Age: 15

"I want to join." Makarov looked over the scrawny teen, dressed in ragged and worn clothes that hung loose on their thin frame. No shoes and no hair. Dirt staining their skin, with dark bruising under their cold, lifeless orange eyes. Completely dull and worn down, a look no teen should have in their eyes. This street rat was small, looking maybe 12, but their voice was different, older.

"How old are you? No lying." He asked. The teen rolled their eyes, tsking. But their gaze never truly wavered from his.

"15." Makarov's eyes widen before narrowing a little. Their body looked 12, their voice spoke early 20's, their eyes were that of a dead man's. But this child was only 15.

"Do you have any magic?" The teen nodded their hairless head, and Makarov waited silently for them to continue. A moment passed with nothing happening, before Mira came rushing over, eyes wide. Confusion and caution apparent in her sapphire orbs.

"Master whose's this?" She asks and Makarov looked up to the S-Class barmaid. Did she not know they were here? Makarov looked back to the teen, whose shoulder barely reached the bar top. Dull orange eyes staring a hole into him, the longer its gaze lay there. Watching him closely. Seeing everything, there is to see. Come to think of it, Makarov didn't notice the teen was in the guildhall, until he was standing right in front of him.

"What's your name child?" Makarov asks, ignoring the mage, focusing on the teen as the second brawl of the day broke out. The teen opens their mouth to speak, but before they could answer, Gajeel was thrown into bar top, destroying that section and nearly hitting the teen. A bruise already starting to set in on his jaw. The dragon slayer spit out some blood as he sat up stiffly. The teen knelt besides him, but the brunet didn't notice them until their grimy hand was placed on his bruised jaw.

"The fuck are you?!" The dragon slayer growled, raising his hand to whack off the kid's hand, but then the pain of his jaw lifted. As did the aches of yesterday's mission. His red eyes blinked twice before narrowing. "What's your name kid?" The kid just healed him, Gajeel can't be that big of a dick to him now.

The teen stood up and looked over to Makarov, who was watching the interaction with narrowed eyes. "The name is Reis"

Age: 23

"Reis!" The brunet looked over to his adopted brother. The iron slayer grinned at him, slinging his scarred arm over the other's shoulders. Despite nearly being the same height. "Guess what, Ghost, there's going to be two teams again for the Grand Magic Games this year." Reis smiles at the older as the grin turned to a smirk. "Not only that, but we get to be on the same team - Team B." He leaned heavily the the lithe male.

"Let's beat Team A and take first place." Reis' voice was a quiet, smooth tenor, that was often not heard. But relaxed the tension in Gajeel's shoulders when he heard it. The older can remember when he was a kid and his voice was squeaky and ill fitting. It was only starting to deepen by the time the Tenrou Team was put down for their seven year nap. Though luckily, when they returned, Reis was one of the few that remained, but was completely different.

Seven years does that.

But after the whole Tartarus deal, and the guild getting disbanded, Gajeel decided to keep the people most important to him close and make Reis his little brother legally. Levy obviously helped out with most of the paperwork. It was also a little funny adopting a 22 year old man into his family. But he didn't care, especially now that Reis now bares the name Redfox. His next target for a last name change, was a certain blue haired shrimp. But through a different process.

"We've got a couple months to train, so lets round up the rest of the team and head on out." Reis gave Gajeel a look as he jabbed his elbow into his side. Gajeel chuckled, removing himself from the younger. "We've got the two blond powerhouses and the Popsicle. Juvia is the reserve." Reis nodded, but was still waiting. "I'll talk to the blues, you get the blond lovebirds. Tell them to meet at the train station tomorrow at 8, we'll be gone about 2 months." Gajeel finishes and Reis smiles.

Reis walks away and towards the Thunder Tribe Table, every member present. Lucy and Freed talking about something Levy had loaned the blonde. Her boyfriend, the heir to the title of guild master, sitting besides her. Mug in hand as he took a lunch break from paperwork and interacted with his people as Bickslow and Evergreen bickered.

Laxus was the first one to look up at him, allowing him to point to Gajeel as he talked to Gray and Juvia about the plans. Laxus listened in and nodded when everything was explained well enough. The blond was smart enough to fill in the blanks. "See you then Reis." Laxus' voice was lost to this teammates' bickering, but Reis nodded and left them to themselves. It isn't that he is adverse to socializing, but Reis prefers to just keep to himself. He just doesn't feel the need to be all close to a lot of people. Gajeel is enough for him.

-x-x-x-

Something was bothering Reis, it was causing him to be restless and a little stir crazy. It was barely six in the evening, but brunet was out and about wandering the quieting town, sticking close to the canals as the evening sun inched closer to the horizon. Casting long, dark shadows against the walls and streets. The water glistening in the angled light, Reis stopped then, looking down at his reflection in the shining blue liquid.

He saw dark brown hair, a curly mess flowing down to his shoulders, bangs hiding one half of his tan, freckled face. A bright orange eye trained and focused, a thin scar running through his right bow where two, small, black, ring piercings sat on the edge of the dark thin brow. A similar pair pierced the left side of his bottom lip. Face was looked serious, but actually just lacked an emotion to change from its default. Black long-sleeve shirt, rolled up to the elbows, black ripped up jeans and combat boots. Not one but two chains on the right side. One for keys, the other for his wallet.

Reis sighed, looking away and running a battle toughened hand through his curly mass of hair. Wincing a couple times as he run into knots. Groaning as he yanked his hand free of his dark locks, annoyance made his eye twitch. Honestly why hasn't he gotten it cut yet...

Reis' eyes widen as realization hits him. The brunet has been meaning to go get a cut for a while now, but never found the time. Now was the time. There was still at least another hour before a good mom n' pop barber shop closes for the night. He is finally going to cut it for and relieve himself of this torture. Just in time with the training camp beginning in the morning. He seriously doesn't understand how Gajeel can have that much hair. Seems like a lot.

-x-x-x-

Gajeel's grumbling under his breath as he watched the clock hit 7:57. The slayer knows Reis likes to cut it close, but usually he's here five minutes before at the latest. The train is already boarding. Their group, larger then their team, but that was unavoidable, just like Reis testing Gajeel's patience this early in the morning. 7:58.

Oh Gajeel is most certainly going to be skinning Reis later. Away from people. Mostly children, they don't need to see that. But adults, he doesn't give a shit about. 7:59. Know what? Gajeel just might detain his little brother's ass, skin it, roast his flesh then feed it to the damn fishes.

8 o'clock. "Morning." Gajeel hates... That's different. That's really different. "Let's go board." Reis said and led the stunned group of nine onto the train and into two separate cabins. The actual team and those who tagged along. While the two dragon slayers suffered in silence, it was finally Lucy who spoke up about the elephant in the room - Laxus is not the elephant.

"Reis... your hair..." While she was the who spoke up, she was still mostly speechless. Reis smiled a little, caused Lucy to silently suck in some breath, even Juvia blushed a little. Who knew a hair change could cause such a reaction. Or cause someone's appeal to go through the roof.

Reis had first if all, cut his hair roughly to chin length, cutting away almost 3 full inches. The second thing he did was get an undercut, all the way away. Barely leaving half an inch left. Revealing the three black ring piercings in each of his helixes, along with the stud piercings in each lobe. The third and final thing his did was bleach his hair to a silverly grey. The mage had tied his hair back into a pony tail, with his bangs still covering his odd left eye. In summary, Reis looked good enough to eat. Also who knew forearms looked so good.

"I'm not meat. Don't drool." Reis scolds, the still up turn of his lips revealing his amusement as he pulled a notebook of out his barrel bag, his long trip bag, flipping through the pages until he finds the correct one and hands it over to Gray, who sat besides him, to read out loud. The Devil Slayer's eyes scanned the pages quickly, then flipped over to the next, reading those, before looking up to Reis who was reading over his shoulder.

"You gathered data on all our opponents? When did you do this? The teams haven't even been announced yet." Gray raises a brow while Reis shrugs and Lucy snatches the notebook from Gray. Mocha eyes reading over the first couple of pages again and again, before looking up to the youngest mage in the cabin. Who was looking idly down at a book, causally reading as Lucy was once again reminded of how much Reis had changed since she first met him.

Lucy looks down at the wealth of knowledge that lays in her hands, all neatly written in a eligible script easy enough for Natsu to understand. On the first two pages were the stats on Fairy Tail Team A - Gildarts, Natsu, Erza, Elfman, Wendy with Mira as a reserve. The next two was Sabertooth - Rogue, Minerva, Yukino, Rufus, Orga with Dobengal as the reserve. Next was Crime Sorciere? Midnight, Cobra, Angel, Racer, Richard with Meredy as reserve. Lamia Scale - Wizard Saint Jura, Lyon, Chelia, Yuka, Toby, no known reserve. The all-female guild, Mermaid Heel had Kagura, Miliana, Arania, Risley, Beth, no known reserve. Blue Pegasus had Ichiya, Hibiki, Ren, Eve, no known reserve. Finally Quatro Cerberus - Bacchus, Rocker, Warcry, Jiver, Nobarly with Semmes as their reserve.

A good solid quarter of this worn, leather notebook was used to give detailed descriptions on each opponents strengths and weaknesses - magically, physically and mentally. Such as Cobra's own magically amplified hearing can easily be turned against him if you are loud enough. Or how Bacchus gets both more unpredictable and stronger the more he drinks his special alcohol. As a subnote to that, is the alcohol's recipe and properties.

Lucy looked up at the former brunet. He has given them an ultimate cheat sheet that will lead them to victory. But one has to wonder how he got his hands on the information.