Seven months come and go in the blink of an eye, Magnolia had come to terms with its resident dragon and demon, both of which protected the small town and its neighboring lands. Though, the cause of much of the destruction stemmed, not from the Magic entities, but rather, their offsprings. Yes, as hard as it was to believe, the hatchlings of the dragon even at so young an age caused a great deal of destruction in the contracts they took up, particularly when it came to the simplest of tasks. This of course caught the eye of the Magic Council, an organization that was not on the best of terms with either of the Dragneel mythical beings. There was a plethora of attempts to capture them, each attempt ending with the council being given the failed mission debrief, in a taunting manner, by the Dragneel patriarch. It was irritating, for the Council, but entertaining to the king, who upon hearing of this supposed dragon of Magnolia, took it upon himself to invite this dragon to the capital city despite his council's warning. Though, knowing well that no Magnolian would divulge the whereabouts of their town's protector, the invitation was sent to Fairy Tail. Although, in the span of a month, a reply came with the master of the Fairy Tail guild sending his regards, but that the dragon of Magnolia had traveled eastward in search of something. Reports from towns and cities inland proved the story true, as a crimson dragon was spotted flying high above the sky. Though, as with the council's attempts to track down the dragon, the king's guard held no such Look seeking out the giant lizard themselves.

As for the overgrown salamander himself, his travel eastward was less in search of, and more of a training session with, not a dragon slayer, but the young water mage. Given that Juvia's sudden change in living style; from wandering orphan to adopted daughter of a dragon, a time mage, and a demon. Not exactly an event she foresaw, nor did she have as many complaints as one would expect. But really, what was there to find in fault? The time mage, Ultear, was less carefree, but she truly showed how much she cared for the little ones. And was extremely patient as she showed when the iron slayer was less than cooperative the first few weeks. Though, the demon, Levy, was confusing. While she did show fondness for the youngling, Gajeel in particular, the demon was more inclined to be left alone, partaking in few activities. It was only when the younger hatchlings pleaded that she fully committed, but nothing more than that.

Natsu...was another story. In the months that passed, Juvia couldn't deny that she was still mildly afraid of him. And why wouldn't she be? A dragon, a creature straight from myth, a race long thought dead or simply legend, descended from the heavens one fateful day and whisked her and Gajeel away to his nest. There, they were assimilated into the Dragneel family, or rather, she was. Gajeel was taken in by Levy, almost immediately, therefore making him; a Redfox. And with the demon, training and studying was absolute, a necessity one could say. Thus, the boy had little time for anything else, let alone socializing with his 'siblings'. But, the dragon's daughters did help her fit in, particularly the younger ones, Wendy and Meredy.

"Juvia, are you listening to me?" The young mage's mind snapped at attention, her head shook as she quickly remembered where she was; several hundred feet above the ground, riding on the back of her apparent adoptive father. Although, that was what most denizens and mages of Magnolia saw her as. When it was known that she was taken in the Dragneel household, her name officially became; Juvia Dragneel. While she held no qualm towards the name, nor could she be so ungrateful towards the immediate affection and hospitality from her siblings, she wasn't exactly comfortable referring to Natsu or Ultear as her parents. They played the parts exceptionally well, and yet, she found herself unable to call them her mother or father. Seven months, and she still referred to them by honorifics.

"Juvia dozed off. S-sorry." She apologized. Gripping his horns to keep herself firmly atop, the dragon began descending to what appeared to be an island in the middle of a lake.

"I expect your full attention once we land; it took me quite a bit to find this little patch of land for your training." To say she was nervous would be an understatement. Having been told only three days prior that her training would be conducted by the Fire Dragon King left her with quite a sum of anxiety, and it was only racking up each second. That title was enough to give her a glimpse of what he would expect from her, and the many times she'd seen Flare and the other young mages return from a training session with the Dragneel patriarch only furthered her fear. The younglings returned exhausted, covered in dirt and grime, and almost always with little magic left in them. Natsu, on the other hand, always came home with still a hefty chunk of his magic reserves still up. With each day that passed, as each month came and went they all grew stronger. Flare and Gray were on equal levels, though, that was only because Ezra would intervene before the two could go all out. The latter of course was the strongest of the trio, with Gajeel just under the reequip mage, irking Flare to a great degree. As she came to quickly discover, the young redhead seemed to have picked up her father's tendency to challenge any and all she found stronger than her. In most cases, she lost, but an admirable trait Juvia appreciated from her new 'sibling' was the undying determination she showed after each fight. She chose to simply get stronger, rather than sit around and bitch.

Which brought up another question the young mage asked herself constantly, both at home and during their trip; would she live up to the name?

As they landed, Natsu's head hung low, allowing Juvia to safely hop towards the ground. Upon first glance, she took notice of the small island they stood upon; few, albeit lush trees and shrubs, noticeable bird life, and an occasional gentle breeze. The ripples in the water gave a sense that fish were about in the lake. A hopeful prospect, as with the joys of living in a coastal town, Juvia had quite the interest in seafood.

"Here, your lessons will begin, and it will be here that will determine your limits. And by that extension; your advancement as mage." His tone, whether as a human or dragon, always carried a form of authority, and oddly enough a sense of caring and comfort. She couldn't describe what it was, but she felt safer around the dragon then she would with anyone else. Surprisingly enough, she was just as afraid of him as she was comforted. A contradiction, to be certain, but also a conflicting set of emotions she had yet to share with anyone.

Natsu's head lowered to her level, his facial expression, albeit faint, eased. "Of course, no pressure intended." Not intended, perhaps. But it was interpreted as such nonetheless. "Now then, let's begin." The large red salamander focused his attention on the lake before them. "The water element in magic requires, among other things; a calm mind, a controlled emotional state, and patience. Traits severely lacking in our resident Ice-make mage." He uttered that last bit with a hint of annoyance.

"Lady Ultear or Gray?" Juvia asked.

"Yes."

"...for which-"

"Yes."

If only for a moment, Juvia held her palms to her mouth to stifle a giggle as she knew Natsu would never outright admit to whom he referred to. Of all things she read about with dragons and their lore, a sense of humor was something she didn't think they'd have, much less express around humans. Still, everything about this Dragneel was nothing of what she expected a dragon to be.

Clearing his throat, Natsu continued the lesson. "From what I've noticed over these last few months, you've been able to cause storms, unintentionally, when your mood is...downtrodden, for lack of a better word. I've also taken note of a moment where you seemingly converted a portion of your body into water, and then right back to human."

The young mage's eyes widened, she'd done that, no denial there. But she hadn't told a soul of that particular trick, so how was it that he knew of it? "Am I wrong?"

"N-no."

The dragon hummed to himself, his eyes locked on to the young water mage as she nervously stared aimlessly at the ground. She was still afraid of him, that has not gone unnoticed by the Dragneel. He'd contemplated reverting to his human form, if only to ease her worry. Though, this training was to help her confront that fear, to overcome what kept her from advancing as a mage; fear and doubt. "Juvia. Before we continue, there is something I must ask you." Still, baby steps were needed; he shifted to his human form, knowing full well teaching would be next to near impossible if she was constantly trying to avoid him. As he did, it was revealed that he'd allowed a full beard to grow, shaved and kept clean of course, per Ultear's orders. His pink hair was still as wild, though it too was allowed to grow, as long as it was trimmed as well. His clothing had changed as well, this time bearing a tunic pants, no shirt as always, though he wore now a leather vest, greaves, bracers, and boots. Seeing him like this relaxed the young mage, though she still kept a respectful distance. "Are you afraid of me?" And just like that, her heart rate spiked, as did her eyes widen.

Although Natsu knew the answer already, he still wanted to hear it from her. But, she stayed silent, unwilling to answer as she was still processing whether to answer truthfully, or to lie her way through his questions.

"Yes." She chose honesty.

She heard a long sigh; her head glanced up to see Natsu...disappointed? Her mood had drooped, she assumed herself as the cause for his disappointment. Was it that she was afraid of the man she was to call her guardian? "I see." He muttered. "Why?" And there again was the awkward silence makings its comeback. She didn't have an answer for that question. Actually she did, but she found the words harder to express the more she tried. She'd stutter, fumble, and often times end up yelling without meaning to. The latter often came across as rude, so she opted to just simply remain quiet.

"...Juvia doesn't know..." She wasn't lying. And even now, she kept her head down, still unwilling to meet his eyes with her own.

Realizing he wouldn't get a straight answer from her, Natsu instead chose to approach this a different route. Thanks to Levy prying Gajeel, the pinquette was given a little bit of info that would help get through to her. Or, at the very least, try.

An hour passes, and the two are sitting quietly by the lake, fishing rods in hand, and the unnerving lingering silence. The buckets beside them showed the water mage with just a few more catches than the pinquette. Using reequip he had managed to bring a couple necessities along, though, when it came to bait and cast, Juvia showed more experience than he assumed. Still, they had more than enough food for dinner, the need for further fishing wasn't exactly a necessity, but rather, a means to keep the peace and silence prolonged. It was comforting, for the two. Feeling the need to break the tension, hoping he'd be able to at least break some ground with her, Natsu spoke.

"Juvia..." his sudden voice caused her to grip her rod tightly, Juvia's eyes drifted in the opposite direction of the slayer. "You're better at this than I thought. Better than Gajeel." He may have muttered that last bit, but he had no intention of uttering in such a tone that Juvia would miss it. A faint chortle escaped her mouth as she pressed a palm against her mouth. Though, she way she softly wheezed only incited the possibility of personal stories regarding the iron slayer and fishing. And so, Natsu continued. "Boy had no patience for it, kept getting irritated, even tried getting one with a spear." He made a motion with a free hand. "Scared most of the fish away though."

"With the spear?" Juvia asked, breaking her silent streak.

To which Natsu smirked. "No, by falling in."

The two chuckled at the story, Natsu for having witnessed it during his training session with Gajeel, and Juvia for having to see it when she and the iron slayer were still wanderers. The awkward tension seemingly dissipated as the two continued their fishing session, but with grins. And in a surprising twist, the water mage decided to share a few memories.

"Juvia remembers when we lived in Solsthrain, Gajeel never liked fishing, said it was too boring." The young mage recalled. "I like it. It's calming." And for once, in perhaps the whole time Natsu has known Juvia, both this one and the one from his world, she didn't refer to herself in third person. It was odd, out of character, but a refreshing change he'd admit.

"I as well." For a few minutes, the silence returned. Temporary it was, but the small moment in which the two shared of their time with the iron slayer, while simple and fairly short, was a show of bonding. They had a common interest, and they managed to crack a few jokes. "You know, I used to fish with my father...and my son." This caught Juvia's immediate attention. Was he speaking about Gajeel? Or was there some other child of his? Her eyes were now locked on him as he sighed and continued his remembrance. "Who would've thought, a four hundred year old dragon, and the best moments of my life happened in the span of fourteen years, seven of which I was sealed away." She'd heard this story, McGarden told it best; how Natsu spent time in a guild elsewhere, built a life for himself as a mage, and lived his life with a new adventure appearing at almost every turn. "Fourteen years..." he snapped his fingers, as his smile was slowly fading.

Juvia wasn't feeling so good.

"Gone in the blink of an eye. And you know, it's left me with a realization, one that I've yet to share with either Levy or Ultear; I am afraid." That sentence, those mere words, came down on the young mage with great magnitude. This mighty dragon, this beast of legends, said to be able to set cities ablaze in a matter of hours, armies by the thousands cower at the mere roar of this lizard. And yet here he was, admitting; he was afraid. "I am afraid of failing again. Of failing to protect that which I hold dear to me. To lose my family again is a pain I feel would be the end of me." His arm reached over, landing softly on the blunette's head. "All of you mean a great deal to me."

A small tint of pink arose in the young mage's cheeks.

Natsu took a moment to breath before continuing. His smile faintly returning as he did. "I understand if you don't wish to refer to me as your father, and I'm sure my name now carries much weight to it. To be the child of a dragon carries with it, as society would expect, a great deal of expectations. But I don't want that from you, and I don't want you to heft such pressure. All I want is to prepare you for whatever life throws at you. But, if you'd prefer to adhere from Magic all together, simply say so, Juvia, and I will respect your decision."

In all honesty, she didn't know what she wanted to do. Continuing her studies in Magic was fun, but he said it clearly; the Dragneel name carries with it a weight of expectations, ones that Gajeel and Flare seemed adamant on meeting. And she couldn't exactly change her name either, people around Magnolia knew her as the elder Dragneel blunette. The Fire Dragon King's second elder daughter. In a family of dragon slayers, she was the odd one out. Meredy was young, but her training had begun at a perfect time. She'd practiced small spells, and even gone as far as produced a small stream of fire in similar to a Fire Dragon's Roar. With a few more years of practice, no doubt Flare would have some competition coming her way. And yet, there stood Juvia, the only child with no dragon slayer powers. All she could do was listen to her 'siblings' boast over who could smell the best, who was the strongest, who could see the farthest. The most agile, the physically strongest, the better element. All of these were ones of a family of draconics. Levy and Ultear fit into the fold due to their roles as both mentors and mothers.

But that still left the blunette with one unanswered question; where did that leave her? Lost in her thought, she only noticed the Dragneel patriarch rise when his hand had lifted off her head. She turned to watch him as he picked up his bucket and fishing rod. "Take your time. I'm going to set up camp." His voice, the whole time he spoke, was never hostile or threatening. But rather, soothing. Left alone, Juvia's mind wandered, picturing what a future would be like as a Dragneel. She'd be the only odd one out, even if she wasn't a dragon slayer, she'd still be expected to have a mastery of some form of magic, seeing as she was the child of a dragon, demon, and time mage. How that three way relationship worked was beyond the girl, but it was of little importance to her.

At the corner of her eye, she picked up on something approaching the island. A bird? It had wings, but the figure didn't exactly fit any flying birds she knew. It didn't take long for the mage to get a clue and quickly stand at ready, the unknown slowed ever so. Landing roughly on the shore of the small island, creating a crater beneath her feet. As her wings rescinded, her glare intensified as she stalked over to where Juvia had fallen over in her attempts to put space between them. As the unknown drew ever closer, Juvia's breathing sharpened, fearful of what not knowing what to say or do. Thankfully, it was the unknown who started the conversation.

"Where is it?" Or rather, an interrogation. And it didn't take long for the water mage to recognize this girl; she was one of the hooded mages that confronted Natsu at Lavender. Mira, was her name. Or, that's what some other hooded mage called her. And judging by the way they departed, this girl was none too happy with the dragon. "Well?!" And her attitude only irked the water mage the wrong way.

"Juvia doesn't know what you're talking about." Which was as big a mistake as any could make as the white haired mage's glare didn't cease, but rather, she only appeared more pissed off.

"Don't fucking lie to me, I saw that overgrown gecko flying to this very island. I've been looking for that damned salamander for over half a year already. I ain't leaving till I get my answers. So where is it?" she hissed, a clear vendetta she had against the dragon. For what reason, Juvia couldn't exactly tell. But she wouldn't allow this girl to go near Natsu. Knowing him, he'd be able to handle this girl with ease, but this was also a moment for her to test out her abilities. After all, she was technically a threat. An annoying and vulgar one at that.

Without so much as a warning, a stream of water from the lake darted forward, forming s chain around the white-haired mage's leg just before dragging her towards the water. It caught her off guard, and she managed to break free with little problem. And judging by her reaction to this, she wasn't exactly going to pack up and run at the prospect of someone standing up to her. Although, Juvia was herself quite stubborn as well. She'd easily have the advantage; all she needed was to push a bit more. And so, with a raise of her palms, more streams of water darted forward, again catching Mira by surprise as she was now chained by four streams of water, dragging her to the lake. She broke free from the chains in her wrist, though as she dealt with the ones restraining her feet, she'd already been dumped into the shallow side of the shore. The water level was knee high, it would make her moves sluggish, but as long as Juvia kept her in the water, she had the advantage. For now.

Jumping into the lake with her, Juvia was smirking, faintly. She felt it; the adrenaline rush. With movements similar to ocean waves, but in doing so, the lake seemingly moved with her actions. Reaching towards the girl, grasping her hands vigorously; four water chains again trapped Mira in place. Again, she struggled and broke free of the chains with little effort. Though, the irritated expression on her face only proved that Juvia's magic was merely an annoying hindrance. With lightning speed, even if on water, Mira had closed the distance between the two young mages, delivering a single blow to the water mage's face. Though, also in a shocking twist, Juvia's body almost immediately dissolved into water. Momentarily, the white haired mage was caught off guard. Her eyes darted around, searching for her target. Only for almost a dozen streaks of water to rise and reform as the water mage. Water clones, each raising their palms in unison with a multitude of water chains to hold the white haired mage down. This time, she indeed struggled, and found herself unable to break these bonds as easily as the last attempts.

"Ok..." Mira muttered. "I'm impressed." She struggled again, to no avail. "Annoyed, but impressed."

A faint spark of pride brought a smirk to the young Blunette's face. Although, as the white haired mage seemingly cooled down, slowing her breathing, and relaxing her body, a chill ran up Juvia's spine. A sudden wave of aura from Mira broke the chains completely, dissolved the water clones, and knocked Juvia back a bit. Within seconds she felt a hand grasp at her throat forcing her out of her water and tossing her unto dry land. The mage finally rid herself of the robe, why she didn't do so earlier was quite confusing, but now the water mage could see...punk goth clothing? She wasn't expecting it, but to each their own? Fashion aside, Juvia tried standing back up, only to be kept down by a foot placed against her chest. It pressed harder the more she struggled to free herself from it. In the midst of her attempt to free herself, she only took notice of how close Mira's face was to hers. "But not enough." She rose a fist into the air, prepared to strike with seemingly all the force she could muster.

Before her fist could descend to its target, needle like icicles flew past Mira, grazing her cheek and shoulders as she jumped backwards to safety. Only to be faced with countless more incoming darts. She shifted to the left, and to her surprise more darts were shot at her, from below no less. An interesting observation; the darts all grazed her. None came at her with the intention to impale her.

Juvia wasted no time standing back up, albeit coughing violently at finally receiving proper air through her lungs. She kept her right palm over her chest as her left swift upwards, bringing with it the water from within the plants, freezing, and forming the frozen darts she'd been avoiding. But then, as she took a look around her, Mira soon came to realize she'd been surrounded by these ice darts, the water taken from the fields around her, frozen and sharpened, and all aimed at her.

'Hmph. Clever girl.' And with that, Juvia felt proud. Not just in managing to subdue this mage, but with her abilities as well. Though, what came next caught her completely off guard.

"Lemme guess, you're with the dragon?" Her head cocked to the side for a moment before tilting back. "So that means..." Another wave of aura pulsed, destroying the ice shards, and sending the water mage tumbling backwards again. Juvia's head darted up; her eyes were met with the yet again close up mage. Her fist already raised, and Juvia's heart pounding with each passing second. "I hurt you; he comes to me." This time, with fatigue from her use of magic settling in, she felt herself unable to move without the ever growing sore and stinging pain from her muscles. She had used too much of her magic at once, and as the adrenaline died down, Juvia began to feel the effects.

And then it came. The blow, it wasn't as strong as she expected, but it hurt. There was no use of magic in her strikes, it was all purely physical. Painful, unending blows with Juvia only able to stave off one or two before Mira delivered one final strike. After which, the white haired mage kept her foot on the nearly exhausted water mage as she glanced around. When she failed to see her quarry, her expression soured. "Damn, guess I gotta-" A chill crawled up her spine as she heard a faint growl behind her. With widened eyes, she turned her head, finding herself mere inches away from jagged teeth, and an angered dragon.

With a swipe of his tail, the white haired mage was sent flying into a shrub nearby, allowing Juvia to breathe with the pressure on her chest alleviated. The water mage coughed violently as she felt the dragon's fire on her. She gazed downwards, and saw white fire engulfing her body. But, it was not painful, rather, it eased her. The pain she felt, the fatigue, seemingly washed away. Ironically.

Once she gathered her bearings she attempted to rise up, only to find the red giant towering over her. As she attempted to stand, she felt his tail push her down. "No." Was his only response.

"But..." she tried arguing with him, to no avail. Merely being this close was frightening enough, but to have those pair of saurian eyes glaring down at her; she wouldn't win against him regardless.

"You can't beat her."

"Yes I can!" She argued, still with some ideas and tricks up her sleeve. "I can still fight!"

"Juvia!" His booming voice brought a faint yelp from the water mage. His booming voice caused her to flinch. "Your magic reserves are too low. As for her, look closely." Sparing a glance towards the white haired mage, Juvia noticed what he'd meant. Even with all her little tricks, and Natsu's tail swing, Mira was still able to continue, whereas Juvia was just about ready to tap out. "Rest now, I'll take it from here." Natsu took only a few steps forward, with Mira only hesitating for a moment.

"I ain't afraid of you, Salamander." Oh how she would take back those words not too soon after. Without giving her a chance to respond, Natsu's tail caught hold of her leg and began thrashing her body against the ground. Repeatedly, and seemingly unending for a while before Natsu brought the takeover mage up to eye level. Her magic levels were still pretty high, but the constant pounding left her with a great deal of pain ringing throughout her body. The overgrown lizard snarled at this younger version of the barmaid he once knew. Yes, this was a different world all on its own, but he still found it difficult to take in.

"Insults..." he began. "I care little for; it takes more than words to belittle me. Someone who stands up to me, I will admit, is admirable. Folks rarely stand against a dragon willingly, let alone a child. But..." his tone shifted, smoke and ambers sparked from his opened jaw. "To lure me out, you would bring harm to my daughter. That is something I will not stand for." He brought her closer, Mira's breath hitched at the overwhelming heat. "Nor forgive." The increasing hostile aura emitting from dragon was beginning to suffocate the girl, she'd tried to break free, but fatigue had caught up to her. Not to mention, she couldn't exactly pull off an escape plan without the dragon catching her a second later. "But lucky for you I'm in a very, very, VERY forgiving mood right now, so why don't we call this match a draw, eh? After all, I think your siblings in Acre would be worried sick, devastated if you didn't return from hunting me. Wouldn't you agree?" She flinched, her breath hitched as an ever growing fear for her sibling's lives was now brought to reality. She had hoped to hide them from the dragon long enough for her to get answers from it. However, from what she'd heard, it appears as though the creature knew where they were. It noticed her conflicting expressions and responded. "Did you think I wouldn't keep tabs on people searching for me? Lesson one, when asking around, especially for a DRAGON, subtlety is your best bet to keep trouble away." Natsu commented before placing Mira down and as well blowing white flames on her. She'd seen what the flames did to the water mage so she wasn't as put off by it, but she was still wary of being healed by a dragon. In fact, this whole ordeal was annoying her to a great degree. Books and scrolls have claimed dragons to be inherently power hungry, greedy, prideful, and overall handing a great deal of hatred towards humans. And yet, here was one that hovered over the water mage protectively whilst calling her his daughter. And here he was, even after defeating his hatchling, acting as some form of teacher.

"Well, this wasn't what I had planned, and now we'll have to vacate the area." Natsu murmured. When the two mages glanced to him, both equally confused, his head gestured to a small company of boats, each with the Magic Council's insignia on them brought out an annoyed groan from the Dragneel patriarch. "The council is relentless. And my temper is tested enough as it is, I don't need for them to have another reason to despise me…more than they already do." The Dragon walked over to the campsite, revealing it to have been cleaned thoroughly and any presence lightly scorched so to keep the council lingering in the area with the false idea of there being something on the island of use to the dragon. It surprised Natsu how often this worked, normally one would've wised up and realized it was nothing more than a diversion. And yet, they still chose to comb the area. Whatever the case, Natsu gently lifted Juvia onto his neck. Funny enough, Mira was still being held by his leg as he quickly hoisted her on his back as well. "Hold on you two. We make for Acre." He warned as mere seconds later he had thrusted into the air, disappearing into the clouds whilst unleashing a mighty roar, echoing in the forests, a tease to the failed Council's attempt…again.

I'm not dead, but I am extremely sorry for this long hiatus. Im going to level with you, I lost interest in this story for a while, at times I had thoughts of simply discontinuing it, but ive recently gotten a rush of ideas that has overcome my writer's block. And so, updates are back. keep in mind I've other stories in progress as well so I'll be working on these stories as much as I can, but I won't take as long as I did with this one. Thank you to those who are still with this story.

Now, I know I said this was to be the last chapter in the past, but after writing this latest chapter, I decided to stick around for a bit longer. More for plot and character development. More so for Juvia and Mira in these next few.