"How did you find them?" Xi Feng asked.
"I found mine by the river," Wendy replied.
"I'm going to hatch my egg. Do you want to hatch yours too?" Natsu chimed in from beside them.
"We could, but..." Wendy paused before continuing, "we don't know how. What if we accidentally break it?"
"Can I join you?" Lisanna came over and asked softly. "I know a little about hatching eggs."
"That's great, Lisanna!" Natsu said excitedly.
"Thank you, Lisanna," Wendy said.
Elfman, who sat nearby, watched Wendy and Natsu with a little envy.
And so Wendy and Natsu began looking after their eggs.
"Damn it! Who stole my egg?!" One day, Natsu stormed into the guild, while Wendy and Lisanna were just as frantic.
"I bet you ate it yourself," Gray said mockingly.
"I did not, you exhibitionist!"
"Who knows, you hothead?"
"Want to fight?!"
"Bring it on! I'm not scared of you! I'm beating you into the floor today!"
"Yeah, right! I'm the one who's going to win!"
With that, Gray and Natsu went straight at each other, tangling in a brawl.
"..." Xi Feng was left rather speechless as he watched them. Then he walked over to Wendy and Lisanna and asked, "Wendy, Lisanna, can you tell me what happened?"
"Mm." Wendy nodded her cute little head. "Last night, we put the two eggs together, but when we looked this morning, they were gone."
"Oh, right," Cana spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "I remember Elfman saying he wanted an egg too. He was really jealous of Natsu and Wendy."
Just then, Elfman arrived at the guild with both eggs in his arms. After hearing his explanation, everyone understood that he hadn't meant any harm.
"Wendy, you can't do that again," Xi Feng gently admonished her after Elfman's explanation helped him understand what had happened.
"I know." Wendy stuck out her little tongue, then lowered her head in embarrassment.
Crack.
Just then, both eggs made a noise, drawing everyone's attention. Their shells slowly flaked away, radiating blue and white light. Finally, two little winged cats emerged, one blue and one white.
"Cats?!" Macao and Wakaba exclaimed in surprise as they watched the little blue cat flying through the air.
"It has wings. Is it a bird?"
"Isn't it a cat? It's just a blue cat."
The guild members chattered among themselves as they watched the little blue cat flying overhead.
"So cute," Wendy said delightedly, looking at the little white cat sitting on the floor. Compared with Natsu's little blue cat, Wendy's was much quieter.
The power of foresight, huh? Looking at Wendy's little white cat, Xi Feng knew that, having just been born, she would inevitably have her memories confused by that power. He walked over and stroked her head. "She's adorable. Wendy, have you thought of a name for her?"
"Hmm?" Wendy thought for a moment, then said, "Carla. I'll call her Carla."
After Xi Feng stroked her head, the little white cat-no, Carla now-felt much more at ease. She raised her little head and looked at him in puzzlement, then spread her tiny wings and flew up to perch on his head.
"Big Brother Xi Feng, Carla seems to really like you," Wendy said with a little envy as she watched Carla resting on his head.
Xi Feng simply smiled and stroked Wendy's head. "You two need to get along, okay? Carla will be counting on you to take care of her."
"Mm, I will."
Meanwhile, just as in the original story, Natsu named his little blue cat Happy, symbolizing the happiness he would bring to others.
Chapter 13: Gildarts, Cana's Worries (Please Send Flowers and Bookmark)
"Gray! Natsu! Did you eat my cake?!"
"No!" they both cried.
Faced with a furious Erza, Gray and Natsu instantly stiffened and answered in unison.
"Damn it! Then who was it?!" Erza burned with anger as she stared at the empty plate.
"Nothing's really changed," Xi Feng said with a smile, watching the usual lively bustle. They had been at Fairy Tail for a year now. Though they had grown older, the guild hadn't changed in the slightest.
Boom!
While everyone was drinking, boasting, and fooling around, one of the guild's walls suddenly blew apart. A man's voice rang out at the same time.
"Excuse me, is this Fairy Tail?"
Only after the dust cleared could Xi Feng and the others make out the newcomer: a muscular man with slicked-back orange hair.
"Hey, Gildarts! You're back!" some of the guild's older members called out when they saw him.
"Gildarts?" Hearing the guild members, Xi Feng realized who the newcomer was: the S-Class Mage renowned as Fairy Tail's strongest. If Gildarts is here, then Cana...
Thinking of Cana, Xi Feng scanned the guild and saw her keeping her head lowered. Then she took some alcohol and left. After a moment's hesitation, he followed her outside.
"Gray, who's he?" Natsu asked, looking at Gildarts.
"Him? He's Gildarts, the strongest S-Class Mage in the guild right now," Gray explained, a hint of fighting spirit in his eyes.
"The strongest S-Class Mage!" Gray's words made Natsu's eyes light up.
"Gildarts, why do you keep doing this? How many times have I told you to use the front door?!" Makarov walked over, his voice filled with exasperation.
"Hahaha, I'll be more careful next time, Master," Gildarts said with an awkward laugh.
"There's just no getting through to you," Makarov said helplessly. "Still, it's good that you're back. We can start preparing for the S-Class Mage Exam."
"The S-Class Exam? Sounds good." Gildarts thought for a moment, then looked around the guild. "Quite a few new faces here."
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Just then, Natsu actually swung his fist straight at Gildarts.
"When did he-? That idiot Natsu!" Gray said in surprise as he watched Natsu charge at Gildarts.
"Hmm?" Gildarts noticed Natsu too. Though slightly surprised, he reacted immediately, dodging with ease before punching Natsu on the head.
With a thud, Natsu became intimately acquainted with the floor.
"That hurts!"
Natsu quickly scrambled back up, clutching his head. Gildarts was surprised to see him get up so fast. Even though they used magic, their physical strength was considerable too.
"Natsu, what are you doing?!" Makarov shouted at him as he clutched his head.
"You're pretty good, kid. What's your name?" Gildarts asked, seemingly taking an interest in Natsu.
"Natsu. Natsu Dragneel! One day, I'll beat you and become an even stronger mage!" Natsu boldly declared.
"Hahaha! I've got high hopes for you, kid." Natsu's declaration made Gildarts laugh. He was really starting to like the boy.
"You? You can't even beat me, and you think you can beat Gildarts?" Gray said, walking up beside Natsu.
"Who says I can't beat you?" Natsu retorted indignantly.
"It's just a fact."
"Want to fight?!"
"I'm not scared of you!"
With that, Natsu and Gray started squabbling again, breaking into a fight right there in the guild.
"Hahaha! I've been away for so long. I never expected the guild to get this lively," Gildarts said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, after following Cana outside, Xi Feng found her drinking by the river, her face clouded with worry.
"You're too young to drink." Xi Feng walked up beside Cana and snatched away her alcohol.
"What are you doing? Give it back!" Cana immediately reached for it, trying again and again to grab it from him.
"I told you, you're too young to drink." With that, Xi Feng threw the alcohol away.
"You..." Seeing him throw it away, Cana didn't know what to say. She simply sat down and stared silently at the water.
As Xi Feng watched the silent Cana, the atmosphere grew awkward. Finally, he spoke. "Cana, is something troubling you?"
"..."
His question made Cana tremble involuntarily, but she soon regained her composure. At last, she said quietly, "Xi Feng, I came to Fairy Tail to find my dad. My dad is Gildarts."
"..." Because of his previous life, Xi Feng already knew about Cana's situation, but he knew this wasn't the time to speak.
"Every time Dad comes back, he only stays a little while before leaving on another job. Every time, I want to tell him, but I just can't get the words out. What started as anticipation has turned into uncertainty. Eventually, I learned magic so I could divine when he would come back. I thought that if I could use magic, I'd be a little closer to him. But Dad is the strongest mage in the guild. There's a world of difference between us, and he's always so brilliant. Little by little, I became afraid to tell him the truth. I'm scared, but I don't even know what I'm scared of. He's my dad... sob..." As she spoke, Cana finally burst into tears, pouring out everything she had kept bottled up all these years.
"Ah..." Xi Feng sighed. He knew what Cana was worried about. She feared she wasn't good enough to deserve to be Gildarts's child. After all, he was the strongest S-Class Mage in the guild. Xi Feng walked over and stroked her head. "Cana, this is my first time meeting Gildarts, but I'm sure he'd be thrilled to find out he has a child, especially such a pretty daughter."
"Really?" Cana asked doubtfully.
"Yes. You can't keep running away from this. Let me help you, Cana."
Before you continue