Chapter Four
Lucy woke up confused and with a headache. She sat up and looked around and was even more confused to find herself sitting in the clearing once again. Plue was curled up on her legs, wagging his tail at her.
Hadn't she chased him into the woods? She had hit her head, and someone had found her. She remembered hearing a voice. Getting up, she faltered, the world around her spun out of control. Her headache was pretty bad. She blushed when she wondered how hard she had hit that low branch, she felt ridiculous.
She looked at the edge of the field, where the clearing met the boundary of the woods and narrowed her eyes. For a second, she thought she saw someone walking into the darkness of the trees. She blinked and there was no sign of anyone.
She looked up at the clear night sky, just what had happened? She tried to stand up again, but she fell back down. Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth to call out for help, but she heard footsteps running in her direction.
"Lucy!" That was Gray's voice, "There you are! Everyone's been worried sick! Where did you go?" He trotted over to her and helped her up. His eyes were shocked with concern and when he took in her appearance, it seemed to only make him fret more. "What happened to you?"
"I... I'm not sure." Lucy whispered and touched her hand to her forehead. She gasped when she felt it wrapped in a bandage. Had someone helped her? She stood up straight with Gray's help and looked all around the clearing. "Wait, wait, someone helped me." She mumbled, but Gray paid no attention.
"C'mon, we need to get you home, Erza is freakin' out. Do you know how late it is?" Gray scolded and Lucy felt ashamed. "Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, but I was worried about you." He lowered his voice, and he sounded embarrassed to admit to being scared that his friend had gone mysteriously missing.
"I should be the one apologizing," Lucy told him and leaned on him for support. Her headache was getting worse with each step! She was dizzy and felt like she was about to fall over. "Gray, you may have to carry me..." She trailed off and then tumbled to the ground.
"Okay, Lucy what happened." Gray demanded and hoisted her up on his back.
"I took Plue with me to star gaze and he ran into the woods, chasing after something, I think. I went after him, and I found him, but then I thought I heard something coming. My first instinct was to fight back, but then I thought better of it and turned to run. I smacked right into a tree branch, fell over and passed out. I heard someone's voice, and I think I remember someone carrying me, too. When I woke up, I was back out here." She rested her chin on his shoulder and muttered in his ear. She felt horrible for making everyone worry. "I'm sorry I scared everyone," She croaked and felt like crying.
"It's alright. Just don't scare us like that again, Lucy." Gray replied and slowly walked down the streets of Magnolia.
While Gray carried her, Lucy let her thoughts get to her. She started wondering what had happened back there in the woods. She patted her hip and her heart fluttered with relief when she felt her sword. She looked down at the ground and smiled when she saw Plue, thankfully he had followed her and not gone running towards the woods again.
Drawing her face together in confusion, Lucy groaned. Who had helped her? Who had carried her back to the clearing? Whose voice had she heard before going unconscious? She was so frustrated that she didn't know any of this!
She rested her forehead against Gray's shoulder and huffed. She knew she was going to get in trouble with Erza. The woman had already been skeptical of Lucy going to the field to stargaze. With dread, Lucy wondered if Erza would ever allow her to go watch the night sky again.
Lucy suddenly sat up straight, nearly falling off of Gray's back and onto the cobblestone street. The man yelled in protest and Lucy giggled softly. She snickered a soft apology and sat still once again. She knew that the person who had helped had said a name, the way that they had worded their sentence sounded like they had been talking to someone. The name had been 'Happy'. She wrinkled her nose, what kinda name was that? That was a mood. If people named their children moods, there would be people walking around with names like 'Anger' or 'Sad'!
She almost cracked up laughing at the thought of that.
She heard Gray mutter something about her being insane, but she paid no mind to him. She kept going back to the voice she heard before passing out. She wanted to know who had saved her. She blushed at the idea of some handsome, charming man saving her in the middle of the woods.
Lucy would have gone into deeper thought about it, but Gray was almost to her apartment, and she knew she needed to be prepared to do some extreme explaining.
After Lucy finished explaining everything, everyone calmed down. Lucy felt relaxed to know that nobody was angry or upset. Her friends were just worried about her.
"I'm sorry I scared you all," Lucy looked down at her lap, still feeling horrible.
"It's fine Lucy! We're not angry! We were just worried something bad had happened!" Levy hugged her and then narrowed her eyes at Lucy's forehead, "Just how hard did you hit that tree branch?" Levy wondered aloud and moved to touch it.
Lucy flinched back, covering the sore spot with her hand and glared at the petite woman. "Don't just go touching people's wounds!" She snapped and pouted when Gajeel snickered.
"Well, now that I know Bunny Girl is all right, I'm goin' home. See ya'll tomorrow or whatever," Gajeel waved to them and before leaving turned to Levy. "Bye, Shrimp," He winked and closed the front door behind him.
"Shrimp!?" Levy gasped and her face exploded in red. She tromped over to the door and swung it open. She looked like she was about to yell something at the 'infuriating imbecile', but thought better of it when Gray reminded her that people could be asleep at such a late hour. Levy slammed the door and marched upstairs, grumbling about how annoying Gajeel was.
Lucy, Erza, Juvia, and Gray all shared a knowing look and broke in a fit of soft laughter.
"Those two are so in love, it's beautiful!" Juvia sighed and then looked at Gray, "If only Juvia could find love like that! Oh, wait, but she has!" She jumped to her feet and hugged Gray's arm tightly. "Juvia has found Gray!"
Gray blinked once and then turned a soft pink. He let out a nervous chuckle and gently pried Juvia off of him. Saying a rushed farewell, he scurried out the door and headed for his home.
"Well, I think it'd be best if we went to bed as well," Erza yawned. She tugged Lucy up after her, but stopped halfway. "Oh, and Juvia, tomorrow you, Lucy, Levy, and I will be needing to talk with you. So, please, don't make any plans, we will need you for maybe all day."
"Oh!" Juvia straightened and looked at Lucy confused. Lucy could only return the look, she had no idea what Erza was talking about either. "Don't worry, Juvia has no plans for tomorrow, she would love to spend the day talking with Erza, Lucy, and Levy!" She beamed and headed into the living room where her makeshift bed was.
Saying a good night to Erza, Lucy headed to her room and prepared herself for bed. She went to sleep wondering who had helped her. She stared at the stars outside while she scratched Plue's fluffy head, she would have to go investigating. She wanted to meet who had saved her and thank them properly. With an idea forming in her mind, Lucy fell asleep.
The next morning, Lucy woke up to Erza slamming her bedroom door open. "Up! Get up! We have improtant plans for today! We have someone moving in!" The woman yelled. Lucy groaned and pulled her covers up over her head. "Oh no, you don't!" Erza shouted and stamped towards Lucy's bed. The demonic woman ripped the blankets from Lucy's bed and threw them on the ground. "Up! You will be helping Levy, and I prepare the extra room for Juvia. She will be moving in with us, now get up!"
"Okay! Okay!" Lucy whined and shivered as she got up from bed. She shot a tiresome glare at Erza and trudged downstairs. She threw herself down in the windowseat of the kitchen and shared a glare with Levy.
Judging from her appearance, Erza had woken Levy up the same way as Lucy. Levy looked like she was ready to murder someone, and Lucy felt like murdering someone. She hated mornings.
Juvia stumbled in soon and plopped down in a chair beside Levy. The woman let out a tired yawn and then flopped onto the table. Within seconds, she was snoring.
"Juvia! Wake up!" Erza slammed her fist down on the table, startling the sleeping woman. "We need to discuss some things," Erza sat down in her chair at the head of the table and looked around the room with a demanding gleam in her eye. "Lucy, Levy, what do you say to letting Juvia move in with us?"
Juvia looked shocked. She sat there staring at Erza with wide eyes. She clamped her hands over her mouth and darted her eyes back and forth from Levy to Lucy.
"Sure," Levy croaked and rubbed her tired eyes.
"Mmhmm," Lucy mumbled and leaned her head on the wall. She was exhausted and her head hurt. She felt herself beginning to drift off again. She heard footsteps and then, next thing she knew, she was being picked up. Lucy's eyes flew open and she screamed when she realized Erza was about to throw here into one of the chairs at the table. "I'm awake! Put me down, now!" She yelped and kicked herself out of Erza's arms.
Hearing soft laughs from the others, Lucy grumbled when she took her seat. She glared at Erza and huffed.
"Well, if we all agree on letting Juvia move in, then let's get started. We'll be cleaning out the room that we use as a personal libary. We'll move the books and bookshelves down stairs into the livingroom. After that is done, we'll go see the carpenters to get some furniture for Juvia's room." Erza explained. She looked like she was having a wonderful morning, Lucy was irritated that she was taking it out on her and Levy. Couldn't Erza keep her morning person mood to herself?
"Well, seeing as my head still hurts, I won't be able to help! Oh, what a shame, good luck you guys!" Lucy stood up and held her head to show how it was bothering her. She turned to leave the room, but Erza stopped her.
"No, you will be helping. If you won't help, then you'll be the one doing all of the chores for the next month." Erza threatened.
"Oh, wow, whatdya know! My headache is gone! You guys need help?" Lucy turned around and smiled nervously at the other girls.
Juvia giggled while Levy rolled her eyes. The group of girls made their way upstairs and down the hall to the room that would soon be Juvia's. They started taking down books, putting them in boxes, and carrying them downstairs.
Juvia was a ball of excitement the entire time. She repeated the words "Thank you," numerous times and cried tears of joy at one point. Lucy was happy to see Juvia so excited about moving into the apartment when them.
Cleaning out the personal library and setting the books and bookshelves in the living room went a lot faster than what Lucy had first thought. They had finished just before lunch, but seeing as though neither of them were hungry yet, they continued working.
"How about you three go see the carpenter while I fix lunch?" Levy announced and started pushing them towards the front door. "We'll need help bringing the furniture as well so go see if Gray and Gajeel can help!"
While Levy stayed at the apartment fixing a meal, Lucy, Juvia, and Erza walked down the streets to the carpenters' shop. Lucy was excited to see them. Jet and Droy were very kind and close friends of Levy.
"Hello, Jet. Hello, Droy," Erza greeted as the three walked inside. The shop was big and the smell of fabric and wood was almost overwhelming.
Jet and Droy came barging in and looked at the group of women beaming happily, obviously excited that Levy might have come. When they saw that the petite woman was not with them, the two both sighed disapppointedly. Replacing it with a quick smile, they greeted Lucy, Erza, and Juvia and waved them inside.
Jet and Droy were two of Levy's best friends. Jet was tall and thin, with his red hair tied up in a tight pony tail. Droy was overweight and around the same height as Jet, his hair was dark black, and a strand stuck up and curled on the top of his head. The two were close friends and always seemed to be together, it was odd seeing one without the other.
"Hello, Lucy, Erza! Who's your friend here?" Jet asked as he walked over to them.
"Juvia is pleased to meet you!" Juvia beamed and held out her hand to shake. Jet gave her an odd look and then smiled back while he shook her hand. "Juvia will be moving in with Levy, Lucy, and Erza! She is looking for furniture to put in her room!"
"Well, then you came to the right place!" Droy laughed, joining the conversation. "We have a wide variety, if you need help we'll be here at the front of the store!"
"Hmph, they weren't nearly this professional when I came to get furniture for my room." Lucy stated as the three started browsing, looking at the beds and nightstands to place in Juvia's room.
"That was because Levy was with us, remember?" Erza teased, "Now, come, Juvia. I take it you'd like your room to be colored blue and maybe some yellow?"
"Yes! That would be lovely!" Juvia gasped, "Blue, yellow, and maybe some white! Colors of the beautiful sky!" She clapped her hands together and squeaked when she saw a white bed and nightstand set.
While Erza and Juvia were overlooking the set Juvia had chosen, Lucy started looking around on her own. She had been wanting to redecorate her room, but she didn't know how she would just yet. Something had just caught her eye when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Someone was watching her. Turning around, she stared towards the front of the shop, but all she saw was the outline of a cat walk past the open door.
She shrugged it off as still being paranoid from the night before and skipped over to join her friends.
"Juvia has found what she wants!" Juvia called to the front. Jet came bounding back and started talking prices with Erza. Juvia turned to Lucy and took her hands, "Oh, thank you! Juvia is so happy to be moving in with you all!"
"I'm happy to have you as a new room mate!" Lucy smiled and then caught Jet's attention, "I'll help Erza pay, also, do you think you two could help us bring the furniture in?"
"Of course! We'd be happy to!" Jet gave her a thumbs up and then raced to go get Droy to assist him.
Setting up Juvia's room went by fast. The group was done in no time at all. Levy seemed a little disappointed that they hadn't gone to ask Gajeel for help, but when she saw Jet and Droy walk in it quickly vanished. Apparently the three hadn't talked in awhile and it had been the perfect opportunity for them to catch up while furnishing Juvia's room.
Lucy dismissed herself when the sun began to set, though. She hurried to the clearing, afraid Erza would hunt her down and drag her back. She wanted to see who had helped in the woods the night before and she would take advantage of it before the day was completely over.
She approached the edge of the woods and peered in, somewhat scared. She was alone this time. She had left Plue at home, and she scolded herself when she realized she had left her sword as well. Weaponless and alone, Lucy trudged into the woods.
It was eerily quiet, most of the woodland creatures were either hibernating or had migrated to somewhere warmer by now. Lucy's feet crunched on the fallen leaves and dead grass.
She kept walking until she came towards a cave. It was dark inside, and she was about to turn away and head back to the field, when something flashed in the corner of her eye. She froze and narrowed her eyes as she stared into the mouth of the cave.
It looked dark and empty for all she could tell, but something about it was off. She could tell something was in there. It dawned on her that she could have found a bear's cave, and she took another step back when something darted out. She almost let loose a scream when it crashed into her chest.
She and whatever had dashed out of the cavern tumbled down to the ground. She threw it off of her and sat up fast, heart beating ridiculously fast from the scare. Lucy scoffed when her eyes landed on a blue cat.
"Stupid cat! You scared me!" She hissed and jumped to her feet.
"You need to leave." The cat meowed.
Lucy blinked once, twice, and then screamed. The cat yowled along with her and flew at her face. Literally, flew. It had wings. It shoved it's paw over her mouth and glared at her with big eyes.
"Quiet! You'll wake him up!" The cat whimpered.
Still freaked out by the cat, Lucy just stared at it. It looked like a normal cat, save for the beautiful wings on it's back. It's wings were amazing. They were pure white like an angel's. It's blue fur was peculiar, but Lucy had seen cats of all colors so it wasn't that shocking.
"I'm sorry I scared you, but you really should leave." The cat whispered. "Come back at night time, then you can talk to Natsu. Be quiet and please don't wake him." It flicked it's tail nervously and Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"Natsu? Who's Natsu?" She wondered aloud and looked around the cat into the cave. "Is someone in there? It's nearly winter! He shouldn't be living in a cave when it's getting cold outside! He'll freeze to death!" Lucy rattled on and pushed the cat aside. Ignoring it's protests, Lucy hustled into the cavern.
There was nothing but a sleeping bag, an old tattered backpack, and a scarf in the far corner. A small fire that looked like it was about to die sat in the middle of the hard cave floor. It was quiet, but every few seconds there was a loud rumbling sound. It sounded like obnoxious snoring and deep breaths.
Something was sleeping. Something big.
"Hello?" Lucy called out, and instantly regretted it.
A low angry growl answered her. In the darkness, two giant green eyes opened and zeroed in on her. Taking in her appearance it let out another growl, this time opening it's giant mouth. It hissed at her and shot a line of burning smoke above her head. It got to it's feet and took a step forward, it's talons and claws scraping against the rocks and boulders.
Lucy gasped and stumbled back. A dragon. She had found a dragon.
The dragon opened it's mouth, the inside of it's throat was glowing. Lucy scrambled out of the cave, knowing it was about to burn her to a crisp. The blue cat with wings wrapped it's tail around her waist and flew her up into the air. It gently dropped her on the hill the cave was carved into and landed at her feet.
"Great, now he's gonna be mad at me!" The cat growled and glared at her. It stood up on it's hind legs and pointed one of it's front paws at the ground below the hill. "He's gonna yell at me when he's changed. He's gonna blame me for you coming here! How'd find us anyway?" The cat narrowed it's eyes.
"I don't know..." Lucy trailed off. She shrieked when she saw the top of the dragon's head poke out of the cave. It looked... grumpy. It opened it's mouth and yawned and then looked up at the sky. The sun was low now, and the dark night sky was replacing the red, yellow, and pink sunset.
The dragon crawled out of the cave and settled in the bare area in front of it. It curled up and rested it's head on it's front legs. It closed it's eyes again and fell back asleep.
"Oh, good, he's just going to sleep until the moon comes up." The cat sighed in relief and sank to it's four paws. It looked up at Lucy and flicked it's ear at her. "I'm Happy, by the way, who are you? Natsu and I helped you last night, it was pretty dumb of you to run into that tree."
Lucy's jaw dropped and she glared down at the cat and decided to ignore it's rude comment. "You're Happy? Is Natsu the one who I heard talking before I blacked out? When can I meet him? I want to thank him."
"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough," Happy mewed. It had an amused look in it's eye that made Lucy nervous. If Happy knew Natsu, wouldn't it make sense if the two were near each other? Hadn't the cat mentioned something about Natsu being in the cave?
Lucy's heart stopped. Had Natsu been in there with that dragon? She scrambled down the side of the hill, quietly scuffling to the mouth of the cave. She looked over her shoulder at the sleeping dragon to be sure it was still asleep. She tried to see through the darkness, but it was useless. It was empty, save for the backpack, sleeping bag, and pile of burnt wood that used to be a crackling fire.
She turned back around and saw that the moon was up in the sky by now. It's light shined down on the dragon and the dragon's scales seemed to glow in it. Lucy was shocked to realize the scales were actually glowing when the dragon lifted it's head.
It blinked at her and Lucy froze. It's dark green eyes matched to what she had glimpsed a few nights ago. The dragon leaned it's head forward until it's maw was in her face. It sniffed at her and snorted smoke out it's nose, causing her to choke and cough.
The dragon made a low whining sound, and looked at her with soft eyes. It looked like it was trying to say sorry. Lucy blinked at it and took a shy step forward. The dragon's scales were glowing fiercely now. It was almost blinding. Lucy had to squint in order to see.
The dragon looked up at the night sky and sighed. It stood up on all four legs and turned to face the moon. It's back was to Lucy and she gaped at the giant wings on it's back. The scales and the dragon itself was beautiful, but the wings were gorgeous. A mixture of reds, scarlets, and pinks were the colors of it's tough scales. The scales on the wings were patterned in a way, it looked like the dragon was carrying flames.
Lucy was going to admire the magnificence of it all, forgetting to fear the dragon, when it whined. Happy, who had joined her on the ground, looked almost sad. The cat flattened it's ears and whined with the dragon. Lucy wondered what was going on when the scales of the dragon glowed even brighter.
She raised her arm above her eyes, somewhat blocking the bright light, and squinted at the dragon. Just what was going on? The dragon stood up on it's hind legs and spread it's wings. The moonlight glowed around it, and the dragon began to shrink.
Lucy's breath was taken away as she watched the dragon shrink and grow smaller in size. It started taking on the form of a man, until finally, before her stood an actual man. He collapsed onto the ground in a shivering and shaking mess. The man was gasping and groaning in pain.
Happy spread his wings and flew into the cave, coming back out with the backpack and scarf. "Here," The cat whispered and placed it beside the man.
The man nodded his head, gently grasping the backpack and dragging it towards him. That was when Lucy noticed the man was completely naked. Her face exploded in red and she turned her back to him.
As Lucy stared at nothing, she remembered Erza's words from before. "Lucy, I'm not sure how I feel about you going to the field every night alone. There's been rumors of some monster lurking in the woods around there." With Erza's words lingering in her mind, Lucy knew she should have listened and steered clear of the mysterious woods. If only her curiosity had ears she was sure she would have gone straight home after seeing what her eyes had just taken in.
A dragon had just turned into a man. A dragon had just turned into a man.
"It's safe to look now," Happy meowed as the blue cat flew in front of her.
"Happy, you stupid tom cat, I thought I told you not to bring anyone here!" The man huffed from behind Lucy. Lucy turned around and jumped back when she came face to face with him. "You need to leave," He narrowed his eyes and tossed his scarf over his shoulder.
Lucy looked at him from head to toe. He was tall, and very muscular. His eyes were a fierce, dark green, and he looked almost frightening, but his hair ruined that image. His hair was pink and stuck up and pointed in every direction. In a way, it reminded her of a tame fire.
The man wore peculiar clothes for such a cold night. An open vest, baggy white pants, and sandals. The only part of his outfit that looked warm was his white scarf draped around his neck.
"Wh-what?" Lucy sputtered and took a step back, "I came here to see Natsu. Happy told me he was the one who helped me last night. I wanted to thank him."
"Well, your welcome. Now leave," The man shoved her aside and stamped to the cave.
Lucy whirled around and looked at him confused. "Wait, you're Natsu? But, you just... you just shape shifted! You were a dragon and now you're a man! That shouldn't be possible!" Lucy pointed at him.
"Well, obviously it is, because that's what I just did." He glared at her with such a cold stare that Lucy was tempted to turn and run. "Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to leave?" Natsu grumbled and sat down in front of the pile of burnt wood.
"I'm still here, because I want to know what the heck just happened. Also, I want to know why you've been following me. I know it was you I saw the other night," Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and started walking towards him.
"You know what happened. You explained it yourself. I was a dragon, now I'm a man." Natsu stiffened and rubbed his hands together.
He snapped his fingers and a small flame blinked from his fingertips. He flattened out his hand and blew the small flare in the direction of the pile of wood. It danced in the air and once it came in contact with the dark wood, a fire blazed to life.
He waved his hand around it, and the fire grew in size. Lucy could feel it's warmth as she settled beside Natsu. She ignored Happy's warning look as she stared at the dancing fire.
"Now, answer my other question. Why have you been following me? You opened my window, too. Didn't you?" She confronted and turned to look at his face. She flinched when she caught his glare.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've been followin' ya. Only because I want to know why you're so interested in the night sky, though."
"Oh," She nodded her head, "I'm fascinated by the stars and the moon, because my mother and I used to stargaze all the time when I was a young girl. She passed away when I was small. Whenever I stargaze, it's like I can feel her with me. It's like she never left." Realizing she had just told all of this to a stranger, Lucy blushed. She looked down at her hands then over her shoulder. She could see some stars above the trees if she looked outside the cave at the right angle.
"Really?" Natsu asked and he sounded intriqued. When Lucy turned to look at him, he was back to glaring at her. He scoffed and fiddled with his scarf. "Kinda like my dad and this scarf." He muttered out and then stiffened. He glowered at Lucy and stood up. "You should go," He mumbled and walked outside.
"What? But I want to know more about how you can go from a dragon to a man!" Lucy objected. She ran after him and slammed into his back when he suddenly stopped. "Hey, don't just stop in front of someone like that!" Lucy rubbed her nose and glared at him.
Natsu looked like he was about to laugh, but he caught himself and narrowed his eyes at her. "No, you don't want to know more," He grumbled and avoided eye contact. "Happy, you never answered my question! Why did you bring her here?"
"I didn't! She found her way here on her own, Natsu!" Happy argued and flew up to sit on his shoulder. The cat turned to glare at her and then hissed.
"You two are so rude!" Lucy put her hands on her hips, "I come here to thank you and this is the treatment I get! Do you have no manners?"
"I'm a dragon, I don't do the whole manners thing," Natsu snorted. He crossed his arms over his chest and tipped his head back at her. "What's your name anyway? You're pretty rude yourself if I've given my name, Happy's given his, but you haven't even introduced yourself."
"Ah!" Lucy gasped and was about to retort when she realized he was right. She puffed her cheeks up in aggrivation and scoffed. "My name is Lucy," She crossed her arms back at him, "I'm sure it's safe to say you're much more rude than I am." She stuck her tongue out at him and whirled around to sit in the dirt.
She leaned back on her hands and stared up at the night sky. She was about to start talking to the stars and look for constellations when Natsu walked up beside her. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes when he frowned at her.
"What are you doing?" He asked and leaned forward to get in her face.
"Well, I was going to stargaze, but someone's in the way." She answered.
Natsu looked at her hesitantly and then dropped down on the ground beside her. "Show me?" He asked and Lucy blinked at him.
"Um, okay, but I don't have much time." She explained, "I need to head back soon or my friends will start to worry."
"I'm fine with that," The man muttered softly and Lucy was sure she saw an embarrassed look on his face. When he caught her staring it vanished and turned into another frown.
"Sorry if Natsu comes across as mean, it's very rare that he gets to talk to other people. You know, because he's a dragon and all." Happy flicked his tail as he jumped down into Natsu's lap.
Natsu made a sound of complaint and glared at the blue tom cat. Lucy snickered behind her hand, but cut it short when Natsu scowled at her. She quickly went to show him a few constellations and smiled as she watched what she had thought was a permanent angry scowl, fade into a relaxed grin.
"And those are all the constellations I have time for, I really need to get back." Lucy said as she got to her feet. She looked around the at the darkness and woods that seemed to go on forever and froze. "I... I don't know my way back." She mumbled and looked down at Natsu, "I need a guide."
"Happy take her home," Natsu waved the blue cat out of his lap. "I'll fix us some fish and it'll be ready by the time you come back."
"Aye sir!" Happy saluted and bounded over to Lucy, "Let's go!" He jumped up into the air and spread his wings.
The two started walking back towards town. Lucy looked down at the blue cat and at the wings on his back. The fact he could fly, talk, and walk on two legs was odd. She looked over shoulder back in the direction of Natsu's cave. The fact he changed from a dragon to a man was even more bizarre! Everything about Natsu and Happy was just weird.
"So, why was Natsu so grumpy and angry tonight?" Lucy asked and then wrinkled her nose, "He's not always like that, is he?"
Happy sighed and looked back at the cave with a sad look, "No, he's just angry that you know what he is. He's normally hyper, obnoxious, and really fun to be around! Oh, I know, you should come again tomorrow night! He might be in a better mood then, but please, come after dark. He doesn't like it when people see him change."
Lucy nodded her head and paid attention to the path they were taking. She needed to remember how she got to the cave and back. She wanted to ask Happy more questions, but she didn't want to be nosy.
They were at clearing in no time at all and Lucy waved a farewell to Happy. When the cat waved his tail in reply, Lucy tried not to have a weird reaction. She would just have to get used to the talking cat. Looking back at the woods as she climbed the hill, Lucy frowned. Remembering how Happy had told her it was rare for Natsu to get visitors made her worry for the strange man. Clenching her fists, Lucy secretly decided she'd try and be his friend, so that way he wouldn't be lonely anymore.
WOOO, THAT TOOK FOREVER! Goodness grief, I hate writer's block so much. I got stuck and didn't know how to continue this and I got scared, because like I'm always worried that writer's block will never go away! I defeated it though! By reading, listening to music, and sneaking writing in between all that. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because when I wrote Natsu changing from a dragon to a man I couldn't stop squirming in my seat with excitement! That's my favorite part out of this whole entire chapter. SO YEAH! LUCY AND NATSU FINALLY MEET :D
Books books and books~
SO, currently, the book I am reading is title The Time Travelers: Book One In The Gideon Trilogy. It's really interesting! I like it a lot so far. I love how Peter and Kate interact with each other. I like them as a brotp, ya know? :P
SO ANYWAY! I was rushed to post this chapter. I'd already posted it to Tumblr and I wasn't sure if I was gonna get it posted here around the same time. My dad, brother, and I are gonna go see Jurassic World. JURASSIC WORLD! CHRIS PRATT AND DINOSAURS FOR TWO HOURS. THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN THAT, RIGHT? Oh, well, -ahem-, actually, if Natsu Dragneel were real then yeah there would be something better than Chris Pratt and dinosaurs for two hours... ehehuehuehue~
YEH! Terribly sorry it took so long to update! Writer's block is a pain in the butt! The reviews really helped me though, the fact that other people enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoy writing it is very encouraging. So, as always, until next time~ Please leave a review if you can! :) ^^