Chapter Two: Explanations

All of them were sitting around the table with solemn looks. Gajeel was at the head, with Lily at the very end and the Flock around them. Lily had his arms crossed over his tiny chest and a foreboding look on his face. Gajeel knew he was coming up with all kinds of scenarios, but wouldn't assume the worst.

"We have wings," Max stated, seeming comfortable in her seat, but if you looked closely you could see her tight shoulders and slightly pinched expression. Before they sat down, Max had asked Gajeel if he trusted Lily with the Flock's lives, and Gajeel knew where the conversation was going to turn.

Let's just say he didn't expect her to blurt it out that fast or that bluntly. She sure didn't beat around the bush.

"You have wings," Lily deadpanned. "That was the big secret? I mean, I knew you had wings when you were on your way to the shower from what you said, but I was kind of hoping for an explanation for the them. Having wings isn't a big deal to me because I have them, too."

"You have wings, too?!" Gazzy gasped. Then his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "But I don't see them and you don't have a shirt on."

"They're magic wings. My entire species has them," Lily informed. "When I want to fly, I just concentrate on them and they pop out. Perfectly normal." He glanced around at their gaping faces. "But your wings aren't natural, are they? Gajeel, tell me the whole story. You know I can keep secrets."

Gajeel sighed heavily and the kids looked to him. Fang glanced at Max and she nodded her head. It was fine. "Well, we're all experiments," Gajeel started. Lily raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't know Gajeel was included. "We grew up in a place called the School. It was basically a giant lab, an' we were born there. Tha' place was hell, I'll tell ya tha'. We were all injected with a type of DNA, an' most di'n't make it. Scary as fuck, seeing someone next to ya die, I'll tell ya." He shook his head, shuddering.

"They performed tests on us and mutated our skills," Max continued. "Some of us they put in the arena. Others, if they didn't meet the requirement, were killed. Brutally."

"We lived in dog crates," Fang said quietly. His voice was like ice covered silk, brittle but soft. It meant he was angry.

"They picked the winners of the arena and used special tests on them," Nudge said, flicking her eyes to Max, Fang and Gajeel. Out of the Flock, they were the only ones put in the arena. "They would be put in extra courses, tested by different chemicals, taken out of the cages to learn how to use their abilities. They were trained to fight and kill, used as mindless soldiers. Those that went insane were shoved in with the Erasers as food."

"What are Erasers?" Lily asked solemnly after a few moments of silence. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. These kids went through that?

"They're half wolf, half man monsters," Iggy informed. The only one not talking was Angel, who chose to situate herself on top of Gajeel's lap. "Personally, even if they are blood lust monsters who enjoy screams of pain, I feel bad for them. They lost all humanity and all ability to love. They don't know happiness."

Max looked especially sad at this, as Ari was a little boy subjected to exactly that.

"So you all have bird DNA?" Lily asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Yeah," Gajeel said gruffly, sitting back and running his gloved hand through Angel's hair and smiling when she giggled at the affectionate gesture.

"Can . . . I see your wings?" the cat asked tentively. Max eyed him for a moment before nodding and standing up, removing her jacket. She rolled her shoulders and her white and brown speckled wings fell open until they reached the walls on either side of the room. She sighed and stretched them as much as she could, her feathers ruffling. Gajeel thought she looked like she was about to preen them, which led to picturing her with a beak, causing both him and Angel to burst out laughing.

The others looked at them funny, but Gajeel just shook his head. "S'rry, continue," he chuckled.

A knock resounded at the door and Max snapped her wings shut, throwing her jacket on in less than two seconds. Lily snapped out of his trance as well, closing his jaw with an audible click.

Gajeel held Angel by her armpits, stood, and dropped the giggling girl on his warm seat, still gaffawing quietly at the image in his head. Shaking his head, he walked to the door, throwing it open.

The blunette on the other side blinked owlishly up at him, her hand still raised to knock again. Quickly, she dropped it and smiled brightly at him, momentarily stopping his world from spinning.

"Wha'sup, Shrimp?" he asked casually, leaning on the door frame. She giggled.

"I found a book in a foreign language, but I didn't recognize it. Do you think you could take a look at it and see if it's Dragon Script?" She wrung her hands together, and when Gajeel opened his mouth to protest, she hurried on, "Natsu went on a mission a couple of hours ago, and Wendy is helping Master with something, so I can't ask them. You're the only other Dragon-Slayer I know. Please?"

Gajeel cursed inwardly at the puppy dog eyes she pulled off so well, and mentally gave Angel the bird when she said Fang had the same problem. Grumbling, he opened the door wider. But that didn't mean he couldn't tease the poor girl mercilessly. "Just couldn't wait fer the date, huh, Shorty?"

Her neck and ears turned a bright red and he cackled. Pouting, she made her way to his dining room, lifting her bag off of her shoulder and shouldering the door open, hand reaching into the leather. She paused when she caught sight of the Flock sitting there, giving her curious looks. "Gi hee" Gajeel snickered, moving past her and plopping down in his seat. When he saw everyone looking at him, he rolled his eyes like a bratty teenager. "Don' look at me," he said crossly. "I ain't introducin' ya. Yer capable of doin' it yerself," he sniffed.

Max cracked a smile at him, shaking her head. "You really haven't changed," she said, turning her attention to the blue haired girl that made herself at home. "I'm Max, Gajy's little sister," she said proudly.

"Damn straight," Gajeel grinned, his canines glinting in the bright lighting. He stood. "Imma get some food, ya'll want some?"

Iggy stood up with him. "Let the chef see how well your cooking skills are. Plus, we eat a lot more than we did ten years ago."

"Chef, huh?" Gajeel said softly. He smiled fondly, "Knew you'd have somethin' to do with food. Ya still like explos-" His voice was cut off as the kitchen door swung close, leaving the Flock and Levy and Lily in silence.

"So, you're all Gajeel's family?" Levy asked nicely, putting her bag on the ground.

"Yep," Gazzy grinned. "The Gasman, at your service. But you can call me Gazzy."

"Stay upwind," Max muttered to her. Levy was sure there was a giant question mark over her head, but decided to ask later when they were familiar with each other.

"My name is Nudge. Oh, my God, is your hair that color naturally? It's so pretty! It reminds me of the sky!" She giggled. "No wonder nii-san likes you. You're so pretty! Say-"

"Thanks, Fang," Max said, sighing. "Sorry about her. Now you don't have to wonder why Gajy calls her Motor Mouth."

"Gajy?" Levy asked, giggling and trying to ignore the obvious blush on her cheeks.

Max smiled fondly. "Yeah, we call him Gajy since he gave us all nicknames. It was a lot more effective when we were younger, but the name stuck and we've been calling him that ever since. Nudge and Angel call him nii-san because they didn't really know him too well. Actually, Angel was one when he was taken away from us, so she only knows him by her memories and stories we told her."

Levy smiled sadly. It reminded her of her own family. "Well, my name is Levy, not Shorty or Shrimp," she said, blushing when they laughed.

"Y'know, Levy," Lily drawled, popping his head on his paw, "shorty is a term of endearment, and it's the Urban word for 'girlfriend'. He's very aware of this fact as well."

"What?" Levy shrieked, hands coming up to slap her warm cheeks to hide them.

"Talkin' 'bout me, kitty?" Gajeel droned from the doorway to the kitchen, holding two plates stacked night with sandwiches. He set them down on the table and Iggy followed him, holding three gallons of milk and a gallon of water. Gajeel went back and grabbed another plate full of sandwiches, half of them with iron in the middle. Seeing their confused stares, Gajeel shrugged, plopping down in his chair. "I'll explain later. Shorty," at this he grinned, "ya might want to grab a couple before they're gone."

With that said, they all dug in, each grabbing a couple hand fulls of the lunch in question. Levy, seeing how fast they acted, dodged in and grabbed a couple for herself. After they were done, Levy opened her mouth to talk, but a giant burp came out instead, silencing the rooms occupants.

The Flock stared at her for a couple of minutes, then burst out laughing. "She's perfect for you, nii-san!" Nudge squealed. Gajeel grinned brightly at the red cheeked blunette.

"Ain't that right, Motor Mouth?" Levy slapped her hands to her face a second time that day.

"Gajeel!" she squeaked.

"What, Shorty? GI hee!" He laughed some more, his canines prominent against his flat teeth. "It's true, ain't it?"

"What?! We're not dating!"

"But we're going on a date tomorrow," he said cheekily, knowing full well that he was getting under her skin. The others laughed some more.

"But we're just going shopping!"

This time Gajeel frowned. "What, do you not want ta go out with me?" He leaned back in his seat, eyeing her seriously. "'Cruz ya just had ta say so."

Levy sputtered in the silence of the room. "Of course I want to go out with you! Stop putting words into my mouth. I just don't like you teasing me about it."

The Flock's heads were going back and forth between the two like they were watching a tennis match. Gajeel grinned again. "Ya know I ain't gonna change, Shrimp. Either ya take me the way I am, or ya don't get me at all. 'Cause I ain't gonna stay with someone tha' wants ta change me. An' I like ya, so I want ya to have me."

Nudge was watching with wide eyes, a giant smile on her face. This was exactly what she wanted out of everyday life; a soap opera was exactly what she wanted out of life. And there she was, watching one unfold right in front of her eyes. It was amazing.

Levy's eyes softened dramatically, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I like you, too, Gajeel. And I don't want to change you. But please, just don't tease me in front of your family. Great first impression, huh?" she added to the others watching. They each grinned maliciously.

"You know, anyone that can catch Gajy's heart is an amazing person to me," Iggy said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head. Levy blushed brightly again.

"If Gajeel thinks you're worthy to be with him," Max started, eyes narrowing at the girl, "then I think you're worthy, too. But if you break his heart, I'll break your bones. And possibly your neck. Got it?"

Levy's eyes widened and she gulped, nodding her head frantically. "Keep him in line," Fang said suddenly, eyes trained on hers. "If he does something stupid, we're counting on you to set him right again. That is, if we're not there."

"I'm right here, ya know," Gajeel grumbled, head resting on the palm of his hand. "And what the hell ya mean, 'if we're not here'? Course ya gonna be here! I'm keepin' ya here by force if I half ta!"

Lily smiled behind his paw. "And if you have children, I'm naming the second one," he said. Levy blushed again, and Gajeel's head snapped up.

"Like hell, Cat!" he growled. "Not with yer name! Mr. Pantherlily."

Lily scowled at him. "I can't help what my parents named me! And like you're one to talk, Kurogane Gajeel," he sniffed.

A dark aura settled around the table at the jest. "I was named that after I won the fifth round in the arena," Gajeel said softly. "Do not talk about the name lightly."

Levy was certainly confused, but guessing by the way the others closed their eyes and the way Lily blanched at 'arena', they weren't. She glanced at Gajeel and furrowed her brows at the pain there.

Suddenly, there was a loud raven caw outside the window, and Gajeel tensed. Lily jumped to his feet, paws moving in the 'follow me' signal. Levy, and the Flock, confused, followed. He went up the stairs, and Levy just barely caught Gajeel's words. "Explain to them while I'm gone. I don't know how long I'll be this time. Tell Master." And then the sound of a door closing echoed the finality.

"Lily," Levy said, "what's going on?"

The cat sighed. "Whatever you do, don't jump to conclusions until I'm finished."


A/N: Well, that's that! Thanks for reading so far! Please review! For the ages, Angel is eleven, and just go off of her age. For Gajeel, we don't know how old he is, but just think between 25-28. Okay? If you have any questions regarding this, just PM me!