Thank you Marina Rose, Footster26, Sweet Tsubaki, Senbei x Cup Ramen, and aphrodite931 for your reviews! To answer some of your comments, I am planning on making this story a bit long so the romance portions may be a bit slow in developing. I have based some things off Kemono no Souja Erin as I love that anime too. And I am so glad someone likes my OC's! That's actually the part I am most unsure about in this story but I found it necessary for what I have in mind… Thank you all so much for your reviews and I am ecstatic most people like this so far! Thank you for reading as always and I do not own any form of published work.
~~~Fairy Tail~~~
-Lucy-
Wind rustled through the trees as I continued to sit in fright, collapsed in the middle of a forest stream and getting more soaked by the second. Kisa visibly relaxed as the creature disappeared into the shadows and turned to look at me in concern.
From the front, her new form looked even more bizarre. The only parts of her body not wrapped in armor were her head, upper arms, and waist. Her legs from her feet to her knees were covered in cream colored armor, transitioning to green metal above the knee and ending at the joint of her thigh and hip. These metal leggings were attached by a large buckle to the armor covering her chest and upper stomach. The armor here covered her shoulders, neck, chest, stomach, and back; all colored green except for a cream strip under her breastplate. "She has breasts in this form!" I realized humorously as I saw the bulge her armor formed at her chest. More armor shielded her forearms from her elbows to her hands and she wore leathery gloves on her human-like fingers. White fur surrounded her mouth and nose and continued as a thin, white stripe on her forehead. Another white patch was visible on the exposed portion of her stomach and the rest of her fur was a light violet, except for the dark fur at the tip of her tail. Her small black nose twitched while I examined her, reminding me I was probably making her uncomfortable with all my staring. Her eyes were the same gray shade I knew so well though her pupils were now slits and her eyes themselves were angled and feline. The ears of her current form were incredibly long; almost rabbit-like in how straight they stood on her head though the tips were pointed, not round.
"Y-you okay?" She said hesitantly, whiskers twitching in agitation. "You haven't said anything in a while…"
"Huh?" I mumbled. Great, that sounded intelligent… "O-Oh! Yeah, I was just surprised."
She nodded in understanding. "At least that thing is gone," She shuddered. "What was that anyway? It was-"
"Terrible," I finished for her. Words could barely describe just how horrible that thing's mere presence made me feel… "And there are way too many questions we need answered…"
That was true at least. Who had control over such a sinister monster? Why was it after us? How had Kisa managed to transform again into something completely different? How many beings could she change into? Where had those swords come from? Why is my head hurting so much?
"Huh?" I asked out loud. Why was my head hurting so much?
"What's wrong?" Kisa knelt down next to me, needing to stoop low to be able to help me stand up. I accepted her hand gratefully and she pulled me out of the chilly water. I pressed my other hand to my temple, trying to alleviate the building pressure.
"I have a weird headache all of the sudden," I tried to explain. "It's not exactly painful… There's just a weird pressure like something is pulling in my head." I frowned, trying to concentrate through the odd sensation.
"Pulling?" Kisa tilted her head in consideration. "Like someone is pulling on your consciousness?"
"That's it!" I exclaimed, realizing the sensation. I immediately channeled magic to the sensation, now recognized as a calling.
"Finally!" Chrona appeared, fully awake and seeming strangely frantic. "How could you let that happen? Damn it, you need to be more cautious!"
"Wait a second," I asked in bewilderment. "What's going on?"
She turned to look at me, eyes flashing brilliantly making me avert my gaze to not be blinded. "I'm talking about you! How the fuck do you find one of the few things that can gravely injure a sanctum stellar spirit? Stupid stupid stupid!" She rolled in midair, twisting in agitation.
"Gravely injure?" Kisa gasped. "You mean Bjorn is-"
"Yes!" She wailed. "He's dying and even returning to the spirit world is only slowing down the process. He's not healing at all, only getting worse!" She tugged hard at her long braid, seeming as though she were checking this wasn't just a terrible nightmare.
"We have to help him!" I blurted out, hoping she had called because she had an idea. "How can we save him?"
"There is a spirit who could help," She acknowledged. "I need you to find her."
"I'll do it," I declared. I couldn't live with myself if Bjorn died. Actually, I would die along with him as the pain we shared before indicated. I hadn't realized just how serious the true contract was until that moment in time and I was not ready to die. I still hadn't even had my first kiss! But true contract or not, I would never let my friend die if there was a chance I could save him.
"We'll do it you mean," Kisa corrected me, lightly nudging my shoulder. "I want to help Bjorn too. So where do we find this spirit?"
"Lucy, I need you to focus on Bjorn and use my ability. I know it's tiring, but I need you to do this. Now," She demanded. I just now realized how exhausted I felt after the day's events. I had summoned spirits four times and used two of their abilities. Now I had to use another one?
"I could have never done this before Bjorn's training," I grumbled, taking Kisa's gloved hand in mine. Focusing on my spirit, my dear friend, I activated Chrona's power.
Immediately, the scenery began moving around us. Instead of fading out like the previous vision, it was though the world moved around us while Kisa, Chrona, and I stood still. Large trees passed us quickly, the ground under my feet blurring as we zoomed along a preset path. Kisa gasped in her deep, husky voice as we passed a strange, twisted tree.
"I know this place," She whispered excitedly. "It near Polly's mushroom patch!"
We were moved along an overgrown path for a short distance before coming to stop in a seemingly ordinary clearing. Crumbled, disintegrated ruins were the only indication something otherworldly occupied the space. The archaic remains that littered the grassy floor showed signs of extreme age, smoothed with erosion and coated with plants. One stone began to glow with golden light as I surveyed the area, moss and plant debris dissipating as Kisa and I moved to look at it more closely. Unintelligible runes etched on the rock came into view as we looked, worn with age and written in a language I did not recognize. I reached out to touch the radiant stone, but the vision abruptly ended. The ruins, grass, and trees faded to white; our real surroundings coming back into focus as Chrona hummed appreciatively.
"Now go," She murmured. "Let me go back, I'll do what I can to help Bjorn."
"Right," Kisa nodded. "I know the general area you indicated. We'll be quick I hope," Chrona lowered her head in appreciation before fading out of view. "We have to hurry," She continued, strolling over to me before kneeling down with her back exposed.
"What are you doing?" I questioned, confused at her actions.
"Piggyback ride," Kisa sighed grimly. "It won't be comfortable but I can run faster than humans in this form."
She was right. The armor on her back bumped and bruised me the entire mad dash to the ruins as we tried to save Bjorn.
"We're here," Kisa mumbled apologetically. I winced as she took another step, metal digging into my chest and arms, not to mention the backs of my knees where she held me up. My poor skin would be so bruised in the morning…
At least we had finally arrived. Kisa was right; she was incredibly fast in this form. Especially considering she was so weighed down by armor and me on her back, it was amazing we had found the clearing in less than half an hour. As Kisa set me down, my mind went completely numb momentarily. "Here… Here I am… Please find me… I want to play… It's lonely…"
"It's here!" I shouted grimly, recognizing the call of a spirit. Kisa nodded and ran over to a tree, starting to examine plant covered pebbles for the one seen in the vision.
Already frantic in our search for the stone with the inscription, we started to brush away moss and fungi flourishing in the humid climate. Each stone I looked at was completely ordinary and there were hundreds of similar rocks in this clearing. "How are we going to find one stupid rock in time?"
"Where the hell is this thing?" I moaned in desperation. I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the confusing beckoning that disoriented me. I wiped away moss and slime from another stone, only to find another normal rock. We continued our search, becoming increasingly disheartened as the afternoon wore on with no luck. Though we had been probably searching for only an hour or so, it felt like the entire day had passed. I was starting to feel an odd sensation in my mind again, making me frantic with worry. I realized it was Bjorn's connection this time, and it was somehow distorting indicating something was very wrong.
"Found it!" Kisa shouted in triumph. She stumbled toward me, panting under the heat of the afternoon sun. She collapsed in front of me, holding out the familiar stone and tried to catch her breath.
I reached out to take the stone from her hand, not expecting the burst of light that exploded out at the lightest touch of my finger. I threw up my hands to shield my eyes and Kisa yelped before scrambling away from the phenomenon.
"You found me!" A lilting voice sang out as the spirit came into view, light dimming enough so that I could look again. What I saw rendered me completely speechless as I looked up from my position on the ground.
Her face resembled a young child, round and pink with delight at our presence. The spirit wore no clothes; her skin glossy like a beetle's shell and patterned to look like yellow turtleneck with white polka dots. Shoulder length, lime green hair bounced as she hopped toward us. I noticed in surprise that her torso was not connected to hips and legs, but rather seemed to sprout out of an enormous ball. As wide as a round dining table, it was dandelion yellow near the spirits body which transitioned delicately to a cream color where the spirit balanced on the forest floor. Luminescent orbs surrounded her form, flowing around her arms and hair like the ebb of underwater currents. At the moment, the glowing bubbles were an ocean blue color in the exact same shade as her sparkling eyes.
"Found you?" Kisa asked, finding her voice before I could. The spirit rotated on the spot to look at her in glee.
"Yuppers!" She giggled cheerfully. "Hide and seek isn't fun after such a long time hiding," She pouted, sticking out her lower lip. Expression brightening, she clapped and turned to look at the two of us. "What are your names?"
"I-I'm Lucy," I managed to respond. "And that's Kisa."
"Blondie and kitty!" She giggled, twirling on the spot with her arms extended. I realized this spirit's child like mentality might make things difficult in our urgent situation. "I'm Rune the Healer!" She stopped twirling to look at me with a knowing twinkling in her blue eyes. "You need my help, right?"
"Yes!" I yelped out, wanting to take advantage of the spirit's… no… of Rune's sudden seriousness. "Our friend is hurt really badly and Chrona said you could help!"
"Chrona?" Her eyes narrowed. "That witch… She helped you didn't she?"
"Helped us?" I mumbled in disbelief. "What do you mean? You're a spirit too, aren't you? Why wouldn't she help us?"
"You cheated," She stated simply, huffing in annoyance. "You weren't supposed to cheat to find me."
"Sorry, but can we discuss this later?" Kisa interrupted quietly. "Bjorn's in trouble."
"Hm…" Rune contorted her face in concentration, luminous orbs flowing around her quickly, now a turquoise color. "Okay, okay. I'll help! But only if you two play with me later." She smiled in delight.
"Fine, fine! Whatever you say!" I nearly screamed with impatience. I could feel something ominous happening across the link Bjorn and I shared, as though it were stretching and twisting. I could almost envision the bond snapping in two if it became any more strained.
"Touchy…" She huffed haughtily. She tossed her key at me carelessly; I almost dropped it in surprise as I weakened further with the new contract forming. "Well, call him here."
"Now?" Kisa hissed. "Won't he deteriorate faster?"
"And how can I summon two of you at once?" I whimpered wearily. "I'm already at my limit after summoning Chrona again and using her powers!"
"I have no idea," Rune indifferently stated. "But don't worry so much, it'll all work out."
"Where have I heard that before?" I grumbled, glancing at Kisa who was looking sheepish. But there really was no other option; I would have to deal with the consequences of overexerting myself later. "Open the gate to the Beast King! Bjorn!"
"AAAUUGH!" The terrible cry of agony sent a shock down my spine before I too succumbed to the pain.
"Ngh…" I held my hand to my chest tightly, hoping the pressure would ease the ache in my hand.
"Oh… my…" Kisa gasped as she held Bjorn's shoulder as he sunk to the ground, nearly unconscious and delirious with pain. He was rambling incoherently and flinching as shadows from the branches overhead fluttered in time with the wind through the leaves. His injured arm rested on the ground limply, or perhaps he simply had no means to move it. A coin sized hole sputtered and hissed angrily, exposing tendons and a shiny bone. The injury was frothing white foam around the edges and steadily dripping with a black liquid. I noticed the wound was steadily becoming bigger and retched as I realized the source of the black fluid.
"It's… It's his hand… It's melting," I swallowed the bile building up in the back of my throat. That was exactly what it was: blood coagulating, fur dissolving, flesh decomposing into an inky liquefied mass, dripping steadily from Bjorn's hand. The pain being transmitted to me was excruciating itself; I couldn't imagine such a thing actually happening to me. "He'll never use his hand again," I realized blearily through a haze of pain. "How can Rune help him?"
"Blondie… May I partake of your magic please?" The spirit in mind asked in a completely serious tone despite the unoriginal nickname. I complied with her request as best I could, though I was quickly becoming overwhelmed with exhaustion and pain. I deliriously noticed that the bubbles of light that surrounded her form were now a pastel yellow and bright pink.
"Tralala," She sang energetically, completely nonsensical. "Pifawt cetikyah!" It sounded like she was simply making up words and I was about to scold her for not being serious before I felt a real drain of magic. She was really doing something after all!
As Rune continued to sing and babble, one orb separated from the flowing motions of the rest. It wavered, forming a symbol I didn't recognize before seeping into the wound on Bjorn's hand. The pain in my own lessened, the sharp sting no longer enough to keep me conscious after using almost all of my magic power today. In fact, I had probably used up tomorrow's magic as well.
"Levy would love to study that rune," I thought blearily as I watched the wound close and heal at an astonishing rate. "Come to think of it, Erza would love to study Kisa's armor too…" My vision darkened and I felt myself fall into a dreamless state of unconsciousness.
-Kisa-
"Lucy!" I screamed as she collapsed to the ground. I scrambled over to her, rolling my friend onto her back. "Oi, wake up!" I patted her cheek gently. She didn't even groan and seemed to be completely out cold.
"She'll be okay," Rune stated, checking Bjorn over. "She's just tired is all. We have more important things to worry about."
"More important?" I was confused. Weren't stellar spirits supposed to care about stellar spirit mages? I looked over to her to say something when I noticed what Rune meant.
Bjorn was convulsing on the ground in a horrific seizure. I gently set Lucy down and went to Bjorn, attempting to hold him still. "He's reacting to the poison still in his system," Rune explained as he began drooling and shaking, his eyes rolling back to show the whites of his eyes.
"You can't heal that too? Like you did with his injury?"
She shook her head sadly. "I can only heal injuries and wounds with external causes like cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Or similar things," She explained. "Poison, illness, stuff like that? I can't do anything myself about those."
"You don't seem too concerned though," I observed. "And you said 'myself' so you know something we can do."
"Hehehe," She giggled nervously. "You may not like it though…"
"Just tell me," I sighed. I'd do anything to save my friends.
"Well, actually… Lucy is the antidote," I gave her a blank stare. She didn't actually say that, did she? Lucy is the antidote?
"What do you mean?" I mumbled darkly, not liking where this was going. "You better just mean it's her secondary ability through your contract."
"Well… yes and no," Rune admitted. I glared angrily at her, silently threatening her to explain. "Alright, alright! I get it! Geez… Overreacting much?" She looked away, pouting. I growled to let her know I was listening. "Well… My secondary ability is unique. It activates as soon as she contracted with me. Magic is inserted into her bloodstream, attacking foreign matter and basically keeping her healthy. Make sense?" I nodded. "So basically, she is extremely resilient to poison, viruses, weak forms of influential magic, stuff like that, okay?
"How does that help Bjorn?" I asked hesitantly, knowing already I wouldn't like the answer.
"Well… If her blood is given to another person, that magic is transferred a bit to them. Hence the 'antidote' though I suppose it can be called 'medicine' too." She finished, seemingly satisfied.
"So… I have to give Bjorn her blood?" I flinched at the idea, it seemed repulsive.
"Yup!" Rune confirmed cheerfully. "Making him drink a little should be enough." I shuddered, glad Lucy was unconscious for this. I really did not want to do that but…
I looked at Bjorn who was weakly thrashing on the ground, eyes rolling wildly. "Fine," I growled out. I needed to do this before I lost my nerve.
Shakily, I held out my hand over the ground. Drawing up the remainder of my magic power, I tried to form a blade out of the trace amount of metal in the earth. I felt it solidify in my hand and Rune whistled, impressed. I cried out in frustration, it was much too large and as dull as a butter knife. Summoning more magic, I tried again. It was smaller this time but still too dull to safely give Lucy a small cut.
"Focus!" I hissed to myself. This time, I really concentrated with all my might to create the tiny blade I envisioned. Forgetting even to breath, I strained to make the metal obey my will in forging something sufficient. Coaxing the flecks of metal that resonated deep in the ground, I brought a small amount to the surface. Shaping it carefully, I paid special attention to the edge. Pulling and folding the metal in my mind, I fashioned a sharp-edged dagger with a sturdy handle and gasped for breath as I finished. It wasn't pretty, but it would do the job. It was entirely metal from the razor sharp point to the end of the handle, making it slightly unbalanced. However, the double-edged blade was sharp and would produce a clean cut. That was all that mattered.
I dragged Bjorn over to where Lucy slept before grimacing and drawing the blade lightly across Lucy's pinky finger. It began bleeding immediately and I quickly held the appendage over Bjorn's open mouth. Crimson drops fell onto his tongue, but nothing much happened.
"It has to be more than that…" Rune stated quietly.
I snarled in frustration. Bringing back the dagger, I nicked Lucy's arm this time. Now a small trickle of blood formed and I held it to drop into Bjorn's mouth. After a moment, he made a swallowing sound and I had to hold back my disgust. If this was what would save him… Save both of them… I would do it.
He coughed weakly so I removed Lucy's arm and hung over him. "Please… Be okay…"
He opened one eye blearily, staring at me in contemplation. "Sorry…" He began hoarsely. "For making… you worry…" Then he too passed out.
I sighed in relief, knowing he was feeling better if he could talk and wasn't convulsing. I shook Lucy's shoulder to try and wake her. The sooner she could send back her spirits, the sooner she would recover. But something was wrong. She was astoundingly cold and her breathing was shallow… Too shallow for her to only be sleeping. I quickly pressed my fingers to her neck to check for her pulse. It was there… but weak.
"Something's wrong," I said, upset at her condition.
"She's simply exhausted," Rune observed, unconcerned. "She needs to rest, or maybe even have a mage transfer magic to her."
I sighed, knowing the one person close enough to be of help. "Fine… I'll take them to Polly's house." Experimentally, I tried to change back to a human though I knew it was useless. I had transformed into an Ohju, a few different cats, a new form, and used magic in my alternate forms. I was nearly drained of magic and simply did not have enough to change back. "That hasn't happened in a long time," I observed dryly, picking up Bjorn in my arms. "Guess I'll have to surprise Polly…" As much as I didn't want to reveal myself to Polly looking like this, I had to get help for Lucy.
"Can you carry Lucy?" I asked Rune. "Bjorn's heavier so I'll take him."
"Uh… No actually," Rune winced uncomfortably. "I can't exactly… walk. I hop."
"You… hop?" I asked, stumped.
"Yup!" And she demonstrated, bouncing around the clearing on her ball. She was already panting slightly from the short distance! I guess she didn't have legs… Only that ball her torso was attached to. But it seemed so inconvenient to have to bounce everywhere… And she wouldn't be able to carry one of my unconscious friends while hopping I guess… It took balance and being lightweight.
I sighed. Damn it… "I'll just carry both of them then," I frowned, shifting Bjorn to hang slumped in my right arm. Wrapping my arm under her knees, I positioned Lucy similarly in my left, both of their heads lolling on my shoulder as I pressed them against my chest. It was incredibly lucky this form seemed to be so strong or I would be in trouble. Leaning back slightly so my two passengers wouldn't fall forward, I began to make my way towards Polly's house.
"Polly won't tell anyone," I thought nervously. "She relishes privacy too much to ask anyway... And I'll just tell her I can't tell her anyway! Yeah…"
I gulped nervously, causing Rune to look at me curiously. I shook my head to wave off any questions and she sniffed before resuming her hopping alongside me. Again, I felt relieved this form had so much upper body strength. I never carried anyone like this, especially not two at the same time with so little effort!
"Speaking of effort…" I growled darkly as I remembered the downside to this form. "Using magic in this body is so hard!" As an Ohju, I never struggled with creating wind. It had taken a while to get used to the magic enough to control it completely, but summoning it in the first place was as easy as breathing. Enticing it to go where I wanted and the strength of the gusts had taken minimal practice to master. But this… And I suppose I could call it talking to the elements…. Talking to metal was hard. I doubted I would ever feel comfortable using this forms' magic. Making those two swords to drive away the shadow monster required my full attention but they still were ineffective.
"I really tried to kill that thing," I acknowledged, biting back my revulsion at the thought. I had never killed anyone before, and that thing seemed to have self awareness enough to not be a mindless beast. I was horrified when Polly broke the neck of a rabbit for a stew the first night I spent with her. I had felt something… wrong stirring deep inside me. It was… similar to my desire for freedom when I turned into an Ohju or my desire to protect when I transformed into this form. The feeling absolutely terrified me then and now that I knew what my magic could do, I could not imagine what horror I would turn into. It repulsed me enough at the time that decided to not eat meat anymore, though I made a selfish exception for fish. What monstrosity would I transform into if I drew further upon that feeling? I was petrified to find out, but I had really tried to kill something just hours before. "And I couldn't," I thought grimly. "Those pieces of metal barely bruised it, let alone scratch it!"
"Whoa! A tree house!" Rune whistled, impressed as we arrived. Setting aside my thoughts for later, I looked around the familiar forest. It looked the same as when I had left for the market, rooms carved out of two enormous tree trunks with rough steps leading up to the doors. Birds nested in the small cliffs that dipped next to the stairs and an herb garden flourished around the side of the house, partially obscured.
I noted that my footsteps echoed heavily throughout the small enclosure and knew Polly would recognize the presence of intruders soon.
"Get out! Leave now before I make you," A gruff voice predictably shouted from the small garden I had helped care for months ago. I noted with pride that the peach sapling I had planted was growing nicely and would soon be large enough to bear fruit. Quick steps briskly made their way toward us and I gulped nervously. My mouth went dry as she came into view from around a tree.
"Well?" She sniffed in distaste. "What do you humans… want…" She went silent as she saw the forms of her unusual guests. I was glad only one of us was human or she would be livid at the number of intruders.
"H-Hi Polly," I stuttered, shifting uncomfortably with the two limp forms slumped in my arms.
Her eyes widened immeasurably. "The only one who calls me that is… Is that really you?" She strode up to me, leaning up on her tiptoes as she tried to look me in the eye. I winced at her piercing glare and shifted uncomfortably, trying not to look nervous. "Kisa…" She whispered, the ghost of a smile on her lips. I relaxed slightly and opened my mouth to speak.
"D-Yaaaaah!" I yelped in pain as Polyursica reached up to grab one of my long ears, pulling it until I stooped low. I was dangerously close to dropping my two friends but was too scared to say anything.
"Where…" She uttered darkly. "Have you been? Absolutely no warning, no letting me know you were back, and now you bring patients? Typical human…" She sneered.
"B-But-" I managed to mumble before she gave my ear a sharp twist. I whimpered slightly in pain and, seeming satisfied that she made her point, my ear was released. I shook my head to rid myself of the feeling and rebalanced Bjorn who was about to fall.
"Well?" I looked up to see Polyursica already in her house, beckoning me to follow.
"You got in trouble," Rune giggled playfully. I growled but obediently ran to the open door.
"Set them on the furniture," She waved in dismissal as she busied herself making tea. I knew the tea was to calm her nerves rather than to welcome us.
"She's-"
"Drained of magic," Polly snapped briskly. "Yes, I know." She walked over to the bed where I had placed Lucy, placing a finger on her forehead. "There, I inserted a bit of my own power. She should wake up soon though she'll be tired and weak."
"You can do that?" Rune whispered in awe, somehow having managed to squeeze herself through the door. I deposited Bjorn on the couch gently, hoping Rune did nothing to annoy the old healer.
"Easily," She sniffed in dismissal. I noted the small tinge of pride in her voice… Maybe she'd end up liking Rune? They were both healers though their personalities were drastically different.
"Or not…" I admitted. "It's hopeless now," I knew as soon as I saw the livid expression on Polly's face. Rune managed to knock over a spindly potted plant in the short time we stood in the living room. I braced myself for the inevitable as Polly ranted, berating poor Rune before banishing the sobbing spirit to a corner of the room. Sure enough, as soon as Rune was taken care of Polyursica turned on me.
"And you," She uttered dangerously. "Sit. Now."
I scrambled to obey, sitting rigidly in front of her as she towered over me. I knelt formally in front of her, uncomfortably tense as I braced myself for her overdue interrogation. Wanting to improve her mood, I decided to keep my answers as concise as possible.
"Where were you?"
"Enca."
"Why?"
"I was kidnapped by slavers to be sold there." Polly paused a little at this, looking slightly pained.
"Is that where you met this girl?"
"Yes. We escaped together."
"She's in Fairy Tail?"
"Yes."
"And so are you now?"
"How did you know?" I asked, perplexed. She simply pointed at my chest, where I could now see the same stamp I had as a human branded into my armor. "How does that work?"
"When did you get back?" She interrupted my musings.
"We got back to the Fiore mainland yesterday morning. We arrived in Magnolia town yesterday afternoon."
She nodded once. "Are you okay?"
"W-What?" I stuttered, flabbergasted and caught off guard at the rare display of concern.
"Don't make me repeat myself," She sulked, looking away from me in embarrassment.
"Yeah… I'm okay." I smiled gratefully as she huffed again.
"Did you find Alan?"
"Yes, we met up when I first got back."
"Good," She surprisingly got up and began to walk to the bed, examining Lucy carefully. I sat in shock as she avoided the issue I had been expecting the most during the questioning.
"A-Aren't you going to ask me…" I gulped. "You know… Why I look like this?" I winced at the piercing look she gave me as I admitted the fact.
"Why? Should I ask?" She said.
"Um…" I had no answer to the strange retort.
"Then there is nothing to discuss," She reasoned flippantly. "I already knew your magic was similar to Alan's and I can tell your seal is gone," She stated simply.
"A-Ah… I see…" I sat, still surprised. I should have expected it though; Polly never asked more than was needed.
"Alan looked everywhere for you," Polly continued, effectively changing the subject. "As soon as you didn't return as expected, he traveled all the way to Freesia City to find you. When he heard about girls disappearing in that area, he searched everywhere the entire time you were gone."
"R-Really?" I mumbled, embarrassed. "He didn't have to do that…"
"Men do strange things," She huffed in response. "Especially when they're as determined as Alan is, and with someone as special to them as you are to him."
I ignored the not-so-subtle implication as I realized a bigger problem. Crap. We left Alan, Natsu, and Happy in the marketplace. What could we tell them?
"Un…" Lucy moaned from the bed. I ran over to her side in time to see brown eyes open sleepily to survey the room. "I feel terrible…" She groaned. "Like a hangover but worse…"
"Well you shouldn't overexert yourself," Polly brushed me aside to check Lucy's pulse. "It's entirely your own fault. Magic for mages is essentially your life energy. Don't waste it."
"She wasn't wasting it!" I protested, wanting to defend my friend.
"Yeah, we were attacked!" She blurted drowsily. I tried to stop her but to no avail. "And then Bjorn got hurt and I had to heal him!" Lucy seemed to realize what she said as she began to become more aware. Her eyes widened and she gulped nervously, glancing frantically between Polly and I.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Polly continued her examination, knowing Lucy wished she could take it back. Neither of us was very good at keeping secrets apparently… "It's none of my business after all. Besides, why should I care about the affairs of humans?" She sniffed haughtily.
I really loved the cranky old woman sometimes. As she finished her examination and stood up to walk away, I rose to my feet as well. Trying to be as gentle as possible so that my armor wouldn't hurt her, I pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you for everything, Polly…" I told her sincerely. I almost laughed at how much she stuttered and stumbled over her words as she stood awkwardly in my embrace.
I released Polly, knowing I had really pushed my luck with that hug. Luckily, she looked more flustered than angry… But I really appreciated the old woman's sense of privacy. She never pried into other's affairs unless she needed the information to treat their injuries. I walked to stand next to Lucy, inspecting her face for signs of pain.
She glanced at me, noticing my worry. "I'm just tired Kisa, I'm fine otherwise." She smiled reassuringly.
"Alright…" I mumbled, feeling sheepish. Was I really that expressive?
Lucy sighed; looking at Bjorn's sleeping face happily. "I'm just so glad he's going to be okay," She turned to look at Rune who was still standing morosely in a corner. "Thank you… I'm sorry I was so irritable before."
"Yup!" The spirit gulped nervously as Polyursica glared at her for the noise. "J-Just send me back… Scary Lady looks like she wants to eat me…"
"Wha-?" Polly started angrily, raising her broom to smack the spirit. Luckily Lucy was quick; Rune vanished moments before the broom would have collided with her head.
Lucy and I broke out laughing as Polly fumed. "Hehe," I giggled, wiping away a tear. "Those three would have laughed their asses off if they were here."
"Shit," Lucy swore. "What are we supposed to tell them? We just ran off and now that stuff happened… Can you change back by the way? You're really tall in this form… My neck hurts from looking up so much."
"Nope," I admitted cheerfully. "I'm almost as out of magic as you."
Lucy sighed again. "So we can't go back to Magnolia until you can. I also want to keep an eye on Bjorn and see how he is." She eyed her sleeping spirit.
"You can use this house tonight," Polly mumbled. "I was going to go out and pick some herbs tonight anyway."
"Thanks," I smiled in gratitude. Polly almost certainly had no such plans, but she needed an excuse to let us stay. Actually it was an excuse for herself rather than us; she really did not like humans despite the fact that she could become fond of them. She walked out the door after this, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Still… What are we going to tell them?" Lucy muttered as the door clicked shut. She twisted her blond hair in her hands, something of a nervous habit she developed in the last few months. "I have no idea what we can say… They're probably worried sick…"
I winced, knowing it was true. We had barely been back a day before disappearing again… I didn't know about Natsu, but Alan was as worried now as he would be furious later. "I'm sick of hiding things," I admitted. "It's just… It's so tiring. And I know they suspect something anyway…"
"What are we supposed to do?" Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Just admit everything?"
"That's exactly what you should do," A hoarse voice growled out dangerously from the now open door. I stood frozen, looking with wide eyes at the three people who had entered Polly's house. "In fact Kisa, why don't you start from the beginning and tell us everything you've been hiding?" Alan continued in the scariest voice I had ever heard him utter.
"Yeah, Lucy… Why don't you tell us what's been going on?" Natsu frowned, flames surrounding his clenched fists as he glared at us.
Lucy and I gulped in unison. "Shit."
~~~Fairy Tail~~~
Another cliffhanger! Sorry if that's mean but I like them a bit… Thank you as usual for reading! How do people like the newest spirit? And I have a question… How would readers like me to try writing from one of the boy's perspective? I'm considering it though I kind of like only having only two characters to focus on. Please tell me if you find any errors and thank you again for reading! I hope this chapter was interesting to read.