Moira stirred from the memories of her first day at Fairy Tail and looked around. As familiar faces started to become clearer in front of her, Moira sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Where am I?" she asked, trying to sit up. She was still a bit of a dazed.
"Oh, thank goodness!" someone said and hugged her. "We were so worried about you, Moira!"
Moira hugged the person back and when she pulled away from her, her eyes widened and she smiled. "Mira!"
Mira's eyes filled with tears and she smiled. "Welcome home, Moira."
Moira's vision had completely cleared and she looked around. She was on the floor of the guild hall, her fellow guild members surrounding her. She felt tears welling in her eyes. "Everyone is here… I can't believe I'm finally home…" At that point, she realized someone was holding her. She turned and looked up at the person holding her. "Gray?"
"Hey, Moira, long time no see." Gray said, smiling. "You were pretty beat up when you came in. You feeling OK?"
Moira placed a hand on his chest and tried to push herself up, but she grimaced in pain and slumped down against him.
"Easy now, Moira, Wendy could only heal some of your wounds. You need to rest." Gray said, putting his hand firmly, but still gently at the same time, on her shoulder. "You came back to us in pretty bad shape. What happened? Was an S-class quest too much for the Witch of Elements?"
Moira's face fell at that and she looked away, feeling new tears begin to spill down her cheeks. She put her face in her hands and wept. Her shoulders shook and Gray was unsure of what to do.
Off to the side, someone mentioned that one of their contacts had brought news of Calestown, a village way up north, that had been burned to the ground after its mayor and daughter had been executed. Calestown had been overtaken by thugs with powerful magik and weapons. They killed them as an example after the mayor's daughter led a rebellion against the thugs, trying to overpower them in numbers only to be captured and publicly executed. What happened afterwards was still a mystery.
"Did he say Calestown?" someone whispered.
"Isn't that where Moira's from?" another asked.
Moira wept as the murmurs spread through the throng of guild members.
"Calestown?" Natsu said. "Why does that sound familiar?"
Moira sniffed and looked up at him as she said, "Because Calestown was my home."
Natsu smiled and laughed. "Oh ya! Your sister Lina had that awesome fire magik that tasted so good and your pops was mayor wasn't he?" Then, realizing what he had just said, his face fell. "Wait a minute…"
Moira looked at him and the tears continued to fall. "Natsu…"
Natsu started to snarl and a look of anger covered his face. "No… Lina can't be dead…"
"Natsu, I'm sorry…" Moira tried to say, but Natsu turned on her.
"How could you let her die?!" he yelled at her. "How could you let Lina die?!"
"Natsu, knock it off!" Lucy said. "It wasn't her fault and you know that!"
Natsu ignored her and slammed his fist against the wall. Moira felt his anger radiating off of him and she didn't know what else to do. She had gained back some of magikal power and uttered a quick teleportation spell as she thought of her cabin just west of the guild hall in the forest. Her guild mates watched as she phased out of Gray's arms and completely disappeared.
"Where did she go?" Natsu demanded.
Gray stood, stretched, then reached back and punched Natsu. "You idiot! You know it wasn't Moira's fault, what happened. She took that job to try and help her village get rid of those thugs. They wield a powerful magik, one powerful enough to classify the job she took as an S-class, one I don't even think that Gildarts or Master can beat. She went home to help her family and what did she get? She watched her sister and her father executed right in front of her. You saw what those thugs did to her! How dare you think that Moira didn't do everything that she could to save Lina and their father. How dare you be so heartless!"
Natsu put a hand to his cheek, Gray's punch having connected pretty hard with his jaw. Gray shook his head and ran out into the rain. Natsu watched as he disappeared from sight and began to realize that he really screwed up. It was hard to lose Lisanna and Natsu hadn't grown close to anyone like he had with Lisanna since she died, but he found that same friendship in Lina when she came to stay with Moira for awhile. She was just like Lisanna in every way and even though he knew that she could never be her, Natsu felt like he was still with Lisanna when he was with Lina. Then when Lisanna came back, things started to get back to normal again and Lina went back home to Calestown. He felt his heart aching and head spinning as he became overwhelmed with the loss of Lina and ran off, heading towards where the hut that he and Lisanna played in together as children.
Meanwhile, in her cabin, Moira sat in her room, curled in a ball as she cried her eyes out. She had finally lost everything that ever mattered to her and she was alone in the world. Natsu blamed her for Lina's death, she had been so easily defeated by those thugs, she had been so stupid in thinking that she could save anyone when they were all just turned to ash and dust of the thugs threw their magik mercilessly at the poor villagers that Moira had known and loved her whole life. Everything she was and had ever been was determined by her ties with her family and her village, but now it was gone.
"Lina, Father, I'm so sorry!" she uttered through her tears.
She wept and wept until she could weep no more and when she thought her tears were done, the pain would start all over again and she would begin to weep more. She was so consumed by grief that she didn't hear Gray knock on the front door, let himself in when there was no answer, and find his way into her bedroom.
"Moira, are you alright?" he asked when she finally cried herself to an eerie calm.
Moira sat up and looked at him, her eyes puffy and red from all the crying. "I've lost everything, Gray. How can I be OK? Everyone I ever loved is gone and there is no more left for me. All I have is my magik and the guild, but there will always be a void in my heart without my family and village to fill it. How can I ever be OK feeling that emptiness within me?"
Gray sat on the bed with her and pulled her into his arms. "You find a way to move on, but never forget those you held dearest to your heart. You take the memories you have of them and shove them into that black emptiness left behind by their passing. You shove as much of the love and friendship you have from the guild and you glue it all together until the void disappears and you start to heal."
Moira settled in against his chest and sighed. Her shoulders shook a little as she tried to overcome her grief for a bit, but she somehow managed to smile as she thought of everyone she ever cared about. She saw their warm smiles and their laughter rang in her ears. She remembered their names, their voices, what they did for a living, and what they each meant to her. As she felt those memories' warmth, she suddenly shivered and realized that Gray was soaked to the bone from the rain.
"You're soaking wet!" she exclaimed and got off of the bed. "Let's get you out of those clothes before you get yourself sick."
Gray looked at her and chuckled. "Moira, I'm fine."
"No you are not, you are soaked to the bone and you are soaking my bed. We need to get you dry. Now come on, off with your clothes."
Moira went to her closet and looked through the linens and clothes, trying to find a couple of blankets to give to Gray. She pulled the thickest ones she could find and stepped back into her bedroom to find Gray already in nothing but his underwear.
"Well that didn't take you long." She said, managing a smile.
Gray was glad to see her cheering up a bit and accepted the blanket that she offered him. As he wrapped the blanket around himself, he thought about how much she had grown as a person since she had come to the guild. She had grown from a cautious and adventurous little girl to the beautiful, strong, and talented wizard that she was now. She had mastered her magik enough to prove herself worthy of being an S-class wizard and had even beat Gildarts in battle, using his own Crash magik against him. Gray had heard that Gildarts had gone all out with Moira once he saw that she could handle it and even then he had lost. She was just as powerful and strong as she was beautiful. She had gone from being a tiny little squirt- as he used to call her- to being a tall and elegant beauty with long flowing black hair and intense green eyes. She always put on a happy face for everyone and this was the first time that Gray had seen her so emotional.
Moira pulled the sheets off of her bed and grabbed Gray's clothes and left the bed room. Gray followed her to the living room and watched as she hung the sheets and his clothes on a clothes line near the fireplace and set his shoes next to the hearth. She couldn't find any matches or anything to light the fire, so she shot a bit of fire magik at the fireplace and the wood sitting within lit up. She flipped on the switch and turned on the lights, then went back into her room and started to put clean sheets on the bed.
Gray sat down near the fireplace, pulling the blanket around himself. He shivered, which confused him because he almost never got cold. His ice magik usually prevented that.
Outside, the rain was coming down harder and harder and the lightning lit up the room more than the fireplace did.
"Would you like some tea or something warm to drink? Something to eat, maybe?" Moira asked as she came into the living room.
Gray started to shake his head and tried to tell her it was unnecessary, but his stomach growled and he chuckled. "Uh, sure."
Moira giggled. "The rain isn't going to let up any time soon, from the looks of it, so you might as well stay for dinner."
Gray smiled and nodded. "Sure, is there anything I can help with?"
Moira shook her head. "Just get dry and keep warm." She said, then went about making some tea and starting preparing some meat and vegetables for a stew.
Gray watched as she moved with ease through the kitchen, only wincing when she needed to reach up for something. Her wounds had been healed enough for her to function, but they still needed some time. When she tried to reach for a skillet off of the top shelf of the cabinet, Gray stood, pulled his mostly dry pants back on, and came up behind her and grabbed it for her.
"Thanks," she said, a little sheepishly.
"Can I help with anything?" he asked.
"Will you stay until the storm passes?" Moira said, turning to look at him.
"If you want me to." Gray replied, a playful smirk on his lips.
"Well, then, do you think you could chop the vegetables and the meat? I'll make us stew to help keep us warm." Moira said, pointing to the carrots, potatoes, and beef sitting on the cutting board.
"Sure." Gray said and rubbed his hands together. He was fairly decent at cooking, so he started to chop and dice the beef and vegetables.
Moira giggled. "You're pretty good at that."
"I like to cook. I used to cook with Ur all the time when I was a kid." Gray said and cleaned off the knife at the sink next to Moira. He looked over at her and smiled as he watched her laugh. "You're pretty good yourself."
Moira smiled. "I always cooked for Lina and Father, especially after Mother died." She said, a sadness hanging in her voice.
As she ignored her sadness as best as she could, Moira filled a pot with water and Gray took it from her, placing it on the stove for her. She thanked him, knowing it would be too heavy for her to carry with her injuries still healing. She figured Gray had thought the same and she was grateful for his help. The tea kettle was whistling, so she hurried over to the stove and pulled it off as Gray set the large pot of stew on one of the larger burners. She went to her tea cabinet and looked through them, trying to find something Gray might like too.
"Gray, what kind of tea do you like?" she asked as she reached up to grab her favorite.
Gray came up behind her and grabbed the box of tea for her. "Mint Medley? Sounds good to me." He said, handing it to her.
"You sure? Mint's just my favorite. I have other teas if you want; you don't have to have the same tea as me." Moira said, looking up at him.
Gray ruffled her hair and smiled. "Mint tea is fine. Besides, I like mint. Especially winter mint."
Moira blushed at that. Gray was being so nice to her, trying to cheer her up after she lost her family and village, and he was gentle around her. She had always admired Gray for his strength and resilience and she was glad to have him as a friend.
"OK, well, I'll go make the tea then." She said, trying to hide her blush.
Gray smiled. Moira had asked him to stay because the storm was getting worse outside, but he suspected that it was, in part, also because she didn't want to be alone. He was comfortable with her and knew that no one should be alone after losing those close to them, especially when they were lost earlier that day. He was impressed with how strong she was being. She busied herself with getting him warm and drying her bed sheets and his clothes, making them dinner and trying to keep him from traveling in bad weather. Maybe it was because she was keeping herself busy or maybe it was because she had no more tears to shed, but Gray didn't see Moira cry even a little since he got there. She was trying to be strong and put on a happy face for him, but he knew that her heart ached.