Subtle Mistakes | Gajeel Redfox

Chapter 2

Disclaimer - I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own Mahalia and anything else you do not recognize in the series. Everything else belongs to Hiro Mashima. Thank you.

When Natsu brought Lucy to the guild, everything went haywire.

Natsu had never before brought someone to the guild, let alone a pretty blond busty girl that everyone seemed to fawn over. The thought made Mahalia roll her eyes. The guys couldn't stop staring at her, which Mahalia guesses she could understand. She was beautiful, and naive. Extremely naive. Though there was something about her Mahalia couldn't quite pin-point.

"You know if you keep staring at her, she's bound to combust," a teasing voice broke Mahalia out of her thoughts, making her turn to see the barmaid giving her an amused look. Mira raised an eyebrow at her, glancing between Lucy to the Earth mage sitting at the bar. "You don't like her?" Mira asked in confusion, though she was genuinely concerned.

"It's not that," Mahalia assured, biting her lip. Lucy was friendly, and really nice. She had that bright smile that lit up the entire room. The bubbly personality that associated with people that helped put others at ease. "There's something about her that I cannot place." She shrugged, glancing back over to the teen who was now beaming at Natsu and showing him her guild mark.

Mira watched Lucy for a moment as she argued with the pinkette, which wasn't an abnormal experience. Everyone argued with the dragon slayer at least once or twice. Or more times, depending on the person. He was frustratingly annoying and stubborn. "I agree with you, but she seems like a nice girl. Who knows, maybe she'll help Natsu; he needs a new friend," she smiled sincerely, and Mahalia thought she had a point. Ever since Lisanna's passing, Natsu has been a bit distant. At least, in a Natsu sense.

Mahalia nodded her head in agreement. Natsu did, indeed, need a new friend. And maybe Lucy was the perfect one for that.

"Where's my dad?!" A familiar squeaky voice called into the guild, making Mahalia's ears prick as she turned to see the little seven year old marching into the guild with a determined look on his face. Romeo was Macao Conbolt's son, and has been coming around here more often after his parents had gotten a divorce. "He's supposed to be back by now!" He shouted angrily, obviously upset.

"Your dad is a wizard, kid. He can handle himself." Was Gramps' answer, which made her skin bristle a little but she calmed herself down. She knew he was worried. But how could he tell that to a seven year old who was extremely worried?

Romeo sniffled, a tear leaking from his face - making Mahalia wince. "I HATE YOU ALL!" The kid screamed, running out of the guild.

"Poor kid..." Mahalia frowned, feeling bad. Romeo at least had a father who loved him, and worked to take care of him. The fact Macao should have been back by now is worrisome, but she knew that her grandfather wouldn't send anyone after him. He was, in fact, a wizard and knew what he got into when taking jobs.

It didn't help the fact he was days late.

Flinching, Mahalia whirled her head around when she heard breaking wood, whirling when she saw Natsu punch the job board. Without a word Natsu left the guild, a hard look on his face. "What was that?" Mahalia heard Lucy asked as she walked up to the girls - the guild getting eerily quiet. Natsu seemed to have a dramatic effect when it came to the guild. He was, in turn, somewhat the guilds mascot. One of the more infamous members of the guild, other than MiraJane and Erza Scarlett.

"It doesn't look like it, but Master is very worried about Macao," MiraJane started, making the other two look at her. She had a frown on her face at the scene, though Mahalia saw the worry in her eyes. "Natsu lost his father at a young age as well, and has a connection towards Romeo with the situation." Mira explained, Lucy having a sympathetic look on her face.

Mahalia didn't add anything to the situation. She didn't know what to say. She didn't have a loving father growing up like Natsu and Romeo. Hers kicked her out of the family automatically after giving her a permanent scar that lined her neck. Bringing her hand up, she brushed her finger against it at the reminder of being unwanted.

Mira gave her a worried look, to which she just smiled. This was something she fought with a lot - the feeling of being a disappointment. Her guild family convinced her otherwise, but it was hard with the constant reminder. She was the only female Dreyer, that meant something, right? Or that meant females were a curse and she shouldn't be here at all.

"Yo, little Petal!" A scowl crossed over her face at the nickname as she turned to see Gray walking over to her with a job request in his hands. She raised an intrigued eyebrow at him as he approached with a smirk on his face. He'd overheard the conversation that had happened, and knew that Lia was spiralling. It often happened with father talk. "Want to go on this job with me? We'll be beating up bandits!" He grinned, knowing that would catch her attention.

Looking over the job form Gray handed her, Mahalia grinned. This was definitely what she needed, and she could get ahead for her bills and other necessities. "Lets go beat some ass!" She grinned even wider, making Gray chuckle at her behavior as he handed the flyer over to MiraJane.

"Well I'm going to find Natsu! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Lucy waved, walking out of the guild with determination.

Mahalia raised an eyebrow. "She's following Natsu?" She asked, intrigued. Had Natsu really touched Lucy that much that she wanted to help the flaming idiot? She turned to look at Mira, only to shrink back at the look on her face. Mira basically had hearts in her eyes and if Mahalia didn't know any better, she'd say she was sparkling at the situation. MiraJane was a humongous hopeless romantic, and it scared her to know how much effort the platinum blond went through to set her favorite ships up. At one point she even tried to set Mahalia up with multiple members of this guild. Nothing ever happened, of course, and they were all still great friends.

"NALU! IT'LL BE A THING!" She squealed, making Mahalia wince at the sound. She suddenly feared for Natsu and Lucy's life. Once Mira found a ship she liked, there was no stopping her.

Gray and Mahalia shared a knowing look. "Right. Mira, can you set us up for the job?" Gray reminded, making Mira snap out of her daydream.

"Right of course," MiraJane nodded, stamping our job and jotting our names down. "You have fun you two! Be safe!" Mira had a crazed grin on her face that scared the teens as they glanced at each other before hurrying out of the guild.

They had some bandits to take care of.