The elder, a small mound of wrinkles, dust, and regrets, finished recounting his tragic tale. The purple moon, that faulty, apocalyptic-looking lamp, still burned in the sky, bathing the scene in its sickly light, utterly devoid of any charm. The silence that followed was heavy, uncomfortable, broken only by the ugly, guttural sobs of the villagers who now bore a demonic appearance and the soul of a human in agony. Lucy, with her big heart and her complete lack of emotional control, was already wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.
Natsu, with his walnut-sized brain and unshakeable optimism, was already promising impossible miracles with the confidence of someone who truly believes they can punch a celestial body. Gray, the pragmatist of the group, just snorted in silent disbelief at the stupidity of it all. And Happy… well, Happy was muttering something about nightmares, grilled fish, and the possibility of hiding until it was all over. A rather sensible strategy, I must admit.
In the end, after a few more moments of collective weeping and grand promises, the elder sighed with the resignation of one who has lost all hope but still has to be polite to visitors, and offered us one of his 'charming' wooden huts for the night. The ceiling was perilously low, the walls creaked with every gust of wind as if they were about to collapse, and the whole place had a strong, distinctive smell of wet goat and despair. But, to be fair, it was still considerably better than sleeping on the cold sand, with seawater getting into places I'd rather not think about and waking up with a curious crab trying to steal my herbs.
Everyone entered with the energy of recently unearthed zombies, dropping dusty rucksacks and tired sighs onto the packed earth floor. The weak flame of the small hearth was already lit, probably as a pathetic attempt to ward off evil spirits or just the night's chill, and it cast a trembling, orange light on the exhausted, dirty faces of my teammates.
"First thing tomorrow morning, we're going to find out where this ridiculous curse is coming from and we're going to smash it!" Natsu declared with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, punching his fist into his palm with that same idiotic, suicidal glint in his eyes.
"First thing tomorrow morning, you'll be destroying the ceiling of this fragile and probably termite-infested hut if you keep shouting and making sudden movements like that," I grumbled from my strategic position, where I had already thrown myself, in the darkest corner furthest from everyone, hugging a cushion that definitely, and without a shadow of a doubt, had the strong, unmistakable scent of goat.
Lucy, ignoring my comment and desperately trying to impose a modicum of order on the chaos, adjusted her wet socks with a tense expression. "We need to think of a plan! Calmly! Maybe we should start by investigating the cliffs the ghost fisherman mentioned… or those ancient ruins the elder said are on the other side of the forest…"
Gray, the eternal pessimistic realist, crossed his arms with a scowl. "It doesn't matter where we start. What's important is figuring out how the hell we get rid of this bloody purple moon. And fast. This isn't just about saving these villagers; it's about the danger a curse of this scale could pose if it spreads beyond this island." He had a point. A logical and terrifying point.
Natsu, who clearly hadn't heard a single word about 'plans' or 'caution', was already on his feet again, fire in his eyes, ready to leave right then and probably get lost in the dark, cursed forest. Lucy, with the desperation of a mother trying to stop her hyperactive child from jumping into a pit of crocodiles, pulled him back by the arm with surprising strength. "It's the middle of the night, you flaming idiot! You'll wait until the sun is up before you go running to your certain death, do you hear me?!"
It was then that, in a moment of awkward silence with Natsu being held back like a rabid dog on a lead, all eyes, as if by some silent, inevitable command, turned to me. To me, the S-Class mage, the ancient entity (not that they know), the only one there with a functioning brain and, supposedly, vast wisdom. They waited, with a touching naivety, for some pearl of wisdom, some enlightened advice, perhaps a brilliant and infallible battle plan…
I yawned. A long, deep, theatrical, and utterly disinterested yawn.
"Just to make one thing perfectly clear to everyone present, so there are no future doubts or misunderstandings," I began, my voice drawling and filled with a laziness that was almost an offence. "I'm not going. Anywhere."
The silence that followed was almost deafening.
"WHAT?!" Lucy almost choked, her eyes widening in pure, absolute disbelief. "What do you mean, 'not going'?! Are you just going to stay here… sleeping?!"
"Yes, Lucy. Precisely. Sleeping," I replied, with a calm that seemed to irritate her even more. "And maybe, if I'm feeling particularly productive, I'll scratch my belly. Your mission is to 'investigate and break the curse'. My mission, dictated personally by our dear and stressed Master, is much simpler and considerably less tiring: to prevent you lot, a walking catastrophe, from accidentally destroying some village or town along the way. As this island only has this one village, and you, miraculously, haven't managed to set fire to, flood, or blow up anything yet, I consider my work, up to this point, a resounding success worthy of applause. I am officially on a break."
Gray ran a hand over his face, a gesture that was a mixture of frustration, exhaustion, and a clear, growing desire to freeze me until the next century. He seemed to be fighting a monumental internal battle to decide whether it was worth spending his energy freezing me or if it was better to save it for later. Natsu, on the other hand, had already shrugged with surprising indifference, accepting my decision as if I were just another natural and unchangeable obstacle in life, like a river to cross or a wall to climb. His logic was, as always, an unfathomable mystery.
Happy, the small and opportunistic blue cat, flapped his little wings with renewed enthusiasm. "So, is Azra'il, like… our lazy babysitter?"
"Exactly, my small, furry friend with flexible morals. I am your babysitter," I confirmed with a satisfied smile. "But please, do not confuse my profound and unshakeable laziness with incompetence. I am extremely competent at sleeping, at ignoring your problems, and at doing absolutely nothing that requires physical effort. It's a talent I have honed over many… many mornings."
With a sigh of pure satisfaction, I stretched my furry tail, which was still damp and unpleasant in places, and began to settle down for my well-deserved and long-awaited rest on the goat-scented cushion. Lucy was still huffing indignantly beside me, muttering things about responsibility and teamwork. Gray was grumbling a series of creative swear words under his breath, probably aimed at me. And Natsu… ah, Natsu. He was already snoring loudly in a corner, a stupid grin on his face, as if the prospect of fighting a demonic lunar curse was the most natural and relaxing thing in the world.
(And so, tomorrow, first thing, while I'm in my seventh sleep, they will run cheerfully towards a problem much, much bigger than their small, overheated brains can process. And I, with my wisdom and foresight, will be here… rested, in a good mood, and hopefully, combing my now-dry tail and getting some sun. Exemplary supervision. Flawless. Master Makarov would be incredibly proud of my dedication and my passive leadership method. Or perhaps he'd kick me out of the guild. Either way, it would be interesting.)
The next morning's sun rose timidly from behind the grey clouds, but it already managed to cast a golden, somewhat weak light over the silent wooden huts of the cursed village. The atmosphere was one of expectation, of tension, of a silent, collective "today is the big day, and we're probably all going to die horribly". Lucy, with her dark circles and palpable anxiety, had been up since before dawn, nervously checking her golden keys as if preparing for a final exam she hadn't studied enough for.
Gray, in a display of pure discipline or perhaps just insomnia, was already in the courtyard, shirtless as always despite the morning chill, stretching his arms with a concentrated, grim-faced expression, ready for whatever disaster the day might bring. And Natsu… well, Natsu, who apparently recharges on pure, crystalline stupidity, was also up, punching the air with enthusiasm, bouncing from side to side and shouting grand, utterly unrealistic promises about "smashing the curse with a single, powerful punch to the moon's face," as if the moon were a schoolyard bully and not a celestial body thousands of miles away. And Happy, of course, was whirling in excited circles in the air around him, tirelessly repeating "aye, sir! Punch the moon! Punch the moon!" like a hyperactive parrot with a limited vocabulary.
And me? Ah, me. I was gloriously reclined in the doorway of our hut, my eyes half-closed in an expression of pure and absolute indolence, my belly lazily exposed to soak up the first, weak rays of the morning sun, and my tail, now finally dry and minimally untangled after a long and arduous combing session the night before, swaying slowly from side to side. I was distractedly chewing on a strange, dubiously coloured fruit I'd found on a nearby tree; it had a peculiar taste of apple with a subtle hint of salted fish. Horrible, but it served as an improvised breakfast and a memorable gastronomic experience.
"Today's the day, everyone! Let's sort this mess out once and for all and show that stupid moon who's boss!" Natsu roared at the sky, literal fire coming from his nostrils like a particularly flammable bull with sinus problems.
"Yes, Natsu, but we need to have a minimum of caution and a plan of action, please," Lucy retorted, already breaking into a cold sweat from sheer nerves and anticipation of the imminent disaster. "The village elder said the ancient ruins, where the curse might have started, are on the other side of that dark, scary forest. We need to be prepared to find anything in there. Traps, monsters, vengeful spirits…"
Gray snorted with disdain. "'Preparations'? Lucy, please. With this mad arsonist with the brain of an amoeba leading the charge? If we manage to get back to the guild with half our clothes on and without having started a new war with some ancient race of demons, it'll be a great and miraculous victory."
"Oi! I heard that, you exhibitionist ice-lolly!" Natsu growled, already turning with his fists clenched and flames crackling, ready to start the first, utterly predictable fight of the day, even before proper breakfast.
I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw my own ancestral brain. I took another bite of my fish-apple fruit with an expression of resignation. "Excellent. Simply magnificent. You haven't even left the village yet and you're already prepared to destroy an innocent hut with a clash of egos. The pride I feel at this moment is indescribable."
Lucy shot me that indignant and slightly desperate look of hers, the look of someone trying in vain to appeal to the common sense of a particularly stubborn and sarcastic brick wall. "Azra'il, please! Aren't you coming with us at all? We could really use your help!"
I yawned, a long, deep, theatrical, and utterly disinterested yawn. "No. I already said. I'm staying here. In my new role as supervisor. My plans for the day include: sleeping, perhaps reading a bit more of my book of amusing curses, and, who knows, with a bit of inspiration, composing a tragic and moving ballad about the irreparable loss of my dear, irreplaceable teacup. Everyone, as you can see, deals with their own terrible tragedies."
"But… but that's… that's completely irresponsible!" Lucy began, her voice shrill with frustration.
"It is what it is, my dear and stressed celestial mage," I cut in, with a calmness I knew would irritate her even more. "You, the heroes of the story, go out there, investigate the mystery, make your idiotic and grand promises, save the world from imminent destruction or, more likely, die a glorious and utterly unnecessary death trying. I, the competent supervisor, stay here. And supervise. Passively. Master Makarov, I'm sure, would be incredibly proud and impressed with my unwavering dedication to my post."
Natsu, to my relief, had already completely lost interest in our little, edifying discussion about responsibility and took off running towards the forest like a pink-haired bolt of lightning, with little Happy flying desperately in his wake, shouting about fish. Gray swore under his breath a few more times, probably cursing my existence and Natsu's, but, being the good rival he was, followed right after to make sure the idiot didn't get himself killed in the first five minutes. And Lucy, of course, sighed with the resignation of a martyr, adjusted her golden keys on her belt, and followed the flow of chaos, like a sheep being resignedly led to the slaughter.
With a sigh of pure and absolute satisfaction, I stretched out under the warm sun, feeling the pleasant heat warm my skin and fur. Finally. Peace. Quiet. And the promise of a long, uninterrupted nap.
[Probability Alert: There is a 78% statistical chance they will come running back and screaming in less than two hours, most likely pursued by a large, hostile entity with many teeth and a foul morning temper. System's logical suggestion: Take a quick nap now to be well-rested and prepared for the inevitable chaos that will, with absolute certainty, soon be knocking at your door.]
"Brilliant idea, Eos," I murmured to the air, closing my eyes lazily and resting my head on my arm, already feeling sleep pulling me into its comforting embrace. "Tomorrow might be their big day to save the world. But today… ah, today is my glorious and well-deserved day of sunbathing. And of doing absolutely nothing."
And so began, for them, the great and perilous investigation of Galuna Island. And, for me, the great, glorious, and much more important exploration of the world of dreams.