Chapter Two
Erik wasn’t sure how long he sat at the entrance of the cave reading the note before Clover finally started to whimper as she blinked awake. He watched as she rubbed her neck awkwardly, he could hear how stiff it was from sleeping on the hard ground the night before. She looked around sleepily as the morning sun shone into their makeshift shelter.
“Where’s Locrus?” She asked groggily, looking at Erik with those sapphire eyes the size of saucers.
“No idea.” Erik said gruffly. “The old man was gone when I got up.”
Clover frowned some and held herself, Erik’s back to her. He could hear how her bottom lip wobbled, he could hear the tears that pricked her eyes and the thoughts that she’d been abandoned.
“What do we do now…?” She asked quietly, barely above a whisper. “He said…He said he was going to help me find my family…my home…”
“Quit crying.” Erik said coldly. “He gave us directions, we’re headed to a town called Magnolia. Get your ass up, it’s a long walk.”
“Magnolia…? Why…?”
God this kid asked a lot of questions. “Because, Sunshine, apparently you belong to a guild there. That mark on your hip, the dark purple one, it’s a guild mark. Now get your ass up.” She frowned and got up, making her way over to him. “You got any shit with you?” He asked as he looked around the cave.
She silently shook her head.
“Come on. Keep up or I’ll leave your ass behind.” He said as he put a hand on Cubellios’s head, leading Clover out of the cave.
“Your snake is really pretty…” Clover said shyly as she and Erik walked through the woods, Erik keeping an ear out to make sure neither Brain or anyone or anything else was following them.
“Yeah, she is.” Clover was silent as they walked. The silence was near deafening aside from the quiet sound of her thoughts fighting and the soft soprano hum of her soul.
“What year is it…?”
“There really isn’t anything in that pretty head of yours, is there?” Erik asked with a sigh. “Year seven-eighty-two.”
She looked down at the ground shyly as they finally made their way to a dirt road. “Sorry…” She didn’t even notice as he glanced at her with those reptilian indigo eyes. He could hear how much she hated it, feeling helpless, feeling useless. Not knowing anything but feeling like she should. Feeling like she was stuck in a fog.
Erik shook his head as she blinked away tears from her eyes, he glanced at her as he heard her stomach rumble quietly and watched as she held it uncomfortably. He could smell the bile on her breath, as if she hadn’t eaten in days, despite him knowing she’d eaten the stew Locrus had made just the night before.
“How long before we get to Magnolia?”
“A few days. We’ve got to get you checked out by a doctor first.” He explained as they headed down the road towards a town. “Can’t have your guild thinking I attacked you.”
“Right…Thanks, Erik…”
****
“‘It’s an easy job’ they said!” Laxus Dreyar ranted to the Thunder Legion where they sat on the couch in the apartment he shared with his kid sister. “”Let her go by herself and get her feet wet without you, " they said!” The Thunder Legion watched helplessly as their leader paced in front of the lacrima vision.
“We’ll find her.” Freed tried softly. “All of our allies have been made aware of the situation and are out looking for her.”
“Yeah, and let’s face it, Clover makes friends with everyone she meets.” Evergreen added with a hopeful smile, but Laxus wasn’t convinced.
“I never should have let her go.” He grumbled softly. “She’s only thirteen.”
“Not to play devil’s advocate,” Bixlow started. “But we were going out on jobs on our own younger than that.” The seith mage yelped as he was shocked by his childhood friend.
“Laxus, please calm down-” Freed tried, watching as the blond lightning dragon took a seat in the armchair.
“You don’t get it…She’s my responsibility…I promised our mom that I’d take care of her…”
“I get it Lax-” Bixlow tried.
“No you don’t! Your mother’s still alive!” Laxus snarled at him.
Bixlow could only glare at his best friend. “Maybe, but did you forget Macbeth? I. Get. It. I get how scared you’re feeling, the god damn terror that’s making you feel like puking. Clover’s a big girl though, and strong in her own right. We’ll find her.” Neither said it, but the question hung in the air. What if she’d meet the same fate as Bixlow’s baby brother?
“She’s all I’ve got…” Laxus finally said.
“Which is why we’ll find her. We’re the Thunder Legion.” Evergreen assured him.
“Thanks guys…” None of them realized they were being listened to by the little shikigami that rested on the bookshelf nearby.
“Clover’s missing?” Ivan Dreyar, the master of the dark guild Raven Tail and father of Laxus and Clover Dreyar, asked himself.