In Secret (Sequel to Behind the Scenes)

Questions

Gajeel's P.O.V.

As I neared the bookstore, the smell of paper and ink got pretty strong. I walked around the corner of a building and I could see it in front of me, the windows thrown open to catch a breeze. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, relief flooding through me. There was a tiny bluenette sitting on a chair in front of the store, tea and the remains of a sandwich on the table in front of her. I guess being so small has its perks, she was folded into a normal cafe chair like it was a couch, her knees pulled up and the book propped against them. I had almost thought she wouldn't come.

I sat down in the chair opposite her, and snatched up her sandwich and threw it in my mouth. She didn't even flinch, so I leaned back in my chair and watched her. She was wearing tight black shorts and an orange tank top, although there were sleeves that were tied on about mid bicep and went to her wrists. Her hair was pulled back in a tail, although her bangs had escaped. If I let myself be honest, she was pretty cute.

After several minutes of nothing but her turning pages, I decided to grab some more food, and left her alone again. As I came and sat back down with my own sandwich, I tilted my head to read the spine of the book. "Drag-" was all I could see over her legs. Dragons? She's reading up on dragons? I glanced at her face to see her furrow her brow in concentration. "Gihi," I chuckled at how intensely focused she was, and apparently that was finally enough to catch her attention.

"Eep! Gajeel! Hi!" She squeaked and jumped, dropping the book in the process. I snatched it before it hit the ground, and held it out for her to mark her place. "Geez Shrimp, yer so focused. I've only been sittin' here for ten minutes, why ya jumpin' 'bout me bein' here now?"

Her eyes widened and she blushed, making me want to laugh again. How does she do that so easily? I never laugh, and now it's all I want to do around her. "I'm so sorry, Gajeel! Have you really been here for ten minutes?" She looked down and saw my food, and hers missing. "Did you finish my sandwich?" I felt a tiny bit of heat in my cheeks, "Uh, yeah. Ya want some of mine? I just did it to mess with ya, but ya didn't even notice. Dragons aren't all that fascinatin' really." She almost looked confused for a moment, and then her gaze fell to her book. "Oh! This! But, yes they are! Anyway, I'm sorry I ignored you. Jet and Droy used to whine about that all the time, but I guess they're used to it now."

"Who?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "Jet. And Droy. My friends? You know... The ones who... Umm." I cut her off before she had to finish that. Either of the situations I'd know them from weren't very pleasant for her. "Oh. Fish-tail and the speedster? That's them? Huh, I guess I'd never really learned their names. Anyway, I'm glad yer here."

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Levy's P.O.V.

"Yeah! So, why am I here, Gajeel? What exactly do you need? I know you know how to read, so you weren't talking about yourself when you said 'words ain't so easy to learn...'" I trailed off at the shock in his face. "I guess you didn't know I'd heard you say that, huh?"

"I hadn't realized I'd said anythin' out loud, Shrimp. That's all. But no, I wasn't talkin' about me... I can actually read quite well and use my extensive vocabulary fairly eloquently when I choose to do so." I could feel my jaw dropping at the last part of his answer. I snapped it shut as quick as possible so he wouldn't be offended, but he'd just started that wonderful deep laugh again. I felt a grin slowly spreading across my face. "Well, I guess I'll start then. You said you'd explain what you meant by you'd smelled me?" That shut him up, his mouth closing with an audible snap. I pulled my notebook out of my bag, and got ready to take notes.

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Gajeel's P.O.V.

Ah hell, I'd forgotten about that. I watched the little bookworm pull out a notebook and pen, then look at me expectantly. "Alright, yeah." I took a huge bite of my sandwich to give myself time to figure out my answer. "So, everyone has a unique smell to them. It comes from a combination of things, really. Things in their life like their shampoo, body wash, maybe a pet, favorite perfume, or something they eat regularly. Wizards add in a scent from their magic." I paused to take another bite and let her catch up in her notes. She didn't really need it though. I was surprised how neat her handwriting was with the speed she wrote.

"Okay, for example. The Salamander smells like fish, that cat of his, and smoke. Yer pal fish-tail, he smells like plants and very faintly like books, but that's because of you. Sometimes people smell similar, from living together or being related, but there's always a unique element to a person's scent that makes it 'theirs.' My nose ain't as good as Flame-brain, but it ain't as dull as a normal human's either. For instance, I can't track someone by their scent, usually. I can just smell them if they've been somewhere for at least a few minutes recently, or if it's a regular place they go." I stuffed the last of my meal into my mouth and the shrimp stopped writing. She looked up me, a question in her eyes. I just raised a brow at her.

"One other thing. Emotions have scents too. I can't explain that, so don't ask, but the strongest ones are easily identifiable. Anger, fear, surprise, and well, a few others." I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I thought about a strong emotion I hadn't mentioned. I drank some of my water to cover it, but that was a bad idea, since she had decided to ask me her questions. "So... You said I smell like books, but what is the unique part of mine? Would you smell like metal? What other emotions? How are your other senses, compared to a normal person?"

I pounded my chest with a fist as I choked. I finally coughed enough to clear my throat. "Ahem. Um, I don't really know, entirely. You smell kind of, fruity. Like, maybe strawberries. And of course the paper and ink smell." I held up one finger. "I've never actually smelled myself. But Metalicana smelled like iron and dragon. Smelled like rust if he got wet, gihi. My eyesight is only a little better during the day, but I have pretty decent night vision. My hearing is very good." I was holding three fingers up now, having raised one as I answered each of the tiny woman's questions. I was hoping she wouldn't realize I'd skipped one. I almost groaned out loud as she opened her mouth again.

"What about the emotions?" She had such a curious expression on her face, I couldn't not answer. "Well, uh," I decided to just rush through, maybe she'd miss hearing it. "Arousal, happiness, excitement, sadness. Ya know. The basics." I looked away as I saw a blush creep into her cheeks. Maybe I could change the subject. "Uh, paired with my hearing, sometimes I can tell when someone's lying, too."

She looked up at that, the pink lingering on her face a little. "How's that work?" I thought for a minute, trying to figure out how best to explain. "Well, I can hear a heart rate pick up a bit, which it usually does when someone's lying. And a person usually starts sweating a little when they're anxious about being caught in a lie. So, pairing the two things together, you can tell. But it's not always a perfect method. If a person's been running, or exerting themselves, their heart rate is going to be elevated anyway, and they're going to smell like sweat. Yer speedster smells like sweat most of the time."

"Jet." She had a bit of a glare on her face.

"What's that?"

"His name. My 'speedster'. His name is Jet. He's one of my closest friends." Yep, there was definitely some heat in her voice. I chuckled, "Fine. Jet. He stinks."

"Yeah, actually I've noticed that myself." She giggled a little at that. Damn but that's a great sound. "Alright, well, you've answered my questions, but I have one more. What is it exactly that I'm helping you with?"

I took a deep breath, and felt a brief moment of doubt. It wasn't my life I was about to entrust this little woman with. As I let out the air I was holding, I realized that I trusted her completely. I couldn't have told you why, but I did. I'd just talked to her more in the last hour than I'd talked to anyone since Dad had left.

"Ya gotta promise to keep this to yerself. No matter what. Gimme yer word." She was very solemn as she studied me, which made me even more confident that I was making the right choice. "Okay. I give you my word. And words are everything to me." I nodded and stood up. "Then come with me." I turned and started walking towards my orphans without looking to see if she was following.

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Credit goes to Patricia Briggs, one of my favorite authors, for the details on the scents and detecting lies. That is straight from her Mercy Thompson series.