The Girl with the Celestial Tattoos
Chapter 35: Changing Tides (Part 3)
Gates of the Bull and Crab, I open thee... Taurus! Cancer!" Lucy winced at the tug on her magic reserves and the blinding shine of golden light that overcame her vision as a portion of her magic left her body to open the gates between worlds for her Celestial Spirits. When the light faded she smiled at the familiar forms of Cancer and Taurus, both standing in front of her, side by side.
"Thanks for earlier Taurus," Lucy greeted the pervy Celestial spirit first with a smile who moo-ed loudly in reply before rolling her eyes with a grin at Cancer. He smirked back at her and with a snap of his scissors replied, "Ebi."
Glancing behind her, she sat down on one of the wooden posts of the dock near the ocean, before facing her friends in front of her. "Good work in Larsius too, I take it you took care of the missionaries pretty easily?" Lucy asked with a knowing grin. "Always a pleasant fight for a moo-eautiful master, Lucy-san!"
"Friend, Taurus," Lucy replied with a laugh.
"It was excitingly challenging, ebi," Cancer responded with another snip of his scissors.
"That's good, I'm grateful to you guys. I know we haven't spoken since I got you back, I'm sorry." Lucy apologized only to hear ringing in her ears after a particularly loud mooing from Taurus.
"Having you-ooo back is moooving enough, Lucy-san!" Taurus exclaimed loudly.
"Eh, Taurus..."
"You're moo-eauty reflects as moooch on the outside as it does the inside!"
"I don't know about that Taurus, look at me," Lucy said sadly, gesturing to her scarred hand and body in general.
"As I said before, you are moo-eautiful!" Taurus insisted loudly.
Lucy sighed, relenting. "Alright, Taurus, whatever you say."
"Trust me, Lucy-san! I know a good boooody when I see one!"
"That's so perverted, Taurus," Lucy replied, smiling.
"Owooooo! Lucy words hurt so much, so moo-eautiful!" Taurus shouted, flexing his arm muscles as he did.
"Eh, Taurus?" Lucy asked, looking at him with a mixture of amusement and fondness.
"Lucy-san?" Taurus asked, pausing mid-motion to look at her curiously.
"Thank you," Lucy said before closing his gate with a downward arc of her hand. She smiled as her magic returned to her and allowed a relieved sigh of fondness to pass her lips for the pervy Bull.
"He's right, ebi," Cancer spoke up, looking at her through her shades. Lucy tilted her head at him in curiosity before raising an eyebrow in question. "Yeah, I suppose he is."
"Aquarius explained most of what happened to us already, ebi. If you need us, we're here for you, ebi," Cancer told her sincerely.
"Quoting Aries, now, eh?" Lucy teased fondly.
Cancer chuckled in reply before sheathing his scissors. "We'll be here, ebi," he said and vanished in a flash of golden light as Lucy closed his gate as well. Silver eyes closed halfway as she studied her lightning scarred hand once more. "Beautiful, huh?"
Shrugging her shoulders she decided to keep her marred hand out in the open while she called out the others. Perhaps gradually she would expose her scars to her nakama, seeing as her Celestial friends already knew. She wasn't sure if, or ever, she would explain the stories behind her scars but she supposed that was also another thought for another day.
She did want to get home before sundown, after all.
"Gate of goat, I open thee... Capricorn!"
"It's been a while, Lucy."
"Capricorn," Lucy replied, somewhat warily. "It has, yeah."
The last time she had seen Capricorn was around the time she had been kidnapped and taken to be sold as a slave for Lightning Chimera. He was the one who had been teaching her to use her Celestial magic despite limitations. It was his advice that helped her activate her runes while a slave, despite the pain so that she would endure and adapt to change.
She owed a lot to Capricorn. But, at the same time, she was a completely different person since the last time they met. She wasn't sure what she was in his eye anymore.
Lucy could never hide anything from Capricorn. Somehow, he always saw past her defenses and the half-truths she gave. He was the one who taught her purpose both in life and in magic. He taught her how to use her magic together yet independent, allowing her to harness her potential with time. Time she would've had if not for that night a year ago.
She couldn't bring herself to regret the time lost though. Because in that time she had learned far more than she ever had when she was free. And she met Kalelius. Together they destroyed Lightning Chimera and freed thousands of slaves held there. No, she did not regret this past year.
She just hoped that Capricorn would understand that.
"I've noticed that your secrets have been slipping through your fingers lately, Lucy. Have you come to realize it's better to allow others to bear the truth with you?"
Lucy sighed. "You've always known more than I let me know, Capricorn. I have learned a lot as a slave. So, to answer your question, yes. I have to trust myself too though, Capricorn, so don't be surprised if some things remain a mystery."
Capricorn nodded, though remained otherwise quiet.
"I would tell you that I'm sorry, but I imagine you know that already. What you may not know or perhaps already figured out is that I've mastered what you were trying to teach me a year ago."
"I did not expect less of you, Lucy."
Lucy laughed slightly but it was joyless, almost sad. "I learned it in an instant actually. The moment my body was free of its runes everything made sense, all the missing puzzles I couldn't solve suddenly made sense. Perhaps when you've been pushed so far and focused on so many things... things you wouldn't normally understand so soon in comfort are easily learned in danger."
She shook her head then.
"I can use holder magic and caster magic together now. It's draining but I've learned to balance it out. And thanks to this earring from the Magic Council, I cannot damage my magic reserves so long as I'm wearing it. It's like a magic regulator." Lucy said, gesturing to the rune-engraved, lava rock, crystal-shaped earring she had been given not too long ago.
She sighed then, remembering the earthquake that swallowed Lightning Chimera whole.
"Unfortunately, despite harnessing water magic, I've faced great trouble with earth magic. Last time I used it I didn't even mean to. Despite understanding everything you had been trying to teach me the moment the runes had left my body, using that knowledge was a completely different matter."
Lucy sighed again while Capricorn remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"I had meant to use water magic but instead earth magic came out and caused an earthquake. Looking back at it, it was what everyone needed, but at that moment it was like my magic was an endless abyss that I had no harness over. As time passed, and my magic reacquainted itself with my body, I believe it balanced its power again. I've been able to use water magic easily and summon you guys out together like it was nothing. Yet... every time I so much as think about earth magic it is like I'm back to that day being overwhelmed-"
"Do you remember what I told you a year ago? How you must respect your magic in order for it to be commanded?" Capricorn interrupted her suddenly. Lucy paused, organizing her thoughts, and nodded.
"My theory is that when the runes were removed from your body, your magic was at an imbalance." Lucy nodded, having arrived at that same conclusion. "However unlike water magic, earth magic is much more difficult to wield through normal means. When you tried to use water magic, earth magic happened instead because of two things: the amount of magic you were channeling and your desire."
Lucy's eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"Earth magic and water magic are similar in that aspect, as is all elemental magic. Desire. However, where water magic responds to purpose and desire for small interests at any given amount of magic... earth magic demands large reserves of magic for larger purposes. Where water magic is selfish in its calling, earth magic is selfless. When you found yourself free of those runes a large rush of magic overcame you. Earth magic was pushed to the front lines of your calling. You were unsure of yourself, only wanting to save everyone around you while the enemies were destroyed, correct?"
"Yes..."
"Because of your uncertainty and your panic, your earth magic became overwhelming in a way of protecting you."
"Protecting... me?" Lucy asked, baffled.
"When you found yourself drowning in the power of earth magic, the magic itself was spreading through the area, deciding who was a threat and who was a friend."
"That's impossible. That... makes sense," Lucy mumbled, her memories revealing how the earthquake took down Lightning Chimera's guards, audience, and then the actual building itself when the slaves were free. None of their own was hurt by the earthquake because she desired it.
"But what does this have to do with respect?" Lucy asked.
"Respect isn't always kindness, as I'm sure you're aware, no?" At Lucy confused nod, he continued. "Unlike water magic where it trusts you because you respect its power, the earth is the opposite."
"I'm not sure I understand," Lucy spoke up, eyebrows furrowed in intense thought.
"Treating it like water magic causes it to become the master and you, the person they protect. The earth magic reacted the way it did because it did not trust you enough to wield its power for its purpose. In other words, though your intentions were clear, your grasp on it was not. Therefore it does not respect you for you have not proven yourself to trust it to protect others."
"But I do-"
"Just a moment ago you hadn't known the earthquake had been following your desire. You believed it to be luck or chance. You've come to me for the very reason that you are afraid it will overwhelm you with its power again and will be unable to control it, causing it to swallow a city without your guidance, am I wrong?" Capricorn asked rhetorically and Lucy felt shame fill her at thinking so poorly for her magic.
"What can I do?" Lucy asked, wanting to understand that part of herself and her magic.
"Trust is about what you feel and believe for another person. You've been using your eyes lately, making sure your magic is doing what you wish it to because you worry time has taken away your connection to magic. What you don't understand is that time means little to your magic. What they care about is-"
"Purpose and intent," Lucy responded dutifully.
"Correct. The first thing I would do is understand you're magic and the way it works. Meditate with it, alone and free of distractions. Perhaps in a valley where the earth can run free without limitations? Close your eyes and see not with your eyes but with your feeling. The earth does not have eyes itself but it feels vibrations and intent as though it were visible. Before you can fight with someone like a teammate you must know them first. Currently, your earth magic is a stranger. It's your duty to reconnect with your earth magic and once you can see without looking and hear its thoughts without listening... only then can you attempt to work together."
"I think I understand... sensei," Lucy replied after mulling the information over.
Capricorn nodded good-naturedly. "This will help you understand all your magic, Lucy. If you can update your progress with me on a weekly basis I can help you move along-"
"Of course, Capricorn. You've gotten me along this far, I wouldn't be nearly as far along in my magic as I am without you."
Capricorn nodded with a smile and bowed politely to her. "I shall see you then, Lucy." With a familiar flick of her arm, she closed his gate and was left in quiet to the sound of the ocean once more.
Lucy stared at the key she was left to summon now with various thoughts rushing through her mind without pause but neither making plausible sense with her. "Will I be able to handle this in my exhausted state?" She asked herself rhetorically. The blonde sighed. The last time she had a real conversation with this spirit it ended with a visit to Lisanna.
"It doesn't matter... I've put my mind to this," the blonde said, feeling a sense of unmistakable nostalgia.
"I would say try not to kill me... but you'd just do it seven times over, eh?" Lucy said as she dipped the water bearer's key into the ocean. "But... maybe this time you could appreciate our surroundings enough before using it to try and kill me, neh?"
"Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee... Aquarius!"
"Ch, 'bout time. You don't think I noticed you saving me for last?" The familiar water spirit demanded with a threatening aura. To her surprise, Lucy remained unaffected and shrugged. "Perhaps I wanted to talk to everyone before my ribs were fractured," Lucy deadpanned.
"Whatever," Aquarius scoffed unapologetically but otherwise didn't push the topic.
Lucy turned away from Aquarius as she walked away from the docks she had summoned Aquarius and moved to sit unto a nearby rock that was barely affected by the low tide. "You wanted to talk; ask your questions."
With her eyes closed, she noticed the wind shift with the ocean breeze and without much forethought threw up a wave of water as a shield from Aquarius's attack. "I want to know how you got this magic," Aquarius said, eyeing her magic critically as though looking for any falsehood of it.
The blonde mage sighed, expecting the question but did not lower the water. If this was what it took to keep Aquarius's focus away from violently attacking her then she would go along with it.
"I thought you'd ask. But I can't give you the answer you want," Lucy replied, expectedly invoking Aquarius's wrath.
"What do you mean you can't," Aquarius growled fiercely.
"I suppose I should say I won't, then. I'm sorry Aquarius but I won't tell you everything," Lucy said tearfully. Truthfully, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to tell anyone else (especially Aquarius) what her first life had been like. She had been such a disappointment to Aquarius and her nakama, she didn't want to be reminded of the road she once walked.
She held up a hand before Aquarius could rant and said, "I will tell you it was a gift though. From a long time ago. You'll probably figure the rest out in a few years, so I may as well not hold anything back." Lucy stood and turned around, seeing Aquarius's glare at the corner of her eye before she closed her eyes and meditated.
And for the first time since her mother died, she allowed only her aura to become visible outside her body. As expected, it had changed since she had last seen it. Instead of a whirlpool of emotions or even silver in color and laced with the scent of blood, this was very different.
In Aquarius's eyes, it was like the sight of the of eighty-eight stars contained in one person or when all thirteen of the zodiac gates are opened at once. It wasn't the vision she was feeling per say but more the influence on someone magic. For most Celestial mages their magic color was either silver or gold and that was typically from the influence of having Celestial magic in their body. The last time she felt Lucy's aura on its own (and saved her ass) it was a whirlpool of emotions that drained any source of life. A darkened silver that reached out like vines against any intruder including the one it belonged to. But she had seen the damage of that aura's magic before. It was similar to water magic and now-now she knew it was.
The onslaught emotions she expected to feel from Lucy's aura was completely absent. In fact, there was no emotion at all. It was as though Lucy was completely connected and in tune with her magic but such a thing was unheard of with holder type mages. That's what Lucy was... but she was also capable of water magic - how could that be?
Lucy's aura began to layer itself as it became visible. Colors and shapes were clear in front of them, neither entirely there but more like ghosts of the real deal. The water magic was easy to see, as it was one of the first to appear and took the form of waves falling against one another as they moved while holding a clear cerulean color. The next layer was a mahogany brown color but instead of taking a visual shape there was a clear sound of a clock ticking. After that was a light grey layer that let out a resonating sound of a grandfather clock's gong.
After that, another layer appeared that held no permanent state, shape, or sound. It was constantly moving and changing in an almost dizzying way. The next layer took the color of a cherry blossom pink and let out a melody from a harp while the layer after that was a distinct red which let out a sound of something whistling through the air. The next layer was black and let out a distinct sound of howling as it circled around Lucy along with all the other layers.
"What is this?" Aquarius questioned but Lucy's concentration was not broken and the layers continued to appear.
The next layer was white and it was constantly swirling as though unable to decide on a direction. After that a blue and white layer appeared, interlinked with one another, and the sound of water against rocks rang clear through the air. Then a violent pink layer appeared in a translucent way as though it were mist or a cloud. Another red layer appeared with a metallic glint to it followed by a gold layer that practically roared in noise. A shadeless layer appeared then with a distinct sharpness to it.
After that followed a tan layer which seemed vaguely familiar to Aquarius but she couldn't place it. Her attention was quickly averted when another four layers formed; one layer a bubblegum pink that also had a metallic almost sadistic glint to it, a familiar gold and silver layer that seemed to be intertwined with each color, another layer took a copper shade, and the last was a metallic black. Despite its layers, the aura resonated in a synchronized fashion allowing all the sound and color to corporate with one another. As Aquarius counted out the number of layers she came to a total of:
Eighteen. With widened eyes, the water bearer stared at Lucy with shock evident on her features. It was unknown to Lucy though, whose eyes remained closed, as though focusing on keeping her aura present the way it currently was. Aquarius quickly realized she was wrong however when a final layer appeared and practically let out a threatening hiss as it joined the other layers in a dark purple.
Auras were a reflection of a mage's magic. A mage that only used one magic their aura reflected that single color. If a mage used more than one magic it would be reflected in their aura while their dominant (most used) magic took the shape of their aura. Lucy's aura, on the other hand, had no dominant shape or feature. Every single layer reflected the number of magic Lucy had. Nineteen magics. Having that amount wasn't unheard of. Plenty mages in the Magic Council and in the past millennia were able to double that amount but at this age and such a magnitude...
Most of all though, Aquarius wondered what Lucy wasn't telling her. She easily couldn't pass this off and Aquarius would've had nothing more than suspicions.
"For once in your life Aquarius, see me who I really am!" Aquarius's expression relaxed as Lucy's words no more than a week ago resounding through her thoughts. "So this is what you meant, brat. I understand." Aquarius said quietly and as though hearing her words Lucy opened her eyes from her meditative state and suddenly the aura vanished as though the source of it's form had been severed. Had Aquarius blinked, she would have missed the residue aura returning to Lucy in the heartbeat.
"I'm not just a Celestial mage who can use Celestial Spirits, Aquarius... I'm a mage who can use the Celestial magic of spirits as well." Lucy admitted, feeling the last of her aura return to her. She stumbled then, feeling exhaustion kick in, and would've fallen over if not for the slender arms which caught her. Surprised, Lucy looked up to star at Aquarius's almost sheepish gaze before slumping back over as the action exhausted her further.
"You stupid girl, exhausting yourself after calling us out one after the other," Aquarius scolded but with hardly any bite. "Hmm," Lucy replied half-heartedly, her eyes tired and half-lidded. Aquarius carried Lucy's lightweight body towards the docks and placed her on the wooden planks with her back against one of the posts before pulling away to look out at the ocean. Her gaze unreadable, Lucy examined half-heartedly.
"I met your mother, Layla, in a place quite like this. She was the first master in a long time who had asked me whether or not I wanted to be with her."
Lucy stared at the wood with an unexplainable glance before letting out a breath. "Aquarius, if you're getting on me again-"
"I'm not. Not this time, anyway," Aquarius said with an odd tone. She didn't look away from the ocean as she continued. "Layla had given my key to you long before lying on her deathbed."
Lucy's heart ached at the memory.
"I hadn't thought about it much before but now... now, you've forced my thoughts on you to change."
"Aquarius..."
"Shut up for a moment and let me talk!" Aquarius grumbled and Lucy fell silent, too tired to continue anyway.
"Capricorn had his suspicions, he always did since you called him out for the first time. He told us that you were different... that you had a spirit he hadn't seen before. There was something about you no one could really understand and Layla herself was afraid of it. She spoke of you often as any mother would do, speaking of how easily you picked up our magic and learned simple human aspects easily. Layla knew, even back then, that you were holding yourself back. She didn't need Capricorn to see that."
Lucy would've blushed at being seen through so easily if she wasn't too exhausted to do so.
"And when Layla... died... I saw your magic for the first time. The way it turned on you because your intentions changed after such a loss. I used to believe your thoughts for us Celestial Spirits had changed like Layla was the key to treating us as she had, but I see now I was wrong all along." Aquarius looked away from the ocean to turn and face the ruined land by the barn. "You told me that, here, to see you as you are and not as the reflection of your mother."
Aquarius clenched her teeth as though what she was going to say next went against all the stubbornness in the world.
"You had always understood us, and it's because of that reason you rarely called us out aside from combat. Especially me, isn't that right Lucy?"
Aquarius didn't wait for a reply, taking the tired look in Lucy's eyes for what it was and it wasn't exhaustion.
"You've been gifted with great magic, Lucy. But to wield such magic you have to have a great heart as well."
The water bearer paused, prolonging the next statement as long as her stubbornness could allow.
"I'm sorry for taking so long to realize that, Lucy," Aquarius said finally, meeting silver eyes.
Releasing an energy-exhausting breath the blonde stood up from where she had been laid against and leaned heavily on the wooden post her back had formerly been pressed against. "It's okay, Aquarius," Lucy breathed exhaustedly and tried not to find herself surprised when Aquarius's gaze remained on her instead of glaring into the distance.
"I've always been able to see more than I was probably meant to as a child," Lucy continued, nails clawing into the wood of the post.
"You're still a child," Aquarius replied as she gazed at her oddly. Oddly to Lucy, anyway.
"More a child than I am, then," Lucy explained before moving on. "I was seven or so when I realized the look in my mother's eyes wasn't of love when she looked upon the gaze of her husband. Love, I knew was the look she gave you mixed with fondness, and she shared none for Jude. You only confirmed this to be true a little more than a week ago, Aquarius. After my mother died he couldn't look at me without seeing her... and that included magic. I knew that if I was a ghost of my mother for him - someone she didn't love - then I could only imagine what seeing me would do to you, Aquarius."
"I didn't need your pity," Aquarius growled.
Lucy nodded. "No. What you needed was time. I know that there's a time difference between my world and the Celestial world. A day here probably isn't even an hour there. You needed time, you can't deny that."
"Ch," Aquarius scoffed but otherwise didn't deny. Lucy continued.
"Loneliness couldn't even begin to describe what I felt after my mother died. My father's expression towards me and firing the staff at the mansion was only the beginning of that feeling. The loss of my mother combined with that could only be described as grief for the love that I once had for my parents could never be returned. Both had died that day even if my father was the one that still had a heartbeat."
A tear fell shamelessly from Lucy's eye as she moved her eyes from Aquarius's to the sky as she continued. "Loneliness was when my father chose to burn the memories of my mother down his throat drinking. Loneliness was when my father struck me for the first time as though I was a phantom that haunted the mansion in his memory. Loneliness was knowing that no matter who I turned to in the Celestial world, they would see my mother before me..."
Lucy's legs collapsed and her knees dug harshly into the sand while a fist slammed roughly there as well, as though punching the very thought of the memory.
"Loneliness was knowing that I had no control over my life as long as I lived there. My determination was only cemented when he struck me on my eleventh birthday. So, I ran away and never looked back. I-the only one I felt safe enough to summon was Capricorn because he never looked at me as a shadow of my mother, and he helped me fight for myself as I lived on my own." Lucy dried her tears and let her body lean back against the post, eyes staring at the low tide of the ocean as it brushed past her hand.
"It was then as I told you before. I was caught by surprise one day and didn't have my keys on me at that time. The result was my life's control taken away from me a second time where I was sold away to that illegal dark guild, Lightning Chimera," Lucy spat the name out like it was poison. "It was there everything I ever knew was thrown out the goddamn window. I had to accept that sometimes people had to fight against their reasons... had to die without knowing what the hell was going on. It was there I knew tragedy but not loneliness."
Lucy smiled as she thought of her best friend.
"Kalelius kept me sane there. He was the one who helped me live and fight no matter how painful it got. He was the one who taught me that if we didn't like the situation we were in then we fought the hell out of it. Everyone else thought that escaping was hopeless. Kalelius knew that following Crow's - the guild master - rules would get us killed despite the promise of freedom. We made our own rules and spent the year finalizing our plan to get out of there. I learned how far friendship went and the trust behind it, as I gave my life to get us out and remove the magic-restraining runes placed on us. Kalelius brought me back, as promised, and we got outta that place."
Lucy swallowed, uncertain if she could return her gaze to Aquarius's and instead moved her gaze to stare at her hands. One scarred, the other marred by lightning.
"The reason I'm telling you this Aquarius, in case you were wondering, was because the day I got everyone back from Rokon and summoned you here the first time... the day we fought and I showed my water magic to you the first time... I got you to see me for who I really am - delayed reaction or not. And," she continued after hearing Aquarius's scoff. "I got to see you look at me without seeing my mother. You were so angry with me I was like another person. It's strange, I know." Lucy said, after bringing herself to catch Aquarius's eye.
"I've been a disappointment to you for a long time... but as long as it's as myself and not for who I'm not, I'm okay with that."
"Lucy..." Aquarius let out a sigh and straightened her spine.
"What I was meaning to say earlier, about meeting Layla in a place like this... it wasn't as a dig against you. I wanted to say that it was in a setting like this that I was able to see the real Layla. A young woman who had gone through great hardship and struggle while retaining a strong heart. Lucy, I'm not saying this because you're like your mother... I'm saying this because you have surpassed her."
Lucy looked up at Aquarius in audible surprise and the Water Bearer somehow found it in her to smirk at her expression.
"You've been through endless hardship and suffering but prevailed not only with kindness but with a strength not even Layla had. You've opened your eyes to change that she had shied away from and continue to stay true to who you are whereas Layla feared a life for you that she had led. Yet, here you are. Doing the very opposite your mother had wanted for you and prevailing far more than she ever had herself. You, Lucy, are not her daughter. You're just Lucy Chance, a girl with a heart as big as her kindness whose strength is endless."
Lucy off-handedly noticed the tightness in her throat at Aquarius's admission.
"You're aren't a disappointment, Lucy. And if anyone ever tells you otherwise - give them hell. Or call me out and we can do it together, how's that sound?" Aquarius said with a sadistic chuckle.
The blonde closed her eyes but couldn't resist the upturn of her lips. When she opened her eyes she found herself easily able to meet the water bearer's gaze, no longer burdened with the weight of what had once been and replied: "Sounds like a plan."
Not long after their talk did the mage and spirit part ways, one returning to the Celestial world and the other returning home with a longing in her eyes that could only be described as sleep-deprivation. Upon reaching Fairy Hills she practically stumbled into the lobby which was crowded with mages looking over magazines or talking between reading books. Some even appeared to be playing games making the lobby filled with noise and plenty of distraction allowing Lucy to slip by unnoticed.
The stairs proved to be a challenge but Lucy wasn't one to sleep on the stairs and despite the many floors she had to climb, the blonde soon found herself on her floor and all but looked through blurry eyes in search of her room number. When she finally found it after passing the door twice she stood there for at least five minutes trying to find the right key only to realize with a jolt that she was holding the wrong keys.
Sighing in exasperation, she tucked away her Celestial keys before removing her dorm room keyring where the sole iron key rested. With a shaky hand, she tried to get it into the lock only to find herself unable to and slammed her hand against the door with a curse.
"Oi, Lucy?" The blonde tilted her head slightly to see a familiar brunette staring at her with surprise. "The mavis happened to you?"
Remembering the brunette's earlier harsh words Lucy wanted to be as far from the girl as possible and instead snapped, "What do you want now Cana? Come to tell me I've fucked up another person's life?"
"Eh, no..." Cana said slowly, eyeing Lucy worriedly. The blonde tsked at the girl before slamming her forearm into the door with no real force. "Just go away, I don't need this shit right now." Lucy cursed, exhausted beyond measure and irked from Cana's words at the guild.
Instead of leaving though, the brunette walked towards her causing Lucy to sigh unhappily.
"Neh, give it a rest Lucy."
"All I want is to rest," Lucy said tiredly before leaning her forehead against the door of her dorm room.
"Lucy..." Cana said before moving Lucy's shoulder back to get a good look at her. Whatever she saw she didn't like as Lucy suddenly found her arm wrapped around Cana's shoulders leaving her to carry half her weight. "Follow me, Lucy. You need to lay down," Cana told her lightly, assisting the lightweight girl towards her own dorm.
"That's what I've been telling you, Cana-baka."
The brunette let the insult slide, reminded of her words earlier, and admitted she deserved the curse. They took a couple floors down, passing some guild members who looked at them curiously, but neither girl took much thought of it. A few minutes later Lucy found herself leaning heavily against the wall as Cana unlocked the door to her own dorm room and she found herself shutting her eyes.
"Lucy!"
Silver eyes open half-lidded to see worried brown eyes and spared an attempt at a smile before she found her weight once again assisted by Cana and was introduced to the brunette's room. Unlike Erza's it was a bit more spacious but didn't have the windows on the sides where Lucy's did. It was organized much more than Erza's with polished furniture and a writing desk. A bed was pushed to the back wall while a few couches were in the middle forming an incomplete square. There wasn't much on the walls aside from a single portrait of a woman who appeared vaguely like Cana who she could only assume was her mother before she found herself being pushed towards one of the larger couches.
She didn't put up as much resistance as she normally would've and her body practically became deadweight the moment her back hit the cushions leaving the fight to stay awake much harder than before. She closed her eyes again, deciding that the couch was enough for forgiveness in her exhausted state and began to allow the exhaustion take hold of her. "Hey girl, stay awake, will ya? Don't make me slap you," Cana drawled slowly and Lucy opened her eyes only to wince at the coldness when a wet cloth was pressed to her forehead.
"What have you been doing lately to make you so exhausted, Lucy-chan? You haven't been getting much sleep, have you?"
Lucy, her exhaustion given up on allowing her to snap a sarcastic argument, made her just shake her head slightly in agreement and peered up at her recently forgiven friend, who sighed at her response.
"I saw your apartment too, remember? There's nothing in there. Not sleeping on anything isn't good for you," Cana scolded, feeling like an older sister at that moment.
"S'kay. I'm used to it," Lucy replied, trying to talk Cana out of the conversation so she could sleep. Cana instead looked at her worriedly with furrowed brows before letting out a sigh and moved away. "Don't sleep yet," Cana warned her and Lucy let out a response that sounded vaguely like she'd hold Cana to that 'yet'.
The blonde flinched slightly when she felt Cana's hand on her shoulder and met her eyes to see that same look again and moaned pitifully when the cloth was replaced with a tan hand. "Well, used to it or not you've gotten a fever, Lucy."
"I'll be fine," Lucy mumbled, digging her head into the sofa cushion.
"Only 'cause I'm going to be here, Lucy-chan," Cana replied with a frown.
"What happened to Lu-nnn," Lucy mumbled. Cana's eyebrows furrowed again at Lucy's ending slur.
"Huh?"
Lucy turned her head away from the sofa cushion to look Cana in the eyes. "I said: What happened to Lu-chan?"
Cana blushed and ducked her head as she mumbled something incoherent.
"Cana," Lucy asked before yawning. The brunette sighed and met the space between Lucy's right eye and hairline as she replied. "Because I hurt you earlier. What I said. And then I heard Levy call you that. I just thought-"
"You're forgiven Cana," Lucy replied honestly causing the brunette to meet her eyes sharply, as though checking for hesitation.
"Why? What I said wasn't-"
Lucy reached up and held Cana's hand which had been waving with gestures as she protested Lucy's forgiveness.
"Sometimes bringing out the worst in others is the only way to bring the best of them forward. You were right," Lucy replied and Cana shook her head. "Whether or not I was right I shouldn't have been mean to you. Not when... not when you've been nothing but kind."
"I'm not always kind, Cana. Remember how I reacted to Mirajane?" Lucy protested this time. Cana smiled at the irony and held tightly to Lucy's unfeeling hand. "And yet now you're as good as friends, Lu-chan."
Lucy audibly smiled before closing her eyes as she leaned into the pillow on the couch. She was already falling into unconsciousness by the time Cana finally noticed something different.
"-cy, what happened to your arm?"
Cana sighed at her sleeping friend before studying the scars running from the blonde's hand to elbow. Her friend was a mystery with a painful background, she had no doubts. But like the rest of the guild, including herself, those mysteries belonged to the owner. She wouldn't push her friend for answers... not when she herself was hiding her own.
Instead, she would be there for Lucy. Like Fairy Tail has been for her since her mother died.
So, with a sigh, she released Lucy's hand and went to grab more blankets for her friend from the linen closet. When she came back and covered Lucy with three more blankets, two of which weren't all that thick, she checked the blonde's forehead again only to sigh at the warmth. Expecting an all-nighter watching over her friend, Cana tucked Lucy's scarred hand underneath the blankets to keep her mysteries out of sight before grabbing her keyring and headed for the door.
She wasn't sure how to take care of Lucy when she was sick so she went to the very person who took care of her whenever she went down with something bad. Taking one last look at the sleeping blonde before opening the door, she decided she would need to find Rokon while out as well.
Cana sighed, friends were so much trouble, she decided. A smile graced her expression though as a decisive thought hit her. But they're worth it.
And with an audible click of the door shutting on her way out, only Lucy was left, eyebrows creased as her demons resurfaced in her dreams.
Yo,
(This chapter is a gift for Halloween, hope you enjoy, replacing my usual update on Friday)
Big thanks to everyone who supported me with all that drama last week. I appreciate it. Fortunately, life is back in motion and thus, so is my writing. I won't be answering any questions in relation to the last chapter simply because of the flood of reviews I had gotten in relation to the drama I mentioned. If anyone has questions they wish to ask from before, feel free to ask them in a review of this chapter.
So, I would say that this story has beaten Emotionless in its review count but since like... 40 or so of the reviews weren't directly related to this story I'll probably wait another couple chapters before actually believing that. Aside from reviews though... did you know nearly 100,000 people have read this story? I don't know about you guys but that sounds like a lot to me.
Oh! And in case someone is wondering because I got a reviewer daydreaming about the future for this story. I want you guys to know this is what people call a slow-burn story. Meaning no/very few time-skips. I don't know about you guys but reading time-traveling stories where characters just do the same thing with different thoughts from canon is pretty much the definition of insanity and is not to mention incredibly dull.
If someone disagrees with my opinion then feel free to read a thousand time-travels like I have and if they don't get old to you then clearly you fit right into the insane category. That's not a compliment. Madness is a compliment because I like the Mad Hatter... there is a difference.
As I mentioned before to people that actually read these little notes of mine, whenever a year passes I will italicise it at the very beginning. In case my earlier statement wasn't clear enough nor the warning in the summary this is an AU story - that means Alternate Universe. If you also hadn't noticed the differences in this story already... well, know this isn't going to fall in canon to the dot.
Just think this whenever you see my name beside one of my stories: "That gal got a mind for twisting stories." That way you shouldn't forget my style of writing and I won't have to repeat myself every ten chapters ;)
So... what's next?
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail! - Geez, I'm so tired of putting this here every single chapter T_T
Happy Halloween!
- Gothic Rain
Word of the Day: Halloweenstep - in English this means "a Halloween themed version of dubstep."
Soundtrack/Music of the Day: [Dubstep] Halloweenstep - Aaron Musslewhite
Disclaimer: See above. I do not own the song or lyrics. - Must I state the obvious? Why yes, yes I do.