CoLu Week Day 2: Water
Water is often associated with cleanliness, purity, and life.
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Lucy was enjoying a moment of peace. The clear water in the perfect little swimming hole she had discovered was cooling and refreshing to her travel weary limbs. The sun still beat down on her, but surrounded with water as she was it was just warming on her face instead of blistering. Birds were singing in the trees and she could smell flowers on the breeze. If she wasn't so comfortable she would get up and go look for them. Maybe later. For now she was just going to float here and enjoy the peace.
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Cobra was following a smell. It was delicious and intoxicating. He couldn't figure out what it was, but it smelled so familiar. He was pretty sure he had smelled this before, but he couldn't quite place it. There were flowers and water and trees, just general nature smells, but this one was different. It was a magical smell that reminded him of his family, though he couldn't say why. There was a drive deep inside him to find where the smell was coming from, so he followed it.
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She should take this opportunity to practice her new magic. Aquarius would be furious if she let her gift go to waste. She would have loved this pretty little swimming hole, so it was the perfect place to start practicing. She found a large rock in the middle of the pool that left her standing knee deep in the clear water. She thought back to how Juvia used her water magic and took a similar stance. The mark across her collarbones began to glow as she pulled at her new magic.
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The smell changed. The intoxicating warm-fruit-magic smell was still there, but now it was overlaid with a stronger water smell, magical water. Had whoever he had been following been joined by a water wizard? No, it wasn't two different smells like two different people would put off. He was close enough to hear the music of a single soul now, so there was still only one person. Why had the smell changed?
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Lucy felt tears escape her eyes as she ran her arms through the air in long graceful arcs. The water following her fingertips sparkled in the sunlight. It was beautiful, but it didn't actually do anything yet. This would be so much more effective if she could learn from an element wielding caster mage. Aquarius or Juvia would be best, though any number of other people could teach her. Max, even Laxus, Evergreen maybe with her fairy sparkle magic, Gray,... Natsu... Her tears hit the water.
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He smelled tears. The thought of the warm-fruit-magic person crying bothered him. That was odd. Touchy-feel-me must be rubbing off on him. Regardless of the reason and the why of it all he wanted to poison whatever had made the warm-fruit-magic person with the drunken music box soul cry. Yes. Killing something would make him feel better and make the tears stop.
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Lucy held her hands in front of her and thought of Juvia. How did she move when attacking? How did the water respond? This wasn't her magic, but it was similar. She had seen this spell hundreds of times. Surely she could reproduce it. She quickly made a broad slashing motion with her hands.
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Cobra finally heard words from the soul he was following, the memory of someone else shouting. Water Slicer! ...Slicer... Water... licer... ater sli... Water Slicer! Then a splash, a startled female shriek, and a louder splash. Then he heard a woman laughing.
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Lucy smiled as she pulled herself out of the water and back onto her rock. That had absolutely not been the Water Slicer spell Juvia used. Of course the fact that she hadn't called out the incantation might have had something to do with that. She had expected a failed water spell to melt back into the swimming hole more than explode in her face. Exploding water was a new one that she could absolutely work with though. She was still smiling as she took her stance again.
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The drunken music box soul sounded happy. He could hear laughter as it thought to itself. Juvia's water never explodes. It's always elegant, like her. Dance with the water. Be the water. Juvia. He knew that name. Why did he know that name? I can do this. I can. Aquarius. He heard another memory. Stupid brat! The music box twanged, like it had a broken note.
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Aquarius was loud, brash, and volatile. Maybe that was why Juvia's elegant, precise spell hadn't worked. Maybe she needed a spell that fit Aquarius's temperament Something smaller than her go to drown-the-whole-damn-town-especially-the-brat move. Something that would be flashy enough that if her team ever came home they would be impressed by it. Lucy grinned. She could do loud.
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"Water Explosion!" This time the splash had a concussive quality to it. He was close enough to feel the air pressure change minutely. He had his hands over his ears, having heard the loud idea in time to protect himself. "Fuck yes! Take that you stupid tree! Your days of tyranny over the defenseless saplings around you have come to an end!" He snickered and stopped walking. If he got any closer he might be noticed and he hadn't decided if he wanted that yet. "Pray to whatever deity you serve for mercy, Tree, for you shall find none at my hand. Water Explosion!"
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She was not Juvia and neither was Aquarius, so why she had tried to imitate the Rain Woman's magic she had no idea. She wanted a few skills with finesse though, so she would set aside her Water Explosion now that she had figured it out. She would practice being one with the water to gain control. Powerful like Aquarius and elegant like Juvia.
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His guild knew this woman, he was sure of it. Every time she thought of this Juvia person he heard an echo of Touchy-feel-me saying the same name. Angel had spoke of Aquarius before too. Was she a spirit? He couldn't remember. His guildmate's celestial spirit days were long past. Speaking of the past, and considering how dark theirs was, it could be a very bad thing that his guild knew her. If they knew her, chances were she knew them too.
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Dancing was the epitome of elegance. She had learned ballroom dancing and some ballet when she was young, so she used her knowledge of those as she twisted and turned atop her rock. She closed her eyes and focused on the water as she moved. The smell of it hanging in the air, the feel of it as it lapped at her legs. She listened to the sound of the stream that fed the little oasis. She breathed in the air it had cooled. She danced with the water.
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Cobra wanted to watch this instead of just listening. He snuck closer on near silent feet to survey the little swimming hole this familiar smelling water mage had chosen to practice her 'new' magic in. On the far side of the glorified puddle was the splintered remains of what had been a good sized tree. He ignored it in favor of the blond twisting in the middle of the water, surrounded by long ribbons of water and looking decidedly like a nymph. She was vaguely familiar and entirely enchanting. He leaned against one of the remaining trees and just watched.
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Lucy's you-are-about-to-get-kidnapped-for-some-stupid-as-shit-plot-or-other radar pinged. She had been through to much and met to many evil villains face to face to ignore it for even a millisecond. She froze and snapped her eyes open. Right there in front of her, making himself all kinds of at home in her private little water eden was Cobra of the Oracion Seis. She thought he was still in prison, er, again. She was so about to get kidnapped.
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Shit. He knew those big, brown, drown-in-me eyes. It was the water magic that had thrown him off. It changed her scent. She had been freaked the fuck out every other time he had seen her and it changed how her soul sounded too. This was Lucy Heartfilia, kicker of Angel's ass with a lost celestial spell, holder of ten out of the twelve zodiac keys, kicker of Midnight's ass with his own damn spell, caller of the Spirit King. This chick was very much at the top of the Ex-Seis's you-really-shouldn't-have-done-that-shit list.
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"I'm not here to hurt you." Yeah, she wasn't about to believe that shit. The whole swimming hole started to swirl, probably in response to her emotions since she was still tapping into Aquarius's power. "I'm a lot of things, but a liar ain't one of them." She couldn't specifically remember him lying, but you never could tell with bad guys. "I walk in the shadows and all that dramatic shit now, with Crime Sorciere. I'm not about to add to my sins by hurting you again."
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Crime Sorciere? Jellal and Meredy. Erza... There was that broken twang in her drunken music box soul again, like when she thought of Aquarius. "Oh." Well ok then. Does that make him an ally or a frenemy or something? Does it even fucking matter anymore? "And your friends? Are they with Crime Sorciere too?"
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"They are my family. With all the shit we've been through we can't be anything less. As much as I'd sometimes like to get rid of them they're still around." Her soul hit several broken notes and began to wail. Family. Cobra is from a dark guild and tried to destroy the world, not once but twice, and he still understands. You never abandon family. What had happened? Fairy Tail was her family right? Where was her team anyway? Where was her family?
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"I'm happy for you." She splashed off her rock and waded toward shore. If Jellal and Meredy had seen enough light in those lost people to think them worth saving she was very glad they got this chance. Everybody deserved a second chance. The thought of Gajeel as he had walked away from Magnolia, Levy and Pantherlily in tow, caused her heart to break a little. "I've had several friends who made poor choices that sent them down dark paths. Seeing people get a chance to live for a better future makes me really happy."
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He heard memories. Gajeel and Juvia were previously of Phantom Lord. The Thunder Legion, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen, embracing the Fairy Tail spirit after a shit storm she thought of as The Battle of Fairy Tail. Meeting Lyon and Sherry again as allies after originally meeting as enemies. Someone named Laxus, who had tried to destroy them all with one of the Fairies own spells, standing between them and Master Hades. Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear helping them with their first successful Grand Magic Games. Yukino and the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth fighting beside them to protect the world. There was an obviously insane redhead named Flare. Then she hoped that Cobra and his family would someday be some of those people. He smiled a little when he heard that.
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Cobra had a sexy smile. Who knew? Maybe she had just been hit in the head one to many times during a guild brawl. She intentionally turned away from thoughts of her guild. If Cobra was throwing sexy smiles at her and she was liking it, next thing you know Midnight would start adopting puppies. Cobra started chuckling. "He's more of a cat person really. Less playing and more cuddling." He could hear thoughts. She slapped both hands over her face. "I forgot you could do that." She peeked through her fingers. The sexy smile was back.
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She was cute. In a dangerous, and presumably unstable because she was a Fairy, kind of way. Like a squirrel, with rabies, just waiting for the trigger that would set her off. The part of him that loved to cause trouble wanted to push her buttons until he found that trigger. He had a feeling she would be hot as fuck when she was angry. For now though he was content to watch the blush grow on her cheeks and enjoy her cuteness.
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He could hear her. She was mortified. He had only responded to the thought about Midnight and puppies, but that had been sandwiched between thoughts about his sexiness. Lucy had never been more embarrassed in her life. Bar the flying naked through Crocus thing, and the thing where her guildmates randomly showed up at her house while she was bathing, and... Oh fuck it. Her entire life was just one long embarrassing moment. He was snickering again. Shit. He heard that too.
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Where was her team? While she could probably take care of herself just fine she shouldn't be alone. Between her magic and her boobs she was a prime candidate for kidnapping. She was a treasure that should be protected at all times. She should be with Natsu, with her team.
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"How about we talk about something else?" Anything else besides her naked or how sexy he was. He snorted at her. "Like what?" "How about what you are doing alone in the middle of nowhere?" "You want to ask me that question?" She nodded. "Well, if you must know good snake venom can only be found in certain black market shops. I was taking a weekend shopping trip." That made sense. "My turn. You are alone too. How about we talk about that?"
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Her soul wailed. He heard the memory of a note. The way she imagined Natsu would have sounded if he actually spoke the words to her. ...Take care of the guild while I'm gone... Then her Master's voice shouting in an angry tone. Fairy Tail is no more and I don't want to hear that name spoken again! Gray's voice, all but monotonous. I've got things I need to take care of. And Erza. I think I will go look for Jellal. Be safe, Lucy. "Fairy Tail is fucking gone? What the hell were they all thinking, leaving you alone like that!" A tiny sob escaped her and her soul screamed in agony.
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Lucy tried desperately not to cry. She couldn't help it though. He had said aloud what she had thought when her guild had shattered into a hundred pieces and blown away in the wind. They were her family. How could they leave her like that? She needed them right now. She had broken right along with Aquarius's key when she was forced to summon the Spirit King. When Cobra had gotten so close she didn't know, but he was there. When he touched her shoulder she threw herself into his arms without a second thought. She tried not to, but she ended up crying into his shirt anyway.
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He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried. He had never done something like this and it was probably a bad idea. She was just so alone and in such pain. He could hear it. He remembered how he had felt when he lost Cubelios. His friends had stood by him and supported him and he had still raged against the world and tried to destroy it in his pain. They had all been dealing with their own pain at the time and none of them knew how to cry or mourn, so they had just broken shit. This seemed to be a better way of dealing with pain and she wasn't the end the world type anyway, so he held her close.
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"I'm, I'm s-sorry." She gasped between sobs. "Shh. It's ok. If you need this then my shirt can handle it. Beats throwing the entire world into an eternal nightmare right?" She gave a watery laugh. "I guess so. Kinana went with Laki and Max by the way, to Onibus I think. They will keep her safe." He tensed. "You know about that?" "Most of us do at this point. Sorry if you didn't want us to know."
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He was probably worried that we would hurt her. We never would, but I can see why he might think that. He relaxed a little. "I'm glad she is with friends. She's a good kid and deserves the chance to live her life to its fullest." "She is. We..." There is no we anymore. Just me. "I really like her. She has a big heart and a quirky sense of humor." He chuckled as he remembered the practical jokes Cubelios managed to pull even without hands. She was probably a force to be reckoned with now. "She worries about her Prince Erik you know."
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He laughed. The Prince Erik thing had been a joke when he was still a scared little kid in the Tower. "Figures she would remember that. She shouldn't be worrying about me though. I'll be fine." "Have you told her that though? I know you can't really waltz into Onibus and give her a hug on the street, but maybe you can send her a letter." "Because every girl wants a wanted criminal for a pen-pal." "Oh, I don't know. I bet you have good stories about all the crazy shit you hear." He laughed again.
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"Come With me, Squirrel." "I'm not a squirrel and why should I?" For whatever reason the idea appealed to her, but why would he ask? "Yes you are. Because you shouldn't be alone. It's not good for you. That and if She-Thor manages to find Jailer Blueballs we will need you to protect us from her cake fetish." She couldn't help but laugh. "Do you call him that to his face?" "Fuck yes, I do. I've never been one to mince words or avoid a sensitive subject. For example, you seem pretty comfortable in my arms and I like you there." She blushed. She couldn't deny that since she was still tucked against his chest. "Exactly. So come with me."
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Her drunken music box song seemed to have a little more pluck to it now. He couldn't hear thoughts, but she seemed to be listening to something inside herself. Maybe she was just feeling. She seemed to follow her heart more than her head most of the time. He liked that. The thought had surprised him, but he really did want her to come with him. Ok. She smiled. "I'll come with you. At least for now. We'll see where it goes." "Sounds good to me, Squirrel." "Not a squirrel." She argued, but her song gave an extra little happy ping.
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Till Tomorrow