The Inn

The group arrives at an inn later that night ready to call it quits for the night. Well, all except for the two dragon crazed friends. For almost the whole trip through town after they finished eating, Krysti and Natsu chattered non-stop about the subject of dragons. They hung toward the back of the group, not really paying attention to anything else around them.

Lucy carried a sleeping Happy in her arms as the blue cat was tuckered out due to his fish feast. After a quiet conversation with the clerk, Erza heads back to inform the group of their room situation which silences the two chatterboxes.

"Ok, unfortunately due to an upcoming event here in town, there is only one room left with two beds, so we all are sharing. The manager is kind enough to bring up an extra bed so we aren't completely cramped. But we still need to figure out sleeping arrangements for us so…." Erza stops her monologue at the sight of Krysti raising her hand to call attention to herself.

"I call the floor!" she says cheerfully. Erza and Lucy both look at her aghast at the notion. The boys just look stunned.

"W-wait a minute Krysti! There is no need for you to…" stammers out Lucy before getting cut off in mid-sentence.

"Yes there is. Unless they are king or queen sized, which I doubt, then they won't be big enough for all of us. This way, everyone can have a bed. Its easier because I know that it would be a disaster if we try to force the guys to share a bed." Krysti then looks down at her feet and holds her hands behind her back.

"Anyways, some of this is my fault because you guys had to take time to deal with me." she said bashfully. She looks up and then stands up straight while putting her hands on her hips. "So I insist that I be the one to take the floor while you guys sleep in the beds. If for nothing else, as a small part to pay you all back for the kindness and friendship you have shown me." she ends in a tone that brooks no argument.

"But…" Lucy starts to protest.

"No buts. If I have to, I will just leave the inn and sleep outside." Krysti states firmly, not changing her tone.

Erza smiles at the brunette, before saying, "If you insist, then we will have to respect your wishes." The blonde girl pouts, unhappy with the situation. The two boys can't believe their luck that they don't have to fight for or share a bed. Erza silently starts walking down a hallway, signaling to the rest of the group that it is time to get to their room. When they open the door a large whoosh of cold air hits them which causes Lucy and Krysti to shiver.

They find the room to be a bit, small.

Not very furnished, it boasts of a stone floor and stone walls, a single nightstand, a small bathroom, and a small window. A ball of glowing crystal lights the room with a yellow light. And two twin sized beds. Not to mention that the room is much colder than it should be for being such a warm day. Lucy sets Happy down on the end of one of the beds before going through her luggage. Settling in, the two younger girls get their stuff together to use the bathroom.

"Krysti, aren't you going to join us?" Erza asks curiously as she realizes that the brunette hasn't made a move in their direction.

Shifting around nervously Krysti replies, "Um, that's ok. It will probably be cramped if I go in as well. I'll let you two and the guys go ahead of me. That and I wanna keep talking to Natsu." Gray snorts in amusement at that last sentence and waves away the curious looks as everyone looks in his direction.

He walks over to one of the beds and sits on it while leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Natsu and Krysti sit together on the other bed and rekindle their earlier conversation, just in quieter voices. While the girls were in the bathroom, a knock on the door is heard. Natsu quickly leaps off the bed to open the door. Outside is the innkeeper with some helpers bringing in the 3rd bed.

They finish setting it up just as the girls exit the bathroom all cleaned up and ready for bed. Erza thanks the innkeeper and helpers before they exit and the red-head closes the door behind them. It's a ¾ bed, so it won't be uncomfortable for them to share.

"Gray." is all Erza says, and knowing what she means, he quickly gets up to take his turn in the bathroom. The brunette and pinkette pick up their conversation from before the third bed arrived. The girls get their stuff settled by the bigger bed and start up their own conversation. An occasional raised voice from the two dragon enthusiasts catches the girls' attention from their own talk of different fashions and favorite sweets.

After a while, Gray pops out of the bathroom with his hair still wet and clad only in a pair of boxers. The brunette gapes at him but doesn't say anything when no one else seems to notice. Natsu then gets up to take his turn, knowing if he doesn't then a certain red-head will toss him into the shower.

Krysti lets her eyes wonder around, thinking about what to do to pass the time when they land on the nearly naked guy on the other bed. So she decides to start up a conversation with him.

"Hey Gray." she starts, trying to get his attention as he seems lost in thought.

"Huh?" he says as he gets taken out of his thoughts. He looks over to see the large woman looking at him intently.

"I never got around to asking, but what kind of magic do you have?" she asks nicely. He brings his hands together with a smack and a large snowflake is in his hand. She looks at it in awe and with a smirk he tosses it at her without warning.

"Ack!" she exclaims before catching the object.

"Oh! Its ice! So you're an ice wizard." she states.

"Yep. That's my magic. And I'm pretty good at it too if I say so myself." he says, feeling proud in his abilities.

"I'll say, the detail on this snowflake is beautiful!" she says in awe, which causes a slight blush to start on his cheeks.

"Um, thanks." he says sheepishly.

"Can I see the snowflake?" asks Lucy from across the room. Krysti looks at Gray and he nods. Getting off the bed, Krysti walks over to the other two females, not wanting to throw and possibly break the fragile looking flake.

"Wow! This is beautiful! You did such a good job with this Gray." Lucy sang her praise which caused the blush on Gray's face to deepen.

"Yes, excellent work." states Erza as she also looks at the ice. Gray turns his head away from the group of girls.

Looking towards the bathroom Krysti says softly, "I wonder if you can do things like this with fire?"

Scoffing Lucy just says, "The only thing that idiot has been able to make with his fire is a big mess."

"Huh? What do you mean a big mess?" she questions the blonde.

Lucy continues, "Yea, that hothead is always causing trouble. Getting into fights with everyone and doesn't know how to hold back. He destroys things around him when he fights. He can take out buildings with one punch if he is riled up enough."

"Take out an entire building? With one punch?" Krysti asks incredulously.

"Flame-brain has caused more trouble with all the damage he causes." Gray adds from across the room.

Lucy nods in agreement. "Yea, in fact when Natsu and I met in this very town. We got caught up in some shady business and he ended up destroying part of the town."

Krysti looks at Lucy askance.

"So his magic is that powerful that he can destroy a part of a town and it isn't even on purpose?" she asks. When she gets the nods affirming what she said is true, she gets an odd look in her eyes.

"Wow, its must be amazing to have that kind of power under your control…" she says almost dreamily. The bathroom door slams open, startling the group and waking up Happy.

He says sleepily, "Huh? What's going on? I was having a nice dream about fish…" he trails off, going back to sleep. Natsu is walking out, with fire coating his body to dry off his clothes and hair. Smiling like he doesn't have a care in the world, he flops onto the bed he is sharing with Happy. At this, Krysti gets up to take her turn at a shower. Closing the poor abused door gently, she goes through the motions of seeing what is left from all the showers.

Opening each door, she finds there are no dry towels left at all and very little in the way of soap. Even the shampoo is all used. Sighing in slight disappointment, she takes out her iPod and sets it on a dry part of the sink before taking off her clothes and earrings.

Seeing what looks to be normal plumbing that she would find at home, she steps in the shower and turns on the water. Icy cold water hits her body, almost causing her to shriek.

Instead she just lets out a gasp and shivers. She turns the knobs everyway just to find out all the hot water is gone. So, in silence she cleans herself the best she can in the icy cold water. After a few minutes, that seemed like hours to her, she finishes and stops the shower. Using the wet towels, she dries herself off as much as she can before slipping her clothes back on and reclaiming her possessions.

Walking out of the bathroom, the light is out and everyone is in their bed, already going to sleep. Still shivering, she walks over to the wall with the small window and sets herself down to lay down. The cold stone floors of the colder than normal room do nothing to help her warm up, but she doesn't say anything to anyone in an attempt to not be a burden anymore.

Settling down into the most comfortable position for her to sleep, she closes her eyes. Minutes tick by and the cold doesn't ease up. She bites her hand to keep her teeth from chattering. Time drags on, and the light of the moon goes slowly across the floor. Finally giving up, she sits upright against the wall, still shivering. Trying to warm up on the really cold stone despite the warm weather outside.

She gently blows on her hands to try to warm them without waking her sleeping friends.

Her eyes close shut in concentration as she curls up the best she can to preserve what warmth she still had. A bit later, a hand that feels almost hot lands on her shoulder, causing her head to shoot up and eyes opening wide. A dim figure is seen through the moonlight and it crouches down in front of her.

A soft familiar "Shush." is heard which identifies the person as Natsu. He grabs both of her cold hands in his warm ones, and pulls at her to stand up. Silently wondering what is going on, she lets him pull her up. Letting go of one hand he leads her across the room towards the beds. Still silent, he pushes her down to sit then lay back on the bed. She was so cold, that she complied without complaint.

The warm bed already starting to work the cold out of her body. A weight on the other side of the bed lets her know that he is now laying beside her. She turns on her side to face away from him to give him as much room as she can before his arm stops her. It drags her to the middle where her back meets with his chest. Using his inner fire, he raises his body temperature to warm her up faster. She lets out a small "mmm" of pleasure at the flare of heat after being so cold.

She whispers a quiet, "So warm." before falling asleep thanks to the dragon slayer behind her. He pulls the sheet over them before settling in to finally get to sleep when he couldn't stand hearing the brunette shiver on the floor anymore. Unbeknownst to either the brunette or dragon slayer, the other three people smile at what happened before they too start to go to sleep.

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Slowly, I wake up feeling incredibly comfortable and deliciously warm. I let out a small hum in pleasure before I snuggle back into my pillow, prepared to go back to sleep. Something tightens around my stomach which causes me to wake up instantly. Without opening my eyes, I try to take stock of my situation.

(Ok Krysti, what was the last thing you remember? Ummm, cold. That's right. I was cold out of my freaking mind on the floor. Something warm then got me. Hmm. Something warm was holding my hands, and then umm, I got pushed on something soft. Must be what I am on now. Then something really, really warm got next to me.)

As if to confirm my thoughts, I hear a familiar low groan right by my ear and everything clicks into place. (Ah, ok. So I guess Natsu took pity on me and brought me to the bed and used his fire to warm me up. Well if dragon-boy is willing to share, who am I to say no.) I smile to myself and take a deep breath to relax back into sleep. Well, that is I was until I hear a small cough followed by a giggle nearby.

I crack my eye open to the blurry image of three forms standing nearby. I close my eye again to ignore them and get back to my precious sleep. I hear a slightly louder cough and I frown in annoyance. I open my eye again and I can make out Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Happy watching me from the other twin bed.

"Hello sleepyhead." says a way too perky Lucy. I grumble at them, lift my hand to flip them off and then pull the sheet over my head. A delighted cackle sounds off in the room. (Why won't they let me sleep. Its so warm and comfy.) Sinking back into sleep, I get startled awake by the sheet getting yanked off of me. I hear Natsu start grumbling in my ear as he tugs me closer to him.

Before I can say or do anything else, I feel my legs getting jerked and I get pulled out of his hold. I let out a small scream as I fly and land roughly on the floor. I hear a yell and thud from the other side of the bed. I look up into the faces of Lucy and Erza as they each held one of my legs.

"What the hell!" Natsu and I both yell out to our friends.

Letting go of my legs, Lucy smirks at me as Erza answers, "Well, we need to be leaving now if we are going to make it to the train in time. You two refused to wake up normally. So…" she trails off. I glare and I hear Natsu curse.

Gray adds, "Plus, it was more fun for us this way." I grumble at them while trying to pick myself off of the floor. (Lowdown bastards. They didn't have to be so rough. I am soooo going to pay them back for this.) As I stand up, I rub my aching backside from where I landed. I give each one of them an evil glare which they don't seem concerned about.

(Oh I am so going to get revenge.) Now awake and standing, I stretch my body while it makes all sorts of cracks and pops. First my neck, then my upper back, my arms and fingers, then I work on down to my lower back, knees and calves. Limbered up, I feel better and energized.

Looking over, I see Natsu is also working out the kinks while glaring at Gray with a promise of death. (Hmm, I should team up with Natsu for our revenge. Oh, and how sweet it will be.) I silently promise myself.