Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews, they are very much appreciated and I love reading them.
Cobra leaned against the brick wall of the Inn, lighting up a cigarette of his own making. A delightful blend of nutmeg and various dried nightshades. He needed something to calm the anxiety he was dealing with waiting for his three guildmates to show up.
He had no idea what to expect out of the little blue-haired slayer or eccentric seith mage, but the fact that it made him feel nervous just added to his agitation. How would they react to the news, but more importantly, why did he let this get to him in the first place? He had befriended them during his short time at the guild and the chaos of events surrounding the' Light of Fairy Tail' and they were his real supporters in addition to Midnight and Kinana. Deep in the back of his thoughts was a niggling that maybe they changed their minds. Maybe they didn't view him in the same regard as when he left. He had a seed of doubt in the absence of their presence but he chose to ignore it as best he could. Especially since after he left, Midnight, Bickslow, and Wendy started going on more and more jobs together, despite the protests of some of the fairies. They even took Kinana occasionally.
Cobra understood the awkward position they were all in, they silently agreed that they would support him as best they could without causing more chaos within' the guild. Cobra was OK with that, he knew that deep in their souls they meant everything they told him and for some fucked-up reason had well and truly liked him, faults and all.
Wendy saw right past his bullshit and wormed her way into a close standing with him first. He saw her for who she was and not what other people perceived her to be. Granted, his befriending of precious little Wendy Marvel caused quite the uproar. He was too tainted and evil to be seen conversing with Fairy Tail's sweetheart. Much to their chagrin Wendy herself put them in their places whenever the matter came up. Her sweet version of 'fuck off' was heard loud and clear to the other slayers especially. A dynamic non-dragon slayers didn't quite understand. One of her biggest problems with the guild was that they had one narrow-minded perception of who she was. The only other person who actually saw her was Bickslow.
Now Bickslow got through Cobra's defenses at an alarmingly fast rate. The poison slayer was disarmed by the whole fast friendship and couldn't get a real grasp of what exactly was going on with it. Cobra chalked it up to the fact that between the two of them they could hear and see souls, which kind of made them two pieces of a greater whole together. They both understood what truly lay at the heart of an individual.
Cobra was one of the rare few who got to see past the erratic facade of the Seith Mage. Not even the entirety of the Thunder Legion got to see the real Bickslow. The soul seer knew too much of the people around him to let himself be an open book. He felt it was best to hide behind the visor and a trumped-up crazy perverted version of who he was. Just as Cobra hid behind the crass thoughtless trumped-up version of an asshole.
However, there was one glaring difference between himself and his newfound friends. He enjoys ending the lives of those who he feels deserve it. Only Kinana and Midnight had understood it, Bickslow and Wendy understand it now, even if they didn't agree with it.
Cobra heard their souls before he saw them. Midnight ever so mellow, Wendy was thrumming with excitement, she already knew what this detour could mean. Bickslow, now that was an interesting dude to listen to. While his outward behavior and antics would lead one to believe that his soul sounds like a chaotic mix of EDM, in actuality, it was more like a deep orchestral bass sound. Now that Cobra heard him approaching and pairing it with Lucy's soul, they sounded like they were separate sections of an orchestra playing the same piece; she was woodwinds section and he was the percussion.
This observation did not sit well with the Poison Slayer.
As they approached in the distance he saw Wendy pick up speed with Carla yelling "Slow down child before you hurt yourself." Cobra took one more drag before tossing the cigarette to the ground exhaling out his nose as he put it out with his foot, "Fucking nag." he pushed himself off the building and walked toward the quickly approaching petite dragon slayer.
She threw her arms open and ran full speed into Cobra, forcing him to lift her into a hug that he should have known was coming. "Alright squirt, I know you're happy but this is a great fucking way to get poisoned." he snapped at Wendy.
She just smiled and winked without saying a word as Carla stupidly reprimanded the Poison Slayer, "Dare I say, watch your language around young Wendy you disrespectful dolt!"
Cobra snarled at the flying cat, "Watch it priss pants, or I'll pluck your self-righteous feathers one by one and shove them up your ass!"
Carla saw red and flew at the slayer but before she could reach him Wendy grabbed Carla's tail and yanked the angry feline toward herself. "Now Carla, please, I know what the word fuck is and what it means, so if you could please leave my brother alone that would make me very happy."
Cobra raised a brow at the small slayer, amused by the swear that fell off the girl's lips so effortlessly. He had to let her know though, "I am no one's brother twinkle toes." he could hear in her soul that she meant every word. There was a whole bunch of sass wrapped up in that cute little girl facade.
Wendy looked up at Cobra while holding her hand over Carla's mouth as she tried to rant about what was proper for a young lady, "You are a Poison Dragon Slayer, and I am a Sky Dragon Slayer, we may not be related by blood but we are in heritage." She smiled as she said it. Cobra knew it was pointless to argue with the small force of nature in front of him.
"I smell her all over you, so it's true?" Wendy's jubilant face fell slightly, "but she doesn't smell the same, can I please go see her." Cobra simply nodded and tossed his room key to Wendy as she hurriedly walked through the doors of the inn with an unhappy Carla in her hands.
Cobra refocused his attention on the other two approaching guildmates. Midnight was asleep on his little stupid magic fucking carpet and Bickslow, tall as ever, had his five little totems flying and buzzing about. Bickslow smiled with his carefree attitude, "'Sup man, how are things going."
Cobra could hear the hidden question. Letting out a deep sigh and all the anxiety it held, "She's inside sleeping but it ain't pretty." Bickslow walked up to the poison slayer and embraced him in a hug that held so many unspoken messages that Cobra didn't know what the fuck was happening.
Cobra relented and hugged the man in return. He thought it should feel stranger than it did, he thought he should feel uncomfortable but it was just the opposite. He could almost feel the relief Bickslow had running through him and it set the slayer at ease.
Breaking away from the Seith Mage he shook his head, "What the fuck is with all this hugging, you touchy-feely psychos" he turned on his heal talking over his shoulder, "Come on up, I booked you guys a room right next door we can talk there."
Bickslow just shook his head and laughed, "I missed you man, and you found Cosplayer." the totems floated around "Miss Cobra" "Sad Lucy" "Missed hissy pants" "Hissy Pants Confused".
Cobra whipped his head instantly toward the little totem that uttered those last words and he was disturbed to find that he could almost hear that one's soul, it was the totem Bickslow called Papa. He never noticed it before but he did know that he could not hear the souls that were housed in the totems. It was a topic he and the Seith mage had discussed one evening when the guild was particularly quiet.
Cobra glared and thought to himself, "No fucking way, how did this little shit head know that. My soul listening is not a two-way street."
The totem flew in closer to Cobra, "Two ways" "Two ways" Cobra glared at Bickslow who was looking in awe at the exchange and merely shrugged, "Beats the shit outta me man."
Cobra just sighed as they ascended the stairs, "Yet another fucking thing to add to the list."
Cobra showed Midnight and Bickslow to their room which connected to theirs with a door between the rooms. "I'm going to check on Wendy and Lucy," the slayer told the two as Bickslow instantly went and opened the fridge to find it completely empty. He turned to Cobra, "What the fuck man, it's empty. No beer no soda no nothing!" he chided with the slayer.
"Go get it yourself dipshit, get me something fruity." Cobra retorted
"More like something sour to match your attitude." Bickslow laughed as Cobra gave Bickslow the middle finger as he was walking out the door. He slammed it shut to the sound of Bickslows totems chanting "Sour Snake" "Sour Snake" and one-off tune "Fuck Off".
Cobra walked into his room quietly to check on Wendy and Lucy. He found Wendy's small frame spooning the battered blonde. He could see the tears streaming down Wendy's face and he internally cursed himself having to deal with all this touching bull shit.
He cleared his throat and the smaller slayer sat up. Her wide soulful eyes stared at the Poison Slayer, "I never could have imagined" was all she could manage to say before Carla started to pipe up, "Now Wendy, you'll never be a good healer if you get too emotional."
Cobra snarled at the white cat and stalked toward her. He was happy that the small twit had enough presence of mind to be scared.
"Your shitty advice isn't helping her either, now be a good pussy and go somewhere you are wanted."
Wendy tsked at the growling slayer, "She is only trying to help" she turned toward Carla, "can you please go make sure Bickslow gets something to eat that I actually like?" She smiled sweetly at her companion.
Carla just stuck her nose up and flew herself toward the door.
Cobra returned his attention to Wendy and watched as she hovered her hands over Lucy's sleeping frame.
Wendy sighed when she was done and looked at the Poison Slayer, he was staring back at her intently waiting for her to voice what he already heard in her soul.
"She shows many signs of previous healings throughout her body but they were subpar at best. I can fix most of it but some of it we will have to do the hard way. I may even be able to clear up some of her more recent scars."
Cobra sat down on the opposite bed, his shoulder sagged at the prospect that Lucy's pain was not over yet. "What do you mean by the hard way?"
Wendy cringed at the thought of what needed to be done, "She shows heavy damage in her right ankle and we will need to re-break it so I can heal it properly. Same issue with her left elbow."
Cobra nodded his head curtly. He struggled with the next question he wanted to ask. He was satisfied with Angel's previous assessment but now that Wendy was here he could get a more definitive answer.
Wendy watched Cobra's stoney mask falter as he seemed to struggle with something. She easily connected the dots and decided to make the assumption and answer the unasked question. She cleared her throat to get the slayer's attention, "Cobra, she has no indications of any trauma in that way." She finished her sentence with a look that conveyed she knew what he was concerned about.
He felt like a weight was lifted, but he wasn't foolish enough to think she was not violated in other despicable and depraved ways.
Cobra sighed and thanked the small healer. "Lucy has a long road to recovery ahead of her," he stated as he got up. "Do you need anything?" He knew the answer but he extended the courtesy of asking her.
"No, I am going to work on some of the easier repairs and the bruising so she can rest more comfortably." Wendy paused and looked at the Poison Slayer, "This will take a few days. We need to work out some details."
Cobra simply nodded as he left the Wendy to her work on the sleeping Celestial mage.