souls | fairy tail

2.7: excommunication

Laxus was confused.

Last he remembered he had just been knocked out by Natsu, and now he was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Wait, hold on...

This was his ceiling. How in the hell did he get here? Laxus tried to sit up, figure out why he was in his apartment and how he got there.

"Stop."

Laxus turned to see Nox, standing nearby. She was standing over the apartment's coffee table, which was covering in medical supplies. Her jacket and gloves were discarded, leaving her torso more exposed. Underneath all those layers, was a tight-fitting black sleeveless black turtleneck, exposing the tattoo covering her left arm. It was simplistic, yet detailed. He internationally chuckled, remembering when he and Nox came home for dinner a bit after their 18th birthdays, both sporting tattoos. They nearly gave Makarov a heart-attack. Her tattoo was a black thorny vine that wrapped around her arm, starting at her shoulder and ending at her wrist. If you looked close enough, you could see faint white lines littered across her exposed skin. Laxus never liked thinking about those scars too much, since they were a reminder of the man that had ruined both of their lives.

"What the hell happened? Why are we here?" Laxus asked, still trying to move despite Nox's warnings. "Any why do I feel like a million pounds?"

"You lost to Natsu and Gajeel, I entered combat with them before forfeiting and fleeing with you. I took us to your apartment since its closer, and you feel like that since I gave you sedative and some painkillers." Nox explained, gesturing to some of the bottles and syringes on the table. She began packing up the medical supplies, before flicking her eyes back over to Laxus. "Try to just stay down for a bit, you have a nasty wound on your back."

"Hmph. Fine." Laxus grumbled, before glancing down. He blinked in surprise upon noticing that he was no longer shirtless. "Did you put a shirt on me?"

"Yeah, after I dealt with your wounds." Nox said, looking back at him. "You were going to get cold."

"I'm not going to get cold." Laxus grumbled, slowly crossing his arms.

Nox raised a brow but didn't say anything. Unlike humans, Elves didn't emit body heat. Their bodies just stayed one temperature, depending on what kind. Dark Elves were always cold (about 0℃) and Light Elves were always warm (about 27℃), as that was what they were built for.

Laxus somewhat listened to Nox's instructions, watching her continue to pack her first-aid supplies away into the many pockets of her pants and jacket. Something was bugging him, yet he held off. He didn't particularly know why, but he kept himself from asking.

When Nox finished with her task, she moved to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.

"Why did you do that?" Laxus asked.

"Do what." Nox said.

"Stop." Laxus blanked.

Nox stayed silent for a few moments, before letting out a long sigh.

"You were injured. That is more important." Nox stated simply, her back still to him.

"You shouldn't care about me that much." Laxus retorted.

"You don't get to tell me that."

Laxus flinched at Nox's tone. It was still as neutral per normal, but it was laced with annoyance and malice. Her tone only ever changed to that when Ivan was brought up, which was not a topic either of them ever willingly brought up. He didn't feel good about her reaction, so he immeditally knew what he said was wrong. He just didn't know why what he said was wrong.