Chapter 7
Ache

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas

.:+:.

The world was spinning, a wreathing mass of blackened and shadowy figures pulling and prodding at every side of him. Hushed voices whispered in the corners, the echoed and disjointed sounds of people screaming and shouting, voices jumbled and yet some of them seemed familiar, but yet not enough to place them.

He turned this way and that slowly, his icy blue eyes scanning the greyscale flashes of images appearing in the midst of the dark.

This place wasn't unfamiliar, he had been here a few times.... Maybe too many times, but at least it was nothing to panic over.

His attention turned when the image of a young woman with short choppy hair and a bandana appeared in the shadows, before being promptly replaced by indistinguishable faces. He turned again, his attention fixing the familiar face of the very person he was with at the moment- or at least, in the waking world.

He blinked, the movement of the darkness around him suddenly stilling, as suddenly pale grey engulfed everything- and suddenly there stood in front of him, her back turned to him.

His head tilted slightly, eyebrow quirked as she glanced over her shoulder toward him, her silver eye catching his as he felt himself stiffen.

She was covered in crimson, blood dripping from her mouth, eyes and nose as scarlet stains suddenly held through the clothes on her back, dripping against the floor in steady rhythm.

He felt his heart jump, his body rigid and blood running cold at the entirely unexpected image suddenly appearing in front of him. This wasn't the normal occurrence for these dreams, they were all past images, memories... This hadn't happened. At least, not like this...

He felt his heart nearly stop, a bead of sweat falling down his face as he swallowed, hard.

"... W... Wait...."

He stepped forward, but she was gone in a sudden haze, as a black wave rose up to meet him, swing him sprawling backward in a sudden flood of pitch black ocean.

.:+:.

He started forward, his eyes snapping open and gasping slightly as his attention fixed to the pale light of dawn falling over the grassy glen they lay in.

His eyes snapped sideways, seeing her lying in the grass with her back to him, still very much asleep and not even moving as he woke up. He could hear her breathing, it was deep, and calm.... But his heart jumped again when he noticed the cloak over her back had small dark flecks on it.

He hissed, his jaw clenching as he sweatdropped. He'd not bothered to ask, but if she was already having trouble focusing after Death Bolt, she may have done more than just exhaust her Magic Power.

His fists clenched at his sides, anger and annoyance flaring inside of him- not just at himself, but at her too.

He knew damn well she would never say anything if she was hurt.

"You idiot!!" He snapped aloud, earning a groggy response from her as she slowly pulled herself from her sleep, a yawn pulling at her lips as she turned slightly toward him, eyebrow quirked.

"...mm? ... It's.... It's before dawn, what the hell are you yelling about..?" She yawned again, the words broken apart by it. She rolled over slightly to face him, but he pushed her back away from him, feeling her stiffen and grow rigid under his touch when his hands hit her back. What was worse, she felt hot against his touch, more than what should have been normal, and he heard her hiss under her breath.

Despite himself he felt his heart race in his chest, a small flash of fear and worry settling into his core, driven more forcefully by the lingering memory of the nightmare.

"...mmm.... Maybe.... Stop with pushing your hands.... Kay....?" Frea mumbled quietly, he pulled his hands away instantly, they clenched into fists as he scowled at her back.

"Sit up and take off your cloak and shirt!" He ordered sharply. Frea spared a small, weary glance over her shoulder toward him, she knew that look, and that voice. Scolding, like she was a child, regardless of her years over him in actual age.... He really didn't act like a kid, as she well knew.

".... Its not-"

"Now!" He snapped, his tone flinty and leaving no room for argument. Frea blinked, even in the daze her head was in.... Was that panic and fear sparking from him? She wasn't sure, nor was she sure why he seemed so uneasy so suddenly.... It wasn't all that normal. He was usually more levelheaded.

Frea let out a low sigh, grumbling under her breath as she sat up stiffly. She turned her back on him, her fingers working to untie the cloak and let it fall from her shoulders lightly. She pulled her shirt up over her shoulders, but let it remain resting around her neck as she let her eyes fall closed,

Oh yes... That was definitely worry, even all jumbled she could tell.

His eyes widened, tracing quickly along the bandages that were wrapped around her torso, the white bled through by bits of crimson in several places, where the bandages had slipped he could see the skin brusing and torn.

"... What in.... You.... God...  Damn it!" He hissed, his eyes flashing angrily, she needn't see him to know there was a scowl on his face.

"... It's not that bad." She murmured softly, "Really, there's only one deep one, the rest are just scratches... These are the only hits that were managed during the whole fight."

"Who hit you? And with what?" He hissed, lightly tracing his fingers along the edge of the bandage to shift them away for a better look. Frea grew rigid under the touch, he felt her stiffen but he didn't let up... Though his fingers moved lightly, more gently.

".... Tomaru. With his sword." She murmured, his stiffened at the familiar name, a flash of anger igniting in his core as the image of the man flashed in his minds eye.

"..... Bastard." He growled lowly, his voice like ice. He bit down, his had clenching as he forced himself to not give into what rage was bubbling inside him, instead he focused on that one, long, deep slice that ran through her skin, cutting through as an angry red line among the other shallow slices that ran through her back. He could feel the heat throbbing off of it, and could imagine it was probably immensely painful.... It cut through even the spiral scar on her shoulder blade, digging deeper than just the skin, but the muscle and even the bone too in a few places.

"..... We're going to the Old Woman's." He said curtly, his fingers working to tighten the bandages back where he had shifted them.

".... I'd really rather not. She's snapped at me enough times already... I don't have the energy for another lecture." Frea murmured her quiet protest instantly.

"I don't care. This wound is already worse than I like. Last thing we need is you laid up with infection, or worse." he replied gruffly. Frea sighed slightly, pulling her shirt back down, he watched her carefully- she was moving stiffly, though she hid it rather well.

"..... You're stubborn, you know that?" She grumbled half-heartedly, the lack of argument on the matter did nothing to quell what worry had settled into his stomach. Usually she was much more adament when she didn't want to do something, the both of them could argue for days and yet she didn't.

She was exhausted, he hadn't realized how much until that instant. It was like she had become so stretched out and thin she could hardly pull herself back together again, and he swallowed against the lump in his throat.

The dream rammed back into him, the blood, how it dripped from her skin, staining every inch of her... Damn it, it looked like back then. His heart ached, his heart ached more than he could bear, and yet it was nothing new.

".... Shit." he hissed, his head fell, his forehead landing lightly against her shoulder as she turned back toward him slowly. She blinked at the action, her silver eyes glinting.

".... I wish you'd take better care of yourself." He mumbled, Frea blinked. "..... You're always pushing it..... And I get why, but you're gonna burn out the way you're going. Even you can't live like this."

Frea's eyes softened slightly. His head didn't lift from leaning against her shoulder, her vision swam slightly in accordance with what muddy mess the world was in her head.... But even through all the framented and broken pieces, she felt that ache flow from him.

It was an ache she knew all too well.... And one that cut deeper than even the wound scoring across her back.