The Shadow [Fairy Tail]

Thirteen of "The Shadow"

~Unedited~ ✖️

A/N- Play the song near the end. It will hint at the flashback ;)

Gray didn't seem to hear her soft comment, so he only gave a half smile. "Bye St- I mean Shad. I will definitely try to meet you on the way back to the guild," he stated, giving a wave.

She smiled in reponse, actually happy. But once he left, she quickly dropped to her knees, trying to hold back tears as she rocked herself back and forth.

Why is he here? He's the only one left who knows of me. Well, one of them. But the rest would surely be dead by now. He knows my story. And he knows how to get to my heart, she thought helplessly. Why? Why now? I was just beginning to heal, and now the memories come back... Her thoughts trailed off as she noticed her rapidly beating heart that was now slowing down. And he still manages to make my heart skip a beat. What is this emotion? I don't like it...

"Shadow! Shadow!"

"Shad-san, where are you?"

Multiple voices called out for her, causing her head to raise in curiosity and bewilderment. She hastily wiped away her tears, for the second time today, and put up her walls once more.

She calmly walked over toward the voices, replying with, "Over here! I'm fine!"

She caught sight of two bluenettes and a redhead, all of which were calling her name.

Sora quickly zoomed over to her, a relieved smile on her face. "Thank goodness you're okay!" she said, hugging her tightly, which she awkwardly returned.

Asaya and Shinku were quietly standing behind her when she let go, one of which was smiling kindly, while the latter was emotionless.

"Sora wanted to notify you of something, and we decided to tag along. Master says we have to go meet up with a few members of a different guild in the morning. All of us have to go, I'm afraid," Asaya stated calmly, her smile still warm.

Shadow tilted her head, puzzled. "All eight of us? How many members do they have coming?"

"Nine!" Wisteria interrupted sharply, but the mages simply ignored her.

"About six," Azzy replied, flashing the exceed a glance. "Or eight if you include the exceeds."

The Dragon Slayer looked mildly surprised. "Exceeds? You mean, they have two dragon slayers with them?"

She simply nodded in response, but worry was evident in her strange eyes. "Though they seemed aggressive towards us when Crescent and I were talking with them. But I don't know why."

Shadow's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she listened, her mind quickly trying to find reasons why a guild would randomly agree to meet with them, and have such behavior while doing so.

"But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. See you in the morning, Shad."

Shadow nodded in understanding, before she gave a lazy wave and laid down on the soft grass, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the stars. She was vaguely aware of footsteps fading away, and a single pair coming closer to sit next to her.

"You really like the stars, don't you?" Sora's voice cut through the silence of the night, tugging Shadow out of her thoughts.

Said girl's gaze flickered over to the young mage for a moment, before returning to the view overhead. "Yeah."

Sora slid into her own position on the grass next to the dragon slayer, setting her arms underneath her head while staring above, entranced.

"The constellations remind me that there is still hope for us," Shadow murmured. "That even after we're gone, our memory will be imprinted into the galaxy for the world to see. Or we could just trace shapes to match them..."

The bluenette gently looked at her, awe in her emerald eyes. "I've never thought about it that way, and I'm surprised you're the one who said it; you don't strike me as optimistic."

"That's because my mother told me it..." Shadow replied softly, her eyes glazing over as she recalled the memory.

>>>FLASHBACK 3<<<

A three-year-old version of Shadow, or Star at the time, happily ran around a woman with midnight black hair and a set of chocolate brown eyes. A gleeful smile was plastered on her face, her violet eyes alight with joy as she continued to race around the woman in circles before eventually becoming dizzy, and falling down with a soft cry.

The woman bent down, cradling her small frame in her arms, gently caressing her soft cheek.

"Aw, baby, are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, mama," the little girl squeaked, her black hair not yet fully grown. "Can I go play with Brother now?"

"Oh alright,"  the lady sighed, before remembering something and quickly halting the child from jumping out of her hold. "But, Star my darling, remember that the stars are a sign of hope, and that we can be seen in them as an entire galaxy once we pass on. Always remember that, alright precious?" A frown had formed on her perfectly tanned face, her faded pink lips turned downward as sadness filled her once joyful eyes.

Not really understanding what her mother just said, Star nodded enthusiastically before attempting to wiggle out of her strong but gentle grip, before she finally set her down.