It's Mermaid Monday! And yes, as all of you correctly guessed, our blonde friend is the one-and-only Lucy Heartfilia! :)

Waffels: You're sweet! And I'm glad this has given you another reason to smile on Mondays. But you're 1 for 2; it'll be a few chapters before we see Lyon in this universe. If you'd want to see (a different take) on Lyon sooner, can I point you at my Mazeverse AU series that I upload on Fridays? It's not fantasy, but my writing style is similar there. It might be a fun read if you're up for a no-rules, what-if journey of our FT mages and the blurred lines of their relationships (both friendships and romantic).

guest:Thank you for stopping by. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

darling spider: Thanks a bunch!

- K. Chandler

It wasn't every day that one found an unconscious stranger on the beach.

From the official-looking blue overcoat he wore, Lucy guessed he was a Navy officer. Maybe a captain?

He didn't appear to be hurt. If anything, he seemed to be sleeping. But this was a bizarre place to be taking a nap.

Lucy gave his shoulder another tentative nudge.

"Mister? Can you hear me?"

The captain opened his eyes, blinking groggily. "Wha-? Where?" With a groan, he pushed himself up, bringing his hand up to his head.

"Careful," said Lucy. "Are you okay?" Her hands hovered, unsure whether or not to offer assistance.

"Yeah. Just…" The man looked around, squinting at the sun. "This is… Akane Bay. What am I doing here?" he muttered.

"I was kind of hoping you'd be able to tell me," she said softly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

He frowned. "I was on my ship…" he said. "Correction. I jumped off my ship. I guess I musta washed up on shore."

"You're pretty lucky then."

"I'll say. We were pretty far out last night."

"Wait. Out here?" asked Lucy. She had run to her window when she heard the explosion last night. "You mean the giant fireball was yours?"

The captain gave a wry smile. "Was," he repeated. "I doubt there's anything left of the Fairy Tail anymore."

"Well, that's a—"

"No. Way." Another officer was sprinting down the beach. "No freakin' way! Gray, is that you?!"

"Natsu!" The captain pushed himself to his feet.

The other officer, Natsu, shook his head, staring. "I thought you were a goner, man."

"Yeah, me too." Gray shrugged. "But here I am."

Natsu surveyed his companion with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Quit looking at me like that. I feel fine. Better than fine, actually."

"That's kind of unbelievable, all things considered," said Natsu. "I mean that explosion was pretty ridiculous. That was way too close, even for us."

"Yeah?"

"Cana's going to murder you. She was bawling her eyes out over you last night."

Lucy wondered who this Cana was. A sister or girlfriend maybe?

Gray arched an eyebrow, seeming unaffected by this comment. "Natsu… Cana doesn't cry."

Now it was Natsu's turn to shrug. "Well… you know what I mean. She was pretty upset. For Cana, that is."

"Hm. Where is she, by the way?"

"Satan Soul Tavern. Where else?"

Gray groaned. "I suppose we need rescue her from drowning now?"

Gray's response caught Lucy by surprise. What kind of weirdos would talk about letting their sister or girlfriend go to a place like that so casually?

"We should get going," Gray said to Lucy. "Sorry to have interrupted your morning like this."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it," she said, smiling.

"Really, man?" asked Natsu, shaking his head in disapproval.

Natsu crouched down, bringing himself at eye-level with Lucy. She hadn't realized that she was still sitting in the sand.

He flashed her a toothy grin. His eyes, a unique shade of olive green, caught her by surprise.

"Thanks for saving him," Natsu said. "This one's a total pain… but he's still our captain."

"I didn't really do anything. I mean, I just kind of found him here." Lucy shrugged, though she was pleased nonetheless.

"Yeah, but still…" Natsu extended his hand, offering to help her to her feet. His grip was strong, but not overbearing, and much warmer than she had expected.

"Hey, I didn't get your name," he said, still holding her hand. "Miss…"

"Just Lucy is fine."

"Loopy, huh?" said Natsu seriously. Then he cracked a grin.

"Lucy," she corrected, brushing sand from her skirt.

"Thank you, Miss Lucy," said Gray politely.

"Maybe we'll see you around, yeah?" asked Natsu. "Catch ya later, Loopy!"

What a weirdo.

Ahhh! And now they've met. I love Natsu and Lucy! I don't write nearly enough of them.

So, side-note... a mermaid story doesn't quite work when the capital is landlocked (like Crocus is). So I kind of moved the capital of Fiore to Akane, mostly because there seemed to be a nice beach there.

Next time, in Silence, Juvia's team does not agree: "She's a big girl, Gajeel. She can do what she wants. If she's silly enough to let some human get her, that's not our problem."

Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.