*August's POV*

When I woke the next morning, Violet was already up. There was no way to tell how long she had been up, or even if she had gone to sleep at all, but I figured it might be better not to ask her. As soon as I stumbled out of my room, she greeted me, already sporting one of her many new outfits, a pair of yoga pants and a baby blue top that she told me had something called cold shoulder sleeves.

I went about my usual morning routine while she waited on the couch. I did my best to act like everything was normal, or whatever normal was at this point.

I knew from reading her earlier that our conversation the night before had been cathartic for one of us. But it wasn't me. And I agreed, that my reaction had been out of line, that to expect her to tell me everything about her life was unrealistic. Especially now as we were starting to transition to our new lives outside of the checks and balances of Justice Valkyrie.

And despite everything, I wouldn't take my reaction back. After all, one thing had led to another that allowed Violet to let me read her voluntarily, thought then again...if it hadn't been for what I'd seen there, I wound't be so concerned.

It had been Takashi who reached out to her to become partners upon our return home. He, who had given Natsu's death sentence, and even now was our biggest chance of getting caught. She related to him on a level that I hadn't understood before.

She still believed he had good intentions.

And for anyone else I would have let it slide. Under any other circumstances, It would have been okay. But Takashi was our enemy, and for Violet to think otherwise was terrifying to me.

The only thing that had confronted me enough to finally allow for sleep had been the idea that I had someone to go to. As much as I had hated it before, the prospect of going to the master for aid was looking better and better by the day. He was the only one who seemed to see the simulation clearly, and thus the only one who would have a good answer.

I planned to talk to him as soon as I could.

"Are you all ready to go?" I asked, stepping out of the bathroom. I already knew the answer, but Violet nodded anyway, standing and heading for the door.

Once we made it outside and started toward the guild hall, Violet piped up. "I think we bought some time yesterday right?"

"What?"

"With Takashi I mean." she said, looking away when she said his name. "I think we bought some time."

"Oh," I nodded, trying to get myself to focus on something other than my upcoming conversation with Makarov. "Yeah I think so."

"So...do you think...maybe we could look for another job?"

The question surprised me, though I guessed it made sense. Once Justice Valkyrie found out we turned traitor, we were going to have more than one problem, and money was one of them. If we were cut off...it wouldn't be pretty, and I wasn't about to go crying to Fairy Tail for help.

"That's a good idea." I said, "We could use some money."

"We could look at the board when we got there." she said, then, as an afterthought, "thought I don't think they' let us leave town alone."

I thought of the manor in which the master had removed my tracking bracelet. "They might." I said, though he did seem more weary of Vi than of me, and if I told him about her feelings for Takashi… "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Right." she said, "but at least there's a plan. I like plans."

Despite never voicing the sentiment before, I knew exactly what she meant. It felt good to have a drive again, even if it was just for something small, talk to the master, go on a job. The little mini missions made me feel more at ease.

"You can look at the board while I go have a chat with the master," I said, "I'll find out what rules are, then we can go from there."

Violet looked at me for a second, most likely reading my intentions. I forced myself to keep a straight face, as though doing so I could hide what I was feeling inside. If she saw anything abnormal she didn't show it.

"That sounds good to me."

Despite my earlier conviction that the master was the only one that could help me, I was starting to get nervous about the prospect of going to him with my new found problem. It was already clear to me what little trust he held for Violet. could further explaining my concern lead to more trouble for us both down the line? I knew in theory that the old man held no malcontent. But a lifetime of being a liar and a cheater have not done well for my trust in others. I also knew I had nowhere else to turn. I had already confided in him the day before, it only made sense that a follow up would be in order.

As Violet placed her hand on the door to the guild hall I felt my anxiety spike. She pushed it open without hesitation, I took a deep breath. And then we were both enveloped in the sounds and smells of Fairy Tail.

But one thing blocked my view, a man with pink hair and an unreadable expression rose from a nearby table and approached us. I felt Violet tense beside me, my hands curled into fists of their own accord.

How dare he come near her.

Surely he knew how stressed out she already was, how much worse things would be for her when he was around.

"I wanted to talk with you." he said. His tone made it sound like we were all the best of friends. I took a step forward, ready to shoo him off using whatever means necessary.

Violet took a step forward as well, raising her hand. For a moment, I wondered if she was going to strike him, but then her palm came down on my chest, coaxing me back.

I stared at her. Natsu's eyes were darting between the two of us.

"It's okay." she said, not looking at me. "Go do what we talked about, I'll come find you later."

Come find me later? Did that mean that she intended to talk to Natsu for longer than it would take for me to talk to the master? Or was it just a way of getting rid of me in the moment?

She dropped her hand, still looking at the floor. "I'll be fine." her hand bruised mine, giving me a chance to read her. Hardly concealed fear, but also… determination, a desire for peace. And after all, the master had said that mending her friendship with Natsu was a sure fire way to distance her from Justice Valkyrie. To distance her form Takashi.

It had to be done.

"Alright then." I said, taking a step back, a symbolic surrender for a symbolic battle. "See you later."

I gave Natsu one more glare before heading farther into the guild. The message was clear, if he tried anything...I would kill him.