Sweet Starry Shadows
Chapter 67: Returned

Lucy tiredly watched Sakura heal them in silence. Her mind throbbing as her muscles often quivered to the cool sensation of Sakura's magic, she knew that the crimson was hiding something as she was trying to remove the thing inside of Rogue with the assistance of the other two dragons.
Unknowing what to say as she listened to everyone's tensed, but shaking, intakes of air where she squeezed her eyes shut. She knew that Sakura was trying to remove the poison without hurting them. She could tell when Sakura would often flinch, taking the pain for them to prevent them both from weakening even further.

Much to her distaste though, she knew that she should be grateful for the girl not wanting to see them getting hurt.

Slowly opening her eyes, she watched as the poison slivered out from Rogue's injury that was healing. The dragons present, that weren't helping in the process, gasping as they watched the ribbon of black glide out of his body, she widened her eyes as she watched their black markings gradually vanish.
Each inch removed was another inch of markings fading away from their bodies.

"I've been trying to grab the darn thing. Every passing minute, it grows longer, making the markings on you both grow..." Sakura scowled, using her magic to pull the thing out with Karee and Melantha assisting her as they prevented the poison from lashing out.

Lucy intently watching, she felt her body adjusting itself again. With the foreign poison being removed, she could feel her magic and strength returning to its potential. Eyes following the crimson who stood up with the other dragons, she gasped when she noted how long it was.

"Like a snake... A horrendous type of poison to be in a victim..." Karee whispered, purifying any drop of blood that may still be tainted with its deadly substance. Melantha nodding, she used her magic with Sakura's to constrict the wriggling snake of poison with her brows furrowed. "Must purify it before it tries to do somethi-" She stopped talking when she was suddenly kicked away by Sakura.

The dragons almost about to move to their Alpha, Sakura snapped her jaws at them. An action that warned the dragons all not to come anywhere near her.

Lucy watching as the poison began to somewhat enter Sakura's system without even touching her, she wanted to help her friend as she watched the markings rapidly make itself known on her body.

"Saku-"

"Ace! Yuuto!" Sakura interrupted with a harsh tone. Without a word, both wolves jogged over to Lucy and Rogue in silence. Quietly helping the both up, a portal opened up where the blonde widened her eyes and snapped her head to the crimson watching them intently.

"You can't... Not when you're like that!" she tried to reason, wanting to remain to help her friend where she was blocked from looking at the girl by a certain male blonde. Narrowing her eyes as she tried to fight against Yuuto's hold on her, she growled when Sting narrowed his eyes back to her.
"We all don't want to leave her like this, but right now, we need to leave before it comes to us," Sting stated, following Ace and Yuuto into the portal with her unwilling to leave the crimson behind.

Lucy unable to form any words, she kept her eyes back to the portal where she saw Sakura watching them with a saddened smile. Biting the bottom of her lips, she felt someone pierce a shard of glass into her heart when she saw Sakura sighing and turning to look away from her. Fighting back tears as she was gently pulled away, she watched as the markings on Sakura's body vanish from her body.

She was tricked by the crimson into believing that she was poisoned. With the portal closing, she looked to the front in defeat, knowing that Sakura and Melantha easily purified the poison right after that little performance by the crimson. "Are we ever going to see her again?" she whispered.

Ace didn't say anything. "She'll be too busy to visit your world... She'll come and visit when everything's all settled," Yuuto answered for his partner, forcing himself to reassure her with a forced smile.
"She's better off being free than confined," Ace scowled, clicking his tongue before they all made it to Sabertooth where everyone stopped and looked at them.

"Frosch! Lector! Sting and Rogue are back!" Rufus called out from his seat at the bar table where two little voices could be heard by the group. "Rogue-kun is back? Fro is happy," Frosch happily chimed as they ran over to them with a smile on their faces.

"What happened Sting-kun?! You left Frosch and I alone here!" Lector questioned, pointing to Sting as he guiltily went on one knee to pick both up. Since Rogue was unconscious, Frosch looked at him worriedly before looking at Sting. "Everything alright?" Sting shook his head in reply.

"How about we let him sleep in the infirmary until he wakes up?" Lucy suggested, glancing over to Ace who had an emotionless mask on. Both wolves nodding, they followed Sting who began to lead the way.

The male blonde placing both Exceeds on the floor near the stairs, he softly smiled to them. He missed them, but right now, his partner needed his help more than them. "How about you two play in the guild for a bit? We need to let Rogue have his rest, and maybe I'll take you both to eat as an apology for leaving suddenly," he calmly said where both of the Exceeds nodded their head.

"You better promise!" Lector cheered as he reached out to grab Frosch's hand. "Fro thinks so too," Frosch followed before running off with Lector where Lucy and Sting smiled at their family-like actions.

Lucy turning her attention to Rogue, her smile dropped. Feeling Yuuto's secure hold on her loosen, she ignored Sting dismissing the members of Sabertooth that approached them to ask what had happened to Rogue.

A sigh escaping through her lips, she turned her attention away from her mate as Yuuto nudged her, silently telling her that Sting had begun to move again. "Be sure to stick alongside with him. He'll be able to naturally heal whatever Sakura didn't heal quicker with you there," Yuuto informed.

Nodding as they walked upstairs, they easily made it to the infirmary where Sting sat on the far end of the room, allowing Lucy to take the seat right next to the bed that Ace placed Rogue on. An awkward silence filling up the room, the girl played with her fingers uncomfortably before sighing out loud.

Unable to deal with the silence, she looked at Yuuto. "He'll wake up soon right?"

The wolf raised his brow before nodding his head. "Our Alpha wouldn't allow him to leave if he wasn't in a stable condition like he is now," he stated, slightly offended that she was doubting Sakura's capabilities of judging someone's health.

"She seemed like she wanted us away from her as soon as possible," she reasoned where he shook his head in reply. "She needed space to think about her official title in the castle..." Yuuto replied to which she raised her brows in confusion to his reply.

"I remember her mentioning about awakening and doing her actual job... What does that mean?" she asked. Looking at both wolves present, she saw how they tensed. Her head turning to meet eyes with Sting, he too seemed like he wanted to know the answer to her question that made the two wolves freeze in their spot.

A pleading look being sent to the boys in black and white, she patiently waited as Yuuto opened and closed his dried mouth uncomfortably. "I... We..." He sighed before closing his eyes, slowly opening them to look down to the floor in shame. "Her blood lust was only the halfway stage to her awakening as a fully-pledged elemental dragon and not to mention as an official Alpha. She was recognised as an Alpha of the Alphas because she was almost there to being one officially. With her now being able to control all elements at once, she now needs to do her job properly..." he explained, looking up to the blonde since he knew that he now needed to act like an Alpha like his Alpha.

The blonde frowning, she felt hurt that her friend didn't tell her this earlier. Remembering bits and pieces of Sakura's past that she heard from the dragon, she then realised that Sakura seeking for blood was a part of her awakening. The road to be an elemental dragon wasn't as easy as she thought it was when Sakura told her about her magic.

Unable to reply or make a comment to Yuuto's answer, she looked down to her knees when Ace stretched. "We should go back to her now... We don't need her feeling overwhelmed if anything happens over there," he stated where his partner nodded.

Both them getting ready to walk to the door, she balled her fists and quickly got up from her seat. "Wait!"

They stopped midway and looked over their shoulders in sync. Waiting for her to say something, they saw the tears threatening to fall where they looked at each other before back to her. Not wanting to answer any more of her questions about their pitiful Alpha that they grew to admire to since being acquired, they felt their hearts and mind wanting to return.

"Can you please tell her that we're thankful for everything?" she whispered, wanting to cry since this may be the last time that she'll ever speak to them again. "Thank you so much for helping us with everything... Thanks to you guys, I was saved from being killed by Zeref and managed to find a stronger side of me," she said truthfully where they both nodded, too unsure of what to reply after hearing her thanks.

[Dreame 2019 Edition]
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