Gajeel's voice stuck to the back of his throat, making it hard to bid his goodbyes to his former group. His chest tightened and laughter threatened to escape through his tightly clamped lips.
"Lily! Come boy!" He managed to bark out the simple command and felt Lily morph into his shadows.
He slowly made his way to the back of the alleyway, another burst of laughter almost escaping when the MUB startled in his grasp and a bolt of static shot from her makeshift weapon. The static hit Juvia square in the rear, making the baubas jump a mile high with a screech almost as loud as the MUB's. She hid her trembling form behind a large crate and the remaining monsters stood completely still as if wanting to avoid all notice from the static-cling shooting from the tiny, trembling MUB in Gajeel's grasp.
Oh it was as plain as the shadows surrounding him that she was terrified. Out. Of. Her. Mind. But seeing her beat Jose black and blue, screaming at him while also giving the rest of the gang a taste of their own medicine? Well, it was almost enough to make him forgive her for ruining his favorite shadows. Almost, but once she calmed down and he was no longer nervous about his own safety, she would be getting a piece of his mind.
He slowly exited the alleyway and turned down the street. Grateful that the late hour prevented any persons to be wondering about, and thereby keeping them safe from the bolts of static still shooting into the darkness, Gajeel used his long legs to quickly put distance between them and the rest of the monsters. He followed the main roof shadow against the wall and watched the MUB's body slowly relax the more they walked. Her fluff-covered legs drooped and her body slowly grew limp in his hold. He waited until she finished mumbling to herself and finally let go of her shadow weapon before stopping and gently placing her back on her fuzz.
She immediately stiffened, her eyes darting around them and staring at every shadow that loomed close. Gajeel tilted his head, noticing patches of wet fuzz clinging to her small body. He didn't want to know what kind of muck created the wet patches near her bottom fuzz, but he was more surprised by the wetness near her face. He bit back a sigh and crossed his arms.
He couldn't help it; he was actually a little impressed with her gumption. True, she had screamed like a banshee enough to make his ears ring when he shook his head. And apparently she had even been crying on top of it all. Yet she had still given Jose and his goons a beating they would never forget.
The MUB took a shuddering breath and looked down at the ground, folding her fluff covered appendages together. He tilted his head, bending to look her in the face.
"You doin' ok now, Shorty?"
She sniffed, but nodded her head, still looking directly at the ground. "Are we...are we safe now?"
Gajeel glanced over his shoulder to where the mouth of the alleyway stood barely visible. He could easily spout some nonsense about not being in any danger whatsoever to help put her at ease and he really did doubt that anyone would be coming after them, but he owed the MUB at least some credit for the guts she showed back in the alleyway.
"I can still see the alley, but after your performance back there I don't think anyone will be willin' to come after us. So we can rest here some more, if ya'd like, or we can keep-"
"No! We can keep going!"
Faster than he thought possible for a tiny fluff ball, the MUB sprinted behind him and launched herself onto his back. Her puffy legs wrapped around his body and her puny, fuzzy arm wrapped around his neck in a death grip. She pointed directly in front of them.
"Follow the transportation vehicle!" she hollered, immediately bursting into a bout of coughing.
He bit back a laugh and loosened her hold before slowly shifting his body into the shape of a dragon; he didn't want her becoming even more traumatized by falling off his back mid-transformation.
"Ya did a fair bit of screaming back there, so you should probably be restin' yer voice for a while."
"I was not screaming...the entire time," she mumbled, leaning against his back as she coughed again.
Gajeel let a chuckle loose and sailed from shadow to shadow. "Oh no, not all the time. I do remember hearing some screeches, a few shrieks, maybe a squeal or two-"
He heard her laugh...he swore he did...but the coughing made it difficult to hear. "You can cease your pestering now."
He laughed into the dark streets, his body feeling lighter than it had in several half-moons. His wings beat slowly through the night air, the shadows trailing like ink behind them. He opened and closed his mouth to speak, but it took him several tires for the words to form.
"Hey, MUB?"
"Hmmm?"
He cleared his throat, flying across the street to a larger shadow. "All teasin' aside...ya did good back there. Jose will be sporting more than a few bruises for a full moon at least!"
Her silent laughter vibrated throughout his entire shadow. "I never ever want to do that again. But thank you. And I am dreadfully sorry for using your shadows without permission."
He shrugged his wings, careful not to interrupt his flight., "Eh, no biggie. Glad to be of some help."
"You are more than just some help, MC. Thank you."
He coughed, the shadows around his chest feeling strangely warm. "Don't...don't mention it. Now rest yer throat and keep a look out. We're gonna be traveling through a ton of open space soon and my shadows don't do well in moonlight."
"Aye aye, captain!" he felt her shift on his back and he turned to look at her.
"Huh?"
She waved an appendage at him. "It was in a book Wendy dropped one time, do not worry about it. I will be your lookout, so trust me and just focus on flying comfortably."
Shaking his long neck, he shrugged and continued flying straight and true, surprised to find himself semi-interested in the strange story the MUB mentioned, but even more surprised to find that she had already earned his trust completely.