"What the fuck are you doing?!" I scream at the five men surrounding me with their spears. The tips lighted up blue and runes down the side flashed as the stood in a threatening position. I wrap my arms tighter around Elfman's shoulders, to keep his head upright. I couldn't let him drown or suffocate in the snow.
"Who are you?!" A man closest to me growled and poked me with a spear.
"Don't you fucking touch me!" I howl at him. "I'm Evergreen from Fairy Tail. And my friend that you just knocked out is Elfman Strauss. Now show some fucking respect and back up!".
"They say they are from Fairy Tail..."
"Then why is that one bleeding out?"
"He is bleeding out, because we were attacked by your friends the 'Draugr'. On the way coming here to help you out and protect you!" I scream over the wind and shivered as I began to feel colder and colder by the minute.
"They are not our friends, woman!" the man that knocked Elfman out snarled, and I glare with a burning rage at him.
"Yeah but we are! And greeting you friends by striking the most injured one to the head isn't going to help you in the slightest. So you know what!" I take off my glasses and look him in the eye. "Fuck you!". The remaining four members cry out as their companion was now a shocked statue and level their spears at my throat.
"Turn him back now you bitch!" A man with bright blond hair screamed.
"Not a chance!" I yell.
"Turn. Him. Back" One of the men smashed the spear into a boulder. It sounded like a bomb went off right next to me. The boulder shattered into dust and the spear shaft smashed a great crater like crevasse into the ice as the blow continued down.
Shit! They hit Elfman with that?! I look at the man who leveled his spear back at me. "Don't you even touch us with that!" I yell. "I you even make an attempt to swing that thing at me, I will crumble you friend into dust"
"You don't have that power!" the same man shouted back. I narrow my eyes dangerously, the statue man's left hand began to smoke, and every finger from the first joint up, crumbled into dust.
"Stop! STOP!" The men screamed.
"I wont harm him anymore!" I shouted back. "But only if you take me and Elfman to a doctor or a medic. Now!" I command and the men look around.
"Let's take her to Lady Gnash" the man with the blond hair glared at me evilly.
"Will Lady Gnash help him?" I demand and help Elfman to his feet. He was so heavy when he is dead weight.
"Yes..." the man growled and lifted his spear, as did his followers. "Now turn Jerome back" Blonde pointed to the statue.
I shake my head. "Not until we are safe and my friend is being healed!". The Dark Sea islanders huddled around each other and began muttering. I look at Elfman and see blood oozing out of his head and more blood flow out of his leg. Shit, he is losing too much blood. Guilt stabbed me and I gingerly touch the head wound. I could tell our crash landing was going to be painful, but I had truly tried to take the brunt of the landing because of how badly Elfman was already hurt. Well the wind had other options and it spun me in mid air to the point where Elfman was my cushion and his head nearly got caved in. I drape his arm over my shoulder and began to hobble forwards, in the general direction I saw the men run from.
"Wait woman!" the men run after me.
"Yeah that's not going to happen. And don't call me 'woman'" the way they say it sounds so derogatory. When Elfman calls me 'woman' it's respectful and makes me feel good. These guys are just assholes. In fact, does Elfman call anyone else 'woman'? I blush and move faster.
An man with a dark head of hair and a full beard walks up next to me. "Ah, can I help you with him?" he asks.
"No. Don't touch him!" I snap at him and feel my fingers grow numb with the cold. I need to wear something thicker. I move as quick as I can, and in a matter of minutes the snowy hills flatten out into a rocky path that lead down to a large sprawling village in a bowl between three great mountains. And a large pine forest stretching around the village and up the mountains. "Where is Lady Gnash's home?" I demand and look at the man with the beard.
"She lives along this path here. She refuses to live among the rest of us villagers" the bearded man said. "By the way, forgive me and my companions manners. After everything that has happened you can understand why we are suspicious of strangers". I grunt in reply. "My name is Logan" Logan gave me a friendly smile. I narrow my eyes at him and suddenly look back at Elfman. He was going too pale. I frown and press my hand against his neck, looking for a pulse. It was very weak.
"You have a very pretty name Evergreen-" Logan tries to say when I spin on him.
"Look Logan, I don't have time to talk and neither does my friend. Just show me to Lady Gnash and shut it!" I growl and move forward through the snow. Logan shakes his head ruefully and has a large smile stretched across his face. I rush against the snow as fast as I can, but it was like wading through molasses. Eventually I see smoke rise up and over pine trees at the very beginning of the forest. "Is that where lady Gnash lives?".
"Yes" Logan places a reassuring hand on my shoulder and I smack it off, what is he trying?. "I shall accompany you" Logan says and shoos his friends away. "Lady Gnash is very aggressive around strangers-"
"Logan, I'm going to have to ask you to leave" I scowl at him.
"What?-"
"I can handle myself and personally I don't want to be around you. My friend is dying, so leave us be!" I yell the last sentence and storm off towards the forest. The pines were tall monsters of tree's, with great spikes for branches and sharp pine needle that stretched out to touch the howling gray sky. The rain, sleet and snow stopped immediately when I stepped into the refuge of the trees. But the wind still cut through me like a knife. I hear Elfman groan and I look up at him with wide eyes as his breath rattled, shit! I move over tree roots and snow as fast as I can. C'mon, where is this house. And then I see a light, I gasp and move forward . I make out a clearing in the middle of the forest, and in the middle and huge tree cabin. It had spikes along the outside, every three spikes, dominated with the skull of some poor animal. The cabin was leaning on an angle and made of the incredibly dark pine wood from the forest surrounding it. Two yellow glass windows framed a low door way and I see a figure move past them. I move forward and practically drag Elfman behind me, curious, the wind and weather don't effect the clearing... As soon as I reach the threshold of the door I shiver as I feel some untoward presence behind the door. I look at Elfman and his head lolled against my shoulder.
"Come on, hang in there big guy" I whisper and knock on the door. It was silent for a long second until the door slowly creaked open. By far the tallest woman I've ever seen stood in the door, she was around Elfman's height! Her head was completely shaven, and her face as pale as the snow and as sharp as a knife. Three thick black lines traced down over her forehead and eyes and down her over her cheeks. The third down her forehead, nose, lips and ending at her chin. Her lips were a black gash and her teeth were yellow and filled to points. The woman cocked her head and gnashed her teeth. Lady Gnash for a reason I swallow and stand my ground.
"Who are you?" she hissed, her voice gravel. She loomed over me and traced the edge of my face, her hands were long and cold. And long curved nails dug into my cheek. "Who are you?!".
"I-I'm Evergreen. And this is Elfman. P-please we need you help, he is really badly hurt-" I stammer and was cut off as Lady Gnash grabbed Elfman's tilted face and made it look up at hers. "Please he is unconscious!". My body trembled under his weight and the cold and Lady Gnash said nothing but stared at him. Then she opened her mouth and licked the blood dribbling down his forehead. My stomach twists and I want to throw up, her tongue was black and she was dragging it all over his face!
Thank the gods you are unconscious! I think and look anywhere but at Elfman and Lady Gnash.
"This man has a beast soul..." The woman tapped Elfman's cheek and smiled down at him, she licked the remaining blood away from her lips. "I will heal him because of this". I sigh in relief and then suddenly the woman rounded on me. "But it will come at a price for you!".
"Price, what is it? I don't have any money-" We had long lost our bags in the terrible crash landing.
"No money! Money is useless and doesn't have anything for me to gain! The price I require..." she leaned in closer to me and I could smell her. She smelled of something stored away too long in a cupboard. "The price I require is a secret".
"A secret?" I frown.
"Yes...But tell later and bring the beast one in..." She beckoned me into her home and disappeared into it. I swallow and look behind me to the bloody trail from Elfman's leg, to the blood pooling on Lady Gnash's threshold. Her home was cold, dark and very, very empty. The hermit stood at the entrance of a room with a curtain for a door and beckoned us forward. I carry Elfman forward and follow the unusual woman through the curtain, she gestures to the table in the middle of the room. it was huge and dark like the rest of her home and had straps at the side and little channels running along the edges. "Place him on the table".
"That table doesn't look like a healing table!" I growl nervously but I do as she asks and push Elfman on and lie him down.
"A table has many uses..." Lady Gnash walks to a wall and flips around a panel. She removes a large black cleavers blade. I cry out in fright and whip off my glasses.
"Clam yourself, child" the woman sneers and gnashes her teeth. "You eyes will not work on me" She stares me straight in the eyes and I felt my heart falter. Nothing happened. Her eyes never blinked and the longer I stare, the more I realize that she has no irises, just huge pupils and whites. I shiver and lean heavily on the table and touch Elfman's hand.
"Please hurry!" I whisper. The woman nods and with the knife, she cuts away the denim of Elfman's jeans. I swallow and look at the bite wound. The Draugr had eaten away so much flesh and meat, even the bone was showing.
"A Draugr did this. And a Draugr is why you are here" Lady Gnash tapped her blade and large blue runes lite up the blade. Primitive magic...Makarov's words echo in my head.
"Will it...Will it taint him or something?" I ask.
Lady Gnash shook her head. "That is not how Draugr are created".
"Then how?" I ask.
"I do not know. Draugr work in mysterious ways. They have not existed for over three hundred years..."Lady Gnash trailed off and cleaned the knife, the runes flashed even brighter. I squinted at the runes and recognized the markings, they were healing marks. Lady Gnash held the blade over Elfman's leg and touched the center of the bite. Blood just touched the edge of the blade when the runes turned red and Lady gnash raised the knife and moved it back and forth just above the wound. It was like she was spreading something over it, but there was nothing on the blade! Back and forth she moved the knife and something pale and pink was beginning to smear itself over the wound.
"What is that?" I ask.
"I'm recreating his skin"
"What?" I gasp and lean down. The edges of the pale thing touched the edges of the wound and the two bubbled and fused together. Colour surged up the pasty looking thing until it matched Elfman's skin colour. the more I looked the more and more it looked like a natural piece of skin. "Wow that is amazing!" I exclaim. I reach out and touch it. It was warm and felt exactly like skin should feel like. Lady Gnash moved to Elfman's head and took out a needle and thread. Taking her time she sat next to him and deftly wove her needle through him.
"I'm waiting for that secret" Lady Gnash whispered.
"Look I don't have a secret" I say defiantly.
"Oh yes you do!" Lady Gnash snarled. "I would not ask for something that you do not have otherwise!"
"But...I don't know what it is?" I rubbed my head and looked up and the great deer antler chandelier that barely lit up the room.
"You will. In time" Lady Gnash gently placed Elfman's head down and took away her now bloody needle and cloth. "He is no longer in danger of dying. I shall give him something to drink and he will wake up" Lady Gnash moved to a cupboard and removed a dark green bottle. She tilted open Elfman's mouth and poured this pale yellow fluid down his throat, it stank like sulfur. His eyes immediately snap open and his face goes green and he looks around the room for a bowl.
"Elfman?" I say and help him sit up. "Are you okay-" I was shoved to the side by Elfman's huge arm and he threw up badly right where my feet were. "Fuck!" I swear and back away from the vomit.
"What did you feed me?!" Elfman hissed and rubbed his head. "Ow!".
"I didn't feed you anything. She did!" I pointed at Lady Gnash. Elfman turned and looked up at her and did a violent double take.
"Uh...hello" he was clearly taken aback by her appearance and obvious height.
"Hello" she cocked her head and gathered more blood around his face with her finger, and promptly licked it off her finger. If Elfman could've gotten any paler he would camouflage into snow. I almost smile as he inches more towards me and swallows probably more bile at Lady Gnash's vulgar actions.
"Um thank you for healing me, it was very manly" Elfman tries to break the awkward tension.
Lady Gnash cocked her head and leaned down so their faces were level. "I'm not a man". Elfman tried to wriggle back and nearly collapsed to the ground han I not placed a hand on his back.
"Uh, what did you make me drink?" he asked and spat out whatever foul smelling thing lingered in his mouth.
Gnash smiled an awful smile and leaned back up. "Three month old bear piss".
Elfman gaped at Lady Gnash and then me, and before I knew it he was up and running for the door. And gods I couldn't blame him. "That disgusting!" I yell at Gnash and run after him. Elfman practically threw himself out the door and landed in the snow right next to one of his frozen blood puddles.
"Oh gods!" Elfman moaned and grabbed pure snow. He bit into a great mouthful and immediately started rinsing and spiting with it. I sit down into the snow next to him and pat his back pitifully.
"Okay, its okay. Just breathe" I soothe and pat in small circles.
"Did you know that was bear's piss?" Elfman moaned through snow.
"No. I just got told it would wake you up" I explain and Elfman shivers. I feel bad and decide to buy him a drink when we get back to Fairy Tail.
"That was vile! Where did you find that...that person anyway?" Elfman asked.
"You know the men that hit you on the head" I start.
"Yeah" Elfman frowned. "You did hit that guy back for me right?".
"Well...I kinda crumbled his fingers off. But that's not the point!" I feel flustered and slightly uncomfortable under his wide eyed gaze. "They told me that Lady Gnash would heal you so I took you to her".
"Lady Gnash...Gods that name suits her!" Elfman whispered and washed more of his mouth out. "I only met her for a few seconds and I've never been more freaked out in my life! Did you see the way she drank my blood!".
"Oh that's nothing" I say before I could stop myself.
"That's nothing?!...Wait a minute, what else did she do too me?!" Elfman demanded.
"Well..." I felt guilty and absentmindedly pulled at a lock of my hair. Two drinks...
"She...She kinda licked it off of you when you were unconscious..." I look at Elfman's face. His jaw dropped and his face turned green.
"OH GODS!" Elfman gathered a handful of snow and rubbed it in his face. "You let her do that to me!?"
"Trust me, if I had the opportunity to stop her I would!" I explain and accidentally giggled at him.
"Did you just giggle at me!? This is unmanly and not giggle worthy Ever!" Elfman growled at me and pushed me over in the snow. I just laugh harder and sit back up and watch him frown. Oh my, he is pouting! Heat rushes to my cheeks and I feel my belly light up as his pout twitches at the corners into a smile. "You owe me a drink!".
"I do" I relented. "But at least your wounds are better" I indicate to his leg and he pulls it up.
"Oh wow!" Elfman touched the new flesh. "It feels just like normal! How did she do that?".
"She used this knife with healing runes down the edge..." I explained to him how she moved it like she was spreading something over the wound, when she was in fact creating new flesh and skin to replace what was lost.
"And my head?" Elfman asked and touched it. He hissed with pain and drew his hand away.
"Does it still hurt? Let me see" I command icily. Elfman hunkered down until he was practically lying in the snow. I look at his head and see that Lady Gnash had stitched the split in his skull back together, including the fracture in the bone she had seen when she had first looked at him. But it was still sure to hurt! I gather up snow in my hand and gently placed it on his head, I smirk as it blended in with his silver hair immediately.
"What's so funny?" Elfman smiled up at me and rubbed the snow deeper into the wound.
"Oh, your hair just blends in with really well with snow" I say and we both smile at each other.
"Ha, well you kept your promise. I knew I could trust you!" Elfman grinned at me as if none of the bear piss or face licking ever happened. Something hot grew in me and I felt my face heat up by the way he smiled at me. But was that smile real? I bit my lip hard and thought about what happened in the boat when he thought I was asleep.
"That fucking old man! He has no idea what he has done!" Elfman's own word replayed in my mind. Is that smile truly genuine? I think and I feel as if whatever walls I let slide down slightly for him, try to pull back up. I know he was talking about Makarov...And that must mean he regrets being put in a team with me! I knew it! I know I shouldn't have opened up to him like I did! I am clearly to much for him when I'm upset just like I'm too much for everyone else!
"Hey" a voice interrupts me. I look up and Elfman was sitting across from me looking concerned.
"What?" I growl and look away. I hear something rip and next thing I know Elfman is touching my forehead with something soft. "What are you doing?!" I yell and pull my head away.
"Your forehead is bleeding?" Elfman frowned at me, and approached with the rag from his shirt again.
"Fine I can do it myself!" I growl and reach for the rag but he retreats.
"What has gotten into you? Are you alright? Is it about yesterday?" Elfman interrogated.
"Oh of course you have to mention yesterday!" I snap and turn away from him.
"Ever-"
"No don't! I'm fine, but it's not like you actually care!" I growl hoarsely. How can you pretend that you care?! How can I actually think that you care?!
"Ever!"
"Oh please Elfman don't get upset with me! I know you don't want to be paired up with me because it's 'That fucking old man's fault, and he has no idea what he has done'" I more or less quote him and glare at him. Elfman's face draws and his eyes grew big.
"You heard that?" Elfman whispered.
"Fuck yes I heard you! And here I was thinking I have a friend that cares and understands, and that me opening up was something natural. But it seems the moment a female shows any weakness or sadness, she becomes a useless piece of dead weight!" I snarl and shuffle away from him.
"Ever please that's not what I meant. You don't understand-"
"Oh I don't understand?! Yeah I'm sure I don't understand your perfect little world at all!" I snap and stand up."You and your perfect sisters and perfect friends that you can open up too! Everybody fucking likes you on the spot, whereas me! Me everyone hates because I try to stick up for myself and be independent!" I snarl. "Every aspect of your life is perfect!".
Elfman stared at his feet and slowly shook his head. "Somethings aren't perfect..."
"Oh like what?!" I growl.
"My face...". That was like being hit by a train.
"Wait what?" I whisper.
"My face" Elfman said again. His eyes looked into mine and they were stormy blue, almost gray. He looked so sad. "Having a face as unusual looking as mine. And then being surrounded by two absolutely beautiful sisters. It's really hard. You don't know how many people laugh when I say we are sisters because of how different I look compared to them. And that's despite the hair and eye colour..." He trails off for a second and I have time to understand this painful churning in my chest.
He thinks he looks...Ugly I flinch as if struck. And he truly believes it too, oh gods.
"And then it's made worse because of the accident with Lisanna, before she came back. People stop looking at you as the awkward and ugly sibling and start looking at you as a monster. A monster that matches your soul" Elfman stood up and began pacing. "And it's funny because I felt like the monster I looked and I couldn't look at myself for months in the mirror!" He's yelling now and I could see tears glimmering in his eyes.
"But it gets worse because I am a guy!" He clenches his fist. "And guys! We can't talk about how we truly feel, because our sex is classified as an emotionless no fucks to give race! If I want to talk to another person or another guy about how I feel I can't because all I get are even worse odd looks and awkward sympathies! You aren't the only one that can't open up!" He stops and his shoulders are shaking. "You have no idea how it feels to look and be a monster. Because you are beautiful..." He trails off and his shoulders are shaking even more.
I...Elfman...I feel like I'm the worst piece of shit in the world. I feel my eyes itch and burn with tears for him. Shit what have I done?! I walk up to him to face him but he turns away from me. I swallow and shift my feet but he refuses to even look at me. I turn to the snow and look at his head. I pick up a shallow handful in one scoop and on tip toes, I gently rub it into his scalp. His shoulders stiffen and I hear some noise escape him. Something in me wrenches and I continue my work. Turning around picking up snow. Then turning around again and gently massaging it into his painful stitches. His hair is so soft even if it is getting saturated with snow, and I don't turn around again to pick up snow. I leave my hand there and feel him shake underneath me. Gods Elfman you are not a monster. You are the furthest you can ever get from a monster. I stay there, softly petting his hair and felt more guilty than I ever have in life for making him feel this way. A small breeze moves like a snake through the forest and brushes against our heads in a soft caressing way. But its as if something breaks between us now. He slowly turns to me and I watch his tears fall down his face silently and I feel absolutely incapable to comfort him. I continue to touch his scalp, never once letting my eyes leave his and I mopped up the melted snow that ran behind an ear. He moves now. I watch him lift the piece of cloth he had scrunched in his hand and closed my eyes as I felt him gently dab at the bleeding wound above my eye. He staunches the blood flow there and delicately wraps the cloth around my head, forming a make shift bandage. He ties it snugly and as soon as it's secure he drops his hands and looks away. I swallow and looked at his hunched, dejected form. I decide to for once follow my instincts closer to my heart. I remove my hands from his head and travel them down to his shoulder and stepped forward. I wrap my arms around him then and pull myself into him securing him in my arms and not budging as I rested the side of my face against his neck.
"Elfman you are the furthest person from a monster in the world. And if anyone ever calls you a monster then I will hurt them. Because you are the realist man that I have ever met, and one of the only men I've met that actually opens up and listens when others do too" I tell him honestly and wrap my arms tighter around him. His rant about Makarov was complete history to me. It may as well have never happened. He was silent, but after a few seconds great arms wrap around my lower and upper back and hold me tighter against him. Something bitter sweet stirred in me and I wished I could've held Elfman like this under different circumstances. But I was holding him, and not me being held. And I felt something even warmer creep from the pit of my stomach and through my body as for once I comforted someone that needed comfort desperately. Then I shiver and realize something.
He called me beautiful.
Drama! DUN-DUN-DUN! Na poor Elfman needs a cuddle and I want an Elfman to cuddle. But thank you for reading and likes and comments are absolute gold. Lots of love.
San-of-the-forest