Here is the second chapter, everyone! Thank you so much for your support for the first one. Sorry, but we do not get much of a glimpse into Cobra's mind in this chapter, either. Maybe the next one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Cobra was a difficult person to follow. He didn't slow his pace one iota as he picked his way through the rubble and debris left in Acnologia's wake. Nor did he so much as spare a glance at the woman steadfastly trailing behind him.

Tripping after the Dragon Slayer, Lucy struggled to keep his coat closed around her form with one hand while simultaneously steadying herself as necessary with the other. She wanted to pause so she could properly secure the garment, but Lucy was terrified of being left behind by yet another Dragon Slayer.

Her lungs and legs both burned with the exertion she was putting them through. Lucy refused to ask Cobra to slow down or stop, however. She could do this; she wasn't a Celestial Mage for nothing. Although it was only for a short while – less than a full year – Lucy had been Natsu Dragneel's partner and had thus endured far worse than the exercise she was acquiring now. Like having her underwear set on fire. Multiple times. In a single day.

Not for the first time, Lucy bit her lip and set her jaw determinedly. No, she did not require Cobra's assistance. She was Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia. A Celestial Mage much loved by her Spirits. Aquarius' friend. Hadn't she defeated Jackal on her own, as well? Not even Natsu had managed that, but Lucy had. Anything life and this criminal threw her way, she could handle.

If she knew where she was going, then Cobra would be the one eating her dust.

Lucy didn't need Natsu, in the end. She would survive just fine without him. After all, she'd been on her own for over a year before she'd even met him at Hargeon.

So then why did it feel so much like a lie?

The former Fairy Tail Mage shook her head violently, attempting to dispel the thoughts and encroaching despair from her head.

Onward, she pressed.

Forward, she reminded herself.

Eventually, they left the ruined city at their backs. With gratefulness, Lucy's feet trod upon the dirt road leading towards the forest. Now that she no longer had to steady herself with the lack of precarious footing, she took the opportunity to swiftly button up Cobra's coat.

Distastefully, Lucy observed that one white sleeve had been soaked through with blood from her wound. In hindsight, she realized, it should have been bandaged first. Now it was just going to rip off the outer layer of the scab forming when she removed the coat. Also, it was a pity about the stain. It had been a rather pretty garment beforehand.

Looking up, she noticed that Cobra's longer gait had gained him some distance on her.

Lucy trotted after him, closing the gap until she was walking beside the criminal.

It was then that Cobra finally deigned to glance at her. There was a smirk upon his face. "There," he rumbled. "See? I told you that you were capable of keeping up."

Heart soaring at his words, Lucy nodded.

With a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgement, Cobra returned to ignoring her once more.

The silence between the pair endured, long past after they entered the forest. Sticking to the marked path, Cobra continued to lead Lucy away from the tattered remnants of her old life.

It had been almost four hours since Lucy had taken his hand. Before that, she'd wandered the ruins of Magnolia for an indeterminate period of time – so lost in her haze of misery Lucy was unable to pinpoint whether she'd haunted her former home for minutes, hours, or even days. It had all blurred together into one indistinguishable memory of anguish and broken scenery.

Exhaustion was setting in, and the light was beginning to prematurely fade within the dense tree line. Lucy had to face the facts – no matter the strength of her will, her body had a limit to what it was capable of outputting. A tremble had set upon her legs, long past the stage of burning muscles. Each breath the Celestial Mage dragged into her sore lungs was hoarse, and grated roughly against her throat. Her arm throbbed with a dull ache, and her head felt light.

When Cobra came to a sudden halt in front of her (when had she fallen behind again?) Lucy's reaction time wasn't swift enough to prevent her from colliding with the Dragon Slayer's back. His indigo eye met hers with a frustrated glare.

"Sorry," she mumbled, stepping away. Her retreat came to an abrupt stop when Cobra grabbed her injured arm below the elbow – thankfully far below the wound itself. Confused, she glanced up at him. "What?"

He stared at her for a long moment before dropping the limb. With a gesture, he indicated the embankment of the stream they had come to a pause alongside. "Sit."

Even more perplexed than before, Lucy obediently followed his instruction. Carefully stepping down the embankment beside a bridge, Lucy lowered herself onto a large rock jutting out over the water. She sighed heavily, her leg muscles quivering from strain. Not just her lower half, she soon realized. Tremors of exhaustion wracked her entire body. Lucy's heart was beating rapidly, and her skin was flushed. Nausea climbed up her throat and she choked back bile.

Cobra hopped down and sat next to Lucy on her left. "I meant up there," he pointed at the top of the embankment. "But here works too, I guess."

Embarrassment flowed through her, much like the stream she was beside.

"Take off the coat," he stated. "I want to look at your wound."

Unfastening the garment, Lucy half-shrugged out of it. Reluctant, she peeled off the left sleeve slowly. Biting her lip, she removed the cloth and tried not to yelp as the newly formed scabs went with the material. "Shouldn't we have done something about this earlier?" she hissed as crimson blood flowed anew down her arm.

"Probably," Cobra admitted. Taking the stained, formerly white coat, he tossed it up and over the embankment. He paused, inspecting her arm without yet touching it. Then he eyed her torn and tattered outfit just as critically. "I take it you don't have a medical kit stashed somewhere in there?"

Lucy huffed at his perusal. "No," she snapped. "I'm not Erza – I don't stuff things down my cleavage if that's what you were wondering."

His eyebrow rose. "Actually… no, that honestly did not occur to me. But that's an interesting thought."

"Not until you see her pull three Exceeds out of there."

Cobra outright blanched. From the strength of his reaction, Lucy surmised that he must have heard or seen her memory of the incident. "That's… terrifying," he muttered.

Nodding, Lucy consoled him. "There is no shame in admitting that." She reached for her keys, blinking back a wave of dizziness that washed over her. "If it's a medical kit we need, though…" Lucy suddenly squeaked as she felt a hand on her neck.

With a jerk backwards, Lucy toppled over backwards out of Cobra's reach. The movement caused black fireworks to dance along the edges of her vision. "What are you doing?!" Vaguely, she was thankful for the rock being the size that it was or she would have fallen into the stream. Which looked rather deep to her.

An indignant growl was her answer. "Trying to check your pulse." Cobra rolled his eye. "You know, to help?"

Swallowing thickly, Lucy slowly sat up again. "Give me some warning, then! And can't you just check my wrist?"

"Your left wrist isn't reliable right now. You were reaching for your keys with your right arm. I could check your chest pulse, but I assumed you would slap me for trying."

Beginning to calm down, Lucy had to acknowledge that Cobra had a point. "Okay. Still, you could have warned me first." She thrust her right arm at Cobra.

Amused, he held it in one hand and placed two fingers of his other over her pulse. "I'll keep that in mind."

Something occurred to her. "Wait, can't you just hear my heartbeat? You're a Dragon Slayer."

Cobra snorted. "I also hear my own heartbeat, the heartbeats of the birds in the trees around us, that of the fish in the stream, and all sorts of other creatures in the vicinity. This helps me distinguish yours more accurately."

"Oh."

Lucy observed the Poison Dragon Slayer carefully as he silently counted her heartbeats. Why was he helping her, she wondered. What was in this for him? He'd mentioned understanding what it was like to be alone, though was that his only reason? It didn't make any sense to her. Not she wasn't grateful, of course.

Speaking of… where was the rest of his group? They'd traveled quite a distance already. Back in Magnolia, Cobra had made it sound as if they were nearby when they clearly weren't. This far from the city… surely it was out of his Soul Listening Magic's auditory range? How had he heard her, then? Had been closer, only to have moved their encampment later?

"They didn't," Cobra stated, withdrawing his hand. Only to reach up to Lucy's head again. Instead of going for her neck this time, he swept her sweaty bangs out her eyes and placed the back of his palm on her forehead. "You have a fever, and an elevated heartrate," he announced, finally retracting his hand for good. "You're dehydrated."

"I am?"

"Yes. Quite." He seemed deeply annoyed, as if it were an inconvenience to him.

It probably was.

His lip curled in a snarl. "That's not it," Cobra growled at her, running a frustrated hand through his maroon locks and turning his gaze away. Dropping his hand to his side, he muttered under his breath too quietly for Lucy to understand. Then he looked at her again. "Sorry," he said, gruffly. "About your wound and the dehydration. I forget sometimes that not everyone has a Dragon Slayer's enhanced constitution."

Incredulous, Lucy gave the Poison Dragon Slayer a hard stare. So… he wasn't frustrated with her? He was… he was angry at himself.

"When was the last time you ate or drank?" he demanded to know, breaking through her thoughts.

Lucy had to think about it. She couldn't recall, actually. Before she had started wandering around Magnolia – that much she knew. Although, she wasn't entirely certain how long she'd done that for.

Cobra sighed again, rubbing the scar over his eye. "Your spirit. It has a medical kit?"

Glowering, Lucy corrected, "Virgo. And yes, SHE does."

"We're camping here tonight," he ignored Lucy, and her subsequent outrage at the snubbing. "I'll get some food for supper – you get that bandaged properly."

With that, Cobra promptly jumped into the water, sinking to his chest. Forcing his way upstream, he waded to who knew where – rounding a bend and disappearing from sight.

"Princess. I understand you are in need of assistance?"

Lucy yelped at the voice of her pink haired, maid outfit clad spirit right next to her.

Somewhere upstream, and out of sight, Cobra laughed at her.

Again, she wondered why he was helping her.

"Princess? Would you like me to carry you to the top?" Virgo offered.

Shaking off her thoughts, Lucy smiled at her friend. "I would appreciate that. Thanks, Virgo. Could you get me some water that's safe to drink as well? Apparently I'm dehydrated."

"Certainly."

Musing on the strange man's actions and thoughts would have to wait for a while longer.

This story is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. Let me know what you guys think!