Divinity abandoned. Laxus x OC

Chapter thirtyeight.

*Warning - Mature content* 

Satomi's Pov

Satomi's mind was still ringing with the information the healer had dropped on her. The guild had disbanded, the master- her mate's grandfather, missing.
Her eyes were trained on the blond's back as he walked ahead on their way back to the ruined city. 

He hadn't told her. Why had he failed to mention something this important?
They hadn't spoken since Satomi emerged from the healer's hut. She'd refused to look at him, or give any indication as to what she and Porlyusica had spoken of. Still, judging by his heart-rate, he was nervous.

Why? Why hadn't they told her? Didn't he trust her?
Her home, her work, her friends-.
...They hadn't told her either. Memories of their smiling faces and kind words as she laid bedridden after the battle flashed in her mind. They'd known. They'd all known. And decided not to tell her.

The information stung like a festering wound, and yet Satomi wasn't sure wether she was more angry or sad at being excluded like that. Was it because she'd visited the guild so rarely that they'd-... That still wouldn't explain why he hadn't said anything. His own grandfather. And he'd been stalking her every step, every minute of every day for weeks. Not a single word of this.

A wind brushed past them, fanning his scent into her face as they walked and Satomi sighed. Then stumbled a step. Laxus turned to look at her "You alright? Not like you to lose your footing." Satomi met his stare with ice in her own, taking a slow breath as something clicked in her mind. 

She studied his expression, the badly concealed tension in that chiseled jaw, the slight crease between his brows. Grey eyes flickering as he studied her back. Short, blond hair shifting as another gust of wind brushed past him, wafting more of that familiar scent towards her. Satomi breathed it in, slowly, tasting it. 

"I'm fine." Her voice was cool. Detached. Cool grey eyes scanned her from top to bottom warily, but as she said nothing more, he nodded and turned back around.

"Just mind your step." Satomi's eyes narrowed as she took another slow breath. That small glass disc by the window appearing in her mind's eye. She continued walking, slower than before, distracted as her mind worked on the puzzle. What she'd seen in the hut. 

They continued walking down the narrow trail, until it slowly started to flatten out. They were far from the town, not a living person in sight, the forest that should've been bustling with life and animals, was so eerily quiet. As if it sensed that something was wrong. She quietly worked her magic, suppressing her presence. Laxus continued walking ahead, as Satomi slowly came to a stop, her magic creating the illusion of her footsteps following him.

Just a theory. She thought, reassuringly. Just to see what'd happen. Laxus kept walking, five meters. Six. Seven... Satomi waited. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve... Thirteen. The wind pushed past her again, the rustling of leaves the only sound as Laxus came to a stop.

"You know-" His words froze in his throat as he turned, spotting her at a distance. The wind continued to dance around them as Satomi's stare turned to the trees. The leaves yellowing, turning brown, only to be swept away on the breeze. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the ground, seeing the same happen to the grass at her feet.

"Ah..." The realisation struck her as less of a blow than it should've. The wilted magnolia in Porlyusica's hut flashing in her mind. The other herbs and flowers, healthy and fine. But the tree placed directly between the two samples... The disc hadn't contained her blood after all. The disc had Laxus's blood in it, her magic clouding over the scent too thickly for her to notice immediately.