Control

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After bidding farewell to Ajeel, who refused to let her leave without saying goodbye even though she'd be back within the week, Rin stepped onto the boat that would take her across the waters to her home continent of Ishgar. As soon as she was out of sight of her new "comrades", she slumped down to the wooden deck of the ship where her stomach could churn in peace. She remembered how long and how horrifying her first few trips on this boat were with her motion sickness and all. But she had learned to stay strong as to not look weak in front of her peers.

Rin settled into a comfortable position so she could take a nap while waiting to pull up to Fiore's port town Hargeon. From there, she would track down Natsu's strong, slightly burnt musk and find out his location. It was the only way she could think of tracking him down. Rin thought back in her slumber.

Last she had heard of, Lucy was working for the Weekly Sorcerer which meant she was bound to be stationed in the bustling capital Crocus. If Natsu had truly returned, Lucy would be the first person he'd look for. There was no doubt about that.

And just as she'd planned, Hargeon was calm and quiet as it had always been. Rin threw the hood of her black cloak up and prepared herself for her mission. While she would usually perform her tasks out in the open, she had to disguise herself in Ishgar for fear of being recognized from the Grand Magic Games. The brunette stepped off of the ship (finally) and made her way to another nemesis of hers: the train. After purchasing a ticket, she hopped onto the dreaded vehicle and took a seat far away from any other passengers. Her head fell against the window as soon as it began to move.

Rin found herself into a predicament. She hated the need for vehicles when traveling and there were only two things she could think of that could help. Leese, who had been left in Gajeel and Levy's care, and her own wings, which she had discovered the night she defeated the dragons in Crocus. She just needed to learn how to do it again. But with wings came a great loss of magic power. It could wait. She would complete her mission and could learn more about it in her spare time in Alakitasia.

Soon enough, the train arrived in the great city of Crocus. Like always, the streets were full of people enjoying the floral accents here and there. Rin stopped and let the world moved around her while she scanned her surroundings. She shut her purple eyes and breathed gently, trying to hear, smell, maybe even feel the blonde mage. But there was no luck. She moved on and began walking throughout the town. Eventually, she came to a stop near the palace. She sniffed the air again, scowling when she could smell the remnants of something that was burning. She spun around, trying to decipher just what it was.

"What the—" She stopped, her violet eyes meeting the high palace walls. On them, a faded message.

'Fairy Tail' was written in what she could only assume were flames since they were currently nothing but ash. "Natsu..." The Dragon Slayer's lip quivered slightly. "This dumbass." She chuckled and stepped closer to the scene. She went to step through the palace walls to further inspect them (and catch Natsu's scent), but a guard stopped her.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The female didn't respond but instead took a large whiff of the burnt residue, successfully finding something familiar with it.

"Nothing," she responded lowly. "I'm done here." Rin spun and walked around the guard. She focused solely on the power of her nose and found where Natsu's scent was the strongest in the city. She eventually found a set of apartments, the one of the second floor with a gaping hole in the wall. She sniffed again. Damage like that was definitely caused by that pink knucklehead.

This time, she caught a sweeter scent. One that had changed slightly but was still very familiar. "Lucy." She smiled to herself. "You guys make it too easy." With both combined scents, she finally had a clear trail. She could tell where they walked and where they were headed. She just needed to catch up to them.