Though usually a calm man, Makarov Dreyar almost exploded in anger upon seeing the result of Cana's reading into his son. He sighed. None of the Dreyars were emotionally stable people, to say the very least.

This, however, he believed was more than warranted.

He frowned. He did not typically rely on Cana's readings, however incredible she was with her cards, but there was reason for genuine concern. He briefly closed his eyes. Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy had gone out on a job near the harbour, and their confrontation with a dark guild had caused its pseudo leader to give them images of what looked to be an R-System in exchange for his life; handed off to police rather than killed. But the images were what felt off. They were images, too, that had been thought only to be in the possession of the Magic Council. The Council. Two months had passed in relative peace since the kerfuffle with them, and Natsu's fight with Erza, but it now all seemed to have been completely frivolous. There was no proof, of course, Ivan had anything to do with it. The Council had even informed him Ivan had nothing to do with it. For as much as he often resented them, he knew they were thorough. His anger towards his son aside, Makarov knew full well the severity of the situation. Erza. Her story, her early life was a harrowing one, and she recognised the system. He sighed. His son could be dealt with at a later time. This was an immediate concern.

"Damn it!" Makarov muttered to himself. "It's just one thing after another, isn't it. What are we supposed to do?"

Mirajane looked up from where she was drawing in a notebook behind the bar.

"Has something happened?" She asked, brushing her long hair over her left shoulder. "What's in that file?"

"A report to the Magic Council," Makarov irritably told her, just about slamming the file in his hands down onto the bar top. "I'm having Gildarts head out to deliver it personally to them today."

Mirajane set down her pen in shock. "You're giving a report to the Magic Council? Is this about Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Lucy's last job? The one near –"

"Yes," Makarov shook his head. "It's disturbing to say the very least."

"Everything is disturbing at some point," Gildarts said, scooping up the rather large file. "You just have to find it."

Makarov said nothing, instead leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. Gildarts left quickly, and, shortly after he left, Laxus and Hisui stepped in. Makarov smiled upon seeing his grandson press a gentle kiss to Hisui's forehead before heading up to the second floor to look over S-Class job requests. Hisui sat down, chatting with Cana and the Thunder Legion. Makarov chuckled a bit to himself. The five of them had only returned from a job in Crocus the night before. Curse breaking. Evergreen, Stella, Bickslow, Riley, and Freed. All of them friends, all of them close, and three of them particularly willing to bend and break things (read: rules). The guild master sighed. It was a damn good thing Freed had his head on right, but his decision to join the rest of them likely had been an attempt to get away from the madness in the guild hall (read: uncalled for destruction). Then again, Bickslow was a master at it. He took a look around. Everyone seemed to be having either a relaxing day, or a normal one, or a day starting and ending with drinking. Macao and Bisca, at the other end of the bar, appeared to be in a battle of wills of sorts against each other and Cana with respect to who could drink more and keep it down. His thoughts of his son left him, and, for a little while, he found himself able to enjoy the day.

"It's good to see you, Hisui," Makarov said, briefly glancing at Riley who was scrolling through her MP3 player and tapping the table. He turned back to the princess. "Laxus isn't too much trouble, is he?"

She blushed. "He's fine, don't worry."

"Good," Makarov said, pausing for a moment to clear his throat. "Well. I was hoping, if you have any interest, that you might stay with the guild for a while."

Hisui blinked, surprised. "Really?"

Makarov nodded. "I don't make jokes about matters such as that."

Hisui tried not to grin. "I was planning on staying a while, as it happens," She admitted, unable to hide her smile. "I don't imminently have to return to Crocus unless my father absolutely needs me to."

"Excellent!" Makarov said, clasping his hands together, and raised his voice to a shout. "Do you hear that, Laxus? You've made quite the impression on the Princess!"

Laxus and Hisui both flushed in slight embarrassment.

"He has," Hisui finally said, her eyes meeting Laxus' again. "And quite a good one, at that."

Laxus matched her smile with one of his own, his thoughts wandering. She and I have spent time together for two months, now. And she and I went on an...actual first date just last week. Two months. Two months. He would not admit it to himself, but he hoped time with her would be much, much longer than the time they had already spent together.

Time he cared about far more than he was willing to let on to anyone, much less himself.

"Erza."

"Siegrain."

The twenty two year old Wizard Saint and the twenty one year old mage sat down across from each other in the back of the Fairy Tail guild hall. Having a table between them was more strategic than anything else. Erza watched him closely, twitching with just about every move he made. She lowered her hands and rested them on one of her swords, which she had set down on her lap. Her fingers danced over top of it. She did not make any attempt to mask her irritation. He seemed completely unbothered. Why does that get under my skin? Is there any good reason for it? Her eyes kept falling on the tattoo over and under his right eye. The same one his twin bore. A mark from their family, a tradition on the male children. Jellal. He had known that much about his family and little else. It had been a jealousy of hers when they were children. He at least had known family. He at least had hope that he still had family out there. Bitterness crept further around her, shoulders defensively creeping up towards her ears. She forced them down. Still, he seemed patient, waiting for her to speak.

You move first, Sieg. I'm not giving anything away. You always say you know more than me anyway, being on the Council.

"Do you remember the first time you met me?" Siegrain finally said, eyeing her closely. "You mistook me for my brother, and attempted to kill me in front of the whole Council. It was a few weeks after I had first taken my position as part of it, if I recall, and you had –"

"I'm not in the fucking mood," Erza growled. "What we need to talk about is fucking serious!"

"Just an attempt to diffuse the tension a bit," He replied, almost startled. "But you're right. It is serious."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you already know?"

"That my brother is attempting to access forbidden magic and harness it," He paused. "And, I suspect, based on your reaction, this could be related to something you both –"

"We were raised by a death cult in that tower," Erza snapped. "Which you should know."

He hesitated. "I knew a cult had occupied the tower at one point. I…I didn't know that was where you both had been raised."

Erza relaxed a bit against her will. "So much as I appreciate the admission you don't know everything, I…"

"It's a contentious subject, I should have been more…tactful," He shook his head. "I want to help the best I can with this, Erza."

"Then start by tell me the truth about why I got pulled in particular for that show trial," She said, steadying her voice. "You told me the Elders were worried about being blamed for the destruction in Clover and were using me as a scapegoat."

"That's mostly true," He said shortly. "But it was my suggestion we 'discuss' the matter of, as I believe Org put it, 'Fairy Tail's reckless destruction.' I can't say I objected when they pulled you in particular for the trial. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No," Erza said. "But I appreciate you finally spelling it out instead of bouncing around the question."

For just a moment, they stared at each other.

"What are you going to do about this? About him?"

"I don't know," Siegrain hesitated. "I'm more concerned about what can be done, because the options are very limited."

Erza frowned. "Are they?"

"I can't – and more importantly won't – get into the details," Siegrain warily said. "But, yes, there are very few options about what can be done."

"Lovely," Erza dryly replied. "That's what we all needed to hear."

"Erza, please," He said, reaching over to touch her hand but stopped, thinking better of it. "You, Natsu, Lucy, and…Gray, isn't it? You've all done a lot. Take some time to yourselves, and let the matter be resolved on its own in the legal realm."

"We will," She said, standing up, beginning to walk away. "But," She briefly turned back towards him. "Was that a threat?"

"No. Just a suggestion."

Bickslow had grinned, waving his communications lacrima in Freed's face.

"Hope you liked the braids and the hat my babies made out of it! See! Your hair is so long that it can be styled into a hat and still be long!"

Riley had giggled. "You didn't draw on his face."

"We're not seven," Evergreen had replied, laughing herself when Bickslow showed her the picture again. "I will never get over this! Best night ever!"

Freed took another look around the guild hall before, after several minutes of deep thought and hesitation, sitting down at the bar across from Mirajane and Cana. The rest of the Thunder Legion were, in the case of Bickslow and Evergreen, dragging Riley on a shopping spree for having done well on her spring exams, officially making her halfway through university. Laxus had a job much further south, and Stella, the most calm between himself, her sister, Bickslow, and Riley, was out on a date with a certain Wizard Saint. The guild hall was just about empty apart from himself, Cana, and Mirajane, with the only others being Bisca and Alzack, who appeared to be in the midst of a very contentious game of pool and darts. It was a quiet night, too, which was a relief in and of itself. The fact the Salamander and his teammates had gone on a spontaneous holiday a few days before certainly helped in that. He took one last glance around and then turned back to Cana and Mira. The two looked a bit startled to see him, albeit only for a few seconds. Without thinking twice, Cana started mixing what appeared to be a Long Island Iced Tea and a Cosmopolitan, the latter of which she (mercifully) pushed towards him.

"How did you know I want to drink tonight?"

Cana winked. "Easy. You're basically alone and aren't running the risk of anyone violating your pretty hair or face."

Freed managed to laugh a little. "So, you're saying I'm pretty?"

"You are," Mira said, looking up from her doodling. "Very much so."

Freed flushed a bit pink.

"It also has been awhile since you last had any alcohol," Cana playfully leaned over to elbow him. "Which I think coincided with the last time I read your palm and cards."

Freed sighed, slowly starting on his drink. "It does," He confirmed in between sips. "And this is very good. Have you been practising?"

"Yes, and don't bounce around the question. I mean, come on, Freed," Cana teased. "Did my prediction come true?"

"Almost," He admitted. "To be honest, as you know, I don't believe in all that, but it amuses me."

She pouted. "You break my heart, but, at least, I made you smile."

"I understand where he's coming from," Mira said almost wistfully. "Trying to divine the future is a fuzzy art."

"It is," Cana agreed. "But it's a worthwhile one nonetheless."

"What I would like to know is if your cards can tell me anything about my past," Freed paused, and then shook his head. "Sorry, that was abrupt. And unnecessary."

"If you are interested," Cana said, spreading out her cards. "I can try."

"You've really had no luck with finding anything on yourself?" Mira surmised, reaching over and patting his shoulder. "I can't imagine how that must feel after years of searching, Freed. I'm so sorry."

He sighed. "I can't remember anything before I was five or six. Anything at all. Not even a weird or wistful thought. My parents – really the kind, elderly couple who found and took me in – never had photographs of me until I was six."

Cana paused. "You joined the guild when you were what, seventeen?"

"Fifteen," Freed corrected, then shaking his head. "I ended up here after they passed away. But, yes, the most they knew is they found me a complete mess and sick in the nearest town to their farm. We lived pretty off the grid, and I'm glad for it. I don't think I would have been able to cultivate my magic or anything else without it. But it has always stymied me."

"Of course it does," Mira sent Cana a pointed look when the cartomancer hopped up onto the bar counter, smoothly pushing her spread towards him. "Don't be pushy. It's a sensitive subject."

"I've grown rather accustomed to it," Freed glanced at the cards. "You said the same rules don't apply to both palms. Which one did you read last time?"

"Your right, which is your present and future," Cana swept her cards back up into the pile and set them aside when he extended his left. "You sure you're okay with this?"

He nodded. "It probably won't tell us anything, but, at this point, I'll take whatever insight I can get on the matter."