***I had intended to continue my streak and write this as a fourth consecutive chapter in a row, but when I was supposed to be writing this I was sleeping. That's what happens when you sleep 2 hours in a 50 hour period. But I wanted to continue while still in the creative corner so here I am. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline***
The sun shone far above as the temple of old times rose from the ground, ancient and unattended to. Plantlife had long since taken over and penetrated some of the walls, making the whole building seem like it had grown there rather than being built by some ancient tribe that no longer lingered about. He wondered where the old tribe had went, the one that approached the place, looking for the one the Chief of the nearby Demon Tribe had claimed to be here.
Inside she sat, huddled in a corner and sleeping soundly, the girl that was known for her ability to find a contemporary home in most places, including this one. Only wearing a pair of ripped shorts and a black t-shirt that wasn't really a t-shirt any longer in its shredded form. She had also clearly been involved in another bout of trouble by the looks of her battered self. That Lucy, always getting herself mixed into another battle of sorts. Layla never taught her self defence after all in hopes of this leading to less fighting. Strange logic, but then again, her Mama had her points every now and then.
"Oi, wake op, shorty." he squatted in front of her, flicked her forehead tryingly, which made her open her eyes instantly. He smiled then, a broad smile that had a sort of ominous tint to it.
"Who am I going to kill this time eh, for making you show those scars?" he asked, then effortlessly lost the black shirt with a skull he was wearing and tossed it to her.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. It had been a long time since I saw him. The shirt just lay in a bundle on my head since I still felt too weak to do anything about it.
"Are you really asking me that? A sense of direction is something that person failed to bring onto any of us." he laughed, and then started rummaging through that bag of his. He was always lost, that one, always wandering about without much reason, only to return briefly for a while when he was tired of all those that surrounded him.
"Hm. I think I have enough to patch you up. This'll sting, but I guess you already know that..." he continued, and brought up his gear of creams and bandages, started working with practiced hands.
"I'll ask you again, since you didn't answer me last time. Who did this to you?" he asked, the fellow sitting beside me just outside the temple of Galuna, the both of us enjoying the nice and warm rays of the sun while it remained in an angle where it could reach us. I was wearing his shirt, and feeling a little better, though I was uncertain as to where I should go next. Was this how he felt? Mayhap.
"I don't remember his name." I replied. Not that it was that important. It changed little. Just another beating.
"Your skill of remembering names is as it always have been, then. By the way, what's up with uncle's mark?" he continued.
"He has a mark? Have you seen him recently?" I asked, looked at him strangely. It had been a while since I had seen uncle too. It had been a while since a lot of things.
"No, he's as much of a drifter as I am, stupid. I'm talking about the one you have on your hand." he pointed at my right hand, where it still remained, that mark. Fairy Tail.
"This one? Does Uncle have a mark like this one?" I asked. Really?
"Seriously? You joined a guild without even knowing that? Sounds like you. I take it you haven't seen him in a while either then. Hm. I wondered where you went after I found the village." he said further, the boy, dragged a hand through his short hair.
"You saw that?" I asked, looked up in the skies.
"The graves? Mhm. It's what convinced me that you were on the road somewhere. To be honest I thought I gave you one the last time I went there. A grave, I mean. One body of a child in the ruins of her home. Thought it strange that fire was what got to you in the end, but it smelled rather odd, so I just assumed. Probably for the best that I didn't mark it." he said. He was awfully calm about such things. I sent him a look as he too seemed to be enjoying the sun, closing his eyes as he were. Blonde, pale and muscular since I knew him to be one to exercise a lot. Incredible strength, and one to pick fights rather than being sought for them. It had been too long since I last saw him.
That brother of mine.
"So you were the one that buried Hope. I always wondered who did that." I mused.
"Hope, eh? Strange name. You the one that gave it to her?" my brother asked. He was one to always look after me when he was around. Beat up the village children. Chase the wyverns. When he was around. Admittedly that was not very often. He went on adventures. Long ones. Dangerous ones. I remembered him coming home once, crawling and bloody and nearly dead. Mama had been mad then, called him reckless and left the house. I had to drag him in and fix him up myself.
"No. 'Course not." I said, felt a little offended.
"Okay. Just thought.. since you were the one that convinced everyone to name Faith. Similar names, you know." he just mused. We fell into silence for a while, enjoying the sounds of nature that surrounded us.
"So, you seen her around lately?" he asked after a while. I knew he would ask. He didn't really like talking about her. They always argued, and I think she was the reason he never stuck around for long. Mama.
"She's out hunting." I said, didn't look at him, kept my gaze locked forward.
"Really? For how long this time?" he asked, seemed annoyed and perhaps a bit surprised.
"A while." I replied. She would return. She always did. What the fellow at the tower had said was a lie. She hadn't abandoned me. She wouldn't do that. Mama wasn't that kind of person. Then again.. neither was Igneel, according to her. And he.. he left too.
"How long, blondie? How long has she been gone, exactly, 'cause I have a feeling I already know the answer." he continued. I kept my gaze forward. Then I felt his hand on my chin and was forced to look into the dark eyes of the person that would be furious with her for doing what she had done. He stared straight into my eyes with a furrow on hiss brow, and I could practically see his emerging rage.
"That woman. She dared leaving you behind like that?" he said in a dangerously low voice.
"She didn't abandon me, she's just out hunting." I defended her, and his eyes narrowed.
"Really now." he said, did not sound convinced at all, but allegedly decided to let it rest. He sighed, and then let go of my chin.
"So, you joined a guild. They nice to you, 'cause I'm telling you, if they're not.." he let that one hang there.
"They're really nice. Really REALLY nice!" I said, lifted my hands in the air to emphasise my point, which made me grimace since my body wasn't exactly in any shape to move much.
"What d'you say to make that old oarsman rowing us ashore, eh? I got a real good bounty for my last job, so I reckon we should celebrate before I go on the next one. You haven't seen some fellows with sledge hammers by any chance, have you?" he said, got up on his feet and hoisted me up on his back. Sledge hammers. Sledge. Hammers. That DID ring a bell. AH! The ones I met in the village.
"I met some in Magnolia a while back. Northerners, right?" I said, refrained from mentioning what they did in Magnolia at the time.
"Perfect. Now I just need to know how to get to Magnolia from here..." he said, heading for the shore where the old man usually would be sitting. Or the old demon. He usually sported the human form since he rowed to and from the human ports on the mainland. That was what he had told me, at least. He was the one to row Natsu, Gray and I here too, back when we were supposed to break a curse that wasn't really a curse at all.
"OI! Old man, row us ashore, will ya!" he yelled, that brother of mine as we neared the dock, and I could hear the fellow agree. So I would head to the world of humans again. Did I want to go there? I wasn't sure. He put me down carefully on the ride, grinned widely at me.
"So, the guild any fun?" he asked. He was not one to get along with a lot of people. His standards were high, and his mouth crude.
"It was, yes. I think I'll quit, though." I said, looked out at sea, my look sort of neutral. The moment we started moving he was down for the count though. That terrible motion sickness that had haunted him always. I wondered briefly where his companions were, if they remained companions still. They might be dead, as all things eventually dies. The movements of the boat cut any possible continuation off until we reached the shore. The old man remained silent. Didn't interfere in the conversation. The only thing that told of his presence would be the repetitive sound of the oars hitting the water, and the creaking of wood as he moved us towards our destination. Hargeon, wasn't it?
"Why?" he asked after laying in a helpless heap on the ground recuperating when he eventually had managed to crawl onto solid ground. A continuation to my statement earlier. He didn't ask why I quit the guild as if it was a bad thing. Curiosity. He just genuinely wanted to know why.
"I don't think they need my kind there, is all. They don't know who I was, and that is fine and all, but not knowing doesn't erase it, you know." I said. The boy got up, once more hoisted me up on his back with my arms loosely draped around his neck, and we started heading for wherever we could get a decent amount of food.
"You mean a monster?" he asked. I didn't answer. Didn't have to. He was one that just tended to know those things. He knew, mainly due to the same accusations hanging over him. That, and he had been very persuasive when asking the village kids about me.
He had always been very good at persuasion. It was what earned him the name I had given him. Mama doesn't give names, mainly because she thinks that will make it easier for us to die. Without dying we cannot have a name on our grave, and without a grave we cannot die. That is her logic. I had named Faith. Then she died. Perhaps was Mama right.
"Where's that friend of yours, by the way. That odd fellow?" I asked.
"Oh, he's somewhere. I lost him due to some huge wave. We were pretty much down for the count due to the.. ugh.. you know, but he can swim." my brother replied. So his friend was out on a swimming trip, huh.
"What about..?" I started asking. The cat. Where was the cat? Had he ended like Odin, on the battlefield?
"Ah, her's fine, he's out searching. They were supposed to sit this one out anyways. Say, you want to join me in catching these guys later on? I'll let you in on the reward." he said, and then entered what seemed to be some better than average inn.
"I want one of those booths down there for me and her alone." he stated, produced a stack of money from the pockets of his loose, white trousers.
"Ah, of course.. Mr..?" the man said, and he grinned wider, that brother of mine as he sent me a look, remembering the day when I gave him his name.
"Sting. You can call me Sting." he said.
***Did you see that one coming? Probably not***