1 | Ascent [DISCONTINUED]

23 | FOR LIFE

          THE YEAR IS X778, a year has passed since Gajeel and Elvira met, a year since they aligned themselves with one another. In the last year, the pair have done a lot of traveling, a lot more than any child should. However, they haven't been traveling nonstop, as often they made stops at guilds that they joined, only to end up kicked out. Gajeel was a rowdy kid and often got into fights with people, it was because of this behavior that he often found himself being kicked out of guilds.

Elvira, on the other hand, was accepted by the guilds, but the two were a pack, you couldn't have one without the other. In the last year, the pair have been kicked out of a total of two guilds and were currently searching for a third. Often people joined guilds for both working purposes as well as a chance to hone their skills as a mage. When it came to Gajeel and Elvira, they were looking to join a guild for both those reasons. Gajeel was on the search for a way to make money, while Elvira was looking to increase her magic abilities.

She had very little magic power control and knew mainly defense spells when it came to her magic. And if she wanted to help Gajeel on his search, she knew she would need to learn some offensive spells. However, in the two guilds that she's been a part of, neither guild was able to help her with her magic. According to those she was able to talk to, her magic was rare, and rarely anyone used it, making it difficult to learn. When Gajeel and Elvira got kicked out of their second guild, Gajeel decided that he no longer would allow Elvira to depend on others to help her with her magic.

Just like her, he too wanted her to increase her knowledge as well as power when it came to her magic. Unlike her, he didn't have hope that anybody was going to help her. Following the disappearance of the one who raised him, and taught him his magic, Gajeel decided that he would train himself, as he felt as though he could only depend on himself. He didn't want Elvira to fall into a hole of lost hope, so he decided that he would train her. Even though he knew he couldn't teach her offensive spells, he could, however, help her with her defense spells.

"Focus Ellie!" he tells her, standing in front of Elvira, who was struggling to keep up her energy dome around her. "If you don't focus that shield will fall."

"I am focusing," Elvira says, before she falls causing the shield to break. "I'm just not strong enough."

"Don't use that as an excuse," Gajeel replies. "If you wanna be strong you gotta push yourself, not just give up cause you have doubts. Not get up, we're gonna spar."

"I can barely keep up a shield," Elvira reminds him, standing up. "What makes you think I can beat you? Not to mention you're a dragon slayer, so your magic is super strong."

During the first few months that Elvira and Gajeel were together, the pair barely shared any information about themselves. Even though Elvira promised to help Gajeel find who he was looking for, she had no idea who it was until six months after she made the promise. It was after the pair were kicked out of their first guild that Gajeel opened up. He was looking for Metalicana, the iron dragon, the one who raised and taught him dragon slayer magic. From what Elvira knew, Metalicana disappeared in the seventh month, on the seventh day, one year ago, only weeks before she and Gajeel met each other. Elvira was glad that Gajeel opened up to her, even though she herself hadn't done so. Still, Gajeel wasn't pushing her about her past, he wasn't, however, pushing her to get stronger.

"Which is every more reason to fight me," he tells her, before throwing an iron club her way.

"Gajeel!" Elvira exclaims, dodging it. "Come on! I don't wanna fight. Can't we just let this go?"

"No," he answers, only to go after her again. "You need to be able to defend yourself, Ellie. I'm not always gonna be here to protect you. You should be able to hold your own."

"I know but-," she starts to say before she's cut off by Gajeel's club causing her to fall to the ground. "Ah!"

"Get up," he demands, walking over to her. "Come on, you can't give . . . "

She wasn't looking at him at first, she was looking down, and when she finally did look up, Gajeel quickly noticed that she was crying. When Gajeel first met Elvira, she cried a lot, not to mention she apologized for every little thing. While Elvira has grown a bit in the last year, her soft heart is something she still carries with her. She cried when she was upset, scared, and even when she was mad. Anytime she felt a negative emotion, tears were sure to follow. By now, Gajeel thought he would be used to her tears, but the reality was, he wasn't. Whenever she cried he couldn't help but feel a pit in his stomach. He didn't want her to cry, but most importantly, he didn't want her to cry because of him.

"I don't wanna fight you Gajeel," Elvira sobs, "please don't make me fight you. You're my friend, and I don't wanna hurt you, I don't want you to end up like-,"

Silence. Elvira had cut herself off, stopping before she could reveal who she was talking about, before she could reveal anything about her past. This often happened whenever Elvira lets her emotions get the best of her. She would start to say something, something about her past, but she always caught herself before she revealed anything. It hadn't been that she didn't trust Gajeel, it was more on the fact that she was scared that he would be afraid of her. To Elvira, Gajeel was her hero, her savior, and she didn't want to lose him. However, little did she know, she had nothing to be worried about, as Gajeel was tough, and was willing to take on anything and everyone. He was afraid of anything, at least, that's what he told himself.

"It's okay Ellie," Gajeel assures her, "don't cry. Listen, we don't have to spar, if you want, we can go look for another guild."

"Another guild?"

"Yeah," he confirms, "that way someone can teach you how to control your magic, that way you don't have to fight me."

"But, I-I want you to teach me," she admitted softly, looking down. "I just don't wanna hurt you, that's all."

"You don't have to worry about hurting me," Gajeel tells her. "Don't you remember? I was raised by a dragon, not to mention I have thick skin. There's nothing that can hurt me."

"Really?" she wonders, her eyes sparkling, as Gajeel nodded in confirmation. "In that case, let's spar Gajeel!"

"Really?" Gajeel gasps, surprised at her sudden mood change as she gets up. "You know, you don't have to do this for me if you're not ready then-,"

"I trust you," she reveals, "and if you truly believe that you're safe around me, then I trust that I won't hurt you. Though, I don't think I'll be able to beat you. I mean your magic is meant to slay dragons, to beat you, I would have be stronger than a dragon, and I don't that's possible."

"You got that right," Gajeel says, smirking. "The day you beat me is the day the two of us are no longer partners, and that won't be happening any time soon. You and me, we're partners for life."

Something Gajeel always liked was when Elvira had a smile on her face, it made him happy, knowing she was happy. He hated seeing the sad look in her eye, and seeing her eyes sparkle in joy made him feel as though he accomplished something. It was this day, that Gajeel made a promise to himself, one that he never shared with Elvira. He made a promise that he would never make her cry, that he would never cause her sadness.

          For years, Gajeel kept his self-proclaimed promise, even going as far as to strike those that made Elvira cry, at least those he was able to get to before Elvira stopped him. This promise meant everything to Gajeel, and he never planned on breaking it, however, six years after he made the promise, he did the worst thing he could've ever done, make Elvira cry.

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