One of Us Ch. 3: Change
It is here!
Her pace increased, the dead leaves crunching beneath her feet as she went. She had heard something move around her, she knew she had. And the scent she picked up in passing was so strong. It was familiar but, at the same time not. There was a hint of something she had known before, but it was lost in a sea of uncertainty. She felt eyes on her from all sides. It felt like all the walls were closing in. Faster, faster until she was sprinting, she pressed on. Maybe it was all in her mind. Perhaps that noise was merely some squirrels and the scent could have been anything.
When she found the street from the wood line she doubled over and took a deep breath. She had been on edge since running into that Vampire the day before. Her kind did not typically have pleasant experiences with those particular creatures of the night. He could have attacked her where she stood, but he didn't. She saw this as a positive until she remembered that they were out in the open in a human city. He couldn't very well attack her where everyone could see. She was certain that he had been able to detect her scent. Either he was friendly or unfamiliar with her kind. She waved off the second option. She couldn't imagine a vampire being unaware of werewolves. It was like they were programmed to be enemies. Juvia didn't hate vampires, but she didn't particularly trust them either.
Lost in her thoughts, she nearly ran into the door of the very establishment she had come to visit. In front of her was a large, brick building that was separated into three different places of business. She had applied for a job with Gajeel at two of the three, but was rejected by both. She was hoping the saying "Three times the charm" really had some truth behind it.
The establishment on the right end was a bar. Above the glass door was a wooden tavern sign with a little green fairy illustrated upon it. The Green Fairy was the local "watering hole" and Juvia had been told they didn't mind lack of experience. She had secured an application from them the day before, the day she ran into the Vampire. The woman who gave her the application was one of the owners. The bar was owned by four people, a group known as the "Thunder Legion" by locals. Juvia picked up many scents in the bar. Some human, vague scent of vampire and then there was a mix of unfamiliar scents. Non human, certainly, but what?
The woman who had given her the application, Evergreen, wasn't human. She could tell not just from her scent, but also from her eyes. They reminded her of a serpent. Gold with flecks of green and brown, and pupils the shape of vertical slits. She wore glasses which downplayed the inhuman quality of her eyes, but not enough to distract from them. They were captivating, like they were daring you to stare into them for eternity.
Juvia couldn't stop herself from losing her train of thought. She stood there with her application in hand at her side, staring into the woman's eyes like they held the answers to all the mysteries of the universe.
Evergreen smirked and leaned forward over the bar, her hand reaching over and snatching the application from Juvia's slack hand.
"Careful. Wouldn't want to turn to stone." She murmured as she scanned the paper. Hearing her voice, Juvia snapped out of her trance like state. Being a wolf, Juvia's hearing was better than most. She didn't understand what the woman meant by "turn to stone." Perhaps it was a phrase people around here used.
Ever hummed to herself and shrugged. She set the application on the counter in front of her and leaned forward so that she was staring directly into Juvia's eyes. Again, Juvia was under her spell. Evergreen groaned and reached under the counter, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. Her eyes squeezed shut and she quickly switched into the shades. Juvia was instantly released.
"Now... You really don't have any experience in anything I see. Fortunately, we don't really mind that here. Welcome to The Green Fairy, Juvia. Can you start tomorrow?"
Juvia nodded with a wide smile on her face.
"yes, Juvia can start tomorrow. Thank you so much for giving me a chance." Juvia was beyond excited. Things were finally looking up.
Evergreen smiled and took a small pile of beaded necklaces from the counter, placing them around the neck of a tall, male statue behind the counter. It looked as if it were laughing and had a rather interesting stick figure tattoo in the center of it's face. Whoever the sculptor was, they certainly had an interesting imagination. The guy sure was a character.
After placing the beads around it's neck, she took what appeared to be a box of valentines decorations from under the bar and began wrapping heart streamers around the statue. Juvia looked perplexed when Ever turned around to break out the pink and red glitter and glue sticks.
"What's the occasion?" She asked. Juvia was unfamiliar with human holidays and celebrations. Such decoration meant there had to be something special going on. Did humans make such displays for no reason? Or was this something unique to whatever this woman's species was? Juvia had no idea.
"Oh... This? Nothing special. Just having some fun. You're the only one here, so I have to do something to pass the slow hours, amirite?" Ever chuckled nervously and went back to her special brand of humiliation. Juvia nodded slowly, not fully understanding, but deciding she didn't really need to. She waved and backed out of her new place of work, eager to tell Gajeel of her job hunting victory.
As she left the bar and the door slammed shut, Ever smirked at the statue she was covering in unforgiving red glitter.
"Next time you wanna poke your nose in my love life, perhaps you will remember this moment. Poor Bixlow. Red really just is not your color." She stated smugly.
"She's coming." Erza stated calmly and quietly from the tree she shared with Wendy. Gray locked his eyes on the far end of the path where she would soon appear. He wondered if she would phase again. He had never met a wolf before, let alone watch one change forms. He felt eyes on him from across the path. Natsu was staring intently at him, curious about Gray's behavior. He had known Gray for nearly half a century and never once seen him act so compelled by anyone. This she wolf had an effect on him and Natsu wanted to know what.
Natsu turned to Lucy and nudged her side to get her attention. She turned to face him and smiled.
"What's wrong?" She frowned at his serious expression.
"Nothing... I just was wondering... You know how you still have your angel magic stuff? Do you think you could use it... You know... On Gray?" As an Angel of Death, Lucy had special abilities, some of which remained with her when she was marked a fallen and cast from the heavens so many years ago. She couldn't collect souls anymore, but all of her other abilities remained. She could predict death, life events and she could even read auras. Lucy crossed her arms and tilted her head in confusion.
"You want me to use my magic on him? Why?" She glanced in Gray's direction to see if he had heard them. If he had, he didn't show it. He kept his eyes focused on the trail.
"Yeah. He's just acting weird and I wanna know why. Do your thing, Luce!" He whispered eagerly. Lucy stared at him dully for a moment before releasing an indignant sigh.
"Alright, fine. Just this once." She closed her eyes and focused on Gray. When she opened her eyes she was sitting behind him, but not really. Her body was still with Natsu, but she had astral projected herself behind him. Her powers were weaker this way, but she could still do the job. She waved her hand a few inches from the skin on his back. He had stripped down during the wait for the wolf girl's return. As her hand waved over him, his aura revealed itself to her. It was all over the place. She had never witnessed such a messy aura. There were flashes of dark blue, black, gray, some green and some blood red. Overall, what she was reading was a cocktail of bad juju. Based on her reading, she was picking up confusion, longing, sadness, wonder and... hope. She found sparks of white flashing through his aura, quickly taking over like an out of hand batch of popcorn. The light took over and became so bright it was blinding. Fortunately, she was the only one who could see it. Suddenly it faded and pink light practically exploded from his body. This light could mean a few things, but when she saw the cause, she knew.
The she wolf skipped down the trail like a carefree child, her cerulean curls bouncing and swinging with every move she made. She was smiling like it was the best day of her life.
Gray was captivated by this wolf girl. Lucy would even say he was completely smitten. His Aura deepened the longer he stared. She smiled and shook her head. He was hopeless.
The girl stopped her frolicking and looked around suspiciously. After a few minutes of surveillance of the surrounding area, she began to strip down to her birthday suit.
Gray's Aura went a bright clear red and Lucy also noticed his body stiffen. She giggled to herself and returned to her body. Natsu grabbed her shoulders firmly.
"So what's wrong with him?" He asked with real concern. She laughed and shook her head. Lucy reached for Natsu's face and squished his cheeks together as she turned his head to face Gray in the tree across from them. He was leaning so far out of the tree that if Lily wasn't holding him by the waistband of his pants he would fall right out.
"Gray is in loooooove." She cooed. Natsu's eyes widened and he turned to her with a dopey grin.
"He is? Wait... He is in love... With the wolf chick?! Oh! Gramps is gonna LOVE that!" Natsu laughed and wiped his eyes. "He's so screwed."
Lucy scowled and swatted his arm.
"Hey, I'm not a vampire and we work just fine." She reminded him. He shook his head and crossed his arms.
"You're not a wolf. Wolves and vampires... Eh... We don't mix."
Lucy scoffed and turned her eyes back to Gray who was no longer there.
"Where'd he go?" She asked in a state of mild panic. Erza was already jumping to through the trees, Wendy, Carla, Happy and Lily following her lead.
"Chasing his 'girlfriend' probably. Let's go." He smirked and held out his arms towards her. Lucy rolled her eyes and extended her ebony wings. She embraced him tightly and took flight, following the others. He was heavy, but her wings were strong and durable. They caught up to the others quickly.
Gray lead the way, chasing after the snow white wolf like his very existence depended on it. He came to an abrupt halt, clinging to the trunk of the tree for balance as he wobbled on the branch from the impact. The wolf had stopped running and approached a tall man with long, unruly jet black hair, tanned skin and multiple piercings covering his face and forearms. The man reached down and patted her on the head. Gray became curious and strained his ears to listen in from the distance they were apart.
"Oy, Juves. Ya seem pretty happy. whattydya get yerself into?" The man asked with a sharp, playful smile. The white wolf dropped her purse from her mouth onto the ground in front of him. She poked her nose around inside the bag, pulling out her clothes. She carried the items in her mouth and hid behind a large row of shrubbery separating herself from him. He rolled his eyes and turned away with his arms crossed to give her extra privacy.
Gray noted that the two seemed close and while he couldn't smell him from that distance, he was sure that he was more than likely also a wolf. This thought set him on edge. What if she was with this guy? He was her own species and wolves did do that mating thing.
Gray gripped the tree tighter, cracking the bark beneath his stong, cold fingers. Ice formed beneath his hand, filling in the cracks of the broken bark. The air chilled around him and created a cloud of cold air surrounding him like a barrier.
Erza placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed in warning.
"I don't know what has you so upset, but you need to control yourself before you get us caught. You have been behaving strangely all day. Is there something you need to say?" He could feel her eyes on his back and slowly turned to face her, the chill around him fading. His ice blue eyes were harsh on her.
"It's nothing." He stated calmly. Erza was skeptical, but accepted his answer and retreated back to Wendy a few branches away. Natsu furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.
"Don't tell me he's jealous." He whispered to Lucy as she carried him overhead. She smirked and landed on a nearby tree top.
"Oh, yeah. Big time."
Although his chill had faded, Gray was still icing up the tree branch. Lily had to move to another branch just so he wouldn't slip and fall. Not all vampires have abilities like this, but some do. Only creation vampires get these abilities and only if their experiences before turning were particularly traumatic. Gray nearly drowned in icy waters, the experience must have left it's mark on him because he discovered his ice abilities only half a decade after turning. Natsu was the same, though. His ability was fire. It wasn't surprising to Erza in the least when he accidentally set the guild on fire the first time, a mere 3 days after turning.
The girl reappeared from behind the greenery wearing the same outfit as before. Her smile radiated warmth as she skipped over to the man gleefully.
"Juvia got a job!" She sang. The man's eyes widened and a smile that was akin to a grandma eating wolf from a particular children's story spread tightly across his face.
"Oh, yeah? How'd ya manage that? Where'd ya go?" She danced cutely in place and twirled around.
"Juvia isn't sure exactly what made them want to hire her, but starting tomorrow she will be working at The Green Fairy!" She squealed excitedly.
"Gihi. That bar? Attagirl, Juves. I'm prouddaya." He ruffled her hair and began stripping off his shirt. Juvia turned away and puffed out her cheeks.
"Gajeel-kun, could you have some manners around Juvia?" She pouted. He laughed and shrugged.
"Juves, ya grew up inna pack a naked pups." He reasoned. She stamped her foot and rolled her eyes.
"And Gajeel-kun grew up with Juvia." She bit back. He nodded and sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll work on it. I'm goin' huntin'. Ya stayin' here?" He asked as he kicked off his boxers. Facing away from him, she nodded.
"Juvia will stay at the camp." She confirmed. He shrugged and stretched before being consumed in a white glowing light. When the light faded, a black wolf was revealed.
Gray bit his lip, feeling that his fears had been confirmed. But that wasn't the most important matter at the moment. She had said she was starting work for The Green Fairy tomorrow. That was owned by the Thunder Legion, a group belonging to his coven. The coven itself had nothing to do with the bar, It was solely under the control of the Master's grandson and his friends. They were known as the thunder legion because Laxus has the ability to control thunder and lightning. He was struck by lighting before turning... twice in the same spot. Makarov himself changed his grandson. Neither he nor Makarov were natural born. They were both created. Makarov was created by a kind nurse vampire named Mirajane over 200 years prior. Laxus was turned over 160 years ago.
The Thunder Legion is made up of a mix of monsters. Evergreen the Gorgon, Bixlow the child of Death and Freed the Dark Elf.
Freed was the first to join the coven of the three. He had long been separated from his kind and lived among humans. He had never even met anyone else of his kind before. He knew nothing of his parents or where he came from. He was raised by humans and had no knowledge of his heritage until after meeting Laxus. Laxus could tell that he wasn't human, but it was clear that he had no idea himself. Laxus took him to the coven one day and a tiny vampire by the name of Levy McGarden knew exactly what he was. She was a natural born, but she also never knew her parents. They had been killed by humans centuries ago before she was even a year old. She had been found and taken in by another Vampire, Gildarts. He brought her to the coven and got her set up there. She used her immortality wisely and studied everything she could get her hands on. She spoke so many languages that everyone lost count and her knowledge base was off the charts, which is why Laxus thought she was just the person to call. As expected, she was able to identify exactly what his species was in less than 5 minutes.
Evergreen Joined a few years after Freed. Freed was the one who brought her in, actually. She had wandered into the streets of town wearing a blindfold over her eyes and donned a tattered green tube dress. She was covered in dirt and blood, her long brown hair a knotted mess with leaves and twigs protruding from it. When he tried to remove her blindfold she went into a screaming fit and thrashed violently to get away from him. He persisted and eventually she calmed. It was quite the spectacle and the town remembered the event for years. As it turned out, Evergreen was a normal girl her entire life, or so she thought. You see, she wasn't a full Gorgon. She was well aware of her Gorgon heritage and thought it was fascinating, but was grateful that she wasn't cursed as her ancestors were. Her lineage, of course, began with Medusa who was cursed by the gods for her vanity. Stories will tell you that Hercules beheaded her, but that just wasn't the case. She trapped Hercules in her dwelling and kept him there until he eventually bent to her will. Medusa was lonely and what better a companion than Zeus and Hera's pride and joy? It was as much vengeance as she would ever get. It was Stockholm syndrome to the max, but if she hadn't done it, Evergreen wouldn't exist, so she couldn't complain. Nobody in her family had shared the Gorgon curse for centuries. The last one was in the early 1400's, so her family was quite certain that the curse had finally ended for good, but Evergreen wasn't so lucky.
One night Evergreen had gone out to a club opening with some friends. Around 3 AM she separated from her group to go home, but a man had followed her. When she came to a dark area by the park he ambushed her from behind. She screamed as loud as she could but he placed a hand tightly over her mouth. She fought hard, but he was stronger. She cursed her weakness and wished she were stronger, wished she really could turn him to stone and run. Like as if her wish had been heard by the gods, she felt a change within her. A coldness. Her vision changed as well. She could see the man's heat signature as he pinned her to the dirt. Her usually deep green eyes flashed a glowing gold, revealing reptilian pupils. Frightened, the man released her. She sat up in a panic, ready to run, but he shook off his fear, believing it was his imagination. He grabbed her ankle and she snapped her head around to look at him. In an instant he was turned into a statue. She screamed louder than she had when he first attacked her. She was cursed. She had to crumble his hand to pieces to escape. After that she ran away and tied a ripped strip of her dress around her eyes to protect those around her as she ran aimlessly. She stumbled and struggled through the woods for days before exiting into Magnolia where Freed found her. She has been with the coven ever since.
Bixlow was the last to join their ranks. Lucy brought him in. As an Angel of Death, she was close with his Father, Hades and his mother, Persephone. An Angel of Death's responsibility is to gather the souls of those who are scheduled to pass. Once the souls are collected, they bring them to Hades and Persephone to be ushered into the river of souls. A common term among humans for her kind are "reapers", but she never felt that term fit her image. It was a bit too hard core for her taste.
Bixlow was familiar with Lucy and had heard of her banishment. He had tried many times to leave the underworld, but his parents simply wouldn't allow it. They even went so far as to get a three headed guard dog to keep him in. Fluffy, as his father had so ironically named it, was a dreadful beast of burden. Nothing got past it, that is until one night Bixlow was sitting against the wall and staring at the portal between his hell and the outside world longingly, unable to do anything with Fluffy standing in the way. Out of boredom, he began to hum a melody that his mother would sing to him when he was young. He noticed that after a minute of humming, Fluffy's stance was faltering and all six of it's eyes were beginning to droop. He continued to hum, hoping that what he thought was happening was really happening. And it was! The beast fell asleep quickly and Bixlow managed to escape. He used his death ability to find Lucy's location. As the son of the God of Death and the Underworld, he was able to summon a cloud of smoke that would show him whoever he wished to seek out. He found her at a cafe in Magnolia with the soul that got away. She felt bad for him and knew he wanted to live his own life outside of the underworld, but she couldn't help him and defy his parents. She took him back to the underworld immediately, but tried her best to defend him. At first she was met with backlash from Hades, but Persephone saw Lucy's reasoning and understood her son's need. Eventually they both Gave Bixlow their blessing to leave and Lucy brought him to the coven.
Gray watched as Juvia gathered some water from the small stream by their make shift camp. She collected it in a decent sized pot and walked over to where a medium bonfire had been started. She reached out the pot and held it over the fire.
Having her work at The Green Fairy would certainly make it easier to keep an eye on her. They could ask Ever and the others to keep tabs if necessary, but Gray was feeling it wasn't necessary at all. There appeared to be only two of them and they seemed to just want to live a normal life. Gray couldn't find anything threatening about that.
He decided they would watch for the night to see if they could find out anything more. If his feeling was correct, they could report back good news to Makarov.
Lucy giggled behind her hand as Gray visibly relaxed against the rough bark of the tree. During dinner, the two wolves had revealed the nature of their relationship quite clearly. As they discussed their past memories together and happily planned out the future, it became apparent that their relationship was not only platonic, but familial.
Natsu snickered quietly behind his Angelic bride, reveling in his frenemy's misfortune. Gray had become family for Natsu after some time, just as the rest of Fairy Tail had. Family or not, Natsu still loved to pick fights with him.
From a few branches away, Erza watched Gray carefully. Wendy rested in her arms, having fallen asleep in the late hours. Despite the legends, Vampires actually slept like your average everyday humans. They weren't necessarily nocturnal, not naturally anyhow. The legend of the sun burning vampires was actually a legend spread by vampires themselves in order to better camouflage among the humans. If humans believed that vampires couldn't possibly walk in the light of day, vampires could exist openly without a single human being any the wiser.
Erza wasn't certain, but she felt there was something about that she wolf that was enticing to Gray. He was acting strangely in her presence. She had never seen him behave so ... it was as if he were bewitched. It wasn't in a were's power to charm any being, so what was going on? Erza also had noticed Natsu and Lucy's childish whisperings behind their backs. They knew something and she wanted to know what.
"You two... Why are you so amused? This is a very serious mission that the Master has given us. Why do you treat it so frivolously?" The scarlet haired vampress stood impressively well balanced on the branch beside the pair with Wendy still resting peacefully in her arms. Her appearance was of a caring mother, but her eyes read nothing but cold hard business. Lucy smiled without a care while Natsu clammed up immediately at the sound of Erza's voice.
"Haven't you noticed?" Lucy sang, pointing to Gray a few branches away. Erza shifted her position to face where the former Angel of Death was pointing.
"Indeed I have. His behavior is beyond abnormal. I also took notice of your behavior, Lucy... Natsu." Natsu gulped loudly when her dark cherry eyes landed on him and held.
"Us? We're not acting weird. Gray is the weirdo!" Natsu exclaimed. Lucy ruffled his cherry blossom hair and stood. She sprouted her wings to protect herself in case she lost her balance. Her large, raven feathers spread behind her, extending past Erza and Natsu on either side. Wendy sneezed as the wind caused Lucy's feathers to tickle her nose. Erza gently stroked the girl's hair and turned towards Lucy to keep Wendy away from her wings.
"Oh, that. Natsu also noticed Gray's behavior and was concerned..." She began.
"Was not!" He argued. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"He was. Anyways, he asked me to read him and I did. As it turns out, our little Graycicle is in love with the target." Lucy smiled smugly at the back of Gray's head. Erza's eyes widened in shock.
"A wolf... He has fallen for the she wolf?" She asked in disbelief. Lucy nodded.
"Aura's don't lie." She shrugged.
Erza watched Gray. His eyes never left the she wolf. Even as she slumbered, he continued to stare. It was unsettling. Without warning or so much as a goodbye, Erza swiftly, but carefully swung over to Gray's branch. Lucy flapped her wings to keep herself from falling backwards. The force from Erza's send off threw off her balance. Natsu quickly shot up from his sitting position and wrapped his arm around her waist. Her wings stopped flapping and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"She sure was in a hurry. You think she's mad?" Lucy asked short of breath. Natsu smiled and shook his head as he steadied his wife.
"Nah. You know Erza. She's probably just worried about him." He assured her. They could see Erza standing beside him, still carrying Wendy. They couldn't hear anything and their movement was minimal which told them that things must be going well.
Gray heard a thud beside him as Erza landed gracefully on his branch.
"Should you really be jumping around like that with a sleeping child in your arms?" He mumbled without averting his gaze from the sleeping blunette below. Erza narrowed her eyes at him.
"Should you really be giving your heart to the enemy?" She shot back. Finally his eyes snapped away from the wolf.
"I'm not giving my heart to anyone." He stated firmly. She smiled softly and glanced down at the object of his affections.
"Oh, really? Is lying to yourself something you do often?" She asked slyly. He groaned and looked back down at the girl.
"I'm not... I don't know how I feel." He sighed tiredly and rubbed his face. Erza nodded and sat beside him, adjusting Wendy in her lap.
"You love her, don't you? Lucy saw it in your aura." She pried. Gray shot around to stare at the couple behind him.
"Oi! Whattaya doin' readin' me like that, Lucy?!" He whisper shouted to her. She couldn't hear him, but Natsu could.
"Well if ya weren't actin' so weird we wouldn't have to!" Natsu defended.
Erza sighed and snapped her fingers to get his attention back to the question at hand.
"Gray, do you have feelings for this wolf?" Her tone was serious and laced with concern. He furrowed his brows and lowered his head.
"I might..." He admitted bitterly. She nodded.
Erza had nothing against wolves, but she worried how Gray's feelings for this girl would be recieved by the coven... Or by the girl.
The next morning, Erza developed a plan. She informed them all that all but Gray would return to the coven to report their findings. Nobody dared question her decision. As they all left, Erza pulled Gray aside.
"I want you to go to The Green Fairy. When you do, I want you to interact with her."
"Why?" He didn't understand what Erza's goal was with this request.
"I want you to see how she reacts to you. Surely she will smell you and know what you are. I just want to be sure that you stand a chance." She stated matter of factly.
"Thanks... I think..." He deadpanned.
"I will speak with Makarov personally on the matter of the possible relationship between one of our own and a wolf." She decided.
"What relationship?! Hold on!" He argued. She shook her head and held up her hand.
"You feel for her. If there is any chance at all that she could possibly one day feel the same, I want to ensure that she will have a place in our family, in your family, Gray."
He was at a loss for words. He tried to speak but all that came out was garbled sounds.
"No need to thank me. Now, go to her. Her shift started an hour ago. Evergreen will understand." She patted his shoulder and jumped from the tree to follow the others.
Now that he was alone, he had time to think about what this all meant. He was in love with a woman he bumped into on the street, a woman whom he watched transform into a wolf not once but twice, a woman whom he was sent to spy on, a woman who made him feel as if his heart could beat even though it never would again. He was in love with a woman who was the enemy of his kind and now he was going to meet her, officially.
"Master, we have our report." Erza announced as she lead the team into the office.
"That was fast. Only a single night?" He stroked his beard slowly, waiting for Erza to continue the report.
"Indeed, sir. Gray was correct in his observation. There is a she wolf in Magnolia and we discovered she is not alone, however, she is only accompanied by a single wolf. A male who appears to be a sibling of sorts."
"Hmm... And there were no obvious signs or implications of hostility?" He stood atop his desk to give himself some height.
"None at all. In fact, it appears they do not belong to a pack and are simply trying to build a life for themselves. The female even applied for a job at the Thunder Legion's bar." She informed him.
"She is going to work at The Green Fairy?! How could Evergreen be so careless!" He shouted. He knew that Evergreen would hire anyone as long as they weren't human. It was easier for them to work if the others also had secrets to keep. No chance of anyone screaming monster from the back room.
"Now, Master, they really do seem well meaning. Perhaps it would do us well to be civil, would it not?" Erza knew the Master would require some persuasion. His face was souring by the second.
"I'd like to have a word, sir." She asked politely. He grumbled but nodded. She sent out the others and slowly turned to face the tiny man on the desk with his hands behind his back.
"Sir, something else happened while we were out there." her voice was low, but audible.
"What happened?" He demanded.
"Master, it would appear that Gray has developed romantic feelings for the she wolf,"
"HE DID WHAT?! SO SOON?!" He yelled in a fit of rage. Erza winced and nodded.
"Sir, I feel this could be beneficial for our kind and theirs. Don't you?"
Makarov closed his eyes and shook his head angrily.
"Erza, it's not that simple. This is not a peace treaty between kingdoms, this is an ancient feud between species. We cannot expect one relationship to fix thousands of years of bad blood."
"Sir, I understand that a single relationship will not correct this feud, however I believe it could be a progressive step in the right direction for us, our coven."
Makarov really couldn't see how. He narrowed his eyes and waited.
"Master, we are known to be a very accepting coven and we truly are, however perhaps it is time we also extended our hand to the wolves as well."
"And perhaps our hands will be bitten. I don't want to hear another word on this. You are dismissed." Makarov turned away and jumped from his desk to the floor.
"But, sir-" She persisted.
"DISMISSED."
Gray entered the bar feeling a nervous mess. What if she recognized his scent from that day and panicked? What if she hated vampires? There were so many things that could go wrong and so little that could go right.
As he entered the bar, Evergreen greeted him.
"Pleasure seeing you here. Is the world coming to an end?" She asked dryly. Gray never did visit the bar often. Fairy Tail had it's own bar inside their building, so he never found reason to stop in before. Plus, as a vampire he was an exclusive blood drinker. The Green Fairy didn't exactly cater to him... Not openly anyhow.
"Funny, snake eyes. I'll have a bloody mary." He grumbled as he found a seat at the bar. She smirked and adjusted her glasses.
"As you wish, frosty the undead snowman." Ever disappeared into the back where they kept the blood supply in the fridge. Shortly after, Juvia emerged from the kitchen with a platter of wings. She stilled as soon as she entered. She could smell the vampire from before. He was here.
Gray noticed her staring, but kept his head low. He didn't want to alarm her or act as if he recognized her.
He never looked up from the bar, so Juvia slowly rounded the bar to serve the customers that were waiting on her a few tables away. Ever reentered the bar and set down the class of blood with a stick of celery sticking out in front of him. She noticed his uncomfortable and clearly forced body language.
"Gray, all jokes aside, are you alright?" She expressed genuine concern for him. Sure, they enjoyed messing with each other, but the Thunder Legion was just as close with the rest of the coven as they were with each other.
"Fine." He grumbled under his breath. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was absolutely terrified to engage a conversation with the she wolf.
Juvia carefully rounded the bar and once again entered the back room. Gray's body seemed to tense as she passed and his eyes followed her until she disappeared. Ever noticed this immediately.
"Is it because she's a wolf?" She asked. Gray shook his head.
"Nah. I don't care about that. That's not it."
"Well, then why are you acting like you have cactus shoved up your ass?" She crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side. Gray rolled his eyes.
"I'm not." He insisted.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Juvia reentered the room and stared wide eyed at the scene before her. The vampire and strange woman were arguing like children and she had no idea why.
"Juvia can come back..." She pointed to the back room awkwardly over her shoulder. Ever smiled and shook her head as she wrapped an arm around Juvia's shoulders.
"No, no... Stay. Juvia, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. Stick in the mud, Juvia. Juvia, Stick in the mud."
Gray groaned internally, wanting nothing more than to freeze Evergreen into an ice sculpture.
"It's Gray... My name is Gray." He corrected, annoyed.
Feeling as if perhaps he truly was friendly, Juvia lowered her guard.
"It's nice to meet you, Gray-sama." She smiled so sweetly at him. Gray was in awe.
"Yeah, you too..." He mumbled. Evergreen covered her mouth and smiled. She knew what this was. Gray liked her.
"Juvia, why don't you take a break. Gray, do you mind filling her in on everything? She is new after all."
Gray and Juvia both stared at her in bewilderment.
"Everything?" Gray asked warily. Ever nodded.
"Everything." She confirmed. Juvia went to protest, but Ever shooed them out of the bar. Gray didn't even get to drink his bloody mary.
"So, I'm sure you guessed by now that I am a vampire..." Gray was nervous but tried to keep his voice strong and confident.
"And Juvia supposes you know that she is a wolf." She replied slowly. He nodded.
"When I bumped into you, I have to admit... I had no idea what you were. I have never been near a wolf before." He began to internally panic when he saw her face twist in confusion.
"How did you find out?" She asked suspiciously.
"Don't be mad... I kinda followed you. I was curious! I just thought if I followed you to wherever you were going that maybe you would reveal what you were." All the strength left his voice and in this moment he was merely a pathetic dweeb who had been caught peeping in the girl's locker room in some half ass high school.
Juvia's face went from it's usual snow white to blood red in an instant.
"Gray-sama watched Juvia transform... it was you in the woods..." She whispered to herself. Gray scratched the back of his head nervously.
"I'm re-" He began.
"Gray-sama saw Juvia NAKED!" She wailed. Of all the things Juvia could panic about, she was most upset about him seeing her in her birthday suit. '
"So..rry.." His voice trailed off. Oh, right. He had seen her naked. Twice. Perhaps there is no need to mention the second time... Yeah... Better not.
"Juvia didn't know anyone was there! She was scared and wanted to get back to camp quickly." She blubbered. Her tears were beginning to attract unwanted human attention from the street, she he carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her into the ally behind the bar. Sure it was a shady spot, but no humans would be around.
"Oi, stop crying. I am the one who should be explaining, not you." He gently rubbed circles on her back in an attempt to calm her. It seemed to work because her crying slowly came to an end.
"Thank, Juvia is just a little... embarrassed." She admitted.
"Embarrassed? Shouldn't you be mad?" Every woman he has ever known was definitely the type to kick your ass if you even caught so much as a nip slip. He followed this girl without her knowledge or consent, watched her strip and then transform into a fluffy wolf and yet she was simply embarrassed. He didn't know what to feel.
"Oh, well, normally Juvia would, but she understands that your intentions were not impure...You had no way of knowing that Juvia would be in the nude."
Gray could not believe she let him off the hook like that. She was right, his intentions weren't impure at all, but still.
"R-right. Still, I'm sorry." He stammered, embarrassing himself further.
"All is forgiven... So, the vampires here... Are they friendly, to those like Juvia? Or... Is it just you?" She asked hopefully.
"Uh, well... It's complicated. Some of us are, some of us are indifferent on the matter and others... Not so accepting." He explained.
"Oh... So, vampires have covens like wolves have packs, right? Does Gray-sama belong to a coven?"
"Uh, yeah. Fairy Tail. Not all of us are vampires, though. Evergreen and her other two pals, Freed and Bixlow are also part of our coven." He grinned.
Juvia gasped and wrung her hands sheepishly.
"Juvia was too embarrassed to ask, but what are they?" She looked so timid, her cheeks a flaring crimson as she looked to the ground. It only made her all the more alluring.
"Well, Evergreen is a gorgon. That's why she has those weird snake eyes. One look without her glasses and you'll end up a lawn ornament. She can reverse it though, so no worries."
Juvia finally understood what she had meant when she said "turn to stone". It also now made sense that the guy she had met in the back earlier, Bixlow, looked exactly like the statue from before.
"And Bixlow? What is he?"
"He's pretty interesting. Have you heard of the God of the Underworld, Hades and his wife, the Goddess, Persephone?" Gray did feel pretty smug about having a God in their coven.
"Um, yes... Juvia remembers Olivia-san teaching us a little about them when we were pups. Oh, Olivia-san was ... the closest thing Juvia had to a mother. She's... gone." She frowned and looked away from him.
"I'm... Sorry. I didn't mean to-" Gray felt like shoving rocks in his mouth. Juvia held her hands up and waved them in front of her realizing that she had just soured the mood.
"No, no. Juvia shouldn't have... please. Continue." She grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. Gray froze upon contact. Juvia immediately pulled away, fearing that she had upset him.
"Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that." He tried to reassure her.
"Oh." Juvia giggled nervously. He was really nice and very attractive if she were being honest. She worried how Gajeel would react.
"Anyway, Bixlow is their kid." He continued Juvia looked back at the building in shock.
"So, Bixlow is a god?"
"Yep. The real deal." He stated proudly. Juvia seemed thoroughly impressed.
"And what about Freed? Juvia hasn't met him yet."
"Freed is a dark elf. He grew up in the city with humans, so he is still learning about his background, but his kind are usually from the deep forests of Alakitasia." Everything that came out of his mouth he had heard from Levy. He personally didn't know shit about dark elves, or any elves for that matter.
"Oh! Juvia has only ever known other wolves and humans. She has had experience with vampires once, but she was so young... and it didn't end well.." Once again, Juvia had successfully killed the mood.
Gray had an idea what she meant by that and it made him feel secondhand guilt. Sure, he wasn't the vampire that wronged her or her family, but he was a vampire still. Juvia could see that he caught her drift and she instantly felt bad for bringing it up.
"Juvia keeps upsetting Gray-sama. She is so sorry. She is just very honest and sometimes has a hard time understanding when to stay silent." She wrung her hands nervously and twisted from side to side.
"You aren't upsetting me. Our kind aren't exactly famous for getting along. I get it." He did feel bad, but it wasn't her fault. Even if it hadn't been a bad experience with vampires he still would have felt for her. He knew that not all wolves were like her, just as not all vampires were like him, but he was more than grateful that she was his first wolf encounter. After meeting her, he was feeling a bit more optimistic about the future for them. She didn't seem to be opposed to him, in fact, she initiated physical contact. Perhaps he had a chance after all. He hoped that Erza was making some progress with the master on the matter.
"Well, if Master won't listen to reason from me, perhaps he will listen to reason from him..." Erza began journeying towards a familiar place, her old home of Rosemary Village. She lived there centuries ago, it was where she was born and raised. In her old home town, her childhood friend, Jellal, had his own coven established. It wasn't a vampire coven, though. It was a haven for monsters of all kind. He called it Crime Sorciere.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I finally finished it! I had 4000 words of this written as well as 4000 words of the next chapters of Thirsting Fates and The Sea Fairies before I moved last week, so last night I decided to get back to work since I have settled into Kansas over the weekend.
I hope this turned out well!