Thoughts: 'Yo'
Dialogue: "Yo"
Lucy toyed with her short, choppy wet hair. She'd cut it roughly chin length, with two longer bangs framing her face and hanging below her chin by a couple of inches.
The heavy thud of rain spread around the clearing. Not a soul in sight occupied the jungle, only she alone stood under the heavy barrel of deluge. Her clothes were fully soaked, her skin cold and turning a pale shade of blue. Her teeth chattered, on their own accord. Yet she still remained, unwilling to remove herself from the torrent of water washing over the earth. Apparent to her being, the rain began to skim to a drizzle. Lightly pecking at her, the heaven's cry died down, dark and grey clouds rumbled their protest.
She missed home, Fairy Tail and her friends. She missed her family and her keys. She'd never been separated from them this long and it was beginning to dawn on her that she might not ever see them again. She was speedily turning into quite the pessimist.
She heaved a sigh. Smiles were few and far between these days; scowls were becoming a common occurrence. Zeref was too….alien. It was a mystery on what he thought and she wasn't privy to his intents either.
At least he didn't scare her anymore.
Well okay that was a lie; he didn't scare her that much anymore.
She got up from her spot as the rain started again, muscles protesting at her sudden movement, for they hadn't been used for the long hours she had sat there solemnly musing. She frowned in distaste as she looked at her legs, shaking some of the caked mud off her shoes and began walking back from whence she came.
Zeref was waiting for her at the mouth of the cave when she returned; an involuntary shiver creeping up her spine as she looked at him. He grimaced once she neared; the look not lost on her as he wrapped a heavy cloak over her shoulders. Lucy tried not to tense too much, but probably failed anyway judging by the look he sent her afterwards.
She couldn't comprehend what it meant.
The guild
Lisanna bounded towards where Team Natsu lounged as if her life depended on it, coming to a halting stop once she reached them and taking a much needed gulp of air. She spotted Natsu and tried grabbing his attention first and foremost, being the most difficult one to break the news to, "Natsu I need to tell you something-"
Gray knocked him hard on the head. "Oh come on, that was a dirty cheap shot!" Natsu yelled, getting up and chasing after him. Lisanna went unnoticed.
"Natsu!" the fire mage was too busy dodging blows to pay her any heed.
"He won't hear you Lisanna,"
"Erza!" Thank kami, someone with open ears.
The weapon master was sharpening one of her blades, "Do you need something?" she asked not unkindly.
"I-uff," she really needed to talk to Natsu first but he was rolling on the ground wrestling with Gray, "oh, shit, Lucy is missing!" it came out as a shout.
The noise immediately stopped.
Erza gasped, dropping her blade.
Every head present in the hall was turned towards her in shock, registering what she just said.
"What did you just say?" someone whispered, looking at her in panic- needing to hear it repeated a second time. Natsu pushed Gray off roughly, "Say that again."
"Lucy…" Lisanna croaked out as she saw the saddening expression on his face, "She's gone."
"What do you mean she's gone?" Ezra's voice cut through, like ice.
A fat tear slipped out of Lisanna's eye, and slid down her cheek as she nodded miserably, repeating it. "Lucy's missing, been for days now." A deathly silence was all she got in return; the looks upon her friend's faces were ashen, sickly.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know!" she snapped in defeat, "She hasn't been back in days, haven't you noticed?!"
"No you're lying. Lucy isn't gone or missing-"
Her tongue clucked, "How would you know? Have you checked on her lately?"
Erza had the decency to look ashamed, "Well no…" she admitted.
"She's missing." Lisanna stressed. "And you, none of you, had any self-awareness to realise one of your comrade's seat was cold at the table."
"Where is she then?" Natsu whispered from behind her, deadly calm.
"TELL ME!" He screamed when she didn't answer, a fierce look contorting his face. Lisanna had to take a step back; the suffering in his voice and desperation in his eyes scared her. But she understood, she understood because this was his friend, this was his best friend.
"All of you, silence!" Master Makarov's voice bellowed from the first floor, standing atop of the railing looking down at them all with his hands held behind his back. Cana and Mira also joined him, scanning the crowd below. "You have one nosy sister Mira," Cana mentioned, shaking her head.
"I know."
"Everybody please, calm down and don't be alarmed," ah, maybe that was not tactful of him. He cringed slightly, glimpsing the uneasy looks passed between the girls at his side; they seemed to think so too.
'I'm never good at this,' He cleared his throat, "We've discovered a problem concerning one your guild mates-"
"So it's true then?" came Erza's distraught voice.
"I'm sure Lisanna has already told you-"He stared her down, "Yes, it is."
"That can't be, no we would have noticed." Titania shook her head in denial.
"Oh? Have you seen or heard from her then?" He intoned curtly.
"…No." She ground out, red-faced.
"Maybe she's at home!" one of them shouted in the crowd.
"Yeah!" a chorus agreed.
"She's not there," Mira murmured, "Cana stopped by there first, finding nothing."
"Where the hell has she gone?" Natsu hissed from his spot-his skin burning with rage and worry-the two emotions being hard to separate from another. Rage at himself because- because- he should have known! And worry because no one apparently knew where she was!
"Calm down Natsu…" Gray tried consoling him, he himself feeling unbalanced with the news. Not knowing how everything had gone so downhill in the span of a few minutes.
"You, shut up!" his friend roared, fists clenching and his element begging to be let out, to be let free.
"Will you all shut the fuck up!" snapped Cana from above, "Listen to what we have to say first!" she yelled. The rest looked shocked at her outburst.
"Thank you Cana," Makarov turned his attention away from her, "I do not expect any of you to not panic, I can understand your confusion and frustration at knowing little in such a short time. Believe me, we, "he gestured to the two women off to the side- "don't know much ourselves. But we have some leads to go on."
Levy, who was one of the more distressed ones felt the shame cloud over her body and mind, "What do we do then?" she spoke shakily. How worthless as a friend she was, she hadn't even realised Lucy, her closest friend, was gone.
"We're constructing a plan as we speak," He directed Cana forward, stepping down from the platform to let her take over. Cana's lips thinned as she nodded shortly, taking a quick glance at the people down below looking up at her with questioning gazes.
"First, you all need to sit down and listen to me as I explain the situation the way it is…." And so the guild was educated.
Edited: 23/11/2016
