The Fate of the Four Elements

Chapter Ten: My Real Home

3rd Person POV

Rini stretched her hands over her head, making sure to avoid knocking Poppy off of her head, as the five of them walked to where her camp was. They reached the forest, and she heard everyone suck in their breath as the four newcomers took in the wonderful, warm fall colors that greeted them. Everyone but the purple cat on her head were a few steps behind her, so Rini couldn't see their faces, but she could tell they all were in awe, or so she thought.
"Those look really tasty! Like chips and chocolate!"
"That's what I was gonna say, Happy!" Rini sweatdropped as she heard the two of them chattering about it behind her. Of course Natsu and Happy would think of food. Lucy proceeded to lecture them on how they should appreciate the view instead of thinking about their stomachs.
"Bakas." Rini mumbled while smiling to herself as she watched the leaves fall around them. She continued to lead them through the forest, admiring the multi colored trees. She smiled warmly as she held out a hand for an orange leaf to drift on to. Natsu looked away from a bickering Lucy and Happy to glance at the girl and her cat in front of them. His eyes widened as they landed on her. She seemed to be glowing, and not in any sort of magical way. She had a small smile playing on her lips as she studied an orange leaf, and proceeded to quietly show Poppy, who was sitting contentedly on top of her head. The leaves twirled around her, making her seem like she was one with this forest. Natsu uncontrollably smiled to himself, realizing that even though he'd only known her for a short time before she left, he could see that she'd grown. She was more powerful, and she seemed to radiate happiness. He was glad they'd finally found their friend, and they could finally bring her home to the family that she already seemed to be a part of, even though she'd only seen all of them for one day before leaving. Rini, unknowing to her silent watcher behind her, smiled even wider as they reached a clearing.
"We're here!" She said, running forward to the beautiful place she'd called her "house" for the past 7 months. She wouldn't consider it home, because it just didn't feel that way. So, it was her camp, or house.
"Isn't it beautiful?" She said, turning around with her arms stretched out and her eyes closed, as if she were presenting this place to them. She opened her eyes, still smiling, as Poppy flew off of her head to play in the water with Happy. "It's like they were siblings that were separated at birth." Rini thought to herself, smiling. She looked back at Lucy and Natsu. Lucy was still gaping, while Natsu was looking at her with a strange expression on his face. He was smiling, but it seemed like he didn't notice her movements. He was looking straight at her, but was lost in thought, so he didn't realize she was looking back at him until she cocked her head to the side in confusion. He blinked, and looked at Happy and Poppy playing in the water. He grinned, running over to them.
"Hey! Don't have too much fun without me in there!" He said as he did a canon ball into the pond. Rini giggled, completely forgetting about the strange look he had a few minutes ago. She walked over to Lucy, who had finally closed her mouth and was looking around in wonder.
"So this is where you've been living for the past 7 months?" Lucy said, her eyes forming hearts as they practically popped out of her head.
"Yup. I stumbled upon it when I was trying to find a place to take a bath," Rini said, smiling at Lucy's reaction to her campsite, "we should probably stay the night here, since it's going to be dark out soon, and everyone's enjoying it here already." She gestured over to the three playing in the water.
"I'd love that! This place seems so magical..." She trailed off, continuing to look around.
"You know you can go and explore," Rini said, her smile only growing brighter, "you don't just have to stay in the same spot."
"Really? Will you be able to handle those three?" She said, looking suspiciously at them.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go enjoy yourself."
"Thank you so much Rini! I'll be back before it gets dark." She ran off into the woods. Rini had been able to listen to the best of her ability for any signs of danger, and there were no suspicious smells coming from anywhere, so the coast was clear for Lucy to explore. Rini made a mental note to keep her nose sharp just in case, though. If she heard Lucy call out, or she caught any suspicious smells, she'd be there in less than a second, but right now things were fine, so she let herself rest a little. She gently laid down in the grass, looking up to see the sky beginning to change color as the sun set. She hadn't stopped smiling since they'd entered the forest, because now this place really did seem like home. Before it was just a beautiful place for her to eat, train and rest. Now, there were people that she cared for in it, so for this one last night she had here, it finally felt like home.

~~

Natsu, Poppy and Happy had spent the entire evening splashing in the water until the sun had finally set. Lucy came back, overwhelmed with the beauty of the forest. While everyone was experiencing what she had for 7 months, she's gone and got some logs she'd collected back when it had first started to get cold, mid September. It was currently October, and she was actually finishing off what she'd collected. Before they'd found her, she'd been planning to cut more up before it started to snow, but now she was using up the last of what she had, before leaving. Thankfully, they'd all packed blankets and such for their trip, so Rini didn't have to worry about supplying them with that. Poppy usually slept with Lucy while Happy slept with Natsu, but there was no doubt Poppy would be glued to Rini tonight. Even though Poppy wouldn't admit it, she was secretly terrified if she wasn't at Rini's side tonight, she'd wake up to find that Rini had disappeared again, leaving her alone. They all currently sat around the campfire that Rini had started with her Fire Dragon Slayer magic, despite Natsu's protests. Natsu had said Rini had already used too much of her magic power in that fight today, but Rini was too afraid that if she let Natsu try to light the fire, that he'd light the whole forest up. So, she'd insisted on lighting it, saying she was fine. She really was, because she'd rested for a little before getting the fire wood, and it's not like lighting her finger on fire would drain the last of her magic energy anyway. Lucy and Natsu sat on either side of Rini while Happy sat in Lucy's lap and Poppy sat in Rini's lap, even though there was plenty of room around the campfire for them all to sit apart. Little did Rini know, along with Poppy; Natsu, Lucy and even Happy all shared that same terrified feeling that Rini would disappear in the night if they didn't keep her close. Happy fell asleep in Lucy's lap, and Lucy soon fell asleep on Rini's shoulder, so Rini carefully put Poppy on her head, and Happy in Natsu's lap before laying Lucy's head in her lap. Rini gently pet Lucy's hair as she heard Poppy's breathing slow. She brought Poppy off of her head and gently laid her in the grass next to her. Poppy snuggled up to Rini's side in her sleep as Natsu simply stared at the fire, lost in thought. Rini leaned back on her hands, looking up at the starry night sky. She sighed happily, sitting back up and looking over at Natsu, who now was also looking up at the sky.
"Pretty, isn't it?" She said, smiling at him. He looked at her, grinning happily.
"Beautiful." They simply smiled at each other for a few seconds before Happy muttered something about fish and bit down on Natsu's thumb.
"Ow! Owowow Happy wake up! I'm not some fish for you to munch on!" Natsu started waving his hand around crazily, while a sleeping Happy still chewed on Natsu's finger, thinking it was a fish. Rini shushed them, before bursting into a fit of laughter, trying to be quiet so she didn't wake Lucy or Poppy. Happy finally ceased his assault on Natsu's thumb and Natsu gently laid him back in his lap, looking up at Rini as she continued to laugh. She finally calmed herself, wiping a fake tear from the corner of her eye. She looked over to see Natsu looking at her, a gentle smile on his lips.
"It's nice to hear you laugh again." He said, grinning at her. He truly was happy to hear her laughter again, after 7 long months of trying to find it. He'd almost forgotten what it sounded like, and what her smile looked like. He's glad he didn't get the chance to forget them. Rini's smile grew bigger, glancing up at the sky.
"I noticed you changed since I last saw you. You seem to radiate warmth now. You've grown a lot." He didn't even mean for his thoughts to slip out of his mouth, but they did.
"That's not just because I've grown. It's because you're all here with me. I haven't been this happy since I met you all." She said, closing her eyes and turning her head back towards him as she gave him a toothy grin. She saw him yawn, and decided it was time for bed. Still sitting with Lucy's head in her lap, she summoned a small orb of water from the pond, and dropped it on the fire. She made sure she was careful, so she didn't spray any of the sleeping souls with water. She looked over at Natsu as her eyes adjusted, seeing him struggling to stay awake. She felt her own head get heavy, and decided she didn't want to move Lucy, in fear of waking her. Natsu was thinking the same about Happy, who seemed very comfortable where he was. They ended up leaning on each other, Rini's head on Natsu's shoulder and his head on her head. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she did remember whispering something to all of them before she drifted off.
"You guys are my home."