"Juvia!" Lucy called, from where she was standing with Natsu. "I'm going to go nurse this baby's ego with some hot chocolate! We'll see you later!" She turned and bounded out of the arena with Natsu, who was slouching off sullenly.
"Okay," Gray said, grabbing Juvia's sword hand. "This is the proper way to hold your weapon. It is called the handshake grip. It will give you the most flexibility and precision while you fight."
He moved her fingers so that they were wrapped around the hilt, but her thumb and pointer finger were relaxed. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a lot more comfortable to hold.
"You are going to be very sore after this, Juves," Gray told her, smirking. "I hope you're up for it."
Juvia laughed. "I will never give up! I can do this!" She raised one fist to the air triumphantly as she spoke.
Gray laughed with her. "Alright. Now let's practice some basic defensive moves."
He led her through a set of five poses that were supposed to defend against an enemy sword strike. Gray had her go through the sets over and over again, for about twenty minutes.
"I feel like a ballerina," she grumbled.
Gray smiled. "Keep going," he said. "Do five more reps of each, and then we can move on to some offensive moves."
She groaned, but did as he said. She decided then and there that once she was a little bit more trained, she was going to kick his ass. She let herself smile at the thought of beating a great swordsman like Gray.
Gray taught her some more strikes, emphasizing each one slowly as he went. He had her practice for another half an hour before letting them be done for the day.
Juvia blew her sweaty blue bangs out of her face. She felt disgusting, warm and dripping with sweat. "I need a shower," she said. "Desperately."
Gray simply smirked at her. "Go ahead. I'm going to put away the training dummies. Wanna meet me at the canoe lake in an hour? Then I can take you to Makarov for a formal introduction."
She gulped, nervous to meet the leader of the camp. "Sure. In an hour."
As she turned to leave, Gray grabbed her wrist. "Wait. Did I show you how to conceal your weapon?"
She looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
He grabbed his sword, Blizzard, and showed it to her. "There's a mark on the hilt. When I press it, my sword turns into this pendant." As he pressed his thumb to the mark, it glowed a faint blue and transformed before her eyes into the necklace that she'd seen him wearing.
"Mine does that?" she asked, amazed.
"Well, not necessarily into a necklace, but it should shrink down to something." He took Whirlpool from her and examined the hilt. "Aha! I found the mark."
He pressed it and her sword transformed into a butterfly pin made of bronze set with sapphires.
"It's beautiful," she gasped, taking it from Gray's hands. Gingerly, she pinned it to Gray's coat, which she had put back on after their training. "How does it go back?"
He showed her the spot to press, and then had her transform it a few times until it became a reflex for her.
"Well, I will meet you in an hour," she said, before leaving the arena to go shower.
When she was decent again, she walked to the lake by herself. She was happy to note that she knew her way around the camp for the most part, and she could recognize a lot of the kids she passed.
"Hey, Juvia!" Cana Alberona called out, her hands wrapped around a mug of something that Juvia was almost positive was alcoholic in nature. "How's it going?"
"Good!" Juvia called back, continuing on her way.
She saw Wakaba and Mest sneaking up behind Eve, Gray's brother, looking like they were plotting something. Juvia felt bad for Eve, but didn't want to become the next target for the Hermes cabin to play a prank on. She decided to keep walking.
"Juvia!"
The bluenette turned around, not sure who she was going to see.
A tiny girl with spiky blue hair was standing behind her.
"Hey, Levy," she said.
The girl panted, obviously having run after Juvia. "I was just wondering if you wanted me to teach you how to read Ancient Alvarez. Demigods have a natural ability to read it, and it can come in handy sometimes!"
Juvia smiled, but felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Levy, but I'm dyslexic. I don't know if it will be that easy for me to learn."
Levy laughed. "Oh, no, Juvia! Most demigods are dyslexic! I am, too. Our brains are hardwired to learn Ancient Alvarez. That's why English comes so much harder for us."
Juvia was quiet, not quite sure what to make of that new information. Eventually she spoke. "Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble," she started.
Levy beamed. "Perfect! How does tomorrow afternoon sound?"
"Perfect. I will see you then, Levy! I have to go meet Gray now, but I will talk to you later, okay?"
Levy grinned mischievously at Juvia. "Have fun with that, then. See ya!" Before Juvia could retaliate, Levy ran off toward the Athena cabin.
Juvia sighed and kept walking. She made it to the lake before Gray got there, so she sat down on the dock to wait. She stared out over the waves, admiring the way the winter sun gleamed on the water and made it shine. She was glad that it hadn't frozen over yet. A frozen lake or river always made her feel restless and unhappy. She liked it when the water could move and play.
She heard a splashing noise and looked down. There at the bottom of the lake were two girls sitting on rocks. They were pretty, with pale skin and flowing green hair that made them look ethereal under the water. One noticed Juvia staring and waved, causing the other to look up and wave as well. Juvia waved back hesitantly, not sure what to make of them.
"Dryads," a voice said from behind her. "They like to flirt."
She jumped, almost falling into the lake. Gray caught her before she could.
"You are the clumsiest demigod I've ever seen," he chuckled.
She grimaced, embarrassed. "Well, you are the one who keeps sneaking up on me."
Gray smiled. "I suppose," he said. "Are you ready to go meet Gramps?"
She nodded and he helped her stand up. "Gray, I was wondering something," she said as they began walking to the farmhouse.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Why do you and Natsu call Makarov Gramps? Is he your grandfather?"
Gray frowned, his eyes turning sad, as if he were remembering something he didn't like to recall. "No. He isn't our grandfather."
Juvia waited for him to say something else. Just when she decided he must not want to talk about it and wasn't going to say any more, he spoke.
"I came to Camp Fairy Tail when I was 8 years old. My dad and stepmom were killed by monsters that were looking for me. They could sense I was there and my family was in the way. My dad managed to kill them, but not before they dealt him a fatal blow. I had to find my way here all alone. That's when I found Ur. She took me and my half-brother, Lyon, in, trying to train us a little before we came here. I made a stupid mistake, and she died, too. Lyon still hasn't forgiven me, I don't think. But anyway, I was so young when I came here and Makarov took care of me. He is like a grandfather to me, to a lot of the kids at camp. Cana was here even before I was. Natsu, Erza, and Levy came not long after. Makarov is the only family a lot of us have."
Juvia felt a tear trickling out of her eye. She quickly wiped it away before Gray could see it. She didn't want him to see how much his story affected her, or how much it reminded her of her own story. She wished that she could have found such a loving home as this. Instead, she was left all alone.
"It's okay, though," Gray went on. "Camp Fairy Tail is my family, my home. I wouldn't give it up for anything."
"I haven't been here very long," she started to say, "but I already feel like I have a family in Fairy Tail. I am so glad-" A sharp cry cut her off.
Both her and Gray turned to the direction it was coming from- the hill she climbed over to reach the camp. They shared a confused look. Another cry ripped through the air. Gray and Juvia instantly started running toward the sound, along with some other campers in the vicinity.
When Juvia made it to the top, the sight made her stop in her tracks. She stood for a moment just staring before her brain turned back on and she sprinted to help.
There was a girl with pink pigtails fighting a giant creature with only one eye- a Cyclops. With her was another girl about the same age with dark blue twin tails. The bluenette was the one who had cried out. She had a large gash in her side, and she looked to be on the verge of passing out. The pinkette had a spear out and leveled at the Cyclops.
"That's Chelia", Gray gasped. "She was visiting her mortal family in the city. She must have found a new demigod. Hurry, Juvia! We have to go help her!"
He and Juvia sprinted down the hill, both pulling their swords out. Juvia ran around to help the injured girl while Gray went to help Chelia with the Cyclops.
When Juvia reached her, the girl let out a moan. "It hurts," she whimpered.
"I know, honey, I know," Juvia said. She reached to the girl's side and put pressure on the wound. The girl cried out, and then went unconscious. Juvia continued putting pressure on the large gash, completely unaware of her surroundings. She didn't hear Gray shouting her name, or the monstrous roar that came from directly behind her. Not until it was too late.
When she did hear, she turned around to see the Cyclops holding a huge tree branch like a baseball bat. He swung it back, fully intending to let it fly toward her. Too late, she realized, to run. Instead, she hovered over the injured little girl, fully intent on not letting her get hurt more, even if Juvia herself was killed.
The last thing she remembered was Gray screaming her name and the warm feeling of the bluenette in her arms.
Then the Cyclops swung.
