Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

X326

The sky above is a beautiful blue hue, clouds dot the sky, and there is a slight wind that blows the hair of the two people who walk through the fields. One of the two is a bit taller with dark black hair, they look to be around their mid-twenties. The other has ashy pink hair and looks like they are not even ten. The older one looks down towards the other with a pinched expression on their face, it looks like a mix of disgust and something else unreadable.

They reach out grabbing the younger by the scruff of their hair pulling the back of their hair so they are looking up at them. There is fear in the eyes of the pink-haired individual as they look up to the other. The older person's tight grip on the back of their hair does not lighten up as they speak, “I am leaving you with someone for a bit, you will stay on your best behavior, right Natsu?” Tears well up in Natsu’s eyes as he nods, his voice pleading, “I will, I will, I promise, please let go Zeref-nii.”

Zeref lets go as he shoves Natsu’s head forward, the shorter of the two falls over at the quick change. The dark-haired individual looks down at the other in disdain from where he is on the ground, “Get back up, stop your crying, and do not call me your brother.” Natsu shakily gets back up onto his feet, he wipes the tears out of his eyes before he looks up to the deep void of Zeref’s eyes.

The dark mage turns his head away from the child next to him gesturing for him to keep walking “Go a little farther out into the field, someone will be here to get you in a bit.” That was the last thing Natsu heard from him before the other disappeared in a flair of dramatics. As soon as the other had disappeared he collapsed onto the ground. Tears began to well in his eyes once more before spilling over in chest-rattling sobs. 

He doesn’t know how long he spent laying in the grassy field with rough cries echoing in the empty air. Suddenly he feels soft hands as fingers run through his hair, and his ears pick up on a soft cooing sound as his tears slowly come to a stop. He doesn’t have the energy in him to fight whoever it is so he nuzzles into their hand. Slowly he opens his eyes, though he didn’t realize they had fallen shut in the first place.

Above him is a lady who looks like she is an angel who was sent down to save him. She has long blonde locks that are pulled back into a ponytail, the sun lays a glowing halo around her so he can’t see her facial features. It takes a second for him to realize that she is talking to him, “...su, Natsu. There you are honey, are you ok?” He did not know who this woman was, but she had such a comforting aura to her that he couldn’t help but to trust her.

He sniffles a bit when her question processes in his brain “Zeref-nii left me here, all alone, and he yelled at me.” A frown painted the woman's face, or at least that’s the expression he thinks that she is making. “Well that was mean of him, but you are now gonna be staying with me and some of my friends sweetie, how does that sound?” He brings his hand up to his face rubbing at his eyes as he sits up, he finally sees the person in full light.

She has the same hair as when he was lying down, but now he can see her lightly tanned face. Her eyes are a light amber color, her face has light wrinkles around her eyes and smile lines. She was kneeling in front of him, about where he had been lying a second ago. The creases on her face are accentuated by her smile as she gives him a kind look as he thinks over her words. “Who are you?” The lady keeps the same kind smile on her face as she answers him “My name is Anna Heartfilia sweetie, and I am gonna be one of the people taking care of you for a bit.” As Anna speaks she slowly stands back up before offering her hand out to him.

He looks at her hand, a bit skeptical at first before he takes it using it to stand up. Her hand is just as soft as it had been when he felt it running through his hair. His mind wanders for a few seconds before he realizes that she is looking him over. He specifically notices that she is looking over his tattered clothes and he can’t help but feel a bit self conscious. He didn’t have the best clothes, there were some singe holes in his shirt, and both his shirt and pants were caked in mud.

She must have noticed how uncomfortable he was as he shifted back and forth because she stopped looking over his clothes with a critical eye. She let her kind smile paint her face once more, moving closer to him before she began to run her fingers through his hair again. He quickly leans into the comfort of her touch listening to her airy voice as she talks to him, “When we get home I’m gonna hem some of my spare clothes for you, and we will give you a proper bath, how does that sound?” A noise that was akin to a content purr slipped out of him at the idea.

She lightly laughed at the noise, glad that he was comfortable with her, most people wouldn’t become connected to someone this quickly. She holds her hand out to Natsu, she knows that he isn’t all that young, but he seems to like the physical contact that she is giving him. He quickly latches onto her hand before they begin to walk, he silently follows her though she does have to shorten her strides for him to be able to keep up.

They walk for half an hour and he doesn’t even say a single thing, content to walk in the silence. However as they grew closer to their end destination Anna could tell that it seemed he was able to sense that they were getting close, because he began to grow antsy. When his nerves hit an all-time high she stopped them in their tracks, before she kneeled down in front of him. She gets him to look into her eyes and focus on her, not whatever is in his head.

She lifts up one of her hands and runs it through his hair as they look at each other “Hey sweetie, what’s wrong?” His eyes quickly glance behind her at the base of the mountains that were within eyeshot. “What’s over there Ms Anna?” She lets out a quiet cooing noise under her breath at the softness of his tone “Just some friends who are anticipating meeting you, though I should warn you, they aren’t exactly human.”

Those words didn’t seem to placate his nerves all that much, which she could understand in this context, who wouldn’t be scared to hear that the people you are going to be living with are inhuman? His voice shook a bit as he spoke up, which she couldn’t help but frown at. “What are they?” She sighs, keeping her tone and hand gentle as she works to calm him “They are dragons, but not the scary ones you hear about in stories, they are very sweet, at least most of them, two of them can be a bit snippy.”

She could see a small sparkle in his eyes at the mention of dragons like it was something that interested him. But there was still the underlying fear in his eyes, “They won’t try to eat me?” She couldn’t help but laugh a bit because in her head that idea seemed preposterous. “No sweetie, they actually want to train you.” Most of the fear seemed to leave him at that as he tilted his head to the side “They want to train me? How?” She smiled at him, seeing that his spirits were slowly lifting. “Well, how about we get there, and they can tell you themselves.”

This time he grabs onto her hand trying to pull her along in order to get there faster now that his interest has been peaked. She laughs a bit as she quickens her stride slightly to keep up with his excited pace. She makes sure to keep them on the right path to get there but otherwise let him lead.

Soon enough she had made it to a giant open stretch of trimmed grass at the base of the mountain. Far off to one side, there was a hut that looked like it had been built by hand and was bigger than what one person could live in. But that isn’t what Natsu’s eyes fell on, no, his eyes fell on the dragons that were talking on the other side of the field. Five majestic dragons, the closest thing he had seen to a dragon had been some of his brother's demons, but even they were nowhere close to the amount of power that these dragons exuded.

Anna smiles as she squats down next to Natsu, laying one hand on his back, she can feel that he is shaking, she is guessing with a mix of nerves and excitement. She talks calmly and quietly to him “Do you wanna go meet them?” He nods excitedly and she can’t help but laugh a bit as she stands back up before slowly leading him over to them.

They were sitting in what was almost a semi-circle formation so she moved into the open area between them, somewhere that they could all see them, and she and Natsu could see all of them. She cleared her throat to get their attention, knowing full well they had sensed the two of them coming even before she had stopped to calm Natsu down earlier. All five of the dragons turned to look down at them, the young boy attempts to hide most of his body behind her.

She smiles up at the imposing figures while she also puts a comforting hand on Natsu behind her. “Hi everyone, this is Natsu Alvarez.” She gestures to the boy behind her, who peaks out a bit to wave at them and look them all over. She begins telling him who each of them is while pointing at them from left to right “Natsu these are Grandeeney the Sky Dragon, Metalicana the Iron Dragon, Igneel the Fire Dragon King, Skiadrum the Shadow Dragon, and finally Weisslogia the White Dragon.”

Natsu was looking up at the dragons like they were gods and in his mind they probably were. Anna lets out a quiet chuckle as she moves so that Natsu is in front of her so that the others can properly look him over. The dragons seem to have a bit of shared unease between them, but she feels that they will get used to another human presence, at least that’s what she believes their unease is about. The first to lean down towards him is Grandeeney, she lowers herself towards the ground so she can get a proper look at him. She gives him a light smile, her eyes convey a slight amount of joy in them. Her voice has a soft timber to it that Anna had always found comforting, “Hello Natsu, it is nice to meet you.”

The young Alvarez’s eyes practically sparkle with awe at her, he shyly reaches out his hand before pulling it back. It seemed that the sky dragoness could tell he wanted to touch her so she moved a bit closer to him so that her face was close to him, “Go on little one, you may touch.” He reaches up once again, his fingers running through her feather-like scales, the soft bristles parting between them. He couldn’t help but express his amazement out loud, “It’s so soft.”

Grandeeneys body rumbles with a light laugh at the boy's exclamation. As the two were occupied with that Anna looked up at the other four dragons who were silently watching the interaction. Metalicana and Skiadrum are wearing the same normal unreadable expressions on their faces, Weisslogia let a small smile on his face while he watched the scene in front of him. Finally, Igneel had an expression almost as unreadable as the first two, but she could see a bit of turmoil in the depths of his eyes. She had a hunch about what could be causing that turmoil, but that is something that she could ask about later.

Anyway, they still need to tell Natsu what he is even here for, and then figure out which one of them is gonna claim him. The information that she knows about the small pink-haired boy from Zeref leads her to believe that he is going to be paired with Igneel. But once again, those are some things they can deal with a little later after the dragons have gotten used to the other’s presence. In all honesty, she thinks she actually might need to just get Natsu up to some proper health standards, he looks thin for his age, and a bit beat up.

Finally, she looks back to where Natsu is still running his fingers through Grandeeneys scales, the dragoness seems to be relaxing under the boy's touch. She walks a bit closer to the two before gaining their attention, “Well, I hate to break this up, but, Natsu needs a bath, and probably some food, so we shall go do that, we will see you five in the morning.” At this indication, the sky dragoness slowly slips her head out from underneath Natsu’s hand and moves back to her full height, “Good night Anna, Natsu.”

The four other dragons still say nothing as Anna leads Natsu over to the other end of the field where the hut sits. She opens the door before grabbing her lighter from her pocket as she makes her way around the room lighting the lamps. The boy stays in the doorway taking in all the details around him, how the light bounces off of the walls. She slowly makes her way back over to him, leading him out of the doorway and closing the door behind them, “This will be your home for a while Natsu, it’s just as much yours as it is mine.”

He looks at her with a light awe in his eyes, “You mean I get to live in a real house, Zeref-nii always told me that this was a place for adults.” Some of the comments that he was making were starting to concern her, as well as warp the perception she had of her so-called ‘friend’. Her eyebrows furrowed as she kneels to look Natsu in the eyes. “Well that’s not true honey, everyone should be able to live in houses, all the way from when you're born to when you die.”

She can see the gears in his mind turning as he processes what he just told her, to get his mind off of that she guides him towards where his room is. She pushes the door to his room open for him to see inside, it’s not much but it has a bed and a small basket of clothes that she made for him by hand. “This is going to be your room Natsu, and there are some clothes for you, grab some that you want to wear, go wash up, put those on, and then meet me out where we came in, ok?” He mindlessly nods as he looks through the basket, finding clothes that look comfortable.

He walks back over to her with the clothes in hand, she gives him a small smile before she leads him to the washroom. There is a metal basin, with a bucket next to it full of water that sits on hot coals. “Can I leave you to take care of it from here?” She waits until she sees him nod and then she heads back out towards where they first came in.

The front of the cabin right as you walk in shows a kitchenette and a small dining room. She looks through the food that she had stocked up and realizes she may need to head into town again soon to pick up some more supplies, though she could do with what she had for now. She sighed as she started to put together a simple meal for the two of them, something that could hold the boy over until a bit of a heavier meal tomorrow since it was starting to get late.

Some time passed before she picked up on the padding of bare feet on the hard wood of the floor. She turned away from the makeshift stove she had lit with one of the candles, she had a smile on her face as she looked at the now clean boy. “Don’t you feel much better now sweetie?” He gives a shy nod before he sniffs the air as if he can smell the food that is brewing up on the stove. She chuckles as she hears his stomach growl in response to the smell, “How about you sit down at the table, the food is almost done.”

He follows her instructions shuffling his way over to the table before sitting in the chair, swinging his legs back and forth as he waits. She turns back to the stove adding a few more seasonings, making quiet conversation as she does. “Natsu, honey, how old are you?” He takes a second to think before he answers her, “I think I’m eight.” She lets out a noncommittal before focusing back on the stew.

 Once it’s ready she begins moving around the kitchen to pull out two bowls for them. She sets the bowls next to the pot before she ladles a few spoonfuls of the stew into each of the bowls. She opens a drawer, pulling out two spoons before making her way over to the table. She sets one of the bowls down in front of him with a spoon before sitting in the seat that was across from him.

They eat in silence for a bit before Natsu speaks up, “I really like the food, Ms. Anna.” She can’t help but let out a light laugh at the honorifics “No need for the Ms, Natsu, you may call me just Anna, but, thank you” She lets out a quiet sigh when he responds with an “Ok Ms. Anna.” They continue to eat in companionable silence until both of their bowls are empty, “Would you like more Natsu?”

He seems to almost look guilty as he nods, “Only if it isn’t an inconvenience for you Ms Anna.” She gives him a pitying smile, “It is not an inconvenience to ask for food sweetie, especially if I am offering it to you, ok?” She just gets a small nod in response, though she must say that it is better than nothing. She takes both of their bowls back over to the stove. She puts hers off to the side because she personally was full. But she takes the ladle and fills his bowl up once more.

He brings his bowl back to the table laying it in front of him, he gobbles the stew down before announcing that he is done. She then stands gathering up his bowl before putting it with hers. She then gets him up and herds him towards his bed, “Ok honey, now it’s time to head to bed, you can learn more about everything tomorrow.” She gets him into the bed before beginning to tuck him in. Once she has him tucked in, she leans down and gives him a kiss on the forehead, “Goodnight Sweetie.” She smiles as she heads towards the door when she hears a “Goodnight Ms Anna” in return.

She shuts the door behind her before she tidies up the hut a bit, cleaning the dishes she had put off to the side. Once the cabin was tidy she made her way to her own room, beginning her nighttime routine. She takes her keys off of her belt, laying them on a secure hook next to her bed. After they are secure she changes into her night clothes, laying down into the bed, and falls asleep with a light feeling in her chest in anticipation for the days to come.

Chapter Text

X331

A thirteen-year-old Natsu lies curled up, napping, next to Igneel as he waits for Anna to get back from town. She had said she was going to be picking something up for him as a surprise, so for the first hour or two he ran around, spewing fire everywhere before he wore himself out. Igneel’s wing was tucked protectively around him as he sat watching the fields around them, in quiet conversation with the other dragons.

In the distance, he can see the form of who he believes is Anna. She is making her way towards them, but he notices that there is someone next to her. On instinct, he wraps his wing tighter around Natsu while also trying not to rouse the boy. The two forms continue to move closer to the collection of dragons. Slowly as they get closer he begins to take in the details of the figure next to Anna that, when he looks closer, seems to be a child.

The child had three piercings on each area where the eyebrows should be, they also had two more under their lip. They had shaggy black hair that was about shoulder length. Finally, they were shoeless, wearing tattered clothes. Whoever the child was, he was not impressed by their looks.

Finally, Anna stops in front of their semi-circle, setting down her bag of stuff from the town. The child stands next to her definitely, arms crossed in front of their chest. All conversation between the dragons stops as they look down at their companion and the new person. Their friend gives them a minute to look over the child before she begins speaking, “Everyone, this is Gajeel, I found him on the streets when I was visiting the town.”

When she gets nothing in response she then turns towards Gajeel, she introduces each of the dragons before pointing to the sleeping Natsu. “And now Gajeel, this is one of the other people who will be training with you, his name is Natsu.” Igneel doesn’t overlook the fact that she must have already told him about their plans for him. But for now, he focuses his attention on this kid that she calls Gajeel, he doesn’t exactly like how closed off and standoffish he seems.

If he focuses a bit more though he can hear that the child has a nervous heart which shows his true feelings. He is taken out of his thoughts when Metalicana steps forward and the boy's eyes are dragged up to his imposing form. Igneel can’t help but snort a bit when he sees awe in the boy's eyes at the Iron Dragon's appearance.

As Metalicana speaks it is a deep grinding noise, a sound made by the deep iron in his lungs. “You, child, shall be working with me.” There was some argument from Weisslogia and Skiadrum but they backed down after they got a look from the great Sky Dragoness. After the two stood down she decided to speak, though it was a tease targeted at the Iron Dragon, “It makes sense, he has your spunk.”

The other shot her a dirty look before looking back down at the boy below him who seemed to have a permanent scowl set on his face. He returned the scowl down at the boy, the iron of his scales creaking as he did. “Now go boy, Anna will help you to settle in.” Igneel expects them to head straight towards the cabin but Anna comes closer to him first. He is confused at first before realizing she is probably attempting to get to Natsu.

He lifts his wing so that she can go under to wake him. Natsu takes a second to wake but once he is up he jumps to his feet before grabbing Anna in a tight hug. The boy might still be young but he recently hit puberty so he shot up like a tree, now being taller than the celestial mage. He had also been working to grow his hair out so it’s in a small ponytail at the base of his neck.

Anna laughs as she pats him on the back before breaking away from the hug, “Come on Natsu, I have someone I need to introduce you to.” She leads him over to where Gajeel is standing, still not having moved from his original spot. “Natsu, this is Gajeel, he is going to train to be the Iron Dragon Slayer.” Gajeel is staring up at Natsu as he looks back down at him, the two seemingly locked in a staring contest.

Anna sighed and clapped her hands, picking up the bag that she had set on the ground earlier. “Ok boys, let's go.” She turns towards the direction of the cabin, Natsu quickly spins on his heel to follow after her with an excited “Ok Ms Anna.” Igneel can’t help but chuckle at his friend's response, “How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Anna.” He keeps a small smile on his face as he watches the group make their way towards the cabin.

Natsu runs ahead towards the cabin bursting through the doors so they smack against the wall, he jumps in as he takes a deep breath of the air. The sun was still pretty high in the sky so there wasn’t much of a need to light any candles, there were plenty of windows. Anna follows after him, she sighs when she can hear the resounding noise when the door hits against the wall. “Please do not break the door Natsu, it is very hard to get a new one.”

The boy at least had the decency to look sheepish “Sorry.” She lets out a quiet laugh as she moves farther into the cabin, setting the bag of stuff onto the counter, “It’s ok but please be careful next time.” She looks back to see that Gajeel is sort of just hovering in the doorway of the cabin as if he isn’t sure he is allowed inside. “Come on Gajeel, it’s ok, this is now your home as well.”

He walks fully inside as he closes the door behind him, she flashes him a grateful smile. “So, I do not have any new clothes that I can give you, but I have some of Natsu’s old clothes that he recently grew out of that I can give to you.” She moves towards an area in the cabin that they use to store some excess things, she pulls out a basket, pulling out some old clothes. She grabs a shirt and a pair of pants that look like they would fit him.

She walks back over to the boy and hands him the clothes with a small smile on her face, her smile grows wider when he finally speaks up with a quiet “Thank you.” He had talked to her a few times when they had still been in the town but that had been about it, she got the basics, like his name, Gajeel Redfox, his age, seven (at least that’s what he thinks), and his living status, homeless. She gives him a soft smile in return, “You're welcome, now, Natsu can show you to the bathroom so you can wash up a bit, and once you're out I will hopefully have some food ready.”

She quietly watches as Natsu leads Gajeel farther into the house, she then turns back to the bags on the counter. She slowly began to unpack the stuff that she had gotten from town, putting each thing where it belonged. She hears when Natsu comes back out, he situates himself in the normal chair that he sits in at the table. She continues to put things away, and once everything is away though she begins working on a meal.

Since she had just gone shopping it meant she could make something a bit more intricate than a basic stew like she had when Natsu had first joined them. She flits around the kitchen grabbing ingredients that she would need as well as the utensils. She grabbed Natsu for assistance in lighting the stove as it was more convenient at the moment. Once she had gotten the stove lit she shooed him back to his seat, cause if she kept him too close while cooking somehow the food would burn.

Once all of that was done she focused on her cooking, she busied herself around the kitchen. She chopped up some vegetables before throwing them into an old pan that looked like it was beginning to rust. As those sauteed, she turned to another area where she sliced up some beef into thin strips. She then transferred the vegetables into a bowl, setting them off to the side, before turning back to the beef.

She took a few strips of beef off the counter, then she turned to lay them into the pan. She smiles at the satisfying sizzle that begins to come from the pan as the beef cooks. She needed to make sure she made enough because Natsu had a pitless appetite and she doesn’t know the last time that Gajeel may have had a proper meal. As the meat is cooking she pulls out a loaf of bread that had cost her a pretty penny, but it was better to use it now, before it went bad.

She hums as she slices the loaf up, once she finishes cutting up the bread she spins around the kitchen, grabbing 3 plates. She couldn’t say that it was exactly something fancy, but it was better than the stew she had made for Natsu’s arrival. She lays the plates out on the counter, she puts a slice of bread on each. She then grabs a fork using it to pull the strips of meat off of the pan and lay them onto the bread.

She finishes laying the meat out, then puts another piece of bread on top of each to make a simple sandwich. Finally, she picks up the bowl of vegetables, giving a bit more to the boys than she gave to herself since both of them are still growing. Once she finishes preparing the plates she turns around to set them on the table, she jumps when she sees Gajeel sitting there, he had slipped in without her knowing.

She gives him a small smile as she sets a plate in front of him, she then sets one in front of Natsu before turning back to the counter to grab her own. She grabs her plate, turns back to the table, and takes her seat. Gajeel had already begun to dig into his food with vigor, she smiled glad to see that he liked the food. Natsu is eating his food a bit slower, the whole time he eats his eyes are trained on the younger boy.

Anna eats her food in silence, watching the two boys with a close eye, hoping to gain a bit more insight into how their interactions may go in the future. She takes a second to let her eyes linger on Gajeel, his hair was still wet from washing up, it seemed like it needed to be brushed. Natsu’s old clothes were a bit baggy, but that could be because the boy was a bit thin, she just needed to get some meat onto his bones.

But logically she knows that she needs to ease him into higher amounts of food. She will start with some lighter meals like this, with some better ingestible foods that are good for building nutrients. Later she can start to give him heavier meals, one that will fit well for the amount of energy he will be using in his training. That also makes her think, that she may need to stock up on Iron, if Metalicana is gonna be training the boy then he is gonna gain an appetite in the future.

She shakes her head a bit with a quiet sigh as her brain flicks through a checklist of things that she is going to need to do. She also still needs to find Slayers for the other three dragons, which means she will need to expand the cabin a bit. It has three official bedrooms and one small office kind of area that she had been using for storage. So that means she will need to use the boys to help her make three extension bedrooms, and possibly one more washroom, she is not living in a house with five children and sharing one washroom.

She tunes back into the world around her, ignoring her thoughts that are still running a mile a minute as she looks over the boys. Gajeel had finished his food and was silently staring at Natsu, while the other boy was finishing up with the last of his vegetables. The older boy was doing his best to ignore the eyes on him but she could the constant attention was putting him on edge.

Once Natsu finished eating his vegetables he turned to stare back at Gajeel with a raised eyebrow. His voice was a bit apprehensive as he spoke “Can I, help you?” The younger boy just continued to stare with a slight inquisitive look, seeming to study Natsu. He seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted as he gave a slight nod before turning back towards Anna.

She smiled with a slight huff of exasperation as she began to get a true feel of how life with these two was going to be. Anna stands, slowly gathering up the empty dishes and bringing them to sit on the counter, she would worry about cleaning them later. She then turned back to the boys, Natsu now staring at Gajeel as the other ignored him.

As she watched them her lips curled into a bit of a frown at the state of Gajeels hair, noting the way that it was matted in a few areas, she would need to fix that. She walked a bit closer kneeling next to the younger boy, he turned to look at her. “Gajeel, hun, is it ok if I brush your hair, it’s a bit of a mess, and I want to make you comfortable.” She offered him a soft smile that grew a bit when he gave a small nod.

She went to the washroom to grab the hairbrush before making her way back out to the dining room. She stood behind Gajeel, slowly working the knots out of his air, a quiet hum slipping from her. The light tune stretched on for a bit before Natsu got antsy as he began to talk about the day's training with Igneel.

She leans into Natsu’s voice as she works the knots out of Gajeels's hair, feeling the boy relax under her touch. She relaxes into the atmosphere; this is something that she can get used to. 

Chapter Text

X332

Anna would visit the nearest town once a month to get some more supplies, stocking up on food for the growing slayers back home. She sighs as she pulls her cloak closer, the rain beating overhead. Most of the shops were closed at this point, the rain having made her trek to the town slower than normal. She quickly ducked into an alley to get out of the rain.

She jumps slightly at the sound of a cry farther down the alley. She looked toward the source of the noise and saw a young woman sitting on the ground. She slowly began to make her way closer, noticing the woman was curled in on herself, crying into her hands. Anna kneels next to the woman, gently placing her hand on the other’s shoulder. 

The woman's head whipped around to face her, tears streaming down her mud-streaked face. Anna's expression creased noticing the sorrow that plagued this woman’s face. “Are you okay ma’am? Do you need help?” She watched as the other attempted to gather herself up before she broke again.

Anna simply waited kneeling next to the woman with her hand on her shoulder, giving a gentle comfort. Finally, the woman spoke her voice a fragile thing. “My daughter is sick, and I don’t have the resources to take care of her, or even raise her. I’m stuck on these streets unable to get off of them, I don’t want that for her.”

The lady turned to look at a shivering bundle next to her that Anna hadn’t noticed before. Curled up tightly, a sickly paleness to her skin was a girl no older than two, blue locks framed her face but they were muddled with grease and mud. A deep frown found its way onto Anna’s features as she took in the state of the girl.

She then turned back to look at the woman whose face was already stricken with grief even though her daughter was still alive. Anna thinks that Grandeeney may be able to help, this girl could be their next slayer when she is of age. However, that meant her only option was to take this young girl away from her mother and leave this poor woman alone on these streets.

Anna sits in front of the woman and takes her hands into her own, looking her in the eyes. “I can take your daughter to get the help she needs, but I can’t promise that she will be able to come back. I will give her a great life, and take care of her, but only if that is what you wish.”

Both pairs of eyes looked at the little girl as coughs rattled from her thin frame. The woman pulled her hands out of Anna’s, pulling the little girl close to her chest in a hug. She dropped a kiss onto the greasy blue hair, tears running down her face. She picks her up before gently handing her over to Anna who cradles the girl close to her, hand supporting the back of her head.

Anna gives the woman in front of her a sad smile, she goes to speak when the woman interrupts. “Her name is Wendy, please give her the life that I never would have been able to give her.” Anna leans forward, resting her forehead against the woman in front of her. “I will treat Wendy like the most precious gem in the entire world.”

Anna arrives back at the cove early the next day, a bag of supplies strung across her back, and a small shivering child in her arms. She had Wendy’s head tucked against her shoulder and a blanket wrapped around her but the shivers that racked her body refused to cease. The little girl hadn’t woken even once during the trip back leading the mage to even greater concern.

Her feet carried her even quicker once she could spot the circle of dragons sitting in the distance. She ran up to them at a light jog, taking quick note that neither of the boys was out yet. Anna swiftly made her way up to Grandeeney without even a greeting to any of them. She looks up to the sky dragoness, pulling the blanket back to reveal the greasy blue hair and pale skin of the girl in her arms.

Something akin to a gasp left the Sky Dragon's mouth at the state of the bundle in Anna’s arms. Grandeeney brought her head down, gently pressing her snout against the child. A bright white light begins to glow around the three of them. Anna can feel as the shivers gradually leave Wendy’s frail form, her breaths becoming clearer and less raspy.

As Grandeeney began to pull away Anna laid her forehead against the dragoness’s snout, hoping that she could portray her gratitude. A deep rumble leaves the sky Dragons chest at the display, a content purr. Once the dragoness had sat back at her full height she looked back down at them again, something Akin to fondness in her eyes. “Once this child is old enough she shall be mine to train.”

Anna smiles up at Grandeeney before she turns back towards the cabin a little farther into the woods, finally offering the other dragons a slight greeting on her way out. Now her only concern was to get this child a bath and some warm clothes.

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Anna had never really been a fan of the winter, it made the trek to and from the town even longer than usual. Now it was worse than ever as she hated leaving the kids alone at the cabin. She loved Natsu and Gajeel with all her heart, but she didn’t trust either of them to be able to take care of a three-year-old for all that long.

She attempts to pick up her pace, pushing through the snow falling faster by the minute. She had decided to walk through the woods using the trees as at least a partial cover from the snow that fell around her. She wraps her cloak tighter around herself and leans forward looking down as she presses forward through the onslaught. 

As Anna watched the ground she began to note specks of red that flecked the white snow that covered the ground. The further she walked the more red seemed to paint the wintery mix. Her pace began to slow before she came to a full stop at the sounds of shrill cries coming from further ahead.

She lifts her head to see a brutal scene, blood spreads across an open patch in the woods, and two bodies are lying mutilated on the ground. She begins to make her way closer, dropping her sack onto the ground as she reaches for her keys at her waist. Finally, her eyes land on the deep black fur of a dire wolf. The wolf is standing in front of a rock formation a growl rumbling from its chest.

As Anna listened closer she could hear the shrill cries from before emanating from within the rock formation. Once she was in the clearing the dire wolf turned its attention to her, baring its teeth at her as it began to charge at her.

Quickly she whipped one of her keys off her belt in an instant thrusting it into the air. “Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee! Taurus." In front of her stands the visage of a bull standing on its hind legs, dressed in baggy brown pants and a loose black top. The humanoid bull holds a large two-sided axe in his hand.

Anna directs the attention of the bull towards the dire wolf “Taurus, kill it!” Taurus charges at the approaching creature, swinging his axe down, the axe making quick work of the animal. The dire wolf lets out a pitiful howl before it flops onto the ground, its blood joining that which already painted the snow.

Anna thanked the spirit before sending him back to the spirit realm. She hooks her key back onto the ring on her hip before she heads towards the crying coming from within the rock formation. She kneels in front and looks inside, her eyes take a second to adjust before she notices the form of a young child curled tightly around something in his arms. She could hear sobs coming from the child, while shrill cries came from the bundle in his arms.

She positioned herself in a way that would hopefully block the children's view from the bloody mess behind her before she spoke up, her voice soft. “Hi hunny, it’s ok. You’re safe, and the scary creature is gone. Can you come here?” The child looks up at her, piercing blue eyes staring deep into her soul as sobs still rattle their chest.

The kid slowly scooches their way closer to her, holding the bundle tightly to them as they do. Both the kid and the bundle seemed to be covered in blood, but by the looks of it, neither of them was bleeding themselves. “Hi sweetie, I’ll take care of you, you’re gonna come with me ok?” The kid continues to just stare at her before giving a small nod, she offers them a calm smile in return.
She opens up her cloak and delicately scoops both of the kids up into her arms before letting the cloak fall closed around them, blocking their view of the bloody scene. She cradles them close to her chest, gently rocking them as she feels the sobs slowly come to a stop. She then makes her way over to where she had dropped the groceries delicately picking them up before continuing back on her route, away from the bloody patch of forest.

Anna makes it back late that night, the sun just setting against the horizon as she makes her way to the patch the dragons sit themselves in. Just as she has done many times before she stands in the open part of the semi-circle as the dragons look towards her. As she looks them over she can see the concern in some of their eyes at the scent of blood which emanates from under her cloak.

She doesn’t exactly know how she will explain to them what had taken her so long to get back so she starts by pulling her cloak back to reveal the child pressed closely to her chest, and the bundle lying on top of them. Once she was sure the dragons had seen she let the cloak fall back closed around them.
Anna has to take a second to compose herself before she begins to tell them everything. “I had heard cries in the woods, when I got there, there was blood everywhere, two mutilated bodies, and a dire wolf snarling into a cave. I had Taurus kill it, but these kids now have no parents, so they will be the final two.”

She turns to face Skiadrum and Weisslogia, the only two who have not claimed their slayers yet. “You both will wait till they are of a proper age before they are claimed, or even begin their training. They have gone through something no child every should have to, so now if you excuse me, I will be going inside to clean them off, and tuck them in, in a safe and warm environment.”

She then turns her back on the dragons and heads towards the cabin, whispering calming words to the children bundled beneath her cloak.