Dragon's child

•Twelve•

A/N: So Laxus is actually the youngest dragonslayer?! For some reason, I find this extremely amusing.

"Come child. It's time to get up." Charla shook Wendy, who yawned. As the blue-haired girl trudged to the bathroom, Charla hesitated a moment in front of the open closet door. She knocked on the wall next to the doorframe and there was immediate movement in the corner. "Ryuchi, it's time to get up."

"Affirmative."

Charla then went to check on Wendy, who had a tendency to fall back asleep even while brushing her hair or teeth. "Okay, Ryuchi, the bathroom's -yawn- free..." Wendy held the door open as the little blond form skittered in. Ever since Saber's visit a few weeks ago, this had become their morning routine. Charla would rise early as always and get ready before waking the girls up. By the time Wendy was done in the bathroom, Ryuchi would already be dressed and have her hair brushed. Wendy or Charla would style the blond's hair for the day and they would leave for the guild.

Waking Ryuchi was somewhat of a delicate task. Ever since her arrival, she had scorned the idea of a bed and preferred the veritable nest of blankets she made in the closet. Unlike Wendy, who was dead to the world and difficult to wake up, Ryuchi was instantly alert if someone called her name. After a few days of dodging shadow attacks, Charla learned to simply knock on the door, as that more than sufficed to wake her up.

"Are you excited Ryuchi?" Wendy asked, pulling the blond hair into cute little buns. "Your first Fairy Tail mission!"

Ryuchi nodded. "Are you sure I'm allowed to accompany you, though?"

"Of course~! Erza's word is as good as law."

"Hmmm..."

**************

"Finally we arrived!" Lucy sighed happily.

"That was quite a long train ride." Juvia stretched.

"So even you get motion sickness." Wendy said sympathetically, holding Ryuchi's hand as she staggered off the train.

"Do you need to be healed?" Erza asked.

Ryuchi shook her head. "No. Compared to what the other dragonslayers experience, this is quite mild. It'll pass in a few minutes."

"So what are we here for again?" Charla's asked, flicking her tail.

Erza pulled the request out of her armor and unrolled it. "A monster has been kidnapping young women and girls from the towns in this area and dragging them off into the mountains. The village leaders suspect that they are being dragged to the Sun Temple."

"The Sun Temple?" Juvia asked.

"Yes. It was a temple build by an ancient female-only guild called the Sun Warriors. Though they're long gone now, the protective spells still remain. Only women are able to see the path up the mountain and only the strongest can actually reach the Temple. Since there are so few women left in the villages, they have no way of rescuing the girls." Erza explained, pocketing the request once more.

"Ooh!" Wendy exclaimed, fascinated. "An ancient girl guild huh? Kinda like Mermaid Heel!"

"I take it that's why we've left the destructive idiots behind?" Charla snorted.

"Poor Gray-sama, he must be so lonely without Juvia by his side!" Juvia squealed.

"Shouldn't we get going?" Ryuchi fidgeted.

**************

"Finally! Found the path!" Lucy sighed. It had taken almost three hours to decipher the clues written on the parchment the client had given them and then find the actual entrance, which was now looming over the group. It certainly looked foreboding. The archway may have looked impressive in its heyday, but it was dilapidated now and was overgrown with vines and thorny bushes. They walked through and up the mountain path. The air seemed unnaturally still and the heaviness weighed down on the normally talkative women. They came to a plateau, with collapsed huts on either side and faintly glowing runes on the rock walls. Lucy hesitantly brushed moss and vines away from one section. "It's...I think this part is an old protection spell, the other part seems to be...something about initiates, I can't read it..."