//FairyTail Fanfiction//Lavinia Forest: An S Class Quest

Chapter 4

Wendy's POV

Wendy and Carla hurtled out of the treetops and down onto the ground. Carla let go of Wendy and both came crashing onto a hard dirt ground. Wendy rolled, unable to stop herself and finally smashed into a tree, feeling woozy, brain spinning.

The cracking sound of the large tree she crashed into rang into her ears. Wendy tried to stand, but her legs were much too weak and her head spinning too much. Wendy rolled on her back and tried to shift away from the tree. She could see spots of sunlight and the dark tree looming over her.

I'm sorry I was so weak, everybody. I'll miss you all, Wendy thought as she knew the tree was about to crash on top of her.

A black cloud swarmed above her and she felt wind through her hair. She closed her eyes, hoping this was what going to heaven felt like.

Gentle hands lay her down on something soft. Wendy groped at it, hoping it was a bed. It felt wet and had the texture of a leaf. A girls' voice spoke softly to her.

"Don't open your eyes yet. Just wait for the spinning to stop," she said.

"Carla...." Wendy said, although she knew the likelihood of it being Carla was next to nothing.

No words came after Wendy called for Carla.

Where am I? Wendy thought.

Soft hands were placed on both of her cheeks, and she instantly felt less pained. Warmth spread from her cheeks down to all the areas of her body that were hurt and possibly broken.

The hands were removed.

"It's okay to open your eyes now, if you wish," the voice spoke again.

Wendy cautiously opened her eyes. She was on her back, and was staring at the treetops and the blue sky peeking out of the green leaves.

"You sure heal fast."

Wendy sat up slowly, looking around for the husky, accented voice. And then she saw a girl's silhouette leaning on the tree in the shadows, adjacent from where Wendy was lying.

"I figured you might want some space in case you did something reckless. I'm lead to believe that when people wake up from near death experiences, they get scared and don't realize they're still in reality," the girl said as she walked out of the shadows. Wendy examined her cautiously.

She was stunning. About 5'7 in height with a body as thin as Wendy's 12 year old one. Long black hair that flowed behind her in the cool wind. A heart shaped face with high cheekbones, rosebud red lips and big, piercing green topaz eyes that shone as brightly as a topaz itself. She wore a strapless blood red dress, which protruded a long brown scar on her left forearm. A silver chain hung loosely around her neck. This girl exuded confidence and peace, and Wendy suddenly felt much calmer in her presence.

"I don't normally save others, but I can figure you're something special since you just crashed on a flying cat. Or I'm just going delusional," the girl said.

"My name's Wendy, and I'm here on a quest. What's your name?"Wendy asked.

The girl smiled, revealing sharp white teeth that looked almost inhuman. "I'm Raven. I'm residing here for the time being."

Why would she tell me something like that? She doesn't even know me.

"Why... why are you telling me this?" Wendy asked cautiously.

Raven looked at her with her piercing eyes. Then her face softened slightly. Even though it wasn't a lot, Wendy could see that Raven cared, despite only knowing her for two minutes.

"I'm a shift wizard. I can change into whatever I want. The only way someone would find me is if I let them," Raven said. She looked down at her nails and started examining them. "You're twelve, aren't you?"

Wendy nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess. Pretty hard quest for a twelve year old."

"Oh, it's not just me, I went with four other members and another flying cat from my guild." At this, Raven's head shot up in alarm. She settled down quickly, once seeing Wendy's nervous shift after the sudden movement.

"Calm down. We can go find them. The only monsters that know this forest better than me are the Star - Faits. And they don't bother me, so they won't bother you." Raven walked over to Wendy and helped her stand.

"Which friend do you want to look for first?" Raven asked.

"Can we look for the flying cat I crashed on first? I'm worried about her, I think she had a pretty hard fall," Wendy answered.

"The one named Carla?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Based off where you crashed, and where you started rolling from, my guess is that she's either East or North. Let's get going, it'll be dark soon and the arachnid monsters will eat whatever prey they can catch." Raven started walking north. She stopped by a tree.

"Oh, and Wendy?" She said, not looking back.

"Yes?" Wendy said, looking at her.

"Once we find your friends, I will have no choice but to ban you all from Lavinia forest. If any of you refuse, it is punishable by death."