Levy normally woke up to the gentle sunlight streaming through her bedroom blinds, usually shining right into her eyes first thing in the morning. It took a moment to realize she wasn't back in Magnolia, though only a moment. This morning in particular, the light wasn't the cause for her awakening. Instead, it was the sweltering heat inside the small tent, ever rising from the sun that was now breaking over the horizon.
The Solid Script mage cracked open an eye, feeling a sheen layer of sweat all over her body from the uncomfortable temperatures. Peering up at the tan canvas of the tent, she sighed, knowing that they had a long day of walking yet again. The exhaustion from yesterday hadn't seemed to fully leave her, as it was a struggle just thinking about getting up to get dressed.
A groan beside her snapped her back to reality. Of course, how could she forget? She'd spent the night with Gajeel in the same tent. A faint blush marked her cheeks, her discomfort from the heat temporarily forgotten. Technically, they'd shared a bed. (A very loose term, considering there was no actual bed to share, only a blanket and pillow.) Still, that was progress, yeah?
Next to her, Gajeel shifted in his sleep, and Levy's eyes widened. Glancing over, she took in the heavily-muscled arm draped over her frame, his fingers resting casually on her hip. His face was tucked neatly into the side of her torso, the skin being heated with every even breath he took. She tried to move her legs, which was still covered with the blanket for some reason, but found that one of his legs was draped over hers, pinning her to the floor and unable to move.
There was a familiar feeling of rising panic, but it quickly died away. There wasn't any danger. It was just uncomfortable. She felt stifled in the small tent being cuddled by the equally hot muscled man beside her, which wasn't helping her predicament. The air was almost suffocating, and it was difficult to breath. Despite her less-than-pleasant situation, she couldn't help but grin a little.
What were you saying about being cuddled to death in your sleep, Gajeel? Levy bit back the chuckle that threatened to escape her, her eyes drifting down back to his frame.
She studied his face, noticing his expression was angry, or pained perhaps. While he appeared outwardly calm, she now noticed how tense and rigid he actually was, the muscle in his jaw tight and unmoving. Frowning, she lifted one hand, carefully pulling the stray strands of black hair that fell over his face.
He seemed to wince, or frown, and at first she thought she'd woken him. Levy's hand stilled, waiting for him to open his eyes and look at her with confusion, but after a moment he relaxed and seemed less tense than before. As much as she wanted to continue studying him this close, Levy felt a drop of sweat run down her face, a testament to the rising temperatures.
Slowly turning to face away from Gajeel, Levy wiggled her legs out from under his, careful not to wake the sleeping man up in the process. He grumbled under his breath, but it was low under his breath and she couldn't make out the exact words.
Unfortunately, the sleeping Gajeel didn't exactly approve of her little maneuver, as the arm draped across her body tightened, dragging her closer to his own. Levy gasped in surprise upon being crushed to his chest, his arm not releasing the unrelenting vise across her body. Suddenly, she couldn't breath for a different reason…
That reason being he was cutting off all of her circulation and basically squeezing her to death.
"-et go! -jeel!" She gasped out, trying to squirm out of his hold, which only seemed to prompt him to tighten his grasp. Her legs kicked out but found no purchase. "Gaj-!" Levy tried coughing, her body attempting to suck in the much-need air that was being denied. That sensation of a pounding skull began to grow, and she squeezed her eyes shut from the mounting headache. Her arms pushed at his muscled limb, her nails digging into his skin. "Gajeel!"
Black spots began to dance at the edges of her vision. A part of her was surprised that her ribs weren't broken by his immense strength. They certainly hurt, of course. But she hadn't heard any snaps as of yet.
Thankfully, either the pain from her nails or her harsh gasps of his name seemed to register in his unconscious mind, because she could feel him stirring from his deep sleep behind her.
"Holy shit!" He muttered, immediately releasing his hold on the bluenette, who rolled away in a coughing fit. He sat up quickly, analyzing what exactly had happened. Having just barely woken up, his brain was still foggy with sleep.
Too preoccupied with breathing, she didn't notice the look of horror that crossed his expression as he realized what he'd done. "Fuck, Lev, I didn't realize…I'm sorry…"
"It's fine…" She muttered, holding onto her chest as the pain slowly subsided. The bluenette let out a pained laugh, though half of it came out as a strangled cough. "Don't worry…You didn't know."
"Still…I almost…you were…Fuck!" He cursed at himself, running his hands through the tousled hair.
Looking his way, she noticed his arms were shaking. He'd been scared of hurting her some more, she realized. He was afraid. Crawling forwards, she placed a hand on his arm, and he looked down at her with a pained expression.
"Gajeel, really…I'm fine. Don't go beating yourself up over it, ok?" She tried to give him a smile in reassurance, gently squeezing his arm. He said nothing, looking away in silence. That pained look in his eyes didn't go away either. Sighing, she gave his arm a shake, demanding his attention. "I'm serious. Stop that."
"Alright, alright…" He groaned in an unconvincing tone after a short pause. Staring at him a moment more, just to get her point across, Levy released his arm and sat on her heels, turning to comb through her bag of clothes.
Gajeel turned away, following the unspoken request for privacy, and reached for his own things in an attempt to get his mind off of what had almost just happened. It took a moment to unclasp the front of the bag, since his hand was still tense and shaking from the adrenaline.
Closing his eyes, he scowled at himself. What the fuck is wrong with you? Just can't help but hurt her, huh?
He hadn't meant to. His dream had shown him in a completely different place, a different time. It hadn't even been Levy beside him, but Metalicana, back when he was still there to raise him and teach him magic.
"Nothing more than a storm, brat. Enough with your crying." The dragon had rumbled, settling down in the depths of the cave they'd taken shelter in. Gajeel shivered from the rain that had drenched his clothes, and he jumped when a particularly close and loud crack of thunder boomed above them. He could almost feel the rocks shake beneath his feet.
"I-I ain't scared! And I ain't crying!" He'd shouted defiantly, though unable to hide the tremble of his lips as he spoke.
His dragon father stared at him a moment before letting loose a long sigh, slowly lifting his tail from it's place on the floor and stretched it behind Gajeel's back. "Come."
Gajeel felt himself being pushed closer to Metalicana, and he stumbled to his knees beside the dragon's front claws. Gajeel looked up into his eyes, seeing an unusual softness he wasn't used to seeing. "Sleep. Tomorrow the storm will be gone and we shall continue your lessons."
Nodding, the young Gajeel lay down beside his father as his silver tail wrapped around him, cocooning him to the dragon's body. While the metal looked like it'd be cold to the touch, it kept him comfortably warm and safe, as the storm raged outside. Another crack of thunder boomed, and unconsciously, Gajeel reached out to cling to his father's claw, squeezing to keep himself grounded, and to remind him that he was safe. The low rumble of Metalicana's amusement calmed him down, and he was able to drift to a light sleep.
"Gajeel, I'm going to go see if Mr. Gordon is awake." Levy's words cut through his reverie, and he glanced back as she exited the tent, fully dressed and ready for the day. He grunted a reply after her, too preoccupied to form a cohesive sentence.
He looked down at his bag, coming to the realization that he'd stopped searching for clothes in his daydream. Tightening his fists with a sigh, he removed his shirt and pulled on a clean one. Hopefully the long day of walking would shake him from all these thoughts.
Levy didn't bring up what had happened that morning again, which Gajeel was more than a little thankful for. He was still trying to convince himself that it wasn't his fault. He hadn't been aware, it had just been a dream, after all. Like she'd said, she didn't blame him for it, as her behavior indicated. She didn't look at him in fear, just smiled like she usually did when he glanced at her.
More than once, he had to stop himself from apologizing, knowing she'd simply smack him for blaming himself. It was tougher than she thought, though. He'd already hurt her enough.
Clyde, of course, didn't offer up much of a conversation, other than muttering about their incompetence when something blew off the side of the caravan, or for the slow pace. He seemed to conveniently forget that was because of his own magic deficiency, providing the slow speed of his vehicle.
Levy couldn't help but chuckle at every bitchy comment their client muttered, thinking it was too low for the mages to hear, but Gajeel's abnormally good sense of hearing betrayed him. Every wince and low growl amused her to no end, but she still hoped Clyde would stop, just in case Gajeel decided enough was enough and snapped. The dragon slayer was practically frothing at the mouth by midday, intent on tearing the man's limbs from his body if he complained one more time about 'those good-for-nothing lazy mages.'
After several hours of walking, Clyde finally shouted that he was hungry and they'd be stopping. Neither Fairy Tail mage was going to refute that, seeing as the heat took such a toll on their stamina. Gajeel fared better than the bluenette, who was panting with every step.
"We stop here and eat, then keep going for awhile." Clyde explained gruffly, unlatching the magic cuff from his arm and returning to the protection of his caravan. The door slammed shut uninvitingly, leaving Levy and Gajeel to eat in the sand.
"I ain't working for this bastard ever again." The dragon slayer muttered darkly, sitting resolutely onto the top of the sand dune and unpacking his bag. Luckily, they'd thought to pack food before arriving at Clyde's house, so they weren't starving. Levy joined him, sighing in defeat.
"We'll have to let Mira know what he's like. Hopefully she'll add his name to the blacklist."
The blacklist was a list of names or cities renowned for being difficult to work with or for, or just plain careless when it came to the lives of the mages they hired. Mira made sure to keep track of which ones weren't the most hospitable or concerned for her friends' safety and placed them on the blacklist. You could still take the jobs posted for them, if you wanted, but at least it gave you due warning.
"Yeah…" He muttered, shooting dark looks at the caravan whilst they ate their lunch, which was nothing more than some sandwiches Levy had thought to pack.
For the most part, they ate in silence, finding little to talk about. Gajeel was too distracted still thinking about that morning to talk much anyways, and Levy was just too hot from the sun. Fanning the air towards her face did little in way of cooling her skin. The swirling air was just as sweltering as the sand she sat on. Her only consolation was that it was too hot for any insect life to thrive either, so at least she wasn't being eaten alive by mosquitos.
Not once did Clyde come out from the caravan, or even indicate he knew they were there half the time. It was irritating, but beside complaining to him about their mistreatment, which neither believed he'd listen to anyways, all they could really do was sit back and take it without making a fuss. The last thing they wanted was for their reputations as respectable mages to be tarnished because of this asshole.
Halfway through his sandwich beside her, Gajeel stiffened, freezing in place, sniffing the air as his eyes flicked about the dunes in front of them. Levy knew that look all too well from missions with the Council. More than once, it had saved their lives. Something was wrong.
"Where?" She asked quietly, rewrapping her lunch and placing it into her bag before grabbing a light pen. They were alert in an instant, with Gajeel continuing to scan the desert around them.
"Can't tell." He grumbled, flashing his elongated canines with frustration. The swirling sand as the wind blew messed with his sense of smell, the heat not much help either. With no waypoints to navigate by either, pinpointing an exact spot was difficult.
The mages stood, brushing off the sand quickly and Levy ran to knock hurriedly on the caravan door.
"Mr. Gordon, we think-"
"We aren't leaving yet, go away!" Came his bitter reply. Huffing in annoyance, because her patience had worn thin with this particular man, Levy essentially pounded on the door without caring how he felt about it.
"We believe there are people nearby, so please stay inside while we take care of things."
"Well, that's what I'm paying you for, ain't it? Get to it then!" He called, seemingly unconcerned for his wellbeing. Or theirs, for that matter. Shaking her head, Levy returned to Gajeel's side, starting on a rune trap in the air.
"What's that gonna do?" The dragon slayer questioned, still trying to figure out where the people he could smell were hiding. They were at the top of a sand dune, and could see on all sides. There was nothing.
Her focus never shifting, Levy continued writing symbols and circles in the air. "It'll warn us which direction they're coming from, and hopefully slow them down if they step through it."
It took only another moment for her to finish the trap, activating the runes and expanding the area it encompassed with her magic. The runes shimmered into transparent walls, stretching around them in a dome. Light pen still in hand, she stood back beside Gajeel and took up a defensive stance, prepared for anything that came her way.
"Good thinking, shrimp." Gajeel muttered, impressed with the faint glittering barrier that encircled them. You almost couldn't see it, unless you were looking for it. Levy nodded with a smile.
"You know, it could just be another traveler crossing the desert." She supplied, and he grunted, ears tuned into his surroundings for any indication of who he could smell.
"Yeah, but it ain't a bad thing to prepare for the worst."
The both of them shut up when they felt a vibration through the ground, the dune they stood upon shifting as waves of sand tumbled down the sides from the shaking. Gajeel could hear a low rumble, somewhere directly to his left, and he turned to face it. Taking the hint, Levy followed suit, staring off into the sand to try to see whatever it was that was near.
Without warning, the rumbling became louder, to where even Levy could hear it, and the ground shook a staggering degree, before not even a hundred yards from where they stood, a massive worm-like creature burst from the dunes of sand, a mouth of sharp teeth protruding from the hole. It screeched an awful noise, and the two mages covered their ears from the sound.
"What the hell is that thing?" Gajeel yelled over it, and Levy shrugged.
"I don't know!"
The creature had emerged within the confines of Levy's trap, and the invisible wall became a bright glowing green, indicating where it had come from. Not that that wasn't already evident. Not a moment later, the wall dissipated before transforming into a thick sludge-like substance, collecting all over the creature's body.
Enraged, it swung its head back and forth as if trying to shake off the black gooey stuff, but to no avail. It's screams grew louder and more pronounced, crying out into the sky for all to hear it's anger. The stuff grew thicker and thicker, slowing the monster down and consuming it's body until it could no longer move at all. It was covered completely in the sludge.
For several minutes, Levy and Gajeel simply stared, seeing if it would somehow break through the glob and attack, but the screaming had stopped and the creature still did not move. Lowering their stances, Levy and Gajeel approached the thing cautiously. She held out a hand to touch it, and her nails scratched against an extremely hard and durable substance.
"No one said this desert had giant fucking worms!" The dragon slayer yelled.
"It's called a Death Worm." A voice behind them said, and they swung around to see Clyde stepping down from his caravan. "Things were supposed to be legends, but it looks like they're indeed still around."
"How dangerous are they?" Levy questioned, her gaze returning to the defeated creature. Even rendered immobile, it was fairly daunting of a sight, the tall worm-like body stuck in a contorted and upright position. It towered several dozen feet above them.
"They say a single touch of it's skin can kill you, just form the poisonous outer body it has." The old man explained, looking pretty grouchy. "But it's dead now, so let's get a move on. We don't have all day to be wasting."
And with that, Clyde returned to his seat behind the front wheel of the magic vehicle, attaching the cuff to his arm. It seemed his lunch was over.
Levy had so many other questions about this mysterious monster that had apparently been roaming the desert. What exactly was it? How long had the species existed? Where did these legends come from? Though she doubted Clyde knew or would be willing to share all those answers anyways. One of the downsides to working for him.
Gajeel, of course, was a little disappointed he hadn't gotten to kill it. Would have been a nice story to tell back at the guild for bragging rights. And another tally on the number of monsters he'd taken down. He couldn't fall behind the Salamander, lest his reputation for being that tough guy fade to nothing.
Levy and Gajeel shared a look, before sighing and grabbing their things to be ready for departure. If they waited too long, Clyde would simply leave them behind.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
