#honestly so many new fun faces i'd like to draw so hopefully i'll get around to a few more

[kim-woonhak]

bap jongup & vanner gon from yesterday's unit c busking

[phoenix-before-the-flame]

Writing from me on the very first day of the year? Absolute blasphemy!

Either way here's to hopefully a more productive year of writing and drawing from this phoenix!

Lucy held up the bottle to the light, sloshing around its clear contents this way and that with squinted eyes.

It had a gleam to it, an unnatural sparkle that made it seem a little too perfect inside its glass container. Even the way it sloshed about seemed strange, perfectly rounded circles with never a single drop out of place to run down the inside of the bottle.

Levy leaned forward from her seat on the kitchen counter, thumbing its underside as she eagerly awaited Lucy answer. "Well?" She prompted, gnawing on her lip eagerly. " isn't it cool?!"

She swirled it around once more for good measure, hoping to garner some different results but to no avail. Lucy hopped up on the counter next to her friend, Levy leaning in closer to Lucy, her shoulder pressed up against her and practically vibrating with excitement as Lucy rolled the round bottle in her palms. A deep frown tugged at the corners of Lucy's mouth.

"Where'd you get holy water from?" Lucy asked, leaning into her friend. "This stuff's really hard to come by."

"I won it! Some trivia contest at work. Prize went to whoever translated the most of those new alvernian manuscript. And I'll tell you it was a tough one, there was someone from another department who almost beat me to it, but I think they were cheating because honestly they-

"Levy you're spiralling." Lucy tugged levy's hairband into her eyes playfully with a smirk. She pulled it back in place, swinging her legs back and forth , though her excited vibrating thankfully calmed down.

Levy pressed her finger hard against the bottle to leave a smear that was cleaned off in seconds, like an invisible cloth was ran over it. Lucy cocked her head to the side, now that she noticed it the bottle was clean of her own fingerprints as well.

"It seems legit but......."

But? Levy, what but?" She didn't like that tone, when Levy trailed off in a sentence like that. It usually led to four little words that made Lucy want to curse her friend's overtly curious nature.

"I wanna test it!" Yup, there it is. Those words.

"Levyyyyyyyyy." Lucy groaned.

"C'mon Lucy! It's holy water, nothing bad can happen."

"That's what you always say. Do you remember the pixie dust incident? You were floating for months. Gajeel had to tie a rope around you to keep you from floating away."

Levy waved her off, instead cupping her hands around Lucy's and bringing the bottle closer to their faces. Not even their reflections were distorted on the rounded bottle, perfect like a little mirror.

"That was fun, I dunno what you're talking about. But just listen Lucy, holy water only affects cursed non human entities, so regardless of anything we'll be fine! It can't do anything to us!"

Levy shook their hands encouragingly, sloshing the bottle to support her argument. " I know my work place wouldn't give me something fake but just think about seeing what it could do in action! Wouldn't it be cool to see? C'mon Lucy please!"

She batted her eyes at her friend and Lucy caved, once Levy had an idea in her head there was no chance of changing her mind. Lucy slid off the counter with a sigh, slipping her hands from Levy's grasp.

"You're lucky you're cute Lev. Else I'd never go along with this." Well that and the fact that Lucy was also a curious soul. Now that it was in her head too she also wanted to know what it could do, to find out its properties. And it didn't help that Lucy had the perfect means of finding out.

Lucy giggled slightly at Levy's little cheer as she kicked away the rug on her floor in the little area between the kitchen and living room revealing a deep char mark, the black mark smooth and seamless with the wood like it was always there but it was a recent addition. A year old at most.

Other such chars dotted her apartment, from the bedroom to the bathroom and even in her writing room. But this was the only place she ever willed him to appear, the others were just him cheekily appearing of his only volition.

Lucy grabbed her nail file from the little table near the couch and wordlessly pricked her thumb, pushing at the broken skin for the blood to bead and ignoring the little wince of pain. She flashed off the drops on the burn mark, waiting for the tell tale sizzles and the swirls of smoke rising off in intricate curls that were almost ancient runes if she squinted hard enough. They thickened to a heavy curtain that smelled sweet and familiar, like a campfire or the fire of a hearth. Smelling like home, which isn't a scent one would expect from an ungodly demon.

Levy gave an excited squeak and ran over by Lucy's side when the smoke started to dissapate, the demon's green eyes that settled on lucy looked bored with the slightest tinge of annoyance.

"Oh so when I show up here unannounced it's a problem but you can call on me anytime huh?" He muttered accusingly at Lucy, dark eyes narrowing. Actual dark eyes, black scleras making the clear green of his slit eyes seem to shine out from his face. "Hey levy" He added, smirking at her wave.

He was probably something to be intimidated by, with the scales that blended evenly with his brown skin. His head cocked to the side, the spiraling horns that stood almost a foot from his shaggy pink hair seemed to slice the air with their sharpened points. But he didn't strike any sort of intimidation now, walking around to plop down on her couch, stretching out like a cat on her cushions.

"So whaddaya want -"

"Drink this." Levy shoved the flask in his face, the glass clinking on his metallic scales. She rubbed it encouragingly on his cheek and he snarled weakly, eyes darting from levy to Lucy questioningly.

"What she means is we wanted to try something." Lucy tugged her friend's hand away from Natsu, shooting him an apologetic look. He was nice but no one appreciates having random things shoved in their face.

"We got some holy water, or at least we think it's holy water and we just wanted to test if it's the real deal or not......." Her explanation trailed off at the incredulous look he gave her, eyebrow judgingly raised.

"A test?" He directed his query towards levy, "didn't you learn from the pixie dust incident? And giving a demon holy water? That's you guys' best idea for trying it?"

"I mean you don't have to drink it. Maybe just rub a few drops of it on your skin. Just to see?"

"Or drink it." Levy chimed in.

"Levy!"

"I'm just saying! That works too."

Natsu chuckled at their antics, grabbing the flask out of Levy's grasp and stabbed a pointed claw into the cover and uncorked it silently, throwing the stopper over his shoulder. "You guys are a riot, ya know that? Giving me more dumb stuff to do than I've had in a millennia. I'll be your test subject."

"Alright thanks. So all you have to do is just dab a couple drops and-" Lucy stopped, watching as Natsu turned it to his head like levy suggested and gulped a mouthful, Levy eagerly leaning forward.

"Well?"

He grimaced, holding the bottle out to levy with his tongue sticking out in disgust. "That's legit stuff. Tastes like shit so it's good."

"Isn't that gonna hurt you?" Lucy questioned, voice tinged with concern.

"Only works on lesser demons. All it just does for me is leave a bad taste in my mouth. You have no idea how many times I've encountered humans who thought the stuff could do me in. And they sure did pay the price for that." He mumbled that last part more to himself, too sharp teeth revealed in a devilish grin. His eyes held an unnatural gleam.

It disappeared seconds after, the slightly bored expression returning. "The rest of that is regular water now that it's been tainted by me. And like that I just satisfied your curiosity. You're welcome."

"Well that was a bust. So what do we do now?" Lucy shrugged in response and they both stared pointedly at Natsu.

"I dunno. But I'm not leaving here now without getting something in my stomach. You summon me, you pay the price."