Lucy and the Definitive... Cat?

Another Day, Another... hairball?

Mard found himself in Lucy's arms as she gently scratched behind his ear, the look on her face could only be described as disappointed. Her lips were barely turned down, brows knit together, and a bit of moisture hovered at the edges. What also stood out was the small bit of blood of that was drying against her neck and Mard reached up with a paw for it.

"You promised..." she whispered, her voice cracking lightly. Mard felt his ears drop and he looked away from her.

I did, but he threatened you.

Lucy made no movements, said nothing else and Mard tried again. I know you can understand these things. Sudden rage and the fear I felt. He looked up at her, seeing that tear trail down her cheek as she didn't move. Please, Lucy, talk to me. Tell me you can hear me. He begged.

"Hey Luce," Natsu said as he stood beside her, she turned her head and opened her arms. Mard dropped to the grassy ground with a small thud. He was not prepared for that, not in the slightest. Usually Lucy set him down with care but here she was just discarding him.

Mard looked up, his tail flicking in his agitation, the tip beating against the ground in quick small movements. Natsu hugged Lucy and she cried in his arms, mumbling about how he broke a promise. It was clear to Mard then, Lucy didn't care if he was a cat again, she cared that he violated his word.

To a demon it was considered bad form to break an agreement, but to someone like her, it was the ultimate betrayal. Her magic was ruled by promises and to break one could cost her the spirits she cherished. Mard flattened his ears as he looked down at his own paws for a moment. That one act had cost him so much, the evidence in her sobs and quivering body as she held onto her best friend.

Silently Mard pleaded with Natsu, looking up at the dragon slayer and trying to will him to argue for him. That maybe Natsu could get the point across to her or say something that would stop her from crying. For whatever reason, the demon couldn't talk to her. He pawed at Natsu's pant leg, the fire mage looked down at him and gently kicked at his paw. Mard got the hint and reluctantly moved out of the way.

He sat by the cart, far enough away to give her space but close enough to hear the conversation. Well lack of conversation at this moment. Happy came over to him, a big grin on his face and Mard tensed, figuring the Exceed was here for revenge, since he was the bigger cat.

"Thank you," he said and Mard blinked, taken aback by the words. He nodded as Happy reached out and patted his head, "you saved Lucy. That was not a nice man."

Mard almost rolled his eyes at the obvious statement but refrained in the interest of peace. His focus was more on Lucy and Natsu, than the platitudes of the Exceed. Though it was nice to have one person understand, even if it was the furball he was going to strangle a couple hours earlier.

"He promised me Natsu," Lucy said as the two pulled apart. Mard stepped forward, watching her intently as she wiped her eyes.

"What did he promise?" Natsu asked.

"That if the person was a human, he'd let human justice handle it and if not then he had to take care of it by his laws." She said before turning her head back to look over the body laying in a pool of blood.

Natsu ran a hand through his wild pink locks and sniffed the air. He crossed to the body and knelt, taking a deep sniff of the corpse. Mard understood that, different species have unique smells in this blood. In his own society smell was important because it could tell you much about the demon you were dealing with. It was most important for demonlings, the parents imprint their unique scent on their young for protection until the demon was of maturity. One day when he would be a father, he could undergo the process, it was a terrifying and strangely beautiful thought.