Port Town Harujion

I stay near Natsu for the whole trip, which lasted less than the whole day to my surprise and relief. Staying in 'Doctor Mode' the whole time, I had him wake up every now and again to drink more water that I was able to procure from the pirates before letting him go back to sleep. When he starts groaning I would either hum or turn him onto his side to rub his back.

Happy comes by to check on Natsu now and again. The rest of the time, I spent it alone while thinking about my situation. I came to the conclusion that until I can at least learn the language, I should try to go with the flow and not be surprised by everything.

(Never in my life would I of thought that I would somehow get 'magically' whisked away to some far off place. Magic, huh? I wonder if that really was magic I saw those two use in that scuffle. There are nice demons, cats that can fly and speak, I guess it wouldn't be too far off the mark to think that there is magic as well.)

I look up into the sky and watch the clouds with a heavy sigh. (Can anyone learn magic in this place, or only a select few? What kinds of magic is there?) I look back down at the sleeping male. (His complexion still seems to be normal, that's a good sign.)

"I wish I could talk to you and everyone else, I have so many questions." I sigh wistfully.

I hear shouts coming from the pirates and I turn to look behind me to see that we are approaching a sprawling port town ahead. I look over at my traveling companions in curiosity and see that they are gathering their gear together.

(Ah, so I guess that confirms my suspicions that these guys are passengers and not pirates. Seems weird that pirates would act like a passenger ship. Maybe they aren't pirates and just look like them? Oh well, just another one for the question pile.) I turn back to Natsu who is still sleeping peacefully, despite the increase of noise.

I kneel down by his head to wake him up. His eyes open at my touch and I motion for him to get up. He nods with a smile and I smile back while handing him back his scarf. As we near the port, the ship rocks a bit more violently which causes Natsu's face to pale as he sits up. I rub his back and slowly lean him against the wall again. Gathering his blanket, I roll it up and attach it back to Natsu's pack before shouldering the load myself.

We wait for the ship to dock and get secured. The rocking becomes barely noticeable now and his complexion comes back some. I move to put his arm over my shoulders to help him up, but he refuses. (Stubborn guy. Heh. Ah well, I would do the same.) He makes it up on shaky legs and I stand up beside him. He slowly and cautiously works his way across the deck. I stay close beside him, keeping an eye on his condition.

About halfway across the ship, the rolling motion starts getting to Natsu again. I quickly wrap an arm around the back of his waist to steady him. I already see that the rest of the gang is waiting for us when Natsu and I reach the side of the ship. Walking down the gangplank was horrible. I'm worried it would break under our weight, and its wobbliness had Natsu's face turn green again.

I could feel his abdominal muscles start convulsing, and I turn him to lean out over the water as soon as we were off the gangplank. Turning to face Natsu's side and shrugging his pack off of my shoulders, I wrap my other arm around the front of his waist to keep him from possibly falling in since there is no railing nearby.

I take my arm that is wrapped around the back of his waist and move it upwards so I can rub his shoulders and also keep his scarf from getting dirty. After a minute or two, Natsu's complexion starts getting better again. I continue to rub his back as he stands upright again and I remove my arm that was holding him up. I gently lead him away from the edge of the dock so we are less likely to have some accident. As I kept working on Natsu to help him recover, I look back at the gang to see them staring at me, almost awestruck.

Forgetting that we don't speak the same language, I ask them, "Why are ya'll looking at me like that?" They shake their heads in amazement and don't say anything. (Ok, now I am confused. They seem to be friends, but they don't care when he is seasick. And when I help him they look at me like its amazing. W. T. H. For real.) I give the group a long appraising look.

(Either something is messed up with this friendship, or maybe its some sort of cultural rule thing I messed up. Either way, its confusing and another thing to ask about.) I'm shaken out of my thoughts by a loud whoop coming from Natsu as he moves away to do a happy dance and cheer. I chuckle at the sight to see him so energetic after his recovery.

(Guess he is more of a kid than an adult. Still, its cute and I'm happy...) I'm shaken out of my thoughts for a second time in just as many moments, by a big bear hug from behind. Next thing I know, I'm lifted up and spun around real fast. I shriek out in surprise at the fact that my feet aren't on the ground.

For some reason, this really freaks me out. I flail my limbs and scream in terror while I hear Natsu shouting something behind me. Not soon enough I'm back on my feet. My heart is beating rapidly and I'm breathing heavily trying to recover from that shock. (That was soooo not fun.)

My knees get weak, and I slump down to the ground on my hands and knees with Natsu still hugging me from behind. His shouting hasn't stopped just yet and when he does, he hugs me even tighter. Hearing laughter, I turn my head to see the others laughing at us. (Or most likely at me for that shriek. Heh, now I know why my female friends hated it when I hugged and spun them around fast. Looks like they got their revenge without even trying. That's karma for ya.)

Everyone but Erza starts talking towards Natsu and me in a mocking tone while giving us amused looks. Natsu retorts back at them angrily. When Gray says something that sounds insulting, Natsu lets me go and almost flew to Gray in a rage to start another fight. Feeling recovered from my earlier terror, I laugh lightly along with Lucy as Erza says something which causes them to suddenly act all buddy-buddy for who knows how many times today.

Erza then looks at me, before saying something to the others in a serious tone. They look at me, then back at Erza before replying. (Oooookay. Now what is going on? Jeez, its annoying not knowing the language.)

She raises her arm in a signal like they are moving out. I grab a strap of Natsu's pack as I start standing back up, when his hand stops me. He gives me a big smile and signals that he is ok.

I nod and he swings it on his shoulders in a practiced motion. Erza turns to walk down the street with her luggage wagon trailing behind. The others follow along and I walk behind them. We take a lot of twists and turns in this maze of streets until Erza decides to stop at some random shop. She says something quietly and goes in alone.

I decide to take a seat on the ground and rub my feet. They started making their complaints known a few streets back. (Just socks and cobblestone streets don't mix. Owies. Just about as bad as breaking in new shoes. I hope we don't have to walk for a while.) I take off my bright red fuzzy socks to massage them better. That's when I realize something. My mind has been focused on everything going on that I forgot that I have been wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and a nightgown.

I feel my face heat up in embarrassment and I look down to hide the blush. (Oh thank the gods above that I didn't decide to wear my thin silk gown. That would be sooo embarrassing! Well more embarrassing then being in this nightgown. Dammit, well this is great. I need to get new clothes as well I can't run around in just these clothes…) I almost slap my forehead as a new thought occurs to me.

(Crap, I'm an idiot! Been so caught up about magic and stuff that I didn't even think about how I'm going to support myself.) I grab my socks to try to clean them so I can have something for my hands to do as I think more about my situation. (What am I going to do for food, and clothes, and stuff much less trying to get back home? I don't want to burden these guys. I don't know how I can earn whatever passes for currency in these parts.)

Realizing the extent on how bad my situation is, I give up trying to be gentle on my socks. Violently shaking out as much dirt and sand as I can, I go to put them in my pocket before I remember my iPod. (Oops. That wouldn't do. Don't want dirt and stuff to gunk up the electronics. Better check on it.) I reach into my pocket and find nothing.

"What the…?" I mutter to myself. I dig deeper into my pocket and I quickly change to the other pocket on my sweatpants again to find nothing.

"Aw dammit." I whine to myself. I slump down feeling depressed that I lost one of the few links I had to my home.

"Klistina?" I look up to see Lucy standing in front of me with a questioning look on her face. I give her a sad smile and pat my empty pockets while shaking my head no. I look down again, still depressed. I feel a tap on my head and I look up again to see her holding out my iPod and headphones. Happiness floods through my system as I smile widely and nod yes while reaching out for it.

She hands the iPod over before sitting next to me. She looks at it questioningly and points at it. (Ah, so she is curious. Hmm, odds are there isn't any wi-fi, so I can't do anything that needs it. That takes out a lot of functions.) I click the home button and swipe to open it, I hear a small noise of surprise beside me and I grin at her.

Looking through the apps, I decide to choose something simple. Music. I tap on the app and go to lengthen the wire on my retractable headphones when I feel a warmth on my other side. Glancing over, I see Natsu looking at the iPod in curiosity and Gray walking over as well to see it. Still grinning, I detach the cord from the jack while quickly retracting the cord before slipping it in my pocket.

I start scanning through the playlists before settling on one I simply have labeled as Me.

Adjusting the volume, I tap play and a soft, gentle, Celtic melody starts. I see their pleasantly surprised reactions and that makes me feel happy. An sudden weight settles on my head and before I react, I feel something furry along my neck. I grab at it to see a blue tail with a white tip.

(Ah, so that's Happy on my head. He better be housetrained.) The song ends after a few minutes and I scroll through the list to look for another song to let them listen to. I settle on one of my favorite songs, Love's the Only House sung by my favorite female singer, Martina Mcbride.

As the opening chords start, I close my eyes and I feel a weight lift from my heart. I always feel like I come home when I hear her music no matter where I am. As the song gets to the second chorus I start singing softly with it, forgetting about the other people by me.

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world.

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain.

You drive three miles from all this prosperity

down across the river and you see a ghetto there.

And we got children walking around with guns

and they got knives and drugs and pain to spare.

And here I am in my clean white shirt

With a little money in my pocket and a nice warm home.

And we got teenagers walkin' around in a culture of darkness livin' together alone...all I can say...

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world,

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain...

Lost in the music and lyrics, I continue to sing along with it, slowly rocking my body to the beat. Feelings of love and hope blossom within and I put more of my soul into the song. I know that my voice could never sound as good as Martina's but I sure can put my feelings in it. Near the end of the song, a wave of homesickness hits like a tsunami and I hear my voice crack on the last words.

I feel a hug suddenly envelop me from the side before the song's ending chords are done. I open my eyes in surprise and see nothing but blonde hair. A cold hand touches my face to wipe away a tear I didn't know was there. Lucy moves her head to reveal Gray's softly smiling face and his hand on my cheek. A warm arm reaches around my waist and an even warmer body presses up next to mine on the other side.

I turn my head to see Natsu grinning at me like a fool and a soft light in his eyes. Happy moves off my head to land in my lap and hugs me the best he can. A soft tap on top of my head causes me to look up into Erza's smiling face as well. Looking at those five faces with cheerful smiles causes a happy bubbling feeling to well up in my heart.

"Everyone." I say softly before I start smiling and cry some more. (These people. We barely know each other and yet here they are making me feel like I'm just as loved by them as I am by my own family. I don't know how or why I am here or even if I can get back. But I think that if they are with me, it won't be a lonely journey.) The next song that starts playing is another one sung by Martina, this one is called Happy Girl.

It fits the moment, perfectly.

I switch off the music and turn off the iPod's power to save the battery before giving everyone a hug. Happy flies out of my lap after I hug him first. It did take a bit to get untangled from Lucy and Natsu as they cling to me while I tried to get up to hug Ezra. Gray extends a helpful hand and I give him a smile of thanks as he helps me up before he envelops me in a cold embrace. Erza roughly shoves my head to hit her armored chest when its her turn.

"Ow!" I cry out in pain. When she lets go, I pout and rub my head where it hit the armor. The others laugh and give sympathetic looks. (Ah, so that's normal for her then.)

"Klistina." I look back to Erza to see that she is holding out what looks like some sort of ear piece. Gesturing for me to take it, I pick it up and look at it. (Hmm, odd. Looks kinda like the rubbery bit on my ear buds. Smaller though.) I look back at her and she motions for me to put it in my ear. (Curiouser and curiouser.)

I place it in my ear and I get a large jolt not unlike an electric shock. With a loud yelp, I quickly dig it out and shake my head to clear it. My heart beating rapidly from that shock. (Damn, felt that one in my heart. Just like when I touched that metal flagpole while still getting out of that electric fence.)

I look at the little piece and then I give Erza a 'what the fuck?' look. She looks at the piece and corrects the position. Then motions for me to try again. I look at it feeling a bit uneasy. She nods in encouragement and much more cautiously I put it in my ear ready to snatch it out if I get another jolt. This time nothing. (Huh? Ok, what now?)

Looking back at her, I raise an eyebrow and she smiles before speaking, "Hello, Krystina. Are you able to understand what I am saying?"

"Eh!" I just exclaim stupidly in surprise.

The two guys walk up next to Erza to face me while Lucy stays by my side and all three say in unison, "Glad to meet you, Krystina."

I touch the little bit of rubber and say thoughtfully, "Huh, so it's a translator, two-way I'm assuming. That was a hell of a jolt it gave me though."

"That was due to a magical feedback that was caused when you placed it in backwards. I'm sorry for not making sure it was in proper position before you placed it in your ear. And you're right, it is two-way so we can understand you and vice versa." explains Erza.

"Ok, that makes sense. And that answers one of my questions already. Don't worry about the shock, its not the first time I got a shock like that." I reply. I look at each of them before closing my eyes with a relieved sigh.

"You have no idea how good it is to finally be able to talk to y'all normally." Opening my eyes, I grin widely before continuing, "It was getting frustrating. And hello to all of y'all as well. I'm Krystina Skye VanHawkins, you can call me Krysti, and I'm pleased to meet you too." I get bombarded by various greetings all at once, making it hard to tell who said what.

"I have soooo many questions to ask!" I say excitedly as the initial greetings die down. I feel my stomach give out a low growl at this point which causes me some embarrassment.

"Natsu! That's rude!" Lucy huffs out while putting her hands on her hips.

I raise my hand while feeling bashful, and say, "Guilty. And I guess that would be my first question, could we go get something to eat?"

Lucy quickly blushes and looks down in embarrassment. "Sorry, Natsu. Sorry, Krysti."

Natsu just grins and says, "It's ok, Luce. No hard feelings. I'm feeling hungry anyways." He pats his stomach for added emphasis. I look over at him and my inner doctor kicks in again.

"That's right! We need to get some food in you, mister. After that seasickness bout, you're gunna get dehydrated if we don't get some more liquids in you as well." I say to him while putting one hand on my hip and using the other to point at him. Natsu blinks in surprise at my words before suddenly lunging at me and capturing both of my hands in his. Startled, I just gape at his actions.

He gives me a very intense look with a few tears gathering in corner of his eyes before saying with utmost seriousness, "You are the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful person I have ever met." Flattered, confused, and flustered, I feel my cheeks warm up a lot at his intense gaze and the praise.

"Now that can't be true…" I start to contradict him when he interrupts me, still serious.

"Nuh-uh! It's true. No one ever took care of me like you did when I get motion sickness!" (So its all motion, not just the sea.) His grip on my hands tightens as he continues on in a more angry tone, "Not even my so-called friends over there did as much as you did the whole time I knew them!" Shocked, I look over to the others.

"Is that true?" I ask. All I got was a cough and no one would look me in the eyes.

Incredulous at their actions, I ask, "Seriously? You do this every time?" Natsu's hold on my hands lessens as he steps back to listen to my budding rant. "Aren't you guys suppose to be friends? But yet none of y'all would try to take care of him when he gets that way? What kind of messed up friendship is that?" I end snappishly.

(A friendship like this gets me really steamed up. If this is how they treat their friends, maybe I would be better off without them.) All four of them look down at the ground, ashamed. I start to berate them.

"That's right, y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. I mean seriously, I could maybe, maybe, understand every now and again if it he did something to deserve it, but every time? Really?" I place my free hand on my hip as I vent my anger at this treatment. Erza clears her throat before meeting my angry gaze with a stern stare of her own.

"Well, I would actually knock him unconscious with a swift punch to the stomach so he didn't have to be awake and suffer through it." Hearing this, all my protective feelings went into overdrive. I hate seeing people mistreat others. More so if they are suppose to be friends, and especially if they are people I consider one of my patients. It doesn't matter if I barely know these people. This pushed my buttons in a way like never before.

I was mad.

I was angry.

No, I am pissed.

I pull my hands out of Natsu's to march over to the red-head and I snap at her, "You punch him? In the stomach?" I enunciate those words just to show how pissed I am before continuing, "When he is suffering from motion sickness? That's a horrible way to help! Haven't each of you at one point have an upset stomach and nausea? How would you feel getting punched in the stomach while your feeling that way?! Hasn't anyone heard of motion sickness pills? Or if you wanted him to sleep, some sleeping pills? At the very least give him some frickin' ginger root to chew on!" I end in a shout.

Looking indignant at my accusations, she glares angrily back before heatedly replying, "We didn't know about cures for motion sickness! If we did, of course we would of gotten him some!"

I glare back, not breaking my gaze and snarl, "Did you even try to find out if there were any cures? Did you even bother to check for any?" She looks shocked at my accusation and starts to reply before stopping and hanging her head down.

"No, I didn't." she replies in a quiet, defeated tone. I turn my glare on the other three and they jump back in fear.

"And how about you three? Did anyone of y'all even bother asking?" Silence met my questions. "Just as I thought, and you call yourselves his friends. Tsk." I hiss out. I turn to look at Natsu and my anger melts. He stares at me like he is in complete shock. I walk back to Natsu and catch him in a hug.

Softly I say, "You poor thing. Being nauseous for hours on end is a terrible feeling. I've been through that myself, more than once."

I step back from him and I rest my hands on his shoulders. He gives me an unreadable expression, not saying anything.

"Shall we go find a place to go eat? I'm sure you must be starved." I warmly smile at him.

Closing his eyes, he shakes his head before answering, "Not yet. First, I would like you to apologize to my friends for being too harsh." Stunned, I just gape at him.

He pauses before continuing in a calm voice, "They may be inconsiderate about certain things, they may be jerks. Especially ice-bastard over there. They may be frustrating. But they are my friends, my family. Through the good times and the bad, family sticks together. Maybe they needed to hear from someone new to the family to point out a mistake, but I think that you were too harsh on them. Even if you're just trying to help me."

Touched by the strength of his love for his family that I could hear in Natsu's words, I nod in acquiesce despite my anger. Letting go of his shoulders, I walk over to Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Erza before giving each of them a long disapproving look. Inside I'm still seething at his mistreatment by them, but I push that down to take control of my emotions. Before I am able to do anything else, Erza drops down on her hands and knees in a very subservient bow. The ring of her armor hitting the cobblestones echoes loudly in the silence.

I blink back my surprise as she starts to speak, "Krysti has been correct in everything that she said. I must apologize to you Natsu, for my lack of consideration for your condition. I have believed that I was right in my actions and now I have been shown the error of my ways. I have treated one of my family badly, and ignored their suffering for too long! I deserve a punishment! Please do what you see fit!"

I take a step back, unsure on how to proceed. Looking back towards Natsu, I see that he too has a stunned expression on his face. Glancing at me, he nods for me to continue. Facing forward again, I take two steps towards the others before bowing as well. I bow as deeply to them as I have for the island demons.

I then begin to speak, "I must apologize as well. Natsu is right, I have spoken too harshly about matters that do not concern me. I feel that people are important and should treat each other with kindness. Friends and family more so as they are extremely precious and must be treasured. So seeing what seems to be mistreatment of those important bonds, I have allowed my passion to control me and I have spoken harshly. Please forgive me and my words." I close my eyes and remain bowing.

I hear Lucy start talking, "No, what you said was true. We ignored the suffering of one of our own. We are the ones who should be apologizing. Nastu, we're so, so sorry! Please, can you forgive us?"

"Umm, yea… I'm sorry as well." said Gray in a lame way. Feeling a tap on the small of my back, I look up to see Natsu motioning me to stand up. He gives me a small smile of approval. As I do so, I see that Lucy is bowed just like me and Gray looking away and shifting around uncomfortably. His shirt was off again.

(What is up with this guy and clothes? Like seriously.) Natsu walks over to Lucy and has her stand as well. He motions me to join them and I feel curious at what is happening. Natsu then crouches down in front of Erza who has not moved and taps her on the head. She looks up at him and he then grabs her arms to have her stand up. Getting us all together, he faces us with a stern expression.

After looking at all of us, Natsu closes his eyes and lowers his head like he is thinking. After a few seconds, his head pops back up with a large grin plastered on his face.

"Everyone is forgiven! After all, we're all family and we forgive each other for mistakes when they're made." he cries out cheerfully. At that, he plows into us for a large group hug. Out of reflex from years of never being considered part of a group, I sidestep out of the way so as to not mistakenly get caught up in the hug. (I'm glad that he is able to forgive them. Maybe now they will treat him better.)

I quickly spin away from the happy scene to give them their 'moment' together. Looking everywhere else, I notice something red on the ground. I walk over to find that I've forgotten about my socks. I pick them up and slip them into my empty pocket when a sudden silence catches my attention and I turn to see what caused it. I step back in surprise when I see five stern faces staring at me.

(What the…? Why are they looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?) An angry Natsu stomps over toward me and grabs one of my wrists before dragging me into the middle of the group.

"You're family now." he states in a tone that brooks no argument. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. (They accept people this easily into their family? They don't know me.)

"Aye, sir! You're family now." A high pitched voice quavers. I turn to look into the crying face of Happy who is flying just above us.

"You're now a part of our family." I look at Erza as she says that.

"Welcome." (Gray.)

"Welcome to the family, Krysti." (Lucy.) Natsu grabs one of my hands and holds it up, soon to be enveloped  by the hands of everyone else. He look at me and our eyes lock.

"Family." he says.

"Family!" repeats everyone loudly. Tears start to fall as I feel overwhelmed.

"Family." I agree quietly.