Wheels of Fire

Summer Sky

Natsu stepped out of the shower, cleaned up and his head clear from the alcohol. He already regretted succumbing to his depression and getting drunk. He rarely did that back home. He would have worked through his emotions by rigorously training, setting things on fire, or challenging Gray to a fight. In Edolas, he could not even light a candle anymore, and the last fight he was in led to the deaths of Edolas' versions of Precht and Zancrow.

It was dark outside, so very dark. This world without magic had few lights, just lamps, little flickers of fire here and there. Even within this hotel room, the shadows wavered from two lamps and a candle.

The room was empty, but he could smell Edo-Wendy's scent. She had mentioned about going off to find food. Natsu really could use some meat, but for now he sat by the candle. He inhaled, and the flame grew. He sipped the fire, feeling the heat fill his mouth, slide down his throat, and warm his belly.

Just then, the door opened and Wendy strode in. She saw him eating the flames and shook her head. "If I knew you could live off a simple candle, I wouldn't have gotten us so much food," she said, dragging in a large canvas bag.

"I need real food too," he said. "The fire ... well, normally it gives me strength, a boost of energy."

"And now?"

He frowned at the flame. "Not really."

She set the massive sack down and began to take things out, placing them on a desk in the hotel room. "Let's hope ramen is enough. I got some sardines, as well as any canned meat and preserved fruit I could find. Some lettuce for salads, a few oranges and apples too. It's nice to mix healthy stuff with the crap. Basically, I grabbed anything that doesn't have to be chilled."

Rather than the revealing gown from earlier, Wendy wore a clingy suit of all black. It reminded Natsu of the Jiggle Butt Gang. Wearing something like that, he could hardly help but take in all of her curves. No matter how much he tried to tell himself this was Wendy, the girl he cared for like a little sister, that mature body said otherwise.

"That's a lot of food," he said as she lined up canned meats.

"If you're going to rob a grocery story, you grab all you can."

"Wait, you robbed a place?" he shouted.

She spun around and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Will you shut up?" she hissed. "Sheesh! We're wanted by the royal guards. You don't need to alert half the city."

"We have money," he scolded. "You didn't need to steal."

"If I went during open hours, people would see me. I'm trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible." She glared at him. "Don't tell me you've never stolen something to survive."

Natsu folded his arms and pouted. "Lucy says I steal her food, but I just eat it."

"And we're just eating this food. That's surviving, and right now we need to keep on living day by day. That means not getting caught. Now, get some hot water. There's a boiler fountain down the hall."

Natsu grumbled as he snatched up the water kettle. "I wish I could just use my fire to heat the water."

"The last time you used magic, you caused an edoquake. No magic from you."

"I don't think I can anymore, anyway," he muttered with a depressed frown. He took the kettle and left the room.

Wendy sighed as she began to sort through what she had taken. Without magic, they had no refrigeration, no heating, and since this hotel had no kitchens, there was not even a wood-burning stove. It had been built in the days of magic with all of its opulent conveniences, so there were no fireplaces to warm the room and no fans to cool the summer heat. The boiler was their only means of hot drinking water.