God of War: The Descendant

33rd Chapter: Anthygieiná orámata

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters. Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. The following story is for entertainment purposes only.

33rd Chapter: Anthygieiná orámata

The request board had so much to show right now. There were so many good jobs available, and to Lucy's delight, many of them required little effort― like catching a royal cat― but still pay well enough to pay two months of her rent.

Plucking the notice which appealed to her creative eye and interest, she turned around and scanned the area for her own team. Erza, Gray and Natsu were nowhere to be found; so she approached the only member she could find.

Wendy sat at a table farther toward the center of the room, with Carla standing opposite her. As the blonde neared the pair, she felt a sinking feeling in her heart and pit of her stomach after seeing the child and her cat's condition. The huge bags under their eyes indicated little or no sleep, and she knew it must pertain to the visions they'd seen before.

However selfish it may sound, Lucy was glad that she didn't have the power of Precognition.

"Wendy, Carla! Hey!" Turning at the cheerful greeting, the child's tired face was instantly replaced by a smile, though it was a bit on the wan side. Of course, the blonde saw through the façade. "Guys, you've been acting awfully strange lately. And I know it's because of those horrible visions, but..."

"Don't worry about it, Lucy." Carla immediately cut her off. The exceed looked worse than ever, the dark circles under her eyes telling their own tale. "You shouldn't concern yourself about it. And Wendy as well, don't think about it child."

"But—"

"I'm sorry if this will sound a bit rude, but I believe you're here for a reason, Lucy?" The white exceed faced Lucy, and although the blonde felt a bit rueful over their inner struggles, she managed a mute nod. She didn't want to seem intruding on another's affairs, and she trusted the cat enough if she didn't want to come clean yet.

"O-Okay. I found this request, and I was going to ask you two to join me." Holding out the poster, Lucy tried to give a wide, carefree smile, exactly like the one Natsu usually wore. The pair skimmed the sheet of paper, and she tilted her head to one side, studying them with concern. "Well? What do you guys think?"

"Wendy should go on this one."

"But what about you, Carla? I don't want to leave you all alone!" Wendy gripped the edge of the table, eyes moist, pleading.

"I'll just rest here, child. Don't worry about me," As if to emphasize her point, Carla raised a paw to her forehead. Wendy sat up, and reached forward and hugged her, holding her a long minute. "Now go, you need to take your mind off it. It's not your burden to carry in the first place."

"No! As your friend, I share your burden too, Carla." The bluenette muttered against the top of her cat's head. In turn, the exceed smiled a small smile before pulling away.

"That's a pretty easy job anyways, so don't worry none about me. You'll be back in no time!"

Lucy knew the smart exceed was only trying to allay the child's worries a little, for Wendy's own sake. And she appreciated the pair's friendship. Carla then turned her attention to her. "Natsu and the others will be accompanying you, right?" The blonde replied with a quick nod of her head. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just be in the infirmary, sleeping."

"Let me at least accompany you." Wendy insisted, getting to her feet and regarding her exceed through worried eyes. Carla sighed, but nevertheless nodded okay. The child called over her shoulder, "I'll meet you at the entrance, Lucy!"