Chapter Nine: Tears of the Moon
-X778-
Natsu walked up the hill on the winding path to the small cabin he had built for him and Happy. Happy was asleep on top of his head, with Freya asleep within his arms. Being on the outskirts of Magnolia he only had the moonlight and stars to light his way.
Even on moonless nights, he could still see fairly well. That was always a plus side to being a dragon slayer. Their bodies took on attributes of a dragon.
He didn't know much about the girl he carried within his arms, but he felt protective of her already. He wasn't even sure why or why he felt drawn to her. There was something strange about her that stood out to him that no one else had or does. Something that he does.
Her body was radiating heat like his does, but she also had fangs like he does. He could only wonder if maybe she was a dragon slayer too? He assumed it was possible to be more than just himself.
Looking at her within the moonlight, he thought back to earlier today when he first saw her standing within the doors of the guild hall.
"What the hell did you say droopy eye bastard?!" Natsu butted his head against Gray, knocking him back a few steps.
"You heard me, slanty eyes, ash for brains." Gray gritted his teeth in pain and annoyance.
Natsu was drawing back his fist only to stop. Everything seemed frozen to him as he turned his head to look for the source of the new scent flooding the guild hall. His eyes locked onto a girl standing in the doorway looking around in awe and wonder.
Natsu fell to the ground as Gray punched him on the top of his head, but he completely ignored him.
"Tch. Guess I win this one." Gray crossed his arms walking away, annoyed. Nothing but Erza could ever stop him in his tracks and he wasn't sure what caught his attention but he wasn't satisfied with winning their fight in such a way.
Happy landed on top of Natsu's head as he kept looking at the girl.
Natsu felt strange, and he couldn't explain what it was he was feeling. He has never noticed a girl before nor was he ever really that interested in them. He knew Lisanna had a crush on him but he only felt annoyance over it. He just didn't think of her the same way.
He was different. He was a dragon slayer, the son of a dragon. There would always be one, and only one that would ever be meant for him.
As he looked wide at her she appeared as a battle maiden to him that he has seen in picture books before. Her white dress was tattered and ripped, a sign of her battles and struggles. Chocolate brown hair that was braided falling over her right shoulder. Her eyes were an endless green, pulling him into them. She had a woven belt around her waist for her quiver. A bow around her, with a pack, slung over her left shoulder.
Yes, a battle maiden she truly was. She wasn't a scary one like Erza, but she seemed softer with more grace.
He didn't miss for a moment that she had a warm fire flowing from her. Not the same type he used. His fire burned but hers felt different. Healing maybe?
She looked at him, just for a moment causing him to stand. She looked away and around the guild hall as if she was looking for someone.
Chaos was erupting with the guild hall as it normally done so and he stood there watching her effortlessly dodge all the things being thrown around.
How could he put it? Something has changed as things were beginning to shift around. He was confused and couldn't possibly fathom what it could be.
A sharp ripped through the side of his head, tearing his attention away from the girl. He turned in the direction the unknown object that hit him came from only to see Gray standing and laughing.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled out in almost a growl, storming over to Gray. "How dare he rip me away from her." He had been deep in thought trying to figure it all out and Gray tore him from his thoughts.
He grabbed Gray up by his shirt, that he hadn't stripped out of yet. Before he could do anything, he heard a voice speak his name. He turned only to see it was his battle maiden speaking of him, dropping Gray in the process.
Natsu listened in more closely as he tore his memories apart, trying to figure out how she could possibly even know him.
However someone he just viewed as undefeatable fell to her knees in tears, begging to see him and only him. He couldn't understand why seeing her in tears affected him in such a way. He could almost feel it himself.
He started to walk forward, to let her see him as it was her wish. Anything to stop her tears but before he could push through the crowd she collapsed onto the floor of the guildhall.
Natsu asked if she was alright and then watched Gramps carry her upstairs.
For rest of the day, Natsu sat alone in a quite corner of the guild hall, trying to recall if he knew her. Nothing came to mind but it didn't stop him from pondering. He was surprised no one has bothered him yet over it or maybe they just knew after all that he wanted to be alone.
But it didn't fail and watched as Lisanna and Happy got closer. Didn't she know he just wanted to be alone after that? After seeing a girl younger than her even from what he could guess, crying to see him? Apparently, she had traveled far just for that reason too.
Natsu's ears perked however when he heard Gramps call out his name. He leaped up, running past Lisanna and up the stairs.
He reached the top of the stairs and stood in the doorway, breathless as he watched her play with the hem of her dress. Now that he stood within the doorway, he didn't know how to approach her. His doubts soon faded when she looked up and their eyes locked within one another.
He felt a sudden surge of fire through his veins and was drawn into her endless eyes. Slowly he walked over towards her bedside.
He had been so lost in his thoughts, thinking of how breathtaking she was standing in the doorway of the guildhall, he didn't even realize he had made it home. Well, he wasn't sure if he should call it home or not. It never really felt that way really, just somewhere for him and Happy to live. Nothing had really felt like home since Igneel disappeared.
Carefully, using his foot he opened the door, walking in.
"Shit." He cursed under his breath. Looking around, he suddenly remembered how terrible he was at keeping house. Things were scattered and piled everywhere. He looked at the small couch that was covered. He wasn't sure where she could sleep for now until he could do something about adding a bedroom or something for her.
That was an odd thought for him but he didn't mind the idea of her staying here with him. He knew she had nowhere else to go and they had some kind of connection. He couldn't explain it but he knew that from this moment on he would always look after her.
He didn't think it would be a good idea for someone so small to sleep with him, especially since she was a girl. He didn't want people to get the wrong idea.
He walked over to the couch while still carrying Freya within his arms with Happy asleep on top of his head he stepped up on top of his couch and started kicking things off into the floor.
Once he managed to do the chore without waking the two of them up he carefully laid Freya onto the sofa causing her to stir. He gazed at her for a moment with a certain sadness in his eyes.
She was so young and small, he couldn't imagine how hard it must have been on her to get here. The condition she arrived in he couldn't even fathom the hardships she endured.
He had to admit it wasn't easy at first when Igneel suddenly disappeared but he was a dragon slayer. It was fairly easy to look after himself and then there was the fact he was also older as well.
Sighing he turned around grabbing the blanket from his hammock. He didn't exactly need it and wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. Kneeling over Freya he tucked the blanket around her.
He then reached up brushing aside locks of hair that were falling out of her braid and into her face. An action he had never done before but had seen others do it. He felt something for her, and he didn't know what it was. She reminded him of Igneel and he couldn't figure out how that could even be as he was a dragon.
He climbed into his hammock and put a sleeping Happy on his chest as he sighed. He knew he probably wouldn't get that much sleep tonight as his thoughts swayed back and forth between Freya and Igneel.
Natsu's eyes shot open, waking from a light sleep as he heard Freya screaming frantically. He quickly put Happy to the side, jumping down and landing next to the sofa.
He stood for a moment in shock, unsure how to handle the situation. She was sitting up, holding the sides of her head, with tears streaming down her soulless eyes.
"NATSU!" Freya screeched in a plead.
Natsu quickly sat down in front of her as she started shaking, her breathing becoming erratic. Hesitantly he reached out and touched her shoulders but he got no reaction from her. She was looking at him but it was as if she couldn't see him. Her eyes looked so empty. They were only a single color of green, not the endless pools they had been before.
He didn't know if she was still asleep and was having a nightmare or not.
"Please...Natsu...please." Freya choked out as she grasped for air, terror spreading across her face.
Not knowing what to do, Natsu done the only thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around her bringing her to his chest and held her tightly.
"Frey." Natsu spoke softly while he gently stroked the soft locks of her hair. "I'm right here."
The trembling stop and he waited a moment as he felt her sharply inhale a breath.
As he held the now crying girl within his arms he could only wonder what on earth had happened to her to give her such a night terror? What had she seen before she arrived?
His shirt was becoming soaked but it wasn't before long that her sobbing had finally stopped. He pushed her away slightly to look at her tear-streaked face. As he gazed at her, he watched the void slowly fade away with each blink. Her eyes were now their endless pools, but they were bloodshot.
Freya looked around for a moment in confusion and reached up and touched her face. "I woke up the same way I always do." She was worried what he would think of her now. She wasn't sure what happened, but she always knew she screamed and cried within her sleep. Freya looked away in shame, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "Whenever I sleep alone, this always happens." Freya paused for a moment. "I don't ever remember the nightmare."
"Sleep with me then." Natsu smiled trying to reassure her. Though he should have never said something like that. Here he was worried about where he could put her since she couldn't sleep with him. "That way, you'll never have those nightmares again." He reached out and stroked her head, remembering Igneel would do it to him to comfort him.
"Thank you." Freya whimpered as she teared up again. She was thankful she would never have to wake up like that again, but also it was his kindness that truly touched her. She wasn't for sure if it was just for the night, or if it was permanent. She would forever be indebted to him if she no longer had to sleep in a different spot each night, under the endless dark sky.
Natsu tilted his head in confusion as he hadn't done anything to be thanked for. "Hey now." He reached up wiping away the new tears. His heart ached to see them and he couldn't stand to see them.
She liked at him doe-eyed, the moon that shone through the cracks of the cabin reflected within her eyes.
"Don't cry." His voice was gentle, almost pleading with her. "You don't have anything to cry about anymore."
Freya suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing her face up against his chest. "How long as it been since anyone cared about me?"
Natsu felt, how could he put it, shitty? She remembered his name, and yet he doesn't even remember her. Had he even met her before? He wished he knew the answers but he didn't.
"I may not remember you but you certainly remember me." His heart clenched at his own words, as something within the back of his mind tugged at his memories. "You don't have to be alone anymore. I'll always be here for you."
Freya cuddled closer to him, smiling. Her heart jumped in her chest and she finally felt at home. It was an odd feeling, but this was it. This was her home. This was where she belonged.
It wasn't before long she drifted off to sleep but Natsu still sat on the sofa with her in his arms. Her breathing and heart rate signaled to him that she had drifted back to sleep. Slowly he gathering her within his arms and walked over to the hammock. Somehow he managed to hold her with one arm as he moved Happy up towards the hammock.
He then climbed into the hammock and laid her down next to him causing her to squirm around for a bit before she cuddled his head up close to his heart. This caused Natsu to blush for a moment as he smiled.
It wasn't long until he drifted off into a peaceful deep sleep.
A young man sat out back of a small cabin in a village over a mound that had a dark rich green grass growing on top. A wreath of flowers had been placed on top, still as fresh as they were when they were first picked.
He gritted his teeth, baring his fangs and he continued to sob quietly.
Freya was alive, or at least she was not that long ago. He didn't know when she was here but giving the that the mound still hasn't settled it couldn't have been that long ago.
He had believed he lost his sister that night and now to find out that she was alive, but their Granny had now passed on.
His heart twisted within his chest. He knew this area quite well as he had spent weeks searching for Dragon's End. He wanted to believe that Freya was still alive at this very moment but he had his doubts that even she could survive in this area.
Starry eyes filled with tears looked at the moon. He always felt more powerful under their light as he was born of them, but now he felt nothing. Only torment over his sister's wellbeing.
He had no one to blame but himself. While their parents could use magic, they weren't particularly powerful. It was always him, and his sister that were the powerhouses. He had left in order to try to save his dear baby sister from what would become her fate. In the end ,it didn't matter and he failed. Their parents were dead as well as their Granny and his sister was still missing.
With no time to spare, Dusk stood up walking into the cabin. He would take a few essentials if there was anything left for his own journey.
As he rummaged around he saw a worn magazine that caught his eye with his sister's handwriting on it. He flipped through the pages and a particular name caught his eye, the name that he knew Freya would seek without a doubt. Natsu Dragneel.
He read he was within a guild called Fairy Tail that was located in Magnolia. He knew of the city as it was quite famous for its rainbow cherry blossoms. A sight that Freya and their Granny had always wanted to see. It also had one of the world's last remaining grand cathedrals. An hommage, a relic to a religion long forgotten. No one was left to know that was one of the places of prayer. A place where people prayed to the goddess that blessed the first Queen of Dragons.
He gritted his teeth once more. It was a subject he chose not to think about. After all, it was the last thing he wanted for his baby sister, Freya.
He placed the magazine back into its place. It wouldn't be too much of a problem to get there for himself. He could make it within a couple of weeks on foot, but did Freya make the journey all alone? He believed in her, but she was still young. She was undoubtedly powerful for her age but there were mages that were still stronger than her. That had more experience than her.
He placed a few things into his satchel that he thought would be useful and pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head. He stepped out onto the quiet street and began his own journey to Magnolia.
Rewritten on 10/16/2016