A/N: Friendly reminder that the first chapter was redone, and if you haven't reread it yet, please do so. It'll help you make more sense of things.
There was difficulty with their little group, difficulty in getting along, difficulty in making decisions, difficulty in getting anything done, and quite frankly, Lucy was bored. Natsu thought Gajeel should stay, since navigating him through the streets would slow them down. Gajeel insisted on going, since he was someone who actually had a connection with this quest. Gray agreed with Gajeel, though it could have been because he enjoyed disagreeing with Natsu in a way that even Erza wouldn't punish him for. Juvia wanted to agree with Gray because he was Gray, but she was torn due to her desire to defend Gajeel's right to come along. Erza, Mira, and Makarov were deciding who else in the guild would be good to have around for this quest to succeed. Names like Levy, Warren, Wendy, and Cana came up, meaning absolutely nothing to Lucy, who was still bored and becoming increasingly agitated.
Deciding that enough was enough, Lucy grabbed a chair from a nearby table and marched into the arguing circle by the door, intent on finishing such nonsense. She shoved Gajeel backwards into the chair after setting it behind him. Juvia was lifted from her seat and pushed into Gray's arms, Lucy not minding at all that she'd almost dropped her friend in the process. Gesturing to Gray to follow her lead, Lucy took Natsu's wrist, much the way he'd taken hers while coming to the guild hall, and marched out the door.
"I can hear ya leavin', ya know!" Gajeel said, rising. "I'm going too!"
"You'll just slow us down!" Natsu shouted back.
"And carryin' Juvia won't?"
Thankfully Mira stepped in at this point, since Lucy could see no counterargument to Gajeel's point. The pretty barmaid approached him, that ever-present smile still plastered on. "Why don't you let them go, and you help us with strategizing from here 'till they come back? Finding out more about the Trident is sure to help, don't you think?"
"Don't patronize me, I'm no brat," Gajeel snapped. Regardless, he stayed put for the time being, allowing the others to scramble off. Hopefully, he'd sit down again rather than try to move about freely and possibly hurt himself.
Lucy, being a rather clever mermaid, realized that she had no idea where their destination was. She peeked back at Natsu, a little self-conscious now that her burst of bossiness had abated and she was left being an uninformed expedition leader. Natsu, however, couldn't be more delighted with the situation. He had, after all, gotten his way despite Gajeel and Gray contradicting him. Now, he simply grabbed her wrist in return, pulling to slow her down. When they were side by side, he grinned, shifting his grip from tightly around her wrist to interlocking with her fingers.
"This way, Lucy!" Natsu declared, shooting off down the street and taking a hard right.
Lucy had no choice but to run to keep up with him, stumbling a bit when she tried casting a glance over her shoulder to see if Gray and Juvia were keeping pace with them when she heard Gray holler out in protest. Natsu didn't decrease the speed at all, and in fact appeared to be increasing it instead. Was he insane? What a sight the pair of them must be! He, with his brilliant grin and muscled arm flexed out behind him, she attached to said muscled arm, long blonde hair and silvery dress fluttering out behind her from their ridiculous sprint through the streets. However, Lucy couldn't help but notice the humans didn't acknowledge the two with much more than a look and a raised eyebrow, sometimes a complacent smile. Was this common behavior, then?
Just when Lucy's heart was about to explode from the long dash, Natsu came to an abrupt stop, causing Lucy to bump into him. She stayed there, leaning against his back as she gulped in greedy breaths. Why was running so much harder than swimming?
"Man, Gray is always so slow!" Natsu complained, searching the street they'd just run down.
Apparently, this man really was insane. Had he forgotten that Gray wasn't just out taking a casual stroll, but also carrying Juvia? It's not like he could maintain the ridiculous pace Natsu had set and still keep Juvia from bouncing right out of his arms. Though, come to think of it, Juvia would probably have a wonderful time trying to hold on to Gray if he were to start running. That might make it harder for Gray to breathe, and in turn, cause Juvia to worry. Then she'd hold on tighter still, trying to console him and ask him it was alright if he wasn't as fast as Natsu. Lucy wondered how Gray would respond to that one.
She straightened, lifting her head from Natsu's back and running her free hand through her hair. It was a mess of tangles. With a sigh, she raised her other hand to comb through the disaster, but paused when she only succeeded in placing Natsu's hand against her head.
"What? You want me to play with your hair, or something?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.
A blush graced her visage. That wasn't what she had planned to do! She shook her hand vigorously to disentangle their fingers and toss his hand away, not looking up to meet his eyes. Instead, she started working through her locks, attempting to tidy it enough to plait it.
"I'm bored. Let me help." And then Natsu's fingers, very warm fingers, were sliding through her hair as well, slowly enough that when they snagged on tangles it didn't hurt, and patiently enough that tangles gave way shortly before his careful ministration. Lucy was surprised. He did this very well. Either he'd had long hair at some point, or he'd helped someone else. There was no way he would be this good without practicing on someone with a sensitive head like her own. Especially since he seemed to be a constant ball of motion and energy. It made the gentleness all the more a contrast.
When the snarls were out, she quickly divided her hair into five parts and wove the strands into an intricate plait. But reaching the end of her hair, Lucy realized she had nothing with which to secure it. Well, then. So much for her plan of keeping presentable while running about in the human world.
"Nah, that's not your best look," Natu said. He ran his fingers through her hair to undo the braid. "Here, hold this for me for a second." A blue silk ribbon was dropped onto her extended hand. Lucy inspected it as Natsu continued his ministrations, which felt lovely and soothed much of the pent up anxiety that had been forcing her muscles to tense up and give her a headache.
The ribbon was clean, but not new, and wound in a tight spiral. A very pretty shade of blue, a very pretty ribbon, and hardly something a man like Natsu seemed likely to possess. Lucy wondered where it came from, and why he'd had it on his person. She internally grumbled for the umpteenth time about not being able to use her voice. It really did make everything in life more difficult, not only in not being able to communicate, but also making her feel isolated. She was trapped alone with her thoughts, unable to speak or share or ask or vent or demand or anything. But she could see and move around on her own. That was something.
Natsu finished massaging her scalp and brushing out her hair, and started gathering the top half of her hair, pulling it to the right side in a ponytail. At that point, he grabbed the ribbon out from her and unfurled it with a snap, using it to tie her hair up. When he was finished, she reached up to feel it while she regarded her companion, standing there all proud, hands on his hips and smug expression on his face. Had he made the ribbon into a bow? She looked at him with a question on her face.
"This look suits ya," Natsu said with that grin of his, the grin that closed his eyes and became a beacon to others, welcoming them to smile along with him.
Lucy was spared the necessity of coming up with an appropriate facial response by Gray coming up to them at that point.
"Jeez, ash-head," Gray said, not quite wheezing, but clearly tired. "Try thinking before you go running off across the city. I'm carrying someone, you know. I can't sprint like this!"
Natsu snorted. "But it's good for ya. Look! You managed to keep your clothes on the entire way here!"
Lucy noted that Gray did indeed still have all of his clothing on his person. Apparently having his hands full of Juvia prevented him from stripping and abandoning clothing en route.
Juvia, still held tightly in his arms, clenched her arms around his neck, a chagrined look on her features. "I apologize, Gray! I am such a burden to you."
Gray noticeably quieted his labored breathing, and said, "Nah, it's all good. You're not that heavy."
"Ya getting' fat and out of shape, freeze-boy?" Natsu taunted.
"I know Gray is strong enough to carry me, I did not mean to imply you lacked the strength," Juvia reassured the offended man, then continued with a mournful voice. "But carrying me meant you could not strip, an activity that you so enjoy. I have kept you from an activity important to you, and I am very sorry."
The strangled noise in the back of Gray's throat made Lucy want to laugh out loud. While Natsu indulged in laughing obnoxiously, Lucy took deep breaths, fighting her smile and the urge to burst into painful noise. If she smiled, she was much more likely to laugh. She knew what would happen if she made a sound. She knew. But still… the look on Gray's face, compared to Juvia's sincere adoration… She wasn't going to be able to hold it in-
"Hey, Lucy, your face looks weird like that," Natsu commented, sticking his own face very close to take an inspection of her features.
And there went the desire to laugh and be jolly in a flash of light. Or sound, as it were. Natsu sure knew how to make a mermaid offended and irritated. She sighed, glaring at him and letting her bottom lip protrude into a pout. How rude of him to insult such a lovely mermaid.
"I did not mean to offend anyone," Juvia was busy insisting as Gray carried her into the restaurant's front door. Lucy imagined her friend had been apologizing to Gray since making her comment. That brought her smile back. Juvia was nothing if not sincere and over-the-top in her emotions. As Lucy made to follow the first pair inside, Natsu threw his arm around her shoulders.
"There's your real smile!" he proclaimed jovially. "You were having a hard time doing it right a minute ago."
He was insulting her wavering smile during her battle against laughter? What was his problem? It's not like she could just allow a bunch of sounds to go dancing past her lips without serious repercussions.
"Besides," Natsu went on, marching the two of them through the door, "if you're going to laugh, make sure it's worth it."
Lucy's anger froze, and she looked up him with wide eyes though he kept his face forward, moving along like he hadn't just done yet another thing to throw her for a loop. So, had he said something rude to upset her and keep her from laughing, knowing it would hurt her if she did? Or had he just been a numbskull who didn't know how to speak to others without insulting them? Why couldn't she figure this man out? Ever since he'd come floating into her life, a bloody body dying on a piece of a destroyed ship, he'd been a source of confusion, bafflement, and just a little bit of blushing. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, he could be sweet. And he was rather attractive. Especially that jawline she'd seen last night on the beach.
A raspy voice interrupted her thoughts. "So, a table for the two couples, eh? A double date?" It was an old woman, a very large old woman, wearing clothes that were entirely too small for her person. A short blue skirt, a tight white top that left too much not in the imagination, both bulging at the seams, and some long, skinny creature wrapped around her neck. Lucy had no idea what to make of the woman. Apparently, Natsu didn't either. He was too busy staring at her in horrified shock.
"Where'd you get those clothes?" he demanded in outraged shock. Lucy could agree with him that the clothes were a rather poor choice, but there was no reason to be rude about it.
The old woman merely fluffed the animal around her neck, and it moved, blinking its beady little eyes. Lucy blinked back. It wasn't uncommon back at home to have particular fashion tastes come and go. For a while, some merfolk decided it was trendy to wear companion eels as statements, not just keeping them at their sides for friendship. A live eel, a live land animal. What was the difference, really? Not that Lucy wanted to participate in either venture. She preferred to leave her alluring, graceful neck exposed, all the better for viewing and garnering the praise of bewitched males.
"My clothes, eh? They are nice, aren't they?" The old woman didn't seem bothered by Natsu's question, which was a relief to the rest of their group. If they were barred from the restaurant, they would have a hard time getting whatever they were supposed to find at that table. "I got these at a flea market over in Hargeon. A real deal, too."
"So, what about that table?" Gray interjected, done with the conversation. "Is it alright if we have a request?"
The woman grunted. "Sure, why not?" Juvia pulled out the menu from the clam, and started calculating which table it would be. Meanwhile, the older woman was investigating Lucy through her half-circle glasses. "You know, I'm the manager of this place, but I also rent apartments. If you're looking for a new place to live, I've got a nice place over on Strawberry Street. Good deal."
Lucy didn't know how to express that she was actually a mermaid only on land for a brief time to save her people before returning to the ocean without using any words, so she just smiled in response.
"Thanks, we'll keep that in mind!" Natsu said congenially, as if he hadn't blatantly questioned her fashion sense minutes before. "Look, they've found the table!" He started leading Lucy away, arm still around her shoulder. "Oh, and lady, we'll take some scallops!"
Dislodging Natsu's arm from her shoulder, Lucy rushed forward to the table Juvia was at. Maybe they could find the clue now and just get out of here. She was getting real sick of not being able to say anything, even when her entire being screamed for her to make some witty remark, or correct someone's snafu, or just get her thoughts out of her brain and out into the open. Maybe she just needed some time to adjust to land, her new situation, and her new body. Maybe what she really needed was something familiar. Nighttime and the stars couldn't come soon enough.
Gray and Juvia were poking about, looking at the décor surrounding the table. The establishment's theme was very nautical, like the original owner had wanted to be a pirate in his youth, but settled for smothering his environment in mariner memorabilia. Lucy slid into the booth across from Juvia, next to Gray. She wanted a break from Natsu for a while. Juvia could handle him for a short time.
Juvia flushed a little when Lucy took a seat by Gray, and Lucy thought she saw a flash of something in her eyes, but for the most part, Natsu was able to sit down by Juvia with no tremendous consequences.
"I was right again! It is a diner nowhere by the sea, but with a ridiculously sea-y sea theme!" Natsu crowed as he batted a hanging plushie sea creature from his face. Was it supposed to be a seahorse? And what was it doing, hanging down so low? It kept swinging back to hit Natsu's face. "Gah, Juvia, switch places with me! It won't hit you in the face! Stupid thing."
"Alright," Juvia agreed. Natsu pulled Juvia out of the booth, and quickly switched spots with her, depositing her safely down next to him. Now that she thought about it, Lucy realized both Natsu and Gray had exhibited some pretty nice muscle endurance and control while taking care of the three merfolk: carrying Juvia around, lifting Gajeel, supporting Lucy when she had a coughing fit. Not bad muscles at all.
"Much better, thanks!" Natsu said from his new spot across from Gray. "So, what are we looking for exactly?"
"If we knew that, don't you think we'd have found it by now?" Gray asked incredulously.
"I don't know, since you're so dumb, you probably wouldn't be able to find it even if you knew what it was!"
"And you wouldn't be able to find it if it were right in front of you!"
"And you wouldn't be able to find it if it were talkin' to you!"
Lucy and Juvia let the childish fight continue while they searched around the booth. Since Gray and Natsu were on the inside, the girls couldn't poke around the decorations on the wall and ledge there, but they did check under the table, and the ledges behind them. While Juvia's head was under the table, and Lucy was on her knees to look through the various colored bottles adorning the ledge behind her, the manager approached them with a steaming platter.
"I see I was wrong," said the old woman. "I'd assumed the blue-haired girl was with the boy carrying her, and the blonde girl was with the boy who'd had his arm around her shoulders." She sniffed. "Completely wrong, then. Not sitting in the right spots."
"Huh?" Natsu asked, deeming it fit to take a break in his argument with Gray as both of them began eating.
"It turns out you're here with that handsome dark-haired boy, and the girls are here together." Natsu and Gray started choking on the scallops in their mouths. "Did you masquerade as different pairings outside because you were afraid of discovery?"
Gray thumped his chest so violently, Lucy was sure he'd bruise from it. "What are you talkin' about?"
The old woman didn't notice anything wrong with the two choking men, so merely answered the question. "You sit across from your date. That's how it's done. And you're sitting across from that Pinky over there."
That caused an instant outroar.
"I'm not dating that-"
"He's ugly and stupid, there's no way in-"
"Please keep your clothes on, sir. No shirts, no service."
"I'm gonna be sick just thinking about it-"
"That's disgusting! I'd never-"
"No pants, definitely no service. What kind of operation do you think I run here?"
"Yeah, keep your clothes on, your pervert!"
"I'm no pervert, you stinkin' idiot!"
"Thank you for putting your pants back on. Now your shirt, if you please."
"Juvia, we have to switch back right now!"
Gray didn't even bother asking Lucy, merely grabbing her arm and yanking her towards himself in an attempt to fix the condemning seating chart. She fell into his bare chest with a surprised noise that brought on a fierce round of painful hacks, her companions exclaiming in surprise and concern. The old woman just left.
"Make sure you pay at the front before you leave," she said as she walked away, rodent boa nodding in agreement.
"Lucy! Are you alright? Ah, man, I'm so sorry, Lucy!" Gray cried, tentatively patting her back as she clutched onto him, head nestled into the crook on his neck.
When the coughing was done, her taut muscles relaxed and she slid down a little. Natsu leaned over the table and pulled her torso away from Gray's, leaving her legs on Gray's lap, and her upper body reclined on the table supported in Natsu's arms. "You okay, Luce?" he asked very gently.
She opened her eyes slowly, wiping her chin and mouth with the napkin someone pressed into her hand. As expected, a bloody mess. Lucy released a deep breath, and just looked straight up, ignoring everything for a moment as she gathered herself into one piece after spewing so much energy by making such a tiny noise.
"Luce?" Natsu repeated.
But Lucy didn't respond. Above their heads, there it was. Her eyes had followed the cord from which the stuffed seahorse was suspended, followed it up to the beam spanning the room. And by the cord, up on that beam, there were several rum bottles. One was different. Clenching her core muscles, she brought herself into a seated position. She felt a little awkward, sitting on Gray's lap like that, but it was hardly her fault, was it? Natsu had leaned further across the table when she pulled herself up, hands still holding onto her shoulders. She shook him off, then braced herself with hands on Gray's shoulders.
When she started to stand, Gray's hands shot to her waist to steady her. "Whoa, now! What do you think you're doing?"
She ignored him. Clearly, she couldn't make any noise. Definitely no noise. She doubted whether anything would be worth that pain. No more noise until she was a mermaid again, she swore to herself, no matter how surprised she was.
Still wobbly when she stood, Lucy took Gray's hand from her waist and held it as she stepped onto the table. Gray stood with her, completely confused. "Did you find something up there, Lucy?"
Lucy lifted the tall, square bottle with the short neck from the middle of the display. It was green-brown, murky when she tried to look inside it.
"What is it, Lucy?" Juvia asked. Lucy thought her friend sounded almost…impatient. Wanting to soothe her, Lucy handed the bottle to Juvia, who showed the two men the mark on the bottle's cork. "Fairy Tail's guild mark," Juvia breathed out. "Just like the one on Gray's chest."
Lucy smiled. Juvia would compare it to something related to Gray. They had found the clue, it had been above their heads the whole time. They might not have found it if Gray and Natsu weren't so desperate to not be dating each other. How strangely life works out sometimes!
"Good job, Lucy!" Gray celebrated. "Now can you get down? Standing up like this is hurting my legs." She wasn't surprised, since he had to stand in an uncomfortable position to accommodate the table and bench in the booth. But, some instinct inside her told her to grab another of the bottles from the beam, the short, fat, very round red one. Not questioning the prompting, Lucy grabbed it, then stepped down onto the bench, kneeling to lower herself. Taking the first bottle back from Juvia, she hugged the two bottles to her chest, happy, relieved, and so thankful they had found what they needed.
"Well, c'mon!" Natsu egged. "Let's see it!"
Lucy passed the tall bottle off to him, watching him turn it over in his hands. "There's a message in this bottle," he told the group. "And it's very old, whatever it is."
"Don't humans put messages in bottles when they are stranded?" Juvia asked.
"Sometimes people do it just to send it out and see if anyone will answer," Gray said.
"Well, this message has gone unanswered for a really long time. If someone was stranded and sending for help, it's probably too late for them. Unless they built themselves a hut and lived off coconuts and berries for a really long time." Natsu's eyes grew a little glazed as he pictured the scenario. "So are we gonna open it, or what?"
Juvia took the bottle. "I think we should return and include Gajeel in this portion of the clue. We did leave him behind."
Natsu sighed, dissatisfied with having to put off action when he could be doing something now. "Alright, fine. But can we at least eat before we go back?"
Lucy eyed the now cold scallops forgotten on the table during all the excitement of who was sitting where. Mavis did say to try them. Gajeel could hardly fault them for following Mavis' instructions. They would go back after eating.
The return to the guild hall was much less exciting than the adventure to the restaurant. Lucy was incredibly grateful for that. This evening would mark the first full day since all the hullabaloo started, and Lucy wondered how many more chaotic runs through town she would have before she could return to the beautiful sea.
While the trip back was mellow, the guild hall itself was in a state of war. Lucy could hear the bellowing before they even opened the doors, and what she saw when they entered the building was worrisome. Gajeel stood over a petite bluenette, her prone form dwarfed by his massive frame. Two men, ready to leap in and attack, were crouched low before him.
"-you didn't play fair, and you know it!" shouted one of the men, orange hair pulled back into a ponytail. His face was twisted in anger.
Gajeel scoffed and replied with a sneer, "You're just sore the both of ya couldn't protect her from one blind merman on legs for the first time in his life."
"But you went after the smallest one, that's just cowardly!" cried the other, very large man. His hair confused Lucy, who thought it looked like the black tresses were attempting to become a sprouting plant. But thoughts of his hair left her mind when she processed what the man had just said. Gajeel had gone after one of the guild members?
Juvia voiced Lucy's panic. "Gajeel, what have you done?"
This wasn't good. This wasn't good no matter how Lucy looked at it. If Gajeel were attacking members, they'd be kicked out, and then there would be no one to help them find the Trident. And oh no, was that petite girl alright? She was just lying there in Gajeel's shadow, unmoving. Was she so badly hurt? Gajeel had a rough side, yes, but Lucy had never known him to do something like this.
And did Lucy hear someone counting?
"Four… three… two… ONE! Time's up, and I'm free!" shouted the girl on the floor, leaping up to her feet. "Stop your whining, you two. I'm fine! I'm out of prison now, so let's get back to it!" And then she darted off behind a pillar, followed by the two men.
Lucy and Juvia just stood there, panic and confusion written clearly on their faces. Was this going to be the chief set of emotions they'd feel while in this guild? Panic and confusion? What a sorry life.
Natsu, however, held no such negativity. He went shooting off into the fray of people, joining what seemed to be half the guild in running around. "I want to play, too! I love freeze and burn tag!"
A game? It was all a game of tag? Lucy understood the basic concept of the game tag, since merfolk played it all the time, with each other, fish, and the waves. But Lucy had never played dead during a game before.
"Gray? Could you explain what's happening, please?" Juvia asked as her courier set her down in a chair far from the madding crowd.
"Huh? Oh, the game? It's freeze and burn tag. If you get tagged, you have to freeze in place. If no one from your team taps you for thirty seconds, you have to drop to the floor and count down from a hundred before you can leave. That's the slow-burn part, because it's pure torture down there. You're just lying there, and you never know if someone is gonna stomp on you or something."
Just then a ball of flame came and hit Gray's chest, catching it on fire. Gray, however, was practiced in the art of shedding clothing, and the shirt went flying off to the left while Gray went darting off to the right. "Alright, fire-breath, you're asking for it!"
Gray punched at Natsu, who blocked it with a forearm and a loud laugh. He quickly turned serious, however, when he muttered something Lucy couldn't hear from her distance. Gray merely responding with another fist, this time with a mist around it. What was up with those two? Lucy figured maybe it had something to do with their magics. They hadn't talked about it at all, since they'd been so focused on other things. But this was a wizard's guild. It only stood to reason both of those men would have magic.
Juvia called some water from a cup on a nearby table to douse the smoldering shirt on the floor, then went back to watching Gray. Lucy pulled a chair next to her friend and sat down. Who knew how long this was going to take.
"Say, Lucy?" Juvia said, still facing forward.
Lucy nodded to show she was listening.
"Are you interested in Gray?"
Lucy thought Juvia was joking, but she wasn't. She could tell by the set look on her face. Trying to reassure the bluenette, Lucy shook her head emphatically.
"Good. Because he is mine." Her voice took on a dangerous edge, and she turned to look Lucy right in the eyes. "And I will fight for him."
Lucy nodded her understanding, and both girls turned forward again.
"I'm glad we understand each other, and we can remain friends rather than love rivals."
Another nod from Lucy. Juvia had always been an emotional one, but she'd never seen her be so protective. Jealous, even.
The tenseness was broken by Mira joining the two of them. "I suppose it's never really a game of freeze and burn tag until Natsu and Gray get in there," she commented.
"Why is that?" Juvia questioned.
Mira looked down at them. "Oh, haven't you seen their magic yet?"
The mermaids didn't need to ask, because across the room they heard an enraged shout. "That's it!" Gray hollered. He slammed his right fist into his open left palm. Glowing mist started gathering around his hands. "Ice Make: Hammer!" And there was suddenly a hammer in his hands, a huge hammer.
Natsu leapt forward, raising his fist for a punch. Was he mad trying to punch that solid, mean-looking hammer? "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" And then Natsu's fist was on fire, and Lucy didn't know whether she was more surprised at that or the fact he was fist fighting with a hammer.
"That's why!" Mira said with a giggle as they continued to watch. "Gray is a very skilled ice maker mage, and Natsu is a-"
Mira was cut off by a flying chair which knocked her over. "Oh, it's always so fun around here, isn't it?" she mumbled out right before losing consciousness.
Lucy got the impression this wasn't the first time Mira had fallen victim to flying furniture, but she slid out of her chair anyway and knelt down, lifting Mira's head onto her lap, ready to protect her from any further misadventure. She watched the guild members, and one blind merman stumbling about on new legs, and felt something new in her chest. For the first time, instead of irritation, confusion, or the desire to leave, Lucy felt a little amused and just a tinge of longing. Sure these people were fighting -whether or not it had started as a game it was now a fight in Lucy's eyes, because what else could you call what Gray and Natsu were doing- but they weren't enemies. These people were companions, friends. They had a bond. The kind of bond Lucy wanted in her life. It seemed so beautiful.
When a plate of something squishy hit her face, the happy, sentimental thoughts vanished. Lucy decided this guild was chaotic nonsense after all.
Dear Friends,
I would like to thank kitkattnanja, who has volunteered as a beta for this story. What a swell person! No matter how good an editor you may be, you'll never catch all of your own mistakes. It makes a big difference to have another set of eyes and brain to help out.
Speaking of editing, since my own editing job schedule has changed recently, so has my projected posting schedule. Until I get into my new groove, I can't say for sure whether Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays will become the new steady. Hopefully, things will smooth out soon. Regardless, you'll still get at least one chapter a week, especially now that I'm not trying to do everything on my own.
Also… not to be a dreadful bother, but really… I would appreciate a review or two. I'm really aiming to entertain and improve my writing, and I don't know how I'm doing if I don't get any feedback. Even something simple like "Buy a dictionary," or "I am thrilled at your usage of semicolons," or "Me. Like. Ugh." You know. Feedback. Of course, I would like to know what's wrong/could use fixing, or what you liked, but anything will do at this point.
Alright. Begging over. Have a fabulous day!
Cheers!
Anne-Marie
