And I'm back! Long one, to make up for the gap, but it's also got a touch of headcanon in it.

Gildarts

The first thing he became aware of when he awoke was mind-breaking pain. Every part of his body was on fire, poison flames winding through his insides and tearing them apart. He could only hold onto consciousness for a few seconds before merciful blackness obliterated his thoughts.

.

When the world swam back into focus, he became aware of the fact that he was lying on some sort of thick blanket on the floor of a hut. He recognised the thatch pattern in the ceiling; it was one of the villages at the foot of the Sacred Mount Zonia, tucked away into one of the crevices in the side of the mountain and therefore protected from the dragon's wrath.

The dragon!

He tried to sit up, only to realise with a pain like a kick to the stomach that he couldn't. He was off-balance, his centre of gravity dissipated like snow under a dragon's roar.

"Steady," said a soft voice. "You must be careful. You are very hurt."

He could tell that much. "Wh-"

"You have lost the arm and the leg on one side. You were also gutted."

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to see the speaker now – a young woman with dark hair tied back in a neat bun. She must be the village healer. Close by, a little girl no more than four years old was sitting on the floor, toying with a bunch of what looked like dried bay leaves. The woman's daughter? Or another patient?

"We did not know that there were things on the mountain that could cause so much damage," the healer said. "Is it safe to stay in our village?"

Gildarts thought for a long moment. The beast had flown off after their battle, and hadn't shown any sign of wanting to come back. "Yes," he said at last. "I think it has gone. But if it does come back, you must leave at once. It is very, very difficult to kill. It may even be impossible."

"I understand. I will tell our mayor. Now, you must sleep. It is not everyone who can lose all of their left side and still live."

His left side? Uncharacteristic fear flooded his mind. If his left arm was gone, and his left side, what about...

"The... the mark..." he began, but all of a sudden the little girl was there, all wide eyes and inquisitiveness.

"Black mark?" she asked, pointing. Gildarts glanced down. The blankets were only draped over what was left of his legs, leaving his torso clear. The guild mark was clear and dark on his left side, completely untouched by the Black Dragon's claws. He closed his eyes in relief, only to hear the little girl say "Dragon-mark."

He opened his eyes. Of course he was dragon-marked. He was dragon-dearmed and de-legged. But he got the feeling that wasn't quite what she meant.

"What do you mean?" he asked, aware of the healer hesitating a step away.

"Dragon-mark," the girl repeated, her voice awestruck. "Dragon-touched."

And she pointed to the guild mark.

"No, no," he managed to stammer. "It's not a dragon. It's my guild mark."

The little girl reached out and touched the top of the design. "Head," she said, then slid her finger down to the two larger flairs on the right side. "Wings." Then lastly to the long, straight line. "Feet, and tail. Dragon."

Gildarts stared at her, not comprehending. "No," he said again. "It's a fairy. I'm from Fairy Tail."

She just smiled. "Dragon," she insisted.

Gildarts gave up. He didn't have the energy to argue. His body was still reeling from the shock of losing his left arm and leg, and most of his left side.

"I'm sorry," the healer murmured, pulling the girl away. "She's an orphan, but she stays with me. The villagers don't like her. They say she's a seer."

If he was honest, the little girl could have been Zeref himself for all that Gildarts cared at that moment in time. He was injured, exhausted, and so, so far from home.

But the mark was safe. The mark was still there, still deep black on the left side of his chest, the whole thing stamped across the remaining skin as if it had protected him from the death blow. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had. Even though everything else had been torn away, even though he had lost everything else, he still had that small black mark that proved him a mage of Fairy Tail – and a member of their family.