I meant to get this out earlier, but then life interfered. I think it ended up better than my original intentions, though, so I'm pretty pleased with it.

I Know You've Been Kicked Around
Searching For Some Solid Ground
They Up And Left So Out Of The Blue
But I Will Stay With You

-tyDi feat. Dia Frampton "Stay"

They didn't tarry much longer with Phoenix, the knowledge of time's increased passing in their world too great a weight to keep them in the Celestial one. The elderly spirit wished them luck, and then promised to do all she could from her side before sending them on their way with Corvus.

The second time around with Corvus's ability was a little easier on Lucy's nerves, as she knew what was coming and was able to squeeze her eyes closed in time. Only when she felt the grassy lawn beneath her feet did she open her eyes again – to find herself only a handspan away from Corvus's tanned face. The waning sunlight dyed his brilliant hair in shades of orange and purple.

He gave her a lopsided smile, apology clear in his eyes. "It gets better with time," the spirit consoled her, his words heavy with meaning. "Or so I'm told."

Lucy peered at him, uncomprehending, for a long moment. It didn't… it didn't feel like he was talking about his odd mode of transport. Or at least, not entirely. Could he be referring to…? No, she decided. He probably wasn't. Looking too far into things was certain to give Lucy a headache, so she chose to just accept his words at face value. "Thank you, Corvus."

The spirit stepped back from her, and then turned his gaze towards the others standing on the lawn. "I hope there was less turbulence this time?"

"Surprisingly comfortable way to travel. Provided one is expecting it, that is." Ortez winked at the spirit, who grinned back.

Corvus's wings drooped, the long feathers brushing the grass, though the smile remained on his face. "Again, I'm really sorry about that. Grandmother is terrifying when she wants something from you and wants it immediately."

"Most women are," agreed Ortez.

George let out a sigh at his employer's statement. With a shake of his head, he turned to Yukino and Lucy. "It seems to be quite late. I will prepare two guestrooms for you to stay the night." When Lucy opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head. "No, we won't send the both of you off in the dark. It is a fair journey to the main town and the horses have likely been bedded down for the night already, so a carriage is out of the question."

"You should just accept what George says," Ortez informed them with a wink. "It's easier than arguing with him. I should know. So please, stay the night. It should give you time to process all of…" He gestured to Corvus, who flushed. "All of this. Maybe a plan of attack will present itself to you by the morning, and you can go from there. Really, it's no trouble to put you up for the night."

Yukino shared a look with Lucy, and then hesitantly spoke. "I am… pretty exhausted from today. What about you, Lucy?"

"Yeah," her fellow celestial mage acknowledged. "It's definitely been a long day." Then she remembered something, and glanced at Corvus, who was waiting patiently to be addressed. "Can you teach me your incantation? I can summon you in the morning, and we can go over the terms of your contract."

It seemed to her as if he hesitated for an instant, but he nodded with his smile still perfectly intact. "Of course. Whatever works best for you."

Lucy shook her head lightly at him. "No, no… I don't want to impede on your life outside of this. If now is better for you, we can work it out right now. I don't mind accommodating you."

The spirit looked startled by her words. "T-thanks." He shifted in place. "Sorry, this is my first real contract, so I'm a little nervous. The last time I was summoned, I was only in Earthland briefly, and I was never able to make a contract with my key holder at the time. Not sure why, but I was never called upon again after that. So that's… uh… why I'm a bit eager to get it out of the way quickly this time."

"That makes sense to me," Lucy replied. "And I'm sorry that happened to you. Let's get that contract taken care of right away." She glanced around, scanning the grass in the rapidly diminishing light.

Suddenly, the area was flooded with golden light, and Lucy startled a bit. Looking up, she saw Dorado floating nearby, its key in Yukino's hand. "Thanks, Yukino," she said, bending down and picking up the small notebook she'd dropped when Corvus had spirited them away.

"We'll give you some privacy for this," Ortez offered, surprising Lucy a little. "Much as I'd love to observe, I must admit that I'm a bit exhausted from our little trip. Aside from which, George will need to ready your rooms and dinner, and I want to get a head start on my research into the Ghost Keys. Come back in whenever you're done."

Lucy smiled at the two men. "Alright. I'll see you later."

Although Yukino remained behind, she retreated to a polite distance, so that Lucy wouldn't lose Dorado's light.

The blonde sent her a grateful look. Flipping to a blank page and readying the pen that had been attached to the notebook, she then gazed expectantly at Corvus. "What days of the week work best for you?"

"Everything except… Sundays," Corvus stated. "Have to occasionally run errands in the Celestial World for Grandmother, and I'll try to confine them to that time period."

She scribbled it down. "Got it. Do you have any hourly restrictions?"

"No, none that I can think of. Wait, actually," Corvus amended, deep in thought. "Can we change this contract later if something unforeseen comes up?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, sure. Contracts can be amended at any time with the consent of both parties – celestial or business. Just let me know if we ever need to revisit the terms, alright?"

Relief spread across Corvus's face. "Thank you. With Grandmother at the end of her life, I won't be able to predict when she'll take a turn for the worse."

Memories of her mother swept through Lucy, Corvus's situation drawing them to the forefront of her mind, and empathy for the spirit swelled inside her heart. "You love her a lot, don't you? I'm sure she appreciates you looking after her."

"I do," he admitted, without a trace of embarrassment. "And I think she does, even if she doesn't actually say so very often."

A giggle burst forth from Lucy. "She does seem a little bit…"

"Cold?" Corvus finished, and then let out a short laugh of his own. "She comes across like that when she doesn't know someone well enough, but I assure you that she's a very warm person once she opens up. She's just…" His smile fell, suddenly, his eyes no longer completely focused on Lucy. "She's just… cautious."

Awkwardness settled over them, Lucy unsure of how to respond to that. After a few seconds, she coughed and changed topics. "I think we got a little off track there. So was there anything else you wanted to discuss about your contract?"

"Ah… yes, there was one other thing." Corvus cleared his throat. "I was wondering how often you would be summoning me?" Before Lucy had a chance to respond, he hastily added, "It's not what you think! I would… actually prefer being summoned as often as possible, even for no reason at all."

The request puzzled Lucy for half a second, and then understanding dawned on her. "Because you haven't been summoned much before?"

"Exactly!" The spirit's entire countenance suddenly brightened with his excitement, a grin spreading across his face. "I've never gotten the chance to see much of Earthland before, and I really want to now that I have the opportunity! The stories from the other spirits just… aren't enough, you know?" He swept his arms around him, his wings flaring out. "There's nothing like this in all of the Celestial World!"

His enthusiasm was infectious, lifting away the earlier tension completely. In Corvus, Lucy felt like she was looking at her own reflection; pining for a world long since denied to her, and the exaltation that came with finally finding it within her grasp. And this was the first time one of her spirits had asked her to summon them more often, rather than less. It would feel wrong to deny him this. Besides, she was growing to like the white crow quite a bit. She would enjoy his company and his counsel in the undertaking she was about to plunge headlong into.

"Sure thing, Corvus," she told him with a wide smile of her own. Then she stuck out her hand, the spirit taking it readily. "Welcome aboard. I think we're going to have a lot of fun."

"Likewise." He let go and stepped back. "I should let you go for now. It's getting dark out. Call me again soon!" With a cheery wave, he disappeared not in a wave of shadows, but in the familiar cascading golden shimmer that Lucy loved.

As soon as the spirit vanished, Yukino approached Lucy. "Are you ready to head back?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. I'm starving, how about you?"

"Yes, I am as well."

They walked across the ridiculously large lawn in silence for a minute. Dorado swam in the air beside them, the soft glow emanating from its scales wavering upon the grass as if they were walking underwater.

It was Yukino who eventually broke the comfortable quiet between them. "So... it's been quite a day, hasn't it?"

Lucy hummed her agreement. "Sure has. First it was our job fighting the bandits, and then we got spirited away by a new Celestial Spirit. And now there's this whole thing about finding a missing celestial wizard. I think even the hardest taskmasters would be willing to give us a break after all that."

The sentiment brought a smile to Yukino's lips, though privately she couldn't help but disagree. She didn't hold it against Lucy, however – she had never had Jiemma for a guild master, after all. "Have you given any thought as to where we should start looking for Phoenix's old key holder?"

"We?" questioned Lucy, glancing sidelong at her friend and unable to keep the trace of humor from her voice.

Yukino huffed in mock indignation. "Yes, we. Did you think I wouldn't want to help you?"

Giggling, Lucy shook her head, glad that the darkening sky hid her rising blush from her friend. "No, I'm really happy that you want to. Seriously, having more than one person on this will make it much, much easier."

"I think Ortez has already begun, actually," Yukino commented, sweat running down her neck. "He's… a very lively person, isn't he?"

"That's… one of putting it…"

Reaching the door to the mansion, Yukino sent Dorado home with a fond goodbye and profuse thanks for lighting their way. Lucy, too, raised a hand in farewell as the spirit vanished. If she didn't know better, she would have thought the spirit had a smile on its face. But that was a little absurd. Dorado had a fish's face, after all.

Dinner was a light affair, as the group's stomachs were still relatively full from their lunch. Time had passed at a faster rate in Earthland, but their digestive systems had been on Celestial World time. Still, Lucy had to admit that the meal was delicious, small as it was. Simple sandwiches had never tasted quite so wonderful to her before.

Conversation during the meal was kept to a minimum, Ortez's nose already deep in a book as he ate – fully absorbed in his own little world. George had offered an apology for his employer's behavior, but Lucy and Yukino waved it off. They were exhausted from the day, and more than happy to spare the energy making conversation entailed.

George seemed mildly miffed by their response.

After they were full, George showed them to their rooms, which were right next to each other. "The bathrooms should have fresh towels," he explained, pushing open the door to one of the rooms. "Feel free to make use of the facilities. I have laid out a change of clothes for the both of you, though I fear that they are rather large. We do not have many female guests, I'm afraid. If you leave your dirty laundry outside your door, I will have it clean and ready for you in the morning."

Lucy grinned at the sight of the room before her. It reminded her a lot of her bedroom at the Heartfilia Mansion. Although the memories of the place still brought her distress at times, she was finally starting to move past the unpleasant parts of her childhood at the mansion. And the nostalgia she felt looking at such an opulently furnished room was a good feeling, rather than a painful one.

"Thank you, George," she told the aging butler. "This is very kind. You really didn't have to go through all this effort." Especially to the extent of providing a change of clothes.

Again, he seemed miffed by the implication that he'd do anything less for a guest. "You are most welcome," he responded diplomatically, though Lucy could see that it pained him a little. "If you will excuse me."

As he walked away, Yukino repressed a giggle, and turned towards Lucy with a large smile upon her face. "He and Ortez make an interesting pair."

Her comment brought out a smile in Lucy as well. "They do. I think I like them a lot." About to say more, Lucy was interrupted by a great yawn that overtook her. "Mmm…" she grumbled. "I'm gonna sleep on this whole thing. Need to process it properly before I can come up with a plan of attack, you know?"

Yukino nodded, feeling the events of the day wearing on her as well. "Sounds good to me. I'll see you in the morning, Lucy."

I Know They Turned Their Back On You
But I Will See This Through

-tyDi feat. Dia Frampton "Stay"