Lucy groggily opened her eyes. She blinked as her room slowly came into focus. Her neck was stiff from how she had fallen asleep. Had I fallen asleep? Again? Another blink. She realized she was looking into someone's eyes.
"You shnore," Natsu chewed as he spoke, his brow furrowed as he stared down at Lucy.
"H-how did you get into my apartment?" she hissed as she pushed herself up on the futon. "Only perverts watch a girl sleep!" How had she fallen back asleep? She looked around the room, squinting at the midday sun.
Natsu stuffed another morsel of food into his mouth. "And you drool," he pointed at her face, still chewing thoughtfully.
"Wha?" she wiped her mouth, embarrassed. "I do not!" she replied angrily. At least, she didn't think she did!
"Eh," he replied hazily, looking at the large cross in the room. "What's that thing?"
"Yeah, it's weird," chirped the tiny cat.
Lucy jumped, realizing that another visitor had been watching her sleep. She whirled her head around to find Happy sitting on the back of her couch. He, too, was enjoying a late breakfast. Her neck creaked with the movement. She would have to quit drinking....
"Hi, Lucy," the tiny blue cat waved from his perched position on the back of her futon.
Lucy looked from Natsu to Happy, confused. "How long have you two been watching me?"
Natsu shrugged, "Half an hour, maybe."
"Aye!" Happy confirmed.
"Half an hour?" she boomed. "You broke into my apartment, and watched me sleep for half an hour?"
"Aye," replied the cat, who was now dropping crumbs all over her futon. Lucy looked at the mess, her face turning deep red with fury.
"Eat at the table!" she roared. Both Natsu and Happy looked at one another in fear, before scrambling to find a seat her modest table. They hunched over, whispering to one another.
"...pissed off..."
"...what happened last night?..."
"...just a girl thing..."
"...sure...."
"...PMS or something..."
"I can hear you!" she slammed her fist into the table, glaring angrily at the two intruders. She was still disturbed by the fact that they had been watching her sleep for the past--well, who knows how long? She was also grumpy from her not-so-much-needed nap, though she really didn't have anything else to do. Crux could take hours to get back to her with the information she had requested.
Natsu handed Lucy a bag of..something. She peered into it, eyeing the pastries appreciatively. She knew that she would have to exercise for hours to remove what the tiny goodies would put on to her body. But, from the rumbling of her stomach, she knew that eating was also necessary. Besides, they smelled delicious.
"You can tell me how much you love me, later," Natsu grinned, watching her expression. He had sugar glaze coating his face, and Lucy couldn't help but return the infectious grin.
"I guess I do have to thank you," she grumbled.
"Damn right! I had to have them make me a new batch of those tarts!"
"Really?" Lucy asked appreciatively. "You didn't have to do that...for me." She watched Natsu's face turn pink.
"I was hungry, too!" he uttered in response. All the praise that Lucy had for Natsu immediately vanished. She glared at him as she stuffed her mouth with the still-warm food. Why was it still warm? She opened her mouth to ask Natsu--
"What is coming from his nose?" Happy blurted in between bites.
Lucy chewed, casually casting a glance at Crux. "Mustache?" She popped the last bite of the cherry tart into her mouth. "Wait! Are you making fun of Crux?"
"He does look funny. It's a he, right?" Natsu eyed the large monstrosity cautiously.
"Of course it's a 'he'!" she retorted. "And mind your own business!"
"I am minding my own business. I returned with food, and this giant is in your apartment."
"This giant is going to give me some much-needed information!" Lucy searched the bag for another cherry pastry.
"What's that?" Happy asked, wiping his mouth with a blue arm.
"About--," Lucy began, quickly realizing that she was speaking without thinking. She met their anticipatory gaze carefully. "Something I would like to know! That is all."
She went back to ravaging the bag for more sweet dough. She found a cinnamon and sugar croissant, and stuffed it furiously into her mouth. Both Natsu and Happy gave her a disgusted look, but dropped the subject.
"Anywaysh, I appreshiate the foodsh," she pointed to the bag, food flying from her mouth as she spoke. "Butsh I haf someshing I needsh to do righth now," she pointed toward the giant Celestial Spirit that was gently meditating in her living room.
Natsu cast one last glance at the beastly form, and decided to not argue with Lucy. He rose from the table. "Fine. But once you find what it is you need to know, come find me at the dining hall." He nodded to Happy, who followed suit.
"Oh," the dragonslayer cast one last look over his shoulder, "and the old man still wants to speak with you."
"Bye!" Lucy practically slammed the door on her friends.
"Bye Lucy--" Happy had barely gotten the words out of his mouth as the door slammed in his face.
She could hear them stand outside her door for some time, before the slow tapping of footsteps faded away. Her stomach was still rumbling as she tore open the bag, eating the remaining sweets, in order of preference.
The midday sun had slowly faded, and was being replaced by a late-afternoon glow. Lucy was frustratedly scrawling out the newest chapter of her novel, unhappy with how her story was progressing. She angrily crumpled the paper in the palm of her hand as she bombarded the wastebasket with another rejected addition. She handn't written in some time, and her writer's block reminded her as to why. She slumped into her chair, resting her aching head in her hand as she sighed exasperatedly.
"Lucy, dear?" came the soft, deep voice. "I have found...something."
Lucy's head shot up in recognition. "Eh?" She had gotten so used to Crux's presence in her tiny apartment...
"Lucy," he chuckled throatily. "You haven't forgotten your question? Already?"
"N-no!" she yelped, still reeling from being taken-off guard. She knew that there was no way to predict how long Crux would nap, but the sudden awakening was quite...perturbing.
"Well," he began thoughtfully, "I have found information that may interest you, young lady."
"I"m not a child!" Lucy shot back abruptly.
Again, Crux chuckled. "It seems you are quite on edge today, my dear. And, yes, compared to me, you are quite young."
"So, you found something about Adassandra?" Lucy asked hopefully. Good job, Lucy, change the subject.
"I did," the huge cross yawned. Lucy eyed him expectantly. He, again, chuckled, though this time, it was seemed more...forced. "It seems the young woman you have asked about had a close relationship with a young stellar mage, Daylon."
"Hmm," Lucy tried to think back to the confrontation with Leo and herself. "What about the name 'Lilith'?"
"Ahh, her sister. Twin sister," Crux nodded.
"Is...is this Daylon..where does he reside?" she asked the Celestial Spirit.
Crux was quiet for few moments, leaving Lucy to wonder if he would actually answer the question. Even she was picking on his hesitation. "If I recall correctly, I think it was somewhere west of here. Quite a distance. A small town called Wisteria," he plucked his mustache thoughtfully.
"Adassandra....Adie...," Lucy repeated to herself. Why did that name sound familiar to her? She couldn't recall where she had heard the name before. Sure, it was possible she had met someone else who shared that name. But, she specifically recalled this name in relation to Celestial Spirits.
"Why does none of this ring a bell? Hmm.." Lucy tapped her chin, thoughtfully muttering to herself.
"Ho, ho! It shouldn't, my child." Crux cleared his throat, looking as if he may have prematurely shared information. He closed his eyes before continuing,"My information, mind you, is from nearly fifty years ago."
"Where is Lucy?" Erza took a seat next to Natsu and across from Gray. She could see Juvia hovering around the bar. Maybe it's time that I spoke with her. She's becoming more of a stalker than an admirer. Erza toyed with the idea. Sure, she liked Juvia, but her manner of always appearing where Gray was....well, it was quite disturbing at times. It wasn't that she wanted to intentionally hurt the young woman, but it was time that Juvia moved on. It was obvious that Gray did not return the water mage's feelings.
"She's hanging out with some weird cross-guy in her room," he replied between takes at shoveling food into his mouth.
"Huh?" Erza and Gray replied in unison.
"Celestial Spirit is my guess," Happy chimed in from next to Natsu.
"Oh, hi Happy! I didn't see you there," Erza mumbled apologetically.
"What he said," Natsu growled, nodding toward his constant companion.
"Is she doing alright, since everything that happened last night?" Gray asked, glancing at Erza, who was wondering the same thing.
"Yeah. Acting a little weird, but I think that's normal, right? For a chick." Natsu pushed the empty plate away from his seat.
"It is expected, yes," Erza conceded. She didn't know much about the 'chick' part, so she avoided that part of the question. "I, erm, I wanted to see her before I left."
"What? Already?" Natsu huffed. "But you just got back! And you promised we'd fight for real this time!" he pouted.
"Quit acting like a child," the red-head smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is straight from Makarov. I have to report to Porlyusica and see what she's found. Apparently, she has some information that may interest Master."
"Oh, I guess that is important," Natsu admitted. "But next time, for sure!" he growled with a smile as he thumped his fist into his open palm.
"Deal," Erza smiled warmly. She stood, rubbing the top of Natsu's messy pink mane as she turned to debark. "Tell Lucy I'll see here when I return," she looked at her comrades, as they were seated around the table.
"Lucy?" came the familiar voice. "Oh!" Levy replied from over her mound of books. "I-I didn't mean to butt in," she chirped. A strand of blue hair was brushing her face.
"It's alright," Erza smiled. "We were just waiting for her to meet us, but it seems she is busy."
"Yeah, she may be a while," Levy admitted as she continued past the group. "She's was headed to the library when I saw her."
"No way!" Gray breathed. The idea seemed to be unanimously shared by the small team. Lucy and library in the same sentence was practically unthinkable. The four instantaneously broke out into a fit of laughter.
"Luce...Luce...reading!" Natsu howled.
"Almost as unthinkable as you reading!" Gray gasped for air.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu shot the ice mage a fiery look.
"Stop it, you two!" Erza commanded. The two men immediately jumped in their seats, before quieting down.
All four sat their in silence for a few more seconds, before their laughter once again rang throughout the hall.
"Yes, I need to find a book on recorded Stellar Spirits," Lucy spoke sweetly.
The librarian glanced at her over the dark, horn-rimmed glasses. She eyed Lucy's clothes, allowing her eyes to flicker over Lucy's face, once again, before making a decision. Luckily for Lucy, she anticipated such scrutiny, and was dressed in her only pants-suit. It hurt her to think about donning such stuffy, formal attire, but she had heard (from Levy) about this librarian.
The wrinkles crusted in concealer cracked as the librarian smiled at Lucy, obviously deciding to help the young mage. "I do enjoy a young soul who likes to do their research," she waved her hand in the air. Lucy remained quiet, nodding her head vigorously--she didn't trust herself to speak.
"Those books are quite dusty, by now," the graying librarian replied. "But, I'm sure you'll find them helpful. The latest version of the log is in the far, back corner. Second shelf up," the crooked, yellowing teeth made Lucy gulp. She definitely did not want to get on this woman's bad side.
"T-thank you," she bowed, before hurrying in the indicated direction.
"Second shelf up...second shelf up..." she mumbled under her breath, when she finally found the farthest possible corner of the amazingly expansive Fairy Tail library. She had no idea that there were so many books!
She perused the titles: Life of a Stellar Spirit, How to Effectively Use Your Celestial Being, 1001 Reasons To Become a Spirit Mage...Aside from the second book, she had no interest in the stuffy old novels shoved onto this shelf. Finally, her eyes fell upon the book she was looking for: Databook of Celestial Beings.
Lucy practically fell over as she tried to pull the heavy book from its home on the shelf. She dragged the large item to a nearby table, thumping it on the hardwood top with a loud plop. She cringed as the librarian tsked her from across the large room. Lucy smiled triumphantly at the table as she opened the book. She was immediately met with a wall of dust—throwing her into a fit of coughing. Again, another disapproving sound from the proctor. Lucy rolled her eyes, pulling her blouse open a tad more. She was beginning to sweat from the restricting material.
"Just how long has this book been here?" she asked herself aloud. Hadn't the stuffy woman at the front desk told her it was the newest version? And could this be filled with all Stellar Spirits? Judging by the thickness, there were thousands of spirits—and she only had a handful of keys.
"So many..." she mumbled as she scanned the introduction. She wiped her watering eyes, as she stifled another fit of coughing. With each page turn, a new wave of dust floated into the air around her. With a look of determination set on her face, Lucy found list of recorded Celestial Spirits.
A triumphant smile spread across her face, "Now, we'll find out why you really wanted my keys!"
***
Daylon: similar to Wayland--a Scandanavian mythological figure that was a blacksmith with supernatural powers
Lilith: demon goddess, bringer of disease
***
Please read and review (if you want)!
I like to know how I'm doing!!
Thank you to those who do read and/or review!
It allows me to know that the hard work is worthwhile. It's been a rough couple of weeks, and this is my escape :D
Life can really suck sometimes!
Much appreciation!! And Enjoy!
***So this story has exceeded my Naruto story in readers--which was a welcomed surprise! I haven't encountered too many people who enjoy Fairy Tail--though I think it's a fantastic manga! Here's to some ass-kicking in the next chapter (of the manga). There will be action in this story, soon, I promise!***