Juvia was greeted by a splitting headache when she woke up that evening and resolved never to drink again.
She rolled over on her bed Cana must have helped her home if the painkillers and a large glass of water on her bedside table were any indications. Juvia took both gratefully.
What happened last night? Juvia remembered confronting Cana about Lucy's intentions then not much else. It would come to her.
First, she needed a shower. Maybe then she wouldn't feel like death warmed over.
Juvia took her time trudging through, what would usually be, her morning routine.
The night came back to her in pieces and roiling in her heart seemed to mimic that of her stomach. Juvia felt guilty for bearing her heart to Cana. Juvia had been wrong. She had made false accusations and yet Cana had given her advice, had comforted her, and had shown Juvia kindness regardless.
Now as Juvia gazed out the window, she could she the sun high in the sky. Her eyes watered, the sun had returned even if Gray didn't love her. Gray hadn't brought the sun something else had.
Maybe, Juvia needed Gray less than she thought. Her heart was still in his hands, and it ached for him to return her affections, but perhaps Cana was right. Maybe, all they needed was time for better or worse. Gray seemed to want time away from her, and Juvia could not recall the last time her focus was anywhere but Gray.
It was for the best. Distance makes the heart grow fonder after all.
She should take a job on her own Juvia thought to herself with renewed vigor. She would take a job on her own!
Juvia jumped to go to the guild; her stomach protested, and she found herself hunched over the toilet revisiting her last couple of meals. In a minute she determined she would go to the guild.
An hour and a meal later Juvia marched down to the guild. The sun had long since set. As it was in many cities, you could scarcely see the stars even on a clear night. Her footsteps reverberated down the street matching the beat of her thundering heart. She was going to leave, for a while, and her life was destined to change because this decision she made to keep her distance. Juvia wasn't sure how she felt about the change she was making, but she was determined to follow it through.
Before she had realized, Juvia was in front of the heavy oak doors. She made her way into the guild and towards the request board. Her eyes wandered across the myriad of job postings. There were requests for just about everything under the sun from finding missing pets to detaining criminal elements.
Her eyes were drawn across the distressed oak board until they landed on a tattered piece of parchment. The job was to investigate the cause of mysterious events occurring in Mikage Forest outside of Malba City. The city was located west of Crocus about a hundred or so miles. The mission could easily take a month; maybe two. The payment was three hundred thousand jewels more than enough to pay her rent at Fairy Hills.
Juvia decided that she would take the job. She took the posting down from the request board and made her way to the bar where Mira was meticulously cleaning glasses surreptitiously surveying the guild from the corner of her eye with a seemly coy smile.
Mira moved, down the bar, towards Juvia gracefully and addressed her cheerfully "So you have decided to take a job. I'll sign you off; it will only be a moment." Then she smoothly recorded the information in the guild ledger and waved Juvia away with a grin on her face and the mischievous twinkle that was always present in her eyes.
Juvia departed from the guild to pack her things. As she left Magnolia to embark on her journey, the stars had given way to the myriad of pale pinks, oranges, golds, and blues that dawned the sunrise.