Dawn of Adventure {Book One of The Paths We've Traveled}

Chapter Two: New Lands

"Dry, not moving land! Oh thank God!" Throwing himself off the ship, Natsu began kissing the earth, worshiping the solid ground. Wendy stumbled after him, moaning as her stomach stopped heaving for the first time in over a month. Carla scoffed, soaring overhead to land in front of the Dragon Slayers.

"Please try and behave yourselves! I would rather not make an utter fool of ourselves the first time we come to Benos!" Neither Dragon Slayer took heed of the Exceed however, and continued to praise the dry land.

"Oh, let them be Carla. I'm sure we're all glad they're done with their moaning," Lucy commented as she ran down the gangplank, arms outstretched for balance. Gray rolled his eyes as he followed, trying to avoid Erza roping him into helping her with her mound of luggage. "Besides, we aren't even in Benos yet. Benos is landlocked, so right now, we're in Coracre so we can take a train or something to Benos." Before she could say more, Happy flew through the air and clamped his paws over Lucy's mouth, preventing her from saying any more.

"Shush! Don't let Natsu hear you!"

"Gross! Get your paws off of me, stupid cat!" Lucy flinched, flailing her arms and trying to drag Happy away.

"Come now Lucy, please try and act your age for once." Erza appeared on the deck of the ship, her giant wagon of suitcases towering behind her. The scarlet warrior was once again wearing her breastplate and gauntlets, navy blue skirt and black leather boots completing her everyday attire. And the glare she was sending Lucy only made her look all the more imposing. "Let's get a move on, the day is wasting away. We need to find some way to make it to Benos, and I would prefer to get there as soon as possible so we can get back to Magnolia, as soon as possible. Alright?"

Sheepishly, Wendy picked herself up off of the ground, letting her hair fall in front of her face. "Sorry Erza." Muttering something similar, Natsu also pushed himself to his feet, grabbing the discarded backpack from the ground beside him.

"Now that everyone is ready, let's see if we can find the fastest way to Benos." Erza clapped her hands together before grabbing her wagon and cautiously pulling it down the gangplank, a look of immense concentration crossing her features.

"Aww, can't we get food first? I'm starving!" Natsu whined, clutching his stomach in an over-exaggerated motion. Erza started to argue against him, but her words were interrupted by a loud grumbling emulating from her stomach. With a fierce blush marring her features, she conceded the point.

"I suppose a quick lunch break wouldn't hurt." Laughing, Wendy pulled ahead of the group in search of a perfect spot to eat, Carla flying above her.

"Oh, can we stop at a bookstore? We know so little about these countries, and I want to know everything!" Lucy hugged a journal to her chest, looking at the foreign place with wide-eyes. Natsu snorted, rolling his eyes at the teenager next to him.

"Oh come on Lucy! We're in a new country for the first time, and you want to go to a bookstore? God Lucy, you're so boring."

"Excuse me! How many times has my background knowledge saved us? More times than you can count, so can it, Flame-head!" Lucy huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at the Dragon Slayer. After letting him feel her wrath for several more seconds, she returned her attention to the gorgeous new scenery around them. "Can you blame me for wanting to learn more about someplace we've never been before? What if there's like a tradition or custom that is like super serious, and since we were ignorant and didn't learn, we make total fools of ourselves?! Trust me, I'm doing all of us a favor."

"Yeah, whatever," Natsu grumbled, putting his hands behind his head and relaxing. "Yo, Wendy, see any place good yet?" When the young girl responded in the negative, Natsu grumbled again and tried hard to think of anything but the lunch and train-ride awaiting them. Just thinking of another vehicle, sitting on it for hours...