A few hours passed since their encounter with each other. A slight breeze blew by them while Gajeel and Lily watched frowning as they sat outside of Y/N's house. Levy and Y/N talked about books and Mercy hid behind Y/N still scared of Gajeel, Levy, and Lily. Lily thought about Mercy and her actions toward them, unable to figure out why she was so scared of them when they did nothing wrong. Gajeel just groaned in annoyance while he watched the two girls bond over books, bored with their conversation. Levy looked at Mercy and asked her in English. "So what books do you like, Mercy?"
"Um, ndimakonda chinsinsi (um, I like mystery)..." Mercy stated shyly while looking at the ground.
"A mystery lover huh?" Levy smiled at Mercy as she asked. "Do you have any favorites?" Mercy just shook her head. Levy then looked at Y/N and stated. "She's so shy."
"Yeah, she's was like this when I first met her. It took her a long time to be able to actually talk to me in English and even then she was still afraid of me." Y/N replied as she began to pet Mercy's head lightly. "However, she's fine with me now."
Levy asked knowing Lily was curious, as well as her and Gajeel. "If it's not too sensitive to talk about... can I ask what happened to her eye?"
Y/N looked down at Mercy for permission to tell, knowing it was a sensitive topic. Mercy hesitated but slowly nodded and turning back to the ground. Y/N smiled slightly at her before stating turning to Levy. "I won't go into detail because it's still kind of a sensitive subject even after all this time, but I will tell you briefly what happened. Mercy was raised in a closed off facility filled with evil wizards, evil people in general. Anyway, one day a horrible accident happened, Mercy didn't tell me exactly what kind of accident occurred, but she can't see out of that eye and she has a scar. She thinks the scar looks bad, but I told her the scar isn't too bad now. It was awful when I found her but with the right treatment it got better. Anyways, yeah, that's basically what happened. Mercy hides it because it brings her too much pain."
"Oh gosh." Levy gasped as she covered her mouth and looked at Mercy. "I'm so sorry!"
Mercy replied quietly, refusing to meet her gaze. "Ndi zabwino (it's fine)."
Lily questioned as he looked at Gajeel remembering something. "Closed off facility?"
Gajeel asked Mercy Seriously. "What closed off facility?"
Mercy just shook her head and hid her face. Y/N only shrugged at them, telling them she didn't know anything about it. Y/N refused to mention the scars on Mercy's body, however a few of them were visible. She caught Lily staring at one on her arm with a serious expression. Y/N could see his mind working like it was on overtime. Gajeel only frowned at Y/N's response, knowing there was something else. Levy then asked Y/N, trying to change the subject. "So you're a wizard right? Are you in a guild?"
"Um... no. We aren't in a guild." Y/N shook her head a bit nervous.
"If it's not too personal to ask, why not?" Levy asked curiously with a tilted head.
Y/N began to look at Mercy, who looked down guiltily knowing what Y/N was going to say. "For one, Mercy. She can't handle being around new people. I mean you saw how he reacted with you guys. Imagine her in a huge guild filled with people. Mercy can handle being in restaurants if we're away from everyone else, otherwise..." Y/N trailed off and sighed.
Levy added sadly while she nodded. "She did seems pretty frightened. Even with Lily, she was terrified."
Y/N shrugged with her eyes flashing with sadness. "She just can't handle strangers in general. She can't... trust people like others could."
It was silent for a while, the sadness lingering in the air for a while longer before Gajeel asked Y/N with narrow eyes. "What's the other reason for not joining a guild?"
"Hm?" Y/N looked at Gajeel confused.
"You said for one. What's the other reason?"
"I have a duty to up hold here. I take down every single bandit, thief, or whatever the case is in this town. I can't just walk away from it."  Y/N stated, partly it being the truth. She wasn't ready to spill her secret just yet, especially to people she just met.
"You do know if this place needed help, they could get one of the guild's to help them, right?" Levy asked Y/N who was looking away from them. Levy then smiled and suggested. "Why don't you guys come join Fairy Tail?" Mercy and Y/N both looked at Levy shocked as Levy continued. "You guys seem comfortable with us! Besides, Fairy Tail is a good guild! Everyone's family there!"
"I don't..." Y/N began when Levy interrupted her. "Y/N, this could be good for Mercy." Y/N went silent as Levy continued. "This gives Mercy the chance to expand, regain her confidence, and learn to trust others again. Do you want Mercy to be shy and scared the rest of her life and never trust people again?"
Y/N looked at the ground before at Mercy who was looking up at Y/N. Y/N then closed her eyes and admitted. "I don't want Mercy to be like that, but I want her to go her own pace. She'll take the step when she's ready."
"You know," Lily began as he stood up, "sometimes they need that small push into the right direction before they could really start to move." Y/N looked at Lily as he continued in his usual tone. "I'm not trying to push you into making her do this, I'm just saying. She might be ready to take that step but fear is holding her back."
"What small push are you talking about?" Y/N asked him. "We can't push her into this too fast."
"Yeah, Lily. You shouldn't push her into going into a guild when she's not ready, especially if it's a lively guild like Fairy Tail." Levy agreed seriously.
"I know. I'm talking about an interaction with a small group, like the one we have here." Lily stated with his arms crossed. "Interacting with a small group like this could help her to get used to being around others that aren't Y/N. Then each time she gets used to it, make the group a little bigger then see how it goes from there. That should help her slowly to get over her fear of people."
"Yeah, that could work." Levy smiled, liking the idea, as she looked at Y/N. "In fact, let's make it better and let me, Lily, and Gajeel be this small group. Then when Mercy gets used to us, we'll get one or two of our other friends for Mercy to meet. That way, you guys meet some of the other guild members AND Mercy gets over her fear at a slow and steady pace! It's a win win if you ask me!"
"Y-Yeah." Y/N nodded before looking at Mercy and asked hopefully. "Does that sound like a plan to you, Mercy? It's your call."
"Kodi ndingathe kulankhulabe chonchi (um can I still talk like this)?" Mercy asked quietly, already knowing their answer.
Levy smiled a bit worried and stated. "No, I think it's best if you at least try to talk in our language. If it's too much then you could keep talking like that until you're a little more comfortable."
Mercy looked down a bit nervous but nodded slowly. "I-I'll try..." she whispered with a bit of a shaky voice.
Y/N smiled and told her quietly. "You don't have to force yourself, okay?"
Mercy just nodded in understanding, keeping her eyes on the ground. Levy and Gajeel stood up while Levy stated with a smile. "We best be going. When do you wanna meet up?"
"How about in a week?" Y/N asked Levy as Y/N stood as well.
"Cool! In Magnolia or here?" Levy asked.
"Oh, uh." Y/N looked down at Mercy who stared at Y/N.
Mercy then replied quietly. "M-Magnolia."
Gajeel and Y/N were the only ones who heard it, since her response was so quiet. Gajeel then shrugged and turned to walk away. "Okay, later."
"Wait—" Levy told him.
"She already said at Magnolia." Gajeel told Levy with his usual tone. "I'm outta here. See ya at the train station!"
Lily looked at Mercy and waved goodbye before flying off after Gajeel. Levy waved as well and ran after Gajeel who was already ahead. Y/N looked down at Mercy and asked her unsure. "Are you really okay with this?"
Mercy nodded slowly while admitting. "Y-Yeah. I don't want to be afraid anymore."
Y/N smiled and stated. "Okay then. Let's head inside ya?"
"Yeah." Mercy nodded as the two went inside.