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Hunter and the Hunted

It was like a fever. It wouldn't let him go. Gajeel didn't hunt dragons anymore, but fairies. Many laughed, others mocked and some even spat in his face but he didn't care.

He saw one, he knew they can be caught. But mostly, he wanted the tiny blue haired pixie who escaped. Her large brown eyes, her gossamer wings. No one escaped Gajeel and he would capture her again to fix his sanity.

For weeks he traveled the forest where he found the fairy, but there was no sign of the tiny blue one or her kind. It didn't help they knew of him, so they were able to avoid him. If only there was more known about these creatures!

"When are you going to give up, man?" Dragneel asked him one day at a bar, where the two tended to bump into one another.

"I can't," Gajeel urged, eyes wild as he looked into narrow black irises. "I need to find her, Natsu. I want her that badly."

The former dragonslayer's look of disapproval did not lessen. "You want money that much?"

"It's more than the money now. Its the hunt. It consumes me to find her. I crave seeing her squirm in my net, knowing I won this time. I can't lose." Not again.

Shaking his head sadly, Dragneel tossed some coins on the table to cover his drink. "Give it up, Gajeel. Fairies don't exist."

He snarled at his old rival's back. Gajeel would show him, the world, everyone!

Picking a fruit from her favorite grove, Levy tucked it away into her basket. It had been days since she was caught and still her wings are healing. From Makarov's estimate, she had fractured and bruised several veins and tore at least one muscle. Everyone worried about her and coddled her, knowing how much she longed to fly again.

For now, she walks upon the ground for food and water, keeping to the shade of the leaves for cover.

"Levy, your wings are droopy." Lucy, her best friend and hollow sister, murmured in concern. "I know you don't like to talk about it but..."

"I don't, Lu." Levy snapped, tugging on a fruit a little hard, causing the soft morsel to squish under her bruising grip.

"Levy, it happens. There are just some of us who can't shift..."

Shifting the size of their form from pixie to human size was a well trained art years ago. These days,it is a rite of adulthood to be able to shift, along with summoning powerful dust and casting the three major spells of their founder, Mavis.

A rite, not everyone is able to perform. One such as Levy, who can fly and scribe their ancient letters on leaves but never shift.

How Levy longed to shift and chase that human from her home, her family. She felt like such a failure for endangering their hollow.

"Levy..." her friend tried again only to jump when the crack of a branch echoed through their grove. Both stiffened as their eyes scanned the forest, looking for danger. Ready to drop the basket and into Lucy's arms at a moments notice, Levy arched her pointed ears for any sound.

Suddenly Lucy pointed to the patch of trees by a giant rock that marked the grove. Levy watched as a shadow loped forward...to reveal a black panther. Its large body is sleek, dark ears rounded and a scar marring the side of its eye. Growling softly, the big cat hunkered down to pounce. Lucy jumped forward, her wings starting to glow as she summons her magic dust.

"Levy!" she yelled as she began to shift, scooping up her tiny hollow sister to protect her.

"Lu, look out!" Levy screamed as the cat jumped for a human sized Lucy, claws first and fangs gleaming. Her friend was going to be hurt and she still can't do anything at this size!

Levy reached out a shaking hand, wishing she had the magic dust to use when out of nowhere, a fireball smacked the big cat out of the air. A sweaty Natsu landed in front of Lucy, his arms covered in flames.

"Lucy, you alright?" he growled, not taking his eyes off the burnt and hissing panther. The blonde fairy smiled in relief, hugging a little Levy closer to her chest.

"Yeah."

Nodding, he turned his head to a spot on the other side of the clearing, lifting his lip to flash his sharp fangs. "I know you're there. Come out!"

Slowly, a grinning Gajeel emerged from the shadows. "I always wondered why you gave up hunting dragons. You were the best and I wanted to beat you. But to think you would lead me straight to her."

Levy's stomach about dropped as those red eyes gleamed an unholy light...staring straight at her.

Until the next chapter!