feral | sting eucliffe

XXXIV | FTLF

Episode 34: Finding the Lock Family!

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ERZA LOOKED OVER, her eyes locking with Chase's. "You dispelled it. Do you think you can put the spell up again?" Levy spoke up for him, her eyes still scanning the book. She shook her head, blue curls swishing as she did so. "There's no way that he can. Only someone with the blood of the Rotsuku family can do that." Rogue snorted, "Lock family."

Y/n sat beside Levy, staring at the book that sat in between them. "There must be some kind of timing for when they're bound to open it, right? They can't just open it. I mean, every spell has its peak timing for when it's the most powerful, right? Like, it can depend on your emotions or when the sky lines up." She rambled, everyone blinking at her, absolutely bewildered.

She looked away with a small huff, "I only know these things because Galena loved reading about it, but that's not my point!" Y/n quickly flipped through some pages of the book, piecing together what she could from the page as Levy read it at the same pace. "Midnight," They said in unison, looking towards each other before looking at the others. "Midnight on the thirteenth of Friday."

Natsu whipped their heads toward them, "Friday? It's Monday right now! I still don't get why we can't just go to Joya and kick⁠—" Erza sent him another look that made him shut up immediately. Sting and Y/n shared a look at that, blinking at each other briefly. Since Y/n had brought up the topic at first, everyone turned to stare at her, waiting for another order of some sort.

Chase teased her, resting his cheek on his knuckles with a big grin. "So, what's our next move, leader?" Instantly, her cheeks flamed as she moved her hands, panicked. She stumbled for the right words, everyone smiling at her out of amusement. "L-Leader?! I-I'm no leader, I promise you that!" Nikos spoke up next, "Oh, c'mon. You brought this together."

He opened his used-to-be closed eyes, red eyes darting to his friend. "It's every right that you become the leader of this shit show. So, leader, what's our next move?" Her cheeks pinked even more, but after Sting flashed her a reassuring grin, a hint of determination filled her eyes. Her close friends noticed, smiling. He was her source of confidence.

Y/n sighed, "We look for the descendant of someone of the Lock family. I think it's best if team Natsu and the Kyuuseishu go there. Everyone else is responsible for finding out what's so special about that date and anymore that you can get. For now, we'll stick in small teams instead of being in one giant mob." She pointed at Kagura, "You're in charge of scouting out Joya."

Glancing to Sting, she stared at him, nearly getting lost in his pretty blue eyes. "Your guild is in charge of going back to the ruins and finding anything you find even slightly relatable." She passed him a lacrima that Mirajane had handed to her. "It's a communication lacrima. The guild masters are in charge of choosing their teams. Everyone else is staying here." Y/n ordered.

She looked around, pointing at Jet and Droy. "You two, fill Lamia Scale in on about this as well." Wendy tilted her head at Y/n, asking an important question. "What about the magic council? Won't they want to be involved as well?" Biting her lip, Y/n debated on it. Team Natsu had already told them about the events of Tower of Heaven and the Phoenix, so she doubted they'd help.

"We won't tell them anything. I do want a connection between us and Stella, though. Joya's incredibly close to Stella and they deserve some kind of heads up if ruckus starts. Plus, backup helps." Akane straightened up at the statement, eyes lightening. Maybe the Kyuuseishu could meet up with Galena again? They missed the girl a lot.

Natsu interrupted the heavy tension in the air, pumping his fiery fist in the air as he jumped onto a table. "Alright! Let's take down these stony bastards!" Everyone cheered back, loudly yelling. Makarov—who was sitting on the bar—smiled fondly at his children. They were all growing up so fast. He stared at them, "Now, be careful. We don't know what's out there for sure."

He sent a look towards Natsu, saying 'don't destroy more than you already have, you idiot'. Everyone laughed at that, Natsu shivering lightly when Erza gave him the same stare. "That goes for you too," Sting repeated the words in a quieter voice, looking over to Y/n. "Be careful, alright?" She smiled at him, tilting her head with a shy nod. "Of course. You too, okay?"

He grinned at that, giving a thumbs up before picking his usual team and running out the guild. As everyone made their exits, the mixture of the former criminals and team Natsu looked towards each other. "That leaves just us," Erza smiled, scarlet hair swishing with her movements. Lucy cheered, grinning widely. "Then what are we waiting for? We're wasting more time by the minute!"

Gray chuckled, tilting his head. "She's pretty gung-ho about this one," He commented, walking out of the guild smoothly as Juvia yelled at him about being careful and muttered about jealousy under her breath. Wendy smiled sheepishly as Carla replied, "Last time she was, the phoenix incident happened. Let's just hope something similar doesn't happen this time."

Y/n pondered quietly as Nikos swung an arm around her shoulders, the two walking in unison. Chase was behind them, Akane on his back as he carried her. She was too lazy to walk herself, apparently. However, she was doing her own research on the Lock family, so you could call it a fair exchange. "A penny for your thoughts?" Nikos teased, playing with a coin.

Y/n rolled her eyes at his antics, a small giggle leaving her lips. "Nothing, I'm just thinking about the family—" She was cut off by Akane's voice announcing something. "—found it. The Lock mansion set at the border of Fiore." Lucy scratched her chin, blinking as she tilted her head. "Why does the name sound familiar to me?"

Natsu glanced at her, Happy flying at his side. Gray spoke up, however, hands digging into the pockets of his pants. "Maybe because it sounds similar to Juvia's last name? It is Lockser, anyway." He mentioned. Lucy hummed, mumbling as she glanced over her shoulder to look at her with her brown eyes, "No. . . I don't think that's the reason."

Everyone gave her a weird look. Chase sighed, looking up. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out."