"Right. Where's this son of a bitch?" Gajeel asked, dropping his bag down on the ground. The river was a murky green and the air felt heavy and stifling.
"It should be around here somewhere…" Lucy muttered, her hand reaching for her gate keys. "Virgo!" she called.
With a chime, the spirit appeared before Lucy, clad in her signature maid's outfit.
"Is it punishment time, Princess?" she asked sweetly.
"No, Virgo. It's not punishment time," Lucy sighed tiredly. "Can you sense a spirit around here?"
Virgo looked around, attempting to discern another Celestial being. After several quiet moments, she faced Lucy.
"No Princess. No Celestial spirit here," she said definitively.
"Are you sure? There should be a rogue spirit in this area," Lucy insisted.
"Maybe. But it's not Celestial. It might be a nature spirit," Virgo offered helpfully.
From behind Lucy, Gajeel asked, "What the fuck is a nature spirit?"
"I don't think I'm the best person to answer that," Virgo replied, looking at Gajeel. Then, turning back to Lucy, Virgo bowed. "If that's all, Princess?"
"Yes, thank you, Virgo," Lucy said a little absentmindedly. Not a celestial spirit? Then what the fuck am I doing here? Oh fuck…
"Bunny gi-" Gajeel started, but Lucy held a finger up. Pulling out a silver key, she called, "Grandpa Crux?"
The wizened spirit materialised, hovering in the air in front of Lucy.
"Can you tell me about nature spirits, Grandpa Crux?" Lucy asked sweetly.
Without so much as a nod, the spirit's eyes fell shut and he began snoring softly. Gajeel groaned exasperatedly. He knew what was happening, but it was still irritating to see the spirit snooze.
Seconds ticked by in silence. Lucy waited patiently, and, a couple very slow minutes later, Grandpa Crux woke up.
"Nature spirits live in trees, mountains, rivers, oceans, deserts, and any other natural presence. They are guardian spirits. However, it is very rare that one encounters a nature spirit. They tend to remain secluded and do not enjoy interacting with beings. They are generally docile and gentle," he concluded.
"But is it possible that one could… I don't know, go rogue?" Lucy asked.
"Yes. It's possible," the spirit said simply.
"How?" she continued.
"Some books say that it happens when there's too much outside interference with nature. Others say it happens when the sun and moon align inauspiciously. No one has a definite answer," Crux explained.
"And, in that case, how would we stop a rogue spirit?" Lucy questioned.
Once more, the spirit fell asleep.
"Nature spirit? What the fuck? How have we never heard of this?" Gajeel groaned.
Lucy echoed his sentiment. "I don't know… I didn't think there were any other kind of spirits beyond Celestial ones. I don't even know if we can fight this thing," Lucy admitted hesitantly.
Gajeel merely shrugged in response.
"You can stop a rogue spirit," Grandpa Crux interrupted the pair. "You can either bathe it in the blood of an ancient dragon, or you can tie it to a tree with silver chains on a new moon night and leave it there until dawn. However, I must admit, neither method may work. Nature spirits are so rare that lore on them is sparse and unreliable."
And with that, the spirit promptly popped back to his realm.
"Silver chains shouldn't be much of an issue," Lucy started uncertainly.
"And if they don't work, we're gonna be stuck in a forest with several hideous creatures and a very pissed off rogue spirit and no way to get our hands on ancient dragon blood," Gajeel said sardonically.
"Aren't you like four hundred years old or something?" Lucy tried.
"Fuck off, that doesn't count. Plus, more importantly, I'm not an overgrown lizard, so tough luck," Gajeel barked.
"It was worth a shot," the blonde chuckled.
"Let's fucking get this over with," Gajeel grumbled.
"Virgo!" Lucy called once more.
"Yes, Princess?" the pink-haired spirit asked, suddenly appearing next to Lucy.
"Can you sense a nature spirit?"
"One moment, Princess." Virgo looked around. "There's a spirit in the water." She pointed to a spot in the middle of the river.
"Okay, gr-" Lucy was cut off by a snarl.
"Oh fuck!" Gajeel yelled and Lucy whipped around to see the man skewer a large wolf/hippo.
Before Gajeel could shake the creature off, another one lunged at him from the side. And then another. And another. Gajeel maniacally tried fighting them all but he was beginning to flounder.
"Lucy! Some help, please?" he called.
Lucy immediately jumped to action.
"Virgo. Bury your way under the river and force the spirit out," she instructed. "Sagittarius!" Lucy called in the same breath. The archer instantly appeared. "Virgo is going to draw a spirit out. I need you to shoot it and immobilise it. Pin it to a tree for all I care, but it cannot get away. Okay?"
"Of course, Miss Lucy," the archer snapped to attention, bow in hand, with an arrow notched and ready to fly.
"Taurus, your turn!" she boomed. Her magic energy was draining, but Lucy knew she had enough to see this through.
"Hello, Miss Lucy. You are looking very mooooving," Taurus flirted.
"Not now, Taurus! Help Sagitarrius restrain the spirit after Virgo drives it out," she yelled.
"Anything for you, Miss Lucy!" Taurus replied, getting into stance next to Sagitarrius.
Lucy knew she was pushing it, but still she gripped a fourth key.
"Loke! I need you!" she cried.
In a flash, the lion spirit appeared. "Four gates, Princess? You won't last!" he exclaimed.
"I'm fine!" Lucy gritted. "Gajeel needs our help!"
Without another word, Loke ran towards the struggling Dragon Slayer and pulled two monsters off of him.
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and channeled her magic energy. A daze of golden light swallowed her and she emerged a moment later, clad in her Taurus star dress. She ran behind Loke, kicking a monster out of her path.
She, Gajeel, and Loke formed a triangle, their back to each other, facing outwards.
"Regulus impact!"
"Iron Dragon roar!"
"Lucy kick!"
The three fought in unison, clearing every monster that lunged their way. But the number of monsters seemed endless. It's like they were spawning by the hundreds every second. Lucy saw monsters that she knew would haunt her for years to come. One particularly gruesome monster with the body of a boar, face of a rat, and talons of an eagle charged up to Lucy. Before she had the chance to punch it, the monster clawed Lucy's leg. She howled in pain as blood began to flow down her thigh.
"Damn it, Lucy! Are you okay?" Gajeel yelled while clobbering a monster.
"Yes, just focus," Lucy hissed, pushing the pain to the back of her mind.
The tribrid monster was lunging for Lucy again when an inhuman scream pierced the forest.
Like magic, every monster turned tail and vanished into the depths of the Woods. The three turned to the river in time to see a jet of water explode out, bringing the loud scream with it. Lucy saw Sagitarrius send three arrows flying into the jet of water, which may not have been the best idea, because suddenly, the water changed direction and went right towards Sagitarrius. The archer sent a few more arrows flying into the water, but that did nothing more than briefly slow it down. It wasn't until Taurus jumped into the water and emerged with a writhing spirit pinned under his large bovine body did anyone get a good look at what the spirit was.
"Virgo, can you get me silver chains?" Lucy asked.
"For punishment?" her spirit replied enthusiastically. But when Lucy shot her a tired look, Virgo simply nodded and vanished.
"Sagitarrius, you can go now too if you want. Thank you!" Lucy said sincerely. With a bow, the archer vanished as well, right as Virgo popped back into existence, holding a length of silver chain.
"Taurus, pin the spirit against a tree, please. And Virgo, you can tie the spirit with the chains," Lucy delegated.
Virgo chortled with delight, spinning the chains around excitedly.
More horrifying, sharp shrieks left the spirit as Taurus used all his strength to hold it against the tree. Virgo made quick work of the chains, securely binding the spirit to the wood.
"Thank you, guys," Lucy said gratefully, and with that, the two vanished.
The triad walked towards the spirit. It struggled against its bonds, snarling at them angrily. Lucy stared at the spirit in rapture. She couldn't tell if it was a beautiful boy or a pretty girl, but the spirit had speckled, deep blue skin and large, night black eyes. Its hair was a murky green and fell to the base of the spirit's neck in tangled waves. Its blue lips were pulled back around sharpened white teeth and the late afternoon sun glinted off its high cheekbones. Long, green lashes fluttered every time the spirit blinked.
The rest of the spirit reminded Lucy of Juvia. It seemed as though the spirit's body was made out of water as it undulated and swirled against the bonds. Slashes resembling gills decorated the sides of the spirit's genderless, naked frame.
Unconsciously, Lucy reached out to touch the spirit.
"Princess, no!" Loke cried, reaching for her hand and pulling it back. "We don't know anything about this, so best not to go touching it," he suggested.
"Is it like you?" Lucy asked softly.
Loke looked at the spirit quizzically. "I'm not sure… Maybe. I've never sensed magic energy like this, but still, it's a little familiar. As if this energy is a distant cousin of my energy," Loke explained simply.
Lucy nodded.
"Well then. We'll keep this sucker locked up here, catch a quick snooze, and tomorrow we can all be on our way!" Gajeel clapped his hands together.
"Right," Lucy replied before she suddenly remembered something. "Loke, when's the next new moon?" she asked apprehensively.
"In three days. Why?" he responded.
Lucy's shoulders fell. "It's nothing. Thanks Loke. You can head back if you want," she placed a gentle, affectionate hand on his arm.
"Are you sure, Princess? I can stay…" the lion spirit offered.
"No, it's okay… I'll- I'll figure it out," she replied.
With a nod, Loke chimed back to the celestial realm, leaving Lucy and Gajeel in front of the spirit. The pair looked at each other for several long moments. Lucy opened her mouth to speak, taking a step towards Gajeel, but the only sound that left her throat was a strangled cry. Suddenly, Lucy crumpled to the ground. In a flash, Gajeel was by her side and scooping her into his arms. Watched by the hateful eyes of the bound spirit, Gajeel carried Lucy to a nearby rock, where the spirit was still within their line of sight. As he put her down, her clothes changed back into her standard tank top and shorts.
"Shit, Lucy. I forgot you were hurt," he whispered, gently examining the wound. Retrieving a canteen of water from his bag, Gajeel cleaned the blood from Lucy's leg. She hissed as the water flowed over the wound, wincing at the sting.
"Sorry," Gajeel mumbled, at which Lucy just shook her head, teeth gritted and eyes clenched shut.
"How bad is it?" she whimpered. Gajeel could smell pain and fear dripping from her pores.
"Not bad," he promised. "It's deep, but I don't think it's infected. Let's get you back to town and we'll anyway get a doctor to look at it, but I think you'll be okay," he assured her.
"I won't lose my leg?" Lucy asked with a shaky laugh.
Gajeel chuckled. "Not today, at least."
"Okay, well, let's tie it up and hopefully it can go three days without needing medicine," Lucy said hopefully.
Gajeel reached back into his bag to pull out scrap cloth before he fully processed what she'd said. His jaw clenched and he bit his tongue as he wrapped a torn piece of his T-shirt around Lucy's thigh. She groaned softly as he bandaged the wound, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Her nails dug into her palm, knuckles white over her tightened fist. She wasn't going to let those tears fall.
And then, with tenderness that shocked her, Gajeel gently ran the pads of his fingers over her thigh. Delicately, caringly, he caressed her injured leg before patting her calf.
"All done. Now, back to the idiotic fucking thing you said," he started. He got on both knees in front of Lucy and looked her dead in the eye. "You are a dumbass if you think we're staying in this place for another three days. I get that that's when the new moon is, and I know that bastard," Gajeel gestured towards the feral spirit, "needs to be tied up until then, but no fucking way does that mean we're staying here with it. We're going to the village, staying at the inn, showering, eating a few decent meals, getting a couple nights of sleep, and we'll come back on the day of the new moon. This isn't up for discussion," he said with finality.
Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers and laughed humorlessly.
"Listen, Gajeel. I really, really appreciate everything you've done for me. You're right, I would have been dead by now without you. But this is my job, and I call the shots. And I say that I'm staying right here and watching that spirit for the next three days, because I will see this job through and I will do it correctly. If you want a bed and a shower, by all means, please go back to the village. You can come back on the night of the new moon, or I can see you in the village when I'm all done here, but I'm staying. Don't fight me on this, and don't try changing my mind. We are not having this conversation again." Lucy looked up at him with fire in her eyes.
Gajeel considered retaliating, but the steely determination in her gaze stopped him.
"Well, I'm not leaving you alone, so fine. Fuck it. Guess I can wait to get a good night's sleep," he grumbled, pushing himself off the ground. He knew he didn't have to stay, but he also knew he'd never forgive himself if he left. And so, Gajeel unenthusiastically resigned himself to a few more cold nights in the Woods.
"I'm gonna go see if I can find some medicinal leaves for your wound," he said flatly, turning away from the blonde. While he wasn't going to leave, he didn't need to pretend to be having a good time by staying.
"I'll do something for lunch," Lucy called after him.
"Just ask Virgo to get me some iron," he said over his shoulder. "And don't fucking move," he barked.
"Yes sir," Lucy mumbled sarcastically under her breath.
Gajeel had, in fact, managed to find a plant that would stave off an infection. Lucy was a little surprised at how self-sufficient he was, but then she thought about Natsu and realised that, in his own way, he was quite independent as well.
It couldn't have been easy, having been abandoned by their parents when they were all so young, Lucy thought to herself.
Gajeel ground the leaves into a paste and smeared it over Lucy's wound, much to her chagrin. The paste burned as it entered the deep cut, destroying traces of poison and bacteria. Lucy howled in pain, spewing a stream of profanities, which forced Gajeel to clamp a palm over her mouth while he dressed her injury singlehandedly.
After lunch the two sat on a blanket, distracting themselves with a game. Gajeel's fingers were arranged in upside-down L's, forefingers on the ground, thumbs touching one another, in the shape of a goal. Lucy sat across from him, flicking stones between his fingers. Eventually they'd switch, and Gajeel would flick stones into Lucy's goalpost.
"I haven't seen a single monster in my while," Lucy commented.
"I think it has something to do with ugly over there," Gajeel responded, jerking his head towards the spirit. Lucy looked at it and it glared back angrily. It had stopped snarling, but would still occasionally growl or spit purple ichor when either Gajeel or Lucy gave it any attention.
"I think it's beautiful," Lucy whispered. Though menacing and frightening, there was something strikingly enticing about the spirit. Gajeel turned to inspect the spirit before grunting noncommittally.
"But yeah, I think you're right. Maybe the monsters are scared of it…" Lucy suggested.
"Wish we knew more about these things," the Dragon Slayer shrugged. "Must be powerful as hell if the fucking monsters don't like it either."
"But silver? That's all it takes to stop it?" Lucy asked in bafflement.
"Let's hope so," Gajeel sighed.
Lucy made a small sound in the back of her throat before flicking a stone towards Gajeel. It bounced off his thumb and ricocheted towards the river. Lucy watched it drop into the river, causing tiny waves. She had hoped that, by restraining the spirit, the water would become clean, but it had been a few hours and it was still very murky.
"I could really use a bath," she sighed wistfully, staring at the swamp green water.
"You want to bathe in the river?" Gajeel asked incredulously.
"Ew, no. No, I just wanted a bath in general," Lucy shrugged.
"Give me a minute," Gajeel said before quickly jumping up and scampering up a nearby tree. Lucy watched him leap through the branches until he disappeared into the thick foliage.
As promised, a minute later, Gajeel landed back on the ground and sauntered up to Lucy.
"I can smell a pond a couple miles away. The water smells clean and it shouldn't take you long to get there. You can go first and when you're back, I'll go," he offered.
Lucy hesitated. She felt embarrassed to admit it, but with her banged up leg and poor sense of direction, she was scared she'd get lost and hurt. Plus, she was exhausted and didn't think she could fight anymore monsters, were they to attack. But she couldn't ask Gajeel to come with her. It would be an imposition.
He noticed her uncertainty anyway, and asked, "What's wrong? Want me to go first and ensure it's okay?"
Lucy shook her head.
"Then? What is it?" he probed.
"I don't want to go by myself. My leg hurts and I can't fight and I'd get lost," she admitted shamefully.
"Oh," Gajeel replied dumbly. If he was being honest with himself, the thought of accompanying Lucy for her bath did send blood shooting straight to his groin. But he ignored the underlying sensuality of her statement. She was scared and was innocently asking a friend to keep her company.
There is absolutely no need to be getting hard right now, you asshole, he chastised his penis.
"You don't have to come with me! It's okay! I'll be fine! Sorry!" Lucy said hurriedly. She felt very embarrassed.
"No! No, it's okay!" Gajeel jumped. "I don't mind. Better stay together anyway… You think we can leave the spirit alone?" he asked.
Lucy fumbled through her keys before pulling out a silver one.
"Horologium!" she called. In a flash, the clock spirit appeared before her. "Can you please watch this spirit? And trap it if it tries escaping?" Lucy asked.
Horologium bowed his head. "I will do my best, Miss Lucy," he vowed solemnly.
"Silver keys don't drain as much energy so I'll be fine keeping his gate open," Lucy whispered as an aside to Gajeel.
The pair pulled a clean set of clothes out of their bags and slung towels over the shoulders before setting off.
"Be good, Horologium!" Lucy called jovially, waving to her spirit.
The walk to the pond was entirely uneventful and Lucy felt more embarrassed than ever for having dragged Gajeel along. She could have done this by herself without an issue. But a tiny part of her pictured Gajeel without his shirt on and suddenly she didn't feel as guilty. He was attractive, there was no denying it. And while he frequently got on her nerves, Lucy was beginning to enjoy spending time with him, despite being stuck in the Woods.
They barely spoke on their walk. Gajeel was listening for the sound of monsters and Lucy was listening to the melodic whistle of wind rustling through the leaves.
"It should be right around here," Gajeel mumbled, pushing through some brambles. The last stretch had been a trek through thorny bushes and shrubbery, and though Lucy and Gajeel both tried avoiding it, their bodies were marred by thin, red scratches. Gajeel peered through a bush and exclaimed happily. Just beyond this bush was the most inviting looking pond he'd ever seen. He was ridiculously desperate for a soak, and suddenly, his muscles felt weary. All he wanted to do was sink into the cool water and lay there for days. Gajeel pushed the brambles aside and pressed his back against the thorns. His body acted as a barrier, allowing Lucy to pass through, unencumbered by the thorns. She threw a grateful look in his direction as she slid past, her chest brushing up against his.
"Holy shit…" she breathed softly as she took in the pristine, teal pond. It was lined by small rocks and dragonflies fluttered around lazily. It was surreal that a spot so beautiful existed within the otherwise horrifying North Woods. She turned to Gajeel, eyes twinkling excitedly. "I can't wait," she half-moaned and immediately began pulling her top off.
Gajeel looked at her slender waist and the tantalising swell of her breasts, spilling out over her modest, pink bra. He felt a rush of blood to his dick once more and he looked away awkwardly.
"Uh... I'll just go wait behind a bush or something then… Call when you're done," he fumbled.
"What? No, don't go!" Lucy reached out to grab his arm. "We've seen each other in our swimsuits, right? This'll be like that. It'll be quicker and safer if we stick together. Unless you have an issue with me being there while you bathe…" Lucy toyed with an errant strand of hair. She hoped she hadn't crossed a line, but also, it just didn't make sense for them to be apart. Not when they were still in the middle of these hellish woods, irrespective of how idyllic it may have seemed in the present moment.
Gajeel looked at her for a couple moments, wondering if she was joking or not. But when he found nothing but sincerity, and possibly a hint of trepidation, in her eyes, he swallowed audibly and nodded. Slowly, Gajeel reached for the hem of his shirt.
A/N: I honestly laugh at myself every time I try writing adventure. Like okay, this isn't as bad as it has been in the past, but for those of you who actively read adventure fics, I am terribly sorry for my subpar action sequence. I promise to make it up to you with delicious smut because that's what I'm good at. Anyway, please let me know what you thought, and be brutally honest as to just how poor my adventure writing is. I need all the feedback I can get!