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Just a head's up for my readers. Due to the recent clamp-down on fiction with MA (mature adult) content, this story will not contain explicit sex scenes. Please read the update at the bottom of my profile for more details.

On to a happier note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and put this story on alert! Special thank-yous to Lavibookman321, angelfromthedarkside, 27CansOfTuna, AUehara, Indh13, Nightshadowmidnight and Rewinsan for reviewing. I know I haven't been replying to all your reviews lately, but life really has been busy. Just know that you guys are awesome!

10. Of Ambushes And Wayward Lions

May, X784

At Loke's pained cry, Gray started almost violently and whipped around – turning his back on his own battle.

It was his turn to cry out as a summer storm struck him and swallowed him directly into a maelstrom of leaves, petals, twigs and branches. His vision was obscured as a substance plastered themselves to every available patch of bare skin and solidified, encompassing him with a thick layer of disgusting coolness. He guessed correctly that it was mud. Through his internal struggle with claustrophobia, he vaguely registered that he had toppled sideways and was probably now lying prone on the ground.

He couldn't see anything, but could hear, somewhat, the commotion outside from inside his prison of mud and soil. It was revolting, the way the mud was pressed against every pore and crevice in his body, packed into his ears and nose and mouth. The wet, earthy smell of the mud invaded his nostrils, making his throat convulse as he tried not to gag. It was slimy, wet and thoroughly nauseating. Not to mention dark and restrictive. He couldn't even open his eyes – how was he to summon his magic to free himself?

And what about Sienna, and Arion? Where were they now? Were they safe? He fervently hoped so. Besides them being an essential means of transport, he had really taken to Sienna. The mare was sweet-tempered, but appropriately fiery when the situation called for it. It wouldn't go down well with him should she be harmed. No, there would be hell to pay.

There was a sudden, great impact that collided into him from the side, causing a dull thud to reverberate throughout his entire body. A sharp, stabbing sensation exploded up his side, but he couldn't move an inch, nor verbalise his pain. His eyes rolled blindly beneath his eyelids, frantically seeking the enemy he cannot see. And – and his body was rotating, he realised, in increasingly occurring cycles of three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. Whatever that had hit him must have dislodged him from his original position and set the momentum going. Trapped inside a mud-and-soil prison that clung to him like a second skin, he could only despair as he sensed himself picking up speed, heading towards god knows where. He would have groaned out loud if he could.

This was so utterly stupid.

He was also quite sure his present supply of oxygen was quickly running out.

Gray was cheek-reddeningly mortified. This was not how he expected a battle between rogue dark mages and one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages to conclude. Death by asphyxiation was not how he had it planned out. If he ever made it back to the battle scene in one piece – though he couldn't be too certain about his pride – he was going to repay those bastards for what they did. Tenfold.

That is – once he stopped rolling.

He concentrated on his magic, obstinately ignoring the bumps and jerks as he was transported - against his will - across all manner of surfaces. A low growl shouldered its way through mud and clenched teeth, and slowly, the dark prison brightened up with an ice-blue glow.

It took a multitude of swears and curses – all in his head, of course, he couldn't risk using up all his oxygen now could he? – and a misplaced bout of panic-induced paranoia before Gray finally broke free of the damning cocoon of mud and soil. He emerged with a triumphant yell a midst flying shards of ice, and promptly dived into the nearest clean water body he came across. It was indescribable – the feeling of washing all the filth and dirt from his body. It was nothing short of divine.

This was relaxing. It reminded him of the times spent in Magnolia's Public Bath with the rest of Fairy Tail, chatting and lazing around and recuperating in the sinfully warm water, surrounded by white wisps of steam. The lake water was probably freezing, but to him it was the equivalent to what an average person would consider room temperature. The memories of the past were comforting, and they warmed him up where the water failed to do so. He felt vaguely nostalgic. The past few weeks were tedious and trying, and he was learning anew to survive and cope in the wilderness without a group of his comrades around him.

Hell, he even missed Natsu.

At least he had Loke, who was surprisingly carefree and easy to be around. The lion spirit didn't coddle him like the others had, but did occasionally display unnecessary concern for his well being at the oddest times. He found it strangely flattering, especially during a particular incident where they were startled by the sudden appearance of a lone Wyvern. He had barely time to blink before there was a small flash of light and Loke was crouched in a menacing stance between him and the Wyvern, still glowing from his transformation into his Celestial Spirit form, and growling lowly in a remarkably feline-like manner. He had scarcely opened his mouth to speak before the lion spirit sprang directly at the scaly creature, teeth bared and eyes slitted in his rage. Then, he had watched with a mixture of annoyance and awe as the lion spirit gave the beast such a thorough thrashing that he had to intervene lest the other killed it.

"I could have handled that Wyvern, you know," he had hinted none too subtly afterwards, as they sat facing each other while he patched the man up. He was impressed at the other's lack of injuries, but was far more irked with the fact that he hadn't even managed to join the fray. Loke had shrugged and muttered, "Couldn't let you get hurt, could I?"

Gray had pursed his lips and torn his eyes away from Loke's – no, Leo's – spiky yet silky-looking hair.

Presently he was half-submerged in the cool water, almost losing himself in the soothing, cleansing lap of the water against his skin, until he looked up... and let out a yelp of faint distress. There, lounging by the lakeside, looking clearly worse for the wear, was Loke. The ice mage unconsciously bent his knees and curled up a bit more so that more of himself was submerged in water. He spluttered at the other's abrupt appearance. "L-Loke!"

"Enjoying yourself without me?" The lion spirit asked mournfully.

"The battle's over?" He asked in disbelief as he made to stand, then remembered his nudity and sank back deeper into the lake. His hands flapped reflexively in his consternation and sent ripples across the water surface. "Already?"

The other man shrugged and regarded him with an unreadable expression.

He flushed and looked away; for the few rare times in his life he was acutely conscious of his lack of clothing. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Whatever for?" The surprise was clear in the other's reply.

He glanced up in slight astonishment. "For leaving you to fight our battles alone?"

Loke's gaze was steady on him for a couple of heartbeats before it crinkled up at the sides as the other's lips curved into a small, satisfied smile. "That's the whole idea, isn't it?"

It clicked, then, and he scowled. "Look, I appreciate you being here with me on this journey, but if you're going to start treating me like I'm some kind of... like I'm made of porcelain or–"

"That was the second group of dark mages we've encountered in just this week." Loke interrupted. "If such occurrences are going to carry on in this manner, I'll rather I did the petty fighting while you conserve your strength for the battles that matter."

The battle with Lyon, in his ice dragon-form.

"We're in this together–"

"Strategy over sentimentality," Loke replied mildly. "Unless you want this journey to end in ruin, we've got to stick to suitable roles in order to survive."

Gray hated this authoritative side of Loke. He called it "Leo". It was when Loke's inherent leader-like traits dominated – where he was astute and perceptive, and whatever points he made were logical and discerning. The lion spirit wasn't the leader of the twelve Celestial Spirits for nothing.

"You've could have gotten badly injured," he said stubbornly. "You–"

"You mean like how you did in the first week, when we were ambushed by our first batch of dark mages?"

Gray ground his teeth together and glared daggers. "Will you stop interrupting every time I–"

Loke gave a short, sharp whistle, abruptly cutting him off mid-word.

Knowing that the other had done that for the hell of it, he surged forwards once, and violently swept an armful of lake water in the other's direction. Not expecting the sudden assault, the other got a faceful of cold water. The lion spirit froze. They traded dark looks. He suppressed a shiver at the intense look he was given from behind dripping wet blonde locks.

Slowly, not taking his eyes off Gray, the strawberry-blonde carefully drew the back of a forearm across his eyes. The lion spirit stretched and climbed to his feet, all feline grace and poise, and remarked, "Worry about yourself, Gray. One of the benefits of being a Celestial Spirit is that I can't actually die. Not in this world, anyways." Unspoken were the words: not while I have a living, breathing owner anyways.

The ice mage's lips were tugged downwards by the mention of death, but that was why he had allowed Loke to accompany him in the first place. The strawberry-blonde was probably the only Fairy Tail member not bound by the natural laws of life and death, due to the fact he didn't belong in this world. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen should Loke's life force fail him, but he knew he would rather grab the other and run away screaming than find out. He opened his mouth to reply, but then the other man shot him a mischievous grin.

That was the only warning he got before Loke leapt and cannon-balled into the lake with him.

Now that Gray wasn't anticipating.

He shrieked in near-hysteria as a great wave swamped him and left his entire being soaked - which was quickly followed by Loke crashing into him. He flailed as he fought to keep upright in the water, blinking furiously to prevent more water from getting into his eyes and trying his best not to swallow additional mouthfuls of chilly lake water. Reaching out almost blindly, his fingers closed around the other's biceps as he kicked ineffectively to maintain his balance.

"Loke!"

The lion spirit was cackling like a hyena as he shrugged Gray's hands off and proceeded to splash more water at the ice mage. The dark-haired boy shrieked even more at the stinging force of the water thrown at him and raised his arms defensively to shield his face.

Bad move. He was promptly tackled and pushed underwater.

Black and blonde hair swirled in tandem as they sank beneath the lake's surface, dark sapphire and onyx eyes locking as their worlds were plunged into the kind of echoing silence that could only come with being completely submerged in water. The gentle water currents sifted through their hair and caressed their skin. The sunlight from above refracted and angled through the depths of the lake, creating shifting patterns of golden-aquamarine patches of light that illuminated the watery depths, rippling and undulating over their intertwined bodies. For a moment, the sheer ethereality of their situation vanished whatever ire the ice mage had. They gazed wonderingly at each other, suspended and surrounded by feather-like eddies for awhile, seemingly locked in a timeless dimension of their own.

It took only a small stream of bubbles escaping from Gray's mouth and a fractional widening of his eyes for the lion spirit to understand and swiftly haul them both up. They surged upwards and broke the surface, water streaming in rivulets down their bodies as they emerged from their watery world. They panted, taking in gulps of sweet, fresh oxygen as they clung to each other for support, half-trembling, by the lake side.

"That..."

Suddenly aware of their close proximity, their gazes met briefly as they exchanged coy smiles. He blinked as the lion spirit tilted his head and pressed their foreheads gently together.

"...was amazing." Loke softly completed for him, and smiled a brilliant smile.

"I can't believe you just let us – let us relax like that while Sienna and Arion are now probably terrified out of their wits!" Gray railed, his tone acerbic and eyes flashing as he stalked along with Loke trailing rather miserably behind him. Their clothes were still dripping with lake water and left splotchy wet tracks that marked their path. "What if a Vulcan – or worse, a Wyvern – found and attacked them? What if Sienna got killed? And eaten? All because you wanted a little afternoon splash in the lake? Would you be willing to bear the guilt for the rest of–mmmff!"

Loke had reached out and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder before swinging him around and into him. He was hurtling straight into the lion spirit's chest before he even knew what was going on, his face smushing against the front of the other's wet shirt. He lashed out instinctively, kicking out, hands flying upwards to grip the strawberry-blonde's biceps and push the other away. Strong arms wound around his waist and held him firmly in place – firmly in place with the two of them flush against one another.

"Ow!"

Gray had whipped his head to the side and fastened his teeth on one of Loke's shoulders. It was a reaction so not unlike an aggravated kitten that he couldn't help letting out a startled chuckle. The ice mage clamped his jaws down harder, eliciting a wince from the lion spirit.

"You think this is funny?" Gray growled through his mouthful of wet shirt. "Huh? Interrupting me time and again?"

The lion spirit tightened his hold on the dark-haired boy and grinned down at messy, jet-black hair. "Well, yes."

Tilting his head up so that he could glare directly into Loke's dark eyes, he began spitting fire. "Stop playing around in the middle of a forest, you fool! We just got ambushed by those dastardly dark mages and here you are getting your kicks from riling me up. What if we got attacked again while we are distracted just so? What if Sienna got attacked? What if–mmff!"

Loke slapped his hand to the boy's mouth, effectively putting an end to his rant. Still, tumultuously indignant sounds burst forth, slipping through the fingers pressed hard against Gray's lips. The ice mage strained even more violently to break free, muffled swears and curses surging out into open air by the intensity of his vexation.

"Gray, hush!"

The urgent ring to Loke's tone of voice cut through his haze of fury and immediately tempered his conniptions.

"What is it?" He asked breathlessly, trying to untangle himself from the other.

The lion spirit abruptly let him go and paced around, back stiffened with anxiety as he raised his nose to the air, sniffing fiercely. Gray was straightaway on guard, his stance defensive and his gaze wary as it swept his surroundings. Loke continued to stalk around, his growing tension evident by the way his lips were drawing back over his sharp teeth.

"What is it?" He hissed, softer this time. "Is someone there?"

The sound of a twig snapping lanced through the air, making him jump.

Instantly, Loke was by his side, circling him restlessly and snarling softly. He turned on the spot, too, in a direction opposite to Loke. His eyes darted around in an effort to spy whoever was out there, watching them.

"Who do you smell?" He murmured.

The lion spirit hesitated, the look in his eyes was one of reluctance, before he answered. "I smell... dragon."

The sound of slow, deliberate clapping had them whirling around in that direction. Loke pointedly inserted himself between the dark-haired boy and his perceived danger. There was a flash of pointed white teeth, a whiff of a creature that was discernibly draconic, before the stranger emerged into the open.

"Your sense of smell is adept indeed. Almost as astute as a dragon's. I'm impressed."

From the moment they recognised the stranger, Loke never stopped snarling. His hackles were raised, his animosity palpable in every grating sound leaving his lips.

Gray's lips thinned as he looked past the lion spirit. "Hello to you, too, Laxus."

Surprised? I wonder what Laxus is doing there? x3

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