A/N: I can't believe how long it took to get this up! I suppose having three jobs doesn't help, but I did find it difficult to get this scene out. Basically, this is an information session by nature. I tried not to dump everything on the readers at once, so things will be further explained later on. All of this is relevant to the plot so pay attention! ;) If there's something you want to know more about that is mentioned, just ask in the reviews and I'll include it down the track if I haven't planned to do so already. I'm not sure if I've conveyed the OC like I wanted to. It's so hard to perceive a character that you've created yourself, because you obviously already know in your mind who they are. Ugh, it drives me nuts! (Tell me your opinions of her?) Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and let you read it. (Why do I feel so nervous about posting this?)
And here's a present for you! fav =dot= me =slash= d67ics5
Copy and paste the link and remove spaces and change =dot= to '.' and =slash= to '/' etc. It's a drawing of the OC, done by myself. (I had so much fun doing it). Hopefully that helps to better illustrate her.
Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, the evil mastermind. (Seriously, I won't tell you how many times he made me cry in Rave Master.)
Chapter 7: Clairre.
Gray felt something cold and wet collide with the back of his head, soaking into his hair. He reached up to brush away the clumps of white snow as a suspicious snicker followed the assault. Whirling around he spotted Lucy a few paces away, her cheeks flushed as she struggled to contain her laughter. Her eyes widened as he reached down to scoop up a handful of snow, sculpting it into a perfectly rounded ball. Before she could make a run for it, Gray's missile hit its target, catching Lucy on the side of her head, causing her to cry out.
Another frosty missile soon followed, this time hitting Gray squarely on his chest. Soon, a full fight had broken out between the two as snow flew through the air dangerously. It was all fun and games until a stray snowball collided with the back of Erza's head.
Gray and Lucy both cringed as the red head turned around slowly, her shoulders rigid.
"Who threw that?!" she demanded, her eyes narrowed unforgivingly.
Gray and Lucy pointed at each other, neither of them wanting to suffer Erza's punishment. Her eyes narrowed further and a moment later the two found themselves plagued by an onslaught of deadly snowballs.
Gray and Lucy ran for it, with Erza following closely behind, still continuing to pelt them with icy projectiles.
"Split up! She can only follow one of us!" Gray instructed. After a small nod from Lucy the two branched out, taking separate routes into the small village. Gray heard Lucy shriek to his right, signalling that the red headed demon had decided to pursue her. He gave a sigh of relief, feeling bad for Lucy, but knowing that Erza would be kinder to the blonde than she would have been to him. He shuddered at the thought.
Careful to avoid the warpath, he made his way to the centre of the town, marked by a frozen fountain. He sat on one of the benches across from the fountain, paying no mind to the snowy surface.
So much for patrol duty, he thought to himself. The three of them had patrolled the edge of town, keeping an eye out for any signs of the dark guild. It seemed the only thing they had to fear around here was Erza.
The town still remained quiet, although as news of the guild's defeat had spread, some of the villagers had begun to venture outdoors again. The presence of the three Fairy Tail mages helped to ease their minds as shops re-opened and families took the opportunity to go for short strolls out in the welcoming sunshine. The town square seemed to be the most frequented part of the settlement. Many that passed by Gray gave him an appreciative nod or smile, while others gave him strange looks. He realised that he had lost his shirt, which explained why many of the heavily clothed townsfolk were staring. He merely shrugged it off. He had become used to such reactions over the years.
"I see your stripping habits haven't changed over the years," a feminine voice observed.
Gray looked over to see a woman slide onto the bench beside him. He blinked a few times to be sure of her identity. She looked different in the sunlight without her injuries. Once again, her clothing was minimal. She wore a simple, black tank top, black jeans and boots. Gray noticed that he was no longer the only one receiving strange looks from the villagers.
"Rhea said you wouldn't be awake for another couple of days," he said with a frown.
"She would have been right too. Except she didn't know about this bad boy," she explained, holding up the amulet around her neck. It appeared to be a deep coloured amethyst, cut into an unusual octagonal shape with a large number of facets. It was bordered by a dark metal that twisted away from the gem in a series of knots and swirls. Although beautiful, there was a certain menace to the pendant.
"You have a lot of explaining to do," Gray growled. "Who are you? How did you know my name?"
She fluttered her long lashes at him innocently, acting coy. "Do you mean to say you don't remember me? I know we were both young, but surely you can still see the resemblance."
Gray frowned, trying his best to remember. He shook his head in defeat.
"Perhaps this will help," she said before putting on a stern face. She crossed her arms and glowered down at him. Between the severity of her expression and the familiarity of her dark eyes, something clicked in Gray's mind.
"Clairre?" he questioned.
"Bingo!" she exclaimed with a laugh.
"Shit, how long has it been?" he pondered, trying to remember.
"About twenty years if I remember rightly. You haven't changed as much as I would have expected. It was easy enough to recognise you, even if I was a little fuzzy headed at the time."
He shook his head with disbelief. "Where have you been all these years? And what doing?"
She flicked her dark bangs over her shoulder, crossing her legs on the seat for better comfort as she prepared to launch into what seemed like a long story.
"I suppose I'll start at the beginning. A few years after I stopped seeing you, Father was killed in a magic-related accident."
Gray could faintly remember Clairre's father. He thought back to him with fondness, remembering the air of warmth and kindness that had surrounded him. If his memory served him correctly, Gray figured he would have still only been young when he was killed, in his early thirties at the most. "I'm sorry to hear it," he said truthfully.
Clairre shook her head. "It's fine. The worst of it was how it affected my mother. His death sent her back to her old ways. She took up dealings with dark guilds, much the same as she had before she met my father. I rarely ever saw her over the next few years. She was always away on missions or serving some master or another. I practically had to raise myself," Clairre explained bitterly.
"Why did she go back to the dark guilds? I never would have taken her for that kind of woman."
Once again, Clairre shook her head. "The way you remember her comes from the time when dad was still alive. Before she met him, she was nothing short of evil. She was corrupted, always seeking new ways to gain power. Dad fought and defeated her, at which point she saw reason and decided to start her life anew. That was how they first met. Strange, huh?"
Gray immediately thought of Erza and Jellal. After defeating him, Erza had allowed Jellal to turn over a new leaf. They had known each other before then, but overall it was still a similar circumstance.
"Not really, I know others that have been in similar situations. I suppose sometimes it just takes the right person to convince someone to stop their evil doings. If their will is strong enough, anyone can change."
"Hmm, I suppose if you put it that way," she pondered. "Well either way, after his death, Mom took leave of her senses. It completely destroyed her. Her hunger for power was worse than ever. I don't even want to remember all the horrible things she did." Clairre shook her head bitterly. "She killed hundreds of people. The madness eventually took its toll. She went a little insane towards the end, rambling on about Zeref and a resurrection stone. She ended up double crossing one of the guilds, Black Mercury, who hunted her down and killed her. Before they came for her, she gave me this amulet, making me swear to keep it safe." Clairre paused for a moment, looking down at the amulet clutched within her small hand. She looked conflicted. Gray could tell she held a lot of resentment towards her mother, but there was something else there. It seemed as though she almost pitied her. Perhaps she did still feel some kind of fondness for her mother, amongst the hatred.
"I was ten years old then, still young, but old enough to make my own way. I furthered my magic studies, training under the charge of an experienced mage, Zen, until I was seventeen. He taught me how to use Chaos Soul magic, which I can use to summon the Twelve Guardians."
"The twelve what?" Gray questioned, feeling as though he had lost bearing of the conversation.
She sighed. "Have you heard of Celestial Spirit Mages?"
"Yes, one of my friends is a Celestial Spirit Mage. What does that have to do with you?"
"Well, obviously everything has an opposite - light and dark, good and evil, stellar and chaos. I'm a Chaos Soul Mage, the elemental opposite of a Celestial Spirit Mage."
"What, so you summon spirits?" Gray furthered, still not fully able to grasp the concept.
"Yes, I suppose you could put it that way."
Gray frowned. "Wait, so does that mean there are other Chaos mages out there?"
Clairre nodded. "As far as I know there is only one other that has the ability to use this type of magic. I suppose you could call it a Lost Magic. There's more to it, but perhaps I'll leave that discussion for another time. We haven't got all day."
"My Celestial Spirit mage friend would probably be interested to learn more about it. You should talk to her when we get back to Edgar's," Gray suggested, knowing that Lucy would be intrigued to hear about a magic similar to her own. Gray was still a little curious himself, but Clairre was right, the day was dragging on. "So what happened after your training? How did you end up here?"
"Not long after I finished my training, Zen died. I didn't linger, I travelled, doing any jobs I could find along the way. I never settled in one place for too long, worried that Black Mercury would come after me for the amulet. During my travels, I managed to find a few scraps of information about the amulet. It's called Anastashis. I'm still not really sure about its true purpose, but I've managed to work out a few of its abilities."
"Like healing?" Gray stared at the amulet, puzzling over the strange trinket. He found his eyes roaming lower, until his gaze rested upon the visible cleavage. He couldn't help but admire the pale smoothness of her skin, and the way her neckline scooped down to emphasize the generous curves.
"Technically it's regeneration. And Gray, it's rude to stare. The villagers already think you're an exhibitionist. You don't want to make it any worse for yourself," she said shamelessly with a wink.
Gray felt heat rise up along the length of his neck and into his cheeks as he looked away from her in his embarrassment. He hadn't meant to look. For goodness sake, he had slept with Lucy last night! He loved Lucy, he didn't need to perve at other women. He huffed, feeling piqued.
"Back to the story," Clairre continued, clearly unaffected by what had just transpired. "I don't know if you can remember, but this is the town that I grew up in while my parents were still alive. I got wind that a dark guild was harassing the town and came here to help. As I soon discovered, Black Mercury had set a trap for me, which I very narrowly missed. They underestimated my abilities, a fault on their part, which allowed me to elude their grasp. I was going to lead them further south, away from the village, but I crossed paths with one of their elite groups. Although they injured me, I managed to escape them, which is probably about the time you found me."
"So the dark guild that we fought against, that was Black Mercury?"
"Yes. As far as I know their leader has changed since the days that my mother associated with them, but their purpose still seems to remain the same," she explained, clutching at the amulet protectively. "I'm not sure who it is that leads them now. I can only hope that his organisational skills are as bad as the previous master."
"From what I heard, their leader is a guy named Vang," Gray offered.
Clairre's eyes widened. She looked away, staring at the snowy pavement silently for a long moment. "Are you sure?" she finally whispered, her eyes remaining downcast.
"Yeah. Dark hair, tall, lean build. Probably a little older than you."
Clairre swore violently.
Gray looked at her questioningly. "You know him?"
"Let's just say we have a messy history. I'm a little shocked that he joined that guild, let alone became its leader. I didn't think he would go that far."
"Will he continue to pursue you?"
Clairre huffed. "I have no doubt in my mind. He has even more motives to hunt me down than the last master. I'm afraid I have no choice but to lead them away from here and find a way to vanish." Gray could hear in her voice that she was clearly distraught over her new discovery. It made him wonder what kind of relationship she had with the leader of the dark guild, but he knew not to push the issue.
"You could come back with us to Fairy Tail. If they came after you, they'd have a hard time getting past the lot of us," he offered.
She hummed in thought before looking up at him. "It would be fun to join a guild. But I can't put you guys in their line of fire for the sake of my own safety. It would be selfish of me to do so, especially after having you help me once already Gray," she sighed, looking back towards the ground.
"Don't be ridiculous. You and I were once good friends, as far as I'm concerned, we still could be. And a friend of mine is a friend of Fairy Tail's. We'd protect you, just as we have with others before. It's just the way we are," Gray said, feeling a strong sense of pride while speaking of the guild that had been his home for many years. The guild was a place for fighting, drinking, laughing, crying, for friendship and for family. Gray wanted her to see the kind of place that Fairy Tail was. He could tell that Clairre had only ever known loneliness. As she had told her story, Gray felt as though the twenty year gap had never occurred, that they had remained friends since their days together as youngsters. Gray wanted her to know a place where she could make new friends, where she could finally build herself a new home.
She smiled at him, although it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes looked guarded, as though she was too afraid to let her defences down and believe in something other than her own day-to-day survival.
"You don't have to decide now," he told her, sensing her unease. "Erza still wants to talk to you."
"We'll see," she said wistfully, looking up at the pale skies. A thin cover of cloud had eased itself into the picture, hiding the radiant blue of before behind a translucent veil.
"Let's head back to the house," he said, standing. He offered her his hand, which she took with a small smile.
"After you, boss," she said with a wink. Gray shook his head. She had still retained some of the playfulness he could remember, even though seemed tougher now, as though the years had hardened her.
They proceeded to make their way through the winding streets, passing by the few citizens that roamed around. Although they were brave enough to venture out into the open, Gray could tell the villagers were still fearful. Deep worry lines had creased their once carefree faces. They moved quickly, barely speaking to one another as they hurried towards their destination. They each carried some kind of weapon at their side. Gray was pained to see that even some of the slightly older children carried small daggers at their waists.
Clairre equally noticed how the villagers had changed. She had grown up in this town in her earlier years, but the folk here had never been as hard and fearful as they were now. Her heart sunk as she realised that this was all her own doing. If she had have handed over the amulet sooner, Vang and his men wouldn't have attacked them in the first place.
Her fists clenched as she glared at the ground, stopping suddenly.
"Dammit!" she hissed under her breath.
Gray looked over at her with concern, wondering why she had stopped so suddenly.
"What is it Clairre?" he asked as he approached her rigid form. He stopped his advance when she looked up at him with an expression of fury, tears leaking down her cheeks in angry lines.
"This is my fault! Look at these people!" she snarled, gesturing at the nearly empty street around them. "They're like this because of me. If I h-had have given it to him s-sooner, t-then-" her words were cut off as she covered her face with one hand, her body shaking.
"Clairre, stop this. You can't take it out on yourself." Gray found himself repeating his earlier words to Lucy. Why did he always seem to get stuck with the emotional women?
"But it's my fault!" she exploded, her expression still consumed by fury. Gray couldn't tell who she was pissed at, but she looked like she was ready to kill someone.
"Hey, hey, take it easy," he said with his hands raised as he backed off a little.
Clairre seemed to finally calm down, wiping away the tracks left on her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Everything's finally getting to me," she admitted with a dry laugh. She straightened up and smiled at him. "Let's keep going, I'm sure your friends are waiting for you."
Gray was bewildered by her sudden change in demeanor. She was clearly stressed out by the events of the past few days, yet it seemed she was trying to maintain her tough exterior. He noted with a sense of nostalgia that she really hadn't changed at all. He could remember how fierce she had been at the young age of six, a trait she had seemingly inherited from her father.
They finally reached Edgar's home without any further delays. Gray walked into the living room where he found Erza and Lucy drying out by the fire. Judging by Lucy's change of clothes, Erza had managed to land a few hits on her opponent. They were both laughing over something, signalling that they were well and truly over the incident. Gray gave a sigh of relief, glad that he wouldn't have to deal with Erza.
"Gray, you finally made it back! What took you so long?" Lucy asked, coming over to him. She stopped when Clairre stepped into the room, her eyes widening as she realised who it was.
"You've recovered already?" Lucy asked with obvious disbelief, addressing Clairre directly.
Clairre stepped forward with a small smile. "You must be one of Gray's friends." Lucy raised a questioning eyebrow at Gray who merely shrugged.
"How is this possible, uh, umm," Erza fumbled for a name.
"Clairre Ashen," she introduced herself before Gray could speak. "I'm a naturally quick healer, plus a little magic doesn't go astray either. Rhea did a good job too. I don't have a single mark on me thanks to her skill."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy," the blonde beamed, offering her hand.
Clairre reached over to take her hand. Both girls suddenly jerked backwards as their skin touched. They looked at each other with wide eyes, something having clearly transpired between them.
"What the hell was that?" Lucy gasped, looking at the raven haired girl questioningly.
"What magic do you use?"
"I'm a Celestial Spirit mage."
"Ah, that explains it," Clairre murmured, her brows knitting together. "It would seem that you and I are supposed to be natural enemies."
"What?" Gray demanded. "What are you saying Clairre?"
She shook her head wearily as she went over to sink down onto one of Edgar's sofas. She rubbed her temples, clearly distressed.
"Do you remember what I said to you about opposites Gray?" she questioned, provoking his memory.
"Yes. About light and dark, and you and Celestial mages being opposites," he said, sinking onto the seat next to her. Lucy and Erza positioned themselves on the sofa opposite. Lucy was clearly distressed, while Erza sat back quietly; content to merely observe for the moment.
"As I explained to Gray before, I use Chaos Soul magic, which is the elemental opposite of Celestial Spirit magic," she explained to the two girls.
"Why haven't I heard of this before?" Lucy asked, frowning a little.
"As far as I know, it's a Lost Magic. Only I and one other use it in the present."
"That still doesn't explain why you two are supposed to be enemies all of a sudden," Gray growled from beside her.
"I've never come into contact with someone like Lucy before, so I couldn't be sure, but there's no doubt about it, magically at least, we're designed to oppose one another." The room went tensely still as her words hovered in the air. Lucy looked between Gray and Clairre with wide eyes.
"I don't harbour any ill will towards you Lucy, you seem plenty nice enough to me, it's just a fact of nature that we cannot change," she addressed the blonde sadly. "It shouldn't affect us personally; it may just be that our magic could go haywire if used in the same vicinity."
"How so?" Erza finally spoke.
"Lucy's spirits and my own could end up attacking each other against their own will," she sighed, her dark eyes downcast.
"You're positive?" Erza questioned, leaning forward.
"Not entirely," Clairre admitted. "It's just one possibility. The alternative is that we could make one hell of a unison raid. Either way, there's a lot of magical chemistry there. We'll have to be careful around each other Lucy, or we could very well end up killing each other or blowing up a town."
Gray laughed suddenly. Everyone looked at him with a vacant expression, wondering if he had finally lost his mind. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time a member of Fairy Tail has blown up a town would it? Looks like Natsu has some competition Lucy," he grinned.
Lucy laughed at his comment and the mood immediately lifted.
"Do you mind if we ask you some questions?" Erza asked, shifting into an interrogating tone.
"I don't mind. I suppose you want to know about why I'm here and what I have to do with the dark guild?"
She proceeded to launch into her story once more; although this time she made no mention of her parents' past or of her mentor. Instead, she merely explained that she had grown up in this town, and had returned here upon hearing that the villagers were being terrorised. She told them of Black Mercury's identity, and spoke of how she had known their current leader before he had rose to power. She confessed that the guild was after the amulet she had inherited from her mother, which she couldn't allow to fall into their grasp.
"What significance does this amulet possess?" Erza demanded.
"If allowed to fall into the wrong hands, it can be used for great evil. I still haven't been able to find any texts that give the exact details, but I do know that at all costs, I can't afford to allow a dark guild to possess it."
Erza and Lucy remained quiet in thought, absorbing all that Clairre had told them. Gray, who already knew of this, had other questions in mind.
"Erza, does your offer still stand?" he queried.
"Where will you go from here Clairre?" Erza asked, provoked by Gray's question.
"I don't know, further south perhaps, or to the west. All I know is that I must keep moving. I'll lead Vang and his men away from here. They've done enough damage to this place already. Now that they've come into contact with me, if they know I'm leaving they should follow. The village itself holds no interest to them. Whatever it is they're planning, I can't allow anyone else to become involved. I will continue to run from them, as I have always done."
"Why don't you come back with us?" Lucy offered. "Surely they wouldn't dare to attack Fairy Tail, no matter how strong their number."
"Lucy is right," Erza agreed. "No one in their right mind would attack the strongest guild in Fiore. Even if they were to make such a foolish move, we could take them."
Clairre remained silent, clearly conflicted. "I'm not sure," she finally spoke. "Even if you are the strongest guild, I can't get others involved. This is my burden to bear alone."
"Don't be ridiculous," Gray growled. "We won't sit by and watch someone suffer at hand of a dark guild, amulet or no. Makarov shouldn't have a problem with it. Besides, we wiped out all but a few of their number. There aren't many of them left now."
Clairre smiled at the three of them. "Alright then, I'll return to the guild with you."
She knew there was no point in arguing. It seemed that the three Fairy Tail mages would stubbornly persist until she caved. It was better just to go along with them quietly. Perhaps she was just worrying more than necessary.
"Right, it's settled then. We will leave tomorrow," Erza decided.
Lucy smiled at Clairre, while Gray gave her a nod of encouragement. She was beginning to feel as though they accepted her. She hadn't felt this way since – no, she couldn't allow herself to think of it. Hearing his name now had already re-opened old wounds. She could not allow herself to dwell in the past any further.
She smiled at her new companions, both excited and nervous to see what tomorrow would bring.
The four of them dined together with Edgar that night. Emerald and the maids had prepared a farewell banquet, which included Erza's favourite desert. The red headed warrior turned her attention to Edgar, giving him her account of what Clairre had told them. The five of them drank and ate together merrily as Gray and Lucy told Clairre about the rowdy characters back at the guild.
"-and then there's Cana. She could drink anyone under the table!"
"Don't forget Mira. She manages the bar mostly, but she's an S-class mage."
"Yeah, she's scary when she uses her magic!" Lucy agreed.
Clairre laughed. "Sounds like one hell of a guild!"
Gray watched as the two continued to talk and laugh. He occasionally joined in, adding to what Lucy had already said, but for the main part he simply watched.
We're supposed to be natural enemies.
Clairre's words continued to roll around in his mind, troubling Gray. He watched the two girls laugh, as though they had been friends for years. Surely they couldn't be enemies? Seeing them now, it seemed highly doubtful. Still, they were yet to use their magic around each other. There was always the possibility of a negative reaction occurring between them in the midst of a battle.
"Gray? Gray, are you listening?" came Lucy's questioning voice.
"Huh?" he asked dazedly, snapped out of his reverie.
"I was just trying to explain to Clairre who Natsu is. How would you describe him?"
"He's a flame brained idiot that charges off unthinkingly into battle without a second thought of what the consequences could be," Gray scowled. "Even so, he's a good comrade, and a talented mage. He's pulled us through a rough patch more times than I could count. That idiot always seems to see the bright side of a situation, no matter how bad things seem to be."
"I guess that combined with what I've said that summarises him pretty well," Lucy laughed.
They continued their conversation enthusiastically, the booze they had steadily consumed throughout the night making them merrier than usual. Clairre had downed twice as much as any of them, yet she still seemed pretty alert. Gray considered suggesting that she have a drinking contest against Cana, it would be entertaining to see how long she could hold out.
He shifted his gaze to Lucy, admiring the pink flush that adorned her cheeks from her vigorous laughter and the warmth of the booze. She once more wore the satin robe from the night before, which had loosened around her neckline. As she shifted, it slipped lower to reveal a generous amount of cleavage. Memories from the night before surfaced, and Gray found himself feeling aroused.
Licking his lips, he watched her possessively, heat warming his limbs as he felt himself filling with need. Feeling herself being watched, Lucy looked over, her eyes widening as she saw found herself beneath his intense gaze. Her already rosy cheeks flushed further, and he watched with some satisfaction as she squirmed in the seat opposite him.
He gave her a wicked smile, a secret promise of what to expect later that evening. Biting her lip, she looked away, clearly unable to stand his teasing any longer.
He chuckled to himself, glad that he could have such an effect on her. He sat through the rest of the evening quietly, still continuing to discreetly watch Lucy, like a predator sizing up its prey. He wasn't sure it was an effect of the alcohol, or some other element was at play, but his hunger was even greater than usual. He wanted to devour Lucy, to ravish her until his name tore from her lips in ecstasy.
He was forced to subdue such needs while he impatiently waited for the others to retire. Finally, as the hour drifted close to midnight, they each went their separate ways. Clairre, who was originally supposed to return to Rhea's home, opted to sleep on the couch after having consumed too much beer. Edgar retired to his own quarters, while Gray, Lucy and Erza made their way upstairs.
After bidding Erza a good night, the two young mages disappeared within their room. As soon as the door was closed, Gray leapt into action, his lips ravenously crashing down onto Lucy's as he gave in to his desire. Lucy was evidently surprised by his sudden attack, but if she had any protests, they were soon swept away beneath his urgent kisses.
In one fluid motion, Gray had Lucy pinned to the bed beneath him, with the latter rendered breathless. As the stars continued to shine brightly through the darkened night skies, Gray made it his mission to consume not only Lucy's body, but also her heart and soul.
A/N: All reviews appreciated! :)
