Grey clutched his arm as he stumbled through the snow. How many was that now? Juvia, who had slowed down to allow him to keep pace with her, was casting her gaze into the tree's around her. Dark shapes darted through the skeletons of trees, hungrily marking the wizards as they fought to surround them.
Wolves. Normally neither Grey nor Juvia would have been overly concerned with the predators, knowing that their magic was more than enough to keep the beasts at bay. But with Grey wounded and both of them exhausted from their travels, the wolves had grown bolder as if sensing their weakness. One of them drew closer. Grey kept watch out of the corner of his eye, knowing full well that for every one wolf that he could see, there were at least half a dozen that he couldn't.
Piercing the air with their howls, the creatures called more of their kin to the hunt. Hearing that howl, sent an unnatural shiver down Grey's spine as some primordial instinct awoke within him. He glanced at Juvia. The poor girl was doing little better. Eyes darting around, Juvia's breathing was becoming rapid as the wolves approached, closing the noose. Their jaws were slavering and their bestial eyes hungrily marked their chosen meal. Most of them seemed to lock eyes on Grey, sensing that he had been weakened. Grey swallowed hard and prepared himself to meet the charge of the first wolf.
Suddenly the wolves stopped in their advance, mere feet away from the couple. As one, they turned their heads towards the east and lowered their ears in distress. They glanced between the mages and the east before quickly darting away back into the depths of the forest. Grey counted a few heartbeats before turning toward Juvia.
"What in the name of..."
Before Juvia could answer his question or if Grey could even finish forming the entire sentence, the quiet was broken by the sound of footsteps approaching them from the East. The steps were heavy and sounded like they were human judging by the regularity of them. Not soon after, a figure shuffled into view. He was indeed a man. His grey beard was long and largely unkempt. His stout form was wrapped heavily in furs to drive out the worst of the winter winds. His wild eyes washed over Grey and Juvia for a moment.
"What brings two wizards of the Fairy Tail guild into my home?" he asked, extending one arm almost accusingly toward them.
"We were on a mission and got attacked," Juvia explained, "My friend was injured and we need help." The man looked at Juvia then looked at Grey. He then sighed reluctantly and nodded. Gesturing with his arm for them to follow him, he began to shuffle his way back through the snow. Juvia started to follow him but felt a hand lightly grasp on her sleeve, pulling her back.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Grey whispered, "How do we know we can trust him?"
"You don't," The stout man shouted back at them in reply, although he was already some distance away, "But you can either come with me and get rest or stay out here and be attacked by wolves. Its your choice Master Wizard."
Without waiting to see if they were following him, the man turned and continued on his path through the snow laden forest. Giving Grey a shrug, Juvia slowly started to follow the man. Grey shook his head and sighed, before he too finally gave in and followed them. Trudging through the snow, the wizards followed the man until they eventually came across a cabin. A flickering light from within the windows accompanied by a column of swirling smoke emanating from the chimney indicated the warmth housed within. Any reservations concerning the old man were quickly placed to the back of Grey and Juvia's minds as the thought of a warm fire and bed for the night beckoned them towards the cabin.
The moment Grey stepped into the house, he was grabbed violently by his good wrist and dragged over to a table by the old man. Juvia shrieked and started forward in protest only to be stopped by a hard glare from the man. Watching on in silence, Juvia followed them as the man set Grey down on the table, showing absolutely no compassion as he did so.
"What are you doing to him?" Juvia gasped, wanting to rush forward and push the man away before he harmed her beloved further but seemingly unable as he shambled around.
"Fixing your friend," The man grumbled moving over to a cluttered shelf near the table, "If you want to help, hold him down and keep I'm quiet. If not, then sit down and shut the hell up so I can work." Without giving Juvia another second of his attention, he preceded to rummage through the shelf, glass bottles clinking as he searched their contents. Shaking her head, Juvia turned her attention towards Grey. The ice mage glared at old man.
"Some Host," he muttered. Juvia dipped her head and ran her fingers gingerly through his hair and glanced at the man. If their erstwhile host heard Grey's remark, he gave no sign. Juvia shook her head.
"Well at least once this is done, Juvia and Grey Sama can be on their way on the job," she said as she smiled quietly down upon him. Grey raised an eyebrow and looked like he was about to ask her a question when his face suddenly contorted in pain, giving cry to an agonising yell. Taking the opportunity to get close while Grey was distracted, the bearded man had grabbed a hold of the wounded arm, working fast to undo Juvia's bandage. As Grey began to thrash about in twisted agony, the man shot Juvia another look.
"Hurry up and hold him down Water Girl," he growled as he fought against Grey. Understanding, Juvia took a hold of her friend and pinned him down against the table. Gritting her teeth in effort, Juvia strained against Grey as the ice wizard's struggles grew ever more violent as the man tore off the bandage and examined the mangled arm.
"For heavens sake Woman do something!" he growled pulling out a syringe and beginning to fill it with a virulent red potion, "Or I may end up doing more damage than good!" Seeing the needle, Juvia looked back at Grey. Biting her lip, the girl climbed atop the table and pinned Grey beneath the entirety of her weight. Pacified and unable to move for the time being, Grey looked upwards at Juvia. For one second their eyes met, all other worries forgotten as Grey lost himself in the rolling oceans gazing back at him.
Grey's troubles came stabbing back as his "healer" pierced his flesh with the needle and began to pump the curious elixir into his bloodstream. Thrashing about, Grey's body instinctively tried to lunge forward and get him away from the source of pain. Only Juvia's body pressing down against him prevented Grey from stumbling out and causing him greater harm. Falling forward, Juvia yelped as she fought against Grey, hearing a sickly crunching sound as bones knitted back together. She felt his heaving chest pushing against her breast. Sweat beaded on their brows, their breathes coming out in ragged gasps. Slowly Grey calmed, his struggles receding gradually. Juvia sighed heavily in relief.
"Um Juvia...you can um get off me now," Grey remarked quietly. Juvia tilted her head slightly before realising her position; straddling Grey's waist with her chest resting upon his. Blood flushing her face, Juvia looked away sheepishly and climbed down. Sitting up, Grey flexed his arm. Despite the apparent roughness of his treatment, the limb had miraculously been repaired with no evidence of any damage have besotted it at all. Staring in disbelief, the mages turned toward the old man.
"What on earth did you use on me?" Grey asked slowly. The man's face grew dark and he held up the contents of the empty flask, what little liquid remaining inside swishing around haphazardly.
"The very reason you are here Master Wizard," he replied. "Sit. Both of you." He indicated to a small couch by a fireplace. Taking their seat, the wizards looked up at him, Juvia taking the chance to scoot closer to Grey before voicing her concerns.
"So who are you?" she asked.
"And how do you know we're from Fairy Tail," Grey put in.
The man stroked his beard and briefly smiled. "You don't live as long as I have without picking up the old trick here and there," he replied slowly, "As for who I am, my name is Rykhan and it was I who sent the job request to your guild. I intended to fill you in with further details back in New Fucia but...well as you are aware, certain events happened that prevented me from being able to reach you."
Grey's eyes flashed. "Wait. Did you send us the note?"
Rykhan nodded. "I couldn't risk drawing more attention to myself. Your target has eyes everywhere."
"Yes, you said in the original job notice that we were meant to prevent a rogue wizard from experimenting with something volatile," Juvia interjected thoughtfully, "Perhaps now would be the perfect opportunity to alert us to what we are facing and where to find them."
Rykhan looked down in deep thought. "Very well. Years ago I was contacted to work alongside several other wizards to work on a secret project up in the mountains. The project leader was a man by the name of Shi. I now wonder if he was indeed a man. He promised us riches and power beyond all reckoning should we help him realise his ambition. To create the Elixir of Life."
"What?!" Grey exclaimed sitting forward in his seat "Are you saying this guy is trying to find a way to live forever?"
"Precisely."
"But Sir," Juvia raised an eyebrow, "Why then do you want us to stop him? If this Shi finds a way to create the Elixir, surely wouldn't it be a great achievement for all humanity."
"That's what I thought at first," Rykhan replied staring down into the contents of the vial, "But as the years went by, we were never able to create the Elixir. At best we could slow the aging process but never stop it. And with every passing winter, Shi grew more and more impatient. He began to banish those wizards who displeased him from his sight never to be seen again. He would take to locking himself away in his study for months on end with no touch of food or water. We had our suspicions to be sure but nothing was ever proven. It was then that the guards appeared."
"Guards?" Grey inquired.
"Yes. One day, we found every exit blocked by figures clad in dark mail armour. Those of us that tried to leave were cut down without mercy. A few others tried to confront Shi directly. They lasted seconds. It was then that we learnt of our master's true intent. Shi wished to perfect the Elixir and use its power conquer the globe. I don't know how long he had been seeking the cure to death but he had obviously been at it long before he had contacted us. Maybe even decades and every year he had delved deeper and deeper into the dark arts. He reasoned that the best way to cheat death was to master it. Necromancy."
Beside her, Juvia felt Grey tense up. The couch trembled beneath her as Grey shook with rage. The ice mage had reason enough to hate necromancers, those who used the dead as a puppeteer controls a macabre marionette. Gently she placed her hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him. Rykhan watched them, seeming almost ashamed by his past actions.
"For years he kept us in his keep in the mountains, sustaining us only with the few dregs of potion that he cared to spare. I couldn't take it anymore. One night I grabbed whatever vials of Elixir I could and legged it. I barely made it past the guards and I've been hiding here ever since. " he sighed, "Now you know. I understand if you are hesitant to continue with the mission."
"We'll take him down!" Grey growled suddenly, his voice barely quieter than a shout. Juvia started at the sound, "We'll take that bastard down and anyone dumb enough to follow him! He won't touch the dead again when I'm through with him. He'll be part of them!" Rykhan smiled slowly.
"Thank you Master Wizard. We'll set out in the morning. Until then, sleep well. You'll need it."
With a gentle bow, Rykhan departed the room, leaving Grey and Juvia alone in the flickering firelight. For a while, the two sat in silence, watching as the flames flickered and danced around the fireplace, curling upwards before disappearing up into the chimney. Juvia glanced at Grey. The ice mage as staring broodingly into the flames, blanking out everything else around him.
"Grey Sama?" she started. Grey snapped out of his trance like state and regarded her with eyes wild with emotion.
"I'll take them all down!" Grey snarled, a tear beginning to stream down his cheek, "I won't lose them again." Juvia leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost surprised when he
as staring broodingly into the flames, blanking out everything else around him.
"Grey Sama?" she started. Grey snapped out of his trance like state and regarded her with eyes wild with emotion.
"I'll take them all down!" Grey snarled, a tear beginning to stream down his cheek, "I won't lose them again." Juvia leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost surprised when he didn't make any attempt to push her away. Closing her eyes, she rubbed his back as she held him closer.
"Silver would be proud of you Grey Sama," she whispered gently as he cried quietly into his shoulder. Grey gripped her tightly, not wishing to let go.
"Please...just call me Grey," he told her as they embraced, face buried into her shoulder. Juvia looked at him in partial shock. Grey had never asked her that. Never given her that level of closeness as strange a thing as it was.
"But Juvia likes to call Grey Sama that," she replied softly into his ear, causing Grey to pull back slightly. Was "Grey Sama," Juvia's pet name for him? He looked once more into Juvia's sparkling eyes. She had beautiful eyes. He had always noticed that about her ever since she joined Fairy Tail. Strange when they had first met, he had been hesitant to work with her to say the least. Now? Well now he couldn't imagine life without the blunette (even as disturbing as some of her habits were.)
"Thanks Juvia," he smiled, "I needed that."
"Juvia is always happy to help Grey Sama whenever he feels sad," she smiled, standing and turning to give Grey some privacy when she suddenly felt his hand grab her gently by the wrist. Surprised, Juvia watched as Grey pulled her down, hugging her. The water girl watched in silence for a moment before embracing him, her hand rubbing gently against his back as Grey buried himself into the hair about shoulder, content to hold her as the winter winds howled outside.