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Chapter 136

Éclair

"So, let me get this straight. You're telling me that not only you idiots managed to wreck my beautiful town, but that lunatic Geese is still on the loose?!"

The mayor of the town wasn't too pleased with us when we returned to him empty-handed. He looked so cross, that I thought that he was going to explode if he hadn't already.

"Yes, Sir," apologized Lucy guiltily, raising her hand. "I take full responsibility."

"We're deeply sorry, Mayor," Erza spoke respectfully. "But while he may still be at large, his gang has been routed."

"I don't want to hear your lame excuses! I wanted the boss, Geese, and since you didn't get him, no reward for you!" snapped the mayor. "And you clods call yourselves a guild?! More like a circus act, a bunch of clowns! Why don't you chumps do some actual work instead of calling yourselves some self-important name like Fairy Tail?!"

His words alone were enough to make me a bit angry, and I wanted nothing more to shut the mayor up, but I remained silent as the mayor turned on his heel and left the room slamming the door. The moment he did, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Carla all stuck out their tongues silently mocking him for being so rude.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Lucy apologized sadly. "This was my fault."

"Don't blame yourself, Lucy. If anything, I'm the one who should be taking responsibility," I said. "I was careless, and because of that, I let Geese slip away."

"It's alright, Willy," Mira soothed as she patted my shoulder. "Try not to let it get to you too much."

"Yeah, we're all in this together," Natsu smiled in a toothy grin. "We win as a team; we lose as a team."

"Wow, that's pretty cool of you to say, Natsu," said Happy.

"Unfortunately, despite those words, we'll most likely get punished as a team as well," sighed Carla. "Of which, the Master will find great joy in doing so when he finds out."

"Carla, you don't need to remind us," whimpered Wendy. "We know."

"Well then, shall we head back?" asked Erza with a light smile.

Everyone agreed, and all of us then left the mayor's office, not wanting to stick around as we headed back home. During the trip home, I was feeling a little less sad than before, though I wish I could have said the same for Lucy. Throughout the journey, she remained silent, most likely from still being depressed. However, she had Natsu and Happy there to cheer her up with their usual antics, despite Natsu's motion sickness, and it wasn't too long before we arrived back to Magnolia and heading back towards the guild.

"All right, Magnolia!" Natsu crowed with a broad grin. "Your heroes are finally back!"

"I hate to break it to you, Natsu, but we haven't exactly done anything deserving the title of hero," chuckled Mira. "Although, it is nice to be back home again."

"I agree. Magnolia sure is a nice place to be," said Happy, as he munched on a fish.

"Hey, you guys. Since we've been out on the road for a little while, I'm going to go home and take a shower before I head back to the guild," said Lucy hurriedly. "See you in a bit!"

And Lucy took off before anyone else could even say a word to her, disappearing into the crowd.

"Well, she's not fooling me with that," Carla said. "That cheerfulness of hers is feigned."

"Most likely, she's still feeling down after what happened," said Mira. "Can't say that I blame her."

"Poor Lucy," Wendy spoke with pity and concern.

"I wouldn't be worried about her," Erza told us. "Lucy's always a quick one to bounce back from these things. She'll be fine."

"In any case, I think I'll head home, too," I said to everyone. "I could use some freshening up myself. Plus, there's something I need to take care of."

"Alright then, Willy," said Erza. "We'll see you in a bit."

I answered with a light wave as I walked off, heading for home, while hoping to catch up with Lucy. I soon caught up with her, and as Mira predicted, she was indeed feeling depressed as she strolled along while pulling her suitcase behind her.

"Hey, Lucy. Wait up," I called as I caught up to her.

Upon hearing me, Lucy turned around, appearing startled. "Oh, hey, Willy. What's up?"

"Just figured that since we're both heading back to the apartments, you'd want some company," I said. "Mind if walk with you?"

"Oh, sure. I don't mind," said Lucy.

"You feeling okay despite the job not going well?" I asked. "You've been quiet ever since we left the town and on the journey home."

"Don't worry. I'm fine, Willy," Lucy reassured. "Sure, this Job was a bust, and we missed out on a major reward, but it's fine.

"I still can't help but feel a little bad for letting Geese slip away from me," I said. "I mean, here I am a trained martial artist and a dragon slayer, and I couldn't even catch a single bandit because I let my guard down. If anything, I'm the one who should feel bad for what happened."

"It's alright, Willy. It happens," Lucy said with a smile. "We'll just have to do better next time. There'll be other Jobs."

I looked across to Lucy and smiled back at her. "Well, looks like you're a bit more optimistic than I thought. Guess I was worried over nothing."

"Yeah, but I appreciate you checking up on me," Lucy said.

As the two of us continued walking along, a young girl came walking past us catching our attention. She was around Lucy's age, who wore a tribal dress that was colored red with yellow trims, gold bracelets on her ankles and wrists, and had long brown hair tied in a long ponytail. Also, walking beside her, was a strange creature that resembled a yellow baby bird wearing a small aqua-blue shirt.

Then, no sooner than the girl was a few steps away from us, the girl staggered and with a weak groan collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, no! Éclair!" the bird creature cried as he rushed over to her. "Are you alright?! Say something!"

Feeling worried, Lucy and I quickly rushed over to the girl as well, checking her over.

"Seems as though she passed out," I observed. "And she looks pretty weak too."

"Please, help us!" begged the bird creature. "You gotta help save my friend, Éclair!"

"Don't worry, we'll help her," Lucy said. "Willy, you think you can use your healing magic to help her?"

"I can try," I said. "Just give me a second."

I held out my hands making them glow blue with my magic while hovering over the girl as started casting my healing spell, hoping that there was nothing wrong and that my healing spell was working correctly. After a few minutes of checking for any abnormalities inside of the girl, I stopped casting my spell.

"I'm afraid that my healing magic isn't going to help this girl, guys," I said. "It seems that this girl's condition can't be fixed by magic alone."

Lucy and the bird were horrified. "But why not?! Is she that sick or something?! What's wrong with her?!" the two cried.

Their answer came from a loud growling sound that came from the girl's stomach, which immediately dispelled their worry as I let out a small chuckle.

"She just passed out from hunger is all," I said. "Other than that, everything else is her body is just fine. With a little bit of food, she'll be right as rain in no time."

Lucy and the bird sighed in relief.

"Why don't we take her to the guildhall?" Lucy suggested. "It's almost nightfall, but most of the members should still be there."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "I'll carry her on my back."

"Thank you both so much!" the bird said gratefully. "I appreciate you helping us."

"Anytime, little bird," I replied, as I hoisted the girl on my back. "Now then, let's hurry."

And while carrying the girl on my back, with Lucy and the little bird following, the three of us set off back to the tavern.

It wasn't too long before we made it back to the guild, and explained the situation. Not only that, but the girl regained consciousness and was still feeling weak, but alright. When she did, Mira prepared a meal for her along with the little bird for them to share along with a drink. While she did that, everyone else couldn't help but stare at the girl curiously.

"Who is that girl?" whispered Natsu. "Do either of you two know who she is?"

"And what's with that big baby bird thing?" asked Elfman. "Never seen anything like it."

"I'm not sure, but it seems like it's her friend," said Lisanna.

"Looks more like dinner to me," joked Droy.

"Come on, man. Don't even joke about that," Jet scolded. "But knowing you, you'd actually go through with it."

"That aside, neither of us know where she came from either," I said. "The only thing that we do know is that the girl's name is Éclair, and that's it. Hopefully, she'll tell us a bit more about herself when she's done eating."

The girl and her bird soon finished their meal leaving the plate clean. When she did, Lucy and I then came over to her.

"There you go," Lucy said as she sat across from the two. "You should be all fixed up."

"Thank you for the meal. You're very kind," the girl said curtly. "However, I would have been fine with or without the meal."

"Oh my word," Mira said.

"Hey, now! Don't be rude, Éclair!" scolded the bird. "You know better than to say things like that!" The bird then bowed apologetically to us. "I'm very sorry about her rudeness. Please forgive her."

"It's no problem, little bird," I said. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, now that you both got your strength back, we were hoping that you could tell us a bit about yourselves if you don't mind."

"Not at all," said the little bird. "Let me introduce ourselves first. My name is Momon and this is Éclair. I took her under my wing a few years ago."

"You took her in?!" Jet and Droy exclaimed. "Don't you mean the opposite?!"

Éclair answered with a silent nod much to Momon disdain.

Lucy then held out her hand in greeting. "My name is Lucy," she introduced. "It's nice to meet you."

"And my name is Willy," I said. "Willy Falconer."

Momon answered Lucy's handshake shaking it in earnest. Lucy then extended a hand towards Éclair trying to be friendly, but the girl didn't take it remaining stoic and neutral. Natsu and Happy then came over.

"My name's Natsu Dragneel," the pink-haired boy said. "I'm what'cha call a Dragon Slayer! Welcome to our guild, Éclair!"

"And my name's Happy," said the blue Exceed. "You wanna bite of fish?"

But Éclair didn't acknowledge the two as she got up from where she sat slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I appreciate everything that you've done for us, but we have to be on our way," she said. "Come, Momon."

"Right," replied Momon.

The two then started walking away, leaving me feeling a bit put off with how Éclair was acting, not to mention that I still had a lot of questions for the two. However, before I could say a word, Carla, who was sitting with Wendy on her lap, suddenly hopped to the floor just in front of her.

"Wait a moment! You're heading towards a forest that's extremely dangerous!" the white exceed warned looking worried. "Not only that, but sadness awaits you there. Please be careful."

"A forest?" repeated Éclair. She then furrowed her brow putting a finger to it as if she remembered something. "That's right. Deep within the Boundary Forest. That's where it is. Come, Momon. We have to go."

Éclair then walked out of the tavern, with Momon following close behind her. Naturally, feeling worried about her, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and I followed after her.

"Wait a second," Lucy called out to Éclair. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The Boundary Forest," replied Éclair.

"But why would you want to go there?!" Happy exclaimed. "That place is super dangerous! I hear that place is filled with monsters!"

"Monsters?" I repeated. "What kind of monsters? Like the creatures we've seen back in the East Forest?"

"No, Willy! Way worse!" Happy squeaked, his eyes filled with fear. "From what people say, the creatures in the East Forest are little babies compared to the ones over there. The monsters over there are even bigger and way scarier!"

"Are you trying to freak me out, cat?!" Lucy squeaked. "I don't wanna hear about scary monsters!"

"Still, I must go there," said Éclair. "I'm not sure why, but it's calling to me and I can't ignore it."

From the look in her eyes, I could see that there was no talking sense into her. Not only that, but as I stared at her, I felt a strange sensation that I couldn't place. It was like a sense of deja-vu, but at the same time, it wasn't.

"Fine then, but we'll go with you to keep you safe," said Lucy. "After all, we are wizards."

Éclair then frowned turning away. "I'm not very fond of wizards," she said with a hint of sadness. "Because Magic... can bring tremendous sorrow with it."

"You think - it brings sorrow?" I repeated.

"Come on, Éclair. Be nice!" chided Momon. "They're just trying to help us."

But Éclair stubbornly kept her head turned seeming not to care.

However, despite her attitude, Lucy wouldn't give in. "Well, that's not true!" she said. "I know for a fact, that Magic can bring joy, so let me come with you!"

"Yeah! Me too!" Natsu joined in. "Stick with us, and you're going to love, Magic. Especially seeing what the three of us can do with it!"

"You mean the magic you use to destroy things with, Natsu?" I smiled, joking. "Somehow I don't think she'll be too thrilled about that."

Natsu then glared at me and stuck out his tongue as I chuckled a bit. Then the tavern doors opened, catching our attention as Gray, Erza, Mira, Wendy, and Carla came out from them.

"We shall accompany you as well," said Erza.

"We got nothing else better to do," Gray spoke. "So, why not? It could be fun."

"And you can count me in, too," I said. "Besides, even if you wanted to go, it's not like you'll be able to go anywhere this late in the night."

"Willy's got a point," Mira agreed. "All the trains aren't running, and the night can be unpredictable, which means you're stuck here till morning."

Éclair looked at back at us, and stared for a brief moment before sighing in exasperation.

"Well? What do you say, Éclair?" Momon asked. "It would be nice to have some company."

"Very well then," Éclair conceded. "If you insist."

Everyone was pleased, especially Lucy. I then walked over to the two.

"And, since you two are stuck here, and most likely don't have a place to sleep, why don't you stay over at the apartments with Lucy and me?" I offered. "It's a pretty cozy place and you'll at least have a roof over your heads."

"That's a great idea, Willy!" Lucy said, giving me a thumbs up. "Smart thinking!"

As everyone else agreed, I couldn't help but glance over at Éclair, who looked annoyed, but didn't say a word, conceding with my offer. Then, Mira came up to me turning my attention towards her.

"Hey, since it's going to be a sleepover, you mind if I come with you too, Willy?" Mira asked.

"Well, sure you can, but, why would you want to, Mira?" I inquired. "I mean don't you have your own place?"

"Yes, but I'd like to take some time getting to know, Éclair," said Mira, smiling sweetly. "Plus, I've always wanted to see where you and Lucy live. Unless there's some sort of problem?"

"Oh, no! No problem at all!" I spoke, instinctively feeling flustered. "You're more than welcome to stay if you really want to."

"Alright then. It's settled," said Mira. "I'll go let Elfman and Lisanna know and I'll join you guys in a bit."

Mira then walked back inside of the tavern leaving me feeling a little bit baffled as to what caused her to make such a decision, but didn't dwell on it for too long.

"Well, that was a bit odd," said Lucy. "I wonder why Mira wants to stay over our place all of a sudden? Not that I don't have a problem with it."

"Who knows?" spoke Gray. "Your guess is about as good as mine."

"Thank you all so much for your kindness," Momon said. "And I know she doesn't show it, but Éclair's very grateful too."

Éclair didn't answer, turning away again.

NO POV

When Mira went back inside, she went straight over to Elfman and Lisanna, and pull them aside so no one would overhear them about her plans. When she told them, Elfman and Lisanna were quite surprised.

"Wait, you're going to be staying over at the apartments with Willy and Lucy?" asked Elfman.

"Yes, I am," said Mira. "I figured Lucy and Éclair could use a third girl over there to make sure things don't get too out of hand."

"But I'm sure Lucy can handle herself by having a few people over," Lisanna said. "I mean she constantly deals with Natsu and his team on a daily basis."

"That may be so, Lisanna, but it's already been arranged," Mira said. "So, you don't have to worry about coming home afterward. Besides, I'm going along with Willy and the others to the Boundary Forest tomorrow, and since we're all going together, it'll save me time."

"You sure that's the only reason you want to stay over at Willy's place?" questioned Lisanna teasingly.

"What makes you ask that?" wondered Mira.

"You know what. You sure you ain't feeling a slight bit jealous that Willy offered someone else over to his place?" Lisanna smirked.

"Oh, stop, Lisanna," Mira giggled, while keeping her sweet smile. "There's no way that I could be jealous over something like that."

Elfman looked at Mira quizzically feeling something off about his sister, but as he was just about to ask if she was alright, Mira gave him a look with her eyes closed and a cute smile. However, behind that smile, Elfman sensed a large amount of hostile intent which immediately sent a shiver down his spine as did Lisanna. The malice could even be felt by a couple of the guildmates that still reminded inside.

"Did you guys feel that?" questioned Macao.

"I don't know," replied Wakaba. "For a minute, I thought I felt like a goose just stepped on my grave."

"Anyway, I'll be staying at Willy's for the night," Mira went on. "That's all I want to tell you. Is that okay with you two?"

"Um, sure, Sis. Whatever you say," Elfman said a bit nervously.

"Y-Yeah. We don't mind," Lisanna spoke also feeling a bit unnerved. "Have fun over there, and be careful on your trip."

Mira then turned on her heel and while still smiling walked out of the tavern leaving Elfman and Lisanna completely stupified.

"Did... you feel that just now, Lisanna?" Elfman asked quietly. "That was manly, but a bit scary."

"Yeah. I did," Lisanna replied nodding her head. "That was enough to give me the chills. Perhaps I teased her a bit too much."

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