Day 4 is here!
Finally! The muses have let me tie off the entry for this prompt. It had started out being rather simple in mind and outline, but once I started writing things kept coming up and ideas kept flowing.
Anyways, I've been reading all of the review and comments you all have been leaving; Let me just say that you are all so kind and amazing! I keep getting these warm, happy-feelies whenever I read through them. You sure know how to bolster someone's confidence in their writing :)
I look forward to hearing you take on this chapter. Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing this become part of a bigger story. I don't know when I would have the time anytime soon but maybe in the future. Of course, should anyone else feel inclined, feel free. Just let me know so that I can read it as well :P
Thank you again to my lovely editor, Kakashi's Rabid Stalker, for putting up with my crazy ideas and over use of commas (It's a bad habit I am trying to break).
Now, on to the story…
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.
…
Prompt: Summit
Five figures walked the halls of the newly constructed Embassy Galleria in Caleum. The smallest figure was all but jumping in excitement as she asked question after question of her guild mates.
"Do you think the Starbringer will be there? I hope she is. I've always wanted to meet her! Do you think she would let me meet Plue—Ooh! Or what about Leo?! That would be so amazing! Do you think I can meet her? Shake her hand?! I wonder what her favorite color is. Which of the other zodiac does she have now? Do you think she has Libra? I really hop—mmfh!" The excited chatter was swiftly silenced by a hand closing over her mouth. Green eyes glared over the offending appendage at her fellow celestial spirit mage beside her.
Dark brown, almost black, eyes glared back at her. "Honestly, midget, shut up already. I'm tired of all the senseless yapping."
"Take it easy, Hestor, she's just excited," The tall, blond haired, orange-eyed exotic beauty with them intervened with a smile.
"Well then she can go and be excited somewhere else. She's giving me a headache," The so named Hestor huffed back, reluctantly removing his hand. He pushed past the group to head on to their assigned rooms alone.
Rai, formally known as Raina, stared after Hestor. She hadn't meant to annoy him. The recently turned twelve year old had just graduated from her basic studies at the Academy Celestine and was among the White Sea delegation sent to the Celestial Summit that was being hosted in Caleum this year. Celestial Spirit mages across the countries were gathering here for the next five days.
A large hand ruffling her hair brought her out of her thoughts. "Don't worry, I know for a fact that your Starbringer will be here," Cristoff, her guild's lunar dragon slayer, assured her with a calming smile.
"Actually, I also heard from a little birdie that she is here to take on an apprentice." The fifth member of the group voiced slyly.
Green eyes widened and the small body started bouncing with energy again, "Really?! Who told you that?!"
Vander was a renowned shadowquip mage, the brother of her guild master, the renowned flirt of the guild, and the one to go to if you ever wanted the most accurate gossip and guild drama, as Rai had found out in her first two weeks at the guild. He was also, according to the rest of his siblings, the biggest troublemaker, and was always up to no good. She'd overheard some of the older mages talking about some incident involving the young shadowquip and the used-to-be virginal daughters of some Minstrellian noble a few weeks back.
The handsome shadowquip mage now smirked teasingly at her, "Well, one of our brothers, Bickslow, happens to be in the same guild as your Starbringer, and he just happened to let slip over the com last night that he and a team would be escorting her here."
"Wicked!" the twelve year old exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Rai grabbed Vander and Cristoff's hands and started dragging them down the path that Hestor had taken, much to the amusement of the three siblings who traded knowing looks over her head.
At their assigned rooms they were met by a tall, muscular, lavender eyed mage, dressed in skin tight white leather. Platinum blond hair pulled back in elaborate braids and adorned with decorated chains and beads announcing his position, the young guild master of White Sea, Kaleb Pradesh, struck an imposing figure as he finalized the details of their stay with his ever-present attendant, Thane. Both men turned to greet the arriving mages, Kaleb projecting his amusement at the sight of his two brothers being dragged behind the small mage they dwarfed. Emzadi trailing behind them, eyes alight with mischief as she tucked her camera out of sight.
The White Sea delegation had arrived at the summit.
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"It's beautiful isn't it?"
Brought out of her contemplation of the passing scenery, Lucy turned around at the familiar voice to greet the grinning Seith mage.
"It's amazing! I can't wait to land and see everything up close."
"Well, lucky for you, I was just told we'd be landing in twenty minutes." The two Fairy Tail mages turned to see their fellow Fiorians coming up on deck.
The Fairy Tail delegation had met up with the Sabertooth delegation to travel to the now annual Celestial Summit.
Yukino smiled in greeting, it was her who had spoken, before turning her attention to the young boy beside her. Kiren had joined the Sabertooth with his older sister a year and a half ago. When the then ten year old had demonstrated an affinity for celestial spirit magic, Yukino had been quick to take him under her guiding wing, and from there he had flourished. This trip would be for her to formally list his apprenticeship.
The Celestial Summit had been started shortly after the war with Tartarus. The reduced number of celestial mages across Fiore and its surrounding nations had brought the national councils together to deliberate methods to preserve the magic before it was lost altogether. It was soon announced that there would be an annual summit at which celestial mages from all nations would gather to trade information, training advice, and, most importantly, register for and take on apprentices to whom they could pass on their craft and teachings.
This year, Lucy would be registering for her first apprentice herself. She had helped Yukino out in the beginning of Kiren's apprenticeship before easing herself out of the dynamics. She had been helping Yukino master the beginning elements of learning Stardress with her own contracted spirits after getting approval from the Spirit King. The Sabertooth mage's training was going smoothly thus far. She had mastered Pisces Stardress form three weeks before they left for the summit.
Lucy was happy for her fellow celestial mage, but could admit that she was slightly jealous of Yukino and Kiren's relationship, and wanted her own apprentice to teach the wonders of her magic to.
It was mandatory for all guild masters to be among the escort for their celestial mages, as the summit also served as a preliminary meeting of the guilds across nations. In addition to Sting, Sabertooth had sent Rogue, Rufus, and Dobengal to act as the guarded escort.
Laxus was acting as stand-in guild master as his grandfather was not up to the trek. The lightning mage had taken over most of his grandfather's duties and was master in all but the official documents anyways. In addition to him, Bickslow, Wendy, and Freed were accompanying them as their own guarded escorts.
Bickslow had shared that many of his siblings would be among White Sea's delegation from Bosco. Lucy was excited at the chance to meet the rest of the esteemed Pradesh family. She had long harbored a deep admiration and idol worship for her guild mate's father, Arman Pradesh, the esteemed Ambassador of Bosco, since her childhood at the Konzern, The man was a political celebrity. She had also met Bickslow's sisters, Xally and Emzadi, along with his second oldest brother, and the White Sea guild master, Kaleb, and oldest brother, Farron, when they had visited shortly after the New Year's holidays. The blonde celestial mage was looking forward to meeting Bickslow's remaining siblings, Vander and Cristoff, and putting faces and personalities to names.
After landing in Caleum, the groups made their way to the Embassy Galleria to sort out their housing arrangements for the rest of the week.
The Fairy Tail and Sabertooth delegations had arrived.
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Rai played with her long red hair nervously. She'd heard the whispers; the Starbringer had arrived with her delegation and a fellow Fiorian guild.
Dropping her hands to her key ring, she smiled when they warmed at her touch, thrumming supportively and projecting to her their own excitement. Orion, Canis Major, Dorado*, Lacerta* had been with her through everything thus far. Serpens and Aquila were graduation gifts from her grandmother before she passed a year before, but they had quickly formed a strong bond. They felt her excitement and nerves for the upcoming ceremony. Her newest key she'd found only days before leaving for the summit. It had been covered in mud so it wasn't until she had cleaned it that she'd seen the gold sheen.
She'd only just made a contract with the temperamental mermaid two days before in her hotel suite and, after a reprimand to never summon her in a bath tub again, her new spirit made the request to be placed on a chain around her neck instead of her key ring. When Rai had asked why, the spirit had smiled and told her that she'd know soon enough before closing her gate.
The twelve year old shook her head fondly; Aquarius was an interesting spirit that was for sure. It was curious though, the last she'd heard the zodiac spirit had been one of the ones believed contracted to the Starbringer. Then again, not everything Hestor's gossip magazines printed was true. After all, another issue of that magazine had been adamant that the Starbringer was sleeping with both of her teammates, who were in a secret tryst themselves, and was the mother of the blond guild leader of another Fioran guild, Saber-something. Rai scrunched her nose at the memory; Hestor read some really odd magazines. Sorcerers Weekly wasn't back in print just yet as they were still recovering from the Tartarus war, so Rai had had to rely upon news updates via other sources.
"You ready for this?"
Rai looked up and smiled upon meeting the gaze of her guild master, whose smirk had her fighting a blush upon realizing he'd heard everything she'd just been thinking.
"Absolutley!"
That was taking some getting used to. Knowing that her guild master could communicate via a mind link was different from actually experiencing it firsthand.
"Then let's go introduce ourselves, shall we?"
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The Fairy Tail delegation entered the meeting hall. Long tables of refreshments and snacks lined the sides of the room, and tables were interspersed between the various ornate columns. Finding their table, they noticed they would be sharing with the Sabertooth delegation if they were to go by the nametags on the plates.
"Yukino said they would meet us here once everyone had finished checking in," Lucy shared with her guild mates as most of them settled in at the table.
"Yes, and Laxus said he would be joining us once the guild master meeting finished up. He should be here soon as well," Freed added, scanning their surroundings.
Hearing a laugh behind her, she turned to find Bickslow looking at the name tags on a neighboring table. "I should have known. Kaleb probably had something to do with this," The Seith chuckled to himself before turning to meet the inquisitive looks of his fellow mages.
"Guess who will be our neighbors for the wining and dining?"
Lucy smiled excitedly. "That's brilliant! Who all came?"
The Seith eyed the rest of the names. "Hmm, well Kaleb is a no-brainer, but it seems my two youngest brothers and Emzadi have also made the trek. Kaleb told me they were bringing two celestial mages with them, so I guess those are the last names, I don't think I know them."
"It will be good to see Kaleb and Emzadi again," Lucy agreed with a smile, before turning to Wendy, "You might want to talk with Cristoff, he's one of Bickslow's brothers, and the Lunar Dragon Slayer. Bick's told me he specializes in combat healing magic. I know you've been having some trouble understanding the books Porlyusica gave you, so maybe he could help."
The Sky Dragon Slayer nodded excitedly, she'd been getting a little frustrated with the practical application techniques the books were describing and would welcome any help on the matter she could get.
"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten you'd started studying combat healing techniques Little Blue. Cris would be a goldmine of information on that for you. I'll be sure to point him out when he gets here." The Seith promised his younger guild mate with a goofy smile, earning a giggle from the teenager.
"Thank you, Bickslow, I'd greatly appreciate it! The books are so confusing at times, and combative healing is very different from what I've been learning with Grandma Porly so far."
He nodded at her. "Yeah, Cris should be able to explain it better to you. The guy is a master at it."
"I didn't realize there would be so many delegations." The Rune mage admitted.
"Well, it is a global summit. If I understand their tribal markings right, that group over there is a delegation from Enca. The groups behind them, wearing the body-length cloaks, I believe are from Atla. Those clothing styles are really common in the region due to the extreme temperatures and provide protection against the sand that gets stirred up in the high winds." Lucy shared.
"My brother Farron says the heat is nearly unbearable, and is one of the main reasons he dislikes having to travel there," Bickslow added, leaning in so as not be overheard, "It's also why he and my dad always make sure to take either Cristoff or Xally with them to help alleviate the heat with their cooling mists." The group chuckled at that.
"Hee-hee, I guess that would be a handy magic to have in those conditions." Wendy agreed with a smile.
"It doesn't mean we like it any better than they do, though," A smooth, baritone voice sounded from behind the group, "What, no hug for your dear brother?"
"Cristoff! It's been too long, man!" The Seith had quickly spun around at the sound of the familiar voice and grabbed the tall, muscular male up in a bear hug.
"No calls, no letters, I was beginning to feel a little forgotten oh brother mine." The dark haired male teased.
"And who would these beautiful specimens be?" A silky tenor sounded from behind Lucy and Wendy, drawing startled yelps from the two. Lucy reacted without thinking, kicking out with her foot in a sweeping motion while yanking on the nearest arm. She swiftly dumped the startled mage on his ass before anyone, let alone him, could react.
After a few seconds of startled blinks as everyone took in what had happened, Bickslow and the newly identified 'Cristoff' burst out laughing. The two brothers bent over from the force of their humor at their youngest brother's expense. Said younger brother sent them a glare before turning an amused and appraising look at the mage who had caught him off guard, a rare thing to happen.
"I knew it was a good day to bring my camera, wait until Kaleb sees what I just captured on video." A smugly amused voice broke in through the deep guffaws. A tall blonde with orange eyes stood, camera in one hand, the other on her hip, full red lips curved in a sassy smile.
"Gee, thanks Em." The Shadowquip pouted, before giving in and letting out a few chuckles of his own, "Note to self, don't sneak up on gorgeous brown-eyed blondes with a pink Fairy Tail mark on their hand; they have a powerful kick."
Lucy blushed and offered an apology, which the good-humored male simply waved aside with a grin.
"Cosplayer, you are awesome! It's been a while since anyone's caught Van off guard." Bickslow cackled merrily.
"Van? As in Vander?" The blond queried, receiving a dashing grin and an elegant bow from the now standing shadowquip.
"At your services, mi'lady," He kissed her hand dramatically before winking at her, "Any services," He huskily intoned, earning a smack upside the head from his newly arrived guild master.
"Down boy, behave." The platinum blond man ordered with a frown.
"Aww, Kaleb, you take the fun out of everything!" The now introduced 'Vander' faux-whined, "Fun-sucker!" He pouted dramatically, before turning his attention once again to the now chuckling blonde Fairy.
"Hmm, let's see. Gorgeous, sweet tempered, has a powerful kick, and holds multiple golden keys on her belt. You must be the famous Starbringer we've heard so much about."
The blonde smiled sweetly, "Call me Lucy. It's a pleasure to meet you as well Vander, Bickslow has told me many stories about what you all would get up to as children. It's nice to finally put a face to a name"
"It is a handsome face, no?" The shadowquip teased, striking a modeling pose.
"And I see that he didn't embellish on your playboy ways either," She mused.
"Ah, Stella, we are going to have so much fun together"
"I'm looking forward to it, Umbra." The blonde smirked, before directing her attention to the man's other brother.
"Hello Cristoff, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I'm Lucy." The celestial mage stuck her hand out good naturedly.
When the large, built model of masculinity made contact to shake her hand, Lucy fought not to show the pleasant shock that coursed through her. Her brow furrowed slightly, but her attention was swiftly pulled away due to the arrival of the Sabertooth delegation. Putting the matter to the back of her mind for later consideration, she greeted and made room for her fellow celestial mage and her student, and completely missed the astounded and appraising look that passed over the lunar slayer's face. His siblings, however, did not. Nor did the slightly grumpy lightning slayer who had only just rejoined his delegation after a tedious hour of boring discussions in the guild master's meeting.
Laxus gave a low warning growl to the other slayer, warning him of his kinship, before giving a slight nod of his understanding and, resigned, acceptance of the situation.
Cristoff was still reeling from the discovery. She was his mate. His Mate! He'd finally found her, after so many years of searching. The reaction of his inner dragon was just as his mother Nurem had described. Upon first contact with his suitable match his inner dragon had purred and all but rolled belly-up to the fierce spit-fire his brother had talked so much about.
A prod in his mind brought him out of his thoughts and meeting the shocked pale lavender gaze of his older brother and guild master, and the amusedly gleeful orange gaze of his sister. Emzadi smiled her congratulations to him even as she moved around to introduce herself more formally to his mate—to Lucy. Ah, Lucy, such a sweet name.
"You're such a sap. And here I thought you couldn't become any more of a sentimental, romantic."
Cristoff subtly flipped Kaleb the middle finger behind his back as he made his way to stand near his mate.
"She doesn't know; not yet anyway. Given a little time and no distractions and I'm sure she'd figure it out in moments seeing as she is close to so many of the slayers in her guild."
The Lunar Slayer grabbed a drink off one of the trays of a passing wait-staff, "I will wait until after tonight's festivities to take her aside and tell her. Fuck Kaleb, I didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. It is a bit much to heap onto everything else, and this is something that should not be rushed. I will tell her, and let her set the pace."
The blond mindbender nodded, smiling softly, "Congratulations, brother." Kaleb then smirked at him, "Will you be the one to break the news to Rai or shall I?" chuckling at the internal groan and laughter of the Lunar Slayer at the thought of sharing with the young celestial mage that he was to be mated to her idol. The young girl was excited enough at just the thought of seeing the Starbringer in person. To learn that one of her guild mates would soon be promised to her idol, making said idol likely to be in close proximity fairly regularly, may send the girl into a catatonic state of excitement.
The brothers were brought out of their silent conversation by the entrance of the rest of White Sea's own delegation to the hall. With it, the excitable young mage they'd been discussing.
As the group made their way over, Hestor quickly excused himself to join a discussion with a group of mages from Sin and Enca. Rai, walking beside a softly smiling Thane, was currently too busy taking in the sights of the different delegations and the ornate hall they were gathered in to notice her present company.
As the group grew closer, Vander popped up from the shadows beside his brothers, "Tell Em to get her camera ready." The shadowquip nudged his blond sibling, eyes glinting in mirth.
"Already done."
Indeed, the solar slayer had excused herself from her conversation with the female mages from Fiore and moved to their side, camera in hand to capture what was bound to be a memorable meeting.
Bickslow, who'd made his way back to them from checking in with his team leader, cocked an amused eyebrow, "What's going on?"
"Nothing much," Cristoff mused with a nonchalant shrug. The hidden laughter in his eyes betrayed him though.
"It seems that our youngest celestial mage has quite the idol worship for your Starbringer."
"Oh, really?" The Seith grinned, definitely interested now.
"Yep, all she could talk about was the possibility of seeing the Starbringer in person at this Summit." Vander chuckled.
Bickslow hummed, studying the place settings once again before turning to level a look at his older brother.
"You pulled some strings with the seating arrangements, didn't you?"
Kaleb stared back innocently at him, "Abuse my position and use Father's influence to somehow get our guild's delegation moved from one side of the hall to the other just on a whim? You think so ill of me brother?"
The Seith mage "hmphed" before leaning in, "No, brother, but I do think it interesting that all of the other guilds seem to have seating arranged in alphabetical order of the country they hail from. Now, unless I totally botched up in learning the alphabet, I do believe there are a several countries that come between Bosco and Fiore alphabetically."
Emzadi snorted while her brother, and guild master, pouted, actually pouted, at being found out. "Honestly, you can't tell me you expected it to go unnoticed by everyone. All the ladies over there already noticed, but chalked it up to your desire to sit near and visit with Bickslow."
Kaleb rolled his eyes. He'd wanted to do something for one of his youngest and sweetest guild members, so sue him. Not to mention the move had the added bonus of letting him visit with his brother, and the unforeseen bonus of helping another of his brother's find their mate. Yes, the mindbender would consider this a job well done in his book, no matter what his siblings said.
Their attention was pulled back to their approaching guild members, sans one, who'd finally made it across the crowded floor.
"Whatcha think, half-pint?" Vander asked, ruffling the red hair playfully and smirking at the glare he received, "Found a Master yet to take you on?"
The younger mage huffed. "I just got here, Shadow-man. I haven't even had the chance to talk with anyone yet," She frowned before suddenly perking up, "Why? You know someone?!"
"…Maybe." The shadowquip hedged with a smile.
"Shadow-man," she whined, "Not nice. Tell me, tell me! Who is it? Who? Who?!"
"Hmmm..." Vander assumed a dramatic thinking pose, "Nope! It's a secret." The male then snickered and disappeared into the shadows to pop out again behind her.
Rai pouted.
"But," He covered her eyes and started leading her over to the table, "We do have someone we wanted you to meet."
Curiosity raised, Rai waited. Suddenly, the hands covering her vision were removed.
"Say hello Bicks. Bickslow, meet the half-pint. Half-pint, this is Bickslow, our brother from Fiore."
The tall blue-black haired male with a tattoo over his face smiled at her. His eyes dancing with laughter, he bowed and kissed her hand theatrically, "A pleasure, fine lady."
Rai stared, "You're a dork" she finally said, hearing the other Pradesh siblings behind them burst into laughter along with some people who she guessed to be Bickslow's guild mates, "Nice, but still a dork." She smiled impishly, earning a cackle from the tall male.
"You got spunk, kid." The Seith mage gave a lazy grin, eyes bright with mischief as he noticed Emzadi getting her camera ready in the background, "Kind of reminds me of you Cosplayer. Whatcha think?"
Rai watched, slightly confused, as the tall mage before her turned around to address someone seated behind him. When the mage's bulk cleared her view, all thought stopped, and she froze in place.
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Lucy watched the gathering of mages in amusement. She could already tell that Vander was basically a male version of her friend Cana, and that they'd get along like a house on fire. Cristoff, however, provided an entirely unexpected development. While Lucy had long ago accepted that the Pradesh family was blessed in the looks department, she hadn't been expecting the powerful draw she had to the lunar slayer. Hot damn! It was all she could do to damn the flood in her nether regions when their hands had connected. Something about the experience was nagging at her memory, but she couldn't for the life of her recall anything beyond the thoughts of 'Yummy', 'Delicious', and 'Mine'. Deciding to push it aside for later contemplation, she'd turned her attention toward Yukino and her delegation, who had d finally arrived at their table; Emzadi joining their discussion soon after.
The solar slayer then excused herself, saying she needed to go keep her wayward brothers in line. Watching the other blonde depart, Lucy found herself making eye contact with the silver eyed gaze of the lunar slayer. The celestial mage paused, she could have sworn Cristoff had blue eyes; Then, she blinked, and the lunar slayer's gaze was the enticing deep, rich blue she'd remembered. Mentally shaking herself, Lucy offered him a smile before turning back to answer a question Wendy had posed to her. While she was proud of herself for staying calm thus far, the celestial mage couldn't seem to keep from steeling the occasional glance at the dark-haired Boscan slayer. Damn Bickslow for his unfairly attractive family! She was here to gain an apprentice, not get laid. Granted, from the looks of him, Cristoff would definitely leave her with no complaint in that department. 'Damnit! Focus Lucy!' she chided herself.
Luckily for her, her attention was called away by the cute image of her towering Seith mage guild mate being introduced to a sweet looking red-headed child bearing the White Sea guild mark on her bare shoulder. The young girl wore a fuchsia-colored sleeveless dress with a cute brown belt around her waist. Lucy thought she caught a glint of metal near the small bag hanging from the belt, but her guild mate and his siblings blocked most of her view. She could easily hear the conversation they were having though; or rather, the interesting introduction being made by the mischievous shadowquip mage.
When she heard the child, who she'd place at being no older than 11 or 12, boldly label her guild mate a 'Dork' she couldn't contain her laughter.
Bickslow initially seemed slightly surprised, before taking the comment in stride and finding the humor in it. "You got spunk, kid," The Seith mage said with a lazy grin. He turned around to his guild mates, and Lucy saw the glint of mischief in his eyes. Her own narrowed slightly, the man knew something. Noticing the faint hint of a suppressed smirk had alarms going off in her head; Never let it be said the blonde was not aware of her guild mate's penchants for mischief, pranks, and trouble with a capitol T. The Seith mage was up to something. "Kind of reminds me of you Cosplayer. Whatcha think?"
Lucy's mind was racing through everything that had happened to figure out how best to contain any collateral damage and, if possible, keep herself out of the line of fire when things went down. Coming up empty handed, the celestial mage resigned herself to simply proceeding with caution even as she responded. "You say that like it's a bad thing Bicks. I think it's great that someone else can call you on your bull-shit and keep you in line. Stars know you need it." Lucy smirked at his pout before turning her gaze to the young mage being discussed.
"Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Lucy. Regrettably, it seems I must claim the big lug you're talking to as a guild mate of mine. Don't worry though, he's an acquired taste."
Silence answered her as the young girl seemed frozen in place, face blank, eyes wide, as her gaze locked with hers.
Lucy began to feel concerned, even as she heard the girl's guild master, Kaleb, snicker and mutter something resembling "Mental bomb" to his now chuckling siblings. Emzadi was clicking away with her camera, seemingly trying to document everything in the vicinity.
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Rai now understood what some people meant by an out-of-body-experience. It was like she was there, yet wasn't at the same time. Thoughts were racing through her mind too fast for her to grasp onto any one and focus on it, and yet, at the same time she felt eerily calm; like the calm before the storm type calm. Then, everything seemed to finally sink in.
The Starbringer.
The blonde-haired, brown-eyed female sitting before her was the Starbringer. One of, if not the most powerful celestial mages on Earthland. Dear stars! The woman was standing before her, in the flesh! Why couldn't she say anything! Why was she not moving, talking, or doing anything but standing there in shock!? But could you blame her?! Cause, holy shit! This was her effin idol for stars sake!
Strong, warm hands, which she vaguely identified as belonging to Vander, grasped her shoulders and guided her closer to the woman she couldn't tear her gaze away from.
Rai barely registered being sat down in the chair next to Lucy's, or hearing the laughter of her guild mates. She knew her mouth was likely open and 'gathering flies' as her grandmother used to fondly say, but she couldn't really bring herself to care too much at the moment. In the back of her mind, some part of her was listening in on the whispered explanations her guild mates were giving to the other mages at the table about her 'idol worship' of the mage seated next to her.
A few more seconds passed before Rai was able to shake the shock induced fog from her head. She slammed back into the present, and became aware of the warm hand holding one of hers in her lap, and the concerned brown eyes staring into her own.
"—kay?"
"Huh?' she finally managed.
The blonde in front of her smiled kindly, "I asked, are you okay?"
Finally managing to regain control over herself, the redhead ducked her head down, "oh, um, yeah. I'm alright. Sorry 'bout that. Was just surprised is all." She mumbled. The burning in her cheeks letting her know they were likely the same shade as her hair at the moment, "Could have warned me!" She muttered hotly in the direction of her guild master and guild mates.
"And ruin the surprise, Half-Pint?" Vander teased from where he stood a few feet away, a gleeful smirk on his handsome face, "Wouldn't dream of losing that opportunity."
"We wanted to surprise you." Emzadi crooned from behind her camera, a pleased smile on her face.
Cristoff, Thane, and Kaleb simply smiled warmly at her, eyes alight with their laughter. She huffed. While she really wished she'd had some warning, she couldn't express how touched she felt that her older guild mates had done this for her.
Remembering where she was sitting, and now feeling more prepared, she lifted her gaze to meet that of the woman next to her.
"Um, hi," she rasped anxiously, clearing her throat before trying again, "Hi. I'm Rai. Technically, my full name is Raina but I hate going by it. I think it's kind of a mouthful when Rai works just as well. Haha. Oh my god, you're awesome!" Blushing again at what she just blurted out, Rai rushed to clarify, "I mean, I am a big fan! Not the creepy stalker type fan though, heh. Never that! I mean, it's just, I've read all about you, and think you are amazing! I love how you have bonded with your spirits and have tried to do so with my own. I never thought I'd get to actually meet you! I mean, I know Shadow-man and Cris said you'd be here but I didn't actually think you'd be here here. You know? Like at a table, next to me type here. Oh god I'm rambling. I do that when I'm nervous. Sugar boogers! You think I'm crazy now. I promise I'm not. Well, Kaleb says we all have a little insanity in us, but I don't think mines too big yet. Not that it will be, but, um, yeah, still rambling. I'm gonna shut up now."
She ducked her head in embarrassment, feeling the burning sting of tears gathering in her eyes. She had so blown it! Shit! Now her idol thought she was weird, and crazy, and creepy, and wouldn't want to see or be near her ever again. She messed it all up an— 'Enough of that'
She sniffled, willing the tears to not fall.
'Rai, I'm sorry we didn't warn you beforehand. We just wanted to surprise you since we know how much you wanted the chance to talk with her. And frankly, you didn't mess anything up. If you must know, Lucy thinks you are sweet and adorable, and wants to hug you. Honest! She is thinking all of those things right now.' The warm voice of her guild master rang in her head brought Rai out of her miserable thoughts. The young mage took a deep breath and gathered herself.
'There we go. Now, where is that brave, strong-minded mage who had a list of questions they were going to interview the Starbringer with? I think Lucy would be more than willing to answer them, but you will never know unless you ask.' Kaleb encouraged.
Taking a deep breath, Rai turned to face the feminine giggle sounding from her right. Lucy was smiling and chuckling. Seeing the young mage looking at her, the blonde wizard leaned forward and gave the startled girl a warm hug.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Rai," She smiled fondly at the surprised mage, "Trust me, I get it. I can't tell you the number of times I've had the horrible experience of 'word vomit'. It's the worst isn't it?" Lucy gestured at the Pradesh siblings around them, "I looked up to their dad a lot; you could say he was one of my idols growing up. Well, the first chance I got to meet him I word-vomited all over. Stars, it was horrible."
"You also nearly tackled him in a hug, Cosplayer," Bickslow teased from behind her. The blonde's eyebrow ticked in annoyance at having that little tid bit revealed, but continued. "Anyways, what I was going to say is I understand how difficult it can be meeting someone you've read about or heard of. So how about we start over?" The blonde extended a hand with a cheerful smile.
"Hi, I'm Lucy. I am a celestial mage fro Fairy Tail in Fiore. I like the color pink, and I came to this conference in hopes of finding an apprentice to take on. I am sometimes given the moniker 'Starbringer' but prefer to be on a first name basis with friends. I hope that we can be friends as well."
Rai sniffed before giving a beaming smile, all embarrassment and worries gone, "Hi, I'm Rai. My full name is Raina, but I prefer to go by Rai. I am a celestial mage and have been a member of White Sea in Bosco for about two years now. I like the color purple, and came here to enter an apprenticeship so that I can grow my magic more." The young mage grasped the offered hand, "I would love to be friends."
The two bonding celestial mages missed the cooing from the other female mages present. They continued their discussion in earnest; turning a blind eye to the fond looks, high fives, the clicking of a camera, and other general chatter around them.
"Well, I know you already know some stuff about me, so why don't you tell me about your spirits?" The blond entreated with a smile.
Rai could scarcely believe this was happening. Not only was she seeing and talking to her idol, but her idol was interested in her and her spirit partners.
"Okay, well, um, this is Orion, he's great at tracking and has an amazing sense of direction. He likes to sing too, though he's a little off-key."
Vander snorted, "A little?" His comment earned him a whack upside the head by his sister and a frown from his younger guild mate.
"It makes him happy, not everyone can have a perfect singing voice shadow-man." Rai corrected huffily.
"Anyways, these are Canis Major, Dorado*, and Lacerta*. They like to just hang out with me sometimes outside of missions. Canis Major prefers to be called 'Sirius', and he loves cuddles and pocky. Dorado always speaks in rhymes and really likes bubbles. Lacerta gets into all kinds of trouble cause he's attracted to shiny things." The key in discussion glowed, as if the spirit knew they were being talked about.
Lucy grinned, "He sounds like an entertaining fellow."
"The blasted lizard hoards loose change," Emzadi added dryly, taking a sip of her wine.
"Oh, and I just contracted with another spirit before we came here." The girl shared, eyes brightening as she rummaged through her shoulder bag, "I haven't had a chance to put her on my key chain yet, I had to clean it first. Her key was really difficult to get to. I had to dive into one of those underwater caves in the eastern part of the Grass Sea." Rai suddenly noted the stern looks she was getting from her Guild Master and her older guild mates at her comment, "Beck let me go with him on a job to collect some pearls. It wasn't too deep, and he was with me the entire time. I promise." They appeared slightly mollified by that, but Rai made a mental note to warn the Beast Master that Emzadi may be interrogating him once they got back. "Anyways, ah-ha!, here she is," Rai pulled out a golden key, failing to notice the widening eyes and looks of recognition of the Fairy Tail mages around her. "She's my most powerful spirit now. This is—"
"Aquarius." Lucy whispered, her eyes locked on the key.
Rai suddenly became aware of the stiff postures of the other Fairy Tail mages who were divided between looking at her key and watching the Starbringer.
"Um, yeah." Rai confirmed. The young mage glanced to her own guild mates, worried she'd done something wrong and feeling like she was missing something.
Emzadi and Vander shrugged at her, both of them were in the dark as well. Cristoff and Kaleb were watching Lucy who'd gone pensive. Her guild master nodded then, as if he'd suddenly gained an answer. Which, given his magic, was probably likely. The platinum blond noticed her questioning look.
"You did nothing wrong Rai. There's just a… history, with that key." Kaleb gave her a soft smile,"One I think she may be willing to tell you if you ask."
Gathering her resolve, Rai decided to follow his mental nudge.
"Um, Ms. Starbringer, mam, you know Aquarius?"
The question seemed to finally break the blonde mage out of her reverie. Brown eyes blinked before focusing on the young girl. She studied her a moment before nodding.
"I do." She hesitated, glancing at her own guild mates for a second before reaching into her own key pouch and pulling out… the broken handle of a golden key.
Rai's eyes widened as she recognized the symbol on the handle as being the same one of the key she was holding.
"Aquarius and I used to be contracted; she was my mother's spirit before she was given to me when my mother passed away." The blonde celestial mage explained, her eyes warm and fond as they looked at the key Rai held, "Circumstances came about which ended in her key having to be broken in order to take down one of the worst threats Earthland has faced. Aquarius was the one who suggested the action but, it's been one of my biggest regrets ever since."
Rai sat silent, taking in everything that was said.
"Tartaros?" Cristoff softly clarified.
Lucy nodded. The other Fairy Tail mages had grim and downcast expressions. It was the only way. I know that now, but it took me a while to understand and come to terms with that."
Turning her attention back on Rai, Lucy chuckled, "I'd been looking for her new key ever since I'd been made aware it had been reformed and was back on Earthland. It figures that she would be located in the Grass Sea." She chuckled, "Aquarius always was particular about how her key was handled, and the bodies of water you could summon her from."
Laxus snorted, and Wendy giggled as Bickslow faux-coughed, "Understatement!" he muttered, earning himself a stern look from the celestial mage.
Rai bit her lip, a nervous habit her grandmother had always frowned upon, "Umm, she'd said it was okay to contract with her. You can have her back if you…" she trailed off when Lucy raised her hand and the blonde gave her a fond smile.
"I've had my time as her partner; it's time for the next generation. Trust me, she wouldn't have agreed to a contract if she didn't see something in you she liked, I know I have. Aquarius is very picky with whom she contracts with. You wouldn't want to disappoint her would you?" the older celestial mage teased. Rai blushed, and shook her head shyly.
"So, I know that we haven't been able to talk long but I would be thrilled if you'd consider an apprenticeship with me." Lucy chuckled nervously, completely missing the thunderstruck look of awe and happiness that passed over the younger girl's face. Both of their guild mates did not, however, and were outwardly grinning and fighting back chuckles at how things were playing out.
"I understand if there are some other mages you want to talk to, so you don't have to answer right away. I just—"
"Yes!" Rai blurted, "Yes, I accept! I'd love to apprentice under you!"
Lucy blinked owlishly for a moment at the enthusiastic acceptance, before beaming and sweeping her soon-to-be-apprentice into a hug. "Wicked!"
Rai chuckled at hearing her idol adopt her usual phrase, "Totally!" she agreed. She couldn't wait; She was going to be training under the guidance of her idol! How much more awesome could it get!?
Lucy laughed, pulling the girl into a hug, "Then we can go and register your apprenticeship with me in the celestial records tomorrow."
A few feet away, Kaleb nudged his younger brother and second in command. "You know, Rai will need an escort with her for the trip to and throughout her stay in Fiore. Interested?"
The lunar dragon slayer tore his eyes away from his destined mate and his young guild mate to stare in shock at her brother and guild master. "But the guild?" It was a weak protest, and he knew it. He wanted nothing more than to go over to the blonde Fairy Tail mage and claim her then and there.
Beck and Emzadi can step in as needed to cover your guild duties. Quit protesting brother, go to her, bond with her, and make me an awesome uncle already! The blond mindbender quirked an eyebrow, Or shall I send Vander in your stead?
The internal snarl that suggestion prompted out of him got the lunar slayer a smug smirk.
Rolling his eyes in fond exasperation at his sibling, Cristoff started making plans for the trip. He smiled when he realized he could also use the time to pick up Wendy's training during his stay. The sky dragon slayer was good, but her training and knowledge of healing were slightly behind where they should be. The lunar dragon slayer returned his gaze to his soon-to-be mate who was now chatting excitedly with Rai. Gods, he couldn't wait.
Taking a deep breath, he went over to better introduce himself, and set destiny into motion.
…
*Dorado: swordfish constellation
*Lacerta: lizard constellation
I look forward to hearing what you think.
I've really enjoyed reading what other authors have been posting and seeing the creativity between all the prompts. I love it! I can't wait to see what is posted next by everyone!
All the best,
JB