Amends

Emmaline was leaning against a tree waiting for him. In the extinguishing twilight, he could just make out her impish form standing delicately beneath the proud oak. She was hunched over a notebook, pen to paper scribbling away furiously. As he passed, he dropped the remaining roll of bandages at her feet without a word. She ignored him and continued writing.

Fine, she could stay there all night for all he cared. "Bye," he called over his shoulder as he worked his way deeper into the forest. Eventually, he heard her soft footsteps fall in behind him but she maintained a comfortable cushion of space between them. They continued separately like this until the night cast its shadow and rendered their eyes useless.

Laxus threw down his luggage after tripping over a root for the third time. This seemed like as good of a place as any to stop for the night. Emmaline kept her distance, coming to a standstill in the deep shadow of a tree. She debated whether or not she should get any closer to the dangerous mage.

"You're creepy as fuck over there," he crudely remarked. She offered nothing in response. "Oh come on, what's eating you?"

She stared at him incredulously. "You suck!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and kicked the tree.

Laxus had no idea how to respond appropriately without making her angrier so he occupied his hands with building a fire. He could deal with anything an opponent could throw at him, his grandfather's nagging lectures, Freed's infatuation, hell, he could even deal with a kick to the balls. But when it came to girls, he was completely lost. She furiously stalked around their camp which irritated the older mage. How was he supposed to think of something to say when he had to keep an eye on her constant movement? He grabbed her on her tenth pass and plopped her down with a growl. She crossed her arms and refused to look at him. He wasn't sure if she didn't resume her laps because she wasn't really that angry or because she knew that he'd grab her again.

He let out a sharp breath once she finally seemed to relax and started to settle back himself. That was what she was waiting for. She turned to flee but he chased her with a thin bolt of lightning. It lit up the dark forest with a blinding white flash and diminished when it hit his target. It would was much easier to catch up with someone who wasn't moving.

He found her lying in the grass surprisingly composed. Usually, he'd find his targets convulsing uncontrollably as the aftershocks racked their body. She just lay still glowering up at him. He scooped her up and carried her back to where he had started building the fire. The hum of electricity pulsed beneath her skin but only a small fraction of what he had hit her with remained.

"You're full of crap," she spat at him.

"I know, I know," he sighed. "Can you move?"

"No!" she screamed and started furiously writhing in his arms. He could feel her frustration rising as her limbs refused to cooperate. She thrashed about, only able to twist her torso and whip her head back and forth. The anger prickled at his skin like an army of hungry gnats and he struggled not to drop her.

It took a moment but he realized that the feeling on his arms was a physical pricking, not just the residue of extreme emotions. She was dispelling the extra energy from her body and using him as a lightning rod.

"Look, just hear me out." He squeezed her tighter so that she wouldn't bolt once she regained mobility. "I'm sorry I was a dick to you. It's a bad habit of mine that I'm trying to break. How about I take you out to dinner and we call it even. You know, for fixing me up and for being a jerk. Me being a jerk, not you." Girls like that kind of thing, right? Her body went limp and he thought that he had crushed her.

"Fine," she stated, still being short with him. "But you decide where we go. I don't like being responsible for those types of things." She paused for a moment lost in thought. He was afraid she was going to change her mind and try to run away again. "And other things. I don't like being responsible for other things."

He let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't killed his traveling companion and had made the right amends. He sat her down very gently suddenly afraid that her thin bones might snap in half. He made a mental note to test her strength soon so he knew how far he could go without breaking her.

"Get some sleep kid." He tossed her bag to her and rolled out his own sleeping mat.

The stars twinkled jovially against the dark backdrop of the night sky. It was a clear night, perfect for spending outdoors. The air was warm and light, just the way Laxus liked it.

He lay on his back with one arm behind his head and the other pointed towards the stars. Would his grandfather be proud that he had forsaken his pride to make things right? Did he really even care that much what he thought?

"You're not a jerk," Emmaline rolled over to face him.

He could feel her warm smile directed towards him. It was the same one that he felt from the Thunder God Tribe but had taken for granted.

He just grunted in response. If only she knew.

-o0o-

When he was sure she was asleep, Laxus got up and rummaged through Emmaline's bag. His heart pounded hard in his chest and he prayed that she wouldn't wake up. He knew (from experience) that if you went through a girl's stuff without their permission, they'd actually try to murder you. With the vengeance of a she-devil.

He bit his lip and dared not even a wisp of breath to escape until he found the crumpled up wad of paper. It was risky. It was a complete and utter invasion of privacy. It was a real jerk thing to do. But he was insanely curious to know what she had been scribbling so angrily.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm lost. I don't know what I'm doing now. I didn't know what I was doing the moment I stepped out of the door. I figured my heart would guide me to Fairy Tail. So I did and now I am far far away from my goal.

I'm lost and I'm scared. All I wanted was to join the guild of my dreams and become the best wizard I could possibly be. That's not hard, right? So how did I end up, stranded in a forest of nightmares and terrors. The worst of which is guiding me along this awful path.

He's a monster. What if there are others like him in Fairy Tail? I just don't know what to believe anymore.

AN: What do you think? Like the story so far? Now that the ball is rolling, I'm thinking that the chapters are going to almost double in length. I had this chapter originally tacked onto the last one but decided to break it up for a consistent length. But once the action really starts, I don't think this length can do it justice. So brace yourselves!

What's your favorite Fairy Tail blog on Tumblr? I think I'm going to start one for my story and I'd love some suggestions for blogs to follow. PM if you know a good one! Or if you just want to chat. I like making new friends (:

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail!