When it came to where her mark would be placed, the choice wasn't easy. She ended up going with the first place that came to mind; the back of her right hand. Choosing the color, however, was easier than she'd thought it'd be. She recalled that Miss Layla wore a lot of pink, that it looked good on her, therefore it'd look good on Lucy as well.

With that thought, and a flash of light, the back of Lucy's hand now bore proof of her affiliation. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered what the others would think, if they ever found out she'd joined a guild.

She never thought she'd be so happy! She needed to tell someone, to have them be as excited as she was! Considering the only ones she really knew where Natsu and Happy, she went to them first. Unfortunately they weren't nearly as enthusiastic as she was. They even got her name wrong. She couldn't tell if they were joking or not.

She supposed it made sense. Now that she was at the guild there was really no reason for them to hang out together anymore. Still, the idea was kind of saddening. Natsu was loud, messy, violent and far too attention grabbing for her own good while Happy always seemed to know how to get under her skin. However in the last three days the two of them made her laugh more than she ever had in her life before.

There wasn't any point in hanging about where she wasn't wanted, so she went to the bar to talk to Mirajane about housing options. Considering she didn't have a lot of money, Lucy figured her best bet would be to take a quick and easy job. However, she wanted Horologium on hand just in case she needed him. She figured the model would know where a good, cheap place to store some of her things was.

The white haired woman served her a drink with a smile before the two started chatting. However, before Mirajane could comment or offer suggestions a childish voice interrupted them.

"Please look for him!" A dark haired child half shouted at the guild master, "I'm worried about him!"

"No way!" Makarov snapped, surprisingly coldly. "Your dad's a mage, we have no mage here who can't take care of himself! Go home and…drink your milk or something."

Lucy could only watch as the child punched the master in the face before running off. "Is he always so strict?" Compared to his jovial attitude earlier, it was a complete turnaround.

"Master can be like that, but he's worried about Macao, too."

Before anything more could be said, a loud thud sounded from past the end of the bar. Lucy looked up just in time to see Natsu stalking away. A tall man with a grass skirt and rodent skull accessories called after him, berating Natsu for breaking the board.

The usually loud rosette didn't say a word as he grabbed his pack and left the guild.

"Eh, what was that about?" Lucy muttered.

"I bet he's going to go help Macao," someone grumbled.

"Stupid kid…"

"If he does that," the man at the request board started, "it'll only hurt Macao's pride."

Master Makarov bit down on the stem of a pipe. "No one can decide what he should do. Just leave him alone."

Lucy could only stare at the door the fire mage had disappeared behind. "What was that about? Acting like that all of a sudden…"

She hadn't really expected an answer, so it was a bit surprising when Mirajane softly spoke up. "The same thing happened to Natsu. Maybe he saw a little of himself in Romeo." She wiped down some bottles of liqueur, her back facing Lucy though the brunette still heard her. "Natsu's father hasn't come back ever since he left. Though by father I mean foster parent. He's a dragon, you see." She then turned and smiled at Lucy.

The newly minted guild mage nearly fell off her seat in shock. "A dragon? Natsu was raised by a dragon?" It was a bit hard to believe, but it explained so much. "That's a little…" She had to wonder if the Igneel Natsu was looking for was the same dragon that raised him. Mirajane's next words confirmed that thought.

"He was found by that dragon when he was little. He learned words, cultures and magic from him. But one day the dragon disappeared."

"I see… So that was Igneel."

"Natsu is…looking forward to seeing Igneel one day." She leaned forward, smiling slyly. "Isn't he cute?"

Lucy could only laugh nervously. It was more admirable and heart breaking than cute.

The older woman gently placed another glass on the counter, "we are…" She murmured.

"Heh?"

"Mages of Fairy Tail are all carrying something. Wounds, pain, suffering…" She started to tremble and said something in a voice too quiet for Lucy to hear.

"Mirajane?"

"No," she looked up at the younger mage, her face once more smiling as if nothing was wrong. "Nothing."

However, now that she was looking, Lucy could see how brittle that mask was. Something had hurt the friendly bartender, though Lucy didn't know what. Considering how easily her concerned question was denied, Lucy didn't think asking about it directly would do any good. Not that she was in a good position to ask something so personal; they'd only met a couple hours ago after all.

Her concern must have been still too obvious because Mirajane quickly shook off that brittle smile and replaced it with a more genuine one. "Well, anyway, given what's happened, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Natsu tends to be a bit impulsive, especially with regards to things that hit a little too close to his heart, would you mind going along and keeping an eye on him?"

"Are you sure I'm the best one for that? I don't know him all that well…" Besides, if it ended up being a search and rescue mission then time would be a crucial thing in that case and she'd only slow him down. "Besides, he's probably already too far away for me to catch up to."

"Oh no, if I know Natsu he'll be determined to run all the way to Mt. Hakobe. A carriage should catch up to him easily. Anyway," she winked at Lucy, "I have a good feeling about you and Natsu partnering up."

"Well…" She bit her lip in thought, however Mirajane was looking at her with such big blue eyes full of hope that Lucy really couldn't bring herself to say no. "Is there a place I can store some things? Just temporarily. If I'm going to go and help out, I'd rather do it with everything I've got."

Mirajane beamed.