This runs concurrently with Scars, starting after chapter 24(?)

Rust

Chapter 1 - Acquaintances

They'd been walking for weeks, the terrain slowly getting rockier - drier, more arid - the further north they went. Gajeel's current travel companion was definitely grating on him, had been since the moment they'd struck out together, although he supposed it could be worse - he could have been stuck with Juvia, listening to her cry about leaving her love behind, or hear her complain about the heat. The water mage may well have been his oldest friend, but good lord did she get on his nerves at times. By comparison, the current water mage he was walking beside was stoic, mostly quiet, except for the humming that was so quiet anyone else would have missed it completely. It was infuriating him to no end that the tune sounded so foreign, and yet so familiar all at once.

"Oi, wha's tha' yer hummin'?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry! Dragon hearing, I should have known. It's not irritating you?"

"Nah, 's nice. Feels like I know th' tune, can't pick it".

"It's the world's most depressing lullaby - 'come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment'."

"'Come little children, the times come to play, here in my garden of shadows'. How'd I know tha'?"

"I'm sure your mother sang it to you, Gajeel. Although, my country has different lyrics" she shrugged, and for the first time - possibly ever - he really looked at the small woman next to him, noticing how painfully obvious it was that she was from another place.

Xally Pradesh was all blonde curls, blue eyes and ivory skin, looking every bit as foreign as he did with his olive skin and ruby eyes. She was only a fraction taller than Levy, and yet she'd been keeping up with his longer legs just fine?

"You've met the rest of my siblings, I'm well used to keeping pace with ridiculously long legs. Yes, you said that out loud" her laughter rang in his ears, like peals of the sweetest bells or wind chimes tinkling in a gentle breeze.

"Fuck. We should, uh, find somewhere ta stop fer th' night. Gonna be night soon".

"Scared of the dark, Gajeel?"

"Nah, jus' figured ya fer a princess. Allergic t' th' great outdoors an' all tha'."

"How does anyone put up with you!" Xally huffed, marching ahead and off the track when she found the spot she'd been looking for.

The crackling of the fire, the faint rustle of a summer breeze through the undergrowth, and the gentle babbling of a nearby creek all helped ease the tension from her shoulders, Xally almost feeling bad for the way she'd been sulking all evening. Then she remembered how he'd called her a princess and she wasn't to brood a little longer.

"Uh, I... Uh, hey, sorry. 'bout earlier an' all."

He may as well have yelled, his deep voice breaking the peace over their camp site, and honestly Xally would have been less shocked if he'd done so, because Gajeel Redfox did not strike her as the kind of man who apologised often. Or at all.

"What?"

"Fer callin' yer a princess, tryin' ta tell ya I was outta line. Look, we're gonna be stuck t'gether fer a while, tha' much's obvious. Yer been agreeable comp'ny so far, an' ya seem ta be a damn sight less crazy than th' rest o' yer brood, bu' I know yer friends wi' Levs, an' she's downright scary so I'm willin' ta bet yer th' same. I ain't lookin' ta piss off any o' yer family, an' this whole trip'll go a whole lot nicer if we ain't arguin' th' entire time" he shrugged, poking at the fire with a stick, ruby eyes glowing as embers floated gracefully up into the air.

"Oh, thank you? Apology accepted." Xally offered him a bright smile, completely ignoring the heat that bloomed on her cheeks when he returned the gesture. It was definitely from the fire, she told herself, and not the fact that the man opposite her looked years younger and incredibly handsome when he genuinely smiled. "Well, seeing as we are going to be spending quite a lot of time together, I guess we should get to know each other?"

"Guess so. Y'ever play twenty questions?"

"Gajeel, you have met my family, yes?" Xally quirked an eyebrow, because honestly, she had Vander for a brother.

"See yer point. Uh, ladies first?"

"Ooh, let's see... What do you remember about your mother?"

"Wha'?" Gajeel was surprised, his body language reflecting that he'd been taken off guard - he'd been expecting her to ask something easier and more cliché, like his favourite food. "Uh, I don't really 'member much, ta be honest. Think she had hair like mine, dark skin... Feelin' safe. D'ya 'member yer birth parents?"

"Yes. How'd you and Bixy get so close?"

"Both love th' same girl. Who's yer favourite sibling?"

"Levy, hands down. How'd you learn dragon slayer magic?"

"Raised by a dragon, ob'vsly. Where's yer accent from?" Gajeel threw another log on the fire while he watched her gape at him through the shimmering air.

"Excuse you, I do not have an accent!"

"Sure ya do. Ain't much, an' ain't many'd notice, bu' I got dragon hearin' an' I spent so much time round Levs, kinda got a ear fer these things"

"Show off" she muttered under her breath, poking at the embers while her eyes grew distant. "Minstrellan. I was born in Minstrel - Vellanon specifically. I lived there until I was seven, when my parents took a diplomatic posting in Bosco. That's how we met Arman, and when my parents were killed, he adopted me. Now you tell me your story." Her eyes were hard, almost challenging him to tell her no.

"Ain't much ta tell. Dunno where I'm from, couldn't even tell ya me birthday or how old I am. Metalicana found me when I jus' a boy, took care o' me, taught an' raised me, 'til he jus' up an' vanished one day. Fell in wi' th' wrong kinda people, got th' snot beat outta me by Natsu - don' ya ever tell 'im I said tha' - an' joined Fairy Tail. Rest's history".

A slightly uncomfortable silence fell across the clearing, the cicada's sounding louder than ever in the absence of conversation, and Xally could stifle her yawns no longer.

"Git some sleep. Princess" Gajeel winked at her, stretching out on his own bedroll as he eyed her shimmying down into her own covers, shivering slightly. "Oi, ya cold?"

"Little bit. No clouds tonight" she gestured up to the clear sky with a slender arm, and Gajeel wondered if he'd ever considered a silhouetted arm to be beautiful before. Shaking the thought off and positioning an extra log onto the fire, he carefully tossed his spare blanket around the flames to the shivering blonde.

"Thanks, Rusty. Sweet dreams".

So, no Hit or Miss update this week because these two would not stop bickering and I needed to shut them the hell up with this little introductory chapter.

Dragonfly - I hope you're reading this, because this pairing was your brilliant idea! I blame you for what's going to happen!

I am probably going to go back to bi-weekly updates, just for the next little bit while school is super full on. Having said that, you're probably going to get bonus chapters whenever I'm busy procrastinating.

- A.V xxx