The Fate of the Four Elements

Chapter Eight: Train and Run

I think I'd finally gotten them off of my trail. It had been a few days, and every time I'd try to get some training in, they'd found me. After I left that night, Natsu, Poppy, Happy and Lucy had all come after me. I'm not sure what their plan was, because it's not like if they caught me I'd just willingly go with them. Thankfully we hadn't run into that problem yet, because they had yet to catch me. It had happened in a small town a days trip from Magnolia. I'd bought a cheap, dark cloak that could cover my hair and face. I came out of the shop to see them searching for me, so I quickly put my hood up and slipped into the shadows of an alleyway by the shop. I don't think they saw me, and the crowd had hopefully blocked my scent, so I'm assuming they continued on. I decided to stay in the town, since it was small and there was a large forest nearby that I could train at. I'd also heard some townspeople asking around for anyone that could perform magic because they had jobs that needed to be done, so I could make some money too. I hadn't seen any of them for a full 24 hours, so I assumed the coast was clear. I slipped out of the village, making my way to the forest. After I got into the forest, I immediately looked for some sort of pond, river or waterfall.
"I feel disgusting." I mumbled to myself, listening for any sound to indicate there was a source of water somewhere nearby. I hadn't showered in around 3 days, due to my constant chase. It was totally different being chased by your friends, because you couldn't do anything other than run. You couldn't fight back, or yell at them, or anything like that. I was barely able to stop and wash myself 3 days ago when I stumbled upon a lake. I suddenly heard what sounded like water, and bounded off in the direction I heard it. I finally stumbled into a clearing to find a small waterfall that fell into a pond. I sighed in relief, quickly stripped, and got in. I dunked my head under, enjoying the cold sensation that enveloped it. I was definitely staying here awhile.

~~

It's been a few months, almost 7, and it was actually going pretty well. It was autumn now, so the leaves had begun to change color and break off from the trees. I'd done a few jobs in the village, but I'd been refusing to give my name and I always tried my best to hide my features, whether that be with sunglasses, a hood, or a bandana around the bottom of my face. I'd mostly gone with the hood, even though they could see my hair. I'd made a good amount of money off of all the small jobs they had, and I'd gotten to train a lot. I hadn't gotten very far with my fire dragon slayer magic though, because I didn't know how to summon it. I couldn't recall the memories that showed me that. The one time I'd used it against the dark guild was something that had happened in a fit of anger. I couldn't even remember what dragon slayer spell I'd called out. I walked out of the village after collecting money from a job I'd done for a rather old woman. She'd wanted me to move around the books in her shop using my air magic, because she was too old to get up to the higher ones without risk of hurting herself. I'd only earned 2,000 jewel, but that's alright. It would hopefully get me some sort of dinner tonight and pay for whatever I ate tomorrow.
"How can I relearn dragon slayer magic if I don't know anything about the spells?" I said to myself, frustrated. Then an idea dawned on me.
"That old lady could have books on dragon slayer magic!" I said excitedly, turning on my heels, I ran back to the book shop.
"Excuse me?" I said, entering the shop, "is it possible that you have any books on dragon slayer magic?"
"I might," she put a finger to her chin, looking up at the countless shelves in front of us, "you could look in the magic isle. I know I had some at one point, but someone could've bought them." She pointed me to where the isle was.
"Okay I'll look, thank you!" I swiftly walked over to the magic isle, which was located in the far corner of the small shop. There weren't many books, but I found a small, notebook looking one that had some different dragon slayer spells in it. I hugged it close to me as I jumped up and down a little. My happiness was short lived, as I heard a small, high pitched voice come through the door.
"Why are we at a book store instead of a restaurant?" I heard the voice say, whining a little.
"Because, you stupid cat, we have to get information on dragon slayers for Levy, and this is the last place on our list that could have any books on that." I heard a female voice snap.
"I agree with Happy," I heard another male voice say, "I'm starving."
"Well I agree with Lucy," I heard a small, high pitched voice say, "do you guys want to find out more about Rini or not?" I put the hand that wasn't holding the book over my mouth, stifling any noise I made as tears started to prick my eyes. I forced them back, knowing that I shouldn't even be on the verge of crying. I knew the voices right away, along with their scent (enhanced dragon senses, remember?) and someone saying Happy and Lucy's name just verified my suspicions. It was Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and worst of all, Poppy.
"Oh, you're looking for dragon slayer magic books? I just had a kind girl come in looking for them a few minutes ago." I heard the old woman say, as my heart dropped.
"Really? What did she look like?" I heard Poppy ask. I froze, realizing I was basically cornered. I started weaving my way through the bookshelves, hoping to get around them. The counter was positioned in the middle of the front of the store, so if she sent them back to the corner where I was, I could make it to the counter, and then to the door, which was located on the corner to the left of the counter.
"Oh, she had blonde hair, and her hood was up so I couldn't see any other features." The lady said, realizing only now that I had covered up most of my face on purpose.
"God dammit old lady." I thought to myself. I had to be as quiet as possible, or else they'd hear me and know where I was.
"Is she still here?" I heard Lucy say, getting rather excited.
"Shit." I thought, hoping this lady pointed them to where I was previously.
"Yes, she should be in the far right corner of the store, where all the magic books are." She said, and I heard their footsteps run to where I once was. I scarcely heard Natsu mutter something about it being my scent. Thankfully, I was already close to where the counter was, but I'd have to get out fast or else Natsu would be able to track my scent. If I could get into the crowd, my scent would be so mixed in with everyone else that he wouldn't be able to track me. I quickly walked up to her, setting the 2000 jewel she'd given me earlier on the table, putting a finger to my lips to tell her to be quiet. I knew 2000 jewel was way too much for such a small notebook, but I had no time to negotiate with her. I mouthed a small "thank you" and quickly rushed out of the door, into the afternoon rush. I heard them burst out of the door, calling my name, but I'd already escaped into the crowd. People were shoving, shouting, and moving all around me. I held my hood in place, trying to look up above the crowd to find an escape route. I saw an alley, that should at least be able to lead me away from them. As long as Natsu hadn't launched himself into the crowd after me, I should be fine. I silently slipped into the alleyway, breaking into a sprint in order to get to the forest. I picked up the pace, not even caring if they were chasing me or not.
"Those idiots don't know when to stop!" I screamed, running into the trees. I kept going until I got to the pond that I'd made my camp at.