Mslead here with your next chapter dump! Thanks guys!
CHAPTER 21
"Are you serious?" Lucy gasped as she stared at the innocent looking scroll in her hands.
Erza had presented it to her after explaining Jellal's departure once everyone else was awake.
"It was his wish." She confirmed, "And it's mine too. Had you and Natsu not been there, I don't think it would've been possible to save him. For that you'll eternally have my gratitude, and the gratitude of my people."
Lucy blushed, "I... I just did what was right." She fumbled, "I mean... this is a sacred scroll right? I'm not even an Amazon..."
Erza smiled and curled Lucy's hands around it firmly, "You are worthy to be considered such." She said firmly, "Courage like yours deserves a reward."
Lucy smiled back at her, "Then thank you both." She replied sincerely, "I'm certain I'll find something interesting in here."
"Nice job Lucy!" Natsu grinned proudly, "Not everyone can say they got access to Amazon magic!" He looked back at the hunters curiously, "So what're you gonna do now?"
"It depends, Gajeel tells me that Jellal will be keeping in contact with him so his progress can be monitored," Erza sighed, "I would like to be nearby should he find himself in need of assistance."
"And where Erza goes, so do I," Gray drawled, grinning over at his friend.
"Package deal huh?" Natsu grunted and gave Gray an annoyed look, "you're not going to try to kill me are you?"
"You are pretty annoying," The dry look Gray sent Natsu spoke volumes. Still, it seemed he wasn't in the mood to rise to the bait.
"Jury is still out if you keep being such a huge pain in the ass."
"It don't get any better with these two," Gajeel's voice came from the kitchen. He stomped over to them and dropped down at the table nearby, "I'll help you brats get settled in Magnolia. It's apparently my job to pick up strays now, so I'll introduce you to the pack that's living here and the demons so long as you both keep your knives and slaying to the unfriendly sorts."
"I won't abide taking pot shots at anyone living under my protection," Gajeel gave them both a pointed glare.
"We would never hurt your friends if they do us no harm. And we will endeavor not to provoke them," Erza said reasonably.
She elbowed Gray to get him to agree and he wheezed behind the force of it.
"Yes! Good, we'll be good. Promise," Gray groaned and rubbed hisbbrusied ribs, "damn it Erza you're going to kill me one of these days."
"Apologies, I thought you were made of stronger stuff Gray. I'll proceed more gently in the future," the innocent smile she gave him made Gray mutter murderous things under his breath.
Her attention turned back to Gajeel, who was waiting for their answer, "Your help would be greatly appreciated. We've been independent of a guild for a while, so it's just been Gray and myself."
"You were part of a guild, really?" Lucy asked in excitement, nearly knocking Natsu over in the process.
"Yes. Lamia Scale," Erza nodded to her, "they were quite kind there and very welcoming, however they were content to leave things as they were. Gray and I needed answers beyond the walls of the guild."
"The guild was pretty split down the middle between helping us look and telling us to cut our losses," Gray said darkly, "I'd rather get my answers than stick my head in the sand. Even if I don't like what I'll find out."
"Lamia Scale Huh, they're pretty level headed over there but they ain't known for their overwhelming creativity," Gajeel shrugged, "Still, I'm happy to help you runts get set up."
Natsu gripped Lucy's shoulder, head turning towards the door and frowning a bit. He had tuned out of the conversation a while ago, rather interested in thebsounds and steps coming from down the hall of their unit.
"Someone is coming," he growled, unsure who it was. But with what they experienced recently he wasn't taking chances.
Gajeel raised his eyebrow and smirked, "Your senses get scrambled runt?" He chuckled as he got up, "That's Levy's step."
He grinned as he stepped up to the door and opened it just as his lovely fiancé arrived, "Hey Shrimp." He breathed affectionately, "I'm real glad to see you."
"I missed you too Gajeel!" Levy giggled as she leaned up on her toes to kiss him, "Jet and Droy are set up in a hotel in town. Did anything exciting happen while I was gone?"
Gajeel chuckled wryly as he stepped aside to reveal the room, "You got no idea."
Levy blinked in surprise at the two new people sitting in the living room, obvious hunters by their gear, Natsu sitting on the sofa still in his pajamas, and Lucy next to him. All four staring at her wide eyed.
"Oh!" The redhead fumbled and surged to her feet, "Our apologies! I'm Erza and this is Gray. We... er… that is..."
Levy laughed a little at her nerves, "It's nice to meet you!" She greeted as she stepped into the room, "I'm Levy McGarden. The big lug's fiancé." She looked around a little as she set her bag down and walked over to give Lucy and Natsu a hug, "So what happened? There must be one hell of an adventure behind this gathering!"
Lucy blushed a little, "Well... it started last Friday after school..."
Levy listened patiently as the whole story unfolded, her expression darkening at various places, but saying nothing until the whole tale had been told.
"I heard about Jellal back when I was part of Twilight Ogre." She mused thoughtfully, "It was mostly rumors and hearsay though. He was famous for never appearing in public often. At least not where he could be linked to anything dark magic related." She looked at Lucy, "You're sure he's exorcised?"
Lucy shook her head, "He's not exorcised at all." She replied, "You can't exorcise Acnologia. Not without paving the way to unleash him on the world. Jellal cast him out, which is not at all the same."
Gray frowned, "Sorry, but what's the difference? The demon's still gone right?"
"An exorcism seals the opening the demon used to get in." Lucy explained, "It forces them out and prevents them from getting back in, but because the process is external there's a brief window of time where the demon can move and act in the mortal world. That's why priests and priestesses have to lay down protections and circles to contain them until they can be banished back to hell."
"But a demon like Acnologia can't be confined by that crap." Natsu growled, "He's too powerful."
Lucy nodded, "An internal banishment eliminates the window, but it also eliminates the healing. As long as Acnologia lives Jellal will have that small opening. It'll be up to Jellal and his willpower to keep the possession from happening again."
She looked back at Levy, "My feeling on it is that Jellal will be fine. We helped him untangle himself from the possession, and I think part of the reason he left was to regain his mental equilibrium so his will strengthens. He asked me about any places I knew of that might help. I don't really, but I suggested he look at some of the eastern religions as they're very focused on balance and harmony."
"I'm sure those will be lovely choices for him. You didn't do bad at all," Levy smiled at her proudly and squeezed her into a hug, "that being said, Gajeel did ground you right? Because you are totally grounded."
"Yeah Yeah," Lucy grumbled back at her but accepted the hug reluctantly. She knew if she stayed on good behavior they would cut her time down trapped in the house.
"Alright, well good," Levy laughed and straightened up, "I'm sorry I missed all the excitement but it sounds like you had all of your bases covered and you scraped out a win."
She rolled her shoulders and set her own bag down, dropping onto Gajeel's chest when she crept in close fo him, "So you two are planning on staying here?" She asked them.
They nodded in unison at the reminder of their new living situation. Gajeel sighed and snorted, "These two are independent types, we should probably situate them a shorter distance from the pack to make sure they can watch one another's back."
"Watch our back?" Gray asked for clarificAtion.
"It depends," Levy said straight forward, "this is a town of independents, outside of the jursistiction of the guilds or the council. "
"Which means Independents are fair game for whoever needs a few collars under their belt," Natsu clarified, "So we keep our gatherings sparse and separate, yet close enough to help the others when they need it."
"We don't try to draw attention to ourselves but sometimes there's no getting around it," Gajeel smirked, "Of course Natsu here is the one who makes it hard on purpose"
"Do not!" Came his protest.
-::-
In the flurry of finding Erza and Gray a place to live in the following days Lucy found she had no time to look for the ritual to send Natsu's parents on. Or talk about the one thing from that whole experience that was bugging her most. There was too much hunting for a place, getting it set up, and ensuring it was properly warded while still allowing Gajeel, Natsu, and the Strauses access if they needed it.
It was probably just as well in a way. The things Acnologia had said about her parents weren't something she wanted to bring up in casual conversation around their friends. No matter how much she liked them, this was personal. Private. Something that she didn't want the others hearing about.
So it was with a sense of profound relief that a few days later she waved goodbye to the slightly bewildered looking Erza and Gray standing at the front door of their new place. It would have been amusing under any other circumstances really. When Gajeel wanted something done it got done fast.
As it was, she could finally relax that they wouldn't be invading their private place anymore. As much as she liked them, she wanted some quiet time with her family.
"Something wrong Lucy?" Natsu asked curiously, giving her that slightly birdlike tilt to his head, "You've been extra quiet lately."
Lucy bit her lip a little in hesitation, "I... there's something I want to talk about when we get home." She said at last, "It's about something Acnologia said..."
Gajeel grimaced a little and nodded, "It's about your mom and dad isn't it?"
Lucy nodded and he sighed a bit, "Yeah, I thought so." He curled his hand around her shoulder, "I promise I'll explain everything I can."
Lucy frowned a little at that, but nodded as they walked the last distance home and went inside. Gajeel headed straight for the kitchen and began making up hot chocolate, the same way her father had when they were little.
She knew right then that this was not going to be a pleasant discussion.
Natsu gave Lucy a worried look, unsure if he should remain or stay to listen to what was no doubt a very private conversation. The vice grip Lucy kept on his wrist though made it evident that he was staying precisely where she wanted him to.
And she wanted him here to listen to this too.
Lucy scooted up onto the barstools framing the kitchen counter where Gajeel was stirring the hot chocolate into mugs. The vampire added an extra dollap of whipped cream to Lucy's mug and tossed a few marshmallows into Natsu's mug.
He took his own over, sitting himself in front of the two teenagers who looked to him like he had all the answers. He usually did, but this was about to be extremely difficult.
"I'm sure you know by now that the original report on your father ruled his death as natural causes, your mother also suffered s very suspicious health-related death," Gajeel commented.
"The official judgement was natural death for both of them, however that is not what I, nor others believe," Gajeel frowned.
"But my dad had a heart attack," Lucy said softly.
"Perhaps he did, or perhaps he didn't," Gajeel said evenly, "What we know was that day your fathers room was flooded with dark magic coming from the unprotected latch of a ward set by your mother."
"It was worn down, it hadn't been refreshed in ages." Gajeel sighed and stared into his mug, "he never knew it was coming for him, but your mother knew what could come."
"Acnologia has marked your family, long ago because of Anna " Gajeel frowned, "he had a huge network of cultists who follow him."
Lucy felt tears sting her eyes and she choked a little as she clutched her mug tightly, unable to articulate the maelstrom that revelation stirred in her except to whisper a single pained, "Why?"
Within Natsu his parents stirred restlessly and he felt his father push his way forward, "Give me a moment out there son?"
The request was uncommonly serious from his normally jovial father and Natsu nodded without protest and let his father move to the forefront of their temporarily shared body. He felt his mother put her arms around him, and a lump rose in his throat at the palpable grief and horror coming from them.
This, whatever it was, was bad.
And he had a horrible feeling it had to do with what Gajeel knew of their deaths. And why Acnologia had hated his father so much.
"It was due to me young one." Natsu heard himself say in his father's voice and watched as Lucy's head snapped up in surprise.
"Igneel?" She asked unsteadily, "You know what this is about?"
Igneel nodded solemnly, which was just weird on Natsu's body, but Lucy was beyond caring.
"I know part of it anyway." The elder dragon replied, "More than Metalhead over here probably ever did. Anna preferred to keep her problems with Acnologia private."
He sighed gustily, "It began long ago when my kind were more numerous." He explained slowly, "As you may know, hell gives us strength, but it comes with a price beyond summoning." He met her eyes sadly, "That price is our sanity. Unless an apocalypse dragon is contracted at an early age and spends most of his time outside of hell, we fall back on our instincts to survive. Morals, compassion, regret... these things mean nothing when their opposites mean making it through another day."
"Before I was born, our dominant drake, what you would call our supreme leader, decreed a change was necessary to ensure our survival." He leaned back a little in his chair, "He found a young human, your ancestor, who possessed all the qualities demons shun in abundance and gifted her an entire generation's worth of eggs."
Lucy's eyes widened at the implication, "All of them?"
"All of them." Igneel confirmed, "Over two hundred all told. She set up a special rookery where we could be safe and contracted with Zeref's most trusted general, Acnologia." He frowned, "The plan was simple really. Anna and he would guard the eggs in the mortal world where we would not be hunted, and when they neared hatching Agnologia would take the eggs back to hell for seven days to ensure they absorbed the energy there needed to hatch strong and healthy. Then, just as the cracks were forming, he would return to the mortal world to permit the little one to hatch in safety and care."
Something that might've been a smile tugged at his lips, "I was one of those hatchlings. As was my beloved Grandine and several others. We were raised by Anna and Acnologia, and everyone celebrated the success of the experiment." His faint smile vanished, "And that's where it began to go wrong."
"A necromancer lives a long life." He rumbled, "Longer than most. Even an unskilled one can see over a century with ease. One skilled and powerful can see two or three times that without trouble. By the time I went through my adult power surges Anna looked exactly the same as she had when I was a hatchling. Beautiful and kind and she was beloved by all of us. But none more so than Acnologia."
His expression darkened, "But where the rest of us saw our mother queen, he saw rivals. In me most of all."
"Why you?" Lucy asked, too caught up in his tale to be upset, "What was so special about you?"
Igneel's lips twitched wryly, "Understanding that fully requires a lesson in dragon hierarchy and society. For now, I'll say that I was the drake among the hatchlings. I led them, and I was the only other drake around. That made me the greatest threat to Acnologia."
"He really thought you two were...?" Lucy trailed off and Igneel nodded.
"Yes. Impossible of course. I had my queen and desired no other. Even if I didn't consider Anna my mother I would have only had eyes for Grandine." He shook his head, "However, he did not believe that. And in the end it devolved into madness. Accusations, arguments, fighting, and in time..."
He bowed his head, "In time... war. He slaughtered the hatchlings he'd helped raise save myself and Grandine. Anna shattered her contract with him before he could and banished him back to hell, sacrificing her own life in the process."
He reached out and gently covered Lucy's hand with his, "I'm sorry child." He said, his voice full of regret and grief, "It was that chain of events that began the tragedy that befell you. Acnologia believed that Anna was his. A possession. His to do whatever he wanted with. No doubt he's transferred this belief to the rest of your family." He closed his eyes, "If I'd been older, stronger, perhaps..."
There was a flash of rage when he opened his eyes again, one that Lucy recognized solely from Natsu. She could tell Igneel was still in the drivers seat but his grip was loose enough to still allow her demon his voice.
"Well he can't have her!" Natsu protested hotly, before his expression was schooled back into one of amused sadness. At least until all humor drained out and he turned to Lucy.
"It ain't our intention to let Acnologia get his claws on Lucy runt," Gajeel sighed, suddenly looking every bit his 400 years.
"Indeed," Igneel replied back, once more taking control of Natsu's voice even if his face was fixated into an angry scowl.
"I was unable to protect my own family from Acnologia," Igneel looked down at his hands, inspecting Natsu's hands carefully as he turned them back and forth to better marvel at them.
"Natsu was among the first of the next generation of dragons, and we did not know what would happen to him if his egg was not laid in hell," Igneel frowned, "all of our eggs were, so we worried that Natsu would be stillborn if we didn't return."
"Acnologia wished to see me suffer for the perceived rivalry," Igneel said evenly, "He hunted down my nest, slew my queen and taunted me with the knowledge he would take my son before he parted me from the earthly coil."
"It wasn't your fault," Gajeel grunted, "Acnologia is damn near older than Zeref himself was."
"Be as that may, Acnologia left his mark on my nest in the same way he placed one over Lucy's family," Igneel gave Lucy an apologetic look, "I can only grieve over the loss of your family over the generations. Your family has been one of true grace and nobility."
"Anna meant a great deal to me, and the love she felt for all of us when she had no obligation to take us in to begin with, was truly wonderful," Igneel's eyes were soft with memories, "she loved Acnologia too, and much of what he did— in a twisted way he did it for her."
"He's sick," Lucy whispered and gave Igneel a glare that was filled with tears and directed toward the ghost who haunted her family.
"I agree," Igneel growled solemnly, "Hells flames and constant fight for survival will corrupt the mind if exposed for too long. I am most grateful you rescued Natsu from that fate."
"Grandine and I of course worried about him being born in hell, and worried that even if he was contracted and summoned, it would mean he spent more time than not fighting for survival until he could grow strong enough to stay in the human realm," Igneel met Lucy's eyes, "you have our eternal gratitude for that alone Lucy. You do your name proud."
Lucy blushed a bit at the praise, "I'm not sure I deserve that kind of praise." She sniffed, wiping a bit at her eyes, "Did Natsu tell you it was an accident I summoned him?"
Igneel reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently, "He did." He replied softly, "But that doesn't change the fact you didn't shrink away from what he was and willingly made your contract with him. More than that, you didn't even hesitate to do your best to keep him in the mortal world as much as possible. I can't think of many mortals who would've been willing to do that."
Lucy smiled softly at him, "Thanks Igneel." She hesitated and reached over to give him a hug, "I wish I could've met you in person."
Igneel growled softly and curled his arms around her, "I wish that too little sister."
He held her close for several moments, enjoying the novel sensation of being able to feel both Lucy's warmth and his son's approval, before pulling back a bit, "Now... there's some plans that need to be made."
He looked over at Gajeel, "The cultists that harmed Lucy's family?"
"Dead." Gajeel scowled, "But probably not permanently. I've killed hundreds of them over the centuries. Damn things are worse than roaches though."
Igneel nodded, "Then preparations must be made."
"Wait... you mean those guys who..." Lucy swallowed, "Who... killed my parents... they could still be out there?"
"Not them." Gajeel scowled darkly, "Least not your ma's killers. I destroyed the bastards responsible. But what I didn't get, what I could never get, was at the heart of the organization."
He met her eyes, "Make no mistake Blondie, these people are bad. Worse than you can imagine. And their core is damned powerful."
Lucy frowned, but a fire began burning in her eyes, "You know that's not going to stop me." She said lowly, "They killed my mom and dad and maybe a lot of the rest of my family. People I will never know outside the library they left me. I can't let that rest."
"You don't have a lead yet Lu." Levy spoke up, "You don't even have a rumor." She reached over and grasped Lucy's hands, "I know you want to remove them, but think about this a little. Even if you did have a lead right this second what would you do with it? You're still a minor and not even officially taking jobs yet. Gajeel's been hunting these people for centuries and hasn't killed the beast yet."
"Lev's right." Gajeel rumbled, "You're gonna wind up going around in circles if you just hunt these idiots. You gotta chop off the head of the snake. Problem is this snake's got more than one head. The mortal leaders and Acnologia himself. Even if you take out the leaders the whole thing will eventually be reborn."
"Then we'll take on Acnologia himself!" Lucy insisted, her hands gripping the table. She frowned at the looks the adults plus Igneel were sharing with one another.
"Natsu agrees with you, although he is forgetting just how badly his body was wrecked after a confrontation with a possessed Jellal. He had only a fraction of Acnologia's abilities, most of that was the mortals own power which was still considerable," Igneel quirked an eyebrow, "but still pales in comparison to Acnologia, who not even I could defeat."
"If you wish to fight Acnologia, you will have to get stronger. More than you think you do," Igneel warned Lucy, "and it will more than likely take you and all of your other allies as well to make it happen."
"But in the meantime you can draw your focus to the human leaders to work your way up," Levy set a hand on Lucy's shoulders, "this is not a problem that'll be solved overnight, so you'll need to take it one step at a time."
Lucy sighed, seeing the sense in their words and not liking it, but accepting it for the truth.
"Then what're we waiting for? Natsu, you and I have a lot of work ahead of us!" Lucy smiled at him, knowing without a doubt where his heart was already settled.
"You bet!" Natsu spoke up excitedly, but was cut off by a sheepish look on his face.
"What is it?" Gajeel asked sharply, catching the guilty look Igneel was cringing on Natsu's face. Like father and like son, the expression had not changed in over 400 years.
"Well, it isn't that simple," Igneel again looked to Lucy apologetically, "Natsu is about to reach into adulthood for Apocolypse Dragons, and that process can be... violent."
"Violent how?" Levy asked in concern.
"His power surges will start escalating in their frequency, intensity and strength dependent on his own power," Igneel gave Gajeel an amused smirk, "It's basically like a second puber-"
"-don't finish that sentence outloud old man," Natsu growled mutinously.
Igneel cleared his throat, "Anyway. Natsu's power will surge and peek, which can cause large scale destruction to his surroundings and the people around him. Once they begin, he will have to be isolated for a prolonged period so not to hurt anyone."
"How long is prolonged?" Lucy asked, looking freshly heartbroken at the idea of not being glued to the hip with her best friend for any length of time.
Igneel could feel Natsu's worries within him, wrapped in his mother's embrace but also cautious over what Igneel's as going to say.
"Based on Natsu's own depth of ability, I estimate around three years, perhaps even longer," Igneel braced himself from the explosion from his son and Lucy.
"What? My power surges have never been that bad before though! They ain't fun, but I've never wrecked anything!" Natsu protested in a panic, his eyes growing wide with the fear of being away from his mistress for so long and not being able to protect her as he vowed.
"Adulthood surges are by far the worst ones," Igneel soothed, speaking past Natsu's internal whining, "Apocolypse dragons also go through more changes in behaviors and patterns, so you will need the time to adjust to them as well without having a human influence."
"But you said being here was good for an Apocolypse dragon, that he wouldn't go crazy or anything," Lucy protested, gripping tight onto Natsu's wrist as if afraid he'd vanish before her eyes right that second.
"Yes I did say that," Igneel spoke in approval to her, "however a dragon can still go mad if they're expected to smother those demonic urges and instincts entirely. He will need to embrace that side of himself without having to fear the repercussions of such."
Lucy's eyes widened in horror, "But I wouldn't ever...!" She exclaimed only to trail off, her horror mounting, because she had hadn't she?
Their entire fight had been about his soul eating hadn't it?
She pressed her hands to her mouth, horror warring with nausea and panic and unable to articulate any of it.
In a flash Natsu surged to the fore and wrapped his arms around her.
"It's alright Lucy." He growled soothingly, "You didn't hurt me. I swear it. You never told me I couldn't eat souls. You just asked me not to kill." He smiled at her, "That ain't unreasonable. No matter what that asshole lizard says."
"Runt's right." Gajeel grunted softly, "Anna had the same rule. Eat all you want as long as you don't kill." He flashed her a reassuring grin, "I didn't make up how I hunt all by myself ya know."
Lucy breathed out slowly and nodded, hugging Natsu tightly for several seconds, "I was just worried... I don't... I mean..." She took a deep breath, and Natsu chuckled.
"Cat got your tongue Luce?" He teased as he pulled back, "I just said it's fine. Don't start second-guessing your lines now."
"Ugh you can be such a brat sometimes." Lucy huffed, throwing a wadded up paper towel at him, but the smile tugging at her lips belied her words.
Natsu cackled a little and stepped back to let Igneel take over again. The elder dragon smiled fondly.
"My son and Gajeel are right." He assured her, "Putting a no kill limit down isn't the same as denying us." He frowned slightly, "The issue will be more learning how to control those appetites safely." He looked at Gajeel, "Of the two remaining, his sexual appetite will be the easiest to deal with. It's his bloodlust that will be sticky. There's some variation on how that manifests."
"Really?" Gajeel drawled dryly, "I seem to remember you were all gung ho about brawlin' every chance you got."
Igneel rolled his eyes, "That was nothing Metalhead. Just fun." He snorted, "Lucky for you, there's a fair chance Natsu'll manifest the way I did instead of the way Grandine did."
"Uh, for those of us not four hundred years old..." Lucy spoke up, "What's the difference? Does this mean Natsu'll need to feed on blood like Gajeel?"
Ingeel flashed her a grin and shook his head, "Nah. We leave the bloodsucking to the vampires. Dragons generally prefer spilling it. We like fighting to our very limit and soaking the ground in our enemies' blood."
He pressed a hand over his chest, "I love fighting." He confessed, "It's the drake in me. I want to challenge others and prove my strength and dominance. You humans would call me a Blood Knight. Natsu is another drake so he's likely to be the same."
Lucy smiled at that, "That doesn't sound too bad overall. I'm certain Natsu would never hurt me, and some of the others around can probably give him some good fights." She cocked her head slightly, "I'm curious though, how did Natsu's mom express it if she was different from you?"
Igneel smiled a smile that was all fang and dark glee, "My beloved was a healer." He growled softly, "When she took to the battlefield... she made certain her enemies regretted ever angering her. Painfully."
Internally, Natsu blinked up from his mother's calm embrace. She certainly didn't look or feel like she could dismember a person...
But the soft smile on her face and the somewhat amused glitter in her eyes spoke a different story. Natsu found himself very grateful to be on the side of her that enjoyed giving headscratches instead of separating it from his shoulders.
"Like I said," Igneel gave her an apologetic smile, "In those years after his adulthood surges, his latter feeding instincts will surge to the fore and become more insistent he indulges in them. He will still be just a call from you."
"I guess that's better," Lucy mumbled, not looking happy about being without Natsu for too long. But it was expected now and she felt better that she wasn't going to drive him away.
He wouldn't leave yet. Lucy reached for Natsu's hand, weaving their fingers as Igneel receded. It wouldn't be forever either, and if she was in trouble she could call him to her side in an instant.
She would enjoy the time she had left with him until he had to leave, whenever that was.
