VERiTY (Fairy Tail Fanfic)

35. Adopting One

"Aye, sir!"

Laxus sputtered, going after the teen immediately, "I said I don't need anything!"

Levy and Sherry were still quarreling over which bunny or hamster they wanted to use their wishes for, so Eir watched them to make sure they didn't stress the animals out too much with their shouting.

His match was in two hours, so he'd need to go soon.

"Take your time deciding now," he chided as the girls began to growl at each other. "We'll still be here for a few days, after all." And if they didn't decide by then, he'll cave and get them a bunch anyways.

(He didn't mind if he was spoiling them. He couldn't do the same in his last life, so having money to spend was a dream come true, in that sense.)

(He's always been a secret lover of his children's happiness, after all.)

He looked around, realizing he hadn't spotted Cana or Gray for a while now. He hoped they weren't lost, at least-- this was a big city, after all. Sure, they would be fine with the Domus Flau Arena as a landmark, but Cana and Gray would be grouchy if they didn't get to wish Eir good luck before his match.

He kept a hand on his sword, prodding lazily at the musical note hanging from the hilt as he turned around.

Maybe he should get Laxus a new sword. What did Jura call this... a musica blade? It's a nice sword, so maybe Eir could find a way to acquire one...

"Ah, there they are," he finally spotted Cana's ponytail in the distance, marked by the sun-yellow ribbon Eir had tactically tied the hour before.

(He needed something to spot his kids from a distance, after all. Sherry and Levy stood out because of their uniforms, and Gray would probably be half naked at some point, but Cana looked like a normal girl. So the bright yellow ribbon it was.)

"Well, they'll be fine," he decided. Bickslow' dolls are still with them after all.

-

Gray came to a stop.

Cana turned around, annoyed. "What're you stopping for, we're almost there."

There was a really nice magic store down the street that they both had an eye on, and they weren't going to make it if there was a holdup.

Gray was staring right into an alley, and Cana joined his gaze to find a small figure crouched in the corner of the street, huddled against the boxes by the trash.

An oversized brown shawl, a thick winter jacket, and the cruddy dress underneath. They could make out the deep red hair spilling over her shoulders, and the painfully thin arms that they weren't sure could even support the weight of her own body.

She was asleep, breathing shallow against her chest. Her bangs hid it well, but there was a white medical eyepatch strapped over her eye.

She looked terrible, even by stray child standards.

"I saw her yesterday," he said.

Cana hummed. "And that's your jacket."

She spent half a moment wondering if she should make a joke about Gray being a gentleman, but she bit it back. Now wasn't the time.

"Hey, are you okay?" Gray ran up first, crouching down warily. She didn't rouse at all. "Think she's from the orphanage?"