𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙤 𝙗𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙤
❛ 𝘴𝘰... 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴? ❜
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"I hate... boats."
Lucy smiled at Rose sympathetically, wincing as the phoenix slayer turned a visible shade of green. It definitely looked unnatural on her, especially since her skin tone didn't visibly change shades very often.
"You'll be fine," Cylene reassured. Rose only grunted. Natsu was lucky – the motion sickness pills actually worked on him. Even after consuming them, Rose felt nauseous. The rocking motion of the boat was only amplified by her senses.
The problem wasn't just her abilities as a phoenix slayer. It was that Rose had been boat sick even as a child. Being a user of slayer magic only enhanced her pre-existing sensitivity to being at sea. Her guildmates made no effort to comfort her, knowing full well that they'd probably end up being kicked into the ocean.
The reason for them being on a boat? The guild master had recommended that they spend the next few months training at a beach. Rose didn't protest until she found out their mode of transport was a boat.
Two torturous hours later, Rose was slowly recovering her energy in the room assigned to the girls. Cylene lay curled up on a futon, oblivious to her companion's state of distress.
There were quite a few members of the guild who weren't part of the team who would be training as well. Team Shadow Gear and Juvia were amongst them. Rose caught sight of the water mage, clutching what looked to be Gray's shirt as she bounced after him happily.
The only one left in the room was Lucy. The others had already begun their intense training regimens.
Lucy looked at the phoenix slayer, beginning to speak hesitantly "Hey, Rose? Do you... want to train together?"
"Huh?" Rose was taken aback.
"B-because, you know, you fight in close quarters and everything! I needed some practice with that..." Lucy twiddled her fingers nervously.
"Oh, uh... sure." Rose pushed herself off of the wall. "Where to?"
"There's a good spot to spar over behind the main building..."
"Alright. Lead the way."
Rose kept pace with Lucy, absent-mindedly admiring the tropical flowers growing nearby. While Rose was comfortable with the silence, Lucy fidgeted nervously.
"So... do you have any hobbies?"
Lucy cursed herself internally. What kind of conversational topic was that? Rose didn't seem like the type to make small talk...
"My hobbies? I never really thought much about them..." Rose shoved her hands into her pockets. "... I like reading, I guess."
"R-really? I love reading!" Lucy's face lit up. "I'm actually writing my own book right now..."
"That's interesting. I'd like to read it someday." Rose came to a stop, glancing around the clearing they had entered. The dense foliage prevented most of the light from entering the area.
Lucy blushed. "T-thanks..."
"So, shall we start?"
"What? Straight away?"
Rose spared a slight smile and moved a few steps ahead of Lucy. "You needed help with close range, right? Do you want to train using magic or without?"
"Then, if it's okay, I wanted to gain some more experience fighting hand on hand." Lucy looked at Rose, wanting to confirm if the phoenix slayer was willing to do so, before continuing. "I tend to rely on my magic too much."
Rose nodded understandingly. "Alright."
Training commenced almost instantly. Rose corrected Lucy's stance to aid in stability, and she was impressed by the blonde's speed when it came to learning. She rarely repeated mistakes, and it was actually kind of refreshing to be able to train with someone who didn't just use brute force to muscle their way through.
Rose was starting to warm up to Lucy. They went through quite a few drills without pause, only taking a break when they realised the sun was directly above them. Then training resumed – they were currently stuck on one particular technique, which Lucy couldn't seem to pin.
"I think the problem is the speed you use to execute it," Rose explained as Lucy plopped down. "If you don't move your knee up fast enough for the kick you'll lose your balance, and the block seems to be making things more difficult. Maybe we could put it into context? I think that seeing it in action may help the concept click."
"Yeah, I think that'd be great," Lucy paused. "Do you... do you want me to spirit one of my spirits? Loke should be around the same height as you..."
"Huh?" Rose paused. She had been meaning to ask one of the other members of the guild, but a celestial spirit would be just as useful. The phoenix slayer didn't want to intrude on another person's training time. "Oh. Sure, that should work."
Lucy made quick work of the summoning, the resounding sound of a bell ringing fading away as a man appeared in front of her and Rose.
"How can I help?" The spirit questioned, smirking slightly at Lucy. Rose noted that he was dressed quite formally – a black suit with a lilac button-up. He adjusted his maroon tie absent-mindedly as Lucy explained why she'd summoned him.
"Training, huh?" The man ran a hand through his orange hair before his eyes shifted to analyse Rose. Being the awkward person she was, she simply stayed silent. "I'm Loke, or Leo the Lion."
Rose shook his hand after a moment's hesitation, responding curtly, "Rose. Phoenix slayer."
"Phoenix slayer?" Loke seemed to be confused. "Do you mean dragon—"
"Phoenix," Rose repeated. "I was trained by a phoenix."
"Not one for words, are you?" Loke eyed her wryly, but Rose simply shrugged.
"A-alright!" Lucy clapped her hands together as if sensing the strange tension. "Why don't you guys go ahead and demonstrate that move now?"
Loke returned the blonde's words with a flirty comment. Rose quietly took up a position opposite him as Lucy explained what they had been trying to learn.
"Oh, alright," Loke nodded in understanding and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "So you just need me to repeat that technique?"
"Correct." Rose inclined her head slightly. "I'll attack."
"Right! This'll be a piece of cake—" Loke barely dodged the kick aimed at his stomach. Rose weaved around to his side, jabbing the spirit's abdomen with a well-placed punch, before darting out of reach.
"Sorry," Lucy began apologetically. "I didn't quite catch that. Mind repeating it in slow motion?"
"Sure," Rose replied. By now, Loke had probably noticed that she wasn't very talkative.
It wasn't that she disliked him, per say; she was mostly just in a bit of a bad mood, because sometime during training she'd come to realise that she actually liked being part of Fairy Tail. It was infuriating. She'd been so determined to not grow attached to them, especially since they knew nothing about her background. If they did discover what she'd done over her lifespan, Rose had a feeling that they would be nowhere near as welcoming as they were currently.
By the time Rose had been pulled out of her thoughts, they'd gone through the drill thrice, removing any doubts Lucy had about how to execute the correct movements. Loke returned to the celestial spirit world after flirting with the blonde, before Lucy grinned at Rose.
"How about we try sparring? With magic? I want to see if I've improved much..."
Rose merely nodded. Sparring would keep her mind off of the darker topics it seemed so keen on straying towards.
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"I'm so, so sorry!" Lucy exclaimed for the twentieth time. Rose had counted.
"It's fine, Lucy," Rose sighed as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. Aquarius wasn't very nice. Even Lucy had gotten caught up in the spirit's attack, leaving them both soaked to the bone.
They stopped in front of the cabin. Rose combed a dripping tendril of hair back and stepped over a root, moving past the cabin to the beach beyond.
"Where are you going?" Lucy questioned.
"My clothes are already wet," Rose shrugged. "May as well go swimming while I'm at it."
The phoenix slayer trekked out into the waves without another word, plopping down in the water where there was a dip in the sand. It was the perfect place to anchor herself whilst she relaxed. Lucy went quiet, and for a moment Rose thought that she had left.
"Lucy?" Rose questioned. "You still there?"
"Cannonball!"
"Holy—" Rose cut herself off before she could swear.
"Natsu! What the hell?"
Rose slowly turned and raised an eyebrow at Lucy, who had been thrown into the water, and Natsu, who had leapt in after her. Rose subconsciously made sure her muffler was secure, not willing to have the item stolen away by the waves.
Lucy emerged from the ocean, drenched in seawater, a piece of seaweed lying atop her head.
"Natsu!"
"You're so dead," Rose muttered. Before the dragon slayer could try using her as a shield, she paddled further away from them. Lucy was practically breathing fire as she chases the salamander up and down the shoreline.
"Help me!" Natsu pleaded with her. Rose ignored him coldly, her attention already on whether or not she'd be able to find a seashell to take home.
Published: 20/10/2017
Edited: 01/08/2018