Lucy

A New Day

 The Next Morning:

Lucy slowly became aware of a bright light trying to pry behind her eyelids. Groaning, she rolled over and tried to bury her head under the covers. The sunbeam seemed to follow her. Giving another groan, Lucy gave in. "I'm up, I'm up," she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. For a split second, she had forgotten and reached out for the familiar warmth that usually invaded her bed, but of course it was missing. Natsu and Happy had been gone for several weeks now. It's not like they have to take me everywhere, she scolded herself.

"Okay, today is a new day!" Lucy decided, declaring it out loud. She dressed and tied her favorite bow in her hair. "I'm going to turn this mood around. I will be productive. I will write. If I don't, the heck with it – I'll go and do my own solo job!"

She grabbed her notebook and pen, summoned Pluu, and decided to walk to the hill outside town. There, she settled down under a large tree. On one side, she had a nice view of Magnolia. On the other side, she had a gorgeous view of fields and the nearby forest. If this doesn't inspire me, she thought, taking her pen out of her bag with a flourish, nothing will!

Fifteen minutes later, she still sat there, looking down at the blank page in front of her. Nothing. She sighed, leaning her head against the trunk of the tree. "Well, Pluu, my new day start is not getting off so hot," she sighed. She tapped her pen against the paper, looking up at the blue sky. "I couldn't ask for a better day or a better spot or better company," she said, giving a smile to her companion.

Fifteen more minutes passed, and Lucy threw her pen at her notebook. "Well, I guess it's on to Plan B! Let's hit the Guild Hall and look for a job."

She met Levy and Gajeel on the way. "Lu-chan! How are you doing today?" Levy asked, giving her friend a tight hug.

Lucy forced a friendly smile on her face. "Off to look for a job, right, Pluu?" she asked her small spirit she was currently cuddling in her arms. Pluu purred in response.

Levy placed her hand on Lucy's arm. "You doing okay, Lulu?" she asked in a soft voice, the two letting Gajeel walk ahead so they could talk privately.

"Today is a new day," Lucy answered in a determined voice. She would not let herself wallow in self-pity anymore!

"You know you can come to me for anything....anything at all," Levy reassured her.

Lucy smiled at her friend - a genuine one this time. "I know," she whispered, giving her a big hug. "Maybe sometime, I'll want to talk about it, but right now, I want to try and move on."

Levy nodded. "I can understand that. Only, Lu..."

Lucy looked at her friend, eyebrows raised, encouraging her to continue.

"Maybe you shouldn't go alone. On the job, I mean. If you want, I can join you."

Lucy smiled gently at her friend, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "I appreciate that, but I need to do this one on my own." Seeing Levy's face fall, she quickly added, "But the next one for sure!"

"Okay. Just, be safe, promise me?"

Lucy patted her bag on her belt that contained her keys. "Hey, what could go wrong?" she smiled again.

Levy and Lisanna exchanged a glance as the two walked into the hall, Lucy heading straight to the board. Lisanna raised her eyebrows, but Levy shook her head, looking down and sighing.

"Let's see..." Lucy mumbled, looking over the jobs. There wasn't a lot of variety right now, she observed. Finally, she took one from the board and handed it to Mira.

"You sure this is the one you want, Lucy?" asked Mira, looking down at the job. "Is it just you or are you teaming up?"

"Just me and my spirits," Lucy chirped. "They've been feeling kind of rusty lately and are ready and waiting to go kick some buttl!"

Mira smiled. "Okay." Glancing at the train schedule, she reported, "Kunugi. The train leaves at 12:00, should arrive around 2pm." She looked again at the flyer. "Just be careful. Sometimes catching these escaped convicts can be tricky."

"I can handle it," Lucy repeated.

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Mira quickly responded. "Just didn't know if you wanted company along with you! Usually you have Natsu and Happy tagging along..."

"Well, this way at least I won't spend half the reward on food," joked Lucy.

Mira giggled. "True. Good luck, Lucy!"

"Thanks Mira!" Lucy waved and walked out of the hall, heading to her apartment to pack her things. She sent Pluu back to the celestial world to conserve her magic.