Sheila stood in the doorway, her strange, dull eyes widening in confusion as she took in the scene on her bed.
The custom dark-wood frame—an absurdly massive piece of furniture built to accommodate her 5'11" height—was usually a pristine expanse of dark wood, crisp white sheets, and a mountain of pillows. Tonight, however, it held a scene she hadn't anticipated.
Sitting near the center of the mattress was Juvia. A faint, fragile flicker of deep blue magical aura clung to her frame. She was holding Albion in a strange, protective, almost maternal embrace. Guarding his sleeping form as he lay unconscious.
The moment Sheila's heels stepped across the threshold, Juvia's large, azure eyes opened. The faint aura around her dissolved instantly back into nothingness.
"Sheila...?" Juvia whispered softly.
Carefully, with quiet, deliberate hands, Juvia eased Albion back down against a soft white pillow. She slid off the high mattress, her small feet making no sound as they touched the floor.
At 4'5", Juvia looked remarkably fragile against the vast dark wood of the room.
She was dressed in her sleepwear, a soft, pale-blue full-length pajama set with subtle white trim around the collar and cuffs. Her midnight-blue hair fell loose and tousled around her shoulders, and tucked tightly under her left arm was her soft gray-and-blue plush seal, clutched close like a comfort object.
She walked over, stopping directly in front of the tall woman, looking far more like a quiet eight-year-old child than a wizard of Phantom Lord.
Sheila took a slow, quiet pull from her cigarette, looking down. "I was under the impression you two were asleep."
"Normally, I would be," Juvia said. "But there's been a situation with Albion." She gestured toward the bed where the black-haired boy lay motionless, his face calm in sleep.
Juvia continued:
"I don't know all the details. Basically... he wants to save someone. I don't know exactly why he's asleep right now, or who this person is. Maybe I should have asked for a better explanation."
She gave a small, quiet shrug of her shoulders.
"Regardless... Albion is trying to save a friend of his, I think. I wouldn't trust him too much. Albion is... somewhat strange. And reckless."
A tiny, almost imperceptible twitch softened the corner of Sheila's mouth. "I see. He appears unharmed, at least."
Silence settled between them, the long, heavy quiet that usually followed interactions between people who lacked conventional social skills. Sheila was not a woman given to idle chatter.
"What happened at the guildhall?" Juvia asked softly.
Sheila didn't hesitate. In her usual brief manner, she laid out the facts without an ounce of fluff or dramatic exaggeration. She explained the confrontation with Damian, and how she had taken Gajeel from the hall. She finished by informing Juvia that Gajeel was currently lying in the main clinic room, fast asleep.
When Sheila finished, Juvia didn't speak. She simply stepped forward and wrapped her small arms around Sheila's leg, resting her head against the side of the woman's thigh.
Sheila froze for a second, her fingers still holding her cigarette away to keep the ash from falling.
"I'm glad you're safe," Juvia murmured into the dark fabric of Sheila's trousers.
A strange, unfamiliar warmth bloomed in Sheila's chest. The quiet words Juvia had spoken back at the guildhall echoed clearly through her mind:
«I trust you, Sheila. I believe you when you say you're strong. But trust doesn't just erase my fear. What if you got hurt because I asked you to jump into a brawl? I couldn't live with myself if that happened…»
Sheila lifted her free hand—the bare skin of her palm still showing the residual heat of Damian magic—and gently rested her fingers on Juvia's dark blue hair, patting her head twice with quiet warmth.
"I am fine, Juvia," Sheila said softly. "And I am glad you are safe as well."
After a quiet moment, Juvia pulled back slightly, looking up at the doctor.
"Can I go see Gajeel? If that's alright."
"You may," Sheila replied. "Don't wake him, He fought one of the most powerful mages in the guild tonight. He'll likely sleep until tomorrow."
Juvia gave an understanding nod.
"Understood."
Clutching her plush seal, Juvia turned and slipped out through the bedroom door, leaving it slightly ajar as she moved toward the main clinic floor.
Left alone, Sheila took another drag of her cigarette, turning toward the narrow walk-in closet set into the side wall. She opened the door. Inside, the space reflected her personality with obsessive precision. Rows of identical black business suits hung in alignment beside crisp white dress shirts, dark neckties, and spare leather gloves.
Below them, polished black high heels and dark medical attire sat in immaculate order. Not a single thread or dust mote was out of place.
Sheila had no intention of putting on full sleepwear just yet. She casually shed her necktie and opened the collar of her shirt, sliding out of her fitted suit pants and stepping out of her black high heels.
She unclipped the small silver earrings from her ears, setting them neatly on a small wooden tray. Pulling a plain, comfortable white t-shirt over her head, she kept her dark trousers on, stripped down to her most basic, relaxed layer.
As she moved, her mind drifted back to the quiet discussions they had held in the corridor earlier.
Albion had explained the nature of his innate magic, Codex Magic and how it works, to both her and Juvia. To a master doctor and Caster mage like Sheila, Albion's power was unique.
It lacked the violence of elemental magic, and it wasn't a conventional defensive magic either.
'An Innate Magic is always unique. It does not belong to normal magical classifications. His ability allowed him to directly perceive and comprehend the world itself. His information threads belong to everything.'
Sheila reasoned, her eyes narrowing slightly as she pulled the final drag from her cigarette.
'It is not merely limited to inanimate objects. If he can read the properties of iron, wood, or stone... he can theoretically understand the nature of a human being as well.'
She stepped out of the walk-in closet, her bare feet pressing quietly against the polished wood floor.
'Given enough time... he will not simply be a mage. He will become a living library. A being whose understanding of the world expands continuously with every passing year.'
She stopped beside the edge of the massive bed, looking down at the black-haired boy resting peacefully beneath the heavy sheets.
A quiet, genuine smile touched Sheila's pale lips.
"You aren't the only one," she murmured into the quiet room, her voice soft, devoid of its usual distance.
She looked toward the door, where Juvia was in the room beyond, and where Gajeel lay recovering on the patient bed.
"Whether it is Gajeel... Juvia... or you, Albion. You three will grow into fine wizards. Perhaps... one day... you may even rival me."
Sheila exhaled the last thin ribbon of gray smoke toward the ceiling, resting her hand quietly against her hip as the silence of the clinic wrapped around her.