Aria Lotus (Gray X OC)

Chapter Six: The sea monsters

  "No! You can't take them away from me!"

"Daddy!"

"You can't take our children away from me!"

"It's to give them a better life."

"No!"

Aria took a couple of deep breaths as she opened her eyes to look at the ocean that sparkled as the sunlight touched it. She stared at the ocean with a frown, her fists clenched tightly when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Aria tensed up and turned her head to see it was Gray, wearing a concerned expression on his face.

"You okay?" Aria hesitated before she smiled at the male.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She turned around to face the male before walking pass him towards Erza, Wendy and Carla. Gray watched the female for a few seconds. He released a sigh before he followed her. "So what's the plan?" Aria asked as she folded her arms, looking at the females.

"We're going to try and bait them out. One of us will go towards the sea while the rest of us wait. When they surface, we'll attack." Erza explained, placing one hand on her hip as she wore a stern expression. Aria nodded her head.

"Right, so, who's going?" Aria questioned. Wendy looked down before nervously putting her hand up. Aria raised an eyebrow. "Is that a good idea?"

"Wendy's strong; despite how small she is, she is a dragon slayer after all." Erza assured, but Aria only frowned.

"Which one of the lot do you want?" a sinister voice questioned.

"Eh, they all look pretty weak... Huh... What about the small one?" A stronger looking male questioned. Aria weakly raised her head to see he was pointing to a young girl who couldn't be any older than 4.

"N-no!" Aria protested.

"I-I'll go!" A slightly older girl weakly stood up. She couldn't be any older than 6. Aria tried to stand to stop the girl, but she instantly fell to the ground. The cage opened up and the girl was dragged out.

"Scrawny, but she'll do."

"Aria, are you okay?" Erza questioned with concern showing on her face. Aria blinked looked up at the group. She looked down at her arms and realized there were a couple of small crystals sticking out of her arms. She hid her arms in her cloak and nodded her head.

"I'm fine. Sorry... that...happens from time to time." Aria muttered under her breath.

"So, everyone ready?" Gray asked while folding his arms.

.

.

.

Wendy had changed into her swimsuit and was swimming in the ocean with Carla. She looked nervous as she looked around, but so far, there was no sign of any monster. The older mages were standing on the cliff, keeping a close eye on the female, making sure to keep an eye out for any sign of danger.

"How long has it been?" Gray questioned as he looked at the two females, who both wore stern expressions on their faces. Aria was sat on the edge of the cliff while Erza stood behind her. Aria turned her head to the town's clocktower.

"Ten minutes."

"You don't think this was a trick, do you?" Erza questioned as she placed her thumb on her chin, thinking about the job request.

"It does seem like something out of a fairy tale, but I doubt it. The fear in everyone's eyes when we arrived seems too real." Aria stated as she continued to watch Wendy. Wendy and Carla ended up splashing each other with the water while laughing, which caused the mages to smile slightly. Just then, they saw a large shadow appearing under the water.