"Don't be such a fucking baby."
Sting ran his hand over the deep gashes on Natsu's arms, ignoring Natsu's pained grumbles as the skin stitched itself back together. The holy light surrounding Sting slowly dissipated, and he sighed, slumping back onto the log by the fire.
"'m not a baby," Natsu grumbled, shoving up the too-long sleeves of his borrowed shirt. "It hurts." He sighed, poking himself in the ribs and wincing. "Everything hurts."
"Well maybe," Rogue said, poking their campfire with a stick, "and this is just a hypothesis, mind you, but have you considered possibly not throwing yourself head-first into every enemy we find?"
Gray snorted, looking up across the fire at Natsu. He was entertaining himself by causing small snow flurries to blow from his hands and flutter gently around them.
"Well, that's as much as I can do for now," Sting said. He'd taken off his heavy armor and was now leaning back by the fire in his padded jacket and leggings. His own face was still dotted with blood, smeared from him wiping it with the back of his hand.
"Thanks," Natsu said quietly, poking Sting with his foot. He winced at the bruising in his ribs, then brought his hand up and touched his swollen jaw.
"Here." Gray stood up, crossing around the fire and sitting down next to Natsu. Ice formed along the palm of his hand and he raised it up to Natsu's cheek.
"Ouch." Natsu winced and Gray made an apologetic face. He was so close now that he could see each individual scale that curved over Natsu's temples and down to his chin.
"Sorry," Gray said, frowning at the various cuts and bruises that dotted Natsu's face. "You really took a beating." He brushed Natsu's bangs out of his face and made a face at the bruise that ran around Natsu's left eye. "How'd you manage—"
"He got punched in the face," Rogue drawled, leaning back and warming his feet by the fire. "It was actually right before—"
o.o.o.o.o.o
"Y'know, that story is really not important." Natsu interrupted. He glared at Rogue, who shook his head and laughed. Gray frowned, rolling his dice between his fingers. "We should just move on, it's..."
"He was trying to seduce one of the cultists," Sting explained, looking at Gray over his coffee cup. Natsu groaned and ran a hand over his face. "Which is amazing, because he was actually actively trying to avoid combat for once in his life."
"Look, he had important information that you said I wasn't allowed to set on fire." Natsu grumbled, elbowing Sting and reaching into the center of the table to grab a handful of gummy bears.
Gray looked curiously at Natsu. His bright pink hair was shoved under a toque today, but it was still the brightest part of him. Except for his smile. Right now, he was scowling, but Gray had to admit that was pretty cute, too. He was even pouting a little, and—
"...ray?"
Gray blinked, realizing that he'd zoned out staring at Natsu's lips. Shit. "Yeah, um, I... sorry. Just. T-tired?" No, that wasn't right, because then they'd ask if he wanted to stop early tonight and he absolutely did not want to, he wanted to spend as much time across the table from Natsu as possible. "But, um, coffee!"
Gray reached for his cup but accidentally knocked it over, cursing and quickly grabbing his character sheet out of the way before it could get soaked. Erza quickly handed him a paper towel and he took it gratefully, wiping up the mess and blotting at his jeans.
"Good priorities." Natsu grinned at him, gesturing to the character sheet in Gray's hand. Gray tried to force out a laugh, but he could feel his cheeks burning. Natsu probably thought he was a moron.
"Shall we get back on track?" Erza asked, looking at them all over her screen and rolling her eyes.
"But Gray hasn't heard the best part of the story yet!" Sting protested. "'cause Natsu rolled a one, accidentally grabbed the cultist's dick, and managed to get punched in the face-"
o.o.o.o.o.o
"-and he burned down most of the tower with all the information we were trying to get." Sting warmed his hands on the fire, looking over at Natsu and laughing.
"Fuck you guys," Natsu grumbled, jumping when Gray pressed his hand to the bruise and let a cool sheen of ice spread over it. His skin was so warm that the ice melted almost instantaneously, but he sighed in relief anyway. "Thanks."
Gray nodded, giving him a small smile, then turned back to Sting and Rogue. "So, what information do you have on Baphomet?"
Their discussion carried late into the night, voices hushed around the crackling campfire. They took turns keeping watch, with Natsu setting up a series of glyphs to warn them if any cultists decided to retaliate. None did, and Gray woke the next morning to a muted pink sunrise that crept through the trees.
Everyone else was still asleep, and Gray yawned, settling himself down next to the campfire and pulling out his spellbook.
"Morning." Natsu's voice broke Gray out of his reverie nearly half an hour later. "Sleep okay?"
"Mhmm," Gray replied, rubbing his eyes. Natsu yawned, stretching and then moving to warm his hands by the fire. He looked over to where Sting and Rogue were still snoring beside the tree, then peeked over Gray's shoulder curiously, examining his spellbook.
"Whatcha doing?"
"I picked this up off one of the cultists," Gray explained, gesturing to a scroll that sat on the ground next to him. "I'm trying to figure it out, but I don't recognize the language."
Natsu settled down next to Gray and examined the spell. "It's Draconic," he said, picking up the sheet of parchment and scanning the script. "I can read it." Gray looked at him, surprised, and Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Part dragon, remember?"
Gray groaned – he was such an idiot, of course Natsu could read Draconic. "Sorry, I-"
"If I help you with this, are we square for yesterday?"
Gray rolled his eyes. "Fine, but if you're really as reckless as your friends make you out to be, you'll be helping me with a lot of spells in the future."
Natsu snorted, running his fingers along the paper and reading the words under his breath. Gray stared at him curiously.
"Your magic," he said hesitantly. "It really comes from dragons?"
"Yep." Natsu held a hand out and summoned a small flame, grinning and adding it to the campfire. "Don't need books like this. Igneel taught me all the magic I need."
"Igneel?" Gray moved his spellbook away from Natsu's flames cautiously, and contemplated grabbing the scroll from him as well.
"The dragon who trained me," Natsu explained, as if it was a perfectly natural thing to say. "Don't know you know anything about sorcerers?"
"Not much," Gray admitted, turning to sit facing Natsu. Natsu's scales ran down his cheeks, almost to the corner of his eyes, and they contrasted starkly against his dark skin. They made him look fierce. Wild.
Gray liked it.
o.o.o.o.o.o
A sharp ringing broke the tension of the game and Sting made a face, grabbing his phone from the table.
"Sorry," he said, standing from the table. "Work, I'll be right back."
"We might as well take a break," Erza said, standing from her chair and grabbing her own phone. Rogue stood, reaching out for Gray's cup and raising his eyebrows.
"Oh. Yeah, th-thanks," he said. Rogue took it and headed upstairs to the kitchen, leaving Natsu and Gray alone at the table.
They sat in silence for a moment, Gray focusing on the purple dice that Natsu was spinning between his fingers.
"So are you-"
"How was-"
Gray laughed hesitantly and rubbed the back of his neck as they both spoke at the same time. He scribbled in the corner of his character sheet, glancing up at Natsu, who was smiling at him.
"What's that?" Natsu asked, pointing to the small, leather-bound book that sat next to Gray's dice. Gray felt his cheeks flush as he ran his fingers over the cover.
"My, uh… my spellbook," he said quietly. "It's kinda silly, I- there's apps on the phone and stuff, to look the spells up, but, uh, I just kinda—"
"Can I see it?" Natsu's eyes were curious and Gray hesitated before handing the book over. He had spent hours on it – transcribing spells from the handbook into neat calligraphy, adding words in a different language to make it seem more real.
"It's just—"
"This is so cool!" Natsu exclaimed. He ran his fingers along the pages, eyes bright with excitement. "You made this? Yourself?" He looked up at Gray, who nodded shyly. "This is awesome. I wish I could- I mean, sorcerers don't have spellbooks, but if I did..." He handed the book back to Gray.
"Thanks," Gray said, giving Natsu a soft smile. "My brother always calls it my, uh, my geek book."
"Pff." Natsu waved dismissively. "Your brother sounds like an asshole."
Gray laughed. "He is kind of an asshole," he agreed, "but I do have a lot of… stuff. That he thinks is stupid."
"Who cares what he thinks," Natsu said earnestly, locking eyes with Gray. "I think you're—"
"All right, we good?" Sting asked, reappearing at the bottom of the stairs. Natsu cut himself off, leaning back in his chair and looking intently at his dice, and Gray was almost certain he wasn't imagining the pink blush that dusted Natsu's cheeks.
"Yeah," Natsu said, kicking Sting in the shin as he walked by. "We're good."
o.o.o.o.o.o
After Natsu translated the spell, Gray began to practice it, weaving the magic through his fingers and reciting the words softly under his breath. Natsu watched him intently and Gray tried to ignore it, although he could feel heat in his cheeks, and he slipped up more than once, dropping the crystals he was using and shattering them.
"Vi-vilzr…" He stammered over the unfamiliar word, glaring at it. Why did it have to be Draconic? It was the least attractive language Gray had ever heard, and the most difficult to pronounce.
"Vilzreiquath," Natsu corrected. Gray blinked, looking up at him. The word sounded much nicer coming from Natsu. "Vil-zrei-quath."
Gray repeated it a few times, slowly becoming more familiar with the syllables. Once Natsu nodded at him, satisfied with the pronunciation, Gray moved onto the next word.
"Lsau," he murmured. That one was easier, at least. Gray could feel the magic under his skin now, weaving between his fingers and charging the air around him with static energy. "Lsau wkar."
The static coalesced and formed into a fist-sized globe of ice that hovered over Gray's hand, surrounded by tiny snowflakes that danced around it and fell to the ground.
"Huh." Natsu crouched down and peered at it, eyebrow raised. "Doesn't look very exciting for all that work."
Gray snorted, closing his hand and dismissing the globe. "You won't be saying that when it saves your ass later."
"Yeah, right," Natsu said, rolling his eyes and standing up. "Yesterday was a one-off."
"Uh-huh," Gray replied. He looked over to where Sting was sitting up, yawning and rubbing his face. Rogue was still face-first on the ground, snoring quietly.
"Don't believe me?" Natsu asked, brow setting stubbornly. "I could kick your ass any day." Flames licked up his arms and reflected eerily off his scales.
"Sure you could," Gray replied dismissively. Frost crept over the back of his hands, thousands of snowflakes intertwining to form a thin barrier over his skin.
"Why don't we find out?" Natsu said, stepping forward belligerently.
"For the love of Pelor, do you have any sense of self-preservation?" Sting grumbled. He was standing now, stretching and glaring at Natsu, who grumbled and put out his flames. Gray backed down as well, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"I was just—"
"We need to work together," Sting said, cuffing Natsu across the back of the head before sitting down next to the fire. "It's going to take all of us – and a whole lot of prayer – if we wanna make it through this alive."
o.o.o.o.o.o
An uneasy quiet hung over the group and Gray glanced over at Sting, whose expression was solemn. Gray was surprised by how well this group role-played. The other D&D group he'd been involved with had been fun, but they'd been more interested in killing things than acting as their characters.
"Should I leave the room?" Erza raised an eyebrow at Sting over the top of her DM screen and he nodded, tapping his fingers on his character sheet. She stood up and motioned to her dice. "Don't touch my shit."
"We don't have a death wish," Rogue muttered, ducking his head at the glare Erza shot his way.
Once she was out of the room, Sting looked around at the group.
"All right," he said, gesturing to the map in front of them. "Here's the plan..."
o.o.o.o.o.o
By the time the four of them reached the top floor of the ruined keep, they were bloody and exhausted. Sting held his injured left arm against his chest, and leaned on Rogue, who was also breathing heavily. Natsu wiped blood from his forehead, resting against the wall and sighing.
"I've only got a couple healing potions left," he said, digging through his bag and tossing one at Sting. "Drink up."
Sting nodded in thanks and swallowed the thick red liquid, making a face at the bitter taste. The magic coursed through him and he sighed in relief and flexed his arm.
"Pelor, bless us and give new life to our souls," he murmured quietly, closing his eyes and putting out his hands. A soft, white glow emanated from him and surrounded the party, wiping away the worst of their wounds and leaving them somewhat less exhausted.
Gray leaned on his staff, looking over at Natsu with concern. Natsu was still making a pained face, but as soon as he saw Gray looking, he transformed it into a grin.
"Everyone ready?" Rogue asked, twirling one of his daggers in his hand. It crackled and sparked with arcane energy, and it lit up his face with a bluish glow.
"Let's do this," Natsu said, for once hanging back as Sting pushed forward, placing his hand on the latch only after Rogue had thoroughly searched the area. Sting looked back at the party one last time, then shoved the door open and stumbled out onto the roof.
It was a nightmare. The center of the roof was occupied by what looked like an enormous tree, but instead of bark there was flesh. Gray's stomach roiled as he watched blood drip down the branches, leaving deep red patterns on the stone below it.
"Get the prisoners!" Natsu's voice snapped Gray out of his reverie and he looked around wildly, realizing that thick, iron chains were staked into the tree, then led to several groups of terrified-looking people who were being held in some sort of magical stasis. A thin, shimmering strand of energy led back along the ground, and Gray realized that the chains were siphoning the life-force from the prisoners.
Gray's hand went to the spellbook at his hip and he flipped through it, using his other hand to dig through his reagent pouch. Fur, amber, three silver pins. He knew these spells off by heart. Looking over at the cultists near the closest group of prisoners, he held out his hand and whispered, "torquem fulgur."
Lighting leapt from his fingertips and struck the nearest cultist directly in the chest, dropping him to the ground before he had time to react. Three more bolts leapt from his corpse to the others around him, killing them instantly as well.
Gray dashed across the rooftop to the nearest group, cursing when he realized that they were surrounded by an invisible barrier. The people inside shouted at him, banging against the wall, and he placed his hands on the surface.
"Irritum magicae," he murmured, concentrating as hard as he could into pushing the magic away. It fought against him for a moment, but he growled and shoved back, eventually forcing it away. "Get out of here, through the door," he panted, pulling the prisoners to their feet and gesturing back the way he'd come. "Run."
Nobody argued, and Gray turned to move onto the next group. He could see from the corner of his eye that Natsu and Rogue had freed two other groups, and Sting was next to the tree, deep in combat with several cultists and a demonic-looking figure.
"Shit," Gray muttered. There were only three groups of prisoners left, and Natsu looked like he was doing well. Gray turned to help Sting instead, who was slowly being overwhelmed. Gray dashed forward through the rubble and mess of flesh and bark, summoning the globe of snow from earlier in his hand.
"Vilzreiquath lsau wkar," he muttered, hoping to hell he was pronouncing it right. The snowglobe streaked out of his hand until it was hovering, centered between Sting and the cultists. He then grabbed Sting's shoulder, crushing a clear gemstone from his reagant pouch between his fingers.
A wall of force leapt into existence around him and Sting just as the snowglobe between the monsters exploded, blasting around them and pummeling the monsters with a heavy rain of sharp ice. Blood streaked the ground around them as the ice shards sliced right through the cultists, ripping them to shreds.
"Thanks," Sting gasped, wiping his face and hefting his sword. He looked exhausted, breathing heavily and spitting blood on the ground.
"I'm almost out of magic," Gray said, keeping the wall up around them. Through it he could see Natsu and Rogue freeing the last of the prisoners, and the lines of energy back to the flesh tree began to dissipate. "We need to retreat a bit. I can pull us over to the other two, but that's about all I can do for now."
"No," Sting said, shaking his head as he watched the demon growl and stomp. The tree behind the beast warped and twisted, opening up to reveal three more cultists, carrying a dark red stone between them.
Gray watched in horror as the stone began to glow and blood-red light spilled from it, coalescing into a portal that stretched taller than the tree. His fingers tightened on Sting's shoulder as the portal widened, and a set of horns began to protrude from it, black and twisted and longer than his arm.
"Shit," Gray whispered. "We're too late."