***'tis I, your (not so) humble wordsmith, that once again dare my braving tales upon thou, the readers of scripts of fiction by fans. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor its characters or its storyline. I thank you all, those chosen few of you who made it thus far in my little tale. I thank you for offering me that figment of your time of day (or night, or ridiculously early morning as it is more oft than not on my part).
Now, shall we linger, or shall we continue on to the fiction at hand?***
What does it feel like to be a coward? I should know right? I am one, after all. It feels like.. Well, unless you are one, it is very hard to explain. And if you happen to be a coward, like me, then there would be no need for explanations. We would both just.. know. Understand. There would be no need for words.
It was raining again. I found myself outside, too. Staring at the sky, contemplating whether or not pneumonia would be a good way to go.
"Luce." it would be quick, right? A lot of people said that people dying from pneumonia went quick. It might take a while still, though. Perhaps too long.
"Lucy." and since the idiot named Natsu Dragneel might attempt rescuing me, again... my suffering would be prolonged. Even though he didn't like me.
"LUCY!" my eyes moved to look at the speaker. Nothing else than my eyes suggested that I was even alive at this point. Perhaps would he leave me alone if he thought me to be dead.
"Come on. We have a MISSION. Get up!" he complained, and I groaned, back to reality, back to life. Back to the godforsaken mission he had chosen for the three of us. Me. Natsu. Happy.
"I don't have a mission. YOU have a mission. I'm just LOST!" I complained, but accepted his help to get up none the less. Yes. I was lost. And it just so happened that it was near THIS person and his STUPID mission. I thought Claire didn't like him. But NOOOO. She practically zapped me into his freaking arms.
"Come on. You picked the mission last time. Now it is my turn." he said with furrowed brows, standing above me and looking annoyed.
"Since when were we supposed to go on missions together?!" I hollered after him, but I followed him none the less after he hoisted me to my feet again.
"Since we became partners!" he yelled, barely audible through the howling wind. It was windy, rainy, and soon to be snowing. Why was I even considering wandering in the direction of that wrecked mountain? What could possibly be there to be done, other than the slaying of a beast similar to the one Natsu had been fighting during the Macao-rescue-incident? And if so... why did I need to go there? And what was up with the partners thing?! If I only knew how to get to a town, any town, I would've surely headed in that direction.
But I was lost, and the boy walking in front of me was the only person that might possibly know how to get anywhere. And he was headed for the mountain. Ugh. What a pain this was.
"So... what kind of mission is it?!" I yelled ahead, and the boy stopped. His wrecked cat lay on his head, a blue contrast in the soaked field of pink.
"We are going to babysit the child of a Yeti," Happy the cat said in his serious why-did-you-not-know-this-it-is-so-obvious-voice that also implied me to be weird.
"Sounds like fun, right?" Natsu chimed in and turned to me.
"It's a trap. It's OBVIOUSLY...
A FEW HOURS LATER
..a trap." I muttered to myself.
"I TOLD him this was a bad idea!" I yelled and hit the icy cold wall, for some reason intensively wishing for mentioned wall to be the guy that currently did not share the prison cell with me. Where was I? No idea. How did I get here? Abduction. Abduction by our so called clients.
Apparently Fairy Tail had done something to make them harbour a grudge, and since I was the apparent weak link in the company stupid enough to leap into their furry arms... I was now a prisoner.
I felt like crying.
I felt like curling into a ball and just weep.
I felt like getting out of here so I could SMOTHER THE SON OF A...
Ugh.
"He really is an idiot..." I mumbled to myself, suddenly losing all strength as the fury left me and my knees betrayed me. I fell into a heap by the frozen prison bars, looking longingly at the blue flame that served as a light source. It was really cold. My breath rimed and my hands were already feeling the starting numbness that soon would spread to the rest of my body.
To top off this terrible day, my keys had been seized by the enemy as a toy for the actual Yeti child. This was not my day. It had been spiralling downwards since Natsu found me in the middle of the woods as if that was the most obvious place for me to be, only to drag me along towards the treeline, and then further on as we reached for the snowcapped mountains.
Had I struggled my way up here for then to die in an icy cave? It would seem so.
Happy had arrived a while ago, kicked in by the foe, damaged and unconscious. He had been kicked into my cozy little ice cage of doom, a cage that sought to slowly rib me of all warmth until I died. I was less cold now though, cuddled into a ball, my hands cradling the little blue creature that always called me weird and mean. I was less cold right now since my whole body ached. Who would've thought that the Fairy Tail Spirit was contagious?
As they kicked the cat into my lodgings, and had entered in order to continue the mistreatment, I had done the unthinkable, the very thing a coward like me should be unable to do. I had picked up the furry blue creature and tried to make a run for it. I had of course been stopped, and they had found a new plaything to kick about. I had done the only sensible thing, curled into a ball around Happy the cat and endured. And the growing bruises kept me warm in the moment, transferring much needed heat to the still sleeping ball of fur. I had difficulty moving though. In not too long the cold would catch up with my still body, and I would likely freeze to death. I was already sleepy. But at least the cat seemed to have been spared of any more harm.
I had at least served to accomplished that much. So sleepy. My pounding body was stiffening, and parts of me slowly going numb. I could sleep now. Sleeping wouldn't be so bad. Not like I had anything better to do. Not that I could do much else. My self reasoning gave up defending the pros of waking life, and I drifted off, all but alone in an icy cave, only accompanied by an injured blue cat that thought me to be weird and mean.
Breathing.
I was breathing.
I thought I was supposed to die.
Was I dead?
No.
It was too warm for me to be dead. I was too sore to be dead. And I was moving. Not by my own accord, but...
Warmth.
Slowly my eyes opened, a bit unwilling at first since I sort of wanted to just fall asleep again. Sky. I could see blue sky far above. Blue sky and fresh air, the kind to be found in warmer areas than snowy mountains filled with Yetis that wanted to kill me.
And there was a face. A face I recognised as the guy that didn't like me. Natsu Dragneel. And by the proximity, and the neck and upper body... he was carrying me. Why was he doing that? Why bother? Why wasn't I dead? And where was..? Oh. I thought I saw a speck of blue mixed in with all that pink hair. So he was safe. I was glad that Happy was safe. Then I had accomplished at least that much.
A set of eyes met mine, and Natsu stopped, suddenly aware that I was awake. It only lasted for a moment though, before he started walking again, and I closed my eyes. The ground was hard rock, sounding beneath his feet, and I could barely feel his heartbeat somewhere, against an arm pressed against him. My body hurt, but it was strangely comforting just feeling the live presence of another.
Warmth. The warmth felt more than physical. He had saved my life again. Stupid boy.
"Hey..." I started, my voice unused and my throat hurting. To be expected, I guess, after spending some time in that cold cave.
"Is Happy okay?" I asked, opened my eyes again. If he was on top of his head, he probably ought to, but I needed to say something. Start a conversation, or whatever. I needed to stop wishing for this to just continue. I was scared of the same indifference to return. The same indifference Natsu had shown me after dragging me along to join Fairy Tail. But at the same time, I was scared of being friends with him. Being close to anyone could be risky.
"Aye!" the blue furry thing concurred, and I smiled, coughed a bit due to the sore throat. Natsu had stopped again, stood with me in his arms and just looked at my sorry form. I probably looked like shit.
"We're almost back in Magnolia. Mira will have a look at you then, she knows how to handle sick people." the boy averted his eyes, cleared his throat as he prepared to say something he didn't seem to know how to say.
"Don't..." he started, looked at me again.
"Don't do that again." he ended, started walking again. I started wriggling then, made him stop again.
"I can walk on my own, you know." I protested, and he gave me a look that told me he doubted that, though he did help me to stand up. As soon as he stopped touching me I felt cold. And indeed, we were close. Walking by the tracks like before. The sun shone, and I knew that we were just about close enough to be seeing the station in Magnolia at any moment. How long had it been since I fell asleep? For how long had he been carrying me?
My body ached, but I tried my best to ignore it while I ran a test on my muscles. Well, I ought to be sleeping for a week, somewhere warm and with plenty of water nearby to help me heal. I felt heavily bruised, and my body was telling me that walking would be a pain, but nothing seemed broken. I didn't think, though I could be wrong according to the pain rushing through my system, anything had ruptured. The cat was a bit worse for wear too, but he would be alright. But something felt amiss. Was he.. missing something? I realised with a start the warm sensation that lingered even as I stood away.
His scarf.
I couldn't help but smile for a moment again. Now I wore his entire attire. I still wore his clothes, and that final piece made me exactly like him, in a way. With weary limbs I slowly untangled the warming piece of clothing from around my neck, stepped closer on wobbly feet.
"You sure are strange, Salamander. You don't like me, but you keep saving me again and again..." I said, coiled the scarf a single round around his neck.
"And now you went and borrowed me your scarf. It's precious to you, isn't it? I heard from Mirajane that your father gave you that. You treasure it, don't you?" I continued, adjusted it so it was like I remembered it to usually be. He stood still, silently eyeing me. I took a step back, admiring my work. He had been fighting. Not many injuries of importance adorned his body, but I saw the signs. Idiot. Always overdoing it. Well, I might not be one to say always. I was new. I knew nothing.
"What does it mean to be part of a guild?" I asked into the air. I was looking at the boy, but my question was directed at no one in particular.
"Family." he said almost in an instant. My eyes met his.
"So they say. But I already have one of those. I'm not like you. I have a father, alive and well and easy to find. He wants me around, and I have a home to go back to. I don't think I really fit in in a place like Fairy Tail anyway." I turned around, started walking in the direction of the town with the famous guild.
"I suppose I need to have Mirajane look at me though, before anything else." I ended the unpleasant subject with that. Scary Mirajane that kept worrying about all those stamped with the Fairy in flight.
"Who's Boss?" Natsu asked after me. I did not reply.
"There we go, all done. You need to rest for a few days, but other than that you should be good to go." Mirajane Strauss said while smiling, stood up to admire her handiwork. I was sitting on the floor, nicely bandaged and apparently ready to go home. Back to that big, empty place, waiting for the next person to find me. Wasn't like I had made it particularly hard for THEM to find me. Happy and Natsu had long since left to wherever they liked going after missions, so I was not entirely certain about what to do. Tired.
Maybe should I just sleep here. Just for tonight. Mirajane had already gone back to her serving, and people were faring in their usual, noisy manner. Such a bright place. Such a warm place.
Such a nice place... I curled into a ball on the ground, made myself invisible like I had done so many times before, and readied myself for the void.
She sat silently by, twirling a chain with many sparkly keys, her arse on the table and her feet on a bench. Claire had summoned herself not long ago, to the great surprise of the rest of the guild, but after a few barks to back off along with a brief sorry, they had let her be. No one seemed to notice the little heap of clothes and blonde hair that barely moved in between benches and tables, but the Spirit Dog could hardly blame them for not doing that.
Lucy was great at becoming unnoticeable when entering her most vulnerable state. It was a skill not easily acquired, yet one that she had mastered out of necessity.
"Hey!" the yell made Claire look up in an instant, her ears almost visibly moving in true direction of the call, and her eyes narrowed as that wretched boy from earlier waved at her. He ran towards the girl, and only stopped as a flying table made impact with his forehead. Stupid boy.
After some swearing, some wobbling and then the sudden recovery he was there, a little out of breath, right in front of the girl he had beaten up for breaking the arm of one of his so called family members. Claire did not like his stupidity, yet refrained from attacking him, something she was known for doing from time to time when being generally annoyed. She was on guard duty and had better things to do other than get payback. For now.
"Where's Lucy?" he asked, and Claire sent the boy a long look before pointing at the ground where the all but unmoving heap lay.
"What do you want, kid?" she asked sourly while keeping one eye on the cat that stood before her master, a worried look in his eyes. The boy named Natsu eyed the heap as well, and Claire saw something flash across his face. Claire snorted by that look, amused as well as annoyed by his strange behaviour around the girl.
"Take it easy. She might've had better days, but she's had worse too. She'll sleep it off in no time and go back to her usual self. You'll be amazed at how fast it goes." she muttered, looking at the girl for a moment, twirling the keychain around her pointing finger again.
"Won't her mother worry?" Natsu asked, and another sarcastic smile spread across the smile of the Hound in the shape of a girl.
"Even you should be able to smell the bullshit in that question, stupid boy." she uttered, and jumped onto the floor, kneeling in front of the sleeping form of Lucy. Gently she touched the blonde whisks of hair, lifted a few only to have them escape between her fingers. A softer smile threatened to overcome the sarcastic one then, only to leave her face altogether.
"Lady Coward is such a coward for keeping her secrets. She runs and runs to get away from the truth that always lurks. Yet she knows how to take a beating for those she deems unworthy of such treatment. And there are so many of those..." for a moment the mongrel trailed off, as if remembering something unpleasant. She sighed.
"Her mother worries all the time, no matter how far her daughter runs. How can she not, when there is nowhere in the world far enough to escape?" she stopped, looked at the boy that still stood tall, not understanding anything yet trying so hard to get the meaning of it all.
"Worry not, mage of Fairy Tail. I'm on guard duty tonight, so she'll sleep tight while her so called family runs around being stupid and noisy, creating the lullaby that lulls her to sleep. I owe her the few good nights of sleep she manages to get." Claire ended. She got up on her feet, neared the pink hair, placed her lips almost close enough to touch his left ear.
"Hurt her, and I will personally rip your throat out." she whispered sweetly, and found her former spot, twirling the keychain around her pointing finger, eyes moving about, looking for all threats that might come for the sleeping Lucy. Meanwhile the blue cat curled together, pressed against the sleeping form of the girl that had taken a beating for him, that had embraced him tightly and kept him warm while humming softly on a song he had never heard before.
***Growing dark, aren't we...***