"Miss Heartfilia, are you sure one of my sons can't come with you?"
"Yes dear, the Woods are hardly the place for a young lady such as yourself. Please, I'm certain Olec would be happy to accompany you."
"Mr Jun, Mrs Jun, thank you so much for your offer, but I assure you, I'll be fine. Please, don't worry. I am a Fairy Tail mage and I am going to do everything in my power to ensure your village doesn't suffer any longer. Trust me."
"But dear…"
"Liya, it's okay. If Ms. Heartfilia is insistent on venturing into the woods alone, then we must respect that. She seems to be a competent lady, and I'm certain that she will find success. Once again, Ms. Heartfilia, we are eternally grateful for your help. Please, do not hesitate to contact me or my wife for anything you may require. And I will have someone bring you a basket of food for you to carry into the Woods."
"Thank you, Mr Jun. That's very kind."
Gajeel sat in a tree outside the Mayor's house listening to this conversation unfold. The village itself was one-fourth the size of Magnolia, and the Mayor's house was a modest, single-storeyed, weather worn, quaint home. This village certainly didn't have the money to live fruitfully, and Gajeel felt a pang of sympathy for them. A rogue spirit terrorizing this already humble village must have been debilitating. Gajeel also felt a wave of pride for his guild and for Lucy. Trust that girl to go running after the most helpless cases and doing everything in her power to fix it. His heart warmed momentarily at her kindness before he shook himself out of those gushy emotions, bringing his focus back to the task at hand.
Lucy walked out of the Mayor's house, basket of food in hand, and she turned to wave goodbye to the middle-aged couple standing in the doorway. Mr and Mrs Jun wore identical masks of concern, tinged with hope. Last night, the village lost another person, this time a little girl, and the Mayor was at his wits ends. Most of the villagers were either sick or dead, and in the last month, their population had been culled by a fifth. While Mr Jun was worried for Lucy, he was vastly more relieved that their nightmare was coming to a close. He watched her round the corner, heading towards the ramshackled inn where she'd spend the night. By dawn tomorrow, Lucy would have entered the North Woods, and Mr Jun's heart tightened at the thought.
Gajeel surreptitiously wove through the trees and between houses, staying well behind Lucy, but close enough to catch her scent. When she slipped into the inn, Gajeel found a decent roof that overlooked the dilapidated structure and quickly made himself comfortable. The night passed uneventfully, and though Gajeel wanted to stay up and keep watch, after a few quiet hours of looking at the dark inn, his eyes drifted shut.
The sky had just barely lightened when Gajeel shot awake. A light breeze was blowing and the wind carried the scent of strawberry shampoo and honeyed skin. Gajeel instantly recognised that smell. He peered over the edge of the roof just in time to see Lucy softly pull the inn door shut. Backpack slung over her shoulders, Lucy marched towards the Woods. Gajeel watched her from the roof until she was barely a speck in the distance before leaping down and silently walking behind her. He made sure to hug the walls and trees, lest she turn around and spot him. Even from this distance, he noticed the way her shoulders slumped with the weight of her bag, and he felt the sudden urge to relieve her of the strain.
Stop being such a goddamn gentleman, you asshole. She can carry a fucking bag, he chastised himself. Chivalry was still a relatively foreign concept to him and he was always irritated when it made an appearance in his thoughts.
He stayed far behind Lucy until, after an hour of walking, she stepped over the forest line. Gajeel broke into a run, trying to catch up to Lucy before he lost sight of her in the dense Woods. Quickly scaling a tree, Gajeel maneuvered through the branches, staying almost on top of Lucy as she trudged through the damp forest floor.
He heard the bastard first. Then he smelled it. And so, Gajeel was ready when the ugly fucker flew out of a tree and towards the Iron Dragon Slayer. His arm was already an iron club when the creature attacked. Gajeel managed to get a good look and the smelly thing and nearly gagged at what he saw. It looked like a monkey, with wings of a bat and the beak of a bird. The creature opened its mouth to snarl and a shrill caw left its throat. Hidden within the beak were sharpened teeth, stained brown by old blood. Claws extended, the creature aimed for Gajeel's face.
At lightning speed, Gajeel swung his clubbed arm towards the twisted monster's head. With a satisfying crack, Gajeel's arm connected with its target, and the creature's head lolled to the side. Its eyes went blank and its chest stilled. It was a quick, painless death. After all, Gajeel wasn't here to torture anyone or anything. The monster fell out of the trees and landed with a squelch on the mulchy floor.
A startled scream drew Gajeel's attention and he peered down from the trees to see Lucy standing over the body of the fallen creature, a hand clasped over her mouth.
Lucy looked down at the obscene creature that had fallen at her feet. Her hand flew to her whip and she waited for the thing to move, but when it didn't, Lucy allowed herself a closer inspection. To say that the monkey/bird/bat tribrid was ugly would be an understatement. Lucy thought she had seen some gruesome creatures on her previous missions, but they paled in comparison to the hideous thing at her feet. Lucy felt bile rise in her throat. Not only was the dead thing on the ground hair-raising, Lucy had a sickening feeling that the creatures would only get uglier, smellier, and more vicious the further into the forest she ventured.
Suddenly, Lucy remembered that the creature was dead. It fell out of the trees after something struck it. The way its neck was turned told Lucy that the creature didn't happen to simply die of its own accord. Her eyes flew up to the canopy, scanning the leaves for movement. Nothing. All was still. Whatever killed the creature was either hiding or had already fled. Lucy watched the leaves for a few more seconds before stepping around the body and continuing her path through the woods.
Pulling out a silver key, Lucy grasped it and whispered, "Pyxis." The key briefly warmed up in her palm and the sound of tinkling bells echoed through the Woods. The Compass spirit popped into existence by Lucy's side.
"Pyxis, can you please point me East? That's where the river is," she asked her spirit.
Above her, hidden behind leaves, Gajeel scoffed. He could have sniffed out the river in no time. As if to prove a point, he stuck his nose in the air and inhaled deeply. Rightly enough, the scent was coming from the East, but it was so terribly faint that Gajeel was worried he was imagining the smell. If the river was in fact there, it was a day's walk away at the least, which meant Lucy would have to camp out in the Woods.
"Fuck," Gajeel grumbled softly. He didn't want to spend a night sleeping on a branch. He then quickly clamped his mouth shut and peered down. The Woods were so quiet that even a soft whisper was audible and Gajeel was worried that maybe Lucy had heard him. When she showed no sign of having heard anything, he sighed in relief.
Lucy followed the direction Pyxis had pointed her in and she purposefully marched through the Woods.
This isn't so bad! Trust Natsu to exaggerate… Lucy chuckled to herself. She shook her head ruefully, glancing around to admire the way the morning sun filtered in through the leaves. It was quiet and uneventful for several hours and a false sense of security settled over Lucy. She was blissfully unaware that the Woods were watching her every move, and the creatures that lurked amidst the thick foliage were simply waiting for the moment that Lucy let her guard down.
The sun had moved behind her as Lucy continued her pursuit east when she heard a rustling in the trees. Lucy whipped her head around, eyes urgently searching the forest. From somewhere to her side, just outside her field of vision, Lucy heard a guttural snarl. Before she had a chance to react, a pair of arms wound around her waist, yanking her back.
"Regulus Impact!"
A brilliant flash of golden light burst through the forest, sending a particularly large rhino-wolf hybrid flying into a tree. The tree splintered with the impact, effectively skewering the beast. From behind her, Lucy heard more thumps as smaller creatures limply hit the floor.
Loke and Virgo were kicking and punching the last wave of monsters, and soon the growls reverberating off the trees faded into silence.
"What the hell, Lucy?! If I wasn't paying attention, you'd have been something's dinner! You wouldn't have been able to call me in time! You know that, right? By the time you reached for my key, you'd have been limbless! You need to be more careful, Princess!" Loke yelled.
Lucy flinched back, watching his pretty face furrow in anger.
"Yes, Princess. If Loke hadn't sensed danger and alerted us, it might have been very bad for you," Virgo added gently.
"I- I'm sorry, guys…" Lucy mumbled ashamedly. "I wasn't being careful. I know that. But I'll do better, I swear. And thank you. Thank you so much for coming when you did and for having my back," she said sincerely.
She held her hands out, holding both Loke and Virgo's hands in hers.
A somewhat pacified Loke squeezed her hand affectionately.
"I mean, it's not like I'm the only one who has-" he started before a low growl from up in the trees cut him off. Loke had sensed Gajeel's presence the minute he materialised in the Woods. His eyes flitted up, just barely making out the figure of the Dragon Slayer hidden in the leaves. Gajeel was looking at him intently and when he made eye contact with the spirit, he shook his head.
Loke nodded imperceptibly before turning to Lucy.
"Only one what?" Lucy asked, urging him to continue.
"Your spirits. All your spirits are keeping an eye on you and have your back," Loke said smoothly.
Lucy smiled sweetly at her friends.
From up in the trees, Gajeel watched Lucy assure her spirits that she would be careful and he watched them vanish back to the Celestial world.
Lucy then ran through the trees, away from the site of the fight, before she found a large rock several feet away. She scampered up onto it and sat down heavily. Gajeel, who'd followed her closely, watched her knees tremble even though she was sitting. She was scared. He could smell the fear rolling off her. He sat on a branch, keeping her in his direct line of sight, and he watched her calm herself down. She took several deep breaths, inhaling slowly through her nose and purposefully out through her mouth. Slowly, her knees stopped shaking and her breath returned to normal.
It had been a close call. Gajeel had been on the ground and ten feet away from Lucy when Loke appeared and pulled her away. For a minute, Gajeel was convinced that Lucy had seen him. He knew he'd have gotten to her before the monster had, but still, he'd cut it too close. He kept waiting for her to jump into action, but she never did. She hadn't been paying attention, and Gajeel shuddered at the thought of what might have happened had neither he nor her spirits reacted quickly enough.
Fucking Bunny girl… Why can't she be more attentive?! Gajeel thought angrily to himself. He glared at Lucy, still perched on her rock.
He saw the blonde wordlessly summon her compass spirit again.
"How far is the river, Pyxis?" she asked the funny looking thing.
The spirit chirped unintelligibly, but Lucy seemed to have understood what it said.
"Another day?! That far? Okay, well, I'll walk on for a couple more hours before making camp, I guess…" Lucy shrugged before letting her spirit go.
She slid off the rock and resumed walking east.
This time, Lucy was ready. Two creatures leapt at her from the side while another one attacked her front. Lucy snapped her whip, lashing the one coming head-on in the face as she rapidly summoned Taurus and Sagittarius. Between the three of them, they were able to face the onslaught of monsters that suddenly came their way. Lucy used her whip to send monsters towards Taurus's swinging axe. The ones that managed to slip by were soon cut down by Sagittarius's precise arrows. Lucy's whip was flying faster than she could process, and the exertion was depleting her magic energy, but she held on. Her whip cut deep into the faces and flanks of the gory creatures that were launching themselves at her. Purple ichor dripped off her whip and her brow was coated in sweat. Her spirits were equally riled up, cutting down monsters on all sides, although their faces didn't show the same signs of strain that Lucy's did.
Finally, the onslaught ceased. Taurus and Sagitarrius stood by Lucy, the three scanning the forest for more bodies. After several minutes of silence, Lucy felt confident in sending her spirits back to their realm. Once alone, Lucy looked around. Thick, purple liquid oozed out of the slain bodies and soaked into the ground. The creatures lying haphazardly around her were amalgamations of various animals, almost as if every animal had been torn apart and rearranged. Lucy felt a wave of nausea, and clamping a hand over her mouth, she broke out into a sprint, desperate to get away from the sight and stench.
Gajeel too was routinely knocking down the monsters that were swinging through the trees, but he wasn't much use when it came to helping Lucy fight the monsters on the ground. After the fight alongside Taurus and Sagittarius, Lucy encountered swell after swell of monsters, and though it took a severe toll on her magic energy, Lucy resorted to keeping Loke's gate open. The Lion spirit walked beside Lucy, fending off the creatures before they had the chance to come too close. With needing to stop and fight off creatures every few hundred meters, it was nearly dark before Lucy found a space to make camp. Loke had insisted on her stopping for the day over an hour ago, but Lucy was adamant to make some more progress.
Her camping ground was a small clearing, ringed by trees and rocks. It restricted Lucy's movement, but it also slowed down any oncoming attacker. After a quick scout of the clearing, a satisfied Lucy pitched her tent and arranged logs for a fire.
"I've never missed Natsu more," Lucy grumbled to herself as she struggled to light the fire. The cold was biting and her gloved hands trembled.
"Let me stay, Lucy. You sleep, I'll stay up and keep watch," Loke insisted for the fifth time.
"Loke, I can't keep your gate open while I'm asleep, and if you stay here on your own magical power, you won't be much help in fighting monsters tomorrow," Lucy stated matter-of-factly. "Finally!" she exclaimed when the logs caught fire. Warmth immediately spread across her.
"You underestimate my strength, Princess. I stayed in your world for three years. I can manage one night," Loke said, rolling his eyes. He moved closer to the fire too, warming his palms.
"No. I won't let you unnecessarily drain your power like that. You go back and I'll call you if I need you," Lucy put her foot down.
"It's hardly unnecessary!" Loke began shouting, but when Lucy glared at him firmly, he pressed his lips together in a thin, angry line.
"I'm keeping an eye on you all night. And not because it'll be exciting to see you undress. I'm doing it for your safety," he huffed.
Lucy's eyes widened dramatically. "Loke, if you watch me undress I will slaughter you! I will bury you three hundred feet underground and I will have Virgo chain you there forever! Don't even joke about this, Loke! I am dead seri-" Lucy screamed, waving her hands manically until Loke pressed a finger to her lips.
"Can you stop yelling? It's like you want monsters to find you… And I'm not going to watch you undress, I swear. I'm just going to make sure you're safe, so please Princess, stop having a meltdown in the middle of a terrifying forest," Loke shook his head condescendingly.
Lucy inhaled sharply and pressed her mouth shut. She nodded before whispering a soft "Thank you."
"Anytime, Princess," Loke winked before getting up and taking a few steps away from Lucy.
"Take care of her," he mumbled softly. Lucy was too preoccupied with keeping herself warm to have noticed his whispered statement. Loke, however, knew Gajeel was somewhere in the trees, and he knew Gajeel could hear him. The Dragon Slayer responded with a low, calm exhale. Satisfied, Loke disappeared back to the Celestial realm, but not before giving the clearing a final once-over.
Lucy sat by the fire for a while, eating her dinner in silence. The Woods were eerily quiet and her every sense was on high alert. Her eyes kept flitting over the ring of trees, watching for movement. The firelight created strange shadows and Lucy scared herself more than once, seeing figures in the shapes cast by the light. She was sorely tempted to call one of her spirits and have them sit with her, but she didn't want to raise a false alarm, and so she did nothing. Her hand was tightly curled around her whip as she finished the last of her sandwich, and then, at lightning speed, Lucy darted into her tent and zipped it shut.
Her breath was uneven and her heart was pounding.
That was undoubtedly the most stressful dinner of my life, Lucy sighed shakily. She slipped into her sleeping bag, curling up in its warmth. She forced her eyes shut, trying to fill her brain with white noise to drown out the deathly silence outside.
Just as sleep attempted to envelop her, she heard leaves rustling outside. She cracked an eye open just in time to see a four-legged creature creep past her tent. Lucy held her breath, her hand tightly clutching Loke's key. But the creature simply circled the tent once and walked away. Not a minute later, however, another monster walked by Lucy's tent. This one stood on two legs with pointy wings emerging from its back. The silhouette itself was frightening enough, and Lucy was in no mood to learn what it actually looked like.
Suddenly, Lucy missed Natsu more than anything. She missed having him there, because he'd have either cracked a joke to take her mind off the monsters walking around her, or he'd have gone outside and roasted the bastards.
But instead, Lucy was alone. Terrified and sitting up in her sleeping bag, Lucy shook as more creatures began appearing.
And then one ran a sharp nail along the canvas of the tent.
Lucy's shriek broke the still night air and she cried for Loke, who appeared in an instant.
"I'll take care of it, Princess," he declared. His hand was on the tent zipper when the pair heard a strangled cry from outside followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Lucy could just about make out a figure outside, apparently battering through the hoard of monsters.
"Actually, I think it's already under control," Loke said with a knowing smirk. He sat down next to Lucy and held her hand. "I'll stay in here with you until it quietens down outside, but I think you'll be fine," he grinned.
Lucy looked at her spirit, confused. "Who's out there, Loke?" she asked suspiciously.
"Give it a minute and go see for yourself," the orange-haired spirit shrugged.
More muffled groans and cries reverberated through the Woods and the sound of limp bodies falling and scurrying feet bounced off the trees. As every second ticked past, the cacophony outside lessened until the only sound Lucy could hear was heavy breathing. She looked quizzically at Loke who nodded his head. Lucy slid out of her sleeping bag and hesitantly walked to the tent door.
Her fingers lightly gripped the zipper and she turned around to see Loke give her a last encouraging nod before disappearing in a twinkle of golden light. Lucy's hand trembled as she pulled the zip down and slowly pushed open the tent flap.
The first thing Lucy saw was the glowing embers of her campfire. Between the dim light they cast off and the pale light of the crescent moon, Lucy could make out the mangled shapes of various monsters strewn across the forest floor. And there, standing amidst this carnage, was a dark, heaving figure.
Lucy's breath caught in her throat as her eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. Her gaze traveled up the figure until it met a pair of brilliant red eyes, staring back at her. The silvery moonlight glinted off of metal studs and Lucy saw full lips twist into a grimace.
"Ga- Gajeel?" Lucy choked out, hovering at the entrance to her tent.
"Damn it, Bunny. Do you now see why everyone was telling you that it was a bad idea to come alone?!" the Iron Dragon Slayer barked, wiping sweat from his brow.
A/N: Is it kinda damsel-in-distress, the-woman-can't-take-care-of-herself-and-needs-a-strong-man? Yes. And trust me, I generally dislike that trope as much as the next self-respecting feminist. But really, canonically, though Lucy is kinda strong, I seriously doubt she'd be able to take on several monsters flying at her. The intent isn't to make her helpless and weak, but a forest full of monsters isn't something that suits Lucy's skillset, imo. However, like I said, action is not my forte and that might be why I'm falling into these stereotypes, so please leave me your thoughts and let me know if this chapter worked for you or nah!