feral | sting eucliffe

XXII | TAF

Episode 22: The Ajisai Festival!

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THEY HELD HANDS, watching bright blue fireworks hit the sky before shimmering into an array of pretty sparkles. Every now and then, Y/n or Nikos would have to cover their ears or would wince due to the loud sound of the fireworks. The dragon slayers weren't doing any better, but they tried their best to remain composed.

After meeting up with the rest of team Natsu, they seemed to be dressed nicely as well. Well, Gray's version of getting dressed nicely was his regular clothes since he always managed to strip them off. Erza had attempted to force Natsu to wear a yukata, but he'd always burn through it. However, everyone else was nicely dressed.

Playing with Nikos's fingers, Y/n focused on the fireworks that popped up above them. Ringing an arm around Y/n's shoulders, Chase smiled and quirked a brow towards her, kissing her forehead gently before pointing to the carts filled with hydrangeas. "Which one is your favorite?" He questioned, blinking as the fireworks stopped for a brief moment.

She blinked, looking past her brothers and towards the boxes, wheelbarrows, and pots filled with the beautiful flowers. They came in all different kinds of colors, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her favorite color. "The f/c ones," She pointed enthusiastically, grinning like a little kid as Chase grinned back. "I guessed so. Mine are the—"

"—the orange ones," She finished, looking up at him with a kind smile. He nodded, the smile not leaving his lips as he patted his little sister's head and looked towards the bundle of fireworks that they were about to send towards the sky. Nikos turned his head, staring at Y/n briefly. "And mine?" Y/n tilted her head, "The red ones."

Akane—who was standing on the other side of Nikos—peeked over to stare at her. "What about me?" She genuinely seemed interested. She didn't know Y/n as long as they did and they didn't talk very much, but Y/n was more observant rather than she was talkative. "The pink ones; the ones that look nearly red, but aren't." She referred to a bundle of them behind the orange flowers.

Akane didn't respond, turning to look forward again, but there was the slightest hint of a smile playing on her lips. Her black hair flowed in the wind as it billowed forward, seeming more fluffy than it usually was when she pulled it into tight pigtails. "Sometimes," She smiled gently, holding her hand out towards the sky. "It's as if I can taste the sparks."

The three watched her. For once, she seemed to let go of the wall she had determinedly made around herself. Akane was always one for following the rule to not get attached to others, but she felt freer now. "The burn, tingle, and slight shock of it all, y'know? It's absolutely brilliant. It makes me wonder how it would have been if I knew these existed before."

Her last sentence brought a slightly sad aura to the four, having grown up in the same circumstances. Chase's throat tightened as did Nikos's, the two having been entrapped the longest and experienced the most pain compared to the rest of the members of the Kyuuseishu. Y/n broke the tense silence first, "We shouldn't dwell on the past,"

They swiveled their heads to her, staring at her. "We should just be grateful for what we have. After all, we're out of that hellhole, aren't we?" She questioned rhetorically, a bright smile on her face as she turned towards her friends. Y/n knew that since Galena was gone, their main source of protectiveness, gentleness, and smiles, she'd have to work on being more positive.

Hopefully, she could influence her teammates to do the same. Chase nodded slowly, a valiant smile slowly growing onto his expression as well. "Agreed," Another firework went off with a loud boom, a burst of blue breaking the starry scenery as it turned to gold, showering down as if it would hit the land of Fiore.

Sting gave a sideways glance to the group, watching them chatter amongst themselves. They all seemed to be people with their own troubles and turmoils, flaws and cracks in each and every one of their characters, and it was clear that they weren't exactly lovers either. He looked towards the sky, a smile on his face, hoping he and the people at Fairy Tail could change that.

Erza approached him, her scarlet yukata flowing behind her as blue ribbons danced across the design of it. "I'm happy you've finally gotten through to her," Sting looked to his right, having to glance down three inches to stare at the mighty Titania. "Huh?" She looked up at him, genuine warmth in her ebony eyes as she smiled. "Don't think that no one realized your tricks with Y/n earlier."

His cheeks flushed as she mentioned that so nonchalantly. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the breeze that flew by that was soon correlated to another firework. "I wasn't the only one either. I'm sure they noticed as well and that they're secretly thankful. You bring out a lot of good in her and you seem to understand her better than any other person she's met recently."

Sting blinked, watching Erza's tone turn into a slightly serious one. "I can only hope that you can get the truth out of her as well, but I believe that they'll all tell us in due time." She closed her eyes, a soft sigh escaping her mouth as she turned to stare at Sting again. "So, Sting Eucliffe, you have my thanks." She meandered off to her friends a few feet away, joining them.

His jaw hung open, not realizing the other pair of footsteps that were making their way to him. "Sting, are you alright?" Y/n blinked up at him, an amused look on her face as she gently placed her dainty fingers underneath the bottom of his jaw before pushing it up slightly. His mouth closed as he turned towards Y/n, noticing Chase and Nikos look at the interaction fondly.

"I-I'm fine," He stuttered, bringing a brighter smile to her face. "That's good, but you might not want to hang your jaw open so much; you could catch flies." She winked, only turning his cheeks redder before turning away to leave, the festival officially concluding.