Hey guys! Kytrin again! I actually don't have any housekeeping for you guys this chapter, so I'll just say enjoy the chapter! :)
THIS FIC UPDATES EVERY THREE DAYS: Post, Break, Break, Post!
CHAPTER 39
Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden is a character in Russian folktales. She is very beautiful and often depicted with snow white skin, deep sky-blue eyes and curly fair hair. She is the daughter of the immortal Gods, Father Frost and Mother Spring. In the stories, she usually goes to live with humans to care for an elderly couple who have no children.
Sting's body was sore, and not only that, his back was aching as if Natsu had set it on fire and left it to burn. Light filtered through his eyelids, branding against his face until he was forced to wake up.
A bandage was wrapped tightly around his head and chest while the room he was in was overgrown with herbs and plants.
It was blurry but was fast coming into focus.
"Oh, you're awake." A voice, quiet and nearby called to his attention. Sting blinked and sat up a fraction, his eyes drawing towards the murky face of a human woman.
She had snow-like hair that hung in short locks around her face and kind eyes that watched him with a hint of apprehension and curiosity.
The scent of magic came off her, and Sting at once knew she was a mage.
"How are you feeling Mr. Dragon?" She asked him quietly, reaching out with cautious hands to adjust the bandage around his head.
He tracked her movements with his eyes, sensing her hesitation behind her movements. After all, humans had a very real, inherent, fear of dragons. Sting could transform in a second and snap her hand off at the wrist if he felt so inclined.
He had to grudgingly admit it was brave of her to reach a hand out to what was an apex predator.
Even braver as, despite her caution, he couldn't feel her hands shaking at all. It was strange. Lucy he expected. She'd dealt with his brother for months before making it to the mountain. Hell, she'd been trekking to see them at the mountain via Metallicana in the first place!
Of course, Lucy was also a powerful wizard who had been fighting demons for years. Something like that was automatically worthy of respect for dragons no matter what species you were.
Pantherliliy was well liked at the nest for that very reason.
This girl however...
Regardless of the magic he smelled on her, or her steady hands, there was absolutely no reason to believe she was one of the few, like Lucy, worthy of respect.
He tolerated her adjusting his bandages for a moment before his eyes narrowed and he growled lowly at her.
Her movements immediately stilled and she pulled back, giving him a curious look, "Did I pull something there Mr. Dragon?"
Sting didn't reply, but she didn't seem too bothered by it as she sat back, "Well, it's alright anyway. Everything looks like it's healing well. I've brought some food for you if you're hungry."
A muscle in his cheek twitched as she made to get up.
Perhaps moving in his current state wasn't the best of ideas, but he couldn't help it. Sting's hand reached out, looping firmly around the woman's wrist to keep her in place.
A flicker of alarm flashed over her eyes, but she made sure to keep her fear off her face. There was only caution, and her hand at her waist on a ring of keys.
It was one that looked familiar, and Sting had seen Lucy carry something similar around many times before.
She was a Celestial Mage.
"Who are you?" He asked sharply, "Where's my brother, his exceed, and his queen?"
The woman shook her head, her expression relaxing by degrees. Her hand lifted off the ring by her side and slowly settled over her wrist where his hand rested.
"I didn't see anyone else. I saw only you when you transformed and dropped out of the sky," The woman clarified, "I'm sorry, I'm not known to be the most lucky of people, but Tartaros was nearby."
"I saw their cube decloak when their canons fired over you. You were flying just low enough under the cloud lines. even if you were hard to see with your scales," she murmured, "when you fell, I knew it was only a matter of time before they found you so I... I brought you here."
She looked down at his hands, "I'm sorry, I didn't see anyone else with you."
Tartaros had been who shot him out of the sky?
That was not good. Of course, now that he was thinking about it he wasn't sure why this surprised him any. They knew Tartaros was eager to get their hands on his brother, and the flight back was a perfect ambush time since he'd been flying slowly and largely unable to fight without throwing off Lucy and his cargo. Though he had to wonder how they'd known he was there...
He was more worried about Natsu and Lucy though. He'd bucked them pretty hard when he was shot and there was no telling how far he'd flung them or if they were alright.
"If you'd like, Mr. Dragon, I can keep an eye out for anyone else until you're healed enough to go?" The girl asked tentatively, startling him out of his thoughts and bringing his gaze back on her.
"Why would you do that?" He demanded, perhaps more harshly than was warranted, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with human trickiness.
She blinked at him slowly, as if not understanding why he was growling at her, "Because it's the right thing to do?"
She flushed a bit and dropped her gaze again when he continued to stare at her, "I mean, I know it may not be much, but they're important to you right? It's important we look after the people who mean the most to us."
Well that wasn't what he'd expected.
Of course, given she was human, he was kind of surprised he hadn't been harvested for his body parts or something yet.
Had he really been lucky enough to find a human that wouldn't do that? One that was like Lucy?
Considering he had gotten shot through the wing, Sting didn't think his luck was much to brag about at the moment.
Still, that was the same thing Lucy had said to him the other night when they growled at one another. That not all humans could be judged the same as Zeref. But it wasn't so easy for him to believe it. He had grown up believing his twin had been killed by humans... only for that to not be necessarily true.
His return didn't wash away years of suspicion.
Later that night his parents had pulled him aside to talk to him about being at ease with the humans once he arrived at Magnolia. It was up to him to represent his kind, and that meant being patient.
And open to having them change his mind.
He struggled to take a deep breath and looked up at the woman.
"My name is Sting," He said slowly, "What's yours?"
The startled look on her face was quickly replaced by a smile that seemed to light up the room, "I'm Yukino!" She replied brightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you Sting!"
And strangely enough, he could tell she meant it. Though he wasn't sure why given how he'd been growling at her since he woke up.
Still, he wasn't going to argue over it. So he shifted into a more comfortable position and carefully reached for the thick stew she's brought him, "Can I ask where we are Yukino?" He asked curiously, "I thought we were in the middle of nowhere."
Yukino laughed a little, "We are in the middle of nowhere!" She replied, but shrugged, "My village is a small hunting and logging village. So we're pretty remote. It's a full day to get to the next nearest village, and four to a town of any size."
That would explain why they hadn't been detected so close to dragon territory then.
If the humans were careful to avoid cutting large swaths of trees and kept quiet and to themselves chances were no dragon would even notice them while flying overhead.
He took a careful bite of his stew and blinked in surprise at how good it was. Probably the best he'd ever tasted, and he was royalty.
"This... is really good." He muttered, more to himself than anything, as he took another bite, but she still heard him and her smile returned. He coughed a little in embarrassment and shifted slightly, wincing a little as he did, "So how did you get me here?"
"Oh that's easy!" Yukino replied and patted her keys, "Libra can control gravity, so it was simple for her to reverse your gravity enough to make you light enough to move."
"So you carried me here?" Sting asked for clarification, somewhat amazed despite himself how she was able to move a heavier-than-average male to her home in uneven terrain.
"Are there a lot of mages in your little village?" He asked.
Yukio nodded at his first question but shook her head for the second. She swallowed tightly and hunched her shoulders together.
"Actually no. I'm the only one," Yukino smiled at him, even though it was with a touch of nerves. She scooted forward until her knees were touching the edge of his bed, "Can I tell you something secret?"
Curious, over what she could possibly have to share with him, he nodded.
"The people here don't really like magic, I'm not even sure they realize how close they are to dragons," Yukino twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingers, "I didn't even know until I saw you fall out of the sky."
Sting watched her as Yukino bent forward, and he realized she was afraid. But not necessarily of him.
"I kept you a secret, no one knows you're here or what you are," Yukino whispered, "They may confuse you with a demon, and even if they don't - they don't like magical people."
She knew that from experience. He could tell by the shadows in her eyes. Was that why she considered herself unlucky? Because she'd been born with a gift none of these other backwater humans could understand?
It made him wonder how she'd learned celestial magic in the first place if that was the case.
Perhaps she'd learned it from a parent or sibling?
Whatever the case, it wasn't his place to ask something that personal. So he nodded instead.
"Thank you." He replied, "For keeping me secret and warning me."
He frowned a little, "But if that's the case, it's even more important my brother be found before he can go charging into your village."
Yukino nodded, "It's been about a day and a half since I found you." She replied, "I'm not sure how quickly your brother will be able to arrive if he got hurt as badly as you were..."
Sting laughed a little at that, "He wasn't hit by Tartaros either. He'll be fine as long as he wasn't caught."
A possibility that concerned him deeply, but he was confident in Natsu's ability to slip out from under their radar. He was honestly more worried about where they'd landed and if Lucy was uninjured. That would be a significant problem if she was hurt, but she'd had Happy with her so hopefully he was worrying for nothing.
Yukino smiled back at him, "Then I'll go keep a look out for him." She promised, "If I see him I'll bring him and his, er, Queen back here."
"In the meantime, please try to get some rest Sting, I don't know much about dragons or their wings, but I know you fell hard," Yukino smiled at him, "I think your wing will recover as your body heals."
"Unless it works differently?" She asked.
Sting reached around to his back, hissing a bit as his muscles stretched what was clearly a raw spot just near his spine.
"My wings are sort of an extension, if they're injured in any way, the wound transfers to my body in a relatable way. I won't be able to transform easily until it heals, then I'll be able to fly again," Sting grunted his explanation.
He wasn't sure why he was sharing this with his would be savior, but she was kind and had a sweet smile.
"We regenerate quickly though, so it shouldn't be a problem," Sting murmured.
Yukino smiled and pulled the blankets away enough for Sting to slide back under them to rest. With that said, it was imperative that he worked on healing.
Especially since he was definitely in an unfamiliar town that wasn't exactly friendly to magical beings.
Not to mention Tartaros breathing down their necks.
He got a good look at Yukino as his eyes dropped off. Her clothes were shabby, and while her home looked comfortable, there were definite signs of decay and age.
She was also more thin than seemed exactly healthy. His stomach twisted with the taste of stew as he suddenly realized she might have given what little food she had for the day to him.
But he was warm, and found himself drifting off before he could open his mouth and question her.
Tricky human indeed, Sting blinked at her sluggishly. He wondered if she had put some medicine in his stew to help him sleep.
He didn't exactly feel angry about it though. Somehow, with the stubborn little human sitting at his bed, he felt safe.
Yukino watched the dragon, Sting, fall asleep with a soft smile before getting up and stepping out of the room. As much as she wouldn't have minded staying at his bedside she had work to do.
She hadn't quite given him all of her food in that stew, but it had certainly been all of her meat and most of her vegetables. She sighed a little as she realized she would be dining on oatmeal with dried fruit in it tonight, and would have to go into town tomorrow.
That wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to.
She stood out in town because of her strange white hair, and venturing into town meant dealing with the townsfolk that liked to call her names. Though no one dared lay a hand on her anymore. The last time anyone had tried Pices had appeared on their own, and very forcefully taught the boys trying to corner her that doing so was not a smart idea.
She just hoped she would be able to purchase or trade enough to get the meat a healing dragon required. If not she would have to try hunting, and that was something she didn't want to do if she could avoid it.
She'd done it before, and knew she probably would again, but it wasn't something she enjoyed by any means.
She shook her head a little and started getting her dinner ready. She would worry about it in the morning.
-::-
When Sting awoke, he was greeted to an empty house. He slowly pushed himself up, swinging his legs out to the floor. Ginger in his movements, he swallowed down a whimper the movement caused.
He felt sluggish, but much better than the day before. He wobbled for a moment, but managed to stay upright.
He staggered across the room in just four steps, leaning his arms against a paned window. The glass was milky and yellow.
It was thick, but looked brittle to the touch. Sting was almost afraid if he touched it, his hand would punch a hole in it.
He bent closer as he spotted movement outside, the tip of his nose grazing the glass.
A smile quirked at his lips as he spotted Yukino moving around in her garden.
She looked dirty from head to toe, even as she shuffled around on all fours to pull weeds.
It looked like she was keeping herself busy.
Turning towards the door, he almost missed the bowl on a rickety looking table that was missing a leg. It was being propped up by a large crate. Sting quirked his head as he spotted the obscene looking bowl filled to the brim with oatmeal and dried nuts and berries. It looked good.
Next to it, in pretty looped handwriting was his name. He touched the parchment, his thumb running over the 'S' in his name.
She'd made this specifically for him?
For some reason the knowledge she'd gone out of her way to label this as his touched him. As a dragon he was no stranger to possessive tendencies, and he certainly loved getting more things to add to his hoard, but Yukino didn't have the resources to spare for him. And yet she'd gone out of her way to designate something as exclusively his.
Suddenly he felt bad for how much he'd growled at her before.
He smiled a little as he picked up the bowl before it could get cold, and hobbled towards the door so he could at least thank her for her kindness.
He didn't get very far though as Yukino had apparently finished her work in the garden and came inside with a basket of vegetables and other plants that Sting though might've been gathered in the nearby forest.
"Oh!" She exclaimed at the sight of him on his feet, "Sting! I wasn't expecting to see you up!"
Sting flashed her a slightly sheepish smile, "I just woke." He admitted awkwardly, "I thought you were busy in the garden and I might join you while I ate?"
Why did that sound so stupid said aloud?
Yukino, however, just smiled sweetly at him, "I appreciate that." She replied, "Why don't you sit while I deal with this?" She gestured to her basket, "That way we can talk while you eat."
And they did just that. Sting settled down obediently to eat while Yukino put her load away.
And they talked a long time, going back and forth about their likes and dislikes until Yukino eventually got him to open up about his family.
She talked to him about her own, and how she had lost her parents to raids by Zeref cultists and her sister to demons. She had inherited her sister's keys in the attack, but never saw her again.
Stings heart went out to her, since she had been alone for a very long time.
While his family had lost Natsu, they all had one another for support.
So, with hesitation, he told her about their family's story. It was difficult for a dragon to trust someone with a story so guarded and secret, but he felt as if he owed her for the kindness and generosity she had already shown him.
"Oh Sting..." Yukino breathed, her hands reaching out to curl around his, "I'm so sorry! I can't even imagine how terrible that must've been for you all!"
Sting swallowed a little around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, and squeezed her hands gently, "Thanks Yukino." He replied softly, and smiled a little at her, "We got through it though. And we were lucky. Really lucky. Natsu came back to us and he's found a beautiful Queen in Lucy."
"Lucy is another dragon?" Yukino asked curiously.
Sting shook his head, "No. Lucy's human. Just like you." He sighed a little, "Their story is… complicated. And I'm not the one who should be telling it. I'm just glad my brother is alive."
Yukino nodded sympathetically, "I understand."
"Er, I didn't mean…" Sting replied a little awkwardly, belatedly realizing how that sounded, but Yukino waved him off.
"No it's alright. I know what you meant." She smiled at him, "But it's sweet of you to think of that anyway."
"I'm not sweet." Sting huffed, causing her to laugh, "I'm not! I'm a dragon!"
"You cant' be both?" Yukino teased and laughed a little harder. Sting shot her a pouty look, but couldn't help smiling a bit anyway for the way she lightened the mood a little. Even if it had been at his own expense. Now, that was a nice he could appreciate. Light and airy. Just like his own element.
The thought made him want to purr a little, and his cheeks started to flush again as he realized the direction his thoughts were taking.
He was saved, however, when Yukino glanced at the clock and sighed as she reluctantly pulled away, "I have to go." She told him, "If we don't want to keep eating oatmeal and stewed vegetables I need to head into town and try to get some meat."
Sting frowned a little at the word try, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Yukino smiled again and shook her head, "No. The villagers will know right away you're new, and being with me they'll assume the worst. Besides, you're still injured. You should rest a little more if you can. I shouldn't be gone too long."
Though she was definitely going to need a bath before she went. The last time she'd showed up looking grubby she'd been chased out of the butcher's shop entirely.
Sting huffed, not liking the idea of her heading off alone. Yukino was a strong woman living alone, but there seemed to be a sadness that clung to her.
"I might be injured, and I may be new, but at least I can help you carry your load back," Sting wheedled, pushing forward into her personal space and flashing her a sunny smile.
Yukino blinked, a little startled by the shocking blue in his eyes. She wasn't afraid of the slitted pupils that stared back at her. Rather, she found them very pretty.
Blond hair hung down over those eyes, and she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was - now that he was smiling of course.
"Come on Yukino, let me help," He pleaded, "Dragons don't do well when they're cooped up inside."
She felt warmth skated down her cheeks and she turned around, away from his puppy eyes and whines.
"It'll be fine Sting!" She stammered, "just wait right here!"
Sting pouted at her back, noticing how distinctly delicate it looked, and decided on the spot that no matter what she said... he would follow her into town. He might not be the stealth expert Rogue was, but he knew how to stay hidden when the need arose. He was a predator after all.
"Yukinoooo..." He whined one more time, "I'll be bored!"
Yukino had to bite her lip to keep from either giving in or laughing at his antics and glanced at him over her shoulder, "You're welcome to read any of the books in the house." She replied before darting back outside and to the makeshift shower she had set up out there.
Sting blinked a little in surprise that she went outside for her shower, and grimaced a bit at the idea she didn't have an indoor one that functioned anymore. As much as an outdoor bath could be fun in nice weather like this, he didn't even want to imagine one in winter or bad weather.
Maybe he should offer to take her with him when he left?
The thought startled him, but he quickly warmed up to it. As tragic as it was there was no reason for her to stay really, and she would certainly fare better around other wizards like Lucy or the guild he'd heard so much about.
He would pose the offer to her. Later.
Special thanks to all of our lovely reviewers! You guys mostly screamed about the StingxYukino we hinted at in the sneak peek, but that's okay lol. We enjoyed watching your screams all the same. I can't think of anything that needs to be addressed here either right off hand, so you brats enjoy your preview and I'll see you next chapter! :)
30 REVIEWS EQUALS A SNEAK PEEK!
The sounds of heavy boots stomping nearby caused them to shrink down to the ground, hiding behind the thick roots of a tree. Natsu held his breath, fangs bared. They were being hunted. Rather, they had been hunted for just over two days now.
It was difficult to evade the low level demons that had been released from Tartaros, especially when Natsu was also trying to locate his brother, but that hadn't stopped them for the last two days.
It didn't help that from the smells he was picking up, they were getting dangerously close to a human village too. In fact, that was about the last thing they needed.
They waited tensely until the boots stomped off out of range again. But they were sure to be back. And soon. More worrying were those they didn't hear coming a mile off.
"We can't keep this up Natsu." Wendy hissed quietly, worry in her voice, "At this rate they'll have us hemmed in."
