Forever Night
Chapter Seven
The Properties of Water
They reached the bank of the sea cove under a curtain of hard rain, their way and destination lit by bright crashes of lightening.
Levy decided to forgive Lily. It was impossible to let him shiver and clutch at his rounded ears in fear. No way to pretend not to see the small cat pretend to be unaffected. He was trying to be tough. She wasn't sure why, it wasn't like Gajeel would care or dislike him – that seemed completely impossible – but the cat seemed determined to tough it out.
Which was sweet, in a stupid way.
She made him an umbrella like the one that shielded her head, and gave him a gift of silence. His look of gratitude was enough to justify her forgiveness.
She didn't make a thing for Gajeel. He could rust.
"Are we supposed to go in with it raining like this?" she asked him.
"Not much choice," he said, but his glance back to her and Lily was a shade softer than his voice. He was worried, though not for her. Lily was not a happy exheed. Levy was worried for Lily too, but the fact that all of Gajeel's concern was to his cat and not to her made her feel …
Strong. He didn't worry that she could do it. He didn't worry that she could keep up.
It's about time.
"All right then," she said. "Since I'm guessing neither of you can breathe underwater," she held her hand up and brushed it across the air in front of her, "Bubble." She stabbed, "Air." Second hand raised, forming a circle with the first, "Secure."
A second time.
A third.
Mostly translucent spheres formed over their heads and filled with air, while collars attached themselves to the base of the balloons to secure them to their throats with no openings.
"They're open enough," she told them, voice muffled through the bubble, "to let oxygen in and what you breath out, out. So don't worry about that. Gajeel, you'll sink just fine, but me," she waved a hand over her waist, "weight." She smiled and pointed at the word wrapping around her, "I'd float. Lily?" she asked, "Do you want one, or I guess Gajeel could keep hold of you?"
"No problem, shorty," Gajeel said, when Lily didn't automatically answer, "I've got him."
Thunder crashed, and the bubble of air trembled around Lily's small head. He wanted, she could tell, to grab hold of his ears, but couldn't. Guilt and pity stabbed through her.
"Let's go then."
She slipped into the water, barely able to tell where the rain ended and the sea began. There were no mermaids drifting on the surface this night. No selkies playing under the moonlight. Just lightening touched darkness. And quiet punctuated by thunder.
She was probably scared, but it was hard to really be sure since excitement was the emotion that burned in her gut and flushed her cold skin.
She'd never dare to hunt a kraken on her own. She probably shouldn't be hunting one now, even with Gajeel. But. But.
But.
The weight pulled her down, and Gajeel sank with her, and she lost sight of rationalities and reasons and common sense. Hundreds of people had tested themselves against the great monster of the sea, and only few had succeeded.
But she was smart. Gajeel was strong. Pantherlily was clever.
And they would hunt the kraken. They would defeat the kraken. And she could stand up tall against the likes of Erza and Laxus and Natsu and all the others. They had never hunted a kraken. She would be more than a 'Bookworm'.
More than someone continually left on the sidelines while the more powerful stood up for the guild. She didn't realize before this how much she wanted to take her place up front, but she did. She did. She wanted to impress them as they had all impressed her.
This would do it.
Author's Notes: And that's chapter 7, ending my double upload for the day. Same notes as 6, busy with the GW2 beta Saturday and Sunday, but I'll update as soon as I can. (As short as these are, it shouldn't be long, though the chapters are going to start getting longer from here on out ... except for the first person insertions, those are going to stay short, no doubt.) Have a great weekend everyone!