Hey guys! New chapter, yay! Sorry it's a little short. But hopefully you'll like it. We shall see, we shall see. Ooh, I think I spy a segue. If you want to show your appreciation, review! Favorite! Follow! Actually, you've seen me do this so many times you could probably write it for me.

Dedicated to WhiteWinterStar! Special thanks to gwb620, DawnRising, BookNeed007, Kosmotius, Guest (I'm always especially flattered when Guests comment cuz they're not even logged in but they're leaving a review!), KillerCupcakes, and AnonymouslyUnknownlyWriter (dude your NAME)! Okay, so remember, Lucy was just talking to Erza, and now she's off to do her request.

Downstairs, there was a surprise waiting for me.

"Oh, Lucy," Yukino called, seeing me walk down the stairs. "There's someone who wants to see you." My first thought was Natsu, but that had to be impossible. Even that idiot couldn't make it all the way to Cyprus in a day. It wasn't physically possible.

Then Sam stepped out from behind Yukino. "Hey, Lucy!" he greeted me cheerfully. I blinked.

"Hi, Sam."

"Are you going on that job now?" I nodded, bewildered. What could he possibly want? An autograph or something?

"Yeah, I was about to leave. Did you need something?" He grinned hugely.

"Would you mind taking me with you?" I gaped, but he didn't pause. "I've always wanted to go on a job request with a real wizard, but the Saber guys all say I'm too young." I glanced at Yukino, who was frowning slightly.

"I don't know, Sam... I don't want you to get hurt." He clapped his hands together in front of him and bowed his head.

"Please! I promise not to get in your way – I just want to watch!" I sighed and brushed my fingers through my hair, tying it up with a scrap of ribbon.

"Yeah, all right. But you have to swear you'll be careful and stay as far away as you can when I'm working so you don't get hurt, got it?" Sam nodded emphatically, his smile stretching so wide it seemed to go past his face.

"I understand! Thank you!"

I laughed and turned to go, but a hand on my arm held me back. "Lucy," Yukino said worriedly. "Are you sure this will be alright? Won't he be a hindrance?" I waved off her concerns with a blithe smile.

"Don't worry about it. He's a good kid – he won't be any trouble." I followed Sam out the door, waving over my shoulder. "See you later!"

Surprise number two hit me as soon as I stepped over the threshold – Holland was waiting outside, arguing with Sam. "What were you doing? Why would you–" he stopped when he noticed me laughing. "Lucy!" I probably made a face similar to his – surprise mixed with embarrassment. I hadn't actually expected to see him for a while, and yet there he was.

"Hey, Holland. What's up?" He turned his face down and stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, scuffing the toe of his shoe on the cobblestones.

"Nothing much. We were just leaving." He grabbed Sam's arm and started dragging him away, but his friend jerked away.

"Lucy's taking me with her to Negrinanthus," he announced. Holland's shoulders tightened visibly. Sam didn't notice and plowed onwards. "She said it was fine if I came along, and that I could watch and everything!" Holland glared fiercely at him and then looked at me with pleading eyes.

"I'm really sorry that he bothered you, Lucy. You probably don't want him along, so I'll just–"

"Actually, I'd love to have some company," I interrupted, trying to interpret his beseeching expression. "It gets lonely doing jobs on my own sometimes." What I didn't say hung behind my eyes: that I was lonely since Natsu wasn't with me anymore. That without my best friends, I was cripplingly alone. "You should come along too, Holland," I said. It was a shot in the dark, but his eyes widened in a split second of excitement.

"Can I really?" I nodded, feeling a little better to know those two were coming with me.

"Of course! Now let's get going, shall we?"

NATSU

Sometime after sunset, we landed in a large town nestled in the hills. I had hoped we could keep flying through the night, but Happy's wings were timed out and he looked exhausted. So we found the local guild and went inside to see if we could get a room. A large man sat at a table in the corner of the empty hall, napping.

"Hey, old man!" I shouted, jolting him awake.

"What? What? Are you here for your gold, pirates?" He blinked and stared at me for a long second. "Oh, just a dream. Need something, kid?"

I crossed my arms. "Two things. Do you have any extra rooms for a night?" He pointed upstairs. A narrow staircase I hadn't noticed before wound up into the upper floor.

"Yeah, one up there. What else?"

"Did a blonde girl named Lucy from Fairy Tail come by here recently? She's a Celestial Spirit wizard, got a whip–"

The man spat on the floor. "Yeah, I seen her. She came in here a few weeks ago asking to take some of our job requests, like Fairy Tail don't have enough of their own. Best guild in Fiore, my foot. Just of bunch of cowards, if you ask me. What are they doing letting in weak trash like that blonde girl? Little girls like her are better off playing with their dollies at home." He spat again, a smug smile spreading across his fat face.

"Old man, what's the name of this guild?"

"Astral Sphere," he said, puffing up with pride like a balloon. "And I'm the master here, Gormly Grinsnaw."

If looks could kill, that damned old man would have died a thousand times. As it was, I almost killed him anyway. Uncrossing my arms and leaning down, I cracked my knuckles one by one. "Well, you can take it from a member of Fairy Tail that nobody insults our guild, or our family. If you're not careful, you might find this guild burned to the ground tomorrow morning. Say another word about Lucy, and I'll tear out that nasty tongue of yours. Understand?" I snarled. He nodded, slack-jawed and sweaty with fear. I straightened, wanting to punch something so bad my hands tingled. "Happy, we're leaving!"

"Aye sir!"

I stormed out of the guild, Happy close behind. When we were in the night air, my temper cooled a little and I took a deep breath. "Damn fat bastard," I growled under my breath. Talking about Lucy like that... I almost turned around and went back in, but Happy restrained me. "Where are we gonna sleep tonight, Natsu?"

I scratched my head, at a loss. "That's a good question." I glanced around. "Is there an inn in this town?" Happy pointed with a paw to a shabby little two-story house with a sign swinging above the door. My heightened senses allowed me to see through the darkness and verify that it was indeed an inn.

"Let's see if they've got extra rooms," I suggested, starting up the steps. I pushed the door and stepped into a dimly-lit living room. Or at least I think it was. There were scattered couches and chairs, where various cats slept. A small desk stood to the side, manned by a tiny, ancient woman reading a book. I approached her, smiling cheerfully. "Hey, lady, I was just–"

"Don't you have any manners?" she snapped without looking up. "Address me as ma'am, or innkeeper." I faltered, but tried again.

"So, innkeeper, um–"

"Speak properly when addressing me, young man! I don't want to hear any of those 'filler words' you youngsters use these days." I slammed my fist on the desk with a thud, pissed off.

"I just want a room, Grandma! I'm not here for talking lessons." She finally glanced up with a sweet, grandmotherly smile.

"Oh, why didn't you say so? Right this way, young man." She rose creakily and, picking up a dull key from the desk, led me down a hallway and up the stairs to the second floor. Unlocking one of the doors, she ushered me in with another smile. She gasped when her gaze landed on Happy. "What a handsome cat! What breed is he? Is this spectacular coat color natural?"

"I'm an Exceed," Happy explained, flying up to the grandma's eye level. "I can fly and talk." She gasped again.

"Oh! How fascinating! Young man," she continued with an ominous glint in her watery blue eyes, "Would you lend this Exceed to me? I'm sure he'd make fantastic specimen." I did my best not to make a face at that. As far as I knew, specimens were taken apart, examined, and never seen again.

"I don't think Happy would really be good at that," I said, shutting the door in her face and locking it from the inside. Hopefully, she didn't have spare keys.

What'd you think? I'm pretty proud of myself for coming up with the weird old lady OC. Ooh, I just had one of those creepy moments where I saw a shadow or something behind me in my reflection in the window. Ugh, hate that. Anyways, make sure you review, follow, and favorite! Love you guys!