Chapter 10

Ren64- Yes, Porlyusica will be mentioned later.

Naestra

"Alright, this is awesome!" Yelled Natsu as he was running around the grass of a park he, Diederick, and Gray decided to visit so they can have some fun. Right now, Natsu was running around, laughing out loud as he did whatever he wanted. Anything not related to magic of course.

Gray and Diederick, meanwhile, were simply basking in the shade of a tree, enjoying the fresh air and the company of each other. All of this done under the watch of Naestra, who was sitting near a tree, watching them all intently, but with affection in her eyes.

It pleased the dark-haired maiden that her son was making friends with people. A tiny bit of her, much as she disliked to admit it, was worried that her son would be terrible in making friends on account of his lineage. That his demon lineage would cause troubles for him. But she was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong.

From what she could see, he made fast friends with this Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster. Even though she was wary of both boys on account of their recklessness, she was happy that Diederick made friends with them. She was also beyond pleased to see that there was more to the two Fairy Tail boys than just their recklessness.

Natsu, despite being the rowdier of the two, was a boy that would do anything to make sure that his friends were happy. Proof of that was how he did whatever he can to make Diederick happy. Some would call it trying to appease her and Arahan, but Naestra saw that Natsu really did wish to become friends with her son and so did Gray Fullbuster. Not out of selfish desires, but because he thought he and her son would become good friends. And that was something that Naestra wanted for Diederick.

Gray Fullbuster was the more aloof of the two, adopting a calm and carefree attitude when he wasn't destroying anything, but also possessed the same friendly attitude of Natsu. Just was a tad more cold-hearted. And that suited Naestra fine. As long as he's a good friend for her son and doesn't get him into trouble, then she is fine with him.

Smiling a bit as Natsu went over to Gray and Diederick, Naestra decided that it was time for them to have a lunch break. Breaking out the basket that she brought with her, containing food of all kinds, she walked to the three boys before Natsu and Gray fought.

"I think it's time for you all to receive your refreshments. You all have been quite active since coming here." Said Naestra as she sat down with the three boys before bringing out what she had brought. Being over thousands of years old and interested in a great many things beyond warfare, Naestra had plenty of time to learn various elven cuisines. Cuisines that she knew were delicious to the tastes of men, even with their diverse sets of tastes. Though she was not as skilled in the art of cooking as the elves of Athel Loren who spent their entire lives honing their skills in such a craft, she was competent enough to create adequate versions of the food back at Athel Loren.

Bringing out several bowls of bread and vegetables as well as some preserved cheese, Naestra watched as the boys dug in.

"Oh, man." Said Natsu as he chewed on some of the food she brought with her. "This stuff is really good, lady. Never thought all this stuff would taste so good without meat to go with it. You sure know how to make food delicious, girl." Though slightly annoyed with his lack of respect, Naestra was happy that he liked her food.

"It is nothing, Natsu." Said Naestra as she watched everyone eat. "It's not hard to do something correct with simple vegetables, bread, and cheese. If anything, it would be a miracle for one to make these items bad in anything."

"Yeah, but this stuff is really good." Said Gray in slight surprise as he tasted some bread. "I tasted some good bread before, but this stuff takes the cake. How did you manage to make these things so good?"

"That is a personal secret of mine. However, I must confess, the ingredients to recreate these meals you're enjoying are lost to me." Said Naestra. It was true, the fine and quality ingredients of Athel Loren were nowhere to be found here. Athel Loren was a magical place, filled with magic that affected everything in it, including the items that the Asrai eat. Sometimes it would create items of great power that will even kill those that consume said items. Fortunately, such items were rare and the Asrai can eat most of the bountiful food of Athel Loren without much worry.

Such items were what she had brought with her on this day for the children and it pleased her that they enjoyed them for what they were. It also saddened her that there was only a finite supply of such items with them and that the day will come that they'll no longer be able to eat anything from Athel Loren. Not that she was adverse to eating from foods in this world, but because it was one less thing that can remind her of her old home.

However, looking at her son and his new friends enjoying the foods she's provided made her happy, satisfied that the food isn't going to waste. She'll have to figure out how to make the elven recipes she knows with ingredients from this world or even take up some recipes from this world in order to better blend in. Arahan will not like it, but it was necessary if they wish to live here.

It only took a few more minutes before everyone was done eating. As he downed the last of his water, Gray spoke to Naestra.

"Thanks for letting us hang out with your son, ma'am." Said Gray as he looked at Naestra, who smiled at him. "I'm sorry for putting him in harm's way. It's just that Natsu and I get a little carried away with our fights."

"More than a little." Thought Naestra. Still, she refrained from speaking that comment. "Then, if I may ask, why do you two fight with each other so much and cause so much destruction as a result?"

"Well, we just can't stand each other. That's all." Said Gray as he started to strip off his clothing, something that Naestra noticed. "Natsu can be just so irritating at times. Actually, all the time. What with his loud voice and constantly wants to pick fights with people. It's irritating. Plus, it doesn't help he doesn't know when to give people some space." Upon hearing all that, Natsu glared at Gray.

"You want to say to my face, ice-breath!" Yelled Natsu as he spat out flames. Gray, taking up that challenge, was about to do so when Naestra got between them.

"Please don't fight." Said Naestra as she held both boys in place. "You two promised to never fight today. You don't want your master to hear that you broke that promise, correct?" Upon hearing that question, the boys thought of what Makarov would do to them and paled considerably. With that, the two stopped their fighting. Once they did, Gray spoke up again.

"Anyway." Said Gray. "That's the gist of it. He either angers me or I anger him and things go down from there as we try to beat each other to either shut the other up or to prove ourselves better than the other."

"So, it's a manner of pride?" Asked Naestra as she looked at Gray with her hooded face. Something that confused both Natsu and Gray. Did she and her sister just love wearing them or something?

"I guess you can say that." Said Gray with a rub of his head. "And, as you know, it tends to lead to quite a big mess."

"Indeed." Agreed Naestra. "If you truly fight for a matter of pride, then perhaps your guild can construct some sort of building where you both can fight with each other without worry of destroying things that don't belong to your guild. Wouldn't that be a worthy investment for your guild?"

"Well, we tried that." Said Gray. "Didn't work out well. Was just a waste of money in the end."

"Oh." Said Naestra, slightly disappointed. "Well, then I can only say that you two must practice restraint and discipline. I know that both of you are still children and growing, but that is no excuse for you two to cause so much destruction for other people. Those people work hard to feed themselves and their families, young ones. You have, and I know this is harsh, but it must be said, to damage their livelihoods with your recklessness." Natsu wanted to argue with her, but he just sighed.

"We know." Said Natsu with genuine shame. "But it's hard to not give all you got when the other guy can take it. Right?"

"Even still." Said Naestra. "People are not going to be as understanding as me. Especially if you continue to do acts like you did yesterday." Both Gray and Natsu groaned at that but nodded in understanding.

"Still, don't you think it would be better for everyone if you guys weren't so destructive?" Asked Diederick as he finally spoke up. "I mean wouldn't it be good bragging rights if you beat the other with no magic on hand." Both Gray and Natsu thought about it before eventually speaking.

"Nah." Said Natsu. "Plus using magic is just way too much fine and it gets the blood pumping. Yeah." Naestra shook her head at that, disappointed at the answer, before speaking.

"Well, can you least promise me that you two will try to keep your damage to a minimum? Not only would it be a joy for your master if you two cause little to no damage, but it'll be a welcome thing for the people of this town." Said Naestra.

"We'll try, Miss, but no promise." Said Gray, causing Naestra to sigh again.

"Well, if that is all I can get out of you both, then I suppose that will suffice." Said Naestra before seeing that the boys have finished. "If you are all done with your food, go out and play with each other. We only have a few more hours before I have to take you back to the Guild Hall." The three boys nodded at that before taking off, baring Gray, who just decided to relax in the shade. Smiling as her son was having fun with Natsu, Naestra wondered how much different things would have been having he changed in their birth world, where the Chaos Gods would do everything in their power to turn him into their greatest champion to date. Just imagining Diederick becoming a dark armored warrior of Chaos was enough to keep Naestra up at night. Heart beating, Naestra prayed that the Chaos Gods will leave them alone and never find them. However, she knew that, deep down, they will stop at nothing to find them and when they do, darkness will befall on this world. A darkness that has no right to exist, but does.

Closing her eyes, Naestra wondered if her sister and she should indulge themselves and try to find a job in this world. If they were going to stay in this world, then it wouldn't hurt for them to take a few more steps and employ themselves for currency. Though she, like most elves, like to barter what she needed or wanted, she knew that it would be best if they have some currency of this nation she and her family was in. If not because of emergencies, then because of Diederick and the need to pay for his school. Though they had plenty of gold and silver to last them a long time if they're careful, she knew that it wouldn't hurt to have some of this nation's money around just in case. Besides, Arahan was complaining to her of having nothing to do in the peaceful forest they were in. Perhaps a job can help alleviate her boredom.

Ears twitching, Naestra wondered if the guild master of Fairy Tail will give her and her sister a job or at least help them find one. He was a kind man, perhaps he would be willing to help them out?

Thinking about while watching her son play, Naestra thought up a way to convince Makarov to help her and her sister in finding a source of income for their family. And also have someone look after Diederick while they're away.

So, two questions. First, how does the idea of having the Sisters of Twilight be members of Fairy Tail or at the very least be mercenaries for hire sound to people? 2nd question. Has there ever been any mention of elves or Dwarves in the Fairy Tail franchise?