The walk back to the guild – which was half an hour away – ended up taking over an hour. Sting was content to be carried, quickly taking Rogue's place on Gray's shoulder when Rogue flapped awkwardly down to the ground to chase a bird. Natsu immediately pounced on Rogue, and the two of them started up some sort of game that involved lots of dashing across the road and swiping at each other's tails.
"They don't seem to be able to fly," Gray commented, reaching up and scratching the top of Sting's head. "At least, not very well." Sting yawned, showing off his sharp teeth before headbutting Gray's hand and settling comfortably against his neck.
"Their wings might not be completely developed yet," Freed said. "That's probably a good thing for you." Gray snorted. "I still don't understand why the spell did this," Freed continued, absently patting the scroll in their pocket. "It was just supposed to be a… power boost of sorts. Like Wendy's magic."
"Would finding out who made the scroll help?" Gray asked, keeping a careful eye on Natsu and Rogue as they chased each other through the low bushes on either side of the path.
"Maybe," Freed replied. "I'll get Levy to help me once we're back at the guild. She's better at deconstructing magic than I am."
Gray didn't believe that for a second. Levy was talented but Freed constantly underestimated themself.
"You'll figure it out," Gray said, trying not to let the tiny thread of anxiety – what if this was permanent? – creep into his voice. "And when they turn back," he added, "they're never going to hear the end of this."
By the time they got into the city, Rogue and Natsu had exhausted themselves and returned to Gray, standing up on their hind feet and pawing at his legs until he picked them both up. Sting was already fast asleep on Gray's shoulder and Natsu followed suit, curled in the crook of Gray's arm. Rogue let Freed carry him for the last few blocks, but as soon as they walked into the noisy guild hall, he scrambled back onto Gray's other shoulder.
"I'm going to go find Levy," Freed said, squeezing Gray's arm. Gray nodded absently, suddenly aware of both how ridiculous he looked holding three baby dragons, and how unsafe the guild was for them. Nobody was fighting – at the moment – but it would only take one misstep to seriously injure something so small.
"Gray!" Lucy waved at him from the table she shared with Erza at the back of the guild. Gray nodded at her, carefully making his way through the crowd toward them.
"I thought you were with the Dragon Slayers," Lucy said as Gray approached.
"I am," Gray said wryly, shifting Natsu in his arm and setting him down on the table. Natsu grumbled sleepily, rubbing both paws across his face before yawning and opening his eyes.
"Oh my god," Lucy breathed, eyes widening as she studied Natsu. "That's not…"
"Remember that scroll we got from our last job?" Gray said, sitting down beside Erza. Rogue slowly clambered down from Gray's shoulder, sitting in his lap and putting his paws up on the table.
"I thought he was joking when he said it would turn them into dragons," Lucy said, reaching out tentatively to Natsu. "This isn't exactly what I was picturing." Natsu sniffed at her hand, immediately perking up and making a happy chittering sound.
"I don't think it's what they were expecting either," Gray said, laughing as Sting began to stretch and nearly fell off his shoulder. Erza caught Sting as he tumbled toward her, holding him awkwardly in both hands as he blinked awake.
"They're adorable," Lucy said as Natsu made his way across the table to her, rubbing his head against her outstretched fingers. Then she looked up at Gray, eyes wide with worry. "Is it permanent?"
Gray gave her an uncertain look. "I hope not," he said. "Freed's trying to figure out how to reverse it, but for now…"
Sting squirmed in Erza's hands until he was sitting up and staring at her. Then he turned his head toward Gray and made a strange clicking sound.
"She's our friend," Gray reassured him, reaching out and petting his head. "You're fine." Sting clicked at him again, then turned in Erza's hand and hopped down onto the table. He was about to pounce on Natsu's tail when he noticed the empty plate next to Erza and sniffed at it curiously.
"Is cake safe for dragons?" Erza mused as Sting batted tentatively at a few leftover crumbs. Gray was about to answer when someone appeared at the table.
"What'd that idiot get himself into this time?" It was Gajeel, who was staring down at Natsu with a grin on his face. "Don't look so fierce now, huh, Salamander?"
Natsu, who had been cuddled up against Lucy, scrambled back and hissed at Gajeel, baring his teeth. Gajeel burst into a rumbling laugh, shaking his head at the display.
"Leave him alone, Gajeel," Lucy said, rolling her eyes and reaching out for Natsu again. He ignored her, keeping a wary eye on Gajeel and backing closer to Sting, who was still licking crumbs off Erza's plate.
"I ain't doin' anything," Gajeel insisted, raising both hands in surrender. Natsu growled at him, shaking his wings out until they stretched as far as they could. His tail whipped back and forth, hitting Sting, who squeaked and turned around to see what was going on.
"You can't fight him, don't be ridiculous," Gray said to Natsu, shaking his head. "Do you even realize how small you are?"
Gajeel snorted, but it quickly turned into a yelp of pain and he jumped back from the table, cursing and looking down at the ground. Rogue, who had wriggled out of Gray's lap at some point, sat at the foot of the table looking very pleased with himself.
"He bit me," Gajeel grumbled, looking down at the two small spots of blood on his ankle. "Little shit."
Natsu and Sting scrambled over to the edge of the table, tails flicking back and forth as they gauged the jump. When Natsu turned back to Gray with wide eyes, Gray sighed, picking both of them up and setting them on the floor next to Rogue. All three of them immediately started up a loud, chirping noise that was directed at Gajeel.
"I think they're laughing at you," Gray said to Gajeel, raising an eyebrow and leaning back in his seat. Gajeel glared at the three of them, but they had already lost interest in the altercation and were grappling with each other instead.
After that, the rest of the guild took notice of the dragons and made their way over to the table in small groups, alternately laughing at the Dragon Slayer's predicament and exclaiming how cute they were. Rogue tired of the attention quickly and clambered back up onto Gray's lap, but Natsu and Sting reveled in it, eagerly accepting pets and head scratches.
It was nearly two hours later when Freed finally reappeared, carrying a large stack of books. Nearly everyone had headed home for the day and Gray sat alone at the table, dragging a piece of string across the table while Sting batted at it.
"Any luck?" Gray asked, setting the string aside and nudging Sting out of the way so Freed could set the books down on the table. Sting made a disgruntled sound, then clambered up the book tower and sat on top of it, looking at Freed with wide eyes.
Freed shook their head. "Nothing yet," they said, holding out their hand for Sting to sniff. Sting nudged Freed's fingers, making a contented sound when Freed began to scratch his head. "Levy's still working on the scroll. There should be a way to reverse it – or at least identify what kind of magic created it – but it's going to take a few days."
"Looks like you're stuck babysitting until they figure it out," Laxus said, appearing behind Freed and raising his eyebrows at Gray. Sting immediately backed away from Freed's hand and hopped down the book tower, scrambling toward the back edge of the table. Laxus frowned. "What's his problem?"
"You're big and scary," Freed said, laughing. Before Laxus could reply, Rogue jumped up from Gray's lap, moving toward Sting and growling at Laxus as he ruffled out his wings.
"Really?" Gray sighed. "You're the size of Laxus' hand." He rolled his eyes, reaching out for Rogue, who slipped away and sat down next to Sting. They both stared at Laxus, tails rapidly flicking back and forth over the edge of the table. The fur around Sting's neck puffed out as he hissed, flexing his claws against the wood.
"They didn't like Gajeel, either," Gray commented, frowning at the pair. "Maybe it's something about other Dragon Slayers?"
"They don't particularly like Gajeel when they're human," Freed argued. "Well, Rogue does. Sometimes."
"And if anyone was going to try to fight Laxus it would be Natsu," Gray said. Then he frowned. "Where is he, anyway?"
"Down here," Laxus replied, looking at the ground. Gray leaned over to see Natsu sitting behind one of the legs of the table, staring at Rogue and Sting's tails as they flicked back and forth. Every time one came close to him, he batted at it. Laxus nudged Natsu with his foot and Natsu immediately turned and grappled his shoe, biting down on the end of it.
"Idiot," Laxus muttered, wriggling his shoe as Natsu gnawed on it. Then he turned back to Sting and Rogue, who were still watching him cautiously. Laxus sighed, crouching down next to the table and nudging Natsu away. "C'mere," he said, holding out his hand to Sting and Rogue. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
Rogue approached hesitantly; wings spread wide as he sniffed at Laxus' fingers. He growled again, but was quickly distracted by Natsu, who had clambered back up Gray's leg and onto the table next to him. Natsu gave Laxus a cursory glance, then swiped at Rogue's tail, making a playful sound and scrambling backward as Rogue swatted him.
"C'mon, it's okay." Laxus' voice was soft, and Gray looked up to see Sting approaching his outstretched hand slowly, ears flat back against his head. When he finally touched his nose to Laxus' fingers, a tiny spark jumped between them, and the fur around Sting's neck immediately poofed out, crackling with static electricity.
Sting squeaked in surprise, rubbing his nose with a paw and shaking his head. He looked more indignant than hurt, though, and quickly moved forward again to nip the end of Laxus' finger in retaliation. Laxus just laughed, leaving his hand palm-up on the table for Sting to glare at suspiciously as he started to groom his fur back into place.
"You think they're cute," Freed teased, running their fingers through Laxus' hair. Laxus huffed but didn't disagree, pushing himself up and kissing Freed's forehead.
A soft pressure on Gray's forearm distracted him from Laxus and Freed, and he looked down to see Natsu kneading the sleeve of his shirt while looking up at him. "You're probably hungry," Gray said, scratching behind Natsu's ear. Natsu chirped happily at him. "I guess we should head home, huh?"
At the word home, all three dragons scrambled over to Gray – Rogue and Natsu clambering up onto his shoulders and Sting standing on his hind legs with his front paws pressed against Gray's chest. Gray laughed, picking up Sting and standing from the table.
"Let me know how it goes," he said to Freed, tapping the stack of books. The anxiety from earlier had receded – having the three of them close to him filled him with a soft sense of contentment.
"I will," Freed said. "I'll come by tomorrow and let you know if we find anything."
Gray nodded, then looked down at Sting. "All right," he said, wincing as he thought about tiny claws on his carpet and furniture. "Let's go home and get you guys something to eat."