Bringer Of Death And The Apocalypse

Chapter 94

The warm breeze of summer was starting to give way to the chill of autumn and Gajeel knew it would impact him greatly. He sat in his makeshift nest of small scraps of fur or plants that he'd managed to reach from small cracks in the rocks. Acnologia wasn't in the cave, having gone off on one of his flights, leaving Gajeel alone in the cave. Which would have been a perfect chance for him to escape if not for the chain made of his own scales preventing him from even reaching the cave entrance. He lifted up his left wing, wincing at the loud crack it made once stretched.

"When do you think he'll be back" Carla, who was curled up in the pile that was Natsu's scarf squeaked. Once Acnologia had begun training him daily -only getting breaks when he went off- until all his muscles hurt and he felt ready to collapse -and even then he'd still be forced to continue training until the sun was setting- he'd realised that having Carla hide on him would no longer work. His hair was still too short for her to hide in and Acnologia hit him all over constantly. So instead he'd used the scarf to hide her. She was small enough that she could be completely smothered in the scarf and her white fur blended in well with the scarf. Her scent was masked by the dragon scent that clung to the scarf. Gajeel looked at the cave mouth, watching the rain that smacked the rock and the dark clouds that hid the sun.

"I don't know" he mumbled, his tail tip twitching.

"Do you smell him?" he shook his head. He couldn't really smell much with the rain dampening scents even if he was nearby. Carla summouned her wings and flew over to the little bowl in the corner. 

"I'll be back" she promised before flying out into the rain. Gajeel looked down towards the scarf, placing one clawed hand on it. It was still stained red with his blood from when it had been wrapped around his wound. He had no access to any form of water to clean it. Hell, he hadn't been able to clean himself in months. Any water he was given had been limited to drinks and most of those were given to Carla. Acnologia didn't care what happened to her so he never gave her anything to eat or drink but he did provide Gajeel with those needs. So he gave up most of his food and water so Carla would be alright. He'd dragged her into this situation so if anything happened to her, he knew it would be his fault. Just like everyone else. Carla flew back in, placing the small bowl on the ground before dropping down to the ground herself. 

"I had a drink at the stream" she informed him in her stricter tone. It was her way of telling him to drink. She never fought him when she was given his meals or drinks. She knew why he did it just as much. He picked the bowl up with both hands and drank from it, tilting his head right back. 

"Thanks" his voice was low, quiet but Carla heard him anyway. She stood up and walked over to the scarf where she snuggled up again. She had taken off her clothes a couple months back after she was almost eaten whole by Acnologia when Gajeel had slipped up. He'd ended up with several bruises down his spine for biting onto Acnologia finger to get him to drop her. Carla had apologised to him afterwards to which Gajeel told her not to. Now they both agreed she was a lot less noticeable in the scarf with just her fur. Acnologia knew she was still here but they were both cautious when hiding now.

A crash of thunder filled the cave. Gajeel's fur pricked. He'd forgotten how loud thunder sounded in a cave. He settled down on his stomach, wrapping his body around Carla. She curled up herself, white tail tucked over her nose. Gajeel took a deep breath then closed his eyes. It was one of the only things he could do.