Lucy screeches and hollers at him to slow down but he doesn’t listen. She hangs on for dear life and closes her eyes to protect them against the wind. She knows Natsu will get her there swiftly and safely, and she loves him all the more for it right now.
It feels like mere seconds later that he’s slowing down, so she cracks an eye open and is met with the most beautiful crystal clear lake nestled in an alcove of trees. The light from the sun danced and sparkled off the top of the water, illuminating all the way down to the bottom where she could see stray rocks and tree branches settled on the mossy floor. It was truly a beautiful spot.
She lowers herself from Natsu and walks around in quiet awe, but a small ‘ah’ from Natsu breaks her from her reverence.
“Well” he says to her “I found the source of the town's problem”
She walks over to him to take a look and cocks her head in confusion “Wait what?” she asks him “There’s nothing blocking the flow of water! Why is it stagnant like that?”
They both look at the opening where the lake narrows into a river in puzzlement. The water simply stops, as if an invisible barrier is keeping it from flowing out and down the mountain.
Natsu hums and touches a few fingers to the wall of water, pulling back with a hiss when it seems to sting him “Ouch! Yep there’s definitely some weird magical thing happening right now” he sighs “Maybe it’s Aquarius and she’s keeping the water in for some reason?”
Lucy narrows her eyes and touches the water as well, this magic sends electrical shocks through her body. Nothing like the warmth she gets from Aquarius “No, this isn’t her” she says suspiciously “This is something else”
It takes one look shared between the two of them before they’re both on their guard. Dropping their rucksacks they survey the lake, taking in anything that looks weird or possibly threatening. Lucy sees some pretty butterflies float past her, and a couple of squirrels chasing each other through the trees, but nothing that screams dangerous.
“I don’t Natsu, maybe I was wro-” her sentence is cut off by the sound of shifting water. They both whip their heads to the middle of the lake to find a woman emerging, her body made entirely of water. Her hair flows like a waterfall but seems to lead nowhere and Lucy is enchanted at the sight. Her translucent dress wraps itself tightly around her body, displaying her gorgeous curves.
She stands there frozen as the woman makes her toward them, the water forming a small wake in her stead. Lucy doesn’t dare breathe as the woman caresses her jaw with her icy fingers. Then with one sharp tug, she pulls Lucy toward her lips of water, effectively cutting off her air supply. She struggles in shock and small bubbles rise to the surface of the woman’s body as she accidentally exhales her oxygen and inhales some of the surrounding water, causing her to choke.
She forgets her surroundings, her body simply going into survival mode as she remembers she’s still wearing Aquarius’ Star Dress. She summons all of her strength and represses the urge to black out. She focuses magic into her hand and calls water to it, even pulling away liquid from the woman’s own body. Thrusting her energy-filled hand out at her opponent she gargles ‘Aqua Metria!’ and pants in satisfaction as the woman is violently pulled from her and thrown clear across the water, body dissipating back into the lake.
