"It's been seven months, Gray."
"I told you, no."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You sure?"
"Very. Now piss off, will you?" Gray snapped.
Lyon shook his head, sighing at Gray's hair, which was swept back in it's usual low ponytail, ending just past his shoulder blades.
He was still adamant that Gray cut it, while Juvia insisted it was fine. For some reason, Gray was still as stubborn as ever, and refused to cut it short again.
The two were on their way to a job up in the mountains, where several people had reported villagers vanishing during the night.
They traveled in silence for a while, content in each other's company.
Suddenly, there was a glint of silver in between the trees and Gray gave Lyon a hard shove.
When Lyon turned, he saw a small silver dart protruding from Gray's upper bicep.
Gray grunted in pain, eyes glazing over. "Not again," he groaned before crumpling to the ground as the drugs took over.
"Gray!"
"Lyon."
Lyon's brow creased slightly as he was pulled from unconsiousness.
"Lyon, wake up."
The ice mage opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Gray's blurred face hovering over his.
"Wha-? What happened?"
Gray raised an eyebrow. "We were taken by slave traders," he said in a low voice.
Lyon sat up, wincing slightly at the resounding throbbing in the side of his head. "You're kidding, right?"
Gray nearly swatted him upside the head. They were sitting in the back of a caravan, and the exit was nailed shut with pieces of wood.
"I don't kid about these things," he snapped. Lyon put his hands up in surrender, only to see they were shackled together.
Underneath the shackles was a slim silver bracelet.
"Hey, what are these?" Lyon asked, baring his wrist to show the piece of jewelry to the dark-haired wizard.
Gray nearly snatched his wrist with the speed of a snake, tugging him forward insistently. His friend inspected his wrist, eyes wide and disbelieving.
"No way," Gray whispered in horror. He suddenly dropped Lyon's forearm like it was diseased. He quickly checked his own wrist.
Sure enough, a shiny skintight bracelet glinted in the light.
Gray clenched his jaw. "Dammit," he swore. His heart began to speed up, thumping hard in his chest. He was beginning to get scared.
Lyon blinked. "What is it?" he asked.
"It binds our magic. We can't use it , and the only way to get if off it to melt it." Gray replied, trying to keep his breaths even so he could keep calm.
Lyon nodded. "Okay. So, until we fin a way to melt these off, we have to go along with what they want. How does this work?"
Gray swallowed hard. "I-I don't really know. The labor camp I was a part of might be different then others. You just have to be flexible; do not show any resistance."
He stared hard at Lyon so he other wizard knew that point in particular was very important.
"No resistance. Got it."
Suddenly, the caravan stopped.
The sound of voices came from the front, and went around to the back, where they began to open the back.
"One last thing. You need to be prepared for anything," Gray added quickly.
Lyon didn't quite know what that meant until the back was opened and sunlight flooded inside and men quickly grabbed them and dragged them out, dumping them on the ground.
He looked around, and his heart leapt into his throat.
Slaves, everywhere.
In cells, on the tall wooden platform in the middle of the square, and being unloaded in caravans nearby.
They were thin and dirty, covered in sweat and dried blood.
Most, if not all, wore haunted expressions, as if they wanted nothing more than to die before undergoing another day.
Lyon's breath caught, and he beginning to panic.
What is this? I don't know what to do. These people...did Gray go through this?
He glanced to the side to gauge Gray's reaction.
Sure enough, Gray held an expression similar to the others.
He still looked horrified, but it was fairly obvious he'd seen something like this before.
Gray suddenly knocked into him.
At first, Lyon was alarmed, but he calmed down when Gray whispered into his ear.
"Stop looking so frightened, everyone will know you're new."
Lyon nodded and concentrated on keeping his game face on and devoid of any trace of fear.
They were led to a small building that was mostly empty, save a large fire in the center and a man standing next to it, arms crossed.
Gray had a theory as to why they were there, but he was too nervous to tell Lyon in case he panicked, and they could very well be beaten for speaking without permission.
When someone grabbed him by the upper arms and pushed him forward towards the fire and man, he knew he was right.
"Wait...this one's already been branded!"
Gray flushed, casting his eyes down so he wouldn't have to see Lyon's expression.
Lyon swore angrily that this had better be some horrible nightmare.
So far, it had all seemed like some bad dream, and he kept praying that he would wake up at any moment.
But as he stared at the strange symbol scarred into Gray's lower back, the growing panic in his chest told him this could very well be real.
Lyon could feel his body beginning to betray him as tremors ran through his arms and legs.
Why am I so scared?
Gray felt the heat before the pain. It covered the old brand, burning it so it was unrecognizable.
The ice wizard gritted his teeth, heaving in air harshly through his nose.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't even tell if his eyes were open or not; the pain overtook everything.
Gray could scream. He knew that, but he'd die first before giving any of their captors the satisfaction of hearing him.
The pain lessened, only to reappear seconds later a few inches higher.
Black flooded into his vision, and Gray could feel his body going lax.
Dammit...why can't I ever get a break...?