Fairy Tail: Next Generation - Volume I

Chapter 2: Welcome To Fairy Tail

The following chapter has been edited since its original release. Please enjoy.

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Considering their sudden departure from Fitlyn Ports, the sheer length of their journey didn't quite dawn on them until they'd all crowded onto the train together, now with Marigold added to their party. It was May 17th, now in the evening, and no one had talked in about twelve minutes.

Everyone kept staring at Marigold, realizing that they'd just allowed Liddan to invite a homeless woman to join their guild. So it was a bit of an understatement to say there was a bit of a weird mood in the train car.

"So...Marigold...Marigold...Mari...gold," Lucy kept saying over and over again, hoping that eventually, Marigold would come up with some kind of conversation if she kept saying her name over and over again.

It seemed to work, more or less, as Marigold finally said, "Yeah?"

"Your name...is a flower," Lucy began to say, more so explain, to Marigold.

"I...I know."

"And...you're a plant mage? Was that an accident?"

"I mean," Marigold shrugged, "I learned it from my dad, granted, the name Pollen comes from my mother's side. She's also a plant mage, but more...for farming and landscaping. My dad was more...like...this is how you strangle a herd of wild animals using only ivy and moss!" Marigold laughed, but as she saw Lucy slowly raise her hand over her neck in fear, she quickly changed the subject. "I grew up on a farm, so...being a plant mage helped."

"I'm sure it did."

"Where did you grow up, again? Mrs. Dragneel?"

"Uh, the Heartfilia Estate."

"Oh right..." Marigold nodded along, suddenly remembering that she had indeed read that Lucy Dragneel, wife to Natsu Dragneel, was originally from an incredibly wealthy family, meaning that Marigold felt even more intimidated by her and had even fewer ideas for conversation.

It didn't help that Liddan was out cold after downing a handful of pain relievers. He had his head against the window, snoring as though nothing were wrong. His father, however, was in a completely different state. He was hanging his head out the window, shivering as he rubbed his stomach.

"Is...is Mr. Dragneel okay?"

"Ah, no...I mean," Lucy grumbled, "Dragonslayers have heightened senses, he gets terrible motion sickness."

"Then how are Nashi and Liddan doing fine?" Marigold glanced at Nashi who was eating a packet of peanuts quite agilely.

"They haven't quite developed it yet," Lucy muttered, "some take a while longer, or maybe we'll get lucky and they won't get sick at all. My other son, Jude, he's got it real bad, but he's got a sense of smell like a dog on cocaine."

"Actually, excessive use of cocaine can damage your sense of smell," Marigold said, wagging her finger up. Lucy made a face causing Marigold to shrink and say, "I know that...for completely normal reasons."

There was then a silence, the only sound being Nashi's loud crunching as she ate her peanuts, watching the two try to carry on a conversation. "Wow," she said with a chuckle, "that was super sketchy sounding!"

Lucy and Marigold had no response, so Lucy stood up and announced, "I'm gonna go get a drink for Natsu, you want anything?"

"Nawp, I mean nope–sorry, my voice did a weird thing–" Lucy was already gone as Marigold continued to ramble. As she was out of sight, Marigold suddenly grabbed Liddan's arm and began to shake it, "Liddan, Liddan! Wake up! I'm stuck here talking to your mom and it's going nowhere!"