Hiro's little corner of the guild hall had been coming along splendidly, if she thought so herself- which she did.
The tiny girl beamed with a feeling of pride as she gazed at the formation. Steel-face, as she had lovingly began calling Mr.Gajeel, had kindly offered his assistance (she refused to leave him alone until he caved) in moving the extra tables and couches to make something like that of a den for her to sleep in while at the guild, or hide in, or whatever she wanted to do with it. She would've asked Mr.Tiki, Mr.Freed, and Miss Fairy to help her, but the feeling in her gut had said that only dragon slayers can make the den, even if the non-slayers were part of her hýski too.
Back at Cait Shelter, a little section had been off limits in one corner of the guild, at the far back left. A young Hiro and Wendy had gone into a type of trance, they were told after, and worked on their little blanket den with a single-minded focus. At the start, it had been small, but as they grew so did their little den.
Hiro would've had more done with it, but Steel-Face and Lizard, Natsu, had been playing a kind of tug-of-war with her and Wendy, dragging them both off on missions, or even forcing themselves to go with just the four of them.
(As chaotic as Hiro was, and as tiny as she will always be compared to her fellow Dragon-Slayers, she refuses to let them destroy the homes of other people. The first few times the older ones had done so on missions with her, Hiro had caused storms to rage for miles on the outskirts of the town. They weren't allowed to leave until the rebuilding was finished, and they had to help. Wendy had apologetically told them it was because of Hiro's previous trauma, and no one needed to know the youngest slayer had learned to create her own storms - even if her emotions made the majority. Hiro will not let anyone be without a home if she can help it.)
The den was made out of spare blankets she had found, and had been provided by Miss Mirajane and Grandpa Makarov. She had gone to the people she trusted most, and asked them for any clothes they don't wear anymore. It wasn't a lot of people, the ones that had been there during the Oracion Seis battle, Wendy, and the Thunder Legion.
Hiro snickered when she thought of Miss Lucy's face when Hiro had approached her and her teammates table, in the middle of the guild hall, and asked loudly,
"Do you guys have any clothes you don't wear anymore? Can I have them?"
Miss Fairy, Mr.Freed, and Mr.Tiki had all willingly given up something, and Grandpa Makarov had heard her asking, and had, with a look on his face, given her things that had belonged to his grandson, Laxus- or, as Hiro called him, Mr.Sparky. Wendy had given her one of her old dresses with a knowing smile, and had asked that Hiro make sure to add her own old clothes as well.
Steel-Face's reaction was the funniest. He had the most scandalized look, and had hissed at her. She remembers watching him stomp off. It had hurt, at the time. She liked Steel-Face, and the fact that he walked off when she asked him for something as simple as old clothes that don't fit you anymore or something had nearly made her whine loud enough for the people downstairs in the main hall to hear.
She had holed herself up in her den for hours, not letting anyone but Wendy in, but feeling that something was missing.
The thought had clawed at her brain, nearly making her hyperventilate or destroy a part of her den several times.
When Gajeel had shown up a few hours later, moving up to where she was without being seen by anyone else, and had handed her some of his older blankets and a massive, torn shirt, Hiro had purred. The dragon in her had purred as well, and she thinks that she remembers Steel-Face's eyes glinting with a hint of pride, and she knew his own dragon was smug.
