So- to begin: It seems that no matter how much I WANT to update quickly, life has other plans. For starters, my older sister is pregnant and due at the end of the month. So I've been spending quite a bit of time with her when I'm not working. Exciting right? Well, it is for me. Imma be an Aunt Soon! Yaaay!
Asides from that, I have been extremely drained of all inspiration and ability to write thanks to over exhaustion at work. The past month has been pretty harrowing. Constantly working doubles, followed by a few coworkers getting fired leaving me the only person available to work the graveyard shift. (Sadly, I'm the only person trained for it now.) This led to me working two weeks with no days off. So any time I had at home was spent sleeping.
I've been trying to write. I REALLY have been. That's how I'm getting this chapter out right now. I thank google docs for making that possible as I've honestly been writing this up in my spare time at work when trying to keep my head from resting on the counter.
That'll be my excuse for any errors in this: I was exhausted and writing anyway. HOWEVER that brings up my NEXT bit of exciting things!
-However, if you'd like to see those exciting things, please go to the end of the chapter. I placed it all there to shorten this note up here.
Annnyway- I know you all didn't come here for my blabber so just remember I don't own a darned thing except for my hopes and dreams and please enjoy!
-CGP
The Caravan was unusually solemn that day.
It contradicted the very environment they traveled in. The sun shone with a brightness that chased away the grim mood the rain had caused. Birds and other animals echoed through the forests in tandem even as the temperature slowly dropped to a more temperate setting. With the coloring leaves, it left the forests and mountains practically glowing.
The Fairies with Tails did not seem to notice. Instead, they traveled in silence, each looking to the other with concern and questions in their eyes, but none willing to voice them. At least, not yet. For now, all questions had been shut down and replaced with a tentative hope.
Out of all of them, only Makarov seemed the closest to normal. With cheeks red from too many sips out of the ale kegs Cana so judiciously watched over, he laughed and carried on as if two of his members had not disappeared in a landslide just the day before. The Chief, despite himself, wasn't fooling anyone- least of all, Mirajane, who had watched him act this way before many times in the past: always when he was worried for one of his own.
It just made it that much harder to ignore the weight of fear bearing down on her chest. Sighing, the white-haired Romni walked alongside her tipsy in-law and silently prayed that their fears would be laid to rest: and soon.
"Stop you're frowning," Makarov chastised her, "It's a lovely day and you- along with everyone else- should be smiling!"
She sighed, tilting her lips into a sad attempt of a grin before watching the small chief stumble beside her. "Don't you think you've had enough to drink today, Master?"
"I'll have none of that now!" The chief grumped out, swaying his staff to and fro, "It's Makarov, not master, Chief, sir, or anything else you want to call me: I'm not that old!"
"Of course you're not." The sadness uplifted, if only a little, at the man's antics before it was quickly replaced once more. "You're really worried about them, aren't you?"
"Of course I'm not!"
Mirajane didn't believe that for a second, but instead of calling him out, she shook her head and twiddled her fingers together. "I am. I think we all are actually. That landslide took us all by surprise, I don't… I… she wasn't here for very long, but it's sad to think it could have taken Lucy and Natsu out so suddenly."
"Bah!" He waved his staff at her again, eyes suddenly far more serious as the proof of his inebriation slowly drained from his cheeks. "I'll have none of that either. They're not dead. I have faith we'll see those two again when we finally get off the mountain."
"-of course. We just have to believe in them." She smiled again, though it did not reach her eyes. Honestly, being optimistic was one of her strongest traits. She knew that, but it did nothing to ease the churning in her stomach today. It was obvious Makarov was worried, no matter what he said: the fact he was sounding so optimistic confused her.
"Yes. We do. So wipe that sad smile off your face, Mirajane." Patting her hip, being as he couldn't reach much higher than that, the Roma Chieftain sped up the pace to walk ahead of her. "Natsu and the girl are fine, I'd feel it in my gut if they weren't. Just you wait: they'll be back in no time. He's too stubborn to let that take him down."
He started whistling then, leaving Mirajane to her thoughts, but his words did ease her worry, if only by a little. If he was going to stay strong and hope, than she would as well. They all would. All that was needed was to keep on moving and let the cards fall as they lay.
If only Makarov believed his words half as much as he said them. In fact, the Chief's faith was as low as the rest of his group. Dreadfully low- as that landslide did not feel natural.
I just hope my gut is right.
"We're lost, aren't we?"
"Of course not, have some faith!"
For some reason, hearing Natsu say it both made Lucy relax and frown dubiously at the same time. Taking a wrong turn while having good intentions just seemed like something the male was apt to do. Even if he said he knew the woods like the back of his hand.
"Yes, faith," She grumbled, walking slowly behind him with a grimace. "Like when you told me going through those sticker bushes earlier would be fine only for me to slip and fall into a stream and get those things all over my bu-"
"Hey now, that was an accident! And I got you back up and dry again, didn't I?" Really, Natsu couldn't see why she was complaining, hadn't they been getting along better recently? Frowning, he kept walking ahead of her, using more force than necessary on the dirt beneath him, successfully padding the soft dirt down into something far easier to walk on.
If Lucy hadn't been so tired, she may have stopped grumbling enough to notice. Instead, she trudged on behind him, face dour as the weather coupled with her own sweat chilled her skin and made walking quite uncomfortable. Not to mention her knee was throbbing far more often than usual. What girl wouldn't be in a bad mood?
"Yes you did, and you didn't even burn me. Which- by the way- from what Mirajane has told me, is a miracle."
"Pfft- I'd never burn you, Lucy. My fire doesn't work that way!"
"... what way are you talking about?"
She never got her answer as the Draconis, now distracted by a fox rushing through the underbrush nearby, didn't even hear the question. Excited, he followed it through the bushes for a moment before returning to continue their way through the bumpy terrain of the Magnolia Forest.
Really, if she wasn't so tired maybe, just maybe, she could have enjoyed the sight of the woods just as he was. Foxes were adorable after all and she'd never seen one up close. If only she had her horse to ride, or something else to carry her until her knee stopped complaining. That would have been a welcome relief. She could just see it now, riding comfortably with a blanket around her shoulders behind protective glass as a clock trudged on in her pl-
-Wait, clock? Where had that thought come from? Laughing at herself, the Romni decided she must be getting delirious.
"Lucy- don't walk there just yet!"
"Eh?" Pausing in her mental thoughts, she watched as the roma darted back in front of her, where a particularly bumpy patch of moss had just been waiting for her to trek over. With a few rough stamps of his feet, he quickly leveled the Earth before flashing a triumphant grin her way.
"That should make it easier, right?"
Baffled, she glanced back behind her, noticing finally, the path she had walked looked much the same way. "Have you… been doing that all this time?"
"-Yea? It's a little better now isn't it?"
Honestly if she wasn't so shocked by her lack of observation she probably would have hugged him by now. Flushing pleasantly, she shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Natsu- you're trying your best and I'm just being a big grouch. Thank you. I guess my leg would have given out earlier today if you hadn't been doing that."
"- it's not that big a deal," turning his back to her, the man continued forward, completely giving her the cold shoulder. If she hadn't noticed his ears turn pink, she probably would have fallen for it too. Was he embarrassed? At that moment, she found it strangely… cute.
Feeling her spirits lifted far more than they had been, the romni decided to keep her complaints to herself and do just as he'd asked of her: have faith. So what if it was taking them awhile and she hadn't seen sight of the mountains they'd been traversing with the others the day before? That didn't mean they were lost. He'd said he knew the way and she would believe him.
Thier impromptu hike through the forest had gone well enough that day- with Natsu catching food to give them the energy they needed. However, with her leg, and inability to sleep well the night before compounded with being sore in general, it had been slow going. Both were worried they wouldn't catch up with the others at a quick enough pace, but Natsu was certain he could get them there on his own. 'My nose isn't just there to look pretty!'
The fact he'd even said that to her -and believed it- was enough to make her snort in amusement. He could be so strange sometimes.
Continuing through the forest in companionable silence that was only interrupted by Natsu -who liked to make noise just for the sake of it sometimes,- the two continued their trek with very little difficulties. Though Lucy was certain her leg would tire eventually: she hoped it wouldn't be for another few hours. If she could make it closer to sunset, then perhaps- just perhaps- they'd begin to catch up with the others. However, the silence was interrupted just after noon, by sounds that caused Natsu to stop leading.
If he had ears capable of doing so, Lucy was certain that would have been twitching. Pausing in his tracks, the Draconis sniffed the air and glanced about them as his muscles grew tense.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, puzzled by this change in his demeanor. "Do you sense something?"
"Yea- someone," He replied, eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air again. "More than one and they're close too."
Feeling hopeful Lucy smiled, "Could it be the others?"
"No- these guys smell… worse than the snowflake!"
She wanted to point out that out of all the men she'd met in the caravan, Gray was most certainly not that smelly, but she chose to keep her peace. Instead, she studied the way the Roma looked ready to pounce and realized something must certainly be off, but what? It wasn't uncommon for others to travel so then why-
"No one else is supposed to know where your home base is, are they?" It dawned on her then and a sudden sense of unease washed over her. If that was the case, what were others doing so close to Natsu's home?
"Yeah- it's safer that way, keeps other groups from trying to take it for themselves. I better check it out!"
Reacting to Natsu suddenly stepping forward, making his way towards the under brush, Lucy snatched his hand and held it fast. "Wait! You can't just run off and leave me here, Natsu!"
"Who said I was?" Yelping in surprise, she stumbled forward as he continued, pulling the Romni right along with him. Her grip had been firm on his, but now, his own hand twisted to grip hers in return as he pushed his way through the underbrush. "Just stay close so I don't lose ya', kay'?"
"Y-you were the one going to lose me, not the other way around!" She hissed as she stumbled along, finding it much harder to walk now that he set the pace across far too many roots.
"No way that would happen. Even if you weren't screeching, I'd sniff ya' out."
"Screeching? I don't sc-"
"They're this way, come on you're slowing down!"
Before Lucy could retort, angry that he'd miraculously forget about her leg and sore muscles, the Romni was shocked to quiet when he pulled her against his side and released her fingers from his. Snaking his now free arm around her waist, the Roma's pace increased. The pressure eased on her legs as he supported her and she almost forgot the urgency in which he moved. She was far too distracted by the heat that suddenly swarmed her from the point of contact her body had against his.
If he noticed her sudden increase in temperature, Natsu said nothing, moving through the trees like a predator on the hunt. Fixated on his quarry, he carried Lucy through with no care to the time until they finally came across a small camp.
Very small, in fact. There were only five tents, all hastily put together. Stopping behind a rather thick tree, the Draconis surveyed the area with sharp eyes. In turn, Lucy readjusted herself against him and felt her once warm body grow cold.
Something was familiar about the men sitting in that camp: a familiarity she had never wanted to feel again.
There were four of them. All quiet, three of them sharpening blades as they sat about a small cookfire. Squinting her eyes, the blonde was relieved to see she didn't recognize them- though their grim features was less than comforting.
It was the fourth one that refused to let the warmth seep back into her. With dark hair and sneering face, he stared at the other three beneath a wide-brimmed hat. Unlike the others, his focus was set on the meal in front of him. There was nothing they could truly learn from this group. No signs of who they may belong to, direction they were going. It was too small and hardly outfitted enough for a long trip. These men were not expecting to stay long.
-So then, who were they and where were they headed?
"... I don't like 'em." Natsu decided, whispering under his breath. "I'm going to make them leave!"
Much like earlier, he moved to step away, determination set in his gaze as fire sparked in his irises. Only this time, Lucy didn't grab his hand. Watching the stranger, the familiarity dredged up thoughts and feelings she'd shoved aside over a year ago. Of fire, ashes, and the screams of her clan as they were attacked in the night.
"Don't!"
Instead- she tackled him, never minding the rustling they caused or the whoosh of air that escaped their lungs. The force of her body colliding with his sent them both to the forest floor, hidden beneath a bramble of thorns and multi-colored leaves. Fearing her haste would cause them to be discovered, the Romni quickly covered Natsu's mouth, muffling his shocked growl against her palm.
Staying low, she glanced through the brush towards the small camp and sighed in relief. None had noticed and were still busy with their own dinner. Staring at the Draconis beneath her, still grumbling against her hand and staring, she finally realized the position she had put them in and released her hand.
"-sorry! I just-"
Snatching her hand in his, Natsu pulled her down, bringing her nose against his as he stared at her with something akin to shocked wonder in his face. "Lucy- why did you do that?" Goodness, she was glad he had the sense to whisper, but she feared they'd be discovered anyway just from the sound of her heart beat that had decided to pound against her ears.
"You can't confront them." She stated after wetting her dry lips with a swipe of her tongue. Gulping, the hard stare he fixed her with almost made her flinch away. "Please Natsu… don't do it."
He wanted an explanation. She could see it in his expression and he most certainly deserved one, but how could she explain that she couldn't explain? The man was familiar, yes, but now that she had time to think, Lucy realized she had never met him before. Had never seen him. Everything about him just screamed darkness: evil.
It reminded her of the men who had killed her family.
Unintentionally whining low in her throat, she tried to convey this without words. Tried to make him understand that there was no need. That it was safer this way, but his confused stare continued and she despaired. She should have known by now that he wasn't one to pick up on cues like this. He was an upfront man who attacked and asked questions later. So how could she-
Natsu's impatience interrupted her train of thought as he quickly rolled her to his side before draping over her with half his body. Propped on his elbows and breath fanning her hair, his dark eyes surveyed the camp once more. "Lucy- you're fine. It's okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Surprised at this admission, she realized then the one thing he understood: she had been shaking.
"We'll watch- for now… and if they're going away from home: I'll hang back. I promise. Is that okay, Lucy?"
Compromise. He was trying to compromise. Swallowing her fear, she felt herself relent with a nod of her head.
"... thank you…"
No more words were needed as the two settled themselves uncomfortably on the forest floor- eyes ever watchful on the unknown men. Not daring to move or make further sounds, the Roma and Romni kept a silent watch, neither one willing to think about the fact Natsu still held himself over Lucy as if shielding her.
Time passed and eventually, the small camp packed up and prepared to move on. To both their relief, the strangers did not begin to travel in the Direction Natsu knew as home, but rather west of it. Lucy still felt the unease that had gripped her heart from the very beginning, but seeing Natsu's confident grin as they finally stood was enough to chase those darker feelings away. At least for now, she felt safe.
Though safety was the last thing on the minds of the men they had been watching for the past three hours. Travelling West as true, but leaving the Forest? The man with the wide-brimmed hat had other plans for the Magnolia's and leaving was not among them. Despite how hidden Natsu and Lucy had been, he had known of their presence and had kept his own tabs on them from where he had sat.
Why two kids in the woods would watch he and his men was a mystery, but he had a few guesses. Let them believe what they wanted and tell their clan what they had seen. It would perhaps serve his purposes one way or another.
"Master Jose? Are they still watching us?" One of the leaner men asked, glancing around them as they walked.
He smirked, "No- though you should work on your feeble fortune telling. The fact you didn't know they were near by is an embarrassment."
"I ah.. y-yes, my apologies…"
"Just count your luck that I'm not your real master or I'd have kicked you out a long time ago." He snapped as he straightened the hat atop his head. "Those kids were most likely from the Fairies with Tails so we best stay on this path for a little longer. My informant should be near anyhow."
The others nodded their assent, but spoke no further. They had been travelling for months, tracking something as elusive as a small rabbit and it had made Jose quite irritable. Never minding the fact he was always irritable, a task for retrieval was just down right insulting for him.
As the small group travelled and Natsu and Lucy continued their hike to meet the others, the sun slowly began it's descent, lighting the multi-colored trees in a golden hue that brought warmth as well as a small chill with the oncoming night. It was then that the group of men came across Jose's informant.
He was tall, travelling light and covered in a cloak that barely managed to hide his massive frame. When he came across the group of men, he did not seem aware of their meeting and more or less glowered from beneath his hood with angry blue eyes that could shock a man as if struck by lightning.
"Jose…. what are you doing here?"
Clapping his hands together, the master smiled politely and bowed mockingly. "Why, how good it is to see you! It's been such a long time…"
"Can it. If you're just polluting my forest with small talk then you can just leave."
"Why, I was merely sending you a proper greeting, but if you insist, I'll not keep you." Chuckling, Jose gleamed his bright teeth at the other and sighed, "but you see, I'm actually here looking for something, or rather, someone. I'm certain you'd be invested in knowing who it is."
The other grunted, hardly believing what he was hearing and crossed his arms. " You've got five seconds to make this interesting or I'm killing you. Your choice."
He grimaced then, pointed eyebrows twitching in irritation. Naturally, running into this man had been his plan all along, but he'd forgotten how hard headed and utterly disrespectful he was. Did he not know how to respect those stronger than him? Killing indeed! Willing himself to calm down, hiding behind his false smile, Jose made a show of dusting lint off his shoulder.
"I'm looking for a girl. A very important girl you see. She was to be delivered to me from a band of slavers not too long ago, but managed to escape. From what I can tell, your Grandfather took her in."
"- if your next sentence isn't more interesting then that, I'm still keeping up with my threat. If the geezer took her in, why do I care if she was supposed to go to you?"
Jose sighed dramatically and wiped at his eye. "Don't be so hasty: I figured you'd want to know more… the simplicity of the matter is this. The girl is treacherous. With her own hands she gave secret information of her clan out to another and allowed her entire clan to be killed."
Any sign of a threat died at that moment as the stranger stilled, staring at Jose as if deciphering fact from fiction. He watched the others, too quiet, but cautious and a low rumble reverberated from within his hood.
And the bait was cast, Jose's grin turned sinister. " Not someone you'd want living in the comforts of your wintery home now, is she?"
I'd like to give a shout out xxxLucyxharemfanxxx for being the 200th reviewer. Thanks for being awesome!~ (special note: if there's anything you'd like to request, don't hesitate to let me know!) And to all those who keep reviewing in general: you're just as awesome!
Also wanting to Shout out to Milkintheam- who has been TRYING to be my Beta since February, but I'm a doof who can't seem to keep up with updates, so she's been waiting an awful long time. Thank you so much! -Sadly she could not be my Beta thanks to School issues, but she gets my shoutout anyway.-
SPECIAL: I've received a few questions: and by a few, I mean A LOT. As much as I'd like to answer them all here in one big go, I simply can't. And honestly, I'm having trouble remembering them all. So, if there is anything you'd like to know about the story (short of spoilers) or anything else, don't hesitate to request a private message from me! I do try to answer all my reviews after all, but I know I end up missing some without meaning to.
