Well, my attempt to go full SHAPE and only use line and shape tools didn't really work out, but I think it looks nice anyway! ^^;;; even without the full background piece I made and then dumped because it was too busy. And drawing June in her entirety twice.
The Prime family as their totally unified set! May is a canary, August is a golden eagle, June is a crested caracara, and July is a white-tailed deer. ^^;;; soooomehow the character I was listening to Birdbrain for the entire drawing process for is the only non-bird--funny how that works out.
(Lov I hope I did your fellas well and you get a kick out of this too >w<)
Summary: Ghost AU. If you could change someone's fate, would you? Death is at the end of everyone's road and always comes when you least expect it. It’s irreversible, except maybe for a flickering soul who haunts her own life and is shown that the red string stretches even into the afterlife.
Part 1.
Pairing: Nalu
Genre: supernatural, mystery, humour
-
Natsu stuffed his hands into his pockets, hot breath mixing with the cool air to form a puff of fog. His dark eyes shifted uneasily over his surroundings, occasionally letting out a hiss as he tripped on a stump covered in crumpled dried leaves or having his foot sink into the wet dirt, suctioning onto the bottom of his shoes. He felt the itch to whine as he and his friends trudged further into the woods. Though, he knew his pride would never allow him to voice his own thoughts.
The young man didn’t think that Gajeel had meant this when he called them to have a ‘bit of fun,’ as he had described it.
Heading into the woods by the outskirts of Magnolia in the cold and middle of the night had never made Natsu’s list of fun. Not once. The tall pine trees made him feel small, their shadows making the forest even darker as it blocked out the pale moonlight and every snap of a twig had the hairs on his arm standing on end. He wouldn’t admit it, but the east forest had always given him the creeps and he generally tried to avoid it.
It was a feeling he couldn’t shake. Ever since he had come here in his junior year - a stupid bet to see who could last the longest out in the ‘haunted woods.’
It had been fine at first. Natsu didn’t believe in monsters, or anything supernatural. Especially not ghosts. There was nothing in this forest that could hurt him. Except a wild animal, or possibly a serial killer, but he had shoved that thought to the back of his mind and laughed as he and his friends all ventured into the thick foliage.
He shook his head, pushing back down the growing knot in his stomach as his mind veered to what that stupid bet had led to. He had hit his head back then. That was all. Though, Natsu still couldn’t wipe away the memory of what he thought he saw that day.
The air had nipped at the back of his neck and the overhanging dark branches left him feeling uneasy as the wood forked out like a skeletal cage. The spring fog had blanketed the floor, the forest pitch black as the grey clouds covered any light that would filter through the trees. He couldn’t shake the sense that there was someone behind him, his smile slowly fading as he kept glancing back - eyes flicking from side to side before turning around to the back of his friends who were all pushing each other as they screamed out into the night.
He wasn’t afraid of anything, at least that’s what he had repeated to himself. There was nothing that he couldn’t protect himself from, and if he could fight it then he saw no reason to be scared.
Natsu still believed that.
Though, that night - he had stiffened when a chill had climbed up his spine, paralyzing him in place. He frantically searched for his friends that had been just ahead of him and felt his throat close up before he could speak. Yet, their forms had disappeared as the expanse of the forest stretched out before him. His stomach had dropped as he smelt the stale scent of perfume and he immediately jerked his head behind him.
Then he saw it. The light burned at his eyes, yet Natsu couldn’t bring himself to look away. He was stock-still as he locked eyes with… something. The wind picked up around him, pink locks whipping across his face as he heard a soft voice whisper into his ear.
“Please. Help me.”
The light got brighter until he eventually had to force his eyes to close and then he had awoken, chest heaving and drenched in sweat. His green eyes were blown wide as he came face to face with his friends who had all gathered around him. He had refused to calm down, pushing himself across the ground, smearing dirt along his jeans as he fisted clumps of leaves and rocks in his hands.
It had taken them a moment before he would listen to them. His best friend, Lisanna, was called out in the middle of the night so that she could take him home as he couldn’t stop shaking. They were convinced he was concussed. Though, nothing he had experienced had ever matched with what they said. Except for the gash across his cheek that indicated to them of his nasty fall once they had found him unconscious at the bottom of a steep hill.
Natsu rubbed at the prominent scar that had been left on his face from that night as he swallowed and looked over his shoulder, fisting the cloth of his pants inside his pockets before he tried to steady his breathing. That same feeling seemed to be resting on his shoulders at this moment - the lingering weight that had him rushing to keep close to Gray who stood a step ahead of him.
Natsu had sworn to himself that he would keep his distance from this place no matter what. Yet, he had allowed himself to be dragged out once his shift had ended at the ghoulish hour of 2am and he followed begrudgingly after Gajeel and Gray.
“What’s wrong? You scared or somethin,’ Natsu?”
He looked back up, eyes locking with his friends that had a smirk playing on his lips causing Natsu to scowl.
“Of course not!” He yelled, pulling his foot from the mud and taking another step after them. “I would never be scared of some shitty forest.”
Gray pulled a face, his smirk disappearing as his lips twisted into a frown and brows drew inwards. “Shitty forest? What the fuck does that even mean?” He turned his eyes up, gliding over the large trunks that towered over them as they walked before his smile returned. “You’re just mad that you’re scared of some trees.”
“Why don’t you come a little closer and say that.” Natsu gritted his teeth, fists already raising as Gray turned around and stopped. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as a screech resounded throughout the woods.
Natsu jumped back and all eyes turned up as an owl flew overhead, large wings spread out as it came to perch on one of the branches above them. It ruffled its feathers, head twisting around as it stared at them with large yellow eyes that seemed to be illuminated in the dark. A moment passed between the trio, the silence of the forest consuming them once again until Gajeel laughed.
“Ghi-hi, Not scared, huh?”
Natsu buried his face further into his scarf, grumbling as he did so, “I just got caught off guard is all.”
Gray clapped a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t suppress his grin as he chuckled alongside Gajeel. “Sure. Don’t worry – I won’t tell anyone how chicken shit you are.”
“Yeah.” Gajeel started walking again, adjusting the bag hanging off his shoulder. “He won’t, but I sure as hell will.”
He shrugged off Gray’s hand, as they both started to laugh once more, and trudged after the leading male. “What are we doin’ out here anyways? You never even told us what you had dragged us out here for.” Natsu dug his hands further into his pockets, almost as if he could feel the air bite through his clothes. “It’s fucking freezing.”
“Speak for yourself. I think it’s nice out,” Gray murmured from his side and he threw him a burning glare, ready to butt heads with his raven-haired friend who let the breeze cool his exposed arms in his singlet.
“We’re conductin’ an experiment of sorts.” Gajeel ignored the bickering, his gravelly voice drawing both males’ attention. “Shrimp and I have another score to settle.”
“What?” Natsu shouted, “We’re out here cause you had another disagreement with Levy?”
Gray crossed his arms, his scowl mirroring Natsu’s annoyance. “You can’t bring us along every time you have a bet with your girlfriend. Especially when we all know you’re going to lose.” They both nodded in perfect sync. “That’s what you get for dating someone who’s too smart for you.”
“Oi,” Gajeel turned around, eyes blazing as he raised his fist at them, “Shrimp and I are neck and neck! And I ain’t losin’ this time around so expect a new winner after this.”
Gray rolled his eyes. “Yeah? So what exactly are we ‘experimenting’ with then?” His face didn’t change from it’s uncaring expression as he waited for Gajeel to answer. Though, Natsu felt himself lean back a bit, his muscles stiffening as their friend laughed into the night.
“Ghi-hi, we’re…”
The pause had a shiver run up Natsu’s spine and he only realised how creepy Gajeel really looked cloaked in the forest’s shadows with his piercings glinting in the slithers of light that shone down on them.
“...ghost huntin’.”
He raised up his arms, moving his fingers for extra emphasis as his lips quirked up into a wicked smirk. His black hair fell forward, framing his mischievous expression as his red eyes lit up with his excitement.
Gray scoffed. “You have to be fucking with us.”
Though, Natsu froze up. His eyes blew wide, much like a rabbit staring a predator in the face as he took in a sharp breath. The urge to turn around pricked at the base of his neck as the hair on his arms rose and he took an involuntary step backwards - the crunch of leaves sending shivers all the way up from his ankle.
The weight on his shoulders made his knees weak as he swallowed. If he were to actually believe in those types of things then maybe he would’ve caught onto the familiar scent that seemed to pass in the second he took in a deep breath of air, or the shift in temperature as he suddenly felt way too hot in his jacket. But, he didn’t believe in that. He didn’t believe in ghosts and it was just his nerves messing with him from that night he had hit his head all that time ago.
Natsu shook his head, rolling his shoulders as he tried to brush off the anxiousness that was making knots in his gut.
His actions weren’t noticed by his friends. Both gearing up as Gajeel breathed air out his nose, fists clenched as he gritted out his rebuttal to Gray's disbelief.
“They are too real! N’ I’m gonna prove it.” He stuck a thumb towards his chest before he brought it back to point at the man in front of him. “To you and Lev’s.” His smirk turned into a grin, large and full of teeth. “Shrimp won’t even know what hit her when I tell her about the spooky shit we got goin’ on here.”
There was a pause before Gray spoke again, looking completely unimpressed as his dark locks swayed in the slight breeze in the forest. “Right. And you expect to find these ‘ghosts’ how?” He unlocked his arms from their place crossed against his chest, bringing up two fingers to quote Gajeel.
The Cheshire smirk was back in place as Gajeel tapped his nose. “I’ve done my research. Don’t doubt that, Ice Queen.”
He turned back to walking and Gray fought the urge to roll his eyes again, following his hard-headed idiotic friend - Natsu doing the same as he looked around hesitantly.
“You didn’t think I just took you out into the east forest without being prepared, would ya?” Gajeel shouted over his shoulder. “I’ve got it all worked out.” They continued trudging through the forest, yet his voice accompanied the wind now instead of the three men walking in silence.
“It might not be apparent to you two idiots, but there’s a helluva lot of signals if you’ve got the trained eye - and if you prepare for the right circumstances.” He snickered, “Ghi-hi, we’ve just gotta find the right spot. Then you’ll see.”
Gray couldn’t help himself as he spat. “Absolute bullshit. You just read about this on wikipedia, didn’t you?”
Natsu swallowed, hands squeezed tight in his pockets. He made sure to clear his voice before he spoke, forcing himself to join into the conversation as they continued to walk, “Yeah. Ghosts aren’t real, Metal Head.”
Gajeel stopped abruptly and held up a hand causing the two behind him to come to a halt. Both of the males raised a brow, but he only jostled in his pocket to pull out his phone. There was a moment as he fiddled with the device and then he held it up, the screen calling Levy.
“Just what in the world do you think you’re -”
“Shhhhh,” Gajeel hushed, a piercing glare being thrown at a grumbling Gray as they waited for the call to connect. Though, there was only the steady beep that followed as it failed.
Natsu would’ve hoped that meant there was no signal out here, but the shit eating grin that formed on Gajeel’s face was enough for him to know that it wasn’t the only thing it was telling the self-named ‘ghost hunter.’
He took in a breath of air. “I think this is it.”
Natsu looked over their surroundings. This part of the forest looked the same as the rest of what they had seen on the walk here. He didn’t know what he had been expecting - an alter? Or maybe a small clearing. Yet, the trees here seemed to close in and tower above them, the foliage so thick on the ground that he sunk down to his shins.
“You’re full of it,” Gray countered, but the dark haired male was already stepping forward as Gajeel started unzipping his backpack and was handing off the contents to his friend.
Natsu’s eyes blew wide. “What’d ya think you’re doing with all that shit? You planning on killing us and starting a porno out of it?” He watched Gray fiddle with the camera, large and chunky as he held it with both hands whilst he booted it up. The next thing was a tarp as Gajeel smoothed it over the ground before his eyes looked up at Natsu with an annoyed look. “I don’t know about Gray, but I am not into this!”
“Not today, punk.” He placed a candle on the floor that looked like it was from Kmart until another camera followed - smaller in size that Gajeel set beside him. “Now, what’re you doing just standing around ‘ere? Help me would ya.”
He had to stop himself from grumbling, only narrowing his brows as he came to kneel on the tarp that he had set down on the ground, crunching underneath his added weight. “What do you want me to do?”
The smile he got in return made him feel uneasy. “You’re gonna play the main part, pinky.”
Natsu watched as he finally pulled out the last thing. A box. There was no branding. Just a plain, stale white box that was ripped on the edges and looked as if it was falling apart whilst being lined in a thick layer of dust. Gajeel handled it carefully as he pulled open the side and slid out a wooden board that had Natsu reeling back.
“I’m not fucking using that!”
“Don’t be such a pussy, Natsu,” The man in front of him chided, ”All you’ve got to do is slide this thing around and say some shit. Come on - you owe me.”
Natsu scowled. “I don’t owe you shit. And why can’t you or Gray do it?”
“I’m filming,” Gray shrugged, a smile on his face as he seemed to focus the camera on Natsu’s disgruntled expression.
Gajeel shoved it further into his face. “And I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t miss anything by setting up another angle. This has gotta be good if Shrimp is gonna accept the fact that I’m right, Knucklehead.” His pierced brows narrowed. “And you remember when I worked a double shift last month to cover ya ass. Don’t think that I would forget about that.”
“Fine.” Natsu grabbed the board alongside the planchette before he shoved it on the ground in front of him.
“Wait-” Gajeel lit the candle and placed it in front of the board before he pulled back as he fiddled with the camera. “I’ll tell ya when I’m ready.”
The nerves built up in Natsu’s gut, his eyes burning holes in the board as he looked over the numbers and letters marked in ink on the wood. He had seen an ouija board enough times in movies to know what it was, but had never actually had one or used it. He didn’t mess with shit like this. It was unrealistic and he had seen people crack the myths surrounding them so he saw no point. Yet, he couldn’t help feeling on edge - a strange sensation pulling through his hair as the wind eased off.
He didn’t like this.
“Off you go.” Gajeel was grinning as he held up the camera alongside Gray. “It’s time to get summoning!”
Natsu eased his eyes back to the camera before he grumbled, pulling up his scarf as he grabbed onto the planchette. It was smooth between his fingers and he sucked in a quick breath as he slowly put it onto the board. He hesitated, but not from the ouija board. Natsu could feel something in the air, the similar presence stirring up more memories of that night that he had tried to push down. The candle flickered as the hairs on his neck stood up, yet he hadn’t started moving.
He flicked his eyes to the side of him. There was no zap of energy as he had his hand firmly pressed against the wood, but the feeling of something behind him was growing and he couldn’t help but feeling more anxious as more time passed.
“Hurry up.” Gray drawled, shoulders sagging as he looked bored. “Let’s just get this over with so we can go home.”
“Right.” Natsu sucked in a breath. The quicker he proved that there was nothing out here the quicker he could go home and sleep. He would be out of this stupid forest in no time and then he could never step foot in here ever again. A new life rule that he would follow - do not fuck with this east forest.
He cleared his throat. “Is, uh... anyone here?” It felt weird asking the question out loud, waiting for a response from the board as silence met the three males. Natsu tried to keep his hand loose, but his muscles were tensing as he struggled to keep his cool. His patience was wearing thin as the minutes passed - eyes flicking up occasionally to check their surroundings.
“I told you this was bullshit, Gajeel,” Gray stated, but the male in turn raised up a hand.
“It takes time!” He shouted, “Ya have to wait. Natsu, ask again.”
Natsu grit his teeth as he glared. “Would anyone like to prove this goddamn idiot right so we can all go home already?” His breathing was becoming more laboured as his agitation grew - stomach twisting into knots as he kept looking around the forest. There was something there, the sensation of someone behind him growing stronger and stronger giving him the urge to run.
“Hey - Natsu, are you alright?”
Gray spoke up, but he ignored him as he started again. “C’mon fuckers. Show yourself! If ghosts are real then prove it. Make some noise.” His voice was laced with anger. “We’re all waiting.” Natsu was no longer looking at the board, turning around himself as he stared out into the dark, but he saw nothing - only feeling the heat soak into his clothes as he started to sweat.
“Fuck this.” He stood up, letting the planchette clatter onto the thin wood. He wanted to get out of here, he wasn’t here to fuck with shit that didn’t exist. Though, he froze in place as he turned around. His green eyes were blown wide and his feet seemed to be buried in the mud beneath him.
“Oi! You’re not meant to let of -”
Though Gajeel didn’t get to finish as his camera began to sizzle and became hot in his hands. “Shit,” he cursed, letting the technology fall onto the foliage beneath him - Gray doing the same as he let out his own string of cusses beside him before meeting his gaze.
“Okay.” He sounded nervous now. “What the fuck is going on?”
Yet, neither could answer as Natsu screamed - blood curdling and making their hair stand on end as they both freezed up, staring at their friend who looked pale. His entire body was frozen in place as he stood with his back turned to them.
Natsu only had one thought in his head as he struggled to breathe, feeling his blood run cold as he came face to face with the transparent form of a girl in front of him.
We’d always suspected that when we finally made contact with aliens, there would be some cultural friction. That there would be things about each species that the other would find bizarre, or incomprehensible, or disturbing.
We still weren’t prepared.
The aliens were too tall and too narrow, visibly unstable, nearly falling as they walked. Their limbs must have been even narrower than the environment suits they wore to contain the toxic atmosphere of volatile gases they thrived in, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they really looked like. One of my colleagues had seen pictures, and had gone quiet when I asked. I did not ask again.
Their castes were marked by features less obvious than ours, wispy tendrils partially concealed by their environment suits, which was why (we told ourselves afterward) it took us so long to notice. It started with an innocent question from one of our researchers, a xenobiologist working on classifying the intraspecies variations in their physiology.
One of the aliens had an aberration in its tendrils, near the base where they connected to its body. At first we thought the alien might have had some kind of disease, but when we (cautiously, politely) asked it, it seemed unconcerned. Apparently it used a sort of cosmetic alteration, which was beginning to fail and would have to be reapplied.
That was when the xenobiologist asked her fateful question. Why, she wanted to know, would the alien alter its caste markers in this way? Did it indicate a subspecialization of some kind?
No, apparently it was attempting to indicate a different caste than the one naturally indicated. Nor was this a simple case of deceptive mimicry; apparently its natural caste markings were mismatched to its actual caste, and it was applying a cosmetic correction to bring its appearance into line.
That was how we learned that Amentans allow their castes to interbreed.
