The pen I'd been clutching in a white-knuckled grip is swiftly released from my hand and into another. "Lucy!" Jason's stern tone jolts me back into the present, causing my eyes to blink rapidly in order to focus.
"Sorry...you were saying?" I ask in a whisper.
Jason eyes me for a moment and then suddenly clears his throat. I tense at the familiar action, before resigning myself to another of his sympathetic speeches. "Look" he begins instead, catching me off guard. Noticing this, Jason reaches out to pat my shoulder. "Lucy I want you to take a break."
I feel the air in my lungs subside and then I'm rushing to find my voice. "What? Jason, please I-" before I can say anything more, his expression changes. His mouth shifting into a stern line. With this one piercing look, I decide its best to stay quiet.
"Journalism isn't an easy job. Passion. Motivation. Complete focus. They're all essential in order for us to produce even a shred of a decent article let alone something spectacular..." he takes a deep breath and tilts his head to the side, mouth turning up slightly in an all-knowing smile. "You have the drive to be a great writer. But you can't accomplish anything the way you are now. You're hurting. You can try to mask that pain as much as you want, but it won't do you any good."
Shock is the best word I can find to describe the way I feel in that moment. "I can't begin to imagine what you must..." Jason attempts in a wanning effort. "You deserve time to mourn and move on from the past Lucy. I know that isn't what you want to hear right now- or ever for that matter. But the stress you're putting yourself through is going to destroy you. Fairy Tail was an amazing guild but-"
"Family" I interrupt quietly, causing Jason to halt his deploring speech. "You're right Jason. Everything you've said is right. But Fairy Tail-" I nearly choke on the name, my eyes beginning to blur, "wasn't just an amazing guild. It was an amazing family. My amazing family. I haven't allowed myself to forget that fact in these past three years. I probably never will. But you're right. Fairy Tail is gone. And I need to accept that."
Jason shakes his head softly with a sigh of exhaustion. "But I don't want to stop working" I add honestly, laughing lightly at my mentors raised eyebrows. "Because being a writer is what I've always wanted to be. Even before I entered Fairy Tail." His eyes soften, creasing ever so faintly. With a firm "I'm going to go clear my head", I leave. The action feeling more like a desperate retreat the closer I get to the buildings' main door.
The shadow curled around my body like the fine, silk frame of a snake slinks away in the same manner after I'm finally outside. The icy air splintering down my throat is a welcome relief after the tense atmosphere only moments ago.
With a hefty sigh I turn out and onto the tired old streets of Magnolia, letting a single tear trail down my cheek as I say goodbye to my family, my home...to Fairy Tail. And with it, Natsu Dragneel.