Sorry for the wait. Chapter 4 now exists after a couple months of me taking time off from writing.
They three stood watching the burning field. Natsu had set fire to the wheat on request of Holo. She gathered some of the wheat in her pocket and had asked "Natsu, can you use your fire. I do not wish to come back here. I believe it is time to move forward. If I get rid of any temptation to return, then I will never change my mind and come back."
"Sure thing." He lite a flame on the palm of his hand and lite the field ablaze. It didn't take long for the tiny flame to grow and engulf everything. Gray doused the fire with snow when it was done to make sure they didn't burn down the entire forest.
Glancing sideways, he saw Holo gripping onto the part of her shirt where her heart was and looking very pale. "Oi! You okay?"
She took a steady breath and nodded. "My life is connected to that wheat. The flames stung some, but I suppose the emotional attachment is what hurt the most."
She turned away and started to walk down the path.
Gray and Natsu looked at each other, then followed after.
She walked on the path leading the way to the frozen land that awaited her. Her steps became lighter and more energetic the more she walked. She slowed down to walk with the two boys.
"Why are we not using a cart or a wagon to travel?" She asked.
Natsu turned a slight shade of green.
Gray laughed. "It's because of this guy. He's got a serious case of motion sickness."
Natsu glared at him, "not like I can help it, popsicle." He hollered.
Gray only laughed again. "That's payback for the stripper comment earlier."
"What stripper comment?" the wolf girl asked, confused and interested.
Natsu glanced at Gray with a smirk. "This guy's actually a pervy stripper. I've never seen him go an entire day without keeping all his clothes on."
She laughed but placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry about me. You may do whatever you like because whether or not one wears clothes does not bother me in the slightest. Do what makes you comfortable."
Gray blushed. "Ummmm… Holo? I know you're trying to make me seem normal but you just make me seem like an animal."
She smiled, showing off her fangs. "And what is wrong with that?"
Natsu showed off his pointed teeth too, "Yah Gray. What's wrong with it?" He laughed.
"Didn't mean it like that…" Gray mumbled, clearly embarrassed. He glanced over and saw her tail wagging in joy. He grinned. He thought it was nice that she was enjoying herself.
Suddenly, Holo stopped and gazed straight ahead. "There is a town ahead! Let us go and get something to eat!" She practically danced with excitement. Grabbing both of their hands, she started to lead them in the direction of the town.
"Woah, hold on. We got to find you something to hide those ears and that tail." Gray stopped her.
"I don't see what the problem is Gray. She can go around looking however she wants." Natsu argued.
Holo sighed. "I'm afraid I must agree with Gray. The towns' folk would most definitely react negatively if they saw me."
Grabbing the sheet that they had brought with them, Natsu flung it on her head. The book inside fell to the floor, and he snatched it up quickly, cursing softly. However, her quick eyesight still saw the cover and recognized it.
"You realize you don't need to hide that from me. I do not mind if you read it, just know that it is mostly lies." She smiled at him.
He blushed at being caught, but asked "What do you mean lies? You mean you're not a god?"
"Well, I am not human. I am a wolf, but not the silly pups you think of as wolves. Unlike gods, I do get older. Slowly, mind you, but eventually, perhaps only at the end of time, I will perish."
Natsu scrunched up his face in confusion. "But if you can live to the end of time, then you must be a god."
"Not so. I am not immortal. I feel pain. I live in this world and am only a small part of it, just as yourselves."
A strong wind picked up blowing her hair in front of her face, but not before Natsu managed to catch a glimpse of the tear the trailed down her cheek.
Placing his hand between her ears, he bent down and looked her in the eyes. "Well, now you're a big part of our world. We're friends now, right Gray?"
"Absolutely." Gray smiled.
Holo smiled but whispered, "How disgraceful of me." And she turned and ran towards the village, pulling the sheet high above her head, covering her ears.
"Come on! The food there smells wonderful!"
"Hey! Wait up!" Gray and Natsu ran after her, laughing.
When they arrived into town, the first thing they did was stop at a food stand. There was only one problem.
"Sorry Holo, we don't have any money." Gray told the girl who was staring at the treats with a small amount of drool dribbling from her mouth.
"Hmmmm, well then I guess I have no choice." She straightened herself up and walked away into the clothes stand beside them. She talked to the man there for a minute and bent her head forward and whispered something to him. Gray and Natsu could see the man blush when she did so and couldn't help but give a little chuckle.
"What's she doing Gray?" Natsu asked the ice wizard, crossing his arms and tilting his head in confusion.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Gray shrugged. Suddenly Holo called them over.
"What are you waiting around for, get to work!" She lightly pushed them into the tent.
"What do you mean 'get to work'" Gray asked, a little exasperated.
"I just got you a job." She announced proudly.
Gray and Natsu just stared at her.
"What do you mean 'a job'?" Natsu asked wearily.
"Well, you have no money and this poor man here is in need for someone to do some physical labour for him today." She announced, glancing over at the shop keeper. "I think this works out rather nicely, don't you?"
Gray sighed. "It's true we need work, but you could have asked us first."
"Who cares!? Now we can get food!" Natsu shouted, then approached the shop keeper. "All right pops, where do you want us to start?"
The man pointed at the dozen boxes behind him. "You can start by sorting through those. Organize them between women's, men's, summer, and winter clothes. When you're done with that, come see me. I have a few other tasks that I need you to do. And don't even think about stealing anything. I have contacts in every city and I you'd be easy to find. There isn't anybody who looks like you in these parts."
"Fine. Doesn't sound too hard." Gray said, as he took off his shirt.
"Hey son, what do you think you're doing? Keep your shirt on! There will be none of that here." The man said, exasperated.
"Woops. Bad habit. Sorry." Gray mumbled, pulling his shirt back on.
"And what exactly are you going to do?" Natsu asked Holo questionably. "You're not going to leave us with all the work are you?"
"I would never." She gave a clever smile. "I will be in charge of selling the product. Isn't that right?"
"Haha that's right little lady. Now why don't you get changed out back." He pointed to where a curtain separated the area to another room.
"Alright. One minute please." And she walked gracefully to the back room.
"Changed?" Gray and Natsu asked each other. What in the world was she doing?
A few minutes later, Holo came out with entirely new close. She had a new hat on her head and a long mahogany sash hung from her waist. The top went down to between the knees and the ankles, making it long enough to hide her tail, and underneath she wore a pair of dark pants. She gave a little twirl.
"How do I look?" She turned her body to the side, inspecting it.
"You look lovely miss. A great model for my merchandise." The shop keeper said, nodding his approval.
"Model?" Natsu raised his eyebrows.
"That's right. I am much too delicate for all those heavy boxes, so I will be what sells the product." She said, wagging her finger at him as if to say it should be obvious.
"Now I have other matters I need to take care of. I'll entrust this to you kids." And the shop keeper left them.
Once the work was done, Holo had managed to sell half the products in the store. The shop keeper was so pleased he let her keep the close she was wearing as well as increasing the pay to ten silver coins.
Later on…..
"Cheers!" Holo held up her cup of wine and had a huge gulp. "Oh, wine is certainly the best after a long day of work."
"Holo, did you plan on getting those clothes all along?" Gray smirked.
"Guilty I'm afraid. I am a very good judge of character. That poor old man had a sore back and a poor looking shop. I knew he'd love the help and would be easily manipulated." She trailed the rim of her cup with her finger as she talked, catching a stray drop of wine on her finger and bringing it to her mouth. "Tis his own fault for being so swayed by my charm, though I suppose he couldn't help it."
"Yeah, well anyone wouldn't be able to get around that charm of yours." Gray took a bite of his meat pie. "You play dirty when it comes to something that you want."
"Yeah, is that part of the 'wise wolf' thing?" Natsu asked, mouth full of food.
"Oh no. I like to think of it as being aware of my surroundings. You can learn a lot by simply observing and paying attention." She bent her head in closer to the boys. The warning expression on her face caused them to lean in as well. "For example, those men sitting three tables down from us have been following us since this afternoon and continue to look in our direction. I believe we have an issue on our hands."