Lost And Found

Untitled Part 5

Gray had been folowing Natsu and his nose for a few days now. Magnolia was pretty far behind them now and neither one of the duo of mages had looked back. Not even once. Gray was too busy wondering where his nakama was and Natsu was being surprisingly obedient for once. It wasn't very often that Gray found himself putting all of his trust in Natsu, but now he kinda needed him. Without the dragon slayer in front of him, it could've taken Gray days or even weeks longer to get to where he was now, if he even got here alone. The day dragged on slowly as Natsu followed Juvia's scet and Gray followed him.

Juvia had started retracing her steps, heading back to Fairy Tail. Juvia found it quite easy back tracking. Then again, there was no reason for it to be hard, the path was still fresh in her mind and she was pretty well rested. Even with that, she still needed an inscentive, something to spur her on. She found something to do exactly that for her. Gray. Her Gray-sama. She found it kind of strange. Gray had been the main reason why Juvia skipped town, and yet he was number one on her 'must see' list. Juvia kept passing by places that seemed familiar, bringing her closer to the guild, albeit slowly, but she was still getting there.

The sun had set behind the horizon, making Juvia's job of navigating harder, though not by too much. She just kept heading in a straight line, bee-lining to where she remembered Magnolia to be. She wasn't used to walking around in the dark. Usually, she'd lay down and rest up for the night before carrying on in the morning. Tonight was different though. Tonight she didn't do that. Tonight, Juvia wanted to get back to Fairy Tail and a bit of darkness wasn't going to stop her from achieving that recently set goal. Seeing Gray had been pushed into second place in her list of reasons for missing Fairy Tail. He had been overtaken by all the fun she had had at that guild. Out here where she was now, there was nothing to do and she found herself becoming bored quickly. It was just walking all the time, no games, no talking, no meaningless brawling. Juvia sighed as she thought of what the members of Fairy Tail would be doing now. Probably having a party of some sort, with Natsu and Gray destroying everything as they engulfed the whole guild into one of their little spats. It was hopless. Juvia's eyes fluttered open and closed as the weight of her eyelids became apparent. Sleep was the main thing that she was trying to avoid, yet it was the one thing that she needed the most at this particular moment. Her need for sleep quickly triumphed over her desire of seeing her nakama back at Fairy Tail. The woods weren't the ideal place for a 17 year old girl to be alone, mage or not. She needed somewhere that was more ideal for sleep. There it was. Just in front of her. A sign post. A sign post means town and a town means inn. Perfect.

Another three days passed by. The large, wooden double doors of the guild swung open as Juvia walked in. She took a moment to look around. She'd missed it so much and being back just felt so good. Nothing much had changed, but there was one main thing on her mind. The bluenette marched over to the bar, being greeted with Mira's signature warm smile.

"Glad to see you back!" Juvia just shrugged off Mira's greeting and threw a question straight at her.

"Where's..." She took a look around just to make sure. "Where's Gray-sama"

"Out lookin' for you". Mira didn't seem to make much of it. Juvia span 1800 on her heels. "Where you going now?"

"To find Gray-sama". Mira came out from behind the bar and stood next to Juvia.

"You should just wait here. He's got Natsu with him so it won't be too long before he tracks you back to here". Juvia nodded with a bit of hesitation. Maybe it's better to follow Mira's advice.

"Can I get a cup of tea please?"

"Sure". Tea always seemed to calm Juvia's nerves and she needed it now more than ever.