Chapter Two: Flyboy
The pair trekked slowly through the forest behind the town, Gray leading the way and Juvia following close behind. Funny, she thought, he still has his clothes on, I wonder if he's okay, I hope he is. Minutes passed and the crunch of their feet on the path was interrupted only by the ever increasing caws of crows. They stopped for a short break, Gray walked into the brush to relieve himself and Juvia blushed for the hundredth time that day, things were getting serious! He was going to the bathroom near her, what next? Children? Oh no! She hadn't thought that far ahead! What would their wedding be like? What would she wear, would they match? Would they..
"HEY! Juvia, are you okay?" her worried thoughts were interrupted, her head snapped up and she froze. His face took up her vision (this happened normally but this time it was because of his proximity, not her love for him) his brow was wrinkled in concern,
"hey, you okay?"
"u-u-uh-oh-uhm-uh, I-I-I'm f-fi-fine"
"you sure? You look kinda shook up"
"no, you just surprised me, that's all Gray-sama"
"okay, be careful" Gray pulled back, and Juvia's body remembered what blushing was and did just that. Gray strode over to his pack, and hoisted it up on to one shoulder, oh how his muscles rippled as he picked it up. Suddenly, a piercing cry tore through the forest, accompanied by the sound of many wings flapping.
"Whose there?" Gray shouted into the forest, but he received no response other than the raking caw of a crow somewhere in the foliage above them. Juvia picked herself up, still shaky from such a close encounter; and readied herself for more walking. Gray took the lead, and Juvia tagged along behind him just close enough to be engulfed by the pocket of cool air that surrounded him wherever he went.
Night fell and found Juvia and Gray setting up camp inside an abandoned shack-being without Natsu's fire meant they had to use witchlight, eerie and blue-green but it did the job. They ate a small supper, and Gray yawned, fell out of his clothes and down on to his blanket. Juvia blushed and carefully rolled hers out next to Gray, not too close, but just close enough; the witchlight slowly faded and Gray muttered something that sounded very close to "Juvia" but one can never be sure with a sleeping ice wizard. Juvia slowly removed her hat, letting her hair fall down to her shoulders, she smiled sleepily and undid the buttons on her outer coat, it fell to the floor with a whoosh, leaving Juvia standing in pants and several sweaters, which were removed one by one, until her slender body was modestly covered with her undergarments. She shivered and crawled under her blanket, and skooched a little closer to Gray.
The sunlight shone lazily through the hole where a window had once been, illuminating the tangled form on the floor. Juvia's eyes opened slowly to see Gray smiling at her, wait, no, not just that, there was something else, her arms! They were wrapped tightly around him! She sprang back, clutching her blanket to her partially naked form.
"huh, that was an interesting way to wake up" remarked Gray with a smirk.
"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry G-Gray-s-s-sama" she managed to stutter before rushing into the adjacent room to change.
The pair left the house and continued on the path towards their destination, wherever it happened to be. They walked in silence, until,
"SHHH! No, you do it!"
"nuh uhhh I did it last time, remember?"
"SHHHHH!"
"right, sorry"
"shut up idiot"
Gray stopped short and his gaze locked on a very suspicious looking bush, he set his pack down and slowly approached the bush.
"HEY!" "whose there?" he demanded, glaring intently at the bush, whose leaves were starting to gather frost on the edges.
"...shit...GO!" a man about Gray's height burst out of the bush, waving a dull, rusty sword about his head. He spoke in a raspy voice, like a crow's,
"behold! It is I!"
"uhhh...and who might that be?" asked Gray, confused.
"it is I, Jeren, lord of the crows!" answered the man, visibly peeved by Gray's ignorance "bow before me or submit yourselves to doom!" he wiggles the fingers of his free hand menacingly.
"ugh whatever, lets get this over with" Gray yawned and simultaneously lowered his stance and threw off his clothes, "ice make, Floor!" he shouted and slammed his palms on the dry earth. Ice spread rapidly out from his hands, conforming to the shape of the ground. The "lord of crows" let out a screech and toppled over, slamming down hard on the ice. Determined not to be left out, Juvia hit him with a very long, very fine and very very hard stream of water, which left welts on his body. Gray bounded over to the man, and kneeled on his chest,
"what the hell do you want?"
"I'll kill you!" the man screeched, Gray, in lieu of a verbal response, dug his heel into the man's chest.
"oh just shut up will you?" Gray released some of the pressure on the man's chest, allowing him to take a deep, rasping breath which, as it turned out was a bad idea. He released the breath in one awful screech, piercing and sharp, it tore through the air, causing the foliage all around them to start moving. A great, unified caw came in response, moments before thousands of crows descended upon Gray and Juvia.
End of Chapter 2: Flyboy