This mission had gone horribly. Gray trudged through a muddy field, the lines of his face set firmly into a frown. The mud was up to his shins. Where it was wet, it squelched, and where it was dry it shook off his pants in chunks and dust. He was on his way back home to Magnolia from a fairly standard solo mission when the rains had hit. It poured hard and constant, turning the pleasant fields he had stupidly chosen to walk through rather than take a train into pits of cold sludge. Now he had been stuck in the wilderness between Magnolia and Lotaus for a little less than a week.
His foot caught on a hidden bramble under the deluge and he tripped, landing face-first into the mud with a wet slap.
That's fucking it, Gray thought. He flailed about the mud until he was able to stand. He dug into his bag, which was slung around his neck and rested at his hip, until he felt a smooth sphere. It was a small communications lacrima, connected directly to the one placed on the Fairy Tail guild bar. Gray checked the position of the sun. It was going to set soon. 8 p.m, possibly? No matter. Someone would see his message.
After a small burst of magic from his palm the lacrima flickered to life. The image on the sphere solidified until Gray could make out Mira's smiling face peering at him. He was suddenly reminded of how disheveled he must look, and attempted in vain to fluff up his hair and wipe the dirt from his face.
"Gray? Why'd you call?" Mira's voice brought Gray back to his senses.
"Oh, right. The rain turned the path back to Magnolia into a goddamn deathtrap of mud and puddles. I'm kinda lost. Is anyone able to come out and help me?"
"That's a sure shame!" Mira put a finger to her chin in an exaggerated depiction of deep thought. "Well, Erza and Lucy went out on a mission yesterday. Natsu's here, though, and Happy would be useful for scouting ahead!" Gray nearly shouted that Natsu was the last person he wanted helping him, but he stopped himself after realizing that he really needed anyone he could get.
"Okay, fine. I'm a few miles west of the Ruut trail. Don't have anything more specific than that. Tell 'em I'll be sticking around this area for a few days. If they don't show up, though, I'm movin' on."
"Got it! I'll send them your way! Bye-bye, Gray!" The connection faded, the final image of Mira's small good-bye wave dispersing into nothing. Gray felt a small surge of contentment before remembering that he has to sit here until Natsu comes to rescue him. His scowl came right back.