Chapter Eight

Pink hair emerged and then a familiar tan face. Her breath escaped her with a loud sigh of relief, and Growssu's head whipped around instantly. She let the blanket slip, showing her face. He raced over and knelt beside her. She forced herself to release the pipe and he pulled the blanket away and started running his hands over her.

"I'm okay Pinkie…calm down."

"My name is not Pinkie." He growled and her mouth fell open. He tilted his head.

"You can speak English now?" She blinked and he grinned. He shook his head and tossed his thumb over his shoulder at the thing he'd come out of.

"The translator on the Magi-Hover has most of your language figured out."

"That thing….has a translator? How is it translating from over there?"

"It has a lot. And the translator has a range of several buildings. Come on." He scooped her up.

"My bags." She struggled to try and get free but his arms were too strong.

"I'll get them." He promised and she stilled as he carried her inside. It was fairly spacious, if you weren't claustrophobic. He set her on a bench then went outside and was quickly back with her bags and the pipe. He hooked it to the wall and the door slid shut. He sat down in a chair and started typing at what looked like a plain tabletop.

"What are you touching?"

"The Magi-Hover has a communications board created using lasers. Your eyes must not be strong enough to see it."

"Probably not." She sat back down and looked around. It was a little barren but she guessed it wasn't a living trailer so much as probably a battle assault vehicle.

"What are you doing on a roof? Haven't you learned they aren't safe?"

"They were safer than the street." She muttered and he looked over his shoulder at her. She sighed. He shook his head.

"Did they send you out to find more food?"

"No…we were attacked."

"What?" He spun around, his knees hitting hers and she inhaled sharply and rubbed her left one. He looked apologetic but looked into her eyes. "What happened?"

"Raiders. They attacked the dorm under orders from some military group."

"What are raiders?" He asked and picked up her hands. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"Raiders are groups of people; usually men…males. They steal from people to survive. They'll take people as slaves or…we've heard some desperate groups eat people they capture."

He shuddered visibly and she squeezed his hands. "We got away. We used boards to get to the roof of another dorm. And then some of the raiders came up and attacked while we tried to get to the parking structure."

"What? The translator had no word for the last part."

"Parking structure. It's a building of sorts designed to store vehicles." He nodded.

"Did these raiders hurt anyone on this roof?"

"No…I managed to fight them off long enough for everyone to get to the other side."

"Why you?" He asked and his hands ran up her arms. "You are so frail…you should be resting."

"Well, to be honest; I was the only one with a weapon besides Erza and her wound opened before the first attack on the dorm door. She was in no condition to fight."

"Where are they then? I did not see their heat signatures on my radar." He said and saved at the invisible communications board.

"I made them run ahead when the queen showed up."

"What royalty? Would their army not protect you all?"

"No…" She shook her head. "Queens is what we call the gray dragonoids who fly."

He shuddered. "Tell me you did not try to fight the Aerial Silverback."

"I wouldn't call running from it fighting." She wrinkled her nose and looked down at her feet. She heard him growl and given there wasn't a translation, she figured it was just a sound of annoyance. She glanced up through her eyelashes and saw that he was grim faced and tight lipped.

"You acted as a decoy?"

"I had to. The others…"

"Could have done it."

"No they couldn't." She shook her head. "They were too scared and none had weapons. Or…"

"Or what?"

"Whatever…this is." She said and pulled one hand free to touch the suit she was wearing.

He flushed and recaptured her hand and squeezed both hands. "Where are they now?"

"We have another building that we've designated as a temporary relocation site…."

"Where?"

"Can you show me a map on your communications board of the town?" He nodded and pulled her into his lap. She tried to stand up but he'd already spun the chair around towards the board. There was a quick light that ran over her face before she could close her eyes and then she saw the board appear. And a map. Her eyes looked at it; but she couldn't tell where she was. She'd taken to the roofs and it had been chaotic to find ones she could move between.

"Where are we?"

A red dot appeared and she looked at it and then studied the map again. She pointed. "There. It's the city's public library."

"We'll head there to retrieve them."

"Do you have more of these things?" She asked and he looked at her and she waved her hands around the Magi-Hover. "It's not exactly big enough for all of us in here."

"My squad will meet us there."

"Squad? Oh…Erza is not going to be amused." Lucy sighed and he shook his head.

"The redheaded leader will have to understand that we are the only option for your survival."

"What are you?" Lucy asked and he grinned.

"I'm a Dragis."

"A…Dragis?" He nodded and his fangs gleamed in the bright lights of the Magi-Hover. "I've never heard of Dragis before."

"We are a race not from this planet. We've been sent here by our commanding general to try and find any and all survivors of your world and extract them. And kill as many draconics as we can in the process."

"Draconics?" She tilted her head. "You mean Dragonoids?"

"Yes…the creatures we faced the other night together."

"Are they…from your world?"

"No…" He shook his head, a look stealing over his face. It was almost…haunted.

"You don't have to tell me." She shook her head and she looked at him. "Thank you..for coming back."

"Of course." He blushed. "I'm sorry it took so long. I had to listen to my commanding officer lecture me about going off script before I could swipe the Magi-Hover to come find you."

"I got you in trouble…" She closed her eyes and shook her head, but he caught her chin and squeezed until she opened her eyes. He stared into them and shook his head slowly.

"I always go off script. Laxus always lectures me. It's another day in the life." He grinned. "And me being able to produce so much new information for the translation program; as well as providing information that there were survivors who could grow plants from this planet; he wasn't too upset."

"You mentioned…extracting us?"

"Yes." He flushed a little. "Your world is not going to be safe any time soon. Draconics are like a plague, killing everything in sight and ruining a world. Usually when they are unleashed, a planet the size of yours falls within a growlzin but your world did not."

"What is a…growlzin?" She asked hesitantly. He scrunched up his nose and closed one eye as he thought.

"Around three hidden moons on this world."

"Three…hidden…." She looked at him and then her eyes widened. "You mean three new moons."

"No…it is the same moon. It just hides from view due to the sun…"

"Being blocked by the spinning of the plant in its orbit." He nodded and looked at her. "We call that phase a "new moon" because as more light is reflected it looks like it's growing. Like a new blossom on a flower. Then we have a full moon; when it's at it's zenith. Then it's called a "waning moon" as it gets smaller."

"I see. I am glad you all did not think moons changed and replaced themselves."

"We're a bit smarter than that." She laughed. Then she realized how short of a time frame it really was. Three months and a world was usually overran. She looked at him. "So I guess us surviving for 2 years is like a record?"

"Yes. We have some survivors already on the Guild Station but they refuse to speak to us…or speak the same language. So the translation programs are a jumbled mess. You and your friend…Levvey…"

"Levy." Lucy corrected and he repeated it until he got it right.

"You and Levy, speaking to me helped us get much more information into the system."

"I'm glad to help." She said and looked at the communications board. "When are we going to leave the roof and head for the library?"

"We already have silly." He laughed and she looked at him. He pushed a button and the wall in front of them shimmered and then it was like looking out the window. Her mouth fell open. They were skimming over the rooftops.

"Its so smooth, I never felt it take off." She whispered in awe. He pulled her back against his chest and she didn't fight him. The Magi-Hover moved across the street and turned on it's own.

"How did you all move the plants? There were so many." He asked after some time and she turned her head.

"We had to leave them…"

"I will go back once…"

"They're gone." She shook her head and he looked at her, anger creeping into his eyes.

"I will find the raiders and…."

"It wasn't the raiders." He growled and looked at her. "A fire breather got into the dorm and burnt the building down."

"No…" He growled. "Your plants could help the Guild Station provide food for the members of your planet there. Droy was most excited as he is a botanist and hasn't been able to come down to the surface."

"Why not?"

"He is not a Dragis so it is not safe."

"I thought…all of you…"

"No. I am a Dragis. Droy is a Faunkrean. They are…somewhat larger than your people. With dryer skin, and their hair is not soft like yours. It is hard to explain."

"So…on the Guild Station, there are many different types of…aliens all living and working together?"

"Yes." He nodded. "But Dragis are the best. Don't let anyone tell you different."

"I promise." She held up three fingers and he stared at her with his head tilted. "It's a sign of making a promise."

"I see…the fact you can speak with hands as well as your mouth is unusual."

"Humans are not usual, normal, simple, or easy to understand."

"I am learning this." He said and turned, sniffing her hair.

"Do I smell that bad?" She asked and shifted and he again shook his head.

"No…I wanted to make sure and memorize your scent. So if you get in trouble, I can always find you."

"Thanks, but hopefully that won't be necessary."

"Something tells me you attract trouble."

"Rude." She huffed and he grinned. She looked out the window and saw the clock tower come into view. "We're here."

"I will see if the others are close." He tapped some things, his arms going around either side of her as he typed on symbols she didn't understand. She saw a blue dot, a black dot, a yellow dot, a dark gray dot, a white dot, and a blue and white dot appear on the screen.

"There are only six of you?"

"On this planet yes. There are others on other planets, trying to collect innocent survivors."

"I see." She bit her lip. "Why are the dragonoids here?"

"Draconics." She nodded her head and he sighed. "They are used by the leader of the planet Tartaros, Mard Geer to destroy planets and give him and his army the means to continue to amass power. The Guild Station is part of an alliance that has sworn to try and rid the universes of Mard Geer and end the reach of Tartaros for good."

"Mard…." Lucy swallowed and he looked at her. "Is he kinda tall with long black hair…and does he carry a book at all times?"

"How do you know Mard Geer?" He asked and cupped her face, but she felt the tension in his body.

"He was the leader of the militant group…who ordered the raiders to attack the dorm. I'd never seen or heard of him before."

"He's on this planet?"

"Yes…is that rare?"

"Very. Your planet must hold something he wants."

"Great…another dick who wants to corrupt the planet." Lucy muttered under her breath. She felt him relax a little. She looked up at him and closed her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder. His hand started to lazily run up and down her left arm. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

"You are handling all of this very well. Compared to others of your kind we have removed."

"Yeah well…I guess I'm used to living in chaos."

"The time since the invasion…"

"No." She laughed cutting him off. "Even before. My parents were business people. Always busy. Always traveling for work. I was passed off to nannies, sent to boarding schools, summer camps. Coming here to study was the first time I was surrounded by the same people for more than a few months at a time."

"Nannies? What kind of schools?" He asked in confusion.

"Nannies, they are people to look after your children for you so you can work or have more time to do things you need to do. They cook for your children, bathe them, cloth them, play with them and put them to bed."

"You do not parent your own young?"

"Most people do. But the very rich or super busy get help."

"And the schools?"

"Boarding schools. They are education centers where you send children. They live there and study there."

"And these are different from where you were recently how?"

"Boarding schools are for ages four to eighteen and basic education levels." She explained slowly. "Colleges and universities are for higher education. Not everyone enrolls in them."

"Sounds…lonely."

"It was." She sighed. "But no matter how lonely, I knew my parents loved me. They just…didn't know how to show it the best way."

"Do you know…?"

"No…I don't know if they're alive or not." She shook her head. He tightened his hold on her. "I just hope if they aren't…it was quick."

There was series of beeps and he looked at the screen. Weird symbols popped up and he growled. "That was your annoyed growl."

He flushed as he looked down at her and cleared his throat. She noticed that the colored dots of his allies had stopped moving. Most still several blocks away. "They all found dens and want to clear them out. It will still be a while. Laxus stated he did not want me going into the library alone…since your red headed leader does not like me."

"Probably not the worst decision." He lifted a brow as he looked at her. "She's injured, scared, tired and cranky. Those are not the way you want to deal with Erza."

"Grza."

"Er…Er….Erza." Lucy broke out the first sound.

"Er…ahh.."

"Erz…Erz…Erz-ah."

"Erza." He drew the name slowly out and Lucy nodded. "Who was the tall one with brown hair?"

"Cana."

"Cahn…ah."

"Try it a little faster. Cana."

"Cana."

"Look at you, learning their names so quickly." She yawned and he moved his legs, sending them sliding towards the end of the Magi-Hover. The chair turned and a door opened. Her eyes widened as she saw the massive amounts of fluffy throw blankets. Most in shades of reds, oranges, pinks and whites. She looked up at him as he stood, holding her in his arms. "I can walk on my own."

"I know." He stated but didn't set her down until they were in the middle of the blankets. He carefully put her down and she stretched out, feeling like she was in a pit of softness. He also stretched out and she turned and looked at him over the softness.

"Why do you have so many throw blankets?"

"These are the softest things I have ever found." He said, running his hands over the ones around him. "They remind me of being in a forgette with my father when I was very young."

"A what?" Lucy asked, the word unusual.

"A forgette is what we call a small enclosure filled with fire. It helps young Fire Dragis learn how to cope with their inner flames."

"So…you would sleep in…fire?"

"Yes." He smiled ruefully at the memory. "It's soft, warm, and intense all at once. You and your family with you. Surrounded by one another."

"It sounds very…comforting."

"In a way it is." He nodded. "While these are as soft as the flames in the forgette, they are not as hot."

"I believe that." Lucy giggled softly and struggled not to yawn again.

"Sleep Lucy…you are safe in here. Draconics cannot break through a Magi-Hover's shields."

"Ok." She yawned and closed her eyes. She smiled as he situated blankets over and nestled closer himself.