Together Through Thick and Thin

Chapter 21

10 Chapter count down.

Juvia's POV

I walked hand in hand with Silvia and Linna. Their siblings had gotten themselves sick with some dragon slayer type sickness and were bedridden, which annoyed them far more than anything. Lucy was stuck looking after them till Brandish and the rest of the titular trio came back from a job. They were collecting materials, the town of Crocus needed to be repaired and every guild that struck against us had been cleaned of this who wanted to fight in the first place. In all of them a female mage was left in charge, master of the guild and rightfully so. All the mages had abused their female members apart from Blue Pegasus, who'd arguably done worse and... objectified them. I shivered at the thought, trying to hold back a gag as we walked down to the store. Wendy had been staying at the near by hospital - it was currently being renovated for a while after the battle so she'd enjoyed my mothers luxury treatment in the Alvarez Heart Infirmary.

Now, however, the young mage had taken residence at the newly rebuilt and renovated hospital. We turned the corner of the winding road, watching as citizens worked on the buildings and talked in the street. It was noisy to say the least, but it warmed my heart to se the city joined together... as Fairy Tail once was. I shook my head slowly, letting my blue locks jostle to and fro in the breeze, my blue eyes flashing with memories and long wished to drown deep in the ocean. As we curved the mostly unharmed street was filled with shops, only those near the ends were being rebuilt and some were being renovated. Grabbing my children's hands, we strolled casually down the road, breaking through a larger crowd before entering the bustling calm of the street. I let go of Linna's hand as she lagged behind and curved to stand beside Silvia. The eldest sister interlocked arms with the younger one and walked with a new bounce in her step. I smiled, putting an arm on my bag and looking out for a store.

As if luck was on my side, the shop I was searching for was just there. Gifts and Good Luck Charms I read the sign before walking in that direction and taking a few glances to make sure the children followed me after my hand left Silvia's and touched the cold glass of the door. It chilled my hand and I swiftly glided across sit with my fingertips to the brass doorknob. The wood that I briefly touched was a warm chestnut brown, slightly warmer than the white crystal-like glass, but still an air of coolness made my hand almost jump away. As expected the handle was warm with the countless hands that had gripped it tight over the day.

I pushed it open and the smell of cinnamon and scented candles hit me straight in the face. It was warm and the lingering scent of fire was dispersed in the air, small moments when it could be smelled - often overpowered by the sweet aroma that filled the store. I held it open as my girls walked through, instantly Silvia bounced towards where the sweet scent came from, Linna walking after her with a smile on her face. A soft laugh escaped my lips as I closed the door and walked forward, feeling how toasty it truly was inside. The jingle of the bell rang quietly, but it was loud in the small murmurs of the store.

I glanced around, wondering why it would need to be so warm when it was only just fall. The leaves hadn't even begun to change colour, a few bushes of our plant post had become slowly yellower at the tips, but no other sign of colder weather warranted this amount of heat. Not that I didn't enjoy it, it was just odd. After walking straight into one of the aisles, the scent of candles became overpowering. In the centre were a collection of candles that were either alight, smoking or burnt at the ends. A sign scrawled Samples sat at the end, making all the more sense as around me sat thousands of aromatic candles and incense laid in rows, matching the ones in the middle. They sat in colours, so my body drifted to the blue's. I picked up some dark blue, light blue and an almost white - lavender one. My eyes looked over to the pinks. I grabbed one candle that was the colour of the ocean before swiftly grabbing a candle that depicted a sunset in the swirls - expect all in pink. I hurried to the front and found a basket of woven wood, grabbing a bag for candles that sat at the end of the aisle. Placing them quickly inside the basket, I walked into the next aisle, seeing good luck charms and more magic related objects.