Chapter 11: Beach Day

"Hey Lucy," Beth said as she was asked towards her friend. Lucy turned around and smiled.

"Hi Beth. Looking for another job?"

Beth sat at the table with Team Natsu. "Nope. Got enough Jewel to pay for rent for two months. I think it's time I took a break and hung out with you guys for the day."

"Awesome! We just figured the same thing!" Natsu said excitedly. Gray nodded in agreement. Erza came over as well with some strawberry cake.

"So what should we do?" she asked as she started eating her sweet.

"It's pretty warm out. How about a beach day?" The group nodded in agreement with Lucy's idea.

"Meet at the train in one hour?" Beth suggested.

"Agreed. Let's go!" With that, Natsu and Happy ran out of the guild hall. Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Beth laughed.

"Never stop, do they?"

"Nope," Gray replied.

Beth and Lucy both stood up. "I better go then. Later," Beth said as she took off as well. Lucy walked out beside her.

When Beth started walking in the direction of the store and not her apartment, Lucy asked "Do you have a bathing suit?"

"No, but I can buy one."

"I'll come with you!" Beth didn't object. The duo walked to the store and found the swim section. Lucy immediately started picking out different colors and styles of suits while Beth just browsed, thinking about what she would like. She wasn't that picky. She found a forest grew one piece with an open back she liked. It looked like a racing suit. Just then Lucy appeared next to her and handed her about ten different suits she found. They headed to the fitting rooms. Beth tried the ones Lucy picked, but they weren't really her style. She also showcased each one for Lucy as well, and she agreed. They both decided that the one Beth found was the best. So after Beth purchased the suit, the duo split. Beth headed to her apartment, where she was greeted with Ken standing in the kitchen yelling.

"What are you doing?" Beth asked as she walked up to him. He turned to face her.

"Trying to summon a spirit. So far, I'm not doing anything right." He looked at the silver key in his hand. "What was the phrase again?"

"I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits. I beckon thee to my side at once. Pass through the gate," she said as she went to her room to change into her suit.

Ken held out the key and repeated the phrase. "Open gate of the swan! Deneb!" A bright light shone around Ken as the spirit appeared. He looked like a human with pale skin and black hair that went slightly past his shoulders. He had on a purple shirt and black dress pants. He also had large, black feathers running down his arms like wings. Beth came out of her room with a bag and walked to the closet. She grabbed some towels and a wrap skirt that was also green. She put it on. Walking back into the kitchen, she noticed the spirit standing next to her uncle.

"Nice job."

"Thanks." He turned to the spirit. "So how about making a contract? What days are you free?" Beth didn't hear the rest of the conversation as she slipped on her sandals and left to head to the train.

Arriving at the station, she saw Erza and Gray chatting. Both were ready for the beach.

"Hey guys," Beth said walking up to them.

"Hey Beth," Gray greeted the Forest Dragon Slayer. "Have you seen Lucy or Natsu and Happy? Train's going to leave soon."

"Lucy should be here soon, I have no idea about the other two."

Right on cue, Lucy joined them. They chatted for another five minutes before Natsu and Happy came running up to them. They boarded the train and in the next few minutes they were on their way. Beth made sure to hand Natsu some ginger and peppermint. Half an hour later, they arrived at the beach.

"Come on!" Lucy said as they went down to the surf.

"I haven't been to a beach in a long time. Actually, the surf seems familiar, but I can't remember it at all. Weird," Beth said more to herself than anyone.

"Maybe you've been here before when you were younger?" Erza suggested.

Beth shrugged. Stopping near the tide, they set up blankets and soon they were building sand castles and racing through the water.

"Race you to that rock and back," Beth said to Natsu pointing at a rock a good distance away from the shore.

"You're on!" The two took off towards the rock, and Erza watched them amused while Gray, Happy, and Lucy repaired a sand castle Natsu somewhat crushed.

Beth made it to the rock about ten seconds before Natsu, and started back to the shore. A ripple appeared in the water, along with a shadow. At this point, Natsu was just starting to come back to the shore, when he stopped swimming and kicked around. Beth heard him and, turning, saw him get dragged under the water. She dove after him. Looking around, Beth saw Natsu getting dragged down, but by nothing. She swam over and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him up. The effort was in vain. She wasn't being pulled down, but something strong was pulling the pink-ette down. She eventually used her Reaching Vine and pulled them both up to the surface, gasping for breath. Gray and Erza grabbed them and pulled them to the shore, Happy flying alongside them.

"Are you guys okay?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, *cough* just fine." Natsu coughed some more before he finished. Happy landed and thumped him gently on the back.

"What happened?" Erza asked.

"Not sure. *cough* I wasn't caught in anything *cough* and I couldn't see *cough* anything." Beth also coughed for a little bit before anyone spoke again.

"Not undertow then, or an animal." Erza looked at the sun that was setting over the water. "It's getting late. Let's head back," to which none of them objected. They packed up and headed to the train, but missed a shadow leaping out of the water behind them.

Hey guys, sorry I didn't update last week, I got knocked down by a bad cold. But I'm good now and back to writing. Hope you guys are having a good (and healthy) week. And Happy Easter Everyone! Go get 'em tigers!

-ThinMintE