For once, Levy reasoned, the guild was fairly peaceful. Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Erza, and Juvia were all out on a job, as were Elfman, Evergreen, Fried and several other of the louder mages. As she glanced around the hall, she waved Wendy and Charle over. Both had huge stacks of books in their hands, balanced precariously over each other. Pantherlily was napping in Levy's lap while Gajeel was gone on a solo job.
Wendy placed the books gently on the table and carefully straightened the stack. Levy glanced at the titles and squealed at one of them. She scared Charle and made Wendy jump. Pantherlily jerked awake, realized what had made her so excited, and promptly went back to sleep, curling back up in Levy's lap and sinking his claws into her skirt so he wouldn't be thrown off.
"This is the book I've been waiting for!" She said breathlessly, grinning at Wendy. She flipped it open and began reading, her other books and her companions nearly forgotten in her excitement. Wendy snatched the book from Levy's grasp before the bookworm got too immersed in it.
"Levy-chan, you should finish your other book first! You said you had to finish it today!" Wendy scolded when Levy protested. The script mage sighed and relaxed.
"You're right, Wendy. I did say that. I guess I'll have to wait until Lucy and the rest come back to start the new books." Wendy nodded enthusiastically.
"In the meantime, Levy-chan, tell me about Gajeel-kun."
"Wha-Why?" Levy tensed up, a blush creeping across her face. Lily cracked an eye open and grinned.
"'cuz you're blushing at the mention of his name." Levy stiffened again.
"Am not!"
"Are too. Admit it, Levy. You at least have some sort of romantic attraction to him."
"No way! He's rude and mean and cruel and dumb! He only picks fights he knows he can win easily and he doesn't care about anyone but himself!" As she finished this, the guild door opened and they turned to look. A tiny black cat staggered into the guild and collapsed on the floor. Levy gasped. She jumped up, books and exceed forgotten, and rushed to the little creature. Gently, she picked up the small kitten and cradled it, looking it over for injuries. Numerous scrapes and cuts covered the black fur, and clumps of fur were missing. Gently, Levy turned the kitten over and saw several scars on one of the front legs. She tucked the kitten in her arms, rubbing her fingers over soft black fur, even if it was matted with blood and grime. She told Wendy, Charle, and Pantherlily to grab her books and she carried the exhausted cat home. Wendy and the exceeds followed her, books stacked under their arms and in Lily's case on his head. They deposited the books on the table, where Wendy began filing them away.
Charle and Pantherlily followed Levy to the bathroom. She placed the kitten on the counter, where it laid flat on its tummy. She grabbed some soap and ran the water in the sink and set to cleaning the kitten up. She scrubbed gently but firmly, washing away the dirt and grime and blood. She dried the kitten off with a soft towel and smoothed over its fur. She came across a hard object and parted the kitten's fur. A metal bolt was embedded neatly on the creature's paws. She found similar bolts on each paw, and sighed. This kitten seemed familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Deciding not to dwell on it, she picked the kitten up and cradled it in her arms again. It snuggled into her and purred softly. She sat down and watched her new little friend, unaware of the exceeds watching her gently. She looked around the room and noticed the exceeds watching. Pantherlily walked forward, frowning, and sniffed the kitten.
"Impossible."
"What?"
"This kitten smells like Gajeel." He muttered. Levy frowned.
"Are you sure? It can't possibly be him-"
"I know how he smells. It's definitely his scent."
"But he didn't have a cat besides you."
"Doesn't mean he didn't feed strays. He used to when he was much younger." The black exceed spoke softly, almost whispering. Levy nuzzled the kitten and sighed. "I don't understand." She mumbled, looking at the sleeping kitten. Pantherlily crawled into her lap and laid down, making himself comfortable. Wendy and Charle bade them goodnight and left, returning to their room. Levy sighed and shifted the black kitten into one arm. "Well, whether it's a stray or not, I think it needs a name." Lily cracked an eye open and looked up at her and the kitten, then huffed. "I think we should name him Shadow."
"Shadow." Levy smiled and petted the kitten's head. He snuggled into her dress and purred. "I think he likes it." Lily huffed again and crawled onto Levy's shoulder. She stood up and walked to her bedroom, carrying the two sleepy cats. She set Shadow down on the pillows and let Pantherlily climb down. The two made themselves comfortable and Levy changed into her pajamas, making sure that Lily had his back turned. He might have been an exceed, but he was still a bit of a pervert. After she changed, Levy crawled under the covers and curled up, tucking Shadow into her arms. She smiled at the tiny sleeping kitten and closed her eyes. Sleep came softly and swiftly for her.
As soon as her heartbeat and breathing had slowed, the kitten now named 'Shadow' opened his eyes. Brilliant red eyes took in the sleeping script mage with an unusual warmth and affection. Shadow stood on wobbly legs and stretched. He padded over to Pantherlily and nudged him awake. The black exceed peeked at him, then stood up and stretched as well.
"Took you long enough. She was worried." Lily whispered. Shadow huffed and smacked Lily across the face with a paw. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I tried to tell her you could handle it but apparently I was wrong? How did you get turned into a cat?" Shadow glared at him, then pointed at Levy's sleeping form. "Levy? Oh-oh a mage?" Shadow nodded and his little face scrunched up. "The mage…hit you with a spell or something and changed you into a cat?" Shadow nodded.
He looked down and growled at the pillow. "She misses you, Gajeel. She's really worried cuz she doesn't know." Shadow (Gajeel) huffed, butted heads with Pantherlily, and swiped his tongue over a paw. He froze at the look on Lily's face and examined his paw. He frowned and looked at the exceed, who was grinning brightly. "Don't be mad, but you're acting like a cat."
Gajeel hissed at him, then wandered back to the pillow and snuggled into Levy's tummy. He glared at Pantherlily and closed his eyes. Lily chuckled softly and looked at Levy's sleeping face. "He loves ya, Levy." He muttered. He then curled up and went back to sleep.