The boys went back to where Juvia sat waiting for them.
"Is everything alright?" She asked them.
"Everything's fine." Gray assured her.
"Listen you don't mind sleeping on the ground do you?" Natsu asked.
"I've never done it before but there's no where else I can sleep." She said. "So I can't complain and don't worry I sleep fine as long as Carla is with me."
"Carla?"
"My cat."
At once the white cat popped up from her satchel.
"Oh wow she's so pretty." Natsu said.
"Thank you."
"Hiya girl."
Natsu stroked the Carla, who brushed up against his hand affectionately.
"She sure is sweet."
"Yes she is."
"I have a cat too. You wanna meet him?"
"Sure."
"Come here Happy."
The blue male cat came to his master's call.
"Oh he's adorable." Juvia said with a smile. "Look Carla, a friend for you."
She put Carla down so she could properly aquatinted with Happy.
Note: The cats speak their own language and the humans can't understand them.
"Hello." Happy said having become instantly taken with the pretty white cat.
"Good day." Carla replied respectfully. "So you belong to the two uh...Well I wouldn't exactly call them gentlemen but I can't think of a word that would suit them."
"Actually I just belong to Natsu. Gray doesn't like me that much. So you're this lady's pet?"
"I am not her pet. Pets are inferior, she considers me a companion. In other words I am her equal."
"I don't really know what that means but okay. Do you like her?"
"I haven't been with her long but she's the first human being to ever show me any compassion. Therefore I shall remain loyal to her til my dying day."
"That's how I feel about Natsu. We have so much in common."
"Not really."
"You know I haven't been neutered yet."
"I beg your pardon, what are you suggesting?"
Natsu and Juvia watched as their animal companions conversed in their own language.
"I think he really likes her." Natsu said. "What do you think?"
Carla hissed and batted her paw at Happy's face as if she was slapping him.
"I think she might need to get used to him." Juvia said before picking her up.
"Alright enough with the introductions between your vermin." Gray said.
Both Happy and Carla hissed at Gray when they heard what he said.
"We need to get some rest."
"Alright." Natsu said. "You can be so bossy."
"If I wasn't then nothing would get done around here."
The three of them got settled down and eventually fell asleep. In the morning, Natsu had been woken up by his growling stomach. He got up from the ground and started searching for something to eat. So far he could find nothing except bitter roots and berries. He really didn't feel like eating those for breakfast. He wanted something much better tasting.
Just then he heard footsteps coming from a distance. He quickly hid in the bushes and spied on the figure coming forward. Now Natsu had an unusually strong sense of smell and at the moment he could smell fresh bread in the satchel of the figure walking by. Thinking of only his stomach at the moment, he jumped from the bushes and moved to grab the satchel from the figure but the person he was preparing to rob took him completely by surprise by grabbing a nearby fallen tree branch and hitting him right in the face.
"Ow!" He shouted.
"That's what you get for trying to steal from me!" The figure said in a high feminine voice.
"Hold on you're a woman?!" Once Natsu's head stopped spinning from the hit and got a good look at the figure in rising sunlight he saw that she was indeed a woman. It was Lucy.
"Stay back!" She told him. "Or I'll you again! This time twice as hard!"
"Ok! Ok! Relax! Truce!" Natsu said holding his hands up in surrender.
"Who are you and why did you attack me?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any harm I just wanted the bread in your bag."
"That bread is mine you thief! How dare you try to mug me!"
"Hey Natsu where are you?" He heard Gray call. When he and Juvia woke up to find Natsu gone so they went to look for him. They found him but they realized that they had walked in on a situation. "Natsu what's going on here?"
"You know this idiot?!" Lucy asked.
"Uhhh...Let me think for a minute before I answer."
"Oh my look at the bruise on his head." Juvia observed with concern. "Why did you hurt him?"
"Because he tried to rob me!" Lucy defended.
"Natsu shame on you." Juvia scolded softly. "Trying to steal from an unarmed woman."
"Who says that she's unharmed?! She has a stick and she knows how to use it!" Natsu said.
"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience Miss." Gray apologized. "Don't mind him, he was trampled by a heard of bulls when he was ten."
"That's not true, it was only half a heard."
"Whatever. We'll just be leaving now. Bye-bye."
"Wait a minute we can't leave her alone in the woods like this." Juvia protested.
"Sure we can. In fact we're going to do it right now. Let's go."
He moved to pull her along but she ducked away from him and went toward Lucy.
"Are you lost? Do you need any help?" Juvia asked her.
"Sort of. I'm trying to find the nearest town. Do you know where that is?"
"Actually we're on our way to town right now."
"No we're not!" Gray lied.
"But you just said-"
"Quiet!" He hushed.
"Why are you lying?"
"Shh!"
"I don't like liars."
"Stop talking please!"
"What's the matter with him?" Lucy asked Juvia.
"I don't know. I just met him yesterday." The blue haired woman answered. "But anyway I'm Juvia. It's very nice to meet you."
"My name is Lucy."
The girls decided to greet each other with a proper hand shake but as soon as their hands touch their skin started to glow at the same time but they had different shades. Lucy's skin was glowing in bright gold like the sun while Juvia's was glowing in a pale silver.
"Whoa!" Lucy said stepping back. "Did you do that?"
"No I don't think so." Juvia answered. "But your skin glows just like mine. Does that mean you're like me?"
"I don't know. To be honest I don't fully understand how my skin does this."
"I think you might have powers like I do. Well maybe not exactly like a do."
Gray and Natsu looked at each other confused.
"What's going on?" Natsu whispered.
"I have no idea." Gray whispered back.