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Lion's Pride	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 10067 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I make no money writing this. I do it for my own pleasure. Any lyrics are my own or I received permission from the artist.

Chapter List
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獅子の子は獅子。 - Shishi no ko wa shishi.

"The child of a lion is a lion." (a twist on the Japanese proverb about a frog)

Chapter 22

The Child of a Lion is a Lion

In a luxurious country ryokan in northern Fiore, Haftorang carefully carried a cup of hot tea in his translucent fins and brought it to Kefira. The raven-haired former queen sat by a hearth staring at the fire, yet her gaze fixed beyond the flickering flames, back through memories dating to ancient times. Snow was common this far north, especially around this time of year, but a chill blew off the nearby mountains, making the storm outside even more fierce. To her, it almost felt like that dreadful mountain cave in Kohinur where she had been forced to live for far too long as she bided her time.

"'Tis almost time, mistress-s-s," Haftorang told her.

She nodded solemnly. "Aye, and an appropriate day for the child of the Lion to come forth into this world."

"The Leonid meteor shower," he muttered with a sad, distant gleam in his round eyes.

Haftorang remembered that day over four hundred years ago. Legends said that the Lion was the only Celestial Spirit who did not cry when the Royal Stars left, but there was one other who refrained from tears. On that day, Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, left the Spirit World in anger, rarely returning, and never spoke to the Lion again until one fateful battle when they stood on opposite sides.

Kefira chuckled to herself. "The day the Lion lost his Heart, and now he gaineth a new heart, a family, a reason to continue existing. I wonder how he will react when he all that is taken from him too. Fate is indeed a cruel mistress."

"Will thy plans fail if the child is born without us there to begin?" he asked.

"Not in the least. We'll let the little wench have her bundle of joy for now. Although we shouldn't wait too long, not like we did with Zeref. That was a mistake."

"We had no way of knowing such a being existed in this world," he reminded her. "We simply discovered him too late."

"That's true. And if not for thine ability to sense other Celestial Spirits, I might have killed him along with his mother. Now we know what we're looking for and exactly where to find it. There's no rush. We shall give her half a year. The child should be grown enough by then. In the meantime...how is thy strength, Haftorang?" Kefira asked in genuine concern.

"Returning fast, mistress-s-s. I apologize that I was weakened after my fight. I've not needed to merge with Fomalhaut like that in centuries-s-s. I nearly forgot how exhilarating it can be."

The pale queen smiled. "'Twas glorious to behold, just like the old days! I'm still hoping Leo will agree to join us. I miss how he used to look when he merged with Regulus. Truly marvelous!"

"Perhaps next time we can be more...persuasive."

She hummed and sensually licked her lips. "I certainly hope so!"

Meanwhile, south in Magnolia, the sky was crisp and clear, perfect for watching shooting stars that flashed like tiny fireworks in the sky. However, in Fairy Tail's guild hall, all the members were inside waiting for a much different miracle to shine that night.

"Hahaha! You fainted?" Natsu teased, slapping the dining table until his drink splashed out. "What an idiot!"

Gray was still holding his head as he sipped a tea Mirajane offered to him. "You didn't see it. I will never again think any woman is weak."

"You're such a wimp, droopy eyes!"

Mirajane smiled sweetly. "You shouldn't say that, Natsu. Erza almost fainted too."

Natsu looked over to where Levy and Lisanna were trying to help Erza overcome her shivering trauma. He pouted that even someone as fearless as the Titania had reacted badly. Just how horrible was childbirth anyway? He figured women just popped out a baby, yet Lucy's shrieks, Gray's fainting, and Erza's terror told him that it was a lot harder. He also did not like that he kept smelling Lucy's blood.

"Umm," Juvia muttered, pressing her index fingers together nervously. "Does this mean Gray-sama doesn't want children?"

"I dunno," the ice mage mused. "It's not something I've really thought about. I guess it depends on if my future wife wants to be a mother. After all, she's the one who has to go through all that, so I'd leave it up to her. Girls probably think about those things more than guys anyway, right Juvia?"

She jolted in shock. "W-what?"

"Well, you're a girl," he figured with a lazy shrug. "Do you ever think about crazy stuff like having kids?"

Her cheeks slowly turned pink. "Y-yes, Juvia has thought about it. Juvia wants a big family one day." She covered her cheeks and rushed away before she embarrassed herself. "Juvia and Gray-sama are already talking about starting a family. Oh my! I...I'm not ready for something that big. We should be married first. Oh, Gray-sama!" she sighed dreamily, imagining a dozen blue and black haired babies all around as she and Gray held one another romantically and spoke in low tones.

"How about we try for one more baby, Ju-Ju-chan?"

"Oh Gray-sama, you said only one more last time."

"Does that mean you don't want more babies?"

"No! Many, many more, as many as Gray-sama wants!"

"What I really want is just you, Ju-Ju-chan. After all, it's trying for babies that's most fun!"

"Oooh, Gray-sama!" Juvia sighed aloud, hugging herself in happiness.

Cana set her beer barrel down and pouted at the rain woman. "What's up with her?"

"How about you, Cana?" asked Macao. "Have you ever thought about having kids?"

Gildarts coughed hard and sprayed his ale out all over the table. "You lecherous old goat, asking my daughter that! You're a hundred years too early to be thinking that way."

Macao held his hands up with a nervous sweat. "It was just an innocent question. And what do you mean, a hundred years too early? I have a kid too, you know! I mean, don't you want to be a grandfather, Gildarts?"

"I'm too young for that," he said stubbornly.

"I ain't havin' kids," Cana insisted. "Now that I know pregnant women can't drink alcohol, I don't want any."

Gildarts' mouth dropped, and his eyes went huge with sadness. "But...but how am I going to have grandchildren to play with in my old age?"

Macao chuckled into his beer mug. "Oh, so now you want some?"

"I'll adopt," Cana snapped.

Lisanna smiled dreamily. "I want a boy and a girl. I already know what I want to name them."

"Oh?" Levy asked with interest. "You have it all planned out, eh?"

"Uh-huh! Jane for the girl, after my sister Mirajane."

"How sweet! And for the boy?"

Lisanna blushed and shook her head. "Can't say." She covered her mouth as she tittered cutely. "It's a secret."

Max leaned over to Warren. "I bet she wants to name the boy Igneel."

Laki hummed with a blissful smile. "Propagating offshoots is the greatest joy for women."

"Offshoots?" Droy questioned perplexedly. "Like bamboo shoots?"

"I mean germination," Laki snapped. "You know, stamens and pistils."

"Pistols?" Jet asked in confusion.

"Huh, pistols?" Alzack looked over fast at hearing his second favorite subject...just after Bisca and Asuka, of course! "What about pistols?"

Laki sighed in frustration. "You men are truly helpless. It's a miracle I haven't run off to Blue Pegasus already."

Mirajane brought a calming tea over to Erza's table and set it down in front of her. "How about you, Erza? Have you ever thought about if you want children some day?"

"N-n-no idea," Erza shivered, and her armor clinked together. "Now that I've seen that! How? How can women do that? The horror..."

"What about you, Levy?" Lisanna asked with interest.

"Eh, me? Sure, I want a family someday, but I'm in no hurry," the blunette bookworm grinned. A few people noticed that Gajeel humphed with a very faint smirk.

Elfman thumped his table and declared, "It's manly to have children."

Evergreen snapped at him, "If it's so manly, it should be men going through the pain."

Freed cast a furtive glance over to the bartender. "How about you, Mira?"

Her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly to everyone in the guild hall and declared, "I always wanted a really, really big family!"

Just as she said that, Lucy let out a shriek they all heard clearly, followed by a sobbing cry. "I wanna diiiiie!"

Cana set down her barrel and swallowed hard. "Are you sure about that, Mira?"

The white-haired lady hesitated with worry.

Erza muttered to herself. "Horror...blood...what I saw...impossible for a woman..."

Lisanna hummed to herself. "Do you think Lucy might retire?"

Natsu jolted at that. "What? Retire? Why would she do that?"

"Well," she reasoned, "now she'll have a baby to raise."

"That doesn't mean she has to give up being in Fairy Tail," he shouted.

"But Natsu," Lisanna pouted, "Lucy has to take it easy for a while, and your team always takes really challenging missions."

"We can take easy ones," he insisted.

Gray nodded in agreement. "We'll only do things Lucy can do."

"She can still do easy missions and leave the baby with a babysitter," Alzack told the group. "Bisca does that now after she took a year off to raise Asuka."

"A whole year?" Natsu whined. "I don't want Lucy to miss out for a whole year. Team Natsu wouldn't be the same without her around."

"It might be easier if she joins another team for a while," Freed reasoned.

Bickslow laughed loudly with his tongue lolling out. "Lucy could join us. The Thunder God Team could use a cute cheerleader."

Evergreen narrowed her killer eyes at him. "Dealing with you two would not be easier for her."

"If Loke can stay around more," Mirajane reasoned, "it's natural that she'll want to go on missions with him instead."

Natsu's eyes burned with stubbornness. "We can take Loke with us. He's good in a fight. I still wanna fight him now that he's at his full strength. Hey Gray, who do you think would win a fight: the Lion or the Dragon?"

"There's a saying about that," he warned. "I'm pretty sure it went...they'd both die. Of course, all I'd have to do is tell Loke you said you thought Lucy looked fat and you'd be toast."

Flames leaped into his hands. "Say that again, ice bastard!"

Mirajane tapped his pink head, and he looked up in surprise that she was standing right there. "I think you're proving Lisanna's point. You have to take it easy around Lucy and the baby, and that's not in your nature, Natsu."

With a depressed slump, the dragon slayer let his flames sputter out.

Alzack thought over the dilemma. "Mira made a good point about Loke. It was easy for me and Bisca to adjust to parenthood. We were already teammates, so I just went solo until she could join me again. We both decided when Asuka was old enough to be left with a babysitter. Since I live with her, I know when she's too worn out, and I adjust. It might be easier if Lucy weened her way back into missions by going with just Loke...uh, at least for a while," he amended when Natsu gave him a fiery glare. "Sorry Natsu, but you, Erza, and Gray shouldn't have to lower your skills just to accommodate one person. It would hurt Fairy Tail as a whole to lose three powerful mages."

"I'm not tossing Lucy aside," Natsu yelled loyally. "I like her, she's funny, and she makes traveling not as bad. I don't care what happens, I don't want to break up our team."

"Oi," Levy warned. "Aren't you being a little greedy? Lu-chan's gonna need time to recover from all this, and then she has to focus on raising the baby."

"But I..."

"Natsu," Gray butted in sharply. "We just have to work hard for her. We can do solo missions or team missions without her. We'll work on getting stronger so she doesn't have to do too much when she first comes back. In the meantime, we can help her out with money until she's ready to return."

He puckered out his bottom lip. "Babies sure are inconvenient. Maybe I don't want any."

"Oh, don't say that," Lisanna laughed. "You already have Happy, and he helps you on missions now, right?"

"Aye!" Happy grinned with a fish in his mouth.

"But remember when he was an egg?" Lisanna continued, blushing slightly at fond memories of childhood. "We had to sit around the egg for a long time and keep it warm. Then when he hatched we had to feed him and groom him and potty train him and..."

"Lisanna," Happy interrupted fast with a mortified grimace. "Don't bring up that part! It's embarrassing." He took a quick look to see if Charle had heard. Luckily, the white cat was standing in the doorway leading to the hall, listening intently in case Wendy called for her.

"But it was a lot of fun," Lisanna continued with a sweet smile. "Babies are the same way, a bit of a hassle but totally worth it."

Romeo perked up. "And we kids can help out our fathers when we're big enough."

"That's right!" Macao nodded proudly at his son.

"We can even be more reliable than them," the boy added.

Macao kept on nodding. "That's..." He stopped as what his son said finally dawned on him. "You shitty brat!"

Romeo grinned at one-upping him.

"I just want Lucy back," Natsu yelled, hitting the table with his fists so hard all the drinks spilled.

"Yo, flame head," Gajeel barked. "Lucy isn't the sort to sit on her butt doing nothing. She'll be back as soon as she can manage, so stop your whiny-ass bitching. It's annoying."

Natsu was not about to complain more after Gajeel snapped at him, but he still pouted. He realized their team would never be the same again.

They heard a bang down the hall, then running feet. Everyone looked over in anticipation. The urgent steps drew closer, and suddenly Loke turned the corner. In his arms was a tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.

"My son!" he beamed proudly.

The whole guild burst into cheers. The women rushed forward while the men began to laugh, dance, and celebrate.

Levy squealed, "Oh my gosh, he's got Lucy's brown eyes."

"But Loke's shape of face," Lisanna nodded excitedly. "So cute!"

"He's bald," Natsu pouted.

"Most babies are bald, idiot," Gray snapped, then he looked to Loke. "How's Lucy?"

"She's perfectly fine, just getting some rest."

"What's his name?" Mirajane asked excitedly.

The whole guild fell silent to listen eagerly. Cana was by a board where people had been taking bets on the time of birth, but she stopped giving out money to those who won. Makarov looked down from the second floor where he stood talking to Laxus. Reedus stopped working on a sketch he had begun of the moment Loke entered proudly holding the baby. Everyone listened eagerly to hear the name.

As Loke looked down at the tiny pink newborn, tears swelled thickly behind his blue shades. He smiled at all these friends, his and Lucy's second family. He knew, with a guild like this around, his son would grow up with lots of love and close friends. With a heart surging in pride, he announced:

"His name is...Luke Regulus Heartfilia!"

End of Chapter 22

Rhov's Corner:

Thanks Evee9109 for suggesting "Luke," ingeniously combining Lu-cy and Lo-ke. It quickly became a favorite! Thanks to everyone who voted. It was a good race, but these two names pulled out in front. These are the final results:

1) Luke - 42

2) Regulus - 36

3) Lejonet - 17

4) Leon - 14

5) Aslan - 13

6) Venant - 12

7) Leontos - 5

8) Len - 2

9) Leander - 1

I originally uploaded this on November 17th. Since September, I've planned the timing of these chapters specifically to give you this scene on this day. Yeah, I'm weird. Happy birthday to baby Luke!
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Lion's Pride