Juvia had not gone far from the inn. Just a little ways down the road to a small area where she could really breathe. To be perfectly honest she didn't like being back here in Oak Town because it reminded her of much darker times. Of the days where she was always alone and shunned because of her failure to understand how to control her powers over rain. The constant rejection from everyone she came in contact with. It was as if no matter where she went in the world she couldn't find one friend. Sometimes she would have nightmares where she would once again lose control and everyone in the guild would shun her including Gray, leaving her all alone in the cold rain. God forbid that such a terrible fate would ever come to pass.

She hated those nightmares. They only came whenever she thought about her past a lot. She went outside that night in hopes that the cool air and the time to herself would clear her head of those awful thoughts and memories. Little did she know that she wasn't by herself at the moment. Two others were moving about outside that evening. They were bulking creatures who resembled men and they appeared to be looking for something.

"What do you see Svinulf?" One asked. "What do you see?"

"The usual Skidi. The usual." His associate responded. "Just another small town with nothing but shops, houses, inns, ect. I don't know why he always insists that we search towns and villages because none of them will have the stone."

"Well you're not actually going to question him about this are you?"

"Of course not. I don't have a death wish."

"He's going to be very mad if we come back empty handed again."

"Good point but it's not here. What are we supposed to do?"

"Look again?"

"That'll be the fifth time we've searched the entire town. If only we could have atl east found some sort of lead or- Hello what have we here?"

The one called Svinulf suddenly spotted Juvia from a distance.

"Interesting." He observed.

"What?" The one called Skidi asked. "What is it?"

"Other there. Down by the inn." He turned his partner's gaze to look at Juvia. "Do you see what I see?"

"A woman?"

"Yes but don't you notice anything familiar about her appearance? Doesn't her peculiar features remind you of a certain type of female?"

"Oh...Oh! Yeah. Yeah you're right. But she's not...I mean...She can't be...That's impossible isn't it?"

"Let's take a closer look to be sure."

"Do we introduce ourselves?"

"No. If she's what we think she is she'll most likely flee at the sight of us. Stay in the darkness and keep quiet."

The two strange looking men sneaked closer toward her under the cover night while making sure that she didn't notice them. They each scanned her entire form with their eyes and paid close attention to her physical traits.

"What do you think Svinulf?" Skidi whispered.

"Me thinks the boss will soon be singing our praises." He whispered.

"Do we tell him now?"

"No we tell him next year. Yes we tell him now you moron. Now let's get moving before we're discovered."

They were gone before anyone could notice although Juvia did have a feeling that someone was spying on her. She checked around herself a few times but saw nothing. No she saw something. Something coming toward her. It was Gray.

"Oh Gray it's only you." She sighed in relief.

"Yes it's me. Who were you expecting?" He asked her.

"Sorry it's just that for a moment I was scared somebody was out here spying on me."

"Really? Now you know how I felt during those first few months you spied on me."

"Touche dear." She giggled in embarrassment.

"Listen Juvia I wanted to apologize for snapping at you earlier this morning. You didn't do anything wrong I just woke up in a bad mood."

"It's alright. We all have our moments but are you sure that it was just a bad mood?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well I don't mean to pry but you seem a little distant. Like you've had something bothersome on your mind for quite some time. Is there something upsetting you? If so you know you can tell me."

But the thing was he couldn't tell her. Or rather he felt that he couldn't tell her because he was afraid of what her reaction would be. He was also afraid of where his relationship with her was going. He wanted to consent to having something more than friendship with her but he was terrified that she would end up giving her life for him again.

"Everything is okay." He said. "Really. The only thing bothering me is how secretive this Stormhold place is."

"Yes it is very odd how no one seems to know anything about it. Do you suppose it's a hidden place?"

"Probably."

He saw a troubled look rise on to her face and she shuddered a little.

"Hey what's the matter?" He asked concerned.

"I...I don't know. Suddenly I had a strange feeling about something."

"About what?"

"I don't want to alarm you. It's probably nothing."

"What is it?"

"Well the thing is...I don't know this place we're going to tomorrow and I've never once heard any mention of it in my entire life but for some reason, just now I felt like...Like..."

"Like what?"

"Like I have some connection to Stormhold but I also feel as though I should stay away from it. That if I go there something bad will happen to me."

"Do you really think that?"

"I don't know. It doesn't make any sense really. I've never been there so why should I feel like this?"

"Juvia maybe you should go back to the guild tomorrow." He suggested. "I'm not certain that you should be on this job."

"No. We always ended up spending so much time apart when you go on a job and I hate it. I'm always left worrying that you'll never come back. That something will happen to you."

"Juvia I always come back. You know that."

"That doesn't stop me from worrying. I'm staying."

"But if you feel that-"

"I'm positive that I only have these strange feelings because I'm back here in Oak Town. You know where I...Where I grew up alone? Oh I hate this place. I didn't think it would stir up so many memories at once."

"I know what you mean. I still get flashbacks to what happened to my parents and Ur."

She slowly and cautiously took his hand.

"I wish I could have been there with you when you lost them. So you wouldn't have had to mourn them alone."

"And I wish that I could have been there when you were growing up so that I could have been your friend when no else would."

"I would have liked that so much."

They smiled and gazed at each other with so much fondness and devotion. The two held an extreme loathing to see the other in pain and a desire to keep the other from all harm. There was nothing that they wouldn't do for the person they loved. Absolutely nothing.

"It's getting late." Juvia said. "We should probably get some sleep now."

"Here I'll walk you back to your room."

"Thank you."

Hand in hand they walked back toward the inn for a goodnight's sleep, unaware that tomorrow would bring a great deal of trouble and complications.