A/N- Chapter two of Voodoo. This chapter is really short cause it's more of a 'Oh, yes, let me just show you that I'm continuing' chapter then a plot-centric chapter, although, this chapter is plot-centric since it explains why Laxus has come looking for Cana. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer- I'm not Hiro Mashima. I'm no where near that awesome…
Laxus and Freed stopped on front of a tavern, and dismounted. "Stay with the horses," Laxus commanded. At Freed's nod, he walked up the rickety stairs and entered the building.
The doors swung open with a thud, and one of the platinum haired barmaids looked up. The barmaid who had looked up had short hair and smaller breasts then the other girl, and with a smile she called out, "Be right with you!"
She continued to dance and weave her way through the men, tables, and sprawled people and legs to deliver drinks. She finally cruised to Laxus and said, with her delightful New Orleans accent, "Hi. Can I help you?"
"I was wondering if you could give me directions," Laxus said.
"Where you going?" the young girl asked.
Laxus shifted uncomfortably, "I need to see Cana Alberona."
The young girl's eyes widened. Shock in her voice, she asked quietly, "Why do you need to see the Lady of the Bayou?"
"Lisanna, it's not nice to pry," a voice, similar to the young girl he was talking to, came from behind him. Laxus turned and saw the older barmaid standing there, "I'll help this going man. You go see to the other customers, okay? Macao looks like he's out of ale."
The younger girl, named Lisanna, nodded, "Okay, Mira."
The long haired girl turned to Laxus, "So you wanted directions to Miss Alberona, correct?"
"Um, yes," Laxus said, slightly embarrassed about the fact that he was here for voodoo.
Mira smiled at him, "If you keep heading into town, you'll eventually come to where the road splits. Head to the left and keep following the road. Miss Alberona lives outside of town, right in the edge of the bayou. You can't miss her place."
"Thank you, Miss Mira," Laxus said, exiting the building.
Cana sat in her house, setting up the cards to tell her fortune when a knock rang on her door.
Cana looked up with a smile, "Coming!"
Before she crossed to the door, she swept the cards back into their deck, and put the deck back between her breasts. Another knock came insistently. "I said I'm coming!" Cana called out, getting angry.
She walked out of her modest bedroom into the room that she had set up as her workplace. The room was everything you'd expect from a Voodoo Queen: beads and gaudy drapery, the windows covered, the stench of sweet incense and on the table, Cana's crowning jewel - her 'crystal ball'. It wasn't really crystal, and she never really used it.
~Besides, real voodoo doesn't require crystal balls,~ Cana thought to herself in amusement. The knocker started pounding on the door, and Cana walked angrily to it.
"Yes?" she asked, annoyance in her voice, as she wrenched the door open. To her surprise, a young blonde man stood on her doorstep, and at the edge of the porch was another man, with long brown hair, watching over the horses.
"Are you Cana Alberona?" the blonde man asked, a northern accent staining his tone.
Cana continued to stare at the man in aggravation, "Depends on who's asking. If Mira sent you, I don't have the money, yet."
"Mira did send me," the guy started. Cana went to slam the door but the man stuck his foot in the doorframe, "But because I asked her. I'm looking for the Lady of the Bayou."
Cana opened the door slightly, just enough to see the blonde's face, "Why are you looking for me?"
"Because I need your help," the blonde sighed, "and it has to be you."
Cana opened the door for the blonde, and gestured to the brunette, "Is he coming inside?"
"No, Freed is staying with the horses," the blonde said, walking inside her home.
Cana closed the door and turned in time to see him glance around with nervous skepticism. She sat down, and gestured for him to sit on the other side of the table, "Please, sit down, Mister...?"
"Dreyar," the blonde stated, sitting down and sticking out his hand to shake, "Laxus Dreyar."
Cana shook his hand, then reclined, getting comfortable, "So, Mister Dreyar, what do you need my help with?"
Laxus looked uncomfortable, "You see the future, right? Shouldn't you already know?"
Cana rolled her eyes, "If I was always looking to the future, I wouldn't be living in the present, now would I, Mister Dreyar?"
"I guess not," the blonde said. He shifted uncomfortably, "I... I can't feel."
"Excuse me?" Cana asked, "What do you mean?"
"When it rains, you feel the water on your face, right?" Laxus asked. Cana nodded, and the blonde continued, "Well, I don't. I can't feel it."
"How did this happen?" Cana asked, getting interested despite herself.
Laxus blushed, "Is that really necessary?"
Cana smiled, holding back laughter at the sight of this manly man blushing, "How am I supposed to fix something if I don't know how it happened?"
The blonde sighed, "Fine. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to travel. My family caused an uproar and insisted that I take two of my closest friends - who were employees of my family - with me. Freed had no qualms about leaving with me, but the other, Bixlow, did. He was in love with a girl in town. The girl was our local 'witch', but I never believed in that. I forced Bixlow to leave with me in the night before my daily changed their minds about letting me leave. We left and didn't return for three years.
When we returned, I escorted Bixlow to the girl's home and she was very angry with me. She yelled and yelled, until I told her I didn't understand why she was angry with me.
She suddenly seemed calm and told me that until I understood what I had made her feel, and felt it for myself, I wouldn't feel anything that touched me.
It's been nearly six months and I can't feel."
The blonde looked up at me, "So, Miss Alberona. Can you help me?"