Gray's POV (weren't expecting that were ya?)

I couldn't move. I was frozen, and not from my maker magic. My blood and body are in fire. I feel like Natsu's flames were within my body. Other than the burning feeling, I felt sore and tired. I couldn't feel my arm. I couldn't even see. What happened? I was having some difficulty remembering what had happened before I fell sleep. My mind was a blank. The last thing I can clearly remember is being in a dark forest. We were looking for something. No, Someone. But who? Why can't I move? I can hear voices. Who was speaking? They sound concerned. Why? I can't really say. My body feels tired. I think I'll rest some more.

Erza's POV

I awoke from the noise of conversation. It was Lucy. She was talking to what seemed to be a male. Everything about him was off. The way he moved, the way he spoke. He was a complete mystery. Who wants to stay here where they get attacked like that? By the looks of it, he lives alone. I sat up and looked over at where Lucy's voice was coming from. The male was still wearing that mask on his face. It was unsettling.

"I know this may sound rude but, can I trust you?"

The male seemed to be taken back by this question. I decided to take part in this conversation.

"Yes, can we trust you? You did knock us out with... something."

Lucy and the male looked over at me. Guess they didn't know I was awake.

"Erza, he was helping Gray. When the demon attacked us, yes that was a demon, Gray got poison in his bloodstream. That is why he was paralyzed. He is trying to make sure that Gray doesn't die."

"Lucy, I understand, but he could have told us. Instead, he knocked us out. He left us vulnerable."

I noticed that the male had backed away. I must have risen my voice and was making him nervous.

"Uh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I wish to thank you for keeping Gray alive. Um, my name is Erza, that is Lucy, the one asleep is Happy, and you already know Gray."

He stayed silent. I must have scared him to where is uncomfortable. I felt guilty for doing so.

"I'm sorry if I said anything to upset you."

"It... it is... fine."

His voice was still rough, but his words were more clear. He turned his head away from us.

"What can we call you?"

"... Anything."

Does he not have a name?

"What do you mean by that?"

"You call me whatever."

"Why?"

Silence

"Well, we have to call you something. If you don't want to tell us your name, I can respect that."

He gave a quick nod.

"Traps. Need to check them. Stay here. Safe."

With that he left. Traps? Why would he need traps? What for? Hunting? I couldn't be certain. What I could be certain was that if there were traps out there, we would have to be careful if we ever went out. No, when we go out. I wasn't going to stay here, wherever here was.

"Lucy? Is Gray alright?"

"I think so. He said that there was poison in him from the demon."

"He told you that? Hmmm. That must have been why he looked like he was biting Gray. He was getting the poison out of him. Seems as if I made a mistake for thinking he was a threat."

"I agree. He isn't a threat, as of right now. Who knows what will happen later? What if this is an act?"

"I do not know. For now, don't let your guard down. We will just observe him until we know more information."

"We need to call him something other than 'him'."

I let out a sigh. She was right. He doesn't trust us enough for us to know his name. We need to call him something. All we know about him is that he lives out here in the middle of the woods. What would we call him that fits him?

"Oh, I got it! We could call him Denzel."

Denzel? Where did she come up with that name?

"Why?"

"Oh, well, Denzel means wild one. And he is someone who lives out here and doesn't seem to be comfortable with other humans."

Denzel. Wild one. I guess I can see how it fits. I guess, we have a name for him. Denzel. Let's see how he likes it, unless he wants to tell us his real name.

"We can tell him that that is what we will call him unless he tells us his real name."

"Erza, what if he doesn't have a name? He may have had one because he couldn't have been here alone his whole life, he would have been dead. He may have had one and has just forgotten his name."

I didn't even think about that. I guess that could be why he didn't care what we called him. He might not even know his real name. I don't know my last name. I was given my last name by a friend.

"Well, then Denzel is fine. We can tell him that so he will respond to it."

Lucy nods.

~Time skip a few hours~

It has been sometime since Denzel was gone. It was concerning how long he had been out. I had eaten one of the apples that he had left for us. It was nice that he thought to provide us food. I hope we aren't too much of a bother. Gray wasn't doing much better. He may have stopped sweating, but he was still rather warm. I would have thought that an Ice wizard would have a low temperature always, even when they are sick. Lucy kept going out to the lake to get a cloth, or Gray's shirt that we ripped, and keep it damp to try and bring down his fever. I doubt he would mind that we ripper his shirt because he would most likely take it off. Lucy stepped out just minutes ago and wasn't back yet. This was concerning. It wasn't that far from the lake, so what was talking her so long. I stepped out to see Lucy staring out across the water.

"Lucy? What are you looking at?"

All Lucy does is point across the lake. I move my gaze in her direction. At first, I didn't see anything, then I saw what looked to be an outline of a person. We weren't alone.

"Is that Denzel?"

Lucy shakes her head.

"I don't think so. Let's just go back to Gray, we shouldn't leave him alone."

I nod and we turn to go back. When we turn around, Denzel was standing right behind us. Lucy made a startled gasp. I just tensed up. I didn't even feel his presence. That was a little nerve-racking.

"Why out here? Not safe here."

"We just wanted to get this cloth wet so we could help our friend. He has a fever."

"Fever is good. Fever will help."

When both me and Lucy didn't answer, Denzel grabbed her wrist and dragged us back to the tree.

"Here is safe."

He sounded concern and a bit scared. It was faint, but I could feel him shake. The moment we were back in the tree, he let go.

"Stay."

"No. You don't tell us what to do."

"This place is dangerous. Please, stay here."

He had warning within his tone of voice. He wasn't joking around and he was trying to keep us her because he thinks it is dangerous. We know that. We saw a monster, a demon, when we got to this forest. I would be surprised if these dark woods were full of every pure thing in this world. Lucy ended up talking to him.

"Denzel, we understand that it is dangerous, but we can handle ourselves."

He had his head tilt to the left. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I could read him. He was confused.

"Denzel?"

"Oh, that is what we are going to call you."

He nods his head. At least he understands that.

"Hey, are you going to keep us here until Gray is better?"

He shakes his head.

"You can leave, not at night. To dangerous."

I see. The night was the most dangerous time here. He must know that because he...

"How long have you lived here?"

He looks up and pauses for a moment before giving me an answer.

"Whole life."

A/N: Hey, y'all. This is the official 11th chapter of BCWYWF and we have got the name of the person who saved them. Denzel means "Wild One" as Lucy said. I wanted a name that fit who he was and that name was the one I liked the best. I tend to look up names if I want to have names with certain meanings and this is an example of one of those names. Anyway, I am having a lot of fun writing this story. I hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I am. You also learned a little bit about Denzel. You will learn more about him in the next few/future chapters. I'll see you in the next chapter.

~Zolf

Posted: 2/26/2020