Chapter 2

Cana Alberona had joined Fairy Tail a long time ago- long before Natsu, before Erza, even Gray. She loved having a good time and avoided bothersome things at all cost, which explained her drunken lifestyle. It kept her in a good mood and drowned her worries away into a hazy and far away subconscious. She didn't mind having fun at the expense of others- she never pretended to be above pranks, she was a member of Fair Tail-, but most of the time, her nakama were good enough company to keep her in a good mood. If not that, her guildmates could always give her a good fight. She also didn't mind being alone . . . most of the time.

She was a very capable mage with a very high success rate (much higher than Team Natsu, for example). Trouble with Cana rarely involved her missions. If and when she got in trouble, it usually had to do with excessive drinking (you could also blame her blatant disrespect towards some authority figures). She attributed her success to her intuitive and perceptive nature (perhaps it had to do with her magic) and her very cunning personality.

She mostly worked alone although Loke teamed up with her quite a bit before he returned to the Spirit World. She was one of the few who didn't mind his shameless womanizing; she enjoyed messing around with the more gullible girls of his infamous fanclub. He could also hold his own when it came to liquor. Even though, now that she thought about it, maybe his tolerance had to do with the fact that he wasn't human. All in all, they were two souls who loved to live in a world of pleasure, fun and games (and sometimes romance, too).

Because they were so alike, they understood each other surprisingly well. They knew that they hid from their problems with booze and women even if they never spoke about it. Loke knew Cana was looking for someone long before every one found out about Gildarts. He didn't know the specifics, but he understood she was harder on herself than most. Likewise, Cana knew from the moment Loke stepped through the guild's door that he was running from his past. She could tell the difference between a genuine Loke smile- the one he gave when he was happy, surrounded by his nakama- and ones he often used to mask his suffering. She perceived this long before she learned about his past with Karen. After Lucy rescued him, she didn't see Loke very often, but then again- she also didn't see that fake smile. Instead, she just saw his normal mischievous smile.

Cana could also tell when he was serious. When he said things as "my princess" and all the other corny mumbo-jumbo he spoke to countless girls, it was a joke. But Cana understood loud and clear that when it came to Lucy, Loke was dead serious. Cana was probably the only one who knew this. To Loke, Lucy truly was his princess and he would put her above all things. He would always put her life above all things, even his own. Sure, he might ignore her here and there, but he would show up when he was needed, whether she called him or not. And he would take all actions necessary to ensure her safety, whether it meant hurting Lucy's feelings or not. In the end, for Loke a living and breathing angry Lucy was much better than a cold Lucy underground.

Perceptive as ever, Cana sensed Lucy's tenseness when she showed up at the guild after her failed mission. She just shrugged it off and took another swig of her beer. If any one knows how to pick themselves up, Cana thought, it's Lucy- so there's no point to in worrying over it. She was right, too. Like Natsu, Lucy had a disturbingly positive attitude.

Sure enough, when Lucy showed up at the guild a few days later to find Loke knocking a few back, Cana could tell that the tenseness had dissipated. Sure Lucy frowned, humphed and gave Loke the cold shoulder but, all in all, she was just putting up an act.

It was funny, too. The guild provided the best entertainment for Cana.

True to his nature, Loke beamed and smiled with his arms wide open when he saw her, "Good morning, Princess!"

But Lucy just turned the other way with a "hmph!"

"Oh you just got burned!" Gray laughed.

"Ugh," Loke rolled his eyes, "you're as tactful as ever. I really don't need you to get on my case, not when you're as clueless as you are."

"Whatever, man," Gray laughed, "I ain't clueless."

"Of course not."

"Natsu's clueless, not me."

"You're just as bad."

"Hey don't put us on the same level!"

Naturally, Loke purposely got Gray riled up so that he would yell and make himself heard across the guild.

"You're right, you might be worse."

"Okay, that's it! How dare you say I'm worse than that birdbrain-"

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING BIRDBRAIN, YOU DUMBASS POPSICLE!"

And sweet success! Loke smiled to himself. Loke really did think Gray was clueless, though. How does someone just deal with Juvia like that?

As soon as Natsu came into play, Gray completely forgot about his conversation with Loke and started swinging his fists. Really, they were both very simple minded at times.

"Good one!" Cana, who saw and understood everything, laughed.

Loke high-fived his former partner in crime, "Really, it's too easy to get those two to play into your hands."

"They are idiots after all."

"Now if only it were that easy with Lucy . . ."

"Don't stress over it, she's fine with you now, just trying to give you a hard time."

"Oh, really? Why is she trying to be difficult?"

"It's how we girls are, you should know."

"So true, I might as well join you, since it seems like I'll probably need a few more. Hey Mira!"

Lucy knew she would forgive Loke, after all, Virgo was right- she needed to trust her spirits. On Tenrou Island, she did not want to leave Loke to fight on his own, she would not have been able to forgive herself if Loke had gotten hurt while she abandoned him to fight on his own. In the end, once she learned the details about Zoldeo she understood. Had it not been for Loke perhaps she would not have met Caprico.

She was ready to forgive him, but that didn't mean that she was going to go easy on him. So she pretended to be mad at him. Yes, it was petty, but a little bit of pettiness didn't hurt anyone (too much). It didn't matter because she couldn't keep Loke away. When Lucy found Loke at the guild chatting with Gray and Cana at the bar her eyes almost popped out in surprise (really how could he just come and go without being summoned? Loke really was a strong spirit). It took all her effort to keep up the façade of indifference.

Loke acted like it bothered him, but he didn't mind Lucy's antics. He even found them endearing. Cana didn't know what he did to piss off Lucy, but she knew Loke didn't care if Lucy hated him- if it meant she was safe. But Loke hadn't come to the guild this morning to talk to Lucy, he came to talk with Gray. He had this conversation bright and early in the morning, long before Lucy arrived. It was better that way. Now all he had to do is get Lucy talking to him, if that didn't work, at least enjoy the good company of the guild.

"So," Cana got serious now that Gray left the table, "Is it really that bad that Lucy can't go on missions by herself?"

"I don't know. But my instinct tells me she shouldn't be out on her own. It would be better if she was with Gray or Natsu, preferably Erza."

"Maybe you're worrying too much, she's strong," Cana chugged her beer, "and ever better than that, she's smart. Unlike those two."

They turned at the duo that were making a wreck of the outside patio with their fight.

"Of course, she's strong," Loke scoffed, "believe me, I know her strength much better than she. A spirit's strength is based on the strength of their owners. It's not that, I don't know what it is . . ."

Cana eyed him carefully. Loke usually doesn't worry like this.

"This guy seemed to be really interested in her. Had he wanted to kill her, he would've- or at least tried. But he didn't- this guy wasn't out looking for a fight, he wanted information. The way he was looking at her . . . it wasn't right."

"Most men look at Lucy in an inappropriate way."

"No it wasn't just that. He was deliberately letting out his dark aura for her to feel. I'm not even sure that meeting was coincidental."

"Hmm. Want me to talk to her?"

"You don't have to, didn't you just say it already? She's not mad anymore?"

"She's not, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a talk. Especially if she's still in danger."

"Nah, she'll talk when she's ready. As long as she has me, she will be fine." Now Loke changed the topic, "come on, I bet that I can down this beer faster than you."

"Yeah right," Cana smirked and the two downed their beers and stopped talking about serious things.

A few pints later, Cana watched as Loke got up and made rounds to say good-bye. Lucy pretended not to pay attention, but Cana's keen eye caught a trace of disappointment in Lucy's face. By some miracle Gray and Natsu's fight had ended.

"Farewell, my princess!" Loke called out to Lucy and with a poof he was gone.

Lucy sighed and walked up to the request board. It was about time to pick out a mission to pay for rent.

"Great!" Natsu cried out, suddenly next to Lucy, "Let's pick a fun mission!"

"No Natsu," Lucy replied, "I'm doing this next mission on my own."

"Sorry no can do," Gray popped up right next to Lucy making her jump in the air with surprise.

"Argh! Don't sneak up on people like that!"

"Then you should be more perceptive," Gray sneered.

"Whatever, I'm doing this on my own, you can't stop me!" Lucy huffed.

"Fine, choose your mission on your own and you can keep the reward, but I'm going with you and you can't stop me." Gray answered coolly.

"Yeah me too!" Natsu cried! "We're on a team together! You can't ditch Happy and me!"

Lucy let out a long sigh of defeat.

"Hey, don't look so down," Cana decided to step in. She could be nice and help her friends after all.

"I'm fine." Lucy smiled, but Cana knew it was forced.

"Relax," Cana smiled back, "Sit down and have a beer with me."

Before Lucy could object, Cana was already calling out to Mira.

"Now, Lucy," Cana took a sip of her drink, "What's the big deal? We all know you are strong, so why do you always feel like you need to prove yourself?"

"I didn't say that-" Lucy tried to reply, but Cana gave a look that simply said bullshit.

"Well . . ." Lucy tried to think why she was upset to begin with. It seemed very silly to make such a big deal when all Loke did was try to help her.

"Normally, I don't feel like that- I mean, I know have gotten very strong since I joined the guild and I can get stronger still. It's just that- last mission, I knew that I could have done something, I should have. This man . . . he was . . ."

"Lucy," Cana took another swig. She spoke with a laidback tone, but Lucy understood she was serious, "That man was evil. That's the word. When we go against enemies like that, we don't do it alone. We have our nakama right next to us, so don't be stupid and stop pouting. Now Loke is going to give you all the time in the world and is waiting patiently. Both you and I know you aren't mad at him, so go talk to him."

Lucy blinked. She didn't know how to react to a serious Cana- it was such a rare occurrence. She took a drink instead.

"Oh and by the way," Cana added, "I would take Gray's offer on letting you keep the entire reward!" And now Cana reverted back to being the fun, druken and cunning card mage.

"Cana! That's wrong!"

The girls enjoyed their drinks while Natsu and Gray fought over what mission they would choose. The next day, Cana would go away on a mission she picked earlier and Team Natsu would be off too.

That morning when Loke spoke to Gray he had one important message: never, under any circumstance, should Lucy go off on her own. As Loke's best friend, Gray understood the message and made sure that Natsu did too. Lucy was in danger and it wasn't a joke. This man would definately pursue her.

Thanks for reading! What do you think about it?