Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed, faved, & followed since I updated the last chapter!
To the following reviewers:
itsxoi, CathJorda, Dark Shining Light, KJacket, Maddison M H, aliciacevbra, UnitedOsprey1991, NerdmomDM, & Guest. Thank you all so much for your commentary and feedback, it really encourages me to keep writing more chapters as fast as I can XD.
To CathJorda, yes, I try to update Our World regularly on Sundays. :)
With that said, enjoy!
It was no secret that Lucy didn't get many visitors, considering the location of her residence. That this woman would travel all this way put Lucy on edge and planted a tiny seed of regret at the harshness of her next words. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"
The blue-haired woman seemed surprised at her tone, which further cemented Lucy's guilt, and rifled through the red handbag at her side. "Right, sorry. I'm Levy McGarden, head researcher at the Fairy Tail Wildlife Conservation Center." She handed over an identification card and Lucy glanced at the card to confirm the young woman's words before returning it, confused.
"I wasn't aware there was a conservation center near Magnolia. I'm Lucy Heartfilia. I work as a veterinarian at the Magnolia Veterinary Hospital." She held out her hand for the other woman to shake.
Levy returned her handshake and said, "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Heartfilia, and we try to keep a low profile at Fairy Tail to ensure the safety of our animals. You know how all those pesky tourists are, wanting to take pictures of everything." She laughed.
Lucy laughed hesitantly before questioning, "What does this have to do with Coal?"
Her inquire stopped the woman's laughter and now Levy looked confused. "Coal?" Lucy gestured to the poster in her hands.
"Oh! He's one of ours." Lucy's heart sank. "He ran off in the middle of the night and-" Something past the door caught Levy's attention and, before Lucy could stop the smaller woman, she was pushing herself into the house.
Lucy opened her mouth to yell at the blue-haired woman when the sight of Coal at the bottom of the stairs stopped her. The downcast look on his face broke her already sunken heart and she wasn't able to get a word out before Levy was grabbing the wolf by the ear and dragging him out the door.
"Sorry about this. I'll be right back." Levy's tone was absolute; she wasn't allowed to follow, and as Lucy watched the duo disappear into the tree line she could only think about how Coal didn't resist once as Levy pulled him away.
Natsu roughly shook himself out of Levy's hold when they were safely out of sight. Before he could retort to her harsh handling of the situation, a bundle of clothes fell at his feet. "Change."
He huffed before flexing his muscles to will the change over himself on the spot. A shoe hit him on the forehead. "Not here, you idiot!" Natsu ignored her and groaned at the familiar ache of muscles condensing and bones rearranging. This was the longest time he had ever held his wolf form and changing back hurt. When he was back in his own flesh and skin, he sighed in contentment and stretched. Grabbing the clothes Levy brought for him, he changed swiftly before getting hit by a pounding headache. It felt like his head was being struck with a hundred needles.
"Aaargh! Levy! Quit it!" He roared, clutching at his head. She lowered her hands, yellow mist disappearing from her fingertips before frowning.
"She didn't bewitch you?" she questioned.
"NO, you crazy bookworm! Why would you think that?!" He messaged at his temples to alleviate the pain.
"But she's a witch."
So are you, hypocrite. He wanted to say, but more pressing matters weighed on his mind. "How'd you find out?"
"You mean you knew?! And didn't bother coming home sooner?!" She questioned, bewildered. At his dispassionate gaze, she sighed and elaborated. "There's a heavily fortified barrier around that house. I couldn't detect it until I exited the tree line, but it seems to cancel out any and all supernatural abilities for whoever's inside it." Natsu thought back to his slow healing factor when he first came across Lucy's house.
"She doesn't know what she is, Levy." A shocked expression covered her face. "I doubt she even knows how to control her power."
"Then she can't stay here." Natsu shut his eyes like he was physically pained.
"The barrier around her house is strong, Natsu. And I mean like ancient strong. I've never come across anything like it in the texts back home. Whatever she is, she's powerful. We can't let this go. We have to tell Master Makarov; bring her to Fairy Tail."
Natsu was shaking his head even before Levy stopped speaking. "No." He peered around from where they were hidden from sight to see the blonde veterinarian frowning in their direction, still waiting. "No, I won't drag her into our world. She has a life here, Levy. A real life that she enjoys. I'm not gonna be responsible for taking that away from her."
Levy frowned at him and put her fists on her hips in frustration. "Then you have to wipe her memory." He knew it was coming, but Natsu still felt his heart freeze and constrict within his chest. "Wipe all memories of you from her mind, so that nothing can trace back to...us."
"I can't." he rasped.
The furrow in her brow loosened and the hardened look in her eyes was replaced with pity. "Can't or won't? Cause from where I'm standing the choice should be obvious."
"It's not." He whispered, still gazing at the blonde.
Before he knew what was happening, Levy was gripping his shirt in her hands and pulling his face down to meet her own angry one. Red blossomed across her cheeks and her brows were brought down in a deep furrow. "WAKE UP, NATSU! You can't honestly expect to stay with her forever can you?! How about us? Are you just going to abandon us?! Your family! We miss you, and….and…." Her grip on his shirt slackened and she sobbed.
"Fairy Tail's been attacked." She croaked.
Natsu felt his heart stop beating in his chest and it was his turn to grip her shoulders and shake her. "What do you mean, attacked?! What happened?!" Anger shadowed his face in deep grooves and he was ashamed his reaction only caused the young woman to cry harder.
"It was Phantom Lord." She rubbed at her red eyes and sniffled. "They ambushed us. Said they had a score to settle. Gajeel...Gajeel!" She sobbed again.
Natsu pulled her against his chest for a hug, angry at himself, a faint memory of the Phantom Vampires chasing him before he met Lucy coming to mind. "Is everyone okay?" He asked, trying to control his body from shaking in anger.
She nodded against his chest and took heaving breaths to calm herself. "Gajeel came out of critical before I left. Other than that, there were just some minor injuries. Please come home. Everyone's so worried."
He nodded and let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, Levy. I'll come home. Just, let me say goodbye." Levy nodded once more and followed him back to the house, never taking her eyes off him.
The forlorn expression on Lucy's face when she didn't see 'Coal' fractured his heart almost as much as hearing his family was attacked. The thought of Fairy Tail under siege put his heart under a vice-grip and he took a deep breath to keep the anger from expressing itself across his face. He didn't want Lucy's last memory of him to be associated with rage.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Dr. Heartfilia. This is Natsu Dragneel. He's...uh…Coal's personal handler." Levy introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dragneel." She flashed him a tense smile. "You don't have to use the name I gave him." she added, sadly. "I'm sure he responds to a different name? And, please, call me Lucy."
"It's a nice name." He defended. "And you can just call me Natsu, if you want."
They remained in awkward silence for a moment when Lucy perked and ran back inside with a shout for them to stay where they were. Natsu didn't move from his spot. He no longer had the right to step inside her house in his current state. She returned soon after, his worn satchel in her grip and he mentally kicked himself for forgetting it...again.
"I'm assuming this belongs to you then?" She smiled. "You'll be happy to know that Coal guarded it well. He's very loyal."
He took the bag from her, rotating it in his grip to examine it and held it up for her to see. "Do you want to see what's inside?"
Lucy looked shocked and waved her hands in front of herself nervously. "No, that's alright. Coal was really protective of it; so, it must be really important to you. You don't have to."
He laughed at her response. "It's alright. I don't mind showing you." Natsu unbuckled the bag and took out his white-scaled scarf. Unraveling the cloth, he wrapped it around his neck and sighed at its comfortable presence.
"It was a gift from my dad." He explained at her curious expression.
"It suits you."
"Thanks."
"Almost as much as your pink hair." she joked.
"Hey!" He said mock-angrily. "It's salmon, you know! Salmon!"
"Right." Lucy laughed. Natsu ended up laughing with her and, for just a second, it was like before Levy never found him. It was just Coal and Lucy.
As their laughter died off, Lucy asked hesitantly, "Since you'll be taking him back to the conservation center. Would it be alright if I said goodbye?"
Natsu tensed and he rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "I don't think that would be a good idea." He felt his heart fall along with Lucy's expression at his words and wished that he could take them back and just tell her. 'It's me! I'm Coal.' But Levy's stare seared itself into his back and kept him grounded to reality, desperately willing him to wrap it up and compel Lucy to forget. Fairy Tail was waiting.
"Actually,-" Lucy looked up and his onyx eyes were met with her own brown, forlorn ones. "-I could take a message?" He mentally slapped himself. He was such an idiot.
Lucy smiled at his attempt to pacify her. "Could you tell him...tell him to stop eating things that will give him indigestion? He seems to have an affiliation with wanting to eat paper and charred foods. And he seems to suffer from motion sickness, so try to keep him away from moving vehicles. He also likes it when I sing to him before bed. I don't know if you have anyone that will take the time to do that, but maybe keep that in mind? Tell him that everyone in town will miss him and that, whenever he feels like running away again, the doggie door is always open."
"Yeah...I'll let him know. Thanks, Lucy. For everything." He turned and walked away before he had the chance to convince himself to stay.
Levy jogged to keep up with his long strides. "You didn't do it. You didn't compel her. Why?"
"Is it so bad that I want her to remember at least some part of me? Gajeel'd agree with me if he were here. And don't say he wouldn't." He said when she opened her mouth to interject. "He might have scrap-iron for brains and a cold heart, but it's a heart all the same. He wouldn't want you to forget about 'im."
He wasn't going to add that he had already tried mind compulsion on the blonde once and she had broken from his hold easily. There'd be no way Levy would agree to just leave Lucy as she was if that were the case. Levy was really serious when it came to the rules of the guild. She'd want to drag Lucy back for being a potential threat and if the blonde didn't agree to join the guild, they'd wipe her memories, or worse, the Council would take her. No, he wouldn't make Lucy choose between this life and her own. Plus, a guilty part of himself wanted Lucy to keep the memories they had made together. It wasn't ideally what he had in mind, but Coal was technically him all the same. The lucky bastard.
"I know you're a stickler for the rules, Levy, but just this once, please don't tell anyone about Lucy being a witch. Please?" He pleaded.
Keeling at his puppy-eyed look, Levy sighed next to him. "First of all, I am not a stickler for the rules. Second, the rules are there to keep us safe. It'd go against my right as a member of the guild to keep something so important from the guild master." His face fell at her response.
"But," Natsu's ears perked. "In accordance with my first statement, I'll let this one instance slide." She looked up at him with a small smile. "She's a good person, Natsu. I can see why you like her. We'll just have to trust your judgement on this one."
A wide smile spread across his face at her words and he let out a whoop. "Thank you, Levy!"
"Don't thank me, yet." She said sternly. "In order for us to keep her secret, you can't be allowed to see her anymore. It'd raise suspicion and unwanted attention. Do you understand?"
Natsu nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." He mentally apologized for not properly making any promises, but he wasn't going to be deterred so easily.
Natsu couldn't help but hurry his steps as they neared home. Ducking through the underbrush and foliage masking the entrance, Natsu leaped across the border, the barrier set by their Runes Witch, Freed Justine, enabling him access. The barrier encompassing Fairy Tail's borders was outwardly disguised to blend in with the forest surroundings to block any humans from crossing into their lands and to keep their enemies out. Only members, or those invited by members, were permitted access.
White yurts encompassed the majority of the vast campground and served as the quarters for many of the permanent residents of Fairy Tail. Natsu's own yurt was a deep red in color (by his own request) and was situated on the other side of camp, near the infirmary and close to the Southern border. The largest tent in the middle represented the main dining and meeting hall while Fairy Tail's flag waved proudly from atop.
Scanning the campground, Natsu was happy to see his family had bounced back fairly quickly in the aftermath of the Phantom Lord attack, nothing seemed to be destroyed or in the process of rebuilding; so, Freed's barrier must have held. With that in mind, he waited for Levy to cross the border and say she was going to check on Gajeel and would meet him at the guild hall before sprinting for the guild hall. Many people shouted and waved to him on the way, welcoming him back. Natsu waved in turn but didn't stop to chat before he was throwing the flaps to the hall open in a rather dramatic flair.
He didn't get a chance to look for Gramps before he found himself wrestling with a giant midnight black wolf. Natsu grunted as they rolled on the floor and attempted to clamp a hand on the wolf's muzzle.
"GET OFF ME, ICE-PRINCESS!" The wolf snarled louder in his face before a metal gauntlet clenched down on its scruff, hauling its writhing form off of him. Natsu didn't get a second of reprieve before he, too, was grabbed by the back of his shirt and swung around to knock heads with his frenemy. The two went down with a pained groan.
"Where have you been, Natsu?" The voice sent a shiver down Natsu's spine, and he shakily looked up.
"He-Hey, Erza." He gulped. "Long time, no see." The wolf form on the floor next to him shifted and stretched until Gray was in his humanoid form, butt-naked.
"Don't be a smart-ass, Flame Breath. We could have used you in the last battle, if you weren't spending your time frolicking with humans." Gray spit out, laying his forearms on his folded legs, not bothering to get up for some clothes.
Erza slapped Gray upside the head. "Would you put on some clothes already?! Where's your common decency?!"
Gray yelped and scrambled away, Juvia following close behind with a stack already prepared in hand. The red-head swerved to lecture him as well, but he cut her off before she had the chance, "How bad was it? Levy told me about Gajeel."
Erza lowered her raised fist with a pensive look on her face. "Not bad, they weren't able to get past the barrier before we intercepted them on the Western side. Gajeel was cleared from the infirmary today and should make a full recovery." He nodded.
"It's my fault. I ran into a group of them when I was making that errand for Porly. One of Tartaros showed up and wiped them out."
Erza's face quickly became grave and he added, quickly, "I dealt with it. He's dead."
She nodded and the tension eased from her shoulders. "Master's waiting for you in his office."
Natsu bobbed his head in acceptance and made to move toward the back of the guild hall when Erza gripped his arm. "Welcome home, Natsu."
"I'm home."
Master Makarov office was located down the hallway behind the bar and, after a quick wave to Mira, he opened the door to the room and entered. "Hey, Gramps. Miss me?"
Fairy Tail's guild master was a tiny man with hair that had long since grayed out, but that didn't keep the master from remaining spry and capable of leading the guild. Natsu respected the man and saw him as his own grandfather, everyone in the guild did. Master Makarov practiced what was known as 'high magick' and was well known for his magical capabilities with Giant, a type of caster magic.
Natsu wasn't able to see the master from behind his the stacks of paperwork on the desk until he hopped from his seat and walked around his desk to regard Natsu. "You disappear for over a month without a word, making your family think you've died in a ditch somewhere and you come bouncing into my office with a smile on your face?" Natsu gulped at the master's grave expression.
In a complete one-eighty, Gramps was smiling a large smile and patting Natsu's knee. "Well done, my boy! For once you're not the cause of all my paperwork! Keep up the good work."
Natsu laughed but quickly sobered, fire coursing through his veins. "Sorry, I wasn't here when you needed me, Gramps. I coulda beat all those stupid Phantom Vamps to hell and back!"
Makarov nodded gravely. "Yes, Gajeel intercepted the enemy first before they could reach our borders, and was almost staked in the heart for his troubles. You kids are going to give this old man a heart attack one of these days."
"Got to keep you on your toes somehow, old man." Natsu jokes.
"Yes, well, do you mind giving this 'old man' an idea as to where you've been for the past month? Erza and Gray won't show it, but they've been very worried about you."
"I've been… with a friend."
At that moment, Levy burst into the office, out of breath. "I can...vouch...for him master!"
Makarov peered around Natsu to the tiny witch. "Ah, Levy. I was wondering where you were. Thank you for bringing Natsu back. I couldn't trust Gray or Erza to go retrieve him without more property damage and more….paperwork!" He cried.
Levy sweat dropped before a larger form entered the office behind her. "Nice try, old geezer. You ain't gonna get the shrimp to do your stupid papers with that sob story."
The new arrival placed his arm on Levy's head, using her as a hand rest and Levy folded her arms across her chest in disgruntlement.
A big, toothy smile spread across Natsu's face and he waved, "Hey, Gajeel! Glad to see you're not dead anymore."
"I was never dead in the first place you flaming idiot!" The large vampire snapped. "And where have you been? I beat down more enemies than you did so you can add that to my score."
"Hey! It doesn't count if I wasn't there to fight, too!" Natsu roared back stepping up to meet the taller man.
Getting between the two, Levy shouted, "Knock it off!" Spinning to face Gajeel, she poked at his chest. "You're not supposed to be fighting in your condition, so save it for later." Gajeel squawked and opened his mouth to argue when Levy's glare shut him up. Natsu snickered behind Levy's back.
Makarov cleared his throat. "Well, it's good to have you back, Natsu. Levy, if you'd give me your report? The rest of you, GET OUT!"
Gajeel grumbled about 'tiny people being so bossy' and left first, Natsu following after him. Before closing the door behind him, he glanced at Levy with a questioning look and was happy to see her wink at his silent inquiry. Lucy's secret was safe.
After making his rounds and getting glomped by both humanoid and wolf forms alike, Natsu only had one more stop before he could call it a day. Entering the large, platformed, infirmary tent, Natsu called out a greeting to a tiny form rummaging through supplies in the back. "Hey, Wendy!"
The tiny girl popped her head up from her work and turned to regard who had entered. At the sight of Natsu, tears began to gather at her eyes before she was throwing herself at the older boy. "NATSU!"
Natsu caught her and laughed as he spun them around in circles. Wendy laughed dizzily and stumbled when he set her down. He bent down on his knees. "How've you-"
He wasn't prepared for the punch Wendy swung at his face. Punch was a relative term as the hit had apparently hurt her more than it did him. In fact, he had barely felt it. Natsu was just surprised the small girl in front of him had taken the initiative to swing first. A large smile spread across his face.
"You've been practicing your punching!"
Wendy hissed and shook out her hand. "You were supposed to say 'Ow' you jerk."
At her words, Natsu dramatically clutched at his face, falling to the floor and writhing. "OH! The pain! Wendy, how could you?! I see it! The Light is calling for me! Who will be your favorite patient now, Wendy?! Ooh~ I'm dying~!" The small girl was trying desperately to hold her giggles in before full on laughing. Throwing herself on top of Natsu, she circled her arms around his neck in a hug. He gladly returned it.
"I missed you." she whispered.
"Yeah. Me, too, kiddo." He responded.
Wendy lifted herself up and waited for Natsu to right himself before questioning him, "Then why didn't you come back?"
Natsu wavered for a second. "It's complicated, Wends." He said instead.
Wendy hummed in thought, scrutinizing his expression before smirking. "It's a girl, isn't it?"
Heat filled his cheeks and he, thankfully, didn't sputter on his next words. "No! That's crazy. I'm the oblivious idiot, remember?"
The small witch tapped her chin in thought. "Nah. That's only what you want everyone to think. 'Keeps me out of trouble', you said."
He sighed before ruffling her hair despite her protests. "Why do I tell you these things, again?"
"Cause I'm sweet and adorable?"
Natsu laughed before stooping to throw the small girl over his shoulder. Hanging on to her legs, he spun them around, being mindful to not bump into any of the infirmary beds. Wendy squealed from over his shoulder and he laughed. A rough throat-clearing halted their fun and Natsu slowed to a spot to deposit Wendy back on the floor.
He lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey, Porly! Sorry, I didn't get those herbs ya wanted. Ran into some trouble."
The old woman sniffed. "So, it seems. Trouble that you wouldn't be using to influence poor Wendy, I hope? All you ruffians are so troublesome." A white cat hopped onto the infirmary bed next to Porlyusica and meowed its agreement.
"Nah, Wendy's as tough as they come." Natsu ruffled her hair once more.
Wendy nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yeah! Natsu's going to teach me how to get stronger, so I can fight, too!"
A wicker broom stabbed Natsu in the head and the aging medic was soon chasing him out of the infirmary, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CORRUPTING AN INNOCENT GIRL LIKE WENDY?! GET OUT AND GO HOME!"
With a yelp, Natsu scurried outside, but not before hearing Wendy yell, "Tell me all about her later, Natsu!"
Natsu rubbed at his forehead and hissed as he made his way to his personal quarters. "Damn, old witch." His own yurt was located fairly close to the infirmary, so he leisurely made his way there. The yurt was, like most, situated on a wooden platform and had a small wooden ramp leading up to the entry flaps. His was a deep red in color with splashes of orange and yellow to seem like flames - his own personal touch that he was very proud of. Opening the flap, Natsu took a deep breath and exhaled, he was home. His hammock was still hanging on the far right end, elk and bear skins scattered around the floor for when he wanted to sleep as his wolf. Opposite his hammock was his wood stove, the smoke chimney leading to outside his yurt. He never found the need to use it; Mira did all the cooking and he never felt the need to cuddle up to the stove for warmth. The only other furnishing he possessed was a waist-high, wooden drawer Erza insisted he have to keep his spare clothes in.
Glancing around, shirts, pants, socks, and even his boxers were scattered around the floor in 'organized' chaos and he threw his satchel into the mix. It was so much easier to reach off the floor to grab whatever he needed, rather than searching through the stupid drawer, anyway. Content that everything was as he left it, Natsu made his way to his hammock, smiling when he found what he was looking for.
Curled in a tight ball was a blue cat. He didn't mean Russian blue either. Happy was sky-blue. The only other part of him that wasn't was his belly, socks, and the tip of his tail, all of which were a clear white.
Picking Happy up, Natsu winced when the cat promptly awoke and leaped from his hands and into his hair. Natsu got a face full of fur as Happy hung from the strands of his hair, the rest of his body dangling in front of Natsu's face.
"OW! Happy get off my head! You're ripping out my hair!" Natsu reached out to yank the cat from his head. The cat, in response, released a deep growl and dug his claws in deeper.
Natsu sighed and released the cat's body, letting him dangle. "I'm sorry I didn't come back. You're only one in a hundred other people I've had to say that to today. Could you let go now?"
Placated, for now, Happy released his grip and allowed Natsu to help him situate himself on the pink-head's shoulder. Purring, the cat butt his head against Natsu's chin, finally welcoming him home. Scratching him behind Happy's ears, Natsu made to lay down on his hammock for a much needed nap. "Thanks, little buddy."
The cold frosted the air and the night delved the forest into shadow, but Natsu was neither bothered by the chill nor the dark. He knew where he was going.
The tree line began to thin out and he hunkered down and kept to the shadows. Situating himself in the underbrush, Natsu gazed out to the lonesome cabin down below. A single light was lit on the top floor and he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing exactly which room the light was illuminating.
He strained his ears to listen and was disappointed to learn that Lucy would not be playing her song once again, tonight.
'Dude, what the hell?'
The time it took Natsu to tense, swerve, and tackle the other wolf that had followed him could have fit within the span of a second.
The two dark forms went crashing to the snowy ground and Natsu bared his fangs, pinning the other wolf.
'Stop, you idiot! It's me!'
Natsu ceased growling, but didn't let up his hold. 'What the hell are you doing here, Ice-Frost?'
'I should be asking you that. Stalking girls at night? Never pegged you as the type.'
Natsu huffed and roughly released his hold. Gray got to his feet and shook his fur out. 'It's none of your business.'
He turned to go back to Fairy Tail, pacified that Lucy had made it home safe, and Gray followed after casting the house one last look. 'On the contrary, Erza sent me.'
Natsu felt the fur on his back bristle in agitation. 'She tell you to lecture me, too?'
Gray sighed and moved to walk side-by-side with him. 'Look, man. You've been making these nightly visits ever since you got back. It's been over a week now, Natsu. Maybe it's time to move on. She doesn't need you to be her guardian angel.'
Natsu tensed, but continued his gait. No more was said between them.
"Dr. Heartfilia? You have another patient waiting for you in room three." Brown eyes shifted from where they had been reviewing a patient's file for the fifth time to peer tiredly at the nurse that called for her.
"Could you please have Aries take this one?"
The nurse looked at the blonde in concern and said nervously, "Ms. Aries is on break right now, Dr. Heartfilia."
"Right…Right, I'm sorry." She had forgotten.
"Are you okay. Ma'am? I could get another nurse to take care of it if you would prefer?" The nurse said.
Lucy shook her head. "No, it's alright. I can do it. Thank you." She took the folder the nurse handed her and made her way down to the designated exam room.
Since Coal had left she hadn't been sleeping well. She'd sit out on the porch and listen for the nightly howling of the wolves, hoping one of them would call out to her in familiarity, or that a familiar form would come bounding out of the tree line. Neither happened.
Lucy had heard that it took around half the time you dated someone to get over them, but they didn't seem to have an ideal equation for the time needed to get over a wolf. Great. It wasn't like Mr. Drag-Natsu gave her a number she could use to check up on Coal. She'd just have to let time do the work. She'd get over Coal's absence, eventually.
Clearing her thoughts, Lucy put on her 'doctor's' face and opened the door to room three with a friendly smile across her face.
"Good morning. How are we all doing today?" She asked.
The owner looked up from the book he was reading, brushing a strand of his long, unruly dark hair out of his face. The majority, of which, was tied up in a high ponytail. At his feet, laid a large blonde wolf with odd black spots scattered across its body.
"Quite well." The man replied.
"That's good." Lucy turned to deposit her items on the counter and reached in one of the cabinets for a pair of clean gloves. "We're here for an appointment for…" She peered at the top of the folder. "...Jackal?"
See you all next time!