Juvia and Gray were squished together in the back of a Magnolia cab, on their way to the safe place Gray was talking about. She was excited to be starting this adventure, especially when she was with Gray Fullbuster, the very attractive shirtless boy sitting next to her. Speaking of…
"Um, Gray," she said. "Why are you not wearing a shirt? It's the middle of winter in Magnolia. Aren't you cold?"
Gray looked down. "What? Aw, shit. I thought I was wearing one."
Juvia giggled. "What do you mean you thought you were wearing one?"
Gray sighed and ran his hand through his spiky hair. "Okay, so I was going to wait till we got to camp for this speech, but oh well. So this might sound strange, but you already know about monsters existing. Well, it's not just monsters. There are also gods. Like the old Alvarez gods from ancient history. And we are both the children of one of those gods."
"Um. Like, the same god?" Juvia asked. Because that would really suck if we were related, she thought silently.
Gray laughed. "Probably not. My mom is Khione, the goddess of snow. Hence me feeling right at home in the cold. Not wearing a shirt doesn't bother me, so most of the time I don't even notice when I take it off. It's just a weird habit that I have."
Juvia smiled. "We all have them."
"Yeah. So anyways, the place I'm taking you to is a camp that was created for the children of the gods, so we can be safe from monsters and train. That's where we are going. Being a demigod is really dangerous because all those monsters like to target us."
Juvia didn't reply, choosing instead to ponder what Gray had said silently. It was a lot to process and he really hadn't explained a lot. So she was a demigod. Juvia wondered which of her parents it was. She was orphaned as an infant and never knew either of her parents. Also, if being a demigod was so dangerous, then how did she last so long without finding this camp?
Gray touched her arm and she started.
"Sorry," he apologized. "It's just, we're at the camp."
He and Juvia got out of the taxi at the base of a hill. Juvia looked around, not seeing any sort of camp.
"Um, Gray," she said, "where is this camp you were talking about? All I see is a hill."
"It's on the other side of the hill," he said. "Mortals can only take us so far."
"Ah." Juvia let it drop.
They both started trudging up the hill. Well, Juvia trudged anyway. Gray was so at home in the piles of snow that he didn't seem to struggle at all. And that eight pack can't hurt, Juvia thought with a groan.
Gray looked back at her and smiled. "Don't worry. It isn't that much farther."
Even as he said it, they came upon the crest of the hill and Juvia got a glimpse of the camp. She gasped, making Gray chuckle.
In the valley was a collection of buildings and arenas, all seeming to be constructed in the ancient Alvarez style of construction that she had read about in history books. Lots of columns and arches, domes and statues. There was an eclectic bunch of cabin looking buildings built around a common area with a stone fire pit and amphitheater. There was an open air pavilion with picnic tables and braziers. What looked to be a coliseum was in the farthest corner of the valley, and there was a huge stretch of woods off to the side. There was a lake and volleyball pits, a stables and what appeared to be a climbing wall but with lava pouring down the side.
The only building that did not seem to fit the mold was a large blue house with white trim. It had a wraparound porch, just like an old farmhouse. That also seemed to be the direction that Gray was leading her.
As they got closer, he yelled, "Hey, Gramps! I'm home!" startling Juvia.
Unfortunately for Gray, as soon as he said that, a pink and black blur came streaking their direction. When it got closer, Juvia came to the horrible realization that it was on fire.
"Gray," she said, voice mounting in panic, "Gray that person is on fire! We have to help him!"
Gray, though, pulled out his sword, which had been condensed magically into a sword pendant on a necklace. "Fire Freak! I don't have time for this! Can't you see I'm busy?"
Juvia watched with a sick fascination as the person on fire skidded to a stop. Probably horribly disfigured, by now, she thought.
Instead of screaming in pain, though, the figure merely stopped being on fire. Juvia stared mutely, not able to speak.
Gray looked over at her and grabbed her hand. "Hey, it's all good. This is just the Fire Freak, Natsu. His dad is Hephaestus. He can set himself on fire."
Natsu grinned. "Hell yes! Watch this!" He proceeded to set his hand on fire and let it out for Juvia's benefit.
"Hey, Gray, Natsu. I thought I heard you guys fighting. What happened?" A beautiful blonde bombshell had wandered over to their group. "I thought I was gonna have to call Erza over here." She sent a mischievous grin their way.
Both boys blanched, confusing Juvia. Who was Erza and why were the boys so scared at just the mention of them?
The blonde finally focused her attention on Juvia. "Oh! Who is this?"
Gray looked at the blonde. "This is a demigod I found while I was in Magnolia today. Her name is…" Gray blanked.
"Gray! You never even got her name?" The blonde looked scandalized.
Juvia blushed. "My name is Juvia Lockser. It's nice to meet you."
The blonde shook her hand vigorously. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia. Daughter of Selene. This idiot is Natsu Dragneel, son of Hephaestus. I'm sure the only name you got out of Gray was an insult." At that she sent the dark haired boy a look.
Gray scoffed. "I said his name was Natsu. I'm not that bad."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, welcome to Camp Fairy Tail!"
Juvia was completely overwhelmed. Add to the fact that an actual freaking centaur just walked down the stairs of the blue farmhouse, and she was pretty much at her limit for weird. Juvia looked at the horseman, then back at the group of kids surrounding her, and promptly fainted.
The last thing she remembered was looking up into Gray's worried, dark eyes.
Gray saw Juvia falling and instantly caught her in his arms. He looked into her face before she lost consciousness completely, stunned by how vivid blue her eyes were. He leaned down to pick her up bridal style, while Natsu and Lucy snickered behind their hands.
"Oh dear," Makarov the centaur said. "I'm so sorry my dear boy. I didn't realize somebody new would be here."
"That's okay, Gramps," Natsu said. "How else is Ice Princess supposed to get any action if you don't cause girls to faint for him to catch?" He erupted in laughter.
Gray growled under his breath, trying to control his temper so as not to drop the warm girl in his arms.
Lucy looked at Gray sneakily, then said, "You liiiiiiiiiike her."
Gray growled again, but when Juvia stirred in his arms, he sighed. "Come on, Gramps. Let's go inside the Big House. I don't want her to get cold"
