"... Is it so hard to believe that I'm a prodigy and my family wants me to grow?" You manage carefully.

"No. But it is hard to believe that you pick a fight with the Council and know some S ranked fire magic for the sake of growth." He leans toward you with folded arms.

"Ah... I like to study. And train hard." You give a thumbs up. His brows knit together at you.

"You're not convincing ___. Thats why Dogtooth had to cover for you earlier." He says. What to do... What to say... You swallow meeting his gaze.

"Well this is odd." Another voice makes you both freeze. "What did I walk up to?" You and Smoker look over at the tall mocha colored man.

"Aokiji..." Smoker straightens. You blink at the name.

"The former Council member..." You murmur. Smoker's eyes glint to you at that but Aokiji's voice takes back his attention.

"Smoker. What are you doing in the middle of nowhere with this cute student?" He inquires. Smoker pauses, pink dusting his cheeks.

"I-It's nothing like that!" He says quickly.

"Like what?" You hum, enjoying his reaction.

"Odd thoughts must've just passed through his head." Aokiji guesses. Smoker's ears grow pink now.

"No!... I was just trying to get answers from her on something important." Smoker scoffs.

"Oh yeah, my zodiac sign is z/___." You inform him. Smoker turns his head to you at that and you could tell he was going to kill you later. You just smile in response.

"Im glad you finally found someone to get along with Smoker. She looks like a good one too." Aokiji comments.

"I am good. I cook and clean. And I can squash my own spiders." You put your hands behind you and sway your body innocently. You can feel Smoker glaring at you. "But I am pretty cold right now. So can we cuddle now?" You meet your teacher's burning amber gaze and pout.

"I'll leave you two be if thats the case." Aokiji waves before disappearing into the snowy forest. There's a pause once he's out of sight before you swiftly run away from Smoker as a wolfish growl leaves him.

You swiftly dodge the wolf as it chases after you. "I'm sorry! Please don't fail me!" You chuckle, rolling over the snow as he leaps at you. You move to leap out of the way but he crashes into you and you both go tumbling. You feel him tranform back in the midst of the snow flying around you. When you come to a stop theres a struggle to pin eachother.

"You pain in the ass!" He growls. "Why are you so stubborn and... And..." You blink at his annoyed expression.

"Everyone is stubborn when it comes to their secrets." You breathe leaning toward him. He stops, meeting your gaze. "So unless I'm getting something out of it. Im not telling you anything." He blinks at you, breath starting to calm as he frowns slightly.

"It's dangerous... Whatever you're here to do..." He murmurs. He seemed so worried and concerned now. You frown as well now, moving closer.

"It is cold out here Smoker..." You hug him hiding your face in his chest. He gives a rugged sigh before pulling you closer. You frown a bit more. "Don't worry Smoker... It'll be okay." You whisper. He pauses before resting his chin on your head.

"... You're right.... I am worried. You're really amazing ___ and so focused. It'll be a real shame if something happened to you." He tells you quietly. You pull back and meet his gaze feeling a bit guilty.

"... You're really cute when you get flustered." You smile a bit. He pauses before glowering at you.

"Dont you do that again." He grumbles.

"What? No one else can hear about us cuddling? Or playing in the snow?" You snicker tossing some snow at him. He growls at you, mushing your face.

"Keep on ___ and I'll make sure you never leave my class..." He warns.

"That sounds a bit selfish." You laugh. His face turns pink before he releases your face.

"You better get to the portal before me or I'll leave you here." He huffs. You pause before getting up and running after your trail back to the transport circle. You reach it just as he reaches it in wolf form, shape-shifting back and giving you a smirk.

"Transporto." You breathe, picturing the school in your mind. There's a flash and you're back to the Academy. Smoker looks around before looking at you.

"You learn too fast." He mutters before leading you inside. He takes the satchel from you and burns the list. "Go to your room now... And thanks for coming along. It wasn't as boring with you." He comments.

"No problem. Come get me the next time you wanna play in the snow." You smile. He scoffs and looks away.

"Smart ass...." He grumbles. You chuckle and head to your room. Today has already been exhausting, would it still be a good idea to leave tonight? You shake yourself.

"Dont falter..." You whisper to yourself. Pushing your door open, you pause, finding it rather crowded.

"How was the trip to town?" Dogtooth inquires.

"Eventful..." You sit on your bed next to Drake. "Everything ready?" You look to Sabo.

"More or less." He shrugs, arms folded. He didn't meet your gaze, which bothered you.

"You look tired. You should rest before we go tonight." Law touches your shoulder. You shift, glancing at your roommate. You didn't feel comfortable at the moment.

"I'm fi-"

"___." Dogtooth's voice was laced in authority, making you freeze and look at him, meeting his gaze. "Take a nap, we'll go eat and return after sundown." He says sternly.

"Okay..." You manage easing off your shoes. He stands and lead the others out except for Sabo. You glance at him before rolling back onto your bed and curling up.

"___..." Sabo murmurs and you pause, giving a hum in response. "Are you okay?" You curl up more.

"I'm sorry... I did something to make you unhappy with me... I can ask to be put in a different room if you want..." You tell him calmly though you feel tears coming to your eyes.

"What? No... ___, I..." He touches your shoulder and peers at your face. You meet his gaze as his blue eyes widen in surprise and guilt. "___..." He frowns more and turns you to him, hugging you tightly. "Im a jerk... I've been cold to you because I was jealous... I'm sorry." He hides his face. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you cry." You peer at him before wrapping an arm around his neck and flipping him over you and onto your bed. He lets out a breath and looks at you.

"Im not going on this journey to hang out with him. I'm going to get my fire back Sabo. I'm doing this so I can reach my goals." You murmur with a frown as you look into his eyes. He pauses at the fierce gleam in your eyes and relaxes.

"Yeah.. I'm an idiot... I must seem so childish." He sighs smiling sadly as he puts a hand over his face. You frown slightly.

"You shouldn't be so threatened by him. I think you're perfect as you are." You murmur. He stops before looking at you, pink dusting his cheeks.

"Thanks ___... I'm really sorry." He says softly.

"I'll forgive you this time." You assure, shifting closer to him and cuddling him, closing your eyes. He relaxes more, turning and cuddling you quietly.

"Okay... So we're flying." You hum, looking at the others while Usopp collects hair samples for his decoy plants.

"Yes, it's quite a flight." Drake says with a nod.

"Could we use the teleport circle?" You ask.

"They take the magic from the circle at night to prevent that." Dogtooth speaks up.

"Alright. Lets get going then." You open the window. "Cloak." You touch your chest, making yourself transparent before summoning your broom and flying out. You weren't the best flyer but there wasn't much avoiding it. You land on a hill away from the school, removing your cloak spell. The others soon appear around you.

"Everyone good? No one got caught?" Sabo peers around.

"Think we're good. Lets continue." Law says.

"Hold on." You tell them, taking out a letter before tossing it toward home. You shoot a light arrow at it, making it disappear. "Forgot to send that earlier." You hum, pausing as Dogtooth takes your broom. He connects it to his making a type of magic transport. He holds it out for you to climb on before sitting next to you, making it levitate. "Wow... Thanks."

"Its a long trip, the broom will get uncomfortable after a while." He shrugs slightly. Drake and Sabo decide to pair up then and Law adds his broom to your platform, making it larger. After everyone is ready, you take off for Dragon Alley. You felt a bit better about traveling now, leaning on Dogtooth slightly.

"This is much better." You hum.

"Easier to control as well." He nods.

"If anything attacks us itll be easier to fight like this too." Drake adds. You smile to yourself, looking to the horizon, this was exciting.

"Thanks for coming along to help guys. You didn't have to." You tell them.

"This is much more exciting than class." Dogtooth comments calmly.

"You learn better in the field anyways." Law shrugs.

"I was going to visit that place eventually." Drake assures.

"Same. Maybe we'll get to see a rare dragon too." Sabo grins. You smile a bit at him, glad he was back to himself.

"Maybe..."

"___, wake up." Dogtooth pokes your cheek and your eyes flicker open to the fiery horizon. You blink and sit up in awe.

"We're finally here." Law breathes. "Damn its hot already." He wipes his brow. You stand up, feeling a grin come to your lips but Dogtooth pulls you back down.

"Please refrain from jumping off the platform." He sighs.

"Sorry... Got excited." You smile sheepishly.

"Um... We've been spotted." Law speaks up with a point as a giant fireball approaches. Dogtooth wraps an arm around you.

"Hold on!" He alerts before the platform twirls out of the way. You garb Law instinctively before he can fall off. The platform levels out as the fireball goes past. You relax but a roar makes you pause and look over as two giant scaly creatures burst from the gorge.

"Dragons!"