Gray was panting after running to the trail. He had developed a stitch in his chest that refused to go away. He was bent over, hands on his knees, trying desperately to calm his heart. He questioned why he didn't hear any fighting going on. Maybe Natsu already finished the battle? Gray hated to admit it, but Natsu was an extremely strong wizard. Strong and stupid.
Gray dropped low, crawling behind a thick tree trunk and peeking around the side. There were a few men being healed by a magic healer, and significantly more cleaning up a mess of crates that looked to be broken and burned. That wasn't good. Where was Natsu? Gray could see scorch marks all around, now that he was looking for them. He decided he had to take action now, then search for Natsu as quickly as he could.
Gray clapped his hands together, encasing the healer in ice. He ran forward, creating a large ice hammer in the sky, then letting it fall on a dense group of robbers. While Gray was deciding what to do next, he heard the sound of shattering behind him. He spun sharply. The healer had exploded his ice entrapment and was sprinting directly at Gray. The healer swung at Gray's head, causing him to sidestep and knock into a raider crumpled on the ground beside him.
"You and that fire bastard– Why are you here?" Yelled the healer. Gray jumped. So Natsu had been here! What in god's name happened to him?
"You met Natsu! What happened to him? Tell me!" Demanded Gray, attempting a low kick at the healer's knees. The healer did not respond, rather blocking the hit and sending a blast of magical energy at Gray. He quickly brought up an ice shield to absorb the impact. Shit! This guy might be a problem.
One of the cronies took the open opportunity to jump on Gray's back and bring him to the ground. He yelled loudly as he struggled to escape the pin.
"Good job, Dirk. Keep him down. And you, ice wizard. Don't you or your weak wizard friends mess with us again, unless you wanna die." Uttered the healer. His guild? Was this a dark guild? Gray spat in the guild master's face.
"Fine. You chose your future. Dirk, break his neck." Dirk, the robber pinning Gray to the ground, seemed more than happy to comply. He gripped one of Gray's shoulders and his opposing jaw.
"Any last words?" Dirk sneered.
"You're all dumb." Gray, since Dirk had to move his hands onto his face, was no longer securely trapped. He pushed back, knocking Dirk onto his back. Gray hit the ground, spreading ice in a 20 foot radius around him. Dirk struggled to get back up.
"What do you think that will do, huh? Make it a little slippery?" The healer taunted. He began to cast a large magic circle in the sky. "I gave you an easy way to die, but I can kill you the painful way if you're so desperate for it!"
"Didn't you hear me? You guys are all dumb." Gray knocked on the ground again, causing the sheet of ice to form massive spikes that impaled and knocked around most of the guild members. The healer was holding himself on one of the spikes, slipping and struggling to stay upright. Gray laughed, mocking the guild leader's precarious position. He clapped his fist against his outstretched hand once again. All of the spikes cracked, then exploded into almost snowflake-like shards of ice. They cut into Gray's enemies, the smallest becoming splinters and the largest becoming gashes. Well, that was quick.
There's no way Natsu struggled with these losers. I bet he's off pissing in the woods somewhere, Gray thought. That asshole. Making me come all this way, worrying me out of my damn mind! Screw him!
Gray stomped off, back into the trees. Maybe he'd find Lily and he'd be able to take him home. Maybe Natsu would worry about him, then. Why was he even this bothered by it? He and Natsu were always on ends with each other. But they were friends, after all! Right? Gray thought he wouldn't just… ditch him.
Gray's fuming was stopped suddenly when he heard a pained moan.
"N-Natsu?" Gray wished dearly for a dragon slayer's sense of smell in this moment. "Natsu! Was that you?"
"Gray… fucking hell… help me…" Natsu's voice came out as barely more than a whisper, his words slurred from pain. However, Gray, in his hypervigilant state, heard all that he needed to. He ran towards the sound and nearly screamed when he saw what had befallen his teammate.
Natsu was visibly battered and dragged into the bushes. His left side, from his pectoral to his hip, was ripped open in a clean gash. A mix of dried and fresh blood dyed Natsu, and everything around him, deep red.
"Gray…"
"Shush! Shush, Natsu, it's okay. I can help. It's gonna be okay."
Gray watched tears form in the corners of Natsu's eyes. He made a mental note to be particularly nice to him about the whole situation. Maybe even for the rest of the week. He started by checking the damage. Well, it certainly looked like it hurt. Though, Gray couldn't see any bone or anything too important sticking out. If he got proper healing soon it might just barely leave a scar. He focused on stopping the blood.
"Natsu? Listen to me. I'm gonna coat your side with ice, okay? Actually, first, let me just…" Gray trailed off, trying to find a clean piece of cloth. He went back to the battleground, quickly ripped the shirt off of an unconscious robber and returned to Natsu.
"First, I'm going to bandage you. Then I'll use my ice. It's just to get you back home safely." Natsu gurgled an affirmative and Gray got to work. He stripped off Natsu's shirt for better access. While he knew this would cause problems for them later, Gray poured the rest of the water in his canteen over the wound to help clean it. The first cool drops caused Natsu to hiss in pain. Afterwards, Gray bandaged Natsu's side tightly. It took all his effort to ignore all of the cries of agony that tightening the cloth caused Natsu to create.
"Final step, Natsu. Deep breath." Natsu complied, sucking air in through his mouth. Gray held his hand to the wound and grafted most of Natsu's chest in ice. He gave Natsu a few moments to recouperate before picking him up and moving him outside the grove.
Fuck! If only I had kept that healer conscious just a little longer. But Natsu can't wait. We need to leave, now! Gray chided himself.
"HAPPY! LILY! WE NEED HELP!" Gray yelled his plea as loud as he could.
"HAPPY! LILY!" Natsu's head was throbbing at the noise. He held his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. Gray noticed this movement.
"Oh, Natsu. I'm so sorry. It's okay." He reached down and placed his palm on Natsu's forehead, activating his magic very slightly, just to cool down his head. "Do you think you could wait here until they arrive? I don't want to hurt you more if I carry you."
Natsu tried to nod, before realizing that moving his head hurt, and speaking was much easier.
"Yeah… I'm okay for now."
"Here. Try to eat something. It'll be good for you." Gray fumbled in his bag until he grabbed his found berries, thinking they would be easiest for Natsu to eat. He grabbed onto Natsu's shoulders to try and shift him around. Natsu, startled, looked up at Gray. They shared an understanding in this look. We are friends. I want to help you. Help me to help you.
Natsu mumbled a yes. He allowed Gray to turn him until he could rest his head comfortably on Gray's lap. From here, Gray fed him, one berry at a time. It took some time before Natsu could get used to the motion of swallowing while in such pain. Once all of the berries were gone, Natsu closed his eyes.
"Don't sleep, Natsu. Rest, but don't sleep. I'm sure they'll be here soon." Gray whispered softly. Natsu thought that was probably one of the nicest tones Gray had ever used with him.