VERiTY (Fairy Tail Fanfic)

44. Dragon Kids

"So it's raining because of Juvia's magic?" Eir asked, taking a sip of the warm tea Aria had poured out for everyone.

Gajeel, very put off but apparently completely petrified by the sight of Aries, is sitting still for Karen to comb his hair. He's terrified, for some reason, and Eir doesn't want to ask.

Juvia sat meekly, "ah yes. Juvia's magic is... making it rain..."

(Well, it doesn't seem like she can control it yet.)

"That's fine, I guess," Eir decided dismissively, "it's summer anyways. I'd die without some rain easing up the temperature sometimes."

"You're going to get sick either way," Karen mutters in the distance, roughing shoving a bunch of Gajeel's hair into a hair tie, "if you die before we get to Caitshelter, I'm going home."

"At least pick up my corpse to do a proper funeral," Eir sighed. "See? This is why I'm getting gray hairs."

"Your hair is white, Eir."

Ignoring that very true statement, Eir turned his attention back to Aria, who had already blindfolded himself back up, and was preparing a new batch of tea like a very easygoing house husband.

"So, these two are the kids Phantom picked up," Eir says, "well, I trust them with you, Aria," that guy, despite having some shithead magic, was quite a gentle giant for some reason, "I'm just not so sure about literally everyone else."

"I have been vocally Eir approved," Aria says, raising a hand like an oath, "what a joy."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic."

"Did I come off that way? My deepest apologies. I have heard that Eir's approval is quite a big deal in the royal standards of hospitality.."

"What the hell kind of rumours are the guilds trying to spread about me?!"

Eir sighed, bringing Juvia's little cape to his hands to secure an Eir pin in the corner under the girl's curious supervision. He looked over to Gajeel to see him absolutely apprehended and minutes away from exploding, but his hair was up neatly, bunched up with a rubber tie decorated with some shiny things and the Eir pin in between.

Karen looked really proud of her handiwork. Gajeel the gremlin looked like he was in the middle of his villain origin story.

"About him," Eir asked the Phantom member, "did you guys find him after the meteor shower?"

Aria lifted his head immediately.

"Yes," he said. "You know something about it?"

Eir shook his head. "But I saw five of them. Master Makarov found one," he turns just in time to see Gajeel escape Karen's grasps, reach for the bedframe-- and take a huge chomp right out of the iron girders. "And they both eat weird things."

"What the-- hey, don't eat that! We have to pay for that!"

"Ain't your dime, so off my back, ya nutcracker!"

"I still understand nothing you're saying!"

Natsu had done that too, actually. Eaten the fire off the lamp on the guild's doorway like a popsicle and freaked out the crowd. Is this going to be a trend?

"Hey, gremlin," Eir called out, and Gajeel skidded right to a stop to bark a 'the fuck you calling me' before Eir continued his question, "do you know a kid, this tall," gesturing half a head below Juvia, "pink, shouts a lot, muddy and angry?"