Cobra tried and tried again but he couldn't seem I get that dragon's wide-eyed gaze out of his mind. Those red eyes had appeared so unbelievably shocked, as if he hadn't thought Cobra would have ever tried something like using his power on him. Of course not, he's a dumb beast. And he had no idea who Cobra was. No idea. Cobra was not a good person, and the beast did well to have learned that sooner rather than later. Despite that, Cobra still felt an uncomfortable churning of guilt welding inside of him. Like an annoying leech that refused to get off his case. He growled under his breath, muttering profound nothings into the air as he kicked twigs and pebbles out of his path in his frustration. Who gives a shit if he hurt the beast's feelings? He'd already done him one solid by saving his damn life, and lost hours of useful progression out of the forest because of it and the distraction it caused afterwards. He had no reason to feel guilty. No reason at all. He stalked down the path in his burning inner mutterings, he neglected to listen in on the sounds around him.
Unbeknownst to his oblivious self, the racket he caused as he trudged through the forest had caught the attention of many of it's inhabitants. One of which he would have been better off leaving undisturbed. Unfortunately, Cobra was still too caught up in his own thoughts to realize his mistake. Until the rustling in the barren to his left became impossible to miss, bringing him out of his stupor. He stopped walk and rid towards the noise, seeing the twitch of the branches a couple yards from him. He growled under his breath. Not again.
"Come on out you beast, I've had it with you!" Cobra got no answer and snarled. He turned his body fully towards the barren and shouted, "The hell are you waiting for—?!"
Something finally sprung from the bushes, but it was not the dragon. Cobra's eyes flew wide as he stumbled backwards on his feet — not fast enough as a huge shadow diverged from the tree line. It was easily three times bigger than himself, hunched on four giants paws covered in golden fur. It opened its mouth and roared with two long sabre like teeth arching from it's feline head, a green scaled tail coiling like a whip behind it. Cobra didn't fail to notice the sharp ten-inch thorn on the end of it that looked like it would have no problem skewering him alive. First a dragon, then a mother fucking Chimera. What was up with these woods?
Cobra intended to hold up his hands and launch a poison attack. He didn't intend to lose his feet, trip over a hidden root behind him, and fall flat on his ass — giving the Chimera the open space to attack. It jumped, it's shadow falling over him and Cobra could do nothing but hold up his arms, shut his eyes, and wait for those jaws to tear him to shreds. At least his spirit would find solace that he most likely was not going to taste good — like a bad case of food poisoning. The joke was hardly as funny as he thought it would be when he was at the maws of death. He waited as the beast descended on him — and then another flung out from the trees and barrelled into it from the side.
Cobra lowered his arms slowly, watching transfixed as none other than the iron dragon rolling around with the Chimera, wrestling with the beast twice his size. He swore as the two rolled back towards him and the Chimera's spiked tail coiled and struck the spot he would have been if he had gotten off his ass and thrown himself out of the way a split second later. He arched back into a crouched stance, holding himself on the balls of his feet, ready to spring again at any given moment. Cobra's heart pounded in his chest, not just from one near being flattened by and attack, but two. Both of which were foiled by the small dragon battling with the raging Chimera. Cobra's ears rang with the volume of their roars that shook the leaves in the trees and his brain inside his skull. He couldn't help it, he ducked on his knees and covered his sensitive ears as the sounds of the forest being tramped and the roars of the two beasts echoed like a storm inside the too small clearing.
He opened one ear, forcing himself through his grimace. The dragon and the Chimera were still thrashing around, coiling like battle cats. The Chimaera was the fiercer of the two, obviously more ticked off at the sudden intrusion of its meal. But the dragon did not give up. Though smaller, his size helped him avoid the larger beast's snapping jaws as he attacked from the weak points, going for the neck and underbelly. Cobra wanted to run. His sensible mind wanted him to run, but his legs were glued to the ground the moment he even thought of rising and getting away. He couldn't stay here, he had no chance against a Chimera. But he couldn't leave. Because the dragon, though armed with scales and teeth, was fighting a loosing battle. Cobra knew he wouldn't last against the larger creature. A fuck his life for finally deciding to grow a conscious.
Screw it. He stood, but not to turn tail. With an angry snarl he threw forth his arms and shot a poison attack straight for the two beasts. If you don't want to get skewered Dragon, better use that nose of yours and get the hell out of the way!
Whether by a stroke of luck — or the fact that Cobra had been listening to his inner thoughts to make sure he attacked when the other had been planning to fall back — the dragon avoided under the poison tendrils just as they shot forth and struck the Chimera right in the side. In fell over with a cry and the dragon barrelled under it's flailing limbs as he turned and stared at Cobra with wide eyes. In doing so, he failed to see the lash of the Chimera's tail flashing forward to strike him in the back. Cobra shouted something, and the dragon turned just in time to jump up into the air with a flap of his wings. He turned in the air and landed in front of Cobra in a four-foot crouched stance, snarling. Cobra could hear the viciousness in his stare as he roared, loud and fierce, enough to rattle the trees and send the birds retreating. He squared with the Chimera, spreading his wings like twin arches to make himself appear more intimating as he snarled at the other beast, twitching his own tail. He was completely shielding Cobra from the other's view, the Chimera standing off a few years s in front of them.
For a horrible moment Cobra feared the larger beast would attack again — the sounds in its mind full of angry hisses and snarls — but then it started to back away, one step at a time. Gajeel was like an immovable statue, every muscle tensed and still as he stared the Chimera down until it finally turned and completely fled.
Cobra fell back on his ass, the breath expelling from his lungs in a single rush as the dragon turned to face him now that the threat had run off.
"Y-you saved my life..."
Now we're even...
The dragon suddenly collapsed and though Cobra — against his better judgment — tried to hold him up, they both ended up on the ground. "Hey, get up!" Cobra hissed, shaking the beast's wing. But he was out, the exhaustion of the fight and his previous weakness from his capture had taken an inevitable toll on his body, that added to the blood loss from both, it was no wonder.
Cobra sighed, "You got damned dragon..."
What was Cobra supposed to do now? What could he do with an unconscious dragon? Dammit, he'd already made the proclamation he wouldn't just leave him. Especially not now. After Cobra had been such an ass and the dragon came and saved him anyway, at the expense of himself. Cobra had to accept it, for now, whether he wanted it or not, he was not getting rid of this dragon any time soon.
With a grunt, he heaved the dragon over his back. He stumbled over his tail, grumbling a curse as he threw the appendage over his shoulder to keep it from getting in his way as he trudged forward, one step at a time. Strength had never been Cobra's strong suit, no pun intended, so it was a miracle he was able to lift the dragon at all, given their similar sizes. Cobra was actually slightly taller than the other, but the dragon outdid him in muscle. Plus, there were those metal wings and tail that added more weight in his back, and therefore Cobra's. He shifted, trying to avoid getting his eyes poked out by the dragon's horns. He wouldn't be able to make it far carrying the other, and he didn't know how long he would be out, so he needed to find something close that they would be able to rest, possibly for the night. He listened.
The wind made the trees crinkle. A doe was eating grass a few hundred meters away. There was a rushing sound of water, a river. A river was good. A river meant a resource, which would be a good thing. So Cobra followed that path. He followed the sounds of water, walking through the trees with the unconscious dragon on his back, until he found the stream which led to the river. A river with a rock-side, and a shaded area next to the water over shadowed by a rock ledge. That would be a good enough spot.
He dropped to the ground, exhausted from carrying the added weight all the way here. He set the dragon down on the ground, more than a little relieved when the beast twitched and unconsciously curled into himself ever so slightly. Cobra hoped that meant he would wake up soon. For now, he would just let himself and the beast rest.
