I just want to say that I would really appreciate feedback! I'm really trying to develop as a writer so it'd be awesome to hear what y'all think! :D Thank you!
Lucy:
"I wonder what could be taking everyone else so long…" Lucy muttered to Cana as they sat in the hot springs a couple of yards from the meeting spot. Cana glanced over at the younger, blonde mage and shrugged, grunting, "Might be we just out did them!"
Lucy turned away from the brunette, giggling and stepped out of the pool, reaching for her towel.
"Well at least three people ran into S-Class mages...it's likely that only a couple more people even made it through."
Lucy sighed, remembering their earlier battle. She had really given it her all, but she had a feeling that their opponents hadn't. She didn't know whether to be angry that they let them win or to be grateful for their empathy towards Cana. It was a bit of a double-edged sword: Cana really wanted to prove herself so that she could tell Gildarts who she really was, but they probably wouldn't have beaten Freed and Bickslow if they hadn't felt bad for Cana. The blonde shook her head slightly and pouted. It wouldn't have even mattered if they'd given it their all if I still had Loke...I've gotten so much stronger, but I still use him as a crutch.
She sighed and began tugging on her khaki mini skirt, slipping into her dark blue Heart Kreuz tank top, and finally wrapping her belt tightly around her slim waist and securely fastening it with a reassuring pat to her key ring. I really need you guys right now. I can't let Cana down.
"I'll catch up with you later!" Lucy called over her shoulder to Cana as she made her way down the dirt path, back to the group camp. She was surprised to find Sophia and Natsu there, she could usually hear the two of them coming from about a mile away.
"Oh hey! How long have you two been here?" she called to the dragon slayers. As she approached she realized the expressions on their faces were serious and almost despondent. She couldn't help but wonder who they might've faced.
"About half and hour now, I think," Sophia called in reply. The redhead was hanging upside down off a rock, staring straight ahead into the woods, with Plue resting on her bare, toned stomach.
"Is that a new outfit?" Lucy inquired of the female dragon slayer, who glanced down at her clothes as if she didn't realize she was wearing any.
"Oh! Yeah," she said, cracking a small grin, "I got dirt all over the other one."
Lucy smiled back and replied, "It's cute, I like it."
The blonde walked over and began to inspect it more thoroughly, focusing on the intricate embroidery on the jade green, silk top.
"Oh, they're dragons!"
The top had short cap sleeves that were edged in a darker green silk that matched the color of the embroidery thread, a diamond shaped cut out on the breasts, and scalloped edges that cropped the shirt in a v shape, leaving most of her midriff bare. She had paired it with black, high rise, athletic shorts. Lucy turned towards Natsu, who was sitting with his legs crossed next to the rock Sophia was hanging off of, his head hung low, seemingly deep in thought.
What's up with them? Lucy thought, almost irritated that she couldn't count on them to lift her spirits. Well, it is a competition…
She walked over to sit down next to Levy, who was arguing with Gajeel.
"What do you mean we got lucky!? I didn't get to punch anyone! That ain't lucky!" the iron dragon slayer grunted. Levy rolled her eyes and gave Lucy a flabbergasted look as she crouched next to the bluenette. "We got the peaceful route and he's complaining!"
Lucy let out a tiny laugh and mumbled, "I wish we'd gotten that!"
Levy looked at her curiously and nudged her with her shoulder.
"Who'd you beat up, Lu-chan?"
"Yeah, who dared cross paths with bunny girl, gihi!" Gajeel added with a smirk, earning him an elbow in the ribs from the small, script mage.
"We ran into Bickslow and Freed. Didn't think it was gonna turn out this way, to be honest," Lucy said, laughing and looking up into the clear blue sky.
"Ah, well you already beat up that puppet freak, I'm not surprised."
Lucy was startled by the dragon slayers comment.
"How'd you know I battled Bickslow?"
"Are you kidding? Freed's score board gave us constant updates about the fights."
Lucy tilted her head to one side as a smile danced across her lips.
"Well I never thought that you of all people would be telling me I could beat someone up."
"Gihi. I didn't either."
Gray:
Gray and Loke stepped out into the clearing and each took careful note of the mages that were present.
"Damn. I didn't expect this many to make it through…" Gray mumbled to Loke.
"Yeah, me either."
Gray spotted the Master emerge from a path that led into the woods and watched as he hopped up onto a tall boulder on the edge of the clearing.
"Alright!" the Master called, "I believe it's about time we start the next trial!"
"WAIT!"
Gray whirled around to spy the owner of the voice. Evergreen and Elfman stumbled into the clearing, clinging to one another.
"We're here! We made it!"
Gray glanced back at the Master, who looked dumbfounded.
"How the fuck did you get past Mirajane?" he grunted at them. Everyone in the clearing began to exclaim loudly, calling for an answer.
"Let's just say we struck when a lucky opportunity presented itself," Ever said a little sheepishly, a blush crawling across her regal face as she glanced up at Elfman.
"Well! Welcome to the party!" the Master called in response, "Lucy and Cana defeated Bickslow and Freed! Gray and Loke took down Mest and Wendy! Juvia and Lisanna had to face...her."
Gray glanced around the field, noticing for the first time that Juvia was not there. She must not have given it her all…damn her. She could beat Erza if she really tried, she just can't get serious!
He shook his head in frustration with his close friend. He just wanted her to prove her strength, but she accidentally held herself back a lot of the time. He had planned on offering to train with her, but when he had caught wind of the S-Class announcements he'd decided he needed to focus on his own magic, as much as he had secretly wanted some alone time with the water mage. She was actually fun to be around when she wasn't freaking out over him. She chilled out when they were alone, funny enough.
"Levy and Gajeel had the good fortune to select the 'peaceful route'-"
"It ain't lucky!" Gajeel yelled.
"Ahem. Sophia and Natsu miraculously made it past Gildarts."
Gray turned to gape in awe at the two dragon slayers sitting sullenly on the rocks. HOW THE FUCK? How in holy fucking hell…
Gray turned to Loke and understanding flashed between the two handsome boys. They weren't gonna let anything stop them; it didn't matter if Sophia and Natsu had taken down Gildarts, Gray and Loke would take them down. Why do they seem to be in such sour moods then, Gray wondered, focusing back on the Master.
"Anyways, we will begin our second round! You will be hunting for the first Master's grave! I will be waiting for you there! Now, get going, brats!"
And with that, the Master flipped off of the rock, and as he was spinning, disappeared into the air with a POP.
Gray looked over at Lucy and could already see the gears turning in her head. She suddenly looked up and ran towards Cana.
"Loke," Gray whispered. The stellar spirit turned towards him, and Gray nodded in Lucy's direction. Loke followed his gaze and turned again to give Gray the thumbs up. They slunk back into the woods and crouched behind the bright green foliage. Lucy and Cana set off down the path, with Loke and Gray creeping along behind them.
Sophia:
"C'MON, THIS WAY PLUE!"
Sophia raced through the underbrush and towards the sound of Lucy and Cana's screams. She shimmied up a tree and spotted the head of the beast chasing them. She quickly jumped down and ran for an old, slanted oak tree covered in knots and peeling bark.
"PUN!"
"TRUST ME!"
"Pun pun pun."
She raced up the trunk, her bare feet gripping the course, mottled bark, and when she came to the end, she leapt into the open air, sailing straight towards the top of the monster's head.
"GOTCHA!" she cheered as her flaming fist crashed into its forehead, sending teeth flying. The beast began to crumple, the ground rushing towards it, but Sophia once more soared into the air and landed with a roll at the two female mages feet. She looked up at them and grinned, adding, "Watch this!" as she raced back over to the fallen creature. She grabbed it by the neck and began to shake it, shouting, "WHERE'S THE FIRST MASTER'S GRAVE?"
Lucy and Cana stared at her, dumbfounded.
"She...she's talking to it," Lucy muttered.
"I don't know!" the beast sobbed.
"AND IT TALKED BACK!" Cana shrieked, jumping into the air in surprise.
A loud CRACK rang out from nearby in the woods and Cana and Lucy fumbled for their magic, preparing for the worst. But it was only Natsu. He fell to the ground in front of them and jumped to his feet, turning towards the giant creature that had been chasing him a second before, but now found itself knocked out cold on the forest floor.
"What the hell are the two of them…" Cana muttered, frustration spread across her face.
"DON'T GET IN THE WAY OF MY EXAM!" Natsu yelled at the unconscious beast. It shuddered in response.
"GO NATSU GO!" Happy cheered as he ran around the pinkette in circles.
"You know, you can't question them if you knock them out!" Sophia called from the opposite side of the clearing, Plue dancing around her as well. Natsu's eyes widened and he screeched "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!"
He turned towards Happy and pointed at him.
"HAPPY! REMIND ME NOT TO HIT THEM SO HARD!"
"AYE SIR!"
Sophia smiled and felt her heart flutter in her chest a little bit.
He's so cute… She suddenly felt herself blushing again.
I really need to get a hold on this blushing shit. Should I purposely get a sunburn?
She stood there in thought for a couple seconds before realizing that the dragon slayer had raced off towards the head of another beast. She grinned once more and took a deep breath, preparing to set off again, when she caught a distinctive smell of spearmint. She took another whiff and picked up a strong citrus scent. Gray? And Loke.
Sophia turned around and ripped the bush out of the ground, tossing it over her shoulder, unveiling the two boys crawling military style through the brush.
"HA!"
"Aw, shit."
Sophia offered the ice mage and the king of the zodiac a hand up.
"Are y'all following Lucy?"
Gray smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.
"We're pretty sure she's the only one who could even come close to figuring it out," Loke replied.
"Except maybe Levy," Gray added.
"I'm just sniffing it out," the dragon slayer grinned.
Levy:
"C'mon, pipsqueak! Hurry up! You wanna win, don't you?" the iron dragon slayer teased from a couple of yards ahead of the much shorter girl.
"Of course I want to win! But I can't go that fast!" she squealed with irritation while jogging to catch up with Gajeel for the third time since they'd set out. She was tired of his attitude. Or was she. Every other second she wanted to punch that smug grin off of his face… or maye kiss it? Oh god.
She blushed at the thought of pressing her lips against the dragon slayers. They were probably warm and rough. She wondered if he had a tongue piercing. And then she thought about how that might feel. STOP IT YOU CAN'T DO THIS RIGHT NOW.
Levy shook the thought from her head and trudged forwards, passing the dragon slayer.
"It's too damn quiet! What's with this test! Pick a path, find a grave! I just wanna punch Salamander and Erza and Sophia!"
Levy looked back at him, her face warped into a glare of annoyance.
"So you don't care about me!?"
"I never said that!"
"But all you do is fight everyone!"
Levy crossed her arms and added, "You never even look at me."
Gajeel grinned and retorted, "You want some attention, shrimp? Then fight seriously with me! Get stronger!"
The iron dragon slayer vigorously patted her head. Levy looked down and mumbled, "No...I can't. I'm small and weak."
She suddenly couldn't take it anymore and burst, running away from the larger man, shouting, "I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! STUPID GAJEEL!"
"What'd you say!?"
Levy didn't turn to reply, just kept running.
I actually thought he was turning into a good person! What a jerk! I hate him!
Her thoughts were disrupted by a rustling in the grass on the side of the path. She looked around and tentatively called out, "Gajeel?"
Suddenly two dark figures burst out onto the path, racing towards Levy, who was caught completely off guard. She stumbled away from them, falling as a katana passed through where her stomach had been seconds earlier.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
The blue haired mage got no reply, just the cold feeling of talons clutching her arms, raising her up off of the ground. She began to scream as the katana rushed towards her face. She faintly heard the figure declare, "You first."
She closed her eyes as the blade got closer and closer, but the blow never came. She heard the loud CLINK of metal on metal.
Levy opened her eyes and sa Gajeel standing over her, the katana caught in his iron arm.
"Its hard looking for someone so small," he grunted, "so don't leave my side."
Levy nodded, her face turning slightly pink once more. The two mages faced their opponents back to back, glaring them down.
"And...Who are you guys?" Gajeel called out to them. One was a humanoid rooster, the other a humanoid goat. Both wore a samurai's armor. Levy noticed the guild crest emblazoned on the front of the goat's chest plate and turned to see the same mark on the rooster's long neck. Gajeel realized the same instant she did and they mumbled, "Grimoire Heart…" in unison.
"A dark guild...What is the strongest dark guild doing on our island?" Levy added, glancing back at Gajeel. They made eye contact and Gajeel replied,
"Maybe Master set up a dark guild for the exam?"
"No. He wouldn't. These guys must have snuck in from somewhere."
"Well," Gajeel grumbled, a smirk spreading across his rough but handsome face, "If you're gonna be S-Class I'm sure you're gonna face a lot of extra trouble while you're working."
Levy let herself smile and said, "If I can't clean up a mess this small, then I guess I shouldn't be an S-Class mage anyways," she frowned once more, "But this is Grimoire Heart. A corner of the Balam Alliance...we shouldn't go attacking them arbitrarily."
"Ha!" the goat man exclaimed, "As expected of a normal guild! Rules, rules, rules! So suffocating!"
The rooster added, "There are no rules in war," sending a shiver up Levy's spine.
"War?"
"What's your goal!?"
Levy backed into Gajeel as the rooster launched into the air, screeching, "TO POACH ALL THE FAIRIES ON THIS ISLAND!"