The Cat's Meow

Is it serious?

Gray and Juvia walked into the forest, carefully trying to avoid getting scratched by loose branches or tripping over underbrush. They walked in silence to Porlysica's house for at least 15 minutes, commenting about unimportant things or chit-chatting once in a while.

 "Why does Porlysica-san live so far from the rest of the town? Surely it get's irritating to walk so far to town and back sometimes." Juvia huffed in agitation.

 "I guess some people like to live away from civilization for privacy." Gray shrugged still walking ahead of Juvia at least a few feet. 

"I don't see how some people enjoy being alone...Juvia hated it with all her being..."Juvia whispered more to herself than Gray.

 She shivered remembering herself always standing alone in the rain. She could still feel the raindrops sometimes wetting her skin when it dropped from her pink umbrella. She was so used to the silent breeze of the wind carrying the rain. She was so used to being alone back then. She remembered as a child playing in the rain outside the orphanage by herself. Sometimes she would catch some of the raindrops in her hand and try to keep it from seeping out her hand and splattering to the ground forgotten amongst the others. It never worked. She never got to save at least one raindrop. The gravity was always there to drag it to the ground. Just like her.

"Juvia?" Gray asked finally turned around and stopping in his tracks.

"Y-yes?" Juvia asked suprised when she was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts.

"I called a couple times. I asked were you okay?"Gray sighed. 

He could clearly see something was bothering Juvia. He could also tell it was something that she probably wouldn't like to talk about. After all, he had that same face when he thought about Ul and his parents. That same defeated look when he realized that everyone that died for him would never come back and it was all his fault.

"Sorry Gray~sama. Juvia got a little distracted."She shook her head lightly and smiled a watery sad smile. 

He finally nodded after a while, contemplating if he should try to get it out of her. He turned around and continued walking. Of course she wouldn't tell him anything. After all he never liked telling his feelings either. He always had a feeling of guilt,  pain, and an overbearing unhappy feeling that always resided in his chest ever since his parents died, and the feeling grew stronger when Ul died. 

 Everyone he knew and loved had always risked their life for him and ended up dead,while he helplessly watched them die. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration. This was no time to be thinking about this now. He couldn't afford to think about this now. Gray and Juvia finally came to a clearing with a cottage in the middle of it. 

"By the way Gray~sama, how did you know where Porlysica-san's house was located?" Juvia asked.

 Gray shrugged as he stated matter of factly,"She's Fairytail's personal healer. Plus Nastu and the other's are a little too reckless at times and need immediate attention."

Juvia made an o shape with her mouth as Gray knocked on the quaint wooden door of the cottage. There was no answer. Gray knocked again. There was again, no answer. Juvia shifted her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. 

"Maybe she's not he-"Juvia was quickly cut off by a loud creak of the wooden door and was met with cold red eyes and a frightening scowl.

"What are you kid's bothering me for? Go away!"Porlysica snarled not even taking a second to hear what they were there for, and instead tried to slam the door closed again.

 Gray placed his foot in the door before it closed and he looked at her with serious eyes.

"We need your help Porlysica. I have a certain...situation that happened to me yesterday, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

Porlysica looked at Gray with disdain in her eyes as she huffed,"That sounds like a personal problem. I have no obligation to help any of you damn brats out."

Juvia felt tears forming in her eyes."P-please Porlyusica-san! Gray~sama needs your help desperately and if something happened to Gray ~sama Juvia wouldn't know what she would do!" 

Juvia bawled kneeling on the floor with tears falling down her face. Porlysica looked at Juvia with annoyance. 

"Get up child,show some dignity!" Juvia slowly stood up with tears still falling from her eyes.

"Since you brats won't leave me alone I guess I have no choice but to listen to what you have to say..."Porlysica sighed while she rubbed her temples quite roughly and smoothed back her soft pink hair that was always tucked in a bun. 

They could hear her loudly muttering about how  none of the fairy brats could stop getting into trouble and how they would kill her just from overworking. She yanked the door open as she walked further into her cottage.Gray and Juvia stared at her and quickly glanced at each other.

"Hurry up! I don't have all day!!"Porlysica yelled. 

Both of them carefully stepped inside and took a seat on the wooden chairs Porlyusica always had out for visitors. 

"Now tell me what was so important that you brats had to interrupt my very important work!"Porlysica listened as Gray told his story of how he was returning from a mission from the west and he had a very bad headache and had suddenly turned into a cat. As he told his story however, Porlysica's frown slowly got deeper and deeper. Something was wrong and she already knew this was no simple matter.