I am overflowing with ideas. Except I don't know how to execute them. Let's just do this as it comes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Not long after exiting the realm of the Ice Elves, the snow switched to sleet, sharp and cold. The ground was shrouded in mist, and Lucy's lantern did very little to cut the gloom. The ever-present shadows remained, draped across the scraggly trees. Gray was unaffected by the cold, walking casually with his hands in his pockets. Natsu's hand remained the same temperature, and Lucy had the feeling his body temperatures averaged a bit higher than that of a normal human.
Lucy decided to keep herself close to him to keep warm. Wendy would attempt to make conversation every so often, but navigation through the dense fog prevented them from talking for very long. The bodies had begun to return, one of them oddly draped over a tree branch, her pale arms and legs on either side. Her hair was long and pale blonde, her dress a faded blue. There was a broken noose around her neck. Lucy forced herself to look away. As she did, a pale figure peeking out from behind the tree caught her eye, but as quickly as she'd seen it, it was gone.
The sleet was coming down hard, and when flakes of it got past Lucy's hood, it felt like needles pricking at her skin. She moved her head back, trying to get her face farther away from the opening of the hood. She could see her breath pluming in front of her face. Lucy was so tired. So cold. She wanted to go home, back in her warm bed. Part of her wished she hadn't even gone on this terrifying journey, but the other was curious. That side of her was curious of what she would find in those inky shadows, in the branches of the decrepit trees, and in the unsure path before her. That part of her terrified her. And the fog just kept getting thicker. It was like it was alive, twisting and grabbing at her ankles and the hem of her skirt with desperate fingers. She couldn't even see ten feet in front of her. She could barely see Gray and Wendy, their hair and clothes faded splashes of color in the fog. Something felt wrong. She felt weird, and her brain was telling her to run. Her nerves were on edge. Then she realized.
Something was wrong with the fog.
The fog was getting thicker, and she felt like she was being grabbed. The fog was alive, swirling around her in whips tendrils, obscuring her vision. It was so cold, so damp, and she could feel it coating her body. All she could see was dull gray, and she began to flail her arms, attempting to find a tree, a rock, anything to bull her out of the fog. Her breath came in erratic bursts, and the more she fought, it seemed, the thicker the fog got. She sunk down, hugging her knees, trying to make herself as small as possible. Don't move, maybe it will go away. When she opened her eyes, the fog had receded. The fog was still there, but it was normal fog, coating the tree trunks and the forest floor, but she could see through it. Lucy slowly rose, looking for her friends, but she found them to be gone. Panic spread through her body like a wildfire. When had Natsu slipped away from her? Her cinnamon eyes went wide, and she gripped her lantern tight with shaking fingers. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called the names of her friends. "Hello? Natsu! Wendy! Gray!"
Nothing but echoes. The forest was unnaturally still. Lucy took several quick breaths, trying to keep her composure, but her heart was beating like a trapped bird.
"Anyone!" Lucy called, her voice breaking. She mentally scolded herself for not being stronger, and steeled herself. Where had they gone? She turned in a frantic circle, and she suppressed the panic. The blonde's courage began to grow thin, but she called out again. "Natsu! Where are you!"
Then, almost at a whisper, she heard voices. Calling in the distance, tiny, and very far away. Lucy began to panic. She desperately called out the name of her companions one by one, and finally, with a pleading voice, she called Natsu's.
"Natsu! Where are you? Please! Help me!" Lucy was shaking.
Her nose got that tickling feeling like when you're about to cry, and a lump began to form in her throat. She swallowed it, and called out again. Her eyes prickled, and she felt as if there were eyes on her from every direction. She was alone. Lucy staggered, her back making contact with a tree trunk, and she sank to her knees. She closed her eyes, looking up at the bare treetops. "Please!" She cried, "I don't want to be alone!"
Alone. That had to be Lucy's least favorite word. It was what she was after her mother died, after her father isolated himself, after the funeral, where everyone would look at her like she might break, treating her with careful words and kind glances. Alone. Yes, she hated that word and everything that came along with it. Her eyes felt warm, and her shoulders shook. All she could think was that damned word. "Alone, alone, alone." Over and over and over again, repeating like a broken record. She wanted it to stop. She didn't want to be alone anymore. Sweet little Wendy and Natsu with his fiery personality all made her feel warm and protected. She felt the floodgates break, and she began to cry. The tears where warm, and she welcomed them on her cold face. The first sob came, bubbling in her throat, and soon followed another. She buried her face in her knees, letting it go, and she cried. She cried for how pitiful she felt, and how alone she was.
Meanwhile...
Natsu had experienced much of the same thing, enveloped by fog and whisked somewhere he didn't recognize. The fog had receded, but his companions were gone. He sniffed the air, but their scents were gone as well. He had to find them, find Wendy, find Lucy. Gray, he could live without. He cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out the blonde's name, but was met with no response. He sniffed the air again, and there. Vanilla and strawberries. He could follow that. He did so, and he was hit with a few dead ends, but the smell was getting stronger. He called out again. The warlock was growing more frantic. The smell was stronger here, and he could follow it to it's source. He stayed quiet as he let his senses sharpen, and his ears picked up a quiet noise. Crying.
"...Oh no."
And back with Lucy...
Lucy's sobs wouldn't stop. She bit her lip, trying to quell the tidal wave of tears, but another burst broke through, and her shoulders shook with the force of it. She wanted to be smaller, to go home, to be anywhere but in this cold forest. She was crying openly now, and now that she'd started she couldn't stop. Lucy wanted to be smaller, to curl up into a ball. She didn't want to walk through this forest any longer. She had enough of the dark.
Suddenly, she heard the crunch of leaves under boots, and she froze, covering her mouth to silence her cries. She searched with frantic eyes along the trees surrounding her, and finally spotted a ball of light. It was moving closer, flickering, dancing. She began to quiver, her fight or flight instincts kicking in, but suddenly, whatever was holding the light spoke.
"Lucy!"
It was Natsu. She gave a sob of relief, and called back. "Natsu! I'm here!"
The light was moving faster, and the warlock emerged from behind a patch of trees and bushes, a ball of flame resting in the palm of his hand. It lit the area better than Lucy's lantern. The second she saw him, the floodgates opened again, and she rushed forward, burying her face into his shoulder. She began to sob loudly, her arms around the warlock's firm torso. She felt him hesitantly wrap his own arms around her quivering form.
"Luce, what's wrong?" He asked gently. Lucy had trouble answering, but she managed to choke out a few words.
"I'm alone."
Natsu's grip tightened, and his warmth enveloped her. "Not anymore. I'm not lettin' you be alone again."
The pair stood, The Warlock and the human, holding each other tight in the dark, the malicious fog bending and twisting around their feet.
I warmed my own heart. Thanks for so many positive reviews, everyone. I really appreciate you guys. Thanks for sticking with me.
~Starry
