As promised, another chapter. Sorry this one is incredibly short, it was holding the others back. And I just had to publish something.
Ooba P.O.V.
The night before we witnessed as the group spun high in the air with increasing velocity. There was no pause in the way Malory handled them; no regret or caution on their bodies. She was wild, and rough like no enemy had ever been to us and here she stood as an ally. There was no regard in the age of Wendy and Chelia, and how much strain she put on their bodies. Up in the sky we could see her in the middle with strings attached to each of their backs, Magic pulsing in violent bursts every few seconds. For precious minutes when the rain was not bad we scampered about ferociously throwing things into empty houses and the barn as they would be water logged in the morning had we not.
The blonde woman hushed us into the houses and stayed at the door until she was certain all windows and doors were locked and that all of the entrances were cracked. She made sure that none of us would be able to see out at what was happening. In my house, which I shared with a few of my own Guild pups we huddled tightly into a corner listening in between bouts of lightening and over the thrill of the storm rattling out roofs and rough tiles not lain properly flung themselves from the collection to shatter harshly on the ground outside and a 'drip dropping' sound began on our dry floor. Over the sounds we could hear screams coming from the distance, a distance far over the forests we had travelled.
When the rain stopped we hovered in the corner, never untangling. And that is how we fell asleep. It was only an hour or so until dawn when I awoke - not needed as much sleep at the age I was. Cautionary, I moved the shade over the window and scurried outside where branches lay broken from their limbs and pieces of houses torn from their residents. The doors to the barn were open and I could hear the horses stamping as though wild and sensing danger. But those were sounds a little different than that - the noises they made were ones they made when they sensed death. With all my age I spun to the door and what I found on the inside were the five who had been chosen, propped in various positions looking near death and pale and none awake. On one of the sides of a stall for horses Malory sat. Forehead in her palms. I raced to the houses, spinning the other Masters to the barn where we heard her say, "I know I was a little rough with them," looking in I saw she was looking at Micky who tipped water into a metal tank which seemed to hold Juvia. The metal tank provided by a tired Maria. "But I had so little time to prepare them and at least they're still alive." She threw herself off the stall wall to land at the side of Laxus, who like the others had his back bare to the day. "I ain't familiar with their powers, I don't know how it works."
Conrad was picking with tweezers shards of ice from Chelia's back, where a large red piece of skin was burned. My sweet little Slayer, "And think of it this way Professor," The little shards he pulled growing in a group beside him in a cluster of hay. "If it ever happens again, she'll know how to handle it better."
There was a faint smell of smoke from the barn, many other earthy smells mixing in to create a pattern that was assaulting on the senses. In the corner I saw Lucy, a fire in front of her as she chanted hazed words with her eyes rolled back and hands in the fire as herbs burned. Like some sort of praying. They were a false deities children, and they tried their best to ignore it as far as I could see - but still they tended to fall back on the beliefs they were brought up to have. It is impossible to hide from the past.
Jiemma stormed over to where Orga lay, on his side as Rowen tried hard to leech his back for something we were unable to sense but clearly they could. Little black slugs wiggled on his back with valour as the pink eyed boy murmured to his back. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Was all I could hear clearly coming from the mouth of Maria who was close to submerging her head in the water trying to look at Juvia. Her hand would lash out - a new looking contraption of metal with a round end - to spoon a black piece of smog from the pool. This smog was burned by Lucy as Kelly rushed it over. This young girl dashing to and fro with the attempts to help her elders.
Over Wendy stood Jackalin and Sean, little lilies placed over her neck while glowing hands heated her back and steely ones tickled her sides. Both were careful beyond their sizes as this was the youngest girl they had to treat. Down in the horse ranks I could spot the black tufts of hair belonging to Philip as he rushed about trying to tame the wild sounds that launched back and forth. "Least they proved their worth," He called, "Now King won't kill them."
Some silent sounds passed lowly from throats as they tried to concentrate. As Kelly found it difficult to move the sludge it seemed Malory would take to freezing it so she could move it. "If we had some of their power type we could help them refuel." Micky called as he stopped his onslaught of water into the tank. All those called Nymphs moved to that tank and threw their bodies around Micky's, him not realising until a thick serge wave rolled over into the tank that they were making the type of water Juvia could use. "That was useful."
Malory slid onto her knees next to Conrad and her eyes flickered over to me, wires seemed to dance from her fingers when Chelia began to jolt from her place. When her breathing steadied and she opened her eyes, the same was done to the smallest person in the room - Wendy. But for a while those of use awake stood perplexed by what to do about Laxus and Orga - lightning was something none of us used. "Natsu." I remembered something about a Flame on Lightning combo and we prayed it would work.
Of course the pinky had been angry but when they had woken up he was slightly better with it.