How Much Longer

Odd and Strange

Something about Wendy was strange. Carla couldn't pinpoint it for once and it frustrated her. Wendy was hers to take care of. Why was it that she suddenly couldn't tell how she was thinking? Usually, Wendy was worried about her guildmates, how much rent would be, or how small her chest was. Carla knew for a fact that Wendy wasn't worrying about any of that. Wendy was just quiet and... strange.

She knew it started when everyone had been found on the island. Seven years, gone in the blink of an eye. Wendy was the last one to wake from the Tenrou group. She remained unconscious for so long that Carla took the initiative to wake her up. She woke very slowly and when she did, she blinked and looked around like she didn't expect to see anything. Then, it was like she remembered something and she stood up so fast that Carla was launched into the bushes.

Ever since then, Wendy had been quieter than usual, not as bright or happy. Well, she still smiled and laughed, but those felt off in a sense. It could've been the way her eyes never really smiled with her mouth, or the random flinching when someone spoke to her. Carla wondered if it had anything to do with the dragon.

Wendy walked differently. The way she carried herself was strange. She wasn't light-footed and airy anymore. She was more solid, sure-footed. She was more like the calm before a storm, utterly silent and still, dangling on the precipice of danger. She could enter a room and Carla wouldn't know she was there until she spoke, which was seldom. It scared her. Wendy wasn't supposed to act like that. She was twelve. Right?

Her voice wasn't shy or quiet. Before, her soft-spoken voice wasn't a choice, it was just how she was. Now, though, it sometimes sounded like a distant rumble of thunder, something that promised heavy rains and no mercy. It was tinged with anger and regret, though from what, Carla was afraid to ask. Carla once heard it harden once as Wendy's face twisted with an ugly snarl at some of the Reborn Oracion Seis members. It was like the howl of an oncoming hurricane.

Carla could've sworn blind that Wendy had grown just a little taller, put on more muscle, and lost some of her baby fat around her cheeks. But that was a preposterous idea. The girl couldn't grow overnight. And yet... that is what it seemed like. She bought clothes that were a size or two bigger than what Carla remembered and her soft hands weren't very soft anymore.

There were more scars and various nicks that hadn't been there before, littering her arms and hands. They were small and no one would see them unless they were looking. The only way Carla knew to look at all was the huge scarred-over claw mark on her shoulder and back. She suspected there was another one on her chest too, but Wendy wouldn't say where she got them or how. For all Carla knew, it could've appeared along with the rest of the odd changes. Wendy made sure to change in the bathroom after Carla questioned.

She didn't act much like a child either. She didn't gush about how cute her latest outfits looked or even try to sneak more sweets from Miss Mirajane. There weren't endless questions or pointing out the obvious. She didn't pick Carla up when they went out for walks and an odd look passed over her face when she asked why she didn't. The "I forgot," and her nonchalant shoulder shrug chilled her to the bone, and still, Carla said nothing.

She caught Wendy zoning out far too often to be normal. Well, Carla wasn't sure if what Wendy was doing would be called zoning out. Sometimes they would be sitting in their Fairy Hills apartment and Carla would glance up to realize Wendy was just standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly at a random wall. It was like she wasn't even there anymore and Carla would need to call her name multiple times before Wendy even stirred.

Or there were times when Wendy would simply fade away mid-sentence. Most people didn't notice because they weren't even listening in the first place, but Carla did. She'd be talking before a haunted look would cross her face and then the words would die in her throat. Thankfully Wendy always shook herself out of these within a couple of seconds. But it was still strange.