::Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and all its characters are property of Hiro Mashima::
Gajeel walked through the guild. Looking for his partner and Levy. Juvia had been fighting on his side, so he knew everything was alright with her. The kid was now with her, healing her injuries and wrapping bandages around the womans arms.
The iron dragonslayer came to think something was different. He couldn't tell what exactly, although he suspected it being the scent. He could smell the dirt, dust from the crumbled walls, what stung his nose. Dust was never a good thing to smell, Gajeel despised it. There was also the sweet scent of sweat and the iron like smell of blood. Normal things after a fight, nothing new to him, and also nothing to worry.
Wendy was there, and several others, who were capable of first aid. Gajeel as well knew how to do that. Of course, who would have done it, when he had finished up a job back then when he had been alone? Now he treated his partner and his partner treated him.
The demon barmaid hurried past him, most likely to aid Wendy, while he walked to the back of the guild, something about the scent still bothering him. But he could not place a finger on it. Shrugging his shoulders he assumed he would find out sooner or later.
On his way he stumbled over something. Cursing he tried to regain his composure. He was not a person to fall easily usually, but this time it was different, it had been a long, and surprising fight and he was exhausted. Annoyed he looked down, seeking the thing that had dared to make him stumble. Red eyes widened the moment he discovered an enlarged Musica Sword at his boots. There was only one person in this guild who used a Musica. Pantherlily.
The large blade was dirty from the fight, but the sword itself was in perfect shape. The Exceed cared for his sword, a lot, especially after Gajeel had scattered his old one back in Edolas. The mage bent down, picking it up from the ground. It was heavy at this size. And he wondered how his partner, although being built like he was, could swing it with ease. Slowly he shook his head and looked around. Again no need to worry, actually. Lily was good at close combat as well. They trained that frequently, and it was evident how both of them succeeded in fights even without any weapons. Although Gajeel used his magic and Lily his sword usually.
With one flick of his wrist, he resized the sword into the size his partner carried it mostly. Tiny for a human, but Lily was a cat. Shrugging his shoulders, dismissing the thought he continued walking. He still needed to find the black cat and the bookworm. He had seen them fighting together in the back of the guild.
To both his sides debris filled the ground. The request board was broken, when someone had thrown Romeo through it. Ripped paper lay everywhere around it. The mission Gajeel had thought about taking was ripped into tiny shreds along with the one about finding something hidden in the cathedral, and the one he had heard bunny girl talking about. He made sound deep in his throat as he passed the remains of it. The job would have paid a good reward he and Lily certainly needed. Kicking some rubble with his boots he turned his back on it.
Couldn't be helped now. Maybe there was a copy of it in the guilds archive.
He heard Jets voice and turned his head, halfheartedly expecting to see Levy sitting with them. But she wasn't. It was just him and his partner. The latter wrapping white gauze around the running mages torso. Seemed like they had gotten their share of the fight as well. But both of them seemed pretty unconcerned, that meant they had seen Levy and she was alright. With a last look back at the remains of the request board Gajeel continued his way, passing the perforated walls, kicking away some stones. Again he smelled dust. When he scratched the back of his head, he felt some of said dust in his hair. His expression changed and he grunted in annoyance. It was a pain to get rid of dust in his hair, this would itch for days. Nothing he was fond of.
From far he picked up the scent of tears, what made him raise his head and promptly stumble over something again. Cursing loudly, gaining the attention of several of his comrades he kicked the, rather large, stone that had been in his way, before he followed the trail of the tear smell. The closer he came the more the teas mixed with the familiar scent of ink, paper and summer breeze.
Levy.
Closing the gap between them, er scent getting stronger with each step, he had crossed most of the guild hall. Now standing in front of the back wall, or at least what remained from it. There sat the small woman, her knees tucked under her chin, holding onto them with her arms and lent on the wall behind her. Tears steaming down her cheeks.
Why was she crying? Okay the guild was in shatters, but no one was badly injured.
Again he looked around. For some reason he had been convinced Lily was with her.
Gajeel had seen them fighting back on back after all. And they had managed to have a good tactic as well. From what he had seen Levy had been the defense in their team, using several kinds of block-spells, and Lily the offense. It had looked entirely different to how he and his partner were fighting.
After fights Pantherlily was the one who checked on Gajeel first and foremost, always. Even after fights where they had been seperated. The small feline had wandered a large battlefield to find the dragonslayer. And even though he did this usually Gajeel suspected him being with the other Exceeds maybe.
It left a bitter taste in his mouth though. The Exceed wold never leave Levy, when she was crying. He squatted down, looking at Levy with his well known smirk, ruffling her hair. She didn't seem to be hurt much, something he was glad about, and something that proved how his cat had managed to protect her. But he still would not have left Levy. Worry evident in his eyes he looked around again.
His hand still on top of the bluenettes hair, his own swaying back and forth with his motions. The moment he found his feline partner he'd chew him out. The warrior was the responsible one normally, so what in the world made him leave a crying person all by themselves.
This was the moment he finally realized what was different. The script mage didn't even need to look up at him, neither say something.
He had found the abandoned Musica Sword.
He had found Levy all by herself despite fighting with Lily before. Not to mention she was crying.
He had not found his partner even though he had walked through the whole guild hall, better the remains of it.
PantherLilys scent had vanished.
This was what had him bothered the whole time. The thing he could not place a finger on. What was missing. It was the felines scent.
The earthy scent of his cat, with the clean fur, the particular scent of what he described because of a lack of words as 'cat', a hint of kiwi scent. And something that was just to be noticed by the other dragonslayers, some of Gajeels scent. It was a sign of possession. The blue cat had it, he smelled like Salamander, and the white cat like Wendy.
But the particular scent of his partner was gone.
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