A/N: For week 2 of the event, day 4 whose prompt was "stars".
Arrow
As the forest became darker and darker, Gray failed to realize the passing time.
He was on the trail, the path his mother had told him to follow. And he hadn't strayed from it and yet, he couldn't help but feel and realize that he was lost.
It wasn't a good sign.
There were many who made this path only to be strayed from it by the faery creatures. Some didn't return, most of those who did returned different. And it wasn't always a good different.
Bullshit. He couldn't help but think. He was a grown man – well, probably not as grown yet, he'd just started the rituals that would prove him a man – and he didn't believe the crazy stories the women made to scare the kids.
He and his friends had passed that stage a long time ago, to be honest.
Though, all in all, as he found himself helplessly lost in the large forest that surrounded his village, Gray couldn't quite dissipate the thoughts of said stories. The forest imposed respect. And it was also treacherous. Again, could it be the faery?
Gray sighed and sat down at the foot of a large tree. His satchel was placed slightly carelessly by his side. The bark of the tree grated against his back and that was mildly surprising, as his shirt and jacket… they were on the ground, waiting for him…
How does this still happen? My Master really did me good. He thought as he snorted amused. Oh Master, why did you have to keep going in search of the Hidden Ruins?
It wasn't fair that she had left him behind. But he had been left with an important mission.
Which… was kind of boring.
"Enough of that," he told himself firmly. "The mission takes the importance one attributes to it. Ur has taught you that, hasn't she?" he waited for a beat, partially hoping for a reply. Which didn't come. "This place sure is lively. Maybe I should eat something. And find a place to sleep…"
He then caught himself.
There was no reason for him to be speaking out loud.
For Gray was alone.
He opened the satchel and rummaged inside its contents. There was bread and cheese. And, after a bit more of rummaging he found his knife.
Gray started eating.
He'd continued walking, in search of the shallow brook he was sure was somewhere nearby.
And then he heard it.
Noise.
Lots of it. The rustling of trees and branches knocking together and gravel crunching and birds chirping anxiously.
And then it stopped.
Gray kept walking, as the place the noise was coming from was where he thought the brook was too. So he really didn't have much of a choice…
The greyness was becoming darkness, blurring the edges of everything under the sky – the underside of the trees' canopy making it seem as if the darkness was spreading like thick ink. Slow but surely and all encompassing.
Carefully and with his hand curled around the knife, Gray stepped into a clearing. On the more open space, the light filtered more easily – or, the darkness wasn't so fast – and the noise of water sounded clearly. So he had been right about that, after all.
He took a few more cautious steps when a hand clapped on his shoulder.
Gray jumped, startled, and turned around. And while doing so his arm made a wide arc towards the attacker.
"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" his supposed attacker wondered.
Gray took in the newcomer, the idiosyncratic way of dressing with a vest barely covering chest at the same time that a scarf was thrown around a neck. The too relaxed face that seemed to be smiling at him in a slightly mocking kind of way.
"I didn't scare you, did I?" was the simple question and Gray scoffed.
"No, you didn't scare me. But you did startle me." He shot back, crossing his arms over his chest and still holding the knife. "And, what am I doing? What are you doing? It's dangerous for you to walk around unnoticed I-I could have stabbed you!"
"Stab me? With that butter knife?" the other mocked. "Sorry about startling you. I didn't mean to." He extended his hand. "I'm Natsu."
"Gray." He replied, shaking the other's hand. The knife had passed to his other hand, as he wasn't still sure about this odd person. "What do you mean with butter knife?" he suddenly said, full of offence.
"That," Natsu pointed at the knife, "can't hurt a thing."
"It can. My mother has given me this knife because it will ward out the evil creatures. It's been in the family for many years and it's silver and…" he paused before letting the air out. "And it is probably just superstition about the faery."
"You don't believe in the faery?" Natsu asked in surprise.
"They're just made-up creatures. The old wives came up with those stories to scare and entertain the children. Why, you believe in them?" Gray asked, curious.
"Hmm," Natsu seemed to be pondering his answer. "Not exactly believe," he tilted his head to the side to look at Gray, "I kind of know they exist…"
"You're crazy." Was Gray's instant reply.
"You can think that." Natsu shrugged. "But there are more things in the world than those we can actually see. And that, I do know."
"So, what? You're lost too?" Gray asked as he stored the knife. "Did the forest also play a trick on you?"
"You can say that…" Natsu said lightly. "But, doesn't matter. There is a path, right? It has to take somewhere."
"You're right! Now I was looking for the brook. I've been walking for some time and am thirsty." Gray pointed to where he'd heard the watery noises come from.
"Let's go there!" Natsu said, raising his fist determinedly.
"You're annoyingly motivated. What's up with that?" Gray said as he started walking.
"It's nothing. I mean, it's been a while since I could walk in a forest. Or see the brook and, I can get there faster than you!" He said, the words becoming louder towards the end as he started to run.
"Hey, you're a cheater!" Gray yelled but gave him chase anyway.
Gray was behind but he wouldn't allow the other to beat him. He extended his hand, touching the edge of the scarf and he gave a small tug. Natsu gasped and slowed just the tiniest bit, enough for Gray to tackle him. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs and laughter.
They laughed for a while before sitting up. Both were smiling broadly.
"Water!" Gray said, finally noticing the brook. He ran to it, letting out another pleased laugh as the cold water met his skin. He drank a few handfuls before sitting down on his haunches. "I should have brought something to take water with me." He said after having washed his dust dirtied face.
"Don't you have anything to that effect in your bag?" Natsu asked helpfully as he crouched beside Gray.
"Nah. Just some utensils, notebooks and food."
"Nothing to take the water with you, then. Also," he seemed to perk up like a dog. "Utensils? For what?"
"I'm kind of studying to be the village's scrivener…" Gray said with a small shrug.
"But that's great!" Natsu was back to his effusive attitude. "It's an important job. You can learn many stories too."
"Stories…" Gray repeated, skeptical.
"Yeah, stories!" Natsu nodded, adopting a serious air. "Don't you know that stories are what shapes the memory of the people?"
"Wouldn't that be the relics of what they leave behind?" Gray countered.
"No!" Natsu stated vehemently. "It's in the stories that the identities of the people, of who they are, is. How can you be a scrivener and not know this?"
"It's… I guess that I have another posture. Why? Do you know many stories?" Gray asked in partial mockery and partial curiosity.
"You can bet you do!" Natsu squared his shoulders slightly, puffing out his chest. "Stories are just the best!"
"Hey, I believe you. Just… calm down a bit, yeah?"
"Fine." Natsu sat with both legs and arms crossed. "So. Do you want to know one?"
"I'll want all of them!" Gray said because, why not?
"Okay. Then I can tell you some of the stories and we walk beside the brook. It will lead somewhere, right?"
"Sure. Let's go then." Gray quickly acquiesced.
They were on their way then.
The pair walked and walked, it seemed like they had covered a lot of ground and hadn't moved yet.
Natsu was quite expressive while telling his stories. Large gestures and facial expressions, slight changes in pitch to show a character shift.
Gray was having a lot of fun.
Strangely, he knew that he wasn't feeling tired, nor hungry or thirsty. The thought fluttered through his mind for a moment before being pushed aside in order to pay attention to the new story.
"So, she had heard from her mother that if she got lost, she only needed to look up at the sky. Her mother was sure that she would find the signal from there. And, according to her, it was a huge strike of luck that the sky cleared then and she could pinpoint the correct direction. And it was fortunate because she would have fallen down a cliff with a couple of steps forward." Natsu continued. "But she learned to listen to her mother."
"That sounds like something my mother would caution me about." Gray laughed.
"You really never know from where help may come. Oh, and did I tell you the one with the horse and the mirror? No, so, the horse was galloping down the field…"
Gray nodded and interjected, returning with some stories of his village. They were still walking, a relaxed air surrounding them. Gray felt a weight lift from his shoulders. A weight that had been resting there ever since Ur and Lyon had left.
"Hey, isn't that the path?" Natsu said suddenly.
Gray turned, squinting as his surroundings seemed to darken considerably. "Where?" he asked.
And was met by silence.
"Natsu?" he asked as he turned around, so much so that he did a complete turn. But there was no-one there with him.
Walking forward, Gray noticed the engravings that were hanging from one tree. Both for protection and as a mark.
It was the path.
But Natsu had left.
Gray ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. He tried to squint to discern something among the darkness but, he realized, he hadn't had to squint before.
In fact, since he had met Natsu, there had been a sort of light… it wasn't very bright but enough that he had seen not only his companion but also his surroundings.
And now Natsu was gone.
Could it have been the faery people? That was ridiculous, no?
Yet Natsu had said that he knew them.
Confused, he looked up. To the clear sky. And he noticed it.
Five stars, the shape of an arrow, glowing faintly against the inky black sky, riddled with other stars and constellations.
But that arrow constellation… it had a meaning.
And then, it came to him. The story about the girl who had been lost and found her path.
Maybe Natsu was that constellation, pointing the right way to people. Helping them out.
Yes, that constellation was Natsu.
With a smile on his lips, Gray made his way back to the village, not worried about the faery or any other thing that could cross him.
Because he could feel the warmth Natsu had left behind. The shoulder the other had grasped was still warm, like a presence surrounding him. And he knew that his friend was with him all the way until he got to the village.
A/N: The constellation is Sagitta.
Thanks to mdelpin for the beta and the people at the discord for the company. ^^
Thanks for reading.