Normally I would have split this part up in two or maybe even three chapters, but since I promised to actually already have the story-turn last chapter, I didn't dare push it back another one. That's why I give you this extra long chapter, so I want a lot of reviews in return! Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
Chapter IX
Cold
By Neko Erza
Four small paws pattered over the forest floor, once in a while stopping and scraping its nails over the hard ground to see if it would find something interesting. The fox sniffed the air and picked up a scent that had filled this part of the woods for the last few days. This part had always been in the fox' territory and it had always been very quiet and barely disturbed by anything or anyone. Until those two weird creatures had come.
Now there clung a unpleasant, heavy feeling to the air.
It quietly slipped forward to the place the scent was the most apparent and peeked around the tree. He could see one of the creatures a few meters away. It was the one he wasn't scared about, that one he could hear snoring softly in the tent. The fox sat down and watched the other one curiously.
Gray sat crouched in the corner of the shed, his forehead resting against the wall. He tried to make himself as small as possible, feeling safer when he did. His right leg lay in an awkward angle and the broken knee had turned all black and blue and it was completely swollen. His other leg he had pulled up against him and wrapped his arm around it. The stab wound on it throbbed painfully and started to look more and more infected. He stared in front of him with half-lidded eyes, without really seeing anything. He had hovered in this kind of dazed slumber for a whole while now.
Two days, two weeks, for all he knew he had been there for two years or only two hours. His sense of time was non-existent at the moment. He vaguely noticed when it got light or dark outside, but it didn't really get through to him. Completely cut off from life and the rest of the world. The only things that existed were him, his pain, Natsu, anger and this damned shed.
But he didn't dare fall asleep completely. When he did, he almost certainly slipped back into the nightmares Natsu's venom induced. He could clearly feel it circulate in his blood, giving him these kinds of dreams over and over again. The dark magic clung to these feelings, pulling them to where Gray couldn't ignore them.
If he were able to sleep peacefully, he would be able to deal with everything a whole lot better. But now he couldn't even escape from reality and slip into a blissful nothingness, he didn't get any rest. He no longer had even the tiniest bit of control over his life. Natsu had reduced him to a puppet. A mere toy to play around with.
Natsu hadn't even cuffed him to the shed anymore. He knew the ice mage wouldn't even be able to get past the tent with his broken leg. Not bothering to even restrain him was just a way of Natsu to mock him; it was just another way to rub it in that Gray was helpless.
A sound behind him made him wake from his daze a bit. He slightly turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw the fox halting about three meters away from him, where it curiously looked at him. A small smile appeared around his lips to see the animal again. He remembered he had seen it a few times before and it came closer and closer almost every day. Gray felt stupid for feeling like this, but the animal almost felt like a friend. It was the only living thing he had seen since being captured here and knowing it was there somehow made him feel like there was at least a tiny connection between him and the rest of the world.
"Back again, buddy?" Gray whispered. He didn't want to talk too loud, afraid that it would wake Natsu up or that he'd scare the fox away. He didn't want to be alone again.
The fox seemed to relax a bit and sat down. The raven watched the animal for a while. "You probably come here due to the smell of blood, don't you little predator?"
The fox lay down and lay its ears flat against its neck. Gray thought it almost looked like an apology, but then again he was probably just imagining it… after all he was talking to a fox, and that didn't really attest for mental sanity. "I just can't imagine something as cute as you can become a viscous killer."
Gray knew all too well that those words didn't just apply for the fox. He sighed.
"I don't understand why you keep coming back. If I were you I'd get away as soon and as far as possible, but I can't..."
The fox tilted its head questioningly. Gray didn't care how crazy he sounded talking to a fox and pretended that it talked back. He needed some king of human interaction, but since there weren't any humans around (he had given up on the dragon slayer's human nature for quite a while now) the fox would do. It seemed to listen.
"My leg is pretty fucked up, you see." He pointed to the weird angled limb. "Well… Not just this one actually." He chuckled joylessly as he looked at his left leg that didn't look that much better, then he sighed. "Who am I kidding? I'm completely fucked up… literally and figuratively."
The fox stood up again and took a few hesitant steps closer, then suddenly looked at the tent. Gray had heard it too. The dragon slayer was probably waking up. The fox gave the raven one last curious glance before quickly scurrying off into the woods. It always left when Natsu came into the scene.
And indeed a few moments later, the dragon slayer stepped out of the tent. Gray turned back around and wrapped his arm a little firmer around his leg.
"Who were you talking to?" The pinkette asked when he came closer.
The raven rested his head against the shed again and sadly chuckled. "No one."
"Starting to hear voices now, Gray? You just get more pathetic by the day."
Gray just kept quiet and closed his eyes now that he still was spared of the man's actions. He knew the dragon slayer's routine by now; he woke up, threw Gray some sneers or insults, sat down, eat and drink and then it was time to turn his attention to Gray again. That had been the routine for some time now, although he couldn't really put a time on it. How long had he been here? Definitely more than a week. Maybe two?
At least the ice mage was spared until the pinkette finished eating. Although that was quite torturous too; his stomach was painfully empty again and he craved for some water.
The raven flinched when he heard the pinkette get up after a while; it was his turn. He wondered what would happen first: rape or a beating? Both were bound to happen at least a few times a day, the order or manner just varied from time to time.
Gray just really hoped it would be the beating. The rape was ten times worse than the beatings; it was just as painful and being raped just shattered something inside of him. It was humiliating, it made him hate himself and it made him feel filthy.
He tried to crawl into the small corner of the shed even more and he defensively laid his hands over his head. Not that it really protected him from anything, his hands were as beaten up as the rest of his body, but he liked to pretend it mattered, that he could at least defend himself against something.
"Now don't try to hide yourself, Gray-chan." The dragon slayer's mocking voice sounded.
A shiver went down the raven when he heard Natsu open his zipper, not hard to guess what he was planning to do next. Gray cringed just from the sound of it and his eyes widened in fear.
"Not again, not again!" He cried in panic. His eyes flashed from one side to the other, searching for a way out which he knew wasn't there.
"What do you mean? You like it when we mate, don't you?" The pinkette chuckled darkly as he grabbed the back of the raven's neck and dragged him out of the corner.
A sharp, biting pain went through Gray's leg when it dragged over the ground. Natsu pushed him to his back and seated himself between the ice mage's legs.
Gray desperately tried to push away the fondling hands, but failed miserably. His heart was racing with fear and panic surged through every fiber of his body. "No- not again! Not again!"
Tears dripped down his cheeks and blurred his vision, all while having to listen to the dragon slayer's sadistic laugh. "Come on, Gray, you like this right?
"No!" Gray cried out. "I HATE this!"
"No? But you always get such a lovely boner when we do this and you always cum so much." The slayer harshly grabbed the raven's penis and gave it a few firm strokes.
Gray cringed again at the sickening warm feeling around him. He desperately tried to fight all the natural reflexes that shot through his body.
"Just admit that you love being raped, Gray." Natsu teased as he firmly rubbed the now still soft member. "Me pounding into your lewd body, you just can't get enough of it."
"S-Stop this…" Gray said still trying to shove away the hands in vain.
Natsu's free hand suddenly landed on his broken knee. A loud scream erupted from the raven's throat. The slayer didn't even have to put any pressure on it to make it hurt really bad, just touching was enough to let the pain flare up in his whole leg.
"Keep your hands still." The pinkette said annoyed.
Gray reluctantly pulled away his hands as the slayer's started doing their work again. He covered his face with his arms, at least he wouldn't have to look at the sadistic smirk the slayer always had when he did this.
"It's taking you quite long to get hard." The pinkette growled. "Normally it doesn't take this long in the morning."
I'm just too worn out, you fucking jerk. Gray thought. But he wasn't sure if this would last, he could slowly feel the blood go southward and eventually give him an erection.
"Don't worry, we just need to find a new way to stimulate you."
Gray let out a shuddered cry when he suddenly felt the slayer's hot tongue run over his member. The sensation had been so sudden that he unwillingly let out his voice. He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth, knowing it only urged the pinkette on more.
"You like that, huh? I knew you were a slut." Natsu said smugly. He knew how much it tormented the ice mage to let him feel pleasure in a situation like this. It broke down his pride, which he knew was very important to Gray. Natsu loved to see the self-loathing in the raven's face whenever he came while being taken by him. Apart from reminding him of Ur and his childhood regrets, this probably was the best way to destroy him mentally.
The raven gritted his teeth, trying to hold back, but his head was too hazy to really focus. Natsu's hands were one thing, but his tongue was something else. His calloused hands never felt really gentle but feeling the soft wet tongue against him was something entirely different. It was way harder to keep from reacting to it. Tears of disgust and anger ran over his cheeks as he tried to bite away the humiliation.
"Hmm… I'm getting some reaction down here." The dragon slayer purred darkly. He kept sucking for a while longer until Gray was almost fully erected. "Now it's time for me to have some fun."
Gray automatically tried to close his legs, but the dragon slayer firmly kept them open. His firm hand took a painful grip on the raven's hips to pull them up. Gray hissed in pain as his leg fell in another uncomfortable position.
He could feel the erection press against him and he tried to relax as much as possible to ease the pain that was about to come. But the pinkette violently thrust into him and the familiar sharp pain shot up his spine nonetheless.
This seemed to get worse by the day; the last few days Natsu had made the habit of taking him while he was lying on his back so Gray had to look at him while being raped. He stubbornly covered his eyes with his arm and turned his head to the side. He didn't like to admit it, but he was truly frightened by the slayer's appearance. The scales were starting to appear on various parts of his body now and they were becoming more apparent. But the worst were the reptile-like eyes. It felt like they peered right into his soul.
Gray actually missed those damn olive green squinty eyes he was used to. They were so peculiar to Natsu the raven couldn't help but refer to them so often. But right now, practically nothing reminded Gray of those eyes.
The ice mage let out pained cries as the dragon slayer roughly pounded into him. His broken leg hung limply to the side and he could feel the broken bones scrape against each other inside with every movement the pinkette made.
While one arm shielded his face, the hand of the other clawed into the ground. He could taste blood from the place he was biting his lip trying to hold back the cries and screams that wanted to get out of his lungs.
Natsu pounded into him mercilessly while one hand firmly hold the ice mage's hip and the other jerked him off. Gray was ashamed of it, but he didn't try to hold back his orgasm like he did before; it wouldn't matter anyway. Natsu would go on until he got his way and if he didn't hold back this would hopefully be over way sooner. And Gray was sure he wouldn't be able to stall it for that long anyway; He was just… so tired.
The dragon slayer's breaths got more erratic and his hand started to give harder and faster strokes. To the raven's surprise, Natsu pulled away the arm that covered his face and leaned forward. The dragon slayer's mouth crashed on his and gave him a deep kiss. Gray didn't know what to do, Natsu almost never did this while he was having sex with him.
The pinkette's movements slowed down and got less painful. His free hand caressed through the raven locks as he tried to get some movement into Gray's lips. But the ice mage just lay there shocked at the sudden change in the man's behaviour.
"Cum for me, Gray." Natsu breathed between kisses. It didn't sound like a command like it normally did, on the contrary even: it almost sounded desperate.
The slayer seemed to notice it too since he suddenly pulled away and sat up straight again. He looked at Gray who stared at him in shock.
For a few seconds, the raven saw the pinkette was equally confused about what he had just done as he was. But that demeanor quickly changed. His eyes turned cold again and his nails dug into his flesh again as he sped up his thrusts once more.
"I can feel you throbbing in my hand." The pinkette sneered, the smug smirk back on his face. The little falter in his behaviour already forgotten. He ran his thumb over the tip of Gray's cock. "You're already leaking pre-cum, does it feel that good?"
"Shut up." The raven growled as he covered his face back under his arm. He hated this and it didn't feel good at all; it was already bad enough to have an orgasm in a situation like this, he really didn't need the comments to go with it.
"Shut up? Nope." The pinkette laughed. "You hate that this feels good, right? And you're about to cum." The hot fingers stroked up and down the shaft, teasing every sensitive spot.
"Now where was it?" The pinkette mumbled as he shifted inside of Gray. The raven let out an involuntary moan as Natsu's member rubbed over his prostate. The slayer chuckled. "Found it. You make such dirty sounds when I rub this particular spot."
Gray tried to ignore it all. He just wanted this to be over. He tried to relax as much as he could and let Natsu's hand do its work. He could feel the tension in his crotch grow steadily as the pinkette rubbed against his prostate and the hands stimulated his cock. His back arched from the ground a bit and he stifled a moan as he tipped over the edge. He could feel the warm fluid splatter across his stomach.
"Oh, already came?" Natsu chuckled as he kept stroking the member, making sure every last drop was out. "Normally I have to force it out of you. Now I'm sure of it, you really are sick and twisted."
Just move already so this can end. Gray thought bitterly as he tried to hold back his tears and sobs. He hated how all of this affected him emotionally. He didn't want to listen to the pinkette's word but they got to him anyway. They tore down his defenses and wrecked his sanity. It didn't matter what he did, whether he resisted or went along with it, he would come out as the loser anyway.
"I really love the feeling when you cum, you tighten up so nicely when you do." The dragon slayer said as he licked up some cum that stuck to his fingers. He looked down on the ice mage as he seemed to try figure something out. Gray looked at him from under his arm and he didn't like that look one bit. The man licked his last finger as he seemed to make up his mind. "Hmmm… I wonder…"
Suddenly the slayer's sharp claws slammed down into Gray's gut. They painfully pierced his flesh and the raven let out a loud scream.
Natsu groaned satisfied as he resumed his thrusting into the ice mage's ass. "Good to know; you tense and tighten up from pain too."
Gray breathed heavily and tears ran down his cheeks while blood dripped down his stomach. Every time the slayer dug his nails deeper, the raven couldn't help but tense up in pain, to the great content of the pinkette. His thrusts sped up and he panted heavily. The new tightness made him reach his edge pretty quickly.
"Ahn, Gray!" Natsu shuddered out the moan as he released himself inside of the ice mage. He gave a last few thrusts to make sure every last drop was milked out of him. Gray's stomach twisted at the feeling of being filled.
The slayer stayed inside of the raven a while longer to fully catch his breath again. Finally he pulled his claws out of Gray stomach and pulled out his now soft penis, but remained seated between the spread legs. The evil gleam sparked in his eyes as he ran his bloody fingers over Gray's cheeks in a feint gesture of kindness.
"You really look like a filthy whore with your legs spread open like this and covered in cum." Natsu belittled.
"Then how pathetic are you to have sex with this filthy whore?" Gray spit back. He didn't know himself where that suddenly came from, but it sure felt good to not just lie there completely helpless.
But he soon regretted it anyway. Natsu's face got a very dark expression which made the scaly pattern only even more apparent. The bloody fingers retracted from his face and clawed into the ground next to his head as Natsu hovered above him.
"What did you just say?" It sounded more like a threat than a question.
Gray didn't want to say it, since he knew that this would end so much worse when he did, but he didn't seem to be able to stop himself. He stared right into the slayer's eyes. "I said that you are pathetic. You're hopeless and a monster and I hate everything about you. You disgust me."
'Furious' wasn't the right word to describe how the slayer looked, it went even beyond that, but Gray kept staring into Natsu's eyes. He feared the reaction of the man, yet he finally had let off some of the cropped up things he felt, which was a huge mental relief.
The pinkette's head came crashing down and roughly smacked against the ice mage's face. Blood gushed out of Gray's nose and his vision blacked out for a few seconds. He grabbed at his nose as it throbbed painfully. He tried to swallow back the blood that ran into his throat.
Natsu stood up and zipped his pants up, the dangerous look still on his face. "I'm a monster, huh? I'll show you what kind of monster I really am."
His foot made harsh contact with Gray's stomach. The raven screamed out in pain and rolled to his side to try and protect himself while his hand still held his bloody face. For a moment he forgot his broken knee and rib, but the sudden movement made them flare up with burning pain. He screamed out while the dragon slayer kept kicking.
"I'm a monster? You hate me?" Natsu yelled insanely. His foot crashed against the raven's back over and over again.
Gray's eyes went big as suddenly a pain unlike he had felt before washed over him. The dragon slayer's foot kept kicking against a certain part of his back.
"Natsu! Stop! You're breaking my back!" Gray screamed out in panic. He swore one of his vertebras had moved. "Stop it!"
"You deserve it!" Natsu yelled furiously. He gave another kick before grabbing the raven's shoulder and rolling him on his back. He gave a hard punch on the man's stomach and watched as his bloody face contorted in pain. Tears ran down the pinkette's face "I hate you, Gray! I hate your stupid raven hair, I hate your stupid blue eyes, I hate your stupid scars, I even hate that damn necklace you wear all the time!"
For a moment he stopped hitting and watched the cross-shaped necklace. Even though Gray tends to strip everything off of his body, he never touched the necklace. He was always wearing it and as far as Natsu could remember, he had been wearing it ever since he first saw the raven. The slayer didn't know the story behind it, but the piece of jewelry must mean a lot to him.
"This stupid necklace… you must really like it…" Natsu said darkly. The raven didn't deserve something that could ease his mind. He grabbed the necklace and looked at it, then turned to look at the ice mage, who had a panic stricken look. "Let's do something about that."
The next second the pointy end of the cross jabbed into his shoulder. It penetrated his skin and ripped open his flesh. The pinkette immediately pulled it out and plunged it back in again. Gray screamed out with every jab. Blood gushed out of the wounds and ran down Gray's chest, over Natsu's hand that rested on him for balance.
When the slayer finally stopped pushing it in, Gray looked at his shoulder and saw 5 deep puncture wounds.
"Still like it now?" The slayer breathed heavily. He looked utterly insane, blood had splattered on his face and his mouth was pulled into a sadistic grimace.
Gray grabbed at the wounds in his shoulder and tried to hold back the bleeding. His head was slowly going light from all the blood loss: blood gushed out of his nose, the wounds Natsu's nails had made in his stomach earlier and now also his shoulder.
The dragon slayer watched the crimson fluid flow with a dark satisfaction; but still he didn't feel like it had been enough. He still had the cross in his hand. He tightly closed his fingers around it and heated it up until it was starting to glow red. Then he pushed it against the hand the raven was trying to stem the blood with. The hot metal burned into the flesh and Gray let out a terrible scream.
"Natsu!" His vision was starting to blur from the pain. "Natsu!"
It wasn't a plea to stop. It was a cry for help.
Natsu would come and save him. He always did when Gray needed him. Never before had he left him down, but now he wasn't heard. Natsu wouldn't come to save him.
The dragon slayer removed the necklace from the man's hand and admired the burned imprint it had left. The ice mage didn't know what to do first: stem the bleeding from his nose, shoulder or stomach, try to get his knee, rib or vertebra back into place or tent the burning on his hand.
The necklace the cross hangs on suddenly strapped close around his throat. Natsu cut off his air and leaned in so his face was mere centimetres away from his.
"You know, I don't think you've suffered enough. And I just had a pretty nice idea." He let go of the necklace, which fell back on the ice mage's chest. It was still hot, but not enough to leave another mark. Then he ran to his tent. A few second later he came back with Gray's leather belt. "You know how parents punish their children with a good spanking? Well, you spoke some pretty foul talk earlier and I think you deserve one."
He kicked the ice mage in the side so that he would roll to his stomach. Natsu had clear view of the pale back that was covered in scraps and scratches from dragging him over the rough forest floor. Then without wasting any second, he smacked the belt onto the pale skin. The leather came down like a whip and with the slayer's force left a dark red welt. The raven cried out.
Natsu pouted since it didn't bring up any blood. Another crack of the leather resonated through the forest and another welt appeared right next to the other one.
One crack after another came down on the beaten up skin. Gray howled out in horrific pain when one whip landed right on the shifted vertebra. He cried out in desperation as he could do nothing to get away from the pain. He couldn't move or cry for help.
Natsu was breathing heavily when he finally stopped. He looked at the sight before him with admiration. 9 swollen, red welts showed on the raven's back. At some of the places where they overlapped each other, blood welled up.
The slayer chuckled satisfied and threw the belt aside, then squatted down next to the ice mage. He rolled him to his side and grabbed a hold on the man's chin. He looked at the red, tear-filled eyes and waited till they focused on him.
"Think before you open that mouth of yours again." Then he let go again and left the ice mage alone with his pain and humiliation.
Gray couldn't believe Natsu had managed to rip everything away from him. He had nothing left. His freedom, his body and now even the last material thing he drew some strength from; his necklace.
He looked up at the dragon slayer, but instead saw a demon. The man was splattered with blood and had an insane look in his reptile eyes. After seeing this form of Natsu, nobody would doubt and not fear the existence of dragons.
Natsu stepped forward and gave a hard kick against the raven's head.
Everything blacked out.
Gray was swallowed up by the slayer's venom again. He relived the nightmares over and over, only to wake up and live another, real one. The beating and rape had gotten even more violent and that's how the days went by. The slayer didn't even bother to wait for the ice mage to wake up to do his thing. Natsu would kick him, rape him, hit him, stab him, burn him and beat him with the belt several times a day.
He was pretty sure his right hip had been dislocated and the injury on his spine was worse than he first though; he hadn't any feeling left in his left foot and leg and couldn't move them. Along the way more of his ribs had broken and blood seeped out of various wounds all over his body. There were barely any parts left of him that weren't covered in wounds.
From time to time Natsu would wash him with some water of the lake to 'show his good heart' as he said it, but he knew it was because it disgusted the dragon slayer when he was covered in congealed blood, cum and dirt. It sure disgusted Gray, but still the bath was a hell. The pinkette almost rubbed his skin off along with the filth and it reopened some of his wounds again. But the last few days the raven didn't scream and shout any longer.
He was reduced to an apathetic state; he barely moved or spoke and just let anything happen to him. His mind felt like it was almost permanently covered in a haze. He had given up almost all hope.
Gray lay on his back on the damp ground. He had dragged himself from underneath the shed so he could look at the stars. It seemed like this was one of the last things that eased his mind and it was something Natsu couldn't take away from him. A sad smile played around his lips and a tear slipped down his cheek when he spotted the Leo constellation. He really missed home and his friends, especially Loke. They had been close friends from the moment they had met and seeing his stars above him gave him a safe, yet melancholic feeling.
Going by what Natsu had said to him that day, they had been here for 10 days. But to Gray it felt like an eternity. He wondered just how long it would take before the rest of his nakama would realize something went wrong. Probably not before it was too late.
Because Gray knew it was definitely going the wrong way with him. Something that made him realize that he wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer, that he was reaching the absolute end of his powers.
He was feeling cold.
Ice mages weren't supposed to feel cold and if they did it was anything but a good sign. He presumed he wouldn't hold it out longer than another 3 days, at most.
He opened his eyes again to look at the Lion constellation, but somehow he couldn't find it anymore. He searched for it desperately but it was nowhere to be seen. He probably had fallen asleep without noticing and now the constellation wasn't there anymore.
He wanted to crawl back to the shed but as soon as he tried to move, he decided that the pain wasn't worth it.
Lucy awoke with a start when a burst of golden light and warmth filled her room. She covered her eyes with her hand until Loke had fully materialized and the light died out.
"Loke! What are you doing here?" She asked with a hushed voice as she pulled the covers a little higher to make sure it covered her whole body. The Lion's predatory eyes would surely appreciate the sight of her revealing sleeping wear. "It's 3.30 am!"
The celestial spirit beamed a large smile at her and walked up to her with his arms wide. "Lucy! You look ravishing."
Lucy stuck out her leg from underneath the covers and stretched it out to hold the man on a distance. "No closer, you horny lion."
Loke chuckled and grabbed her ankle. "Beautiful legs too."
"Shut up." The blonde mumble with a bright blush on her cheeks. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't sleep." The orange haired mage sighed.
"And what can I do about that? Sing you a lullaby?" The blonde asked a little grumpy. She didn't really like being woken up in the middle of the night.
"Would you?" Loke smirked slyly.
"Loke!" Lucy sighed annoyed as she grabbed the Lion's key to force close his gate.
"No, no, no!" The man quickly hushed. "It's just that I can't sleep in the spirit realm."
"How come?" She asked curiously, lowering the golden key again.
"I don't really know, but it has been really rowdy the last few days. The house of the Draconis is always pretty noisy this time of year."
"House of the Draconis?"
"Yeah, from the Draco constellation. Those are silver key Dragon spirits. Really fun to hang around with, but quite destructive and boisterous at times."
"Sounds like Natsu." Lucy tittered. "What are the spirits up to?"
"I have no idea, I don't really know much about them. You should ask Lyra some time, she lives close to them, she might know more about it. I just know that they are depriving me of sleep with their noise." The spirit sighed as he sat down on Lucy's bed.
"I never saw a dragon spirit before. I'm quite curious."
"Even though they are silver keys, they are quite rare. They are tough spirits to handle and they have quite the temper at times."
"I should do some research on them." Lucy said, followed by a large yawn.
"I'm sorry for waking you." Loke smiled as he gave her leg a small squeeze. "But… I wanted to ask if I could sleep here. I'm really tired."
"Won't you be worn out more if you stay in the human world?"
"At this point it won't. I haven't slept for days in the spirit realm, so I really need it. Human world or not."
Lucy pondered for a few seconds, but then agreed. "You can sleep on the couch."
"But that isn't comfortable at all." The spirit pouted.
"Then where did you want to sleep, the floor?"
"In your bed." Loke smirked.
"Go lie on the couch, you horny lion!" The blonde yelled as she hit the man over the head with a pillow.
Loke chuckled a bit before nestling himself on the couch. Before he closed his eyes he blew his master a goodnight kiss. Lucy rolled her eyes, but nonetheless felt a small blush burning on her cheeks.
She pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes again. Within a few minutes she could hear a soft purring sound coming from the couch.
He must have been really tired. The blonde thought, she had expected him to keep on trying to get into her bed but here he was, already sleeping. She listened to the purr-like snoring and found it quite soothing.
She turned to her side and thought about what Loke had said. She wondered why the Draconis were causing so much havoc. She'd go and do some research in a while, maybe she could even search for one of the keys.
Dragon spirits… Natsu will probably love it. She thought right before falling asleep again.
Natsu zipped up his pants and looked down on the curled up raven on the ground. Even though he had 'bathed' him not long before, the ice mage's body was already dirty. Blood seeped out of various wounds and his thigh was all sticky with Natsu's cum.
Even though the dragon slayer loved the view and it gave him a very good feeling to see him like that, he wasn't completely satisfied. "This really was the worst fuck we've had up till now. You don't scream like you used to do and you didn't even get a boner this time."
The raven chuckled sadly. Indeed, he had given up on the screaming. He only wasted his energy on it and it clearly annoyed the slayer that he didn't do it anymore.
"You know… to get a boner you need a decent blood circulation. I barely have enough blood left to keep my heart going, let alone get a fuckin' boner." Gray sighed tiredly.
"Don't be such a smartass, droopy-eyes." The pinkette growled as he shoved against the raven's leg.
The raven let out a pained groan, but not more than that. He just held his hand against a bleeding wound near his neck. Natsu had given it to him that morning by biting him again.
It was silent for a while and Gray almost slipped back into unconsciousness, but he was completely awake again when he heard the dragon slayer speak.
"Season's almost over."
Almost over? Over? The words kept going around in Gray's head. He might have even allowed a tiny bit of hope to flare up inside of him, if it weren't for the next words.
The slayer continued bluntly. "After that you aren't any worth to me anymore. Just wanted to tell you, in case you wanted to be mentally prepared on dying."
Those words spiked fear in Gray. Knowing that Natsu was planning to kill him in a few days was terrifying, but somewhere in the back of his mind Gray couldn't help but feel relief. In a few days this would all be over. He would escape this nightmare and be handed over into the cold hands of Death, and taken to whatever it brought with it: Darkness, light, nothing… anything seemed better than this. Going on like this wasn't an option. He had fought so hard for his life these days, but he couldn't anymore. He was just… done.
But even so he couldn't help but think about Fairy Tail. The thought of leaving all of them behind hurt him more than any beating could do.
"I wonder…" The hoarse voice of the ice mage broke through. "How will you survive without the guild?"
"Without the guild?" Natsu pulled up an eyebrow. "I'm not planning on leaving the guild."
Gray looked at him confused. He couldn't just kill Gray and go back to the guild like nothing happened. "H-How…"
The dragon slayer explained. "I kill you and dump your body in the lake. I go back to the guild and tell them the terrible news that you got captured and killed by a dark guild. Of course I tell them I did everything to try and safe you, but I just barely managed to escape myself."
"They'll never believe you." The ice mage said. With the dragon slayer's appearance everyone would know something is up.
"Don't worry." Natsu smirked as he saw the raven eye him. "The scales will probably disappear when the season ends and I'm a pretty good actor. Maybe I can even shed a few tears and say something like 'I will make them pay for what they have done to our nakama'. Nobody will doubt me."
"You're not just getting away with it." Gray said. Even though he had seen it coming that the slayer would kill him, he hadn't thought Natsu'd be so calm under it. He didn't seem to fear the outcome one bit. He'd just go and live his normal life at the guild! Knowing that he would get killed, Gray could cope with, but the idea of the pinkette getting away with it… that was worse than knowing his end was nearing.
"I will get away with it. Now I do feel bad for the rest of the guild… They don't know just how much of an egoist and despicable being you are and sadly they will grieve for you." Natsu growled. "But in time they'll forget you. You'll just be a faint memory and everybody will go on with their lives."
The pinkette's words made a shiver go down Gray's spine. He tried to convince himself that his friends wouldn't forget him. They never forgot Lisanna in the years they thought she died. He knew Fairy Tail weren't the type to forget their lost friends, but still Natsu's words gave him a very depressed feeling. Tears stung behind his eyes.
He looked at the dragon slayer who had taken out his knife, the devilish gleam in his dark eyes. The last few days of his life would be true hell.
Gajeel stretched his arms above his head once he had crawled out of the tent. It was almost noon already. He gave the tent a light nudge with his foot.
"Come on, Lily, I want to start training."
The little black cat sleepily stepped out of the tent and rubbed his eyes. "We've done nothing but train for almost two weeks." They had left the guild 12 days ago.
"Tomorrow we'll return to Fairy Tail." The dragon slayer said as he started stretching his muscles.
"Is it over, then?" The exceed asked. Gajeel had told him about dragon mating season and the reason he didn't want to bring Levi along. He had told about the things that being mated meant and whatcould go wrong if the partner wasn't ready to be mated yet. It didn't happen all that often, still it was a story all dragons told. It had become more like a legend than a thread, but stil the raven dragon slayer hadn't wanted to take the risk with the girl. Somehow, this year he felt more weary of that feared rejecting than other years. He wondered why that was.
He hadn't told Lily the whole truth though. Gajeel had to admit that he also feared that she might not be his destined mate. Everybody knew he had a thing for the little bluenette and vice versa; the thought that she turned out not to be his mate would only make it more difficult. On the other hand, if she was his mate, was he ready for that responsibility?
He wanted to postpone it as long as possible and now he would not have to worry about it for another year.
"Yeah it's almost over. It doesn't really have a fixed number of days, it's approximately two weeks, sometimes a little longer and sometimes a little shorter. It also depends on the dragon or dragon slayer." Gajeel explained. "But I can feel it's almost done for me. By the time we're back at the guild it will be completely over."
"What about the other dragon slayers?"
"Dunno. They might already be back. Although I doubt the little blue one will be back already, she'll be probably gone for a few more days. She's at that age, this is probably her first active season. That's always the hardest."
"We'll see when we get back." Panther Lilly shrugged as he transformed into his battleform.
Gray jolted awake when the leather belt smacked against his back. He cried out in surprise and at the sudden pain. His whole back had been reduced to a pulpy, bloody mess in the last few days.
"Wake up, sunshine. It's time." The dragon slayer growled as he threw aside the belt.
Gray's breathe stocked in his throat. Time? Natsu was going to kill him. Even though the raven looked forward to be released of all this pain and humiliation, now that the time had come he was terrified. He didn't want to leave his friends behind and he didn't want to let Natsu win.
The ice mage tried to crawl up, but his body barely moved. He hadn't been able to sit straight for days, all he could do was lie on the damp ground. But he had to get away from here. His survival instinct kicked in with 120% and his mind seemed clearer than ever. He didn't just want to give up and die, Fairy Tail mages weren't cowards and he didn't want to become one.
If he had to die that day, he was not going without a fight. Even though he knew he couldn't really do anything, he wasn't just going to lie there and let it happen.
The dragon slayer kept a sharp eye on the raven and saw the sudden change in demeanor. He could see the inner conflict reflected on the man's face and he saw that his eyes were clearer than they had been in those two weeks.
And it really pissed him off. Even after all this time, after all the raping and punishments, his mind still wasn't broken completely. He had to admit the ice mage had quite the stubborn character.
"I had actually expected you to be dead already by now, with those injuries." The pinkette admitted.
Even though the sentence didn't seem to mean a lot, it did for Gray. It proved to him that Natsu hadn't planned to really kill him by hand; he had hoped for the injuries to do the work for him. In the end, Natsu would still be the reason he had died, but it was completely different than driving a knife into his heart.
"But in the end I'm glad you didn't. This morning I thought of something that I just have to do before you kick the bucket..." Natsu mumbled. Gray wondered what it was what he was talking about, but the dragon slayer didn't say more than that.
"Fairy Tail will find out, you know. You can't get away with this."
"Yeah, yeah, you already told me that." Natsu waved the comment away. "I'm quite sure they won't."
"So what are going to do to me? Choke me? Stab me? Or maybe slit my throat?" Gray spit at him with a sarcastic tone.
"I haven't really made up my mind yet. I'll see when we get there." The slayer shrugged casually. "First I want to fuck you one last time. As a little goodbye present."
"Keep your filthy hands away from me!" The raven growled. He didn't want the last thing he felt in his life to be Natsu fucking him.
The dragon slayer just chuckled evilly as he stepped closer to the raven. Gray was lying on his stomach, giving Natsu full view on his abused back. He sat down and grabbed the raven's hips. "I'm going to fuck you like this. It's been a while in this position. Lift your hips."
"I can't move my left leg and my right knee is shattered, how in the world am I going to lift my hips, you fucking retard?"
Natsu dug his nails into one of the gashes on the raven's back, blood immediately started pouring out and Gray groaned in pain. "What did I say about being a smartass?"
He quickly stood back up and grabbed one of the backpacks that lay near the tent. He placed it underneath the ice mage so his ass was raised high enough for Natsu. He didn't waste another second and opened his pants.
Gray felt the stinging pain shoot up his spine as the slayer roughly penetrated him. The pinkette slammed into him without mercy and he didn't bother to try and get the raven aroused. This was his final mating of the season and he would focus purely on his own pleasure, the fact that the raven wouldn't get hard would only piss him off.
Tears ran over the raven's face. He was absolutely furious and he couldn't do a thing. He balled his fists and tried to bite away the pain. He didn't want to believe he would spend his last day on earth like this; with his legs spread open like some kind of cheap whore and beaten to a miserable mess.
He loathed Natsu. And he loathed himself for letting this all happen to him. He cursed he hadn't been able to escape and his own weakness. He couldn't believe that he had given in to the slayer's venomous ideas and that he had even wished to die.
"Don't cry, Gray-chan." Natsu teased as he kept pounding into him. "Try to enjoy this, it's the last thing you'll ever do."
"You're sick!"
"You just don't seem to learn, do you?" The slayer said through gritted teeth. He pushed on the back of Gray's broken leg as a punishment.
The raven looked over his shoulder and to his surprise he saw that tears ran over Natsu's face, but he still had a furious expression. The pinkette yelled, "It's all your own fault! You had to love me back! That's how it's supposed to go! You were supposed to love me!"
"This isn't my fault! And I will NEVER love you!" The raven defended himself. He tried to hold back the groans and panting, as the slayer was still thrusting into him.
"Don't say that!" The pinkette cried angrily. He tried to rub away the tears that kept falling, but since his hands were covered in Gray's blood, he left crimson stripes all over his face. "It is your fault! You denied me as your mate while we were destined to be with each other. You're supposed to be mine!"
"I will never love you! I'm not your property, I don't belong to you and I never will!"
"You do belong to me!" Natsu screamed. Gray looked up when the man suddenly stopped thrusting into him.
"I'll make it clear that you do belong to me!" The slayer said raising his hand with a bright flame in the palm of his hand. "Do you know how they show the proprietary for cattle? They brand them with the master's initials."
The flames took the shape of the letters N and D. A psychotic smile appeared on the dragon slayer's lips.
"Natsu, don- AAAH!" The dragon slayer pushed his hand against the raven's right shoulder. Gray screamed out in pure terror, Natsu's flames had never felt so scorching hot and hostile. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
The feeling of the raven tightening up at the pain and the sound of his horrified scream were enough to tip Natsu over the edge. As he kept pressing his flames against the man's skin, he came hard and filled the ice mage.
When he finally regained his breath Natsu pulled out of Gray and released his shoulder. He admired his initials that were now forever burned on the ice mage's body.
"You're mine!" The dragon slayer laughed psychotically. "You belong to me!"
Gray wanted to say something back but his mind was hazy with pain. He breathed heavily and gritted his teeth against the burning pain in his shoulder. He had been marked. Branded like cattle!
"Now there's just one more thing that I still have to do before I kill you." Natsu said as he zipped his pants back up.
The raven looked at the dragon slayer. What in the world could there be left after all this?
"It's something I have to do to close the season properly. It's very special and happens only once: it only happens in the season a dragon slayer meets his mate." Natsu explained. "It's called the Soul Linkage."
Gray definitely didn't like the sound of that. He flinched when the pinkette came closer and sat beside him.
Natsu pulled him up and placed Gray between his legs, his back resting against his chest. The raven screamed in pain as the branding made contact with the slayer's clothing.
"The Soul Linkage is to unite the souls of the two mates. It has to happen, Gray."
Without warning Natsu's fangs suddenly sank into his neck and Gray's vision went a blinding silver-white.
He couldn't really comprehend with what was happening to him. He felt things that went deeper than his flesh. Everything around him had disappeared; the forest, the lake, that damned shed, the whole world.
The only thing that existed in this blinding bright place was Gray. This was his soul, his purest self. And even though this was supposed to be only him, Gray could feel a burning pain. The pain that had been caused by the slayer's bite. Even here he had managed to break in.
Suddenly it wasn't just Gray anymore. His mind became filled with visions of the pinkette, but opposed to his nightmares it weren't just bad memories. He saw the pinkette's bright smile, the first time they had met, all the missions they'd done together, that time when Natsu had saved his life on Galuna Island… Everything was there.
Suddenly it all disappeared and Gray felt like he was being ripped in two. A part of himself vanished. It felt like his being was being chained to something unfamiliar, something he couldn't quite place or identify. But just at the last moment the chain broke and reality came back into view.
He could see the trees and the lake. He felt all the pain of his injuries and he could feel the warmth of the dragon slayer pressed against his back.
Natsu pulled his fangs out of the cold flesh and unwrapped his arms from around the raven's body. Blood trickled down his lips and chin.
His and the ice mage's souls were now linked; even in death Gray wouldn't be able to escape him.
Natsu laid Gray's body back on the ground and stood up, but as soon as he was back on his feet he felt dizzy. He suddenly felt immensely tired and worn out. He slumped back to the ground and passed out.
As soon as the slayer fell to the ground, everything blacked out before the ice mage as well. This dark was the kind Gray had never seen. Even the darkness of the slayer's venom couldn't compare to this. It just felt like he himself had disappeared.
Hours later the dragon slayer woke up. It was dark outside and the pinkette felt disorientated. His head throbbed painfully and his muscles were all stiff.
He opened his eyes and saw he was in the middle of a forest. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there. He sat up and looked around, the place did feel familiar. He wanted to rub his eyes but a small cry left his mouth when he saw his hand. It was covered in blood.
He quickly examined his body and saw he was completely covered in blood and dirt, but he didn't seem to have any wounds himself. Where had all that blood come from?
"Then whose…?" He asked confused but he stopped once he had taken a sniff. This whole place smelled of blood, and it smelled very familiar.
He turned around quickly and the thing he saw froze the blood in his veins.
Gray.
Seeing the raven lay on the ground, completely covered in blood and wounds made every memory come back with crushing speed. Every detail of the last two weeks played before his eyes. The effects of the season had finally worn off and he had returned to his normal self.
"Gray!" Natsu ran up to him in panic. He had done this. He himself! He had done those horrible things to his best friend.
The moment he reached the ice mage he cradled him in his arms. "Gray! Wake up, wake up!"
The raven didn't move.
"Gray!" Natsu screamed desperately. Tears ran down his cheeks. "Please wake up! You can't be dead, you can't!"
He shook the man's shoulders, trying to wake him up, but there was still no reaction.
"Gray!" He cried out the name over and over again, trying to wake him. He had to wake up, he just had to.
But after more than an hour of trying, Natsu realized it wouldn't work. He was just too beaten up, too broken…
He hugged the man close to his chest and didn't let go of him. His tears dripped down on the pale, bloodied face of the ice mage. Gray's own scent had almost completely vanished, the place was just drenched in the smell of blood and despair…
Natsu sat there like that for hours, rocking Gray's body back and forth. He didn't know what to do. How could this have happened? Gray was his friend, his nakama… his mate. And he had mutilated him and tortured him for days. He even went so far as to rape him and brand him. How could he ever solve this situation?
The tears just kept pouring and he was frozen to his spot. He couldn't think clearly. His body and mind seemed to refuse to move and let go of the cold body.
Only when the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon Natsu finally snapped out of his daze.
Sitting here, cradling the body against him wouldn't make a difference. He needed to bring Gray to Fairy Tail. He knew Gray would have wanted it.
Reluctantly Natsu let go of the body. He couldn't bring him back like this. The pinkette ran towards the lake and dipped a piece of cloth into the water. He went back to the ice mage and tried to clean his body.
He tried to remove as much filth as he could, but within minutes the cloth was completely drenched in blood. This definitely wouldn't work… there was just too much blood.
Natsu went and fetched a pair of pants Gray had brought along and put them on the ice mage. He couldn't bring him back completely naked.
Putting the pants on was harder than Natsu had imagined. The raven's right leg was completely crushed and Natsu could almost hear the pieces of bone scrape against each other as he moved it to pull the pants on. His stomach twisted as he thought he had done all that. He had crushed those bones with his foot, just because Gray had tried to escape, because he had tried to survive…
When the pants were finally on, Natsu wrapped the raven's long white coat around him. It was one of the few things Natsu hadn't ruined.
Then he carefully picked up the limb body and held it against him protectively.
He started running as fast as he could. He ran through several towns, not slowing down one bit. When he finally reached Magnolia, the sun was already completely up. In the distance he could see the guild. Just a little more and Gray would be home.
Natsu ran into town and was happy there was nobody around. He took the streets he knew were almost always abandoned and made his way through to the guild.
But when he finally reached the building, he stood frozen on the doorstep, the ice mage still in his arms.
He couldn't go inside. He couldn't after what he had done to Gray. He stood there for a full five minutes before he had made up his mind.
He had just made the hardest decision in his life. He carefully laid down Gray's body before the door. Tears kept pouring uncontrollably as he watched the unnaturally pale face of the raven. He tried to wipe away the blood that stuck to him, but he couldn't get it off.
"I'm so sorry, Gray." His voice cracked under the tears. He caressed Gray's cold skin one more time before he briefly pressed his lips against his.
Then he stood up and knocked the door a few times. He knew he couldn't go inside.
He looked at Gray one last time before he ran away as fast as he could.
Mira hummed a little tune as she wiped some glasses. She looked around the guild with a big smile on her face. It was a beautiful day, which always made the atmosphere relaxed and happy around the guild.
Cana was laughing loudly about something that Macao had said, Lucy and Levi were discussing the books they had read lately, the two male Raijinshu members had returned a few days ago and were still teasing Evergreen about the fact that she didn't tag along, …
She looked up surprised when she heard a loud knock on the door. Some of the other members also turned their heads to look. Normally people just barged in without warning.
"Just come in already!" Cana yelled, but the doors still didn't open. "or just stay outside, whatever."
"Maybe it's the magic council." Mira reasoned. "They are one of the only people that would knock, I guess."
She stepped from behind the bar and walked over to the doors. She grabbed the large handles and pulled them open.
The next second her bloodcurdling scream echoed through the guild.
End of chapter IX
A/N: The Draco constellation really does exist. I thought it would show just how much power the Dragon mating season has that even the celestial spirits are influenced by it. The Draco constellations brightest star is called Gamma Draconis, hence the name 'house of the Draconis'. The fact that I mentioned Lyra is because her constellation is close to Draco.
