As a reminder, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

Mard's head started to hurt, he felt as if his skull was separating. Rosebud held on to him whispering that she would still be here for him. He believed her, it was hard to be a powerless cat but with her taking care of him, Mard was handling it. The only problem was that when he had time back in is body, being a cat again was more difficult than when he was first cursed.

"Ouch, fuck!" Rosebud exclaimed and Mard let go of her, wondering if he was holding her too tight.

She stepped back from him and Mard looked over at her as he grunted through his own pain. Her body was covered in a soft glow. "Rosebud, what's wrong?" he whispered.

She dropped into a crouch, her slim hands holding on to her head. Mard ignored his own pain, as best he could, and joined her on the floor. Rosebud was panting hard, her fingers digging into her hair as she shook. He tried to hold her, but a wave of pain had sent him sprawling forward, knocking into her and leaving them both on the cold kitchen linoleum.

Mard felt groggy as he willed his eyes to open, the scene was fuzzy, but he could see Rosebud laying next to him no longer glowing. He reached out and was surprised that he still had his hands. Her face was flushed, and dried tear tracks were heavy on her cheeks. Right now, she was breathing deep and evenly, and he gathered her in his arms.

He slid back against the stove and held her in his lap, trying to sort out what happened. As his hand came up the side of her waist, he could feel the slightly raised texture of the rose sigil through the silk. Mard shook his head, he hadn't considered the possibility.

Through their mating bond she was now going to feel what he felt. All that pain of the curse had impacted her. He felt guilty and held her tighter to him, kissing the top of her head. A strange rumble came out of his chest, he was purring much like he did as a cat.

"I am very sorry Rosebud," he whispered to her as he looked down at her sleeping face.

Mard leaned his head back and looked up at the plain white ceiling, internally he was cursing Merlin. Though as he thought about it, he had to stop laying the blame at her feet. He had done this to himself, it was his plan, his attitude, and his ease with killing thousands for his own selfish goals. She had only acted in a manner to protect this Plane.

He thought through the scenario for a moment and realized something. If the situation was changed and someone had threatened his Underworld, he would have destroyed that person without thought. The curse was cruel but there was much he got because of it. Mating Rosebud, trolling Pompous Ass, saving an innocent child, learning about life through the eyes of the mages of Fairy Tail, and now he was in the right place to handle a virus that almost destroyed his world.

Mard felt a twitch at the top of his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He stopped when he felt a structure that was not there before, it twitched again. He felt around it and realized that it was a triangular shape, like a cat ear, and he sighed. "Of course, a partial transformation."

Rosebud groaned and shuffled a bit in his arms, her eyes began to open. "Ugh my head."

He covered her eyes, "keep the light out, where is the headache medicine?"

"Bathroom," she whispered. Mard managed to get them to standing and he carefully took her into the bedroom. To his surprise it was cleaned, the bed was fixed, and the strong scent of sex was gone. Looking at everything he figured that Virgo must have come back to clean everything as they were visiting. It reminded him of how much love Rosebud had in her heart and how it was returned by the spirits.

Mard put her in the bed, she set a pillow over her face and curled up into a small ball under the pink comforter. As he got into the modest bathroom, he looked in the mirror and let out a harsh breath. As he thought, on the top of his head were two purple cat ears. He hissed in reaction and face palmed.

Rosebud moaned a little and he ignored his reflection and the hissing in favor of getting her the medicine and a small glass of water. Mard gathered the items and went back into the bedroom, pausing to draw the drapes shut before giving her the medicine.

"T-thanks," she whispered.

"Welcome, get some sleep Rosebud," he kissed her forehead and curled into the bed to hold her. Mard watched the ceiling his mind drifting away into different thought patterns. Least he had his body and when she was feeling better, they were going to handle tracking down patient zero. Perhaps saving this Plane would finally end this useless curse.

Natsu groaned as the train kept moving, he couldn't look outside and chose to stare at his sandaled feet. When the squeaky food cart came by all he could ask for was a travel-sick bag. It was promptly used when he caught a whiff of the dishes on the trolley. The attendant handed him a sleeping pill, but he refused it, they usually didn't work on him. No, usually Luce would massage his temples and that would help.

She wasn't with him, Happy didn't want to come because he had plans with the other Exceeds, and he had no idea where Loke was. Natsu was all alone on this trip and that was even worse than the motion sickness. He sniffled and tried to find a comfortable position on the lightly padded blue bench, just anything to ease his rolling stomach.

"Excuse me… Natsu?" He looked up and saw Meredy, she was smiling at him before her lips pulled down and her face crossed into a look of concern. She didn't say anything and sat down next to him, "can I help?"

He pointed to his head; his throat closed up as his nerves started shaking. Natsu found it hard to talk around her, she was beautiful and funny and kind. She was also his mate and he was scared of frightening her with that talk. Then again, he made a promise with Mard Geer, if the demon could embrace his mating needs, then Natsu had to do the same.

He swallowed a bit of vomit that was slinking its way up his throat. "Luce massages my head, it helps."

"Oh, where is she?" Meredy asked as she set her bag on the floor and pushed it with her small feet under the bench.

"Solo mission," Natsu mumbled and felt another wave of dizziness and nausea hit him. He flopped to his side and his head went crashing into her warm lap, Meredy let out a shocked sound before she giggled.

"Poor thing," she whispered as her fingers sifted through his pink hair and she began to rub light circles into his scalp.

Natsu relaxed a bit as she tended to him, her feminine gardenia scent filled his nose and put a smile on his face. He could feel his inner turmoil begin to subside and his mind circulated around one thought, home.

Meredy hummed a simple song as she massaged him, it was lulling him to sleep. "Thank you," he managed as he tried to keep himself awake.

"It's okay if you fall asleep."

"Okay," he mumbled as he drifted off.

Natsu slept well, his stomach had settled, and he had no dreams to speak of. The last time he slept this well had been years ago and he was never this comfortable during a train ride. Meredy's care of him was a million time more effective than Erza knocking him out and a thousand times better than Luce's head massages.

A blaring sound over the loud speakers woke him up and he sat up in a rush as the train started to slow down. Meredy was blushing as she looked at him, her hands smoothing down her skirt. Natsu noticed a wet spot on the material and blushed.

"Um, I drool," he said as he scratched the back of his neck.

Meredy shrugged, "it happens, glad I could help."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to make small talk with the woman.

"There were some rumors of a dark guild in the area, Jellal asked me to check on them." She said as she leaned over and grabbed her small brown bag. Natsu watched how the light caught on her pink hair, making it shimmer a little, he bet it was soft.

An idea clicked into his head, "oh! How about I help you, since you helped me."

Her red eyes widened as she smiled, "I'd like that, thank you."

They departed the train and Natsu was happy to finally be on firm concrete again. He was ready to drop to his knees and kiss the ground but a puddle of something foul had nixed the idea. He soaked up a bit of the sunlight before he went into a light jog to catch up with Meredy before she disappeared into the exiting crowd.

Natsu wasn't certain which town they were in; his memory was only so good and around Meredy he was more scattered than usual. As he caught up to her, he took in a deep breath through his nose capturing her scent. Least if they were separated, he'd be able to track her down.

She stopped short and he crashed into her back, sending the smaller mage forward a couple uneasy steps. "Sorry," he mumbled feeling a bit embarrassed.

"It happens," she looked over her shoulder and laughed before looking ahead. Meredy walked up to a map mounted on the wall and hidden behind some dirty looking glass. Natsu kept a watch over the area, if there was a dark guild here, he was going to keep her safe.

Not that she couldn't handle her own battles, but his instincts towards her were guiding his decisions. Natsu had to try and balance his needs with not scaring her or even letting her in on the fact that he wanted to mate her. He wasn't certain how he could ever approach that topic; his own confidence was waning in that area.

"Ah, here's the inn," she said as her lithe finger pointed to a little place a few blocks from here.

"Let's go and get checked in, then food!"

Meredy giggled, "is your tummy feeling better?"

Natsu nodded, "yep! I'm hungry."

She smiled at him her eyes crinkling at the corners and Natsu felt his heart race to see the soft happy expression. There wasn't much thinking when he took her hand in his own and started walking with her down the small village road. His eyes kept scanning the area, on the lookout for anything that could harm her, but so far it seemed like a normal little village.

People dressed in plain clothing walked down the streets, ducking into different shops or haggling with street cart merchants. Kids were chasing a red ball down the dusty road, careful of the horse drawn carts carrying fruits and wheat. Overall it was a simple place, which meant it was perfect for a dark guild to set up and pray on the innocent people.

Natsu had seen it all before and though he hated it, he knew how these people thought. His experience kept his guard up even though he was relaxed with the simple holding of Meredy's hand. They walked in comfortable silence, dodging people and taking in the town. As they approached the simple stone and wood inn Natsu saw a familiar head of wild ginger hair and a black suit.

Loke was standing to the side, flirting with a girl who was blushing like wild over something he had just said. Their eyes met and Loke adjusted his glasses before waving the pair over.

"Loke, didn't think you'd be here," Natsu said.

"We do have a mission," he paused and grinned at Meredy, "I see you found company."

"Meredy, nice to meet you," she said, letting go of Natsu's hand and offering to Loke.

The spirit took it and Natsu shot him a warning glare, leaving the spirit to only give her an awkward handshake. "Loke, or Leo. Nice to meet you." His voice was a little robotic and Natsu appreciated the fact that the lion was trying to not be a playboy around his future mate.

"What mission?" she asked as she moved to the side to let some people get into the inn.

"We are looking for a very special key for Lucy," Loke replied and Natsu nodded.

"It's a long story," he chimed in.

"Well let's get checked in and you can tell me over lunch," she said before taking her leave and entering the place.

Natsu pulled Loke by the arm toward the alley between the inn and the market shop next to it. "Thank you," he said and Loke nodded.

"You know," he pulled out a tiger stripped handkerchief and dotted it along his brow, "the thing with Merlin is that she plays chess with people at levels we don't understand."

Natsu blinked, a bit confused, "what do you mean?"

Leo polished his glasses and held them up to the light checking for any missed spots. "I bet she knew you'd find Meredy on this trip. This is her way of thanking you for being nice to Mard."

Natsu frowned, "she set me up?"

Loke shrugged, "yeah it's her style. Go have a good lunch, I'm going to do some scouting. Think I felt the key's energy. I can't take it, but you can."

"Why not?" Natsu asked.

"Politics, mostly."

"Huh?" If he was confused before, he certainly was more so now.

"Remember Corvus is a Star Iron key, his rules are different. Out of the 88 constellations he's one of a dozen or so that does not follow the same guidance under the Celestial Spirit King." Loke said.

"Kind of like how Sabertooth is different than Fairy Tail?" He asked, trying to sort it out.

Loke winked, "basically."

"Yeah but they are friends, can't you be friends with these dozen different constellations?"

"You're assuming I'm not. Some of them are nice, Corvus I didn't get a chance to know this version. Also, ravens are creepy," he grinned, "you'll find out. Later Natsu."

The spirit vanished and Natsu scratched the back of his neck. Maybe handing Luce a creepy key was not a good idea but if Merlin was right, he was going to be the one hope Luce had to living a happy life with her mate. He couldn't be that creepy, could he?

Natsu looked over the busy road, his eyes unfocused on any one thing in particular. His mind was going through a pile of different things, mostly around Luce and some drifting off to Meredy. There was a lot to do and he wished Luce was here to give him a plan for tackling everything. Not that he was going to follow her plan it was nice to have her thinking.

A gentle touch to his shoulder had Natsu spinning around ready to strike. His green eyes went wide when he saw Meredy standing there and he relaxed his fist. "Oh sorry."

She smiled, "Jellal does the same thing too. He concentrates on a problem and doesn't notice the outside world."

Natsu never thought he'd ever be compared with Jellal, the mage was on a different level with a past that could break anyone's heart. The stoic former Wizard Saint had much to atone for and Natsu was glad to see him work hard to stop evil.

"What's wrong Natsu?" she asked.

He let out a breath and ran a hand through his wild pink hair, "stuff. I'm worried about this key I have to find for Luce."

Meredy took his arm, "let's have lunch and you can tell me about it. Oh and," she flushed a touch of pink highlighted her cheeks, "we have to share a room. There was only one left. I guess there's a festival this weekend."

Natsu swallowed hard and peeked over Meredy's shoulder. Inside the inn he saw a woman with opal eyes and jewel toned hair who flashed him a broad grin before she vanished. He blinked and tilted his head, "was that?" he mumbled.

"Huh?" Meredy asked.

He shook his head and decided to not think about it, maybe Loke was right about Merlin. Maybe he was seeing things because he was so damn hungry. Either way, he needed food, needed to talk to Meredy, and then he needed to gather his courage to handle sleeping in the same room. Natsu felt a bit over his head in all of this and he wished Luce was here.

Leo stood outside the crypt, he shivered despite the heat and his suit. He looked up at the weather battered grey stone structure and noticed the large black raven statue glaring down at him. Its wings were out and beak open, ready to dive down and pluck out his eyes.

The large name plate on it, Rabenschwartz, was done in an old script style and was flanked with jagged protection runes. It wasn't common in Earth Land but some of the influences from various Planes came here in small doses, usually because of spirits like Corvus.

He hadn't lied to Natsu, he didn't know Corvus but had met the Raven once. It was during a Planar Conference when Odin had shown up with his two Ravens, Huginn and Muninn. Identical physically but different in their approaches to life, powers, and personality.

Huginn was the master of battle and thought, often seen across the battle fields finding gifted warriors to either victory or to transport to Vahalla. Muninn was of memory and the spiritual wisdom of the complex deity. The raven did not fight but recorded events for Odin's wisdom or to impart a moment of clarity to a shaman or poet.

It had been during that conference that Odin had selected Huginn to become Corvus when the original spirit wished to leave his star to finally get that drink, he deserved. Also, his powers were rather macabre, the spirit was always lying about something or when he had news, it was an ill omen. Leo was not a fan but knew that Hydra was disappointed, the serpent had gotten used to the original raven on his back.

The Celestial Spirit King had not been thrilled with the idea but relented when no other option presented itself. Huginn had transformed into his human visage, a key was crafted out of a shard of Star Iron and his powers were granted based on Odin's wishes and the mythologies of ravens from various folklore. The newer Corvus maintained his space from the Celestial Realm and chose to stay under Odin's watch.

Leo had tried at the party to get to know the new Corvus but the Raven didn't have much to say. All he could remember was that the beautiful raven-man looked disappointed and lost under the weight of his new powers. Their exchange of words had been small with Leo trying to assure the new spirit that things would be fine and his unique power set would make him one of a kind in a sea of stars.

"Well, if it isn't a kitty," said a barely remembered voice and Leo looked around. Beside him appeared a man dressed in black with wild raven locks, massive black wings on his back and a playful smile on his elegant lips. Leo also noticed the two battle axes strapped to his back.

"Huginn…" Leo paused and corrected himself, "Corvus."

"Only my brother calls me that, usually when he wants to annoy me," the spirit chuckled. "What's up?"

"I may have a key holder for you." Leo said as he thrusted his hands in his pants' pockets and shrugged.

"It's what been 600 years since I've had one. Is he hot?" Corvus asked as he flared out his wings for a stretch.

"She actually, besides you may not follow under the Celestial Spirit King but the rules against a sexual relationship with your key holder still stand." Leo hated and loved that rule, it kept him out of Karen's bed but barred him from sharing one with Lucy.

He waved a dismissive hand, "believe me, there wasn't enough mead to get me in bed with Rabenfuckwad."

Leo chuckled, "yeah, I know. He tried for my key, luckily my holder at the time was too quick for him."

Corvus ran a pale hand through his hair, "what's this one's story?"

"She mated the Underworld King, Mard Geer Tartaros." Leo said and Corvus let out a low whistle.

"He's hawt, met him a couple times. Odin liked the younger king." Corvus looked around the area for a moment and then took a step towards Leo. The lion held still as the raven fingered a lock of his ginger hair, their eyes meeting. A slight pull and Corvus held a dandelion seed between his thumb and index finger, Leo smiled. "You know, I do like cats, playful creatures."

The Zodiac leader stepped back, "Corvus, be serious, this is a chance for you to use your powers, as designed, and to finally have a good key holder."

"Will there be babies?" the raven asked as he took a step back and released the seed into the slight breeze.

Leo shrugged, "probably, but not now. Look, I have to go soon. There will be a pink haired mage, Natsu, he will be here to retrieve your key and bring you to Lucy." Corvus arched a slim black brow and Leo shook his head, "he doesn't play for your team. You'd probably have better luck with Gray."

"Who?"

"You'll find out. I gotta go, just trust me on this. Lucy is very special," Leo looked away, his gaze focusing on some movement across the cemetery. A few figures in black were skulking around the other tombs, it gave him a bad feeling. "Fuck."

"I see it, don't worry, not much gets…" as Corvus spoke the large shadow of a Raven came up from the palm of one of the mages. "Leo, get your friend and now. If they break through the protections…"

"Yeah Plane hopping dark mages who can keep their magic anchored is a catastrophe." Leo nodded and vanished as Corvus did the same while pulling his two axes off his back.

Leo appeared inside of a busy restaurant, accidentally knocking over a portly waitress who had a few choice words for him. He grabbed Natsu's arm, and the dragonslayer looked at him in surprise, "Natsu we gotta go! Corvus is in danger, a dark guild has his brother."

NOTE:

I've been writing this version of Corvus since March of 2018 for Thorn in his Side (still available on Archive of Our Own and Wattpad). In that whole time I never fully explained (outside of once trusted friends and fellow writers in PMs or chats) his back story or why he's different than Greek/Roman tales of Corvus.

In Thorn and in most of my MardLu stories I work with a complex system of Planes of Existence (based on D&D, mythology, quantum mechanics, and my own brain noodles) and needed a plausible way to handle travel, magic, and etc. Corvus, after many hours of research (he was pretty much the only constellation that inspired me, despite a few others that could have worked) was born to fill those needs:

Plane hopping - ravens were said to carry souls across the veil in many folklore, this to me sounded like plane hopping and why Corvus is in the Plane of Mists (btw. I designed that plane as a buffer between mortal Planes and Death, where unwanted and wayward souls went either before they were allowed to fully cross over or be granted a chance for reincarnation. So little MSQ Trivia for you LOL)

Magic anchoring - this was solely a plot device power I created to explain how Lucy could still summon spirits in the Underworld and has no actual roots in Raven mythology

Gifted dual wielding fighter - based around tales of Huginn and Nordic traditions, also it looks badass

A need for social interaction - studies show that Ravens have deep social structures and almost human like interactions within their conspiracies or unkindness... not flocks for fucks sake.

His personality and sexuality took a few months to solidify in my head as he became clearer to me and grew up inside my head space and across many thousands of words.

So there you have it and if my version of Corvus plane hops into your stories (credit would be nice but c'est la vie), at least you know why he is the way he is and all the thought and love that went into creating him. Heck, I've even painted him (artstation DOT com SLASH artwork SLASH N5oX21).

Thanks for taking the time to read this ramble, I appreciate it.

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