Gemma's POV
I woke up to sunlight shining in my eyes, the beautiful greens of the forest welcoming me back from the world of slumber. I yawned and fully opened my emerald green eyes. Stretching, I stood up, my little ten-year-old body wobbling from the change in position. Once I had woken up, I climbed out of the leafy nest Diamond had made for me. It was pretty big actually, so it made it hard for me to get out. Just as I had freed myself from the vine that had wrapped itself around my ankles, and pulled a twig and a leaf out of my hair, my dragon mother, Diamond appeared, gently flapping her beautiful, jewel-encrusted wings. My mouth hung open in awe. I never got used to how pretty she is. She was so amazing! The way the sun lit up her pearly, silver scales, how her sterling gray eyes brightened when she saw me, and the many sparkly gems and crystals that stuck up and stood out that gave Diamond her name. Diamond Pāru Crystallia, the name of the creature I had grown to love so much. She had taken me in when my real parents had left me in the forest, crying and screaming. That was when I was four, so it's been six years since then. I never felt bad for not seeing my parents, I never remembered them anyways.
Diamond has taught me so much, making her a teacher and a mother. The crystal and voice dragon taught me magic of different types including, caster magic and dragon slayer magic. All of the moves and attacks I've learned are based around crystals, voice, and echoes. Diamond also taught me how to cook, read, write, sing, and other things. Today she was going to teach me how to survive on my own, just in case she wasn't there to help me. I smiled brightly at the thought, and jumped up to hug her neck, clinging to it. She let out a laugh and gently shook me off.
"Are you ready for today's lesson?" Diamond asked in the prettiest voice I've ever heard. I nodded vigorously, causing the dragon to chuckle and gesture to my attire with her claws. I smiled sheepishly, before running back to the leafy nest to change. I had made my own clothes under the supervision of Diamond. I pulled on my leafy crop top and skirt, after I pulled off my "pajamas." I quickly pulled my long blonde hair into a high ponytail, using a vine to tie it up. I lept out of the nest and ran straight for Diamond, before screeching to a halt so I wouldn't run into her.
"I'm ready Mom!" I said with a determined face. Diamond turned to face me and then we started the lesson.
After a few hours of learning how to start a fire, look for water, make shelter, and other survival skills, Diamond decided to give me my final test. I saw the pride and delight on her face, she was actually proud of me. Dirty and a little scuffed up, I grinned, showing my slightly sharper canine teeth.
"I'm ready!" I yelled, raising my fist. Diamond's proud face took on an even bigger smile. She nodded before explaining the challenge.
"I want you to survive until you see me. It will be a while, until tomorrow, but I know you can do it. Remember everything I taught you and you will make it Gemma." Diamond said, looking away from me. The beautiful dragon started to walk away to the clearing in which she takes off to the sky from. She opened her sparkling wings, showing off her scales and crystals. Before Diamond leapt into the sky, she turned to me.
"I will see you in time, my dear. Good luck." She said, nodding to me. I nodded back before she took off. After waving goodbye to my mom, I turned and started back to the nest.
"Okay Gemma, you can do this." I whispered to myself. I decided to start a fire first, I would need it for food and warmth. I nodded curtly to my thoughts, before walking off into the forest in search of dry wood. My walk turned into a jog, which turned into a sprint. I loved running through the forest in which I called home, with the breeze in my hair and the earthy smell of the plants. I felt free. After doing a small cartwheel, I got to work.
It's been a few days since I've seen Diamond. I was starting to get worried. She did say she would return the day after she left me, so where was she now? I had successfully made a huge fire (that was contained of course), and collected a big stack of spare wood. I had done everything I could. At the moment I was singing softly to myself by the fire.
Let's go in the garden
You'll find something waiting
Right there where you left it
Lying upside down
When you finally find it
You'll see how it's faded
The underside is lighter
When you turn it around
Everything stays
Right where you left it
Everything stays
But it still changes
Ever so slightly
Daily and nightly
In little ways
When everything stays
I sighed, watching the sun sink beneath the trees for the fifth time since Diamond left. I turned to the tree next to my nest and grabbed the pale crystal lying next to it. The trunk already had marks on it, the number of days Diamond was gone. I carved another going across the other four, marking a full five days. I set the crystal down again on the smooth stone at the base of the tree, and began walking back to the fire. I slept there now because of the warmth. Diamond used to sleep in the nest with me but now she's not here, making me cold at night. I had set up a small leaf bundle pillow and a few leaf blankets, creating a small sleeping space. I climbed onto the makeshift bed, and slowly fell asleep.
It's been months now. I can't take this anymore, when is Diamond coming back? The tree in which I mark days is full of scratches. I had turned eleven and had to celebrate my birthday by myself. I've accepted the fact that Diamond is probably gone. I still mourn, but I've grown numb by now. I sing almost all the time to lift my spirits or keep myself company, making my voice hoarse. I'm getting so lonely that I've thought of going to the city. It wouldn't hurt right? It's not like there's anything here for me anymore. There's no hope, no cheer, nothing but old memories. I still don't understand why Diamond left, although I've thought about it a lot, making theories and guesses. None of them sound right, none of them sound like something she would do.
"You know what? I'm leaving, this is torture waiting for someone who probably won't ever come back!" I screamed and kicked a rock, sending it flying through the fire and into the lake. I screamed a little more and pulled at my hair. Some tears escaped but I forced the rest of them down. With a growl, I nodded and started packing up my belongings, which wasn't much. I packed a few sets of clothes, some food, some wood, the crystal I used to carve days, and the rainbow quartz necklace Diamond gave me. I shoved it all into the middle of a huge leaf, before wrapping it up into a sack of some kind and tying it to a stick. I looked at my camp, the fire, the nest, the lake, everything I had grown up with. I sighed, looking at the ground before straightening up, and saluting to the empty place. I then turned and started walking away, passed the clearing, passed the rocks I played on, passed all the memories I made.
Mitzu's POV
I had lost everyone I loved. Tsunami, Glacia....Juvia. Everyone. It all started when my parents left with my older sister, Juvia. They left me crying, and Juvia couldn't do anything to help. I was alone for hours, crying over my lost sister. She was the best, she understood me and I understood her. I was found a little later by a blue dragon, claiming her name was Tsunami, and she would help me. She was an ice and water dragon who taught me how to use dragon slayer magic. Tsunami had beautiful ocean blue scales, cyan colored markings that glowed, webbed feet, a huge tail, and ice spikes jutting out from seemingly random places where scale met scale. She cared for me, she was like another mother to me. Until she left a few days ago, leaving me and my exceed, Glacia, to fend for ourselves. Hours later, we were attacked, a bear had killed my pale blue feline friend, who had protected me. This event scarred me for life, seeing Glacia's mangled body, and left me with arkoudaphobia, the fear of bears.
I now traveled aimlessly, searching for any of my lost loved ones, with my waterfrost dragon slayer magic at my control. Although I felt a little better as I discovered more about myself, I still held my problems with me. Losing loved ones, and the fact I haven't had a home in a while. I shook off my thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand. I continued scaling the topmost branches in a forest, above a girl, who I was too shy to talk to.
Gemma's POV
I had been walking for a few minutes when I heard a yelp and the sound of branches falling to the ground. I dropped the stick with my belongings, as a figure fell from a tree, landing right in front of me. It looked to be a girl around eleven, my age. She had long bluish-black hair and pretty blue eyes. She wore actual clothes, a tank top and shorts, and some shoes. I looked at her, and she looked at me. I smiled, reaching a hand out to help her up.
"Hi, I'm Gemma." I smiled wider, hoping not to scare the girl. Surprisingly, she reached up and grabbed my hand, pulling herself up.
"I'm Mitzu." She almost whispered. Hmm, she's shy. I thought curiously. I snapped out of my thoughts when she said, "Sorry I almost fell on you, I wanted to see if I could climb to the top." She giggled a little, probably seeing I wasn't a threat.
"It's okay, I'm fine." I reassured her. Maybe she knows where the city is. I asked Mitzu what direction civilization was. She shrugged.
"I don't know, I travel constantly. I've never been to the city before." She elaborated. I nodded, but inside I was disappointed. After a while of talking with Mitzu, she had to leave. The shy girl offered for me to stay with her, but I declined. I needed to get to the city. Little did I know, I was in the middle of a big forest, and I was a long ways away from the nearest village or city.
I've been wandering for another few months now, I think so at least. Honestly, I have no idea. You have no idea how long it's been when you are walking through a never ending forest with no clock or watch. I believe I'm older now though, probably around twelve or thirteen. I haven't seen Mitzu anymore, which was expected because she traveled a lot, but I never saw any other human either. I pass the time sleeping, setting up fires, hunting, or practicing magic, that is, when I'm not on the move. I decided to camp out for a while in a cave I found, that thankfully wasn't inhabited by an animal. I've seen random fires, that I didn't set, and broken tree branches, that I didn't break. I always put out my fires, these were random, and had no crystals or stones surrounding them. I was concerned for my safety, and I always carried a weapon with me. I put out the fires but they always seemed to come back. I was even more careful and defensive when I heard yells at night, it didn't freak me out but I thought it was a dangerous animal, like a bear or wolf. I honestly didn't know what to do anymore, I didn't want to leave, this was my home now. I decided to sleep on it, and deal with the issue in the morning.
I woke up against the tree I fell asleep under. It was night and fires were scattered across the landscape. I screamed and shot up, sprinting to my cave to get the bucket I made to put the fires out. When I arrived at the mouth of the cave, I saw a fire that was bigger than what I set them as. Nothing caught fire, but I was worried something would. I ran in, looking for my bucket. I finally found it after digging through my stuff. I held the wooden bucket over my head, shouting in victory. I began walking to the entrance to get water, when a figure shot out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground. It was a boy with spiky, salmon hair and onyx colored eyes. He wore a white, scaly-looking scarf around his neck, and yellow shorts. He growled, showing his slightly sharp teeth. I screamed before punching, only to hit nothing. The boy had rolled off of me, and was standing in a defensive pose.
"Get out of my cave!" He shouted.
"Crystal shot!" I hissed, flinging my arm and shooting crystal shards at him. "What do you mean your cave? It's mine!" I screamed. "Look! Did you make those clothes? Did you set up your fires with crystals?" All the loneliness and sadness welled up in me as I released all my emotions into my words. The boy looked upset, dropping his stance. I dropped mine too, and began to pour water over the raging fire. I sighed once I had put it out. I turned to the boy, who was still standing there.
"Were you the one setting those fires?" I asked.
"Were you the one putting them out?" He retorted. I laughed a little.
"Yeah, that was me." I admitted. He nodded before sitting down at the circle of crystals that made the firepit. He began tracing the points and sides of the glimmering crystals, before looking at me.
"I'm Natsu!" He grinned. I couldn't help but smile at him.
"I'm Gemma." I said, still smiling. This kid was great. We sat in silence for a while, I had started to grab food for dinner, humming to myself.
"Can I have some food too?" Natsu asked, hopefully.
"Yes you can." I tossed him an apple, before returning to gathering the various foods. I walked over to the pink haired boy with apples and berries, and sat down with him. He had already finished the apple, so I gave him some more fruit.
"Sorry, I don't have any meat at the moment." I apologized. Natsu just waved it off.
"It's fine, any food will do for me!" He grinned again. I smiled, happy that I found someone that loved food as much as me. We continued eating and talking, telling each other about the dragons that left us. He had a fire dragon named Igneel who left at the same time as Diamond. After a while, it seemed like I had known Natsu forever. We stayed up talking when a question popped up.
"Can I stay with you? Maybe we can find the city together." Natsu asked. I stopped braiding my hair and froze at his question. I thought for a bit, I had completely forgot about going to the city, I had given up a while ago. I nodded anyways and continued braiding.
"Maybe we can." I said. After confirming that Natsu was staying, we tried to fall asleep. Key word is tried. I was worried about everything that had happened. Sora left apparently, Diamond was nowhere to be found, and Natsu is staying. It was all too much, so I did the one thing that relaxed me, I sung.
Fairy, where you going?
I'm bringing the lights to you right there
The stars will shine just like a gift to you
Oh yeah, can you hear my voice is calling for you?
Oh yeah, I waited all my life to be with you
Oh yeah, can you stay right here till my heart will want you?
Oh yeah, Oh yeah
The moon and sun are celebrating with us
Did you forget all what we felt in the past?
Why don't you share with me the love that you got
Now I can't find my right inspiration
Snowing, keep going, keep smiling to me as old times
Holding, keep going, but the clock is still repeating over, but
Fairy, where you going?
I'm bringing the lights to you right there
The stars will shine just like a gift to you
Why, why, why, don't say goodbye
I finished the song and heard a soft voice.
"You're a good singer, Gem..." Natsu drifted off.
"Thanks." I said, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.
It's been another few months since I met Natsu. We've been inseparable ever since then. We showed each other our magic and other things our dragons taught us. Today we were going to explore and see if we could find the city.
"You ready Gem?" Natsu called into the cave. I had been packing while he was watching for any last food sources to approach our camp.
"Yeah! I'll be out in a second!" I called back, shoving the last of the apples in the middle of the leaf before wrapping up the leaf and tying it to a stick. I darted out of our cave, scaring Natsu in the process and ran to the nearest tree, which happened to be the one next to the cave. I picked up the crystal I had been using to mark the days and stuck it in the leaf.
"You almost ran me over Gemma!" Natsu scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. I smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head. I mumbled an apology before turning to face our cave.
"Let us depart our humble home." I mocked, feigning fanciness.
"But of course. Let us." Natsu linked his arm with mine before we turned and skipped off into the forest, hoping to find civilization.
It's been a week and we just found a town. Natsu was trying to drag me around, almost yanking my arm out of its socket. I giggled at him and let my friend drag me to a building. I looked up, the building towering over us. It was a pale yellow building that had multiple floors, a rusty red roof, green pillars and window panes, and three colored banners at the topmost floor. The banner in the middle was orange with a symbol on it. I didn't recognise the symbol or the building, but Natsu seemed excited so I think it's okay. The salmon-haired boy marched up to the huge door and barged in. I snickered at his actions, but before I followed him, I looked at the golden sign. Fairy Tail hmm? Sounds good to me! I thought. I walked in after Natsu, and what I saw surprised me. Inside were lots of people, all hanging out, laughing, talking, drinking, eating, basically having a good time. At the front of the room was a table of some sort with a little old man sitting cross-legged on top of it. All around the room were scattered tables and chairs, and on one side there was a bar. In the corner, there was a bulletin board with pieces of paper pinned to it, saying things like, "help me!" or "find this!" or even "defeat these monsters!" I nodded in approval at the last one, monsters were everywhere and they were always causing trouble. Natsu had marched straight to the front where the old man was sitting. I quickly followed him, not wanting to get lost in the mass of people.
"Hey, sir! Um, Natsu, what are we doing here?" I said to the man, then gestured to Natsu, who was standing beside me.
"We want to join your guild!" Natsu cheered, putting his arms behind his head, giving his signature close-eyed smile.
"We do?" I ask, unsure of the situation. Natsu glanced in my direction giving me just-go-with-this look. "I-I mean, we do!" I stuttered. The man looked down at us, chuckling.
"Are you children wizards?" The man lowly grumbled. We nodded excitedly, hoping he would let us in. "What magic do you two use?" He asked, seeming a little interested.
"I use crystalvoice magic, and Natsu here uses fire magic." I answered for the both of us. The man thought a moment before motioning for a girl about our age, to come over. She had straight, cherry red hair that was pulled back in a braid, brown eyes, and she wore armor, which surprised me a little.
"Erza, can you get the insignia stamp for these two children?" The man asked. The redhead, Erza I'm assuming, nodded and walked away.
"I am Master Makarov but you can call me Gramps, and welcome to Fairy Tail! We are pleased to have you two here." The master said. Erza came back with a stamp in her hand with the same symbol as the banner out front.
"Where would you like your insignia and what color?" She asked with a little excitement in her voice.
"Red!" We both chorused. Erza gave us a surprised look, but shrugged and turned to Natsu. He was getting his right below his right shoulder. He smiled at me, signaling it wouldn't hurt. I smiled a little back, and showed Erza where I wanted my guild mark, on the side of my neck. Erza promptly put on the mark and walked off, saying a quick "congratulations" to the both of us. I hugged Natsu, cheering with him, as Makarov announced our coming. Everyone erupted in applause and cheers. I laughed, seeing how we were welcomed like we didn't just come out of the woods. Maybe it'll be a good thing we came here. I thought, making a mental note to thank Natsu later.
A year later and Natsu and I were still at Fairy Tail, both of us fourteen years old. Turns out, Igneel had told Natsu he should go to Fairy Tail. I heard Diamond say something about the guild once, but she never said anything about going there. The two of us had formed a team bond that was unbreakable. I wanted to ask Erza to join us, but I was sort of scared of her, and it didn't help that she was really independent. She had offered to help me train or to help me with anything that was confusing, so I could always still be friends with her. Today though, I was going to ask her. I gathered up my courage before marching up confidently to the redhead, who was sitting at the bar. She noticed my presence and turned to me, giving me a smile.
"Hello Gemma, what can I do for you?" She asked politely. I shuffled my feet and twiddled my thumbs behind my back. I was about to speak, when I felt Natsu's presence across the room, watching me. It was kind of uncomfortable even though he was my best friend. I shook off the unsettling feeling and focused on Erza.
"I-I was wondering if you would like to form a team with Natsu and I?" I asked shakily. I looked up to see her expression. The cold girl wore a confused and somewhat annoyed expression. I immediately knew I was going to be rejected as soon as I saw that stare.
"Gemma, I'm sorry but I can't accept your offer. I am an independent wizard and I don't need you two. I'm still open for lessons though, if you two need help." She said. I nodded sadly.
"That's okay, I understand, thank you anyways." I turned around, my head low and my shoulders drooped. Natsu immediately got up from his spot and ran after me out the door.
"Gem! Hey, Gem wait up!" He yelled, grabbing my attention. I stopped walking and turned to my best friend.
"Are you okay?" Natsu asked quietly, reaching out to my arm. I shrugged, scuffing my shoe in the dirt path. The salmon haired boy hugged me without any further questioning. I sighed, relaxing into his arms, but still refusing to cry. He let go and took my hand, leading me into the forest, knowing that would calm me down. We sat down on a log, underneath our favorite tree. I sniffed, sliding down the log, sitting on the ground. I explained what I had tried to do, Natsu listening intently, nodding his head, his frown growing bigger. He hugged me from the side, telling me that she wasn't worth it, along with other reassuring things. I smiled, knowing someone cared.
I stood up abruptly, Natsu following. I heard him sniffing, smelling the air with his advanced nose. Thanks to being dragon slayers, we had heightened senses. There was the sound of cracking branches and rolling, and a huge red egg fell from a tree, almost landing on me. I caught it, falling to the ground with the weight. Natsu landed on the ground beside me, a giant blue egg in his arms. I giggled, seeing our situation, before sitting upright with the egg in my arms. It was a beautiful red color with specks in it where it was pearly and shiny. Natsu's was the same, except blue. We decided to find out what these eggs were.
It's been a week since we've found the eggs, since then Erza and I had made up and become great friends. I had found out my egg wanted me to take care of it, refusing care from anyone else by rolling away, back to me. I sat watching the red egg crack slightly, before shattering. I gasped, screaming for Natsu. He wasn't even home. I sighed, watching the creature that was in the egg. It wasn't a dragon, it was a cat! A red one in fact. It opened its large yellow eyes, and uncurled its red tail, revealing a ruby gemstone on the end. The cat had white markings on its body, and a pink nose. I squealed in delight, picking it up gently. It purred, making me giggle.
"What should I name you?" I mused. I looked at the tail again, seeing the ruby.
"How about Rubi?" I asked the cat.
"Aye!" It squeaked, causing me to gasp. It could talk, and it was a girl judging by the voice. I shrugged before picking up my newfound friend and heading to the guild. After asking around about Natsu, Elfman told me he was with Lisanna. I sighed in relief, knowing he was safe. Lisanna was really nice, she wouldn't let anything happen to them. Natsu named his cat Happy after showing him to the guild, making everyone become, well, happy. That day, my face hurt so much because of all the smiling.
It's been a few years since then, three to be exact. We had appointed Rubi and Happy to our team, Team Natsu. We've been partners for a while now, and there wasn't anything we couldn't do. We battled monsters, blew up towns, rescued guild members, stalked enemies, and all the while had fun doing so. Everything was perfect, until she came along and brought change to the world I once thought was perfect.