Laxus spat a few colourful curses as he glanced worriedly at Lucy's prone form and stumbled to his feet. He grabbed at his chest with an involuntary cry, a dormant pain flaring up. He doubled over, palm clasped over his mouth erupting into a fit of nasty coughs until clumps of blood peeked through his fingers. His throat ached and lungs clenched painfully.
"Laxus!" Evergreen exclaimed, worry off-setting her attention so that she slipped on a slab of rock and tumbled down on him, knocking him back into the dry, unforgiving ground. She shot up quickly, and helped him up. He shook off her prying fingers and ignored her queries about his health, silencing her with a quick glare.
They had to hurry back into the haven, the person or thing that he smelled back in the clearing where they found Natsu and Lucy had followed them here.
Laxus swiped the blood discreetly away on his pants, hoping that Evergreen didn't see. He motioned her to ready the opening to the building while scooping up the blonde girl. Pain shot through his chest once again but he shoved it aside. There was no time to worry about things like that.
Evergreen had already clawed at the small opening by the time he reached her, making it big enough for them to hobble through. She darted in. Laxus followed, but delved deeper in the enclosure while she piled back another set of stones to block the entrance.
It was his luck when he happened upon the building the night of the dragons' attack. He had been spotted by some of the mini-dragon creatures, spawn of the dark grey dragon calling itself Motherglare, that were prowling around. While he wouldn't usually run away from a fight, he knew when to retreat and this time was such; he had been spent both emotionally and physically.
While the place appeared as just a large but mostly destroyed building on the outside, it was much more than that. Surprisingly, the inner structure was mostly intact except where the ceiling had crumbled on the far left corner, crushing the only other exit. In his desperation the previous day to escape, Laxus had smashed the floor with a severely weakened lightning-powered punch, only barely making a hole the floor, but it had shockingly opened up into an underground level.
It was quite a complex set of linked chambers and tunnels, and he mused that the tunnels must have led to and from the castle and was linked to the many safe-houses for the royal family should anything happen and they had to escape. He knew because Makarov had begun sharing secrets privy to Fairy Tail guild masters and so his knowledge was vastly increased.
Of course his exploration of the place had been limited so he didn't know the full extent of what he had stumbled upon, but it was the perfect place to set up for refugees and survivors; right amounts of hidden and notable and easy to change locations in cases of emergencies.
Laxus rested Lucy on the floor before quickly shifting aside the slab of concrete that covered the hole leading to the underground level. He knew that they had to hide their new base better but had put it off in order to search for survivors.
"Laxus, is that you?" A small, frightened voice croaked up from below. He grunted in the affirmative, his chest still causing difficulties.
He grabbed Lucy once more then stepped down unto a table that he shifted there as a step up before he left. After he laid the girl down on one of the cots he went back to assist Evergreen, ignoring the little girl as she scurried off to stare at Lucy.
Evergreen glanced at him worriedly as he moved larger pieces of rubble to completely hide the entrance albeit with a bit more difficulty than he normal; the injuries were quite taxing on his body.
"What's going on Laxus? I didn't know that you were injured," she piped up finally, pausing what she was doing to cast a worried glance over his body.
Laxus ignored her, stuffing the last stone in place then grabbed Evergreen's forearm.
"We have to get down, whatever that thing is might be able to smell us," he said, barely managing to suppress a grimace but forcing to in the presence of her intense observation of his body.
She frowned but did not respond. He would just explode if she continued to pry, and that would accomplish nothing. He helped her down into the underground level then shuffled off to a corner where he slumped over, the shadows swallowing most of his form.
Laxus cast a wary eye over the place ensuring that nothing had gone awry in his absence. The place was dank and musky and there was little air circulation but it was a welcomed reprieve. The destruction of Crocus had a despairing psychological effect on him and having found one place that wasn't in shambles was great. Luckily there was also quite a bit of unperishable foods and tankards of slightly stale but still consumable water, so sustenance wasn't that big of an issue for now.
The place had been surprisingly put away when Laxus found it but he had arranged it a bit differently now. The exit door was left unlocked at all times in case of escape, cots were tucked in the safest corner of the room in a temporary sick bay, and there was a table and bookshelf tucked to the farthest corner where a map of the underground structure and other avenues of escape were held as well as various maps of ambiguous things that Laxus had yet to figure out.
Also, they had the privilege of a cooking area complete with stove, sink and running water, and a bathroom. It was a safe house for royals after all, the conditions of the place couldn't be too poorly. Laxus also assumed that it had its own sewage and plumbing systems since the ones for Crocus were most likely destroyed.
Laxus got up after a few minutes respite and shuffled over to the girl who was still staring at Lucy while fiddling her thumbs.
"Asuka," he started, voice gruff but kind, "You hungry?"
Asuka was the first person he had found. She was covered in the blood of her parents but not injured, their limbs splayed protectively around her. Her eyes had been wide and unblinking, but not a sound escaping her lips as she peered out from the human shields her parents were.
The girl had clung to him the moment she saw him, not looking back at the mangled forms of her parents. After he hurriedly brought her back to the haven and washed off the blood and dirt on her, she burst into tears, soaking his shirt until she fell asleep.
His heart had ached, but all he could do was hold her. He couldn't speak. If he tried then the emotions he was holding back would break free. So many had died. So much blood. So much corpses. It was terrifying.
The girl had not eaten since he found her even though he religiously offered her, but surprisingly this time she grasped his hand and followed him to the kitchen. He allowed a small smile to slip onto his face, knowing moments of peace were going to be rare. He tightened his grip on her little fingers in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.
Laxus stopped, glancing at the cot next to Lucy's which housed Levy in a similar unconscious state, scars littering her small form. His heart clenched and he knew for sure that none of them would ever be the same.
