Fiore's Games

Played Like A Fiddle

After the sudden kiss, Levy fell asleep. Gajeel stayed awake, watching and listening. He heard the soft beeping of a parachute falling and left the cave to investigate. A hot dish awaited him and he smirked at it. "I gotcha Makarov." He muttered, bringing it back inside. The container would keep it warm for the morning. He ended up nodding off but jerking awake at every tiny sound. It was a rough night.

Morning came, bringing light filtering through the rocks and barriacade he had set up. He nudged the sleeping girl awake. She felt unusually warm. "Wake up shrimp." He said softly. "Cmon, up."

She blinked slowly. She felt sluggish and warm and... off. "Hey." She mumbled. She pushed herself into a sitting position, groaning with the effort. Her leg felt like it was on fire.

"This came down last night. Here." He handed her the still warm container. "I'm gonna rewrap your leg. Okay?" He told her seriously. She nodded slowly and he unwrapped her leg. The cloth was not blood-soaked but could do with another wash. "I'm gonna go clean this out but I'll be close."

"I have food in my bag still." She told him. "You don't have to hunt today."

"Alright." He left the cave, quietly heading down to the stream to wash out the wrap. Levy looked at her own leg. She knew some first aid and knew a lot of plants, medicinal or otherwise, thanks to Droy, but she couldn't fix this here.

"Shit." She muttered. There were already lines extending from the wound. Infection already? That was too fast. There must have been something with that sword. This explained why she felt so warm.

Gajeel returned and wrapped her leg back up. Levy smiled gratefully at him. "How're you feeling?"

"It might be infected." She said bluntly. "I can't fix that unless we get a medicine." She added. He cursed colorfully under his breath. "How many are left?"

"I don't know. This isn't good girlie." He muttered, staring at her.

"I know." She sighed, leaning her head against him. "Tell me a story."

"What?"

"Tell me a story. It'll take our minds off it. You're not gonna leave me here to hunt down tributes because I could get killed. And I know you won't do that because you've done all this for me. There's no way you'd leave me to die." She said matter-of-factly.

He chuckled at her fondly. "Fine. Whadda want to hear?"

"How about something about you?"

"Alright...." He shifted so she leaned against him more comfortably. "When I was younger, I got my first piercing. I ran with the kids who would steal from others. Not money, hardly anyone had money. Food. Believe it or not, I'm an okay cook with what I can get. I couldn't get a real job, I was still a kid, so I stole food, went to the Hob, make stuff to sell, sold it, and got money. That's how I survived. With that money, I got my first piercing. My earring." He explained, revealing a lot about himself in just a piercing story.

"What happened to your family?" Levy asked quietly.

His face hardened. "Same thing that happens to everyone's. Dad died in the mines." He refused to talk about his mother in the Arena. She could sense it was very touchy so she dropped the subject, instead choosing to tell a silly story of her own: her brothers and her picking berries on bushes inside the fence and she fell in the mud.

They stayed in the cave most of the day, with Gajeel leaving to scout around a couple times. Evening was falling when the sound of trumpets interrupted their companionable silence. "Another announcement?" Levy pushed herself into a better sitting position, listening intently.

"Hello tributes. There will be a feast, at dawn." Levy was immediately uninterested and was going to tell Gajeel to ignore it. They had food, they didn't need to be drawn into a bloodbath. The voice continued before she could voice any of this. "There will be an item each of you desperately need, whether it be a blanket or medicine. It will be at the Cornucopia." Then the announcement ended.

"Medicine... you need that. I'm going." Gajeel's tone left zero room for argument. Levy stared at him. He looked determined. "You'll die without it."

She relented. "Fine. But we have to prepare first. I think we should set up traps outside, as well as seal the cave in. I can't go anywhere, but I can be armed and protected." He agreed wholeheartedly and with the last bit of daylight, he set small traps up. He gave her the sword that cut her to defend herself with. The fact that she already had infection led them both to believe it was poisoned, which made it a great defense. He promised to seal her in when he left. Finally, they settled down to sleep. Levy laid her head on his lap and he stayed awake as she drifted off. He let himself drift off for an hour or two, but when he woke up, he knew he had to go.

Gajeel gently moved her to the ground. He fished out a larger knife as his own weapon, but left all supplies here. He kissed her head softly before he left the small cave. Before he left the area, he stacked rocks and placed vines so the cave blended in. He double checked the traps and started walking. Getting to the Cornucopia was going to be quite a trek.

The forest was quiet. The leaves crunching underfoot and the occasional small animal scampering by were the only sounds he could hear, beyond his own breathing. It was almost peaceful. If he closed his eyes, he could even imagine he was outside the fence at home. He never once put his knife away. It would be bad if he was jumped on his way to the Cornucopia.

He finally reached the Cornucopia and settled down in the brush on the edges of the open area. Waiting for the dawn, and with it, the 'feast'.

Hours passed and the sun started to come up. Gajeel regretted slightly not sleeping more, but pushed it aside. A table was coming out of the ground with backpacks on it. Now was his chance.

A girl darted out of the Cornucopia, fast as lightning, snatched a backpack, and ran. He blinked. It happened so fast, he wasn't sure if he even saw it. Why didn't he think of that? He saw a small backpack with his district number on it and ran for it. Other tributes came out of the trees, all charging for their respective backpacks.

He grabbed his backpack as a knife clipped his shoulder. He shouted in pain, but it was a shallow cut. Barely grazed him. A smaller body slammed into his. Pink hair filled his vision. It was another tribute, the girl from 2. Sherry, he thought loosely. "Hey look, it's Gajeel. Traitor." She growled. He fought back against her. He was larger than her, this shouldn't be hard, but damn she was a fighter.

"Get the hell off me." He growled back. Sherry was spiteful and vengeful, though. She pinned him hard, a small knife to his throat.

"Who's that medicine for? You look fine. Is it for lover girl? That fairy?" She scoffed. "I can't believe you betrayed your allies for her. You don't even care for her!" She smirked now. "I'm gonna cut you up into little pieces." She dragged the knife down his face, barely cutting the skin as she did so, hardly drawing blood. He arched his back, hoping to throw her off of him.

A spear landed in the ground near them, distracting her long enough for him to free his arms and throw her off. The spear was thrown by Pantherlily, who didn't stick around for the show. He darted back to the fields after grabbing his pack. Gajeel lifted the spear out of the ground, looking down at Sherry who lay below her. "Fuck you." He snapped, throwing it with some incredible strength towards her stomach. Just like Wendy. Her last shout was for Lyon to save her.

Gajeel left the Cornucopia as Lyon showed up, seeing his tribute and ally dead. "GAJEEL! I SWEAR, I'LL KILL YOU, EVEN IF I DIE HERE TOO! YOU'LL NEVER GO HOME!" He shouted into the air. He was too late to save her, but he knew who had done this. Gajeel just kept going, having to get to Levy.

"I'm coming, Shrimp."