When I made my way back to the room, the bathroom door was wide open, the shower running. For the first time that morning, I noticed how gross and disheveled I was. Creeping my way into the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes. Before getting in the shower with Yolric, I caught a glimpse of my back in the slightly fogged mirror. From the base of my neck to the bottom of my waist, a brilliant green bruise stretched. Purple circles dotted where my spine met the skin with separate darker purples outlining what looked like veins. In the midst of all of this, reds and blues danced around in no certain pattern.
Smaller bruises and scratches were arranged over most of my skin, as well. At first, I was taken aback by all of the injuries. After a minute, though, I couldn't help but smile. Everything could have ended worse. Elysia, thanks to Xavier and Wendy, was healed for the most part. Plus, everyone else had a great time with the festivities beforehand. That alone was worth the temporary pain.
After a moment, I pulled back the shower curtain as Yolric washed his hair. He opened one eye to look at me, and then nodded his head for me to get in with him. "Get everything out of your system?"
"I'm sorry, Yolric... It was just a spur of the moment thing. I'll be good now," I blushed. He only chuckled and held out his hand. When I took it, he pulled me closer to his muscular body. I couldn't help but melt as he held my aching body. He kissed my head, pulled back slightly, and smiled.
"You stink, my dear," he chuckled, rinsing his hair and beginning to wash his body. I blushed deeper, which only made him laugh more. Giving a sigh, I grabbed the shampoo myself and scrubbed my hair as hard as I could. "Don't scalp yourself!" Yolric added, almost crying from laughter.
"You have such an odd sense of humor," I mused, unable to keep from laughing myself. Yolric pulled me close once more as suds ran down his chiseled body. Without warning, he kissed me tenderly, smiling as he did so. One hand slowly crept down my back as the other held my face. I began to get dizzy, to lose my breath as I submitted to his caress.
"My dear June..," he whispered into my ear. "Why won't you sing to me? It's been so long since I've heard you sing like you do..." I looked up at him, struggling to focus after his affections.
"Y-you just told me that I stink... I-I need to bathe," I stuttered out, stumbling back and grabbing the body soap. Yolric just leaned on the far end of the shower and chuckled, crossing his arms.
"Ah, Juniper... What's that one song you like me to sing to you?"
"The one I actually like or the one you think I like?"
Another laugh.
"The one you really like, Love."
"Head Full Of Doubt..."
"That's it!" Yolric suddenly shouted out. As I rinsed off my body and shut off the water, he began to sing.
"'There's a darkness upon me that flooded in light.
In the fine print they tell me what's wrong and what's right.
And it comes in black, and it comes in white, and I'm frightened by those who don't see it."
I turned off the water and pulled back the curtain to see Yolric in his boxers, hair wild and wet. As soon as I was out and had a towel wrapped around my sore body, he gently took my hand. Before I knew what was going on, he had me up into his arms, cradling me. He walked out of the bathroom and started up singing again, still holding me and swaying.
"There was a dream, and one day I could see her.
Like a bird in a cage, I broke in and demanded that someone free her.
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt,
So I'll scream 'til I die or the last of those bad thoughts are finally out."
The whole time he sang, he looked at me in a way I rarely saw. Complete happiness and contentment. In this one moment, he wasn't worried, wasn't scared... Yolric was only being. This look he gave me made me fall more in love with him, if that was even possible. I put a hand on his cheek and stroked his smooth skin. He sat on the bed with me now and slowly lied me down. I wrapped my arms around his neck and refused to let go, making him chuckle.
"You need to rest, Love, and I should probably go on a job," he crooned, stroking my face. I was about to object to his leaving but held my tongue. I not only wanted him to be next to me, but he always kept the bad dreams away. I could never figure out if it was his magic or just him. At the same time, I didn't want to keep him away from getting out and doing a job.
I pulled him down to kiss me once more before letting go. "Have fun, Bright Eyes. Try not to cause too much trouble," I joked. He nodded as he sat up and grabbed some clothes to put on. I made a clicking noise with my teeth and Eldrid perked up in her cage. She pushed the door open with her head and flew over to the open area on the bed next to me. She curled up next to me and I stroked her amber feathers while I racked my brain on what I would do for the day. The shower had helped me to feel better, and there was no way I was going to "rest" all day.
"I see your wheels turning, June," Yolric commented as he pulled up and laced his vintage shoes. "Please don't do anything too rash, okay?"
"I think I'm just going to do some tinkering and metal work. I won't go too far."
Yolric looked and me hard and then sighed. "Sometimes I wish I had Darren's abilities. I can only pick your brain on things that make you uneasy. Nothing about playing with fire sets you off, you could be planning to take on a whole army for all I know."
"Trust me, I don't want to do that today. I think the most I'll do is start on Erza's armor," I smiled. Lying to Yolric was always a rare case, I only did so when it was a dangerous situation.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it. I think it's going to be me, Xavier, and Darren going out today. I'll be back soon." With that, Yolric flashed me a smile and left. I looked back over at Eldrid, whose head was on the pillow next to me. I twiddled one of her long feathers in between my fingers and smiled myself.
"Fine, I'll rest today. But I'm going to give you a voice, Eldrid." Her head perked up, knowing exactly what I had said. I got out of the bed and rummaged through drawers and bags to find clothes for lounging around in along with something else that I had not set my eyes on in a long time.
After about twenty minutes of getting dressed and searching, I finally found what I was looking for. It was a brown leather collar with a single tag on it in the same shape that I branded all of my armor and inventions with, a circle inside of a square inside of a triangle. When I flipped the charm over, I chuckled and read the name out loud.
"'Cody "Codes" Lex. Champion from father to daughter'," I said to myself. Eldrid flew beside me as I read, cocking her head to the side with curiosity. I looked down at her and smiled. "This is what will help you to speak, I just have to tweak it some."
Eldrid's eyes shone brightly as she let out a joyful chirp. It would be easy to modify this for the bird, it was just a matter of letting go of my previous partner. He really had been a champion, one that had protected me when Leo left.
I shook my head in order to clear it and grabbed the collar. I gave another click of my tongue and Eldrid flew up to perch on my shoulder. She rubbed her small head against my cheek a few times before I began to scratch her breast feathers. As she continued to perch on my shoulder, I walked down to the guild's common area.
I sat down at one of the small round tables where no one else was. Eldrid perched on the back of a chair beside me as I sat the collar on the table in front of me. I looked at it for a second, thinking about that I wanted to do first.
"Good morning, June! How're you feeling this morning? You look a little pale," I heard Mira's voice behind me. She set a hand gently on my shoulder and smiled when I looked up at her.
"I'm not one hundred percent, but I'm well enough to tinker around some. Just feeling a little warm and sore is all!" I smiled back.
"Well, that certainly can be worse! Can I get you anything?"
"Coffee, please. Sweet."
"Sure, I'll have it to you in just a moment!" With that, Mira lifted her hand from my shoulder and walked off. I gave a small sigh and carefully unhooked the charm from the collar's metal loop. My fingers rubbed over the inscription on the back, feeling every inscription and indention. I put my lips to the charm's warm surface, remembering its previous owner. A small chirp from beside me brought me back to reality. I looked at my feathered partner and grinned.
At the same time Mira brought me my coffee, Vanya and Juvia walked over to where I sat. Vanya, though her body language was just as always, her eyes were red and watery. Juvia, on the other hand, was clearly mad. I looked and Vanya and raised an eyebrow only to receive a small shake of the head. "What are you doing, Mistress?" she questioned, voice unwavering. I gestured for the two of them to sit, which they immediately did.
"I'm working on a translator for Eldrid. I only have to make a few tweaks, though. Juvia, I think you could help me if you don't have anything else to do."
"My lovely Grey has left on a job without telling me with my competition, Lucy. Not only this, but Elfman has upset Vanya. I don't think I could be of any use on a job right now, fuming as much as I am," Juvia spouted. I looked at Vanya and nodded. She nodded back as if to say she would explain later.
"I'm sorry, Juvia, I didn't know you had so much going on," I replied, blushing slightly. Instantly the Rain Woman went from angry to happy, giving me a wide smile.
"It is quite alright, that gives me something to do, helping you, that is. What may I do?" Juvia asked. I smiled and held up a finger before I rubbed my hands together. As I did so, I felt the fire and metal form between my hands. After a minute, I quickly took the charm in between my hands and pressed it in between my hands and hard as I could. Closing my eyes, I imagined the buffing out of the old and chiseled new inscription on the back of the charm. I could feel the metal and fire working its magic inside of my clasped hands. I opened an eye and looked over at Juvia.
"I'm about to throw this up. Catch it in water, if you don't mind," I explained. Juvia nodded and prepared to cast a spell. She gave an affirming shake of her head, and I threw the charm far into the air.
"Water Lock!" she shouted, throwing her hand up in the direction of the metal tag. Almost instantly, a sphere of water incased the metal. I could see steam rising from inside the water, but it never escaped the surface. Juvia brought it down to our level as we watched it cool down.
"Just keep it like that for a minute," I told Juvia, picking up the leather collar from the table. I put my hand out in front of Eldrid and she set one of her taloned feet in my palm. I wrapped the collar around her leg, noting how much would need to be trimmed off in order to comfortably fit her slender leg.
"You aim to tear apart Cody's old garment, my lady?" Vanya questioned as I spread the collar put flat in front of me. I couldn't help but flinch at Vanya's words.
"Just look at it as recycling," I said, giving a small smile. "He'll still be here, just through Eldrid. It's not rotting away in my drawer anymore." I traced my finger along the leather where I wanted to cut, sending fire out to burn through it. I felt Juvia's eyes on me questioningly. I gave a small sigh but didn't take my eyes off of my work. "Cody was my companion, sort of like how Natsu has Happy. Cody was a dog, but he couldn't speak naturally like Exceeds do. That charm inside your Water Lock enables those that can't communicate to have a voice. I figured Eldrid would like to speak to me, so I'm going to modify it from a collar to an anklet. It's sort of hard for me to let this part of Cody go, but he never wanted me to be without a creature at my side. He said it showed just how wild I am."
"The funny thing is that you do not strike me as wild, my lady," Vanya added with a smirk and a glance over at me.
"I never thought I was, not really. He said I would find out for myself one day," I replied, still smiling. Juvia continued to look at me, puzzled, and smiled back.
"Why share such intimate details with me? We have not even talked much, if at all before this," she questioned. I lifted my finger up from the leather and gave it a small blow as the steam rose from it.
"Just because you're water and I'm fire doesn't mean I can't trust you, does it? I can tell you have a genuine heart. Especially when you talk about Grey," I explained, giving her a wink. I could almost see the hearts appear in her eyes at the mention of the wizard. "You can let that go now if you so choose." I continued, nodding toward the water that hovered between us. Juvia shook her head and then waved a hand. The charm fell into my outstretched hand, warm and newly inscribed.
"'Eldrid "Elle" Lex. A caged bird, free'. I feel like that's suiting and ironic at the same time," I couldn't help but laugh. I looked over at Eldrid, who was excitedly flapping her wings. I heated up the edges of the charm and carefully pushed it into the middle of the leather strap. Slowly it became embedded in the fabric, barely small enough to fit inside without completely ripping the material in two. When it was secured in place, I ran two fingers on the edges where the charm met the leather, welding it into place. After that was finished, I bent the charm slightly so it would curve around Eldrid's leg.
"June, you and Yolric have been with each other for a while, right?" Juvia asked meekly. I couldn't help but blush as I paused to take a sip of coffee.
"We have. Why do you ask?"
I began to wrap the fabric around Eldrid's leg just tight enough so it wouldn't slip off. As Juvia talked, I ran two fingers down the seam where the leather met and welded it together. Elle was squirming with excitement in her beady eyes.
"Well, would you have any advice for me when it comes to my darling Grey? I would like to woo him as much as he does me." I blushed even deeper as I finished up my work and thought of a way to reply.
"Just be confident in who you are, Juvia. You are an amazing wizard, kind, lovely... He still has some growing up to do, but when he gets there he'll find you. He would be crazy not to fall for a woman like you," I told her after a pause. Like a mirror, she reflected my red face. Quickly, I changed to subject and pressed the circle the rested in the middle of the charm. It gave a small Click! before beeping.
"Creature found. Phoenix. Female. Approximately one year in species age, ten years in human age. Finding appropriate voice for subject," a mechanical man said through the charm. The sound of static could be heard for a moment, but quickly stopped and was followed by another beep. Elle looked at me for a second, head cocked to the side.
"Well, what do you have to say, Dear?" I crooned, giving the Phoenix a little scratch under her beak.
"You mean it works now?" a sweet, melodic voice of a girl rung out. I heard Juvia gasp in excitement and Eldrid flapped her wings and chirped wildly. "Oh my, how pretty! My voice, it's so nice! Thank you so much, Lady Juniper!" I felt sweat begin to run down my face as I began to notice my fever once more, but the happiness of the moment made it to where I could only smile. I watched the red and orange feathers fly joyfully around the room and listened as she called out words of greeting to the other guild mates.
"Wow, June, how amazing is that..," Juvia said, more to herself, as I sipped more on my coffee. Now that my hands were not busy, my aches and pains were beginning to return. I watched as Eldrid flew, free in her happiness. I thought of all of the pain she had experienced in captivity and realized how insignificant my own minor wounds were.
"Where are you staying at since you're not in the guild's rooms, Vanya? I would love to see your setup," I spoke, not taking my eyes off of my flying friend, who had now lighted next to Gajeel and Lily. Lily smiled and began to talk to her while Gajeel looked on, seemingly annoyed as always. Vanya rose from the table and waved her hand for me to stand with her.
"Come, I will happily show you and your Eldrid. Juvia, might I catch up with you later?" Vanya asked as she straightened out the beads she wore. Juvia nodded in agreement and waved as Vanya and I left the guild with Eldrid following us, doing arial tricks overhead.
