Cinder
Sharp winds raked over the land.
The sky was grey, a good reflection of the barren land underneath.
The path was a long, almost serpentine line of light brown, surrounded on both sides by grey in varying shades. Sad skeletons of trees and bushes littered both sides of the road and off to the side, carbonized tree stumps stood. Among the gently sloping hills were the tracks of what used to be a river, dry.
Natsu and Gray were walking in silence, their steps nearly noiseless on the sandy path.
Muted browns were peeking among the grey, an abandoned building – just a few erect walls that were scorched black – near what had been a bush and now were just the stumps and skeletal remains of trees.
Natsu stopped and Gray, who was half a step behind him, nearly collided against him.
The fire mage glared at him before walking to the side, coming to kneel right off the path.
Gray watched on as Natsu picked up some of the soil, which upon a closer look was just ashes. The Salamander inspected the small grey powdery mound before the wind scattered them.
Both mages watched on as the ashes disappeared and were engulfed by the threatening atmosphere. There was tension pressing down on them.
'Or,' Gray thought, 'it's just this weird air between us. Natsu has been acting weirdly these last couple of days.'
Natsu stood and patted himself down, making sure to be rid of the ash on his knees.
He glanced at Gray, his lips pressing together before he let out a huff.
"Come on, let's see if we get there on time." Natsu said as he started walking.
"On time for what?" Gray couldn't help but ask, a light snarky tone colouring his voice.
Natsu's frame seemed to stiffen for a moment before he kept walking normally. If Gray weren't as adept in reading Natsu, he would had missed it. But it added to his suspicion. Something was bothering the fire mage, and it was connected to Gray himself.
'But I didn't do anything for him to be throwing this tantrum!' Gray thought to himself. It was starting to trouble him, and the bleak surroundings weren't exactly helping.
How had it been possible that this desolate land was the same Pinophyta forest – which was known for its luxuriating greens and lovely scenery – but in the time span of one year?
They kept walking in silence, the road gently sloping. They would have entered the forest, were it still there.
"There's Asterid Town," Natsu said after a while. And yes, Gray could see it now. The gates of the town open and empty.
Gray had a weird feeling. There were supposed to be guards, of some sort there. But no.
"Let's do this." Natsu said as they walked across the threshold.
Gray made a small noise of assent.
Somehow, he had a feeling that a pivotal event was going to take place in that place.
A/N: I wanted to post something to "celebrate" my 9 years in this damn fandom.
Guess this is it.
It's been 9 years since I posted my first fic with Natsu and Gray. Not that it matters, right?
Unbetaed.