Chapter 2

Gajeel slowly moved through the water, keeping his back fins low and out of the surface waves. His target stood on a lone rock, a full tail's length out of the water. She plucked at her tail feathers and ruffled her feathery body. Gajeel waited until her head was tucked under a wing before launching himself out of the ocean with a warrior's yell.

Ocean spray splashed over the rock. Wendy squawked and nearly took flight, water droplets falling from her tail feathers. Gajeel rested his arms on a flat surface of the rock, his body heaving with laughter. Lily's suction released as the remora fell back into the water, his chuckles disappearing under the waves.

"Gajeel! What have I said about sneaking up on me like that?"

"That you love it and it's yer favorite, gihee!" He wiped away the strange liquid seeping from his eyes, which always seemed to happen when he laughed too much above the surface, and gave the large white bird a wide smile.

She rolled her eyes and squawked under her breath, but eventually fluttered down to the lower rock where he rested. "I better get an apology."

Gajeel snorted, resting his chin on his arms. "Or what? Gonna lose more feathers?"

He resisted the urge to burst out laughing when the bird frantically looked her body over for missing feathers. She gave him a fowl glare and a final flap of her wings, and stared at the ocean over his shoulder.

"If you don't say sorry, I might not give you the names for all of the trinkets in your bag right there," Gajeel dunked his satchel back under the water, "or show you the new book I found today."

Gajeel clasped his hands together, giving Wendy the same look he tried to use on his grandmaman whenever she was cross with him. "Oh wonderful, forgiving, magnanimous–"

"...didn't even know you knew that word…"

"Would you ever forgive this poor prince? Who merely thought it would be funny to scare you 'cause yer always so jumpy and that's not my fault, but I'm sorry anyway if it means that you'll help me?"

He pitched his voice higher and secretly chuckled at the way Wendy's eyes were about to roll out of her head. With a peck at his hand she flapped back up to her perch and dropped down a thick human book.

"Whoa," Gajeel breathed, carefully setting his seaweed satchel on the rock next to him. "That's the biggest one yet. Is that a picture of a tree?"

Wendy bobbed her head. "Yes it is. One of the tallest trees on the island a bit north of here. I found it abandoned on a bal-conny; that's an outside sitting area for humans. I thought you might enjoy seeing it."

"Thanks! Can we look at it after you check out this stuff?"

Her wings flapped. "Of course! What do you have today? I noticed you seemed a bit more cautious with it this time."

Gajeel willed his ear fins not to curl. "Um, nothin' special, just a–"

"Some small thing that he kept starin' at the entire swim here!" Lily popped his head out of the water.

Gajeel shoved him back under and ignored Wendy's small giggle. He untied his satchel and reached inside. "It's a stone person."

"You always bring those. I think they must be your favorite."

Laughter colored her words and Gajeel bared his teeth in a mock glare. "But this one is different! Look."

He gingerly held the tiny statue in his hands, careful of the delicate appendages on her back. Wendy gasped and Lily plopped out of the water to look.

"Where did you find this?"

"At one of the newly sunken ships. I've never seen one like this before, have you?"

Wendy bobbed her head. "Yes I have. But I'm not telling you until after your lesson."

"Ugg, fine…" Gajeel made a show of protesting, but he could never get enough of the human lessons.

He wished he and Wendy could meet more often than every 7th sun cycle, but she wisely suggested that the limited time would allow him to keep his secret hobby from leaking to those he would rather keep in the dark. As a result, Gajeel always tried to make the most of their time together and made sure to bring Wendy several new trinkets to identify each time he came to the surface. His newest statue sat on the rock next to him, her smiling face seeming to encourage him in his lessons.

Wendy squawked, pushing the book aside. "I see you brought more stabbing utensils. Do you remember where that one goes?" She used a clawed foot to point at the longest one.

Gajeel tilted his head. "Same area as the short trident, but on the opposite side of the disk on a stick, right?"

"Excellent! You actually seem to remember everything I've been teaching you for the past few sun cycles."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean, eh?"

"It means…" Lily floated on the waves, "that you don't have the…temperment…for studies."

Gajeel curled his lips, "Are ya saying I'm stupid?"

"I didn't say it!" the remora shook his head, "you just did."

"Why you…"

Gajeel growled and launched himself at the fish. Lily darted underwater, swimming in a tight circle around Gajeel's tail. He growled and watched the fish's movement, waiting for the right time to nab him.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just fly away without telling anyone what this stone statue is…"

His tail floundered in the water as he launched himself back at the rock. "Wait! You promised!"

"But I'm not the one getting distracted."

Her beak couldn't lift in a smile like most creatures, but Gajeel had the distinct feeling that she had a satisfied smirk on her feathery face.

"You both are schooling up on me today," he grumbled, but dutifully lifted up the mini stone statue. "So what is this anyway?"

"If I remember correctly," Wendy and Lily both drew up closer, all three of them studying the statue closely, "it's a creature the humans call a far-ee and those are wings on her back. According to human legend they are small creatures, smaller than even a bird, and they take care of the world around them."

"Like warriors?" Lily asked, suctioning to the top of Gajeel's tail.

Wendy shook her head and her top feathers lifted. "No, not in that way. They live in nature, in the trees and forests, so they don't like human weapons or fighting."

Gajeel froze, his eyes widening in horror. "Fighting…oh fish sticks, the competition!"

Lily screeched and flopped off his tail. "I thought that was tomorrow!"

"I kept telling you to remind me it was today!" He shoved the human utensils back into his satchel and snagged the far-ee, careful of her delicate wings.

Wendy fluttered on the rock. "Is there any way you can still make it?"

Gajeel shook his head, yanking the satchel strap over his head. "No, it was at the new sun! Ah squid ink, Father is going to scale me!"

"I'm sorry, Gajeel–"

"Ain't yer fault Wendy, it's mine. But same time, next 7th sun cycle?"

She bobbed her head, hopping to the upper rock. "Same time. Hope you survive!"

"Me too…" he called over his shoulder and dove beneath the waves.

Lily suctioned to the scales on his side and Gajeel swam as fast as his tail could carry him, all the while rehearsing excuses to tell his irate father.