The air in the pub was heavy with the smell of alcohol and of too many people gathered together for too much time. The flicking light of the torches were casting moving shadows onto walls blackened by smoke. Layers of dust and dirt were resting under table and benches, and Cobra saw a couple of mouses disappearing into a crack on the floor.
As they entered, the man beside the counter surfed them with bloodshot eyes, and seemed to decide that the two mages that had just entered in his pub were not the kind of clients he wished to have. Too clean. Too sober. Bring only troubles, Cobra heard him think.
The host stood from his stool, marching towards them. "Sirs," he said, bowing his head deferently "I am afraid we are full for tonight. We don't have any space for-" "Not my problem." Cobra cut the host off.
The only, gloomy purple eye of the dragon slayer fixed onto the man in front of him, and Cobra tilted his head. He smirked when the host face turned from deferent to incredulous and finally to terrified in a few seconds. Cobra raised an eyebrow, his lips baring his sharp teeth. "Maybe I am."
Pantherlily saw how a small sweatdrop run over the host temple, as his small eyes searched Cobra, like he was looking for a sign - any sign! - that he was wrong. But unfortunately, it was exactly Cobra, former member of the Oraciòn Seis, the one that had stepped in his pub that night.
"If you want... I can..." he stuttered, gesturing around. His deferent tone was completely genuine now. No one would have dared less, having the poison dragon slayer in front of them. "You know, sir... Do you wish dine or..." his voice trembled and went lost in the noises of the pub.
"We have no time to waste with you." and with that, Cobra passed by the host, leaving him utterly nervous in front of the open door, and moved towards a group of men, all pressed together in circle at the centre of the room. Lily noticed that table and chairs had been moved to make a space large enough for two men to fight. The first thing the Exceed saw as he elbowed drunken, yelling men and women, was a slim, pale man being slammed onto the ground violently. The second thing Lily saw was the huge man, with piercings on his face and arms, hovering over the slim one and punching him so hard in his jaw that the slim didn't move afterwards.
"The host might be watching us." whispered Cobra, as Lily looked in horror at Gajeel landing another iron cub onto the slim man face. Around them, the boom of clapping hands and stomping feet covered the roar of victory of Gajeel, who raised his fist into the air, risking to lose the balance himself.
Cobra pulled Lily behind himself. "Let me handle this."
The Exceed could just nod. He had clenched his fist so hard his hands were trembling, and even in the dim light of the torches Cobra saw his eyes watering.
Yes cat, a pitiful sight, seeing your friend like that. Cobra looked at Gajeel wild, wicked grimace, and the way his red eyes were vague and bloodshot, like the host of the inn. But we got to move fast, if we want to get this big idiot out of this shit.
Next to him, Lily nodded, trying to maintain his cool. The sight of Gajeel cackling madly at the passed out man, kicking his swollen body so hard the man flew onto a nearby table, was making in chest ache painfully.
Unaware of the presence of Lily and Cobra, Gajeel stretched a hand towards a bottle on the floor, only for his expression to turn sad. "It's empty." he slushed handing it to a man in a red, stained tuxedo Lily hadn't noticed before.
The man bowed with a mischievous smile, and handed him another uncorked bottle.
Lily didn't like that smile. Not even a bit.
He was about to step in and prevent Gajeel from drinking whatever was in that bottle, breaking the man with the tuxedo nose right after, but before the Exceed could move a muscle, a tanned hand had taken the bottle destined to Gajeel.
"Hey-" protested the iron dragon slayer angrily, but he fell silent and his eyes widened when he saw who was in front of him.
"I am sorry. But my friend here has already drunk too much for this evening, and we have some business to carry on tomorrow."
In the moment Cobra spoke, his mellifluous, low voice seemed to cast a spell on the crowd. A strange silence fell upon men and women, as they peeked that tall man, with dark skin and bloody red hair, blatantly interrupting the fight. Someone of them whispered and snickered, believing that another round of fist and bets was going to start soon.
The man in the red tuxedo looked down at Cobra, first surprised, then amused. "I see." he said slowly, "But your friend here," he looked contemptuously at Gajeel trembling body and dull expression, "has made a promise to me tonight, and I can't-" "I am sure we might drink something and set this like the civil persons we are, can't we?"
Cobra had the same casual tone he had that afternoon in the cafe, but this time, Lily welcomed with joy and relief that expression. It meant that Cobra had something in mind, and knew perfectly what he had the upper hand.
"So? What do you think?" The poison slayer lifted the bottle to his lips and took a large sip.
The man in the tuxedo stood silent for a second, looking as Cobra swallowed, and then visibly relaxed as the poison slayer took a second large gulp from the bottle.
But then Cobra took a third, and then a fourth and a fifth gulp from the bottle. Gajeel red eyes widened and he seemed to wanted to say something to Cobra, but his mouth remained closed.
The man in the red tuxedo expression suddenly changed. The way Cobra was smiling at him as he took a sixth and a seventh sip from the bottle, woke something in the man with the tuxedo. "Hey, what are you..." but his voice trailed off, as Cobra emptied the bottle.
"Aaah!" the poison slayer clicked his tongue. "Refreshing. I would modify slightly the mesh, maybe, if you ask me."
The men and the women around them had fallen completely silent now. Only the man in the tuxedo could be heard stuttering a more suffocated sounds, before Cobra dark chuckled silenced him.
"You thought that your pathetic mixture of magic and grog was going to affect me, now don't you?" Cobra purred, milling the bottle with his hand.
The man in the tuxedo frowned. "You should be in my complete power by now." he hissed, glancing angrily at the empty bottle in Cobra hand.
"But I am not, unfortunately for you." cooed the poison dragon slayer. "Poor mesh, as I told you. I would add more of your potion in it. It would have been more... lethal."
Now that every pair of eyes was focused on Cobra, Lily grabbed Gajeel by an arm, slowly taking him out of the centre of the circle, and slowly towards the door.
"I can hear you wanted to lure my friend into your pretty circle of bets and fights using a possession potion." continued Cobra. "But as I told you, we have an important business awaiting for us. I can't allow you to interfere."
"What-How did you know?" shrieked the man in the tuxedo, taking a step back. "Who are you?"
But the man already knew who was standing in front of him, bottle in his hand, and smiling in a way that was sending shivers down to their spine.
Some people in the crowd gasped in fear. "It's him!" "The Oracion Seis... are they back?" Someone took a step back. It's Cobra! I thought he was locked up! Someone went straight for the door, without looking back. And everyone thought that no, it was not going to end in a simple fight. It was going to end in blood.
that every pair of eyes was focused on Cobra, Lily grabbed Gajeel by an arm, slowly taking him out of the centre of the circle, and slowly towards the door.
Lily had reached with Gajeel the door, and was ready to exit in the street. The iron dragon slayer was trembling and tattering his teeth, like he was freezing. Lily glanced around the room. Cobra, I see five men coming from behind you. Must be the bodyguard of that bastard in the red tuxedo.
Cobra chuckled. He had heard them as well. "Who am I? You don't need the answer of that question, and you know it." Cobra flipped the bottle in between his hands. "Now, I have a question for you instead. Do you really want to drag your five bulls into this? I thought we could discuss in a civil way."
Cobra voice was soothing, almost gentle. But to Lily, who was looking at him from the door, it looked like a giant snake, elegantly waving his body, before swoop down on his prey. And the Exceed was pretty sure he was not far from the truth.
"Well," the man in the red tuxedo eyed his men in the crowd around them. Even if he is who he is, it is still one to five, he thought. It should be enough. "You will not go around and tell this sto-aah!"
The man cried in pain, as Cobra landed the empty bottle on his shoulder, breaking both the bottle and the shoulder. Glass splinters were sent flying around. The crowd screamed in surprise and horror, and rushed towards the door.
"Take him down!" yelled the man in the red tuxedo at his men, clenching his shoulder. Stains of a darker shade of red were staring enlarging on the tuxedo texture.
Lily pressed himself and Gajeel onto a wall, as terrified drunks thronged to exit the pub as quick as possible. Behind him, he heard the sounds of a commotion, low thuds and yelps of pain.
Gajeel wiggled in his grasp, but the Exceed was strong enough to keep him pressed with his back against the wall. If really in that bottle there was a controlling potion, surely the man in the red tuxedo wanted Gajeel to attack Cobra. And Cobra had already five men to care about. "Gajeel! Go back to yourself!"
Lily shouting in his ears from the top of his lungs seemed to bring a little life in Gajeel red eyes. His body stirred, fighting the effects of the potion. He nodded to Lily, his black hair sprawled around and sticking to his sweaty face.
Without losing his grip on the iron slayer, Lily turned, in time to see Cobra throwing a blow onto one of the five gorillas of the man in the red tuxedo, making him collapsing on the floor, where he remained still. Another one had been thrown against a table, with a large stain of blood spreading on his chest. A third one was in a corner, clenching desperately his leg and howling in pain, and Lily watched disgusted the half-broken bottle planted deeply into the man's tight.
Kicking the man on the ground out of his way, Cobra looked at the other two. "So, what do we want to do?" His eye was flashing dangerously, and Lily trembled for a second.
"Come on! Attack him!" shouted the man in the red tuxedo. The two men looked to each other, pondering the order for an instant.
An instant too late. Cobra was already on them. One was hit on his neck, and passed out on the spot, while the second one had only time to realise he was the last one standing on his feet, before Cobra shoe collided with his temple. The last man fell on his knees and fell loosely with his face on the floor. Lily heard the sound of his nose cracking, and grimaced.
"How-What..." The man in the red tuxedo was frozen in place, more than terrorised.
"Didn't I told you we were going to settle it in a civilised manner?" Cobra took a step towards his, grinning evilly. "I am a man of word."
"You-No! Please... I will-" and the man didn't get to finish his sentence, because he suddenly paled, his legs gave in, and he ended up under a table, in a faint.
Cobra shrugged, kicked the man unconscious body, and turned, motioning towards the door. "Come on." he commanded to Lily.
The Exceed hurried to pull Gajeel outside in front of him. Cobra followed. Before exiting, he turned and looked back and the pub hall. The six men were still alive. Stains of fresh blood had splattered on the walls and the tables. A couple of chairs laid upside down, another one was broken.
Well Fairy Tail's partied end up worst. That consideration lighted drew a grin on the poison slayer's lips, and his eyes darted over the counter.
From behind it, the horrified, bloodshot eyes of the host were peeking at him.
For a few seconds, the host and the poison slayer looked at the each other.
"Exactly." hissed Cobra finally. "You will keep your mouth closed."
And with that last warning, the poison slayer exited the room and closed the door behind him.
Outside the pub a small crowd had gathered. As soon as Lily stepped outside, holding Gajeel tightly, he looked right and left, but he couldn't discern were to go. He had no idea were they just came from. The only thing he could see were drunken faces, malicious eyes, and sneering lips barely covering rotten, yellowish teeth. A man with a scar on his cheek was staring intently at the blade pending on the Exceed hip.
Gajeel felt his body heavy and limb. His head was spinning, and he had a bitter taste in his mouth. He remember little of what happened in the pub. Blurred images of a fight, and of him drinking from a bottle and a man in a red tuxedo were dancing in his head. Yes, he remembered that he was aware, at least a little, that the liquor the man in the red tuxedo handed him was poisoned, but he didn't really care when he took the first large gulp from the bottle. And after that, he felt the urge of drinking more and more, feeling his will slipping from his fingers. And he started to fight every man that came into his view, and continued to drink, restlessly.
Gajeel didn't even know why he did that... He just did it.
"You did that because you are an idiot." Cobra appeared next to Lily. Gajeel tried to turn his head to look at the poison dragon slayer - he had the strange sensation he should thank him, but his stomach suddenly rolled and a wave of nausea washed over him.
"Where do we go?" whispered Lily, eyeing around at the people staring at them. A couple of them entered in the pub, and soon the host agitated voice could be heard from the street.
"Away from here, and quickly." hissed Cobra. From the outside, the poison slayer looked almost bored. Hands in his pockets, blank expression, relaxed shoulders, as if the leaves of his coat had not red stains of blood. But in the inside, he was carefully listening to each one of the people in front of them, and to the discussion that was taking place inside the pub, and he was pondering whether it would be necessary to punch the thief that was eyeing Lily's sword, but he decided against it. We can't lose more time.
"Hey handsome," a woman with a generous cleavage approached them, "what happened inside?" she asked casually, adjusting her bust, so to give Cobra a better view.
The poison dragon slayer glanced down, but merely out of courtesy. He couldn't allow a woman to leave him disappointed. "Nothing you should worry about, sweetheart." he chuckled, turning away and starting walking back from were he and Lily had come.
The woman puffed her cheeks and seemed to wanted to add something else - if another question or a proposal of any kind, Lily couldn't tell, but she changed her mind at last, turned and without a glance at Lily and Gajeel, she started walking swiftly and disappeared into a narrow street.
Lily hurried behind Cobra, dragging alongside the iron slayer, who still unable to stand on his feet.
Before turning the corner, Lily looked back. The door of the pub was open, and from the inside cries of surprise and yells could be heard. Two men were dragging out one of the bodies of the wounded, placing it onto the street without much care. Someone else threw the man without much pomp and ceremony. Thank Mavis, no one was following them.
"I doubt anyone is going to follow us tonight." grunted Cobra, as they turned a corner and ended up in an empty, dark road.
Lily let out a little smile, and finally he started to breath again.
"You have put up quite a show - fine man and their boss, and the trick with the bottle..."
"That had been the easiest part, cat."
Lily was ready to reply - and to thank him, first of all - when Gajeel started gagging. His body was sweating and trembling even more than before, and when the slayer lift his red eyes and looked at Lily, the Exceed realised how much he was struggling to keep his body under control.
"He's going to vomit, which is a good thing." Cobra's face was blank and his voice flat. "But it is not a good idea to do it here. Let's go back to the hotel."
Lily nodded, and also Gajeel, who seemed to have gained a little consciousness, tempted to move his head up and down, but his stomach was in total revolt, and his hand shot to his mouth.
"Shut up, Metalhead."
The three started walking quickly in the bungle of streets and lanes. Lily had a vague idea of the direction they had to follow, but Cobra was leading them with no fault, and after half an hour, the main road appeared in front of them, and Lily breathed a sigh of relief.
The street was empty, as it was to expect, since it was almost three in the morning. The bad smell of dirt had disappeared, and the lamplights were shining against the dark sky. Around them, the walls of the houses, with the green and red shutters closed, looked like many giant faces sleeping quietly in the night.
That perfect silence was interrupted by a strangled verse from Gajeel. The iron dragon slayer looked pale, and ready to puke his guts there and then.
"The bush." huffed Cobra, pointing at a small garden on front of a small, pink house.
As soon as Lily had brought Gajeel next to the small garden, it was as if the iron slayer body had got the green light. Gajeel fell on his knees, and holding onto Lily, emptied his stomach on some innocent flowers.
Lily wrinkled his nose. Duh. One more time to remember me how much dragon slayer's puke has an horrible smell! He had no idea how Cobra could keep a straight face, considering his sense of smell.
Cobra smirked. The Exceed thoughts were extremely practical, and he must say he liked that. He was grounded, and honest, and his soul was a peaceful place for his magic to rest - which, in Cobra's opinion, was one of the best things one could ask for.
"What did he-" started Lily.
"It was a mixture of a controlling potion and strong alcohol." stated Cobra coldly. "The man is a kind of small 'boss' in this area, controlling fights and bets, mainly. You know how these things go." the poison slayer shrugged. "A boxer wins and wins, everyone is betting on him, and suddenly he loses - and whoever is controlling the bets' money, gets a good load."
"So, he wanted Gajeel under his control, to..."
Cobra nodded. "That son of a bitch thought iron scrap here to be a wasted one, one he could turn into his puppet... He didn't even knew he was a mage, let alone a dragon slayer... He could have taken control on him way easier, but dragon slayer body is more resistant to poison than the human one. We have arrived just in time, though."
Gajeel seemed to have emptied his guts on the innocent bush. It was Lily impression, or the flowers were already withering?
"Yes, they are." chuckled Cobra. "How are you, you ass?" he then asked to Gajeel.
The iron dragon slayer lifted his head. His eyes were still dull and red, but his gaze was starting again to bring into focus the world around him. And as soon as he was a little back to himself, Gajeel remembered the reason why he had gotten into that pub, alone, after a whole day wondering among the slums of Xianto.
He slowly went back and his feet. He shoved Lily away, and took a step towards Cobra.
"You wanted to know why I did it?" shouted the iron dragon slayer.
"Gajeel!" Lily tried to reach for him, but Gajeel moved another a step towards Cobra. His whole body was tense, muscles trembling under his skin.
Cobra didn't flinch nor moved. He waited, as Gajeel took a few, shaky breaths.
"I did it, because they looked damn happy." he growled. "They looked happy, happy!" he cried. "Understand? Damn, fucking happy!"
An owl voice his disappointment at the yells of the iron slayer, and took his leave, flying away in the darkness of the night. Cobra was still not moving.
"The only thing I had too was watching Makarov... And the members of the guild... Joseph had not... I had no order to attack them! But I did!"
Lily placed a hand on the iron slayer shoulder. "Gajeel, you are tired and we all need some sleep. Now stop to-"
"No, I will not stop!" Gajeel got rid of Lily's hand, and moved a few steps, risking to lose balance at every movement.
When he was a few centimetres from Cobra, he rose in all his height and looked the slayer into his only, purple eye. Despite the awful smell of his breath, Cobra stood still, wihtout lowering his gaze.
"It was night, and I was supposed to come back to Phantom Lord... And tell Joseph..." started Gajeel, in a low voice. "I had been looking at the fairies for the whole day... Their laughs, an fights, and everything... I was sick... of all of that..."
"Gajeel, you don't have to recall this." Lily stepped behind his friend, but when he tried to put a hand on his shoulder again, the slayer waved him away.
"I don't give a fuck." he spat. "This ass needs to know."
Lily widened his eyes, but before he could reply, Gajeel went back to Cobra.
"I was going to the station, when... I saw her. She was with those two... Laughing and chatting... And... She looked so happy, and serene... And then there was me..." Gajeel swallowed, and his eyes started to water. "I realised, on that moment... I was miserable. I, Black Steel Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer!" his voice raised again, until it was hurting Cobra's ears.
But it was little, compared with what was pouring from the soul of the iron dragon slayer. Hatred for himself, regret, anger and misery. A bottomless, pitch black pit, were Gajeel was letting himself drowning. He could cover it, forgetting it was there, but sometimes, things were pushing him inside it, and the memories of what he had been and what he had done suffocated him.
"I wanted to crush them down, destroy their happiness... And I knew I couldn't." Gajeel hissed, clenching his teeth. Tears were streaming from his eyes, confusing with sweat and dirt. "I was too... weak, against them. I was powerless, even with... With them..." Gajeel whimpered.
An image appeared in Cobra's mind. A tree at the centre of a large square. Three figures, crucified at the trunk, bruised and bleeding, and the one in the middle...
For the briefest of seconds, Cobra pressed his lips together. He was hearing it, the cold, cruel laugh of the same dragon slayer that was now openly crying in front of him, tearing the quitness of that night like that many years ago...
It had been easy. Those fairies were so weak. They were going to be an easy win, once Master Joseph would have strike.
And Black Steel was ready to accomplish his Master orders.
But he had wanted to taste what crushing the fairies under his iron would have been like. And he had done it, and had loved it.
In front of him, after less than an hour of beating, three fairies were hanging , pinned on the tree in the main square of Magnolia.
The two males - if they could be called 'males' - had been pleaded him to stop until their voice got hoarse. And even after that, they had tried to stop him. But those weakling were nothing fro Black Steel Gajeel. It was ridiculous they were even part of a guild.
Was Natsu, the fire dragon slayer going to be that weak? How disappointed it would have been.
Gajeel admired his work once more. The males at the side, and in the centre, her. The one who had made him so angry to give up his control.
Her blue locks were covered in mud, and that ridiculously coloured little dress of her was torn, and on her stomach the Phantom Lord mark was standing, black against her pale skin. Oh, that had been a great idea, and Black Steel was very proud of it.
Gajeel cackling filled the air. He thought that mission was going to be boring, but it turned out very differently in the end. He was honestly pleased with himself.
He was complimenting himself for his job, when the bluenette in front of him raised slowly her head. Her eyes were dull, but focused on him, and her mouth moved, but her voice was too feeble even for him.
Gajeel smirked evilly. "Did ya say somethin'?" he cooed, moving closer to the tree, ignoring the shrieks of her other two companions.
Levy lifted her head. Her cheeks were black from the beating, and a cut on her temple was letting slowly some blood dripping onto her shoulder. Gajeel saw those brown, big eyes locking with his. A flick of fire burned behind the dullness of her stare, and with firm voice she spoke these words: "Phantom Lord will not win."
Gajeel growled. His hand lifted, ready to strike and silence that insolent little cunt.
"Levy, stop it!" shouted one of the other two. He leaned closer to her, until he could smell her skin - a mixture of ink, paper, grass and cinnamon - and bared his teeth.
She didn't seem impressed. She frowned, and, for what the iron restraints allowed her, neared her face to Gajeel. "Our nakama will come for us, no matter what you do!" she hissed. "You can't win against us... You are just another monster."
The iron fist collided with her head. The other two males cried for help, begging him to stop, as Gajeel hit her again, and again, until her head fell resting on a shoulder, and her breath was so faint that for a moment, Gajeel thought he had killed her.
But not, the little cunt was still alive.
'Just a monster, uh-hu?' he chuckled to himself, taking a step back. 'Well, let's show the fairies what this monster is capable of.'
And he let them there, crying in the night, as he went back to the Fairy Tail guild hall. He was going to destroy those fairies. He was going to start with their guild hall, and then he would get to their happiness and pride...
The vision vanished. It had last no more than a couple of seconds, but it was carved so deeply into Gajeel mind, that it looked like it was passed almost a minute to Cobra.
Gajeel looked at him. He knew the poison slayer saw it. He kept it buried into his mind, into the deepest part possible, but that memory was going to haunt him for the rest of his days.
"I will tell you one more thing." the iron slayer slurred. He almost lost his balance, but refused Lily's stretched hand. The look in the Exceed eyes was one of utmost sadness. No pity, no anger, no contempt. Only sadness, wast and overwhelming. A tear escaped Lily' eyes, hidden by his fur, as he heard his friend words. "Dalila might forgive you, Cobra, but you... You will not. You will remember... Always, it will not let you sleep at night."
Cobra huffed. Oh, come on...
For him, sleepless nights were the ones were Brain was coming and visiting him, when he was a child of only seven. Sleepless nights were the winter ones he had been forced to spend outside in the snow, trying to protect Cubellios and him from the freezing cold. Sleepless had been the nights Brain forced him to train - and those had been many. And sleepless were the nights in the prisons of Era, devoured by hunger and nightmares.
"I know you had done... many things in the past." Gajeel had resumed his ranting. "I also did... But this is the only thing - the very thing, that does not give me peace. And it will never-"
Gajeel was interrupted by a puff of green smoke on his face. He looked at Cobra surprised, just enough time to blink at the poison slayer, and a second later, he was collapsed on the ground.
"What?" Cobra looked at Lily, who stared at him with wide eyes. "We don't have the whole night to let him vent here, cat. Juvia is already back at the hotel and is dead worried."
Lily woke himself from his stupor. "Did you just..."
"I didn't poison him, only make him sleep until tomorrow. Which is what we need at the present moment. Now, let's bring this sack of metal back to the hotel. I am not losing more time for him tonight."
The Exceed rolled his eyes, snorted, making the tears dwelling in his eyes dry, and rushed to help the poison dragon slayer. One at each side of Gajeel's body, Cobra and Lily lifted the iron slayer from the ground and drag him towards the hotel.
Lily made a note to himself to ask Cobra for that green smoke of his. When Gajeel was ranting like that, the Exceed was more inclined to listen than to poison him, But when Gajeel starts to sing, having him sleeping in no time could be useful...
Cobra stiffed a laugh. However, Gajeel's words kept running into his mind.
More or less at the same time, in another part of Fiore, in a valley surrounded by mountains...
Everything was perfectly still in the silence of the night. No leaf was moving, no cricket singing, no owl flying hunting. Mouses, foxes, and squirrels were all sleeping in their holes on the ground, under the bushes, or between the branches of the trees. Even the gurgle of the spring that crossed the valley had subsided down, as if the water was sleeping as well.
Laying on the lawn in Warrod garden, Dalila was looking at the night sky, were a huge, full moon was shining among the stretched constellations. Stars seemed to be only thing that had not changed during her centenary sleep.
And in between the stars she believed she saw the people that were no more. All the ones that she heard calling the name of 'Lale', that nickname that was now hideous to her ears.
That was how she liked to think about death: an ascending journey, that took you up among the immensity of the universe, reunited to the ones that left before you, looking down at the ones you left behind, and waiting for them to join. She was not religious, nor believed in Heaven nor Hell, but she needed the comfort of knowing that the people she loved were somehow close.
It was one of the first time after she woke up in the Fairy Tail infirmary, that she allowed herself to indulge in such a thought.
When she was at Fairy Tail, the noise and the duties of the everyday life had kept her busy, and it had been easier for her to shut down the voices, the laughs and the words, that were coming from the back of her head. But now she felt she had finally found the time to think.
And it isn't that bad... she told herself, closing her eyes.
She had regretted the fight with Cobra the instant he exited the guild. When he called her 'Lale', she could have just walked away. I snapped badly...
The adrenaline of the magic power surging in her, the desire to just making him shut down, had been too strong. I did something horrible...
She couldn't really place what happened in the Fairy Tail's kitchen. She hard Cobra - well, the kid he had been - screaming horribly.
And that laugh, the one that made her skin crawl if only she thought about it? Who was that? Whoever he was, she hoped he was either dead, either far far away from them. How on Earthland I brought it up? Cobra had crumbled down in front of her eyes, and she had done nothing but walk away. How can I still look at myself in the mirror?
Cobra attacked her because she had attacked him, in some way. Not using fists and roars, but in a more subtle, painful way.
I targeted his weak spot. Dalila thought sadly.
And hearing those voices screaming in pain around the poison dragon slayer, oh, part of her knew that they were there. Her mind wrapped around that thought, but she still couldn't figure that out. She couldn't get rid of the sensation that she knew exactly what she was doing, despite having not done it nor heard of it before
Damn. There were so many things she was trying to think at a time, that her head was starting to hurt.
Dalila tried to close away those thoughts, and concentrate only on the breeze caressing her skin, when a small rustle behind her made her jolt.
The wind slayer sat up and turn, and saw Warrod advancing slowly on the path. He was carrying a small lamp, which he put down before sitting on the grass next to her. "You told me you liked my garden, but I didn't think you wanted to spend the night here."
Dalila chuckled. "But it would be nice to do so. It is such a peaceful place."
"Seems like you are having a restless night, then."
The wind slayer remained silent. "Yes," she sighed after a while. "I do."
"And do you mind telling a very old man about that?" asked gently Warrod.
Dalila giggled. It was hard for her to think about Warrod as a 'very old man'. To her, it was like he always had a little more than twenty years. "It is hard for me to speak to an old man, Warrod... You still seem you are in your twenties, you know?"
Warrod laughed heartily at that. "It is true!" pretested Dalila.
"I don't doubt you are true, Dalila san, but no-one had said that to me in a while. You are one of the few person who can still remember when I was that young."
At that, Dalila smile faltered. "Yes, I assume... Yeah..." she murmured.
They stayed in silence for a while. They both were looking at the sky.
"You know," Dalila said suddenly, "I was looking at the stars and think that, despite all the time that had passed, they are still as I remembered them. Constellation had not changed much, and it is the only thing that I am able to recognise in this new world I woke up in."
Warrod closed his eyes. The voice of Dalila was melodic and gentle, right as he remembered it. No matter what the woman was talking about, no matter if she was sad or happy, the intrinsic music of her voice was a magic even the Wizard Saint couldn't explain.
"That is true." Warrod said. "Things up there changed much slower than down here. But even the starts move on their path. As does the world of Earthland, and the every planet, sun and moon of the universe."
Dalila nodded. "I am just... Maybe sentimental, tonight."
"I think sentimental is not quite the right word." whispered Warrod. He could see that many other thoughts were troubling the young mage mind. But he was not one for force someone to talk. Life had taught him that hurrying things was almost never a good idea.
Dalila much appreciated Warrod silence. Her mind was so crowded, swinging between many thoughts at a time, and she was not able to focus on any of them. It is so confusing...
Finally, Dalila took a deep breath, and started form the most pressing one. "I feel bad for what happened with Cobra, Warrod. Very much. I should not have snapped like that, and..." she made a gesture with her hand, "I could have avoided that."
Warrod didn't speak immediately. Dalila had given him a full recount of what happened - and Makarov had also sent him a message that night, but this Dalila didn't know.
The Master of Fairy Tail had told him that only Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer, and Pantherlily the Exceed knew that Dalila and Cobra have been fighting so seriously. Everyone else in the guild might have though it was a brawl like any other. And Warrod thought it was a very good thing indeed. Makarov had asked him to take care of Dalila. He was going to deal with Cobra. In the conclusion, Warrod agreed with Makarov in saying that both of them needed some time to think. 'It was like they found each others wound and strike exactly there. I don't want that this happens anymore, so please, take care of Dalila, while I'll do my best with Cobra.'
And Warrod was ready for that mission Makarov had trusted him with.
"From what you told me," the Wizard Saint started slowly, "both of you are at fault. Cobra knew he should have not called you like that."
"Yes, but how can I call myself a good person when I snap for a stupid nickname?" huffed Dalila. "I overreacted - this is ridiculous!" She hated to overreact. She hated it in general, and hated even most when she was doing it.
"Overreaction, good person... Dalila-san, you are being too hard on yourself." Warrod looked at her. "After all, we are simply that: persons. We do good and bad, we improve and make mistakes. An action or a behaviour that is negative doesn't necessarily make you a bad person."
Dalila hugged her knees. Those words were slowly lifting a weight she hadn't realised was heavy on her shoulders. "Is that true?" she asked.
Warrod chuckled. "I can stay all night repeating it to you, if necessary. My plants hear me talking all the time during the day, they will not be offended to hear me also the whole night."
Dalila snorted. She had seen Warrod talking to plants the whole afternoon. He had invited her out in the garden, and she had been watching him taking care of the flowers. It had been way more relaxing than she expected, and she had learnt a couple of tricks to make them bloom beautifully, too.
"No, don't you worry." she chuckled. "I believe you. But it is difficult."
"The only difficult thing is forgive ourselves, Dalila." Warrod closed his eyes, inhaling the gentle scent of the flowers. "You know, I have met a great deal of people in my life, and I have come to believe that a bad action made by a generally good person has a great weight just because we decide so. We see only the negative part, while we forget the positive."
A small moth flew on the grass before them. We see only the negative part, while we forget the positive... Dalila rummaged, staring at the small black butterfly, as it disappeared in the shadows of the night.
"I am not saying that we should put equal weight onto good and bad actions." Warrod resumed, "For instance, a good action made by a bad person has a heavy weight, we all agree on that. It depends on what you choose to value of a person behaviour."
"So..." started Dalila, not knowing what to say. So it means that I should worry that much?
"So, you are not necessarily a bad person, Dalila." Warrod opened his eyes and turned to look at the wind dragon slayer again. "You are merely a person who has to say sorry."
"Oh." Dalila eyes widen. Oh...
Warrod laughed again, and his wrinkles almost doubled. "I see this is a way to see things that helps you, right?" he asked. "Your face is changed completely, Dalila-san!"
Dalila smiled. "I guess that being a person who has to say sorry is giving the right value to what happened." And it's more bearable to be a horrible person.
"Exactly, my dear friend." Warrod winked at her.
Whoa, Dalila let out a small puff of air. It doesn't erase what happened but... Now I am feeling better. She knew she had made a mistake, but Warrod was right. She had to say sorry, she was not necessarily an unworthy or cruel person. But she needed to master that power of her, otherwise things like that could happen again.
"Warrod, I have a question for you. It regards my magic." started Dalila.
"Please, tell me, my friend."
"Well, when I... attacked Cobra, I did not pronounce any enchantment, but still, some voices, and cries for help were heard. How could that be?"
Warrod sighed. He had thought about that since when Dalila told him what happened. "I might have an idea," he murmured, "although don't know if it is correct or not. But maybe it doesn't matter that much."
"Dragon slayer magic is deeply connected with feelings and emotions." Warrod started. "And when you felt... distressed, and sad, probably it gave you some power you were not expecting. Like when you were flying above Magnolia, do you remember?"
Dalila snorted. "I could forget? We ended up in a nest of Vulcans!"
"Exactly. I don't think that was intentional, but the point is, your magic activated when you felt in danger, or sad. Words are only a way to easily get access to the magic sources nestled in ourselves. You didn't really need to pronounce an enchantment, to cast it."
"But the screams?" Dalila asked. "I see what you tell me, and understand. It makes sense. But... I tore the wind open."
Dalila breathed, feeling again the sensation she had felt on that moment. "I tore it... literally. Like I was freeing something trapped in the inside."
Warrod had an answer for that, too. "The wind has no memory, Dalila-san." he murmured. "And therefore, it remembers everything."
"I have the feeling that whatever we say, or hear, remains trapped under our skin, in the shell of our ears, entangled with out hair." Warrod shrugged. "And maybe your power is also able to call this words back. You heard what Cobra had heard in his life, and ultimately, what was lying deep and deep in his memory. Things that have drawn invisible scars on his skin, that still reverberate around him."
After that, Warrod fell silent. Only the wind could be heard rustling among the grass and the leaves of the trees.
Dalila pondered carefully what the Wizard Saint had said. She pondered for several minutes. "I don't want to hear people cries for help." she finally whispered.
"But you don't have to." Warrod was whispering as well, as if he didn't want to break the precious silence they both were experiencing. "You can also hear music, you know. Call back the laughs and the millions of beautiful sounds the winds carry with it."
Music... Dalila thought. Yes, I could do that. And as if they had called it, Dalila believed she heard a faint melody in the distance. But as soon as it started, it vanished.
"There is good and there is bad in everything." the Wizards Saint words were barely audible. "As I told you before, it is only us who choose where to look."
City of Xianto...
Juvia was already back to the hotel when Cobra and Pantherlily dragged Gajeel inside. As Cobra had said, the water mage was terribly worried, and it didn't get better when she saw Gajeel passed out in between the two.
"He just got poisoned. Tomorrow he will be fine." had grunted Cobra, leaving the iron slayer under the Exceed care. "See you tomorrow."
But when Cobra had entered his bedroom, and had finally slipped into his bed, he had found himself all but sleepy. Unlikely what usually happened, he was rummaging again and again Gajeel's words in his head, and soon, the images of the vision of the first encounter of the iron dragon slayer with the fairies, and his fight with Dalila back at Fairy Tail, started to mix up in a confusion that made his head hurt.
He imagined it was him who hit Dalila on her head, after pinned her to a tree with iron shackles. Damn, the thought was making him sick to his stomach. The wind dragon slayer would have not survived, had he been in place of Gajeel.
Gajeel had been raised by Master Jorge to fight and win, Cobra to kill. Big difference.
After one hour twisting and rolling in the bedsheets, Cobra had enough. He stood up, drank a glass of water, and went back to bed.
Nothing. Sleep was not coming.
Fuck.
After another hour passed, the poison slayer was still staring at the ceiling.
It was the second night he was spending trying to get asleep.
Holy fuk.
Nope, reinforcing his curses was of no help.
On his nightstand, the clock was signalling four in the morning. Dawn was three hours away, and the poison slayer was getting more annoyed every minute now. He could stay without sleep for a few days, but that didn't mean he wanted to.
Finally, he gave up. Cobra got up and dressed for the day, and then, not wanting to go into the reception and maybe meeting another human being, he remembered that the roof of the building was flat, and that there was a fire escape on the side.
Cobra looked out of the window and saw it - the iron staircase, running up til the last floor. A jump, not possible for a normal person, and the poison slayer was silently walking the steps, up to the top.
As he had guessed, the stairs lead very close to the roof - well, close enough for him to grab the edge of the railing and lift himself on top.
Up there, the wind was gently blowing. Cobra looked at the sleeping city. He could distinguish the slums were he and Pantherlily went looking for Gajeel some hours ago, far away on his right. On the opposite side, the city centre, now silent and dark, was waiting for the sun to rise and bring it back to life.
Above him, the stars, and the full moon, white as milk, looking down at him with her apparent smile.
Not a soul could be heard - not an awake one, at least. The soft murmur of the asleep melded with the wind, all the voices becoming one single, soft whisper.
It was May, and the nights had ceased to be cold long ago, but they were not hot and suffocating, as it was going to be in July. Cobra let himself lie down, looking at the stars. He had no idea of the constellations - he only recognised stars as a way to orient himself.
Lucy must have told him about constellation a few times - and she was always thinking about them anyway - but he hadn't memorised even one. He let his mind wander a minutes, then two, then a whole hour, before suddenly, a rustle in the air caught his attention.
He sat up, and as soon as he did, Pantherlily appeared flying from behind the railing.
"Ah, here you are, Cobra." said the Exceed, landing next to him. "For a moment, I was afraid you had disappeared too. It would have been impossible for us to find you, you know." he chuckled.
Cobra sneered. "I am not as idiot as your friend back there. How is him?"
"Sleeping like a baby." Pantherlily cleared his throat. "Regarding that... May I have a word with you, Cobra?"
The poison slayer shrugged. He might have bit whomever had tried to talk to him, but he had a little more respect for Pantherlily. Had Cobra said he wanted to be left alone, the Exceed was not going to insist. Cobra didn't know if it was because Lily had a natural respect for others' privacy, or if he was just used with Gajeel.
Even if he had already heard what Lily was going to say to him, he waited for the Exceed to speak.
Lily took a deep breath, before starting. "About Gajeel... I am sorry you had to witness such a behaviour. Usually he is much more rational than that." the Exceed cleared his throat again. "The conversation you two had on the train station in Magnolia this afternoon has shock him more than I thought at the beginning. If I only had known-" "There is no need to excuse yourself, cat." Cobra cut him. "That freak would have gone and drunk himself anyway."
"Maybe I could have kept an eye on him. Followed him, not letting him getting into trouble. It would have spared us... Well..." He wouldn't have made a fool of himself, putting us all in danger, and putting the mission itself at risk.
"Metalhead is an idiot, period. What happened hasn't changed my opinion of him, don't you worry." Cobra snorted. "Besides, good luck following a dragon slayer who wants to hide. But yeah, we could have avoided our little trip in the slums."
"We were supposed to keep a low profile." Lily sighed again. "Now, we just have to hope that this does not reach the ears of Iwan. Or of the Council." Or of Master, but he didn't say it. A useless precaution, since Cobra heard him. But it was not the place of the poison slayer to decide whether Makarov could be bothered or not by Gajeel idiocy.
"For the Council, I doubt anyone who saw us has any interest on going to the Rune Knights. Every witness has at least a couple fo things to hide from them. And for the old geezer son..." the poison slayer smirked, and his teeth flashed in the night. "Surely this will reach his ears. But that's good. We have made ourselves a name, now, and only in a couple of hours. I remember you that we have to be credible, and what happened tonight has." Cobra sneered. "Anyone who thought that Cobra of the Oracion Seis had become a fairy, shall think very differently from this night on. I have never been a fairy, anyway."
Lily shivered as the poison slayer voice had dropped of almost an octave for his last sentence. I am not sure... What does he mean...
"Just as I said. I am not a fairy, cat." Cobra chuckled darkly. "You don't clean a dirty face from day to night. I am a fucking damn fairy."
"Oh. Sure." Lily had wanted to possess the guts to laugh at the joke, but really, that was not his ground.
"What else do you want to tell me."
Pantherlily shifted uncomfortably from one position to the other. Right, it was not the only thing he had in mind to tell Cobra. "What Gajeel told you, about what he did to... He was serious. He is haunted by that. The remorse is always there, waiting for him to lower his guard. It hits him less often than before, but when it does, it is just as bad as the beginning."
Cobra nodded. "And what has this to do with me?"
"Not much, if you allow me to speak my mind - not that you already know it."
Seeing that Cobra was silent, Lily continue. "Gajeel has done many things he regrets now. But this very thing, the night that he attacked Levy, Jet and Droy, is particularly painful to him." Lily took a deep breath, took a few seconds to put into the right words what he had to say. "It would have been no difference to him, if he had not entered Fairy Tail. Team Shadowgear would have been just a distant memory, and maybe one day he would have felt sorry for them, but not as much as he feels now."
"The thing is, he became part of Fairy Tail. And he got to know those three better. Especially one of them." Pantherlily glanced at Cobra. The poison slayer was smoothing invisibles wrinkles on his trousers, and did not look back at him.
"So what?" he asked coldly. Everyone with a little sense knew Gajeel had a little interest on Levy. And one would have to be blind not to see that the bookworm was all puddy around the iron dragon slayer. The perfect definition of two peas in a pot. Disgusting romantic, in Cobra's opinion.
"Well, if Gajeel had not become so attached to Levy, then he would not be so severe with himself about what happened, I believe." Pantherlily blurted out. "I am not saying that you will get close to Dalila in the future, but if you got to know her better, maybe what you have done will weight a lot more on your shoulders. That's how Gajeel sees it."
Cobra nodded. Fucking drama queen of a iron scrap. Not that I plan to get along with Snow White, if we will ever meet again.
"But I don't think you should be worried about that, Cobra."
"I was not."
"Please, let me finish." Pantherlily's ears lowered, as if he had become sad all of a sudden. "I know how little strength has Dalila in her body. And trust me, when I pulled her away from you, I had to fight to keep her in place. I was greatly surprise, that I asked myself where did that sudden strength come from."
"Anger?" tried Cobra, smirking. Dalila was strong? Come on. Please.
"Yes." Lily nodded solemnly. "She was not a powerless guild member, trying to defend herself. Sure, she is powerless, compared to you, but... But if she could have, she would have behaved with you exactly like Gajeel had with Levy. So, I think your position is not quite right the same as Gajeel. I believe she has done something to you, that she has to ask sorry for. That's it." Lily nodded to himself. "You both have to ask sorry to each other, because you equally did wrong. That's my opinion on the matter."
"I didn't ask for your opinion, cat." sneered the poison dragon slayer. But he was not mad at Lily.
"That's right." Pantherlily chuckled. "You didn't."
Woah! Our dear babies are definitively growing a little! Cobra is well aware he exaggerated, and also Dalila is now thinking back at what happened with a cold mind... Well, what best moment for them to meet again?
Morgana has planned out everything. The paths of Dalila and Cobra are destined to cross again - well, aren't them them OTP of this fanfic?
