Chapter 24.2- And So the Dragons Danced

“My sweet sweet boy” She said, in way of greeting, taking a step forward. No. This couldn’t be her. She was dead. I lifted my fists in her direction.

“Don’t come an-any closer” I said, cursing myself for the stutter. It was a legacy of my old life that I was sure I had left behind so why was it rearing its ugly head right now of all times.

“You have nothing to fear from me, my son. My love. My boy” She stepped closer still. The voice in my head urged me to attack. To do something- attack her or run. But it was screaming at me to not let her get close. Maybe it wdas the tiredness that came from lack of sleep, maybe it was the swamp, maybe it was a million different things, but I did not move a single step as she covered the distance between us and then grabbed on to my face.

“My sweet summer boy, Natsu. You have been o very brave. So strong. So strong without your mother. You can rest now” She said as she took me in a hug.

“How is this possible?” I found my voice, and muttered into her shoulder.

“The foggy swamps are a very spiritually charged environment, my son. Here, spirits that have lingered close to the veil between worlds can cross over if someone from this side pulls them over. You pulled me here, Natsu. You wanted me here, my love, my boy.”

“But how?”

“You’re lost, my boy. You’ve lost your way.”

“I have.”

“But rest now. Mommy is here. You don’t have to fight anymore.”

“I don’t have to fight anymore” I said, and then I felt myself freeze.

“I like fighting” I said this time.

“What?”

“I like fighting. It’s the only damned here that matters. It makes me feel alive, real, makes my actions matter.” I said. It felt like I was talking to myself, and that was the truth. I felt myself as I was being enclosed in the vines of the tree and tried moving my limbs only to find that they weren’t responsive. They were bound pretty tightly, But my head wasn’t. I took a deep breath in, and I bathed the vine that was forming around me in fire. I turned my head, and allowed the fire to spread all around me until every bit of green around me was ablaze. I fell to the water below with a splash and just sat there for a second, breathing heavily. I’d come close to dying just now, I knew. If that spirit had taken me, then that would have been it for me. Stupid. So fucking stupid.

I cursed at myself even more intently as I scrambled out of the water. Where were my men? Toji? Maki? There was a spirit in this swamp, and I’d left them chasing after the damn thing.