These Blood-Soaked Pages (Fairy Tail) [Book 1 of Reaper's Scythe]

II - The Dark Wizard

"UGH! I'm such a freaking idiot!" Zeref repeatedly slams his face against a tree. "Of all things, I had to loose the Book of E.N.D.!" He slumps down to the ground.

From his robes he draws out a small flask of liquid that is constantly changing color. "Well, at least I didn't loose this too. The ingredients are so rare, August would throw a fit. Not in front of me, of course..." He swirls the iridescent liquid around. It's a curse-suppressing potion- it doesn't remove his curse, but it clears his mind and lets him control the dark magic. For the longest time Zered been searching for the ingredients, but even now that he has it he is afraid of what will happen when he runs out.

"Okay, let's backtrack... where was the last place I remember having book?" Zeref paces back and forth, twigs snapping under his boots. "I definitely had it when I went to shop for a cloak... I had it when I went to Natsu's house... but I didn't have it this morning. Ugh, I must have left it at Natsu's house!" I tear at my hair in frustration. "It had better still be there!"

The dark wizard sprints through the forest by Magnolia towards Natsu and Happy's cottage. He trips over a tree root one time, and the dark red hooded cloak he is wearing that partially covers the front (kind of like what the members of Crime Sorciere wear) is caught on a branch and tears a little. Still, Zeref brushes himself off and keeps running.

Something bright up ahead catches his gaze- a glittering of white. After Zeref blinks to clear his vision, he can see that it's evening light reflecting off a scaly scarf in the clearing of Natsu and Happy's house below the cliff he is standing on. Just my luck, Natsu and that cat are here.

"I wonder what Gramps is going to do with the book," Natsu ponders. "I hope he doesn't destroy it, if Igneel told me not to then it's probably a bad idea."

"Aye!"

Zeref blinks. Did the cat just say aye? No matter. He shuffles closer to the edge of the cliff to hear them better, but a loose piece of soil gives way and he tumbles down with a yell. Luckily, his fall is broken. Unluckily, it's because he lands on Natsu.

"It's raining people!" The cat yells, flailing his arms and running around in circles.

"Dude, what's the big idea falling on me like that?" Natsu grumbles, as Zeref scrambles away and pulls down the hood of his cloak to make sure it completely hides his face.

"I'm so sorry, part of the cliff was loose... I hope I didn't hurt you!" Zeref sniffles, propping up a broken ankle on his other leg. The only downside of the curse suppressant is that it sometimes takes a few minutes for him to heal, instead of right away. He still heals much faster than most people, though.

The dragonslayer frowns. "You sound really familiar..."

"R-really? It's probably a coincidence," Zeref stammers, scrambling away from them.

"Hmm... probably. Anyway, I'm fine, but are you?" It's a good thing for the dark wizard that Natsu isn't exactly... bright. He walks over to Zeref. "That's a pretty bad fall you took."

"Oh, um... thank you. I'll be fine with some rest. My ankle's only twisted," he lies.

"You sure? It looks real bad to me," the cat remarks worriedly, walking over to Zeref and looking pointedly at his swollen ankle. "I'm no doctor-"

"Duh," Natsu cuts in.

"-but it might be broken. Natsu, is it okay if he stays with us until it heals?"

Natsu frowns down at the cat. "You sure? I'm concerned for the guy and all, but inviting a stranger into our house?" Zeref is kind of annoyed with them talking as if he wasn't there, but he shrugs it off. He's in a lot of pain.

"Honestly, I'm fine, I just need to sit down for a few more minutes," he protests, but neither of them listen.

"Ooh! I know! Happy, you should go get Wendy, she can fix this no problem!"

"Aye, sir!" Suddenly, wings appear on the cat's back and he flies off.

Natsu sits down next to Zeref, who begins to cry. "Why are you so nice to me when you don't even know who I am?" He asks, wiping away the tears but he is careful not to let Natsu see his face underneath the hood.

"Getting help for someone when they're hurt is what any decent person would do. If you feel bad, why don't you tell me your name? I'm Natsu, Natsu Dragneel."

Zeref mutters something intangible that even Natsu with his acute hearing can't make out. "What was that?"

"N-nothing. Um... thanks for helping me..." Even though I don't deserve it, he adds in his head.

A few minutes of awkward silence later, Happy returns with a blue-haired girl and a white flying cat in tow. The girls skids to a halt before Natsu and Zeref. "This is the guy who's hurt?"

"He says he only twisted his ankle, but Happy thinks it's broken."

Frowning, the girl crouches down next to Zeref and holds her hands over his ankle. "This is really strange. It definitely was broken, but it's already starting to heal faster than should be possible. It's almost as if the injury was a few days old, but you said it only happened just now?" Natsu and Happy nod. "Huh... Well, it can finish healing it for you, if you like."

"There's no need to waste your energy on me," Zeref says quietly.

"But if you're in pain, then I want to do anything I can to help!" She smiles reassuringly.

"Alright then..."

The girl scrunches up her face in concentration and her hands begin to glow green. A few seconds pass, but nothing happens. She pulls back her hands, a drop of sweat running down her face. "Wha-? My healing spells aren't working!" The girl falls backwards and begins to cry. "It's all my fault! I'm so sorry!"

Zeref sighs. "It's okay. I had a feeling it wouldn't work."

"Wendy, you said that he's healing really fast?" Happy asks. When the girl nods, Happy continues, "If he's going to be okay soon then he can stay with me and Natsu for the night. Right, Natsu?"

Natsu pouts. "Fine."

"Just warning you, our house is really messy!" The cat says as Wendy and Natsu carry Zeref inside the cottage.

"...Thank you so much." The dark wizard begins to cry again.

Soon night falls over the peaceful landscape, the only light other than the soft glow of lamplight is from the moon and stars.