Music:
"Carry Me"- Eurielle
"If you Fall I Will Carry You"- Efisio Cross
"Memoirs of the Forgotten"-Krale
"Heroes are Not Born Out of Happiness"-Mitchell Broom
Chapter II: Fallen Star
"The wound is the place where the light enters you." -Rumi
Jackal was fuming.
He hated being called off of a hunt, especially when his prey had been right there, ripe for destruction.
He had been particularly eager to tear Lucy Heartfilia limb from limb, to watch that those wretched eyes lose their life force. He craved to spill her blood and let to color the dirt beneath her.
He would not be bested again, not be humiliated as he had been with her before.
But, he'd been so close to his goal, and had been called off! He'd been called away from his prize, from his vengeance.
It rankled his senses and sent him stomping and snarling down the long, dark hallway back at the base, back to where his master sat, enthroned and smirking.
"Patience, dear Jackal" had been the greet that awaited him when he and Larcade had reported back.
Their master only smiled, his condescending, heartless smile, eyes soft and malicious at the same time-a contradicting gaze.
"She's fallen right into place. Our little sparrow is where she ought to be. We will observe for now and wait for the perfect moment to strike."
The girl rested somewhere between oblivion and wakefulness, a strange limbo of the senses.
She hated that feeling and tried to fight against it. She had a job to do, a mission to complete...
There was a thrumming in her ears, the brush of cloth against her cheek coupled with bone-aching exhaustion that pierced each muscle, as Lucy struggled to right herself and open her eyes, to pull her mind from the darkness that crept at the edges, threatening to pull her back under. Urgency rippled through her veins, begging her to awake and arise, to seek to fulfill her promise...
But, as a warmth wrapped itself around her, and her body swayed gently back and forth-weightless, floating, and peaceful-Lucy felt her muscles relax almost against her will, and the aching in her bones begin to lessen. Slowly, her mind stilled, her nose filling with the calming scents of cedar and cinnamon.
The soft movement continued, the warmth cascading down her back, wrapping around her shoulders, and tucking beneath her knees.
Her fight began to still, and Lucy's anxiety began to lessen, the urgency she felt began to fade as she slipped further down in the darkness. She should have cared to wonder what was going on, where she was, how she felt so light, airy, and peaceful, but her mind betrayed her and began to simmer and slow, begging for rest as the warmth encircled her.
Lulled by the gentle rocking, her fists began to unclench, and sleep tugged more firmly against her senses, sending Lucy once more into a state of painless oblivion. At least for now.
Natsu watched the girl fidget in her sleep, muttering incoherently as her hand grasped onto the end of his scarf, pale fingers entwining with the tassles. He carefully adjusted his hold on her, trying not to jostle the girl too much as he marched further down the hill, back towards a spot that would afford them some cover for the rest of the evening.
He didn't remove her grip from his scarf. He didn't dare.
As he sauntered purposefully down the mountainside, a warm trickle of blood slid slowly down his hand, making Natsu wince in worry at the girl's condition. Her clothes were tattered, and shoes were missing. Even in the dim light of evening, he noted that the jeans she sported, bore a large gash in the knee, her tee shirt torn at the shoulder and ripped along the bottom.
But, it was the growing crimson stain along her side that had alarm bells ringing in Natsu's ears.
She was hurt. Badly. And he needed to do something about it and soon. He couldn't ascertain just how much damage she'd suffered in this darkness, out in the open. But, if he could just get down further, and faster, then he could tend to her wounds.
The fire mage blew out a puff of warm air, agitation tickling his consciousness.
How had he gotten himself into this mess? How had she gotten into this mess? And, how was he going to help her?
Natsu wasn't angry at the predicament. At least, he wasn't angry at the girl for the predicament. He was downright furious with anyone getting hurt, especially on his watch.
But, he wasn't angry about being dragged into this mess, dragged into protecting someone. No, he was perplexed about it all really. He didn't understand how a simple trip, and the hope of finding Igneel would lead to Natsu Dragneel becoming the caretaker of a complete stranger-a stranger, who seemed to be in a greater mess of danger.
He peered down at the girl's necklace again, thoughts swirling at the possible connections to Igneel and the promise that he might be able to find him again. Even if it wasn't as clear as he hoped, there was still some connection, some way that he might understand where his father had gone, why he'd left Natsu behind.
But it was all muddled right now. Nothing made sense. And that is what annoyed Natsu more than anything.
But, stranger or no, that didn't stop the trill of worry that rocketed down his spine as the girl's grip on his scarf suddenly loosened, her hand falling to her side, bouncing lightly, almost lifelessly, with each step he took.
Oh no.
She'd been fine a moment ago, but now, as he peered closely at the girl, he noted that her breathing was shallower than it had been, the muttering had stopped, her face having grown rather pale and grey.
Oh no.
Natsu feared...
"Is she okay?" Happy's quiet voice whispered in his ear, nearly make the fire mage jump in surprise. Perched on his shoulder, the battered and bruised blue cat carefully tightened his hold on Natsu's shoulder, trying to get a better look at the girl in Natsu's arms. "She's going to be alright isn't she?"
For all his injuries, Happy was remarkably resilient and didn't seem to be sporting any serious damage, though he seemed a bit fatigued and winced lightly whenever he turned his head. The scrapes and obvious swelling along his cheek alerted Natsu that he was bruised, but the cat's eyes remained clear and alert as he peered at both his partner and the unconscious girl Natsu carried.
The minimization in pain was probably thanks to the girl-Lucy's-maneuvers as they'd fallen from the sky, and after when she'd protected Happy from Jackal's assault.
At her own expense.
Natsu swallowed back the emotion at the thought of almost losing Happy and nodded once to his little partner who seemed genuinely concerned about their new charge.
"A-aye, I'm sure she'll be good as new once we get to our supplies and get her warmed up and bandaged. His grip gently tightened around the girl's shoulders as he hastened his gait. "Come on. We're almost there."
He hoped he was right.
'Come now, Lucy,' The man's voice was warm, teasing as he addressed her 'You have to try harder than that! You'll never best me if you don't concentrate.'
He laughed, deeply, jovially, at her expense. But, it wasn't condescending, or unkind. He always teased her. She knew that. She knew he really cared.
She wanted to reach out to the voice, to try to remember the face that matched that teasing tone, but things were...dim. And it frustrated her.
"Easy, just relax. You have to stay still."
There was another voice, close to her ear as Lucy shifted, trying to move, to reach into the darkness to grasp onto something...anything that could shine a light for her, bring back something familiar, something other than this oppressive, numbing darkness.
"It's okay. I've got you. Just relax, okay? Don't try to move…"
"I've got you."
The next time she woke it was with the stark realization that every muscle in her side felt like it was on fire, forcing the dreamscape, with the familiar man's voice, to the recesses of her mind, nothing more than a muddled mass of blurred images that tickled her senses and made her heart ache with longing.
She laid for a moment, trying to quell the aching and focused on squinting up at the ceiling overhead, though it was too dark to really decipher anything.
But, all too quickly, her more recent memories came to her in a flash, the faces of Jackal and Larcade swimming through her senses, nearly forcing Lucy's heart into her throat.. Lucy's eyes snapped, panic screaming through her veins as she tried to sit up, though her body protested the movement.
She needed to get up, get away. Where were they? What about the others? What had happened-
"Oi! What're you doin'?!" A voice exclaimed, rather agitatedly, on her left, the volume of the shout making her wince, her thumping heart stuttering in surprise at the voice that pierced as she blinked in her dimly lit surroundings, trying to turn her head towards the voice. "You're gonna hurt yourself more if you keep movin' around."
There were quick, heavy footfalls and a familiar-but foreign-face popped into view, fierce pools of liquid emerald narrowed at her as tufts of pink hair framed the face of the fire mage that had stood between her and Jackal's assaults.
She remembered the man assisting her, remembered the beating he'd taken...and the cat...and the goat man...but after that things got a little hazy. There'd been power, of that she was certain, but now Lucy struggled to feel anything. Her body ached fiercely, her hearing felt dulled and muted.
Lucy blinked a few times trying to will thoughts to sort so she could understand where she was and how she'd gotten here, where that may be. Even with dimness surrounding her, and vision still unsteady and blurred, the smell of ash and wood smoke tickled her senses.
However, despite her fuzzy viewpoint, the man's frown was crystal clear.
Lucy tried to sit up again, but a firm, warm hand rested on her shoulder, halting her movement. He put no pressure into his hold but Lucy could tell he was strong and could easily pin her down if he chose to do so. .
"Aren't you listening? I said you need to stop movin' around. You're still pretty banged up" The fire mage, Natsu (she recalled his name), muttered agitatedly at her, a frown pulling at his lips. "Happy'n'I just spent all that time getting some of your injuries bandaged and the bleeding to stop. The least you could do is just lay still a while 'til we can figure things out!"
The admonishment was lighthearted and gruff at the same time and Lucy marvelled at the obvious annoyance that flittered through the man's eyes even as he grinned, peering down his nose at her.
Natsu let out another huff and straightened his position, no longer hunched over Lucy. However, his large hand refused to move from its hold on her shoulder, almost daring her to make a move to rise again.
Lucy did not try to rise, aware that she had no hope of besting Natsu's hold-as gentle as it was-and truth be told, her body was already exhausted from her earlier, meager attempts. It was rather pathetic really.
Instead, the girl sighed in defeat and nodded her head lightly already feeling muscle fatigue and a growing desire to go back to sleep. It was clearly a losing battle.
However, once the fire mage also ascertained that the girl wouldn't attempt to sit up again, he reached around, to the back of her hair and slowly raised her head himself, scooting something beneath it before laying her down again.
The girl bit back a hiss of pain at the movement, noting how her side twinged and spasmed, aching and irritated by the slightest shift of her person. She felt Natsu's warm, calloused fingers tense and still near the base of her head as he watched her carefully, assessing her pain level, his lips pulled into a tight line as his brows knit together. .
She felt winded by the sudden onslaught of physical agony..
Thankfully, though, after a moment the fiery anguish finally dulled a little, leaving behind a fierce ache that annoyed her more than caused overwhelming pain. She could manage.
Natsu only moved back from her when he too determined that she wasn't going to writhe in discomfort any more.
The fire mage's brilliant green eyes shone even in the dim lighting, betraying the obvious relief he felt at the change in the situation, the sharp, pointed orbs softening slightly as he watched the girl. And, now that she was propped up slightly, Lucy could see a fire nearby, a blue cat curled near the flames, and the entrance to a cave looming ahead of her, even against the darkened sky.
They were in a cave.
Natsu had brought them to a cave.
Lucy also noted that her shirt had been torn nearly in half, the bottom portion missing entirely, exposing her stomach to the cool night air, if not for the rough bandages that encircled her waist. She lay on a small bedroll, propped up bit what felt like a large bag, with a rough-but warm-blanket about her legs.
He'd been taking care of her, dressing her wounds...
But...Lucy didn't understand when or how or why…
"Why are you helping me?"
The question left her lips before she could think too hard on the implications of her question.
Lucy hazarded a glance towards Natsu, watching the man's eyes narrow in thought as he scratched the back of his head absently, lips pursing for a moment before he spoke.
"To tell ya the truth, I don't really know" He remarked off-handedly, his smile only faltering for a moment. "That goat man seemed pretty certain that I could help ya, but I don't rightly know why I decided to or what I can offer you anyway.."
He stopped speaking, his gaze flittering towards her neck.
"Though I will say that there's something familiar about that necklace of yours."
Lucy's hand slowly trailed up towards her neck, her fingers grazing the delicate chain and the pendant upon it. Casting her eyes down she noted the bird in flight, the small ribbon of fabric it carried…
"Why?"
She gazed back towards Natsu, her thoughts eager to hear his answer, hopeful that they'd spark some sort of memory, a semblance of cohesion to the muddled mess that were her muddied memories. Maybe he could fill in the blanks?
Natsu snorted in reply and shook his head derisively, a frown marring his features as he fiddled with the hem of his open vest, his bare arms twitching from the movement. "I don't rightly know," He noted softly, his gaze faraway, unseeing. "The smell perhaps reminds me of…" he shook his head again, rosy hair bouncing lightly, and blinked a few times, his gaze settling again on Lucy..
"I couldn't tell ya what the connection is really, but I hope that it might be somethin' that helps me find my dad."
His father?
She hadn't expected that comment to come from his lips.
Natsu stretched his arms above his head and exhaled loudly, his gaze shifting back towards the ceiling. Lucy could hear the way his back crackled, and could see the way his muscles tightened as he flexed and contracted his fingers, opening and closing each hand into fists. "I-" he began slowly "I don't really have an answer for you. At least not one that'll make ya happy." He finally remarked lowly. "We both have questions that we want answered and I think," he dropped his hands at his side and locked eyes with her once more, "I think that there might be a connection between my dad and you."
"I-I don't know...or I don't think I know your dad" She murmured, peering at Natsu, studying his face to try to see if a spark of familiarity struck her.
But there was no recognition, not like there had been with Larcade and Jackal. She couldn't see anything in Natsu that elicited a sensation of familiarity. He was completely foreign to her.
There was a beat of silence between them before Natsu leaned back and cast his gaze towards the ceiling again, his expression remained neutral..
"Nah, I didn't figure you did. You woulda told me so, I think. Just woulda been nice to find some answers for once" He smiled lightly and peeked over at Lucy.
"As it stands though, the goat man said I had to help ya" he remarked softly watching her, his eyes betraying the thing sparkle of sorrow therein, "and I couldn't just leave ya there by yourself. You probably woulda died. So, here we are in this cave for now."
His answer did nothing, answered nothing, except to reinforce that this perfect stranger was far kinder than she probably deserved. He owed her nothing, but he was putting himself on the line for her.
It seemed as if they were both lost somehow. Lost and alone, looking for something, some semblance of familiarity.
And though Lucy didn't really know how to respond to his comment, she felt the urge to say something. But, to her chagrin and frustration, she could think of nothing to say to comfort or assuage Natsu's concerns about finding his father. Her memory loss angered her, frustrated and flustered her senses.
.So, they sat there for a few awkward moments, staring at one another, Lucy noting how intense Natsu's gaze could be, the electric green of his irises swirling and assessing her. All too quickly, though, his attention shifted from staring straight into her eyes, to peeking down at towards her torso before flitting back to her face. He frowned but said nothing, only turning his gaze back to the ceiling another huff of air escaping his lungs.
"So much for easy answers" he muttered so quietly Lucy wasn't sure she was meant to hear what he'd had to say, before clearing his throat and turning and leaning forward, towards Lucy once more.
"How's your pain?"
His hands hovered close to her side as he angled his face close to the girl's-far closer than Lucy had anticipated or expected. His breath washed over the girl's cheeks as he waited for her answer.
"Uh-um, I'm alright, I think" She stuttered out, anxious at their proximity.
Natsu's warm hand rested gently against her side, the weight of his appendage sending a shiver of pain through her, making her flinch and try to angle backwards out of reflex. This movement, of course, caused more trickles of pain to worm their way through her body.
She willed herself to stop fidgeting and focused on her breathing instead, as nausea roiled in her belly.
The fire mage frowned as he noticed her attempts to shy away from his touch and peered down at her side carefully, warm hand hovering just above the larger wound her flesh bore.
"I think ya probably busted some of that bandages holding everything together" He muttered thoughtfully, reaching towards the wrappings that surrounded her exposed midriff. "I'll probably have to rewrap everything again soon."
A growl rumbled in Natsu's chest as he retracted his hand.. "Ya really banged yerself up, you know. Those two who attacked you weren't pulling their punches."
Natsu retreated with a grimace of distaste, lifting himself from his position on the floor and walking towards the fire, muttering angrily as he went. Lucy didn't quite catch what he was saying this time, the spasms of pain distracting enough to muffle her hearing.
The sudden mood shift left Lucy a little confused. She wasn't sure what'd happened to cause the man to get so angry all of a sudden, but Lucy could tell by the waves of fury that seemed to roll off his person, that he was agitated by...something.
However, rather than voicing his distaste aloud (which made Lucy wonder if she was the cause) Natsu moved towards the sleeping blue cat who'd been left near the warmth of the orange firelight. Crouching down, Natsu carefully rubbed the cat's head, a smile on his lips-and a shift in his mood, which, again, sent Lucy reeling-as he watched the animal stir beneath his touch.
"Hey little buddy," He murmured softly, his voice gentle and jovial, "I promised ta wake ya when she woke up. You can come say hello if ya like."
He peered quickly at Lucy, his smile unwavering as she watched the cat slowly blink up at Natsu before turning towards her.
"You're awake!"
The shout was louder than she expected and Lucy was even more surprised to find a little blue cat staggering towards her, a look of utter determination on his face as he attempted to march stoically towards Lucy.
If she were being honest, Lucy couldn't deny the sense of relief she felt at seeing the cat awake and alert, and stumbling towards her. She'd been worried for his health after their fall and she'd hoped that there hadn't been any lasting damage. It was a comfort to see him awake and talking (even if the notion of a talking cat was a bit alarming).
But, her thoughts were surprised into silence when said blue cat carefully crawled in her lap, careful not to step anywhere near her injured side (though his weight did cause a bit of discomfort, she had to admit) and wrapped his paws around her neck, bowing his head under her chin.
"I'm so glad you're awake!" He cried, his grip tightening on her "Natsu was real worried for a bit and I…" the cat trailed off for a moment, his voice growing smaller.
"I needed to make sure to say thank you for saving me."
Natsu stood back, giving his friend room to fawn over their new acquaintance. Happy had been adamant about helping Lucy, determined to thank her for what she'd done to protect him, once Natsu had retold the story to his little blue friend.
"She really did that?" Happy had been amazed at the girl's bravery "Wow, she's as stupid as you are."
And her stupidity.
"Did she think she wouldn't get hurt doing that? She didn't seem all that strong. Not like you. You survive because you're stupid strong...she's just kinda...stupid brave."
Despite the cat's teasing comments, Natsu could see the appreciation that sparkled in Happy's eyes as he'd watched over Lucy through the few days she slumbered in their little hideaway cave, tucked beneath Natsu's blanket.
It had taken Natsu quite a while to convince Happy to get some rest as well. He'd been nervously hovering at Natsu's side as they'd tried to stem Lucy's wound, and Natsu could have sworn that Happy had paled considerably when Natsu had been forced to tear the hem of Lucy's shirt to expose a rather large gash along the girl's side, oozing blood, specked with dirt and debris. Surrounding that wound had a smattering of angry purple bruises.
It looked painful and once Happy had learned what Lucy had done to try and protect him, his concern and horror at the girl's injuries had increased tenfold.
Natsu had a time slowing the blood flow and cleaning her wounds. The girl, even in her unconscious state fought-however feebly-to get away from Natsu's touch. It had been clear that any movement or exacerbation of the wound, caused her pain.
Despite this, though, Natsu was able to get the wound cleaned (with Happy's help) and the potion he always carried with him, coaxed down the girl's throat. He also made sure that the all too familiar salve (that he had to use so many times before) had been spread onto the bandages that now wound themselves around the girls middle, protecting the torn, jagged flesh and the angry mottled bruises from outside exposure.
Only when everything had been cleaned and bandaged had Happy begrudgingly taken the same potion he'd given Lucy and sent the little blue cat to rest by the warm fire he'd built up. The bruised kitten had only stayed awake a few moments, casting a few concerned glances towards Natsu and Lucy before his eyes had drifted shut and he slumbered off the lingering pain.
Natsu, for all his bruises and scrapes, also took a few swigs of the potion and applied salve to his more burdensome wounds (particularly the angry bruising on his stomach, before hunkering down to keep watch, his muscles coiled and ready to spring at the first sign of an assault, his mind anxiously whirring-refusing to give him rest.
He'd been fearful that they'd been followed and that the two assailants that had fought so hard to procure the girl were on their trail.
This worry, however, remained unfounded, as several hours passed without any sign or semblance of intruders invading their cave at the base of the mountain. Even as dawn's light came filtering through the entrance, no one came to cause harm.
Noonday passed and nothing happened, the only signs of life the fire wizard could detect were the haggard breathing of his new charge and the soft mewling sighs of his closest companion. Occasionally, Natsu could make out the soft chittering of the birds in the trees, but mostly, there was a stillness, and an eerie quiet the filt his veins with both calm and concern, an anxiety that he couldn't seem to shake.
Natsu only finally decided to leave the cave to retrieve water and some food when late afternoon began to stretch towards evening and he could not longer ignore the rumbling in his stomach, nor the dwindling kindling pile.
He didn't stray too far from the cave,only venturing to a nearby stream that trickled down the mountainside, towards the open harbor. Hastily the man filled his canteen, and scramble to catch some of the many fish that milled in the stream.
The fish catching didn't work out as well as he'd hoped…
But the water had been cool and refreshing to his stomach, which tided him over long enough to venture back to the cave to check on his charges.
And it was in this still moment, this quiet solitude that afforded Natsu a clear connection to the blonde girl who slept fitfully, wrapped in a blanket, atop his bedroll.
It turned out that Lucy talked in her sleep.
'I can't just leave you mama' she'd mumbled, her voice a cracked whisper, hoarse and emotional. 'I don't know how to find them. I can't do it on my own.'
Natsu had stepped closer to the girl, curiosity piqued as he listened to her mutter almost incoherently in her fitful slumber, watching as her thin, pale fingers, had wrapped themselves around the edges of the blanket he'd draped on her.
'I don't know if I can find the keys or if they'll even believe me there. How can I convince them that I'm on their side? That I'm not with...And what if I can't find him? What if...what if Fairy Tail doesn't know where I can find Salamander? What if they've never seen him?'
Natsu had nearly fallen on his face from leaning so far forward, straining to hear the girl's words. He hadn't expected her to say...to mark on the fact that she needed to get to Fairy Tail.
Or that she was looking for Salamander.
But now, as he watched Happy dote on Lucy, marking on how stupid she was and seeking the gentle strokes her her fingers against his own neck, Natsu couldn't help but wonder what this Lucy girl really knew and what she was hiding. He wasn't sure if he could trust her, especially with her intimate knowledge of Fairy Tail and that name…
There had to be a connection between them, something that drew the girl to...
That nickname.
She was looking for Salamander and didn't even realize…
Natsu frowned to himself as he crossed his arms and turned towards the fire, wondering how he could help the girl remember what she'd forgotten and get the answers he desperately sought, and now knew that Lucy could help answer.