A/N: Sorry for the long break. I still own nothing & I hope you enjoy this part.

15. Phoenix

She was in a daze that did not go unnoticed by others. The dragon slayers were growing restless, especially Laxus who she was trying to avoid looking at. When Gajeel had entered, she barely glanced at him and the man was more than happy for it to be like that. His growing feelings for the bluenette, who tried sneakily to eavesdrop them, were difficult to handle with the blonde being as obnoxious as a dragonslayer could be.

She sighed and looked in front of her again. Mira had got her another drink, but she was merely playing with it's straw, enticing every man in the room with her slightly depressed look.

"Everything okay?" Lisanna popped down next to her. She was smiling cheerfully and Lucy was shocked to see her teeth sparkling. She nodded and went back to twirling the straw. "Want to go out and get some ice cream?"

Lucy's finger slipped and the straw fell on the other side of the glass. She looked up and smiled at her friend. "Thanks," she muttered, standing up.

"Come on then!" Lisanna grabbed her hand and dragged her away, completely aware of all the looks they were getting. When they were out of the guild, she let go of Lucy's hand and stretched. The sun was shining in a way that made everything glitter under it, look incredibly beautiful. Glimmer in her eye, the white-haired girl turned and grinned.

"So, now that we're away from the wolves, how are you holding up?" she asked, turning her hands into kitten-like paws. She boxed with them a little, entertaining the kids running by, and then pulled them into fists.

"I'm fine," Lucy assured her with a fragile smile. Lisanna frowned.

"No love problems? None at all?" she asked suspiciously. Lucy stifled a giggle.

"Everything is fine, but.." she hesitated before continuing. "Rogue confessed to me today."

The white-haired girl slapped a hand over her mouth. "Shut up!" she exclaimed, earning the looks of townspeople. "Shut up!" Lucy smiled meekly. Lisanna gave a loud laugh, looking up unbelievingly, and smiled widely at the girl.

"So, what's the problem then?" she asked. "Why are you looking so down?"

"It's not him," Lucy answered quietly. "I'm not entirely compatible with him. There's no way.. for us.. to be together." She sighed deeply. After a moment, she heard Lisanna repeat the action.

"You know, I've heard some stories about dragonriders," she said, trying to distract the girl. "Not very nice ones." She furrowed her brow, racing through her mind to think of what to say regarding Rogue. "Rogue's confession could just be, you know, because of the hormones." Lucy nodded absent-mindedly.

"What kind of stories have you heard?" she asked then, pulled out of her reverie by a nearby couple's arguing.
"Nasty ones," Lisanna answered. "And believe it or not, Natsu told them to me." Lucy raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"You're kidding," she said, but the girl shook her head.

"I swear. All of it's true."

"Tell me then!" Lucy, as much as she didn't want to hear them, she needed to. Lisanna sighed, but agreed.

"It was a long time ago," she said, biting her lip. "Well, since we're talking about Natsu, I suppose would make it about 20-24 years ago, when a young man walked the Earthland. He crossed the mountains and swam the lakes, all in order to find his dragon Mura. However, wherever he went, he brought chaos and death to the lands.."

People were afraid. Wherever he stepped, the grass turned to coal that burned in vicious flames to ashes. He did not spare anyone from his breath of hot winds and his boiling heart forgave no one, who tried to stop him. Pets and children, women and men – everything ended once faced with him.

But his heart had the warmth of a hearth. The flickering flames in his hair never dyed out and his hair, black as coal, was what made him target of all those wishing to slay a dragonrider. However, that made him go into hiding.

"He wasn't suicidal," Lisanna grinned.

"Are you saying there's a possibility of another dragonslayer being existence?" Lucy shook her madly. The white-haired girl nodded. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Lisanna blushed and looked away from her. "Well, I wasn't sure, but.." she took a small piece of paper from her pocket, hands transfigured back to human hands. "There's supposedly a man living not too far from here. His name is Phoenix, by the way. And that's the name of the man Natsu told me about."

Lucy turned to look at her, eyes wide as the wheels of a carriage.

"You're kidding," she couldn't believe it. "How come no one else knew about it?" Lisanna shrugged mischievously.

"Not everyone knew to look," she winked at her. Lucy gave a laugh and tackled her in a hug.

"You're brilliant!" she squealed, nearly destroying Lisanna's hearing. She gave a chuckle and pushed the blonde off of her.

"Well, as charming as you are, you should probably get going," she laughed. "From what I've heard, he likes to wander around quite a bit."

Lucy yawned, feeling the tiredness come over her. "Maybe tomorrow," she smiled softly. "Right now, I could use a good night's sleep."

"It's still a day," Lisanna pointed out. "Well, whatever. Don't blame me when he's not there in the morning." With that, she strolled off.

"I wouldn't anyway!" Lucy called after her, before turning to walk home. It was such a beautiful day. There was no way something could ruin it.

She shook her golden locks and crossed the bridge. She had stopped calling out Plue to accompany her, because even that took a lot of energy these days. She walked carefully on the riverbank and finally returned home. First, everything seemed normal. Then, a strong scent hit her nose and she covered it.

"Holy Mavis," she muttered, scrunching her nose and entered the kitchen. "What are you doing here, Laxus?!"