragon slayers to know that we had bet on them. "So, why are you out here instead of in your hospital bed."

"Porlyusica came in a little bit after you guys left," Natsu explained. "She gave Saphira some medicine or something and told her to test out her magic. So we're out here!" He leaned in closer and barely whispered, "Gray explained your surprise party idea. Consider this a diversion."

"Where is Gray?" Saphira asked as she walked closer to us. "Didn't he walk off with you guys earlier?"

"No, we split up," Kade answered. "I wonder where he is."

"Ice horsey!" I turned my head and saw Asuka riding on Gray's back as he crawled around the clearing. I stifled a laugh as I started walking toward them.

"Here, Asuka." I flexed my fingers and conjured a mini horse made of water. "You can ride the water horse," I offered.

"Water horsey!" she yelled excitedly as she dismounted Gray and climbed onto her new toy. A subtle flick of my wrist sent them to do slow laps around the field.

"Thanks," Gray said as he stood up.

"What happened to being a guard?" I questioned with my eyebrow raised.

"Porlyusica sent Natsu and I off while she treated Saphira," he explained as we turned to walk back to the others. "Natsu knows your plans now, by the way."

"Yeah, he told me. He offered to be the diversion. I think we're almost done putting everything together."

I looked up at the others. Kade had him arms crossed with a side glance at Natsu and Saphira, who had engaged in another competition. They were both drawing in the grass with their fire magic.

"Whatcha drawing?" I asked them as we got closer.

"You," Saphira stated simply. "Natsu's gonna lose, though. Feu taught me how to draw. Plus, this is practically a self-portrait for me." Natsu looked up and smiled at Saphira while she talked.

Saphira's actually looked like a person, on the other hand, Natsu's did not.

"I can't draw," Natsu said looking at the misshapen stick figure he had burnt into the grass.

"I WIN!" Saphira exclaimed and jumped up and down in excitement.

"Shut up!" Natsu demanded with his arms crossed.

"Make me!" she countered with a taunting smile.

"Maybe I will," he said and took a step closer.

Her hair started to burn faintly regardless of the necklace stifling her power at his approach.

"Well she's distracted, maybe now would be a good time to check on the party situation," Gray said amused by Saphira and Natsu's flirtation.

"Yeah. Good idea," I responded and walked in quickly to check.

"We all ready?" I questioned to Mira who was wiping off the bar.

"Yeah! Bring her in," She said with a smile.

I walked back out and saw the dragon slayers now engaged in a staring contest.

"Uh, Saphira?" I questioned.

"Yeah," she said refusing to break concentration.

"Can you come inside with me?" I asked hesitantly.

"Why?" she asked and looked over at me.

"HAH I WIN!" Natsu taunted.

"I have something to show you," I responded.

"Okay," she said, ignoring Natsu's exclamation and followed me inside.

Everyone sat waiting for us to come through the doors. When we entered, everyone greeted her with open arms. Whether or not some of those open arms were too enthusiastic is debatable. There was a shy smile stretched across Saphira's face as she hugged everyone; Especially when she met Lucy for the first time. After she made her way through the crowd she exiled herself to the corner near Mira.

I didn't understand her. It was her party and yet there she sat, trying to avoid any form of socialization. I wanted so badly to get inside of her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked when I was close enough to her.

"Nothing, I just don't really know how to act at parties, I guess" she explained and shrugged.

"Just how you usually act," I responded.

"This is how I usually act," she muttered. "I'm not exactly used to having people care about whether or not I'm social. I'm not really used to people genuinely caring about me at all."

"Well, you're one of us now, so get used to it. C'mon, let's teach you how to be social." I stood up and extended my hand to her.

We walked around, celebrating her initiation with everyone in the guild. Everyone congratulated her and introduced themselves. It was nice to see her being welcomed into the guild. I left her mid-discussion with Bisca and Alzack regarding their weapons of choice. I walked over to the bar and sat next to Gray.

"Seems like your necklace idea worked," he mentioned. "I haven't seen her combust once since she's entered the room."

"Well, there's one way to test it," I added with a maniacal smile. I walked back over to my twin. "Hey, Saphira! Natsu wanted to see you!" I exclaimed as I pushed her into Natsu. She stumbled and barely managed to catch herself as she landed into him. He caught her without thinking and just stood there holding her in his arms.

"Hey there, Sapphire," He said with an amused laugh.

"H-hi," she stuttered and looked up at him.

"Wow her necklace actually works!" I remarked to Gray. "If anything could make her hair combust, being close to Natsu would definitely do it."

"Sorry," she said and stood up. "I got pushed."

I smiled at her wickedly and waved.

"Is it weird that I kind of like them together?" Lucy said approaching Gray and I.

"I thought you liked him?" I asked semi surprised.

"I used to, but I like someone else now," she said blushing.

"WHO?" Gray and I questioned in unison.

"Come over later and I'll tell you," Lucy said. "Oh, and bring Saphira."

"Why don't I get to know?" Gray said with a frown.

"See you two later!" she said and walked away without answering Gray.