Hello everyone and welcome back. I'm afraid that this chapter proved all kinds of difficult to write both in terms of getting its pacing right as well as actually finding the inspiration to put words on the page at all. Finding time between revision and working my job also proved to be quite a difficult prospect too. In truth I'm still not entirely contented with it, but I believe it to be ready for publish. I certainly hope that you all enjoy it.
Lucy was relieved when she saw Juvia pass in front of the coffee shop's front windows and make her way inside. Releasing a breath that she didn't know she had even been holding, the blonde waved cheerfully to her best friend and co-worker. Though she was loath to admit it, Lucy had been concerned that Juvia would still be recovering after the party and so, unable to make it into work. The very idea of being left alone with a tide of impatient customers for the second day in a row was not one that Lucy was too keen on considering, so to see Juvia looking like her usual self again was more than a little comforting.
"Juvia is sorry about her absence yesterday. Juvia hopes that it wasn't too bad for Lucy." She said shyly, refusing to look Lucy in the eye. "Juvia shouldn't have drunk so much at the party. It won't happen again."
"Really it's fine Juvia. I drank just as much as you did so don't you worry about it. The main thing is that you're here now. Honestly, I just missed having you around. This place just didn't feel the same without you." Lucy replied with a warm smile, making her way around the counter to rest her hand's on Juvia's shoulders.
At this Juvia looked up at her friend with a smile of her own. Nodding slightly, she pulled away and set about tying back her flowing blue locks so that they were out of the way. Donning her apron, she took up her usual place behind the shop's modest counter and waited for the first customers of the day to arrive for their morning caffeine fix. As it turns out, they didn't have to wait very long at all. Within the hour, they had a queue of customers stretching from the counter right back to the door. It looped around the shop's tables, a few of which were occupied by those whom were less pressed for time.
Lucy and Juvia fell into their usual patterns, serving one customer after another with a degree of practiced ease that bespoke the length of time that they had been working together. It wasn't until just after one that the lunch rush began to recede. Hearing the bell above the door ring, Lucy turned back to the counter ready to take the order from the next customer when she was met with a familiar face.
Erza stood in front of the blonde, dressed in a white frilled blouse and black trousers. On her feet she had a set of beat up old shoes that seemed to be made more of polish than leather. Yet perhaps the strangest thing that the redhead wore was the look on her face. In complete contrast to the confident woman that Lucy had met at the party, this side of Erza looked nervous and almost certainly out of her comfort zone.
Lucy stared at her quizzically for a few long moments before her memory kicked in again. She had completely forgotten about inviting Erza in for a trial shift for the barista job. Internally she kicked herself for having let something so important slip her mind. Coming out from behind the counter, Lucy let her more professional side take over as she offered her hand out to Erza. The redhead looked at her hesitantly for a moment before shaking it with a smile.
"Hello Erza, I'm sorry about that. It had completely slipped my mind that you were meant to be coming in today. This place can get pretty hectic." She laughed before turning to Juvia. "Juvia, I'm just going through to the back for a few minutes to have a chat with Erza. You gonna be okay out here on your own?"
"Juvia will be fine, take as long as you need." Juvia answered, shooting Erza her best reassuring smile. Nodding to the rain-girl, Lucy led Erza through into the coffee shop's small staff room. It was a relatively cramped space that her parents had fitted more as an afterthought than anything else. It had a single stack of lockers, a modest table and crude cooking space with a microwave and sink installed. In truth, the place was rarely used since there was never the time for a proper break. Though with luck, Lucy hoped that was soon to change.
Taking a seat on one side of the table, Lucy awaited for Erza to do the same. Having sat down, Erza produced a résumé and offered it to the blonde. Taking it, Lucy gave the document a quick read, paying particular attention to the work history listed upon it. Erza had worked in several waiting positions at a number of different companies as well as having worked for one of the larger coffee companies in Fiore, an over qualification for working in Lucy's little coffee shop. Her hobbies were, however, the most intriguing thing about her. The résumé listed them as fencing, athletics and gymnastics; all three were sports that Lucy had considered but never actually tried, deeming them to be either too dangerous or time consuming.
"Well Erza, looking at this it would seem that you are more or less exactly what I'm looking for. If it's alright with you I just have a few questions that I would like to ask you before we get you out there to have a go at serving some of our customers. Is that alright?" Lucy said after a lengthy pause to read through the remaining pages. Hearing this, Erza's apprehension seemed to lift and a subtle smile came out onto the redhead's face/
"Yes, that's fine. Please do ask away." She replied, interlocking her fingers and resting her forearms on the edge of the table.
Lucy was impressed, very impressed indeed. She could only watch in amazement as Erza dashed around behind the counter in a flurry of steam and coffee grounds that left Juvia standing out of the way and wondering just what to do. Her résumé hadn't lied, the redhead certainly knew her way around behind the counter of a coffee shop. Despite the complicated nature of Lucy's special drinks recipes, Erza seemed to take them all in her stride without any issues at all; and then there was Erza's style of service.
The redhead practically exuded confidence as she worked, teasing and playfully flirting with the customers as she prepared their beverages. She treated them all as though she had known them for years, building a welcoming atmosphere for all that stepped up to the counter. Where parents had come in with their children she spoke to the kids as though they were equals, winning over the hearts of the young and old alike.
By the time that the trial shift had come to an end, Lucy was almost disappointed. Behind the counter, Erza had made coffee into an art form and for that to come to such an abrupt end was quite a shame. As Erza came out onto the shop floor and began to remove her apron with the aim of giving it back, Lucy stepped over and stopped her with a warm smile.
"No need to give it back. After seeing that, as far as I'm concerned, the job is yours. That is assuming that you would still like the position?" This time it was Lucy's turn to wear the hopeful expression. Erza looked at her for a long moment, wide eyed before closing the gap and wrapping the blonde in a tight hug that left Lucy gasping for air. Behind the counter, Juvia applauded cheerily and welcomed the redhead to their little team.
"Thank you Lucy. I promise that I won't let you down. I'll be the best employee that I possibly can be." Erza whispered into the blonde's ear.
By the time that Lucy pushed open the door to her apartment she was completely exhausted, though at heart she felt content. In all it had been a very productive day both in terms of her businesses takings and her hunt for new employees. After the trial shift, Lucy had taken Erza aside to discuss the sort of shift patterns that she would be interested in taking up. It had taken around an hour but by the time that they were finished it was a real weight off of Lucy's shoulders. To see her modest little team growing was a rewarding thing indeed and she didn't doubt that Erza would prove to be a real asset to their little group.
'Of course I'll still need to put ads out and take on more staff, but for now, Erza will do just fine.' Lucy thought cheerfully to herself with a happy smile on her lips. Though that smile soon faded as her thoughts turned to the upcoming weekend and her trip out with Natsu, Gray and Juvia. At first she had simply acted on impulse in her acceptance, but as time had gone on, she found herself at a loss with what to do with the coffee shop for the day. In the past her social life had been nigh on non-existent, so she had never really had to juggle going out with the running of her business. It left her with a dilemma to which she could only see two solutions; either closing the coffee shop for yet another day, or leaving Erza on her own to run the place for the day.
Leaving it open with Erza at the helm was certainly an option, especially given just how capable the redhead had proven herself to be, but Lucy felt as though it was far from an ideal option. Erza was the newest member of the team and despite her experience, Lucy couldn't help but feel that it was a little unfair to expect the redhead to work alone at a new job on the first weekend; and on the busiest business day no less. Lucy sighed, knowing that the only remaining option was to close the shop for yet another day. But that was hardly a good idea either, with the number of days recently that the shop had been closed, Lucy risked driving away some of her customers through unreliability and that was completely out of the question.
Groaning to herself, Lucy knew that really there was only one option left available to her and that was to cancel on the boys in favour of running the shop. Juvia would still be able to go with the boys, but Lucy didn't see herself as having any other choices. With a tight feeling in her chest and disappointment gripping her heart, she picked up her phone and began to compose a message to Natsu.
'Hey, Natsu. I'm really sorry but I don't think I can make it this weekend. When I first agreed I didn't really stop to think about what I would do with the coffee shop, at least not properly. We took Erza on today but Saturday will be her very first weekend with us and I don't think it would be very fair to leave her alone in the place on our busiest day. Juvia will still be able to make it, but I can't. Could we maybe reschedule? I'd still love to hang out with you sometime.'
Reading through the lines that she had written literally crushed Lucy's spirit. It seemed at first to be a bit disproportionate a reaction given just how short a time that she had known the boys, but it had represented one of the first proper outings that Lucy had been offered following her parents' deaths and she had been really looking forward to it. So it was natural that she should find Natsu's reply quite confusing, given how jovial it sounded:
'You hired Erza? That's awesome! I know that she will do great there, but hey, don't feel like you have to cancel on Saturday. I know that you're all worried about your shop but trust me when I say that with Erza, you don't know just what you've got. When we were growing up she was like magic, no matter how many chores she got or how much homework Gramps gave us, Erza was always the first to finish. She was like some kinda robot built to do everything at lightning speed. If you leave her in there alone she will be just fine I promise. She won't just finish the shift; she will probably find time to clean the whole place from top to bottom. Ask her yourself if you don't believe me?'
Lucy stared perplexed at his reply for several long minutes. Was she really considering going along with it? It seemed a completely irresponsible scheme, no matter how trustworthy Erza had seemed. Surely as the business owner, Lucy had a duty to oversee Erza's work, at least for the first few shifts? But quite unbidden and independent of her thoughts, she opened up her phone and selected Erza in the contacts.
'Hello Erza, it's Lucy. I know that we only just organised things today and that you are still really new to the business but I have a huge favour to ask. Natsu and Gray want to take Juvia and I out of the city this Saturday and I want to ask whether you will be alright manning the shop on your own. I wouldn't normally ask but you seem to really know your way around the coffee machines and Natsu says that he thinks you could handle it, so I want to know what you think about it. If you're not comfortable just say, it's really no problem.'
Her thumb hovered over the send button for a long moment as her doubts played out in her head one last time. This was beyond unorthodox and well into the realms of madness. Who in their right mind would trust their business to someone that they had only just met? But then there was Natsu, he appeared in her mind's eye with his honest eyes and bright smile, and for some reason she felt that she could trust him, that he wouldn't do anything that might let her down. She felt herself blush at the image her rogue imagination had conjured and so, with one final sigh, she hit send.
The reply was almost immediate and left Lucy reeling, had the redhead just been sat waiting for the message to come through? The redhead's message gave new meaning to the phrase; 'wall of text' and left Lucy wondering whether or not Natsu had forewarned the redhead or called in some owed favour long forgotten. But that didn't matter to Lucy as she read the text on display; the tone of Erza's message was blunt, but seemingly sincere.
'Lucy,
Don't worry about me; I can handle the shop for the day. I have every faith in my ability to complete the day's service to your satisfaction regardless of what or who happens to come into the shop. The customers shall learn a new meaning to 'excellent service' while I'm there. I promise that I won't let you down.
You simply must go with Gray and Natsu. If they have planned what I suspect they do then I must insist on your going. I hope you won't mind, but I have already taken the liberty of informing Natsu that your weekend plans together can go ahead as planned, and that I will be covering the duties in the coffee shop.
I know Natsu and he has been unusually excitable since the party and I think that you are at least in part to responsible for that. So you and Juvia should go with the boys, I know that you'll have a wonderful time together. It would disappoint them both so much if you were unable to make it, Natsu especially.
It will be quite an adventure. You can tell me all about it when you return.
Erza.'
Lucy felt her face warm up as she read the final paragraph over for a second time. Just what was Erza implying, and would Natsu really be that disappointed? He had certainly seemed quite keen when he had suggested it to her but she had simply attributed that to being the poor conveyance of feeling by text. Either way, it didn't truly seem to matter. Rather, what did matter was that despite the few reservations she still held, Lucy was free to join Gray, Natsu and Juvia that weekend and that was something that she really couldn't wait for now, especially with Erza making such a fuss of it.
Gray tugged at the collar of his shirt yet again, his whole body felt like it was burning up and the collar seemed as though it were about to choke the life out of him. It was a far cry from what he would usually wear. More often than not he preferred to keep them open at the front to let his body breathe, but he had decided that it might give off the wrong impression when it came to asking Juvia out for the weekend.
Taking one last breath and steeling his nerves, he rapped his knuckles against the door of Juvia's apartment and waited for the few awkward moments before she answered. Beyond the door she could hear the sounds of hurried movement as Juvia dashed about to get to the door. Hearing the latch go, the door swung in ever so slightly and Juvia's head came into view. She looked at Gray for a quick moment before a tinge of colour came flooding to her cheeks, the door opened swiftly to reveal her standing there in short shorts and a pyjama top, decorated with a cartoon of a little blue cat with wings. She shuffled nervously, frantically trying to bring her hair under control and giving him a shy smile that only served to exacerbate just how hot under the collar that he was already feeling.
"Hello Gray! Juvia is sorry for her appearance, but she just got in from work." She tried to explain. Gray only stared at her for a long moment before snapping back into reality and dismissing it with a wave of his hand.
"Don't worry about it. It's your home, dress however you feel comfortable." He chuckled. "Besides, I won't keep you long. I just had something I wanted to ask you."
Juvia's breath hitched and her hands ceased their fussing amidst her blue locks. Cerulean eyes locked with Gray's own as she eagerly waited to hear just what he had to say. Was he about to finally ask her out? Was this it? Though she had only really met the man a few days ago, the time that they had spent together had been bliss for her and though she may have denied it to Lucy, Juvia had considered the prospect of asking Gray out for a date on more than one occasion since the party.
Gray could feel the flock of butterflies in his stomach go crazy, having stirred themselves into a complete frenzy. He opened his mouth to speak but a hard lump formed in his throat, choking off his ability to breathe. His chest felt tight and breathing became difficult as memories of Daphne flowed back into his mind.
"I-I… I mean Natsu and I…" He managed to croak "We… well, we were wondering if you'd want to come out with us this weekend. Lucy has already said that she is coming along, and we were really hoping you would too… I would really like it if you could…"
The last bit was barely more than a whisper, but Gray was sure that Juvia had heard. She stood in the doorway staring at him with a look of disbelief. Her mouth flapped open a few times but no word came out. Her answer first came in the form of a shaky and somewhat uncertain nod.
"Juvia would like that a lot." She replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "W-where is it that we are going?"
"Really? That's great!" He cheered with a grin. "I- Well I can't tell you where we're going 'cause we really want it to be a surprise. But Natsu said to warn you to dress for the great outdoors. Just head on over to our place for ten on Saturday morning."
Juvia nodded her understanding and Gray took his leave. Once he heard the door close behind him, he released a shaky breath and laughed to himself. His heart was pounding and his breathing was ragged but he had done it. He had asked a girl to hang out with him. Well; him, Natsu and Lucy. Though it wasn't a date, was it?
Juvia stared at door for several long moments as her brain tried to process what had just happened. She ran the events over in her mind again and again to be certain that she hadn't misinterpreted anything, but each time she did it seemed to confirm her initial theory. Gray Fullbuster, her new and rather attractive neighbour had just invited her out for the weekend. She squeaked with delight and dashed through the narrow hallways of her apartment in search of her phone. Snatching it up off of its cradle, she hastily dialled out Cana's number and waited impatiently as the phone rang.
When Cana answered, Juvia immediately began telling her exactly what had just transpired, speaking at a million miles a minute as the excitement of it all took over. It was a full ten minutes before she managed to calm down sufficiently to stop talking and let Cana finally voice any kind of reply.
"See, I did tell you that things would change. The cards never lie." The fortune teller's voice was practically dripping with smug pride, so much so that Juvia could visualise the signature smirk plastered across her face.
Not that Juvia minded. If anything, it had only served to further boost her faith in Cana's readings. She almost felt bad for having been so sceptical of what the cards had said, and vowed to come up with some kind of thank-you or apology present for her friend. Thanking Cana once again, Juvia hung up and ran through to her bedroom wherein she threw open the doors to her wardrobe.
Frantically and with ceaseless fervour she looked through all of the clothes that she had, sorting them into a series of 'maybes' that she could wear for that weekend; she groaned audibly, missing Lucy's guidance. Despite her nerves at picking the right outfit, Juvia's joy was boundless. Humming a merry tune, she picked through the various outfits that she had set aside until she found one that seemed both suitably stylish and robust. It was a long black overcoat with a white fur trimmed collar. There was a matching hat upon which she had affixed a vibrant butterfly pin that a friend had given her long ago. Setting it aside, she matched it with a pair of high leg, brown leather boots. They were well worn and slightly scuffed but they were more than suitable for whatever outdoors activities the two boys had planned for the group.
With her outfit set, she closed her wardrobe door and crossed the bedroom to the calendar hung up on the wall. It was composed of a variety of photographs of winged cats in numerous scenes. Their wings were pure white like an angels, and never failed to cheer her up. Taking up the red marker she hung with it, she circled the Saturday of their outing and crossed out the current day. A smile crossed her face at seeing just how few days there were to go.
Heading through into the kitchen, Juvia fixed herself some dinner for the evening. She hummed all the while as she cooked, dancing from place to place in her tiny kitchen, swaying to a rhythm that only she could hear. The food she prepared was modest but she didn't mind it, after all she would get to spend a whole day in Gray's company, and that was perfect as far as she was concerned.
Outside her window, the deluge of rain slowed yet again until it was little more than a fine mist falling gently from the heavens to the earth.
By the time that Saturday came around, Lucy was all aflutter. Her apartment was alive with motion as she dashed around frantically trying to gather everything that she would need. To her it seemed as though everything that could have gone wrong, had gone wrong. She had woken up late and had to rush through getting ready, struggling to tame her golden locks into something at least half way to being presentable. Then, she had spent near ten minutes desperately trying to find her phone before finally locating it again with a hefty sigh of relief.
By the time that she stepped out her front door she was running very late indeed. She had texted ahead to warn the others that she might be arriving a little behind schedule, as well as to apologise profusely for the fact. Even as she sat in the taxi on her way over to meet up with the others Lucy struggled to relax. She checked her phone every thirty seconds, half-expecting to see some text from Erza telling her that everything had gone wrong and that the shop was in dire need of back-up, feeling guilty every time the thought crossed her mind.
Lucy had spent the two days that Erza had been working for her teaching the redhead what to do in the event of just about every conceivable problem. It had been intensive and perhaps a little overbearing, but Lucy wanted to make sure that everything would be taken care of in her absence; a fact that Erza seemed to understand and approach with the patience of a saint. As it was she still felt a little guilty for leaving Erza on her own only three days after having taken up working in the little coffee shop. No matter how many times the redhead had smiled and reassured her that it was all under control, Lucy just couldn't quite bring herself to fully believe it.
Her concerns were all swept away however, when the door to the boys' apartment opened and Natsu met her with his characteristic grin. In fact it took everything that she had to contain the flood of colour attempting to rush to her cheeks. Smiling in return, she made her way into the apartment and through to the living room. There she was met by Juvia and Gray, both of whom were sat on one of the couches and chatting animatedly.
As Lucy made her way into the room, the two stopped their conversation and turned to meet her with warm smiles and cheery greetings. Even Gray had a smile on his face for once, the usual frown having been evicted for the day in favour of a jollier demeanour.
"Hey, you made it!" He said with a slight chuckle, climbing to his feet with Juvia following soon after. "Now you're here, we're all set. If you're ready we can get going."
"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm so late. Literally everything went wrong this morning; it felt like the universe wanted to stop me from getting here!" Lucy replied, turning to give Juvia a quick hug. She was surprised to find that the girl was physically shaking with pent up excitement.
Gathering up a couple of large bags between them, Natsu and Gray led the way out of the apartment, pausing only to lock the front door behind them. The four of them boarded the elevator and took it right down to the apartment block's parking level where the two boys led the way over to an older model of car.
The vehicle had definitely seen better days as patches of dirt and rust marring the car's paintwork. As for what colour it had originally been, Lucy could only hazard a guess. Though the two boys looked at their car with pride and treated it more as an old friend than a vehicle on the verge of breaking down. Lucy and Juvia both handed off their bags for Natsu to load into the back, and got into the car. Surprisingly, the seats were still soft and more comfortable than they had any right to be. The interior was clearly well looked after and rigorously clean, a clear contrast to its outward appearance.
Settling into the back seats, the two girls waited for Natsu to join them. Shortly after the rose-haired male climbed in and turned his key in the ignition. In only a second, the car's engine surged to life and was purring away smoothly.
"Heh, it may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts. We call it Igneel." Natsu said, turning round to face them with a cocky smirk.
"He means that he calls it Igneel." Gray explained with a sigh.
Rolling his eyes, Natsu disengage the parking break and coaxed the old car into motion. The adventure had begun and neither of the girls could wait to find out just where they were going.
The journey was longer than Juvia had anticipated and the ride was far smoother than she might have expected from such an old car, but she didn't really mind it. It was just as Natsu had said; Igneel really did have it where it counted. It actually felt like they were floating rather than simply rolling along the uneven and pot-holed streets that made up Magnolia's sprawling metropolis.
Once they left the city though, things drastically improved. The scenery changed from one of the concrete jungle to something far more serene and tranquil. Skyscrapers were switched out for towering woodlands and housing estates became rolling fields of wheat and barley just ripe for harvest. Even with the lightest mist of rain falling, it was a beautiful sight to behold.
All along the way and in between bouts of staring awestruck out of the car's windows, the two girls whispered amongst themselves. Neither of them could possibly fathom just where it was that the four of them were headed to. In fact it was only when they turned off down a narrow country lane that they found out.
The road twisted and turned, with two large hedges bordering it on either side; impenetrable walls of thick green foliage. After they had travelled along for a few hundred yards the hedges fell away and gave way to open meadows, bordered by simple wooden fences. Flowers of all colours bloomed in the fields as well as plants of all different varieties.
Beyond even those sat their destination and it truly took their breath away. A huge building sat at the end of the lane, its three floors formed tiers getting progressively smaller as they went. Each floor had an oriental styled sloping roof and the uppermost tear was topped with an elegant dome that shone through the rain. Columns held up the lower most roof and angled windows dotted the walls of each floor save the top. There hung a large banner marked up with a peculiar symbol, an emblem of sorts. As they reached the end of the lane, they passed beneath a wrought iron arch upon which was emblazoned the words 'Fairy Tail'.
Both girls' jaws dropped in shock, immediately making the connection. This was where the two boys had grown up?! It seemed incredulous that such an elegant building in the middle of nowhere served to house orphaned children, though in a way Juvia was glad. Both the building itself and the surroundings would undoubtedly have made for a wonderful place in which to grow up. There was so much space for the children to play both indoors and out and vast expanses of land to explore and have adventures in.
Lucy was still staring at the buildings in awe as their car pulled up and came to a stop. Was this really the place that Natsu and Gray had grown up? Getting out, she made her way around to the back of the car and retrieved her bags. The rain was coming down in very fine droplets but she didn't even notice; she was far too busy taking in the beauty of her surroundings for something as minor as rain to distract her.
Natsu led her up to the main doors with Gray and Juvia following close behind. Climbing the steps onto what was the single largest porch that Lucy had come across in her life. As they stepped out of the rain, the two large doors swung open and bathed them in a warm orange light from within. In the doorway was a tall young woman with white hair and an easy smile. Beside her was a little old man with a balding head and a limited shock of white hair, he too bore a subtle grin.
"Hey Gramps, we were hoping that you'd be here!" Natsu and Gray both chirped fondly, each stepping in shake the diminutive old man's hand in turn. Lucy turned to Juvia so as to gauge her reaction, only to find that Juvia had already stepped forward to greet the two by name, something which seemed to have caught even Natsu and Gray by surprise.
"Hello again Mirajane, Makarov; Juvia trusts that you are both keeping well." She said with a smile, shaking Makarov's hand and lightly hugging Mirajane. Seeing Lucy's confusion, Juvia quickly explained. "Juvia met them on the bus one morning on her way to work."
Lucy just stood in silence; unsure of what to say or even if she should say anything at all.
"Mirajane is actually Lisanna and Elfman's older sister. She grew up with us all way back when, though these days she helps look after Gramps and keep Fairy Tail running." Natsu explained with a wave of his hand before turning to Mira once again. "Hey Mira, we brought these two here to show them around and meet some of the younger ones, are Wendy and Romeo around?"
Before Mira could answer, there came the hasty patter of footsteps even as two more people rocketed out of nowhere. One, a young boy of around fourteen, tackled Natsu to the ground without a second thought whilst the other, a young girl about the same age, stood beside Makarov with a shy smile.
"Well hey Romeo! Were you listening in again?" Natsu laughed, before extricating himself from Romeo's grip and climbing to his feet, in one swift motion he swept Romeo up and perched the boy atop his shoulders. Romeo was a cheerful looking sort with wide eyes and a bright grin affixed to his features. He was dressed in such a way that seemed oddly reminiscent of Natsu in so far that all of his garments were mismatched and quirky.
The girl, whom Lucy presumed to be Wendy, was quite the opposite. She seemed much shyer and more reserved. She was dressed in what appeared to be a dress of hand woven cloth. Her hair was a shade of midnight blue and flowed freely over her shoulders, and in her arms held closely to her chest was a white cat. At first Lucy had thought it might have been an inanimate ball of fur before she saw its ears and the way in which its body gently rose and fell with each breath.
Lucy smiled as Natsu introduced the two and cordially shook their hands. Wendy in particular seemed thrilled at the opportunity to meet the two older women and soon came out her shell to introduce them to the cat that she held.
"Her name is Carla, she was left on our doorstep as a kitten. She's been my best friend ever since, isn't that right Carla?" In response to Wendy's question, the cat looked up at the people all around them, yawned, blinked lazily at Wendy and promptly went back to sleep. Wendy giggled and gently scratched behind the cat's ears.
"She's so cute!" Lucy cooed, leaning in to caress the creature's fur.
"Let's get in out of the rain for a while before any of you catch cold." Mira said softly with a hint of maternal concern. The girls nodded gratefully and stepped in out of the rain, the boys following closely behind with happy expressions. To the blonde there was something about their surroundings that made her worries fade away and her stresses dissipate. It felt homely and safe, welcoming to all and exclusive to none. In a way it felt like a homely feeling that she had been longing without knowing it. In her mind there was only one word to describe Fairy Tail; magical. And Lucy couldn't get enough of it.
So there it is, the latest installment of the tale. I certainly hope that you all enjoyed it. If you did, please do favourite and follow. I try to keep them updated at least once every couple of weeks or so. If you feel like it, drop me a review or PM and let me know what you thought of the chapter and the story so far. I read them all and do try to shape my style of writing each time to make the chapters better and more in depth. Anyway, that is all I have to offer for this time.
Thank you all for reading and as always, I'll see you all in the next chapter.