Chapter 4

Lucy had woken up early that day. This surprised her due to the late nights she'd been having. It had been a few days since she'd helped Natsu and Gray save that rich politician. Lately, her father had been in a bad mood so Lucy had been trying to escape the house as much as she could to give him space. Well, that wasn't the only reason. She had a strange fear that if she were still in the house, he might just decide to blame her for his failure (which was technically true even if he had no idea) and then she would be… well probably dead. So she'd been leaving the house and wandering the city, sometimes shopping, sometimes just walking.

Today was no different. She was walking the streets aimlessly trying to think of a place to go. She didn't realize it until she got there, but her aimless walking had brought her to the house of the man she'd helped save. She stood on the sidewalk and stared at the house. One of the windows had its curtains drawn back and Lucy could see the man rolling around on the carpet tossing a laughing little boy up and down. The man's smile was almost as wide as his child's as he tossed and caught him. Lucy watched the scene and noticed a woman come in and, seeing the scene in front of her, burst into gales of laughter.

"They look happy don't they?" a voice to her left said. Lucy's heart jumped into her throat and she could have screamed if a tiny part of her brain hadn't recognized the voice. "Geez Natsu! You scared me!" she said, smacking him on the shoulder. "Ow! Sorry Luce I thought you saw me walk up." He said. They stood there in silence, watching the house. "What are you doing Natsu? I told you we can't be seen together." She said quietly. To anyone passing by, they were just two people staring at a house… which is still creepy and suspicious but neither one of them was thinking about that. "I know. But I told my guild about you and they want to meet you." He said. Lucy's eyes widened and she turned to him. "I can't do that Natsu! I can't put everyone in danger like that!" she exclaimed. He turned to face her as well. "I know! You can't be seen with us. But that only applies to the city right?" he asked. Lucy brought one hand up to cover her mouth. He didn't… but his wide grin told her he did. "C'mon!" he said, grabbing her other hand and proceeding to drag her with him.

Lucy couldn't help but notice how warm his hand was. And even though she knew they'd been spotted running out of the city by a few people, she found herself not caring. She'd never been allowed to meet new people unless her father approved of them and even then… none of them were her age. She'd been lonely for so long… it was past time for her to make some friends her own age… and who weren't her spirits. She almost crashed into Natsu's back when he stopped running and dropped her hand. "We're here." He announced. She peeked out from behind him and gasped. There was quite the crowd waiting for her. "Everyone! This is Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed. Lucy waved shyly at all of them. "Is this the entire guild Natsu?!" she asked. He just laughed. "No! There's a whole lot more than this! This is just the welcoming party!"

A blunette made her way out from the crowd and walked up to Lucy. Grasping her hands she smiled shyly and said, "My name's Levy McGarden. It's really nice to meet you Lucy." Lucy blushed a bit and gave Levy a small smile. "It's nice to meet you too Levy. " she said. Levy's smile grew and she tugged gently on Lucy's hands. "Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone!" she offered. Lucy nodded and followed Levy. Then the party truly started. Blankets were spread and food was laid out. Guild members would drift over to the group of girls surrounding Lucy and talk to her before drifting away again to play games. Lucy was laughing with the girls, looking as carefree as a feather blown by the wind. Natsu heard her laugh ring out across the meadow and looked over at the group she was with. She appeared to be laughing at something Mira or Lisanna had done. He was glad his plan had worked.

After a while, things started to calm down as some went to sleep in the afternoon sunlight. Lucy got up and sat under a tree by herself. She watched various members of the guild interact. Mirajane and her sister Lisanna were talking quietly about something, their brother Elfman sitting close by. Wendy and her flying, talking cat Charle were asleep on a blanket. Gray and Natsu were fighting off near the forest which Mira told her was actually normal. Gray had somehow lost his shirt and pants along the way. Happy was cheering Natsu on from a tree branch. Erza was heading over their way which didn't bode well for the pair. Erza was scary but Lucy knew she had a soft side. Anyone who eats that much cake must have a soft side. Levy had her nose buried in a book. Lucy smiled at that. Levy loved to read and so did she. If her situation were different, she would have offered to let Levy read books from her father's exstensive library but… she knew she couldn't do that. Dispite that, Levy and Lucy were getting along very well. Looking around the clearing once again, Lucy noticed that the only person she hadn't spotted was the master of the guild, Makarov.

"They're a rowdy bunch aren't they?" a rough voice said next to her. For the second time that day, Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin. "Do you people make a habit of coming up next to people unseen?!" she demanded, looking over at the tiny old man beside her. Makarov laughed. "My apologies Lucy!" he said. She shrugged and scooted over, giving him room to sit beside her. They were quiet for a minute before Makarov spoke again. "Do you want to know what kind of magic everyone uses?" he asked her. She turned to him and nodded. "I knew they all used magic but I didn't know if it would be rude to ask them what kind of magic they used." She admitted. Makarov leaned back against the tree and folded his arms around his head. "Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer. His magic is a lost art. I don't know if he told you but he was raised by a dragon named Igneel." He began. Lucy's eyes widened at this and she shook her head. "Well, I'll let him tell you about all that." Makarov said. Then he continued, " Wendy is also a Dragon Slayer but her element is Sky. She too was raised by a dragon named Grandine. She is relatively new to the guild but she looks up to Natsu as a big brother since their magic is the same. Levy is a Solid Script mage. This means she can write words and her words turn into themselves. So if she were to write the word 'iron' it would become a block of solid iron. She is also very good at translating old text." Makarov said as he looked at the young blunette with her nose in a book.

"Mira and Lisanna are take over mages, along with their brother Elfman who seems to have tagged along on this trip. Mira possesses Satan Soul which turns her into a demon. Lisanna turns into animals and Elfman has Beast Soul which turns him into a beast. Gray is an Ice Make mage. He basically just uses ice magic to forge weapons he uses for battle. Erza is our strongest female mage and she is called Titania. She uses Requip magic. She can requip into different armor or call forth different swords from the space around her." Makarov continued. Lucy now understood why Erza seemed so scary. She was always wearing armor but if she was the strongest girl in the guild… and Natsu was so strong himself yet he was afraid of her. She glanced back at Makarov, waiting for him to continue. Eventually, he did. "Cana is a Card mage. She reads cards and uses them to predict the outcomes of events. You would do well not to scoff at her magic. She is rarely wrong. Romeo is also a Fire mage but he isn't a Dragon Slayer. He looks up to Natsu as an older brother as well." Makarov finished as he looked at the young boy sleeping near Wendy on a blanket.

Lucy took a moment to process all of the new information then turned her face towards Makarov. "What about you? What kind of magic do you have?" she asked. Then she blushed. "I mean, if you are alright with telling me!" she added. Makarov smiled kindly at her. "I posess the magic of a Fairy Tail master but I also have Titan magic. I can grow to be the size of a titan." He said. Then a serious expression settled on his face as he turned to face her. "I can sense a magical energy about you too Lucy. What kind of magic do you use?" he asked. Lucy knew he would know if she were lying. She looked up at the sky and paused for a moment before answering. "I'm a Celestial Spirit mage." Makarov's eyes widened slightly. "Just like your mother." He said.