Soundtrack – Come Back Home Unplugged by 2ne1
Heavy.
Everything felt heavy and sluggish as she drifted in between that place…that place between sleeping and waking. She didn't recognize the softness around her. It was foreign and strange. Her fingers slid against the feel of sheets; slick and pooled as the air that met her skin seemed warm. Enfolded against the press of her rousing mind came the scent of a fireplace; cinnamon and the unmistakable tang of medicinal herbs. But there was something else that blurred along with it. The faint smell of memories that she knew – within the very deep parts of who she was. It was so close and if she could just open her eyes, maybe she would find it. But then, they had never been restricted to just her dreams. Waking and sleeping – he filled them both.
Noel's eyes fluttered, tangled lashes ghosting over her cheeks. Slowly, slowly, slowly…and when they finally rose she could see light from an unbroken moon pour in through silver paned windows. It made thick and vivid shadows across the floor, covering her own tumble of limbs. For a brief moment her chest heaved a shallow breath and lodged against her throat, fingers tightening against the alien mattress. Her mind fumbled as sleep snaked off her - fogged and anxious because in her nightmares it was always shadows, frosted and cold that chased after her. Deep and sinister laughs that filled her ears and flooded over her eyes. But as soon as the panic rose in her throat – the thoughts left. This place…this place she found herself in, it balmed against her grated nerves. Still. Quiet. Safe. She could smell him everywhere. Maybe it was all in her head.
She had woken laying on her stomach, but hesitantly rose on her elbows; the sheets falling away to meet the curve of her lower back. Her knuckles were cracked and scabbed, while her side flared in raw response. Noel's hand immediately pressed against the ghost of her wound, still feeling the phantom pierce of the ghost's spike. How it had lodged so neatly and viciously in the spaces between her ribs. She blinked. Blinked and turned quickly to look at what was bound against her palms. Linen and bandages had been wrapped tight around her injured side. The blood and infected ice…gone.
What had happened? The last thing she remembered was burning that diseased hoarfrost out of her veins with her own magic; scorched alive, with fingers clutching tightly against his skin…She jerked as her heart rammed on the edges of her chest. It hadn't been a dream. Sting. She remembered Sting.
He shouldn't have been there. Standing like a lighthouse in a darkened sea; staring back at her over the expanse of that mangled courtyard, over corrupted ice and flecks of unending snow. Looking so much more than she'd constantly imagined. His eyes blazing like stars and filled with a torrid of emotions she didn't want to describe. Questions she didn't want to give answers to.
She should have stayed away from this place. Far. Away from the borders of Crocus. Of Fiore. She had planned…she had planned to never see him again.
Damn it to hell. Everything had been destroyed from that one moment. Shattered. Noel was reeling from it. Drowning in a void of her own creation.
She blinked and shook her head, hair tossing out in waving tumbles. Her rise to sit up was slow and uneven, the pain in her body still viciously tugging along her skin. Where was she? That had to come first…before anything else. One moment at a time.
She was in a bed – a great large bed that was nothing but white sheets and messes of marsh mellow like pillows. Noel couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so warm; a sea of quietness that whispered lazily to sleep again. The room was beautiful, massive windows on one wall that rose from floor to ceiling, keeping safe a wide balcony that opened to the stars. She could see the muted glow of Crocus below, gold and silver humming alive grasping at the edges of fading midnight. A light press of rose tinted dawn frayed along the edges, but…no snow. Not a vein of ice in sight. Noel loosed a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
A few snug armchairs, chaises and ornate mahogany tables were stationed about, the nearest one Noel noticed was laden with healing supplies. No doubt the source of what was now pressed tightly to her body. A trail of bandages had tumbled off the table and Noel's own golden eyes followed the curve of the linen. Past long, easy shadows till they at last rested on who she had known had been there all along. Afraid…so afraid that it had been nothing but a dream and yet…Noel felt her heart slam against her ribs one last time. Chocking back the thunderous feeling of it growing up her throat.
He was here.
Sting had fallen asleep across the edge of the bed, his upper body collapsed against the sheets and head resting in the crock of his folded arm. His hair, rimmed and gold as sunshine was longer than she'd remembered; falling down the curve of his neck, dusted over his closed and fluttered eyes. Her fingers suddenly twitched and Noel hissed out a breath at the urge to see if it was as soft as it looked. She balled her hands and willed them to stay tucked into her side, but she couldn't seem to drink enough of him in. His parted mouth, his arched eyebrows…the lines of a face that had grown into a man. A man that made it hard for her to breathe.
He was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt; one that showed the smooth lean lines of his arms, the expanse of his broad shoulders – corded rippled muscle under skin brushed pearl in the moonlight. Raising up a bit higher, Noel could see his incredibly long legs tucked underneath his chair. The loose sweatpants hanging low on his narrow hips. He'd grown so tall. Five years. Five years had been good to him. Very good. Noel could feel her heart snapping apart as she looked at him.
She had to get out of here.
Noel straightened up as softly as she could and immediately felt a blush coat her cheeks. Somebody had changed her. Faded grey shorts and a white tank that closed almost to her throat, but left her entire back open. Of course her own clothes had been caked in grime, wet from bitter ice. Not to mention tattered and shredded along her injured side. She supposed that it had been necessary – to whomever had patched her up, they had had to get to her ribs after all…but then Noel knew the natural consequences. Whether it had been Sting or not, (though Noel desperately hoped it hadn't as her embarrassed flush was threatening to overwhelm her as it was) there was little chance that he hadn't seen it. It was hard not to notice the dozens of long silver pale stripes that covered her skin; from the jut of her shoulder blades to the hollow of her lower back. No. He wouldn't have missed it.
As she rustled the sheets in her quest to escape this warm room…this safe room, Noel saw Sting stir, before settling back down into the comfort of the bed. His fingers flexed, hand stretching just a bit further towards her and when an easy breath rolled from his lips it held a name that she didn't want to think about. Oh, she had to leave…this was a mistake…a mistake that was going to destroy what little part of her had been left. Five years…Five years…she wanted to just…her hands itched again and he looked just so beautiful…
But she couldn't. Noel had promised herself that night when shadows and ice and cold had smashed and slaughtered the entirety of everything she knew - she had sworn that it wouldn't get him. She wouldn't let it. She had to protect him.
Noel finally stood on wobbling legs, leaning heavily on the edge of the bed. Away from Sting. Away…away…away…She couldn't look at him anymore.
Her whole body hurt. Everything blazed with lacing aches and protesting threads of pain. She wasn't healed. Not even close. Her magic was exhausted and drained, the weariness seeping into her bones. Noel could hear her own heartbeat vibrate through the wound at her side, the thump-thump-thump ringing in her ears. Right in tune to the breath that came hard against her gritted teeth.
How was she supposed to leave this room, much less…wherever this was? If Skoll hadn't taken his little wandering tour of Crocus she could have escaped with ease, as it was Noel wondered if she would collapse in a sea of limbs before she reached the door.
It didn't matter. She had to. She had to get away from him. She'd made a promise. Noel would rather die than see him hurt.
She stood a little straighter and made to take a step – when a hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist.
"Going somewhere?"
Her eyes snapped up to his – up because he was much taller than she was now and found that he was smirking right back at her. The light from the dying fireplace had outlined him in shadows and gold, and though there was a teasing grin tugging up the side of his lips…his eyes burned her. They shined like glimmering lights in the dark. Flashing with a hundred emotions, though none of them were playful.
Noel scowled heavily and tried to yank her wrist from his grip. Anger was good…anger was easier than what his eyes were making her feel. Sting didn't release her. His touch blazed across her skin more than her magic ever did.
"We're you hoping to sneak off?" he hissed and moved closer, his form towering over hers. "You come back from the dead, just to run away from me again? Tsk…it might've worked had you been quieter."
Sting wanted to shake her. Or wrap her up tightly to his chest. She had tried to leave. Tried to disappear from his reach again without as much as a simple word of explanation. He struggled with a jumbled rush of sensations – a thin line he wavered back and forth between. But for now he was angry…angry at this girl that he had once known better than anyone. That he had almost…
"Let me go," Noel snapped back. "I want to leave here – wherever this here might be."
Sting blinked and his eyebrows rose when she tried to wrench her arm out of his once more. He released her…but when she wobbled on her feet his hands went instead to her shoulders. The tips of his fingers dragging into her skin. Gently, but firm.
"Here is Sabertooth," he replied. "You're in my guild, in my room, in my bed. My friends, Rogue and Yukino, are the ones that patched you up! Even if you had escaped from this room, they would have seen you! Where were you going Noel? I haven't seen you in five years and then -!"
Noel's eyes, rung in gold and heavy with lashes darted from the closed door and back to his face. Her hands were resting just inches above his chest. Frozen in indecision; fingers twitching as if she meant to grab him.
"I don't know," she finally ground out. "But I can't stay here! I didn't want to see you – I didn't plan for you to be in the castle gardens. Just let me out and…"
"Oh I don't think so," he growled and Noel could see the flash of his sharpened teeth. White and gleaming. "You owe me some answers. Lots of them. Starting with…oh, I don't know…how about – why the fuck was I told you were dead?"
Sting saw her eyes widen, the dart of her gaze roamed across his face again and her breath sucked quickly in through her lips.
"I don't owe you anything," she bit back, though her voice wavered. "I had my reasons for what happened! You have no idea what…"
"You're right I don't," Sting snarled. "I'm just some guy that you grew up with – spending every summer together till we were sixteen! You, me and Lector – we were a team! We would have done anything for each other. Made all those damn memories, all those promises! Remember Noel?"
He hissed bitterly, eyes unbearably hard. "Finding Dragneel? Joining a guild – having adventures together…we were going to do all of it! And then I get that fucking letter! That damn missive from the Magic Council saying that you'd been killed. Murdered with your family in that uprising. I've had to live with this feeling of knowing that I could have done something – anything to save you for these last five years and now…what? I find out it's all a lie? How could you do this to me Noel? I thought…I thought we were…I thought you were my friend!"
The growl that rumbled up from his chest was loud and strained. His fingers tightened on her shoulders and Sting felt his chest throb through the cracks that laced his memories. The frown between his brows grew stronger; his teeth grounding out in his glare.
Noel had grown pale, her mouth parted as she struggled with another sob, yet her eyes blazed in frustration. "I wanted to! How could you think I didn't? Our friendship - you…you and Lector meant everything to me and…"
"But it obviously wasn't enough! To have you just throw it away for whatever the hell -!"
"It wasn't all a lie!" Noel shouted back, voice breaking at the end. Sting's mouth suddenly snapped shut. He could see tears tangling across her lashes, dropping down her cheeks.
"They were killed," her voice mumbled out in a whisper. She hastily wiped her cheeks with the palm of her hand. "My parents are gone. Only Dara and I escaped."
Sting blinked a few times, his scowl dropping from his face. Noel's gaze swirled, staring at the fire just behind him – he could see the flames flickering and flashing mirrored in the refection of her eyes. His rage flushed off him like water and he felt as if ice had coiled around his chest. His hands slipped down the length of her arms. Taking her worried hands into his own. His long fingers interwove into hers.
Dara…Dara had been her younger sister. He remembered a little girl with freckles and dark brown curls. She'd always sat in giggling awe when he showed off his dragon slayer magic to them, constantly calling for encores. The last time he'd seen her…she'd been no more than ten. What the hell happened?
"Escaped what?" Sting asked, his voice trying to settle her down. Noel wavered again, wincing in pain as she shifted on her injured side. Her fingers clasped a little tighter to his own. "That still doesn't account for the past five years. Noel, why didn't you come find me? Why let me believe that lie? What the Magic Council did…"
The ire was back. Her eyes snapped to his and her hair tumbled down her bare shoulders as her gaze twisted to meet his own. "I have my reasons Sting. Who do you think wrote that missive to the Fiore Magic Council anyways? It had to be that way! I had no other choice -!"
Fine. If she could rise up her irritation, then damn it – he could do.
"Bull shit Noel," he barked. "There is always another choice! Lector and I could have helped you! I could have…"
"NO!"
She wretched herself away from him then. Out of his grip – out of his touch and strode in four shaking strides back to the fireplace. He followed not a half step behind.
"I was going to stay far away from you," she shouted, rounding on him. "You and Lector…you were the best friend I had! I had to protect you! At any cost. Don't you think it killed me to write out that lie? To know how you would hate me for it?"
He steamed now, the trails of his white magic licked off his skin like smoke. "I do hate you!" He bellowed. "Hate that you made that choice for me! Yanked yourself away from me because you were too stupid to…"
"It doesn't matter," she spat. "Hate me all you like, but I promised I would protect you and that's what I did. What I have to do now. So let me out of this damn room."
He was missing something. A great big something that was hovering over her like the shadows and tendrils from that wraith in the garden. The wraith. Sting's magic disappeared in flashes of brilliant white light. The wraith in the courtyard had wanted Noel. Wanted to take her…had tried to…
"Protect me from what?" He asked. He watched as she froze, though the glare remained on her face. "Noel, this doesn't make any sense…what happened? What happened to you? That piece of shit in the garden. Why did it want you?"
"I don't…I don't want to talk about it."
But Sting's mind whirled as he stared at her. The shade that he'd destroyed. That corrupted thing of gloom and hoarfrost. He'd never seen anything like it before. Made of spidered threads of ice, skeletal forms of jagged teeth and curling darkness. The weapon that had made the air taste wrong. How all of it had smelled wrong.
And then he had seen them. The scars on her back. The harsh reminder that Yukino had quietly warned him of. That maybe it wasn't as he'd originally thought. He had tried not to. It didn't seem right; not without her allowing it. He'd been afraid. Afraid to admit that maybe…maybe it had been so much darker than he'd ever imagined. Another thing he didn't protect her from.
But when she had retreated from the bed, from the clasp of his hands, Sting couldn't ignore it anymore. Through the waves of her long hair, those lines shimmered like quicksilver all across her back. It felt as if lead had coated his stomach, settling like a stone in the pit of his gut. Gods…her whole family gone? Noel tearing as if Zeref himself was hunting after her…Yea…he was definitely missing something.
"What are you running from?"
She dropped his gaze and turned slightly away from him, crossing her arms under her chest. Sting could see them again. Faintly…across the curve of her shoulder blade. He felt sick.
"Nothing," she answered with a breath. "There is nothing to tell. I already told you why I lied the first time. I won't have you die because of me Sting. You can't, if I lost you..."
Death. Death. He had thought her dead once. It had almost shattered him the first time. Made him into something cold and hard and cruel. An arrogant bastard that was simply an outer shelling of a boy who had failed his dearest friend. It had taken all he had.
Finding Rogue – making that friendship, had at least cracked it. Carved out a space that grew tight between them. Rogue was his brother and not just in magic - but blood. It had helped him see a little clearer…be a little more. If only for a moment.
But, then he'd lost to Natsu. Miserable and pathetic. Failing at a strength he just didn't understand. Sting had thought it was power. The power that came from magic and dragon spells and the smashing of fists. He had thought he'd hadn't been enough. Again. When Jiemma had shouted out his weakness – his devastating faults at his pitiful lack of strength it had been all he could think about. How he should have been stronger…stronger to save her. If he could have been just a little bit better…all he had wanted, then was to be strong in the purest sense of the word.
Then Lector had been taken from him. Ripped. Torn. Extinguished. Just like Noel.
And Sting had snapped.
But then those Fairies…those stupid, foolish – loyal Fairies.
He was strong enough now. That force that had been so unknown before…he knew what it was. His magic, his strength, his friendships had become something else. What Natsu and all the others had understood so clearly. It had allowed to push further. To laugh, forgive, joke. It had made him more.
To protect those people who mattered to him the most.
Rogue. Yukino. Frosch. Lector…his entire guild. Even Fairy Tail. He knew what made Natsu so unbreakable. Unbeatable. What made the fire dragon strong.
Sting didn't want to be angry anymore. He didn't have the right.
He couldn't lose her again.
"I want to protect you Noel," he said. He saw her lashes draw up slowly as she finally looked back at him, arms still wrapped around her waist. "I told you before, this is my guild. One of the strongest in Fiore! But more than that – these are my friends and they would defend you. I would defend you! Don't leave without giving me a choice Noel. Not this time."
She was shaking her head back and forth, but her brow was worried. Her face flickering with uncertainty. He knew it was low – to take advantage of her warring emotions but Sting found he didn't care. Yes, the glints of frustration that she had made these decisions without even fucking talking to him, rolled around inside his head. But, he didn't want to think about that right now. Now she was flesh and blood, right in front of him. Sting had thought he'd never see her again. And now all he wanted to do was touch her. Warm. Soft. Real.
He slowly reached forward, hand wrapping around her elbow and drew her against his chest. She didn't protest or hesitate. His fingers ghosted the flesh of her back and he tried not think about the ridges he passed over. The rough strikes that whispered to him of her secrets. Of things she was still keeping from him.
"Sting," she whispered, hands clasped together against her chest. He secretly wished she would fist them in his shirt instead. "I don't know. It's not that simple."
"What, you think I've been just sitting around on my hands these last five years?" He smirked with a tug on one side of his mouth. She rose an eyebrow, eyes mirrored with skepticism. Sting's grin grew a bit wider.
"It's not that I'm doubting you," she said. "All that cocky dragon magic pumping through your veins…you were the strongest person I knew."
"And I'm a thousand times stronger now," he said. "I won't abandon you Noel. My friends are my family. Lector, Rogue, Sabertooth. You. And I take care of my friends. What's the point of having all this awesome power, if I can't defend them? Trust me, Noel. Believe me when I say I can protect you. From whatever it is that you're running from!"
But then she looked away to the flickering embers of the fireplace. She seemed suddenly far away. As if yanked out in a pool of her own memories. "But this? Sting, not even you…"
"At least until your well," he suddenly interjected. Her gaze slowly met his again. "Just think about it okay? Please, give me this Noel – for old times' sake. At least think about it until you're healed."
There were long moments of silence, broken only by snap of dying embers. She had to give him some time. Time to convince her that she was worth protecting. Didn't she understand that he couldn't imagine leaving her now? Maybe there was something else he could say; maybe he should drag Lector in here from wherever he had disappeared to and make him beg too. They needed to wait for Wendy…that would certainly take some time…or maybe he could order her? Like a guild master? Technically she wasn't in his guild or anything, but this was his room so...
"Okay," she whispered. Sting blinked and his train of poor conceived thoughts came abruptly to a halt. "I'll think about it till then. At the very least, I suppose I owe you that."
He let loose a low breath. Relief apparent on his face.
"Thank you."
They could talk later; about all the things that were gnawing at him. The broken parts that they had both made and locked away…but later.
An easy quiet grew between them, but Sting knew she should return to bed. Now that she wouldn't try and sneak away in the barely waking hours of midnight, (not that she could have gone far), she had to rest. He could almost smell her exhaustion. It bled against the crack of her diminished magical power, coupled with the still lingering metallic tang of blood.
"You need to sleep Noel," he whispered at last. "Your injuries are severe and Yukino had been adamant about you not moving. At least, not until we can call in some help. I'm not about to be on the receiving end of one of her lectures. Guild Master or no. Come on."
Without giving her a moment to protest, (because of course he would insist she use his bed) Sting wrapped her up into his arms; strong hands at her back and cupped under the knees. She was stammering out her objections even as he crossed the room in quick long strides, but he didn't miss the way her hands ghosted over the curve of his shoulders before wrapping around his neck. His head dipped a bit and then something jammed across him like a battering ram. Her scent was making his head swim. He could pin-point the foreign ones of course – the traces of medicine that they had worked into her wounds, the clean linen of the fresh clothes, even the soft mint that was Yukino's, but…the rest of it was all her. Amber and ocean. Lemon and sunshine.
"You've gotten taller," Noel interjected at last. Sting rose an eyebrow when she smirked up at him. "Much taller. I suppose a Guild Master must meet certain imposing statue requirements. Fortunately for you, that worked out."
"You should have seen my predecessor," he grinned and placed her down into the waiting cocoon of white sheets and down pillows. "He definitely fit the imposing mold – but then, I'm much better looking."
She fought back a wide smile, but she couldn't hide the faint tinge of blush and dusted her cheeks. It made something proud vibrate inside his chest.
"I see the over confidence remains the exact same," she snorted.
"Lots of things have changed about me," Sting replied. "I'm not that scrawny little kid chasing after Dragneel's shadow anymore. I've smacked around some pretty powerful enemies – just ask Lector. Who, by the way, also has grown quite a bit."
"I'm sure I look the same," Noel joked a little off-handed. "Gangly, awkward and…"
"No. You don't."
She'd meant it to be teasing, but suddenly his eyes where suddenly on hers. The turn of his brow was serious and when she looked at him, his gaze burned her. Everything felt warm, outlined in shade and soft gold as the fire both died in the hearth and kindled underneath his ribs. Sting felt something rise and uncurl; a deep thing that hummed in his veins when he looked at her. His magic hummed, light and warm in his blood.
"You should get some rest now," he whispered, his voice low and gruffer than usual. Sting couldn't seem to wrap his head around any solid thought. His skin felt alive. Rippling with the pulses of his unfiltered magic. Everywhere he had held her…the ghost of her touch was leaving him burning. "You're safe."
"What about you?" she asked and a strange part of Sting swelled at her breathlessness. "This is your bed I'm taking…surely I can find another…"
"No," he interrupted quickly. Noel blinked in surprise and Sting growled a bit, frustrated at the ridiculousness of his embarrassment. It was only Noel. His childhood friend and partner - so why in god's name was the glow of her eyes and the scent of her skin so fucking overpowering? He huffed out a breath…Son of a bitch.
"I should probably go find Lector," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "He went with Rogue and Frosch a little while ago and I…"
"Stay."
Sting immediately snapped back to look at her. His eyebrows rose into his hairline, the surprise flickering across his face. Noel sucked in a tight breath and though a heavy flush creeped along her cheek bones the look she gave him was open and bare. As if he could read her.
"Please?"
Sting found a genuine smile grow up the corners of his mouth. The first one he'd made that night. Without an answer, he collapsed back to the chair leaning against the side of the bed. His heart felt suddenly full as he looked at her; Noel's own parted lips mirrored his own…smaller, though no less sincere. Her eyes dropped a bit with the heaviness of sleep, but Sting could see it. A shimmering under the surface of her gaze – as if he was her only light in a much darker world. He liked how she was looking at him. He liked it a lot.
His hand gently found the crock of hers, the warmth of her fingers sliding against his skin. He wrapped them tightly into his own.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Soundtrack – Masayume Chasing by BoA Ending
"I hate all this waiting. Seriously? I mean – c'mon, surely something has to happen soon! It's been so boring just sitting around here…"
"If I had known you would've been so childish, I would have brought a toy for you to play with," Erza hissed out. She rounded on him suddenly; a flash cracking behind her eyes. Her patience for this whole experience was wearing thin – his grated complaining tearing away quickly at her resolve. She had almost all she could take.
Natsu felt the back of his neck grow hot and then violently cold. There was a dryness growing in his throat that he struggled to swallow and a sudden heat flared from Titania as she glared at him – fire riddled with annoyance. Natsu promptly sat back down next to Lucy with a huff.
He'd never mastered the virtue of patience when it came to jobs. Act first – maybe ask questions later had always been his method of choice. As it was, it seemed as if they'd been waiting for hours; right at the edge where Crocus met the Dandelion Plains. The lacrima Mr. Kimura had given them gave the correct rendezvous location easily enough, but it hadn't indicated the precise time that they were supposed to meet their convoy. Erza, Wendy and Carla had entertained themselves easily enough – bringing along an exorbitant amount of picnic supplies, but Natsu's invitation had quickly soured when he ate all of the watermelon in one momentous gulp. Erza had slapped him upside the head, mumbling something about ruining another first picnic attempt and banned him from joining them for the remainder of the evening. Happy had wisely contented himself with a single fish and had thus been allowed to stay. The traitor.
He would have alleviated the time fighting with Gray if he could, but the Ice Mage had been oddly preoccupied. He'd barely risen to any of Natsu's taunts and had taken to staring out at the ever fading horizon line. A slight frown had been tugging at him all day and the weirdo kept looking at his hands. His hands for Mavis sake. Natsu scoffed and rolled his eyes as he turned away. What a fucking weirdo.
Lucy frowned and rose an eyebrow when he sighed at her side. She perused him over the top of the thick novel she'd brought and he grinned at her; a lopsided smirk that made his teeth gleam brilliantly. She'd been buried in that thing for a while, (ever since his ill-fated experience with the almost, not really first picnic) running fingers in the wolf's ink black fur that snoozed lazily on her lap. She'd been serene and easily quiet, seemingly lost in a written world of her own making…but her gaze kept dusting over him every few minutes. Eyes trailing up the long lines of a form she had woken up entwined between.
Did she think he wouldn't notice?
He was happy to have her attention. It made that weird feeling in his chest swell. They were best friends, right? It made sense Natsu would want her attention…her eyes on him. The feel of her skin on his own. This morning he'd awoken to find her warm, protected, and glowing against his chest. Her smooth and easy breathing had filled his ears – setting his own heart peaceful inside his ribs. Natsu had decided without second thought – watching as the day breaking sun left watercolor smudges of coral on Lucy's skin…that they would do this every night. He had to keep her safe after all.
Yea. That was it.
"What kind of toy could we have brought along to keep you entertained," Lucy mused suddenly with a small smile. It broke through his thoughts and he blinked a bit. "Maybe a ball? Or a Frisbee? I could always throw a stick for you to catch."
"I'm not a dog," he grumbled and crossed his arms. "You could throw one for the little guy here if you want."
He poked the sleeping wolf affectionately and Lucy giggled when it barely cracked open a golden eye. "I guess not," Natsu laughed. "But you could have brought me a nice fire steak, or maybe fire fish fried rice…"
"That's not a toy," Lucy interjected. "We were talking about something to keep you amused, not cram your face."
"Accomplishes the same thing! Just a better way to spend the time."
She snorted and made to return to her book when her face suddenly flushed a lovely shade of red. Natsu had grabbed one of her hands into his own; palm to palm and studying the shining pink lines of her guild mark. She made a quiet, but high little 'eep!' as his rough and calloused fingers ghosted over her hand but her protests died inside her mouth. His eyes burned alive across her skin, and the turn of his mouth was set into a hard, serious line. She cocked her head to the side, wondering at the abrupt change in his demeanor.
"Natsu?" she whispered when the moments between them grew too long. Lucy was thankful that the others seemed too absorbed in their own activities to bother noticing that the fire dragon was teasing her hand, but it wouldn't last long. Natsu being anything but boisterous and outlandish tended to drawn attention in and of itself.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Hey, are you…are you okay?"
He didn't answer at first. Instead his fingers knotted into hers. Clasped and interwoven together. Lucy blinked and gave a blush that seemed to bleed from her cheeks to every part of her body.
But she didn't pull away. No. She gripped against him a little tighter.
"You know that Fairy Tail is my family," he mumbled at last and she blinked, slightly puzzled. He was finally watching her again. Eyes shimmering like kindling in a rising fire. "That I would do anything to protect my family?"
"Of course. Of course I know that. You've proven it a hundred times over…"
"And that you and Happy," he continued. "You guys are my best friends."
She nodded, brow slightly edged in perplexity. It didn't help when he suddenly grinned back at her, as if he'd just come to a perfect epiphany. His trail of thought was difficult to follow at times.
"So I'm going to sleep with you from now on," he stated matter-of-factly. As if he wasn't turning her world upside down on its head, or making her heart simply jump straight out her throat. No. He said it plain as day…as if it was the simple natural progression of their friendship. As if he wouldn't take no for an answer. Which…he probably wouldn't. Lucy wondered if it was possible suffer from a heat stroke simply through a blush.
"Uh! Wait - wha-what?" she stammered with a hissing whisper. Eyes wide, she whirled over her shoulders, hoping that none of their teammates had overheard him. Especially Gray. The Ice Mage had been way too observant when it came to her and Natsu's relationship lately. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?!"
"Of course," he said, looking at her as if she was the crazy one saying all these incredibly mortifying things. "That we're going to sleep together."
Her brain had momentarily short circuited. "Natsu," she choked out. "You can't say stuff like that! What if our friends heard you?"
"Why not? I like sleeping with you. Don't you? It feels good, doesn't it?"
Every inch of her skin suddenly felt electrified; raw and alive. She didn't want to…she didn't want to think of him like that – but between the constant feel of him against her; his smiles, his eyes, what he was saying…damn it to hell. Lucy felt her blush spread all the way to the edges of her hair as thoughts of her and Natsu flashed unwelcomed through her mind. Images of them pressed together…His hot mouth against her neck, callous hands fisted in the tangles of her long hair and her breathless underneath him. They had never been so vivid before…so filled with color and sound and feeling. Lucy knew what Natsu felt like now; how fucking easy it was to simply be with him. How he cocooned around her, how his skin was so warm when they slept…how his eyes illuminated in the dark when he watched…
And HOLYSHIT!
"Are you okay Luce?" he suddenly asked, snapping apart her distress. He still hadn't released her hand; so he towered above her, trying to press a palm to her forehead. "Did that frost make you sick? You're burning up."
"Natsu, stop! I'm fine," she faltered with wide eyes. She scrambled away and the wolf, finally having enough of Lucy's squirming legs, jumped down with a wide yawn. "You – you just can't decide something like that! You can't say it like that either!"
"Why not?" When the hell had he gotten so close? "I want to make sure that stuff doesn't come back. This way I can keep you warm. Do…did you…" Natsu began stammering and now he was the one that looked slightly flustered. "Did you not like doing it?"
Lucy swallowed. Oh Mavis…Dear sweet Mavis.
"Well…I…yes maybe…"
"Look alive people, we got movement!"
Gray was standing, arms shoved into the pockets of his jeans (shirt and jacket long since gone) and staring out into west side of the plains. Just as Mr. Kimura had said…finally coming from the direction of Oak Village, a large slow moving shape was lumbering towards them in the distance.
Lucy went ram rod straight and immediately stood up. She yanked her hand out of Natsu's warm fingers and clutched them to her chest. She felt as if steam was coming out of her ears; her entire body a strange concoction of both hot and cold.
"What is that?" Wendy asked, eyes wide. Lucy silently thanked Mavis for the distraction. Any distraction. Natsu was slowly standing beside her, moving in all fluid lines and casual charisma with his growing grin. He could see their target drawing closer, the chance to move and finally get their job done. Lucy envied his solid focus and drive. Right now she felt like she was stuck in the middle of a hurricane. One that he fucking created. With his heat and his skin and his words and his perfect beautiful abs…
Shit…shit…shit!
"It's called a storage coach," replied Erza. Her hands went to her hips as it continued to draw closer. "They're used to transport large amounts of goods across long distances. However, they're not particularly very fast which would explain why we've had to wait for them for so long."
"Alright," Natsu growled smacking his fists together, eager to get moving again. "Let's get this show on the road!"
They stood around in an easy group as the transport drew closer. It was a massive dark brown thing, almost like a train car without the burden of railroad tracks. Every now and then it would puff clouds of pearly white smoke into the air; coupled with the rolling thunder of its massive wheels over the earth. Whatever their client had been exchanging between the two nations of Fiore and Seven…there was certainly a lot of it.
Half a dozen men meandered lazily around it. Walking with easy gaits and carefree faces. They carried swords at their hips and wore random pieces of armor; mostly shoulder pauldrons and breastplates, but nothing seemed to be amiss. They all looked to be in fine spirits and acknowledged Erza with a sluggish salute when she stepped up to greet them.
"Are you the wizards that Mr. Kimura hired?" one of them asked once they stopped. The storage coach let off a great expanse of steam as it settled on its wheels.
"That's right, have you had any trouble?"
"None," he answered pushing up the brim of his wide brimmed hat. "The weather has been clear, the roads easy ever since we left Seven. I'm afraid Mr. Kimura hired you here for nothing."
"Oh that's perfectly alright," Lucy waved him off with a wide smile. A gleeful look over took her as a thought suddenly bounced around in her head. "We still get paid!"
"Do we?"
She rounded on Happy at once; her suddenly change of mood quite apparent. There was a panic reflected there now, a worried draw to her eyebrows. "We better!" She said. "I'm counting on this jewel! I'll be set for my rent for months!"
"Regardless," Erza interjected folding her arms across her chest. "Let us accompany you back to Crocus. Fairy Tail always fulfills its requests."
There was an exchange of nods before the storage coach began rolling again. The hiss of steam and smoke blaring into the winter air. Erza lead the party with sure and focused steps as the older man beside her (in what seemed to be the escort's commanding officer), made simple chatter to fill the time. Gray followed after, eyes occasionally scanning the twilight's horizon line but, his mouth seemed stuck in that hard line that made his frown solid on his face. Natsu vaguely wondered what had pushed him into such a stewing mood this evening. Lucy and Wendy however, were all smiles as they conversed in low tones, cheerily discussing about what they were going to spend some of their job money on once they were back in Crocus. His hands now clasped behind his head, Natsu silently brought up the rear.
"I thought Fairy Tail was more known for causing chaos while on the job," smirked the escort and chuckled when Erza's face soured a bit. "Rather than completing it."
"Please don't damage the coach!" A few others began good naturedly caterwauling out the storage windows. "Do you have any idea how much Mr. Kimura spent on this?"
"Don't worry, we're here to protect it. Not the other way around."
Erza gave a small sigh and chanced a glance towards Natsu, but the dragon slayer was distracted and sulking. The disappointment obviously reflected on his pouting face. She slowly turned back – intrigued as the man beside her began inquiring to her rather professional choice of armor.
"Aw man, I wanted to fight somebody," Natsu grumbled aloud as Happy hovered near his shoulder, the small dog at his heels. "All that sitting around was good for nothing except thinking."
"I find it hard to believe that you were brooding about much," Happy smiled. "If that's true, then what were you thinking about?"
"Lucy."
The Exceed blinked. Blinked a few times actually. He wanted to tease…oh how he was so tempted! But his signature joke fell flat before he could even chuckle it out his mouth. Happy had never seen that look on his best friend's face before. Like he could catch fire at whatever held his gaze. Cheeks flushed and brows furrowed.
"What's wrong Natsu?" Happy asked softly. Natsu didn't look distressed or angry. In fact, he couldn't quite pin-point the emotions behind the blaze of the wizard's eyes. Something…different all together. "You sick or something? Got a tummy-ache from all that watermelon?"
"I don't know;" Natsu started. "I think…"
But he stopped. As motionless as a statue – and so quickly that Happy smacked into the back of him.
Something was off. The hairs on Natsu's back stood straight on end; his skin ghosting with a sudden shudder. It was crawling across his flesh – the scent of ice and magic that just felt wrong. It burned his mouth like acid. It was cold…much too cold, and when Natsu released his resounding growl hissed through his teeth it condensed – transforming into silver wisps; larger and curling like smoke.
"Gray," he vaguely heard Lucy saying. "What's with the artic temperature all of a sudden? It's freezing! Mind turning that off?"
"It's not me," the jackass replied. "I don't know what…"
But Gray didn't finish. Natsu didn't give him the chance. He rushed forward and yanked Lucy into his arms; caging her tight against his chest as his back slid along the ground. She opened her mouth to sputter a protest, but a massive jut of ice suddenly appeared in her former place. Dark and glowing illuminous blue, the magic spread out in veins and splinters like a web.
There was another resounding echo of shouts when more ice began cracking up from the ground – covering the earth in a layer of crawling white. Everything shivering with frost and crystal.
"What the hell is that?" Gray shouted, shrugging quickly out of his shirt. The men on the storage coach rumbled in panic, eyes wide and their breaths fogging over. "That's some pretty messed up ice!"
"Protect the transport!" Erza yelled, a gleaming sword in her fist. "Remember our job here people!"
Natsu stood, still holding Lucy within his arms, while his eyes were angry and menacing. There was more ice slowly rising around the plains, Natsu could feel it spreading out under his feet. Their entire world transforming into something akin to a watercolor of chilled frost and growing shade. His gaze narrowed – locked onto those expanding shadows and when Lucy gasped against his skin, he knew she saw it too. The forms rising up from the shades, drawing ice and snow with it. Several of them emerging like sentinels in an army. Three of them forming a lazy circle around their cart.
The cadaverous mouths glowed winter blue, long forked tongues curling out their mouths. On their heads were two great long horns, a piercing crown that gleamed black in the twilight. They were nothing but jet colored skeletons, the tattered robes spread out with the ice, though they wore their cursed magic like a cowl around their shoulders. Capes of frost and darkness. They were grinning, like demented jack-o-lanterns; each time they opened a fanged mouth the threads of blue ice trailed outwards and spread like fog.
Wendy screamed and covered her mouth with her fingers while beside her Erza's eyes grew wide in shock. Everything shook with cold, the air growing still and bitter. Even Gray felt his insides grow numb at what was standing before them.
"What-what are these things?" Natsu heard Lucy tremble.
"Ghosts? Demons – or wraiths," Erza answered quickly. "But I've never seen creatures like this before."
"Doesn't matter who they are," Natsu ground out through his teeth. Lucy was released from his grasp, but he didn't let her go far. She stood behind him, her slender fingers resting on the curve of his back, while his fists tightened against his side. "We'll kick all their asses!"
The scent was assaulting his nose – wrapping iced fingers tight around his chest…but Natsu knew this feeling. He knew that foreign magic power…the one that tinged with a frosted sickness. They had been the ones after Lucy. The magic that had haunted after her. The one that made everything cold and dark and wrong.
He was going to burn them to ash for it.
Lucy trembled behind his back. Their friends scattered around the storage coach seemed to be stuck in their own awe struck panic. Wendy was wavering on her feet; mouth still covered and body trembling. Happy and Carla hovered nearby, but the cold was frosting along their wings and their round eyes were big as saucers – the gaze wobbling as the wraiths drew nearer. But the wolf…the wolf pup was unmoving from his rigid position near Natsu's feet.
They pulled along their cold magic…a magic that bled out this uncontrollable fear. It was a despair deeper than the one Hades had unleased on them at Tenrou Island those few years ago. Lucy couldn't think…couldn't move. One of them was staringat her. In an eyeless gaze that somehow pierced straight through her chest. She couldn't breathe. The ice was creeping up at her. Clawing. Pulling. Tugging. Like the dreams of her father…it called and whispered.
Lost.
Dark.
Cold.
But Natsu was warm. She could feel it pulse through her fingers while the world around them seem to spin. He was solid. His bravery vibrated through to her and she stretched out her hand further across the curve of his shoulder blades…just to feel the heat from his skin bleed through his shirt.
"I want the mage," one of the wraiths began hissing. The ice grew and the men in the storage coach covered their ears with screams. "Give me the mage!
"You will find nothing here," Erza shouted back. Her magic flared to life and reequipped to her Black Winged armor. "Leave before we're forced to defeat you."
"No way! I want to burn these guys into the ground," Natsu shouted, his frown pronounced and anger as hot as the magic in his hands.
There was laughter. Hissing, chilled laughter and Lucy's hands wound tighter against Natsu.
"You are not who we're looking for child of fire," the thing hissed as it flicked its tongue like a snake. "But we shall destroy you all the same."
"Heh, I'd like to see you try! Come on you bastards! Let's do this!"
And then they crashed together. A rain of fire and black ice – magic and spells spattered all across the Dandelion Plains.
At first it was hard to make out the utter pandemonium that collided around them. Natsu burst at one of them in a barrage of fire while Gray ran forward, only to jump back when a spear made of glittering blue ice was hurled at him. A wraith followed quickly behind, yanking its weapon back into the clutches of its long fingers.
"Ice magic huh?" Gray sneered smacking his fists together. "Let me show you assholes how it's really done! Ice Make Cannon!"
The massive force of the spell barreled outwards, but the creature disappeared in a whirl of shadow and shades. Gray's white and sapphire ice suddenly became corrupted; darkening in color and humming with a light that misted as if haunted. It crashed back to the earth to spread outwards towards the panicking escorts on the coach.
"What the hell?" Gray ground out. "How did they do that?"
"Wendy and Lucy!" Erza shouted over her shoulder. "You guys protect the transport! We'll take these things out!"
"Right! Of-of course!"
Lucy felt the ice crunch underneath her feet as she sprinted back towards the massive storage coach, Happy, Wendy and Carla hot on her heels. She could feel the shivers rising up along every inch of her skin, but she was determined to stay focused. She couldn't let fear creep and crawl at her right now. Her Fleuve d'etoiles was suddenly pulled tight in her hands.
She could do this. She had to do this. Her friends were counting on her.
"Get everyone back inside the transport!" She ordered to the commanding officer near the front of the coach. "It's best to stay out of the way and let us protect you! There's no telling what these things are capable of…!"
Suddenly there was a loud grunt followed by a horrible screeching sound. Lucy whipped around at once, shoving her hands over her ears as the screams continued. A giant bang echoed over the plains, a collision of massive amounts of magic power and she could vaguely hear Wendy shouting over the chaos. But her gasps were lost to the tumble of bitter wind around when she saw Natsu being thrown back; rammed against the frozen ground.
He could hear Lucy shouting in his ears – his name rolled with worry as she watched him tumble against the ice the wraith hurled at him. It grew up and clawed around him; grasping at his hot skin with claws made of hoarfrost. For a long dark moment, he couldn't move. Trapped inside a cage of bitter magic.
"Die child of fire!" the ghost spat. "Iced Dead Star!"
The spell released a dozen rockets of ice, their jagged edges coated in mirrored reflections of poisoned magic. They hurled up before crashing with an ear-splitting roar back down – their impact shattering the landscape under Natsu. Lucy's vision was overwhelmed with snow and evening filled white. She couldn't see, or feel his heat. The wind whipped up against her skin and hair – the flush making a harsh bitterness inside her mouth. She screamed his name again and prayed that he would answer back. Mavis, please – just answer back.
"Is he alright?" Erza shouted as she crossed blades once again with another phantom.
Lucy squinted through the haze of snow; her chest growing tight, heart hammering against her throat. The wraith was staring down at the smoking remains of its spell, skeletal fingers tightening on the handle of its weapon when suddenly the flecks of shimmering ice that had covered Natsu barreled outwards. A strange ribbon of magic pushed it back; a glimmering of tiny stars that snapped against the ice and caused it to fade, winking in and out of sight like thrown glitter.
The snow disappeared and Natsu was there. Standing tall and straight in a crater of cracked plains. His eyebrows were drawn hard together and sharp teeth flashed in his deep growl, but he was unharmed. Burning and solid. Lucy released the breath that had been held in her chest, but before she could utter another word, it died in her mouth.
There was a creature standing beside him. A great dark animal that was the size of a horse – with sleek ink black fur and glowing bulbous eyes. There was a fine mist about it – threads of magic that clung to its fur looking like spatters of stardust. It had a great mane, lengthy tall legs and thick tail. Rows of razor white teeth gleamed in a very long growling snout.
Natsu flashed it a small smile. "Thanks for the help, I knew there was something different about you little guy," he said, flicking some blood from his lip. "Glad to know you're on our side."
"Of course," came a rumbling response. The voice was gruff and cocky, and it came without movement from the mouth, but there was something about it that Natsu liked. "I would protect anyone from these wraiths with my life."
"Holy shit, it talks?!" Gray shouted as he ducked a weapon slice. "That monster is the wolf we've been carrying around?" Happy let out another panicked yell, but Natsu, however gave a grin that stretched across his face. He gave it a few resounding smacks on the head – which, thankfully the now monster wolf chose to interpret as affectionate.
"Alright let's go!"
He rushed forward, the fire on his fists bursting to life. For flashes and moments, it blazed gold in this dark white world – the heat raining on the ground. Lucy could feel it warm on her body, bleeding into the pores of her skin. He was here…He was right here.
The wolf meanwhile moved as fast as lightening. Sprinting gracefully through the juts of ice and frost, eyes glowing alive in the dusk. They bobbed like candles as he dove about, spatters of his magic rippling out like tumbling stars. It was beautiful and haunting all at once.
Erza had reequipped into her purgatory armor – the gleam of her dark metal shimmering in the collage of different colors thrown about. From smoldering gold to the strange unnatural blue. She struck forward at her enemy with flawless precision…but no matter what she tried her weapons passed straight through the wraith. Wisps of vapors made of black shades. The ice grew. The cold clutched at her skin like imaginary hands. Her breath curled in smoke as her gasps became shorter and faster. The chill wrapping around her heart.
"I don't understand!" She ground out through her teeth. "Nothing is working! It's like my magic has no effect on them at all!"
"I can't fucking melt their ice!" Gray bellowed over the clash of metal to stone. "There's something wrong with it! Even my demon slayer magic isn't doing a damn thing!"
Erza felt herself sag onto a knee, the flicks of frost scuttling up her body like the legs of spiders. The wraith she had been fighting shrieked with sick pleasure before bringing his sword crashing down towards her head.
She raised an arm – her body shivering with both chill and determination…but the ghost met the hard feel of solid ground instead. The wolf bounded away, Erza's fingers wrapped tight into its fur as he carried her – a stellar glittering spell smacking the thing solidly in the chest as it passed.
"Their magic is corrupted," the wolf hummed aloud. Erza could feel him rumbling beneath her. "Everything about them is tarnished and contaminated. You can't defeat them with conventional magic!"
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Wendy shouted back, small fists tightening at her sides.
"Nothing is orthodox about a dragon slayer," the wolf barked, head tipped back. "That magic power breaks every sensible law in our world!" Wendy blinked, her mouth dropping open slightly in her surprise. Over the rush of fighting Natsu grinned wide to himself. Dragon slayer magic huh? Hell yes!
His fire scorched across the ghost with blistering sparks that lit up the air around him. If these monsters were threatening his friends, his family…if they touched Lucy…. then he would not give them an inch. His skin sweltered, trailing with curls of smoke as a shout unleased from his mouth.
"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"
The fist connected and when the resounding, ferocious slam of Natsu's magic pounded to that fucking skull, the flare of his power circled out in an inferno of flame and force. The ice wraith wailed in screeches and screams that rattled across its bones, but it wasn't enough. Nothing was left except ruins and cinders – fading sheets of darkness and snow that burst in a shower of fire and water. Steaming as it disappeared into the night sky.
"Okay then!" Wendy yelled, eyes firm with resolve. "I'll do my best! Sky dragon…!"
But they wouldn't let her finish. Not with the two left – staring with wide, eyeless gazes at the smoking remains of their companion. The tattered, broken flecks of thawing frost and collapsing bone. Their master had commanded them. Their magic pulsated within the very core of the emaciated ribs. Their master had demanded them. To fail to these feeble and fragile flecks of human idiocy? They would cover them all in ice. Turned black as coal and lost within a nightmare of never ending winter. They grinned at the thought of it.
Gray shouted out in shock when the wraith he'd been fighting disappeared in a dissipating mess of shadows. It crackled with harsh, bitter laughs waning out of sight…only to appear with its glimmering spear raised. Towering over Wendy.
"Wendy!"
Lucy rushed forward – her arms outstretched and mouth open. If she could just push herself a little farther, just a little farther…but in the end it didn't matter. She was too late. The wraith was lifting its skeletal arms, magic and ice curling everywhere. Wendy screamed again, only moments left for her to squeeze her eyes shut – tight in morbid anticipation of a blow…that never came.
Lucy slammed into her; wrapping her arms around her small torso, head cradled against her chest. The collided in a tumbled mess of limbs, but as Carla sobbed their names and Natsu felt time slam to a halt…Lucy blocked Wendy's body with her own. The weapon – which had been so perfectly poised to impale across her heart…instead went easily into Lucy's own flesh.
Cold. Unimaginable cold.
She couldn't move anymore – couldn't breathe. Everything went rigid inside her body, falling to the ground in a limp collapse as the ice dug its fingers into her skin. Everywhere. It was everywhere!
"LUCY!"
Natsu screamed, his rage flaring to life in almost uncontrollable waves. He could see the wraith hovering over her; wide smile on its glowing face, tongue lolling over to lick its non-existent lips. It pushed the spear further into Lucy's shoulder – a spattering of ice and dark blood littering the white ground.
There was a sudden snap and swirl of cloth on ice when the wraith ripped his weapon from Lucy and disappeared into a corner of iced shadows just as Natsu came barreling forward. Fire and anger and engulfing magic. The wolf immediately jumped over crags of hoarfrost to land crouched over Lucy's shaking body. Claws digging into the frozen earth, ferocious and wild snarls releasing from inside its chest. He guarded over her…as Natsu protected them both.
"You…" the ghost spat and hissed. "Give me the mage! Give HER TO ME!"
The wolf growled deeply, lips curling over his fangs. His body dropped down further, hairs standing straight on end – eyes blazing and hard. But it was nothing – nothing to Natsu.
He smoked and burned. His power rumbled off in wrathful floods, his skin suddenly rippling with the glistening of dragon scales. It hurt her! It hurt his Lucy!
"Go to hell you bastard," he ground out the clench of his sharp teeth. "You will not touch her again! I'll burn you alive – till there's nothing left but ashes!"
The air was no longer cold. It grew hot and warm, the ice crusting the ground flashed away in a melt of dark blue water. It was scorching…scalding…sweltering with the unrestrained throb of Natsu's wrath and the ghosts stared in immobile disbelief as his eyes glowed red, hair and scarf whipped about in his tumbling magic. His gaze shined, in his shadowed face – a dragon judged them with a radiant stare of fire. He sucked in a breath. Gathering and drawing mammoth amounts of flames – flickering and curling at his shoulders and fingers.
His friends covered their faces, elbows and arms flung up for protection as the immense blaze of flames released from Natsu's mouth.
"Fire Dragon's ROAR!"
The world was gold. Gold and bright. And for a long moment no one moved, the bursts of light and fire still spattering over their vision, but at last the spell hissed out in crackling embers. The scent of a bonfire wafting like rain over the plains.
When Erza's eyes slowly opened, she gasped at the great crater that remained. A scorch mark upon the earth, whispering and fizzing it was charred burnt upon the once snowy white plains…but the wraiths were gone. Nothing left but smoking ashes of jet-black bone.
Natsu hissed through his clenched teeth – the scales on his face rippling under his skin. The fire of his rage refused to burn out; he couldn't think straight, couldn't focus on anything except the smoldering ruins of the ice wraith that had been before him only moments ago.
Gone. Dead. Burned.
"Lucy! Lucy!"
Wendy's voice smacked into his rattled skull and without another thought, Natsu sprinted to her side. Sliding long in the dirt to crouch at her side, eyes wide and voice breaking in growls. His calloused fingers wrapped around her uninjured hand as Wendy and Carla were kneeled across from him; bend over her injured shoulder. Gray and Erza followed immediately while Happy hovered nearby – tears streaking down the softness of his blue fur. The solider escorts, their convoy unharmed and in one piece watched with worried eyes, drifting along the fringes of their small group with quiet somber tones. Behind all of them that monstrous wolf paced around Fairy Tail in a slow, steady circle.
Lucy was shivering, body convulsing almost uncontrollably. Her eyes were closed, lashed flecked with frost and Natsu felt his heart sink heavy as lead as he looked at her damaged flesh. It was turning black. Dark as pitch and rimmed with odd iced crystals that were slowly piercing up from her blood. A strange writhing vein of ice, squirming about her arm, just below the surface of her skin creeped out like a lattice of spider webs.
Natsu felt like he couldn't breathe. A fist had clutched around his chest and squeezed it all out; his head swimming as his mouth turned dry and coarse.
Wendy's palms were outward and drumming with magic…but her healing spells…the ice wasn't going away.
"What's going on with her?" Natsu whispered, his fingers tightening against Lucy's own. "Why isn't anything happening?"
"I…I don't know!" Wendy cried, turning back and forth between her spells and Lucy's face. The frost was crawling along the edges of her hair now. "My healing had no effect!"
"It won't," came a sudden reply. Natsu felt his head move so quickly his neck twinge in response. The wolf was staring at them – eyes alit in the night air, voice grave and somber.
"What the hell do you mean?" Natsu growled out, standing up suddenly and positioning his body between Lucy and the massive creature. "Just who are you anyway?"
"My name is Skoll," he answered. "And I will gladly answer all your questions after we help your friend. We must hurry. Though dragon slayer magic has the power to melt the ice of the wraiths…it can do nothing to stop what is happening to her body now."
"You seem to know an awful lot about this," Gray replied as his eyes narrowed. "You even knew that only Natsu's power could defeat them. What's your game here? What's going on with Lucy?"
"Your dragon slayer healing affects the body," Skoll continued, blinking his yellow eyes. "But this is not a virus. A sickness or an injury. It's a possession. The wraith's magic is trying to inhabit and haunt her body. If it succeeds…she'll belong to them."
"What the fucking hell?" Natsu's mouth ground out as his fangs gnashed together. "Then what do we do? There has to be something – I can't just sit around and watch as Lucy is…"
"My mistress," Skoll rumbled quickly with burning eyes. "She can heal your celestial wizard. Her magic gives her the ability. But hurry dragon slayer. She doesn't have much time."
Natsu couldn't think straight. His thoughts ran jumbled about in his head. Lucy. Lucy's body knotted into his. Her skin bare and warm underneath him. Her smile…her friendship…her hand tucked so perfectly into his own. That thing inside his chest; the one that had hummed and shimmered when he had looked at her lately – it roared to life inside him. He had to protect her. He swore it.
"Okay," he answered quickly and with a gentleness he didn't know he had, Natsu cradled Lucy into his arms. Tucking her against his chest…he hissed aloud as her skin felt like ice. Sick. Dark and wrong. "Where is this wizard? Can you find her?"
Skoll nodded and jumped forward, lowering his slick body so that Natsu could climb aboard. Lucy groaned as they settled across the wolf's haunches; her lashes fluttering and her fingers fisting into the folds of his jacket. He could hear his name on her lips. Tumbled on her breath over and over again.
"Natsu?" she whispered out and he bent his head to gaze at her. "Just hang in there Luce," his breath dusting across her cheeks. "You'll be fine. I promise."
"We'll meet you in Crocus," Erza said and he gave a quick nod. He didn't comment on the worry that swam across her eyes. Or the way she clasped her hands together tightly across her body. "Go quickly!"
Skoll didn't wait for another reply. With Happy close behind, he turned on his paws and sprinted out into the darkness, towards the faint glow of Crocus. Natsu pulled Lucy tighter against him…trying not to notice as the ice grew across her skin.
*sorry for the double post...my computer was having issues. I warned you guys about how I drive that struggle bus! ;)
My lovely readers,
This was the hardest chapter I've written so far...I enjoy battle scenes, and they carry along the story in the ways it needs to go, but dang! I find them incredibly difficult to write. There's always this mess in my head about how I want it all to look and move, so hopefully that was conveyed here. Also I think BoA's Masayume Chasing was stuck on permanent repeat while I wrote the last half of this chapter. If you're not checking out the Soundtracks that I place along with this story, I sincerely encourage you to do so! The first choice is my favorite band - 2ne1! Gotta love that Kpop :)
I also made revisions of the last two chapters. I realized there was some inconsistency on my part of Noel's appearance...but most importantly I was spelling Rogue's name wrong! Ack! How incredibly embarrassing! Hopefully, it's all fixed now...as I have no Beta, sometimes these rather obvious mistakes just slip right on past. I'm driving that struggle bus solo here.
One last thing I want to mention is that with the next chapter the rating on this story is changing to M. As I mentioned previously, this is a NaLu slow burn, (so don't expect anything yet you little crazies) but it is coming. Also, those dragon slayers sure do cuss a lot...so it's definitely needed. So keep that in mind if you're following this story.
Last, but not in any way least...thank you so much for the favorites, follows and especially those reviews. Seriously. They are my writing lifeblood. Thank you Dynamics, Robin and the Blue Paper Clip - I'm so glad you enjoyed your read.
As always, Treblemkr you freakin rock.
As if you didn't know...but Fairy Tail is copyrighted to Hiro Mashima, who decided to rip my heart out and leave me sobbing on the floor from the last manga chapter. That's cold Hiro. Why do you have to play with this girl's feels all the time? Excuse me while I collapse in a corner.
Reviews are the sprinkles and the frosting and the cake all in one! You know you want to leave one ;)
- Aulani