Kagura's child is nonbinary, which is why they're referred to with gender neutral pronouns throughout this chapter. I had the hardest time picking their name, but I adore them. They're a little similar to Lorn for the moment, but as they get more development you should see differences emerging.

Lacey: 8 (Laxus & Lucy), Kitty 7 (Sting & Millianna), Iori 6 (Kagura x Gajeel)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, only my OC's.

Warm greetings assailed Lacey as she stood within the crowded hall, Laxus's fellow guild masters all thrilled to meet the grouchy dragon slayer's daughter. Nervousness held her rooted to the spot as she awkwardly shook hands with everyone that had approached her. Thankfully, it wasn't too long before Laxus shooed them away, claiming the meeting was about to start and introductions could resume afterward. It was kind of funny to see all of the adults slink away like chastened dogs, though.

The meeting was not exactly what she'd expected when she'd asked her father if she could come with him to the guild master meeting in Clover this year. It seemed a lot more boring than in her imagination. Her mother had told her that this was a gathering of some of the strongest mages in Fiore, so she'd assumed that there would be a lot of jostling and magic displays, like Natsu and Gray often had with Erza and her father. Instead, it just seemed to be a bunch of adults discussing boring things like new regulations and other guild politics.

Lacey was extremely relieved when it was all through for the day, though she did not relish the prospect of sitting through two more days of this. It might have interested if she had more understanding of what was being talked about and how it related to her, but for now it was all pretty meaningless to her.

Now that it was done, the introductions again resumed. It wasn't as bad the second time around, Lacey found. Especially when she discovered that she was not the only child present.

There was a child a couple of years younger than her, who clung to their mother's coat protectively. They looked a lot like their mother, with dark purple hair. Though unlike their mother's, it was bushy and struggling to escape the ponytail it had been confined to, and their bright red eyes bored into Lacey with interest.

With a smile, Kagura Mikazuchi – the guild master of Mermaid Heel – introduced her child to Lacey. "This is Iori. Iori, this is Lacey, guild master Laxus's daughter." Lacey smiled at the younger child. She remembered seeing Kagura once or twice before, as well as the child, but it had been a long time, and they had gotten a lot bigger. Lacey thought she recalled that the child's father was in Fairy Tail, but she struggled to place exactly who it was.

Giving it up for now, she stuck her hand out for the child to take. "It's nice to meet you, Iori!"

Iori nodded, and tentatively released Kagura's coat and extended a hand in return. "Nice to… meet you…" they returned softly, shaking hands with Lacey.

"They're a little shy around strangers," Lacey heard Kagura explain to Laxus. "But they really wanted to come anyway."

Laxus made a noise of affirmation. "I'm sure they're a chatterbox at home."

"Hey, Laxus! Kagura! What's up?" A blond man approached, a young girl hot on his heels. Lacey flinched at the sight of her, her stomach dropping to her toes.

The loud voice of the interloper caused Iori to immediately withdraw, huddling against their mother's coat with their eyes wide.

"Sting," greeted Laxus, his tone completely bored. "And Kitty."

"Lacey!" exclaimed the girl, her voice just as loud as her father's and ignoring the greeting of her father's coworker. "It's been a while!"

This was a trap, Lacey knew. She rarely encountered the girl, but she had had enough unpleasant meetings with her to be wary. It was unfortunate that she didn't see Lorn tagging along in the blonde's shadow. He was usually a good mitigating force on his best friend (at least, when pranks weren't involved).

It wasn't that Kitty was a bad person, per se. She was hyperactive and prone to pranking people, but it wasn't as if Fairy Tail didn't contain people of the same persuasion.

No, what had Lacey on edge…

Was Kitty's harshly competitive side.

Lacey wasn't sure where the girl had gotten the idea that Lacey was her arch rival, but nonetheless it had stuck with her for years. It was something Lacey had always hoped that Kitty would grow out of, only to discover that she had yet to do so. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they were both blonde daughters of blond dragon slayer guild masters. Or that they were nearly the same age. Or any number of things that honestly perplexed Lacey.

Regardless, it usually ended up with the two having a "friendly sparring match." Which tended to end in Lacey's favor only slightly more often than in Kitty's, which cemented the notion that they were rivals in Kitty's mind.

Lacey had come to the meeting expecting to see a Fairy Tail-typical brawl.

What Lacey hadn't considered is that it would be between her and Kitty.