Carla wasn't so sure this was a good idea.
True, Wendy needed to put herself out there more. It was something the Exceed had been saying practically since she hatched. But–mentally pardoning herself for language–this all seemed pretty freaking stupid.
And she regularly interacted with Natsu.
"O-Ok everyone! Hold up your kitty companion!" A dozen some people picked up the cats they held in their lap and moved them so they "waved". Wendy did the same with Carla in her lap, the latter looking decidedly displeased. "Now, let's go around in a circle and say one thing we like about our cat and one thing we like about ourselves. Bunge, you go first." She pointed to an older teen boy sitting to her left. His overgrown hair shielded his eyes, and combined with his lanky frame, he looked quite gloomy. To contrast, the tom on his lap was so round he was nearly a perfect circle. Bunge pet his cat on the head, the tom's eyes barely open.
"I...I like that Randell is so soft, he takes really good care of himself, even with so much fur. And um, about myself…," he trailed off, mumbling. Wendy spoke up.
"Bunge! We all need to hear you!"
"Oh, sorry! Um...I like that I get to take care of Rand." His voice rose only slightly above a whisper even the second time around. Wendy found this acceptable and moved on to the next person. Although initially nervous, she soon settled into a rhythm of getting each person to talk about the cat, then themselves.
Carla suppressed the urge to sigh. This particular exercise was something Wendy wanted to do with nearly all the villagers; meaning that it would take the better part of a whole day to go around just once. Carla couldn't help but think there must be a better use of their time.
Wendy had found a job at the edges of Fiore, right near a cluster of small villages. The problem was a strange one. The citizens were coming down with strange ailments, mainly of lethargic or apathetic dispositions, despite bodies that were perfectly healthy. On top of that, a sudden influx of cats had started wandering into the nearby villages, getting into trouble even more so than usual due to the attitudes of the villagers. When she'd been unable to cure the energy problem with her normal healing methods–determining it to be a mental condition and not a physical one–Wendy had attempted to think of a solution that helped both problems.
But...did it have to involve talking to and working through the emotional state of all these people?
Apparently so. A strange determination had overtaken Wendy when she realized her usual approaches wouldn't work in this situation. Along with the cat problem, she strived to improve everyone's mood up to at least manageable levels before they left. Carla did find that admirable, despite the fact that she was stuck listening to all of them now, glued to Wendy's lap.
"I'm not even a cat for goodness sake!"
Only after several heads turned towards her did Carla realize she'd spoken out loud. Clapping her paws over her mouth, she wished she could use Aera and fly far, far away. Wendy looked down at her with a frown.
"Well, it's not our turn yet, but if Emmie doesn't mind, I think Carla should go next."
"I don't mind deary," Emmie, an older woman with a content-looking calico spoke. She scratched her cat behind the ears. Content turned to soft-spoken delight as it purred. "I wait all the time nowadays, what's a little more waiting?"
Carla frowned pointedly. Wendy squeezed her slightly. The Exceed could feel a pout coming on if she didn't respond soon. She hated pouting.
"I…I…" Great, what exactly was she supposed to say again?! Something about…herself? But she was the cat in this scenario. A talking one, mind you, but wasn't the animal supposed to stay silent? Her eyes traced up and down the circle of people in front of her. They were staring with curious expressions. Occasionally the cats too, the ones that weren't sleeping at least. She gulped and forced a deep breath.
"I like about myself…that I can remain cool and calm under distress." A few chuckles. Carla was glad a blush was harder to see under fur. "And I appreciate that Wendy has grown enough to lead something like this with so many people." Several "d'aww's" rang out. Carla waited for Wendy to continue, or speak up, but nothing but silence followed her statement. Confused, she glanced up, only to see Wendy's face growing redder.
"Uh-uh, right!" Wendy suddenly declared. "I like that Carla's, um, my best friend! And I like that I can be her best friend!" Smiles and giggles broke out among the group, which Wendy attempted to stifle by calling upon the next person to start. Her face was still a little red, but she seemed determined to finish up with the group.
Carla settled down in Wendy's lap, watching as the people in the group grew a little brighter after speaking. She chuckled and shook her head. Maybe it was helping them in some strange way. Wendy may have been young, but she certainly understood the pains of losing confidence in oneself. Perhaps Carla could let this little embarrassment slide today…as long as one of the villagers wouldn't mind brewing her some tea before they left.
A/N: Not the best stopping point I realize but I was not able to get the next Interlude or Day 6 done, so this is where we'll leave for now! The next Interlude involving our strange trio I feel is especially important so I want to make sure it goes right. Currently, I plan on uploading the Interlude on the anniversary of this fic (8 years already!) on October 6th, and if the next Day is finished I will upload that once a day until I run out. I am due to start a new job next week and between that and keeping my other one I will be very busy most days. My heart is still set on finishing this fic up, I just can't estimate when now (or ever it's seemed lol). I will say it's very close to the ending parts. After the second Day 5 interlude there will be Day 6, Day 7, and then the Aftermath and Epilogue. Day 7 I especially anticipate taking a while with all of the aspects I want to wrap up.
So, in short, thank you all for reading up to this point! Please leave a comment on what you enjoyed most about this Day, or this fic so far. I will be back 10/6 for Interlude ll for sure and possibly Day 6, otherwise the rest will come when it's all wrapped up.