"Natsu I'll be fine!" Lucy laughed patting her dragon slayer on the head as she made her way for the door. "I'll probably be back by this evening. I just need a little bit more for my rent. I'll meet you for dinner, K?"

He should never have let her go. It was too dangerous; he should've been there to protect her. His heart was pounding and he could hear it vividly. It was as though he was in battle with adrenaline coursing through him and power surging through his veins but the only thing he was fighting was the truth. It couldn't be it couldn't. It was too difficult to believe. His skin seemed to be too tight around him, his chest was concaving inwards he was sure of it. He was going to be crushed, constricted by his own casing unless he did something to stop it. He stepped backwards and arched his back letting loose a dragon's roar to the sky, animals scattered and the red flames sparked and crackled uneven against the golden sunset. She would've said it was beautiful, she loved his flames, she'd always been in awe of his magic. She was one of the few people who saw more in fire than the capacity to destroy. His roar was still echoing around the small valley surrounding the guild, hearing it was like he was taking back in everything he'd tried to release. He still felt unbearably constrained. What was he supposed to do? Who could he go to? He had the guild mere metres away and yet he had never felt so alone. There was no one else he wanted to talk to about this except the one person he would never see again. She was gone all because of him. No one came out to see him, they feared the heat that emanated from him it was a unanimous decision to give the dragon slayer some time to cool off before they attempted to comfort him and even then it was partly just an excuse to have time to gather their own thoughts, to get a hold on their own grief, before facing his. For them all it just seemed too large to consider just yet, no one was ready to speak let alone console. Natsu kicked off the ground and flung a dazzling blade of fire at a nearby tree. It crashed heavily against another which toppled slowly to the ground. Even the destruction did little to release any of the tension within him. He sunk to the grass and pulled his knees under his chin trying instead to curl in on himself, if it wouldn't be expelled perhaps he could implode the pressure. He was sure he had reached his breaking point. How could he go on from this? What was he supposed to do?

"Salamander," Natsu barely registered Gajeel's arrival, if it weren't for this address he wouldn't have even realised that he was there. It was as though there was nothing beyond him anymore, nothing beyond this all encompassing pain. Gajeel sat cross legged behind him and sighed deeply, "it's not your fault, not even you could've saved her."

The last of his defences gone Natsu finally sobbed, just once violent and desperate in defeat. She was gone. His Lucy was gone.