Author's Note: Finally found time to edit and post this! I've been in a bit of a tizzy with a Real Life event that needed prior preparations, all my other stories, and the NEW stories that I now have to write because that's what a friend of mine earnest requested for his birthday (as if my writing schedule isn't messed up enough as it is, oh well). But anyway, here's the newest chapter! I'm gonna be putting the Review Responses at the bottom to save space up here and let everybody get on to the next chapter without having to scroll a bunch (thank you for so many lovely reviews!). I know it took a while to post this, but thank you all for your patience! I hope you enjoy! Oh, and by the way, if anyone wants to see the lovely fanart this story has accumulated, please remember to check my profile page for the links and descriptions! Just remember to remove the spaces in the links for them to work.
Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.
.
.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Ice Trail - Welcome to the Family
(Ten months, three weeks, five days since joining the Guild)
.
Gray came awake abruptly, but —to his dim surprise— it was not from nightmares. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember what he was doing last and how he had ended up … wherever he was. Ul would probably have lectured him for not being able to remember where he was right away. But he ran into trouble and got knocked out or exhausted to the point of passing out so often that at this point, realizing that the ceiling was unfamiliar had a strange sensation of familiarity in and of itself. When he woke up with a ceiling over his head at all anyway.
At least he could tell right off the bat that it wasn't a hospital, a dungeon cell, or the cave of some man-eating monster, so that was most of his more pressing post-unconsciousness dilemmas taken care of. Now, if he was just lucky enough to not be in the house of a ghost or a sicko who had a thing for kids —or human sacrifices, now hadn't that been a fun afternoon—. It was always a pain to have to wake up and deal with that kind of thing right off.
Hold up… What had woken him up anyway?
There was muffled thud and a grunt, followed by a loud whoop that was quickly hushed by other, also muffled voices. Gray blinked as he realized that he must have been woken up by whoever was outside of … wherever he was. Knowing that staring at the ceiling wasn't going to give him any answers, and still fumbling through the ache in his head for memories of what had happened, Gray began to slowly sit up. His slow, methodical efforts to sit up were halted by a tug on his right shoulder, which led to the sudden realization that his right arm was pinned by something heavy and had been pinned for long enough that he'd lost feeling in his lower arm altogether.
He looked down in alarm —which was it this time, manacles, rope, a million and one creepy house cats?— and stopped short at the sight of spiky blond hair poking up from over top of the arms wrapped tight around his numb limb. Black-clad shoulders rose and fell slightly with each breath, deep and even with sleep, and Gray had a second to wonder, who is this kid and why is he sleeping on my arm? When his memories decided to finally check back in.
Pauz-gone-Pauz-found-dark-guild-rage-hurt-snake-Pauz-no-no-NO-
His heart slammed into his throat and he jerked violently up into a sitting position —ignoring the protesting stabs of pain his body sent him with ease of practice— as his free hand roughly grabbed the blond hair and forced the person's head up to get a good look at the face he was desperate —but not daring to hope— to see.
A second later his hand had been violently slapped away and the boy who'd been sleeping on Gray's arm had fallen out of his chair with a startled and pained shout, eyes wide and fingers scrambling for an unmistakable large tome on the floor. Big grey eyes blinked up at Gray floor, slightly unfocused without their glasses, and Gray felt all his breath leave him, "…Pauz?"
The apparition in front of him —because it had to be, he'd seen Pauz get eaten, he couldn't be here, he couldn't— blinked three times, then its gaze lit with a joyous comprehension that physically hurt Gray deep in his chest, "Gray! You're awake!" The apparition scrambled to its feet, snatching black-rimmed glasses off of the nearby desk and shouting in the direction of the half-open door, "Doronbo-kun, everyone! Gray-kun's awake!"
There was thundering of many footsteps and Doronbo hared in, dressed in something other than his onesie for once, followed by Wren and a pack of kids and teens Gray didn't recognize. Doronbo skidded to a stop by the bed so fast he almost pitched himself overtop of it, Wren hot on his heels, while the strangers waited in the doorway and stared. Doronbo was talking, Gray could see the thief's lips moving rapidly out of the corner of his eye. But Gray's mouth felt dry and his chest constricted and all he could bring himself to look at was the apparition who had managed to call Doronbo and Wren into the room and so maybe —just maybe— wasn't an apparition at all? He reached out again, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he croaked, "P-Pauz?"
The figure hesitated and there was a flash of confusion over his face until Wren firmly grabbed his hand and placed it in Gray's. Gray clasped it as tight as he could, eyes burning as he struggled to make something of the burning in his chest —hope? It felt like hope— and the sight of Pauz there and alive and not eaten —not gone-gone-gone because Gray wasn't fast enough again, because Gray had been too reckless, again— and now Pauz was smiling at him understandingly, "I'm alright, Gray-kun. I'm alive, I'm real, I promise."
Gray exhaled with a shudder and firmly locked away the burning in his eyes in favor of demanding, "How? That- that thing ate you! You were just- you were gone!"
Pauz used his free hand to rub the back of his head, "Ah, well, Wren-chan saved me. She used her magic to snatch me out of the way just in time, but she was afraid of the snakes chasing me if they knew I was still there, so she made me stay quiet and hidden." A flash of shame cross his face, "I wanted to call out to you, I really did, but Wren-chan insisted and … and I was scared and then you passed out for days-."
"Days?"
Pauz made a noise of agreement, "Two days. Porlyusica-san, she's Fairy Tail's personal healer, said that you exhausted your magic reserves fighting Mast- eh, Kafuchi. You also had three cracked ribs, a lot of bruises, and a sprained ankle." The look on Pauz's face had grown more and more guilty with each injury he told Gray about —not that Gray's protesting body couldn't tell him itself— and Gray knew exactly what his friend was about to say next.
He was also having none of it, "Don't apologize." Pauz looked surprised and Gray, temporarily swallowing the blasted pride that had gotten him into so much trouble and prevented one too many goodbyes in the past, yanked Pauz forward to hug him. Pauz —and Doronbo— made a shocked noise at his actions, but Gray just clutched Pauz tighter and breathed, "I'm just glad you're alive."
Pauz's arms tentatively wrapped around his shoulders, and for a moment Gray was able to forget their audience, forget anything beyond his friend being alive and whole and okay-
And then Doronbo belly flopped onto the bed in an awkward —and painful— group hug, effectively ruining the moment with his shameless laughter and crowing about victory and how Gray was nothing but a big softy on the inside. Gray —in revenge for his now very achy and throbbing ribs— smacked the thief hard on the head and yelled in his ear to let him go.
The commotion led to a shameless tickle fight that eventually encompassed Pauz, Doronbo, Wren —who totally cheated at tickle fights using her magic— and the mini crowd of kids and teens that had been watching from the door —who all turned out to be Wren's siblings, despite looking absolutely nothing alike—. Gray would have loved to say that he won the tickle fight, but in truth, the winner was the cranky pink-haired lady who had burst through the door waving a basket and a broom in each hand, shouting obscenities at everyone to "get away from my patient before you ruin all my hard work in fixing him".
Of course, five minutes later —after determining that his ankle was fine and his ribs were healed for him to safely move around as he pleased—, she kicked him out the door —literally— with a curt command to go away because she hated people —why even be a doctor if you hated humans anyway? Why not be a vet or something?—.
Wren and her siblings —who finally introduced themselves and were apparently also a team called the Raijinshū— led the way through the forest and back to Magnolia, Pauz quietly filling Gray in about what had happened while he was unconscious. Doronbo dropped in comments every few seconds, and the second eldest of Wren's siblings, a guy named Laxus, answered any of Gray's questions about the Fairy Tail guild with a surprising amount of patience.
Bickslow and Cana got into some kind of fight on the way, with insults and threats that sounded oddly rehearsed and that no one reacted to until a random bush got set on fire and Wren leveled the same death glare she'd used to cow Wakaba. It worked just as well as it had on the old man, and Gray had to wonder why in the world everyone found her so scary. Even if she was freakishly good at tickle fights and was pretty fearless to boot. Her eldest sibling, Mest, saw his baffled look and laughed sheepishly, "You were too busy fighting to notice Wren during the battle, so I guess you haven't actually seen Wren when she's angry."
Gray raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "What's so scary about Wren getting angry?"
Literally everyone but Gray and Wren herself shuddered in unison. Wren rolled her eyes expressively —she was pretty sarcastic for a six-to-seven-year-old mute— while Doronbo shoved his hands deep into his jeans pockets and looked terrified, "Pray you never find out kid. Seriously."
Gray was the one to roll his eyes this time and mutter that Doronbo was just a wuss under his breath. Which Doronbo and his stupid thief-hearing picked up, causing him to grab Gray and try to noogie him. Gray retaliated with a —perfectly deserved— collection of ice cubes down the back of Doronbo's pants. Doronbo —despite shrieking like a little girl— tried to grab Gray for an even harder noogie, and Gray —quite reasonably— threatened to turn Doronbo into a popsicle if he tried.
Anything that might have happened afterward was interrupted by a sharp slap to both of their heads by a irritated Wren's shadows and her redirecting their attention to the giant doors of the Fairy Tail guild building with a finger. Noogies and ice cubes were forgotten immediately as Gray stood and just … gaped. The massive double doors —which had previously been locked up tight— were now flung wide open, allowing Gray to look inside and see the absolute, utter war zone going on within.
A thrill of alarm went through him and his hands instinctively fell into their magic molding position, "Is everyone okay? Is the guild under attack in there?" He felt his ears heat when, in response to his questions, the Raijinshū collectively burst out laughing, "Oi, shut up!"
The other Raijinshū continued to laugh for several minutes more, but Mest endeavored to smother his chuckles and explain, "No one is under attack, Gray-kun. That's just the daily brawl."
Gray gaped as someone was sent hurtling out the double doors screaming hysterically, several of Wren's siblings ducking without so much as pausing in their laughter, "Daily what?" He'd seen battlefields that looked less intense. Surely Mest didn't mean that this was all in good fun?
"It's all in good fun," Mest shrugged obliviously and side-stepped as the tossed member picked himself up and charged back in with a frying pan —where had he gotten that?— and a war cry that sounded distinctly like "for the pompadour", "As a guild, we have a lot of energy to go around. When you combine that with a whole bunch of clashing personalities, a canceled vacation, and the guild liquor storage-" The other Raijinshū stopped laughing rather abruptly when a table flew out of nowhere and decked Mest to the ground with a surprised grunt and a shattering of wood. Doronbo screamed high and loud and hid behind Pauz, who blinked silently at the entire affair. All of the Raijinshū barring Wren all let loose war cries —Laxus's sounded distinctly like a roaring monster what-the-glaciers— and thundered into the guild building without bothering to check on their decked eldest sibling. Wren acted as if she was completely unsurprised —not that much seemed to shake her anyway, she was so weirdly calm for an almost-seven-year-old— and simply began trying to lift the pieces of table off of Mest by herself.
Gray, Pauz, and Doronbo all automatically shuffled forward to help, and Pauz asked hesitantly, "This didn't happen when we visited the guild while Gray was unconscious…"
Wren blinked at them, but it was Mest who answered as he groaned his way out from under the remains of the table, "That's because everyone was too busy taking care of the aftermath. An invasion of the town is a pretty big deal, even for us, so there's a lot of paperwork and cleanup to do. Gotta make sure none of Circus Night were hiding out in the back alleys, gotta talk to the local contractors about fixing yet another demolished building, gotta find the owner of the building and find out why he let an enemy guild stay in it, gotta make sure the Council isn't going to blame us for what happened … cleanup is a lot more complicated than the fighting really."
Mest sat up and dusted large chips of wood off of his clothes, "But now the worst of the cleanup is pretty much finished, the enemy is gone, you're okay, the Council has decided to only sentence Circus Night, and everyone has a lot of pent up energy to burn off celebrating." There was a massive crack of thunder and several high-pitched screams of surprised pain that accompanied a bright flash of electric light, "Or fighting. It's basically the same thing around here."
Gray peaked inside the door tentatively, examined the rolling mass of fists, insults, alcohol, and laughter and promptly decided that Old Man Gildarts had actually been right for a change.
Gray loved this guild.
He grinned and looked over his shoulder, "Are there any rules in there?"
Doronbo began shaking his head rapidly and even Pauz looked a bit uneasy, "Oh no, nu-uh, kid don't you dare-"
Mest spoke over the cowardly thief, "Don't kill anyone, don't pick a fight with the Master or Newgate-san, he's the giant in the corner, and make sure to announce loudly who you are and what you intend to do and you should be fine. Oh, and don't hit the girl with the blue hair even by accident, Marco has this mother hen instinct around her and he will set you on fire for getting too close to her."
Gray grinned, "Cool." Ignoring Doronbo's and Pauz's weak protests for his safety, Gray promptly threw his shirt over his shoulder —it would get ruined otherwise he was sure— and charged headfirst into the guild hall. Dodging the errant blast of water that happened to be aimed his way, Gray kicked someone's legs out from under them and used their falling body as a springboard to reach the top of one of the few tables still intact in the hall. The fighting nearest him actually paused as people registered his unfamiliar presence and Gray felt his grin grow bigger as he slammed his fist into his palm and shouted, "Alright, listen up! I'm Gray Fullbuster and I'm going to kick all your butts!"
The roar of laughter and challenges nearly deafened Gray as the brawl resumed with vigor and different guild members all actively tried to take him down. All sense of time or previous worries —as well as all of Porlyusica-san's warnings about his healing injuries— was completely forgotten in the whirl of ice and magic and fists and shouting. By the time the old man who was Fairy Tail's Master put a stop to the fight with a massive fist bigger than the rest of his body —what kind of magic was that anyway?—, Gray had received several new bruises, lost his shoes and his pants, and successfully defeated about twelve of the nearest Fairies. He also refused to feel grateful for the interruption of the brawl, even though Laxus was an absolute monster when it came to fighting —seriously, he was better than most of the adults in his own guild— and had been literally throwing Gray around by his —newly healed— ankle with just one hand.
Despite the ferocious grumblings of the Master as the fight broke up and everyone set about cleaning up the ruined tables and chairs and beer barrels, everyone was smiling and laughing and slapping each other on the back good-naturedly. As if they hadn't all been trying to kill each other just a few seconds ago. Gray was lying on his back, trying to re-inflate his lungs and wrap his head around the sheer atmosphere of the place when he spotted the Guild Master again and suddenly remembered the original reason he come here in the first place. He scrambled to his feet and lurched his way to the bar where the old man was sharing a drink with the old giant, "Hey, hey old man!"
Both of them looked down at him and raised eyebrows in creepy unison. The Guild Master set down his drink first, "Oh. If it isn't the young Ice Mage that Wren-chan's taken a shine to."
The Old Giant —hadn't Mest called him New-something?—, smiled from beneath his boomerang of a mustache, "You're going to have to be more specific than that, boy, we're both old men."
Gray squashed down the spike of curiosity —Wren had taken a shine to him? What did that even mean?— and unease —because he'd come so far to ask this, he couldn't back down now—, and crossed his arms tight over his chest, "I have a question for you."
The two old men exchange glances, "Which one of us?"
"Whichever of you knows more about forbidden magic."
The Old Giant's eyebrows shot up, but then he shook his head and sat back with a wordless, heavy sigh. The Guild Master was serious now, all the previous humor had left his face, "Alright then. Come up to my office, we can speak privately there." Gray followed the old man nervously toward the stairs, ignoring the weighted, unhappy stare of the Old Giant and the pineapple blond who had apparently overheard as he passed by. A tiny hand briefly caught his arm and he looked down, startled, to see Wren there. She held out a bundle of his clothes and he flushed as he took them back, but the stammered apology on his lips died as he saw the look on her face. She looked … very sad for some reason. There was a glint to her eyes that said she knew … something, or thought she did, that it was making her very unhappy.
He hesitated, torn between asking what was wrong and following the Guild Master up the stairs to finally get the answer to the question that had been burning in his chest for months. Then she smiled at him —so sad, so quiet, it looked just like Ul when- no don't think about that—, stepped aside, and waved him up the stairs. Gray went, but he couldn't help looking over his shoulder at Wren just as he reached the top. She was with her siblings again, gesturing and whistling in a way that made sense only to them, no sign of that sad-old-knowing look she'd given him. He wondered if it was his imagination. He wondered what it would mean if it wasn't. "Coming boy?" Gray shook his head and followed the Guild Master deeper into the building, pushing aside that question in favor of the much more important one that had driven him all the way to Fiore from the Northern Continent.
Twenty minutes later, he had his answer. Iced Shell was permanent. There was no way to revert the state of the ice, and melting it would be the same as killing Ul all over again. The weight of it, the weight of failure-failure-you're-fault-no-way-back nearly smothered him for several seconds, hurt him so much he couldn't breathe. Then Gray clenched his fists, No. That isn't the only answer. I won't let it be the only answer. Throwing back his shoulders, he forced his head up and looked the Guil- Master Makarov in the eye, "Then … I want to get stronger. Way stronger. Then, someday, I'll figure out a way myself!" I won't give up, I can't. I owe her that much. I owe her so much more…
Master Makarov sighed, "You say that but…"
Gray pushed on, refusing to let him finish that sentence, refused to let it sap what was left of his courage, "So please!" His voice gave out for a moment and he had to force back the burning in his eyes before finishing, "Let me join Fairy Tail!"
Master Makarov's eyebrows went up and he opened his mouth to answer when the door suddenly banged open. Gray whirled, hands already in position to form an Ice Shield, but then stopped in shock as Pauz and Doronbo blundered into the room. Doronbo's eyes were wide and his hands jittering, like when he was moments from running away, but he stood his ground instead and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Y-you can't! You can't join Fairy Tail!"
Gray narrowed his eyes, "What'd you mean I-!"
Doronbo shook his head wildly, "You can't! Not without us!"
It felt like someone had just frozen Gray solid. He couldn't move, couldn't speak past the lump in his throat, couldn't think- Pauz stumbled forward a few steps and fell onto his hands and knees in a dogeza bow before Master Makarov, "Please… Please. Gray-kun is our friend, we can't- we can't just leave him alone here. Even if your guild is wonderful and Wren-chan and so many other wonderful people are here that would take care of him … he- he's our friend. He's my first friend. I know that I'm an enemy, and I know that Doronbo-san doesn't have very impressive magic and that neither of us have a right to ask this. Joining your guild is Gray-kun's dream, has for as long as I've known him, and I know we have no right to demand something that he deserves so much more than we do. But please," Pauz looked up, tears bright and earnest behind his glasses as he met Master Makarov's gaze, "Let us join Fairy Tail too!"
Silence settled, still and fragile and thick. Gray stared at Pauz, at Doronbo who had just joined Pauz in his dogeza bow, and tried to breathe past the pressure in his chest. He hadn't thought-. But he should have really. If he was willing to go through so much trouble for them, then it wasn't impossible they felt the same way —even if he didn't deserve it, not with his luck and his many flaws, not when he was a murderer—. But for them to go so far as this…
A quiet chuckle broke the silence and Master Makarov jumped down from his desk. The small man strode over to the two bowing boys and gently touched their shoulders. He looked at them, then at Gray, and the smile on his face almost broke whatever control over his own tears that Gray had left, "All three of you would be welcome in Fairy Tail. If this is what the three of you really want, then I would be honored to have such brave and loyal young men such as yourselves become my children."
The tension in his chest melted away and Gray found himself smiling back even as Doronbo burst into messy tears and Pauz rubbed his eyes furiously behind his glasses with a grin that reached his ears. Master Makarov didn't comment or laugh at the two of them for crying —or for the suspicious burning in Gray's own eyes as he shuffled over and good-naturedly punched their shoulders only to be dog-piled in return—. He just waited until the three of them had calmed down somewhat before saying, "I'll tell Enno-chan to bring the inks and stamp, then you boys can choose your marks."
It was ten minutes after that that Gray, Pauz, and Doronbo shuffled back down the stairs into the guild hall after Master Makarov, each of them staying close to the other and each with a new guild mark stamped onto their persons. Gray rubbed the mark on his chest —darnit he'd lost his shirt again, oh well—, eyeing the navy blue symbol thoughtfully as Enno herded the three of them toward the bar. Pauz kept rubbing his right forearm where his dark green mark now sat and Doronbo was staring at his red-marked hand with the same expression as a person who expected to be bitten any second now.
It wasn't until they had actually reached the bar and Master Makarov had clambered onto it that Gray realized they were being watched. He glanced up at the sensation of eyes and saw Wren staring at him intently from her corner with her siblings, two of her brothers —Laxus and Bickslow— following her lead in eyeing him from across the guild. Hazel eyes settled on his new guild mark and that impression of old and knowing echoed through her gaze before she buried it under the smile she sent his way. Gray hesitated —should he go talk to her? Should he ask about the way she looked at him? Or was it all his imagination?— but then Master Makarov clapped his hands together loudly and within in seconds everyone in the guild was staring at the three of them, not just Wren and her brothers.
Doronbo hunched his shoulders tightly at the scrutiny and Gray did his best to meet the inquisitive gazes without flinching. Master Makarov sounded very … pleased … as he shouted, "Alright everyone! Meet our newest members, Gray Fullbuster, Pauz Lightless, and Doronbo…" Master Makarov trailed off and glanced inquisitively over at Doronbo, who flushed crimson and reluctantly muttered something under his breath to the old man. Master Makarov's lips twitched with clear amusement and Gray wondered why … until he finished introducing Doronbo, "Doronbo Genkōhan! Make sure to give them all a big welcome!"
There was a wave of cheers —and some muffled laughter— and Gray couldn't keep himself from breaking out cackling as he turned to Doronbo, "Seriously?"
Doronbo scowled down at Gray even as one of the Fairy Tail members came over and slapped him good-naturedly on the shoulder, "Not. A. Word. It's not like I can choose my surname anyway."
One of the members with a pompadour chuckled as he overheard, "And I thought Marco's last name was unfortunate, but wow. Didn't think anything could top-"
A blond with permanently half-lidded eyes appeared miraculously out of the crowd and slapped a hand over the speaker's mouth with a low, "For the last time, Thatch, that is not my surname and you know it, yoi. Stop saying that it is." Hand still clamped over Thatch's mouth, he nodded amiably to the three newest Fairies, "Welcome to the guild, yoi. If you ever want to try your hands at seafaring quests, you're welcome to join Oyaji's division."
Gray eyed Thatch curiously —what word had he been about to say?— even as he nodded, "Thanks. I'll keep it in mind."
The blond nodded and dragged Thatch off into the back of the crowd and the three found themselves swamped with questions and congratulations for several minutes before Master Makarov called them off with the order for everyone to start partying in celebration. A whirlwind of activity and cheering that almost overwhelmed him later —he was from the far North Continent, spontaneous parties just didn't happen, there were never enough spare resources for it— and Gray found himself rescued by a small hand on his wrist that led him to the oasis of relative calm that was the Raijinshū's table.
Doronbo ended up crammed next to Mest on the far end, Pauz was smooshed against Gray's left shoulder, and Wren was grudgingly perched on Mest's lap. Bickslow's left shoulder was digging against Gray's right and he wasn't sure who's brilliant idea it was to put Cana next to Bickslow because even he could see the impending under-the-table kicking war. But they all somehow managed to fit ten people around a table only meant to accommodate six or seven at most, which he had to admit was as impressive as it was uncomfortable.
Laxus didn't seem at all uncomfortable with the tight squeeze oddly enough, just propped one elbow on the table and drawled, "So, what do you think?"
Gray grunted as a kick from Cana somehow missed Bickslow's feet and hit his, "I think you're all nuts."
"So … pretty cool?"
Gray couldn't help but grin, "Yeah."
Pauz eyed them all like they were some kind of rare book he hadn't figured out how to read yet, "Does this make us your newest siblings?"
Gray sputtered at the question —what made Pauz think that?— but Laxus shook his head, "Nah. Well, sort of. Everyone in Fairy Tail is family to everyone else somehow. But this isn't an invitation to the Raijinshū. This is just us doing our jobs as the senior kids of the guild and making sure the three of you don't get squashed flat or drunk because of the-" In sync, all the Raijinshū ducked and someone forced Gray's head down just in time to avoid the flying barrel that shattered against the wall with a spray of ale and a cry of despair from some adult. Laxus popped his head up again and resumed as if nothing had happened, "so-called 'adults' in here. Besides, you look like you have the makings of your own team right here, I doubt you'd want the rest of us cluttering up your act anyway."
Gray considered the idea, "A team, huh…" he glanced over at Pauz, who beamed shyly, then Doronbo, who looked like he was already reliving horrors and chaos that had yet to occur, and grinned, "That sounds pretty good actually." Everything about Fairy Tail did. Wren smiled over at him from her perch and he had just enough time to wonder if he should ask about the oddly knowing looks she'd sent him earlier … before she calmly passed him his missing pants and Gray was too busy cursing himself and reclaiming the lost clothing article to care about the way she had looked at him with eyes far too old for her body.
For those who don't know Japanese or (like me) still rely on Google Translate for a lot of stuff, the joke about Doronbo's surname is that his first name is a pun on the Japanese word for thief (Dorobo) and since the wiki listed no last name for him, I gave him Genkōhan, which means Red-Handed, specifically in regards to a criminal caught in the act of a crime. Is it a terrible pun? Probably. Am I proud of it? Immensely. Especially when coupled with the location of his guild mark (red ink and on his hand, I'm terrible I know).
Review Response: Dear RedWolf Lover, hello! He does indeed know, he's got a sharp mind like that, good at putting the pieces together from what he knows and what he sees. Well, don't scare your grandma, she doesn't need that. I'm flattered by your reaction though! I didn't have the heart to hurt Pauz too badly, he's just too much of a fluff ball (or is the term cinnamon roll? I don't remember) to torture him. Same, personalities are easy to figure out, interacting ... not so much.
Dear Lightsbane1905, greetings! That would be the mind of Yuusuke Shirato, the writer of the spin-off manga Ice Trail. They may or may not have been sloshed at the time, I don't know. But hey, it's distinctive if nothing else.
Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello there! That's a bit harsh ... but also possibly true. Honestly though, I personally think Ivan just got messed up during his missions, saw and gave in to one too many opportunities to make illegal cash he didn't have to share with the guild, got his ego stroked by just the wrong people and then just ... didn't stop. Kafuchi probably didn't help though. Is the 'fist of justice' a reference? Because I ... don't get it. Oh well, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Dear Sweets and Tarts, hiya! Tada! Wish granted in regards to Pauz! I liked him too much to let him go.
Dear Smile4the-World, hello! Well, I tried to finish this up as soon as I could for you, thank you for your patience. I hope the reactions were everything you hoped for!
Dear snowleopard314, greetings! Well, thank you, I did my best (tips hat). It was fun to introduce one of the Main Cast for the first time.
Dear Guest1234, hey there! So glad you enjoyed! As for your request, I did in fact post a Makarov POV with Doronbo's story in the Detours one-shot collection that accompanies this story. If you haven't seen it already, you should check it out!
Dear KEZZ 1, hello! (tips hat) Thank you, I try!
Dear Gerbilfriend, greetings! Pretty sure every member of the anime Main Cast makes some kind of notable entrance when adopted. Either that or have a delayed explosion of drama (Lucy and Phantom Lord anyone?). Still, makes things more interesting to write.
Dear demonicKitsune2, hey there! I did consider it, and have posted it! Thank you for the kind (and polite) suggestion!
Dear thatgirl221b, hi there! Glad you enjoyed! One of the few things that bug me about the spin-offs is that the interesting side characters never stick around. I mean, I know why they can't, but still. But with these guys at least, I got to remedy that. I hope you enjoy their inclusion in the guild and the changes they'll end up making!
Dear Dark Rose Charm, hiya! So ... most of your reviews I can't really reply to because the next chapters answered your questions already. So I'll just say, thank you for leaving so many lovely reviews and I'm thrilled you enjoyed the story!
Dear Pixie, hello! Yeah, I'm shipping Marco/Levy sibling-ship too. They clicked really well, it kinda surprised me when they kept popping up together in the same scenes. But Marco is a mother-hen. Yep, boyfriends beware. Especially if they're former guild enemies who already beat Levy up previously (cough, Gajeel, cough). Aw, that's a cool idea too! Ace could totally use a bookworm sister-sibling to dote on (also yes, I plan to introduce him eventually, I just have to plot out how). Levy has actually been tutoring Wren in those very things offscreen, but it's slow going. Ace and Natsu would be terrible together, especially if they got along. Just ... so much fire. So many explosions.
Dear Captain343Spark, heya! ...I've creating a punning monster I just know it. That's fine, just please refrain from making puns that can be mistaken for explicit (though I will admit the Kafuchi pun did fit his personality). Other than that, glad you enjoyed! Yeah, Fairy Tail usually doesn't bother with stealth or strategy do they? I suppose that's why when they DO, it's so effective. Nobody expects it from them.
Dear ChocoGummies, hi there! So thrilled you enjoy my story! I'll see if I can work in more Bickslow/Raijinshū family fluff, but for now, I hope you enjoyed Gray's official admittance into Fairy Tail!
Dear Guest356, hey there! Believe me, I know your pain. It's one of the reasons I decided to try my hand at an OC-centric story in the first place. I'm thrilled that you think I've done a good job at it! Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! And don't worry, it won't suddenly be only about Gray and the other MCs once they join (not that we don't love them), Wren still has her own adventures to stumble across...
Dear WolfGirl01, greetings! Yep, Wren can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be. Also, who says she isn't already going insane Fairy Tail style? It's just a slow, subtle path down (cackles ominously).
Dear chibianimefan26, hello there! Aw, (offers tissues) thank you for your compliments! I work hard on this story.
Dear Therashae, greetings! Absolutely. The more volatile the backstory, the more interesting (usually anyway).
Dear SumCheeze, heya! That is very flattering, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter as well!
Dear Guest, hello there! Hmm, your request will be taken into consideration. I do have plans for that section of the FT timeline, but I'm afraid I can't talk about any of them because of spoilers. Still, hopefully you'll enjoy it when we get there!
Dear wolfsrainrules, hiya! Already covered that in a one-shot (pretty sure you saw it?). Hopefully this chapter is just as good!
Dear trilbybard, greetings! Trust me, I tried every description I could think of before settling on 'egg' as the nicest but most accurate. Spotted pear isn't bad though.
Dear Guest, hello there! Not quite what you requested, but I did post a one-shot of how Fairy Tail ended up coming back so soon from their vacation. Hmm, I could definitely see the two becoming bosom book-buddies. It would be hilarious to see them take on a mission together too.
Dear Asuka1920, heya! Happy to hear it! Hope you enjoyed!
Dear SilverKnight037, hello there! As much as I love the original FT work, my one major protest with Mashima is that he introduces such cool characters and then doesn't expand on them. Oh well, gives me more room to play with their backstories. Glad you enjoy when I do!
Dear Styre, hi! Thank you (dips head), it really makes my day to hear/read that.
Dear xPricefieldx, hello! First off, wow, three day speed-read run is impressive. While I appreciate your enthusiasm and suggestions, I designed Wren's signature outfit myself, and I personally think it fits her fairly well. It may not be 'dark' or 'epic', but Shadow Magic aside, Wren is a very sensible, down-to-earth person inside, so I felt that the lighter green dress (that brings out the green in her eyes) that was short enough to not get in her way would fit better than fancy armor. Plus, it makes people underestimate her because she looks too 'cute' and 'sweet' to be a terrifying Shadow Mage of Fairy Tail. But if you do want to draw her in an alternate armor/outfit, by all means! I'd be thrilled to see it. If you had a tumblr or facebook (or even instagram) that you didn't mind posting on, you could always post it there and tell me where to find it...? As for how many chapters to anime/manga territory ... no clue. Literally no clue. I try not to put estimates on myself because my muses always end up subverting it somehow. I do have a chapter planned out for Memory Days, which should happen about three or so years down the line timeline wise and I will be making timeskips ... but other than that, sorry, I can't give any kind of accurate estimate.
Dear Freereader18, hi! (bows) Your reviews made my week. Seriously. Thank you! I am so happy you feel that way about my story, it's been a blast to write (most of the time), so I'm beyond thrilled to hear how much of a blast it is for others to read. I did enjoy my 'trip' (NaNo is a virtual camp, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way), and I'm happy to be back!
Dear JullietteStar, hello there! Happy to hear it! Let's see, currently their ages should be Wren: 6-7, will be 7 around April I think?), Laxus would be ... 14 I believe (turned 14 a few chapters back in the Ivan arc), Bickslow: 12-13 (don't remember when exactly his B-Day is), Evergreen/Freed: 10-11, Cana: 8-9, Mest: 14-15, Gray: 9, Pauz: 9, Doronbo: 14. Wren is actually 7 years younger than Laxus (she's 6 when he's 13) and around 2 to 3 years younger than the Main Cast depending on which one it is (2 years younger than Gray when disregarding specific B-Days and going only by Birth Years for instance). During the events of the first FT anime season, Wren will be 16. I hope that all helps? I can start posting official ages on the bottom of each chapter if people keep getting confused.
Dear Aiyaki, hiya! I have every intention of finishing this story, I just take a while sometimes because of scheduling conflicts and Real Life. Meeting Natsu and then later Lucy should be fun (especially since she's a die-hard Nalu shipper back in her old world). I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter as much as the previous ones!
Dear Guest, hello! Well, it isn't soon, but it was an update! I hope you liked it and thank you for your review!
Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi there! Gray-sama indeed! Thank you, I'm so glad you've enjoyed the journey so far! The overcoming inner demons thing was always one of my favorite parts of Fairy Tail, so I've done my best to capture that in my story. Love is their biggest motivator, especially considering that most of them come from affection-starved backgrounds when you think about it (Cana and her drinking problem and Erza's slave background come immediately to mind for me). When you add in that magic is literally fueled by emotions, then yeah, love is their greatest strength and driving force. (grins) It's okay, I ramble all the time too.
Dear CrystalVixen93, greetings! Um, it wasn't soon, but hopefully it was worth the wait? I hope you enjoyed it!
Dear Alephion, hi! I'm honored that you gave my story a try and thrilled that it succeeded in provoking such successful reactions from you! Yes, her violin is one of the last things she has to remind her of her old life, so I thought it appropriate for her to accept and move on once she received it (didn't expect it to happen in the Christmas chapter, but such is the whims of the muses). Thank you and I hope you enjoyed the latest update!