What if Levy had an older brother? This is the question that was brought to me by a anon on Tumblr. Enjoy!
Tiny fingers weaved colorful strands of sky blue hair in intricate patterns as the young man who owned the locks droned on and on over a book that he held. He was completely fine with the younger bluntte braiding his wild tresses while he continued to speak to no one in particular.
"'Furthermore, I believe that there is no lesson without hardships. Where there is pain, there is an opportunity to learn and grow as humans. Where there is dashed innocence, there is compassion'...hm." the man hummed whilst scratching his slight stubble.
The girl peaked over his shoulder to point at a certain passage. "What's wrong? Isn't this pretty easy? It just gives you the answers!"
With a chuckle, the reader shut the book and swept the little child in his arms. Once she stopped squealing to be put down, he brushed away some of her equally disarrayed blue hair and smiled at her with familiar amber eyes.
"Levy, do you know the three musts of public speaking?"
Levy nodded enthusiastically while raising her fingers up to name off the musts. "One, make eye contact. Two, don't talk down to the people you are trying to speak to. Finally..." She had to stop and rub her chin, trying to remember the last point she had been drilled with a majority of her life. Alas, the final one always seemed to slip her mind.
"Don't just recite, breath what you read." he had finished. Levy snapped her fingers and frowned at not catching the answer before him. "Tarter sauce! I knew that!"
The older male laughed and ruffled her head. "Don't worry, you'll have plenty time as you grow up to learn." Levy was then picked up under the armpits and set carefully to stand alone on the ground. The grass tickled her bare feet and comforted her soul. The tree that the pair were finding shade under had cooled the earth and was pleasant to walk on.
The man rose as well, pulling on a nearby pack and placed it on his back. Levy hustled up her own knapsack and shouldered the weight of the books that resided inside. "Bottom line Levy, as solid script mages and the last of our nomadic people, it is our job to teach others of our once great culture and to learn from other's as well. One day, those teachings can be implanted in this world," he paused to step out into the sun light. A sort of fondness crept over him, washing him in hope. "And who knows? Maybe it might make a huge difference."
"You really think it can, Ryner?" Levy asked while following her brother into the day. Ryner nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Of course. Just as our father and his father before him, we are teachers. We may be weak, but our hearts more than make up for it..."
He raised his pointer finger into the distance where a small road was waiting to be traveled. "Now let's get moving! Next stop, the Temple of Thames!" Ryner exclaimed. "I heard their library is one of the hidden wonders of the world!"
"Right!"
With that, the siblings were on their way to the next destination.
"Mr. McGarden, how did create that object so quickly?"
"By George! Never in my years would I have expected to meet the rare sight that is solid script magic, and complete solid script magic at that!"
"Mr. McGarden, do you plan on making the Temple your new home? We have room for you and your sister!"
Ryner rubbed his neck and sheepishly grinned at all the attention. He had just created a complex element out of nothing but his bare hands, some old texts, and a clever imagination. The monks who resided at the Temple were astounded and doting over him as if he was a savior sent by the heavens above.
In Levy eyes, all she saw was her brother being awesome. It was one thing for people who were seeing it for the first time, but for a person learning the craft, it was another moment to observe and drink in more insight. She understood how to make a full animation with script, but somehow she always got it wrong. How her brother did it with ease baffled her immensely.
As she watched the monks fawn over Ryner's skills, her attention went straight back to the thing he had created with just his words. A steel statue with a platinum scale that was balanced perfectly. Truly, there was no greater script mage than Ryner McGarden.
And one day, so would she.
Levy swung her legs as she read her favorite book, a page turner filled with old fairy tales and legends from the times of old. Ryner had given it to her before he headed off to the council to look for work. It was the siblings' chance to finally find a less temporary home.
She waited with practiced patience on a park bench for her brother. Many people walked past her, sparing a glance at the her odd hair that seemed to spike up like a wild animal's mane with the color of the bright blue sky. The girl could care less at all the stares. They just weren't used to seeing new hairstyles and found it strange that this blunette took pleasure in letting her locks be left unkempt.
It was a few minutes longer before her brother came back with a sullen face and his hands in his pockets. Levy set down her book, hopped off the bench, running to hug Ryner with all her might, happy to see him after so long.
"I missed you!" she cheered and buried her face in his shoulder. The man gave a meek smile and ruffled her hair. "I missed you too, Little Miss.."
His sister pulled away and gave him a concerned look. "Are you okay? You look sad..."
Ryner brushed her bangs to the side and shrugged. "They gave me the job."
Levy lit and and went back in for another hug. "That's so cool! Now we'll have a house! We'll have a bookshelf! And we'll also have a huge kitchen and eat ice cream everyday-" her excitement was sobered after she broke off the hug and took a good look at her brother.
A small trail of tears went down the side of his face. "You can't come..." he whispered, lowering his head to meet the gaze of the ground.
"Wha...why?"
He placed his hands on her shoulders, the same hands that raised her since their mother's death years ago. These were the same hands that created wonderful things from thin air and magic. It was the pair of hands that Levy one day wanted to have herself.
"The council said that you cannot live in the barracks with me. I won't have enough money to buy my own house for us to live in for a year of so. I can't raise you anymore."
Levy could feel the tears pricking the back of her eyelids, but she blinked a few times at the words her brother spoke long ago. She placed her own hands on his shoulders, determination in her eyes. "Then why don't I stay with Granny Louise?"
Her brother had a shocked look replacing his sorrow. "She lives all the way in Magnolia! If you were in the care of someone here, I could be able to see you easier!"
"I know..." the girl replied softly, but then reraised her head to meet the amber eyes that the McGarden's always had. "But Granny is a script mage too. She can raise me up to be just like you." She then placed a hand on her heart. "And one day, I'll be old enough to join the council with you! I promise I'll come straight back to you!"
Ryner regarded his sister for minute until he kissed her forehead and embraced her once more.
"You have way far more courage than I, Little Miss..."
"Ryner...is what?"
An old woman sat in her chair just as she always did. She watched as the rain dripped down the window and left streaks on the pane. Levy stood rigid, having just come from the bakery to fetch some ingredients for dinner when her granny told her the news.
"I'm afraid your brother was killed by a dark guild that the council had been trying to track for years." A pained sigh escaped the elders lips and a sob was hidden with expert care. "They found the guild just fine, but Ryner...he didn't make it home..."
Levy dropped the goods she was carrying and held her face in her hands. "N-no, I promised him I would get stronger...Granny Louise, please...this isn't real."
The girl was only left with the dull patter of rain hitting the small apartment. It battered on in the silence that should've been filled with a "Yes, it is just a horrible nightmare." But the words were never spoken, for Louise McGarden never told a lie in her old age.
Without a single person to call home to, not one person to tell her that she had to be brave, Levy collapsed to her knees and began to cry into the hands she knew could never have stopped this outcome.
"No...oh God please no..."
"Dear, please don't tell me that you're leaving town again with that team of your's."
A ten year old Levy wrapped a worn scarf around her neck while her granny sat reading an old book on the many works of fiction by some famous author. "You need more money for your medicine. Besides, someone has to have Jet and Droy's back." With a dramatic flourish of her hand, the script mage struck a heroic pose. "They need their fearless leader to guide them to victory!"
Louise chuckled and set down her book. She opened her arms to the ametur wizard and flashed a loving smile. "At least give your old Granny a hug before you leave."
Levy giggled and skipped over to her chair. The two embraced for a good, long moment before the girl broke the hug. She quickly hopped into her room to grab her bag before flying over to the door in a flurry of blue locks and an old headband.
"I promise to bring back more tomes on the Great Trade Wars. I know those are your favorite!"
"Come on, guys! I have to visit Lucy today!"
Jet ironically was struggling to keep pace with the short leader of Team Shadow Gear as they reentered the city of Magnolia. All the while, he hobbled along with a limp that he received from the battle on their mission. Droy huffed along, equally as damaged, but held a coy smile instead of an annoyed flat line as well as only a sprained wrist this time.
"Slow down, Levy! She'll forgive you if you're two minutes late!" Jet said with a tinge of pain in his voice. Suddenly, he felt part of the weight on his hurt leg disappear and a body duck under his arm. Levy's head popped up near his shoulder as she began to help him walk better. She beamed up at him and gave him a quick wink. "Alright, but both of you have to let me treat you to dinner."
Droy perked up at the mention of food. "But I thought you were going to use your share to get that new book."
Levy shrugged with her free shoulder and made sure to shift her tiny head so that her room to move it was more efficient. "You guys are much cooler than just some book, besides I bought it while we were in that town."
Without thinking, Jet stood being sour and his heart melted at his leader's kindness. "Sure you did. Thanks by the way."
"You're welcome!"
"And then after the guild disbanded, Jet and Droy said they wanted to go find somewhere to settle down..."
Levy paused as she sat cross legged in front of her brother's grave. It had been awhile since she had visited. The last time was after the Grand Magic Games. She needed a moment to recharge and decided to take a small holiday. Right now, she was just finishing her report on the Celestial Spirit War and the war with Tartaros.
"We still keep in touch, but I needed to go my own way. Can you imagine me settling down in some town, getting married, not travelling?"
The stone in front of her was silent, but she could almost hear the soft laughter on the summer breeze. As if she expected any less of an answer. Levy uncrossed her legs and let them rest in the lushious grass.
"After that little adventure, I finally joined the council. They put me on the Punishment Squad as the Senior Information Officer. Pretty sweet, right?"
Another small breeze brushed over her skin, making the grass tickle her toes and exposed limbs.
"Looks like I got you beat, but at least you didn't have to keep an overbearing dragon slayer in line every hour of every day. Getting him to do paper work is like trying to stop the rain from falling." She complained while drawing her knees up to her chest.
"Still...I wonder what it would've been like if you...you and Granny were still here."
For a moment, the breeze ceased to blow anymore. All that was left in the silence was the hissing and calls of wildlife. A melancholic smile found its way on the young woman's face.
"You'd still be my dorky older brother."
Something landed softly right next to Levy. A black with a white tipped tail swished in a show of regal respect for themselves and others. The figure carried himself with all the dignity and power that the world could've offered but held a sense of honesty as well. It was no doubt the one and only Pantherlily.
"So this is where you disappeared to."
Levy turned around to see the smiling cat in his more compact form, being only around a foot and a half tall at least. His uniform was shrunken down as well to fit his changed body size. It was a good thing the council made clothes that changed with the person's magic.
"Hey Lily. I'm just finishing up some things here." The council woman hauled herself to her feet and brushed stray grass from her clothes. She tugged at her tank top and brushed out the nonexistent creases of her jean shorts before facing up to her comrade.
"Let me guess, you guys were swamped with paperwork and need me to give you a hand."
The exceed stretched out his wings to meet Levy eye to eye. He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded curtly. "We need back up desperately."
With a facepalm and a chuckle, Levy gestured to the best of her ability to the sky. "Take me away, my holiday is over."
"Right away Miss Levy."
Lily flew behind her and latched onto her shirt. In mere moment the pair were soaring through the sky back to council headquarters. Watching from the ground below and sitting next to his own grave was a man whose hair challenged the color of the sky. He smirked while watching the jet stream shoot at an alarming rate grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
A small feather floated into her line of sight, gently landing in the palm of his outstretched hand. Its softness was barely felt and yet he couldn't help but awe at the tiny thing. In his own opinion, it was those small wonders that seemed to matter the most.
"Granny Louise and I are still listening, so don't use past tense."