A/N: Bet you didn't expect to see me again huh? I'm back to post this, only because it's been in my notes for so long and I kept working at it. I really don't have starters for my other stories yet, but maybe this will inspire me to post more. Let it be known that I disliked the way Fairy Tail ended and the last few arcs, but I recently went back and watched the first few arcs (aka what's on Netflix) and liked it enough to come back to this. Enjoy this fast paced angst.

For reference: While Fiore is a large kingdom with a population around 17 million, Bosco is not as united and only has a population of about 8 million. This lead to many different regions in Bosco that identified themselves more with their region than their kingdom (i.e. Gray is more 'Isvanian' than 'Boscan'). Also for setting purposes, Bosco, just as it's name foretells, is mainly dense forest, making most of it inhabitable yet ideal for slave traders. If any of this somehow contradicts canon or if Mashima wanted industrialization to exist in Fairy Tail, just call this an AU.

I really wanted Gray to speak in 'Boscan'/'Isvanian' (Italian; Bosco = Italian for wood/forest) for most of the time, but my translation skills are rusty. Thus, there might be one or two lines in 'Boscan', but most of it will be in italicized English for clarity.

If you ran up the coast of Fiore, past Oshibana and Clover, through its vast forests, then continued east, past the boarder that separated countries, where there were barely any houses and the only sites of interest were railroad tracks, over the river that separated towns and barren landscapes, and drifted a bit north, far and deep in the country of Bosco, you would find Isvan. It wasn't a capital or as large of a city as Brago, which had only become larger after it was rebuilt. Yet it couldn't be called small, too many lives were lost to Deliora on the day of its ruin.

Gray remembered it as much as his memory would allow, which wasn't much. He remembered the food and the traditions, the clothing and just a bit of what the people were like. But the food he remembered what only two dishes and the traditions only one. The was one thing, despite all of his fading memories, that he could never let go of: the language.

When he was a kid in Isvan, he didn't know much of the common tongue typically used in big towns for trade. Ur helped with that; she taught him all sorts of new words and greetings and grammar and sentences. Lyon knew how to speak it pretty well, even though he had a strong accent, and used his knowledge to tease Gray at any given opportunity. Gray, eventually, learned enough of it to have a good conversation and could even write with it.

After Ur used Iced Shell, Gray regressed. He only spoke his native tongue, forgetting everything he had learned. It was the farthest thing from his mind, Deliora at the forefront. He stayed in the ruins of Brago until his hunger grew to be too much and he traveled to his only home that still stood: Ur's house. Lyon had left and was far gone. He had taken some things, like books on magic and clothes, both not much more. Gray packed for his journey west and added the books and papers on the unfamiliar language. Ur would have wanted him to keep up his studying, after all.

Once he got to Fiore, he met other people right at the boarder, where the snow hadn't melted yet. People like Guildarts. They all spoke common tongue and were confused when he started a conversation in a different language. Gray learned more from them, especially during his journey with Guildarts, and copied their accents during the night.

At Fairy Tail, Gray was able to have a full, nearly perfect, but basic conversation with the Master. He learned more from Cana, Wakaba, and Macao. Some adults found his accent hard to understand, so at night he just practiced more. When Erza and Natsu joined the guild later on, he listened in on the lessons Erza gave, just in case he was missing anything.

Natsu really hadn't spoke any kind of known language before, so it wasn't the same, unless "dragon" counted. Erza grew up within Fiore's boarders, closer to Magnolia than any of the rest of the team. Lucy had an estate to call home in the wealthier part of Fiore and had many tutors teach her about the common tongue, as well as several others. Those lessons helped inspire her to write, to paint a picture with words, to tell a story. Gray didn't have the same upbringing. He assumed that he would never have to use the common tongue ever, since the people of Isvan didn't use it.

Now that he had lived in Magnolia for years, Gray had gotten rid of his accent and had to practice his native tongue, instead of the new common one, in order to not forget it. He really didn't use it with Lyon and there was no one else around him that spoke it, so he had to resort to practicing at home and writing things down he knew he might forget in the future.

In all of his years of being a mage, Gray never expected to use his native tongue while out on a quest.

Whenever it was Erza's turn to pick out a quest, the rest of Team Natsu knew that they would be doing a lot of work. Being an S-Class mage, Erza didn't have the same boundaries her friends had when picking regular quests. She was used to deciding in between two or three quests, all of which were difficult and often undesirable, so when she started to pick out regular quests for the team, she drifted towards the more strenuous or long term ones in order to fully put her powerful magic to good use.

And as always, Erza never disappoints. A call for a team of wizards who could take down a group of unidentified monsters roaming around a small village arose and Erza snatched it up immediately. She did so without realizing that the request would take them straight to the boarder, close enough to almost be in Bosco.

She brought the quest paper to her team, who were sitting at a table. Natsu was busy eating, fire of course, Lucy was busy arguing with Happy, about fish since there was little else on Happy's mind, and Gray was sitting back, watching the whole argument play out.

In order to get their attention, Erza slammed the paper down on the table, startling her team, and even half the guild. "I picked out a quest for us to complete." She said, her tone commanding and undebatable.

Lucy's eyes lit up immediately. "Oh great! How much is the reward? My rent is due soon!"

Happy snickered and looked away. "Of course Lucy would be worrying about her rent." It was typical that his whisper would be loud enough, for comedy's sake, to be heard by the celestial spirit mage.

"Shut up cat!"

Gray sighed and rested his elbows on the table. "So what are the details, Erza?"

Erza cleared her throat before answering. "We have to take down monsters that are terrorizing a village up north. The reward is 600,000 Jewel per wizard."

Lucy's eyes turned to hearts while Natsu grinned. "Yes! I've been itching to beat up some monsters!"

Gray smirked. "How long is the train ride?"

Natsu went pale as Erza listed the estimated time: 3 hours. "Now mentioning it, I think I can walk instead-"

"No way! It's three hours by train, it would take days to get there on foot!" Lucy crossed her arms and shook her head.

Erza narrowed her eyes. "Natsu, you will take the train or else I will drag you there myself."

Natsu fell into a stiff posture, swinging his arm in an affirmative gesture. "Aye aye, sir!"

"How many bad Happy impressions do I have to hear in my lifetime?" Lucy complained, quickly being argued against by Happy, then Natsu.

Erza was only able to sigh at her team's antics. She was about to scold them, but caught Gray reading the quest paper with a frown on his face.

"Up north, huh? Looks really close to Bosco..." He said, still examining the information.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Erza crossed her arms. She had been waiting for weeks to get a quest like this; there was no way they were going to turn it down just because Gray didn't like the location.

"No, no... It just hits close to home. It's the summer season too, there won't be any snow up there..."

Natsu overheard this and stopped his conversation with Lucy and Happy. He grinned and his fist caught on fire. "Great, we don't have to deal with some annoying snow!"

Lucy smacked Natsu's shoulder. "Natsu! Snow isn't annoying! It's very pretty!"

"No, it only makes you cold and gets your shoes all wet. It's annoying to walk around in it!"

"That's what boots are for! Taking a walk in the snow sounds like a dream..."

"Or a nightmare."

"Natsu!"

Gray sighed and and dropped his head into his hands. "Just get married already, you two."

Erza nodded while Lucy blushed brightly. "Gr-Gray! What are you talking about?! Me? With Natsu? No way!"

The ice wizard hummed. "You never know, Lucy. There are several bets running that say you guys have feelings for each other."

"Bets? No, they've got it mixed up, I-"

Erza slammed her palm down on the table, quickly getting the attention of her team. "Alright! We can talk about Lucy and Natsu's relationship another time. For now, let's focus on the quest. I assume we are all in favor. We leave tomorrow morning. I'll have the tickets at the station. Don't be late."

As Erza walked over to Mirajane to register the acceptance of the quest, Gray got up and stretched. "I'm gonna head out."

Lucy blinked in surprise. "So soon, Gray? You don't usually leave this early."

"Yeah, but Erza insisted we have to be there on time and last time I was late, I got the beating of my life. It's better if I pack and rest now."

Natsu, finally finished with his meal, leaned forward and smirked. "I bet I can make it to the train station earlier than you, ice block!"

Gray scowled. "No way. Happy, make sure he doesn't wake until later."

The cat stood up and saluted. "Aye aye sir!"

"What?! Happy you're supposed to be on my side!" Natsu complained.

"Gray always gives me fish and eats them with me. I'm changing teams!"

"That's not how it works!"

With all the budding commotion, it was easy for Gray to slip out undetected. He had some packing to get to, after all.

The next morning was hell. Gray missed his alarm, twice, yet miraculously was able to show up before Natsu, who slept in even later. Lucy showed up just minutes before Gray and by the time Natsu showed face, Erza was angry. She pushed them all into the train, knocked out Natsu before he could say another word, and ordered a strawberry cheesecake for herself all in one breath. For three hours, she refused to let up the fierce stare she had on, leaving conversation to Lucy and Gray. They talked a bit about the quest, but Erza wasn't eager to share details, so they mostly rested.

Gray could already tell the quest would be odd when they got off the train and an escort was waiting for them. Usually an escort was present only if the guild requested one, but it was uncommon to have one without any warning. It was a man, who wouldn't give his name, but told them he was affiliated with the village head and showed his credentials.

He led them to the hotel, where they dropped off their things, and then to the leader's hall, where they were already expected. The decoration was familiar, but Gray couldn't place a name on it. It was like something he had seen in a dream and only remembered small parts of. The village head was a tall man who wore long grey robes decorated with a golden pin. He spoke with an accent, but was understandable.

"Fairy Tail wizards, thank you for taking on our request. I am Bohdan, the leader of this village."

Erza smiled and gave a small bow, the rest of the team following her example. "I am Erza Scarlet, the leader of this team and a requip mage."

She ignored Natsu's grumbles of, "I thought I was the leader..." and paid attention to Bohdan, who had a lot of information to give:

"As you know, our village has been attacked by large monsters. We fear they are from a summoner that does not like us that lives in the mountains nearby. They have taken several of our children and women as well. Two days ago, they killed a man while he protected his family. This is a serious situation and we need your help. Please, destroy the monsters and stop the summoner."

Erza nodded. "Of course. We take on your request. You mentioned the summoner lives in the mountains?"

"Yes, just a short distance east."

"We will go there today and defeat the monsters for you. May I also ask how many people were taken?"

"So far 5, 3 are children. They were taken a week ago."

Gray frowned at that information. He spoke up. "A week ago? Do you think they are alright?"

Bohdan studied Gray for a second before responding, his accent a bit ticker, as if he was struggling to not respond in a different language. "We are not sure, but believe that they are still alive. Some days, food is stolen from the markets, enough to feed 5 people."

The ice mage nodded. He was about to step back but Bohdan spoke again. "I'm sorry, I do not know the names of your team, Ms. Scarlet?"

Erza smiled and introduced her team. "Of course. This is Natsu Dragneel, a fire dragonslayer, Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit mage, and Gray Fullbuster, an ice make mage."

Bohdan nodded thoughtfully. "I will remember your names, Fairy Tail wizards. If you ever need anything, do not be afraid to ask. Your guard will be with you most of the time while you are here in the village."

They all exchanged farewells before parting. Natsu's stomach grumbled and he groaned. "Erza~. I'm getting hungry. Can we eat before going out?"

Erza sighed, knowing that without food, Natsu wouldn't be in top condition. "Alright, let's find a restaurant."

Their escort, which had overheard the conversation, silently directed them to a small restaurant that had a long menu. Gray still thought the escort was odd. Why would they need someone to show them around? Maybe the village was suspicious of outsiders? They had passed through a wicked looking 'Stay Out' sign on the way...

Natsu grinned like a madman and, without even opening his menu, said he would like one of everything. Erza struggled not to pull out her sword then and there, instead striking his order from the list and ordering for the team. She still ordered a lot of food for Natsu, but it was a reasonable amount compared to his tall request of the whole menu.

The waitress had an odd behavior as well, Gray thought. When Natsu said everything, she looked confused before their escort whispered something to her. He continued to whisper to her after Erza had ordered. Lucy took note of it as well. She leaned forwards, just enough so that the escort wouldn't hear. "Isn't it odd that he was whispering to her a lot? Something seems fishy here..."

Natsu happily sighed as the food arrived. "Ah, fish..."

Gray spoke in a hushed voice back. "I've noticed it as well. Maybe they know each other? It doesn't explain their odd behavior, but I'm pretty sure they don't get many visitors here. They might just have a hard time understanding us."

Erza nodded. "True, but I think there's something deeper. We'll have to see once we get further into the quest."

The team agreed and dug into their meals. By the end, there wasn't a single plate with a bit of food on it and Natsu's stomach was finally full.

"Alright! Now let's start on this mission! I've got a fire in my belly!"

Gray snorted. "I'm sure you have more than just fire, flame brain."

"What's that supposed to mean, ice princess?!"

Erza quickly put an end to any budding fights with a glare. "Stop it you two. We need to travel to the mountain caves. By the looks of it, it's oddly only a short walk. I'm sure this won't take very long..."

As Erza looked dissatisfied at such a short quest, Lucy was happy to have an easy quest with such a high reward. It had been a while since she had spare money to spend on herself. Nevertheless, they all started the walk to the caves. Their escort stayed behind, just as Bohdan had mentioned. Gray looked back as him, as he waited at the edge of the town until they were out of sight. The more they walked, the more things didn't add up. Even though it was a ten minute's walk, they should have been able to see the mountains at the edge of the town. Yet, there was only a rough plain to be seen. No mountains, only bushes and some trees.

Lucy spoke up about it first, "Hey guys? This doesn't add up, we should have seen the mountains by now..."

Erza nodded. "I was thinking along the same lines myself. We might have been tricked by the townspeople."

They slowed their pace, still walking forward just in case. Lucy frowned. "I don't un—" She suddenly ran into an invisible wall and fell backwards onto the dirt.

Natsu helped her upright away and she brushed the dirt off her clothes. "What was that?"

Erza lightly touched the wall Lucy had run into. Underneath her fingertips, a rainbow-colored magic appeared, keeping her from crossing it. "Illusion magic. It's quite strong. Natsu, can you break through it?"

Natsu nodded and clenched his fist. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The wall cracked open like glass. Through the gap Natsu had created were the mountains they were headed to. Erza frowned. "Either the summoner put up this magic, or someone else did. We don't have time to examine it. Let's go."

The team broke the rest of the magic and were immediately faced with a steep mountain. In front of them was a trail, suspiciously leading straight to a deep cave. Gray grimaced once he saw the path. "This looks too easy. We got past the illusion magic and now there's an obvious road straight to they guy we're supposed to take down? It looks like a trap."

Erza requipped a sword into her hand. "We have no choice but to move forward. Even if it is a trap, we have to take down the summoner."

With Erza leading the way, the team followed the path into the cave. It got darker as they continued, so Natsu held up a flame in order to see. While he was looking around, his ears caught onto a shuffling sound. Natsu suddenly charged forward, the others chasing after him with shouts of surprise. "I think I hear something this way!"

Natsu slowed down once he was able to see shapes in the light. He made the flame larger in order to introduce more light. When the team caught up with him and saw the figures, they were shocked. It was as the leader Bohdan said: two women and three children. But, they were far from looking alright. They looked thin, as if they'd been fed nothing for a week. The children had some bruises and scrapes, but the women's wounds were worse, especially one of them that was sitting rather than standing.

When Natsu approached them, they all backed up in fear. One of the kids even threw his hands over his face and trembled. Lucy pushed Natsu back. "Natsu, you're scaring them." She turned to the villagers, attempting a kind smile. "Hi, I'm Lucy. We're here to get you out, okay?"

None of them responded and they moved back even further. The only one who had a reaction was the woman sitting on the ground. She tilted her head and made odd motions with her mouth, like she was trying to speak but her voice wouldn't come out.

Lucy resisted the urge to frown. She held her hands up so that they could see she had no weapon. "Don't worry! We aren't here to hurt you. Your leader in the village Bohdan sent us."

Hearing Bohdan's name stirred a reaction. The woman standing turned to the woman sitting and spoke in a language unrecognizable to Lucy. The woman sitting then hesitated, but spoke directly to Lucy. "I'm sorry, sorry. I am Eva. I know little common tongue. We are Boscan." Her pronunciation was off on a couple words, but the message was still well received.

Erza sighed. "I thought that this might be reason for all the strangeness, but didn't think that much on it. They can't understand us and we can't understand them. We have to get them out before—"

Gray stepped forward. "Ah, Boscan? Posso parlare in boscan."

The rest of the team and the villagers stopped for a moment, not expecting someone that could speak both languages. Erza snapped out of it first. "Well, can you tell them we are here to help and get them out?"

Gray hummed, then nodded. "I'm a bit rusty, but I can try." He turned to the small group from the village. "Siamo qui per aiutare. Your village leader Bohdan sent us. Can you stand?"

The woman standing looked warily at Gray. "You speak well enough, but some of your words are strange. Not many can learn the language of Bosco. Where are you from?"

"I am from Isvan."

Eva, the woman sitting, gasped in surprise. "That cannot be true! Isvan is gone."

Gray pressed his lips together before replying. "It lives on in me. Again, we are here to help. Is the summoner nearby? Can you stand and run if needed?"

Eva slowly rose to her feet, her knees wobbling. Her friend looked at her with a worried expression as she replied. "We can stand, but we are tired and frail. Only children can still move freely."

"Alright, then me and my friend Natsu are going to pick up you and your friend, okay?"

"Okay." Eva nodded. Her friend looked less sure, but nodded as well. Gray nudged Natsu before bending down to let Eva get on his back. "The women can't move. Pick up her friend, flame brain. Lucy, Erza, can you help the kids? They can still move, but need to be guided."

Natsu followed Gray's motions, letting the other woman get on his back. Lucy smiled softly at the children before reaching out a hand. They formed a chain. With Erza leading them all with her sword from her Flame Empress armor, they were slowly able to find a path out of the cave. Lucy walked next to Gray, making sure the children were all in sight and safe. "Gray, were you just speaking in another language? That's pretty amazing!"

Gray shrugged. "I grew up in Bosco territory, Lucy. The 'common tongue' was Boscan, or Isvanian, in my case, not what we are speaking in now. I never really thought I would use it though."

"Isvanian? Is there a difference?"

"In some words, I guess. It's just a dialect. Like how some people call a handheld light lacrima a 'torch' and others don't. It's the same thing. Some of our pronunciation is different too."

Lucy's eyes brightened. "That is pretty cool! I bet it attracts all the ladies, huh?" She teased.

Gray gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "When I went around with Loke, some girls liked the accent. But I stopped doing that. It's something special to me, using it to attract girls didn't really sit right with me."

"I understand... I didn't think of it that way..." Lucy looked down, her teasing mood gone.

"It's alright, Lucy, I know you weren't being rude or anything. It's fun to look back on that, I haven't spoken in my native tongue for years, not even with Lyon. I bet he's forgotten most of it by now."

Lucy was about to ask another question, but Eva interrupted. "Be careful, man from Isvan. Around this time, the evil man usually visits us. I believe he is nearby."

The children shrunk back and stuck closer to Lucy's side once they heard Eva's words. Gray nodded, his eyes determined. They were nearing the edge of the cave. "Don't worry. We are wizards and our magic is strong. We will defeat him." He switched back to a common tongue for his teammates. "Eva said that the summoner usually visits them at this hour. Be on the look out."

The rest of the team readied their magic. Natsu and Gray were careful with the women on their backs and made sure that their body temperatures weren't too hot or cold. Lucy put a hand on her keys and kept an even closer eye on the three children. Erza simply held her sword with a tighter grip, ready to requip at a moment's notice. Soon, the eight of them could see the light outside of the cave again. It was almost blinding, especially to the five villagers who had been stuck in the cave for a week. Once they saw the sun, the two women started to weep. The one on Natsu's back whispered thanks to a god, while Eva lifted her face to soak up the sun. The light had a positive effect on the kids as well. They reached out their hands and slowed down. Lucy made sure to keep them all moving, but it was difficult after seeing their expressions. While this joyous moment was amazing to take part in, Erza had no reaction to it since she was distracted with something else.

"Everyone, duck!" She commanded. Her team took no time to hesitate and quickly dropped to the ground just as a large ball of fire flew over their heads. They all turned to where it had come from. A man dressed in tattered pants and a dirt-stained top stood in front of a group of monsters. He had a mask covering his mouth, but it was easy to see his anger. The staff in his hands was pointed towards them.

Erza quickly requipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor. She sent swords flying his way to distract him. "Gray, Lucy, you two get the villagers to safety. Natsu I need backup if he decides to use fire again."

Natsu grinned and stood next to Erza after letting the woman off his back. "Got it."

Gray and Lucy guided the villagers back towards the cave. It was hard since Eva's friend had to walk, but her legs weren't as injured, so they made it before another fire attack. The children protested, not wanting to go back into the dark and scary cave, but the women calmed them down. Gray slowly let Eva off of his back. He looked into her eyes, seeing terror there. "We'll be back. Stay here."

As he and Lucy rushed back towards the battle, Eva broke down in tears again. "Be careful!" She yelled at their backs. Her friend kneeled down to hug the children that were scared and put and comforting hand on Eva's shoulder.

Back at the battle, the summoner had tried to send another fire attack, but it was swallowed up by Natsu. He sighed and patted his belly afterwards. "Now I really have a fire in my belly! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu sent the fire attack right back to the summoner, who used one of his monsters to block the flames.

Erza frowned at this. She turned to Gray and Lucy. "We need to all attack at once. He keeps using his monsters to block our attacks, but if we all attack at once, we should be able to get around his guard and defeat him. Once we defeat the summoner, the monsters won't be a problem."

The team agreed to the plan. Lucy called out Sagittarius and Scorpio since they both had powerful long-ranged attacks. "Sagittarius, Scorpio, attack that summoner from as many directions as you can!" As the two celestial spirits got into position, Erza flew into the air with a circle of swords around her. She pointed them all towards the summoner, hoping that a higher point of attack would get some of the swords through. Natsu ran towards the left to attack, while Gray raced over to the right of the summoner.

The summoner looked panicked when he realized he was being cornered. He forced the monsters to form a circle around him. Erza noted this and flew a bit higher up, just over the guard. "Now!"

Everyone fired their attacks. Erza's swords got through, as the monsters were too occupied with the sand blast from Scorpio and the arrows from Sagittarius. Natsu's roar burnt the monsters on the left to a crisp and Gray's lances quickly cut down and froze the monsters on the right. It was, overall, a successful attack. Once the dust settled, there were significantly less monsters and the summoner looked exhausted. He had a wound on his arm, most likely from Erza's swords, and was down on his knees.

He was still able to stand though and looked at the wizards with disgust. After recovering for a moment, he said his first words to the team. "I don't understand how you can protect those villagers and why you attack me. You all are from Fiore, right? Those Boscans are evil! They took everything, this is my revenge! I won't rest until every single last Boscan is out of Fiore!"

Everyone was shocked at his speech. Erza landed back on the ground, closer to the summoner. "These people are not evil. We protect them because you have hurt them."

"That's how they lure you in! They act all nice until they take everything you know and love into the forest, never to be seen again. Don't trust them! They all are slave traders!" The summoner was getting more and more angry by the second. He glanced over to where the villagers were hiding and grinned when he saw an opening. "If you don't believe me, I'll just have to carry out my revenge alone!"

Erza, who was too close to put up a shield, was blown back by three new monsters that had appeared. Lucy ran over to help her up. "I thought his magic was exhausted?"

"Just about, this summoning took a lot out of him. We just have to stop-"

"There will be no stopping me! I'm going to kill every last person from Bosco! Monsters! Attack!" The summoner interrupted Erza and unleashed an attack full of pure fire power straight to where the villagers were hiding. It was too fast, Erza couldn't summon a shield quick enough to protect them and Lucy couldn't afford to summon a third spirit. Natsu was running towards the attack, but was too far left, leaving one person to stop it.

"Ice Make: Shield!" Gray's voice echoed as a large shield blocked the fire from reaching the villagers. But, the power of the attack was too much for the shield and broke through it just as it was dying out. Gray, who had been standing behind the shield, yelled as his arms were burned from the flames. He coated them in ice so that he could deal with them later and looked back to the villagers. Hopefully the attack missed them, he thought. He blocked most of it, the villagers had to be safe, they had to.

The screams of children stopped his thoughts in their tracks. He ran towards where the group was hiding. Eva's friend was in front of the children, shielding them from the sight of the body in front of them: Eva. She was unconscious. Her front was burned. Gray's vision blurred. "No... Eva.." He rushed over to her body, frantically checking for a pulse. "Eva, Eva you have to wake up. Eva, please." His fingers found a weak pulse, just barely beating, possibly for not much longer. Gray looked up at her friend. The woman was crying, her eyes fixed on Eva. "She- She has a pulse. She's alive, but needs a medic."

He glanced towards the children, who were all terrified. "Can you stay here for just a bit longer? I'm going to end this."

The woman nodded. "Yes. Please hurry."

Gray stood up and turned back towards the fight. He saw red once his eyes landed on the summoner, who had fallen back to his knees. Before anyone could stop him or attack the summoner themselves, Gray raced forward and tackled him. He formed a dagger of ice in his hand and pointed it at the man's neck. "Why, why would you, they are women and children, why would you want to kill them?!"

The summoner looked at Gray with the same revulsion he had when he looked at the villagers. "I see now. You are one of them, aren't you? You're a stinkin' Boscan! You're all traders, I know it! Go ahead, kill me! I bet you'll enjoy it! I will be judged and be proven right! You Boscans are nothing more than traders and murderers!"

Gray sunk the dagger into the ground next to the summoner's head. He was trembling with emotion, too overwhelmed to reply. Natsu rushed over, having heard the summoner's speech. He pulled Gray off of the man. The summoner stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "You, fire wizard, should get rid of him. He's a murderer! One of these days, he's gonna turn on you and stab a dagger in your throat."

Natsu growled and punched the summoner's face, knocking him down. "Gray is not a murderer! Neither are those women and children! If anything, you act more like the murderer."

Erza, with the help of Lucy, stood by Natsu's side. "We won't let you touch our friend. You have been wrecking havoc on good people for too long."

Lucy let go of Erza and took the staff from the summoner, breaking it in half. The remaining monsters disappeared. They finally won. But every win has a cost.

After stopping the summoner, the team rushed back to the village. They got the woman and children to the healer, as they were the most injured. Gray and Erza were treated later. Thankfully, Eva was still breathing when they got back. She was still unconscious, but had started her road of recovery. The villagers were starved, especially the women. According to Eva's friend, who was awake enough to tell her story, they had given most of their food to the children and suffered most of the abuse. She explained how there was no way they could stand by and watch the children get hurt. The kids were returned to their parents, who weeped tears of joy at seeing their family alive.

The team realized that the escort wasn't really an escort at all, but a translator. He had been translating their words to people like the waitress, since most of the village didn't speak the common tongue well. Bohdan apologized for the confusion when they reported back. "We are sorry. Most visitors from Fiore do not like that we kept the language from Bosco. They tell us to use the common language or to return to Bosco. Life is safer here. Thank you for understanding."

Erza smiled and shook her head. "We do not discriminate against those not from Fiore. There is no official language and Fiore is a large country. You should be able to freely talk in your native tongue. Besides, we would be hypocrites if we were against your people." She turned towards Gray, who had stuffed his hands into his pockets.

His eyes still had a dangerous shadow to them, but he still spoke politely to Bohdan. "Sorry I didn't notice before. I am from a region in Bosco."

Bohdan grinned in response. He continued speaking in the common tongue for the sake of those who couldn't understand. "I suspected you were not from Fiore, but I was not sure. Your features reminded me of the northern regions. Do you mind me asking where you are from?"

Gray hesitated, but responded. "I'm from Isvan."

The leader immediately understood his hesitation. "Ah, I see. I'm sorry. What happened there was horrible. I had friends from Isvan, but they are gone now. I still visit and pay my respects."

Gray nodded and didn't respond further. Erza took over the conversation from there. "The summoner won't be causing you any more trouble. We hope that your people will make a full recovery."

"Thank you, Fairy Tail wizards. You have been a great help to my people. The rewards are placed in your rooms. You are welcome to stay the night and recover before you travel back to your city." Bohdan bowed.

Erza bowed in response. "We are glad we could help."

The team left for the hotel. The escort stayed behind to talk with Bohdan, but they didn't run into many other people. They split up once they got to the rooms: Natsu with Gray and Lucy with Erza. Once they got into the rooms, Gray removed his shoes and sat down on the bed. He was lost in thought until Natsu called out his name. "Gray. You know what they guy said isn't true, right? You aren't a murderer."

Gray bit his lip. "I know."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "I don't think you're telling the truth."

"You don't understand, Natsu," Gray sighed. "When I tackled him, I was thinking of killing him. Eva was injured, he wanted to hurt those people. His blood would have been on my hands."

"No, it wouldn't."

Gray looked up at Natsu. "How can you be so sure?! I killed Ur. Once of these days, I might get one of you hurt!"

Natsu sat down on the bed next to Gray. "I'm sure because I know you. It wasn't your fault, Gray. That guy was provoking you, but you didn't kill him. Me, Lucy, Erza, we are all here by your side. Do you think that when Erza hit his arm with her sword, she was aiming to kill him?"

"No, Erza wouldn't do something like that. That's different, she wasn't thinking of killing him-"

"You're wrong, Gray. After we heard what he said to you, we were all feeling pretty murderous. We were protecting you, just like how you were protecting Eva. Not by killing that guy, but by taking him down."

Gray was silent for a few moments. He calmed down a bit and sighed. "Thank you. This whole quest has brought up too many memories."

Natsu grinned. "That's what we're here for. Do you think you could teach me some Boscan?"

"No way, it took you forever to learn proper grammar in this language, it'll take you ages to learn another one."

"Are you calling me dumb, ice block?"

"And what if I am, flame brain?"

"That's it, you're going down!"

The rest of the night was mostly uneventful. In the morning, the team packed up, bags now full with their reward jewel, and readied themselves for the long train ride back. Bohdan and the translator met them at the train station to thank them once more for taking down the summoner. Natsu complained the entire way to the station before Erza got fed up and knocked him out. They all settled on the train, which was also paid for by the village. Gray looked out the window and caught Bohdan's eye. The old leader smiled and raised a hand for goodbye. Gray couldn't help but smile back. He waved back just as the train was taking off.

Lucy fell asleep quickly, as she was tired from both the mission and staying up all night thinking what to do with the new jewel she just got. Erza looked suspiciously at Gray, who was still staring out the window. "Gray, are you alright?"

The ice mage turned towards Erza and lightly shook his head. "Not right now, but I will be. Don't worry, Natsu already talked to me."

"Alright, but you let us know if you need anything, okay? We're here for you."

Gray smiled and looked back out the window. "I know."

Omake:

"I don't understand, why is this word said the same but spelled differently in Isvanian?"

"Because our pronunciation is a bit different, especially in our c's and k's."

"Is it alright if I use the other spelling?"

"I would understand you, but probably would also correct you on it."

"Okay, is this written right?"

"Yes, but make sure you don't forget the accent. It's a completely different word without it."

Gray and Lucy sat a table near the bar of the guild, going over Isvanian vocabulary. Lucy was so curious after the quest that Gray agreed to teach her some. Since she had already learned other languages, it wasn't much work for her to pick up a new one.

"How about this, is this written right?"

"Yeah, it looks like you got it down, Lucy."

"Yes! Can we move onto some basic questions?"

"What are you two up to?" Cana interrupted the conversation by setting her barrel down on their table.

Lucy quickly moved the papers away from any drops of beer, but smiled. "Gray's teaching me some of his native language. Did you know he's bilingual, Cana?"

Cana laughed. "Of course! I remember when he came into the guild and I couldn't understand a word he was saying."

Gray mumbled before taking a sip of his drink. "I'm much better now..."

"Oh! I totally remember his accent too! Loke convinced him to use it a few times with the ladies."

"He told me about that! I almost can't believe it. He sounds so fluent now. If he didn't tell us that he was from the north, I would have totally believed he was from here in Fiore!"

Gray set his drink down and sighed. "I'm right here you know."

Cana grinned. "Of course we know, Gray. I just like to tease you."

Lucy looked down at her papers and frowned in concentration. "Hey Cana, do you know any Isvanian?"

Gray groaned and put his head in his hands. Cana laughed again. "Of course! Do you want me to teach you something?"

"Yes! I really want to get the phrases down."

"Okay, here's how to curse in Isvanian-"

"Cana!"

END

A/N: Gray's two lines mean "I can speak in Boscan" and "We are here to help."