There are times when my life is needlessly complicated. For example, right now I'm holed up in a NYC Starbucks, hoping my mom can't see the cake pop I bought (she's a bit diet-crazy), and trying to get my beat-up laptop to be productive and load fanfics. Because, you see, my hotel doesn't offer free wifi, and I don't want to pay $20 for a couple hours of fanfic browsing. Sigh.
Does anyone else think they wrote something terribly, cheesy, cliche... and then they actually read it and it's like, "Huh, that's not so bad." No? Just me? Dammit...
Aaaaand I just realized something I need to change in the next chapter. Yes, it's done, and the chapter after that, but I'm not digging myself a hole by publishing them all at once. I don't want to be that author that publishes three chapters and then disappears for months because life goes from small wave to tsunami, which it does quiet often.
Big thanks to reviewers FlameDragonHime, Phiafairy, KkMarie9005, Yomi14, psychncislover, Dark Mystique, Sailor Tiamat, guest account, and two guests!
See ya next week!
~BrennaCoris~
Natsu took a shorter route through the woods, opting to try and ignore the thicker undergrowth rather than face Erza's wrath. He knew he was large for a shifter wolf. The branches pressed against him, scraping through his fur and digging into his skin. Lucy wasn't that much smaller, but she didn't complain.
"Should we be hurrying?" Her voice reached him easily, roughened by her breathing, and he worked hard to suppress his instincts. He'd promised her time and he prided himself on always keeping his promises.
"A little. I'm pretty sure they expected me to return early in the morning." he said, glancing up at the ceiling of green and brown. "It's probably closer to midday now."
"What are we right now, exactly?" she asked. He figured the question had been bugging her since he had claimed her the previous night.
"Formally, you're my claim and potential mate. Informally, I'd guess we're friends."
"That's very complicated."
He shrugged, missed a branch coming towards his face and received an eyeful of spiky leaves.
"What's your suggestion?"
She held the silence for a long moment. He could practically hear her weighing the options. "Friends."
A flood of scents took hold of his nose. He picked out Gray with Bisca and Laki, probably from the morning patrol. Wendy had passed by with Mira and Erza. Unless he was mistaken about the verbal explosion a couple days ago, Porlyusica had lost a precious patch of herbs and sent her apprentice out to get more from the "human vermin". He knew the healer bore no grudge against humans specifically; shifters were just as despicable in her eyes. The undergrowth parted to reveal a small hollow ending in a cracked wall of stone and hanging moss. He relaxed by a hair while the female beside him tensed even more.
Home.
"What am I supposed to do?" Lucy drew level with him, her chin high and posture aggressive. He'd been right. The camp was overwhelming for her, so she reacted by sending a message of power and dominance. He let his tail brush hers and a faint tremor ran up her spine. Using their bond in front of the pack to force her to calm down was out of the question: she would have his head.
"Just walk in. I'll take you to Gramps - the alpha - and he'll take it from there." He nudged her ear with his nose and took in her overwhelmingly sweet scent.
"That sounds like half of a plan."
"It's all I've got. C'mon, they're getting restless." He moved towards the gap. Curiosity and open hostility reached his senses, all coming from the pack. They had the clear advantage in numbers over any lone intruder, but Lucy's dominance was likely putting some of the younger wolves on edge. He led her through the stony maze that was the entrance, emerging into a decently crowded camp. Most of the shifters had come out to see who he'd brought home. A low growl from him conveyed the unspoken message: mine.
"Hey, Natsu! Who's the lovely lady with you?" He turned his glare from Gray, smirking on the edge of the crowd, to a greyish-brown wolf with a very short pelt. Wakaba. He should've known. The old man was a well-known pervert. He dipped his head slightly to Lucy, giving her direction to speak. Their audience exchanged surprised and disbelieving glances.
Lucy raised her voice to carry across the clearing. "I am Lucy Heartfilia, claimed by Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail." Her chin raised, she raked her gaze across the crowd in an obvious challenge. He watched, stunned, as more than a few wolves involuntarily dropped their stares when they met hers.
Gajeel shouldered his way to the front. "You're that loner."
"Yes," she replied. A fresh challenge came out in her eyes. "And I'm assuming you're the reason Dragneel found me in the first place."
The black wolf smirked, red eyes narrowed in something he assumed was amusement. "I like you, bunny girl."
Lucy blinked twice.
"Gajeel! Already?" A petite blue-grey wolf burst forward to glare at the black wolf from greenish eyes. Levy McGarden, Gajeel's temperamental mate. The black wolf effectively dwarfed her in everything but character, where Levy had most of the pack beat by a mile.
"What?"
"Bunny girl?"
"I was hunting a hare, but bunny girl sounds better."
Lucy watched the exchange with wide eyes. He nudged her shoulder.
"Consider this normal," he whispered. She tried to raise an eyebrow, which didn't do much in wolf form. Levy swiped a paw across Gajeel's nose and padded forward to meet them, leaving her scowling mate behind.
"Hey! I'm Levy McGarden, and the big ball of sunshine who gave you a nickname is Gajeel Redfox, my mate."
Lucy partially dropped the dominating posture. "Nice to meet you."
Levy grinned. "Right back at you." Raising her voice to shout above the quiet murmur that managed to arise, she added, "Alright! Get a move-on! Jet, Droy, and Gajeel, you're with me, and I need one more hunting group!"
"I'll lead one." A huge light grey wolf with a black scar running across his left cheek and eye who he immediately recognized as Elfman Strauss effortlessly cleared a way through the assembled wolves. Levy nodded and turned to face him.
"Erza and Mira are out. I'm subbing for beta, but I'm out for patrol. If anything happens, you're up," she told him. He nodded once in reply and she bounded off to join a bright ginger wolf, a smoky black wolf, and Gajeel at the fissure, stepping between them and her mate to end their argument before sweeping past all three and heading out. A brown she-wolf with unnatural green streaks running through her fur prowled towards them, her eyes focused on Lucy with calculated wariness. Evergreen, one of Laxus' followers. The alpha's grandson rarely showed up at the camp, but the three shifters that worshipped the ground he walked on stuck around.
"A Heartfilia, huh?" Evergreen growled. Lucy's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't back down. "I'd like to see what you're made of. I hear your father is a human."
"And my mother was an alpha. What difference does it make?" Lucy snapped.
Evergreen shrugged. "You're still a shifter, so I suppose it doesn't."
He let another low growl, slightly more threatening, roll from his throat and Evergeen slunk away. The shifters watching quickly began to disperse. He caught sight of a dark greyish-blue pelt that looked almost purple and called out to its owner.
"Romeo! Take Asuka and help her clean out the mother's den. She slacked off a bit last time." Which led to a sobbing Juvia and a pacing, growling, and generally more annoying than usual Gray, not to mention a glaring Mirajane. He did not need that she-wolf to be on his tail again. Romeo waved his bushy tail in reply and darted off to find Alzack and Bisca's daughter. Asuka Connell was entering the training age and cleaning dens was the first thing a young wolf learned in terms of camp duties. He returned his attention to Lucy, who had been meeting Evergreen's challenging stare from across the camp.
"Ready to go meet the alpha?" he asked. She looked at him with eyes full of exasperation.
"No."
"C'mon. Gramps won't bite."
"He's a shifter, Natsu. That's something he does best."
"I do it better." He led the way to alpha's ledge, letting Lucy pass him for the climb. He had absolutely no worry for her ability to climb the ledge, but being in the lead would appeal to her dominance. He caught sight of Gray padding over and chose to wait for the second commander, watching Lucy effortlessly run up the ledge.
"You've never let someone take over." Gray's version of a "good afternoon".
"Yeah, well, she gave me a solid pin after a partial shift."
Gray eyed him in disbelief. "On the side?"
"On the neck."
"Natsu!" His head shot up to lock gazes with Lucy, staring down at him from the ledge. "Get your pelt up here!"
Gray chuckled, a low, growly sound coming from his chest. "If you live through the day, you owe me a full play-by-play."
"If you take over beta until Erza gets back."
"Deal." Gray moved away and he bounded up the ledge to join the glowering female.
"Took you long enough," she growled. He did his best to ignore the pleasant heat warming his lower stomach and bushed his tail against her side while poking at the lichen curtain with his nose.
"Gramps! Can we come in?" He had used to simply barge in, but a couple serious beatings from Erza had been good incentive to put an end to that. A drowsy growl from the alpha was all he needed to push through the curtain. Lucy followed him, a bit wary but with little hesitation.
"Lucy Heartfilia, I presume." Gramps examined Lucy with a guarded interest. He could safely bet the old man had heard everything: shifters enjoyed all the benefits and drawbacks of advanced hearing.
"Yes, alpha." Lucy wasn't fooled by Makarov's small stature. He could see that she realized at least part of what the alpha was capable of, and she took care to follow pack procedures. Her dominating stare dropped completely and she kept her eyes up long enough to show power without a challenge.
"You know of pack behavior." It was more of a statement than a question.
"My mother, Layla Heartfilia, taught me. She was the alpha of an old pack, now disbanded. Love and Lucky, I think."
"Yes, I heard. I believe we had an alliance with them while Precht was alpha." Gramps' tone was easy, but Lucy tensed. Something akin to watered-down fear reached him. He moved closer to her on instinct, barely restraining from blocking her from the alpha completely.
Makarov noticed. "Relax. Both of you."
He remained where he was, the mating bond refusing to let him follow the alpha's order.
"Natsu, I'm fine," she said. Her voice wreaked havoc on his general stability and he took a rough step back, his rump landing on the floor. Gramps watched him through slightly narrowed eyes before returning his attention to the female.
"Well, Lucy, welcome to Fairy Tail. I'm assuming you'll be in Natsu's den?" She gave the alpha a short nod as an answer. The alpha turned to him. "You'd better take good care of her, boy."
"I don't need-" Lucy began, her lips drawn back in the beginning of a snarl. Makarov cut her off.
"And you'd better watch him. Make sure he doesn't pulverize the second commander."
The comment caught him off guard. "So you think I could?"
"No. You be far more likely to flatten the camp before either of you gained any advantage."
"Both of you, stop it. Honestly, alpha, don't encourage him. I heard all about the ice prick and the monster beta and the matchmaking demon. I'm fairly certain the pack doesn't need an overconfident first commander." Lucy cut off each sentence with a small snap. She acted like an alpha, and considering how her mother was one, it wasn't too surprising. Makarov's eyes glittered in amusement. "Natsu, you have to show me your den and then I believe you owe that dark grey wolf a play-by-play. If you decide to be an idiot, I'll fight you and this time I'll win."
"Win? In your dreams." He rose up to the challenge with plenty of eagerness. They hadn't had a chance to fight on equal terms and he was looking forward to a good spar.
"Lucy, follow your own advice and don't fight, although I would very much like to see you put that boy in his place."
"Oi!"
"Maybe you could use the sand pit tomorrow, assuming Evergreen doesn't fully challenge you. Natsu can show you. For now, go get settled in." The alpha stood and stretched out his hind legs. "And Natsu, come back here after sunset. I need to talk with you."
"Sure thing, gramps."
"What do you mean by fully challenge?" Lucy asked.
"Her questioning of your parents was an indirect challenge. She refused to show acceptance of you as the first commander's mate, but she didn't challenge you to a fight. I'd expect her to make her move tomorrow, so be ready. Both of you." The alpha stared at him for a long second.
"Okay," Lucy said. Her eyes were calculating.
"Good. Now, shoo!" Makarov's tail lashed from side to side as if providing emphasis and he moved towards the entrance, allowing Lucy to lead again. She ran down the ledge on light paws.
"Where's your den?" She paused and took an exploratory sniff of the entrance to Erza's den, taking a tiny step away from the lichen curtain when the beta's scent hit her nose. He could relate. Each time Erza requested his presence in her den, as rare as those occasions were, he had to fight a wave of immense reluctance. Erza's scent didn't just mark her property. It made a very clear statement of exactly what was hers, and it said that what belonged to the beta was very much off-bounds. Those who were stupid enough to ignore the warning signs would be lucky to remain alive after Erza was done with them.
"Quick tour. The building is the entrance to a network of tunnels where the regular shifters have their dens. You know where the alpha and beta dens are. The healer is over there," He indicated a large curtain of very thick lichen next to the building. "My den and Gray's are those two, and the mother's den is on the other side."
"Let me get this straight." Lucy began padding towards his – now their – den. "You and Gray are neighbors?"
"Well, yeah. We're some of the strongest fighters, so our dens are closest to the healer and the mothers so we can defend them first during an attack on the camp." He didn't see what her concern was.
"How is the camp still in one piece?"
"Juvia has no idea." Gray's mate crossed their path and stopped to greet them, her pregnant belly distorting her lean figure. "Juvia's name is Juvia Lockser. Juvia is the second commander's mate. It's nice to meet you, Lucy."
Lucy struggled with forming a reply. "It's nice to meet you too, Juvia."
Juvia nodded. "Juvia hopes we can be friends, even though our mates are stubborn idiots who can't stand each other unless they absolutely have to."
"Natsu's not my mate."
"Yet." Juvia's eyes flicked between them. She seemed to know more than she let on. "Juvia will see you later."
Lucy stared at her retreating figure, her tail swiping from side to side with thoughtful slowness.
"Is she always like this?" she asked.
"Like what?"
She bared her teeth in annoyance. "Speaking in third person, casually calling her mate a stubborn idiot-"
"Most of the mated females do that," he pointed out. Her jaws snapped shut and she stared at him as if unable to decide whether or not he was serious. Her tail stilled in a way he found slightly worrying. "Let's keep going?"
"Yeah." Something in her posture began to change and she sped up, pushing through the lichen curtain of his den. He followed her with a slower pace, watching her circle the thick pad of moss he preferred to sleep on when in his wolf form. He didn't use his human rooms much, but all the wolves in the pack had their own, for them and their mates. Spending too much time as a wolf encouraged a complete shift that couldn't be reversed. Once someone was stuck in wolf form, it didn't take long for any remaining human values and restraints to fade away and be replaced by the mind of a lawless hunter. The previous alpha, Precht Gaebolg, had been the pack's example. Even though he had never met Precht in person – shifter wolves had longer lifespans than wolves and humans, thanks to the regeneration during each shift – he had heard enough stories when he was a pup to give him nightmares for weeks. Gray had helped him get rid of them by teasing him and calling him a wimp. A quick fight ending with his partial victory did wonders.
Lucy settled down in a small dip in the moss, curling into a tight ball. "This spot's mine."
"All yours," he promised. The weariness in her voice was unexpected. "Are you okay?"
"Just tired. Two shifts a day is hard, and your pack is insane." She yawned. "I'll probably sleep through the night."
Even though she didn't say it, he knew that being part of a large group would be difficult for the first few days, especially for someone with her level of dominance. Adjusting would take time and energy.
"If it's because of your dad, then it should become easier with practice," he said.
"Mmhmm..." Her eyes drifted shut. "Wake me if you need me."
He padded over and nuzzled her neck. She breathed out a long sigh, her body relaxing completely even with his proximity. "I will. See you later."
I can't decide: good or bad?
Cheers!