He laid awake more than he rested while Haven slept soundly and when, promptly an hour before sunrise, the blonde arose, Ravan merely feigned waking as well. Running a hand over his face, he kind of waited, for her to say something, anything, about the night before, but he was rewarded with only silence and, well, he wasn't too mad about this.
At all.
He did like silence.
Ravan was sore though, as he sat up, and recalled the tumble across the clearing he took from the monster the afternoon before. Still, even as he glanced down in the darkness at his bare chest, taking in the stitches there, he considered that, actually, he felt pretty damn good. Sore, but the best he'd ever woken up. In his mind, the night before was all the confirmation he needed as far as he and Haven went.
It was weird. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, the moment during their youth he'd thought of Haven as more than, well, by that point he definitely considered her a friend, but something changed about that eventually. It was gradual and unfamiliar for him, but he really only admitted it to himself around the time that she started dating stupid Locke.
Which was annoying for numerous reasons, really, that relationship. Mostly because Ravan was nearly certain, especially back then, that Haven wasn't even super into Locke. She was something with Locke, even now, he had to admit that, but he didn't think that it was that kind of interest. But Locke was trying to get with every girl they even remotely knew back then and Haven was just a causality of that. And they were such good friend (gross) they never rightly got around to breaking up over the fact that neither of them were right for one another and that was all.
That was it.
Then she fled town and they both worked themselves into thinking they were into some sort of long suffering romance love story shit or something, like that dumb shit on Erza's bookshelf back at home, and they weren't.
They just weren't.
Haven and Locke had warped everything about their relationship and only he, Ravan, could see the light. See it for what it was.
And after last night...maybe Haven did too, he was pretty sure, now that he'd removed her from the situation.
She and Locke didn't belong together. They were all wrong for one another. But him and Haven? They'd always thought and felt the exact same way, the exact same things, and held all the same ambitions, values, and goals. Locke didn't have that. That connection with her. What did they even have in common? Other than growing up together? Nothing. Haven wanted to make something of herself, separate from the entity of Fairy Tail. Locke just wanted to sit around in Magnolia for the rest of his life and work in said entity. How would that ever work? It wouldn't.
Haven didn't belong in Magnolia or in Fairy Tail. At all. And she'd never stay, even if she forced herself to try. Ravan wouldn't mind this because the only thing in Magnolia for him was Erza and Kai. And he had to leave them behind eventually. Grow up. Erza was still a bit banged up now, but he'd get some jewels together, doing odd jobs and shit. However it was Haven survived out there, on her own, they would do it together now, and he'd keep trying to help take care of Kai and Erza, send money back to them, until they were able to do it on their own. And he'd still go back. See them. He'd always have his emblem and consider himself a member of Fairy Tail.
But things would be different now.
Haven assured him of that.
Well…
Not exactly.
She kissed him, after shushing him, the night before, and Ravan was more than into it. He'd...thought about this a lot. Not so much in the past few years, as she was gone doing her own shit and he had his going on, but he'd kind of felt like, had Locke not been Haven's first boyfriend, then… They were just as close. In different ways. She and Ravan. It would have happened eventually.
And it would have ended up a lot better.
Because they were on the same page. Always. He'd have fucked off out of Magnolia along with her and…
And…
And she was kissing him, now, and whatever could have happened, before, didn't matter. It didn't.
When it progressed to more, Ravan was still into it and so was Haven and this was just everything. He wasn't the most experienced, fine, but he had been with someone before. A couple time. Sort of. And it was different because this was Haven and they were both banged up a bit, but everything was coming together now, in his life.
He had his power, she'd have hers soon, and then they'd have their revenge.
Together.
Ravan always felt shit on. His whole life. From the second he arrived in Magnolia, he always felt as if the scourge of Fairy Tail was placed upon his back. Given his original task, fine, maybe it was kind of deserved, but it didn't matter how removed they got from those early days. He was always just half a mage, really, a swordsman, fine, but nothing more. He had a shit attitude and was lazy and was just never going to be anything. Not like the other kids. The better kids.
The slayer kids.
Where were Locke, Navi, and Haven now? One was tossed out of the guild, one wanted nothing to do with it, and one sucked shit like he always sucked shit because Locke was just an asshole.
The team that was promised fizzled out before they even got close to reaching their pinnacle.
But look at Ravan. He got the magic he wanted, the girl he wanted, and pretty soon, he could get any retaliation he or his girl wanted.
Locke was a safety blanket, that Haven ran to whenever she felt like shit or got scared or needed someone to save her. But Locke never did any of those things. It hadn't been her that got her out of deep shit in Crocus. It had been him. Ravan.
Not Locke.
He didn't save her. He never had. He didn't protect her. He couldn't. Locke was a loser and a waste of time. Everybody's time. He'd been handed every opportunity under the sun and what did he do with it? Nothing. What a fucking joke.
And anyways, now, Haven wouldn't need saving. She wouldn't ever feel unsafe. Not again. Never again. She'd find the same strength Ravan possessed and, combined with his, there would be nothing they'd ever have to fear again.
The only people that would feel fear was anyone who opposed them.
"I missed you," he admitted, softly, when things were kind of awkward and they were just blinking at one another. "A lot."
"Yeah," she agreed, but still shook her head some as she did so. "Same."
It was rare for him to feel so relieved and giddy, honestly, but he was happy. It felt stupid and childish. Like he was a boy again, instead of tentatively navigating the beginnings of his twenties. He couldn't be for certain, not truly, in that moment, how many times in the future he would wish to relive it, but he felt like quite a lot.
Haven mumbled something about sleep eventually and he started to protest because, actually, she'd never gone out and gotten them anything to eat, like she said she would, but he was also kind of afraid that if he did say something, then after she did, she'd go over to the other bed and that would ruin the whole thing, so if he just shut up, he decided, sucked it up, then he could stay in this bubble for a little while longer. Hold onto it. He didn't think it was fleeting, that it was going anywhere, but still, the first time was always special no matter the feat.
They'd slept beside one another before, obviously, over the years, out on jobs. Especially as young kids. But this was different. Intimate. Still awkward too, yeah. Haven slept facing away from him and that was fine because he wasn't really down for much else either, anyways, truly, and just being close to one another, feeling the warmth this brought, was enough of a punctuation for the moment.
But the hours slipped away and after sleeping hardly any, Haven was getting up and Ravan's culmination of a life was over. It was time to start enjoying the spoils of war. He felt like he was celebrating too early, considering they still had two monsters to go, but at the same time, when they were this in sync, how could they ever lose?
"I," Haven spoke, eventually, after returning to from the adjoining bathroom, "am going to go find us something to eat. Get the packs and shit ready."
He nodded along with her words, waiting, for there to be something more. Something real. Attached to them. When this didn't come and Haven was just turning, to leave the room, he did get out, "Uh, hey are we..."
She paused, at the door, glancing over her shoulder at him, "Are we what?"
Gonna talk about it. Any of it. He wasn't too big on it, really, words and all, but he felt like this called for some real words to be exchanged between them. Preferably mostly from Haven's mouth and not his. She always had something to say. About everything.
But not this, it seemed, as when he only shrugged, she rolled her eyes and left him there, in the dark. But with instructions.
Ravan found it best to focus on that and not too much on things that, really, were already confirmed. Weren't they?
Silence was his only friend, honestly, when the blonde wasn't' around. And even when she was. He could live with it.
When Haven returned, she threw a sack of fruit at his head that he wasn't completely sure where she got, but was grateful all the same.
"Two more," she told him and she was over at her bag, where they'd stashed away the tokens. Retrieving all three, she turned them each over in her palms. The first two were blank now, but the third still flashed in red a time to her. "Which one was it that Erza got all crossed up on? Ravan?"
"This one."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I am."
Nodding down at the tokens, Haven asked, "Do you know how...how it went down? Or whatever? How could Erza fucking lose? To anything?"
"She didn't."
"But-"
"She got all...fucked up from it, yeah, but it was because she was trying to save those people." Ravan was down on the floor, where he had been putting away all the medical stuff in his own pack, but now he was pulling an apple from the sack Haven had hit him squarely in the head with. Sitting back, he rubbed the apple on his jeans before, to Haven, saying, "They used that lacrima, I guess, that the guy was trying to give us. Back at the office. They got in contact with the guild. Fairy Tail. And requested someone, immediately, and Erza was nearby, in a close town, and your mother contacted her to help immediately. It was a pretty perilous situation, I guess, is what Erza told me. There were three of them, trying to take the beast on, and one of them was all fucked up and she was trying to protect them and beat the beast, but you know, it zeroes in, like that guy told us, on anyone there when it's activated. So… It was just a shit situation. She finished it off. The beast. But she was real beat up, after it. It wouldn't have been that way, like I told you, if she was going into it fresh. With someone else. Even on her own, probably."
This hung over them for a few minutes, in the silence of their motel room. He'd flicked on a light before, when Haven left, but just a lamp, and the room felt rather small then, smaller even than it had the night before.
"You really love her, don't you?"
He made a face over at Haven for the suggestion. "Shut up."
"I'm not making fun of you." For once. She replaced the tokens, back int the pocket of her bag, before saying, "You took care of her. When she was down."
"So what?"
Shrugging, Haven met his eyes when he gave them to her as she told him, "It's just not something I would have done. For anyone."
"She did it for me."
"Even still."
Ravan looked off then, back down at his apple, before retorting, "Guess the others are all right. You are a heartless bitch."
"Self-centered. It's not the same thing."
"What's the difference?"
"I would feel for Laxus or my mother. Deeply."
"Yeah right."
"But I'm not derailing my plans." She got to her feet then, to come over and snatch the sack. "For anyone."
It was to hide it then, his grin, as he took a bite of the apple as he knew then, with absolute certainty, Haven was completely back.
The train felt as dead as the towns they were passing through and he'd been around this part of Fiore a few times, but it seemed new to Haven as she sat beside him, going over the map more than anything else, while Ravan just glared out the window a bunch, like he would any other time. There were no words now, how it should be, between them. He glanced at her sometimes, still, though, maybe kind of thinking she'd have something to say, but no.
They had a few days on foot ahead of them, when the train deposited them as close as they would be getting to the fourth location. Still, with the trains help, they'd made good time. It was why he felt so comfortable in suggesting it, when she started talking about making camp when the darkness fell, that they head into town instead. As he tugged at his bandanna and Haven eyed him though, he only shrugged some.
"I bet," he told her, "that after the fourth on, we won't get much time. To the next. Do you think? Look at the how close it is to this one, compared to the others. This might be our last chance to really rest up."
"You're so spoiled. What? You can't rough it in the woods?"
"Just one more time."
Shaking her head, she insisted, "I'm low on jewels. I won't make it through-"
"I'll pay for the room." When this got suspicion thrown his way, he added, "You can owe me."
Haven didn't like to owe people. For anything.
"Hardly. All the things I've done for you over the years? I don't owe you anything. Ever."
He was fine with that though.
She was still obsessing though, over the maps and supplies and shit and it was kind of annoying, honestly, as he sat on the end of one of the beds, smoking and not really listening. It wasn't like she was talking to him, really, anyways. Haven wasn't one for plans and all, but when you were out on a job, she had a problem with handling her anticipation internally. It was as kinetic as it was electric. She was excited, maybe, for a normal person, but Haven burned all her excess energy out by bossing and complaining and bitching, so that's what she was doing, and he was just smoking, because that's what he did, when she got too hyped up on something.
It really did feel like old times.
"It's actually kind of gross to fucking smoke in an enclosed space, asshole." And she found a new thing to take her pent up energy out on. He was certain the map thanked him for the reprieve.
"My room," he pointed out. "Could always buy your own."
"Fuck you."
He blew more smoke, now just to piss her off. But Haven was only into her map again and that made him roll his eyes.
"Do you even know where they are?"
"Who?"
"Those guys. From Crocus." He refused to return it when her eyes fell on him. "Or the one. The main one. He's who you have beef with right? Do you know where he is?"
"No. He's a fucking treasure hunter. He could be anywhere."
"Then how will you find him?"
"I don't know, Ravan. What difference does it make?" Frowning some, she shrugged as she said, "We'll go back home and regroup after this."
"Regroup? There's two of us."
"It's not about the two of us. And it will just be for a second. I'll get in contact with some people, you can finish your ties up with the guild and Erza or whatever, and then… If you want to do this, for us to… Then we can go."
"You're going to go see Locke."
"Holy shit, Ravan, one day? You can't go one day?"
"Haven-"
"I told him," she complained, "that I would be right back. A few weeks. Days. I have to go back and explain."
"Explain what?"
"That it'll be longer. Until I can really come back. What do you think?"
His scars burned against his flesh and as he took a long drag, Ravan felt such an intense heat spread across him, like a sudden burst, that if they were younger, he'd probably have attacked her. Beat the shit out of her. And have it returned to him in kind.
They weren't kids anymore though.
"That's really fucked up, Haven. To do that."
Actually, she felt like it was the completely right thing to do. On multiple levels. Something in the past she might have neglected, but now? Now she understood the importance of it. Yeah, she'd skipped town again, but if she went back, smoothed things over, then she and Locke could get back to exchanging letters sometimes, maybe, and at least keep on a semi-regular schedule for contact. Then he wouldn't be so pissy at her, when she did return.
This past time had shown her just how important keeping up contact was.
She wasn't going to let it slip by again.
"No, it's not," she retorted. "I'm doing the right thing. The nice thing. I'm that now, by the way. A nice person."
"The hell you are."
"What is your issue?"
"Why," he asked as he gave her a glare back then, "would you tell him that? Huh? That you're coming back?"
"So he knows, Ravan. Did the lacrima make you stupid and suicidal or-"
"You're not going back, Haven."
"Of course I am."
"We just said, the other night, that-"
"That we get those guys from Crocus. Then your shit. And I'll probably have some other business to take care of. When I get it. My power." And her gaze shifted from then as she thought of it. She had no idea what it was, of course, but just the thought of having a deeper well to draw from, for her magic, was enough to excite the blonde. "Maybe I'll even go back to Bosco. Do you think? Fuck. Fuck. I swore I never would, but if I could, if I really get strong enough, if I could go back there and-"
"You have to stop telling him that you're coming back, Haven."
"Who?"
"Locke." He hated even speaking the other guy's name, honestly. It gave him a sick pit in his stomach, even just to think about him. It went beyond rivalry. That's what he and Haven had had, when they were kids; what he felt towards Locke was so much deeper. "You have to stop telling him that when you know it's not true."
"So the lacrima made you deaf too."
"Haven-"
"I just told you," she complained as she stood then, leaving her map behind, "that we're going back."
"Only to leave again."
"What are you? Locke's stupid negotiator? Why the fuck do you care what him and I do?"
His shock was bigger than hers though as he didn't stand, but didn't take another drag of his cigarette. Not this time.
"Why," he began as he wished for his bandanna then, or his helmet, anything, "are you acting like last night didn't happen?"
"That? That's what this is about?"
"Haven-"
"Don't be such a girl."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
But she was laughing then, uncomfortably though, and even seemed kind of confused as she asked, "You're joking, right? Ravan, that was just… I mean, don't you… We were having a moment, right? And that was just all. What else is there to talk about?"
"You're sitting here talking about your stupid boyfriend-"
"You brought up Locke. Again. After I asked you not to."
"We slept together last night and you-"
"Locke won't care. Idiot. Is that what you're worried about?"
Worried wasn't exactly the word, no.
"We both do whatever we want." And Haven seemed less concerned, now that she'd diagnosed the problem. Per usual, her assessment was missing the mark a bit, but she was angling to get the case closed with little to no true discussion. "When we're not around one another. It's just a thing."
"You know it's fucking not."
"Uh, I'm in it, so I would know, not you."
"Locke's going to lose his fucking shit if he knows that you and I-"
"He doesn't know specifics, Ravan. That's the point." He could feel her agitation. "There's only two of us who know about that. Me and you. Who's going to tell him? Not me. Are you? No. So shut the fuck up."
But he couldn't know. He wanted to. He wanted to leave, actually. Or make her leave. Or something. Because he was losing his fucking mind, but he couldn't let this pass. No. If he was this pissed at a normal person, like he was with Haven currently, he'd probably just shut down. Shut up and sulk and stew and simmer. Chain smoke as he thought of all the horrible things that could befall them.
But Haven…
He had to argue with Haven. Fight her. Even if it was just verbally. She drew this out of him.
"So if Locke slept with Navi, you wouldn't care?"
"Did I say that? I said I wouldn't want to fucking know about it. Why are you so obsessed with this?" She crossed her arms then, shaking her head some as she said, "I thought we were on the same page."
"You're purposely being dense."
"And you're being an annoying chick." She came closer then, just to mock him. "Did you think that we were gonna date now, Ravan? Huh? Were you gonna give me your jacket and call me your girlfriend?"
"Shut up, Haven."
"Do you love me, Ravan? Is that it? Huh?"
"If you don't-"
"Will you hit me? 'cause I'll fuck you up. I don't care what power you have now." Still, she stopped approaching him then as she said, "I was just hyped up last night. After we...together we...beat the… Locke doesn't care. So what does it matter?"
"He would," Ravan kept up. "If he knew-"
"But he's not going to know. Alright? You know you're not going to say anything and neither am I. This is just part of being away. If we're both doing it, then no one's hurting anyone and-"
"You're fucked in the head."
"Shut up."
"You know that Locke isn't into this. At all. Not just about me either."
"Why do you care?"
Because...he wouldn't. If he were in Locke's position. If Locke never existed and he was given the same chances at Locke and, somehow, he and Haven did end up apart, he wouldn't' give a fuck what she did, when she wasn't around. He already didn't. Short of getting to bash some skulls, her past and the stories that went along with them were kind of just that to him; stories. He knew she felt much the same about him. What mattered was when they were together. Of course Haven felt that way because he felt that way and they were the same and that meant something.
Locke though wasn't like that.
At all.
Ravan was ribbing her, before, about him thinking her coming back meant something more than it did, but honestly, he was sure the other guy really did hope to one day be seriously and honestly committed to Haven. And that just wasn't going to happen. Ravan knew that. It was fucking obvious.
Again, to him and only him, rather than the two of them.
Idiots.
Haven and Locke were idiots and deserved their unhappiness.
Ravan felt like he was the best person to pass judgment in the scenario.
Instead of answering her, he just shook his head some, taking steps back and going to sit on the end of his bed again and start smoking. As Haven stood over him with a glare, he just stared straight ahead, refusing to give her any satisfaction in the act.
"That wasn't, like, your first time or something, was it?"
He couldn't tell if she was openly mocking, but it was Haven, so he bet on it.
"Of course not."
Definitely the third though.
"Good." And her laugh that time was more out of relief as her hard gaze fell through and leave it to Haven, to align his world just long enough to destroy it again. "It's just sex, Ravan."
"Is that what you tell Locke?"
"Why don't you just shut up about Locke already? He's not here."
"But you're going back to him."
"What? Did you think I was with you now or something?"
Ravan just shook his head. "So he just doesn't care that you...what? Sleep with every single guy you work with or-"
"Shut up."
"You do, don't you?"
"I don't."
She didn't.
But still, he snorted and this ticked her off all over again.
"What? Do I have to list them now? Is that what you want?"
Shrugging, he remarked, "Dunno. Do I have enough fingers to count them?"
"You're an ass. And talking a lot of shit for someone who, what was that? Slept with me? Because...no reason. But somehow you have moral high ground? Fuck you. Fuck this."
He wanted to yell after her, as she left, about how he hadn't just slept with her randomly. This was all a culmination, see, of all their years together, and if she would just fucking forget about Locke for one damn minute, then she would realize all the things he'd long known and...and...
He didn't get it. Her. Haven. Which was a really bad thing not to get considering he'd staked everything on the idea that they were the only people that got one another in the entire world. It really screwed with his head though, the idea that this was all...what? To her?
He wasn't stupid. He could tell something had been going on, back in Crocus, between her, those guys, and Locke, but other than that… Haven had such a warped sense of everything else, it shouldn't surprise him this was included, but…
Why Locke?
That's what he was hung up on the most. Fucking Locke. What made him so great and special and the one she had to worry about and it wasn't fair.
It wasn't.
Locke wasn't like them. The two of them. He was beneath them.
Why did Haven care so much about a guy beneath them?
She came back eventually, of course, but they didn't speak and when they fell asleep that night, it was in separate beds and whatever connection he'd mapped out the night before just didn't exist.
Their next few days of hiking had a pretty massive damper put over them, following all that. Haven was pissed at him and he was trying really hard not to be hurt by her and if he wanted silence before, he was getting it now. It was hard to believe that they were finally connecting again, were so synced up, just one massive battle ago.
But they had an even larger one before them then. Both in shit moods and not at all invested in the other now, good fortune was even less on their sides than it typically was and, as they placed their hands over the pedestal, the etchings glowed a vibrant orange and they couldn't look one another in the eyes, not once, but it was just as well. Soon enough, his visor divided them and she hardly glanced his way again anyways.
No.
She'd wanted to beat the shit out of something since their stupid conversation back in the hotel room and, well, she now had an awesome shot at it. The sooner they finished the stupid gauntlet, the better; Ravan could get fucked for all she cared now. Asshole.
But he wasn't nearly as focused. Ravan had managed to hold his tongue, since their argument, but that didn't mean he mind wasn't working overtime as he thought of all the dumb and stupid things that Haven and Locke did and you know, really, why did he even like Haven so much? When she was such a bitch? A real, heartless bitch. That's what she was. All along.
Stupid Haven.
And fucking Locke.
His mind wasn't in it. At all. As the beast was summoned before them.
It was just as formidable as every other and, were he thinking clearer, he might have considered what Erza felt. When she was before it. When she made it to the location to save those morons. What her thought process was. How she figured out its weakness. There was no one he thought more capable, able to perfectly deduce each and every situation presented before her, but fuck, all he could think about was…
Summing a blade, he held the hilt tightly in his hand as, from behind his visor, he found himself glancing more at Haven than the monster before him. He'd never been...hurt like that before. And he wasn't even sure if that's what it was. He'd had, at most, a day to build up an entire world in his head only for Haven to break it and yeah, that sucked, but it was a lot more than that.
Maybe he was jealous of Locke.
Maybe he always had been.
How could he fucking not be? Locke had a dad who was completely dedicated to training him, who was there for him, who was an asshole, fine, but at least he was around. Alive. And what did Locke do? Bitch about how much of a jerk he was to him. Locke was given a chance to learn from one of the roughest, toughest mages out there and what did he do? He chose a fucking support magic. At best. He was such a fucking loser too, but no one else seemed to think that.
Locke was sweet. That's what everyone always said about him. Sweet. He was a pushover. It wasn't fair. Locke could just open his mouth and say whatever he wanted, around anyone he wanted, because it was easy for him. It always had been. He'd grin with all his teeth and toss a hand behind his head and have a full conversation with anyone. Girls, even. That one bothered Ravan a lot, when they were growing up. Haven and Navi were one thing. They didn't count. Locke could talk to real girls, actual girls, and they didn't think that he was a huge dork, because he was, they actually were entertained by him, and who could be entertained by that absolute idiot? Locke was so infuriating. His ideas and opinions and thoughts and interests were all so basic and he was just...just…
Why did Haven have to like him so much? Huh? That was the worst part about Locke. He knew the other guy hated him for the same reason, but Ravan felt like it was pretty damn obvious why he and Haven got along so well. They had all the same interest. Ideals. Thoughts. She was more assertive than him, fine, and not as prone to shitting on herself, but most everything else aligned. She and Locke though…
In the entire world, why was it the only girl that Ravan was ever truly interested in that Locke decided to take? Huh? Locke got everything. Everything. He could never really fail, because his mother and father were there to make him feel better. He didn't have a little brother that relied on him, all that heavy shit that sat on Ravan's back, constantly, about leaving home. Didn't fear over the souls of his lost parents. Never seemed to doubt himself. Ever. He had everything that Ravan never would and yet he still had to take the one thing that he knew the other guy wanted.
He had to know.
Even if Ravan didn't know completely yet, Locke had to know.
As he stood there, adjusting his grip on the handle of his blade, Ravan couldn't even think of a single reason he truly liked Haven. At all. Yeah, they had stuff in common, but…
He didn't think of himself as a mean person. Haven was. Mean. She called herself nice now and seemed to have more reserve, but that was just age. At her core, she was still vindictive and manipulative. Angry. She felt his power, but he could feel Haven's anger. Not at him or even with Fairy Tail anymore, it seemed. Her family. No. It was something else. Bosco or those guys, maybe, she was hanging around in Crocus. Someone.
Maybe just always.
Haven was always going to be angry.
He wasn't. He could get that way, very easy, but a lot of time, in those years, Ravan felt more defeated than he felt invigorated. Or he did before his lacrima, at least. Now it boosted him and made him feel like he was above everybody else, every single one of them, but at the same time, this only served to depress him further.
It was lonely at the top.
That's why he thought it would be so great, to realign with Haven. For her to taste even just a bit of the power he wielded. If they could just team back up, somehow, someway, he wouldn't feel so...empty anymore.
That's what it was, really.
An emptiness.
When they were younger, he used to think all those things about Locke (well, other than the personable stuff) went the same for Haven. And didn't they? She didn't respect the fact that she had a mother and father who, yeah, could be harsh sometimes, but were there. Alive. She had a little sister who wanted nothing more than to please her and yet she spent years tormenting Marin for literally no reason other than...he couldn't think of one. Not a single one. Haven was worse than Locke, even. He was just a dope who didn't understand his blessings, but Haven was someone who not only acknowledged she'd gotten a silver spoon, but also enjoyed being able to spit it out when it didn't suit her. She was spoiled. A rotten kid. Teen. There was no redemption because she refused any attempt at it.
Haven didn't want to be redeemed.
Her parents were two of the most powerful mages in the world, her father had a team of bodyguards that were highly acclaimed, and her last name was the literal embodiment of legendary magic. She felt untouchable and flaunted it.
But she was nice to him.
Just one, really. Never before that moment, but that day out in the woods, when they were still stumbling into their teens, Haven sat with him, while he cried and considered just how much he really hated his life. She didn't say anything. Just sat there. Through it all.
He'd never had that. Not from another kid. Maybe even an adult. Erza took care of him, but she was prone to reprimanding any of his unfortunate qualities in those days. Other than her, most other adults in the guild hardly seemed to take notice of him.
No.
It was Haven that was kind to him in his weakest moment and it didn't make sense. There was literal blood in the water and she just let him be. He'd never seen her be so merciful before. Especially in regards to him.
Not to say she was always so kind. That they didn't have bad days after that. Because they did. But never like they had before. When they fought, it wasn't with the intention of injuring one another. They trained together, seriously, then, and she was still friends with Locke and Navi more than him, in the early days, but he felt like this became less true, less real, as time went on.
Haven became his only friend.
Because she was the only one that ever gave him a chance. A second chance. Everyone else other than his brother and Erza had long written him off, but Haven, who had more reason to do so than anyone, didn't.
Yeah, she was still spoiled. And yes, she was still a jerk. But she'd helped him when no one else could.
He didn't understand it. Even all those years out. He really did hate Haven. Deep down. Even now. He was pretty sure. Everything she was, even if the outputs were similar to his, were rooted in all the things he hated. So why was it that he cared so much about her?
"Fuck, Ravan, what are you doing?"
He was frozen, as he had been, but it hadn't mattered. The monster had keyed in on Haven immediately. This was by design. She wasn't letting up. Relentless. As Ravan's eyes only followed them around the clearing, his feet felt like cement and he that pit in his stomach was sprouting into something then. It felt like puke.
Haven didn't feel much better. This beast was clearly a mark above the others and almost immediately, she couldn't exactly tell why Erza had trouble with it, but could figure why someone else might.
She couldn't figure out it's trick. At all. It had no spikes or horns. Scales or fur. Just a ripped, looming beast with a haunting gaze and massive hands that he kept trying to slam down over her skull, cracking it (if not her entire being) wide open. Haven zipped around him, throwing down blows and crackling strikes of lightning when she could, but nothing seemed to break the beast.
He didn't seem to be offering up a weakness either.
And Ravan just fucking stood there. Like the useless idiot he was. God. She thought they were on the same page, it always felt like they were, anyways, but now he was going to get himself all hung up on something as dumb as sex.
Guys were so fucking worthless.
Well, to her, everyone was who wasn't her.
You could only ever rely on yourself.
It was horrific though, when it finally played its true hand. She'd stumbled a bit, after zagging away from a fist, and when the beast opened its mouth, she only raised her fist to try and shoot some lightning in there, before it got it's growl or yowl or whatever the fuck it was about to do out.
But the bolt of lightning died, before it even so much as graced the monster's bright red tongue. Not due to anything sort of magic on it's part, but rather, as it let out his howl, Haven's knees buckled and she fell fully then, to the ground, and her magic ceased as her concentration was broken.
She felt herself scream though she couldn't hear it. Just feel it as his throat burned and she couldn't even brace herself, against the ground, as her hands involuntarily came up to cover her ears and was she bleeding from them? Her ears? She felt like she was.
Ravan could hear nothing from their target though, across the clearing, and he couldn't figure out exactly what she was doing or what had happened. Haven was screaming like something was ripping her apart, but she looked unharmed as the monster stood over her, mouth opened for what Ravan felt was pure silence.
"H-Haven," he found himself calling over then, finally, as he took a step towards her,. "What are you- Hey! Haven!"
It was too late though, even as Ravan was rushing then, as she was still there, huddled over, as the beast brought it's fist down once more over the blonde. Ravan thought he'd just seen his friend get obliterated as, with a sharp intake of breath, he found himself shutting his eyes and turning his head even, awaiting the inevitable.
Haven's screams stopped though, of course, and as he peeked an eye open, he was expected to be faced with the grim reality of what they were dealing with. But what he found was quite different. Haven was still there, huddled on the ground, panting heavily, but all about her was some sort of electrified force field, like half a bubble, lightning jumping not from her body, but rather creating some sort of barrier around her.
He couldn't be for certain, but he was sure this was what the monster's fist met as now, with its mouth shut, it stood before Haven, taking in ragged breaths as the offending fist, held at it's side, seemed almost seared while a rotten smell filled the air about them.
Haven didn't feel so great though, down on the ground. It had been reactionary, just as involuntary as the things the beast's high pitched wails were doing to her, but hadn't save her completely. The force of the fist coming down was so much that, though the barrier stopped her from being completely crushed, she felt it through the barrier and as she was pressed into the ground, Haven coughed up blood and it was such a shit situation.
"Fuck," she whispered to herself as, dropping the barrier, she raised her eyes to stare up into the dark gaze of the monster before her. It had recovered from it's shock, however, as it opened it's mouth again, the same from before left it, causing Haven's eyes to well with tears as her ears were assaulted once more.
The thing was completely ignoring him. That's what Ravan noted. But why? He thought back to everything that Erza had told him about her encounter with the monster. She'd told him it was mostly disinterested in her as well, before it delivered that knockout blow, but he hadn't thought that was relevant before. Of course it ignored Erza. She wasn't a part of the gauntlet. It was only once she began to interfere too much that she'd been attacked.
But why would it choose Haven over him? They'd both stood over the pedestal. Said the chant just the same.
Thinking perhaps it was just because she'd engaged with it, Ravan ran at it then, full speed, weapon drawn and prepared to do, really, anything. He wanted to see how simple it was, to slice into the beast. What would come of that. It felt far too simplistic for the situation at hand, but he had to do something.
Haven's barrier held when the first struck it again, but still, she felt quite a bit of the force regardless and was completely disjointed now. She saw him though, out of the corner of her eye, as Ravan ran at the beast. It had been expected the sting of her electricity this time and hadn't stopped it's cries, but when Ravan's sword pierced it's leg, this changed. No longer an overpowering cry, it wailed some in pain before moving to knock Ravan away from it. But he phased through this as he slashed his sword along the passing arm instead.
He couldn't phase again, not so soon, and knowing he'd only get swat at again, Ravan was quick to jump back, rushing away, hoping to draw the attention of the beast onto him and off the woman. At least until she got her bearings once more.
But this didn't occur.
Even as Ravan yelled out at it, the second he was outside of attack range, the monster singled back in on Haven. It made no sense. Was this the trick? Targeting only one person? How had it chosen? Was there something about Haven that made her better to take out first?
What if…
What if he were going after the weaker one of them? He knew Haven wouldn't agree to this assessment, but it would align, anyways, with what Erza had told him happened, during her rescue request. She didn't recall a lot, following smashing her head pretty hard, but she did tell him about how relentlessly it tried to end the life of one of the three that had gone out on the job. That guy was pretty fucked up too, Ravan recalled, worse than Erza. He was the medic, for the group, and the idea had been for him to heal the other two. He'd hang back, usually, to allow for this. A solid plan.
Until that beast.
It wasn't going to stop going after Haven. And she was already in a bad way, pretty quickly. Ravan could feel it again, in his stomach.
No one else was there. It was just him and Haven. Like it always should have been. She was in trouble again because she was always in trouble because Haven was trouble and now it was up to him. To save her.
Locke couldn't do it.
No one could do it.
Except for him.
There were definitely better ways to go about it. Erza had told him before, about the sword she used to end the monster. He could have gone this route. It would have taken a lot more damage and more time and skill, but he could have done it. He should have done it, probably. But Ravan had teased Haven over the idea of it for the entire journey and, well…
He stronger than her. Than all of them. And if anyone should be jealous over something, it should be all of them over him. He was the fucking one with the lacrima. Not Haven. Not her dumb boyfriend. He was better than them.
He was always going to be better than them.
Ravan had only cast the spell a few times. Once not soon after he'd gotten his lacrima. It had felt imprinted on him, the words replaying in his mind until he tried it, just to see. It wiped him so entirely that he feared it from then on. Only twice on two other jobs had he felt the needed to exhibit it.
This wasn't one of those times. Not yet. He wasn't desperate. Haven might have been, she was looking pretty rough, but he could have withstood.
But you don't impress by playing it safe.
It was exhilarating, all the same, each and every time he did it. He felt himself grin as all of his magic poured from his body and flowed through his crossed arms as his only trump card presented itself. A powerful blast of blue tinted magic jumped across the clearing, striking the monster directly.
As Haven watched, the blue hued light didn't pass through the beast, but rather seemed to engulf it completely. It continued to turn brighter as well, shedding the blue for a brilliant white and, as she shut her eyes for fear of being blinded, the blonde dropped her force field. As the light she was hiding out from behind her eyelids faded, she blinked her eyes open slowly.
He still stood there, Ravan did, across the clearing. But he was wavering, worse than she even as Haven slowly pushed to her feet, more interested in the vaporization of the monster that had been in front of them moments before. In it's place now sat a golden token.
Unable to hold himself up, Ravan stumbled first, catching him once, twice, and then he fell flat on his face. He must have passed out.
It was weird each time. He felt like he had all the magic in the world, but for that spell, even with him being as close to full as ever that day, in the clearing, every ounce of it was expelled to pull it off. He was empty, weak, and felt bruised all over. Even his eyelids felt heavy as he blinked them open.
They weren't in the clearing any longer.
The day was later, edging on the night, and that was a huge jump from where they'd been before. He was laid out on his pack, a bit haphazardly, and it didn't take much craning of his neck to see Haven sitting on the other side of the fire, the map spread before her though she seemed more focused wrapping some gauze around her left arm.
"Wha'?" was all he got out. It hurt to talk. The sound in the otherwise still twilight was enough to get Haven to glance at him.
But the hardness was gone from the days past and she smiled, maybe, just a bit. The angle he was laying was fucking with his head.
"Do you know how fucking heavy you are? Pass out on me again and I leave you behind."
"Haven."
"Ravan," she mimicked back in a weak voice and, for awhile, that's all there was.
Eventually, when she was finished with what she was doing, the woman rose to her feet and came over to him. It was bearing his water bottle though and, falling to her knees beside him, she held it to his lips. Ravan made a face at the gesture, wincing some as he snatched it away from her.
"If I could go back in time," she told him softly, "and do literally anything at all, I'd fucking bash your brains in for thinking about taking my lacrima. Then I would keep it for myself."
"It's not yours."
"It should have been." She sounded bitter. He knew the feeling. Still, shaking herhead, she said, "If you have that in your back pocket, Ravan, why the fuck do you even use your dumb swords and shit? I mean-"
"I can't control it."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't… It's always like that."
"Full blast?" she offered. When he nodded around his water bottle, she only shrugged. "I'd use it all the time then. Especially then."
This sat over them for awhile as he sipped at water and Haven fell back onto her butt, at his side, silent. Eventually, she fished the token out from her pocket and flashed him the time laid upon it.
"It's like you said," she told him as a heavy gaze fell over her eyes. "Not much time."
But Ravan hardly glanced at it. Just stayed silent.
"I thought you were so stupid," she went on. "Down in the library. I still think you are. Erza would probably reflect the shit out of that attack, you know. Destroy you. Natsu could eat it, I bet. And Laxus… Fuck Laxus. If you kill him, do you get to be the Master? Is that how it works? Whatever. But you're right. We can do this. I can do this. I'm going to do this."
When still he said nothing, Haven's gaze fell back down to the man's sunken face.
"I'm always going to go back to Locke, Ravan. Maybe I'm selfish towards him because of that. Maybe I'm a shitty person for not making that clear to you. Whatever. But it's just how things are." Still, she wasn't speaking out of anger any longer. Just softly. Not like herself. Ravan found it best to stare up at the sky. "It was just...nice to be around you again. That's all. Not everything has to be so fucking serious all the time. You know? I went back home for, like, what? Two days? Was it three? And it was smothering. Locke was talking about me staying and my mother and aunts and uncles were all… And your brother kept…
"I like you, Ravan, because it's not that way. Out here. It's kind of like being back at home. But without the weight of it. But it's not… If we go around for awhile, together, doing whatever the fuck we want, after this, that'll be great. Just like it was great with every other person I've hung around. You know? These past few years, I've done whatever with a lot of different people. You don't know the feeling. It's freedom. But it all ends, Ravan. Eventually shit gets serious and someone doesn't do what they're supposed to and people… In guilds, you know, you always support one another, no matter what, but it's not that way out here. Not for me at least. You either leave on good terms and that sucks, 'cause you don't really hate one another yet, or you stick around too long and then you do and that's just it. How it is. So if you don't want to go with me, after all this, then-"
"I do." He shoved up some, on his elbows, so they could stare at one another truly. "Haven, I swear. Whatever, you know? Fuck it. We'll never fall apart. Like that. I'll go back home eventually, before it comes to that, or we'll just go our own ways again or… I don't like you with Locke. I think he's an ass. And you do too."
"Ravan-"
"But that's your business. I think it's shitty, on your part, yeah, but all the things you do are shitty."
"Now who's being an ass?"
"But Haven, we have to go back home."
She grinned then, finally, really. "Yeah. I know. You understand then? I'll talk to Locke and you can talk to Erza and then-"
"No, Haven, now. We have to go back home now." He shook his head as his body still felt quite weak and, falling back into his pack with a slight grunt. "Or somewhere else. Other than this. We can get started on those guys from Crocus if you-"
"What do you mean? The gauntlet-"
"Haven, I won't.. I fucked up, okay?" The words were bitter, but true. "The time we have to get to the next place, I… I won't get much of my magic by then. Not even a full three days. I'm empty. Completely. And you're-"
"Ravan, shut up. No. You-"
"We have to...stop." When he caught how dark her face was becoming, he was quick to add, "But it's okay, right? You saw it, didn't you? Everything? My power? I can get you what you want. You wanted a spell or something, right? Let's go and get it. Together. But the gauntlet… We can't finish it. Not right now. I-"
"Shut up."
"Haven- Hey!"
She shoved him back down that time, when he tried to sit up. Right over his stitches. As he sucked in a breath with a glare, she stood back up, glaring down at him heavily.
"Rest," she ordered. "As much as you can. In the morning, we're heading out to the next-"
"Haven, I'm fucking telling you-"
"No. I'm finishing this. We're fucking finishing this."
"Haven," he insisted and he hated it, what was coming out of his mouth, "I can't. Okay? I'm sorry. I can't...save you. On the last one. I don't have enough magic-"
"I don't fucking need you, Ravan. You didn't save me. You-"
"You were getting your ass kicked by the fourth monster. Look, you limping! And your arms fucked up. And you're-"
"I'm finishing this."
"Haven-"
"My magic is waiting for me, Ravan."
"You're not stupid." He didn't think she ever had been. Just hardheaded. Extremely. But even she could see where this was going. "Haven, we've only been able to get this far together. There's no more together. I'm serious. I… We can do it again. Another time. We will do it again. Now that we understand everything, we-"
"So you get yours, right? Your lacrima? While I get nothing?" The glint in her eye changed then. "My lacrima. You stole something from me, Ravan, and it's time to pay me back. I owe you? You owe me. You either fucking help me get it back or, you know what? No. Stay here, Ravan, I'll do it alone. So I can be sure I get whatever's waiting. You're different, you know? Marin told me. In the letters. That you were. I could tell you were. In Crocus. When we were in the book room. On this stupid trip. But no, I really see now. You got my lacrima and think you're hot shit. You're not. You never will be. Fuck you. I'm going to go and get more powerful than you ever-"
"I want you to be!" He was shoving up again and it burned, his chest did, as he glared at her. "Fuck, Haven, I don't give a shit about this damn thing. I wanted to...I wanted…. I wanted you to come back. For us to be together. And now we are. I beat the stupid monster that Erza had trouble with and, eventually, I'll come back and finish off the last one. But right now, we're together. Me and you are together. Again. This is what Incidio should have been. I'm sorry I took your shit, okay? But it's mine now. We'll get you something else. And then we'll come back and you can have whatever's at the end of the gauntlet too. But right now… If we go on… We can't do it. Like this. I was wrong. Okay? I'm sorry, Haven."
But she didn't hear him. He was certain of that. She heard nothing of what he said. It all meant nothing.
"I'm leaving in the morning, Ravan." She left him too, turning to leave him alone at the campfire. "For the final monster. We do this together or I do it alone."
"You can't. Haven, you can't." He was too weak to chase after her. Not like it would have made a difference. "I'm serious."
But he got the bird in reply and, well, she wasn't going anywhere at the moment. That much was sure. She'd left all her shit around the fire and, well, he kind of stumbled over to her bag, riffling through it to pull the only thing out that could help him now.
Kai and Marin were actually very busy, in the Scarlet household, as the former tried very hard to find a specific pair of jeans in his pile of maybe clean, maybe dirty laundry while Marin mostly sat around to keep watch on the time. He was going out that night, on a date, and since she had the evening free, she was going to help him get ready.
If he ever found his stupid jeans.
"Why does it have to be that pair?"
"I like them the best."
"Uh-huh."
"And...well...they're the ones that my wallet are in."
"Kai-"
"Mistakes were made, Marin, fine, but at least they haven't gone through the wash yet. Or would it be better if they had?"
She was seated on his bottom bunk, watching the other teen try in vain to locate his billfold, when she heard the soft dinging from the other room.
"Do you hear that?"
"The sound of you not helping me look?"
"It's Erza's communication lacrima." Rising to her feet, Marin only stepped over Kai and his horde of clothes, rushing right out of the room. "And she's out training. Ooh, should we answer it? What if it's important? But is that an invasion of- Kai, you should at least consider these things first."
No way.
Jumping right up, he headed into Erza's room with no fear that day, marching right over to her desk in the corner and taking a seat. She had papers and maps and books spread all about, but in the corner was a communication lacrima, set upon a stand, and the teen merely drug it right over in front of him.
"Ravan! Hey! Oh, man, have you called to give us the good news?"
"Kai," Marin complained as, after some hesitance, she came to peer over his shoulder. At the sight of the other guy, she did smile some, "Hi, Rav-"
"Where," he cut them off without greeting, "is Erza?"
"Out," Marin answered though Kai was only peering closer at the crystal before them.
"You look rough," he offered his brother simply. "An eventful evening? Huh? Got any big plans?"
"What? Kai, I need Erza. Where is she?"
"W-Well...I dunno."
"You don't," Ravan griped back at him and even though he was all the way...wherever he was, Kai still tensed up, as if expected some sort of brotherly retaliation, "know."
"Yeah. I don't."
"How? Huh? I thought I told you-"
"She's training," the younger guy informed him. "Now. She just started."
"Training for what?"
"I mean, I guess whatever Erza normally does."
Save all their asses, Kai was certain. He even smiled at the thought.
"What's wrong, Ravan?" Marin asked, still leaning over Kai's shoulder. "Is Haven with you? Is she alright?"
On his end of things, Ravan had no idea where she was, but wanted off that lacrima before she got back.
Instead of answering, he told them simply, "We're on the Monster Gauntlet."
"Marriage?"
"What?"
"Kai," Marin groaned. Then something clicked. "The Monster- Is that the thing that Erza-"
"Yeah," Ravan agreed with a nod. As she started to raise some concerns though, he only said, "I don't have time to explain, but your sister… Look, she's going to go on, to the final monster and I don't think… I was going ot ask Erza to send someone. To help. Because Havens' going to get her ass kicked."
"But...you're there." Kai frowned. "Aren't you?"
"I am too," he insisted. "It's...complicated, but can ask her to send Natsu or Gray or someone that can help."
"Locke," Kai suggested, but his brother's concern transformed to something much more benevolent then.
"No." And he meant it. "Kai, you cannot tell Locke about this. Do you hear me? Or the Master. Have Erza send one of her dumb friends. That should be enough. Alright? I- Shit. Haven's coming back. Just do as I say. Understood?"
Before the lacrima cut, Ravan told them where they were and where they were headed, but then he seemed to hear something nearby and it was just Kai and Marin, staring at their reflections in the orb.
"I'm telling Locke." Marin stood straight once more. "And Dad."
"What?" Kai glared up at her before rising from his seat. "Marin, you can't. I just promised Ravan that I-"
"You can promise whatever you want. I didn't promise anything."
"Marin-"
"That thing they're on is no joke, Kai. You know that. I… I have to tell my parents. And Locke."
"Natsu and Gray-"
"Are both out on jobs."
"But-"
"They could die, Kai." She was turning from him then, to leave the room. "Are you coming?"
He didn't want to. He wanted to find Erza. She would know what to do. But this turned out fine anyways as, when they arrived at the hall, he found after her training the woman had headed there, where she sat a table surrounded by all her friends and it was such a great moment and all.
Kai hated that he had to go ruin it.
"Uh, Erza?" He came to stand behind her, tapping her on the shoulder. As she glanced over it at him, he only said, "Ravan's, uh, in some trouble. Again."
But Marin didn't stop off with him to deal with all that. No. She saw her father seated with Freed, grumbling at her mother as she stood by, on duty for once, clearly annoyed by his complaints. As she came rushing over though, both her parents and the rune mage immediately turned their attention to her.
"What's wrong? Sweetheart?" Mira frowned some at how panicked she looked. "Is everything-"
"Haven," she told them, "went with Ravan on the gauntlet. That Erza got hurt on. And Ravan was on the lacrima, at Erza's house, talking about how Haven's going to go on to the next monster even though they can't, because they're too beat up or something, and he's afraid she's going to get hurt or something, and you have to do something, Dad. Please. Ravan wouldn't ask for help unless he really meant it."
They all three were silent for a moment, Freed looking to Laxus while the man himself only began to scowl, just from his daughter's words. Mirajane though just set the tray in her hands down then, on the table.
"I'll go," she told them all. This got some blinks, but before anyone could say anything, she said, "I'll go get them. Both of them. And-"
"Demon-"
"No, Laxus, I-"
"You know I'm fucking doing it, so knock it off, alright?"
But at a table not too far away, Locke had been enjoying the spoils of war only moments ago. Well, he'd returned from his job super early and his father was still around, with Lily, and they were drinking and having a good time. Locke was feeling more like himself, only moments before, with thoughts of S-Class rattling around in his head, but that was all zapped right out as he overheard just what was going down at the Master's table.
"Locke." Gajeel gulped down the food he'd shoved in his mouth as he saw his son rise. "Don't go over there."
"The Master will deal with it," Lily agreed. "There is nothing-"
"I'm going too. Master."
Laxus snorted at the sight of him, rushing right over. He couldn't help it as, rather than continuing to glare at his wife, he took the time out to rebuke the man. "The fuck did we just talk about, Locke? The other day? Huh?"
But he only shook his head and didn't tremble in the slightest as he stood beside Marin, insisting, "If Haven's in trouble, I have to go. I told her I would."
"So you fucking knew about-"
"No. I didn't. I wouldn't have let her go if I did."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Laxus knew he had to keep his aggression in check. He needed have it all when he knocked Haven and Ravan's heads together. Fucking idiots. He was looking past Locke then as someone else approached. "You got something to fuckin' say to me, Erza? Huh? Once again, your stupid boy-"
"They're adults. Who make adult decisions." Erza was over at the table then, Kai beside her. Freed was the last one seated at it though and, raising, he offered his seat to the woman, but she merely shook her head as she bowed her head to her master. "But I do agree. Having faced the fourth beast, I impressed with their resolve, but if Ravan is as bad off as Kai seems to think, it would be best if someone headed that way. I am certain they will be calling for help soon enough."
Snorting, the slayer looked off as he said, "See how impressed you are when he's flat on his ass. Out of my guild. He-"
"B-But Master, Ravan didn't do anything wrong!" Kai looked all about, at the others, to see if anyone else would support his claim. Only Erza seemed to nod. "The gauntlet has nothing to do with the guild. So he didn't do anything wrong at all! They're just stuck, is all, and they need help-"
"Listen to me, you little shit-"
"Laxus." Mirajane gave him a look. "Enough."
"I told," the man went on regardless, "your shitty brother to leave my daughters the fuck alone. That was a direct fucking order from his master. And guess what, Kai? I'll drop anyone I fucking want from this damn planet, much less my own guild. Remember that."
Marin shoving Locke out of the way then, to go grab Kai's arm and drag him away though she did, over her shoulder, frown at her father. Like he was the monster or something. Whatever. He had more important things to worry about.
"Do you know the location? Erza? From your time dealing with the quest?" Freed wanted to move thing right along. She thought for a moment before shrugging some.
"If you bring me a map, I will give you the best location as to how I remember it. Kai mentioned where they are right now and it is as I recall, for the fourth monster, as well as where he told me they were headed as the last location. I'm not well versed in much else, however. I can mark it on a map for you, if you'd like."
As the rune mage nodded, Laxus finally addressed his wife once more as he said, "Look, I'm just going to get them, alright? Mira? There's no reason for you to go. Freed, me, the two of them; we'll get that stupid monster taken care of."
"I want Haven to come back."
"Mira-"
"I want," she insisted then to him, "her to come back home. Laxus. Don't let her run off. I mean it."
"I can't control what she does, Mira, after-"
"Promise me."
"Mira-"
"We'll bring her back." Locke held his head high as he got a glare from his Master and Mirajane only gave him something of a soft smile. "Promise."
