Chapter Fourteen
The next morning we decided to split up and ask around town if anyone had noticed anything unusual. The boys' investigation yesterday yielded little results. Although they were able to sense some residual magic power they couldn't figure out how long ago it had been left there or where the owner went after. I had summoned Virgo and had her equip our new traveling companions with Celestial clothes of their own. Not only would it keep them warm but it might help with the target on their backs.
Virgo had really outdone herself again. Wendy was given a beautiful light blue jacket that fell to just below her knees. The fur lining it and wrapping around the extra high collar was the perfect match to her deep blue hair. Looking closer I could see little swirl patterns throughout the fabric, reminiscent of blowing wind. Juvia and Gray got matching ones, of course. Hers was a lovely aqua blue with shining silver fur. His was the opposite. Water and ice. Erza and Jellal were probably the most stunning. For him, Virgo gifted a dark blue almost black cape lined in blood red, or scarlet, fur. The back of the cape was decorated in seven magnificent star-like shapes. Erza was given a beautiful capelet in red as bright as her hair. The deep blue black fur on the shoulders coupled with the intricate pattern looked like shoulder plates. Virgo loved shipping via clothing.
Wendy and Carla volunteered to team up with me and Sting would not hear of us going off on our own. He insisted on accompanying us and nothing I said could convince him I'd be fine on my own, so while everyone else went off in twos and threes I stormed off, fuming, with the rest of my group rushing to keep up.
"Lucy," Sting was calling after me but I ignored him. I thought we had settled this! I thought he saw me fight and trusted I could take care of myself. I didn't think he thought I was so…helpless. Where could this thing with us even go if he thought I was so fucking weak?!
"Lucy!" I felt his hand close lightly on my wrist. His grip was loose enough that I could break free if I wanted but I didn't really want to cause even more of a scene. I stopped, keeping my back to him.
"What?"
"Why are you so pissed at me?" He asked. Gods men were so clueless! Especially stupid dragon slayers.
"Oh," I threw up my hands, then tapped my chin in mock thought. "Gee I don't know, Sting," my voice dripped with sarcasm. "Could it possibly be because you clearly still think I'm weak and can't take care of myself?" Then he did probably the absolute worst thing he could have; he laughed. I swear I saw red. The only thing keeping me from kicking his ass right then and there were the looks of fear on the faces of Wendy and the exceeds in her arms.
"Wait," he said, his voice still laced with laughter. "Wait. That's not why I want to go with you."
"It's not?"
"No," he shook his head smiling. "I just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all." He held his hands up, palms out trying to placate me. Well, now I was just embarrassed.
"Oh," my cheeks turned red. "Well, ok then."
"Ok, then," he held his arm out to me and after a beat I laced my arm through his.
Honestly, I was surprised at how much I was enjoying myself. While Sting and I had had a few…intimate moments and the first few days crossing the Blast Sea we had a few good conversations, there was always this little bit of underlying tension. Ok, so sometimes there was a lot of underlying tension. But as we explored our assigned section of the town it felt…comfortable. Like we were old friends out for a stroll. Or lovers. I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought. Wendy, Carla and Lector were the perfect teammates for this little excursion. Lector was obsessed with Sting normally, hanging on his every word. But not when Carla was around.
The little red cat was trying desperately to get Carla's attention, pointing out things at the stalls he thought she might like and adding to her conversation with Wendy whenever he could. I was grateful. While sweet innocent Wendy was just happy to be there, not questioning anything I did with Sting, the looks he gave me, the gentle touches, how he held on to my hand where it rested on his arm. Wendy didn't say a word about it. But Carla…well let's just say the angelic exceed had no shortage of snorts, snickers and comments that she could direct at us.
I got to know him a little better as we visited various stores, checking out the merchandise and doing our best to question the shopkeepers without being too obvious. He told me about the different things that he's into, I was surprised to learn he enjoyed reading in his free time. It seemed like too quiet of an activity for someone with as much energy as he displayed. But he said it was a nice way to get his mind off all the paperwork he usually had to do as a guild master. Of course, his favorite pastimes were training and fighting. No surprise there. He told me a few stories from his past, how he met Rogue, how they ended up joining Sabertooth. And I shared with him how I came to be a member of Fairy Tail.
He didn't say anything but I could tell he didn't like hearing me talk about Natsu. Well, honestly that's too bad for him. Natsu was a huge part of my life…is a huge part of my life. I wasn't about to change that just because Sting and I were getting closer. He cooled down a little when I told him instead about how I found some of my keys. He was especially interested in hearing how I came across Virgo, a slight wrinkle formed between his brows when I again mentioned Natsu.
"Sting," I said finally. "You can't tense up like this every time I say Natsu's name."
"I'm not," he said, voice flat.
"You are," Carla chimed in. Gee thanks. Where the hell was Lector? Sting looked a little embarrassed that we'd been overheard. I didn't blame him. Carla did not mince words.
"Alright," he growled. "It's just…ugh, nevermind."
"No," I shook him gently. "Tell me."
He had just opened his mouth to speak when Lector jumped on his shoulder.
"Hey, Sting! Look!" He said excitedly, pointing ahead of us. "A magic shop! Bet whoever came through here stopped there right?!"
"Yea, buddy," he seemed grateful for the interruption, giving me a little smirk and jerking his head in the direction of the shop. "Let's give it a look!"
We'd just stepped over the threshold when a cranky voice snapped at us.
"No pets!" They said.
"Excuse me?" Carla huffed indignantly.
"No. Pets." The shopkeeper said again. "Even if they talk."
I mean, I couldn't blame the shopkeeper. They looked just like regular cats after all.
"Fine!" Carla pulled Lector by his color and dragged him out the door with her, slamming it. The three of us exchanged uneasy glances, sure we'd never hear the end of this from Carla.
"I'll umm–I'll go wait outside with them," Wendy shifted uncomfortably and went to exit the shop when the door slammed open and a young girl strode confidently in. A young girl with white cat ears and a tail. I mean. I was shocked to learn that this was Carla's battle form. Though it was much more humanlike than Pantherlily's. Apparently she had mastered some transformation magic when she and Wendy joined Lamia Scale. She could now fight alongside her dragon slayer much easier. And she looked adorable. Carla gave the shopkeeper a smug smile and headed off to explore.
We'd spent about 20 minutes looking around, nothing really catching our eyes. We'd just agreed to briefly question the shopkeeper and then head back to the inn for dinner when that cranky old voice got our attention.
"The darkness seeks your light."
We completely froze. Sting looked uneasily at me, the worry evident in his eyes. This couldn't be good. We turned to the old man behind the counter, finally getting a full look at him. He was short, about Wendy's height, wearing a dark brown robe. His face was heavily lined, nothing but two small tufts of white hair above his ears. He looked ancient. But it was his eyes that freaked me out the most. They were completely blank. As in pure white. Not like they were blind, they were literally pulsing with a glowing white light, there were no irises, no color to them, no emotion. I shivered.
"The darkness seeks your light, it nears its final goal. The siren's time grows short." He turned and looked directly at me. "The darkness will swallow you whole."
We stood completely still, I don't think any of us were even breathing. Then suddenly the glow left the old man's eyes replaced by dark gray, completely normal irises.
"Nothing for you today? Then please take your leave." He acted as if nothing had even happened. A trance? He didn't even seem to know what he just said. Sting opened his mouth, clearly about to question the old man, but I placed a hand on his arm and shook my head.
"Let's go," I was firm. I just wanted to get out of here. He reluctantly followed me outside where we scooped up Lector, rushing back to the inn to tell the others what just happened.
"Hey Carla!" Lector called out. "Can you teach me transformation magic too!?"
We were camped out in the forest, two days after that creepy ass prophecy that old dude gave us. Once we told the others we all decided it was time to move. It had been 30 days since Lucy heard the riddle from the dolphin dude. We should have had 30 more left. Two months right? But the more we thought about it the more we realized we didn't know when the bi-messy thing actually started. Ok, the more Yukino, Rogue and Lucy thought about it. Anyway, we weren't sure if 2 months started from the day we heard it, the day Yukino heard it, or maybe even the day Aquarius first gave dolphin dude the message to deliver.
The bottom line was, we could have a day or a month until some dark entity came to get the key so he could bring about the apocalypse. It wasn't worth the risk. We had to make it through this creepy forest, then up a mountain, then search for wherever the fuck the key was on top of the mountain because I was positive it wasn't gonna be just sitting at the tip top waiting for us to snap it up. We were told in the town it would be another 5 days to make it through the forest. I was sure we could do it in three if we moved fast. We left the day after the weird prophecy and had been walking almost non stop ever since. I was sure we were nearing the edge.
"Sting," Minerva finally snapped. "We need to rest. We can't keep the pace up and still have the energy to fight if something confronts us." I knew she was right, didn't mean I had to like it. We'd made good time so far, it wouldn't kill us to stop a few hours earlier than normal. At least I hoped. So I gave in and ordered a halt. We set up camp, ate a quick dinner then just kind of…sulked. We were all too tired to make much conversation. Our thoughts were too focused on the dangers following us. Several of them had gone to bed, until it was just me, Lucy, Rogue and Yukino with Lector and Frosch huddled around the fire. Frosch had fallen asleep in Yukino's lap, breathing quietly. I saw the small smile on Rogue's face as he took in the sight. I rolled my eyes. Gods he was so in love with her, wish he'd just make a move already. That gave me an idea.
"Hey, Lucy," I placed my hand on her back, getting her attention. "Wanna go fill the water with me?" I nodded to the bag of empty canteens. "I can hear a river not too far from here." She nodded and grabbed the bag waiting for me to lead her. Maybe Rogue would make a move when no one was watching?
We'd walked through the forest for about 10 minutes, following the sound of rushing water. We broke through the tree line and into a clearing next to a wide river and I heard her suck in a shocked breath. She was looking into the night sky and I couldn't blame her for her reaction. The sky was blanketed in millions of stars, not a cloud in the sky, a perfect view of the heavens. I took the canteens from her hands. "I got this," I told her, "why don't you lie back and enjoy the view?" I nodded to a soft looking patch of grass not far off. I even took off my Celestial coat and laid it out for her.
"Thanks."
I filled the canteens and set them back down next to her, then I laid down, stretching my sore muscles, one hand behind my head the other brushing her upper arm. I smiled when she shivered at my touch. I loved the way she reacted to me. I watched her stretch her arms above her head, arching her back. Then she laid down, resting her head on my chest, her fingers started playing with the bottom of my shirt. Fingers sliding under the fabric, her warm skin pressing into the muscles of my stomach. Now it was my turn to shiver.
We layed like that for a long time. I was playing with her soft hair, my eyes closed, I think I was actually drifting off to sleep.
"Sting?" Her soft voice pulled me back to consciousness.
"Hmmm?"
"Do you…do you think we're gonna make it in time?" She spoke quietly, like she was afraid to say it too loud, afraid to speak it into existence.
"Hey," I said, sitting up and forcing her to face me. I looked her dead in the eye, pushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "We're gonna make it," I infused as much confidence into my voice as I could. I really wasn't worried. The group we had with us was incredibly powerful, not to mention incredibly determined. Every single one of us would do anything to get Lucy to Aquarius. She still looked unsure. I wasn't surprised. That old dude freaked me out too. But we were being careful, we were moving fast, we were staying alert. There wasn't anything else we could do. And we hadn't failed yet. Every battle we'd been a part of together we had come out on top. Separately Sabertooth and the former fairies were formidable opponents. But together I really felt like we'd be unstoppable. With or without Natsu.
"Come here," I said, pulling her into a hug. I held her for a few moments, my lips pressing into her hair. I took a breath, inhaling her sweet scent, it soothed me. She looked up at me, smiling. I didn't even think about it, I just kissed her beautiful upturned lips. I knew I surprised her too but she didn't hesitate for a second. Her mouth moving against mine, sliding her tongue between my lips, her fingers running through my hair, pulling and somehow still pushing me to her. My hands slid around her waist, moving up and down her back. I could feel the small crystals embedded on her jacket, I traced a pattern in the starlike fabric, it was soothing but honestly, there was too much between us. I needed to feel her skin against mine. I grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from me. She gasped in surprise and my lips ached at the sudden loss of hers. I didn't give the ache enough time to settle in. I moved my mouth to her throat, tracing her pulse point with my tongue, my teeth gliding against her skin, scratching against her. I swirled my tongue along the arch of her shoulder. One hand moved to her chest, pulling apart the fabric of her jacket, resting above her breasts, feeling the intense pounding of her heart. With my other hand I slowly unzipped her jacket.
I don't think I had ever been more afraid in my life. I was terrified she was gonna ask me to stop, and almost more afraid that she wasn't. I didn't think I'd be able to stop on my own. The delicious scent and flavor of Lucy was wrapped around my whole being. I was drowning in her and I didn't want to come up for air.
"Oh, gods Sting," she moaned. That was it. That was all I needed, my hands slid inside her coat pulling it down her arms. My mouth never stopped moving against her throat, her shoulder, her collar bone. I licked, and sucked and nibbled on every inch of skin she let me touch. When the stupid jacket was finally out of the way I just took a moment to look at her. She was flushed, her face,her neck, her chest….I wanted to see how far down that blush went.
"Come here," I growled and was thrilled when she obeyed. She sat on my lap, her legs wrapped around my waist. My hands moved down her now mostly bare back, trailing along the lines of her spine, caressing the skin just above the waistband of her jeans. She arched her body into me, pressing her heat against my stomach.
"Fuck," I hissed. I needed more. She yelped in shock as I suddenly leaned up, one hand on her back the other clutching her perfect ass, keeping a nice firm grip, her legs tightened around me even more. I quickly flipped our positions, lowering her down to my coat, my hand massaging her shapely thigh, the other supporting her head and neck. I let my weight settle on her a little, careful not to crush her, and I pressed my lips against her again.
She threw herself into the kiss, hungrily devouring me, biting, licking, anything and everything she wanted. I leaned into her a little, pressing my hardened length against her body, felt her returning the pressure. Her lips parted, the sound of her groan getting swallowed in my kiss. Gods she felt so fucking good underneath me I just wanted to–
"Sting?" Fuck.
"Yeah, Lector?" I sighed. Lucy giggled. I closed my eyes, praying for patience. It wasn't working.
"You guys get the water yet?" Sometimes I really hated having a best friend. I rested my forehead against Lucy's for a moment. Then stole one more unfortunately chaste kiss from her sweet lips and moved away from her. I grabbed up her coat and handed it back to her.
"Yeah, Lector. We'll be right there."
"Ok!" I heard him rustling back through the forest toward camp. I probably should have heard or smelled him coming but…I was a little distracted. Besides, my nose was full of a much sweeter scent than could be found anywhere else in these woods. Gods she was fucking hot for me. She wanted it, I could smell it. And it smelled liked the fucking nectar of the gods. I took another moment to collect myself, well…calm myself. Think about puppies, think about puppies. Finally I felt like I could turn around and face her without completely embarrassing myself. And all my hard work went straight out the window at the absolute vision that greeted me. She was still lying on my coat, her hair adorably mussed, face and chest flushed, lips red and swollen from my kisses, chest heaving, shirt lifted showing me her perfect tight stomach. I felt the growl bubbling in my chest. Screw it. I moved towards and she pulled her coat up to cover herself, laughing.
"Down boy," she said with a smile in her eyes. "They'll be expecting us now." I growled again and she laughed at me. I liked when she laughed at me.
"Fine!" I was pouting, full on thrusting out my bottom lip like a fucking child. She came right up to me, leaned up and grabbed my lip between her teeth, tugging hard. Fuck.
"Poor baby," she said. "Here." She tossed my coat to me and it smacked me right in the face. I pulled it on roughly, mumbling to myself the whole time.
"No, you can't make Lector into mittens," she said sternly. I pouted again, hoping she'd do it again. But she just grabbed my hand and pulled me back to camp.