Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor the characters.

Notes: Finally, another update! I am so sorry for taking so long. I hope you guys like this chapter. Also, I realized that the council was destroyed in the Tartarous Arc but I'm ignoring that. If possible, can anyone tell me if I have the story rated correctly? It would be appreciated. I'm not sure I understand the ratings. As usual all mistakes are my own, I did try to read over it but I always manage to mess up somewhere. Well, anyways on with the story! Enjoy!

The half-naked mage jumped backwards just as a white and black blur flew through the spot where he had once been. The ice mage caught a gleam of black coming towards him from the left and quickly formed an ice shield on that side. The shield fully formed just as a Blizzardvern slammed into it. Gray moved back once again just as the creature burst through his shield. Gray came face-to-face with the creature and he was quick to recognize it. Snow was falling all around them as Gray stared at the draconian creature. It was a large, dragon-like beast with wings. Its entire body covered in scales (except the underbelly). The whole creature was white with black talons and black spikes down its back and tail. Gray had been trudging up a mountain heading North with the intent to train and get away from people. He was traveling through an area thick with trees and wondering why the area seemed barren of wildlife until he was ambushed by the Blizzardvern. He was surprised to be attacked by such a creature as, unlike its Wyvern counterpart, a Blizzardvern was herbivorous and not as likely to attack. Unless it was protecting food or territory.

Gray did not have much time to ponder about that as the creature let out a roar and shot towards the mage as fast as a bullet. The ice mage felt the tip of a wing as he barely managed to roll out of the way. He recalled that these creatures had enhanced speed, strength, intelligence, and durability. That was the reason it could break through his shield so easily. This was not going to be an easy battle. The Blizzardvern was getting ready to head his way again. As it charged towards him the ice mage created an ice platform in the air above the creature's path, and with a push from his magic, leapt onto the platform. The creature missed yet again. As it passed by Gray put his hands together in his signature stance then pulled one hand back towards his head and the other held out in front.

"Ice Make-Cannon!"

A cannon formed fast as lighting in his hands and he shot an ice beam at the creature. The beam grazed the Blizzardvern as it spun out of the way. The creature flew towards the mage too quick for him to dodge. The Blizzardvern slammed through the platform and into Gray sending him flying only to be stopped by a tree. As Gray fell to the ground he felt his devil-slayer mark pulse with magic wanting to be used. He pushed himself up with a wince as the pulsing turned to throbbing. His other hand came up to grip his arm over the mark, and he grit his teeth as the power of the devil-mark started to get painful. He was so distracted with this that he only just missed being slammed into again by the creature; however, Gray felt a stinging pain and looked down at his right side to see blood running down his body from three long gashes. The ice mage quickly froze his injuries and started to evade attack after attack for quite a while. He did not want to really hurt the creature as it was just likely protecting territory. Also, Gray was worried that if he continued using magic to fight he would accidentally set off his devil-slayer magic, lose control, and kill the creature without meaning to. So, as he kept fending off attacks he was thinking of how to get away from the creature. All of a sudden, the wind picked up and gave him an idea. He did not use this move often, but it should work to his advantage.

The Blizzardvern had geared up for another attack just as Gray had his light bulb moment. As the creature advanced, there was a yell,

"Ice Make-Kite!"

A giant, arrow-looking piece of ice formed underneath the mage. He flew up and away from the creature just as it landed where he had been. Luckily, he seemed to have gotten out of the creature's territory as it saw no reason to continue attacking.

Gray landed towards the top of the mountain and way away from that creature. He had wanted to go north to train; however, that was not quite what he had in mind. The maker mage continued traveling north, he did not really have a certain destination in mind, but he wasn't surprised when he found himself in front of an old log cabin that once belong to his deceased teacher, Ur. He took in the dilapidated cabin wondering how much Ur would mind if he stayed here. Though he wasn't so sure he wanted to stay here himself, with the painful memories that the old cabin brought up. However, he knew it was a good spot for training and it was definitely secluded. The place was rusty with disuse and the wood was old and it looked like part of it was falling in. It was still a usable house, Gray just wasn't keen on using it. However, his decision was made when he looked to the sky to see the sun going down and his injured side decided that now was a good time to send a painful reminder of its existence. He had stopped keeping it iced since it was draining his magic, though the ice was still slowly melting cause the temperature was so cold. He truly gave up the fight when he realized how exhausted he had become and so he pushed the unwanted memories to the back of his mind as he entered the old house. He fell onto the old bed there on top of the blankets and fell asleep.

The next morning found the creator mage getting ready to head down into town. He had decided he was going to stay for a while and would need food and supplies, so a trip was necessary. He most definitely needed bandages and first aid stuff, he had managed to bandage up his wounds with cloth he found in the cabin, but he could not keep using those. He contacted the Master (using lacrima) before going into town so that he could learn more about what the council had planned. The Master mentioned that from what he was told they would not arrested him on sight, but the Master didn't trust them with keeping their word. Also, Gray was not allowed to work with any guilds before the trial. He learned that the trial would take place in the next 4 weeks. So, he had a month to learn control. The ice mage was not shocked by that news, but it was good to know nonetheless. No matter what he would have to be on guard. With that in mind, he made his way to town. While people did not look like him with suspicion, they did give him an odd look or two. Of course, that tends to happen when you go out dressed in nothing but your pants and shoes, with old cloth for bandages around your side and waist, and his ever presence necklace. Gray ignored the looks as he made his way through the market area in search of food. The ice mage spent a good hour or so getting all of what he needed, mostly food and first-aid. He was having trouble carrying all his supplies back, he could hardly see where he was going while juggling all his items. He was trying to avoid running into people and it was taking all his concentration to do that and keep hold of his newly bought items. He was pretty certain he had almost made it to the edge of town when his streak of not hitting people came to an end. There was a spectacular crash as the two people collided, boxes and bags flew into the air in a lovely splash. Items came raining down. Gray sat there, not in a hurry to get up, watching in mourning as his supplies hit the ground. There went his food for the foreseeable future. He looked to the see who he had run into, with an apology on his tongue. His words froze as he caught the sight of silver hair, looking at the person's face he was quick to recognize his older brother figure.

Lyon had reached the old cabin of Ur's a bit after Gray had left for town. He searched the house quickly and noticed that while there was no sign of Gray, someone had been here, it looked to have been recently used and someone had searched for something. Not to mention, on closer inspection he noticed a trail of red drops, most likely blood, on the floor. It went towards the bed, some blood pooled on the bed, and then towards the cabinets. Lyon became slightly worried when he saw the blood. He was positive Gray had been here, so it was very likely that was Gray's blood. This made his search for his younger brother a bit more pressing. The older ice mage took a moment to think, Gray may have already moved on to somewhere else, though where would be anybody's guess. However, if he was injured he would need to get some supplies, at the very least bandages. Even if he wasn't too concern with that he would have to eat before going off again. Either way, Lyon was certain that Gray would have to stop in the town close by. So, the maker mage took off in the direction of town at a not quite running pace. He had reached the town in record time. He was still not quite running as he hit the edge of town. He had been looking side to side, not paying attention in front, as he smashed into what seemed like a bunch of walking boxes.

As the stuff fell to the ground he saw the person behind the boxes, sitting on the ground. Lyon recognized the man immediately, there was his younger brother, half-naked and covered in old rags for bandages it seemed. Lyon was a bit stunned at first but got over it quicker than the younger one. The silver-haired mage hopped up quickly while his stunned brother seemed to be staring at the items on the ground, regretfully. Lyon saw the moment Gray realized that the older ice mage was there as his eyes went wide and whatever he had been about to say stuck in his throat. Lyon didn't wait for Gray to figure out what to do next as he offered the younger mage a hand up. Numbly, Gray grasped the extended hand and let himself be pulled off the ground. Once on his feet the two quickly dropped their hands. The ice mages stared at one another for a couple moments. Taking in the state of his little brother, Lyon had the strangest urge to hug him, though it passed quickly as both the ice mages were not the hugging type. For his part, Gray was still surprised at his older brother's appearance. He had not expected anyone to come after him, maybe Natsu just because that idiot had a hard head but even then, he was sure the flame head could be convinced or forced otherwise. Not that he wasn't glad to see him, because he was, he was also starting to worry. He did not want Lyon getting caught up in whatever went down between him and the council. He wandered if Lyon knew about what happened, though thinking about it, he was pretty sure Lyon knew. Looking at the other mage, he didn't seem angry with Gray about what went down or disappointed, if anything he looked a bit relieved. That part made Gray relax a tad and he had a strange urge to hug his brother, but it passed quickly as that wasn't their style.

Lyon broke the stand still, clearing his throat before speaking,

"It is good to see you Gray. I was wondering what state I would find you in when I saw the blood in our old home."

Gray nodded,

"Nice to see you as well. I had a run in with a Blizzardvern, if you can believe it."

Lyon was a bit startled with that information, from what he learned he did not think they were the type to attack.

"I believe I was in its territory."

Gray cleared up for the older mage. Lyon nodded in understanding and was about to continue conversation when he noticed red leaking through the rags covering his younger brother. Lyon pulled Gray closer as to better inspect his wounds. He pulled the bandages aside to get a clear look and saw that there were three big gashes. They all looked puffy and likely getting an infection. Lyon questioned,

"Did you clean your wounds before bandaging them?"

"No," Gray answered slowly, as he turned his stare toward the ground, "I was tired and didn't feel up to it," the younger mage raised an arm to rub the back of his neck as he continued, "not to mention there is hardly any supplies in that house to clean with."

Lyon let out a groaned at how careless his brother was.

"We need to get your injuries cleaned up soon."

Gray sighed,

"Well, I had just got supplies but now they are all over the ground. Including all the food stuff I had."

Lyon swore Gray was pouting at that, he had to stop himself from smiling at his younger brother's pouting face. Instead he patted the younger one on the shoulder and replied,

"We can still use most of this stuff, how about you go sit on that bench," The older brother pointed to a bench some feet away, "and I will pick up the stuff we can still use and take care of your injuries."

Gray stared at him a moment and couldn't help the slightly whine as he asked,

"But what about my food? I just paid for all that and it is ruined now."

"I'll buy you more food after we take care of your injuries."

Lyon couldn't help but notice a slight gleeful spark light up in Gray's eyes as he finished talking. The older mage couldn't resist teasing and in a patronizing tone added,

"And perhaps if you behave you can get a cookie."

Gray glared at him,

"Haha," was the sarcastic reply, "You think you are so hilarious, don't you?"

Lyon simply smirked as he ruffled his little brother's hair too quickly for Gray to do anything about. As Gray was fixing his hair, the older mage pointed towards the bench and commanded,

"Go, sit."

Without waiting for Gray to comply, Lyon started to pick up the items they could still use. There was silence for a moment and then some unintelligent grumbling as Gray grudging went to go sit on the bench. It didn't take too long for Lyon to get what was needed, he then patched the younger mage up as best as he could. He made sure to clean and disinfect Gray's injuries and re-bandage him with clean bandages. Once that was done, the mages made another trip through the market and got food and more supplies. With two of them it was an easier trip back to their old home.

Once they had reached the old cabin they put away the food and supplies. With that done Gray's concerns about Lyon being around him started to come back, he had been thinking over this on the trip back. He was worried about Lyon's safety, and not just about what the council may do but what Gray, himself, may cause. He knew the magic he had was unstable to say the least and he had to learn to control it, if that was possible. But in the process of training and learning to control it, there would be problems and mistakes. Hence why he needed an area with no people close by to train. He was not going to be the reason for another death, he just wasn't, he would die first before that happened again. And especially not the cause of his older brother's demise. He wasn't sure what would happen to him if he lost Lyon and it was not something he liked to think about. He was uncertain about how to bring this up with the older mage but figured the truth was the best way to go. So, he told Lyon about how he was a danger to the older mage and that he shouldn't be around him. The other mage listened to all that Gray had to say.

Lyon knew the risks. He was aware that Gray had a magic that he couldn't really control yet. But he was still determined that Gray wasn't going to have to deal with this alone. He was going to be there for his brother no matter what. Plus, he figured he would have a good idea of when the younger one would be about to lose control, so he would mostly likely to be able to get away. At least that is what he managed to convince Gray of. Plus, with all he read on ice magic he could help him with training. Lyon couldn't help but add,

"Anyways someone needs to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"I'm just fine on my own."

Lyon gave a pointed stare to the bandages covering his little brother's upper half.

"I can see that."

It didn't take long for Gray to give in, he couldn't help it. He had been banned from his family in the guild and he was touched by the fact that Lyon knew what went down and still came after him. With the pressure of his magic and the council on him and no one else to really turn to, he was happy for the company. Even with the chance of danger. Honestly, he wanted to spend time with his older brother. They had not really had many chances to hang out as he would have liked with them both being busy in different guilds. So, he gave up arguing with Lyon and let him do what he wanted. He couldn't help the passing thought about how long it would be before they started getting on each other's nerves and fighting like they did when they were young.

The ice brothers spent the next week training and trying to fix up their old home. Gray's wounds had mostly healed up by now, though they had ended up having to go to a clinic in town and get his injuries sown up. However, they still left a scar. The two had been training a lot and Gray hadn't had much trouble from his devil-slayer mark as of yet. As the week progressed the two brothers got to know each other a bit better. They hadn't really tried to understand one another when they had been living with Ur, since they had not had much interest in getting along back then. Of course, this didn't mean that they didn't have their fair share of squabbles, cause they did, they just didn't hold grudges.

Now it was the end of the week and they were taking a break from training as they ate lunch. They had long since cleaned and fixed up the kitchen area of the old house. Lunch passed by in companionable silence and they headed back out to train. They had been training for about an hour more when Gray was getting bored and as he was staring at his brother's back an idea came to him. He bent down and picked up a bunch of snow in his hands, rolling it into a ball.

Lyon stopped as he felt the packed snow hit his back. He turned to glare at his younger brother only to see that he had more snowballs ready to go. Oh, this means war! The two soon had a huge snowball fight going. At first it was just the snowballs, then they started to get creative and use their magic. Their battle went on for a bit, Lyon had created an ice ape who was about to throw another snowball at Gray. But Lyon stopped went Gray suddenly fell to his knees gripping his arm, and the mark started lighting up. The younger ice mage managed to hold the magic back, but it put an end to their play fight. The two decided to head back to the house as night was starting to fall. Gray was in the lead as they reached the house, and with a quick mischievous grin thrown towards his older brother, he dashed into the house and locked the door. Lyon was stunned for a moment before anger took over and he growl as he banged on the door and demanded to be let in. Which Gray of course denied, with laughter in his voice. Lyon snarled,

"Gray, you little brat, let me in!"

All he got in reply was more laughter. After a moment Gray spoke up,

"Not happening any time soon."

A beat or two of silence, then,

"Fine! I'm going into town to pick up something to eat. You had better have the door open when I get back or no food. And I know we don't have anything to eat in there."

Lyon stomped off into the stormy night slightly irate at his younger brother but more hungry than angry. He headed into one of the town's few taverns. He was sitting at the bar, having just ordered his food when an older, mysterious gentleman with a long, white beard sat down beside him. The ice mage didn't pay him much attention until the man asked,

"Are you Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale?"

Lyon spared him a glance.

"Maybe, what's it to you?"

"I was curious of what you have heard about Fullbusters whereabouts?"

Lyon stared blankly at the weird man.

"I have no idea who you are talking about?"

The old man smirked smugly at the ice mage.

"I have information that you are friends with the other ice mage. So, I repeat, what do you know? I am willing to pay a good amount for his whereabouts?"

The maker mage gave a huff of laughter.

"Look, I don't know where you got your information, but it's wrong." Lyon denied, figuring it to be the best course of action. "I have no idea what you are talking about and I have no interest in whatever your on about."

Right at that moment the food Lyon had order to-go came and he grabbed it and headed out without bothering to give the old man a second glance.

~TBC~