No Longer Left Behind

by hisuichanxx

Everyone knows there were 2, but looking back, there really should have been 4. After receiving a month's worth of correspondence from a village in desperate need of an experienced wizard, Ur Milkovich, with the help of her two young pupils, ventures out to a small village on the verge of being washed away. What's causing the constant rain, and how will it affect the future?

xUx

The magi-mobile jumped and rattled as it trekked it's way across uneven cobblestones, jerking a young woman with inky black hair around so frequently she mused that it could almost be considered steady.

A look out the carriage's windows offered no more indication of where they were headed, or how much farther they had to go, than if Ur Milkovich had shaken a cup full of bones and proceeded to draw a fanciful prophecy straight from the most clairvoyant crevasses of her ass, yet one of her pupils, the newer one, stared out into the obsidian canvas the window offered resolutely, eyes steady, mouth firm.

Just as he had been doing, for the last seven hours, ever since she'd hauled him by the scruff of his collar, almost (but not quite) choking him into an early next life, while she'd cheerfully told their driver where they were headed, and motioned for her other student to follow them inside the interior cabin.

She had to hand to him, when Gray Fullbuster decided he was gonna have a tantrum, not much could deter the kid out of his mood.

No amount of poking, prodding, relentless chatter – something Gray had once openly declared worse than sleeping in a bed made of leeches so passionately, Ur had to resist the urge to pinch his cheeks – leg swinging, or obnoxious snacking, from his fellow student, had turned his gaze from his stewing spot.

Rainbow Fish had floated past their window for a full five minutes that afternoon, something Ur was sure the boy, who'd been born and raised on the Northern Continent, had never seen before. But because the iridescent school decided to make their commute past the window opposite of where he'd been looking, he'd never caught a glimpse.

It was almost awe-inspiring how he never broke focus.

Personally, if her other student, Lyon Vastia, was laying his head on her shoulder, snoring directly in her ear, and leaving a wet spot on her jacket, Ur would have lost it almost immediately.

The white haired boy would probably still be chasing after their carriage, just so she was sure the message sunk in.

But then again, Ur and Gray were made from different stuff; she hadn't gone through what he had, hadn't suffered the same level of world-shattering devastation at such a young age.

And while he didn't currently look to be on the verge of a breakdown over what he'd been through, whatever emotion he was feeling just then, he didn't seem inclined to share anytime soon.

There was no awkward silence, however. The weather prevented that.

What started as an enthusiastic sprinkle two hours ago, had built and built into the torrential downpour they were currently fighting their way through now, and if Ur's guesstimations where correct, they still wouldn't arrive at the storms heart for another half hour.

When she'd told the driver where they were headed, he'd been open about his worries, warning her that he'd circle back the moment he felt it wasn't safe any more. Terrible accidents had been going on around the Fulrudien Mountains for months now, no amount of pay was worth that risk.

If only Ur was that principled...

Strapped to the roof of the magi-mobile – should whatever merciful deities decide to spare it from a trip down this pseudo river road – was Ur's luggage, containing a hodgepodge stack of letters she'd received over the last month from the mayor of a little village buried between these mountains, Ashworth Forest.

She wasn't sure how they'd gotten into their heads that she was the only one who could help them. All she knew was that day after day, she'd received a new letter, each more desperate than the last, asking for her help.

It had unnerved her, how the mayor seemed to hang all of her hopes on Ur, blatantly ignoring her suggestions to seek help from an established wizard guild, instead.

Two days ago, the young mentor had decided enough was enough, and told as much to the leader of the little town.

The woman had replied with a single sentence: "Name your price."

So she did. Cackling a little to herself, Ur had found the smallest strip of paper along with the largest envelope, wrote J2,500,000 Plus Transportation, Food, And

Board , in large, obnoxious permanent marker with no explanation, slapped it into the envelope, and mailed it, glad to put the whole issue to rest.

Imagine her surprise, when she'd received that same envelope back, along with her evening paper, filled nearly to bursting with half the cash she'd asked for, not even five hours later, and a note cheerfully informing her that a magi-mobile would be there to pick her up in the morning.

She still didn't know how they'd managed to get the letter there and back so quickly...

In truth, Ur had only asked for the exorbitant fee in the hopes the little town would give her up as a bad sport and go pester someone else.

But food didn't grow on trees; – well, technically it did, just not on any of the trees near their house – she now had two growing boys to feed, and the way things were looking, they seemed pretty determined to feed themselves out of house and home.

Once she'd gotten over the shock of how neatly little Ashworth Forest had cornered her into a commitment, Ur tucked away 90% of the money contained in the envelope and packed her bags.

She'd told the boys with some level of excitement about the mission, hoping they'd revel in the chance to get their feet wet, have the first of many small adventures under their belts as they navigated their way on the path to becoming fully-fledged independent wizards.

But it was no good.

While Lyon Vastia had jumped at the chance, pumped at the idea of being in any sort of field that might prove how far he'd come, it was the other boy that Ur had watched steadily when she'd delivered the news, hoping some sort of passion would creep it's way out of his impassive features, but no luck.

It's not like he was devoid of emotion; Gray was very vocal about the things that displeased him, whether people asked him or not. Like a man decades older than him, he was set in his ways, daring anyone to try and move him.

But what Ur was looking for was something far more complex than a pet peeve. It was heat, spirit, animation, dare she wish for joy!

Of course, his aversion to feeling anything more than apathy wasn't without reason. When she'd found the boy buried in the rubble of his childhood home, surrounded by a town once full of life and community, but now only offering ghosts and debris, she'd known whatever semblance of normal he'd had, had been stolen from him, perhaps permanently.

That was the natural response of anyone after finding what was left of their mother crushed under the beams that had once supported their home. Ur would be far more unnerved if he'd spent his time carefree and giggly.

But would it kill him to crack a smile once in a while?!

This was the first time she'd taken them out, not quite as a unit, but certainly a team, to a job Ur felt was perfect for their age and level of experience. She doubted they'd even need to use magic for this, it was more a test of deduction and understanding.

And teamwork; which was probably the most difficult lesson anyone could impart on these two.

After all, how hard could it be to stop some rain?

xUx

Two loud rings from the magi-mobile's bell broke through Ur's thoughts, to alert them that they'd arrived. For a moment, the black haired woman just sat there, not understanding why she felt so surprised, until something occured her.

The magi-mobile may have come to a full stop, but they were not motionless.

The carriage swayed this way and that, continuing the uneven rocking she'd felt earlier and had blamed on the mountain path, perhaps incorrectly.

She pressed two finger to the window, only to draw them back immediately, unsettled.

Rain was pounding against the glass, pelting it with a force the ice wizard could feel from the other side. It was almost violent, determined to crack through and hammer the occupants within.

"Gray," Ur whispered, trying listen over the rachet the rain was making on the roof, to determine if her suspicions about the water being over the knee height, were

true. It's not like she could see it. "Wake up Lyon, I don't think I can carry him ins–"

Her sentence hadn't even finished, before the young boy pulled back his arm, thwacking Lyon on the head hard enough to knock him into the window on the other side.

Oh.

So that's what he'd been waiting for.

Next time she took on a student, they were going to go through an official evaluation and personality test, first. No more big sad eyes and a tragic backstory to get you on the fast track of admission to Ur University.

For his part, Lyon just looked mildly confused for a moment, before giving himself a slight shake, seemingly unaware of the two bright red marks beginning to develop on either side of his head.

He blinked bleary up at Ur, "Are we here?"

"Yeah, the hotel is just over there, on the corner–"

Lyon yanked opened the door, rubbing furiously at one eye, "Great, I wanna go to sleep already." Then hopped out.

"No, wait–!" Ur scrambled forward, trying to catch him midway, but it was too late.

Just as she'd feared, dark water was visible just below the cabin, it splashed back violently all over the floor when Lyon jumped down into it, disappearing into it's inky depths without a trace.

Pure panic lanced through Ur, imagining the poor boy already halfway down the river that pushed and pulled against their carriage. Even Gray looked concerned, sitting up for the first time and peering over the side.

When no trace of the other boy made itself known, he looked back at Ur, mouth hanging in disbelief, before an arm punched through the water, shocking them further. Lyon scrambled for a moment, nails digging into the carriage seat, until Ur and Gray the good sense to help him up.

He emerged from the water like a drowned cat; eyes wide, white hair plastered against his face, nearly indiscernible from his pale skin. A branch stuck out from

his collar awkwardly, before he curled into himself, coughing roughly.

"Why the hell did he park next to a river?" Gray asked, looking outraged, "Someone could have died!"

"First of all, language," Ur snapped, giving him another look of warning. Any more from this kid and her face would end up stuck this way. "And secondly, that's not a river, that's the street."

Both Gray and Lyon – who'd mercifully stopped coughing – turned to look out the still open door. There wasn't much to see though; it was past 7 o'clock and even if it wasn't nighttime, the rain blurred everything, making visibility so poor she couldn't discern any further than two inches away. It was no better than when she'd been looking out the window earlier. "If you two would have given me the chance, I could have told you that this was going to happen. This whole town as been going through this storm for the last five days, I'm actually surprised the water isn't higher..." She murmured, taking another glance out the door, "Probably because we're on top of a mountain. I'd hate to see what this place would've look liked if it had been built at the bottom.

"So what, is this the part where you reveal you've been an expert scuba diver this whole time?" Gray asked, looking annoyed.

"No, smartass. You two are gonna have to latch onto me, and I'm gonna have to bribe the driver to get our stuff inside," Ur tsked, mildly irritated. She'd really wanted to buy a new jacket, but watching the water below pick up pace like steadily growing tsunami, convinced her there was no way she could make two trips, and getting the driver to help her was going to eat through all the petty cash she'd brought.

Shame.

"I call backpack!" Lyon cried, jumping onto Ur's lap, almost immediately.

His enthusiasm was just enough to make up for the fact that he'd slapped his cold, dippy body onto hers, scrambling on her back and securing his arms around her neck.

Her other student wasn't nearly as cooperative.

Crossing his arms firmly, he raised a brow in challenge as if daring her to ask him aboard.

"Oh, too cool to be a backpack, Gray?" Ur teased.

"No. Just not dumb enough to be carried around like a dork."

She'd literally just said that.

"Well, I've got news for you, kid," Ur started, rolling up her sleeves as she watched the little boy back up into his seat, expression uneasy, "Dork or not, you weigh about 18 pounds after a full meal and you haven't eaten all day. I just saw the rushing water outside wash away a tree that's probably been here since the dragons ruled the sky. In other words, on your own, you've got a bunny on a battlefield's chance of getting to the hotel in one piece. Now I was gonna give you choice, you could have happily been dangled over my shoulder like a potato sack. But you wanted to be a little shit, so now I'm gonna carry you over that threshold princess style."

" No–!"

He tried to escape, but unfortunately for Gray, there was nowhere left to escape to.

Scooping him up, Ur decided she more than deserved a pay raise when his foot narrowly missed her forehead in his efforts to scramble away. Only to remember once she was waist deep in water, two sets of hands latched to her jacket tight enough to rip it from it's seams, rain pelting her in the eye just enough to temporarily blind her, that she took care of these little terrors for free.

It was no small relief when they crossed the hotel's threshold. If the weight of the boys wasn't enough, the water that got wedged in between the fibers of her clothes weighed her down further; she was surprised she'd made it.

"Towel, miss?"

Ur tried rubbing her eyes to see who was speaking to her, but it was no good, once her sleeve touched her face it only deposited more water from the fabric into her eyes.

She blinked rapidly, no longer caring if it was a vulcan or a duke talking to her, as long as they had something dry. "I'll take as many as you've got."

Though normally not one to relish warmth, she couldn't deny how satisfying it felt

to press that fresh, hot towel against her face, before finally getting the chance to take in her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was that both the boys were still firmly attached to her. How they'd managed that she wasn't entirely sure, but it was nice to see Gray had taken such a liking to her, if the tiny hand firmly holding her bra strap was any indication.

Then the room caught her eye.

It was clear that the people who'd designed this hotel were going for... something.

The lobby was decked out in the strangest mixture of old and new, with couches, chandeliers, and portraits that clearly called back to an era when everyone was trying to emulate the Fiorian Monarchy's opulent, lavish decor. Engraved gold picture frames, overstuffed floral seats, marble floors and the like.

But all of that clashed horribly with the sharp minimalist statues, geometric wallpaper, and random bubble chairs that took up just as much space as the first style.

Because of this, Ur didn't feel nearly as bad as she normally would have dragging her muddy boots across the floors, each step squelching horribly as made her way to the front desk. This was probably the least presentable she'd ever been in her life – and that included giving birth – and yet she continued quite comfortably, knowing deep down, she was hardly the most tacky thing in here.

With the boys still strapped to her like a couple of cats trying to escape a rabid dog, Ur rang the desk bell. Not even half a minute went by before an old woman with green and gray hair done up in an intricate, whimsical updo, trotted in from a back room to help them.

"Hi, I'm U–"

"Ur Milkovich," the woman cut in tartly, pulling a pair of rhinestone cat eye glasses from a pocket, and squinting as she adjusted them, "Room 517, the micro suite. Yes, yes, right here."

She pulled out a bright orange quill from a different pocket within her fluffy robe, tapping relentlessly at a lacrima while Ur stared. Apart from the fact she was using a writing utensil to operate a magical orb, what Ur really wanted to know was, "How'd you know my name?"

"The whole town's been waiting for you for damn near month." She tsked, waving away the maker mage's curiosity. "Real question is if your gonna leave that poor man waiting."

"Wh–?"

She gestured behind Ur, and she turned to find their driver, standing by the front door while he looked this way and that around the lobby, taking in the peculiar sights. Beside him stood their luggage, miraculously dry.

Ur rushed over to him – as fast as she could considering the children still koala bearing her – not only surprised but a little embarrassed; she'd completely forgotten their bags!

"I'm so sorry!" Her hands fluttered around him, trying to offer some comfort, before she realized something – the man was also completely dry.

He looked rather chagrined, twisting a newspaper between his fingers, "Oh, if only you'd waited ma'am, I could have gotten you across as well. I'm sort of an expert on drying things, can't get into a pool without 29% of the water evaporating around me, it's the only bit of magic I know."

Gray didn't need to glare that hard, it's not like he'd known.

"Well, can't you dry us, now?"

His shoulders hunched in further, as if Ur might strike him, but she was only curious, "I'm afraid not, Miss, once the water's attached to a living thing that isn't meself, I can't move it anymore than a crab could a boulder."

Though disappointed, Ur was pretty grateful the luggage had all made it in one piece, and once they'd all showered they had plenty of dry clothes to look forward to, so that was something.

Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out the little compact she always carried there. The mirror had long since cracked and fallen out, the makeup was probably expired to the point of toxicity, but it made for an excellent little place to hide a small wad of cash.

Ur revealed the money, passing everything she had to the driver, his eyes going wide. "No, no. The town's already paid me, ma'am."

"Well, I haven't, and you got us here safely, I wanna show my appreciation."

He continued waving his hands wildly, which Ur ignored, placing the little stack into his chest, before turning and waddling back to the front desk, their bags in tow.

"If you need anything," he called hurriedly, seeming to raise his voice with each step she took away from him, "I've left ye ma card, Miss! Just press the baby seal, it'll let me know. Always available!"

"Sure, sure."

Back at the front desk, the elderly concierge gazed at the maker mage over her glasses steadily, looking less than impressed, "Payments already taken care of, so you can head upstairs now." She said testily, waving a brass key tagged with a bright 517 in front of Ur, "Unless of course, you were hoping for a personally guided tour?"

"I'm actually more of a roll out the red carpet kinda girl." The black haired woman joked, internally wondering how she was going to manage to carry the keys along with everything else. With Gray wrapped around her the way he was, she couldn't so much as bend her elbows, and after learning this whole thing could have been avoided if they'd just waited like he'd wanted, he was in a less than cooperative mood.

Her joke managed to elicit a respectable response-to-effort ratio, in that the older woman just huffed softly to herself before dropping the key on the desk and turning back the way she'd come, door closing behind her with a firm snap.

Silence reigned for a moment, until the lights in the lobby started shutting off one by one, and a sense of urgency began to hit Ur, "Either you boys wanna grab that?" She asked, gesturing with her chin towards the key.

No response.

Mouth it was, then...

After three failed attempts, she finally managed to clench the key chain between her teeth, with hopes that hygiene was an important pillar of Ashworth's community philosophy, before hobbling over to the small corridor, just left of the front desk, to catch sight of something that stopped her in her tracks.

She could have cried when saw the staircase looming before her.

"Uh, Ur," Lyon started from just above her shoulder, voice still hoarse from his violent dip, earlier, "I think there's an elevator over there."

She could have kissed that boy when she turned and was indeed greeted by a elevator shaft, bronze and kinda outdated, but without a doubt better than taking the stairs.

Her legs were aching terribly by the time she'd made it inside, the pain so great she didn't even realize they weren't alone until a voice piped up, "Fifth floor, is that right?"

It was the same soft voice from before, the one she couldn't see when he'd passed her a towel, though with the lobby now so dim, she couldn't make out much of his features besides soft curly hair and a lean frame.

She spat out their room key, successfully landing it between her chest and Gray's left arm, "Yes, thank you."

A gentle unobtrusive sound started up, like metal brushing metal, and they began making their way up. It was only when they'd passed the second floor and the sound of labored breathing picked up, did Ur realize the young man beside her was hand cranking the elevator, "Are you ok?"

"Oh yes," he huffed, voice as light and benign as ever, despite how out of breath he clearly was, "I'm kinda new, and y'know with the rain we haven't had many visitors... so I'm not as used to using this thing with other people inside–"

"Well, let me hel–!"

"No! No...! I'm good..."

He didn't sound good, he sounded seconds away from passing out.

"...Just got a few... More... Inches..."

Not too long after that, the light from the third floor started peeking through the top of the elevator, but Ur felt no real relief, because that's when the praying started.

"Deities above, whether endowned with a majestic amount of facial hair or not..."

"Is he gonna drop us?"

"Are we gonna die?"

She liked how Gray asked that question with far less fear than Lyon had asked his, only mild irritation, " Hush!" She hissed, subtly readjusting her grip on each of the boys, rather than their bags, "I'll let you know when it's time to worry."

" –though I did struggle with opening my water bottle only this afternoon, I do believe that by putting my life within your collective, everlasting wisdom you will help me find the strength to get these good people to their destination in one piece, and perhaps tomorrow, I won't find it necessary to get someone to paddle me three miles into town to our local grade school, and bother my sister in an effort to avoid dehydration. Her nap time is important to us all. Amen!"

Well, would you look at the time!

At this point Ur was too stunned to speak, so she just stood there for fifteen minutes, enduring several bizarre prayers and catching glimpses of the fourth floor only to be unceremoniously dropped back down to second, with a melodic cry of, "Shoulder cramp, shoulder cramp!" each time.

And throughout it all, he refused to let her help.

If the rest of the town was half as weird as the people she'd already met in the hotel, it was no real wonder Ur was their final hope; they'd probably scared everyone else off...

Just when the idea of knocking him out and continuing upstairs on her own, floated through her head, the light before them grew steadily larger. Soon enough he'd made it 3/4 of the way up, and Ur wasn't willing to bet on more. With a yank of the elevator's creaking gate, she pulled herself up and onto the fifth floor hallway, bags and boys in tow.

Checking to make sure she hadn't dropped their room key, she bid the young man a goodnight, and not in the mood to hear anymore of his hymns, quickly rounded the corner where the odd numbered rooms were located.

Finding their door was cinch, opening it, not so much.

But because she was known to work miracles in her spare time, Ur managed it, revealing a room within that was decorated in the same harsh, mismatched manner the lobby four floors below, was.

Once the door shut, Ur announced, "Alright, if you two keep riding me like public transport, I'm gonna have to start charging."

Lyon hopped off first, rubbing furiously at the goose egg still blossoming on his forehead, while taking in the odd little suite.

She couldn't believe that thing was still growing, his whole head would be lopsided soon! Ur rounded on Gray, expression stern, "Satisfied?"

The black haired boy shrugged, any thrill he'd gotten over getting one over on his fellow student long since fizzled out. Yanking off his coat and shoes, he tossed them carelessly, landing on floor with a wet slap, the pile already leaving a puddle.

"I call the bedroom!" Lyon shouted, running towards the first door, bright yellow with an ornate silver handle. How he'd known there was a bedroom within was beyond her.

"I call the shower." Gray groaned, already down to his underwear.

"What have I told you about taking your clothes off in front of other people!" Ur called after the boy as he padded his way to what she hoped was the bathroom, yanking down a tiny, soaked pair of pants from the minimalist rhombus-shaped chandelier. "Next time, wait until you're in a room by yourself before you start flashing those ankles!"

From the bedroom sounded an obnoxious jiggle, proudly announcing that the new Celestial Star Key cereal had the same great taste, now with twice as much sugar! Ur sighed, shuffling into the bedroom while internally wondering how much of wreck the bathroom would be by the time her turn came around, and popped her head into the bedroom doorway, "Don't get too comfortable, Lyon. We've got a meeting in the morning, 9 AM sharp, and based on the way the roads were looking tonight, we're gonna need a thirty minute head start, so I don't want you to up past ten. I'm gonna order some food and then it's straight to bed." Then she took in his attire, "Why you in your pajamas?"

"Because my clothes are all wet." The duh was heavily implied in his tone.

"When Gray is done, I want you straight in the shower, Mister. As a matter of fact

you should have gone first, who knows what was in that water." She shook her head, "I've got a t-shirt you can wear in the meantime, but don't ruin your pajamas when you're all dirty like that. Come on, while I order the food."

"What kind of food?" Lyon hopped off the bed hurriedly, to grab her hand.

"Uh, I hadn't really thought of that... but there must be some menus around here somewhere, or something." Based on her experience so far with the hotel's staff, she felt it might be too much to hope for, wanting room service, but certainly the town must have a few local restaurants around, even if they needed to charge an arm and a leg to get it delivered anywhere.

Tomorrow they'd probably just cook for themselves, as their room featured a wonderful little kitchenette. Knowing the boys, she didn't feel comfortable leaving their meals up to the whims of others, Gray in particular was a little beast when underfed. Having a few staples would help keep things afloat between major meals while on this job; she'd be sure to stop by a store after their meeting, tomorrow morning.

Turning on the desk lamp did indeed reveal a stack of menus. Ur collected them, before unzipping her bag swiftly and pulling out the first shirt her fingers landed on, before passing everything over to Lyon. "Pick out whatever you want, price doesn't really matter; the town is paying for this, too. Then go ask Gray what he wants, alright?"

The white haired boy nodded excitedly, arms full, before he dashed off.

A part of Ur felt that perhaps she should be a bit more cautious when dolling out responsibilities to those proudly wearing snowflake footie pajamas, but a much larger part of her was all to aware of the uncomfortable way her jeans stuck onto her rain-swollen thighs, as well the god awful squeak each step of her water logged boots, was making.

Of course ten minutes later, a large racket from the bathroom made Ur regret her idle mindedness. Unbeknownst to her, Lyon was all too happy to literally barge in on Gray's bath, frightening the black haired boy half to death, just to ask him what he wanted to eat.

She'd never know why he'd felt the need to hop into the actual bathtub while Gray was showering, but without a doubt another good item of clothing was lost to the whims of water that night.

"Y'know, I don't get him," Lyon muttered, looking genuinely confused ten minutes later, legs swinging wildly while he sat on the small brocade loveseat provided in the living area. "We bath together at home all the time..."

Gray's face was almost burgundy with rage, "Look around you, genius, does it look like we're at home?! And even if you were, why would get in the tub wearing clothes?!"

"People wear clothes," Lyon began, one finger raised as he spoke as if he were giving a lecture at Crocus University, "to protect vulnerable parts of the body, as well as provide cover to areas considered less modest between mixed company, but of course, you wouldn't really understand that Gray, since you like to run around naked all the time–"

Quick thinking and faster hands on Ur's part, were the only things that stopped Lyon's face from meeting the fury of Gray's fists for a second time that night.

"Honestly!" She huffed, physically dragging Gray away from his counterpart, "If either of you put as much effort into practicing your form as you did sniping at each other, maybe you'd be able to freeze a bowl of soup by now!"

"Why would anyone want frozen soup?" Gray asked, no longer fighting her, but instead choosing to strain her arms by pushing his full weight against gravity.

"I got one word for you kid, leftovers."

"Yeah, well I'm not really a soup person. I wouldn't want any to begin with, let alone to save for later."

Gray could argue a bird out of flying.

She deposited him on the bed in heap, mostly for the sake of her poor back, and said, "Get another sock on those feet, and once you're cooled down, come outside, so we can order something."

"I'm not hungry," he huffed.

"Then help us choose something to smugly eat in front of you. Fifteen minutes, otherwise I'll drag you back out."

" ...Tch, I'd like to see you try–"

"What was that?"

"I said, it hurts to say goodbye!"

Ur resheathed the pair of pilers she kept on hand, with a firm nod of her head, "That's what I thought."

Once Gray trooped back out into the living area, agreeing on dinner was fairly easy.

Getting dinner to arrive, not so much.

Three hours passed with Lyon already bathed and now fast asleep, spread-eagle in front of the overstuffed brocade couch, before the same old woman from the front desk, looking more wizened than ever, green and gray hair plastered to the side of her face, neck, and chest, arrived at their door.

Without any preamble or explanation, she'd hobbled past Ur, right into their room, and began unloading vegetables, spices and a whole mess of untensils, on the tiny counter offered by their kitchenette, before getting to work.

She looked huffy and frazzled, grabbing things at random before chopping them up and tossing them into a dark, dented stock pot.

A quick glance back at the boys showed they looked just as confused as their mentor, with Lyon now up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes with no small amount of concern.

The silence was deep and felt almost impenetrable. Perhaps because an elderly woman whose name escaped Ur, had bombarded her way into their room, while soaked to the bone, to cook for them without a word passing between, or maybe–

Um, actually no, there was no or, that was precisely why this was awkward.

Though, she stood two feet over the old woman, Ur felt oddly nervous to even speak around the innkeeper, or lest she receive a smack from a wooden spoon.

So instead she sat on the little couch, crammed next to the boys, the silence continuing for the next hour, until the elderly woman motioned hurriedly for them to gather around the table and have some soup.

And it was good; bright vegetables that almost tasted like fresh water swam

between the folds of a broth Ur couldn't believe had only been simmed for under an hour.

However, it was difficult to actually enjoy the experience with their old warden making circles around them, pointedly staring at each in turn while they ate, still dripping little puddles on the carpets as they tried their hardest not to make direct eye contact with her.

So they ate their soup in more silence, each member of the trio too frightened to bring up the fact that they'd only ordered a simple pizza.

"Hey, Ur." Gray whispered, discreetly poking at her elbow while the innkeeper was busy watching Lyon take a long, wide-eyed drink of water, "you planning on freezing this for later?"

Ur didn't receive a pension. No, hearing her own students backtalk her with underhanded snark was reward enough for her.

Dessert consisted of warm milk with chocolate melted within, which the maker mage had to admit was pretty pleasant, as well, especially with the chilly weather battering so heavily against the window, outside.

But without a doubt, seeing their innkeeper finally shuffle her way out the door, was the best part of the experience. For good measure, Ur locked the doors just after she left and, not satisfied with the security a deadbolt had to offer, placed a chair just under the knob.

Then she whipped around, internally excited for a few hours of alone time, and clapped twice, "Alright! Bedtime."

Unfortunately, the boys had other plans...

10:18PM

"Hey, Gray," Lyon exclaimed, bounding into the sitting room, head to toe in an almost astonishing amount of towels, he couldn't even see for the washcloth over his eyes. He was practically vibrating with excitement, bouncing up and down in front of the couch like a self dribbling ball, "Guess who I am! Go on, guess!"

"Are you Brain Dead Boy?" Gray replied snarkily, expression bland. " A boy with so few brain cells, doctors are confounded he can even stand up!" He pulled back the towel from over Lyon's face, then turned to Ur with a look of mock excitement,

"Hey, I was right!"

Why did she bother teaching him magic? Clearly, being an asshole was where his actual passions lay, he could just stand on a street corner and insult people for free. He'd probably be smiling until the day he died.

10:41PM

Gray had fallen asleep.

This would have been great if he'd slept in his bed, a chair, hell even the floors were plush, with your choice of shaggy white fur or intricate baroque with gold inlay.

Ur couldn't explain why he was stretched out in the bathtub. But that was where she'd found him, prepped and ready for a bubble bath, book in one hand, the last of the drinking chocolate in the other.

If she hadn't gone through such ordeal earlier, carrying them through a storm, around the hotel, and up an elevator shaft, it wouldn't have even been a thought to haul him by his ankle and toss him back into the bedroom.

As it was, her muscles ached something terrible, her body so sore Ur began to rethink her training regiment. As physical as she was, there wasn't much reason for her to be so out of it at the moment.

But all that thinking was just an excuse, trying to avoid an important, albeit necessary, decision. Her choices were as follows:

1). Wake up, Gray.

This choice was almost immediately scrapped, because the one time Ur had been foolish enough to try and do such a thing, Gray bit her.

Casually.

Like he just ran around biting people all the time.

She was not proud to admit that at the time her only thought on recourse was to bite him back just as hard. Seeing how she was an adult and therefore should have thought that through a bit more, maybe stop and consider a time out, you know, as some (weak-willed) people are prone to do, Ur decided it was best to just

never again wake up Gray from any kind of sleep, rest, or nap.

Extreme? Sure.

But everyone in her little trope still had all their original fingers, so it was, without a doubt, an effective policy.

2). Haul his ass out and toss him outside, irreparably broken spine be damned.

While she was a risk taker by nature, this seemed a bit extreme, even for her taste. The bubbles would always be there tomorrow. Her slipped disc? Well, it would be there, just jutting out her back and resting diagonally...

3). Leave.

...

Yeah, she was better off just doing that.

So Ur backed up quietly, gently stomping down her own disappointment as she turned out the lights and exited the bathroom. Once outside, she sighed heavily, trying to think up a new way to relax, only to turn and come face-to-face with a wide-eyed, eager looking, Lyon Vastia.

10:06PM

"Let's watch a movie, Master!"

"Go to sleep."

"Or we can go out right now and find the culprit. I promise I won't tell Gray."

"Go to sleep."

"Do you wanna make it snow in here, we could make angels!"

"Go. To. Sleep."

"We never got our pizza, we should find that place and issue a complaint!"

Perhaps she wasn't being specific enough, "Turn around, go back into the bedroom, get in the bed and go to sleep."

"I know I asked for spicy peppers all over it, but that's just because I know he doesn't like them," Lyon clarified, jabbing a finger behind himself at the only bedroom. "We can split extra cheese and spinach."

If she'd known he was this chatty, not to mention hardheaded– "What, are you afraid of the bedspread or something?"

He pouted, arms crossed and looking just as defensive as she'd hoped. "No."

"Then why don't you go in there and prove it. As a matter of fact, I double-dare you spend the rest of the night in there with it, all the way up 'til morning!"

He ignored her challenge, "What kind of magic is the strongest in all of Earthland?"

"Sleep magic."

She was only being half ridiculous. In reality, Ur had come face-to-face with some amazing – and rather frightening – wizards that possessed such an ability, and she'd give her left leg before getting on the wrong side of them.

But Lyon didn't take her hint. In either direction. "I'm serious, what kind magic would make a grown man cry?"

That was an oddly specific request, "Can't speak for any grown men, but I know I'd just about burst into sobs if you fell asleep right now."

The look he gave her told Ur they'd be having this back and forth for quite some time.

And the look was right.

11:16PM

Lyon got a pen cap stuck up his nose.

Please don't ask.

11:26PM

Lyon got his foot stuck in the toilet.

Please see above and really think about that.

12:01AM

Footsteps advanced towards her excitedly.

Ur took a long draught from her mug, back firmly facing the little intruder, before she growled out, " Lyon, if I see your face one more time before 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, I'm gonna rearrange it."

Footsteps shuffled away from her sadly.

3:43AM

True quiet was all that Ur heard.

Even as the rainstorm outside hammered and fought against the outside of the hotel, she was able to chalk it up to a relaxing background noise, providing her just enough ambience that she wouldn't go out of her mind in the quiet, while the maker mage sat before a desk in the living area of their micro-suite, thinking hard.

The only light on in the whole place was the one before her, illuminating her small leather bound notebook while she tried to come up with questions and strategies for her meeting with the mayor, in the morning.

So far, she'd managed to scribbled down five, and if she were being honest with herself, the only way she wouldn't be embarrassed by them was if one of the boys had thought it up in her stead. As it was, Ur was feeling a little overpaid, and incredibly overwhelmed.

She ruffled her hair impatiently, thinking hard.

Just then, the squeak of the door pulled her mind out of her ass, revealing Gray in the doorway, looking pale.

"What's wrong kiddo?" Ur whispered, at first welcoming any distraction, but then truly worried as she took in his expression, "Having trouble sleeping?"

"How can anyone sleep with all that going on outside?" He crossed his arms, looking oddly furious, as he stared out the dark window behind them.

"The rain keeping you up, kiddo?" She pushed herself up from the desk, stretching

out her back a little, before giving Gray's head two pats, heading into the little kitchenette.

He shook his head, expression turning from anger to worry, though Ur didn't pick up on any discernable difference that could explain the change, "Rain I can handle, probably wouldn't even notice. But out there..." Gray was looking so intently out the window, Ur turned to look too, a trickle of concern sliding down her back, "That isn't rain... it's more like sobbing..."

It was such an unsettling thought, Ur had to work to hide her shudder from him.

Instead, she pulled him into a slight hug – anything more an Gray would truly get upset – before asking, "Wanna finish up the last of that chocolate milk, from earlier? We don't have to tell Lyon, if you can manage to keep quiet.."

Gray wasn't one to go out of his way for dessert, but something about denying Lyon a treat he'd really wanted earlier seemed to ease the tension within the boy, distracting him from his thoughts, just as Ur knew it would.

She fixed him a tall mug, the black haired boy insisting he wanted the drink cold, but she prepared it warm, knowing the temperature would do wonders to help him sleep.

They spoke for a little while about subjects that held no real weight but were interesting nonetheless, how big dragons were, who the best wizard was at the moment, who'd they'd pay good money to see fight each other, one on one, until the first yawn passed through his lips, and Ur sent him straight off to bed.

He must've been pretty tried to begin with, because he didn't fight her. He stood immediately, passing over his mug before trooping over back to the bedroom door.

"And please," Ur whispered, remembering where she'd found him earlier, "don't sleep in the bathtub, I'd like to look presentable for our meeting without fighting you tomorrow, first."

Gray nodded once, eyes already drooping as he closed the door softly behind him. Once she heard the creak of mattresses springs, Ur nodded to herself, mug still in had as she walked over to the desk, list of questions looming.

She looked over the list, each question more pathetic and ill-thought out than the last, before she snatched the whole thing out of the notebook, crumbling it up,

and tossing it in the wastepaper basket.

The maker mage shut out the lights and sliding into bed, with a sigh, a nice long sleep, was exactly what she needed before her meeting tomorrow morning. Who needed canned questions, with overly prepared answered, she was known for playing it by ear and listening to the things that went unsaid. And that was what she was going to give them tomorrow.

After all, they'd sought her out, specifically for her expertise.

Ur tried drifting to sleep right then, those words bouncing around her head repeatedly, as some small form of comfort.

4:00AM

But it was a bit too small; she didn't sleep well that night.

More than her own mantra, Gray's words made it's way into her mind, making her uneasy.

The thought kept creeping up on her, crawling under her skin, the idea that every drop of rain, every splash of water, every overflowing puddle that people were ducking, dodging, and whining about, were just tears shed by the lonely.

xUx

The next morning dawned dark and gray, and pulling the boys out of bed proved to be just as much a struggle as Ur had feared.

For one, Gray took one look out the window and seemed to think Ur had cut her own sleep short, purely to mess with him.

She could have shaken him or something, insisting he get his get his ass up, but he looked primed to bite, so the maker mage rounded the bed quickly, choosing to bribe Lyon awake instead. It took quite a lot of bargaining for ice cream cones more than twice her weight, but finally the white haired boy shrugged out of bed and into the bathroom.

As for Gray, Ur while was a little wary of tooth prints embedded in her skin, she was also a little clever, as well.

All she had to do was hint at Lyon that they could start the day early and maybe

get some extra special training in later, but unfortunately since Gray was still asleep, that would have to be taken off the table...

Half a minute later, the sound of fists hitting flesh and loud angry cries of pain, let her know they would still be right on track for their meeting at nine.

Traveling by boat seemed to be a pretty normal occurrence around these parts, or at least frequent enough that every other person had at least a raft on hand.

While the mayor had promised – and just two hours ago sent a signed the contract stating – that all their transport would be taken care of, Ur realized there would be more flexibility in having a ride of their own, something that was all too easy to take care of.

She'd presented her creation with pride, "I call her: Little Icy."

"We're gonna freeze our butts off," Gray complained, taking in the beautifully constructed pale blue ice boat with delicate awning ornamented with snowflakes but still clear enough to give passengers a panoramic view, an unimpressed, glassy eyed look.

"After all the snow storms we've stood in, all the frozen lakes we've run across,

every blizzard we've stripped down to our underwear in, you're telling me you can't handle a couple fifteen minute boat rides throughout the day?"

The black haired boy elbowed his counterpart discreetly, whispering, "We should really call some type of service or agency on her, I don't think half the stuff she mentioned is allowed, legally."

"Well, like it or not, you'd don't have much of a choice," Ur replied triumphantly, choosing to be the bigger person and ignore Gray's last comment, "Unless you feel like doggie-paddling through all of that?" She pointed to the dark waters still churning mercilessly, road signs and building fragments being carried swiftly within it's waves, while hiding the streets from sight.

He sighed heavily, then climbed aboard, "Fine, whatever, but if I start walking fun–"

"Get on the boat with your clothes on! Why do I have to specify that?!" She hollered, launching Gray's shirt, shoes, and jacket squarely at his head with a dull thunk!

Lyon scrambled aboard with much less fuss, as was his usual, taking a seat next to Gray, before pulling out a bright green apple and chomping down.

She had no idea where he'd gotten it from.

Ur was last, taking a seat across from them both with a sigh, "Alright, each of you, grab an oar."

Two pairs of wide eyes stared at her frightened, then at each other, as if they couldn't believe physical labor would be involved in this mission.

Ur folded her wrist through the air twice and the boat began chugging away from the hotel, while the young master smiled down at her students, "See how kind I am? You insulted one of my greatest creations and I didn't even make you row."

"I always thought it was great, Ur," Lyon agreed hurriedly, mouth full of fruit.

"Kiss ass."

"And she tells me to watch my language," Gray deadpanned.

Five minutes later, Ur caught Lyon trying to hide a yawn, and shook her head, resigned, "This is why I told you to get to bed early, Lyon. You're gonna be a zombie the rest of the day."

"You let Gray stay up." He grumbled sulkily.

"I did not, he was having trouble sleeping." Ur corrected with shake of her head, "and it's not like I'm letting him slack off now either. Now both of you, up, up! We've got work to do."

"What kind of work?"

"We pledg–"

"You pledged ."

"Whatever." She easily waved off the semantics; as their guardian, it was well within her right to forge their names on any official documents from now until the near future, and she already did, so... "We're here to rid the town of it's rain problem, we gotta help them."

Gray gave her a slow, lazy blink, mind probably already drifting back to dream land, "Help them how?"

"Like... Well, look over there!"

As they made their way down what was clearly supposed to be Main Street, the low hanging fog and steady downpour blurring most of the buildings around them out of view, Ur caught sight of a cluster of people, and directed their boat a bit closer, so they could see what was going on while they continued to pass by.

It was a grocery store of sorts, two rather large tables stood on a dock that was well made enough for Ur to sumise this wasn't the first time the water had risen to such a level, food scattered sparsely atop.

A man in a white apron – or skirt depending on your interpretation of the short bit of cloth wrapped around his waist and touching the top of his tall bright red rain boots; – it's not like the weather was allowing for a clear view – stood between the tables, shouting over the din of rain and clamoring, anxious people.

About ten or so makeshift rafts stood in "line", each vessel tied to a thick iron rod staked into the ground, by soggy ropes. Currently, that line was being held up by an angry man in fuzzy coat, waving his arm incredulously.

"Are you out of you mind? How can you sell food like this, it's so full of water it's damn near spoiled!"

"So are your library books, but we still bother to borrow them," the green grocer grumbled, waving the petite carrot in his face sharply, before replacing it with it's counterparts, "I'll never forget that wonderful Baturday morning when Iomu B Fjore, Ring of Eioro, was goronated. What a history lesson!"

"Give me half a pound," the librarian hissed.

"That's J1700."

Ur almost choked at the outrageous price, but the blue haired man just rolled his eyes before slapping down a J2000 note, carrots already doubled wrapped in a bag, while he reached for another item.

They'd already paddled out of earshot before Ur discover what was wrong with the lettuce.

She turned back to the other occupants within her boat, "Alright, any ideas so far?"

She didn't know why she'd expected ready responses.

Lyon was carefully avoiding eye contact with her by braiding and unbraiding his shoelaces. Meanwhile, Gray was spread out on the seat, head halfway out the boat, his neck dangling at an almost unnatural angle, fast asleep.

She wasn't normally one to nag, but the boy almost literally looked half dead, and people where starting to give her weird looks. "Either get it together, or I'm tossing children outside."

Lyon sighed, now fiddling with the cuff of his jacket. "What about a really big bucket?"

Was he serious?

Her other student snorted, before yawning out, "Maybe we should punch a couple clouds in the face," his eyes drifting closed once again, "Then we could scare the rain away."

Lyon nodded excitedly, seeming to gain some confidence and momentum from this odd little brainstorm session. "Yeah, or we maybe should fight the moon!"

"What?" Gray asked, eyes popping wide open, while sizing the white haired boy with a needlessly outraged expression, "First of all, your bucket idea was dumb, I was kidding about the clouds. How is the weather gonna get better by picking a fight with the moon? How would we even do that?"

"...I never said it would help." Lyon muttered defensively.

"What if they build a new town inside the mountain, and above, they turn this place into a water park."

"That wouldn't suck," Gray agreed thoughtfully.

As thoughtfully as a nine year could manage, anyway.

"All great suggestions," Ur lied, directing their boat around a playground, the chains disappearing into the water, hiding the swings underneath. "But I was thinking something a bit more concrete."

"What about a really big concrete bucket?"

"Alright, I'm no longer taking suggestions, go on back to sleep."

The black haired boy needed no further instructions from there.

After Lyon seemed to run out of snacks – without offering anyone else anything, she might add – they fell into an comfortable silence with Ur carefully steering the boat around unusual obstacles like tree branches longer than her body and a statue of Toma E. Fiore; the little King's crown barely visible before she'd swerved to avoid it.

"Where are we going now?"

"Well, I wanted to hand in this mission sheet to the Mayor," Ur pulled out the little

stack of papers she'd signed off on that morning from within her jacket, "I'm hoping once we come face to face she can give me a rundown of how this all started, so we're heading to her house for now."

Gray surprised her by responding; she'd thought he was out of it, "Why go to her house, do you even know where it is?"

One of these days, Ur would love to find out why Gray had so little faith in her. "I've already looked through the town's directory for the Mayor's Mansion. It's all up here," she nodded sagely, tapping the side of her head.

"You're gonna get us lost." He stated.

"Yeah," Ur smiled indulgently, "but not before I toss you overboard."

xUx

About fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to a stately all brick manor just outside of the village's main square, where the mountaintop began to give way to more forest than homes.

Ur stopped the boat in front of a sweeping set of stone steps, the bottom disappearing within the dark water, like most of the town, but by far the least serious property damage she'd seen, today.

The rain seemed to beat heavier than ever as they made their way up to the front door, each of the boys gripping her like their lives depended on it until they made it under the porch awning.

It didn't provide as much cover as they hoped, with the wind directing spare water at them from all sides, but they felt a bit more secure here than when they'd been directly under the downpour.

Ur dabbed her face with the end of her shirt sleeve, before knocking twice, the sound vibrating deep into the walls for several moments after.

"They must have brought in a sound mage." Ur explained, giving the surrounding grounds a second, more appreciated, look, "I hear they're all the rage in the architectural community. Really makes the acoustics pop."

Lyon just stared at her blankly while Gray tried to subtly wipe his hands and face on the back of her jacket, under the guise of an impromptu appreciation hug.

Before she could voice her irritation, the door before them swung open to reveal a woman.

Her hair was powder pink and sat top her head like a cloud, a few strands framing a face that looked no more the 20-something years old. She was wearing a breezy off-the-shoulder floral blouse, the back of which was long enough to sweep the floor behind her and called for brighter, sunnier days then the one being offered to them today. Her jewery was simple, thin gold chains sat just at her collarbone, a matching bracelet on each wrist, and a delicate ring set with a deep blue stone glittered on her finger.

Large amber eyes belied that face, though, allowing a small gateway into the true number of decades she'd seen and lived through. There was a heaviness there that laid itself bare within her eyes, but Ur had a difficult time interpreting what it meant.

Four long scars, two on each side, stretched from the top of her forehead past her exposed shoulders, down to her wrists. The porch light bounced off her skin revealing deep, pale scar tissue that almost shone. Until she'd caught the way the woman's skin reflected back light, Ur thought they were stylized tattoos, they were so identical.

The maker mage couldn't imagine what kind of attack could have done that to her.

Realizing they'd been standing there for quite some time without anyone saying anything, Ur stretched out a hand, and smiled awkwardly, "Hi, you must be the mayor, it's nic–"

"I'm not the mayor." The woman cut in quickly, subtly shifting the door a bit more closed.

Ur blinked twice, visibly confused, "Yo–? You aren't the mayor?"

"I'm afraid not." Her voice was like a lull, soft yet deep, a surprising contrast for a woman who looked so frail.

"Told you she'd get us lost." Gray muttered smugly.

Ur thought hard, retracing the way they'd come versus what she'd seen on the lobby map, and came back with the same results; she was sure this was the place.

"This isn't the Mayor's mansion?"

"It is." The woman replied shortly, then waited.

For what, Ur couldn't guess, but she did understand she was wasting time, "Listen, I just came by to drop this paperwork off," she pulled the pile out of her jacket once again, angling it so the woman could see the top mission sheet while trying not to get it wet, "so I'm not sure if you're the mayor's housekeeper or wife, but I just need to know where she is n–"

Ur's words died on her tongue, suddenly uneasy. The demeanor of the woman before her completely changed, almost out of nowhere; she brightened considerably, stepping back to allow them past her, into the house.

"Please, come in." She motioned eagerly at the trio, who stood stock-still despite the weather, discomfort setting in deeper.

"Uh... I– You know, that's really not necessary, if she isn't home, we can just look somewh–"

No wasn't an answer this woman seemed familiar with. Rather than heed Ur's excuses, she bent down to the boys level, bright yellow eyes sparkling like jewels when she asked, "Now which one of you has a incurable sweet tooth, because I've got enough monkey bread inside to fee–"

"I do!" Lyon cut in quickly, dashing past the woman, right into her house.

Remind her to kill him later.

With one of their own men down for the count, Ur and Gray had no choice but to troop in after him and try to recover whatever they found left.

The manor was as pristine and manicured and ordinary as you'd expect of a politician's house; beautiful flowers sat in every vase, fancy, cushy furniture

straight out of a magazine filled each room they subtly peered into, and oak floors seemed to run throughout as they made their way past the grand foyer.

"Sweetheart." The pinkette motioned for Gray and the boy looked back at Ur, face needlessly startled before stumbling over to her. She bent down to his level, again, "If you walk just past these stairs," she gestured to the grand staircase right in front of them, "you'll find the main kitchen and plenty of snacks. Help yourself. And make sure to check that the other boy made it there, too, I know getting lost in an unfamiliar place can be scary at your size."

"Oh, that's alright, he's better off lost," her acid-tongued student stated, looking for all the world like he hoped this house was just big enough for Lyon to never be found. "And I'm not really hungry, Miss..." He let his sentence hang, pointedly.

"You can call me Valencia." She smiled, giving his hair a light ruffle before the boy ducked out of the way, shifting quickly behind Ur, "It's alright if you're not ready to introduce yourself," Valencia nodded, standing to her full, rather considerable, height, "but my, you're quite the handsome little thing, aren't you? I give it five more years and you'll become quite the lady-killer."

"I'm Gray," he announced stubbornly, typical scowl already set in place, "and, also, I'm not really interested in murdering anyone in the future, so I don't know where you got that idea." His frown only deepened further, not understanding why the two woman burst out laughing.

"Go get something to eat," Ur instructed firmly, shooing him along good-naturedly, "and look for Lyon at some point? He's like a hound when it comes to spotting food, but she's right, he could have gotten lost."

Gray cast her a dark look, before shuffling off obediently, down the hall.

Valencia clapped twice, newly excited, before she said, "Right, I can take you just

over here and we can have a quick meeting before you head back out. I wouldn't want to keep you from your work too long."

She guided Ur towards a small library, the room an almost perfect circle, with shelves stacked to the ceiling, three stories high. Everything was colored in dark, rich hues, from the emerald rug to the mahogany furniture, with a large window on each floor providing plenty of light, even on such an overcast day.

"At first I thought you might've been a reporter." Valencia started, motioning Ur towards one of the cushiony, overstuffed armchairs sitting in front of the large wooden desk. "Every couple of days some curious media outlet will send out a noisy field reporter to dig up what's been going on here. They never put in more effort than is needed for a saucy headline, bombarding our citizens for quotes, before stating how cool it is and packing up to go back home."

Her jaw twitched twice and Ur could see how much anger was there, that dark weight fully returning to her eyes. "They seem to think our problems are novel, something for the citizens of bigger cities to giggle at over their coffee, but our children starve and Evern had been killing herself day in and out to solve this problem, to no avail."

"Then why stay?"

The thought had been buzzing around her mind since she'd spotted the bone weary expressions of exhaustion on every person's face, while waiting line for overpriced vegetables, half an hour ago.

Valencia's shoulders rolled back stubbornly, "We are not cowardly enough to simply and abandon our problems for the next unsuspecting group to handle. We have been here since the dragons abandoned this place 400 years ago, and we will be here for 400 more. No matter how much short-term pain we may need to go through, we will overcome this obstacle and we will do it together."

That was a rather interesting take.

One Ur could not even humor enough to consider; if moving meant putting an end to even one of her students suffering, Ur would leave in a heartbeat; no amount of ancestral ties strong enough to stop her.

Valencia then took two deep breaths, seeming to calm herself and mute the emotions so clearly visible in her eyes. "Besides, I'm not entirely convinced a change in location will actually solve our problem. I've had my suspicions for a

while now, and I've told Evern, though I'm not sure if she's mentioned it to you, but I suspect magic is at play."

"What do–?"

A loud crash sounded from just above their heads and both women jumped, immediately turning to stare up and behind the mayor's wife, towards the ceiling.

Dread filled Ur, wondering how they'd managed to break something so quickly. Certainly she'd hoped the food would distract them for a little while. "I am so sorry–"

"Damn cat." Valencia huffed out, irritated, surprising Ur. "That'll be another vintage lamp, because all the money we spend on toys just isn't good enough for that thing." She turned back to the maker mage looking apologetic, "Would you mind terribly if I dealt with it? It'll only take a moment, and I'll return with snacks."

Well, since they were bartering, "No problem at all, as long as you don't demand a refund on this mission payment when you see what those kids did to your kitchen after you left them in there, unsupervised."

She waved Ur off, already halfway out the door, "Please I've dealt with far worse."

The maker mage couldn't imagine how that was possible, but was willing to take any gift presented to her.

Sitting back, she examined the library some more, noting the crown molding that seemed to tell the story of the dragons being beat back to make way for the human town Valencia seemed so proud of. It was rather a gruesome tale to be told in wall finishings, but it's not like she had to live here.

Then, without any warning, lightening flashed violently, turning the whole room pure white.

It was so strong Ur had to cover her eyes for a moment, tears streaming down her checks. When she finally managed to open them, dark spots blocked out most of her sight, with the remainder of her vision blurred beyond comprehension.

She stood, stumbling for a moment, trying to understand how she had lost her sight so quickly.

She hadn't fully recovered from the first shock, before thunder clapped once, twice, three times, loud enough to shake the walls and rattle Ur's bones.

Her knees gave out at the fourth DAH- BOOM!, the sound so piercing she covered her ears, eyes momentarily forgotten. Books began rattling within place, and Ur feared one falling directly on her head and knocking her out – or worse, if one from higher up made contact. She shuffled forward as quickly as she could, crawling on her elbows and knees until she made it under the desk.

The rattling continued for several moments while Ur thought back to Gray and Lyon. Of course they were scrappy enough to know when to take cover during a natural disaster, but so was she, and she'd lost her sight two seconds in.

All she could do was hope they were together and far enough away from anything sharp or made of glass, until she could get to them.

Covering her ears did little to muffle the noise that buried itself into her bones, but as she laid on her side under the desk, her sight started to return and Ur's heart beat slowed with relief.

The final clap of thunder left its own startling mark, surprising her with it's intensity and then everything went quiet, the only sound to be heard, her own breathing. Still, she lay there on her side, listening for anything else around the firm clasp of her hands over her ears, until footsteps sounded by the door.

"Hello?" Valencia called, confusion obvious in her voice. "Ur–? Did she leave...?"

"Dow–" Her voice was so faint it startled her, before the maker mage fell into a small coughing fit.

Footsteps rushed over, then the pink haired woman appeared, peering down under the desk at her.

"Oh, are you alright?" She asked, quickly abandoning her tray on a spare table to help Ur out from under the desk. It was another less than dignified crawl, until she had room enough to stand, "It was the lighting, wasn't it?"

"The thunder didn't help." Ur huffed, before looking the other woman up and down, not a hair out of place, "You don't seem all that effected," She coughed, blinking the last of the blurriness away with a quick shake of her head.

She stepped forward and the movement was surprisingly unsteady, "I need to get back to the boys," she mumbled, trying to reorient herself before walking headfirst into something very solid.

"I– I've already seen to them, and they're fine; still in the kitchen as a matter of fact." Valencia reassured her, tucking Ur under her shoulder, "Though one of the boys was trying to convince the other to stand outside with a golf club and fight off the lighting himself. I had to explain – in great detail, I might add – why that was a terrible idea."

Yeah, that sounded like them...

Valencia guided her back to her seat, looking her over with deep concern, "As I was saying, we've been dealing with this for over a month now, this isn't the first thunderstorm we've gone through. And to be honest, it wasn't anywhere near close to the worst." She drifted back towards the tray, a white porcelain tea set standing there with tiny, gold stars dusted around each piece, elegantly glittering when it caught the light cast by the back windows. "In that time, we've developed little tricks to make life – well, not bearable, but certainly less intolerable."

She passed Ur a teacup, the sides cool yet the steam warm, along with a tiny gold spoon, it's handle topped with a crescent moon. It was surprisingly whimsical for a home that seemed so imposing and polished.

"You've gotten used to that?" Her breathing was still coming in sporadically, the spoon in her hand tinkling offbeat every so often.

"In some ways." The pinkette nodded. "Oh, I hope you don't mind milk," Valencia added, gesturing towards her cup. Ur was so preoccupied with what had just happened, she hadn't even bothered looking into it, before taking a drink. "I have a rather long, bitter history with alcohol and relationships in my past, so I've made it a bit of a rule not to have any in the house. Evern doesn't mind so much, but I like to give a forewarning to guests."

"It's fine." Who the hell was tipping it back at 9:30AM, anyway?

"It's a secret family recipe, plenty of spices to calm the nerves. I would never serve something so common as plain milk, of course." She shuddered dramatically with a good-natured smile, before taking a sip herself.

"As for the storms," Valencia started seriously, "we have a few little tricks to lessen the impact. For one, we always carry these glasses," She pulled a pair out from a pocket; it looked like the kind worn during an eclipse. "We have a certain internal timer, three long beats of silence and we know the lighting is coming, though it can be quite the scramble if you've forgotten your's at home. Then of course, comes the thunder, though it sometimes feels like an earthquake. Everything in this office, in the home actually, has been bolted down for our safety. It's inconvenient if you're ever bored and craving a particular story, but better that, than a knock upside the head."

That she could agree with.

While she spoke, Valencia didn't sit, instead she paced back and forth gracefully, spinning on the ball of her foot before turning back each time, taking a sip of milk every so often as she did so. The movement so natural to her, Ur simply watched, mildly fascinated, until the pinkette looked up and asked, "Are those your sons?"

"Students." And they managed to make her regret that every day.

"Oh, they seem just wonderful, I'm sure you get quite a lot of fulfillment teaching them."

"Yeah, they're cute now. Give 'em fifteen minutes and a teaspoon of sugar and you'll be tallying up a bill of damaged goods worth more than ten years my salary," Ur sighed, before draining her cup.

Valencia just smiled, topping her off, "I think children are just wonderful. Given my relationship with Evern, having children isn't within our cards, not naturally anyway. Of course, we could do the whole donor thing, but I realized when I was on the campaign trail with her, just how many children go without parents in Fiore. It broke my heart but gave me purpose. Now I run an orphanage full time."

Ur was trying to comprehend why a town this small needed a whole campaign kerfuffle just to get elected. Wasn't there a sign up sheet laying around somewhere?

But she didn't say that, instead she nodded politely and asked, "Where is it?"

Certainly, while the mansion was impressive in it's size, it couldn't house as many children as this woman seemed to be speaking about, for one thing, it was too quiet in here.

Which brought her mind back to her own students...

"It's within St. Margot's Abbey, the small church just behind the mayor's office? It

went through a whole renovation just last year, and it came in under budget I might add. It still looks a bit dingy on the outside, but we've outfitted it with a library, playrooms, plenty of dormitories, and an underground theater. We have 28 children in our care, but once you get to know them, every one is so unique it's like they stand on their own in each corner of your heart." She sighed, real happiness gracing her features for the first time, "It's wonderful really, I can pop in on Evern whenever she's there and the little ones and I can go on field trips whenever the mood strikes us. You know, the children just love learning about government affairs and all that."

Wait until they learned the government had quite the affair with doing next to nothing, 90% of the time...

"But enough about me," Valencia said, passing a tray of lemon bars to Ur, "you came all this way looking for Evern herself! If you give me a few minutes I can dig up her schedule, she probably left it upstairs. And I'll grab you a map of Ashworth, while I'm at it."

Ur would have told her she already had one memorized, but it wouldn't hurt to have a map on hand, if only to prove to Gray how on top of things she really was, navigation wise.

The pinkette disappeared once again, while Ur sat still, vigilant of any change in the weather.

The rain was far more muted now; barely trickling against the window panes, it made for a relaxing backdrop, nowhere near the abrupt violence of before.

If only she could afford a sound mage, Ur mused, enjoying the sweet scent of vanilla as it wafted from her still warm milk; she'd finally be able to take a full soak in the bathtub without being made overwhelmingly aware that Lyon was a bugged-eyed freak and Gray was three acorns short of a forest pie.

Whatever that meant...

Not even five minutes had passed before Valencia returned, a small stack of paperwork clutched to her chest, while Gray and Lyon trooped in behind her, covered in what she hoped was chocolate hazelnut spread.

"Have fun?" She asked sardonically, standing up with a quick stretch and depositing her cup on the same tray as it's fellows. "Would it have killed you to hose each other down? it looks like you just got out of pig pen."

She went to wipe bit of schmutz off his chin, but Gray took a step back, expression oddly annoyed, before he muttered something under his breath.

She didn't hide her impatience, "What have I told you about that? If you've got something terrible to say, just think about it really hard. Saying it out loud, even quietly, will get your nose broken!"

"So many words of wisdom, passed between student and teacher..." Valencia said, half shocked and somewhat sarcastically.

Gray blinked, looking from Valencia to Ur, then Lyon, who looked just as confused, before the pink haired woman stepped forward, handing over a neat silver folder, "Everything you'll need is just in here. Evern was scheduled to meet with Johann, our local librarian, on book recovery and expenses at 10, but knowing her, she still hasn't made it out of Blossom Falls, the local retirement home. It's a lovely place to spend your golden years but they sure can talk your ear off, I'd avoid the whole place if you can help it."

"Thanks for the tip," Ur nodded, polite enough not to point out the woman in front of her had basically just done the same thing to her for the last half hour.

"I cannot express how much of a relief your being here has brought Ashworth. Evern has been beside herself these last few weeks. We can only put our hope in you, and that the sun is probably just around the way." She gazed thoughtfully out the window behind Ur, who took note of how much heavier the rain seemed again as it beat against the glass of the windows, though it remained a quiet hum in the backdrop.

They made their way back to the entryway, Gray and Lyon well ahead of them before Ur remembered what she'd wanted to tell Valencia, "Essence of honeysuckle."

"Hm?"

"For your cat," Ur clarified, "it helps to calm them down. You know the scent of unfamiliar people within their territory can make them kinda anxious, so I always used to blot a piece of cheesecloth or a similar fabric with a few drops of honeysuckle and just wave around whatever room we planned on keeping them in for the night. Works like a charm."

Her attention seemed more caught on the boys than the maker mage's words, but

she still replied, "That's good to know, thank you."

"Yeah, we had two girls, one was a gorgeous Ragdoll – my mother spoiled her like she was her second child – and the other was a fluffy little beast, black and ginger, pure gray eyes that could see through your soul. For a while we thought she was wild, but she always came back, so..."

"Well, I've never been one to keep up with cat breeds, I'm more of a dog person myself, but she does have blue hair if that counts for anything."

"Does she talk?" Rumor had it talking cats were all the rage right now, if Sorcerer Weekly was to be believed. Three people had already claimed to see the eggs dropping from the sky, it was the most fantastical thing she'd ever read in the magazine, even more than when they'd named Makarov Dreyer of Fairy Tail, Fiore's sexiest man alive.

That centerfold still gave her nightmares...

"Not especially. Besides a few tantrums, she's fairly mute."

The maker mage nodded, feeling their conversation come to close just before they reached the door, "What's her name, if don't mind my asking?" Ur had a quiet fascination with cats, but for all she knew she could pushing for more information then the Mayor's wife was comfortable with.

Valencia guided Lyon's arm back to the sleeve of his coat (How he'd gotten out of it, she'd never know.) before the boy dashed back outside, her scars catching the light once again with the opening of the front door, "Juvia."

"Oh," Was the first thing she could think of to reply. It figured people as serious as this would go for a more austere, formal name, than the silly ones Ur had been considering. "We went with River Lady and Coffeecake, but to each her own I guess. And it is beautiful, now that I think about it."

Valencia leaned against the doorframe, eyes alight as she waved them off, "Yes, we thought so, too."

xUx

Ur loaded the boys back into the boat, one by one, with a huff, before climbing aboard herself. Sitting backwards so they could disembark from the mayoral manor's front steps without hitting their mailbox, Ur said, "Alright, everybody here?

Potty breaks over and down with? Limbs still attached? Let me know now before we leave, otherwise you'll have to wait until tomorrow get your legs back."

Silence met her words.

"It's just if a shark calls first dibs, who am I to refuse them?"

Again, they didn't respond.

"Guys, I'm only kidding." Kids, even her own rather special pair, could get sensitive around the most unsuspecting issues sometimes, "You know I'd at least get out and look for 'em, right?"

Nothing.

Ur turned around, truly discomfited by Gray's lack of sass – she'd set up three perfectly corny jokes and he'd had yet to respond – only to find the boys slightly huddled together, brows furrowed and lips moving quickly, no sound coming out, yet they seemed to understand each other.

She had no idea they were close enough to develop a secret language amongst themselves. On the one hand she was awed by their progress, on the other, she couldn't help feeling a little left out...

"Hey, what's going on? Did I take it too far with the limbs joke? Y'know sharks aren't actually indigenous to the mountains, right. That would be a freak accident in many levels."

Lyon looked from Gray to Ur then back again, expression worried, before Gray whispered, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing more than the usual stuff," she shrugged. Menopause was still far off, up against the horizon; but boy did it loom...

He mumbled something back, but the words got lost in-between the fog of falling rain and the gentle splash of water lapping up the sides of Little Icy. "What?"

Suddenly, Gray scrambled into her lap, tugging her ear down to his level and asked, "Why. Are. You . Shouting?" He sat back, looking irritated, if not a little concerned, "What are you, deaf?" he asked, whispering once more.

Ur looked around, momentarily stunned. She'd been shouting?

Perhaps between all the hiding, dodging, and concern for her eyes, Ur hadn't noticed the effect that hyper storm had done to her hearing. After all, the thunder alone had been enough for Ur to worry the walls were going to collapse and she had noted the way it had buried itself into her bones, the sound rattling her terribly. Who was to say it hadn't actually done some damage to her ears?

But then she thought back to the rest of her meeting with Valencia and they'd carried along a normal enough conversation.

Ur stretched ears back twice, testing whether it needed a good pop, but nothing happened.

She sighed, reseating Gray in his spot before reclaiming her own. A juvenile prank no doubt, she would have done something similar if there were any figures of authority left for her to answer to. As it was, she was just gonna let it go, in the name of ever rebelling youth.

"Nevermind that, what did you just say?" If she could forge his signature, what was stopping him from doing the same ten years from now, forcibly admiting her into an early residency at Blossom Falls? There would be no signs of fragility from her!

"Gray saw someone!" Lyon shouted excitedly, barely able to contain himself within his own seat. That'll be the sugar... "He said it was kid but they ran away before he could talk to them."

"I said I saw something," Gray corrected, casting the other boy an annoyed look, "for all I know it could have been anything from a ghost to a horse, I don't know."

"You said you saw more than that when you wanted to go back upstairs and look again," Lyon pouted, expression just as cross as his arms.

Remarkably, Gray managed to look even angrier, "This is why you eyebrows keep trying to run away from home, it's cause you talk too much."

Ur had to hand it to him, that was pretty original.

The silver haired boy brushed his fingers against his ever fading brows self-consciously, before she decided to get the conversation back on track, "Look, illegal snooping aside, we need to get to work. For real this time," She cut in before Lyon could suggest passing out transformation potions that gave everyone

a fish tail, or something, "We're going back into town to talk the people and figure out where this all started."

She hadn't really gotten the answers she'd wanted from Valencia, not to her satisfaction anyway.

"What if they don't know?"

"Then we'll just have to piece together what they do know, until we get a mostly legible image in front of us. It shouldn't be that hard."

Oh, she could just kick herself for saying something so stupid.

xUx

The day's investigations went as follows:

Contestant #1: The Green Grocer.

As they made their way back down Main Street, Gray loudly announcing alternative routes to the Mayor's Office listed on Ashworth's map that Ur had already ruled out four hours ago; out of nowhere their boat made a hard stop, knocking them out of their seats and into eachother.

Once they'd regained their footing, Ur peered behind Little Icy's snowflake dusted canopy to figure out what the hell could have stopped their progress, only take her seat once more, completely stunned.

"What's wrong?"

"Ur can't drive."

"Yeah, but besides that."

She was willing to let go of her wounded feelings after Lyon agreed with Gray so quickly – she'd gotten them to one of their destinations already without any fuss, where did they get off questioning her abilities now? – because she was more focused on what she'd just seen. "We're stuck in traffic," she breathed, disbelief almost turning her statement into a question.

As if her word just wasn't good enough, both boys hopped up from their seats to look behind the awning and take in exactly what she'd seen; boats, rafts, magi-

mobiles, and everything in-between, sitting almost bumper to bumper, just outside the Main Square.

The whole town had to be there.

The sight was enough to make anyone spontaneously sprout wings and fly away.

Unfortunately, Ur hadn't yet studied such a thing, so she had no choice but to sit back and wait, just like everyone else, pondering where the hell they could be going in a town the size of a postage stamp.

Half an hour later, Little Icy had maybe moved two feet forward, and that was being generous. Gray and Lyon were tossing a bottle cap back forth, the rules of the game changing quickly, depending on who was winning or who was more butt hurt.

She was just about to ask for a fifth time, whether the game had room enough for three, when they hit yet another sharp BHMP!

"Oh, that's all on me! I am so sorry!" Cried a husky voice, hidden from their sight by the canopy. "You know, I can never get a hang of thi– Hang on."

Another loud screech sounded, before a man wearing bright red rain boots and an apron pulled up beside them, raft rocking unsteadily beneath him.

"Oh, you're th– the ice mage!" He blinked twice looking shocked, and remarkably, even more apologetic. "The one who came all the way down here, to help us. Welp, I should realized, this boat's a real thing of beauty. All ice, huh? Yeah, mages are something else," he nodded, giving Little Icy two pats and the look of appreciation she rightfully deserved. "Oh, I can't tell you what a relief and your being here has been to me and my family. If there's anything need, just let me know. It's yours."

" Give us answers!" Gray roared, damn near climbing out the boat to confront the man, surprising everyone in the vicinity.

Ur was quick to snatch him 'round the middle, warmth spreading across her face uncomfortably. "I am so sorry, we still haven't updated all of his shots, yet," she chuckled, smile slightly strained before she whipped around and asked Gray, " What the hell is wrong with you? You looked like you were gonna beat that man up!"

His pout was rather pointed, "Well, he said he'd give you anything, and you said you needed answers. What else are we gonna do, stuck here, like this?"

He had a point. Though the delivery was much to be desired...

Some of the tension within her relaxed before she released him back into the wild, turning to face the green grocer again, "So, how have things been going?"

Ur was notoriously bad at small talk – when to start, when to end – but the vegetable man before her needed no further instruction to recite his autobiography.

He told her his name (Rupert Fleming), how long his family had resided here (400 years, typical), the family business (horseshoe makers), his life long dream (selling vegetables), his under-the-counter treatment for bald spots (almond oil, lemon juice, and potato starch, and while she'd love to call it bubcus, he did have a flowing head of ginger hair), his fear of having to leave (he wasn't a fan of the rest of Fiore, or outer Earthland, for that matter), why he looked so familiar to her (turns out their driver last night was his brother, the only member of his family with enough natural magic ability to drive a magi-mobile. Now he was exploring Earthland, using his profits as a drive to fund his travels.) And so on and so forth.

Gray was asleep once more and Lyon was busy trying to make little ice soldiers march in a straight line, but Ur felt oddly enthralled. Despite how directly the weather affected this man's livelihood, he seemed pretty chipper and upbeat.

"Yeah, so anymore of this and we'll start going into debt," he nodded, ripping open a pack of butter cookies. "Yes ma'am, and I already told you how I feel about leaving, but the wife and kids, gotta think about them. But even if we left, we'd hardly be better off, y'know. Can't sell the house, nor the shop. No sane person would buy either when they're 75% water. Not enough merpeople in the world, that's the issue." He added, sagely.

"And you know, at first it was manageable, in fact I was in favor of it. The rain was light and the soil looked better than ever. But somewhere along the way... The flooding started. At first, once every few weeks, then more and more frequently. Today, we'll be lucky to keep it under three inches. Washed away damn near all of my broccoli, I'm telling you..."

"And there's nothing else you can do? No petition or grant or anything you can apply for from the Kingdom?" For reasons she couldn't quite explain Rupert's

decline during this whole thing effected her more than anyone else she'd spoke to, so far. The man before her was just so jolly, it broke her heart to see him down.

"Missy, we've been on that waiting list longer than my daughter's been alive – a full six months – and we haven't budged an inch higher, on it. With tensions rising in Bosco and inter-guild ruckus going about, we just aren't the priority we'd need to be to get this fixed." He looked up, then, eyes shining while he passed her a cookie, "That's why we've been calling on you."

It still baffled her that so many people seemed to think she was the answer to their problems; she had no idea where all this bottomless faith originated. As far as she knew, there was no evidence she'd been able to change the course of weather, before. Why were they all so convinced she could do it now?

But, rather than point all this out and burst the hopeful man's bubble, Ur asked, "Why have you been on the waiting list six months? Didn't this all start about a month ago?"

It seemed an innocent, if not dull, enough question, but the change in expression on the green grocer's face struck Ur, just as he was trying to hide it.

"Well, you know, with the stress and all, time seems longer than it is. Yes, that's it."

Ur paused, cookie inches from her mouth, "But you just said you've been petitioning longer than your daughter's been alive. How long ago was she bo–?"

"Oh, I'm not sure–"

"It's your daughter, what do you mean you don't remember?" If there was one thing she could count on, it was that a loving parent would never forget the birth of their child.

Two dates would be forever cemented in Ur's mind, one of joy, the other tragedy, both full of tears. If that man said he'd been waiting for more than six months, Ur believed him.

The only question was, why did he retract his statement?

He looked deeply uncomfortable, fluttering with the cookie wrapper frantically, face beat red. "I've got to meet the farmers union at three. I'd love to chat, delightful woman, you are," he babbled, looking around himself hurriedly.

Ur flipped over her wrist, to check her watch, "Well, it's only twelve, and the traffic's all backed up–"

By the time she looked up, just that quickly, he'd disappeared, raft speeding towards the opposite side of the square, "We'll talk later! Much needed business to attend to, goodbye!"

Ur watched him until he turned a corner, disappearing from sight, feeling stunned. It was only when he was gone did she realize their boat was the only one still in the square...

xUx

With the roadways clear, Ur was able to navigate freely through Ashworth once more, and as she did, something caught her eye that made her stop the boat, completely.

Nine large, iron stakes, about 15 feet tall, lined up one after the other.

This was where she'd caught sight of the man earlier, hawking less than a dozen vegetables to an ever-frenzied crowd. All those people were long gone, yet the metal posts remained.

Carefully, so as not to crash Little Icy into anything else, Ur sidled the boat up to the stakes, and examined them closely. Rope, thicker than her upper arm and longer than she could fully measure out, was tied around each beam. The reason was clear, even if she hadn't seen it for herself earlier that morning; to keep a row of boats tied in place.

Each rope was heavy, waterlogged to the point of no return, with mold beginning to grow and the fibers deteriorating around bends where it was clear people had tied the rope over and over again.

It was kinda gross to hold.

"Hey, one of you come over here and see this." Ur called, behind her.

She was still examining it closely three minutes later, with no movement to be found. "Hey! Did you hear me?" The maker mage turned to find Gray still passed out, which made sense. She'd forgotten that quickly that he'd fallen asleep. Lyon on the other hand...

She could tell Lyon was ignoring her by the way his ears turned pink, visible even from a distance.

"Nice." Not interested in her usual method of discipline, Ur went the simple route. Crafting a quick oar, she used it to poke Gray on the side of his head, until the boy shuffled awake.

If he was gonna bite anything, let it be ice.

Luckily all that was avoided, Gray decided to act like human being today!

"Hey, where'd you get that from?" He asked, not even up five seconds and already eyeing her cookie.

Lyon looked up curiously, his own pale eyes locked on her tiny dessert.

She looked them both in the eye, firmly, "Cookies are for helpers." Gray opened his mouth, and Ur rushed to cut him off, already aware he was going to say he'd helped by damn near tackling Rupert, " Awake, nonviolent helpers ."

Gray closed his mouth.

"Alright, now climb up here, I need your eye–"

"Age already catching up to you, Master?" Gray asked innocently, the little shit stretching and yawning before he clamoured up next to her.

"I meant I need your judgement," she seethed, "and what's so great about being your age? You can't even buy your own cookies." She finally took a bite, eyes piercing him like daggers.

"Yeah, but you can get other people to buy them for you. Sometimes, they'll even bake 'em fresh. Not that you'd know anything about th– EEW!"

She'd passed the rope over to him, her feeble, ancient mind slipping just enough to forget to warn him that some of the ropes had water bugs crawling around them.

He was still dancing around, swiping his arms furiously when Lyon hopped up next to them, "What's wrong?"

She ignored Gray's breakdancing, shifting to give her other student a look

overboard, "How long do you think this has been here?"

Lyon peered at the ropes, the ends dangling in the water once more, "Pretty long. Look the metal's all rusted at the bottom." He pointed below to the stakes; the visible parts indeed covered in rust.

"I hadn't even noticed that..." It seemed to have decayed fairly deeply, flecks floating away in the water as the waves swayed back and forth. "The mission sheet – Valencia for that matter – said they'd been have these problems for a little over a month, but all this damage suggests much long than a few weeks..."

Even if she was willing to think a man that caring could forget the birth date of his own daughter, this simply didn't add add up. Not only was the decay suggesting these stakes had been here longer than six weeks, the fact that they were here at all, and only for his business, raised a red flag.

Knowing the government, any kind of infrastructure, even this small, would need to be petitioned and officially zoned by and for the only small business this would benefit, which would take time. Getting the materials up here – iron wasn't a natural source around these parts – would take time. Construction would take time .

And even the need for those poles...

Their sole purpose was to line up rafts and boats, but these people lived on the top of a mountain. Having so much of the population equipped with boats if the first place, when the only source of water came from the sky, suggested this had been going on for a while.

And then there were the actual vegetables. If the rain has started as a light sprinkle, nurturing the soil initially, why was the crop so underdeveloped and scarce?

Sure, it could be that a lot of his vegetables had washed away, the sadness in his eyes when he'd said that was easy enough to believe. But the rain shouldn't have effected the growth of the vegetables he'd managed to keep, so quickly. Unless of course the rain had been over-saturating the soil for more than half a year...

"I think the timeline we were given is off," Ur muttered, reclaiming her seat. "I'm just not sure why they would lie."

"Maybe they didn't." Gray piped up, "He could have just misspoke. Six months or

six weeks, it's easy to–"

"Put your clothes back on! " Ur screeched, cutting him off, the urge to send him flying almost overwhelming.

He was in her face within seconds, " Not when there could be worms in them! " Gray hollered back, bare arms crossed defensively.

xUx

While the Green Grocer, joyful man that he was, had provided plenty of wiggle room of doubt in terms of established answers to previous questions, their next target was by far their favorite of the day.

Contestant #2: The Librarian

It was an odd interaction for sure, because they'd only stopped by the little library by chance, thinking Mayor Lockworth would either be there, or just have left, making it easier to find her from there.

What they found was a man with probably the worst piece of real estate on the mountain. The library sat at the bottom of a slope, and it seemed every single drop of rain insisted on passing through here first, before trickling down the side of the cliff, to the valley below.

Rupert had spoken about the impossibility of anyone buying his house because it was mostly pool by now. Well the Ashworth Forest Library may as well have been the ocean, and a place meant for books fared here about as well as it would the ocean.

The building was soaked, truly, every wall bent in on itself slightly as it bore down the weight of rushing water from all sides. The roof was long gone, Ur wasn't sure what it was made from originally, but it wasn't sturdy. It seemed to have collapsed long ago, water damage further weakening the wooden beams supporting what was left of the building.

Around the building, sat a tall wooden perimeter, almost like a pier surrounding an entire little island.

There were books everywhere, spread on everything, while a young man in a soggy fur coat, raced by boat up and down the little pier, armed with nothing more than a handheld hairdryer and a look of solid determination.

Ur called over to him, the rapid downpour and rushing water making it difficult to be heard, and he gave her a look of blanket impatience, not stopping to do more than that.

Her mouth twitched in annoyance, "Excuse me, we just wanted to know where Mayor Lockworth is!"

"Never showed up!"

"Well, where do you think she is now?" Lyon asked.

"Probably feeding soup to some old people, or children, or cats, I don't know!"

"Do you know anything about the rain?"

"It's wet and ruined all my books!"

"How long has it been raining in Ashworth?" Gray piped up.

"Long enough for me to age nearly a decade with each week, some of these were collectables!" He paddled around the square faster, carrot pulled almost out of nowhere as he chomped down.

"Where'd you get the boat?"

"7725, east side of the Weedrow apartment complex. First floor, that's where everyone got their boats. Now please leave me alone, this book of poetry is old enough to depict people being killed by actual dragons!" He whimpered, rounding yet another corner in a panic.

She didn't even think they'd spoken for more than five minutes and yet she'd gotten more direct answers from him than anyone else that day.

Their next guest did their best to tamp that progress down.

xUx

Contestant #3 must have been thrown in the loop as a last minute plot twist from management, because when they'd actively looked high and low for the woman, she was as exclusive as sunshine on the over soaked overgrown rock they

currently floated on, but now that Ur had set her sights elsewhere... Hohoho, they all come arunning.

Contestant #3: The Mayor

They crossed paths with the woman on accident, while searching for the apartment complex containing the shop of the craftsman. She was sitting on the deck on the back of some building too grand to be for business, in a town this small, but too dull to be anyone's home.

It had to be Blossom Falls.

Ur probably wouldn't have noticed she was there at all if it wasn't for an older gentleman screaming about something or the other, just on the edge of the dock, closer to the water, while latched onto the arm of a woman with seaweed green hair. "IT WASN'T JUST THE SCENT BLOOD THAT MADE ME REALIZE WE'D WON THAT WAR, IT WAS THE SMELL OF FRUIT, TOO. ALL THE LADIES ON THE ISLAND WORE TROPICAL FRUIT AS BRASSIERES, AND WHEN WE THEY REWARDED US WITH QUITE THE FRUIT COCKTAIL, UNDERSTAND MAYOR LOCKWORTH?"

"Yes, I understand," she replied, tone clipped.

"I don't." Gray muttered, expression genuinely lost.

"Yeah, if I won a war and all they gave me was some warm fruit, I think I'd join the other side."

She was really beginning to question the moral compass of her little troop. Taking a note to never bring back fruit after a mission, Ur clamored from the boat, boots hitting the wooden planks rather ungracefully. "Stay here, don't fight, and if someone tosses out a spare shirt, Gray has dibbs."

She made her way up the deck, hoping for just a quick word with the mayor before they followed their next clue.

The older man was just being wheeled back into the building, the nurse tutting impatiently about over-sharing again, when Ur stepped forward, watching as the mayor stripped off her black velvet jacket, with a shudder. "That's quite the picture the old man painted."

"Yes." She agreed, lip curled with distaste as she tossed the offending jacket into the water, Gray not quite fast enough to catch it. "This is the underbelly of politics they never tell you about, rubbing shoulders with the grandfathers of billionaires the world over. Pilton's grandson is on the committee that handpicked the last three members of the Magic Council, so I come down here every so often and write up his old war stories to send to him. He was rather against his grandfather being shoved in here, so now he's eternally grateful to me for bringing them closer, despite the miles."

"I thought the Magic Council was an elected position." Ur said, feeling a bit foolish.

"Well, yes of course, in some ways." Evern smiled, though it came across a bit more sardonic, than anything, "But if you handpick all the candidates that'll stand in your favor, then the people are free to elect whomever they choose. Haven't you ever noticed how different they all are?"

Ur didn't know what to say to that, so she chose to introduce herself, "I'm–"

"Ur Milkovich," the green haired woman cut in, taking her hand within her own. A bright blue stone sparkled subtly within her ring as they shook, the stone a paler cousin to the one her wife wore. Sapphire versus alexandrite, two very rare, expensive gems. It was the only bit of color visible in the woman besides her hair, everything else was monochromatic and expertly tailor. Evern almost looked too sharp, literally, for the sleepy little village on the top of the mountain.

Mayor Lockworth released her, expression tight but genuine, "I would know, I scouted you myself. Do you think I'd speak so candidly if I wasn't aware of who you are, and who you were?"

"Yeah, well, it's been a while since I knocked down any government buildings," Ur sighed. Though it's not like they'd magically stoped deserving it... "Listen, I just wanted to stop in and let you know how things are goin–"

"Not too well, it's still raining." Evern cut in, pointedly. "I don't need a blow-by-blow of how the rain is removed, I just need it gone. It was my only campaign promise, and you can only get so far in life with an empty resume." She began walking down the deck, heading towards a set of tables, sheltered from the rain by an over-hanging awning.

Ur followed her, anyway, not wanting to leave her in the dark on their lack of progress, "I stopped by your house this morning to drop off the mission sheet." It was still there, now, tucked away where Valencia had deemed it worthy. "Spoke to your wife, very lovely woman." It never hurt to lie to the boss. "We talked about all kinds of things while the boys ate you out of house and home," Ur chuckled, awkwardly. "Some of the trials and adjustments Ashworth has had to make, living under these conditions, her work at St. Margot's, her thing with alcohol, Julia–"

Evern's expression changed suddenly, "She told you about Juvia?"

"Yes...?" Mayor Lockworth looked downright startled, confusing Ur. Perhaps there was something in their lease forbidding animals, and she thought the maker mage was just running around town, spilling their secrets. Or maybe she was just angry Ur had mispronounced her name.

"Should she not have?" The maker mage asked, then in an undertone, "Y'know, I once rented from a man, really jolly but an avid pet hater, it was almost alarming seeing the way he treated them. Anyway, when he found I'd brought my cat down to stay with me in her final days, he flipped out and threatened to evict me, then and there. I had no choice but to send her back to my mother's, and she died the next day. My second cat Coffeecake, didn't take the absence well, and joined her about a month later. Pretty sure she died of a broken heart. Anyway, as for the landlord, he drowned, face down in a kiddy pool, three months after that. I, of course, had nothing to do with it, but you know, you couldn't catch me attending that funeral or sending over any flowers. It's not like he did the same for Lady River. So keep your chin up, good things could happen, even in the face of what seems like tragedy.

Evern's expression changed once again, but this time she looked like she reevaluating all faith the she had in Ur. "Fascinating story, truly a thriller from beginning to end."

If didn't want any words of inspiration, she could just say so, there was no need for sarcasm... "Anyway," Ur began, feeling entirely rubbed the wrong way, " we're just on our way to the craftsman down by the apartment complex. I have a few questions for him that I think are really important to nailing down how this all got s–"

"Why?"

"Well..." It was one word, yet such an unexpected question, Ur momentarily forgot her answer, and it stumbled off her tongue, as she second-guessed herself. "For the– I need... The origin is impo–" She was doing surprisingly poorly while under Mayor Lockworth's pressing gaze, until the woman began speaking over her.

"Do you eat bread?"

"Uh..." Was this a trick question, or a new way of shaming her? "Yeah?"

"Yes, but if I set you down in the middle of a wheat field, would you know how to harvest it? If I asked you to replant the seeds would you know how to do it? How to crush the grain into flour, how much yeast and water to use to make sourdough? What about wheat? A baguette?"

"Well, no..."

"And yet, you eat the bread." She replied, eyes barely suppressing her impatience. "You don't need to know the secrets of the universe to solve this problem. You see the rain, we all do, now we want you to stop it. It doesn't matter how it started, just how it ends. And based on your fee, it had better end with you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got meetings backed up 'til eight."

She stepped around Ur, to a boat that pulled up just behind Little Icy, the sharp propellers situated at the front jutting out just far enough to scrape the back as it sidled up to Evern Lockworth, allowing her to climb aboard.

She made a signal, probably to leave, before she paused, expression flattening further, "And please get some clothes on that child. We have very strict decency laws here and the fines are not something to be you spent to spend the next six months contending with."

And Lastly, Contestant #4: The Craftsman

Their encounter with Evern was less than encouraging, as a matter of fact it seemed to put a damper on the whole mission And things only got worse from there.

As they pulled up to the row of little shops stashed under the apartment building's east side, Mayor Lockworth's advise be damned, the followed the address slowly, looking for 7725.

They found 7723 easily enough and their excitement was mounting, finally getting some answers that could help them figure out what was going on and where to go from there.

Looking over to it's neighbor however, made their hope crash and burn in real time.

A boat sat just ahead of them, sleek, simple wood that almost looked to be floating on air while it's occupant sat there, shrouded in dark clothes, steadily chipping away at the address painted onto the side of the building.

Gray cried out in anger, a feeling Ur was ready to second before the man jumped, looking around himself wildly. When he caught sight of Little Icy, Ur could almost seem his eyes widen in shock behind the mask, truly caught.

She wasn't sure why he'd feel that way, but Ur rushed their boat forward, trying to cut him off, if only to get a question in, before the man disappeared for good.

But no such luck, she'd barely gotten the words, "How long has–?" out of her mouth, before he started paddling, movement so rapid, it almost felt like being in the edge of a whirlwind.

Ur was just going to assume that guy was some kind of career paddler on the side, probably on the Fiore national team or something, because there was really no other explanation for how he'd gotten away from her so fast...

Contestant #4 really threw them for a loop there, and while it hurt her pride to do it, nightfall had already arrived so Ur agreed to a tactical retreat back to the hotel.

Bonus Round: Innkeeper and Elevator Operator

When they arrived in the lobby, they headed straight towards the elevator, too frustrated to talk to each other.

As they went past, Ur spotted a flash of green and gray hair and a thought occured to her, "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know why the rain is falling nonstop would you?"

"Or when it started?" Piped up Gray.

"Or how to fix it?" Lyon added.

"Sure, I can tell you," she answered, elbow resting on the broom handle, and they all perked up, excited. "All you have to do is say my name first."

"..."

"Hell, I'll even give it to ya, if you can tell me the name of this hotel, right now."

"..."

They headed straight towards the elevator, now too tired to feel frustrated.

The operator was there, eyes silently pleading, but they ignored it, preferring bumpy ride up that could result in their untimely deaths, over five flights of steps.

"Hey."

"Ye–" Heavy breathing puffed out of him, cutting him off, "Yes?"

"You wouldn't happen to know why it's raining like the world's about to end, would you."

It was a true stab in the dark, but at this point, Ur would have taken an explanation from a field mouse. Unfortunately, the man just looked confused, sweat dripping down his chin before he swallowed hard, asking, "It's not just because Merc– Mercury is in retrograde?"

This was what genuine cluelessness looked like. The others should take note.

They disembarked from the elevator, the young man waving then off tiredly as they headed back to their room.

They ate leftover soup in silence that night, the exhaustion of the day and the people they'd encountered weighing heavily on the room. One by one they all took a shower, and then one by one they all went to sleep.

But not before they laid in bed, each of their minds racing, trying to figure out, what was going on.

xUx

Dawn appeared just as dimly as yesterday, and Ur was groggy when she climbed out of the bed.

"Any ideas of where we go from here?"

"None." It's not that the town was clueless, as a matter of fact almost everyone seemed well informed on something, it's just that they weren't willing to share.

"If they don't want our help, then why are we here?" Gray huffed, slamming his

glass down like it contained something stronger than warm milk.

"Because we're good peop–"

He leveled her with a look.

"Because they already paid half, I damn near signed my name away, and I'm just noisy enough to want to get to the bottom of this."

He nodded firmly.

"Why don't we talk to Valencia again, she seemed to like you."

There was some merit to Lyon's words, and it wouldn't hurt to try. "Alright, let's head over there. And if things don't work out with her, I'll pin Evern down if I have to..."

It didn't work out.

The walk to the Mayor's Mansion took longer than the boat ride by far. By the time they arrived, another woman, this one older and clearly a housekeeper, answered the door to announce that both woman had already left and where probably on the other side of town, at the church and municipal building, respectively.

Ur wouldn't mind another bout of flooding if it meant not having to walk all the way over to the other side of town. As it was, they had no choice but to do it, the rain was barely sprinkling today.

By the time they'd made it to the church, Ur's feet were aching terribly and a cramp was developing on her side. Once again, she needed to review her training routine; she refused to believe she was this worn out simply for walking too much.

She sat herself down heavily on the church's front steps, exhaustion making her muscles pulse slightly while she took a deep breath.

"Next time we'll be sure to bring your walker," Gray snickered, hopping up and down the front steps breezily, arms behind his head.

Before she could snip back at him – and it would have been a doozy – a flash of white darted into his face.

"How dare you speak about Master Ur like that?" Lyon asked, clearly outraged as he jabbed a finger in Gray's chest. "After all she's done for you, you doubt her abilities because of a little walk?"

Thank you, at least one of her students knew a modicum of resp–

"Calling her old and worthless and tired–!"

Well, Gray hadn't used those exact words...

"I'd be the first to leave if she was just some bumbling old hag!"

...

The audacity of children would never cease to amaze her.

From just around the corner came a man dressed in black, bright red sash tied around his waist. He walked leisurely across the grass towards the church's front steps, matching umbrella bobbing every so often as he walked, as though he where listening to a rather jaunty tune.

He came to a stop just before them, expression open and amused, before he approached the step, "It good to see someone finally taking my words seriously. I don't know how many times I've told the flock to rest, but finally, someone has heeded my words" He placed a hand on one of the baulisters, warm pink eyes sparkling within a face, soft with wrinkles. "Please, for as long as you'd like, rest my child."

"She isn't a child," Gray piped up, expression innocent but tongue sour, "she's probably older than yo–"

"Lyon, would you mind going over and showing Gray that one technique? You know the one I foolishly said was forbidden?"

The white-haired boy didn't need anymore permission than that.

She would have heard Gray's cries of pain, but unfortunately she also hadn't thought to bring her hearing aide.

Shame.

"I'm not usually one to admire corporal punishment, but I have to hand it to him, that boy's creative." The older man chuckled, taking a seat beside her, "Bishop Javilt, nice to meet you."

"Even when I look like a broken bag of bones?"

"Everyone is beautiful in the eyes of our creator."

She must look like genuine shit...

"What brings you here?"

"Looking for Valencia Lockworth, I heard she came in early this morning." The maker mage was sorta hoping she could just sit in this one spot and the mayor's wife would come to her, kinda like the Bishop.

The clergyman turned back, looking the church over curiously, "Really? I have yet to see her." Ur felt herself deflate as he confirmed her fear. "She was supposed to lead the children back to the school, just across the way, after lunch. That's why I'm out and about now, looking for a young, helpful, vibrant person to do it. A person clearly good with children."

He gestured ahead of them, where Gray sat on Lyon's chest, plucking away the few eyebrow hairs he had left.

"Good luck with that.' Ur replied genuinely.

The rain pattered gently while Ur looked across the street, wondering what she was missing.

"You know, I don't mean to be a stereotype, but if there's anything you need to confess..."

Ur chuckled, taking a liking to Javilt. In her experience, it wasn't often you came across a man of the cloth with a sense of humor. "It's not so much that I need to confess anything, I'm just trying to solve a bit of a puzzle. The problem is, I think a lot of the key pieces are being purposely hidden from me..."

"Well, I'm good with puzzles," he enthused, turning towards her more fully with unabashed excitement. "Just last night I had Sister Buldant in quite a tizzy with my word solving skills, and I'm aware boasting is a sin, but my Jenga strategy can turn some heads."

She supposed when you called off alcohol, sex, drugs, good music and the company of people your own age, puzzles were all you had left to occupy your time, it was no wonder he was so good at them.

...Wait, why wasn't she good at puzzles?

"Well, it's not just a puzzle, it's also a long story or maybe a short one? I don't know..."

"I do plenty of reading," he encouraged.

"I wouldn't know where to start..."

"How about your name? After all, I haven't seen you here before," the older man said thoughtfully, fingers smoothing a faint wrinkle in his sash, "which means you've either been avoiding our humble court, or you're here visiting family. A relative of Valencia perhaps?"

Ur snorted, she and the Mrs. Lockworth looked less than nothing alike. " Nothing as grand or scandalous as that, I'm just the hired help. I'm surprised you haven't heard of me, everyone else has. I'm Ur Milkovich, an ice wizard brought here to stop the rain."

Nothing could have prepared her for Javilt's reaction.

His face turned cold, eyes hardening into ice as he looked her over. Then he stood abruptly, stalked inside the church, and slammed the door behind him, not another word shared between them...

Ur continued watching the door for sometime, not sure if this was some sort of elaborate joke or something, but as the seconds ticked on, the maker mage realized she'd genuinely upset the man. She just didn't know how.

Lyon ran up to her then, grass stains marking his shirt and hair, "Is he going to get Valencia?"

She didn't really know how to explain what happened, so she just mumbled, "No, I don't think so." She stood, soreness subsided, but unease increasing, "Where's Gray?"

Lyon pointed ahead of them, mutely.

He was all the way across the street, gazing intently at the sky. Ur rushed over

until the violent splashes of water hitting her upper thighs and the rain streaming down the neck of her jacket became unpleasant enough for her to stop and wave him over, instead. "Gray! What are doing, get over here!"

He turned away from sky without any real hurry and stared at her owlishly before stating simply, "The rain is different."

For a moment, Ur just stood there blinking back at him; she was not fully recovered enough from Bishop Javilt's abrupt departure to deal with a suddenly clairvoyant child. "What?"

"Look." He took two quick steps forward, only to stop, ducking and covering for moment before running back where he'd been before. "It like two different kinds of rain!" Gray shouted, pointing wildly at the sky.

Ur looked up.

It was almost like there were two different skies. Across the street, closer to Gray, the sky was pale, almost silvery, sunlight nearly, but not quite, peeking through. The rain was light, and Ur didn't now how to explain it, but it looked natural.

On the other hand, on their side street, by the church, dark, heavy storm clouds swirled and raged. A vortex churning through the air and threatening everything below. The rain didn't fall, it darted down, the impact sharp and hazardous, displaying that same violence Ur had been taking note of, since she'd first arrived here.

That's when something clicked.

"I need you boys to go back to the hotel."

"What?" Lyon was just under her, looking concerned, "Why?"

"I need yo– Do you not know the way?" Then she shook her head, thoughts racing too quickly to carry the conversation properly. "Gray, he still has the map. Take this," She slammed her fist into her palm quickly, producing an umbrella and shoving into the little boys arms. "I want you to get back to the hotel as fast as you can, ok? Watch the sky, don't talk to anyone, not even the innkeeper and keep moving. I'll get there as soon as I can."

"But, why?" Frustration darkened his face, mildly surprising the older ice mage,

"This is supposed to be a team mission, you said we could finall–!"

" Lyon, I'm not debating you!" Ur cried, startling the boy. She was hit with remorse almost as quickly as the sound left her mouth, but she needed him to get somewhere safe.

"Look, I just need you to listen to me, ok?" She pulled him into a hug, roughly ruffling his hair, while she continued gazing at the sky, "You're older, so you're in charge." A distant part of her noted how he perked up at the words, "Just get back, be careful, and don't do anything foolish or heroic."

"When will you be back?"

She gave his chin a little pinch, "As fast as I'm able."

He looked her over for a moment, then gave her firm nod. Opening the umbrella as he went, Lyon rushed across the street towards Gray. There was a brief interaction between the boys, the younger of the two looking over at her questioningly while he argued, but eventually Lyon just grabbed his hand and started pulling him away, down the street.

Gray kept looking back, confusion clear, but Ur waved him on encouragingly, until the boys disappeared around the corner.

xUx

Turning back to the church, Ur took two steps back and kicked. Once, twice, three times into the double doors, lock covered in ice to increase it's fragility. On the fourth try, the left side caved in, door flying off it's hinges onto the stone floor within.

The ice mage stalked in with purpose, the interior dim from the overcast sky outside, no candles or lights on to help her, yet her eyes adjusted quickly enough.

Movement to the right of Ur had her stopping in her tracks, before she heard another door slam and took off after them. She rushed down a side hall, this space even more shadowy than the last, without a single window to illuminate anything.

She ran forward, feeling the walls as she went, until she reached the end of the hall and was faced with another door. This one took less time to cave in. When the light from the other side hit her, Ur had to blink back blindness for a moment, until she could see.

In front of her sat three long tables, each full of children in the middle of a meal, looking at her curiously.

She stood there for a moment, wondering where she should go from there, before she noted the sounds coming from outside. The rain slid down the windows softly, roof barely tinkling as it came down. She rushed over to the window nearest to her and indeed, the sky was pewter, the dark, heavy storm clouds moving away at an entirely unnatural speed.

That bastard bishop was gone, but there were still clues she could follow outside.

The room around her had mostly returned to what Ur assumed was it's natural volume, once the children seemed to realize she wasn't there to harm them. She ran over to a little boy, maybe 12, and asked, "Is there a backdoor?"

He nodded, looking fearful, before pointing just over to the left.

Ur was running again, out the door in seconds.

How long Ur chased after those clouds, she'll never know. Every time she thought she was close to it's center – climbing over rocks on the city's edge, darting into the forest then back out, breaking into the little cottages lined up neatly one after the other near the town square – she would look up to confirm, only to discover they'd moved on.

The thing was, Ur wasn't entirely sure who or what she was looking for. The only thing that echoed in her mind were Valencia's words; that she suspected this was all caused by magic.

The evidence of that could be seen in the way the clouds moved, controlled yet uncontrollable. Every cloud clearly charged by magic, dark and dense.

But what she didn't know was how it was being done. Accidentally? Perhaps. It could be that some unsuspecting villager had bought a magical weapon, unaware of it's true purpose, perhaps mistaking it as a piece of furniture or some such.

Though that didn't explain why it was being moved around town so quickly, clearly dodging Ur's attempt to catch up.

That meant it was intentional, but for what purpose, still eluded her.

The day began to wane, minutes stretching into hours with no real results on her part. She was in the middle of Ashworth Square, leaning against the tiny statue of King Toma, debating on whether she should head back to St Margot's and dig out every corner of the place until she found Javilt and beat some answers out of him, when she saw her.

It was hard to discern her features, the rain so heavy, it blurred everything into a soft mist, but still Ur saw her. She ran with urgency, movements clumsy, clearly lost but intent on getting away as quickly as possible.

Ur made a move to stand, intent on helping her find her home or parents, maybe figure out what had her so frightened. It could have been as simple as a stray dog, but at least Ur'd finally get to use her magic to help someone in this town.

But she'd barely moved a step when she paused, something telling her to look up.

Night had fallen, so it was difficult to discern, but Ur would have bet money the clouds were at there heaviest right here, on this spot...

Her thoughts slowed, trying to connect the dots yet somehow less than concerned about the mission, at the same time. She just stared, frozen to the spot, before the little girl made a move to run in her direction and paused.

For just a moment their eyes locked, and even through the rain, Ur could see the fear and shock visible on the little girl's face. Then, not really thinking about the action, the maker mage raised her hand.

Immediately, every drop of rain froze in it's place, crystalizing midway through the air. It was quiet, an audible quiet after so much constant noise had accompanied the downpour. The street was frozen, too; some places white with built-up frost.

Everything around them felt so still.

Ur continued to watch her, but the little girl's focused was pulled away. Instead, she stared at the ice, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. A pale hand reached forward, disbelief visible, before she touched one and let out a gasp of awe, breath swirling into a little cloud of fog.

It all happened in under a minute, yet it felt like much longer, until the moment was broken, abruptly.

Rough, fast hands darted out from behind the girl, grabbing her by the face and around the middle before disappearing out of sight. It was so quick and quiet neither of them seemed to expect it, and the girl's eyes widened with alarm and a silent plea for help.

Rain started up anew, harder, faster, more panicked than before, and Ur took off running, once more. She could hear footsteps slapping wetly against the ground, but also echoing terribly as they went through the apartment buildings collected one on top of the other, small alleyways bouncing the sound up and around her, disoriented further by the pounding rain.

Visibility was also a no-go. The rain seemed to fall directly into her eyes, wind tearing into them, and an even thicker mist only added to her confusion. The streets were dark and slippery, the few streetlights that were there made bright little wet spots on the darkened pavement, that only helped to disorient her further.

It was hard to keep track of anything, and Ur began to get the sinking feeling that she was gonna lose them for good. Her heart drummed frantically, hoping against hope that she could overcome these few obstacles, if only to save the girl, and she pushed on.

Perhaps Ur had underestimated the size of the designated apartment lot, but it felt like she'd been running through them for almost ten minutes. Her boots were slick and waterlogged, and more than once she almost slipped up, dangerously close to falling, but she just caught herself as best she could, determination keeping her going.

Then, as she was rounding a corner, just up ahead, a quick shadow ran into another alleyway, almost indiscernible from the darkness within. Ur darted forward, optimism flickering to life once more.

A soft scream was the only warning Ur received before something solid smashed into her shoulder, sending her crashing directly into the building opposite her. It didn't stop there though, the ground was slick as she stumbled back further, desperately grabbing at the wall to stop her momentum or give her some sort of footing. Instead, she kept going until her head smacked squarely against the corner.

Stars burst across her vision before she landed face down on the ground, the uneven cobblestones digging into her hip sharply. Her body was in so much shock Ur didn't realize she was choking on something until she rolled over, desperate for air, and coughed up a wad of blood. A bitter coppery taste overwhelmed her senses, and she heaved again, fluids spilling out of her mouth and down her chin.

Something heavy clattered beside her, the sound of metal hitting stone echoing in the cramped, dark alley for longer than Ur felt necessary, like a final toll, signalling that her journey ended. For a moment, through the rain and the blur of her own eyes, Ur saw them. The shadow was almost nonsensically misshapen, until she realized the person must have picked the little girl up again, disorienting their form. They stood there, unmoving, perhaps checking to see if Ur had any fight left in her, before they turned and ran, silhouette disappearing down the alleyway quickly.

By the time she was able to shrug into some kind of sitting position up against the wall, they were long gone. Rain continued to fall, soaking her down to the bone and truly cementing her feeling of loss...

xUx

It was a long, hard walk back to the hotel, but the overwhelming emotion Ur was feeling in that moment wasn't pain. It wasn't even defeat.

It was rage.

She slipped into the hotel without much fuss, not minding the emptiness one bit. Operating the elevator was by far the most miserable experience, but it was already so late, and she really couldn't be bothered scrounging someone up to help her.

She wasn't sure how she'd made it, but she did, limping heavily forward until room 517 was visible. Her relief at being back was so overwhelming, Ur just leaned up against the door, not moving, one hand clenched in a fist, until she finally gained the strength to knock.

She heard rapid footsteps start up from within, and couldn't help but smile a bit.

The door swung open, just when she had the good sense to fall back a little, and Lyon stood in the doorway, smile fading rapidly.

"What the hell are you doing? You said Ur said not to talk to anyone, did you even look through the peephol–?" Gray froze, words dying on his tongue as he got a good look at her.

She must look at least half as bad as she felt.

She crossed the threshold in silence, neither boy seeming to know what to say, before she set herself down in the first seat that caught her eye. It was a relief to no longer be walking, but not by much.

Her shoulder didn't just ache, it was screaming. A terrible throbbing had begun just under her right breast that left her certain she'd at least bruised a rib. She could only see from one eye, not because she'd injured it, but because there was so much muck on her face; no matter how many times she tried to wipe it clean, her sleeve just managed to smear more. Eventually she gave it up as a bad job.

"Would one of you m–?"

" This is why I told you, you shouldn't go alone!" Lyon cut in; he didn't just sound upset, he was downright hysterical. His voice cracked a bit, tears brimming in his eyes. "If I'd been there I could have protected you, I could have fought them off!"

"Lyon, I slipped on the wet pavement, so unless you're proficient in fist fights with the ground, this was an inevitable result." She waved weakly at the injuries trailing down her body. "Now, I need you to go downstairs, and see if you can get a first aide kit. I don't wanna rush you, but I am in a bit of a hurry."

"You're going back out there?!"

"I am." She answered calmly, blinking some of the crusted blood out of her eye, "And I'm not arguing about it. So please, hop to."

Lyon didn't look consoled in the least, but he was good at following directions. He had on his shoes within seconds, and was out the door and done the hall between one moment and the next.

Ur readjusted herself, trying not to focus too much on any one injury in particular.

Gray stood on the opposite side of the room, seeming to war with himself. He had a general rule against showing any sort of care where she was concerned, but her injuries seemed to bring that policy under new review. Finally he muttered angrily, "This happened because you slipped?"

She could almost smile at his tone. It's not like she had troublesome boyfriend or anything, why did it seem to unbelievable to him? "The ground was wet."

"Then why're you covered in blood?"

"Hit my head pretty hard going down, on the corner of a building no less. Full brick, I'm surprised I'm still on Earthland."

He knocked his foot against one of the legs of desk, agitated.

"It's alright if you're angry, but would you mind getting me a wet cloth? I miss having full peripheral vision."

He surprised her, not only by doing exactly as she asked without a single snide comment, but also when he returned. Standing on his tiptoes, Gray was gentle as he wiped at her forehead. Flecks of dried blood scattered down her check, until her face felt cool and dry again, vision returned within seconds. "Careful Gray, or else I'll start to think you actually like me."

No small amount of relief made itself known on the boy's face, before he launched himself into her chest, eyes wet.

She passed a hand through his hair steadily, focusing more on his slowly subsiding tremors than the terrible way her shoulder throbbed or the uncomfortable angle her wrist insisted on sitting in – or at least, trying to.

"There, see? It was just a head wound. They tend to bleed more than most, but it's by far the least of my worries right now..." She didn't mention the slight ache developing just above her forehead: he was gazing back at her sullenly enough. "Do me a favor and get me some clothes? I need to look presentable when I head back out."

He stomped off back into the bedroom, rifling noisily through the closet and then her suitcase. Gray hadn't made it back before Lyon shuffled in, large white box tucked awkwardly under his arm.

He dropped it in her lap, before heading into the bedroom, door snicking shut swiftly behind him.

So he wasn't happy...

Luckily, he was nine, which meant cheering him up again should be as simple as going out for ice cream.

When Gray returned with a fresh set of clothes, Ur was already wrapping her left hand with bandages, gauze in her mouth, "Mmm! Mphf!" She spat it out, "Ah, thank you. Set it down right there, and help me with this bottle." She gestured with her chin towards a slick silver bottle.

If it was what she hoped...

Bright green pills, sloshing and glittering within their capsules tumbled into Gray's little hand, and Ur could have whooped in celebration. As it was, she took two, straightening up again almost instantly upon swallowing.

"Eversweet." She explained, nudging her shoulder gently from her rain-soaked jacket to check for any bleeding or puncture wounds – none. "Good for recovering stamina and magic, terrible for healing. I'm gonna crash hard in about 8 hours, I'm telling you now. But that's more than I need to finish up this job."

"Finis–? We're done?" Gray asked, and she remembered in all the fuss she hadn't given them any updates, "You know why it's raining? How come?"

"Well–" She could go into great detail, but it would easier to explain once everything was solidified. "I've got everything under control, and I'll explain everything once I get back. I just need you to sit tight and wait for me here, ok? You're in charge," Gray perked up significantly, "because you're younger and the children are our future."

Gray nodded eagerly, and Ur felt a mild sense of foreboding, but that was overshadowed by acute urgency and all the anger she'd tamped down in front of the boys.

"Make sure to tell Lyon I'll be right back, and no fighting will be necessary this go 'round, so he doesn't have to worry."

Gray went back into the bedroom while Ur changed. As she was putting on a fresh jacket, something fell from an inner pocket. She bent to pick it up, pleasantly surprised before tucking it away, again. Once dressed, she knocked twice on the bedroom door, letting them know that she was off.

From there, Ur was out in the night, all humor draining away completely, as she made her way to the Mayor's Mansion.

xUx

On the doorstep of a home that had become all too familiar to her, Ur knocked twice.

It was some time before anyone answered, but answered they did; the door swinging open to reveal Valencia wrapped in a fluffy robe that almost completely matched her hair, skin ruby from a fresh shower.

She looked surprised to see her, "Ur!" She gasped, golden eyes wide as she took in the injuries across the maker mage's body, then the storm raging outside, "Well, come in, come in. What happened, you look terrible..."

She led Ur down the entryway, looking back at her in concern every so often, until they arrived at the library once more.

"Evern," Valencia called, peeking her head in-between the doors, "Ur's here? She sa– Well, she hasn't said anything yet..."

Ur took a seat, eyes boring directly into Mayor Lockworth while she waited. The other woman seemed entirely in her element, dipping her pen and writing with a flourish, as she signed off on who knows what.

It was a test of patience and wills, laid before her by the infuriating bureaucrat, and Ur was on the verge of cheating.

Unlike the mayor, Valencia seemed to feel the tension rising in the room acutely. Her eyes darted between her wife and Ur, discomfort clear as the minutes continued mounting, not a word spoken yet.

Finally, it appeared she really couldn't take it anymore and announced, "We need drinks!", before sweeping from the room.

She was back much faster than Ur would have believed, placing a teacup beside Evern's paperwork before shakily shoving another one into Ur's unclenched hand. "Here," the pinkette hummed. She looked frazzled, yet decided to try her hand at small talk "You must be in so much pain, what happened?"

For a moment, the maker mage had forgotten Valencia's policy on alcohol and was truly looking forward to something strong and brown, if only to numb her pain a bit. The Eversweet was perfectly capable of bringing her magic levels back to normal, but it hadn't moved her pain tolerance one inch. Her body felt like hell and the only thing keeping her from breaking down was the anger that rocked within her, somehow stronger than everything else.

Ur took a long, deep draught from the drink, letting the heat pass through her for a moment before reopening her eyes. Then, rather abruptly, she slammed her fist down, allowing a dark blue ring to roll past her fingers, onto the desk. "You left this."

Mayor Lockworth's bare finger twitched, almost as though itching to be reunited, but besides that, she remained impassive, continuing to ignore Ur's presence.

"Where is she?"

Valencia's eyes darted between Ur and Evern, scars shing brightly in the candlelight, especially against her quickly paling skin. "Wh– Where's who?"

" The cat." Ur sneered, eyes locked on the woman who still hadn't made a move to acknowledge her arrival.

"Evern."

"Go."

It was only one word, they didn't even look at each other, but Valencia seemed to understand the weight of the situation put before her. She nodded, eyes wide and latched onto her wife, before she stood and rushed out of the library once again.

"You," the mayor began, eyes still on the page she was writing on, infuriating Ur further, "are trespassing. You're scaring my wife. And worse than that, you're violating your contract."

Urs's fingers felt like frostbite."You think I care about contracts–?"

"You should," Evern cut in quickly, "because the one you agreed to puts you in quite the bind. If you lay a hand on either me or my wife your magic will be stripped from you, effective immediately, and will stay locked, for the next ten years."

Ur blinked, anger momentarily forgotten by confusion. "You're a–"

"A word mage." She nodded, no sign of victory in her expression, only fact. "I can weave spells into any writing, making it far more binding than the law would usually permit. It's a handy skill to have, when in politics. Especially when you're young and in need of real leverage."

"So you have magic," Ur started, anger thrumming anew, "and rather than use it to help the fucked up situation you and your town have been in for nearly a year, you used it to bring me here and do what?"

Evern's cold expression melted and her face held something Ur didn't expect: remorse. "You've got this all wrong," She whispered.

"Then please enlighten me."

Evern placed her pen down, eyes steady before she said, "I didn't call you here to trick you. I genuinely wanted your help. And, originally, I sought you out for an entirely different reason. "

"And what was that?"

"You're a teacher are you not? Of young students, two, I believe. You've spent some time training them–"

"What are you getting at?" She wasn't in the mood to play footsie with this conversation.

"I wanted you to help her."

"The girl."

Evern nodded.

"But instead of telling me that, you let me run around town on a wild goose chase, questioning random people and wasting everyone's time, while this village continued to wither away."

Her jaw moved sharply, like she was swallowing back words she wanted to throw at Ur like darts. "Things changed. Between the first letter I initially sent you and the one you agreed to... So much changed. The last month has been worse than ever, so by the time you arrived here, everything was up in the air. I just couldn't get her to agree..."

Evern let her words drift, while Ur looked on, mood souring further. She had no idea what the woman was going on about, but she did get the feeling she may be acting purposely cryptic, not only for effect but also as a distraction.

She stood, done with any and all niceties. She'd breakdown every door in this place, until they either told her where the girl was or she found her, herself.

But almost as soon as she was standing, she collapsed back into the chair, in a heap. Ur blinked, dread beginning to build in her stomach.

She couldn't feel her injuries.

Ur looked down, examining the teacup still clenched within one hand, the milk swirling innocently, belying it's true contents. "You poisoned me."

The mayor didn't say a word.

"What was it?" Ur sighed conversationally, like she was trying to recall the title of a novel their bookclub had read too many years ago, "Pixiecult? Ventura? Do you already have a grave dug out back, or were you hoping I'd use the little strength I have left to pitch in, because I'm warning you now, I don't participate in physical labor willingly."

"It's nothing as serious as that," Evern whispered gravely, pulling the star speckled teacup from Ur's limp fingers, looking for all the world like she'd just diagnosed the maker mage with magic deficiency, as opposed to being the mastermind behind this whole mess, "it's only meant to muddle your senses a bit."

"Hm. Bonded Snow Cherries, then." It wasn't a question, not when she could taste that undercurrent of vanilla and something grassy on her tongue. And this wasn't the first time. She'd been too relaxed, more concerned with making pleasantries, and Valencia had led her off track with her idle chatter. Special recipe indeed.

That would also explain her hearing loss yesterday. Gray had been right to be concerned. "Not a fan of the stuff personally, I can't imagine peeing indigo for a month strai– Well, I guess now I won't have to imagine, huh?" She smiled bitterly, before slouching further, "What would make you are so desperate?"

Funnily enough, one of the side effects of BSC powder was numbing pain. Plenty of wizards took it after coming back from a fight or mission, in the safety of their own home or a guild hospital. Aside from the pain relief, having everything around you sound muted to the point of nonexistence was a plus, it made sleep much easier to drift into.

Ur had been given the stuff plenty of times, but never by an adversary. It was a pretty unique idea, as far as poisoning went.

The longer they spoke the less issue she had with her arm, the ache in her wrist had completely vanished, even her headache was beginning to subside.

"I don't think I can explain–"

"Then don't. All I want is the gi–"

"You can't have her." A husky voice whispered, pulling Ur's attention away from her face off with Evern.

Valencia was back, standing between the library's double doors, one hand keeping a firm grip on the shoulder of a little girl, the other holding a knife to her neck.

Immediately, Evern leapt from her seat, racing around the desk until she was within arm length of the pink haired woman, "Valencia? Give that to me."

She shook her head slowly, face pulled into a grimace, "She wants to take her. And I can't let that happen."

The only thing that kept Ur seated was the Bonded Snow Cherries, it left her muscles heavy and weak, unable to lift even a finger. The effects appeared to be much stronger this time around, though whether from an up'd dosage or a response to her injuries she didn't know. All she was able to do was watch, and by extension, get a good look at the child for the very first time.

She had bright blue hair, set in strict curls just above her shoulders. Her skin was pale, almost paper white and a little bit concerning. She was wearing a rather conservative navy blue dress, cuffed around the wrists and collar in beige fur. Tall leather boots disappeared under the skirt and it took Ur a moment to realize she was clutching a hat between her fingers.

Her expression was... blank. Nonexistent. Ur would have thought that after everything that happened earlier, the real fear the maker mage had seen within her eyes not even two hours ago when she'd been pulled into that apartment lot, this would have left her shaking in terror.

But no, her dark blue eyes were overcast, and she stared at a spot by the window above Ur's head, not seeming to pay attention to the chaos around her, not the least bit concerned about the blade centimeters from her throat.

Evern was still trying to bargain. "We have other options, you don't need to do this–"

"Need–? At this point I want to."

It appeared Ur was the only one out of the loop, "What's going on?"

"Something I've been trying to prevent for the last month." Evern answered, gravely.

"Something I should have thought of nearly a year ago," Valencia corrected.

Ur took in her expression, those heavy, weighted eyes, the anger that twisted her mouth, then she looked down, to her hand. The one with a wedding ring on it, bright blue stone sparkling in the candlelight when Ur herself had noted the pinkette owned the darker twin to the sapphire ring Evern wore – alexandrite.

Ur felt like smacking herself; she hadn't been nervous because of the tension in the room, it was because the maker mage closing in on her, following Valencia's trail since she'd started questioning the other villagers. The her Evern had just been mumbling about, it didn't make sense because Ur had been thinking she was speaking of the girl, when in fact it was Valencia who'd been disagreeable to training. Valencia had poisoned her, both times.

There were just too many signs that Valencia was behind all this, she couldn't begin to list them all, but she could start to feel like the biggest fool on Earthland.

The words stumbled from her, shock making her muscles tense as she asked once again, "What's going on?"

Evern's lip trembled as she looked Valencia over before she began, "Nine months ago, a terrible storm hit Ashworth. On that same night, a local villager, I forget her name, found Juvia sleeping just outside town, in the woods. Naturally, she brought her to St. Margot, and that's where Valencia saw her.

"Everything was fine at first. Juvia stayed at the church and no one suspected a thing. The rain was actually pretty light those first few weeks, and people were able to go on about their every day business without being anything more than slightly inconvenienced.

"Then one day, I guess they were having a career event or something, the question came up what everyone wanted to be and if they wanted to use magic or not.

That's how Valencia found out Juvia was causing the rain. She just pointed to the sky and said she had no choice and it all clicked."

"I took her in." Valencia said, that endless weight more visible in her eyes than ever, while Ur tested her legs for any changes. "It was logical, at the time."

Evern continued the story, "She thought she could help her, hoped adding structure and stability in her life would reflect on her magic as well, but it only got worse. Juvia would ask for something and Valencia denied her until she could get the rain to stop. Juvia would insist she couldn't and Valencia would punish her, sometimes by denying her dinner, sometimes she had to clean the whole house – top to bottom – it got so bad she spent more nights sleeping in a water closet than the bedroom we'd set up for her. She couldn't leave the house except for school and church and then even that stopped once Valencia realized the other children feared Juvia.

"The frustration only grew – on both sides. Soon the rain was so bad it was coming down in feet instead of inches. Lighting strikes were happening every two to three hours, knocking out the power and leaving people temporarily blinded. And as her strength grew, Valencia saw it as something more than a lack of control–"

"It is an act of foul maliciousness, not right for this world. Not something a child should be capable of."

Ur shook her head, still not understanding, "Then why would you keep her here if you hated her so much, how would anyone get the chance to adopt her if she's hidden aw–?"

"Oh, please! No one was going to want her." Valencia spat, "Not when they found out the truth. She drove a bolt of lighting right through town once and when it landed it left a hole big enough to drive a train through. Why? Because she was being fussy that night and threw a tantrum. She has no family, the other children avoid her. Her own mother dumped her on the side of the road with nothing more than a do not return note. After St. Margot, staying with us was her best shot and even when we waited on her hand and foot, she couldn't tamp down her rotten insides."

Her breathing had run ragged, and as Ur looked into her face, she could tell, this woman honestly believed the vile she hissed.

There was something about all this that was hitting Ur on deeper level than just child negligence, which was bad enough. Their poor treatment of this girl stemmed from one thing; she was too powerful and that frightened them.

Their stories weren't in anyway similar, yet Ur couldn't help thinking of another little girl whose magic pulled her into so much trouble, it cost her her life...

"What, may I ask, made you think entrapping and isolating a little girl would turn her for the better?" It surprised Ur, how formal her words were, but at this point, she was running purely on autopilot.

"Her power is not natural. To make it rain constantly, without any thoughts or action to provoke it, there is something wrong with that."

Ur didn't hide her disgust, "And so, the villagers all ran to grab their torches and pitchfor–"

" Do not treat me as if I'm some ignorant hick on a hill!" Valencia shrieked, releasing her hold on the little girl, only to jab a blunted finger at Ur, "I used to model for Sorcerer Weekly, I saw wizards all the time! Not one of them had the kind of impact on the world this girl does just from an emotional outburst, it's not normal!"

"Magic comes in many form–"

"I'm aware of that." She seethed. "I'm also aware that most wizards use tools to produce their magic into a corporeal entity, they don't just cry about cookies and flood the worl–!"

"So? Half of Earthland's population can't light a stove without using a Holder type instrument, yet you don't see the local townspeople ready to string up Macao Conbolt when he rides around on wave of blue fire." The calm tone Ur spoke with, belied a rage that was beginning to churn deep within her. Her fingers twitched restlessly and she had curl them into fist to resist the cold that started gathering at the tips.

"That is different!"

"No. It isn't."

Evern stepped forward and it was clear so was trying to put a buffer between her wife and Ur, "So you see, I had to call you, I couldn't have the murder of a little girl..."

It took Ur a moment to comprehend that she meant to end that sentence with on my record, instead of on my conscious. She truly did not give a damn what happened to the girl one way or another, as long as it wasn't connected back to her or someone she knew.

Everything seemed to shift in that moment.

Everything inside felt cold and hard, as Ur asked through stiff lips, "You were going to kill her tonight, weren't you? Why–?" That's why the girl had been running around town all afternoon, why Valencia was absent from the house this morning. Somehow, Juvia'd figured it out and tried to save herself only to get caught just as she was within Ur's sights.

When Valencia had arrived back in the library with the knife against her neck, for some odd reason, Ur had taken the action to mean she loved Juvia so much she'd rather her die, than be separated from her, but it was the opposite.

She just wanted the girl out of the picture.

Ur swallowed, unable to think around her heart, beating at such a frantic pace, "How could you even think of doing something so..." She was at a loss for words.

The pinkette crossed her arms, looking down her nose at Ur, " Reneta 15:38 All eyes must remain open to the nature of those around us, for all abilities may reach a benchmark; Once surpassed, there are few warnings of its true intentions. To go beyond the mortal and invite odious spirits unto your door."

" That's what you're basing all of this on?!" Ur asked weakly,repose beginning to crack, "You kept a little girl in a water closet for day after day, planned on killing her in cold blood, based on a single verse from an outdat–?!"

"I don't need to hear how much disdain you have for the Zentopian church," she cut in, raising a hand in abrupt protest. "I have been on Earthland long enough to notice patterns and if keeping that child," again, she spat the word like she had little faith in it's truth, "far from the others and trying to impart some light into her dark little heart would keep the children from experiencing what I did, then so be it."

There was no rationalizing with this woman, she was worse than crazy, she was convinced of every absurd thing she said.

Valencia's smile widened, tugging at her tightened face, grotesquely, "You think I'm idiot."

"I wish it was that simple," Ur answered gravely, pulling herself up from the chair, "I suppose it's still simple, but much more tragic than I would have believed."

She took a step forward and ice burst on impact the moment her foot made contact. Valencia stumbled back, expression startled and frightened, Evern leaping forward to catch her.

"You're a bully." Then Ur shook her head, taking another step while the couple scrambled back further, "No. While that does describe you, it stripes down just how awful you truly are." Her tone was conversational, even as the floor began to crack with cold. "You're an insecure, mindless doll. So focused on trying to supplement your own ego, you'd hurt anyone around you just to hear a few hollow compliments. So when you beauty began to fade, you decided to become the savior of the children, but not because you care about them, it's because you care about yourself. And when you saw a little girl, who reminded you too much of your dark past, you punished her for it and twisted the words of an old book to make it seem justified. Have I got that right?" Ur's eyes narrowed, watching the women scramble over each other, daring them to speak, "You're petty and while I normally hate to use the term, quite frankly, you're stupid."

"And, if anything" Ur looked over to the other woman, whose chin raised in defiance when the maker mage addressed her, "you're worse. It never once occurred to you to simply care for this child. You spent nearly a year playing ten-dimensional chess, trying to work out a solution that would hide your crazy wife from the world while you made a bid to try and conquer it." Besides anger, another emotion began brewing, surprising her. It was pity. "I can't imagine what's broken within the pair of you to make do the things you do. And I can't honestly say you were made for each other either. You've brought out the worst traits possible for a human being to have, and I feel sorry for your future.

"Heed my words, because I'm only going to say this once. You will turn over the custody papers of Juvia Locksar to me, you will pay me the rest of the fee that you contractually owe me in cash, and you will do all of this in the next – I'll give you fifteen minutes – otherwise, you're going to wish your only problem was rain."

The mayor decided she wanted to be brave at the most foolish opportunity, "You can have the girl, but you're not getting another cent out of us. You failed to meet

your end of the deal, we owe you nothing. Valencia calm down, she can't harm us–"

Ur slammed her hand down, crashing right through the floor under a magic circle appeared nearly blinding her with light. From the center shot out a spear, faster than a bullet and aiming straight for the chandelier three stories above.

It shattered on impact, sending shards of glass raining down on the trio. Valencia screamed, Evern paling just behind her.

"That's where you're wrong, I am fully capable of doing you harm, as long as I don't land a single hand on your body. And you're wrong on another front, too – I did what you hired me for, after tonight there will be no more rain in Ashworth, so you must pay me. Reneging on your side of the deal would render the contract void, and then," Ur stepped forward just one more time, glass crunching underfoot, "punishment could range as far as my imagination is willing to go."

Valencia was mute, eyes wide and frantic as she gazed at Ur, little scratches sending beads of blood trickling down her face and arms. She started tapping her wife's arm wildly, unable to voice her command, but Evern seemed to understand well enough. She backed up slowly, then ran from the room, Ur's eyes following her the whole time.

The woman that remained stood stock still, eyes brimming with tears until she seemed to gain her footing. She backed up slowly, as though she'd accidentally walked into a room harboring a wild cat, and continued retreating until her back slammed into one of the still open doors, breathing hard.

Ur paid her no mind. Instead, she sidestepped the damage she'd done to the floor and made her way over to the large mahogany desk, limping slightly, before bending down to give the space underneath a look. There sat the little girl, body curled in so tight to one corner, she could have overlooked that she was even down there, were it not for the fact Ur had been the one to signal at the little bluenette to hide there in the first place.

Ur's voice was mild and soft, the kind one would use to coax down a frightened kitten, as she squatted down to her level. "You did very well."

Large, dark blue eyes blinked back at her owlishly.

"I'm leaving soon, would you like to come with me?" Though she'd demanded custody papers Ur didn't necessarily have to bring the girl with her if there was some place else she'd rather be.

But she nodded quickly, body unraveling a bit.

"Do you have anything here I need to get for you? Toys, clothes, books? Anything at all?"

She seemed to think on it for a moment, then shook her head.

"Alright, we'll be gone in a bit, hang tight." Then a thought occured to her. "Can you do me a favor?"

She didn't say anything, but she didn't retreat, so Ur took that as a good sign. "I need you to squeeze this, with as much strength as possible, ok? Just there, right on the baby seal, that's a good girl."

Juvia pressed the little card between her fingers, brows furrowed in concentration, while she did it.

Evern reentered the room, eyes hard and angry once again, as Ur stood to her full height, watching her coldly.

The mayor slammed a folder down, before turning and stalking over to the bookcase behind her. She yanked down three books, nearly indiscernible from the rest, before twisting a small marble horse statue 180 and flicking the light switch beside her, twice.

This whole orchestration had a purpose it seemed, because no sooner did the light come back on, than a painting, rather small and scrubby, just three gold brush strokes down a black backdrop, opened to reveal a vault door.

She was quick to unlock and open it, before yanking out several stacks of cash and tossing them onto the desk. When she seemed to think everything was there she slammed the vault closed once more, jaw set when she faced Ur.

"Count it."

"There's no need," Ur smiled, "if you short change me, I'll be sure to visit once again. Though I can't guarantee my mood will be as merry, next time around."

A soft squeak sounded, interrupting the steady flow of cash hitting the bottom of a bag, but Ur was well past caring about Valencia's cowardice.

Then Evern opened the folder, pen in hand, and began signing page after page. She moved rapidly, almost robotically, before motioning her wife over. Valencia took the pen from her shakily. Ur could see from across the desk the clumsy way in which she wrote her name, but it was just legible enough for the ice maker to let it pass.

Once she finished, she made a move to pass Ur the pen, but when the black haired woman reached for it, she lost her nerve, dropping it on the desk before backing up.

There were only a few lines left to be signed, and half of them weren't just for her, so she decided to finish this when they were somewhere more comfortable. "Add the seal."

"But you ha–"

Her eyes revealed how little she was in the mood for arguments.

Evern stamped it twice, the seals glittering faintly like dark jewels were inlaid within the ink, before Ur shuffled the paperwork swiftly back into it's folder.

Then she bent down one more time, nodding at Juvia solemnly, "It's time to leave."

The bluenette hopped up immediately, crawling out from under the desk to grab her hand, grip surprisingly strong. With her remaining hand, Ur slung the bag over one shoulder before grabbing the folder, holding it to her chest, and striding towards the doors.

Only to be tugged into a firm stop.

For a moment the little girl just stood there, staring up at the women who had been her caregivers for nearly a year, and waited. For a refusal to let her go, for a final goodbye, maybe just for a bit of eye contact, Ur wasn't sure, but when none came the bluenette looked up at her and nodded, ready to leave.

Ur grabbed an umbrella on the way out, rushing down the steps to the magi-mobile that stood waiting at the end of the front steps.

Rohan Fleming stood outside the carriage, nervously fiddling with his paper once more, "I got your message, Ma'am, where to?"

Ur placed Juvia in the carriage, making sure she was buckled in before unzipping the duffle bag swiftly, pulling out two stacks and tossing it behind her. Rohan barely caught it, but when he registered just how much was there, his eyes grew wide. "Wha–? I can–!"

"Take us back to the hotel." Ur cut in, breathing hard. Then she hopped in the seat next to Juvia, belt barely buckled before they took off, speeding down the street.

xUx

The emotional strain of what they'd just gone through was greater than Ur had anticipated. The BSC powder was fading quicker this time around, and her injuries were making themselves known once more as she passed a heavy hand down her face, trying to control her breathing.

She'd forgotten about the pain in her ribs; it was making it difficult to calm down.

Trying to focus on something else, Ur glanced out the window, and blinked rapidly, surprised when she saw a street sign as they passed by. In the three days she'd been there, Ur had never been able to look out the window and see anything, it spoke volumes, that just leaving those women behind had already improved the weather this much.

Let us meet again under different circumstances, Ur thought bitterly, I'll pay them back tenfold for every drop of rain that ever fell in this town.

Thinking such thoughts was hardly a recipe for emotional control, so the young mentor turned in her seat, facing the only other occupant within the magi-mobile.

She had her face pressed up against the glass, one hand pressed flat, while the other fumbled swiftly with some kind of cloth bobble resting at the base of her neck. The movement was jerky enough to convince Ur that it was unconscious; the girl probably wasn't even aware she was doing it.

"So, what's your name, kid?" Ur knew well enough from that disastrous last meeting what it was, but felt it was best to give the girl an opportunity to introduce herself, rather than start their relationship reminded of how those two witches had spoken of the girl, as if she hadn't been in the room.

The little girl jumped, head turning quickly to glance at Ur, before she faced forward stiffly, mouth silently moving at a rapid pace before both hands sprang up to cover it.

"My kids have taken to calling me Master, sometimes," Ur began, hoping that by taking the lead, Juvia would feel a bit more comfortable participating in the conversation, "Mostly Ur. Though Gray sometimes calls me Jackass. He thinks I can't hear it, just like he thinks I don't hear when Lyon purposely squirts shampoo in his eye during their bath – those are my other two students, by the way."

She was still quiet, though her eyes were locked on Ur, absorbing every word.

The others could learn from this girl.

"You could be one of my students too, if you wanted. I might not be much of expert on water or rain right now, but I can teach all sorts of magi–"

"Juvia doesn't want to learn magic, she hates it."

For a moment Ur didn't really process the little girl's words, too busy resisting the sudden urge to squeeze Juvia in a bear hug – she spoke in the third person, how cute!

Once that instinct had been pulled under control, she gave the little bluenette an appraising look, "And why's that?"

She didn't say anything, fiddling mindlessly with the cloth again, brows furrowed while she chewed her bottom lip, one leg bouncing rapidly against the carriage seat. It was clear the girl had quite a few opinions on the subject, but wasn't too sure if this was genuinely a place where she would be listened to, or if by revealing her true feelings she'd just get lectured at.

So Ur waited.

Finally she burst out, "All magic has done is hurt Juvia!"

"Ok." There was no way she could argue there, "But y'know, it's also one of the things that makes you special, Juvia," Ur countered, gently taking her smaller hand within her own, "I've never met anyone with such a strong hold on an element. People ten times your age don't have a fraction of the impact on weather you do, even after training their whole lives away. It's remarka–!"

"No, it's evil," she insisted, and Ur felt anger begin to flare up within her chest again at the candid disgust on her face, wondering how often those words had been drilled into her head to believe it so firmly, "Juvia's own Mama left her because of the rain."

Ur's jaw worked for a moment, nostrils flaring before she asked, "How do you know that?"

Her voice was small, "Valencia-sama said."

"Hmm-mm. And have you ever seen the note yourself?"

Juvia paused, seeming to consider, before shaking her head, hope visible in her eyes.

"Any number things could have caused your mother's absence, Juvia. But even if you want assume she did it out of fear, Earthland is full of billions of people. Some warm and bright, others hateful and afraid, most with varying degrees of any number of emotions and traits. But there's one thing you can count on, anyone can find someone to love them. They just have to look." Ur gave her head two long long pats before smoothing her curls back from her face, "Trust me, the numbers are on your side."

She was silent, considering.

"Now, about your powers" Ur staerted, "Let me tell you something, Juvia. I haven't been on this planet forever, but I've been here longer than you. I've seen despicable, shameless people, hurt others and do worse, all in an effort to get a fraction of your power, and they never manage much more than that. Y'know why?"

She shook her head.

"Because some forms of power can't be stolen. They can't be aquired, purchased, or hoarded for one self. There is a sort power within you that can only come from nature. Water is as much a part of you as the blood that runs through your veins, the air you need to survive. You may look at the rain now as a hindrance that's only hurt you, but if you train, you can claim it as your own, and it may just become a friend that'll always remain by you."

"...Juvia would rather be alone," she huffed, stubbornly turning back toward the window.

Ur watched the girl for a moment, replacing her hand on the glass, only to withdraw it quickly when a raindrop slid beside it. She wiped her hand furiously on her coat, and did not touch the window again.

The black haired woman swallowed hard, an emotion she couldn't quite place strumming through her blood while she observed Juvia.

There was real, deep hurt there.

The maker mage sighed, regret beginning to weigh heavily on her for the words she was about to say, for the strength this girl needed, that Ur no longer had, "Listen Juvia," she began, and the little girl turned quickly, attention once again on her, "I don't think this arrangement will work out, not the way I was thinking, if you really don't want to learn magic. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you that I could have prevented if I'd just had the nerve to force you for your own good. So instead of staying with me, I think it's bes–"

Ur was not expecting the girl to practically leap on her, tears blooming in her eyes, " Please, don't leave Juvia here!" she cried, pale skin looking ghostly when she gripped Ur's jacket, rain pounding a frantic rythm on the roof their carriage, once more. "Juvia will learn, Juvia learn better than anyone!"

"Juvia..." Ur whispered, feeling the girl shake within her arms, reminding her of another little girl, a girl that never left her heart, a girl she'd never get to see grow up...

"I never, not even for a second, meant that I was going to leave you here." At her words, Juvia's whole body seemed to relax into her, and Ur tucked her more firmly within her arms. "I just meant that I was worried for you, of what kind of life you'd live, if you never learn control. I... don't think I have what it takes to raise you, only for something to happen. I don't have that kind of strength, Juvia. But, know this, I wouldn't just drop you anywhere. We could search for your parents, or I'd find a nice famil–"

"No, no, no!" The little girl screamed, cutting her off, and forming herself into a ball against her chest, as if by proving she was pocket-sized, Ur would never leave her. "Juvia parents didn't want her! Juvia wants Ur-san!"

For a moment she didn't say anything, wrestling with a decision inside her mind. She knew without a doubt it would cause her pain, but if she could just get through it, perhaps Juvia would understand and want to learn. She'd suffered through these memories plenty of times without there being any benefit. Surely, for the little girl that sat before her, so trusting, she could do this. "I'm going to tell you a story, and maybe it will help explain why I'm asking you to do this, ok?"

Juvia's head was tucked firmly under Ur's chin, makely it impossible to see her expression, but the black haired woman felt her nod into her neck, and took that as all she needed to start her story.

"Before I was a mentor or anyone's teacher, I was a mother." She released a breath, knowing that it would only get harder from here, but unwilling to let the same thing happen before her eyes ever again. "I had daughter. Sweet girl, wildly independent and smart as a whip. She was also very powerful, like you, Juvia. Too powerful."

Ur closed her eyes, remembering those weeks like it was yesterday, despite it happening over a year ago now, "She was born with so much potential, and that potential continued to grow, at a pace her body couldn't keep up with."

"What do you mean?"

Ur nodded, understanding her confusion, "I guess you could think of everyone having little pots in their tummies, pots with lids. And in those pots, everyone's magic is stored. Now, we're all born with the same size pot, but as you get older and bigger, your pot grows, and so too can your magic. You understand?"

She felt Juvia nod again.

"Ok, well, my daughter's magic didn't want to wait until her pot grew. And because of that, magic started spilling everywhere. She was getting older, her magic abilities grew more powerful, but she didn't have anywhere to store it, anyway to get rid of the excess. It began to affect her health, she was sick very often, sometimes for weeks, which only made it harder for her to grow.

"Eventually–" A horrible lump formed in her throat cutting her off. Try as she might, Ur couldn't swallow it, so she closed her eyes again, and gently rubbed circles into Juvia's back, trying to think around it. " Eventually..." Ur whispered, fighting to get the words to surface, "Eventually, I realized I couldn't help her anymore. And that scared me. I grew so worried, so desperate. I took her to every doctor around. But no one could help.

"I searched far and wide for some kind of help, anything that could relieve her suffering. That's when I'd come across a rumor; there was an organization that specialized in those with an overabundance of magic, and if I could just get her there, I was sure to find the help she needed."

Her lips were going dry, she could feel her heart, thumping a wild rythm, and she wished once again that she could hand over every beat it had left to the little girl who had had so few.

"When we got there, they told me it was a simple case, something they'd dealt with time and time again. Just hand her over. And I did. Even though everything within me hated it, even though it felt like they were ripping away my very soul, I did. I couldn't stand to see her hurting, no mother who cares about her child can.

"I waited in that room, so white, it was blinding, for hours. But it felt like years. I wanted to hope, but all I felt was dread. And when they came back and told me..." She could feel it coming over her again, no amount of self control would ever help her through this.

"When they'd told me she'd died–" There was nothing dignified about the tears Ur shed then, she held Juvia to her, unable to control the pain that pounded through her anew, "I didn't want to accept it. I was so sure they'd fail and I'd just have to take her somewhere else. It never even occurred to me– For her to die all alone without her mother–"

Sobs wracked through her, remembering the parts she'd never had the strength to voice aloud; how desperately she'd fought to try to get her daughter's body, she'd needed proof, she'd needed to see. The gut-wrenching emptiness she'd felt when that man had told her there was no point, that there wasn't enough left of her baby to even bury. The horrific journey back home, to her empty house and her daughter's empty room, everything exactly as she'd left it, except now, a place full of childishness and laughter, was dark and hollow. There was no one there to play with her toys, no one to tuck in, no one to read stories to, no one there to finish her favorite bubble bath...

To this day, Ur wasn't sure how she'd lived through the pain of opening her dryer and finding piles of her daughter's clothes, freshly cleaned but forgotten about in her rush to seek help.

She wasn't sure how she'd lived past that stark white room...

She felt tiny, cool hands on her face, and blinked her eyes open to find Juvia, wiping her tears away with open determination.

"Please don't cry." She mumbled, almost looking guilty while intently dabbing at Ur's face, "Juvia doesn't want you to cry."

The older woman let out a deep sigh, regaining some composure, but didn't try to force the evidence of her emotions away. "When we're sad, it's only natural to want to cry," she informed Juvia, and the little girl stopped, riveted once again, "We cry for those that we've lost, and what we'll never have. People shed tears of joy and sorrow, to let the world know that those around them and those no longer with them, have deep, meaningful impact on their lives. Those people and moments are worth remembering, worth immortalizing.

"And when I cry... Every tear is for her, for the moments we never shared and the times we'll never have. But it's also out of love, out of joy for the time we did have together, because despite the pain I feel now, she was worth every second of it. I'd do it all again, just so she could experience some time with me and I with her. That's what my daughter was it to me, is to me, evidence of a life worth crying over. My Ultear."

They continued to sit in the motionless carriage, a comfortable silence filling the space until Ur's tears had run dry, Juvia watching her closely. When she finally seemed to think Ur ready, she looked away, fingers bouncing that cloth doll back and forth, then she yanked it tightly and turned to her, concern still visible, "It would make Ur-sensei happy, if Juvia learned?"

Ur chuckled, that urge to crush Juvia into a hug surfacing again, "It would make Ur-sensei very happy, yes."

"And– And Juvia doesn't have to fight?" She clarified, "Only learn?"

"If that's what you want."

"That's what Juvia wants."

"Then that's what we'll do," Ur smiled, bouncing Juvia on her knee until the girl erupted into a chorus of giggles, "I'll teach you how to adjust to the cold – you're gonna need that where we're staying – and how to control your emotions, and we'll figure out how they tie into how you use your power. I can teach you all kinds of things, it doesn't have to stop at magic. Do you know how to make cookies?"

Her eyes grew wide, excitement almost palpable, "We can make cookies?"

"Of course! You know, I have a very special recipe, passed down by a guy I cheated out of a game of cards; three kinds of chocolate chips and enough butter to make a biscuit jealous. And don't even get me started on my shortbreads and lasagnas."

Juvia looked about ready to burst just hearing about it, expressing more happiness in the last half minute, than Ur had seen since she'd met the child, "And, you'll teach Juvia how to stop the rain?"

Ur checked the window, then. Still cloudy, still raining, but lighter than it had ever been before, "Even if we have to scour Earthland for some book, somewhere, even if it's lost magic, I will help you control the rain."

She nodded to herself, seeming in good spirits as she looked around the carriage for something.

"Did you forget something?" She'd told Ur there was nothing of hers in the house, but perhaps she'd just been in too much shock to remember, at the time.

But the bluenette looked her over curiously, "Juvia wants to sign, now."

"Hm?"

"The adoption paperwork Ur-sensei brought from Valencia-sama and Mayor Lockworth, Juvia is ready to sign. She has seen it happen four times, so Juvia know how to do it." She added eagerly, showing three fingers before she looked them over with a slightly furrowed brow, and added another quickly.

"Oh, Juvia..."

The bluenette let her hand drop, seeming to realize something, "Ur-sensei does not want to adopt Juvia?" She looked crestfallen.

"No, it–" How could she explain this without making her feel rejected? "It's not that I don't want to adopt you, it's just you may want to be adopted by someone else later on. My other student, Gray..." She wasn't sure if she should reveal his past without him being here. "Something similar happened to him, but it wasn't really necessary for me to sign off as an adoptive parent because by being his teacher, I'm already his guardian, under the law. That leaves him open to decide his future for himself, later on. I took those papers and made Evern sign and seal them, so when the time came for you to make a decision, you wouldn't be forced to come back here and ask those people for a favor. Understand this Juvia, if I adopt you, I don't think anyone else can do so afterwards. So, if something happens or if you decide differently because you met a nice family along the way..." The court fees alone was enough to cause her heartache, let alone Juvia's rejection.

But she just crawled out of Ur's lap, into her own seat, expression expectant. "Juvia wants Ur-sensei."

Perhaps she didn't understand the weight of this decision. "Yes, but that's now. You need to think this over, and–"

She nodded once sharply, "Juvia has thought it over, she wants Ur-sensei." The bluenette sat up promptly, looking prim and proper and a bit older than her seven years as she waited for Ur to make a move.

"I..." It was clear her mind wasn't changing tonight, and Ur wondered if she was a terrible person for wishing to never see it change, cemented forever in ink. "Hang on."

Ur hopped out of the magi-mobile, the carriage having stopped so long ago the maker mage had a hard time believing anyone could have as much patience as their driver did. Rohan had his legs crossed at the ankles, twisting one of the shoulder length ginger curls around his finger while reading his paper, not the least bit concerned about the two stacks of Jewel, stuffed unceremoniously in the front cup holder.

He looked up, expression beaming when Ur stepped forward. "Would you mind..." This was a such weird thing to ask, "...bearing witness?"

The confusion that appeared on his face disappeared when Ur pulled out the folder and stolen pen, returning to the back cabin to find Juvia looking on curiously.

Rohan did bear witness, letting out a small whoop of congratulations as Juvia signed her full name in oversized childish handwriting, smiling broadly as Ur followed suit.

But his smile didn't compare to Juvia's. There was so much hope and happiness there, Ur took another vow, written not on paper, but inside, across her heart, promising never to let her fall into the same fate as Ultear...

xUx

They entered the hotel to familiar quiet, Juvia's hand clenched tightly around her own as she took everything in with wide, curious eyes.

"Ur-sensei," she whispered urgently, tugging at her hand as they made their way to the elevators.

"Yes?"

"Did you know? The furniture here is very ugly."

Ur didn't hold in her snort, letting the gate snick shut before she replied, "Yes, I was aware."

Juvia nodded, happy to have informed her, "Ok."

They disembarked from the elevator and were making their way down the hall, when she felt a firm tugging on the end of her leather jacket, and looked down to find Juvia staring at her, fingers playing with the little doll again, "Ur-sensei?"

She would never get tired of that, "Yes, Juvia?"

"The other children, they're in there?" She pointed down the hall.

"Yeah, right at the end. Why, what's wrong?"

Her hand strayed from the doll, to play with her mouth, eyes distant, before she mumbled, "Don't tell... About the rain, please."

Ur looked the girl over, mildly confused, then bent down until they were eye level, "And why's that?"

"Juvia wants to make friends..." She said, voice faint, still not making eye contact, "No one ever wants to be Juvia's friend when they know..." Her mouth continued to move, but no words came out, and then she just let the sentence drop.

Ur opened her mouth to reassure Juvia that no student of her's, certainly not Gray or Lyon, would ever treat her poorly simply because of a little bad weather.

Not if they enjoyed walking straight.

But she caught herself, last second. Thinking it over, thinking of what Juvia had been through.

Words were just words until one had proof, especially when it came to children. Juvia needed to see the boys for who they were, and once she trusted them, one

day in the future, when she looked back at this moment, she might think it was silly she'd ever doubted their ability to love her.

All she wanted was an even playing field, a clean slate, to seem quote-unquote normal in the eyes of the kids she was about to spend quite a lot of time with. It was a small enough request, though not so easily done.

Ur felt her brow furrow, trying figure out how she was going to explain away what could be weeks of constant rain, to the two very curious, very observant boys currently under her tutelage, then shrugged, taking the girl's hand again when she straightened.

"Your wish is my command," Ur agreed, leading her down the hallway, while fishing out the key.

She wasn't gonna sweat the details, things would work themselves out and even if there were some small wrinkles along the way, Ur would be there to make sure her students got through it without too much damage.

That's what it meant to mentor the young.

She fiddled in her pockets a bit longer until a sharp pain in her shoulder reminder her once again of the fight – if she could even call it that – she'd been through earlier this afternoon. In her rush to get to the the Mayor's Mansion she probably hadn't bothered grabbing it and even if she did, knocking was the easiest recourse just then.

So that's what she did, waiting for with Juvia as a set of footsteps patted rapidly towards the door, the bluenette shrinking behind her leg a bit due to the mounting anticipation.

Ur didn't think either of them were expecting the loud, angry, " Who is it?!" that sounded from behind the door. The maker mage rolled her eyes, rather unimpressed at Lyon's attempt at intimation, but Juvia squeaked, tucking herself even further behind the older woman.

"Oh, sure, this time you wanna check," Gray sighed, sounding refreshingly exasperated. "Before you woulda let the Hash Slinging Slasher in for a tea party if he just tapped quietly enough with his spatula."

"Shut up, Gray." Lyon growled before seeming to turn back to the door, " Please state the password, otherwise, no one's here."

Logic and common sense, that would be the next subject they studied.

It was almost a nostalgic feeling over-coming her, and Ur banged on the door two more times, the familiar feeling of tears welling behind her eyes yet again, wanting to embrace her pupils, now more than ever. "We never set up a password, you dorks. Now let us in."

"It's her." Lyon reassured Gray, who grumbled something that should probably end with a bit of soap in his mouth, then swung the door to reveal themselves.

For a moment, Ur couldn't understand why Juvia refused to step over the threshold, instead gripping her with new sense of urgency.

The bluenette's shyness couldn't be this overwhelming could it?

Then she took in the state of the boys. Both were shirtless and shoeless, giving a perfect view of every bruise, cut, and abrasion they'd acquired while she was gone. From the state of them, Ur had to guess they'd kept fighting until they either got hungry, got sleepy, or knocked the other out.

But that's not where her true concern lay.

"What...?" Ur took in the room, mouth hanging, a new reason to cry spread corner to corner, before her. "What happened?"

The room wasn't just a wreck: it was a disaster zone.

Floral cushion covers sat empty on the overturned coffee table, it's filling spilled out everywhere, some of it floating in the air the rest scattered here and there amongst the ruins. The rhombus chandelier was now an overgrown pack of fiddle sticks, large shards piled haphazardly on the kitchenette floor, while the smaller, more dangerous pieces glittered from within the carpet like dangerous sparklers, waiting to impale someone's foot. The pull-out mattress had been yanked out completely, full springs exposed to the world. Half the carpet was soaked through, with mounds of ice clumped here and there, melting into floor. There was coffee – Ur didn't even know they'd had coffee – leaking from the counter, coffee pot overturned and mostly shattered.

And all that wasn't even getting into the bedroom, where she could already hear water from some faucet leaking and splashing all over the floor.

The boys didn't bother answering her, too busy with an argument, that was clearly being picked up from earlier, "Master, didn't you say I was in charge," Lyon asked pointedly, running up to her expectantly, "because after you left, Gray got this ridiculous–!"

"The only thing ridiculous about any of this is that fact we let you stay with us when you're barely housebroken! The other boy barked, by his side within seconds, "Ur said – and she'll tell you – that I'm in charge because I'm the future–"

"And what an grim outlook that'll be, truly a terrible apocalypse for us all to look forward to," Lyon cut in, expression surprisingly deadpan, "but for today, I'm in charge. Which makes sense of course, for one thing, I'm old–"

"Which means you're closer to dying, let me get your walker while you leave everything–"

" I WAS ONLY GONE TWO HOURS!" Ur roared, stepping into the room in disbelief, barely taking note of the way the boys jumped, eyes growing wide. Two hours and this is what you do?! Were you expecting a pat on the back because you only ruined this room! Huh?!"

Neither said anything.

She ran further into the room, bypassing them completely as she headed straight for the bedroom, pulse set to skyrocket once again that night, " I swear on every celestial being in the fucking spirit world, if you two did half as much damage in here as you did to that couch, I'm having your asses FRAMED!"

It was bad.

It was so bad, Ur don't even want to describe it, her mind going numb as she re-entered the living area, closing the door behind her. Or least trying to, the knob collapsed in her hand, truly finished with this life and ready to continue onto the next, while the door creaked off it's hinges behind her, falling into a heap just as Ur collapsed to her knees.

She couldn't feel her left arm...

"Who're you?"

In all the commotion of discovering that the boys had turned their suite inside out, Ur already mentally accounting for all the damage done to the room, she'd forgotten their newest little member.

Juvia stood just outside, still in the hallway, and in lieu of having Ur to cling onto, she'd taken quite a liking to the front door, nails digging into the ornamentally painted wood while she looked around the room. When Gray addressed her, she jumped, looking quickly at Ur, then at the boys, before landing on the door she was gripping as though seriously considering slamming it and running for her life once again, tonight.

"That's..." Ur just didn't have the strength. "She... Did you really manage to rip the faucet out of the sink, or was it like that when we got here? Because, if that's the case, I think I may be able to play it off..."

No one paid her any mind.

"Ju– J–Juvia is Juvia," the bluenette stuttered out, and considering what they'd walked into, revealing a lot more bravery than Ur herself possessed.

The bluenette released the door, tripping forward, eyes darting this way and that, as if she were planning a strategic retreat at the first sign of trouble.

Even though they were probably at the 88th sign, by now...

She stood before Gray, eyes on the ground before she stuck out a hand, face beet red, "Juvia would like to know your name, Little Boy–san."

That was almost enough to make Ur start laughing, coupled, of course, with the look of confusion Gray threw both Lyon and herself. As it was, she just starting crying, very quietly.

"First of all, I'm pretty sure I'm older than you, so I don't know who you're calling Little Boy-san."

"Really?" Some of her hesitation seemed to subside as she looked over Gray in surprise, "But Juvia's taller." She measured them with her hand, swiftly coming to the conclusion that she was, in fact, taller.

It was Gray's turn to turn red, "Yeah, but only because you're wearing shoes!"

"Juvia does not believe that is this the reason." She told him seriously, "Now, please reveal your name."

Within seconds, Lyon was there, taking Gray's place to shake Juvia's hand.

Well actually, he'd aggressively shoved Gray's shoulder, knocking the other boy out of his way before he'd even seemed to make up his mind about introducing himself.

"Greetings, I'm Lyon Vastia," he informed her, "I'm nine years old and taller than Gray Fullbuster, the boy who'd so rudely ignored your repeated request for his name. I'm also far more talented. One day, I'm gonna be the strongest mage on Earthland, that's why I'm studying with Master Ur," He gestured behind himself, to their teacher, now openly sobbing as she took in the dents in the wall. "And just a forewarning, you really shouldn't bother wasting your time with him."

The scowl on Gray's face was blatant, when he'd grunted, "And why's that?"

Lyon didn't bother addressing the other boy, instead grasping Juvia's hand firmly, and directing his explanation towards her, "Because his parents are dead he thinks that means it's ok to be a jerk to everyone and anyone at all times of the day, but really it's just annoying and attention-seeking and it makes everyone wonder why his parents would ever die for a toad like him."

Low blow, kid.

But not nearly as low as the sucker punch Gray aimed at Lyon's stomach, knocking the wind out of the older boy before Gray climbed on top of him, beginning a fresh barrage of punches directed towards his face.

Being a responsible adult, Ur did initially move to put a stop to the fight, going so far as to grab the black haired boy around the middle, shouting admonishments over the din of Lyon's cries of pain, while his face slowly began swelling like he'd been stung by a colony of wasps before her eyes, but once Gray bit her, she decided it was best they work out their issues amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, Juvia just stood there, frozen to the spot as she watched Lyon momentarily gain the upper hand, only to lose it almost immediately because he'd taken an ill-advised moment to gloat over his two second victory, something Gray was more than capable of taking advantage of, turning the table back to his favor once again.

The little bluenette – Juvia– was just as speechless as she'd been since Ur had opened the door, revealing this chaos, all signs of that bubbly excitement long

gone, evaporated like the last raindrop in a desert. When Gray elbowed Lyon in the nose, an audible crack and cry filling the air, she turned to look up at Ur, visibly distraught, tears springing into her eyes.

Ur could practically hear her begging, " Is this what better looks like?!"

It was time to get into action.

"Alright!" Ur cried, her voice booming just enough to pause Lyon mid-strike, nosebleed dripping done his chin and onto Gray's forehead, "You've got ten minutes, and I mean ten minutes, to get all your shit packed and ready to go. Every minute over that time will be paid back in hours spent doing laps in the Renaldi Lake, is that clear?"

It must have been, because both boys jumped up, eyes wide and full of actual panic as they started scrambling, collecting their stuff.

"Juvia?" Immediately, the bluenette stood at attention, running up to the ice mage with her undivided attention, "I need you to take this card and do the same as before. It's really urgent, ok?"

She'd rather fight off a hundred-thousand Valencias, that pay for the damage done to this room.

Ur took off for the bedroom closet, hoisting her truck up and out of there before yanking down her still dripping clothes from the little bit of curtain rod that wasn't bent out of shape, only to find Juvia right at her heels. "Uh, Ur-sensei?"

"Yeah?" She sidestepped the child, looking for her other boot.

"This card is different, remember, Ur-sensei?"

Ah, right. In that short amount of time, Rohan had managed to upgrade his card calling service. Now, instead of pressing, it had more of a voice command thing going on and the account was currently registered under her voice, not Juvia's.

Ur took the card back before handing over the ball of soaked laundry to her newest student. "Try and find a bag for that, if not make sure to dump half in each of the boys bags, and really make sure the mildew is capable of soiling all their clothes when you do it."

"I heard that!" Shouted Gray, from under the bed.

"You were fucking supposed to!" She cried back, then gave Juvia a helpful little nudge forward, looking the new carriage card over curiously.

She felt a little silly speaking into the card, but urgency allowed her to get over that hesitancy rather quickly, "You wouldn't happen to still be in the area, would you? Certainly I wouldn't find you parked and ready to go, in say... The next five minutes, right?"

He didn't even pause, "I'll be there in three."

Lyon did not have that same level of urgency.

Whether it was because he truly believed he was in the right, didn't think Ur was going to actually punish them that severely, or maybe she was just raising a masochist in the making, Lyon was found five minutes later, standing on the ledge of the bathtub, unwrapping and sniffing little soaps, before seeming them worthy of being added to his bag.

She was so appalled, she almost sent Gray in to deal with him.

As it was, she was perfectly capable of scaring the living shit out of him herself.

Yanking open the medicine cabinet, the half moon of glass that remained shattered on the floor with the momentum of her swing. Ur pulled out the little razor stored there, booting it's lacrima with plenty of magic before looming over Lyon's shoulder, " Open one more and I'll make a Budda out of you." She whispered directly into his ear, threat real and at the ready.

Oddly enough, he was out the bathroom within seconds.

Gray was already by the front door, eyes latched on the bluenette, while he sat on his suitcase, chin in his hands, considering something, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

Juvia squeaked, dropping the pile of clothes in a heap before her.

Ur stopped, watching Juvia through the doorway and trying understand her alarm before she recalled the conversation she'd had with Lyon and Gray yesterday, after leaving the Mayor's Mansion:

" Gray saw someone! He said it was a kid but they ran away before he could talk to them."

" I said I saw something , for all I know it could have been anything from a ghost to a horse, I don't know."

" You said you saw more than that when you wanted to go back upstairs and look again."

He'd seen Juvia, and based on the expression on the bluenette's face, she'd gotten a pretty good look at him, too.

Here it was, that perception Ur had been worried about. The maker mage stepped forward, thinking quickly, "It's probably the hair." She announced, and both kids turns to look at her curiously. "You had it styled after Karen Lillica of Lamia Scale, right? Yeah, it easy to see, between the hat and with the curls all stiff like that, plus the color? She's always doing crazy stuff to her hair for a quick publicity stunt in Sorcerer, next week it'll be green, I'm telling you. Anyway, I heard she's a real bitch, especially to her spirits. It's no good walking around getting mistaken for her, so we'll get you a new look when we get back, ok Juvia?"

The girl nodded quickly, eyes trained on the floor, before grabbing up the wet clothes and running to the bathroom in search of a spare laundry bag.

"You all ready?"

"Yeah," Gray answered dully, brows still furrowed, "but I'm sure I know her from somewhere else. And not that Karen person you were talking about, whoever the hell that was."

"What have I told you about language?! Watch your damn mouth!"

"Look who my mentor is," Gray shot back, defensively, "you've been cursing ever since you got here!"

" Because you wrecked the fucking room!"

"...Juvia found a bag."

"Oh, thank you, Sweetheart," Ur smiled, releasing Gray's neck swiftly, her entire attitude shifting 180 when the soft spoken girl returned, "and while I was really hoping to make the boys suffer on as many levels as possible, you did well. Just toss bag in there, that's a good girl."

She checked her watch. She'd already let fifteen minutes past. "Everyone! Get out here now, no more dilly-dallying, if you didn't find your shit it just wasn't meant to be!" She grabbed the trunk off her bed, checking all the latches were secured, before marching into the living area for what she hoped was the last time, glass crunching underfoot for the second time that night. " Gray, why are you in the fridge?!"

"I'm thirsty–"

"That's why the Celestial Spirit King graced you with the gift of saliva, now swallow."

He slammed the door, expression deadpan, before shuffling over to his bag again, while Ur continued trying to get them out of there.

" Juvia!" The girl jumped, that frightened kitten expression firmly in place once more, as she looked up at Ur, "why aren't your bags packed?!"

"J– Juvia doesn't have any bags..." She squeaked, looking for all the world as if she'd just been caught in the midst of disposing of a body.

"Oh, that's right." Her addition to their little trio – now quad – had been rather sudden, hadn't it? Ur took a deep breath, realizing she'd need show a bit more professionalism while in the presence of their newcomer. "Very well, we'll get you some along the way, alright?" The bluenette nodded, quickly. "Ok, everybody, single-file right out the door, that's the ticket." She motioned with her hands quickly, trying to hide some of her urgency, keeping count as she did, only to realize she hadn't gotten past two. "Lyon? Lyon!"

He was still in the bathroom, though apparently he'd gotten over the overloading-his-bag-with-toiletries phase, instead taking a stab at the next level.

"Lyon, put those towels back, they do not belong to us!"

Sulkily, the boy did as he was told, before filing out the door with the others, Ur just behind them as she slammed the door on the wreck within.

xUx

The descend to the lobby was very awkward, mostly due to the fact their operator had returned and was testing out this new technique, which involved mixing small

talk with desperate pleas of mercy.

Juvia, who'd never experienced this before, left the elevator damn near in tears, her concern for the young man so great, she kept looking back at him, even after they'd entered the lobby, watching as the poor man collapsed against the stairs in a sweaty heap.

Ur made short work of checking out, in that, she just tossed the key over the concierge's desk, running for the front door and screaming, " Remember to bill it to Valencia and Evern Lockworth!"

They were out the door within moments, carriage mercifully waiting for them, just like he'd promised. Rohan had both Gray and Lyon's bags out their hands in seconds, the two shuffling restlessly in the drizzle while Ur secured Juvia into one of the seats.

Gray hopped in next, taking the seat beside her. The move caused more chaos than Ur would have expected,

" He's not wearing pants!" Juvia shrieked, like his skin had erupted in leeches.

Lyon sighed, taking the seat opposite, and buckling himself in quickly, "You're lucky he was even wearing them when you met him."

Juvia squeaked, then the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the cabin, and she screamed.

Ur let her face land on the roof of the carriage, debating whether she should actually get in and try to spend the next ten odd years being a teacher and mentor to these kids, or if she should just haul ass to somewhere tropical and send this carriage for nearest wizard guild, Fairy Tail.

A shudder passed through her, imagining a child being raised in such a place. Between the drinking, smoking, topless dances from their guild master Makarov, and that weird thing they kept doing with their fingers in the air, Ur knew, she was the best shot these kids had, and hopped in after them.

The glass panel slid over, revealing Rohan's cheery face, "Where to, ma'am?

Three voices chimed in, "The Northern Continent!"

xBx

Bloopers – It Just Didn't Quite Fit

1.) Valencia's (Sorta) Tragic Childhood

Valencia took a long, deep breath, pushing her hair back firmly and announced, "When I was 14, my parents were trampled to death by a stampede of horses–"

Was she serious?

"–and on that same night, my house burned to ground, with me inside."

Was she serious? "Bet you wished you had a water mage, then."

A soft giggle sounded, and Ur looked over to see the little girl staring at the floor, hands over her mouth, looking guilty.

Well, at least she still has a sense of humor.

Valencia's brow raised, expression curt. "I was the only survivor and spent weeks in the hospital, unaware that my parents had left me, long ago."

Well, bygone it, that was a little sad.

"Because of this, I took advantage of my full body scaring to get cosmetic surgery and reconstruct my face into the glorious beauty I am today."

And now it wasn't. "Does this tale have a point?" Or an end?

"Because of my parents funeral costs, I didn't have enough money for the full scar tissue operation. The doctor refused to do more than what I could pay for, so I mapped out which parts of my body I was willing to remain injured, and they got to work. That's how I got these." She lifted an arm, showing the clean cut path of warped skin that traveled from her fingertip, all the way up.

Forget about ethics, or even ability. Legally, how was that even possible? "You seem to have plenty of money now, why not just finish the operation?" Ur had no business being as curious as she was, but she had come all this way and they did poison her, the least they could do was make sure she didn't leave weighed down by unnecessary cliffhangers.

"I keep these scars," she gazed steadily at her arm, eyes somehow both wistful

and hard. "as a reminder. My life was ruined by my neighbor."

"Who, just spitballing here, was a fire mage, correct? Which is the exact opposite of a rain mage." Ur stated, "So, unless you're telling me a rain mage up and provoked those horses into killing your parents...?"

"My neighbor was a little boy who was born with unstable amounts of influence on an element and when he was denied something petty, I was the one who suffered. I will not allow the same thing happen to anyone else."

"But again, how does forcing her to live in a water closet solve anything? If you ask me, you didn't suffer enough."

Evern gasped dramatically, but Ur felt pretty justified in her reasoning.

2.) Ur's Honest Thoughts

Valencia was beside herself at this point, "She's brought famine here!"

Ur's response was twice as quick. "Maybe your local farmers just suck." Oh, she didn't mean that. Rupert was lovely.

3.) Ur's Parting Words

Just before stalking out, the maker mage paused, herself, breathing sporadic. "And by the way, being a lesbian power couple isn't as much as a plot twist as you seem to think it is! I had a pair of cats who did the exact same thing and didn't have to run around harming children to get it done!"

And with that, Juvia and Ur left.