AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Hey, hope you guys enjoy this update!
(It might get edited at some point... I'm not sure if there's a typo in here... I need to check my timeline for this and I can't find it. *sigh*)
Chapter Twenty-Five
Levy stared blankly into the flames, wondering what Gajeel was doing at that very moment. She had had plenty of time to think over the last two weeks, but thinking was starting to become lonely. Freed spoke to her and they had interesting conversations, while Bixslow was always ready to entertain them, but the other two just kept their almost constant silence. Right now Evergreen was just watching the bushes that Laxus had disappeared into. It had been a long time since she had spent this much time away from Gajeel, but what was a Pura to the people from other families? Were Evergreen and Laxus Purav? She certainly seemed to spend a lot of time with him, but he did not look at her with love.
"What are you thinking about?" Freed frowned over at her, concern clear across his face. He seemed to lack the sharper features that seemed so common amongst his people, but that did not mean that he was not handsome. That much she could agree with. "Are you still longing for Gajiru?"
"I feel almost lost without him, but I have spent longer apart from him." She explained quietly, suddenly aware of Bixslow's eyes turning to her rather than the piece of wood he was carving. "I was just wondering if every family had the same ideas about Purav."
"The same...?" Freed mused, glancing over at Bixslow, whose tongue was now falling out of his wide grin. "You must choose your Pura wisely. For a male, he must choose someone who can provide him with strong children and, when possible, be able to add something to your family. For example, Metarikana provided his family with a Healer by taking Ithunzi as his Pura. Unfortunately there were consequences, much to their despair."
"What were the consequences?" Levy began, shifting slightly as she felt Evergreen's eyes fix on her.
"They are not your concern." Laxus' voice boomed from behind her, making her jump slightly. "They involve the Ragkiz, Rkerakiz, and Dnoavkrepr. You are not a member of any of them."
"I will become a Ragkiz when I become the Pura of Gajeel." Levy returned, tensing as Laxus' stony glare fixed on her.
"After so long a time apart, how can you know that he has not decided to take another? It is almost time for his ceremony – many females of other families will be trying to persuade him to choose them." Laxus smirked down at her as he raised his arm to dangle something in front of her. "From what I remember, there was almost one from every family present for him leaving." He finished, running a claw across the throat of the red coated fox.
Levy watched in horror as the blood splattered onto the ground at her feet. It continued to pour down over the muzzle out of the deep cut, staining the beautiful white a haunting red. Levy gulped as she felt her mouth fill with saliva. Her stomach clenched, her head beginning to spin. Bixslow's cackle echoed through her head as green flashed in front of her fading vision. Something grabbed her as Laxus' bellowing laughter taunted her. It was just blood. It was just a dead animal. She had seen them before. She had watched Gajeel slaughter and carve up both a pig and a wild boar.
She took a deep breath.
"-vy? Are you ok?" Freed's voice cut in as her mind began to clear.
"I am fine, really." She smiled back weakly, raising a hand to her forehead as she steadied herself. "I am still not used to the sight of so much blood."
"Then what good are you to a hunting family?" Laxus returned, apparently now sitting opposite her next to Bixslow. Even Bixslow had returned to carving his piece of wood.
"Little girls like you should stay in the comfort of their homes." Evergreen smirked mockingly over at her.
"Evergreen, enough." Laxus sighed, suddenly losing his enthusiasm for making fun of her. "Kid, you want this pelt."
"Excuse me?" She frowned, wondering why he would suddenly say something so strange to her.
"Do you want this pelt?" He reiterated, clearly not amused. "You said that you are going to become a member of the Ragkiz by becoming the Pura of Gajiru. A red kiz is supposed to be good luck to members of the Ragkiz family, as any creature is to the family it is for. You can give Gajiru this pelt when you return." Laxus mumbled as he looked away awkwardly.
"Thank you!" She smiled back at him, giggling as a faint rosy line appeared across his cheeks. "You have seemed so serious since we met, but you are really very kind, are you not?" She continued, beaming across at him as he finished freeing the fox carcass of its skin. At least she finally knew what a 'kiz' was. "You are more like your grandfather than your father."
The air thickened. Levy began to feel uneasy as she looked around the tense bodies of her four travelling companions. What had she said? She watched as Laxus' skilful claws started to silently remove the meat from the bones. Bixslow took his carving back up again, refusing to lift his attention from the piece of wood held tightly in his hand. Freed poked at the fire with a stick, sending sparks up into the air. Her eyes followed them up towards the night sky, drawing them towards the stars.
She gasped as they met with the sight of the full moon. It was the second one to rest in the sky since the night that Gajeel had told her that he loved her, but this one was special. She closed her eyes as she tried to imagine the great fire in the centre of the camp and the sound of the Ragkiz's barks and howls. She smiled softly up at the moon as she opened her eyes again. Tonight was Metalicana's birthday. She had missed it this year, but next year she would be by Gajeel's side as they celebrated the silver haired male's birthday together as a family.
"You should go bathe." Laxus' surprisingly soft voice cut through her thoughts. "The smoke from the fire will draw attention to us. If someone is sent to find out who we are, we may be taken to the home of the Boscan King. You may not have another chance."
"Come with me." Evergreen snapped as she suddenly stood up.
Levy nodded and got up, glancing back down at Freed at he stared into the flames. She truly must have said something upsetting. She nodded to the males before following after Evergreen. She slipped into the bushes, careful not to make a sound. It was almost effortless now, especially when she considered her first few hours running through the forest. It seemed so long ago now, but she knew it had only been about a month and a half ago. She had managed to escape her uncle and hide in the hollow of a tree. She had impressed Gajeel with her abilities. She giggled to herself as she thought about how amazed he had been. She hoped that he was still taking good care of her book now that they were apart again – he had last time.
"Your mind is elsewhere." Evergreen's voice frowned, startling Levy. "It is with your Gajiru."
"Tonight is the birth night of his Kurkar." Levy nodded awkwardly as she found where the other female's voice was coming from.
Evergreen's black and white fur dress lay abandoned on the bush next to Levy as its owner stood waist deep in the partially formed oxbow lake. Levy glanced nervously around her as Gajeel's warning about being found bathing naked echoed through her mind. How could Evergreen stand being so exposed? She was calmly standing there completely naked as the water drifted around her.
"You should be more careful about what you say." Evergreen began, glancing up at her as she ran her wet hands over her lightly tanned skin. "Raxuz does not like talking about his family. He is proud, but he is not stupid."
"I did not think that he was?" Levy returned as she sat down on the bank to begin lowering herself into the water.
"You appear to be. Take those off and wash yourself properly." Evergreen snapped back in exasperation. "As for Raxuz...Do not talk about his parents or the parents of Gajiru in front of him."
"Why?" Levy pressed as she nervously untied the strips of rabbit fur. She had not untied them since she had put these clothes on in the cabin. It felt wrong removing them now in such an exposed place, especially considering Gajeel's reaction to the idea of her changing out here in the forest.
"The thickness of the rabbit fur makes your breasts look larger." Evergreen mused as she ran her eyes over Levy, causing Levy to internally squirm as she wriggled out of her skirt. Only Lucy had seen her this exposed since her mother had passed. "How much do you know about the past of Ithunzi and Metarikana?"
"It was unheard of for a female of the Dnoavkrepr family to become the Pura of a male from a hunting family, but that is all I know." Levy explained quietly while sliding into the water as quickly as she could.
"Metarikana somehow persuaded Ithunzi to fall in love with him, but her parents would not agree to let her go to a hunting family, especially the Ragkiz. Obviously, being Heir of the Ragkiz, Metarikana could not leave his family to become a Dnoavkrepr." Evergreen murmured, her gaze focused somewhere beyond the water she stared down at. "Her sister, Khaneiza, offered to present herself to the Heir of the Rkerakiz so that the Dnoavkrepr could not be accused of favouring the Ragkiz...Ithunzi was uncharacteristically happy and told Metarikana of the suggestion of her sister. The Head of the Ragkiz found out and mentioned it to Makarov. Makarov did not approve of the idea of Khaneiza giving herself up, but understood why she was, so he agreed."
"So their parents agreed?" Levy gasped as she stared back at the female in disbelief.
"No, but after they found out that Makarov was giving their daughter the honour of being the Pura of his only son, they could not refuse." Evergreen frowned into the water. "Khaneiza became the Pura of Ivan first to prove that she would go through with her promise. She was made to carry the child of Ivan and, as you have seen, she succeeded...but it cost her life. Raxuz was just too large for her to bring into this world. Ithunzi, as heartbroken as her family was, was given to Metarikana as agreed. She lost her first child to Metarikana, but she managed to give birth to Gajiru. She almost died doing it though."
"Is that what they were talking about during the meeting?" Levy rushed, stepping closer to the other female. "Ivan pointed out that Metalicana should have drowned Gajeel? He said something about Gajeel costing him sons?"
"Gajiru costing him sons? I think he was referring to his ability to become jealous." Evergreen nodded, clearly amused. "He would become jealous of the attention the bump gained from his parents and become grumpy. He has lead to several of his siblings being born long before their time...The ones that make it until the correct time are either born dead or almost kill Ithunzi as they try to leave her. She is a large female, but her hips are apparently too narrow to bare the children of such a large male."
"So what happened to the ones that were born alive?" Levy frowned, watching Evergreen closely as she let her hands drift to her own hips. Would they be large enough to carry Gajeel's children?
"They were all born sickly...Gajiru is the only child they have managed to raise and he has been a curse to them." Evergreen sighed, finally raising her eyes back up to meet Levy's. "All of the families believe him to be a curse and the likely bringer of the end of our people, but his family? They believe him to be a good omen! How can such a demon be a good omen?! I do not care if he was born on the dark of the first moon of winter with hair as dark as deep shadows! He brings death!"
"During the time that I have known him, he has not brought death to a single person." Levy returned, glaring defiantly back at the other female.
"Are- Are you...a child of the spring?" Evergreen stumbled, stepping back from her slightly.
"Yes?" Levy puffed, annoyed at the sudden change of conversation.
"You belong to the first moon of spring...You are the beginning of life, leading the darkness out of him, the boy born as the beginning of death." Evergreen murmured, falling back against the other side of the oxbow lake.
"What are you talking about? How did you know that I was born during the first moon?" Levy interrogated, stepping towards the gaping female.
"Evergreen! Get back here now! They are coming!" Laxus' voice boomed, drawing their attention back towards the trees.
"The Boscans have come looking for us already?" Evergreen frowned as she snapped back to her usual serious self. "They must have been waiting for us. Come." She ordered as she waded over to the bank where Levy's clothes lay. "We will be in the company of the Princess by nightfall the day after tomorrow."
Levy pulled herself out of the water and desperately tried to pull her skirt up her wet legs. She jumped as arms wrapped around her chest, earning a scowl from the other female. Evergreen tied her top in place and helped her pull on the skirt. Levy turned to help her, only to find the badger skin dress already covering Evergreen's smooth looking skin. She did not have time to ask how she had managed it so easily as Evergreen vanished into the trees. She ran after the older female, unaware of what awaited her at the Boscan castle.