feral | sting eucliffe

XVIII | TC

Episode 18: To Crocus!

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CHASE LOOKED AT HER, giving her a knowing smile before urging his hand forward. Y/n looked at him, eyes narrowing as she bit his finger instead. Chase glared at her before Akane suddenly used her barrier, pushing Y/n back and making her hit the wall due to the power of her force field. "Akane!" She whined like a child, now in her human form.

Sting blinked, looking back at the pretty h/c haired girl and back at the girl who shot her back. What kind of hellish dynamic is this? Nikos turned around, tossing a white cloak in her direction. Quickly, Y/n wrapped it around herself and walked over to Nikos, deciding to sit on his left, so she didn't have to look towards the Sabertooth mages.

"That's Y/n," Chase clarified, pointing at the used-to-be cat while Sabertooth watched in awe. Sting's nose twitched as did Rogue's, both of their scents going off like crazy as they stared at Y/n in particular. "If you don't mind me asking," The shadow dragon slayer voiced their unified thoughts, blinking. "Why do you smell like a dragon, Y/n?"

She hid further from their sight as Akane spoke up for her. "Sorry about that; she isn't good with new people. She smells like a dragon because she ate a lacrima that harnessed the power of the Dragon Cry. I don't know what that means for her, but it does provide her more magic power." The magenta eyed girl answered, looking up from her device briefly.

Sting blinked. Now that he thought about it, the only reason he was so curious about the cat in the first place was the massive amount of magic power that he felt from her in particular. "That makes sense, sort of." He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, a cheeky smile on his face. Erza walked over, "You should see them fight together; they're quite the force to be reckoned with."

Nikos averted his eyes awkwardly, "I wouldn't say that—" 

Natsu countered his doubt quickly, climbing on top of a table and letting out a roar of fire towards the ceiling. "—no way! You all beat us like we were nothing back in Stella!" Chase looked up towards the fire dragon slayer, tilting his head with a sheepish look on his face. "Yeah, but we're not exactly proud of it."

Sting whipped his head towards the group. "You all beat Natsu's group?" Even the guild hall seemed shocked, having not received this information earlier and finding about it just now. Y/n spoke up this time, but quieter compared to the rest of her teammates. Fumbling with her fingers on her lap, she mumbled. "Because of orders, yes."

They all nodded, still mesmerized at the chemistry between the group. Yukino changed the topic, "Now that I think about it, isn't this your first time in Fiore?" The teens looked towards each other as if contemplating it in unison. Chase answered for them, staring at the white-haired celestial mage. "You could say that, I guess. . . " He nervously chuckled.

She clapped her hands excitedly, not questioning the change in his demeanor. "Then you should totally come to Crocus! It's really nice. In fact, we have a festival tomorrow night for the Ajisai festival!" Yukino smiled kindly, seeming elated at the idea of the band of used-to-be criminals joining them on their celebration.

The Kyuuseishu exchange nervous looks. Yukino, noticing this, quickly waves her hands like a maniac. A shade of pink dusts across her face out of embarrassment, "Y-You don't have to come if you don't want to! I-It was just a suggestion." Chase began to speak up, but Y/n took over, knowing that Chase would most likely mess up and sound ruder.

"It's not that," Y/n shook her head, h/c haired locks flying slightly as Sabertooth's team skeptically watched the group of four, along with team Natsu. "We're not used to this hospitality. Nonetheless, we don't know our way around Fiore that well anyway. We're more familiar with Ishgar's islands if anything." She mumbled quietly.

Yukino smiled, "That's fine! If you can meet with us before noon, we can have the morning time for one of us to tour each of you around!" Lucy nodded, smiling along. She seemed to think it was a good idea as well as she agreed with her celestial partner. "Crocus is a pretty place and it'd be a nice time to wind down! The festivals are always so mesmerizing too." She chimed.

The three members looked at each other as Akane didn't look up from her phone. Spreading her fingers on top of the table, the bags filled with each of their clothing and belongings. "To cut the conversation short," She shut off her phone, pocketing it for once as everyone turned to look at her. "We can go there now. I know Chase'll say yes eventually and Nikos is interested."

The snake boy huffed, feeling violated at how easily he was read by her. She turned to look at Y/n, "Plus, Y/n will follow wherever her comfort is, which is us. So, let's get going." Akane picked up her purple duffel bag, coolly slipping past Yukino and out the large wooden doors. Minerva stopped her, quirking a brow. "The next train isn't in another two hours."

Akane looked over her shoulder, grinning slightly. "Who said that we were going by train?"

Y/n sighed, climbing to the top of the table before sliding off of it with her own f/c duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She could only be glad that Mirajane, Lisanna, Lucy, Erza, and Wendy were willing to take them all for shopping yesterday night in an effort to make them feel more at home. Especially since they lacked in the clothes department.

"Fine," She nodded towards her teammates before waving her hand at Sabertooth's group. "We'll have to head to the forest's edge." Chase paused for a moment, picking up the black backpack which held his own belongings as he turned to look at Erza. "Will you be joining us?" She shook her head, pointing at an ecstatic Natsu with a flyer in his hand.

"We have a mission to take care of first." 

He nodded, waving. "Good luck!"