For reference - the ages range from infant to around 6, 7?
Ondina sat outside in the rain, holding a small bundle . People passed by, muttering, as their shoes splashed in the puddles and rain dampened their heads. A large droplet splattered on Ondina's head, then rolled down onto the dirty blanket she was carrying. A small hand gradually emerged and grabbed at the rain.
Layla's head hurt. Why? Why did it hurt? Why did her chest hurt? Did her chest even exist, or was it her imagination? Who was she? Who was 'Layla'? Something moved on her chest (so it was real) and, startled, she tried to open her eyes. One eye was forced open, and another; what she saw surprised her. A small hand grasped her pinky fiercely, and for a while, that was all she was aware of. Her and her baby, together.
Irene groaned in pain. Her blood ran down her arms, and her head swam. She couldn't breath, couldn't feel anything - until a small hand, with purpose and determination, dug into the flesh on her arm and brought her back to reality.
Ondina smiled tenderly as her daughter - half-human, no less! - giggled in her lap. "Now let Mama tell you a story, ok?" She soothed, stroking her blue curls. "Once upon a time…"
Layla clutched her head in her hands. Why couldn't she remember anything?! Why couldn't she feel anything when they showed pictures of her supposedly precious family?! She felt only despair and sorrow, and she couldn't take it anymore, pushing the photos of her family away. Slowly, her tears, like always, pushed themselves out. And like always, two hands embraced her from behind, silently comforting her.
Irene banged her head in frustration, silently screaming her rage. Blood ran down her skull, but she was used to the metallic smell by now. Her hands, out of habit, touched her cheek, still feeling the textured scales, still feeling the creases and gaps that cursed her, transformed her into a monster, taking her humanity and everything she had - she hated it, wanted to tear it apart, watch the scales fall off, destroy it until there was nothing till dust - and before she knew it, her hands were moving there, with intent to decimate, to take back what was hers - then a hand, with strength far beyond what was supposed to be possible, dragged her back to her mind, back to her thoughts and her emotions, instinct raring back to where it came from. "I'm sorry." She whispered, unsure of who it was for.
Juvia beamed as her mother gave her the box. "Now, be careful, dear." Her mother warned. Juvia tore open the box and put her hand in, until - "Ow!" She said, a long but shallow cut spanning her hand. "I told you to be careful!" Her mother admonished, already cleaning and disinfecting the cut. "Your new cat is somewhat…touchy."
A black cat with silver markings spread over its face jumped out of the box and hissed. "I'm not hers." Juvia shrieked in surprise. "It-it talks!"
The cat paused his observation of the kitchen. "I'm not an it, I'm a Gajeel." He rolled his eyes (as much as a cat could) and jumped onto the kitchen counter and started eating the utensils.
Ondina half-smiled. "Well, Juvia, your new pet-I mean familiar, is..quite special."
Lucy gasped in surprise as her mother weakly set a box out for her. "Mother - you shouldn't be up, you need to be in bed!" Her mother waved her concerns off. "This is more important. Open the box, quickly." She abruptly turned her head and coughed into her elbow, trying to hide it before her daughter could notice.
Lucy cautiously raised the lid of the box, jerking her hand back when two large ears poked out. A large rabbit, with pale yellow fur and a distinctive lightning scar over his eye hopped out. "Ooh, a cute rabbit!" Lucy cried, clapping her hands.
"I am not a cute rabbit." The rabbit growled, showing its teeth. "Don't ever call me a cute rabbit." He hopped over to Lucy and sniffed her. "Now hurry up, we've got things to do." An ear twitched and Lucy leaned down to talk eye to eye.
"I'm Lucy. Who are you?" Lucy asked. "Laxus." The rabbit huffed. "Hurry it up, time doesn't wait for anybody!"
Erza was tired. Tired of the dirty cell, tired of the constant hunger, thirst, and pain. She poked her head out of the bars, looking for somebody to bring their food. It was too dangerous, now that she had been caught once, to go out and scrounge for food. But instead of the light footsteps of the servants, she heard heavy boots and felt the other prisoners shrink back. Erza, however, leaned forwards even more. She caught sight of unruly hair and a beard before she was pushed back into the cell. "Your time for execution has come, dragon woman." He growled. Irene pushed Erza behind her. "You can do with me as you like, Rung, but spare our daughter." She said, regaining some of her former dignity, sitting up straight and with pride. "The dragon-disease is not contagious. She is human. There is no need for you to kill our-"
"SHE IS NOT MINE!" He roared. "SILENCE!" He drew his sword, a gleaming blade of light inscribed with runes, and suddenly Irene was dead, blood spurting from the crescent across her body, and the air was filled with the smell of death, and Erza was frozen, she couldn't move anymore, couldn't think of anything to do as the blade, stained with blood, with death, came swinging towards her -
She was shoved out of the way by a large white owl, who rolled across the cobblestone ground, clearly dazed. Rung's sword struck the ground and rebounded, hurting his wrist and cutting into his thigh. "Get up!" The owl hissed (or hooted), and Erza's body moved on it's own, slipping through the cell bars and bolting towards the stairs. She felt blood on her feet, her hands, and the smell of death stayed in her nostrils. She ran, away from Rung, away from her dead mother, away from her nightmare.
A/N I've done it again. I've written a chapter while in my class. Well this certainly isn't good. Anyways, I was salty because I had a class and I couldn't go hang out with my friends so I needed something to distract myself, so I wrote this instead of even doing my language work or writing my essay. Wow I'm really unproductive. Well I'm going to go eat now.