Mermaid Tail {A NaLu AU}

Chapter 8: Your Beauty

Wendy came over and sat next to her, Charle rubbing her side against the girl's legs. She petted the white cat, who had a bow on her tail, and leaned forward to look at Lucy's face which was still distant in her thoughts.

"Lucy?" she asked, seeing the blonde return to herself.

Lucy blinked, looking to her left in surprise. "Wendy? What is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, just checking up on you. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah," Lucy replied normally, "My legs feel a lot better; I haven't felt anything since yesterday."

Wendy's eyes grew concerned. "That's not what I meant..."

The blonde looked at her in alarm, then feigned her expression. "What, me? Don't worry Wendy, I'm as bright as ever, just a little tired. So don't worry, okay? I promise I'm fine."

The healer was hesitant to believe her, but she leaned back, letting the subject drop. "Ne, Lucy-san?" the blonde looked at her again. "Do you know how many more dragon slayers are here on the ship?"

"Uhm...a few?"

"I'm a dragon slayer," the small girl replied, holding her hands out.

"Really?" Lucy replied, surprised.

Wendy nodded. "I'm a sky dragon slayer. I can control a lot of the air and heal wounds. It's not much, but it's enough to help out my comrades."

Lucy's eyes softened. "Wendy..."

The girl smiled, petting Charle again. "Gajeel is one too. He's an iron dragon slayer. Laxus is a lightning dragon slayer."

"That's..." Lucy began, in wonder.

"I told you," she began, standing up, "because you're apart of the crew now, Lucy-san."

Lucy looked up at her in shock, watching as she waved goodbye and left her there at the head of the deck. Lucy's expression saddened, and she turned back to face the ocean, her eyes shadowed.

I'm not a part of the crew, she thought adamantly, though it was noted sadly.

The blonde shook off her feelings and began looking for a sight she recognized. Once she found it, she would be able to tell the others how much farther it would be to get to the Horizon, her home. She hoped it would be long.

"Plue,"the blonde called, and the shapeshifter came bounding up from the deck. "Can you go down and search the bottom? Tell me what's down there?"

He meowed happily, jumping over the side in a big leap. She watched as he shapeshifted into his base dolphin form before he hit the water, and a splash later he was gone. Lucy waited as she imagined Plue swimming to the bottom, making circles around whatever was down there. If it was what she thought it was, it'd be the glorious Horizon Reef that stretched for miles, which glowed during the night and had been Lucy's favorite stop away from her home and towards the island she had met Fairy Tail at.

It wasn't long before Plue resurfaced, jumping out of the water and changing to a seagull. Quickly, the bird Plue landed on the side of the deck, changing back into a cat.

"Was it down there?" she asked, knowing that Plue would know what she meant.

He meowed, and sadness struck Lucy, realizing that she had been right. She turned to face the crew on the deck, which had quite a bit today. Everyone was working steadily, though some chatted as they worked, laughed as well. Natsu was talking to Gray, both of them leaning up against the wall. Erza was steering, though she wasn't doing much, and she was talking to Wendy. Elfman and Alzack were speaking to one another as well, and Lucy guessed Levy was either in the room her and Wendy shared or talking to Gajeel somewhere.