Felicity had fallen asleep on Zailo's stomach without even realizing it, it was early morning when she slowly awoke to hear the quiet shuffling of Liddan as he sat crisscross just a few yards away from her.

She lifted her head off of Zailo, rubbing her eyes and scratching her head lightly.

"Morning," Liddan said with a nod, his hands occupied.

"What are you...?" She looked into the hands of Liddan, seeing large color fish, with wings. Liddan appeared to be tying something to its tail.

"It's a Hane-Sakana." Liddan lifted the flapping fish. "I'm sending a message to a friend."

He released the fish, and it quickly flew off into the sky through the clearing of trees above them. Felicity crossed her arms over Zailo's stomach, dropping her head onto her arms as she wondered where the fish was going to, who that person was, and what the message was all together.

> ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <

Laurie awoke with a smile, feeling the cool body of Sylvie against his own always brought the hot summer mornings at ease for him. He looked down at his wife as she rested peacefully in their bed, and shut his eyes satisfied with the perfect scene he sat silently in.

It was all ruined when a winged fish started running into his window repeatedly.

Surprised by the intrusion, he began to scream just a bit, awakening his wife to her own dismay.

"Laurie...what's wrong?" she mumbled, rubbing her sore eyes as she yawned.

"Holy--" Laurie swung the window open after spotting the small slip of paper tied to the tail of the fish. It flapped around a bit before Laurie snatched the fish in his hands, and it dropped into their laps.

He untied the note, unfolding it and looking at the scribbles on the page.

"What the heck?" He squints at the scribbled writing. "Wait...it's from Liddan."

"Oh, Liddan brought us fish!" Sylvie clapped her hands together. "That's so sweet! I've been wanting to make sushi."

Sylvie snatched the fish into her hands as she entered the kitchen while Laurie continued to sit in bed reading the note. As Sylvie murdered the fish and began to cook some rice, Laurie struggled to read the horrid handwriting.

"Uh...lemme see." He groaned, rubbing his tired eyes that blurred his vision. "Oh, he says he's gonna be gone for some time now..."

"Oh that's a shame, and he had just gotten back, I thought he was just going to be gone awhile?" She sliced the scales off the fish, pulling out the bone and plucking the meat out to roll into her sushi.

"Yeah, guess he wants us to house sit again."

"Well that isn't any trouble." Sylvie hummed, cutting the sushi into pieces as she placed it on a plate.

"And...he's got a PS." Sylvie began to take a bite as Laurie read. "Don't eat the fish, it'll be the worst thing you'll ever taste--"

Sylvie suddenly hurled up her fish, coughing and gagging on the horror she tasted.

"Crap! Sylvie!"

  > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <  

"Don't eat the fish." Liddan said with a serious tone to Lugi and Malcon.

"So these are the vicious creatures my father told us tales about." Malcon hummed.

"Lugi..." Lugi hissed as she watched the flocks fly above them over the thick woods they say it.

"Okay, fire is out." Zailo announced, standing up straight as though he were to salute Liddan. "Where we going Liddan?"

"I think we'll just take a scenic route and see where it takes us." Liddan hummed, feeling a breeze against his face. 

"Sounds great." Zailo nodded. "But where's Felicity?"

To be specific, she was in a tree. Near the top as she held the mini lacrima to her ear and waited for a response from Basil.

"Hey loser." She hummed.

"Oh gosh...its you." He muttered on the other end.

"Did you make it to Oshibana?"

"Yeah, got here this morning. Getting that train back on track took much longer than planned--"

"Yeah I don't care. Did you go to my apartment?"

"Well...funny story..."

"What happened?"

"You see, the reason I was going to Oshibana in the first place was actually to find this lady...she'd been doing a few illegal activities involving real estate...and well."

"My landlady' a convict! But she was so sweet..."

"Turns out she pawned most of your things...and was cheating on taxes. We'll find what we can, and I promise to send it to you."

"Fine...thanks for checking. Leave it for now, just focus on the whole archive thing. That's really more big picture important in the end. Call me when you find something."

"Got it."

"Oh, and Basil?"

"Yeah?"

"You suuuuuck!" Felicity snickers to herself she hangs up.

"Hey Felicity!!"

She looks down to see Liddan calling her, she quickly begins to climb down responding with a: "Be right there!"

Liddan looked up at Felicity, noticing we was oddly wearing a skirt, while she'd been wearing jeans previously.

"Hey...uh...Felicity?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to close your skirt--"

Utterly embarrassed by the comment, Felicity foot slipped from a rash move, and she begins to tumble down the tree, bumping into branches.

She's swiftly caught by Liddan, who braved the girl in his arms carefully.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Uh...yeah..." Felicity blushed.

Liddan begins to set Felicity down, but as her foot braces the ground, Felicity gives a faint cry, as though she were in pain.

"Whoa--you hurt your foot?"

"Uh...yeah, sure." Felicity nodded. "I don't think I can walk on it."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll carry you." Liddan said, holding Felicity sniffly against his chest yet again.

"Yes!" Felicity sang happily in a quiet melody.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Thank you!"

"No problem."

Felicity hung her somewhat injured body over the arms of Liddan, crossing her own arms over her small chest in the awkward fit. She huffed lightly as she watched them re-approach the area they'd set up camp for the night before. Zailo was with the cats, kneeling down and having a proper conversation with the one that could only say one word.

He looked to Felicity, acknowledging the fact that she wasn't normally carried around like a man-child by Liddan, and took to the idea that she'd been hurt.

"Hey--what happened?" Zailo said, hopping to his feet.

"She fell from a tree." Liddan stated. "It was a good 20 feet..."

"Oh, that it?"

"Shut up Zailo..." Felicity huffed.

"Come on, I've fallen 30 feet and I was fine. It was when I hit the ground that I had problems..." Zailo said, winking to Felicity's annoyance.

"Oh shut up."

"No, I've got another." Zailo rolled his shoulders back and cleared his throat. "How do you fall 20 feet without getting hurt."

Zailo rose his eyebrows, awaiting their response.

Felicity sighed as Liddan looked with absolute wonder of what the answer would be.

"How..." Felicity huffed.

"You fall 21, you'll be fine the first 20." Zailo smirked.

"Boom!" Malcon bellowed as he gave Zailo a low five.

"I hate you."

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <  

Laurie sighed as he heard the distasteful gag of his wife in their bed as she lay with a bucket and a movie running. He dipped a bag of tea in and out of the hot water he'd prepared, bobbing it into the water as he listened to Sylvie groan.

"You alright babe?" He muttered awkwardly, repeating his vows. In sickness and in health. In sickness and in health.

"I'm okay..." She muttered, wiping her mouth with a warm washcloth as she sighed. "This movie is really sad...."

"Do you think it's a bit too much action...?" Laurie stepped over to the bed, setting the tea on the nightstand as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I mean...this movie is kind of intense. That guy just ripped the other dude's eye out, and there is a geyser amount of blood coming out of that one's disembodied head...you sure this is gonna help your nausea."

"Well...it's just something my dad did when I was sick at home..." Sylvie huffed. "We'd watch a movie in bed and nothing else really...he'd spend the whole day with me. It was nice."

Laurie pressed his lips together as he slipped into the bed. "Well...was that when you were sick from food poisoning?"

"It depends..." Sylvie mumbled.

Laurie smiled as he turned away for a moment to grab the tea and pass it to Sylvie. He returns and finds her naked.

He stares at her naked body for a moment, then looks to her face. "You weren't naked a moment ago."

"Oh." She looks down. "Huh."

Laurie watches his wife sit casually on their bed naked.

"Are you gonna put your clothes back on?"

"Well, I didn't really plan on doing that. Would you like me to?"

"No." He said almost immediately.

She reached out to the tea, blowing into it softly, the swiftly hurling into it.

"Oh crap, that's it." Laurie huffed, pulling Sylvie out of the bed. "You're going to the doctor.

"Laurie it's just food poisoning--"

"Well they've got to be able to do something!" Laurie snatched up the wadded up dress of the floor, pulling it over his wife's head as though she were incapable of changing herself.

"Fine, just bring the bucket." Sylvie sighed, wiping her lip lightly, sweeping the faint taste of her own vomit off her lip as she slipped on her shoes.

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <  

"Oh looky here." Zailo hummed as Lugi sat on his head. "There's a village."

His finger drew to the small run down the village in a large clearing in the woods. A river ran through it, and there were lots of cows outside the buildings tied to posts. Near the front of the village was a small tavern, advertising rooms and beer.

"Looks friendly..." Liddan said hesitantly.

"Come on, we could get a drink, and you could use a rest from carrying Felicity all day."

Felicity grumbled lightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's lunchtime anyway, let's go get a bite." Zailo insisted.

With some hesitation, the party entered the tavern, finding it mostly empty.

The busty brunette waitress stood behind the counter wiping glasses before setting them back into the counter with her pale fingers.

She didn't seem to notice them, and seemed quite focused on her own work.

Liddan sat down right in front of her, after setting Felicity down in her own seat in between himself and Zailo. Lugi and Malcon sat on the counters casually as the group patiently waited for the waitress to become aware of their presence.

She was humming, and Liddan was somewhat irritated.

"Hey!"

She pulled her head up, and dropped the glass she was holding as the rest of her body froze.

"Can...we get some service?"

She stared at him for a moment or two, and visibly gulped.

"Ha...yeah! What'll it be?" She slurred awkwardly.

"You."

Felicity and Liddan turn their heads to Zailo, whose face was red as a tomato.

"Pardon?" The waitress seemed to sigh.

"Sorry--" Zailo shouted in a panic. He laughed awkwardly as the waitress rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, not on the menu." She leaned down and began to pull glasses out from on the shelves below the counter, as her rump peaked out from above the bar from her stance, Zailo couldn't help but lean over lightly to stare it.

Felicity smacked him on the back of his head, giving a swift but harsh glare as Liddan seemed to have his eyes lazily wandering around the empty bar.

"So what'll it be?" The waitress smiled, returning above the counter.

"Just a beer." Liddan nodded.

"Do you have any ice tea?" Felicity hummed, crossing her arms onto the counter.

The waitress nodded as Zailo watched her cleavage bounce as she bobbed her head.

"Oh my gosh..." Zailo drooled.

"Zailo!" Felicity hissed, giving a final warning before she pounded her perverted partner's head in.

"Your finest scotch!"

"Can you afford our finest scotch...?" The waitress said with a comical grin and the tilt of her head.

"No, we can." Felicity hissed in a low tone, leaving Zailo to sigh.

"Actually, I'm in the mood for a scotch, me and Zailo 'll each have one. I'll pay for it."

The waitress nodded as she slipped her fingers into the glasses, pressing them together tightly as she carried them each at once.

As she carried to the counter behind she tugged on a bottle that sat on a shelf, turning her head slightly. "Would your little cats like something? I've got some sardines in the fridge, also some salmon."

"Yes! Bless you, boob woman!" Malcon cried thankfully.

"Lugi!!"

"Lugi would like a steak." Malcon translated.

"I'm on it." The waitress said, turning her head with a toothless grin and salute to the blue cat.

"Did the cat just call her 'Boob woman'?" Felicity whispered to Zailo, who seemed quite distracted.

Zailo watched her hips sway and looked back at Liddan, who seemed to be engaged in a normal conversation with Malcon, paying no attention to the gloriously bodied waitress.

"What is wrong with you!?" Zailo hissed in a low voice. "If you don't drool over her too I look like a pervert!"

"What..?" Liddan said quizzically, honestly confused about what it was Zailo was getting worked up over.

"He means the waitress..." Felicity huffed. "You know, some guys have different preferences regarding women, Zailo. In fact...some guys don't care much about the body at all--"

"You're just saying that cuz your cha chas are the size of peas!"

"My cha chas are my business!" Felicity bellowed, drawing the attention of the waitress. She swiftly jerked her body around, to look at the small group in the argument.

She sighed, biting down on her lip as she ran her finger through her hair, trying to push it back behind her ear.

"I can hear you." She huffed as she rubbed her bare neck. "Seriously, you guys need to learn a little bit about censorship."

"I refuse," Zailo said firmly, watching the waitress turn on the grill as she dug into the fridge below the counter. "Did you say sardines or salmon?"

"Both!"

"Hey--Malcon, I'm the one paying. So mind helping cut the bill."

"No, it's on me, the fish was my own and I was thinking of cooking it for lunch. So it's on the house." The waitress said, smiling as she pulled her head up to face Liddan.

"Oh." Liddan glances at the waitress as she springs her upper body up with a plate of fish that she slid over to Malcon. "Thanks."

The waitress smiled as she leaned over the counter, her breasts hanging down onto the surface as she looked Liddan dead in the eye.

"I love the arm." She said, pointing her thin finger at the faux metal arm Liddan used. "Do you miss it?"

Liddan looked up at the green eyed woman, pressing his lips tightly together. "Uh..." He looked at his arm, and pulled it up onto the counter. "Miss my ream arm?"

The waitress nodded.

"From time to time." Liddan sighed. "I mean, it sucks when you're in the shower."

"Oh, I bet," the waitress smiled kindly to Liddan, making him feel a bit odd, and to some extent getting on Felicity's nerves.

The smile didn't last long, as soon as the rough shout from the storage room bellowed loudly.

"BETTER GET BACK HERE DOLL FACE!" it bellowed. "DON'T MAKE ME WAIT!"

She pressed her lips tightly, sliding the drinks across the counters at a quick pace. She lifted her finger as though to say "back in a bit" then quickly went into the door beside shelves of fine liquor.

The door shut with what could partially be called a slam, and the faint sounds of shouting shook the tavern.

"She seems nice." Malcon hummed as he gnawed happily on his fish.

Liddan watched the shelves shake just a bit, and glanced over at Zailo and Felicity.

They each shared a disturbed expression, with a bit of worry hanging over their brows.

"Sorry!" The waitress popped out of he back room, quickly strutting to the counter where she pulled out a raw steak and pressed it against the grill.

"You like it well-done, right?" She said to the little cat.

Lugi nodded as the waitress continued to sweep around the counter, pouring scotch from the Amal glass bottle into the two glasses and sliding them in front of the now silent Liddan and Zailo.

She dips down into the fridge, pulling out an ice tray and breaking it into the glass.

"Do you like raspberry? I've got regular and raspberry--"

"Your lip is bleeding."

Liddan pointed with a firm hand to the blood breaking the skin of her pink lip, she ran her thumb over the small opening, pulling her lips into her mouth with her teeth and lightly sucking on her swelled lip.

"Yeah, they're really chapped this time of year..." She slurred as she knelt down to put the tray back into the fridge.

"Raspberry or regular?" She asked again, Felicity blinking once or twice.

"Oh--raspberry please."

The waitress nodded as she assertively pulled out a pitcher from the fridge, pouring the tea into the chilled glass as all watched her attentively.

Her eyes lifted from the glass for just a moment to see the furrowed eyebrows of Liddan. She pressed her lips together as she tilted the pitcher back to stop it from pouring.

"I can take it. So don't worry." She stated, passing the glass to Felicity. She bit her lip, tasting the faint iron on her lip before she wiped her thumb over the cut. "So why the heck are a bunch of Fairy Tail wizards in this tiny town?"

"We're looking for a bunch of demons." Liddan sighed. "They were on this train and they were crazy and this stupid guy I met at this wedding stopped me from killing this girl--"

"Okay." The waitress flipped over the sizzling steak. "Enough of that."

"Actually, have you by chance seen them?" Felicity asked. "There were...uh...5 of them in total. An overdressed bimbo with blue hair and a red dress, a dumb Donna with long black hair and red eyes, creepy skinny cannibal guy..."

"Crazy horn plant lady veil thing." Zailo continued.

"Then the weird teleportation guy," Liddan concluded.

"Hmm...what lovely names they have, are they french?"

"Ha ha." Liddan sighed, he pulled out his forearm to show the scars. "From crazy plant horn lady thing. Whatever you called her, yeah. She's a feisty one."

"Surprisingly strong for a plant wizard," Zailo added.

"What's everyone got against plant mages?" The waitress groaned under her breath. "Can't say any of them ring a bell--"

The door leading to the back room swung open violently, and the waitress froze as her eyes redirected towards the slob that trudged out of the room.

His eyes darted at the waitress, who wore a bitter expression, something far from fear.

"I wasn't done talking to you." He hissed, jerking his head to Malcon and Lugi, he snapped his finger as he pointed at them accusingly. "Get those filthy pests off my bar!"

"They're not pests, they're exceeds," The waitress stated coldly.

"I don't care what they are--I don't want their germs on my counter!"

All turn their heads as they hear a faint "poof" and a small cloud fade over the bar counter. There, on the counter top, sat Malcon and Lugi, but in their human form.

"Is this better?" Malcon asked the man with a smirk.

"Lugi?" Lugi nodded.

"Whoa--when did they learn to do that?" Zailo laughed, impressed by the skill of the cats.

"Wow, that's surpri--"

"GAH!!!" The waitress screamed. "NO! CHANGE BACK! I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!!"

The two return to cats quickly, returning onto the counter as the small brightly colored exceed they were moments before. The waitress sighed in relief, wiping her brow lightly.

"Okay, that's better."

"Hey," Liddan stated, pointing his finger at the waitress. "You recognized them as exceeds, have you met some before."

The waitress crosses her arms and shrugs. "I've heard of exceeds before, and read about them. Don't think I've ever actually met one until today."

"Thank you for addressing my culture boob woman." Malcon hummed, gnawing on his fish.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?" The waitress sighed.

"It's a condition, he's in therapy," Liddan stated.

"Used to call Marigold that all the time." Malcon snickered, causing Felicity to draw her head forward.

"Marigold?" She asked. "Wait, who's she?"

Malcon and Liddan shared a confused look at each other and then Felicity. "Who?"

Felicity looks over at Zailo, who shrugs as he sips his scotch.

"Never mind." She shrugged.

The waitress pulled at her employer's shoulders, lightly tugging on him to get him to move.

"Come, Jess, you're drunk." She sighed. "Just go and lay down, okay?"

He smacks her hands away solidly. Pointing his jagged finger firmly at the waitress with little hesitance.

"Stop trying to run my tavern--" he firmly grabs onto the girl's jaw. "You work for me! And you'll do what I say when I say--"

Jess is pushed back as a glass crashes against his head. His head bangs against the back counter as he makes his way to the floor with blood trickling down his cheek.

The waitress gasped as she squatted down, pulling Jess's head onto her lap. "Oh my gosh!"

Her head jerked up to Liddan, who stood somewhat proudly as he looked down at his broken glass.

"I didn't want him to hit you." He stated plainly, with a bitter taste in his mouth.

The waitress gulped, shouting her eyes as she pulled her head back down to look at Jess.

"You guys should leave before he wakes up." She mumbled quietly.

Liddan didn't show much change in his expression and simply dug into his pocket pulling out a wad of money. "Thanks for your service." As he pulled his sack of things over his back, helping Felicity stand up off the stool, he said bitterly, "keep the change."

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ < 

"Laurie, I'm scared," Sylvie whispered as she sat on the examination table.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine." He laughed lightly. "I'll be here all the way through it."

He squeezed her hand lightly as she sat pressing her knees tightly against each other. "I mean, don't know why I'm scared, perhaps it's the atmosphere...and the feeling of having been kicked in the stomach but from the inside..."

"Oo, that might be it."

The doctor entered quickly. She was a young slim woman with a grin on her face. "Hey, how are we today?"

"Been better," Sylvie muttered as she covered her mouth and swallowed some vomit.

"You're Sylvianna Redfox, yes--"

"YEEES!!!" Sylvie moaned happily.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, my apologies, I just love hearing it said aloud."

"What, Sylvianna Redfox--"

"AAAHH!!"

Laurie made an awkward face, patting Sylvie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "Sylvie, we've been married over a year, are you still seriously flippin over the name change?"

"It's just so pretty...and all our babies will have that name...and all their babies, unless they change their name as well...oh it's just so pretty...ah..."

"Oh, you two are married, I thought you were siblings." The doctor stated with a smile.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Laurie huffed, resisting himself in the chair beside the examination table.

"Well, the nurse already came in, and from what she said, I'd like to run a quick test so I'll need you to pee in a cup."

"Oh, well, alright then." Sylvie nodded.

"Great, your brother can wait here while I take you to the restroom."

"Husband--please! Oh gosh, that hurts." Laurie groaned, slumping into his chair as Sylvie slipped off the examination table.

"See you in a bit." She said with a wave.

"Alright."

"I'll miss you."

"O...okay."

"Every second will be like a century--"

"Honey, go pee in your cup."

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ < 

Felicity groaned quietly on the back of Zailo, who was the transporter at the time.

"I'd rather just walk..." She sighed, wishing it where Liddan carrying her.

"Yu--yeah..." Zailo stated awkwardly, gulping.

She pulled her head up slightly to see The side of Zailo's face. A drop of sweat rolled down his brow to his cheek.

"You okay?"

She watched Liddan trudge forward through the woods, and leaned up slightly as she called out to him.

"Hey, Liddan? Could we stop for a bit?"

He turned his head, the two exceeds above his stopping as well.

"Sure, no problem." He nodded, turning around fully to walk towards the two.

"Is something wrong?" Malcon asked, landing down on a stump where Zailo stood with a weary expression.

"Zailo, you can put me down."

"Huh?"

"Zailo, you're kinda squeezing my thigh."

"Oh. Sorry."

He knelt down just a bit, allowing Felicity to drop off his back.

She winced lightly as weight pressed into the sore leg but managed to stumble down onto the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong, your leg hurting really bad?"

"No, it's Zailo I'm worried about him."  She looked up at Zailo who stood with a dazed look, she grabbed onto his hand, tugging on it to pull him down to the earth. "To start, he's burning up. Just feel him."

Liddan squatted down and pressed the back of his hand to Zailo's forehead.

"Uh...did he catch a bug?"

"I don't think so, it's not like he's been in a place he could catch something. Malcon stated with the shake of his head.

"Zailo, you okay?" Felicity said quietly as her hand brushed against his face.

He swiped his hand back in forth lightly. "I'm fine Meredith, I'm just tired."

Felicity froze up, Liddan, Malcon and Lugi all look down in ignorance, wondering why her called her Meredith.

"Zailo, what's my name?"

"Huh? Meredith?"

"Do you know who Felicity is?"

"My flat as a board friend Felici---" Felicity slams her hand into Zailo's face, pushing his head down into her lap.

"I think you should rest for a bit." She grumbled, concealing her bitterness.

"Who's Meredith?" Liddan whispered.

"His sister..." Felicity sighed, rubbing her temples. "She's gone."

"Oh." Liddan crossed his arms. "Sorry."

"Zailo," Felicity said gently. "I want me to tell you where you are."

"In the woods."

"Who are you with?"

"You, Felicity, Liddan, Malcon and Lugi, that ghost without a head..."

"Okay, Zailo...am I a ghost?"

"Of course, what else would you be?" He laughed lightheartedly.

She pressed her lips together and look around a bit. "She's gone though...she's not even a ghost still...unless..."

She grabs Zailo's arms, and scoots herself to his side creating Zailo Goggles and look around them.

"No...she isn't here. That one headless guy is here...and there's this little thing licking you Malcon..."

"Gah! Get it off!" Malcon cried, shaking his head and rubbing around as Lugi tried to calm him.

"What do you think is wrong with him?"

"I don't know...it's weird, he kinda flipped out when we were on the train, but that's the only other time I've seen something like this."

"Hey Zailo," Malcon snickered. "Who am I?"

"Why do you guys keep asking me this? You guys got amnesia?" Zailo sighed.

"Just do it." Malcon laughed.

"You're Malcon, the blue cat with a head too large for his body and smells like 3 year old fish."

Malcon turns around sobbing lightly. "I brought this onto myself..."

"Hey, where's Felicity?" Felicity asked awkwardly.

"I don't know." Zailo scratched his head lightly. "She might be in a tree."

"That's accurate." Liddan chuckled, receiving a grim expression from Felicity. 

"I think we should just stay here for now, until I can get him straight." Felicity sighed, rubbing Zailo's warm forehead. "Maybe some TLC will heal him up." 

Liddan pressed his lips together, looking into the thick woods that lay in front of him.

"Mind if I look around a bit?" Liddan asked. "I won't tread far, promise."

Felicity looked up, puckering her lips lightly as she considered his suggestion. "I don't see why not. I mean, if those demon guys are here, we shouldn't let hem continue to roam in the woods while we sit here like ducks." 

"Alright," Liddan nodded firmly with a grin tugging at his lips. "Malcon, you mind staying here with them while Lugi and I go take a look around." 

Malcon firmly crossed his arms. "Fine, I'll babysit..."

Felicity clicked her tongue lightly before lifting her head to look at Lugi. "Wait, didn't you say that Malcon is kinda Lugi's translator?"

Liddan nodded, Lugi as well as she cried out a confirming "Lugi." 

"So isn't it difficult when it's just the two of you?" 

"Of course not." Liddan smiled, almost laughing at the comment. "Lugi lives with me, and she's probably my closest friend. We spend all our time together, so it'd just be wrong if I didn't get what she was saying." 

Felicity smiled lightly, admiring the strong bond between the two. 

"Plus, when I'm really drunk, I sometimes hallucinate she's talking real words to me." Liddan snickered. "And since I stole that bottle of scotch at the tavern, it shouldn't be long until then." 

He waves lightly as Felicity watched with a sigh as Liddan and Lugi rushed down the path until they became apart of the shadows crawling across the earth. 

"Do you think Liddan is an alcoholic?" Felicity sighed.

"What do you mean 'think'?" Malcon stated blatantly. 

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <    

Laurie sat in the room quietly flipping through a magazine as he waited for Sylvie to return from her urination. The door opened, and he looked up expecting to see Sylvie to enter.

He however saw a nurse opening the door with a patient behind her.

"Oh--sorry, my bad. I had thought this room was ope--wait a minute." He soft smile turned into a firm glare. "YOU!?!" 

"Huh?" Laurie dropped the magazine into his lap.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! You were banned 5 months ago!!!" The nurse kicked the door open, stomping in.

"Oh...wait...is that this clinic?" 

"YOU WERE HAVING SEX ON THE EXAMINATION TABLE!"

"Hey--my wife was randomly naked! Then I got naked too somehow! It's a condition! And maybe contagious...."

"I don't care!! JUST GET OUT!!" 

"Wait! MY wife is peeing in a cup!!"

"Just wait outside! We'll send her out when she's done!" The nurse bellowed, grabbing onto Laurie's collar and dragging him out.

Laurie was swiftly thrown out of the clinic, forced to stand in solitude outside the doors, waiting for Sylvie to make her exit. 

He was surprised that it took so long, having waited a good 15 minutes before Sylvie slipped out of the glass doors of the clinic to meet Laurie. 

"Hey, any infections?"

"No..." Sylvie sighed lightly as she crossed her arms. "I can't believe this was the clinic we were banned from. That only leaves two other clinics in Magnolia..."

"I'm sure they'll eventually lift the ban at that other clinic. We've only got, what, two or three lifetime bans, right?" 

"Yes, I suppose that's true." 

Laurie put his arm around Sylvie's waist, smiling to her sweetly. "It's already noon, we ought to go pick something up if you're feeling up to it. Anything in mind." 

Sylvie shook her head anxiously. "Nothing really."

"Well you've got to eat something." Laurie sighed. "You stomach hurt still?"

"A little." Sylvie began to walk, Laurie following as his hand still held it's ground on her thin waist. "Not as bad, the doctor just suggested rest...so we ought to just go home." 

"Fine by me." Laurie nodded with a grin as he pulled his head in to kiss the side of Sylvie's head, she blushed as she pressed her lips together. 

"Thank you." 

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <    

Liddan took slow steps as Lugi sat on his shoulder.

"Lugi..." she sighed as she crossed her arms.

"What's that?" 

"Steak." She stated.

"Oh, right, you hungry because you never really got to eat your steak?" 

Lugi shook her head firmly, tossing it about as Liddan pressed his lips together. He looked forward as he stepped over a log. "So what is it then?" 

Lugi put her hand on his chin, as though she were deep in thought. Liddan smiled lightly. "It's okay if you can't remember. Tell me when you do." 

The woods grew silent, only the whistle of a bird echoed quietly throughout the forest as they walked in silence.

Liddan's movement ceased, and he stood sniffing the air for a few moments before raising his hand and turning his head lightly to the right to look upon his shoulder where Lugi sad.

He gave her look, having her provide a nod as she glided off of his shoulder and onto the ground with a quick sweep.

He crept behind a tree, Lugi at his toes as he peered around the thick woods. It was a familiar scent that drew his attention. The scent of blood from the girl he'd stabbed just the day before. It lingered in the air lightly, as though it where still some distance away. This thought relaxed him, as he looked down to Lugi and stated, "they're close, but we're good for now." 

"Is that so?" 

Liddan jerked his head around to hear the smooth voice of Pride. Her arms were crossed, and she sat up within the trees, her legs crossed tightly as the hung off the wide and sturdy branch.

The veil covered her face gracefully, tying around the two large horns that split off the sides of her skull. 

"Oh, you." Liddan stated, Lugi hopping back quickly, frightened by the appearance. Pride did little to change her pose, all but switching her legs quickly, crossing the other over the top in opposition to their original position.

"I'd complain over your lack of enthusiasm, but it's reasonable. I did give you a scar." 

Liddan looked down at his arm, seeing the scarred skin where her nails had previously dug in from their last encounter. 

"It's fine, I've got plenty as is." Liddan shrugged. He looked up, his pose not at all present itself in a threatening manner. He relaxed his shoulders, crossing his arms as though he were beginning a conversation with an acquaintance. "Mind if I ask you something?" 

"You can ask, but I can't guarantee an answer." 

Liddan shrugged. "Fair enough." He pointed at her face with his left hand, not in an accusing manner, it was rather gentle. Or as gentle as a pointed finger could be. "Why do you wear the veil?" 

She was silent, her hands resting in her lap unmoved by the question.

"I ripped off your veil last time." His finger draws away from Pride, and points at the back of his forearm. "Right before you scratched me."

He went silent, as though he were waiting for a response she had no intention of providing. He sighed and continued. "I was just kinda confused. I mean, you weren't ugly or anything. In fact, you were actually pretty hot." 

"I don't wear this veil for some petty self image problem." Pride hissed with the click of her tongue. "I wear it because measly humans like you are unworthy of even looking upon my face."

Liddan scrunched up his face tightly, his eyebrows furrowing. "Well, I'm not exactly fully human lady." 

"As if that makes a difference." She smirked. "You're just like that bratty Sloth, she was only accepted into our team thanks to her father's status. In fact, that slut Lust shouldn't even be aloud either. She was originally human." 

Liddan rose an eyebrow with some curiosity to the information he began to hear. He had little interaction with the other sins, so this new discovery seemed to be bringing some light onto their origins. 

"I'm one of the few pure demons in our group, and I despise simply the thought of being paired up with such vial creatures."

"Hey," Liddan snapped, pointing his finger at himself. "Watch it--I'm one of those vial creatures!" 

He could feel a chill, knowing she wore a smirk behind that veil. 

"Yes." She agreed quaintly. "Which is why I'm here. If I can't beat those demidium scum, I'll just beat you." 

    > ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ <    

Laurie sighed as he plopped onto the bed, tugging onto the bottom of his pants until they reached his leg, where he removed his faux leg and set it down against the bed frame.

"Does your leg hurt?" 

"A little, I was standing on it a lot. Honestly, it just kinda itches."

Laurie looked up to Sylvie who knelt down in front of him, looking at the scrawny end of his knee. 

"You seem to be doing lots better," Laurie said with a smile. "You ate dinner just fine." 

"Yes, I feel much better." Sylvie smiled with a nod.

"Guess we didn't really need to go to the doctor, huh?" Laurie shrugged as Sylvie stood up.

"Um, actually--"

"I'm happy you're better." Laurie smiled, pressing his lips tightly together as his hands grasped Sylvie's. "Because I kept thinking all day about how beautiful my wife is even when she feels like she's got a hurricane in her stomach."

Sylvie opened her mouth, but was silenced as Laurie tugged quickly on her arms, pulling her down onto the bed and into his arms. 

He didn't hesitate to flip her onto her back, stepping above her own the bed as he placed his lips onto her own. 

Sylvie wanted to say something, but found herself only mumbling into the kiss as her hands dug into Laurie's back. 

As the kiss broke, Laurie dragged his lips down the line of Sylvie's jaw and to her neck.

"Uh...Laurie?" Sylvie croaked out finally.

"Mhmm." Laurie moaned into her neck.

"Um. I think we should maybe do some research before we do this."

Laurie froze. He pushed himself up with his two arms, in a push up position as he looked down on Sylvie.

"Do what now?" 

"Well..." Sylvie blushed madly as she diverted her eye contact. "I've heard once or twice about how some sex positions are bad while others are safe during a pregnancy, so I think we should try and figure out which ones are good from bad."

"Pre--pregnant?" 

Sylvie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the distraught face Laurie had made above her. She squeezed her hands, making them small balled fists as she nodded her head. 

When she opened her eyes, Laurie was no longer above her. In fact, he was no longer in the room, nor that building.

He was out of the building. He grabbed his leg and ran, down the street, with a panicked expression, leaving Sylvie to sit on the bed looking about the window, curious as to what had just happened.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

A lovely ending, hmm?  Give a comment if you predicted Sylvie's pregnancy, also share your thoughts as to what you think will happen in the next chapter? 

Why'd Laurie run? What's wrong with Zailo? Why was Lugi thinking about her steak?  Why didn't Lugi get her steak?! 

Will we ever know? Or will we ever care...

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and all, it was somewhat lighthearted compared to before, and I really enjoy the new style of switching from two main conflicts that occur continuously. It seems much more organized than before. Like the last chapter of Vol III was SO chaotic I had to draw a diagram to organize myself since there was so much jumping around within the chapter.

I swear, if I made every little jump in my books a chapter, than the entire volume would be over 300 chapters. It'd be crazy.

Anyway, see you guys in the next chapter, and thank you all for reading. Vote, comment, and follow, I love reading your guys comments, it's so fun. Sometimes you guys are just all witty and I'm like "ha, I love these people."  

I'll try updating some of my other stories, especially my Fairy Tail fairy tales and also my SAO if I can. Those are definitely due an update!

-Katie