sorry I've been so busy with work recently! I come home so super sleepy that I really just knock out most nights but I've been dying to post for forever!
I started tutoring at an elementary school and I absolutely love it! I already have a fave student LOL hes just so funny and adorable! not me really thinking I need to become a teacher now...
After finally managing to get away from the girls and their endless stream of questions, Lucy exhaustingly made her way towards the guild.
Not that Lucy didn't want to answer their questions, she barely knew the answers herself. Rather, she liked being able to share her feelings, as embarrassing as it might have felt at first. But they were all interested, listening with bated breaths and wide eyes, squealing whenever she answered truthfully.
The large wooden doors of the building were a bit daunting, Lucy wondering if she'd be able to open them with her subtle strength. But now that her skin glowed and Natsu claimed she had some sort of magic in her body, maybe she wasn't the same girl she was in Edolas anymore.
But they flung open on their own before she could touch the handle, Lucy ducking in a quick instant as someone flew over her head.
"Who's next?!" Natsu cackled wildly, fire spitting from his mouth as he stood on top of one of the tables. "Max, get off your ass and fight me!"
Surrounding him were other members of the guild minding their business, some laughing and some cheering him on. Max reluctantly joined him on the table, earning him a round of applause. Natsu squared up and threw a punch, Max successfully dodging him and aiming a return at his chin.
Lucy found herself focused on his concentrated expression, watching his eyes track every slight movement Max made. She watched his foot slide back and pivot to take on the brunt of his weight, his body dropping to dodge a swift sand-laced punch.
He parried with a quick upper-cut, Max using his sand to keep Natsu's fist from connecting. She winced as the stream seemed to grind against his knuckles, but Natsu wasn't phased.
The dragon jumped back and watched the swing of Max's roundhouse kick, his grin spreading as he saw his opportunity to strike.
Lucy's heart skipped a beat as Max went whizzing past her, the sharpness of the wind cutting against her cheek.
Natsu's leg hung in the air as he absorbed the cheers of his peers, his chest rising and falling as their eyes slowly met.
Her stomach did a little jump and twisted itself into a knot, Lucy swearing she saw a flash of that reptilian gaze sweeping over her.
He hopped down from the table without looking away, the hairs on her neck rightfully standing up.
Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat and felt the room shrink the closer Natsu came.
Would he kiss her again right in front of everyone? It was already embarrassing enough the first time around, but after last night, she wouldn't mind if they had a little more time together.
He was maybe ten steps away from her when Laxus suddenly stepped between them, ignoring the rising heat against his back.
"Master wants to see you," He said matter-of-factly and draped his arm around her shoulders.
"The master?" Lucy asked, looking over her shoulder as he so obviously swung them away from Natsu whose mouth began to curl into a snarl. She offered him a sentimental look before Laxus shoved her toward the second-level stairs, blocking any view of Natsu with a slight smirk.
"Can't really be a member of Fairy Tail until you meet the master," He nudged up the stairs, ushering her to continue walking. "Last door at the end of the hall, Lucy,"
She caught the slightest look of Natsu staring in her peripheral, but continued up the stairs, wondering if she would be able to contain herself when he approached her later.
Ascending the stairs, Lucy could feel the daunting energy of the master who sat waiting in his office at the end of the hall.
She recalled a faint memory of him from her book, but could only manage to remember so much, unsure if she'd ever seen a drawing of his face.
There was a page that depicted the illustration of a large chair in his office that hid his body as the image faced towards Natsu stood at his desk.
They spoke, discussing the matter of Natsu having to find Lisanna and her siblings before the story progressed.
She wondered what he might look like, if he was where Laxus got his moderately fine looks from.
Nervously, her hand rapped against the wooden surface of the door, a muffled voice answering back.
"Come in," She heard from the other side, her hand reaching out to grasp the handle and pull back.
"Hello?" Lucy said hesitantly as her eyes scanned the small office before her eyes settled on an even smaller person.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Lucy! I'm Makarov, the guild master of Fairy Tail," The bearded man said with a wide smile as he jumped onto his desk. "I've heard that your stay has been interesting so far, hm?"
"You could say that," Lucy coughed with a small nod and a slight blush, reaching out to shake the hand he offered her.
"Laxus can be quite the handful, but it's good to know that Natsu has finally grown up a little! I think you two would make a nice pair," He chuckled while motioning for me to take a seat across from him. "But let me know if he gives you any trouble. I know my kids can be overzealous without realizing it, but that's in the Fairy Tail nature. I would be worried if they weren't at least a little bit of an idiot."
"Natsu is really sweet," Lucy struggled to say past the lump forming in her throat. "I just hope I can fit in a little better around here. I think I've already caused enough drama."
"Nonsense! Yours is the most exciting homecoming we've had in a long time! This place needs a bit of excitement every once in a while, these kids forget that the world isn't all about magic and fighting all the time. They needed that bit of a wakeup call." The master said as he sat back in his chair, Lucy's interest peaking slightly.
"Fighting?" She asked hesitantly, though knowing from her first encounter with the pirates that this world wasn't without its conflicts.
"Aside from the roughhousing that most participate in, we as a guild conduct a lot of business with the rest of Fiore. Catching bandits, stopping dark guilds, and dealing with pirates, of course." He said, handing her a request form asking for the guild to dispatch someone with ice or water powers to deal with a fire starting maniac in Clover Town. "Whether you're born here or brought by one of the dragons, it's because you have a gift."
"That's why my skin started to glow, right? But I've never been able to do any magic as far as I'm aware." Lucy shrugged as Makarov shook his head.
"You wouldn't have been able to in Edolas, it's the world without magic. Every so often we have a child born with a gift in Edolas and it's our job to help them find their way home."
"How did you know that I was one?" She said quickly, the master smiling as he opened a drawer in his desk. He reached in and pulled out a book, placing it between them on the table.
"My storybook! But Natsu told me that he didn't know what I was talking about when I mentioned it to him."
"He's the type to act first and act questions later," He explained, flipping open to a page that made Lucy stand up and out of her seat.
"Is that…?" It was a painted image of her being held in Natsu's arms as he maneuvered in the air to avoid the cannonballs fired by the pirate ship below.
"The book changes to depict the next lost child; I'm sure you remember reading about Lisanna, Mirajane, and Elfman, if I'm correct?"
"Yes," She nodded, her fingers settling on the page to make sure it was real. "So then the next lost child will read my story?"
"The book will find them once it's time," He nodded. "It's not often that we do have a lost child in Edolas, but it's always important to make sure we bring them home. Call it destiny if you will. You were meant to be here, Lucy,"
"Does that mean my parents were also magical beings?" She asked as she sat back down, Makarov shrugging his shoulders.
"It's very possible, we're unsure of why exactly some are born in Edolas instead of Fiore. If one of your parents were offered the chance to come to Fiore and turned the messanger down, they would have no recollection of ever being asked. That magic may have very well passed on to you, or there may have been an ancestor of yours with the ability."
Lucy paused for a moment, wondering if either of her parents could have been the one who decided to stay in Edolas rather than venturing off to Fiore. She wondered if her mother could have been the one, since Lucy always remembered the way she told enchanting stories about the stars and the night sky. If she had been offered the chance to leave, it must have been after she met her father. Layla always spoke of how it was love at first sight with her dad and she would marry him again if she was ever given the opportunity.
"Will my father miss me?" The words felt heavy on her tongue, Lucy having contemplated the question herself multiple times since her arrival. Would he think she simply ran away? Or perhaps she was stolen in the night by some kidnaper looking for a ransom? She didn't question the opportunity to leave with Natsu, especially since her home was so void of love and comfort, but she couldn't help but worry.
"Unfortunately, that's a question I'm unable to answer. We only see as far as the book wants us to," He shook his head, though the answer did provide a little comfort. If her options had been between his memory of her vanishing or his worry overtaking him, Lucy would rather keep her knowledge in the dark.
"Well, um, then could you tell me what kind of powers I have?" Her next question drew a huge grin on his lips, the master leaping out of his chair once again.
"That's something we're going to figure out together! It's my favorite part of a homecoming, of course, we just have one more thing to do before we leave."
He reached for a wooden stamp sat at the edge of his desk, holding it up as he imbued it with magic.
"Where would you like your guild mark?"
I'm going for a slow romance but like such an enamored romance that it just sticks to the air aaaaah
I have an exciting story ahead of us! I can't wait to finish it! idk how many chapters it'll be though bc im definitely taking my time with each one
also excited to keep writing bc I just love love looooove Peter Pan!