The Fairy Slayer

Chapter Six - A Surprise Around Every Corner

On the outskirts of Magnolia, there lied a small lake. Rumors said that on a full moon, fire spirits came and danced on the lake, hovering just above the water. The spirits were nigh impossible to catch, but if one managed to catch a fire spirit, they would grant you one wish; anything your heart desired.

It was on the shores of this lake that Eva and Lucy took their picnic. Eva picked a nice grassy spot near the edge of the lake that wasn't too far away, but wasn't close enough for her or Lucy to fall in. Eva sat carefully on the grass, setting her crutches within easy reach, and Lucy unpacked the picnic basket before sitting across from Eva.

Mira had packed them cold chicken, sandwiches, pastries and bottles of apple juice. Both girls dug into the meal heartily for several minutes.

"So, Eva, what was like being around Natsu when you two were younger?" Lucy asked after she swallowed a bite of sandwich.

Eva set her sandwich down next to her. "Honestly, not much has changed. Well, other than he's seemed to confine picking fights with people to Grey, Laxus and Erza. Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. The topic never seems to come up in the guild, so I don't know what Natsu was like when he was younger," Lucy explained. "Other than he seemed to hang out with Lisanna a lot."

Eva smiled. "Yeah, he and Lisanna were great friends for most of the childhood that Natsu spent at Fairy Tail."

"Wait a sec, Gajeel said something about Natsu bonding with you? It's like some side effect of dragon slaying magic." Lucy said. She looked at Eva curiously. "How did that work when you were younger and Natsu spent so much time with Lisanna?"

"When Natsu, Lisanna and I were younger, all three of us used to play together. I was off on jobs and quests a lot back then, though, so Natsu and Lisanna played together by themselves a lot. But to answer your question, Lucy, Natsu and I bonded many years before he came to Fairy Tail."

"How?" Lucy asked. Natsu was very young when he had come to Fairy Tail, so it must have been when he still lived with Igneel.

"I was visiting Igneel, the fire dragon," Eva said. "He's a good friend of mine and he helped me finish my training."

"Your training?" Lucy asked. "Are you a dragon slayer too?!"

Eva looked at Lucy in surprise. "Didn't you know? I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer like Natsu."

"Seriously?" Lucy exclaimed. "I didn't know there could be two dragon slayers that used the same element." And Fairy Tail has both of them. No wonder people are afraid of them.

Eva nodded. "It's not as common now as it was in the past. Generally a dragon slayer has the main element that they are extremely adept at and that's as far as they go. Every dragon slayer has the capacity to master more types of slaying magic if they so choose; the training is much more difficult than it was for the first type of slaying magic, however, which deters many slayers. In most cases, the training for the second element is so rigorous, the slayer in question will merely adapt the spells that work with them and their first type of slaying magic."

"So it's like Natsu's Lightning Fire Dragon Mode or whatever?" Lucy asked.

Eva grinned. "Yep. He's adapted Laxus' lightning and incorporated it into his own fire magic."

"Wow," Lucy said. "Do you practice more than one type of slaying magic, Eva?"

Eva fidgeted slightly and looked extremely uncomfortable. "Er, Lucy, you're a Celestial Mage, right? That's so cool!"