Fire and Gold (Nalu)

Chapter 8 ~ Don't leave me

"...Poison?" "No... what do you mean poison?" "I can't... I can't smell any poison!" "You're lying!"

The old man creased his brows at the sorry sight before him. Natsu had paled, his irises shrunken and his body shaking. He turned to Lucy who still lay asleep on the floor, his breathing ragged.

"YOU'RE LYING!" He repeated with a loud shout, turning back to him and getting up from his spot beside her and stomping over to where he stood. He grabbed the old man by the collar and pulled him towards his face,
"SHE ISN'T POISONED, BASTARD!" TH-THERE'S NO WAY!" He loosened his grip, his voice faltering,
"She... she would have told me..."

"Would she? When yer gonna act like this? Look at the state of ya boy! Yer actin like a child!" He paused and took a slow breathe before continuing,
"there'd be no point in telling ya anyway. There's no affective antidote for such a poison, she'll either live or she won't. Simple as that."

Natsu began to shrink away from him, his eyes glazing over in sheet defeat. The man looked at him with pity,
"...tellin ya right then and there woulda made it harder for ya to work, impossible even. I think she just didn't want ya to worry, that's all. That's how I interpreted 'er little glare, anyway."

Natsu fell back down to the ground, his legs no longer able to support him. He looked dumbfounded. The old man could almost hear the little cogs in his head grinding and creaking as he tried to process it all.

"...I sympathise with ya boy," he said. Natsu didn't look up, but his ears pricked to show he was listening. The old man turned to the little girl who lay asleep nearby, her head propped up slightly by the sack he'd been carrying earlier and her body draped in his cloak.

"D'you know those bastards took 'er tongue out?"

Natsu slowly looked to the girl, his brows furrowed. The man continued,
"She was starvin' so she tried her luck at stealin' some bread from a bakery in town. Couldn't 'ave timed it worse though, a soldier 'ad been nearby at the time and caught 'er right in the act. He cut it out right then and there as far as I'm aware."

He grimaced, "I found 'er not long after. Tried to fix her up best I could, but I ain't no doctor, doubt she'll ever be able to talk again." A long, weary sigh escaped his dry lips,
"I took her in, fed her, and she's followed me round ever since."

Natsu's heart wrenched. He turned back to face Lucy.

Without so much as a single thought, he crawled over to her and sat back in his spot beside her torso. He reached for her nose and gave it a light little tap with his finger before moving down to her cheek and stroking it like she'd done for him back when they sat in those cells, the shock still not leaving him.

"I take it ya care about 'er a lot?"
He didn't respond for a while, but before long gave a slow nod, his eyes not leaving Lucy's peaceful face.
"...then make sure she's comfy. Us two'll be goin early in the morning, we need ta get to the nearby town and we're just stopping for some rest."
He turned, "name's Otto by the way," he said as he walked off towards the little girl. He sat down next to her with a quiet grunt and leant his head against the rock behind him, closing his eyes with a melancholy sigh.

Natsu briefly flitted his head up as Otto sat down, but quickly turned back to Lucy once he'd settled.
His brows creased, tears threatening to spill.
"Why... why didn't you tell me?" He sniffed, his stomach churning around and around in a flurry of anxiety. "I could... I coulda handled it..."

He lightly played with her hair, fiddling with it as he swam in the depths of his own desperation,
"You're gonna be okay..."
He gently pulled her towards him, resting her head on his lap, "you're gonna be okay..."
He rubbed away a tear that had dried under her eyes. His heart panged against his chest,
"You'll be alright..." he affirmed, his voice so quiet the echoes of the cave couldn't even steal it. He cupped her head in his hands, before looking up to face the entrance of the cave.