If she had known her entire life would become a figment of deception that day, Lucy would have skipped work entirely. But alas the future couldn't be made known to her, nor any normal human however. The day was of normality, people awoke with the rising sun and carried out their own individual morning routines. Lucy was no exception to this and so after taking the time to make herself presentable and throw her hair up in braids that could make someone dizzy, she headed off to work, the city bus her only means of travel. Money was scarce in her life, something she knew would happen upon leaving her parents three years ago when she was finally the age of eighteen.
When the bus pulled up to the curve just a few blocks from the quaint restaurant she was lucky enough to have a job at, her stomach lurched as it came to a screeching hault. It was something that had never happened before and as she stood her head spun as if the blood was rushing to that particular spot alone. Placing her cold digits against the warmth of her skin she heavily sighed passing it off as simply standing up too quickly after having sat in the uncomfortable bus seat for almost twenty minutes.
Anticipation was something she never really felt, but for some odd reason as she gripped the cold metal of the doorknob she felt as if she was about to walk into her own demise. A knot formed in her stomach and a choking feeling nauseated her as she tried to use her own saliva to forcefully make the lump in her throat go away. Almost immediately she was greeted by her fellow co-worker, a curvaceous brunette named Cana with calming brown eyes and a reputation of being one of the best waitresses they had hired.
"Good morning Lucy." She called as she lifted a black platter high above her head, squeezing between tables to give a group of customers their breakfast.
"Morning." A smile was sent Lucy's way and she barely had the ability to send one back. Instead she just nodded her head, bile rising in her throat as the feeling that an impending doom was awaiting in the near future never left her mind. It still was an odd feeling to the girl and that alone only further worried her. Perhaps she had one of those six senses everyone talked about, the one where you could practically predict the future without really knowing you were.
Maybe she was subconsciously predicting something horrible. What it could be, however, she was left clueless on. However she couldn't let fables of supernatural occurrences keep her from doing her job. Stepping past a couple leaving, the girl slipped through the swing doors to enter into the stuffy and honestly quite small kitchen. It was decked out in stainless steel appliances, everything kept in high standards for the owners insisted that it be done that particular way.
Lucy wasn't one to complain either, knowing that having a clean and up to date kitchen put their regular customers to ease. Some people were just genuinely funny about where they ate and who was handling the food they were consuming. She couldn't really blame them though, personally she wouldn't want someone who picks their nose to be cutting her vegetables with that same germinated finger.
Her fingers fumbled for the neatly ironed, black apron and upon finding it wrapped it delicately around her waist. She always hated the strings mainly because of how thin they are and struggled to tightly string it up into a neat bow. Lucy was a firm believer in being presentable for work and therefore took pride in the littlest of details when preparing for the day, which so happened to include the now perfect bow in her apron. Smiling with a nod to the men and women in the kitchen, she again stepped through the swinging doors, her sneakers squeaking as she strode down to the familiar set of tables she always governed.
Before she could make it to the first table however, Cana stopped her in her tracks, a gentle hand laying flat against her shoulder. Lucy strained to see her from over her shoulder.
"Hey the boss wants you to light the candles on the tables. Don't worry about the customers either I'll take care of them until you're done." The brunette winked at her and if it hadn't been Cana then Lucy would have put up a slight argument. She truly trusted the woman though, having been her waitressing partner for quite some time now. So as the blonde walked past her she nodded with a smile despite the ever present knot in her stomach.
As she made her way to the mahogany drawer in the corner of the main dining hall, she felt out of place and it only got worse the moment her nimble fingers latched around the blood red lighter. A spark ran up her arm and in that moment she couldn't help but rear her hand back. It felt as if a spark of fire itself had just lingered up her arm through deep down in her veins, the feeling reminding her of those you get when holding a sparkler and the tiny reminiscences of fire tickle your fingers. Only this was slightly more extreme.
Shaking her head and passing this occurrence off as lack of sleep from the previous night, Lucy gripped the lighter once more taking notice of how the feeling was vacant as should be. A smile tugged at her lips as she breathily giggled feeling insane for truly believing something odd was happening to solely herself. She felt like some sort of dancer as she bent her body in ways not normally done to avoid bumping into people's chairs or leaning over their food as she stopped at each table and as quickly as possible lit the candles. It was very rare that they did light the vessels of fire, but for some reason today just happened to be a quite appealing day for lighting them.
Lucy finally made it to the last candle, one that was on an unoccupied table in the far back of the room. Skipping over to it with her squeaky converse, Lucy pulled the little black trigger and brought the flame dangerously close to the wic. In that moment she could have sworn she saw the flame grow bigger in a manner that made her almost believe the flame was reaching out towards the wic. Deep in her gut she felt that impending doom slowly rising back up to the surface and hesitated, biting her lip as her eyes moved with the natural dance of the flame. For a moment her conscience told her to walk away, not even bother touching it since no one ever chose this table. She had it made up in her mind that she would leave it be for this table truly was a reject among the others.
But the flame, it seemed, had motives quite opposite of her own. In an instant she had stepped just close enough for the ever growing inferno to barely touch the wic, but it was enough to light it aflame. And in that exact same moment the heat intensified and the flame went with it. The bright oranges and reds it embedded burned her retinas as she stared at the flame that grew to resemble the shape of a human. Perhaps a male seeing as this figure had broad shoulders and a lean figure to its entirety.
The next thing Lucy knew people were screaming and footsteps echoed in her ears as she stayed glued to her spot. She wanted to move, desperately, but it was as if her mind had lost all control of her body and she was left in a heaving mess of short breaths and a feeling as if she was drowning in the heat.
"Lucy." Cana cried out as she jogged over to the said girl. Upon reaching her she gripped her shoulders, an action she did often with the girl, and attempted to drag her away from the flames that were slowly dying down. Only she herself froze at the sight before her as well. Amidst the flames there stood a man, one that had not been there before and who seemed undeterred by the flames barreling off of his skin and dissipating upon reaching the tiled floor beneath him. There was no one to bring the two girls back to reality, everyone having escaped for fear of their own lives as the flames had licked the ceiling above them before dying as well.
And so they stood staring at the male who cracked his neck and knuckles paying them hardly any mind as he did such. A scream rose into Lucy's throat and before she could stop herself, she was wailing like a banshee catching the attention of their unwanted guest.
"Geez would 'ya shut up." His voice was raspy, sounding almost as if he had to clear his throat. Her jaw came smashing together painfully at his request, her fingers shaking as they bunched up the hem of her floral dress. The male wanted to laugh at the girl, his eyes drifting along her body as he took in her entirety. She was dainty and quite thin compared to her companion that was digging her manicured nails into her shoulders.
The one with brown hair didn't interest him in the least, she looked just like any other mundane female running around in this realm, however the other had him hooked. Her hair, it rivaled the light of the sun he craved to live under and a sudden urge to touch it washed over him. He felt compelled to feel it, see if it was as soft as it appeared to be or perhaps test it's warmth. For all he knew she could have been forged from the sun itself with her pale complexion and cherry red lips. Her cheekbones were glossed with pink and her face was rounder than his own narrow build.
Her eyes were dark brown and made him believe they were forged from the earth unlike her body. They were glassy as well and he wondered if she was about to cry.
"We gotta get out of here." The brunette desperately cried into Lucy's ear and she barely had the strength to nod her head. Her entire being was in a shock for she had no earthly idea who this person was let alone what he is. And to make it worse she was apparently the one who dragged him from whatever hole he crawled out of. That alone was very clear to her despite the fact that she felt like she was in a haze. Lucy just hoped this was all a nightmare and in a short moment the annoying beeping of her alarm clock would drag her out of this predicament.
The only noise that came however was that of sirens. The male looked around frantically at the noise, it was one he was unfamiliar with and by the seemingly relieved looks on both of the girl's faces, it meant trouble for him. Stepping forward, the broken chains that once bound his ankles to the ground jangled. Lucy jumped at the noise, her mind caught up in the possibility of making it out of the restaurant alive. Both girls watched as the male opened his mouth, plump lips falling closed quickly in a loss of words. Soulless red eyes grazed along Lucy once more and chills shot up her spine as if they were electricity.
A group of men stormed into the room, their boots heavy as they collided with the ground beneath them.
"Is everyone alright?" One came to face Lucy and Cana while another made his way to attend to the man who they still had no knowledge of. Lucy watched with careful eyes as the odd man averted his gaze somewhere else attempting to conceal his eyes the best he could from these mundanes.
"Sir are you injured?" The man with a rich accent and protruding belly stepped closer, much too close for the demon in question. A simple nod was given before another question was thrown in his direction. It was the most innocent of questions and yet it had him gulping in nervousness. He feared it would not be believable if he told the truth.
"What's your name son?"
With his confidence up and pride laced in his rough voice he replied, "Natsu." The girl with hair the color of the sun approached him after having heard his conversation with the fireman. Cana had already begun walking away with the other leaving just the three of them in the once homey restaurant. Now it was a disarray of knocked over items and scorch marks along the wall and ceiling where Natsu had first appeared out of the flames of the candle.
She knew she was insane for truly believing that this was reality and that she was in the presence of a legitimate demon, but couldn't help but hold on to the possibility of this occurrence being tangible. The most adventure and thrill she had ever received in her life was family vacations from when she was younger and unable to feel gratitude towards the little things her parents salvaged money to do with her. And now that it was gone, she often craved something exciting in her dismal life.
However she would have to proceed with caution around this demon, if that was what he truly is, for something worse than just his random appearance could occur.
Logical thinking ran through her veins and therefore her mind was telling her to get away from this creature as quickly as possible. Her heart on the other hand had different ideas.
This is your opportunity to gain some company.
But what company could a demon possibly possess and how could she even trust him if all she knew was his name?
You were the one who brought him here, it's only right that it be you to send him back.
Swallowing back the lump forcibly forming in her throat she drowned out her heart's desire with the sound of the fireman's dough like voice as he questioned Natsu on how the fire first happened.
Naturally the only responses he received out of either two was that it was a simple mishap with the candle, it fell over and the next thing they knew the table, which was luckily burnt, had lit up like a match. And their lies were bought so easily Lucy swore the demon before her had some sort of power over this fireman. If that be the case then she knew for sure she would avoid him at any cost.
Her lungs welcomed the fresh air as they stepped through the side door of the cafe, the air much lighter as the sun kissed her skin with warmth. Everyone from inside was crowded around each other, chitter chatter lingering in the air as their eyes grazed along herself and Natsu. She had only then realized just how fast her heart was racing, her fingers softly caressing the skin just above the muscle. Natsu watched as she did such, again taking notice of just how smooth her skin appeared to be. Unlike his own, hers had no ridges or callouses, was free from years of tainting. Licking his lips he stepped closer to the said girl.
She was having trouble conceiving it still, her heart and mind battling over something as simple as getting herself involved in this creature or not.
You can't just let a demon loose on the streets, he could end up doing something horrible.
Again how could she trust that he wouldn't do anything bad to her?
Let him stay with you and find a way to send him back. There, it's really simple.
Life was never that simple however and Lucy knew that better than anyone else. After having left her parents to be on her own, the responsibilities of adulthood weighed heavy on her chest for a long time before she was able to financially stabilize herself.
However it seemed as if she had no choice in the matter. Chapped lips pressed themselves against her ear and she could just barely see the red of his eyes focus solely on her face out of her peripheral vision.
"I'll be tagging along with you since you're the one who dragged me out of that stupid thing in the first place." His breath was warm as it blew into her ear and she shuddered at the contact. And just when she thought he was finished he said something else that made her chest clench and her breath
hitch in her throat.
"And if you so much as think of giving me away I'll burn you to a pile of ash."
Her last thought before he pulled away was that apparently candles are the point of ignition for summoning demons.