Chapter one:

A silan's silence

For the first time in several weeks, Lucy was able to walk outside without a cloak covering her head. It was the rain she had to thank for that. Cool droplets of water fell from the sky, flooding everything in sight, leaving the cobble pathways slippery. The usually blue sky was a sombre grey. Making the world look gloomier than everyone pretended it to be.

Lucy didn't mind. She let droplets of water turn her golden hair into a matted state and her cheeks a flushed pink from the abusive weather.

So many memories had been made in the rain.

Then she heard something. The sound of a knife being dropped. Clattering to the ground. Lucy shouldn't have heard it. Not with the rain. But after growing up in a hell town like hers you learnt to stay alert.

Lucy's hood went up and she dove for the shadows, grabbing onto her pistol. Her pistol. That felt strange. After all, it hadn't used to be hers.

Footsteps got louder and quicker. Each one the ticking of a clock, counting down to her discovery. Now was when she had to choose. Fight or flight? Three years ago, she would have had the answer. Now she wasn't so sure. Too wise to act on instinct but to foolish to act on facts.

She'd run out of time.

Something pressed against her back. A blade, the feeling all too familiar. Just as many people had tried to kill her as monsters and three years ago she would have killed them for it. Ironically hanging out with hunters had made her go soft, "Looks like someone dropped the ball," it was him. Lucy restrained herself from eye roll, one day she was going to kill him if this is how he greeted her every time they met.

She balled her hands up into fists before releasing the tension, punching him was fun but he might see it coming. After Lucy finally made up her mind, no longer rushing having analysed who the threat actually was she turned around to twist her 'attackers' wrist, causing them to drop the knife. "Shut your mouth if you want to keep your tongue, Jellal," Lucy smirked as he scowled, picking his knife from the ground in one swift motion. "Its good to see you," she added as a small peace offering, the hunters really had left their mark on her.

Jellal waved her apology away giving her a toothy grin. He'd aged since they'd last met. His ocean eyes looked wiser. Like he'd seen things even the people of Terra couldn't handle. Well, so had she.

"Come now, it's not good to stay out in the rain," if Lucy were back with the hunters she would have laughed. They had faced weather worse than a little rain. But she wasn't with the hunters. She was with Jellal, so Lucy bit her lip and nodded. It wasn't like she couldn't appreciate shelter.

He led her through various alleyways, each getting darker and dirtier than the other. Her mouth stayed firmly shut, not wanting to breathe in any of the foul germs in the air. It was alleyways that Lucy feared the most, so easy to be blocked in, she'd had to fight her way out before and the memories didn't sit well.

Finally, they were standing in front of a small wooden door, the green fuzz of moss that sat along the bottom of the door was the only sign of life there was. Jellal fumbled for the key. Patting down his worn-out cloak and baggy trousers finding it attached to his hip.

The house was simple. Clearly not a permanent stay. A small bed in the corner with an itchy looking blanket and his belonging still in their bags.

She sat down at the table, looking around the room. It needed a good clean, cobwebs in every imaginable place and dust on every surface. "Drink?" Jellal questioned, cutting through her thoughts like water, his accent still heavy from back home in Terra, no matter how many years ago they left. She couldn't tell if it was comforting or unsettling.

A nod came from Lucy, not bothering to give a specific request, it didn't look like he had much to offer. She fiddled with her cloak, a habit Natsu had picked up on her doing after a few weeks of training. She wondered how he was doing on his mission. Maybe he'd already completed it. No. that would be impossible, even for his standards. She had barely begun and letting him win two times in a row would be more than an act of friendship. And friendship was all there could be...

The slam of a wooden cup hitting the table was enough to bring Lucy out of her thoughts. Jellal looked over her, analysing her the same way she had when they had first met. Searching for injury or changes. She bit her cheek hoping by some miracle he wouldn't notice. She didn't want to answer the questions that came with his concern or curiosity.

Her luck really had gone dry, "where did you get that scar?"

"Which one?" playing dumb, maybe she was a coward after all.

Jellal gave Lucy a look telling her to stop playing games, she'd never been good at hiding things from him.

"It's a long story and I don't know if I have all the time to share it" which was partly the truth. No contact in three years did give her a lot to fill him in on. Even if he didn't like what he would hear.

The chair opposite her creaked as Jellal sat down, "I think you can manage," he said with derision, Lucy pulled a face, not liking his attitude even if she did deserve it.

Lucy's fingers ran through the tough fabric of her cloak, using it to help her build up the courage to speak, "Alright, I might have joined the hunters," She didn't, couldn't meet his eyes. Ready for his rejection.

His chair fell to the ground as Jellal stood immediately, Lucy flinched at the sound, "might? You might have joined the hunters? Because I'm pretty sure if you went to the royal castle, endured their training, and whatever else you have been doing then I'm pretty sure it's more than a might." She let him yell, trying her best to ignore the urge to yell back meaningless defences, Jellal deserved only the facts so she would give him them when she was ready. Besides If their positions had been switched, she could only imagine the earful he would receive from her.

"I don't understand why, Lucy," he said, stopping his pace around the room to stare at her, betrayal written clear, "I don't understand how you could decide to work with people like them. They…. we used to talk about how selfish people like them were. How arrogant they were."

Lucy stayed quiet for a moment, memories of a tougher time. "They aren't what we thought. I-they aren't snobs or rich and they certainly aren't selfish," she tried to meet his eyes but Jellal turned away, "they are good people, give them a chance. If I could, can't you?" she pleaded, Lucy didn't like fighting with her friends. She'd lost too many and that was before becoming a hunter.

Jellal seemed to realise this too, "fine, but only because you're with them," Lucy's whole body perked up at this. Relief washed over her. She hadn't lost a friend and- "you still haven't told me about how you got that scar," all good things end too quickly.

She swallowed, unsure how to phrase her next sentence without being yelled at for an hour about bad decisions and recklessness, " I …raided a werewolf den"

The silence that flowed was not reassuring.

"You," he slowly pointed his finger at her as if making sure she was not to be confused with anyone else in the empty house, "raided… a werewolf den," he paused to clarify, Lucy slowly nodded, the rim of her cloak wound up into a ball from nerves. Any minute now he would blow, "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!"

She winced at the sudden increase in volume, "well, I'm alive right now, aren't I? It's not like I was alone and it's not the worst thing I've done so calm down!"

Apparently, she'd said the wrong thing, "calm down?! You want me to calm down after hearing my best friend raided a pack of werewolves and it's not the worst thing she's done!" and so he continued his tangent about safety and recklessness when Lucy noticed something.

"Jellal, be quiet," she shouted over him while rising from her place at the table.

An outraged gasp came from Jellal, opening his mouth to protest but Lucy beat him to it, "it's still raining," she began slowly, still waiting for Jellal to understand, he didn't seem to. Muttering a small 'so'.

"You've gotten softer than me in three years, Jellal," she said softly, quieter than a whisper as if muttering to herself, then she turned to him, "It's still raining, so why has it gone silent?"

A shiver ran down her spine as a low growl came from behind the door.

Jellal steps forward, pulling his dagger out. That wouldn't work and he knew it, his blade was made of iron, they needed gold to kill a silan.

Her gun would do the job but barely. A direct hit to the head would work, but it meant they had to be precise and silans had a way of throwing even an aim as good as hers off.

The door shook, bending inward at the pressure from a beast trying to break through. Yet the silence remained.

Every hair on Lucy's skin raised and her heartbeat tripled, suddenly, the emptiness of the town made sense. It wasn't the rain that had drawn people away it was the fact the where no people left. What had happened to them? A silan couldn't do this on its own and they were too greedy to hunt in packs. This was something bigger, "Jellal," she began, summing his attention away from the window, "are you on the same page as me?"

"As always" he replied, the beginning of a smirk growing on his face. Just like old times.

So...I'm writing again. Well, technically this is old stuff but I'm thinking i might continue it. I don't think I'll be continuing my other fic. I mean I've thought about it, and part of me wants to. I'm about to try and write a new chapter of it but i don't want to get anyone's hopes up.

Depending on the feedback to this story I'll continue it, I mean if nobody likes it what the point? I hope you all can understand.

if you want me to continue or you would like to give me some feedback (please) then leave a review!

Thank you all for reading.