Celestial Heart (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Chapter 27: Unraveling Secrets

Winter's POV

"Winter! You're going to pass out if you stay there much longer! You've never been good with hot springs, you know."

Lucy's earnest voice startled me from my reverie, and I slipped off my perch, splashing frantically in the steaming water, my head submerging for several embarrassing seconds before I could grab the edge of the springs and haul myself out. 

"Yeah." I spat out a mouthful of water. "Thanks for the warning, sis."

Grabbing the towel I'd set aside as I stepped out of the pool, my earlier train of thought came back to me.

Just what does Loke have against Celestial Wizards...?

Both Loke and Candor had taken jobs on their own for some reason, though I supposed Candor wasn't that hard to figure out. He'd only recently gotten released from the hospital and the first thing the guild had done to celebrate was induct him into our ranks. Mira had given him the same treatment she had me, giving him the choice of where to have his guild mark placed. I can't say I wasn't a little surprised when he chose the side of his neck. His wild hair was long enough to cover the black tattoo, so that probably had something to do with it.

In any case, I thought he probably wanted to prove himself to the guild as an individual member and took on a semi-challenging task without the rest of Team Zodiac's help.

Loke was another story completely. I had not one inkling why he'd gone off on his own, but I guess Fate liked to be fickle, because when I tagged along with Lucy and the gang on a job, we ended up in the very same town Loke was working in.

The two of us didn't speak much, and he seemed overly wary of my sister and I. Like he'd been the first time he found out my type of magic. I really didn't want to go back to those days where he wouldn't even look me in the eye, but without a word of explanation from him, there was nothing I could do.

I exhaled sharply, ruffling up my hair with the fluffy towel as I made my way back inside the hotel to change into the complementary silk robe. Lucy - who I saw striding out into the main room while I was knotting my belt - wore hers loose as ever. I snorted. My sister was waaay too proud of her supposed "sex appeal".

Finished, I followed Lucy out and was greeted by a pillow to the face.

...Someone's going to die...

"I'm sorry Winter, but in war there are no friends." Erza grinned with all the ferocity of a tigress, chucking me my own brand of fluffy artillery that I gripped firmly between both hands. Pillow fight, eh?

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I laughed, throwing myself into the fray, which included a pair of incessantly feuding idiots (read: Gray and Natsu), a kamikaze flying cat who dive-bombed the scene every so often with a giggling war cry, a demonic mistress who showed no mercy even to her biggest fan, and my sister, who stood off to the side and cringed whenever one of us was thrown into a wall.

"Ow, shit! What the hell Winter?!" Natsu demanded. He was sprawled out disgracefully on the floor, his robe dangerous askew, a plaintive hand pressed to his no doubt throbbing forehead. He jabbed an accusatory finger at the pillow that now dangled from my fingertips, tucked loosely against my thigh. "You put an IRON in there, didn't you?!"

My shoulders rose and fell in a careless shrug. "All's fair in love and war~!"

Over on the other side of the room, Erza paused long enough in her frenzied assault on Gray to smirk at me admiringly. "Well said, Winter," she praised me, causing my cheeks to flush. A little, ok? Just a little. I wasn't having another fangirl moment or anything, I swear.