That night, as everyone went to their own homes, Krysti is picking up dishes from the meal that Lucy was kind enough to make for them all. Happy is passed out from another one of his fish comas and is currently snoring in the hammock.
Natsu notices when Krysti almost stumbles from her knees wobbling and hurries to take the plates from her. She places her hands on her hips while arching an eyebrow in amusement.
"I think I can manage a few plates, Grilled." She says drily.
"And you're still unsteady on your feet, I think we can suffer my dishwashing for the night if it keeps you from having another broken nose." The Dragon Slayer quips back. The brunette grimaces at the reminder of one of her previous injuries.
She heads to the couch that is also her bed while retorting back, "Well I guess we can survive your dishwashing now that I made sure we have soap for you to use. That and whatever isn't clean I can always just rewash it later." Natsu mock glares in her direction and laughs when she childishly sticks her tongue out at him in response.
As she sits down a big yawn catches her off guard and her posture slumps. Natsu hears it, but doesn't pay any mind to it until he hears her laying down. A quick glance over his shoulder shows that his roommate is out like a light in an uncomfortable position on the couch bed.
He chuckles with a fond expression as he watches both of his friends sleeping soundly. He moves over to Krysti and straightens her out on the couch so she would be more comfortable before grabbing a nearby blanket and covering her with it. Sparing a glance at the slumbering blue cat to make sure he is comfortable as well, Natsu goes back to the sink to continue washing the dishes.
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Back out at Healer's home in the woods a warm glow shines out into the night from the windows. Through the window two silhouettes can be seen sitting near each other.
"So she will be ok then?" a deep male voice can be heard coming from the smaller figure.
"As long as she follows my directions and actually drinks that potion, she will be. I still can't understand it though." The larger figure that says that sounds like an older woman.
The smaller male lets out a soft grunt before asking, "Can't understand what?"
"How she is alive." The female says bluntly as she raises a cup to her lips. "She should have died."
"Porlyusica!" the cries man out scandalized at her harsh words.
"Oh be quiet idiot, I don't mean it like that!" the woman snaps angrily. "What I mean is that I examined her and from her physical wounds and amount of blood loss she suffered should have killed her. Then from the amount of magic she released for the first time to go on top of that? The strain on her body was tremendous! No one that isn't trained extensively in magic can survive through that. I think that even you Wizard Saints would be hard-pressed to live though that unaided."
The female's head dips down as a loud sigh is released before she asks, "What is that girl? She seems perfectly human, but no human should be able to survive that without an enormous amount of magic under their control."
The male sits still for a moment before quietly stating, "She is from another world." Porlyusica sits upright with a start and the smaller figure lifts up a hand in an attempt to calm her down.
"No. Not Edolas. From another one altogether. She claims that they have no knowledge of magic except in myths and stories. I'm inclined to believe her from how everything that has something to do with magic fascinates her in a way that people who don't normally see it would act. That along with the device she carries with her everywhere. She let me examine it and there is absolutely no magic in it, yet it harnesses the power of electricity to work. There isn't anything on this world that I know of that can do that without lacrima." He explains in a low rumble.
The healer takes in a shuddering breath before asking, "Then how did she get here? If they have no knowledge of magic, how was she able to come to our world, Makarov?"
The Master shakes his head slowly as he answers, "She claims to have no knowledge of how she got here. According to Krysti she went to sleep at her home and woke up on Galuna Island with Natsu hovering over her."
"This is worrying. This girl with no knowledge of magic comes to our world and in two weeks was able to perform a feat of magic that should have killed her with injuries that really should have killed her and yet she is still alive. Someone, or something, powerful wants her here and it wants her alive. It's the only explanation why she survived. Whatever brought her over is keeping her alive for a reason and until we find out what this reason is, we are going to have to keep a close eye on her." The healer says in a rush. Her eyes widen as something occurs to the old woman.
"Where is she staying?" Porlyusica asks with a snap.
"With Natsu." Makarov answers easily. The healer lets out a sharp hiss at that answer.
"With the Dragon Slayer?! This could be bad, Makarov. If she is here for nefarious reasons she has a chance to convert the Dragon Slayer to her side and his potential for destruction is devastating!"
He raises a hand to stop her rant before calmly explaining, "On the contrary, I think she is in the best place to stay. There aren't that many people who Natsu hasn't been able to charm into joining our cause. From what I seen, she is quite taken with many of my children and has already shown a fierce protectiveness for them that is hard to fake. Most of them are quite taken with her as well. I will keep a close eye on her, but I believe that whatever reason why she is here, good or bad, she will be on Fairy Tail's side through it all."
"I'll trust your judgement for now Makarov, but your judgement isn't always infallible. Remember that." Porlyusica huffs out.
"I will. And if Krysti poses any threat to the safety of Fairy Tail, I will take care of her myself." Makarov solemnly promises.
______________________
The next day, Natsu wakes to the sound of a pan hitting the floor and a loud curse. Peering out from his hammock, he sees Krysti picking up a pan off the floor with a grimace on her face. She is leaning down to pick up the fallen utensil when a sudden burst of warmth next to her warns her of the Dragon Slayer's presence.
"Morning Natsu, I'll be getting breakfast started soon. You can go back to sleep if you want." She says cheerfully without looking over at her roommate.
Before she knows it, the pan is snatched out of her hand and she is twirled around until she is hits a nearby chair next to the table and sits in it. She faces her roommate with her arms crossed and an arched eyebrow just like last night.
"And what, pray tell, was that about?" she asks in a slow, unhappy drawl.
"This is me cooking breakfast, and that is you resting to regain your strength." Natsu says as he first points to the pan on the stove and then at her. Her lips quirk up in amusement.
"You know the healer said I wasn't supposed to do magic, not chores, right?" she continues to drawl out while leaning back in the chair.
He shrugs before answering casually, "Doesn't matter. I would rather not have to eat breakfast off the floor."
Indignant, she barks out," Hey! Just because a pan slipped out of my hands once does not mean that I'm going to drop breakfast. And even if I did, the floor is clean enough that you can eat off of it." She pauses to think for a second before adding, "That is, if you cleaned that floors since I was gone." Krysti nods her head with a smug smirk as Natsu suddenly busied himself with making breakfast.
"Have you done any of the chores since I was away?" she asks while still smirking. The Dragon Slayer's lack of an answer spoke volumes. She shakes her head in mock exasperation as a grin overtakes her features.
"Did you at least remember your tea?" she asks of him with fond amusement.
He throws a bright grin over his shoulder that leaves her temporarily breathless as he enthusiastically answers, "Sure did!" He frowns somewhat as he next says, "But it didn't taste the same as yours. Dunno what I'm doing wrong." With another smirk, she gets out of the chair and stands next to the Dragon Slayer just before bumping him away from the stove with her hip.
"Watch." Krysti commands as she gathers the ingredients to make the ginger tea that is helping cure Natsu's motion sickness. He watches with rapt attention as she makes the tea which causes a small blush appear on her cheeks from how close and focused he is. A few minutes later, a steaming hot cup of tea is ready for the pink-haired man to taste. He sniffs it before quickly chugging the entire cup in one go.
A big smile adorns his face and the brunette answers it with a grin of her own. Natsu gets a mischievous look on his face and before Krysti could react, she finds herself spinning before landing in the chair she recently vacated. She sits there in stunned silence trying to process just what happened when the clatter of pots and pans snaps her out of the daze.
The older woman aims a half-hearted glare at her male roommate while he just acts like he didn't do anything to deserve it. She sighs and shakes her head as she settles down to observe the Dragon Slayer's skills in cooking, ready to jump in if needed.
Surprisingly, Natsu made a decently cooked meal which increased the respect the brunette held for the Dragon Slayer. Leaving the dishes to Natsu, who insisted to the point that Krysti let him do it for fear that the dishes would get broken if they actually fought over them, Krysti moves over to the window couch to sit in the sun.
She basks in the warmth for a while before pulling out a brush that she left in one of the shopping bags that she has yet to put up to detangle her newly grown hair. Starting at the ends, she slowly works her way up to her scalp. Natsu, who was clearing away the dishes before washing them, glances over and blinks in surprise.
With the sun on it, it's shines a brilliant golden halo around her head as when he first saw it in front of the shop of pink horrors. After a moment of staring, Natsu returns to washing the dishes. Yet, he wasn't able to stop his eyes from straying over to watch his roommate brushing her hair with a serene expression on her face.
________________________
I'm walking slowly towards the guild wanting to see the rest of my friends, with Natsu by my side to help catch me in case my legs give out. Which I am very grateful for since I already almost fell a few times. I can feel my lips twitch into an amused grin as I listen to Natsu and Happy chatting animatedly with each other about plans for future pranks.
My attention drifts away as we round the street corner that brings the guild into sight. I have to stop a disappointed sigh when I can't see the familiar top of the guild in its usual place. I guess it's too much to hope for the building to be already built. (Even with magic, it takes a while to construct buildings. Huh, construction magic. That could be extremely handy.)
Soon the sound of construction work reaches my ears and curiosity grips me. Natsu starts to walk faster and goes ahead of me to disappear through an opening in a fence that is put up where the guild is located at. I follow along at my sedate pace and stop right at the entrance to survey everything going on.
Immediately, I can tell that the new building is going to be a lot bigger than before. Although everything is still made of wood so it will be still just as easily breakable as before during brawls. I already heard the Master complain more than once about repair costs when the boys fight.
(I wonder how much more expensive it would be to switch to a harder material for the guild to be made of? Or is there a way to enhance the strength of a substance to make it more durable? Hmm, would be worthwhile to talk to the Master about this, if for nothing else to find out if there is a type of magic like that.) My thoughts pull up short as I spy a new person sitting at a table nearby.
A blond, large muscled man wearing a black cape and yellow shirt with leopard spots running down the sides is just lounging around with an arrogant yet bored look on his face. (Wow is that guy sexy or what? Hubba-hubba. I don't like that look on his face though, then again he could just be in some sort of mood. I should hold off judgement before I get to know him.)
Feeling that I should introduce myself to the new guy, I go over towards him. As I slowly approach the hot hunk, I notice a couple of pads on his ears that has a spike each. Soon I see some cords coming from the spikes and a thrill shoots through me.
(They look like headphones. Ooooo! Maybe he has some sort of music player, and if he does then maybe he would know a way I can keep mine charged!) A wide smile crosses my face as I pick up my pace a slight bit and now the guy has noticed my approach.
A look of slight distaste appears on his face, but it isn't anything new to me since back in my world most guys are shallow and don't care to be approached by a girl of my size. I don't let his expression phase me as I continue towards him.
When I get to a proper distance, I introduce myself in a happy manner, "Hi there! My name is Krysti, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be wearing headphones." A sudden bout of doubt kicks in as I next ask, "Uh, those are headphones, right?"
He gives me a scathing look before answering, "They are sound pods, idiot. Haven't you seen sound pods before?" His deep baritone caused a barrage of tingles to flood my body. (Sexy as hell voice, although I don't care for the arrogance. He might just be in a bad mood, don't let it get to you.)
Arching my eyebrow at his tone, I place my hand on my hip as I answer back, "I haven't seen any from this world before so I wasn't sure if they would look the same as mine or not." He lets out a questioning grunt and I reach into my pants pocket to pull out my earbuds.
He lifts an eyebrow in question and I hand it over to him as I move to sit on the bench with him. He takes the earbuds and looks them over with a disinterested look on his face and I decide to pull out my iPod as well.
"So what music do you listen to?" I ask conversationally. He gives me a long searching look before grunting and leaning back against the table while closing his eyes. When he doesn't answer for a moment, I look away with a twinge of disappointment.
After another moment of silence from the large male, I open my mouth to ask for my earbuds back when he quietly says, "Rock. That's what I listen to." Hearing this I perk up, my last ex from my world was an avid Rock 'N Roll fan so he made sure that I had a wide variety of songs to listen to.
"Wanna trade for a bit?" I ask while holding up my iPod. He opens one eye to look at me and I just give him a soft smile while waiting on his answer. He lets out a puff of air just as he holds out one large hand with his palm up, signaling that he is ok with the trade. Placing my iPod in his hand, I'm struck with how large it really is, over twice the size of mine.
Then again, I do have tiny hands. A slight tingle goes through my body, almost like static electricity when my fingers graze his palm. He gives the iPod an almost disdainful sneer and I have to bite my tongue, knowing that he isn't aware of how much that little piece of plastic and metal can do albeit a lot of its functions are no longer useable without the internet in this world.
With a grunt, he moves to pull something out from his left side while still holding onto the iPod and earbuds with his right hand. With a practiced motion, he takes off his headphones, err, sound pods and hands them along with some sort of round glass ball that is connected to the sound pods to me.
I take the proffered items with a puzzled look as I try to figure out how to work it. Tapping it slightly doesn't work after inspecting the ball all over to see there are no distinguishing marks on it. I start to look along the cord to the headphones to see if there are any control buttons on it when I hear a grunt of exasperation.
"You add some magic to the lacrima to get it started, idiot. It's like you never seen one before." He growls out in a low mutter.
I bite my tongue again to hold back a scathing retort I want to say and instead I reply with, "Well, I haven't. We don't have magical crystals back on my world." Then his words sink in, magic, I can't use magic as of yet.
I deflate some before I next say, "And I guess I can't use this for now, Porlyusica says that I'm not allowed to even try to tap into my magic for two weeks." At that he sneers at me before heaving out an annoyed sigh. I try to not let his attitude ruffle my feathers, but it's hard as he has this look of superiority as he raises a finger and sends a zap of electricity into the crystal in my hands.
I jump slightly from surprise, not expecting the display from the blond. Huh, so he has lightning magic. I give him a closer look, and notice that with his spiky blond hair, storm grey eyes, and lightning scar that it almost seems like he embodies electricity.
His superior sneer becomes a smug smirk as he says, "Are you going to listen to the music or stare at me all day? Not that I blame you, I am the strongest mage in Fairy Tail. It's natural for weaklings to want to stare at greatness."