Mira was expecting many thing from the DFA's commander's part. She expected him to try to scare her, to attack, to manipulate her so she would believe he was on the good side, but that? Between all the lies he could have told, he chose the one that didn't make any sense. Of course, she would not believe one word of it! Laxus may have a hell of a bad temper, she simply could picture him getting as low has taken innocent lives to boost up his own power. 

"Do you seriously think I'd believe that?" Said Mira in a defying tone.

"What about asking your dear friend?" He retorted without losing his creepy smile.

She was expecting the young man by her side to react, call him crazy, make their enemy take this back... But Laxus stayed put, teeth and fists tightened. Even worst, he had that glimpse of sadness he so rarely showed in is eyes. Why the hell didn't he snap at the guy for saying such nonsense? Mira's heart skipped a beat. Even though she had spent the last couple of days with him, she didn't really know him, practically knew nothing about his past. It couldn't possibly be true...

And then the young woman's heart got back its normal rhythm as her eyes laid on Laxus's back. The place where, under his shirt, he was wearing a large bandage proving what he had done for her, proving he had saved her life. Until now, she only had seen Laxus act as he wished, not bothering about other's opinions. He simply couldn't have faked all those fallen by her side. She also had the certitude he hadn't faked the worry he had felt for his sister neither those already numerous time they had protected each other. If something dark was hidden in his past, she at the very least had to let him talk about it. Finding back the assurance she had before, she let out: 

" If Laxus has something to say to me, he'll tell me once you're taken care of" she replied, her voice full of threat.

To that, the captain gave an impressed look on Mira, then snickered once more.

"You know what, Dreyar? If I weren't about to kill her, I'd tell you she's a keeper".

As an answer, Laxus hit his fist into his other hand, rage in his eyes.

"If you really think you can have your way this easily, Blackburn, you're even crazier than I first thought".

"And how do you think you'll vanquish me? Bare handed?" He teased him with the tip of his own sword.

"No" interrupted Mira, taking out two knives from her boots she quickly put on before leaving, handing the one she brought for Laxus to the later. 

Laxus couldn't help smiling to the young woman's determination and drew the dagger she had given him. Not wanting to let anyone die here, he separated himself from Mira in a strategic way, making sure they got an advantage by circling him. There may be two of them, neither had a sword's range or Blackburn's fighting experience.  

Each of them was staring at the enemy, waiting for someone to break the ice. Annoyed by this wait, Laxus whispered in a barely audible way "be ready". Then he threw himself at the man before him, stopping just before being hit but the sword's blade. His taunt had of course been dangerous, but much to his pleasure, Mira had understood his message due to her inhuman hearing and hit towards their adversary, the later dodging the dagger just in time. Then it was Mira's turn to barely avoid the blade that almost pierced her side. This went on, each of them communicating in a tone so low it was out of the commender's reach, for a couple of turns until the young woman managed to cut the arm holding the sword. The wound wasn't deep but it was a first small victory. 

However, Balckburn wasn't ready to accord them another. As soon as he realised he had been hit, an orange glimpse pierced his irises, provoking shivers down Mira's spine. 

"He's shapeshifting!" She yelled, this time out loud. "Run!" She added so only Laxus could hear her despite her need to yell once more.

Laxus didn't oppose to this idea, knowing as well as her they only had a small amount of time before his transformation was completed to put as much distance between him and them. They may have vanquished a couple of fallens already, they had barely survived those encounters, and that not considering Blackburn being the commander and probably one of the most formidable fighters. Then they heard something coming at them at full speed. "He's already here" taught Mira. She felt Laxus's hand on her shoulder. His look was clear: they may have managed to escape a little, they now had no chance to run. The young woman nodded before turning, her weapon raised before the fallen. 

"You have no chance of escaping" snickered Blackburn. 

"I had no idea your kind of bastards could talk in this form" said Laxus verbalising Mira's surprise as well. 

Until now, she hadn't seen a fallen speak, the later simply attacking with what seemed like a primal instinct. However, despite the inhuman tone the voice had, the words being truly reflected a human conscience. This only had the effect of infuriating Mira even more. As if willingly becoming a monster to be stronger wasn't disgusting enough, she now knew that all those horrible things were made while they were well aware of it. The need to put her enemy to his rightful place took over her even more and she managed to put her fear of him on hold. 

"If we can't run, that only means we'll have to crush you" she said with her usual angelic smile as if she didn't just threaten him.

"You heard the lady" said Laxus, also taking a fighting stance, a smile in the corner of his mouth. 

To that, Mira and Laxus jumped in sync, multiplicating their attacks on Blackburn. Despite their enemy blocking all of the hits, he didn't seem to have a chance to himself attack. Until then, it seemed they were doing pretty good, but the young woman knew they couldn't keep this pace for too long. As they were expecting, the commander was surpassing the other fallens in speed and strength and he would soon hit one of them. They had to find a way out and fast, but what?

She didn't get the chance to find her answer before a violent hit reached Laxus's jaw. Momentarily distracted, she barely avoided the same faith. 

"Stay focused!" growled Laxus, holding his throbbing jaw. 

Mira nodded, keeping her eyes on their opponent, however, relieved to see he wasn't badly injured. She then started a new round of attacks, soon helped by Laxus. During her multiple hits, she finally saw an opening to the fallen's throat as he dodged Laxus's blade. The knife sunk into the flesh but was soon disappointed as she noticed Blackburn had placed his arm at the last moment to intercept the attack. He even turned the situation to his advantage, backing off with such speed the knife stayed dug into his forearm, disarming Mira. With a vicious smile, he took out the dagger as if he was chasing a fly and threw it into the precipice next to them, making it practically impossible for Mira to have her weapon back.

The fear she felt before resurfaced as she understood she now had to fight bare handed against that terrible creature. She, however, didn't get the chance to think about it for too long as Laxus tried another blow. All the young woman could see was the wicked smile Blackburn had before violently turning to him. The movement was so fast that, despite her enhanced vision, she couldn't truly get what happened. Her heart tightened even more as she realised the fallen had not only disarmed Laxus as well, but that with his other hand had impaled Laxus's abdomen with his claws. At least, the claws were relatively short, but the wound didn't seem to affect Laxus any less, great pain visible on his traits. 

That's when an idea crossed her mind. A crazy idea, probably suicidal, but in their actual state, it was probably their best chance. She looked at the ravine. The inclination was highly abrupt and their chances of getting hurt during the fall were more than probable, but at least, it wasn't a free fall that was awaiting them. Without thinking any further, she took Laxus's hand and dragged him into the precipice. Much to her surprise, he didn'T resist and followed her. Then came the fall, more than brutal, as they rolled between the trees without any control. She also couldn't hold his hand anymore and they were soon separated. A tree hit Mira's shoulder but despite the throbbing pain, she was grateful she hadn't broken her neck instead. 

 She finally stopped, disoriented, alone and covered in the mud yesterday's rain had left. Then she heard a sound. Her eyes obstructed by the still present mud on her face, she focussed on her nose to identify the source of it... But she couldn't. Despite her efforts, she couldn' perceive a thing before being gagged by a hand on her mouth. She struggled to get free but the iron grip prevented her from moving. The embrace, however, soon had a calming effect as she recognised Laxus.

"Laxus" she whispered in a sight of relief.

"Put that on yourself and keep quiet" he said adding a layer of mud on her. 

What the hell was his deal with the mud? she thought.

"It covers our smell" he explained to her sceptical face.

A sound made by someone, or something, close alerted them. Without a word, he grabbed her fist and dragged her in a sort of cave between the rocks, hoping the trees and rocks would be sufficient to hide them from eyesight while the mud was keeping their smell at bay.

Laxus's presence close to her helped her controlling the fear that seemed to crush her chest. Despite the situation, a smile drew on her face as she told herself that the man beside her could never be a monster. 

So, my apartment is nearly done! (I'm currently setting my new apartment since I'm moving out from my parent's house... so that's partly why my updates are so SO slow :O ) Also, there are only 2 weeks left of class to this year and when I'm done teaching this semester, I'll surely have time to update more often in a couple of weeks!

See you soon! Love you all!

Lily xxx