*** Just to make it clear, Corbynn's older sister is named Chess. (Short for Chesilene, pronounced 'Chess-Ah-lean' )
Making it clear since some people are confusing her with Frea's student; Chase
They are two separate OC's, I hope that clears things up.
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Chapter 14
Scars
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas
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"Stupid girl overdid it again, didn't she?" Porlyusica grumbled lowly, her eyes flashing as she stepped inside the door without a thought or a care to if she had permission- Corbynn had already stepped aside to allow her entrance, and didn't say anything about it.
"Of course she did." He grumbled nearly as hotly as the old woman, anger and annoyance still high from the activities of the night before- what with Frea brawling (if even for only one minute) with Natsu, then getting drunk off her ass enough to warrant her detailing all her exciting fights and using her Magic all the while to give a rough visual of the events. (An incredibly stupid way to keep using her Magic too, by the way) "That's all she's good at." He paused, his annoyance dulling down a bit upon noticing the Old Lady wasn't alone as he blinked, Wendy smiling softly at him with Carla in tow.
"... Uh, hey you two." He murmured,
"Hey." Wendy smiled,
"Sorry to drop in unannounced." Carla murmured,
"Granny mentioned she was on her way over to treat Frea," Wendy murmured, her eyes glinting. "Is she alright? I didn't even know she was hurt yesterday.."
"... Oh, yeah." Corbynn mumbled, his hand running along the back of his neck as he sweatdropped slightly. Seeing both Wendy and Carla now had what agitation towards Frea dulling down. "... I mean, she's not dangerously hurt or anything, else I wouldn't have let her hang around the Guild so long yesterday. I just wanted her checked out in case her wounds got infected or something like that." He sighed slightly, "It's probably nothing to worry about, but she overdid it with her Magic so she's more likely to end up getting sick right now. I'm just trying to be careful..... Since I know she won't bother getting herself looked after." Wendy blinked, looking more questioning now than she did before as he sighed slightly.
"... Sorry, that wasn't a good explanation." He mumbled,
".. No, it's fine... But ah, what do you mean she 'overdid it' with her Magic?" Wendy asked slowly,
"And why would that make her more likely to grow ill?" Carla asked, Corbynn blinked, sweatdropping still as he looked away.
"Uh.... How about you just come in and take a seat. I'll explain it... Just give me a minute, OK?" He mumbled, Wendy and Carla blinked, before nodding slightly and stepping inside. As soon as they were passed the doorway he turned his back on them, seeing Porlyusica set her bag and supplies down on the bar that stretched out of the kitchen and into the living area slightly.
Corbynn snapped his fingers, hearing the front door close shut but he didn't turn to it.
"I'll get her out of bed, Granny." Corbynn called to the pink-haired old woman, who huffed as her only response.
He moved off toward the hallway that lead from the living room, casting a small glance backward to see Carla and Wendy had taken stiff seats on the couch, looking around curiously. He glanced back ahead as he lift his hand in direction of the door at the end of the hallway, his eyes falling closed as he flicked his fingers at the air in that direction.
The door shot open, the inside dim and dark compared to the rest of the fairly bright house. There was a small sigh that sounded from the inside, he grumbled under his breath.
"Granny's here to take a look at you." He announced rather sharply, stopping in the open doorway with his arms crossed about his chest, peering inside the dim.
Frea was already moving toward the door, her bare feet moving across the cold hardwood, her silver eyes glinting only slightly in the dim the pulled curtains had created, to which light was desperately trying to make it through. Her hair was pulled back into a small ponytail (small as what the short strands would allow), dressed in simple black pajama shorts and a loose shirt that tied around her neck and back, short so it left her stomach in full view (though the bandages still hid it). On the front of the shirt were plastered white letters that made up the word 'FORCE', and as ever the her rings on her fingers remained.
"It's already noon, you know." He said lowly, Frea blinked, looking a little dazed for a split second as if she had just woke up- and maybe she had, he hadn't a clue.
"..... Mm? Really?" She hummed lightly, rubbing the back of her neck as she slowed to a halt in front of him, blinking at what bright light the hallway brought with it. "... Why'd you let me sleep so long?"
"Hmph, you clearly needed it. What with the drinking and knocking Pinky around." He grumbled, stepping back as he made to move back down the hallway. Frea's hand fell from her neck, letting out a small sigh.
"... Yeah but now I'm freaking hungry." She said lowly, he shook his head slightly. ".... You said Porlyusica's here?" She asked softly,
"Yes, and you're keeping her waiting." Corbynn replied briskly,
"... Fine... Fine..." Frea sighed, yawning partway through as she followed along behind him down the hallway, looking less than thrilled with the idea of the Old Woman snapping at her- which, with how sore she felt and what sharp sting of pain flared across her back at moving- she was sure to be receiving a lecture.
Wendy and Carla looked up expectantly as Corbynn and Frea came into view, what small smiles they had intended to throw Frea's way instantly turned to looks of shock.
Their eyes didn't find the bandages, at least not at first.
They had seen what array of scars that crossed her arms yesterday as the rest of the Tenrou Team had, along with those that stretched along her cheek- but they weren't prepared for how many more there were littering her skin that they hadn't been able to see before.
The top of her shoulders were broken across by the lines, her legs were too, all the way up and down her skin was stricken across by thin and short, long and deep scars of pale white and pink, there was a very large gash that had left a mark about the size of Wendy's fist that carved into Frea's right thigh, a blow that seemed to have gone all the way through the leg- Wendy was shocked she could even walk, considering what wound would have been needed to leave a mark like that.
"Hey, Granny." Frea murmured quietly, moving toward the Old Woman without a glance toward Wendy or Carla, as if she hadn't even noticed them. "... Thanks for coming up here, I suppose..."
"Sit down, you stupid girl." Porlyusica ordered sharply, Frea sweatdropped but did as she was asked, taking a seat down on a stool in front of the old woman, her back to the room as she faced the bar top. Corbynn drew up beside the couch where Wendy and Carla were watching in sheer silence, fumbling for even words as they watched Porlyusica untie Frea's shirt around her back, leaving it hanging around her neck as she moved to unwind the bandages, to which they could see blood seeping through.
There were several angry red marks running across the Energy Dragon Slayers back, bleeding and swollen in a few places- one of them deep enough to graze the muscle. But even the wounds weren't what seemed to take Carla and Wendy's breath away, because even the skin on Frea's back was etched in by even more scars, dozens, as if she had been whipped... And there was a large scar in the center of her lower back that had their hearts dropping a little.
"O-oh... My.... Frea....!" Wendy stammered at last, her eyes glinting as she straightened up.
"W-What on earth happened to you?" Carla asked quickly,
Frea stiffened slightly, glancing over her shoulder at the voices as her nose twitched. She sweatdropped a little,
".... Oh, Wendy... Carla..." She murmured, catching the two scents she hadn't until that moment. "... Sorry, I didn't realize you guys were there-"
"Turn back around." Porlyusica ordered, Frea sweatdropped a little more, before turning away again. Corbynn saw what annoyance flashed across the Old Woman's face, and what worry worked its way in there when Frea admitted to not having been aware Wendy and Carla were around.
She had overdone it.... By a lot.
"... Sorry." Frea mumbled under her breath. "As for what happened- I got hit when I was fighting a couple hundred Wizards or so the other day. It's really nothing to worry about."
Carla was floating in the air, and Wendy had gotten to her feet as well, both of them looking stricken as Corbynn glanced sideways toward the two of them.
"... A... A couple hundred Wizards....?" Wendy stammered under her breath,
"That's not what I meant." Carla corrected instantly, her eyes narrowed. "I was talking about the scars! You didn't have any of those when we left, and I've never seen so many on one person, what on earth could you have gotten yourself into to have so many?"
Frea sighed slightly, stifling a wince as Porlyusica set to work,
... Everyone from Tenrou is so interested in them.... I don't even notice, and neither has anyone else in the Guild before now.... so why do they care so much about it?
"Its been seven years." Frea answered lightly.
"But what happened...?" Wendy asked quietly, she looked torn between staying where she was and rushing forward to help Porlyusica. ".. E... Even with all the fighting you were talking about last night, I could never imagine you having gotten hurt enough to leave so many...."
".. Hmm... A lot did happen." Frea answered, rather offhandedly.
".... Alright, so I guess this is kinda a shock to you guys..." Corbynn murmured, interjecting when he saw annoyance pass over Carla's expression at the rather non-answer. ".... I mean you all looked pretty freaked out when we walked in yesterday, but I guess seeing all of them is a bit much." Wendy and Carla looked toward him. He gave them a small, slightly nervous smile.
He understood the reaction he supposed, but Frea had always had scars since he knew her, and she always got new ones... It had ceased to catch him off guard, and honestly when he looked at her- he didn't even really see the scars, they were too familiar.
He thought maybe the rest of the Tenrou Team had seen Frea with scars too- but clearly not. Which meant that all of them, they were all very, very new- and there were (admittedly) a lot of them.
"They didn't all happen all at once, so don't freak out too much." He assured quickly. He cast Frea a small, weary glance before looking back to Wendy and Carla. "... What she was trying to say was this; it has been seven years since you last saw one another, and we've been busy fighting a lot of Dark Guilds and other things in the process. She talked about a lot of the fights last night, but there was also a lot more she didn't even get into.... That many fights over such a long period of time is bound to leave scars. I get it can be... Shocking, but its not so bad." He paused a minute, wondering if he should mention the fact that the larger, more serious wounds would have left scars regardless of anything done- but that explanation had to admit that it had been a lack of anyone with Healing Magic that had allowed the serious wounds to stay, and that might not go well over with the Sky Dragon Slayer.
And even apart from that, he well knew that wasn't the only reason so many wounds had left marks over the years.... and for a moment he figured maybe Frea wouldn't want him to go into it.
The biggest reason for so many of them? That was owed to the fact that Frea had literally just...... just stopped caring about whether or not any injury left a lasting mark. When she'd been hurt, even slightly, she never took care of the wounds like she should have, her lack of effort into that had let even the smallest nicks leave a lasting mark. He knew well she didn't dwell on wounds and he hated that about her, and had snapped at her several times too- often dragging her back to Porlyusica or treating her wounds himself when she refused to, but with how often Frea had been gone from the Guild there were many times he never got to force her to take care of injuries and she never bothered to treat the wounds herself as well as she should have.
The rest of it... well, Frea just didn't heal as well as she should. That fact was owed to her Magic, and as annoying as it was (and how much it worried him), there was nothing to be done- some of the wounds would remain scars even if Wendy had been around, and would still be scars regardless how much care had been put into cleaning them, by normal or other Magical means.
But he figured it might be better to let Frea explain that much to everyone else... of course knowing her she might never do so, but he wasn't looking to annoy her by blurting it out first. For now he'd give her a chance to explain it all if she wanted to, and later if she never did- then he'd give it a go. But not just then.
"... ah... well, you remember I said she's more likely to get sick when she overdoes it with her Magic?" Corbynn mumbled, slowly, uncertainly as Carla and Wendy blinked at him.
".... my Magic gets out of hand sometimes and starts tearing my body up, if I am not careful." Frea's sudden calm, short interjection into the conversation had not only Carla and Wendy reeling, but Corbynn too. "With how much Magic Power I've grown over the years, it's sometimes too much to handle all at once and I can't control it all the way- it gets wild and can hurt me. Even with it settled to a level that is manageable, the damage so much Magic Energy has done to me over the years has left my immune system rather shaky, and my healing by normal standards somewhat limited. If I use my Magic too much at once and it gets out of hand, the backlash can be pretty bad, and if I'm wounded it can get infected easier than most people because my immunity's been mucked up. It also takes longer to heal in most cases, and it's hard to heal properly too. That's why a lot of the hits have left scars, by the way." Frea seemed to shrug slightly, though with Porlyusica still working away she hardly dared move too much. "But honestly it's nothing to get worked up over, there's nothing anyone cane do about it- and I handle it fine."
Frea smiled slightly, though no one could see it- and probably better for it. The smile was nothing if not rueful and pained,
"..... as it stands, even without all that there were plenty of hits that would've left scars anyway. Mordren certainly saw to most of that." Frea mumbled, biting the inside of her cheek as her eyes fell.
.... their lips touched ever so softly, she could feel her body shaking, her breaths coming in nothing but strangled gasps... her hands holding for dear life to her body so limp and heavy in her grasp. The warmth of the blood on her hands was becoming quickly as cold as she was-
Frea stiffened, her body growing stiff and her nails digging into the underside of the stool. She shut her eyes tight, hating herself for letting her mind wander that way, and hating the sheer pain that ignited in her core because of it.
.... Mordren left plenty of marks... but the deepest scar doesn't show up on my skin..... this one was left by what Tomaru did to....
Porlyusica paused, her red eyes narrowed and glinting as she felt Frea grow rigid under her hands, a frown pulling at her lips as she sighed internally.
There was a few long minutes of dead silence in the house next, silence that weighed so heavy it was like a fog. Corbynn's icy blue gaze remained utterly fixed to Frea, jaw dropped slightly and reeling at that fact that she had explained anything at all- and let alone that slew of information all at once. It was like she'd just given up and decided to dump the most simple, yet long-winded explanation on their heads and didn't care what reaction she got out of it.
But shit!
She actually talked about it?! He was so used to her just... just not! Not explaining anything!
His eyes snapped sideways when he heard Wendy take in a sharp, nearly inaudible gasp, his eyes glittering slightly to see her hands had moved up to cover her mouth, trembling faintly and looking almost... horrified. Carla's ears had fallen flat, her tail dropping to hit the floor and looking almost as horrified as Wendy, but not quite.
Corbynn felt his heart drop though, he recognized that look in both of them so suddenly, and he knew exactly what they were thinking;
"How could we have missed.... so much...? Enough that Frea.... has been hurt.... this badly.....?"
Damn it, she wasn't gentle with the explanation- and was in no way delicate either. And he was sure she hadn't any real clue what spilling all of that bad and worrisome information all at once was gonna end up doing.
He almost wished she'd just kept her mouth shut, and let him explain it instead.
Porlyusica's hands worked to tie off the last of the bandages she had wrapped around Frea's back again, her work done and over quickly while everyone else had been so focused on what Frea was saying- and what tense silence had followed. Frea never moved, she didn't seem to hardly be paying attention and the Old Lady wouldn't doubt it if the Energy Dragon Slayer had become wrapped up in her own mind- if happened frequently, but like Corbynn, Porlyusica wished Frea had been gentler about her explanations. She had to stop herself from smacking her hand across the back of the blonde's head, or from snapping at her either.
Porlyusica took a step back from Frea, bundling her supplies up on the counter. Corbynn's eyes moved from glaring at Frea's back, back toward Wendy, his jaw dropping and his heart with it.
"Wendy.." He mumbled, faltering slightly as he took a few tentative steps in her direction, eyes glistening as she saw the stream of tears spill down her cheeks silently, her hands shaking as they covered her mouth still, shoulders hunched and eyes fixed to Frea, who still had her back to the rest of the room.
Carla glanced back, her eyes finding Wendy too as pain flashed across her face, her tail drooping as she saw the tears start to fall.
"I... I'm... s...sorry..." Wendy gasped quietly, her eyes shutting as her shoulders hunched. "... I... I didn't... k-know.... how much y-you've all b... been through.... w-while we were... gone....! S-so much bad... has hap... happened.... we... we s-should never... h..have missed... any of.. t-that...!" Her legs started shaking in tune with how much her breathing was hitching. ".. w-we.... we should.... have b....been here..... we s-should.. h...ave... h....h-helped...!"
Corybnn flinched, his hand pulling into fists at his sides and he sweatdropped, his throat tightening.
"I...I-I'm so s-sorry..!" Wendy gasped,
Frea bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes closed and sweatdropping slightly as her fingernails dug into the underside of the stool some more, her ears ringing painfully at the sound of Wendy's voice shaking so badly, and her head pounding as guilt and sadness and pain so potent managed to break through the haze on nonsensical information and ram into her like a train.
Shit
Carla moved slightly, patting Wendy's leg gently as a gesture of reassurance while Corbynn inched closer, uncertain whether or not he should say something- or even what he could manage to do to try and settle the suddenly shaken and crying bluenette.
"... I think that's my line."
Wendy stiffened, Carla and Corbynn doing the same as Frea's voice sounded suddenly- and so softly too. Their eyes moved up, blinking in shock to see Frea had stood up from her seat, turning toward them and one hand rubbing the back of her neck slightly, her expression gentle as she cast them a look that was near apologetic. She moved forward softly, stopping in front of Wendy and leaning over, her hands on her knees and her head tilted slightly, those silver eyes gleaming as Wendy glanced up at her with those tear-filled eyes.
".. I should be the one to say sorry." Frea murmured softly, tenderness and care igniting in the Dragon Slayer where stony neutrality and off-handedness had ruled for oh so long. ".... that was indelicate of me. I should have been kinder about explaining that to you... and I'm sorry that I wasn't. But you really don't need to feel so sad, Wendy."
Frea smiled a little, a calm, gentle smile as her hand lift to rest lightly atop Wendy's head. Wendy's eyes flashed, the tears halting as she simply looked to Frea in utter stillness.
"You've done nothing wrong. And I really am fine." Frea assured quietly, "In fact, you've helped a lot already without even knowing it." Wendy blinked at that, but Frea's smile only grew softer.
"Having all of you guys back is the best thing that's happened in a really long time. Having all of you around and alive means more to me than you realize, and having you around helps me feel better to." Wendy's eyes shone slightly at that,
"So please don't be so sad, alright? You're doing a lot by just being back, the rest of it just falls into place after that." Frea smiled a little wider, a little brighter and more cheerfully too.
Corbynn swallowed, his eyes shining at that smile that was so entirely and utterly real.
Porlyusica shook her head slightly, casting a glance toward the mall group as she gathered her supplies up in her hands, waiting patiently to the side and letting out a silent breath.
What a foolish girl...
"Come on." Frea murmured brightly, her hand rubbing the top of Wendy's head in a gesture that was nearly playful. "How about you two stick around and have something to eat, yeah? Corbynn's a really good cook ya know." She straightened up again, her hand leaving Wendy's head as they looked to her in shock at how quickly she seemed to move to try and lighten the mood again. "You're welcome to stay too, Granny." Frea called to the Old Lady, who scowled and huffed.
"I have better things to do." The growled, turning her back on the group and heading for the front door. "I needn't remind you not to go gallivanting off and stirring trouble, do I?" She grumbled, Frea shook her head slightly.
"I got it, Granny. Thanks for checking in."
"...... foolish humans." Porlyusica grumbled under her breath hotly, before she was out the door and gone.
"So, what do ya say about food?" Frea asked lightly, her attention turning to Wendy and Carla, who looked a little stunned.
".... we.... we'd love to." Wendy murmured after a minute, sniffing slightly as she rubbed the tears away from her eyes, offering up a small smile to Frea who nodded.
"We'd be rude to refuse." Carla murmured lightly,
"...... you know we don't have any food in this house, right?" Corbynn deadpanned, his shock and surprise fading as his thoughts managed to catch up with the change of direction in the conversation- his eyes moving toward Frea after having been staring at the door in which Porlyusica left, his mind whirling and emotions with it. He wasn't sure how it could be possible... but Frea, something changed about her then, some semblance of the person she used to be shown through and it had him reeling... but it also made him a little happy to.
Frea blinked at that, eyebrow quirking as he sighed in exasperation.
"You have been gone for months, the kitchen is empty." He elaborated, Frea seemed to falter a minute, her eyes falling closed as she bit the inside of her cheek.
"...... hmmmmmmmmmm, well." She mumbled, "Guess we're going shopping then!" She nodded toward the three of them as she started down the hallway she had appeared from, "I'll put some clothes on and we can go together. Give me a minute, kay?" The three of Corbynn, Wendy and Carla watched her go in silence,
".... but.... if she's injured, should she really be running around town?" Carla grumbled, Corbynn deflated slightly, his shoulders sagging as he sighed heavily.
"..... I really hope she wants food more than she wants to sidetrack and pay a visit to Twilight Ogre.." He mumbled under his breath, careful to say it quietly enough he knew Frea wouldn't hear him say anything with those Dragon Ears of hers.
"... is something wrong...?" Wendy asked slwoly, he shook his head slightly.
"... no." He mumbled, his arms crossing over his chest as he gave her and Carla a small smile. "To be honest with you, it's really been a long time since I've seen her so relaxed and content." They blinked at the words, "I'm glad you two came by, her mood's seemed to lighten considerably." They nodded slightly,
"Since we're going shopping, any requests on what you wanna eat?" He asked, they blinked. "I'll cook whatever you want, just ask."
"... do you cook all the meals?" Wendy asked,
"Yep."
"Frea does none of it?" Carla asked,
"Pretty much," He replied, smirking slightly. "She's a great fighter and all, but she sucks at cooking." He chuckled,
Carla looked disbelieving, while Wendy laughed a little under her breath. "She can't be that bad." Wendy chuckled,
"Trust me, you don't wanna eat anything she makes, you'll end up poisoned!" He replied lightly, Wendy laughed some more at that while Carla huffed a little.
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Frea glanced sideways toward where she had shut her bedroom door behind her, her ears training toward the sound of Wendy and Corbynn laughing in the house that hadn't heard that sound in such a long time.
.... they get along well, Chess.
She smiled slightly,
...... Having the Tenrou Team back seems to be making him happier too.
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