Claraina Arrives

[Erza Scarlet]

It was a strange roller coaster of emotion, this day was. Waking up in a hospital bed, somehow perfectly healthy after being eviscerated in brutal combat. Her strength, and magic, coming back. Hearing of or watching her new friends be slain much as she herself was, only to shortly realize they were also perfectly fine just as she was. A chance encounter with a lighthearted and grinning (for once) Harry Dresden, only for him to be pulled away in but a moment at the next hint of danger. She was entirely unsure of how she really felt about the whole thing, but was distracted from her emotions by a sudden need to fight a strange and seemingly-unprompted urge to make for the nearest beach.

That was not the only imminent distraction, however. Coming bounding towards her was a very young-looking girl, certainly no older than she had been before being snatched from her hometown. The girl didn't really bear any resemblance to Erza, save for the flowing, crimson hair, and yet the sight of one so innocent, experiencing that bouncy piece of childhood Erza had had cut in half, effected a pang of nostalgia, and sympathy. She looked happy now, distracted and bounding about with a detached curiosity about her, but Erza knew that in this place, such mannerisms could only last for so long before the weight of this new, bloody world set in.

Still, she felt an irrational responsibility to help the girl put that off for as long as humanly possible.

It was with a heavy heart and an unflinchingly cheerful visage that the scarlet-wreathed warrior sauntered into the less-than-predictable path of her newly acquired target who, in her observation of the strangeness about, had managed to foresee and avoid a collision with the armored one. The girl didn't even slow for a moment as her curious and unintimidated gaze turned up towards that single piece of her surroundings that had seemed to take an interest in her. She continued her bouncing routine, having begun to flitter about Erza like a butterfly scouting out a plant before deciding whether it's a flower or a trap. Erza deigned not to attempt to follow the girl's unpredictable trajectory as such a feat, while well within her realm of power, would leave her uncomfortably lightheaded. She instead chose to close her eyes for a moment, lowering her head and smirking. This one is smart to approach me with caution. She nodded softly in assertion of her own mildly-bloated self-image.

When she again opened her eyes, the girl was standing only a few feet in front of her, finally stationary, sporting a bright, toothy grin like only a child can truly pull off. Her assessment was complete.

And with that, Erza's heart again melted just enough to turn her plastered smile into a genuine one as she held out her arm, sword clattering to the ground at her side. "Erza Scarlet at your service. And you?"