Sonja had slowly started to get used to things at the guild they were extremely noisy which she did not really like, but she kept mostly to herself. Mira was an easy person to talk to; she would ask Sonja how she was from time to time. Living with Lucy made it easier on her on how to act when interacting with guild members. Lucy gave a basic description of the guild members the first night Sonja stayed there.
"Ugh, I need to pay my rent this month," Lucy started to complain.
"Go pick a job that we can do," Gray told her as he started to take off his shirt.
Sonja found it odd that Gray was always naked, but Mira had told her that it was a habit that he picked up from his late teacher, Ur. So she didn't say anything about it.
Lucy came back from the job request board and found what she thought to be perfect because of the pay.
"This one seems good," Lucy said. Gray snatched the poster away.
"Looks like we are going goblin hunting," Gray said as he read over what the poster said.
"Erza can we go on a job?" Gray asked. Erza shook her head in confirmation, and then looked nervously at Sonja; she didn't want Sonja to destroy anything.
"Let's go get Natsu and Happy and head out," Erza said. As Gray and Lucy went to get Natsu, Erza pulled Sonja to the side, "I need you to be on your best behavior, okay, you seem to have a lot of self control, I just want you to be prepared," she said in a harsh whisper. Sonja gave Erza a little nod to show that she understood Erza and her concern.
In two hours all five mages were at the train station and ready to leave.
About three hours into the train ride Sonja was annoyed of the train. It was too loud and noisy, but the rocking motion made her sleepy.
"Ugh, I hate this, why can't we ever walk any where?" Natsu said after him and puked for the fifth time in an hour.
Erza I can help him with that sickness if you want me to? Sonja spoke telepathically directly into Erza's mind.
Erza was surprised at first but thought back, No the others might get suspicious on why you can do that as well, just stick to the magic that you told them about.
Sonja nodded in agreement, still seeing someone that she is supposed to care about in pain was hard for her, it made her feel useless. She felt especially concerned on how Natsu felt, seeing him uncomfortable made her chest hurt.
Five hours later, they were finally in the town…
"I am hungry," Sonja said to no one in particular.
"Aye," commented Happy, followed by Natsu saying, "Me too, can I have some more of your fire?"
Sonja was a little shocked; she was surprised that Natsu could use fire for nourishment. She produced a bigger black flame and put her hand towards Natsu. Natsu quickly ate the flame.
"This black fire, gives me a lot of strength and energy, I like it," Natsu said as he patted his stomach. Sonja blushed a little at his comment.
She felt it was odd that she could possibly be attracted to Natsu. She just assumed it was because she had been close with his father and that she was just comfortable around him and brushed it off. It was obvious that Lucy already had a crush on him and she wasn't going to try and separate the two.
They continued to walk into the town. Sonja looked at everything with awe. She normally walked around at night or with her head down to make sure no one paid any attention to her. Things looked very different in the day time, people were smiling and enjoying their day instead of hurrying to get wherever they are going. The mayor of this town asked Fairy Tail to get rid of goblins. They met with him first and went to get food after.
"We should sleep under the stars tonight," Natsu said. It was obvious that Natsu preferred being outside then being inside, Sonja suspected it was the dragon inside of him that didn't like to feel caged.
"I agree, we can get an early start tomorrow in the woods then," Erza said. Lucy whimpered a little at the thought of sleeping on the ground. "Don't worry we will sleep in a hotel when we finish this mission," Erza said in hope of lifting Lucy's spirits. They walked in to the woods where the goblins were said to be a problem.
Once they agreed upon a place to set up camp. It was about the flattest land that they had found since they started walking in the woods, it was surrounded by trees but the camp site had a clear view of the sky, the moon and the stars provided enough light to see clearly without the need of a fire. On the far side of the camp was a small river. Sonja went about setting up her sleeping bag; she knew she most likely would not sleep. She rarely did because her dreams always scared her. Even with the short time she had spent with her small team she did not want to see any of them die if she could stop it. When she finished setting up her own sleeping bag she went to help Erza set up the tents for everyone else, Era and Lucy would share a tent and Natsu and Gray would share a different one.
"You aren't going to stay in the tent with us?" Erza asked as she arched an eye brow at Sonja's sleeping bag at the other side of their tent.
"I prefer to look at the stars," Sonja replied with smile, "plus, I like the feeling of the cool air on my face. I am not very fond of the indoors." Erza nodded in response.
Once all the tents were set up Lucy and Gray left the camp to start collecting fire wood and Natsu started to collect stone to build a fire pit. Erza went through all of her bags to collect the food so they would be able to eat dinner before it got too dark.
"Would you like any help?" Sonja asked Erza.
"No," Erza answered, "actually, do you know how to fish?"
Sonja shook her head yes and Erza handed her a fishing pole with a few food scraps for bait. Once she had everything collected she walked over the river hoping to catch enough food for everyone. Once she caught about ten decent size fish she headed back to camp. When she got back Lucy and Natsu were goofing around laughing, their childish banter was funny to watch and gave Sonja a nostalgic feeling. She never really had the chance to play so innocently, it made her wish she could have been born anything else.
"Yay, the fish is finally back!" Natsu and Happy said in unison.
Sonja dropped the fish next to the fire and started to clean them so they would be able to cook them. She gave happy two of them raw, knowing that's how he preferred them. Within the hour they had food cooked and they were all fed and happy. Everyone sat around the fire, Natsu and Gray were bickering at every word while Lucy and Erza spoke about strategy and how best to defeat the goblins. Once the stars were bright and the moon was high above their heads everyone decided to go to sleep.
"I can stay up and keep watch," Sonja said hoping everyone would be alright with that. Erza eyed her suspiciously but everyone else agreed.
Sonja threw some more wood on the fire while Gray and Natsu fought, and Lucy called out Lyra so she could play a song. Erza stopped the bickering between Natsu and Gray while they listened to her song. They settled down into their tents and sleeping bags. Everyone else was soon asleep, Sonja heightened her senses just in case, she didn't want anything sneaking up on them.
Four hours later…..
Sonja lay awake looking at the stars not thinking about much of anything. When she felt someone stir, she wasn't concerned because she could tell it was one of her own but she looked up just to see who it was.
Natsu was just starting to get up. He had a dream about that woman again, he could not place it, but she felt familiar to him. Natsu looked up to see Sonja watching him, when he looked at her she turned her head.
"Hey, I didn't disturb you or anything did I?" he asked grudgingly.
"No, I was awake keeping watch, I could tell by your breathing you would wake soon," she said.
"Oh, okay," he said in a lower tone of voice.
"Are you alright?" Sonja asked.
"Yeah, just a dream," Natsu said. Sonja could tell he did not want to explain further, so she would not push the issue. It concerned her that Natsu didn't share this dream with her.
Throughout her short stay in Magnolia, she and Natsu often ran into each other on late night walks when they both could not sleep. They made small talk about little things, like the guild, Natsu's and Gray's rivalry, and past quests. Natsu often talked about Igneel, Sonja loved those stories best. Being a close friend she liked to hear about how the fierce dragon cared for a small child and taught him little things like reading and writing and also a large part of his personality like protecting his Nakama. They did not know everything about each other but they enjoyed each other's company.
Sonja watched as Natsu went for a little walk. He could tell he was headed in the general direction of the river she turned her attention away from him to give him his privacy.
Natsu walked to the river hoping the cool air close to the water would clear his head. Once he got down to the river he kneeled down and washed his face. "Why am I still dreaming about her?" he asked himself. He couldn't place it but he recognized the way she moved and something inside of him was desperate to learn who she was, he felt she was important for some reason.
In the morning…
They all had an early start, six in the morning by Sonja's calculations. She wasn't tired but Lucy seemed like she got a restless sleep. She kept complaining about her back hurting and a kink in her neck.
They all walked in to the mountains in search of these goblins, each of them was high on their guard. Even though goblins are small, they loved to take stuff they found beautiful, and if they were shiny it was even more reason for them to take it. So they had to make sure they kept a close eye on all of their possessions. Sonja was a little bit worried about Lucy, with her golden hair and shiny keys; she feared she would be more of a target then the rest of them. Erza was wearing her armor but Erza gave off a natural threatening aura that kept people and monsters away from her.
They searched for three hours and found nothing. They met together and compared notes, which were little to nothing. They went into town to eat a quick lunch and went to ask others about the goblins that were supposed to be around.
Most people stayed away from them like they were sick or begging for something.
Erza brow creased as she got irritated, "Can't they see that we are just trying to help them?" she said to no one in particular.
"I wonder if they are avoiding us because they are afraid or something," Lucy suggested. Sonja figured it was because they were outsiders trying to mess with something in their town.
Sonja just looked at them with wonder, she never asked anyone anything, she could normally sense what she was after, but goblins had such small power on their own, she couldn't find them without raising her power level which would alert her team mates that she was hiding something. Sonja decided she would tell her team what she was when they made camp; she was starting to understand the bond that all Fairy Tail members had with one another and she wanted that. The bond was formed through trust so she needed to trust them.
Two hours later….
Back at camp, Sonja and Natsu set up tents while Erza gathered food, and Lucy and Gray got fire wood.
Once everyone ate, Sonja telepathically said to Erza, I am going to tell them what I am, I want them to trust me and allow me to use my power freely. I can help find those goblins easier if I am not worried about constantly shielding my power level.
Erza glanced back at Sonja and shook her head, she did understand that. Erza was proud that Sonja was so willing to open up to their team already. Erza gave her a small smile to show her that she supported her decision.
Sonja cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "I have something to tell you all," she started, "I am not a mage, well not just a mage. Technically I am not even human." Lucy and Gray looked back with confusion, "Then what are you?" they questioned at the same time.