Ch 3: Awakening
Sensations floated through her slumber, threading their way around the darkness that engulfed her like tendrils of invisible light. Soft murmurs from somewhere around her. Cool, smooth hands on her face. A fresh breeze passed through the room, ruffling her covers and golden hair. She moaned softly, struggling to free herself from the blackness. One voice rose above the rest, like a friendly chime: 'She's waking up!'
She cracked her eyelids open, almost blinded by the sudden light assaulting them.
Blink once - the brightness began to form into indistinct shapes.
Blink again - silhouettes emerged from the mass of light.
Blink once more – the image before her resolved itself into that of a group of women clustered around her, looking on anxiously. The smallest one, with long, sapphire hued hair, placed a hand on her forehead and spoke, with the same voice she had heard while surfacing, "Are you feeling alright?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but all the passed through here cracked lips was a ragged breath before she was wracked with coughs. Arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding her steady as hands brought a mug of water to her lips. She drank greedily, water dribbling down her chin, trying to wet her parched throat and beat back another bout of coughing. Once she was done, the cup was lowered. She followed the hands back to their owner with her eyes and was surprised to see a girl about her own age, perhaps a bit younger, with wavy hair the color of a clear sky held back by a strip of cloth. She opened her mouth again to speak and managed to force out a hoarse "Where… am I?" The girl smiled at her.
"You're at Taela Weyr. One of our riders brought you in last night with some bad injuries. The idiot made them even worse by taking you between, though I guess he thought that flying straight would take too long. Not that thinking has ever been his strong suit, or really a strength of any of them… complete morons, every one of them-" an annoyed 'ahem' sounded from the person holding her shoulders, and the bluenette flicked her eyes towards the source before continuing, "-well, aside from Jellal of course, but even you have to admit he can be dense as a brick, no matter how much you love him." She took a deep breath and flashed another grin. "Sorry about that. Anyway, my name is Levy, that-" the girl – Levy? - pointed to the smaller bluenette, the one who had asked if she was alright before, as well as a pale girl with white hair tied in a bow "-is Wendy and Charle, and behind you is Erza."
Suddenly released from the grip on her shoulders that had been keeping her still, she turned when the woman behind her, Erza, chuckled.
"While I agree that our riders, bronzes in particular, tend to act before they think, that is an issue for another time. Right now-" the woman turned her sharp gaze to the blonde sitting beside her "-we are here for a different reason. What happened to you?" The rich voice – deep for a woman – came from a formidable looking woman seated cross legged on the bed and was inquisitive, though tinged with slight suspicion.
The blonde gulped nervously. "Ah… I was being chased by a group of hunters. Your, erm – person? Showed up just as they were closing in."
Erza looked her up and down contemplatively, long enough that she began to get nervous that they would pry deeper, and discover her secret, and maybe even make her go back to that awful place. Suddenly the red head sighed. "Look – I know there must be more to the story than you're telling us. But, honestly, it doesn't matter." She stood up and shook out her crumpled clothing, striding towards the door. The blonde followed her every move with her eyes, not trusting herself to speak. "If you wish to stay, and join our Weyr, you may. Everyone here has a story of some kind. Some share their pasts, while others hold their secrets close. It's your own choice"
Erza paused in the doorway. She turned to look at the stunned blonde and cheerful bluenette. "The only thing you need here is a name to call yourself." She smiled softly.
"Who will you be?"
Tears rolled down the blonde's cheeks as she choked out her answer.
"I… I'm Lucy."
The red head smiled, turned and left the room and Levy spun her around to face the remaining three.
"Welcome to Taela, Lu!"
Short chapter.
Thanks for the review and suggestions Joyeu! I like your idea for Jura, I think I'll probably end up using it.
Anyway, I'm going to try to get this story on a regular schedule. Missing usually ends up taking most of my creative energy for writing, plus class work is time consuming, but I'll try my best.
Also be ready for a long haul. I think I'm gonna go crazy with this story.
