Nearly two months have passed since the day that Natsu Dragneel walked away from Fairy Tail. Lucy had done as Natsu requested, and waited to tell the others about his intentions (vague as they had been). Happy was upset that Natsu just left again, and after Happy had just found him. Gray just seemed more annoyed than anything. As for Makarov; he chose not to speak on it. Whenever he was asked about it, he would either change the subject or just not say anything. Nobody knew if this was because he was angry with Natsu, or if it was something else.

The guild as a whole made efforts to continue on as normal. But things had changed. Erza was dead. Freed was in a coma. Natsu had left. Laxus was expelled. All these things happening in such a short period of time had taken a toll on the morale of the guild. Fairy Tail's position as the top magic guild in Fiore was starting to seem tenuous. There was talk amongst some of the less loyal members of the guild that maybe it was time to move on to greener pastures.

Lucy was particularly affected by Natsu's departure. For the first few weeks, she had held out hope that Natsu would return soon, despite what he had said. She kept thinking that any day now he would walk through the front door of the guildhall, and some semblance of normalcy would return. She even decided to put off taking any guild jobs for a few weeks. She wanted to wait until they were a team again to start back up again. She almost got kicked out of her apartment for not paying rent. Fortunately, Mirajane convinced some of the other members to give her some of their extra money for rent, in addition to Mirajane making her own contribution. Lucy appreciated this, but felt guilty about her friends paying for her rent like that. So, she started taking jobs again. She tried doing solo jobs, without much success. She had completed a couple of them, with difficulty. But she knew that her friends wouldn't have had so much difficulty. She had become acutely aware of her own limitations without her team around to back her up.

She decided to ask Gray if he was willing to team up. It obviously wouldn't be the same as before, but she needed some kind of help, and as far as she knew he hadn't joined another team. Gray had also been taking solo missions, but he had had greater success then her. When Lucy asked Gray the question, he was reluctant. But he did say yes, after some prodding. They ended up taking a job request for dealing with some aggressive wildlife a few miles from the city. It didn't sound too difficult.

Gray and Lucy caught a ride on a horse drawn carriage that took them close to their destination. They still had to walk the last mile though. The place they ended up in was a wooded area, off the road. The leaves had changed color to brown, and orange, and red, giving the local foliage a striking appearance. The afternoon sun was beaming down through the trees, creating contrasts of light and shadow on the ground.

Lucy and Gray walked together through the woods, in search of the objective. "So, this 'aggressive wildlife' is supposed to be around here somewhere, right? Cause so far, I'm not seeing anything too bad. Unless you're afraid of squirrels and woodpeckers." Gray said. Lucy, walking a little behind Gray, appeared unfazed by Gray's comment. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere. The description said that the creatures were further into the woods. It mentioned a clearing near a river."

Suddenly, a third voice behind them spoke up. "Is this really the best job you guys could find? Seems like kind of a waste of time." It was Happy the cat. He had joined them on their mission, at Lucy's request. Gray didn't see the point in bringing Happy with them, since he had no real magical abilities besides flying. But Lucy had suggested that Happy could use his flight to help search the area if they needed it. And, even though she didn't say it out loud, she felt a little better having Happy here with them. This was the closest they were going to get to having the old team back together for the foreseeable future.

"Who asked you?" Said Gray in response to Happy's question.

"The description did say that these animals were pretty vicious, and had attacked several people. Apparently one woman went missing here recently." Lucy said.

"Think she's dead?" Gray asked.

"Well, I hope not. But if she is, then that just gives us more reason to deal with this."

"You sound pretty confident, Lucy." Gray said.

"Yeah well, we are mages after all. We should be able to deal with a few wild dogs or something, after some of the stuff we've done."

Happy started flying between them, to make it easier to join in the conversation. "Wild dogs? Is that what they are?"

Lucy furrowed her brow. "I'm not actually sure. That part was kind of vague. Something about a big beast with fangs. And maybe some birds too."

"Birds?" Gray asked.

"Yeah. So… dogs and birds? Which sounds kind of weird now that I think about it."

"Must be something in the water." Gray said, not taking this entirely seriously. There was supposed to be a decent reward though, so he was willing to go along with it. Gray stopped, and turned to Happy. "Look Happy, since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful, and fly around above a little. See if you can spot anything."

Happy looked at Gray a moment. He then said "Aye, sir." a little half-heartedly. He spread his wings and took off into the sky. Lucy and Gray both watched him fly off above them, and then he picked a direction and flew off horizontally. And now, the two of them were alone until Happy got back. Since they had to wait for him to report back to them, they knew it wouldn't be a good idea to move elsewhere for the moment. So, they stood and waited.

It was a nice, cool day out. Under different circumstances they would likely enjoy it. In this situation though, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. Gray and Lucy had been friends for a while. And yet, they had never really been close. Their friendship was mostly based around the team they were a part of. And now that half the team was gone, neither of them were really sure what to make of their relationship at this point.

Lucy was sitting down on a small boulder in the ground, hands on her knees. Gray was standing a few yards away, leaning against a tree with his arms folded. Lucy stared down at the ground, while Gray slowly turned his head from one direction to another, apparently scanning the area. They stayed quietly like this for a few minutes, and the awkward silence grew. Finally, Lucy decided to try starting a conversation, if only to give them something to do until Happy returned.

"So… Nice weather, huh?" Lucy offered. Gray just shrugged and said, "I guess." Gray didn't offer anything further. After a few moments, Lucy decided to try again. "So, Gray… How are things between you and Juvia?" Lucy asked. Gray turned to look at Lucy with a slightly annoyed expression.

"There aren't any 'things' between me and Juvia. Except in her mind." He said firmly.

"You don't like her?" Lucy asked.

Gray sighed impatiently. "I don't hate her or anything. But she's a loon. And kind of creepy."

"That's not very nice. She only says good things about you."

"Whatever. Why do you care about this, Lucy?" Gray questioned. Lucy said nothing for a minute. Truthfully, she didn't really care that much about Gray and Juvia's relationship (or lack thereof). She just couldn't think of anything else to talk about with him. Except Natsu, and neither of them really wanted to talk about that.

Finally, Lucy responded. "If you don't want a relationship with her, why don't you just tell her that? Make it clear you want her to stay away from you?"

Gray looked at her seriously. "Easier said than done. Look, I want her to back off, but I don't want to crush her or anything. Its hard. Besides, you're not exactly upfront about your feelings yourself. And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, because you do." Lucy briefly wondered if he said that to get back at her for her bringing up Juvia. She stood up to face him.

"Yeah Gray, I do know what you're talking about. That's why I think you should be honest with Juvia. I learned the hard way that its important to tell people how you really feel about them, while you still have the chance." The short speech came out a little more emotional than she intended. The two of them stood there a moment, the awkward silence creeping back in. "Anyway, I just think its better for her to know the truth now instead of waiting for something that won't happen." Lucy finished, in a quieter voice.

Gray considered this for a moment. "…Yeah, maybe." he said, also quietly. It seemed there was nothing further to say on the subject for the moment. "Damnit, what's taking Happy so long? He should have found something by now." he said. They both looked around, but couldn't see him, or hear him. "Maybe we should start looking for him? I could call one of my spirits to help." Lucy suggested. Before Gray could answer, they heard something approaching from the trees nearby. It was coming towards them rapidly from the sound of it. Gray and Lucy both prepared themselves for an attack. Then, Happy came bursting out of the trees. He stopped short and fell to the ground when he saw the attack stances.

"Its only me guys!" the cat said. Gray and Lucy exchanged a look, unsure of what to make of Happy's entrance. "So, what did you find?" Gray asked, a little impatiently. Happy paused a moment to catch his breath, and then stood up. "Guys, I think this is going to be more dangerous than I thought. I saw something pretty freaky."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"Yeah Happy, what's wrong? What did you see?" Lucy joined in.

"Well, I flew around for a little while, and didn't see anything unusual. Until I found this clearing with a cave. I flew in closer, but then this big bird came after me out of nowhere!" Happy explained.

"A big bird? What did it look like?" Lucy said.

"Yeah, and how big?" Gray added.

"Definitely bigger than me! As for what it looked like; It had green feathers and a big beak. Seemed to have some spikes or something on the points of its wings, but it was hard to tell since I was trying to not get killed. But that's not all. There was something creepy about it. Its eyes were red, and it looked like patches of feathers were missing. And I think its eyes glowed a little too. I mean, I've never seen that kind of bird before, but it looked like there was something wrong with it."

Happy finished his explanation, and the other two listened, not sure what to make of this. "Maybe its sick, or badly injured?" Lucy said. Gray furrowed his brow for a moment, and said, "Are you sure there was just one? Is it possible there's more?"

"I thought I might have heard other bird noises nearby, but I only saw the one. Like I said, I was busy trying not to die. It was pretty vicious though, and if there are more of them then we might need to get help."

Gray made a tsk sound. "For what? An angry bird? C'mon. Even if there's more than one, we should be able to take them."

"Maybe, but are we just going to kill them? Maybe there's a better way of handling it?" Lucy said.

"Remember, this thing supposedly killed at least one person, maybe more. If it's killing people, it'll probably need to be put down. And we accepted the job. So, let's stop sitting around talking about it and get to work. Happy, lead the way." Gray responded.

"Okay." said Happy, sounding a little unsure. He lifted himself several feet off the ground with his wings, and flew back in the direction of the clearing with Lucy and Gray following behind.

The trio traveled for a while towards the destination. They walked together for over a mile, until they were near the clearing. By this point it was getting late in the day for this time of year, and the sun was low on the horizon. Everything was bathed in orange. It made the environment look pretty, and yet there was also an unsettling aspect to it. It signaled that it would be dark soon. Consequently, the three of them decided that this needed to be dealt with quickly. None of them were crazy about having to deal with vicious beasts, in the woods, in the dark. Two out of three was bad enough.

They arrived at the edge of the clearing. It was larger than Gray and Lucy were expecting. In the distance, they could see a cave against a cliff face. Pretty much like Happy described it.

"This looks like the place." Gray said. "Don't see any beasts though. No birds, no nothing."

"I'm telling you, I got attacked by this big, monstrous looking bird. It's probably still here somewhere." Happy said.

"We'll see." Gray replied.

"Maybe it went off somewhere else? It might have just been hunting around here or something." Lucy suggested. Without saying anything else, Gray started walking out into the middle of the clearing. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Lucy said.

"I want to get this over with. Besides, I can handle a bird or two." Gray replied. Lucy frowned, and Happy appeared apprehensive. They both felt Gray was being a little too reckless, while Gray thought they were making a big deal over nothing. Gray got to the middle, out in the open, the sun making him quite visible. He stood there, turned from one direction to another, with his arms outstretched, as if daring something to attack him. Lucy and Happy didn't see or hear anything. In fact, it was very quiet. Not even a wind. Lucy wondered if this was a good sign or a bad sign.

Gray turned back to them and said, "I'm going over to the cave to check it out. You coming or not?" He turned around and started towards the cave, not bothering to wait for a reply. Lucy looked at Happy. "I'm going with Gray. You can stay here as a lookout though" Happy considered this. "Actually, I think I'll go with you two. Don't really feel like standing here all alone." Lucy smiled. "Okay then, let's go." They both set off, quickly catching up to Gray.

The three of them stood at the mouth of the cave. Naturally, it was dark inside. Because of the angle of the sunlight, it was a little hard to see. Lucy had brought a lantern though, just in case. She grabbed it and lit it. The cave was mildly illuminated by the light. "It doesn't look that deep." Gray observed. He slowly walked in, followed by the others. "Lucy, give me the lantern, I'll take point." He said. "You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll take care of anything that comes along. You just stay behind me." Lucy shifted uncomfortably. Gray turned back to her. "Lucy?" he said.

She hesitated. "You know what, I'll carry it. I'll go first, its fine." said Lucy. Gray looked at her a moment, and just shrugged. "Okay, whatever." he said. Lucy held the lantern as the three of them looked around. As Gray had pointed out, the cave was not that large. Big enough to hide in, but not big enough to get lost in. It was mostly hard, cold stone, with some moss growing around. After a minute of searching, Gray made it to a far wall in the cave. "Hey Lucy, over here!" he said. She hurried over. She lifted the lantern to the place Gray was pointing. There was a cage. A big cage, with an open door. Not unlocked, but bent and broken. "What is this?" they both said almost at the same time. "Nothing good, probably." Happy added.

Gray examined the cage. "It doesn't look that old." Lucy moved the lantern around, to examine the nearby wall area. "Wait, there's something else." She said. She moved closer. She saw another cage. And another. There were several of them. "Uh, what's going on here?" she said, her voice a mixture of confusion and nervousness.

"I don't know, but I wish Natsu was here." Happy said.

"Well he's not. We don't need him for this anyway." Gray said with slight irritation. They continued looking at the cages along the wall. Lucy took a step a step to the side, and stepped on something hard. She looked down, and held the lantern to it. It was a small pile of bones. Lucy made a startled sound, which attracted the attention of the other two. "Well look at that. Maybe we just found the missing woman." Gray said.

"Are you sure they're human bones? It could be animal bones." Lucy said nervously.

"Well, there's no skull, so its hard to tell. But its not a good sign." The other two were feeling less enthusiastic about this job by now. Regardless, they had a job to do, so they went back to searching.

"So, I'm not the only one thinking it right?" Lucy said. "This 'beast' attacking people probably came from one of these cages. And there's several of them." Gray and Happy considered this. "Maybe they're still close by." Gray said.

"Think that bird I saw earlier is one of them?" Happy asked.

"Maybe. Probably." Gray said. As they were talking, Lucy walked over to another wall close by. She saw another, bigger cage. It looked like it had been filled in with dirt. Getting closer, it looked more like a boulder. She held up the lantern to examine it. It had… spikes on it? Lucy squinted. She reached out her hand to touch it. An eye opened. She recoiled in alarm. The "boulder" lifted its horned head and turned towards her. It opened its jaw, revealing sharp teeth. Lucy fell back onto the floor. She fumbled for a key to use. The creature advanced on her, and she screamed.

Suddenly, something struck the monstrous creature in the shoulder. It stepped back and growled. It was an ice spear, obviously created by Gray. He ran over and helped Lucy up. "You okay?" he asked. "I think so. But that thing…" she said. Recovering, it charged at them. Gray launched a sharp ice disk at it. The creature managed to grab it in its teeth and smash it.

Lucy found a key. She used it. By that point though, Gray had created an ice wall, freezing the creature in place. Lucy looked at it. It still looked quite malevolent. She then looked at the spirit she summoned. "How may I help you, princess?" Virgo the maiden asked.

"Uhh… sorry Virgo, looks like it's already over." Lucy said. Virgo, dressed in her usual maid outfit, along with her distinctive pink hair and blue eyes, turned towards the creature. "Hmm. So it would seem." she said.

Gray looked at the frozen beast. "Alright, so what the hell is it?" They all gazed at the beast. None of them recognized what species it was off the top of their heads. It was large and quadrupedal, with a hard, scaley back. Its eyes were pure white, giving it a corpse like appearance. The spikes growing out of it appeared to have painful looking rupture marks around them. They weren't sure if this was natural or not. Something about it looked wrong though. Unnatural.

"Beats me. I'll have to look it up when we get back to the guild." Lucy said. Her heart was still pounding, but she was glad it was over. Or so she thought. To their surprise, the creature suddenly broke out of the ice, smashing it to pieces. It growled loudly. Gray prepared another ice make spell. Before he could use it, the creature quickly jumped at him, clamping its large jaw down on his arm. Gray fell, with the animal still attached. Even though Gray couldn't complete the spell he intended, he did at least manage to create some protective ice around his arm. But that wouldn't help for long. Lucy grabbed her whip and used it on the creature. It blinked, but that's all. It bit down harder, breaking the ice. Gray tried to roll away before it could bite down, but part of his arm still got caught in its teeth. He cried out.

Lucy turned to Virgo. "Do something!" Virgo nodded. She used her magic to tunnel beneath the cave. Meanwhile, Gray's arm was bleeding, with the monster's teeth sunk into flesh and muscle. He punched it in the eye repeatedly, which only made it angry. But then, the ground beneath them began to shake. A hole opened beneath the creature. It fell into it, still locked onto Gray. He cried in pain again as the thing dragged him down.

"No!" Lucy cried. Suddenly, the hole closed around the creature, trapping it. Gray was still trapped too though. His arm was looking bad. With only one arm it was more difficult for him to cast magic. It was also more difficult to concentrate through the pain. Nonetheless he used his free hand to create ice around the creatures head, including it nostrils. This finally caused it to let go. Gray quickly moved away from it, clutching his arm with his other hand.

By this point Virgo was back above ground. The creature was already smashing through the ice again by smashing its head against the ground. "Virgo, take it out!" Lucy said. "Right." Virgo confirmed. She used the chains around her wrists to pummel the creature until it was unconscious. At least, Lucy thought it was just unconscious. It was hard to tell.

"Uh, thanks. Good job. A little brutal though." Lucy said.

"So was the creature." Virgo said, turning to Gray. "Oh shit, Gray!" Lucy said, running over to him. He was gritting his teeth and clutching his arm with his good hand. Lucy moved towards him as if to help, but then slowly withdrew when she realized she couldn't really do much to help him. She had no medical knowledge, and her spirits couldn't help either. Happy stood nearby, feeling even more helpless. "We need to get you help." Lucy said.

"Yeah, that'd be good." Gray answered in a strained voice. He got to his feet with effort. "We still haven't finished the job though. I don't like leaving things unfinished."

"That's not important right now." Lucy replied. "Do you need us to help you walk?"

"I can manage."

The four of them walked towards the mouth of the cave. Lucy decided to keep Virgo for the moment, just in case. On the way out, they suddenly noticed another cage they had missed. It was the only one still locked. It contained a creature that looked very similar to the one they just fought. It was a good thing both creatures weren't loose.

They walked out of the cave, into a noticeably darker outside than when they entered. The sky was twilight, and the temperature had dropped a little. They began moving back the way they came. The grass rustled beneath their feet. No animal sounds though. Not even insects. Pretty quiet. Lucy, becoming unnerved, said "maybe we should pick up the pace."

As they approached the trees, they suddenly saw a movement. There was a large figure above them, sitting in a branch. They stopped and readied themselves for another fight. The figure made a loud caw sound. "I think that's your bird, Happy." Gray said dryly. "Why does it have to be my bird?" Happy replied.

But then, they noticed two other figures nearby. In the fading light and shadows from the trees it was a little hard to tell, but they seemed to have the green feathers that Happy had mentioned. Lucy looked closer at the nearest one. "What… is wrong with it? It looks twisted, or mutated or something." The bird she was looking at had an elongated, uneven beak. One of its eyes was pure white, like the other creature. There was a streak of black down a section of its feathers. The black feathers also looked more leathery then the rest. "Yeah, there's definitely something wrong with them." Gray said.

The birds began making more aggressive movements. They screeched loudly. Faintly, they could hear another in the distance, so they knew there was at least one more around somewhere. "I say we get out of here." Lucy said. "Yeah…" Gray reluctantly agreed. He didn't like backing down form a fight, but he knew in this case it was the best option.

"Happy, can you fly us out of here?" Lucy asked.

"All three of you?" Happy asked incredulously.

"Well, me and Gray. Virgo has a quicker exit."

"Still…"

Just then, the birds lifted into the air, flapping their wings. One of them dove towards Lucy. She jumped out of the way. Virgo moved to protect her. Despite the pain, Gray prepared a spell. The other birds joined in the attack. They all flew towards the group. Gray launched his attack, creating an ice wall just as the large birds were swooping in. One of the birds was trapped in the ice wall, the other two stopped just short of it. "Now Happy!" Lucy said. Happy flew, and grabbed Gray and Lucy both. "I'll distract them!" Virgo said below. She prepared an attack as the birds turned to chase Happy. Virgo jumped into the air and kicked one of them. It didn't seem very hurt by it despite Virgo's strength. But at least it was a distraction. Happy tore out of there as fast as he could. Which wasn't as fast as he would have liked, carrying two people. All three of them headed back to Magnolia City. Happy flew for a few minutes before they stopped hearing the birds.

While Gray, Lucy, and Happy were off on their adventure, Mirajane was in the shopping district, looking for supplies for the guild. She wasn't alone though. She had asked her brother Elfman to come along and help her. Despite his protests that shopping wasn't very manly, he eventually agreed. She had asked him partly because she had been busy with things lately, and could use the help. But also because she hadn't seen him much lately. He was often doing jobs somewhere. She wanted a chance to spend some time with her family, and Elfman was the only family she had. Not counting her larger "Fairy Tail family", of course.

The two of them were currently walking through the busy streets, on their way to pick up some supplies, including more alcohol for the guild. "You know, it seems like half the alcohol in this guild gets drunk by Cana." Elfman said.

"As long as she pays for it." Mirajane replied. "You know, maybe we could make a detour and go clothes shopping."

Elfman groaned. "Ugh, I knew you were going to say that. The clothes I have are fine."

"They're a bit drab. I mean, they look good on you, but maybe something a little more colorful?" If most other people suggested something like that to him, he might get annoyed. But Mirajane was his sister, and she said it sweetly and with a smile. He averted his eyes. "Eh, maybe." he replied. Her smile widened.

They turned a corner, and came upon a bunch of stalls. The stalls had a variety of things; clothes, food, jewelry (in glass cases of course), and even a magical item stall. They both stopped to look. "Ooh, maybe we could pick up something here." Mirajane said.

"I don't know if I want to carry a bunch of stuff around while running an errand. But I wouldn't mind getting something to eat." Elfman replied. He started walking over to the food stall, and Mirajane followed. Elfman looked at the selection. "Lots of meats here. There's time for a quick bite, right?"

"Sure. I'm not hungry though." She replied. Elfman began looking through the selection. Mirajane let her gaze wander to the other wares. She looked over at the magical item stall across the street. Not that she particularly needed one, but she was curious what they might have. Mirajane noticed there was only one patron at that stall at the moment. It was a little girl, about ten or eleven years old. She was seemingly all by herself, no family or friends around. This struck Mirajane as odd. What was even more odd, was that the girl seemed to be staring straight at Elfman. Elfman, having purchased a sausage on a bun, walked over to Mirajane.

"This is pretty good! I could give you half if you want."

"No thanks." She said. The little girl was still staring at Elfman. And was now walking over towards the two of them. Elfman didn't notice. She came up just a few feet from Elfman, and pointed at him. No, not at him, at the Fairy Tail guild mark on his neck. "You're from Fairy Tail!" she said bluntly, but in a cute sounding voice. Elfman finally noticed her, and looked down. "Uh, yeah?" he said. Elfman wasn't sure how to deal with strange kids. Mirajane took the lead.

"Yes, we are from Fairy Tail. Are you a fan of the guild?" Mirajane asked. The girl turned to Mirajane, looking unsure. "A fan? Well…" After a moment, the little girl recovered, and smiled. "I've heard of your guild. It's the strongest in Fiore, right?" the little girl asked. Mirajane considered the girl. She was wearing strange clothes. A long white robe, with purple and gold decorations, and a hood hanging off the back. She was wearing sandals, and was carrying a backpack. She had long dark hair, and grey eyes. She was probably a foreigner, Mirajane decided.

"Yes, Fairy Tail is the strongest." Mirajane said.

"And you're both members? Are you important? What are your names?" she asked inquisitively. Some people might find a child asking so many questions annoying, but Mirajane just thought it was cute. Mirajane cleared her throat. "Well, my name is Mirajane Strauss, and this is my brother Elfman." She said. Elfman held up a hand as if to say "hi". The little girl's face changed. She looked… surprised? Delighted?

"Elfman, Mirajane. I've heard of you. I like your names, by the way. They're funny." The girl said. Mirajane giggled. Elfman was starting to look like he'd rather be somewhere else. "What's your name?" Mirajane asked her. In response, the girl bowed her head and said, "My name is Seraiisa. Glad to meet you." Elfman turned to his sister and whispered, "She's one to talk about funny names." Mirajane ignored him.

"Glad to meet you too. So Seraiisa, are your parents around here? Its not safe to go wandering around all by yourself." she said.

"My parents? They're around. Don't worry, I'm fine." Mirajane was unconvinced, but Elfman was becoming impatient. "She said she's fine, Mira. She doesn't look like she needs help. She was probably just curious."

"I am curious." The girl interjected. "In fact, I'd like to see your guild, if that's okay with you."

"You're welcome to stop by. Thinking of joining?" Mirajane asked. Seraiisa smiled. "I know a little magic. My family has been looking at different guilds, and yours sounds pretty cool. But I'm not from around here, and don't know where everything is, so… Could you take me there?"

The Strauss siblings looked at each other. Mirajane looked back at the child. "The thing is, we're actually busy right now. Probably for the next couple hours. I could give you directions…"

"Hmm… I'd rather go with you. I like you."

"Oh. Well, I like you too. But…" Mirajane looked at Elfman. He was already doing her a favor by coming along on this shopping trip. He obviously didn't want to be a babysitter too. "I'm sorry. We really are busy. I'm sure there's someone else who can show you and your family the way."

The little girl considered this. "I understand. If you're busy, you're busy." Seraiisa raided her hands to her sides in a "what can you do" gesture. "Maybe if we run into each other again sometime you can show me."

Mirajane smiled. "Of course. But we have to get going now. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, but you should be careful about talking to strangers. Some bad people out there." Elfman added. The little girl smiled at him and said, "I'll remember that Elfman, thanks." The two siblings turned and went about their errand. As they were walking away, Elfman turned to his sister. "She called me Elfman. That's kind of weird."

"I think its cute." Mirajane said.

"I don't like cute." He said. Mirajane made a half weary and half amused face at this. Then, they both went on their way.

A few hours later, Mirajane and Elfman were done with the shopping errands. Most of what they bought was being delivered to the guild later on. They also payed a few bills. Or at least, Mirajane did while Elfman stood by. They were walking back the same way they came, the sun setting in the sky. It was a nice day for a walk. Cool, but not cold. No rain or strong winds.

They both passed by the market stalls again, which were closing up for the day already. Mirajane remembered that she never got to look at that magic stall. Elfman considered that he should have bought more food. As they were thinking this, they both noticed someone standing right across from them. It was the same little girl from before. When she noticed them, she smiled and waved. "Mirajane, Elfman, you came back." Mirajane was surprised to see her again so soon. "Were you here the whole time?"

"No. I went to meet up with my dad for a bit. But I came back here before things closed up." The child responded.

"I see." Mirajane said simply. Elfman folded his arms, unsure what to make of this. "Look, it was nice running into you again kid, but we're heading back to our guild. It's been a long day."

"Oh. Your guild. That sounds nice. Well, have fun." She said this with a dejected look on her face, and her arms behind her back. Mirajane looked at the girl, and felt bad for her. She wondered if the child was lying about seeing her dad, and had actually been waiting there for them to come back the whole time. She made a decision. "Since we're going back there now anyway, why don't you come with us? You can see the guild from the inside and out. Maybe you'll even get to meet the master." The little girl's face lit up. "Thank you, I'd love that! It'll be an honor to visit the best magic guild in the country." Mirajane waved the girl on to follow them. Elfman, resigned, followed along with them.

The three of them made it back to the guild at dusk. It made for a nice sight, seeing the big guild hall with the orange sunlight reflecting off it. There were less people than usual at the hall right now, so it wasn't crowded. They stood outside the guild, facing the entrance. "Well, here we are!" Mirajane said. Seraiisa looked impressed. She looked the whole building over, up and down. "Awesome." she said.

"Well, you can show her around if you want, but I'm gonna get some food and drink. See ya." Elfman said. He stalked off into the guild. "Thanks for helping today Elfman." Mirajane said. Elfman waved back without looking behind. Now, Mirajane was alone with the little girl.

"So, Seraiisa, what kind of magic do you do? You mentioned you knew a little?" Mirajane inquired. The child put her hand to her chin, contemplating the question. "Its hard to explain. My dad could explain it better." Mirajane tilted her head a little. "Well, maybe you could show me? Give me a demonstration? If you want to, that is."

"I'd like to Mirajane, but my magic is… different. I can't just shoot stuff out of my hands, or summon things. It takes more time and effort." Seraiisa said.

"It certainly sounds interesting." Mirajane said.

"Maybe I'll be able to show you how it works some other time."

"I'd like that."

"Me too." Seraiisa said. "So, what about your magic? What can you do?"

Mirajane shifted a little. "That's a long story. Let's just say, I can't really use my magic anymore." Mirajane expected the little girl to ask her to elaborate on why that is, which she didn't want to have to explain. But surprisingly she didn't. Instead, she asked another question. "What kind of magic was it? What was it called?"

Mirajane hesitated, but then said, "Demon soul. I used demon soul takeover magic." Seraiisa's eyes lit up again. "Demon soul!" That sounds cool. Was it powerful?" She looked at Mirajane eagerly. Mirajane still felt uncomfortable talking about this, but humored the girl. "Yeah, it was. But, I'm sure you want to see inside the guild now." Seraiisa nodded and said, "Uh-huh."

Mirajane then led the girl into the guild. It was quieter than usual, which was probably a good thing. Mirajane didn't want to scare the girl with arguing and roughhousing. Mirajane saw Elfman already siting at the bar. Gajeel was near the job board. Juvia was sitting by herself, looking a little lonely. Closer to them was Levy, sitting at a table reading a book. Mirajane decided that Levy would be the safest option, as far as having someone speak to Seraiisa.

As for Seraiisa herself, she was looking the guild over, from the floor to the rafters. She seemed to be taking in the whole thing. She looked impressed. Mirajane poked the girl on he shoulder with her finger to get her attention. "Pretty cool, huh?" Mirajane said. The girl nodded. "Yeah, pretty cool." Mirajane pointed out Levy "That's Levy McGarden. She's a solid script mage. Have you heard of her?" Seraiisa shook her and said, "Nope."

"Would you like to meet her? She's smart and friendly." Mirajane said.

"I do like smart and friendly." Seraiisa said. Mirajane grinned at this comment and led her over to Levy. "Levy, I hope you don't mind, but there's someone here who would like to meet you. She's interested in the guild. Her name is Seraiisa. Levy looked up, and smiled when she saw the little girl.

"Nice to meet you Seraiisa. Are you thinking of joining the guild?" Levy said. The girl smiled and said, "I'm thinking about it. My family has been looking for a place we could belong. We're not from Fiore, you know."

"Oh, where are you from?" Levy said. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She paused. She then opened her mouth again and said "Bosco."

"Ah, that's right across the border from Fiore." Levy replied. Seraiisa nodded. "How long have you been in Fiore?" Levy asked.

"Not long. Everything is so different; it can be hard to adjust." Seraiisa said.

"I didn't realize Bosco was so different from Fiore." Mirajane chimed in.

"Are those clothes you're wearing common there? Don't get me wrong, I like them. They're pretty. But they're not something you'd see around here." Levy said. Levy thought Seraiisa's attire reminded her a little of the Rune Knight grab. Less formal though. Seraiisa looked down at her attention-grabbing attire. "They're common in certain places." Seraiisa said vaguely. Before Levy could respond, Seraiisa pointed to Levy's book and asked, "What are you reading?" Levy looked at her book.

"Oh, this? It's a history book. A history of Fiore. Are you interested in history?" Levy said.

Seraiisa shrugged. "A little. But I'm more interested in the here and now, you know?" Levy smiled. "Yeah, I understand that." But then, something seemed to occur to Seraiisa. "On the other hand, all knowledge is power, and should be valued." Levy and Mirajane were a little surprised by that spiel from someone so young. "Its something my dad says." Seraiisa clarified.

"Ah." Levy said.

"He sounds like a smart man." Mirajane added.

"He is." Seraiisa agreed, with a hint of pride in her voice.

A few moments passed without anyone saying anything. Mirajane decided to speak up. "So, was there anything else you wanted to see?" Seraiisa thought about this for a moment. "Who are your strongest members? It'd be pretty cool to meet them. I mean, I'm sure they're busy and stuff, but maybe just one? Mirajane furrowed her brow at this request. "Well… our most powerful members are our S-Class members, but none of them are really here right now. There's Mystogan, who no one can find. And Gildarts, who's been gone a long time. And Laxus got expelled…" Mirajane trailed off, not wanting to bring up Erza. "There's also Master Makarov, but he doesn't seem to be here right now." The little girl stared blankly as Mirajane listed off the names.

"Have you heard of any of those people?" Levy asked. Seraiisa shook her head. Levy just said "Huh." in response.

Seraiisa looked a little disappointed. "So, you don't have any powerful members here right now?"

"We have some powerful mages here right now. You met Elfman, and he's pretty strong. But it is true that we've lost some members in the past few months, including some of our more powerful mages." Mirajane said. Seraiisa considered this for a moment. "Well, you know… One person's loss is another's opportunity." she said. Mirajane and Levy both looked at each other.

"Uh, I'm guessing that's also something your dad says?" Levy asked.

"Mmhmm." Seraiisa confirmed.

"So… anything else?" Mirajane asked.

Seraiisa shook her head. "Thanks, but no. I've taken up too much of your time. I just really wanted to see your guild. Thanks for bringing me here Mirajane. But I should go now. My family's probably waiting for me. Sorry to put you out."

"Your welcome, and it was no problem. Like I said earlier, I was headed back here anyway." Mirajane said. Seraiisa nodded. "Well, I should get going. Thanks again." She turned around and headed for the door. "Maybe we'll see you here again sometime, Seraiisa." Mirajane called after her. The child turned around. "Yeah, maybe. And maybe I'll bring my family, too."

"I'd like that." Mirajane said. Seraiisa smiled. She then waved goodbye at Mirajane and Levy, who waved back. She then left the building.

"What a nice girl." Mirajane said.

"Yeah, she is. How did you meet her again?" Levy asked.

"Oh. Well, Elfman and I were out shopping for guild supplies, and other stuff. And we ran into this little girl who recognized us."

"She recognized you?"

"Yeah. At first it was because of Elfman's tattoo. She knew he was from Fairy Tail. But she recognized our names too. And she asked if we would take her to see the guild. So, I brought her back here." Mirajane explained.

"Strange." Levy said.

"Well, she is foreign. Different clothes and customs and all." Mirajane stated.

"What's strange is that she recognized you and Elfman, but not any of the S-Class members. I mean, she never heard of Laxus, or Master Makarov?" Levy clarified. Mirajane put a finger to her chin, thinking about this. "I guess that is kind of strange." Mirajane shrugged it off though.

At that moment, the front door of the guildhall opened again. Mirajane thought it might be the master returning. But it wasn't. Instead, Lucy, Gray, and Happy all walked through the door. They looked pretty disheveled and dirty. And it was obvious that Gray was wounded too. Levy was startled by Gray's ugly injury. "Lucy, Gray, what happened?" she asked in a raised voice.

Lucy answered. "Gray is hurt, he needs help."

End Notes: In case anyone is wondering, the little girl's name is pronounced "ser-EH-iss-uh".