Rating: T {I'm paranoid!}

Warnings: I don't really know… other than Language. And GRAY/OC.

Notes: Readers, I nicely appreciate the views, favorites and follows, but would you please be so kind as to review? It motivates me, and I badly need motivation right now… Motivation flies out the window fast when it's me…


Do you really want to be my friend?

Chapter 3: Her magic


"Huh?" Gray muttered, staring at Erica in shock, "Dark magic?" the raven-haired girl nodded.

"Really?"

Erica stared at him quizzically, "Why? Is there something wrong, Gray?" she asked.

"I-It's nothing," Gray inwardly sighed, his eyes falling onto her mark once again, "But… Dark magic is really your magic, Erica?" She again nodded. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well… it's called 'Dark' magic for a reason…" he stated, "It's somewhat forbidden."

"I see…" Her smile went way down south, "So that's why my parents said I would end the world should I run loose. My magic is a dangerous thing indeed…"

"Erica…"

The red-eyed girl sighed, "I don't see why, but my parents kept calling me a 'child of Zeref' because of my magic."

The ice mage's eyes went wide at what she said, "Zeref?" he asked the girl. Zeref was the said creator of that damned Deliora, that monster that made Ul sacrifice herself, 'Could Erica know something about Deliora?' he thought.

"But I don't anything about whosoever this Zeref guy is. Never met him." She added.

"I see…" Gray then smiled, a sigh of relief exiting his lips. He padded to the door, opening it, "I'll get you something to eat."

"Okay."


Gray walked through the halls of the hospital, on a hunt for food. But this palce was somewhat big, he'd get lost before he even finds the cafeteria. Well, it was worth it anyway, food was to be the prize.

"Oh, excuse me, boy?"

The ice mage turned over his shoulder, finding a pretty lady with dark blue hair that was silky straight, her eyes brown and her skin only slightly off beige. She was wearing a simple white dress that implied she was a housewife. "Hello, um… if I can ask, have you seen my daughter?" she smiled.

"Depends, what does she look like?"

"She's two years younger than you, has darker than black hair, pale skin and red eyes. Have you seen her?"

'Erica?' "No… can't say I have."

"Really? Thank you for your time though." With a kind smile, she walked away.

"That was most probably Erica's mom…" Gray said to himself. When the lady disappeared behind a corner, he instantly dashed back to Erica's room. He had to warn her of who was here.


"Zeref…" Erica spoke to herself, "I have absolutely no idea whosoever who that is. How can my parents say I'm a child of Zeref when I don't even know the guy?" Not once has Erica ever met a guy named Zeref. Nope, not once. How could her parents say she was 'his child' when she's never even met him?

She lied back down and stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts wondering… when an image flashed before her eyes. The image was in black and white, but she could see it well.

Everything was dying, the trees, the leaves the animals, even the sky had gone black. Everything was dead. All except one person in particular who stood in the middle. He wore a black and tan robe, the trimmings gold and collar open, a large white toga draping his body. His hair was black and stuck upwards to the top, a circular necklace around his neck. Most odd was the fact that he had red eyes. "Come… sister." His voice whispered warmly to her. His hand came out for her to grab.

"B-Brother…" She muttered as the image faded.

Without her notice, the door came open. Expecting it was Gray, she smiled and sat up, "You took lo— How did you find me?!"


Gray was about to open the door when he heard Erica scream from inside. "Let go! I don't want to go with you!"

"Erica!" The ice-mage exclaimed as he uncontrollably burst through the door. True enough to his guess, Erica's parents were in the room, clawing at the child to come back home. Which, of course, was to the child's dismay. "Let go of Erica." The ice-mage bellowed.

"Oh? Did you make a friend, Erica?" the mother spat, venom in her tone as she said her child's name. She had grabbed Erica by the arm and pulled her out of the bed.

"I said let go of her." Gray's tone went deeper.

"And what are you going to do, kid?" Erica's father scoffed. He was a man with white hair, tannish-skin and blue eyes, his form slightly muscular.

"I'll do this!" Gray positioned his hands, "Ice make: Cage!" A magic circle appeared before the boy and the next thing the couple kne, they were in separate cages of their own. "An ice wizard!" the mother hissed.

Without another second passing, Gray grabbed his stuff from the floor and grabbed Erica's hand, jolting out the door the second after with the red-eyed child.

"COME BACK HERE, ERICA!"

"YOU'LL CURSE THE DAY YOU HELPED THAT DEMON SPAWN, ICE WIZARD!"

The shouts grew weaker as they distanced. "T-Thanks, Gray." Erica smiled, her breath slightly heavy due to panting. "You're welcome." Gray returned with his own smile. "But those people… they were your parents, right?"

She nodded. "I'm glad I met you, Gray. I don't want them to take me home just so they can torture me like that again."

"I won't let that happen, Erica, don't worry." He took note of her form. She was only wearing a long white shirt that ended at her knees, the sleeves dangling by her elbows, almost all of it covered in blood and torn in many places. "We should go to the next town and get some food… and some clothes for you."


~Time skip because I don't like shopping xD~

Erica had managed to change into a black long-sleeved shirt, faded blue jeans and white sneakers. Said red-eyed child sat under the tree with Gray, staring at the sky after finishing a full-fruit meal.

"So your magic is dark magic, right?" Gray spoke up. "Yes," Erica replied, sitting up. "Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to see your magic."

"Ah… Okay then." She stood up and motioned for the other to follow.

The children found themselves in an open field. Erica stretched her hand forward, a magic circle appeared. It was black and purple and Gray couldn't make out the symbols, they were almost as if another language. Everything in the field, or more specifically everything in line before the magic circle, withered and lost all life in them.

"Woah…" Gray muttered as the magic circle disappeared. He padded to the dead grass and took a leaflet in between his fingers. "It's dead?"

Erica nodded, sighing, "It's exactly that. This is just one of the kinds I know, this magic takes life. But there are others I can do. But I'm limited to dark magic only."

"Really?"

"Yes…" She put her hands into a cup shape, a magic circle in white appeared above her hands. "But from the life I take with that spell earlier, I can use that life and make them come back as something different." A dove dropped from the magic circle and landed in her hands, sleeping soundly.

"Wow." Gray simply gaped at the sight, "Just what is your magic?"


~Meanwhile~

A dark-skinned man with white hair and black linings all around his face stared at the two children, his gaze affixed onto the female child with a dove in her hands. "Her magic is indeed incredible…" he muttered.

"Indeed." said the blue-haired boy with him. His skin was was pale, his eyes auburn, his hair bright blue, an unusual red marking tracing around and over his right eye. "She's interesting…" he had a small smirk on what he said, "Erica…"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just watch her." The boy watched the dove the red-eyed girl in the field created fly away, "We'll see her potential. When she fulfills this need to discover her powers, then will we appear." He turned to his companion, smirking, "'A child of Zeref' I believe they call her. Maybe she can help in resurrecting Zeref?"

"We'll see in due time."

"Good…" The boy faded away as if he was nothing as he said that.

The white-haired man turned as the boy was gone, "Erica…" he said to himself, "What powers does this lonely child possess? Hm… Perhaps she'll be a good fit for Oracion Seis when her powers have bloomed."