Third Person's P. O. V:
Vivian smiles in her sleep as she turns over, curling a bit into a ball. Last night was the best night Vivian thinks she's ever had. After Princess Hisui's punishment was given, she'd just hung out with Sting and Rogue.
"Viv-chan! Wake up! Come on, we've gotta go soon," Gray calls to her as he shakes her shoulder, waking the brunette up.
"Okay, I'm up," Viv grumbles as she rubs her eyes awake.
Gray smiles in satisfaction at his friend as he says, "Good. Get ready. We're leaving in a few." Vivian grabs her clothes as he leaves.
Vivian heads into the bathroom and takes a quick shower. Afterwards, the brunette puts on her fresh set of clothes. She's wearing a long sleeved white blouse with a pink blazer on top that has black buttons and trimming and underneath she wears a black skirt with pink tights that have hearts on them. The sleeves of Vivian's white blouse are folded back over the sleeves of her blazer. Vivian has a pink bow around her neck and tall pink platform boots. Her light brown hair is in a braid that runs down her back.
"Hey, guys! Come look!" Wendy's voice calls, quickly followed by the sound of two horses whinnying. Vivian quickly finishes washing up, and heads outside with her teammates, red shoulder bag with her.
Wendy says, gesturing to the elegant-looking carriage and brown coloured horses, "We get to travel back to Magnolia in style!"
Charlele says, "And, in supreme comfort, I might add."
Vivian smiles happily as she strokes one of the horses' neck, and says, "It's certainly a lovely carriage."
Wendy says, "Yeah! The Garou Knights actually got it for us."
Charlele inputs, "The men had no fashion sense, so perhaps it was the ladies."
Natsu immediately starts sweating as he looks sick. "No! Please, don't make me," Natsu begs.
Lucy goes over to him as she teases, "It probably looks like a death trap for you, though."
Happy chimes, "Awe, you'll be fine! 'Cause Wendy has that spell that can keep you from hurling."
Relief replaces the sickened look on Natsu's face as he says, "Yeah! I love that one!" He turns to the bluenette as he says, "Come on, Wendy! Hook me up!"
Wendy stiffens before she says apologetically, "I am so sorry about this!"
"Wha...?!"
"The games and the dragons and everything has just taken it out of me!" Wendy slaps her hands over her mouth as she cries, "I don't know when I'm gonna have enough magic power to do anything again!"
Natsu turns completely white with shock as Charlele sweat drops at Wendy. "Uh, no sweat..."
"Where's the Master?" Lucy asks.
"He already left with most of the other guild members," The hazel eyed girl explains.
"And others are still up, drinking," Erza adds.
"Really? But it's still morning," The Hunter states with a raised eyebrow. Erza just shrugs her shoulders at her.
Happy days, snickering, "I'll bet You-Know-Who is still up drinking!"
"Let's go," Erza tells us. They nod and pile into the carriage.
Vivian peers out the window of the carriage, as she says, smiling, "Goodbye, Crocus. What a crazy time."
Happy calls, "Bye bye, Crocus! We'll check you later!"
Vivian's P. O. V:
Three hours later...
"Awe, man! My guts are still all tied up in knots!" Natsu whines. He lies spread eagled in a boulder. Gray sits with his back resting against it, arms folded behind his head. I sit beside him, drawing a massive dragon that resembles Atlas Flame in my sketchbook.
I like to draw and sketch in my free time.
We ended up stopping the carriage in a grassy clearing on the side of the road due to Natsu's motion sickness.
"Would you stop being such a baby?" Gray groans.
"I can't help it! All that bumping and jumping just slays my belly."
"I'm sorry. The road is pretty rough," Happy apologises.
Still working on my drawing of Atkas Flame, I say, "We'll be home before you know it, Natsu-kun."
Wendy speaks up, "I'm feeling better. I think I'll probably have some magic power back in just a couple of hours or so."
Wendy, Charlele and Lucy are making flower crowns.
"Thanks, Wendy-chan!" Natsu groans.
Happy stands over Natsu's head as he asks, "Question for you, pal! What are you going to do when we get back home?"
Natsu smiles as he replies, "Take some jobs! Sign up for something exciting that pays a lot."
Happy sits behind his head as he says, "I just wanna go fishing all day and relax!"
Wendy states, "To be totally honest, I think going on some more jobs with you guys would really help me to grow as a wizard. What about you, Lucy?"
"When I get home... I'm feeling really inspired after everything that's happened. The people, the experiences. So, I see quite a bit of writing in my future!"
"Oh! What kind of story are you writing?" Wendy asks curiously.
"Let's just say... a secret one!" Lucy glances at me as she asks, "What about you, Viv? Got any plans with Rogue?"
My face instantly turns tomato red at that question. "Wh-What about us?!"
"Well! You and Rogue are officially together! So, what're your plans when we get back? A date, perhaps?"
"I-I d-don't know! Rogue-kun and I haven't really made plans for when we got back..."
Lucy peers at my drawing as Charlele does and awe settles on their features. Lucy says, "Wow! That looks just like Atlas Flame, from the Eclipse Gate!"
"You truly do have a talent for drawing, Viv," The white furred Exceed tells me, making me blush at their compliments.
"Th-Thanks, you guys. I-It's not quite finished yet," I say, stuttering a little.
Charlele says as she turns and approaches Erza, "My, you've been working on that drawing for quite sometime, now."
"Yes. I'm designing some new custom armor for myself."
Charlele deadpans as she utters, "I don't see how you could possibly need anymore armor than you already have."
"Well, the design I'm working on will bring together the ultimate strength needed for battle with the elegance of a ball gown."
Erza holds up the drawing, and Charlele stares in stunned shock as she sweat drops profusely.
"You like it?" Erza asks. I look over to see that Gray is getting up and walking away. I notice that he'd been lost in thought ever since the whole battle with the dragons.
Charlele responds, "Well, it certainly is unique!"
Erza says bashfully, "Oh! You flatter me!"
Natsu asks, leaning up on his elbows, "Hey. Do you know what the deal is with Gray?"
"Don't know. He looks like he really needs a fish, if you ask me," Happy inputs.
I get up and follow after the Fullbuster, while closing my sketchbook.
Gray is gazing at his hand as I approach him. Hearing me approach, Gray looks at me over his shoulder. "Is there anything the matter?"
"Huh?"
"You're quiet. The rest of us were all talking about what we wanna do when we get back home," I reply.
"Awe, yeah," Says Gray, as he places the hand he was gazing at over his heart.
I ask, "Do you need some more time to recover?"
"Nah. I'm fine," He says. "it's nothing like that. Really."
"Hm?" I utter as I tilt my head curiously.
Gray says, "In the end of the battle with the dragons, I suddenly got this eerie feeling..."
"Like you were seeing into the future?" I inquire. "Like a dream, but you were awake the whole time?"
The memory of being impaled by Scissor Runner and being held in Rogue's arms as he cried flashes through my mind and I instantly shut it out.
"Yeah. But, it feels too real to be a dream. I remember myself getting shot and then dying... and I could almost swear that it had actually happened to me... I don't know. I guess it sounds, but it's not the first time in my life that I felt this way. I was young. When the single biggest event in my life went down. And nothing was ever the same again."
"You're talking about when Deliora attacked your village, aren't you? When Ur and Lyon found you after the attack and took you in?" I murmur, remembering the events on Galuna Island 7 yeas ago.
Gray nods, falling silent.
"And the way I feel now, is exactly like I felt when that happened. I saw myself die in that battle. It was so real." Gray clenches his fist as he adds, "But the strangest thing about it was that it filled me with this... warm sensation. It was comforting."
"What do you think it means?" I ask.
Gray turns to me as he says, "Hmph. No idea. I told you: it was really weird, right?"
"It's okay," I tell him. "I'm still so surprised after learning that Ultear is Ur's daughter."
"I wonder how she's doing..." Gray murmurs thoughtfully. "I bet she made it through the fight with the dragons. She was probably somewhere fighting along with us."
"Viv, Gray!" We turn as Lucy calls to us. "It's time to go."
🗡🗡🗡
I sit next to a motion sick Natsu as he sits with his arms crossed, and groans, "My tummy hates me..."
Wendy, sitting on his other side, says guiltily, Charlele in her arms, "It's my fault! The Troia spell just seems like it gets less and less effective the more times that I use it on somebody."
"Well, that can't be helped," Charlele deadpans.
Gray grumbles in the seat next to me, chin resting in his palm, "With all your morning and groaning, it's impossible to take a nap."
Happy asks Erza and I, pink hearts floating above his head, "Can you do me a favour, and draw me a yummy-looking fishy for me?!"
Erza says, smiling, as I nod my head, "Yes! I'd be happy to. In fact, drawing is my forte."
Gray asks sarcastically, "You think so?"
Erza and I set to work on drawing a fish for the Exceed. I was drawing an angel fish.
Charlele says, "Strange as it sounds, I think I'm missing that rickety old pub."
Lucy laughs, "Yeah. I guess I kind of am, too!" She says curiously, "You've gotta wonder where Jellal and his group were going to after all this..."
Erza murmurs, "I don't know."
After a few minutes, things in the carriage start turning chaotic with Natsu's motion sickness.
Gray yells as Natsu is about to throw up, "NO WAY! YOU'RE NOT GETTING THAT ALL OVER ME!"
I look worried when Natsu starts leaning toward me, and I scoot as close to the ice wizard as possible. "PLEASE, DON'T, NATSU-KUN!"
Wendy begs, "Can we pull over again?!"
Charlele states firmly as we pass an old lady, "If we stop this carriage every time he whines, and your spell wears off, we'll never reach Magnolia."
Erza says as she holds up the drawing, "I'm done, Happy! Look!"
"Whoa—! What the—?!" The blue Exceed exclaims in shock, eyes bugging.
"Oooh! Let me see it!" I say, leaning over for a look. My own eyes bug in their sockets as I take in the nightmare that is Erza's drawing of a 'fish.' "HOLY FREAKING FUDGE!!"
"Show me!" Lucy exclaims. She takes one look, and cries out, "WHAT IS THAT?!"
Erza says happily, smiling, "Oh! Screams of joy! That's the highest compliment an artist can hope for!"
I then hold up my fish and Happy and Lucy had amazement written on their faces.
"Yours looks so good and yummy, Viv-chan!" The blue furred Exceed says as drool comes out of his mouth, making me sweat drop a little. I give him the page with the angel fish on it.
Happy tells Natsu, "Here! Use this!" He hands the pinkette my red shoulder bag. My hazel eyes jerk wide with fear.
"N-No! That's my bag!" I snatch it back from Happy.
"But! He needs it!" Happy insists.
"No way!" I scream, hugging my bag protectively to my chest.
Gray yells, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"It's got my personal things in there! Why can't he use your backpack?!"
When the wind blows the white curtains, Gray glances outside, and suddenly exclaims.
The ice wizard jumps to his feet as he yells desperately, "Stop! We've gotta stop the carriage!"
"Is there something wrong, Gray?" I ask him worriedly, glancing at Gray.
Lucy asks, "Yeah. What's the matter?"
Gray leans out the window to peer back at something.
After a moment, Gray leans his arm on the window sill as a sad expression settles on his face and murmurs, "No. I'm okay."
I hear Gray crying as tears drip down his face as he presses his right hand over his eye.
Sadness glints in my own hazel eyes as I feel the Fullbuster's own sadness. Something must've happened just now, but what...?