I am FINALLY back! Sorry for the super long wait, but I am FINALLY back with chapter 17! Please R&R and I shall see you at the bottom of the page.
POV: Natsu
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the idea of this story, I am just the writer
A story for a friend, by a friend
I stare up at the ceiling while listening to the silence around me as I hug Lucy close to me while I stroke her soft hair. It's already well past four in the morning and in a few hours the sun will rise signaling the start of a new day. A day in which I will call the Fernandez' and announce of our plan to join them on their adventures in space. We'd also have to call the others to let them know where we are going so that they won't worry about us.
There's also the fact about us selling our house and moving our stuff and putting our photographs somewhere safe while we're gone. Lucy then needs to quit her job and I need to shut down the music shop or have someone else run it while I'm gone. I haven't really decided just yet what I would do with my recently opened shop, along with the few students I've picked up.
There's so much for us to do in such little time, but I'm more than certain that in the end it will be worth it. Just thinking about the endless possibilities awaiting us makes me jump with eagerness and I suppose that is what is keeping me from sleeping. At the same time, I'm a bit skeptical about our new plans. As much as there's a pull that tells me to go out there and explore there is also another pull that tells me to stay. Luckily the pull to leave is much greater than the latter.
Looking over at Lucy, I watch her gentle smile as she breathes evenly, possibly having a good dream. I take her in memorizing every inch of her just like I do whenever she sleeps or whenever she's deep into a new book. I enjoy tracing the small frown lines that form between her eyebrows whenever she's deep in thought or poking the small dimple she has when she smiles wide. The golden glow she gives off when she's happy has always made the darkest day's shine brighter than the sun that has always lit our life.
Feeling the familiar warmth blossom in my chest I smile as I brush her bangs away from her face before planting a small kiss on her forehead. Her smile widens as she snuggles closer to me while giving a content sigh.
What would I ever do without this beautiful woman by my side?
"Watch out!" I jump out of the way just as Mavis bolts right by with a wide smile on her face. I almost lose my balance as I try to keep the basket in my hand from falling. Unfortunately, the beast chasing Mavis blunders by pushing me down, and by beast I mean Gajeel.
"Get back here!" The giant oaf yells as he chases down the running girl who easily evades his swiping hand, "I'll show you not to mess with me!"
"Gajeel!" Levy yells while chasing after her partner who is still furiously trying to catch my escaping daughter.
Standing up and rubbing my back from where I fell, I notice Makarov standing next to me with his arms crossed and his face set in a deep frown. He's watching the others run around without much interest and from what I can tell he had nothing to do with whatever incident just happened. Mavis probably started a fight with Gajeel without telling Makarov.
"What did she do this time," I ask and he only shrugs while continuing to watch Gajeel make a fool of himself as Mavis throws a bola at his feet tripping the older male. She laughs as she gets away while heading towards us with the widest smile on her face.
Hearing Gajeel yell behind her, she turns to see if she's being chased and doesn't notice Makarov hold out his arm. Mavis crashes into Makarov's extended arm causing her to fall backwards with a loud 'oomph' escaping her mouth. Large green eyes stare stunned at the sky above her before turning to her brother as a look of betrayal overtakes her expression.
"M-Maky, why?" she gasps almost on the verge of tears making me extremely worried as to what happened between the two of them.
"Why?" he asks while looking down at his fallen sister with anger burning in his eyes like a wild fire, "You put a dead snake in my bed last night Mavis!" Makarov yells while throwing something that I hadn't even noticed was in his hand before.
Sitting up, Mavis looks at the dried up snake hide without looking up at her brother while also not denying the act she's being accused of, "I'm sorry," she simply murmurs as she finally looks up with pleading wide eyes. The very eyes that deny me from every saying no to her these days as well as Makarov.
Looking away, Makarov grumbles something under his breath and from the sweat building up on the side of his temple I can tell that he's slowly starting to crack. Peeking over at Mavis is the worst mistake Makarov does because one look of his sister's tearful eyes has his anger disappearing into the warm air around us. It's when Makarov sighs in defeat that Mavis knows she has won.
"Come on you two, we're leaving soon," I say as I pick up my basket and tie it to the back of one of the horses we've come to tame as our own along out journey.
Makarov helps Mavis up and leads her to follow behind me as Mavis swings both of their hands happily between each other. As I watch them from the corner of my eye I notice how much taller they've gotten since we all started this journey. When we had left our old home in the forest they were both no more than just a bit above my waist and now Makarov has started to almost reach my shoulder. Soon they'll both be around mine and Lucy's height and they'll come to the age where they get to choose their own partners. That is if we ever find other groups of people on this strange journey.
"Do you think there'll be people as big as trees? Or animals with more than four feet? Or, or animals that look just like us?" Mavis gasps as she stops Makarov and shakes him wildly, "What if we reach the end of the world and fall down a deep black hole?" she asks with wide foreboding eyes that makes Makarov cringe in fear.
"Mavis, leave your brother alone," Lucy sigh as she catches up with us and walks beside her energetic children.
"End of the world?" Makarov then asks looking up at me with worry, "Does it really exist?"
"Who knows," I say as I pat his shoulder, "I've never been there before so I guess it's something we'll find out." This does little to no help in calming the young boy who only clutches onto his sister's hand tightly while also trying to look brave with little success.
Looking up, I follow one of the large white clouds floating by in the same direction that we are headed in. The sound of the several horse's hooves that we have travelling with us fills the air along with the soft chattering of the others still walking with us. From somewhere behind us I can hear Gajeel grumbling something about Mavis and Levy telling him that he was dumb for letting a small girl get the better of him. It wouldn't be the first time Mavis or Makarov have angered the giant brute.
A lot of the people from our group say that both Mavis and Makarov act more like me than Lucy. In fact, I'd have to agree, especially when both children are always getting into trouble and making a lot of the other males pick fights, especially Mavis. There's also the fact that both children tend to spend more time with me than with Lucy. Lucy even admits at times that she feels lonely when both children always go on hunting trips with me or the other males.
It's quite strange for me since both Happy and Sol had always previously spent more time with Lucy. Being their mother it made more sense for them to like her more seeming as she had carried them within her for a long time and even nurtured them until they could walk on their own. Either way I cherish the time that I have with my children. Who knows how long it'll be before they too leave us like the others…
"Mavis?" I hear Makarov ask beside me as I notice how quiet it's gotten.
I look over at both children to notice that Mavis has indeed stopped talking. Something that is very rare for the usually talkative girl.
Her eyes look distant as they watch something in front of her and I turn to see what might have gotten her attention. Walking not too far away from us are the children of some of the other adults in the tribe. They're walking similar to Makarov and Mavis with their hands interlocked, but unlike the twin siblings there is a more romantic feel to their small gesture.
Both of them seem to be in their own little circle as they talk between each other too far for any of us to hear. The girl with blue hair and eyes like Juvia smiles as the boy with red hair and brown eyes gives her a look that is familiar to anyone old enough to understand that he adores the girl.
"Ah, the blooming season is almost at its peak," Lucy sighs while bending down and picking a small yellow flower from the grass surrounding us.
She twirls the flower between her fingers before turning and smiling at me to which I smile back. Mavis watches our silent exchange with a frown on her face before looking away and staring off towards nothing this time.
"What's blooming season?" Makarov asks, his curious dark eyes similar to mine watching me as he waits for an answer.
"It's the time when the males and females are old enough to choose their partners," I say as we keep walking forward behind the others still walking in front of us.
"Partners?" Makarov asks seeming to not fully understand what we mean, "Do you mean like you and mom?"
"Yes, partners like me and your mom are. Thinking of it now it won't be too long before you two get to choose your own partners."
"I won't choose a partner," Mavis immediately says while clutching her brother's hand tightly as she looks at me with a deep seriousness set in her eyes, much like the stubborn look her mother sometimes gives me.
We're all shocked into silence over Mavis's statement as we stare down at her. Even Makarov is surprised as he looks over at his younger sister whose serious face shows that this isn't just one of her silly jokes.
What could have brought this on?
"So you'll be alone?" Lucy asks, worry evident in her expression as she places a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"No, I'll have Maky with me," Mavis states as she holds her brother's arm lovingly, "The only men I need in my life are Maky and you dad," she says with a determined nod and an air of assurance that could be compared to that of Erza, "I won't fall in love, that is a promise."
Before Lucy can ask her why Mavis grabs Makarov's hand and drags him away while laughing and saying that he can't catch her. Lucy looks at them clearly confused to what her daughter just said not understanding what the young girl could have meant by that.
I look back at the couple still walking ahead of us as I stare at the boy who Mavis had been looking at earlier. His name is Korver and he is the son of Erza's and Jellal's daughter and the son of Gray's and Juvia's son. He was born sometime before Makarov and Mavis and had been very close to the twins, especially Mavis until he grew of age and chose his current partner Vila to live his days with.
Deep down I understand why Mavis had looked so down when watching them and why she suddenly said that she would not fall in love. Perhaps she might have already chosen someone that was already taken. Thinking of it now ever since Korver chose Vila she's avoided the older boy and spent even more time with Makarov and myself than usual. It could also be a reason as to why Mavis is always causing more trouble than usual.
"Natsu…" I look over at Lucy who has moved next to me. She looks at me worried and a bit understanding on what may be going on. She probably saw me looking over at the happy pair in front of us and realized what might be happening with Mavis.
"Don't worry, this will pass," I say as I grab her hand and squeezing it reassuringly, "But I'll go talk to her just in case."
Lucy nods as I let her lead the horse I was walking with as I make my way towards where my children had run off to. The last I saw of them they had run towards a hill that wasn't all too far from the line of our tribe still walking.
Eventually I catch up to Makarov who watches his sister wave at him from halfway up the hill as he pants from running around, "If she keeps running she'll eventually fall," Makarov says with a heavy sigh, "And she wants me to go after her like always."
"Don't worry, I'll go get her," I say as I make my way up the hill as Mavis laughs while turning and running further up the steep hill.
I can hear her laughter ring in the air surrounding me as I quickly start to catch up to her. Just as I reach the top of the hill I notice that Mavis isn't laughing anymore. In fact, the air seems kind of quiet other than the occasional bird song here and there as well as the wind blowing softly around me. I look over at Mavis who is staring at something with wide eyes as she tries to slow down her breathing after running so much.
Following her gaze, I look over towards a small figure not too far away with dark eyes staring back at Mavis from behind a bush. Its dark eyes blink a few times mirroring the girl's apparent surprise before the figure stands up revealing a boy just a bit older than Makarov. He has short black hair much darker than that of Gajeel and eyes almost as dark as my own. His skin color is as pale as Juvia's as well as a similar somber expression. This was a boy we've never seen before. He is proof that there are others out there other than ourselves.
Looking over at Mavis I remember seeing her eyes follow the boy with a curious fascination. The sadness that she had possessed earlier was completely forgotten and in that silent moment, a moment in which we discovered someone new, I witnessed the beginning of something I could only hope to be good.
{Cuz I don't know where its goin'
There's a part of me that loves not knowin'
Just don't let it end before we begin
You never know when you're gonna meet someone
And your whole wide world in a moment comes undone}
- Start of something good - Daughtry
I know I know, the update for this chapter has been overdue for a long time now. I had finals to worry about at the time as well as a few other things that I needed to take care of. Plus I had to get the will to get my lazy bum off of the couch and write, but my laziness helped me brainstorm for more ideas for all three of my stories and so I am finally back and on vacation so I have so much more time to write and update!
Another two reasons for not updating (other than being lazy) would be 1) that I haven't been home much by going out of town for a few days to go to a concert and 2) I'm a bit depressed due to the recent chapters on Fairy Tail. I won't spoil anything, but just know that it's heartbreaking.
On another note, how are your guys's summer going so far? Have you been extremely busy like me or are you actually enjoying a relaxing rest? Drop me a review if you have the chance.
Shout Outs
Great amazing thanks to my Fantastic Favorite...
- KtKatana
To my Fabulous Followers...
- SunflowerChrysalis
- KtKatana
- LucyHeartfilia125
And to my Fantabulous Reviewers...
- Splendora Faye = When I was thinking up of who I could make up as twins I immediately pictured Makarov and Mavis together because I enjoy the connection that they have both in the manga and the anime. Zeref barely comes out in this chapter but he will be a bit of a dominant character for the remainder of this part of the story and he might or might not pop out later on. Who knows? Also I'm uber sorry being so late with this chapter.
- Yuyui Hime =I'm happy to hear that you're excited about Mavis and Makarov. More Nalu is on the way as well!
- SunflowerChrysalis = Thanks for all the reviews. I'm really glad to hear that you're enjoying my story. I'm sorry that this chapter is so overdue but hopefully you enjoyed it as much as the others.
Well that's all the shout outs for today
If you are enjoying my story so far please follow, favorite, and review - remember, reviews are a writers candy - and if you have any questions or ideas you'd like to see put into this story you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it in.
Until next time my lovelies.