"Well, shit." Freed stared down at the tiny lightning dragon, brow creased in confusion. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
Gray crouched down next to Sting, who had finally identified the source of the lightning and was staring at Laxus quizzically. His fur was still puffed out around his neck, but he'd stopped hissing and looked more curious than afraid. Natsu, on the other hand, was still growling and ruffling his wings.
"Natsu," Gray chided, reaching out and running a finger over his head. "It's okay."
Natsu slowly settled and after a second, Rogue joined him. They both moved closer to Gray, keeping a wary eye on Laxus as Sting took a few hesitant steps toward him. Laxus tipped his head to the side, studying Sting intently as tiny sparks of lightning jumped along his scales.
Once Sting was close enough to Laxus, he made a soft chirping sound. Laxus reciprocated the sound cautiously, then startled when Sting jumped forward and headbutted him.
"Well." Gray watched, surprised, as Laxus returned the gesture, rubbing his face against Sting's as they sniffed each other. "That's unexpected." Sting's chirping turned to a happy purr, and he turned back to Natsu and Rogue, flicking his tail as if saying, it's safe, come play. Neither of them moved, instead making uncertain noises and remaining close to Gray.
"As adorable as this is," Levy interjected, stepping forward with the scroll, "it definitely shouldn't have happened."
Freed sighed and rubbed their temples. "To be fair," they said, looking over at Gray, "I did say it should work." They looked remarkably unfazed by their partner's sudden transformation.
Laxus tipped his head up at the sound of Freed's voice, making a pleased sound and moving over to nuzzle at their leg. Sting followed Laxus, pouncing on his tail and yelping when another spark of lightning jumped to his nose. Laxus turned and nipped at him, giving a short warning growl before putting his paws up on Freed's leg and kneading their pants.
"I'm starting to wonder if this whole thing is an elaborate prank," Gray commented, standing up and dusting off his pants. "Lyon would probably think it was funny. Or maybe Minerva – she couldn't stop laughing when we called and told Sabertooth what happened."
"I would agree with you," Freed said, "except for the potency of the magic on the scroll." They bent down and scooped up Laxus, laughing when Laxus purred happily and headbutted their chin. "Nobody with that much magic would waste it on a prank."
Gray raised an eyebrow, looking down at Natsu and back at Freed. "You'd be surprised," he said. Natsu tipped his head back, gave Gray an offended look, then nipped at Rogue and scurried over to sniff Sting.
"Did the scroll change again?" Gray asked as Natsu, apparently satisfied that Sting wasn't hurt, pounced and growled at him playfully.
"No," Levy said, holding it out to show Gray. The Isvanian writing was still there, and while Gray couldn't read it, it looked no different than the last time he'd seen the scroll. The guild symbol was still stamped on the bottom and looking at it drew a shiver along the hairs at the back of Gray's neck.
Freed stepped forward, looking pensively at the scroll and then up at Gray. "I don't think we should cast it again," they said with a sigh. "Which means it looks like we're taking a trip to Isvan."
"I'm not comin' anywhere near that thing."
Gajeel stood a good distance away from where they had the scroll spread out on a table in the guild, staring at it nervously. Laxus, who seemed to dislike human Gajeel as much as the other three, growled at him, and Gray snorted.
"I don't think they'd let you come over here anyway," he commented.
Levy rolled her eyes. "It's not contagious," she reassured Gajeel, but he didn't look convinced. He kissed Levy's cheek, then headed off to the other side of the guild and settled down at another table with Juvia, leaving Gray, Freed and Levy to stare at the scroll. Freed rolled out a map beside it, pressing at the corners to flatten the parchment.
"Here," Gray said, tapping an unmarked area of the map east of Fiore.
"You're sure?" Freed looked up at him, eyebrows raised, and Gray sighed.
"Pretty sure." He chewed his lip. "It was ten years ago, and I wasn't…" Thoughts of Ur flashed through his mind and he shook his head to get rid of them. "I don't remember much. I was just a little kid."
Natsu, who had been batting at Laxus' tail, appeared to notice Gray's hesitation and moved over to him, making a concerned sound and headbutting his arm. Gray smiled, leaning down and kissing the top of Natsu's head.
"I'm fine," he said softly as Natsu returned the gesture by licking Gray's nose, then scrambled up his arm until he was sitting on Gray's shoulder.
"We don't have any other information on the guild?" Freed's voice brought Gray back to the map and the scroll, and he shook his head.
"Not really." He looked over at Sting, who was lying on his back in front of Laxus, making soft chirping noises and batting at Laxus' head. He didn't have scars in the dragon form, but Gray couldn't stop thinking about the one on his human body – twisted and red, stretching from his hip to the middle of his ribs. "They're dangerous. We barely managed to take out the three that came after us, and Sting almost died."
Sting tipped his head toward Gray at the mention of his name, but his attention was quickly dragged away when Laxus pounced on him and nipped at his ear. Freed raised an eyebrow as the two of them grappled for a minute, tiny sparks of electricity building up static until all of Sting's fur was standing on end.
Sting growled playfully, kicking Laxus off him and rolling onto his feet. He dashed across the table, tackling Rogue and making a delighted chirping sound when the sparks transferred over. Rogue, unimpressed with the zaps of electricity, batted at Sting's head and huffed.
"I still can't believe someone would go to all this trouble just for… this," Gray said, gesturing at the dragons. Laxus, who had recovered from Sting's surprise kicks, began to prowl across the table, head low and tail whipping wildly behind him. Once he was close enough to the other two, he paused, wriggled in anticipation, then launched himself forward and landed on Rogue's back.
"Well, they are significantly less of a threat like this," Levy commented, leaning forward on the table to watch the mock battle. Rouge looked slightly less comfortable than Sting around Laxus, and he growled as they circled each other cautiously.
"And it's an effective way to incapacitate all of them at the same time," Freed added, reaching out to separate the two when Rogue started to hiss. "Knock it off," they muttered at Laxus, picking him up and frowning at him. "You're supposed to be an adult."
Laxus stared up at him with wide eyes, looked back at Rogue for a moment, then yawned, nuzzling against Freed. Gray laughed at the pink flush that crept into Freed's cheeks at the gesture.
"Make sure to lock your pantry," he said, and Natsu chirped what sounded like an agreement in his ear. "And your drawers. This one—" Gray poked at Natsu "—has been hoarding spoons."
Levy laughed. "Spoons?"
"Mhmm. Forks too, sometimes, but the smaller teaspoons are easier for him to drag off to the closet." Natsu made an affronted sound and nipped at Gray's ear. "Oh, don't even," Gray muttered, scratching his head. "I know exactly what you're up to. You'd be hoarding food, too, if I let you."
At the mention of food, all four of the dragons perked up, including Laxus, who made a soft purring sound and headbutted Freed again. Sting, who had been grooming Rogue while they were talking, darted over to Gray and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Guess it's suppertime," Gray said wryly, petting Sting's head and looking back at Freed. "Are we going, then? To Isvan?" The idea made his stomach twist uncomfortably.
Freed nodded. "I think so," they said, shifting Laxus up onto his shoulder. "Even if it's just to do reconnaissance – we need to know what we're up against."
Gray sighed, rubbing his face and staring uncertainly at the map. "Just us?" he asked. "If there's a threat against the guild, we shouldn't take too many people away."
Levy nodded, gesturing over at the table where Gajeel and Juvia were now playing a game of chess. "Wendy and Gajeel should stay here," she said. "If their goal was to take out dragon slayers, we should keep the remaining two close. And I'll keep researching – Yukino said they might have some books at the Sabertooth library on animal transformation that could help."
"Agreed." Freed rolled up the map and the scroll and tucked them into the pocket of their jacket. "I've got that summoning scroll from our last mission – Gray and I can bring it with us in case we end up needing backup." Laxus tipped his head up at that and gave Freed a look that was almost insulted.
"First train tomorrow, then?" Gray asked, trying to hide his laughter. "We can take it as far as Clover Town and figure out where to go from there."
Freed nodded. "We'd better go home and pack, then," they sighed, looking down at Laxus. "Bickslow and Evergreen are going to kill themselves laughing."
"Babe, you're really not helping."
Sting looked up at Gray from his spot on the kitchen floor where he was lying on his back with a sock trapped in his paws. He chirped happily at Gray, then turned back to the sock and growled at it, kicking it with his back feet.
"Those are my favorite socks," Gray tried again, setting one of his folded shirts in the travel bag on the kitchen table. He crouched down and reached out his hand for the sock, and Sting rolled over, shaking it viciously a few times before relinquishing it.
"Good boy," Gray said, scratching behind Sting's ears. The implication of the words quickly caught up to him and he groaned as his cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. "Not like—I didn't mean it like that." Sting tipped his head to the side and looked at Gray curiously. Gray sighed. "Just… forget I said anything."
Sting seemed happy to comply. He flicked his tail back and forth a few times, and when he saw it out of the corner of his eye, he quickly spun around in a circle, trying to catch it.
"You're ridiculous," Gray said, grabbing the matching sock from the laundry basket before tucking them together and setting them with the other clean clothes in the bag.
Sting huffed, swiping for his tail one last time before giving up and sniffing the laundry basket instead. He stood up on his hind legs, peeking over the edge, then quickly scrambled into the basket and burrowed under the warm clothes. Gray laughed at the pleased purring that immediately started to radiate from the basket.
"C'mon, get out of there," he said, nudging the basket with his foot. "You're getting fur all over my clean clothes." The basket growled playfully at him and Gray leaned down to dig through it, yelping when tiny teeth nipped at his finger. "You little shit," Gray grumbled, laughing when he poked back and was rewarded with an indignant squeak.
Sting finally surfaced, another sock caught between his teeth, and before Gray could grab him, he'd hopped out of the basket and was racing down the hall toward the bedroom. Rogue, who had been sitting on the table and watching the whole time, huffed at Gray.
"Oh, don't pretend you're any better," Gray muttered as Rogue stood up and stretched, shaking out his wings before stalking over to Gray and nuzzling his arm. "Don't think I haven't noticed your nest in the coffee drawer." Rogue blinked at him innocently.
By the time Gray was finished packing, Sting had returned from his sock nest and was wrestling with Natsu near the sofa. Rogue watched them impassively from the kitchen table, occasionally chirping when one of them got in a good bite or kick. Gray tugged on his jacket, then slung his bag over his shoulder and turned back to the dragons.
"Who wants a treat?" Gray asked, making a soft kissing sound. Natsu immediately shoved Sting to the ground, scrambling over to Gray and sitting at his feet, while Rogue shuffled over and leaned against Gray's arm. Sting squeaked indignantly, rolling onto his feet and scampering over to bite Natsu's ear and push him out of the way.
"Be nice," Gray chided, gently handing each of them a small piece of meat. All three of them devoured their food quickly, then started sniffing at him for more. "C'mon," he said, lifting Rogue and Natsu onto his shoulders and tucking Sting under one arm as he opened the front door. "You three are going to stay at Lucy's."