Hi everyone!

Nothing much to say today other than: hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

Don't forget to leave a comment to give me your impressions on it :)

Have a nice day! Lily xxx

The day had been an arduous one for Mira for obvious reasons. However, in addition to the worry and sorrow she was feeling about her brother, her companion, if she could call him that, simply walked, openly showing his annoyance even though he didn't say a thing. At least, he seemed to have let go of the idea of getting rid of her: neither of them would abandon their plan and both needed to go in the same direction.

But no mater how she resented Laxus, she couldn't help herself but being a little relieved to have someone by her side. Mira may have the tendency to always walk forward, her head high, getting rid of the numerous obstacles life put on her way, this time, it was too much for her to completely handle. If she had managed to shove all her fear in that little corner of her brain until then, that fear seemed today too big to be ignored. The possibility of having lost her brother forever was simply unbearable. So, if that man could increase her chances to get him back, why not? He was for her a reminder that it was possible, regardless how much he didn't care about her or how much she was exasperated about him.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost ran into him when he suddenly stopped.

"They stopped" said Laxus in a low tone.

After a quick look far ahead, Mira could see that the soldiers had indeed started to set camp. It was an odd feeling to have someone see something before her due to her amplified vision, but after all, she was so caught up in her thought that she almost didn't see Laxus stop right in front of her. So it was perfectly normal that, powers or not, he noticed it before her.

"I suppose we should have a camp site of our own" said Mira.

"Hummm" said Laxus, clearly showing his lack of interest.

"We should put our provisions in common" she however continued. "Did you bring something?"

"Can't you see I don't carry a bag?" said the impatient young man as a single answer.

"You've got to be kidding me! You really left for this kind of journey without bringing anything?" exclaimed the discouraged young woman.

"I don't need much."

"We'll you need to eat, idiot... hey! We are you going like that!"

"Getting something to eat" he said without looking at her, already getting away.

Mira opened her bag in a dry gesture. What sort of imbecile leaves on a trek for an unknown amount of time without any supplies? Sighing, she looked at the soldier's camp site. At that distance, without her overdeveloped vision, she couldn't have seen them. So they could allow themselves to make a little fire to get a minimum of heart during those cold nights. Then she took out a piece of dry meat and bread. Se probably wouldn't have enough for the whole trip, but it would suffice her for a couple of days. The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon when she saw Laxus' silhouette walking back from the forest.

To his frustrated face, well more frustrated then usual, she understood that he came back empty handed. Then he simply laid against a tree, seeming to get ready too sleep.

"You didn't catch anything, didn't you?" she teased him.

"Shut up" he grumbled as a single answer.

Holding back her urge to let him starve to death, she got up and handed him something to eat.

"It won't kill me to skip a meal" he growled, refusing to take what she offered him.

"Is there one single part of your personality that isn't completely unpleasant?" she complained.

"Is there one single part of your personality that isn't completely annoying?" he retorted without interest.

Anger filled Mira once more. She who had gotten herself to try getting along with him. She opened her mouth to tell him her train of thoughts but she was cut off before she even started.

"Quiet" he told her.

"What? How dare you..."

"Just shut up" he repeated, sniffing the air. "There's a weird smell.

Surprised, Mira sniffed herself the air. She didn't catch anything abnormal despite her powers. Looking at Laxus with worry, two options got to her mind: either he was crazy or he was a bearer with a sense of smell even greater then hers. Judging it was better not to underestimate a potential treat, she scanned the forest. Even though all her senses where amplified by her ring, her eye sight was to most sharp one of all, being able to perceive high speed movements and that, long before others. She didn't however see anything until something fast ran in their direction. Due to the dark, she couldn't identify what that was. Nevertheless, something was obvious: she had to get out of the way, now!

She saw Laxus breath in a large gulp of air before starting to look around him in a hastier way. He clearly just detected the scent of something very close but didn't got yet from where it came from. Relying on the few movements she got, she predicted the trajectory and plunged on the side, drawing Laxus with her by gripping his shirt.

Laxus and her, now laying on the ground, turned to what just brutally landed. A man stood where they where seconds ago. 'No... not a man' understood Mira with a closer look. Even though the creature had a humanoid form, his human teeth where replaced by fangs. As for its nails, they where thick and sharp, like claws should be. His eyes where bright orange and lusty and he emitted animal like sounds, a sadistic smile on his deformed lips. Around him, the ground was slightly deformed due to the impact force in which he had hit the ground while jumping from a tree. With such a speed and the force he had deployed, she hadn't any doubts about its nature.

Mira's blood froze in her veins. How did a fallen got on this side of the wall? Was it for this reason that new recruits where enrolled? She would have to think about it later, the fallen was about to charge again. She rolled on the side, Laxus doing the same in the opposite direction. Once more, they barely dodged the attack.

She could see Laxus stretch to his boot from which he drew a dagger. She reprimanded herself for not thinking of bringing a weapon... her who just blamed Laxus for not being prepared.

Laxus tried to hit the fallen, the weapon sinking into his stomach. To the reddish glimpse she could see on the blade, Mira understood the Laxus had reached the target. However, the fallen didn't seem affected by the wound at all and violently pushed Laxus away. The latter rammed into a tree, dropping his knife under the impact. Despite the obvious pain Laxus was in, he had to quickly get back to his feet to avoid being pierced by sharp claws. He dodged many other hits, but let out a swear when the fallen reached his face.

Mira's hart speeded up. She had to do something. But could she really make a difference against such a monster while she didn't even have a weapon? Taking a deep breath, she decided to apply the idea she had before she changed her mind. Before the beast could try something against the young man, Mira threw herself on its back, gripping as hard as she could so she wouldn't fall. Much to her relief, Laxus reacted right away and picked up his dagger before plunging it into the beast's throat while Mira restrained its movements. The fallen showed a couple of spasms before Mira saw the life slowly leaving him. When the fallen collapsed, she finally let go of him, her hands shaking.

She looked at the humanoid form at her feet with disdain. Her blood froze once more when she saw him shifting to a human form. To her frightened expressions, Laxus reminded her that fallens where before everything else a type of bearer. His tone was neutral, almost bored. How did he managed to remain that calm? Then he dragged the fallen's body, holding one of his legs, carrying him further in the forest. It was only when he came back that Mira remembered that he was injured. Blood was flowing from a lightening shaped cut over his right eye.

"Laxus?" Asked the girl with worry.

"I'll be fine".

"Let me look at it" she insisted.

"I told you I'll be fine" he repeated.

"And I told you that I'll give it a look".

He sighed. However, he sat, waiting for her to get closer and look at his wound. Mira didn't wait another second, knowing that this would be the only chance she would get, anticipating that he would change his mind if she hesitated too much, and got a clean cloth she dipped into the river.

"It doesn't look too deep" she said, delicately holding his face with her left hand, carefully whipping off the blood with the other. "Can you open your eye?"

Without bothering to answer, he executed himself, opening on the young woman piercing grey eyes. A smile was drawn on the girl's lips.

"Your eye doesn't seem to be damaged". She smiled. "Can you see me?"

"Yes"

"Perfect!" Her smile fell a little. "You'll need both of your eyes for what's ahead of us".

He remained quiet. A heavy silence took place between them. For a moment, Mira almost forgot how antisocial he was.

"So..." she tried anyway to make conversation. "You're a bearer yourself, aren't you?"

He nodded. Mira was more and more discouraged to his lack of words. If he refused to speak to her after that, there wasn't nothing more she could do. She was about to give up when he finally said something.

"All five senses" he specified "but the easiest one for me to control is my sense of smell. What about you? To see him coming this fast, you obviously also are one".

"Five senses as well" she confirmed "but the most developed one is my sight, especially for rapid movements".

It was odd speak of her powers out loud. She had kept them secret for so many years that revealing them like that to the one that was practically a stranger, an annoying stranger that is, gave her a weird feeling.

"You should try to sleep" she finally said, snapping out of her thoughts. "I'll guard the camp for the first half of the night".

He nodded, not needing to be told twice and laid next to the fire. Taking turns for sleeping, Mira decided to spread the blanket she brought on him despite the fact that he was already asleep. Even though it was too small to cover all of him, it would at least protect him a little from the cold.

That done, she took place on the other side of the fire, her gaze lost in the flames. The young woman always wondered how the fallen looked like. She now had her answer. However, she now wondered how the creature got this far from the wall. Did they all got as much strength than him? Where some of them even stronger? How was Elfman? She didn't even know what type of powers he had. She sighed. Even if she obtained some answers, so many more questions filled her mind.