A month passed as I began to get adjusted to living with Cana. Surprisingly, her lifestyle at home compared to her lifestyle at the guild was almost a pure opposite. Much to my shock, she had a small apartment that was pristine clean. Cana had a taste for marble as her counters and bathroom were practically covered in that stuff. She kept her sink empty as much as possible and her wine racks full. I almost found himself almost yearning for Cana to make some mess for me to clean up like he'd done so much back at the old apartment. I appreciated that she and I were still independent. I managed my own business and she handled hers. Suddenly, she approached me one day as we were both lounging on her couch. We were absentmindedly watching some weird show on the television lacrima when she spoke up.
"Hey Freed, what would you think if you and I were to go on a mission together?" she asked. I pondered the notion as I glanced over at her before gluing my eyes back to the screen.
"I wouldn't mind, but do you have any particular reason to choose me?" I inquired.
"Well," she began. "Our Magic is fairly compatible. Rune Magic is and Card Magic is similar in that we utilize our knowledge to provoke various spells from all different elements. I've always wondered how things would turn out if we worked together. Although I get that with your lungs, we can't do anything strenuous. But... We could go back to basics. Remember Mrs. Poultry, the cock wrangler?"
"You mean the chicken farmer. Yes, I know who she is," I admitted. That woman was... Pleasingly plump in size and had cherry wine lips the size of great yams. Her eyes were has sharp as the beaks belonging to the chickens she cultivated. However, often she lost her prized birds. Her stamina was not the greatest leaving her with the constant need for mages to gather her chickens. It was a task often aimed at newcomers who were unfamiliar with using magic efficiently or simply a small easy local job with a decent reward. "You want my help with an easy thing like that?" Cana shrugged before taking another swig of beer.
"If you're up to it. I know you've been helping with Mira a lot, but you gotta get out more. I'll be with you so I mean you won't be alone. And the reward is decent enough for both of us. Hell, you could take most of it since I just need enough for maybe some whiskey."
"Maybe, Cana. Maybe some whiskey," I muttered. Cana chuckled.
"Okay you're right," she said. "Maybe two whiskeys then."
"Sounds like you."
"What does that mean?" Cana glanced at me as I smirked back at her.
"You know exactly what your problem is, you alcoholic," I muttered. "But sure. Let's do it." Cana grinned and chugged the rest of her bottle before expertly tossing it into the garbage bin.
"Good," she chortled. "Because I already accepted the request. We start tomorrow!"
It was good to be able to go on a job that allowed me to use magic, even if it was only a little. I suppose even back then, I barely used magic anyway. Fairy Tail was a home for all mages and held some of the strongest. But, I could never stand up to be as tall as any of the others. There were two times I ever truly exerted the true magic power I was capable of.
The first was the whole incident during the festival. Laxus ordered Evergreen, Bickslow, and I to fight our friends. I ended up being thwarted by Mira and condemning myself due to the demon power. I suppose forbidden spells were forbidden.
The only other time I ever used that outlawed black magic on myself was when I first met Laxus. I was shunned by my village wandering the woods when a heavy storm struck the area. Rain pounded the ground and scraped against the trees. I could feel it mounting itself wet drops down my body and then I sensed him. He was like a great beast among the gilded branches. I was cloaked in darkness, fangs drooling with flakes of dry blood fluttering down. My arms and legs were littered with wounds. He radiates with light. His eyes were like beacons leading me to him. I could barely register what I was doing, what my body was doing. I clamored over, limbs rocking back and forth until I found myself in his arms. His embrace was warm and full of light. And then I heard it.
"Freed, was it? My name is Laxus. These wounds you bare. Let them no longer be self inflicted, but use your pain and strength to help. Come with me and join Fairy Tail. Join me, Freed."
He compelled me more than anyone had. My claws shrunk into rigged stubs plagued by constant nail biting. My teeth become small and clicked together as frigid cold air seeped into my bones for the first time in ages.
Laxus made me feel human.
But, I can't hold onto that. I couldn't let him hold me back. I chose to let him go. To leave that life behind.
But I wonder, without him, would I revert back after some time? I have no reason to keep going now except for that sheer desire.
The desire to exist is beyond any living being's comprehension. No matter if you are a bug, a dog, a spirit, or human; everyone desires to exist.
But, I miss it. I miss Laxus's embrace.
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Dark Embrace (Laxus x Freed Fanfic)
Fanfiction"Is Laxus here?" Those three words came from Freed's jaws every single day since he contracted cancer. Perhaps it was bound to happen. He was, afterall, a mage who specialized in historic spells, yet here was his life ready to join the remnants of h...
