Sweet Starry Shadows

The Change

Sweet Starry Shadows

Chapter 20: The Change

Silence...

That was all that she could explain as the heavy thickness of tension settled over them like a thick mass. Her mouth dry as she waited for an answer from the crimson, she forced herself to swallow down the unsettling feeling in her body. As she continued to wait, she could still feel Sting and Rogue's bewildered gaze as she planted her eyes on Sakura's frozen stated.

Knowing that Sakura was a dragon where they're supposed to foster young children and teach them Dragon Slaying magic, she knew that she was given an opportunity to learn new and stronger magic.

"I don't want you to risk your life on learning such reckless magic," Sakura replied where Lucy shook her head in shock.

Her mouth open, she watched as Sakura's face held such fear in her eyes. Not knowing why, she pressed on. "But I can help you fight against him," she said where Sakura looked at her as if she'd been slapped across the face.

"I'm not strong... I hold four raging elements within me and I can't control them just yet, and here I am, being asked to teach a mage that has no experience with my elements?" she said, bewildered that she's being asked such a thing.

Lucy nodding her head, she looked down to her hands. "I want to understand you guys. I want to see what you guys see..." she confessed.

Rogue not knowing how to handle the situation, he looked at Sting that was watching the entire thing unfold. What was happening was something that you wouldn't see occurring every day. This was a private matter, between a mage and a dragon...

He leaned forward with his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something to calm down the thick air around them. Even though he opened his mouth, no words were forming as Sakura shook her head again, refusing Lucy's pleas to learn at least an element to stand on even ground with them.

He knew that Lucy was strong, considering how she's able to open two gates as well as handle a heated fight against a strong opponent without losing hope. He knew her capabilities all too well… So why was Sakura so hesitant about teaching her at least an element?

Nothing could go wrong... Right?

"Why won't you teach her?" Sting asked, asking Rogue's question which was stirring an inner battle within his mind.

The girls turning their attention to him, Sakura sighed. "I don't know Celestial Dragon magic so can’t be my slayer. I only know how to control water, fire, sky and earth, that being nature, where water is my main element," she answered.

Rogue looking at Sakura and then back to Lucy who was pouting in disappointment, he finally could feel his mouth working again. "How about I teach her Shadow Dragon Slaying magic?" he offered where the girls widened their eyes at the sudden offer.

"There's no way -" Sting went ahead to cut the crimson off. "I'll teach her White, and you can teach her an element that she wants," he said where the crimson snarled at his self-centred offer to teach the girl a magic that was old and sacred.

"Not anyone could learn Dragon Slaying..." she began where Lucy clapped her hands together. "Can you both really?" she cried out.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she was feeling ecstatic that the boys had offered to teach their magic to her. Knowing that they were on her side, possibly since they wanted to be on her good side and that she was a member of their soon-to-be family, she was excited to learn more about them.

Her eyes bright and cheerful, she turned to Sakura. "You don't have to teach me everything. Just a few of the basics and I'll be good to go without having the need to worry about being seriously injured by them," she reasoned.

Watching Sakura slowly give up, she smiled victoriously knowing that she had won the case of learning three types of Dragon Slaying magic. Looking over to Rogue, she thanked him before doing the same to Sting.

As she was about to say something, someone knocked on the door where Minerva came walking into the infirmary. "I've brought the guild stamp," she informed before handing it over to Sting.

The male blonde nodding, he got up and faced her. "You ready to join our guild?" he asked where she nodded in response. Sting sighing, he held the stamp in place. "Where do you want it?" he questioned.

Lucy thinking about it, she looked down to the back of her hand and decided that this was the time to change herself into a better person. Understanding that she was now going to officially leave behind Fairy Tail for a better future, she knew that to do that, she must place the stamp somewhere else. She had to find a special place for her new family...

She didn't need to look back to the same place to only think back to her old family that had cruelly disposed of her without a care in the world.

Looking to Sakura, she watched as the girl nodded her head in support. Nodding back, she let out a sigh before rotating her body to point her left shoulder to him. Sting giving her a look with widened eyes, he turned to look at Rogue where the boy returned him a look of confusion.

Catching on to something, he then turned to Sakura that was smirking. The male blonde shaking his head, he then asked her what colour she would like her guild mark. "What colour?"

She smiled and looked down to her left shoulder. Thinking that it was a definite time to change her future, she looked back at him with a heart-warming grin. "Please make it... Crimson pink," she whispered before her head turned to Sakura who was shocked at the colour that was almost like her hair but with a tinge of pink mixed within it.

She was knowingly adding Sakura's importance onto her new mark. By changing from a light pink that she had chosen for her old guild mark belonging to Fairy Tail's, to a crimson pink for her new self that now belonged to Sabertooth, she knew that she was now taking a positive step forward.

Pink for herself. Crimson for her important friend. The head of a Saber-Toothed tiger on her shoulder... She was no longer Lucy of Fairy Tail, but Lucy of Sabertooth.

As she looked at her new guild mark on her shoulder, Sting did the same procedure to Sakura. The crimson requesting a crimson stamp on the same spot as her old one, he nodded as he stamped her upper right thigh.

"Welcome to Sabertooth," Minerva, Rogue and Sting said in unison before both girls smiled brightly.

With the Master and his uninjured friend leaving the three of them behind, Sakura smiled as she sat on the foot of the bed. As a comfortable silence settled over them, she opened her mouth. "So, what element of mine would you like to learn?" she asked.

The blonde looking up, she thought about it for a moment.

Fire - An element of a passionate, burning flame. Destructive, yet strangely inviting to touch... She knew that controlling flames would result in her having to be reckless at certain points. Fire cannot be easily controlled. Knowing that she would be exposed to many flammable things, she couldn't risk her poor wallet in exchange for her damage.

Nature - To control plants and the earth beneath her... There was a lot of potentials, but to control plants, she needed to know her stuff about them. If she were to use a plant to heal herself and fail to pick the right one, then she would be risking herself to other dangers that she never knew of.

To use the element that Sakura had considered it being Earth magic, she knew that there'll be two branches of magic that she'll be required to learn...

Sky - Something that's always surrounding us... An element that's peaceful, yet deadly at the same time. By learning how to control the air around her, she must be calm and be well connected to the environment. Having beneficial healing properties, she could help others, but the downfall of that was that she couldn't heal herself during drastic times...

Water - Another element that's always around us. An element that could heal but cause a lot of damage by using the concept of science, weight and surface tension. It was a valuable resource, and what she had noticed was that the user could use it to heal themselves during battle - As seen from Sakura while she fought.

Her mind raking through her four choices, she knew that it would be best to learn what Sakura was most comfortable with. Even though all four elements were her forte, it was better to learn what she knew best. Nodding her head as she ruled out the other three options, she looked at Sakura with confident eyes.

She was determined. She was ready for a new change of pace in her life.

Opening her mouth, she could already see Sakura and Rogue's anticipation on her reply. Feeling as if Rogue was already someone that's important to her like how Sakura was, she smiled.