Mourning Mermaid

Rating: T

Gray's day was already not going well. The mission that he had been coveting was given to Ezra and he was given the job of checking on the overgrown fire lizard; The guild master was apparently worried about Natsu with all the shooting stars and lack of communication. It didn't seem all that out of order to Gray, he was used to the young fire dragon going off and doing whatever he wanted for short stretches of time.

Yet here he was, attempting to extract himself from the forest his guildmate occupied because the oversized lizard would not let him near his cave. Natsu had been excitedly talking about the shooting stars that had been lighting up the skies of Fiore but when questioned about the giant crater on the way over he had frozen and refused to speak on the matter any further. Gray found that suspicious but decided he had better leave it, Natsu would come around in time. He was not great at keeping secrets. Whatever was preoccupying the Dragon was probably harmless. Probably.

"Waste of time," Gray grumbled irritably, "Why would the master even send Erza to the tundra? Isn't that my specialty?" He truly could not understand it. It would have been the perfect opportunity for him to push the limits on his ice-make magic AND visit his old man. It had been a while since he'd gone home to visit and though he didn't like to admit it out loud he missed his family.

Gray didn't regret joining one of the most powerful guilds, nor would he take back the bonds, friends and make-shift family he made within it either. It was just so different from his childhood and growing up that he couldn't help but get nostalgic sometimes; it was a wonder why he didn't open up, he could only imagine the laugh that he would get from Natsu. Gray was pulled from his mental musings from a branch to the face. Cursing loudly, he was tempted to rip it lose but froze completely when he thought he heard a sob coming from just beyond the tree line. He still had a way to go before hitting the main road that would take him back to the city, so whatever or whoever it was could be in trouble.

Carefully picking his way forward, he stopped just short of entering the clearing. At first, he couldn't see anything but a clear lake that was surrounded by weeping willows. Maybe Gray was just hearing things and there was not anything worth investigating. But there it was again, a soft sob of distress.

"What is Juvia to do? Juvia doesn't know where she is and Gajeel hasn't shown back up," a female voice wailed softly, breaking back into gentle sobs. Gray was confused, he still couldn't see anyone, but a voice had just spoken clear as day. He didn't realize that he'd taken a step forward out of the cover of the trees and closer to the lake edge. The swaying of the nearest willow fronds caught his attention and when he squinted hard enough he could make out blue hair and porcelain skin. He also couldn't continue ignore her cries, he might be sparse with displaying his emotions but that didn't mean he couldn't empathize.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

"GAJEEL?" The mystery women practically screamed, quickly making her way to the edge of the lake that Grays voice came from. "Where have you been! Juvia was worried sic-". The woman that he assumed was named Juvia, based on her weird habit of speaking in the third person, grew quiet. Gray couldn't help but stare at the mermaid in front of him. Her blue hair was fanned out in the water around her shoulders and her fin was a gorgeous mixture of teals, baby blues and turquois. He had heard rumors of mermaids but had never seen one up close and personal before…weren't they usually saltwater creatures?

"Ah, sorry!" Gray said once he realized he was staring and making the poor woman uncomfortable, "I, uh, heard you crying earlier and thought I would come and see what all the noise was about.." he finished lamely, trying hard not to blush at watery dark blue eyes that connected with his. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do when her lip started to quiver and the tears started up again. "Don't cry!" Gray blurted half in panic, "My names Gray…"

"Gray?" The mermaid sniffed out, slowly making her way closer to the lake edge to get a better look at him, "Where is Juvia? Juvia doesn't know this area."

"Fiore," He answered almost immediately and then frowned, "How did you even get here?"

"J-Juvia was traveling with her friend G-G-G-," Juvia burst into tears, completely unable to get the name of her traveling companion past her lips. It was disturbing how much one woman could cry. It was even more disturbing how the weather took a turn and it started to rain; the rain coming down as hard as her tears. Maybe he should have just gone home. After a minute she seemed to be able to calm her tears, quickly swiping them away with her hands before continuing. "Juvia was traveling with her friend Gajeel. Juvia got separated three days ago when the sky was crying, and the stars were falling. A silver star crashed into Gajeel and Juvia slipped from his claws when he went down." The forlorn mermaid hiccupped and sobbed pathetically, "Juvia hasn't been able to find him."

"Your friend was hit with a star…" Gray found himself asking skeptically. Besides Natsu, Gray couldn't imagine anyone getting beamed in the head by a large space rock and coming out of it alive. Well besides Erza but she also was not purely human. He was not sure how he was supposed to approach that subject with the mermaid for fear of her tears starting back up. He was not the best person when it came to dealing with a distraught woman. Let alone one that cried as much as Juvia. He was used to the women of his guild, all strong, independent and in almost complete emotional control. Almost.

"Gajeel is an iron dragon. He should be okay. Juvia just cannot find him. Juvia is lost." The mermaid sighed sadly drifting further away into the water. "Maybe Juvia should search some more?" The weird blue woman mumbled to herself.

"If you want, I wouldn't mind helping." Gray found himself offering. He didn't understand why. Wasn't he looking forward to getting out of the forest and practicing his magic? There was just something about the creature in front of him that made him want to help.

"Gray-sama would help Juvia?" the mermaid instantly perked up, practically flinging herself on the bank at his feet. Her mood took a drastic one-eighty and with it the rain ceased. Gray wasn't sure what he was more worried about, the apparent ability of this emotional fish to control the weather or that he offered his help in a situation that was bigger than he was able to help solve.

"Just Gray is fine Juvia," Gray sighed, reached up to rub the back of his head with his hands, "And yeah I'll help…"

"Gray-sama is nice," Juvia sighed happily, dragging her top half fully from the lake. He chose to ignore her continuation of the honorific. With her fin still dangling in the water Gray could get a better look at her and he could easily admit that she wasn't ugly. Just annoying with her emotional mood swings. Her entire upper torso to her tail was covered by a tight blue dress that looked like it was rolled up near the top and was obviously waterproof. "What is Gray-sama?"

"Human." Gray answered shortly while attempting to think about the best way to tote a mermaid around with him while searching for yet another dragon. It couldn't be that hard right? During his thinking, Gray didn't notice that he had formed a rather large snowflake in his right hand and was spinning it around.

"Juvia has never seen a human use ice magic like that! Isn't that usually a winter sprite ability?" the mermaid inquired, mesmerized by the ice. Gray chose to ignore the mermaid and instead ask a question of his own.

"Am I going to have to carry you?"

"huh? Oh no! When Juvia dries off her tail will disappear in favor of legs!" Juvia hummed happily. Gray realized it was going to be a long day.