Chapter Seven

Once they were back at the guild hall, Roxanne sat at one of the tables, almost collapsing into the closest seat. She just didn't have the energy to climb up onto one of the tall barstools right now like she usually would.

Gray noticed, and chalked it up to being a bit worn out from training. Of course a tired-out munchkin would choose the table, instead of clambering up onto the hard-to-reach barstool, after an intense training session.

"Hey, Gray!" Max waved him over to the bar. "So how goes your first day with a student?"

Gray shrugged and sat down next to him. "She's doing great so far," he assured the blond. "We haven't started on magic training yet, but I have a feeling she'll do really well at it." Gray turned to watch as Mira put a plate of apple slices and peanut butter near his apprentice, who smiled and

thanked her before digging in to the light snack.

"No problems getting her to listen?"

"Nah." Gray relaxed, answering Max's curious questions. The chatty mage had been drunk when Roxanne first arrived at the guild, so he had hadn't introduced himself until the next day, but he'd made a point to tell her all about the best places to visit with friends around town. While she hadn't latched onto him the way she had Romeo, Lucy, and Natsu, Roxanne had done her best to be courteous and sociable with the friendly guy. Of course, Max understood that he usually caught her during her break from training, so he wasn't offended when she was a little less energetic for their conversations.

Once her snack was gone, Roxanne wiped her fingers on her napkin and looked around the hall again, wondering where Lucy and Natsu were. They weren't in the guild, but that didn't mean much, since they could go on missions or maybe shopping, or maybe Natsu was showing Lucy around Magnolia some more, since she was still a little new here like Roxanne. It looked like most of the other guild members she'd met had vanished on missions or errands too, though Nab was still hanging around the request board the way he usually did. Even now she could see Max leaving the guild hall, after he finished talking with Gray.

There's no one to play with. She pouted, wining to herself. She really wanted someone to talk to or play with, at least until Gray said the break was over.

Roxanne sighed and walked over to the bar, scrambling tiredly up onto the stool next to Gray, who was chatting absently with Mira as she cleaned up. She sighed again and let her forehead slam down against the bar. She was so bored! Exhausted, but bored. She felt better after the snack, but she her body still ached, and her eyes and limbs felt heavy. She doubted she'd make it all the way through magic training. I can make it to the park, at least, she thought, biting her lip since no one could see.  After that…

Well, after that, it would be down to willpower.

Gray saw how bored his apprentice was, and decided that sitting around wouldn't do her any good, and would only make her more reluctant to leave her seat. He needed to get her up and moving before she fell asleep right there on the bar. "Come on, Rox," he said, prodding her with one finger. "If you're done with your snack, it's time to go back to the park and start your magic training."

Judging from her reaction, it was quite possibly the best thing he could have said.

In the blink of an eye, Roxanne had burst out of her chair and bolted towards the front door. Gray could almost see the dust clouds hanging in the air!

Roxanne danced in place in front of the doors, smiling so brightly that everyone in the hall could have sworn that the brilliance of the sun shone in her eyes. Boredom and exhaustion forgotten, Rox waited impatiently as Gray chuckled and rose from his seat to join her.

Once she was up, Gray led her back to the park. But though she followed him eagerly enough, she didn't run around in excitement as he'd thought she would. Instead, she stayed close to him and walked with a kind of sedate determination, and a certain energetic bounce in her step,  that seemed far too mature for her age. Maybe she was trying to act mature? Probably. Gramps had mentioned that she tried to do exactly that when she could, and Gray knew she had a kind of starry-eyed admiration for him that didn't really make sense, but was probably a lot like Romeo's admiration for Natsu. Pfft. As if I'm 'big brother' material for anyone, let alone a little girl like Rox. So she’d probably try to act mature in front of him, instead of an excited little kid.

Finally, they reached the park and descended the stairs again. Gray stopped under the tree and reassessed his apprentice. She seemed to have a bit more energy than before they'd eaten, but that didn't mean much. With concern growing like a pit in his belly, he looked back along the path they'd taken, and saw that she'd left scuff marks from dragging her feet. Looking back at her again, he saw that her eyes were drooping noticeably and that she seemed to be fighting to keep from rubbing them tiredly.

Damn. Gray cursed himself as five kinds of idiot; Makarov had warned him to take it easy on her for the first few weeks and let her body get used to the new workouts and added burden of magic training. Gramps had actually advised against half of the self-defense lessons, at least so soon into her training, and had to be convinced that aiming practice and the game were necessary and they couldn't be put off for a few weeks. Gray'd actually wanted to keep the current intensity of physical training and simply add in the magic, because he didn't want Roxanne to lose the progress she'd made. Now, however, Gray could see that Gramps had been right, and he'd pushed Roxanne too hard. And his inexperience was going to cost his apprentice dearly.

He sighed, looked to the sky for courage, and opened his mouth.

"We won't be doing any magic training today, Roxanne," he declared solemnly, hating himself. He couldn't believe that he'd taken away the best part of her day because he hadn't been paying attention properly, had let himself be fooled into thinking she wasn't as tired as she clearly was. She'd been looking forward to this for so long, worked so hard for it, only for it to be snatched away because she got a crappy teacher.

"What?! Why?" she demanded shakily. Shock and exhaustion conspired against her, and she started crying with disappointment. She tried not to; she knew that Gray wouldn't do this to be mean, but she couldn't stop herself. "But…" She sniffled as she felt the tears start to fall. "Why? Is it something I did? Did I do something wrong?" she asked before she broke down, dropped to her knees, and bawled.

Gah! Again with the crying!

Gray's expression briefly showed panic, and he rushed to explain, comfort her, anything to make it stop. "No, no, no, that's not it," he said hurriedly, kneeling down beside her and grabbing her shoulders gently. "You did everything right, and I'm proud of you. Heck, I'm amazed you made it as far as you did! It's just that I didn't think things through, and I pushed you too hard. I didn't see how tired you were before it was too late, and now you don't have enough energy. I'm sorry, but it's just not safe for you to attempt magic today." An older, more experienced mage was responsible for themselves, and could decide whether or not to risk it. But Roxanne was a kid, and she'd barely discovered her magic yesterday. He was responsible for her, so he couldn't let her risk hurting herself by attempting magic. She didn't know what a lack of energy could to do a mage.

"I'm not tired!" Roxanne protested stubbornly, wiping the tears from her eyes and lifting her chin, willing the shakes away. "I can do it. Please." She whimpered again, the tears coming back as she collapsed against him and began sobbing in earnest. "Please let me try!"

"I can't." Gray's voice broke as he wrapped his arms around her. "I can't. You'll get hurt. I'm sorry," he whispered uselessly as he held her, wishing that he had seen her exhaustion in time. Why do girls cry like this? Just get mad at me or something. I can handle mad!

"I can still teach you magic theory," he offered, hoping the weak compromise would stop her tears. "Whatever you want to know about the mechanics of magic, I'll do my best to teach you, okay? How does that sound?"

"O-okay," Roxanne sniffled, still clinging to Gray for just a moment longer. The last person to hug her had been Jacob, and she missed being held. She didn't want to pull away, but she could tell that Gray wasn't comfortable with it. "I guess… I guess it's better than nothing." He was right, she knew he was, and that might have been what hurt the most. No matter how much she fought it, she was exhausted. And if he said it was dangerous to practice magic when she was this tired, well… he was her teacher so he knew best. She needed to trust him and do as he said.

"Can you let go now?" Gray asked, relief making his gut unknot. He wasn't really all that comfortable with the clinging and hugging and stuff, but he could tell that she'd needed it. He wasn't that blind.

Roxanne sniffed one more time and nodded against his chest, and then pulled back, wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeve and desperately wishing she had a handkerchief or tissues.

Gray relaxed a little more, letting out a sigh of relief and plopping down on the ground. If that little scene hadn't wrung him out so thoroughly, he might have taken better note of the way Roxanne had corralled her disappointment and stress, and shoved them aside for later instead of dealing with them properly.

"Okay, so," he said, "do you need a notebook?" He hadn't thought to bring one�"stupid, stupid!�"but there were a bunch of little stores nearby, so he could run and buy one if he needed to.

Roxanne shook her head, sitting down in the shade nearby. She was still shaky from crying, and her voice wavered. "I'm good at remembering things." She'd never really needed to take notes in school the way other kids had. It wasn't quite what Jacob had called a 'photographic memory', but once she'd heard the lecture and seen a few examples, she never forgot them.

"Alright." Gray nodded, eyes lifting to watch the pattern of sunlight through the leaves overhead as he searched his memory for the fundamentals. "Let's see, where to start… I guess the first thing you need to know is that every spell requires three things. Do you know what they are?"

"Um…" Roxanne hurriedly searched her memories of the anime and tried to find the three things that appeared most consistently. "An incantation, a magic circle, and magic energy?" she guessed. In almost every instance, two things were always shown while a spell was being cast. One was a character shouting the name of the spell, such as Natsu's Fire Dragon Roar. The second was a rune-etched magic circle, which appeared as the spell was being cast and was usually the origin point for the spell itself. The magic energy was mentioned on several occasions, mostly in the first season as Lucy pointed out that magic energy was the power behind the spells.

"Exactly," Gray nodded, pleased that she already knew that much. "Here's the thing, though�"before a mage can cast a spell, he -or, well, she- needs to have discipline, visualization, and determination." At her confused and fearful expression, he shook his head. "I don't mean discipline as in being punished for doing something wrong. I mean she needs to have the mental and physical strength needed to perform magic. Without it, even the simplest of spells can go horribly wrong."

"But… why?" Roxanne frowned, puzzled. She couldn't recall any scenes from the anime with the characters hurting themselves by screwing up their magic. Well, there was the flashback to Gray's childhood with Ur. One of his spells had fizzled and backfired at him because he was just starting to learn how to handle his magic. But there wasn't any time where an adult couldn't handle the magic. "How can a simple spell go bad?"

"Because magic is dangerous," Gray said simply, thinking of anger, shock, and a world suddenly empty and cold. "It's born when a mage's energy harmonizes with the natural energies around them. But magic isn't alive, it's not intelligent, and it doesn't care if someone gets hurt. It's born from the mage's soul, and it's up to the mage to decide what to do with it. Bad people use magic to do bad things, and good people use magic to do good things. But even a good person can hurt someone if they make a mistake. Like…" He tried to think of an analogy. "What if I'd messed up making the net you were crawling under this morning? If I'd made the barbs too sharp, they could have hurt you even though I never meant them to. Or what if I'd messed up with Hit the Birdie? Your racket could have shattered and the splinters could have taken out an eye or something. Or think about the brawl that happened the day you first showed up�"there's a reason Gramps stops that kind of thing before magic gets involved." Gray paused at the wide-eyed stare she gave him. Oops, didn't mean to scare her.

"None of us in Fairy Tail are careless enough to hurt anyone like that," he assured her hastily. "Not even Natsu, and he's a reckless idiot sometimes. But that's because all of us know what we're doing, and we trained to the point that we don't have to think about doing it right, we just do it. That's part of discipline."

"Oh." Roxanne nodded slowly, feeling better. "That's why you said I can't practice on my own."

"Exactly." Gray nodded. "Since we use the same kind of magic, if something goes wrong while you practice, I need to be around to counter it until you have the experience to make it safe to practice on your own. Incantations help with that discipline. Any kind of ritual does�"Ice Make generally uses gestures instead, because, well…" Gray tried to remember how Ur had explained it to him. "You use your hands to make things, right? Cooking, cleaning, building, even art and stuff. If you make something, it's with your own two hands. And it's the same with Ice Make magic. Think of it as a kind of sign-language version of an incantation, though sometimes we use verbal incantations too. Anyway, they help us remember our goal."

Roxanne nodded, fascinated, disappointment and tears entirely forgotten now. This was interesting. "So the incantations, the gestures… they're a short-cut for remembering how to do the spell right?"

"Right. It also helps you focus�"I mean, if you're yelling at someone, your mind isn't going to be a million miles away, worrying about if you left the stove on, you know?"

Roxanne giggled at the moment of levity, but then sobered. "So why didn't you use incantations while making the equipment for Hit the Birdie?"

"Because," Gray said. "I don't have an incantation or specific gestures for that yet�"no shortcut�"so I have to pay attention and be very careful as I do it the long way. And speaking of doing… next up is the magic circle. Do you know what its function is?"

"Um…" Roxanne wracked her brain, but she couldn't think of any episode that had clearly explained it. The closest she could think of was Freed's Rune Magic. "It holds the runes that define how the spell works?"

"Yes and no. Technically, the magic circle is a portal between magic energy and intention, and the magic's physical form. It's not something the mage consciously creates, unless they're a mage who specializes in manipulating other magics, but it's part of the spell-casting process nonetheless." Levi had gushed a couple of times about how the runes that appeared in a magic circle held the keys to the magic's rules and nature, but there were very few people who could do anything about that. Most spells didn't last long enough.

"Does the color matter?" Roxanne asked. She'd always wondered that. In the anime, everyone's magic circles had been a different color, and she'd wondered if the color depended on the magic being used, or if it was just to make it easier for the audience to tell them apart.

Gray nodded. "Your magic is pulled from your soul, remember? The kind of magic you're using changes the color of the magic circle, and it's tied to the affinities of your soul, and the energy stored in your Magic Container. Take Ice Make, for instance. Our magic circles are a bright blue-green�"" Cana had specified 'cyan' once. "�"though there are slight differences depending on who's casting the magic."

"But… ice is white, isn't it?" Roxanne frowned, thinking about it. "So why aren't our magic circles white?"

"Well, what color is water?" Gray asked her, leaning back and waiting for an answer.

"Um… blue?"

"That's what most people think." Gray grinned. "But water is actually clear, unless there's something in it that changes the color. The ocean, for example, only looks blue because it's reflecting the sky. Ice is white because the little tiny flaws in it reflect light weirdly and make it look white even though its actually clear."

Roxanne's mouth made a little 'O' of surprise. Like a polar bear's fur! She'd learned that in class, once. Polar bears had black skin, but their fur was clear and reflected light funny to make them look white while still soaking up the sunlight enough to keep the bears warm.

"But… why is our  magic cyan, then?" That was the color his magic circles had been in the show, and that was the color of her own soul. So there must be some significance behind it. It couldn’t just be the animators making the colors pretty.

"Because of the reflective nature of water and ice, they reflect the mage's soul color. And mages with Ice magic tend to have cyan-colored souls." Gray smiled at her. His own magic circles were ever-so-slightly brighter than Lyon's had been, which someone somewhere probably thought was ironic, considering Lyon was the one with ice-white hair while Gray's hair was black.

"With other magics, you can use the color to figure out the element. Pure Water magic is a much deeper blue. Natsu's Fire magic is red and orange. Earth magic has two components, Leaf and Soil, and each of them have their own magic circle color. Anything that creates or controls plant matter has a green magic circle, while magic that controls actual dirt has brown ones. And if a spell uses multiple types of magic, or even if it's one type but is just really powerful, it usually has multiple magic circles." Like Erza's Heaven's Wheel armor and the freaking two hundred swords she could individually summon while wearing it. "Based on all of this, the number and colors of magic circles, you can guess quite a bit about the spell and estimate how powerful it is." Doing that on the fly, in the middle of combat, was nowhere near as easy as it sounded.

"Wow," Roxanne murmured to herself, more than a little awed. She'd never realized how complex magic could be�" A frown of confusion, thinking back to something Gray had said earlier but hadn't adequately explained. "What's a magic container?" she asked. It sounded like an enchanted cookie jar or something.

Gray tilted his head back a little, frowning as he thought about what to say. "Scientists say that there's a container inside each mage that holds their magic energy, like an organ that stores it until you need to use it. Personally, I tend to think of my whole body as that container, since there's not an actual physical organ that you can point to and say 'that's where it is', you know?"

Roxanne nodded. "And your magic energy is what lets you do the magic, right?"

"Right," Gray nodded back at her, smiling just a little. "You can have the strongest mind in the world or the most advantageous magic ever discovered, but if you don't have the energy to activate it then the magic is meaningless. Like, it doesn't matter how much you want to climb a tree. If you're too tired to climb, or you're not strong enough to lift your own weight, you're not climbing that tree."

Roxanne bit her lip, hugging her knees to her chest thoughtfully. "What do we do if we're running low on magic energy?" she asked. "Can we get more? Like, um, I'm training now to make myself stronger and, and so I don't get tired so fast." And she wasn't going to get upset at how she'd worn herself out too much for magic again, she wasn't. "Can the same thing happen with magic energy?"

"Actually, yeah. Almost exactly like that." Gray grinned at her briefly. "Everyone's got a base amount of magic energy they start out with�"some more than others�"but it's linked to how much physical energy you have too. Probably because your body has to support the magic you're channeling. So while training your body increases your physical strength, practicing magic will slowly increase the capacity you have for magic, and how much you produce." He looked at her seriously. "But while you can increase your capacity for magic, it's more important to work on your discipline and visualization first, so you don't hurt yourself or anyone else while training. Any more questions?"

Roxanne thought hard about everything Gray had said, and finally shook her head.

"Okay." Gray observed her for a moment longer, making sure the trembles were gone. "Let's put what we just learned into practice. Just do what I do, but don't actually cast the spell, okay?" Just channeling magic energy was a little tiring, but as long as she didn't actually cast the spell, the energy should be reabsorbed with minimal loss, so it was mostly a matter of mental exercise.

"Yes!" Roxanne jumped to her feet as Gray also rose. "Oh, um…" Her enthusiasm waned a little. "You said it wouldn't be safe for me to use magic because I was too tired. What would have happened?"

"Well," Gray said seriously, stretching until his back popped, "when a mage doesn't have enough energy to complete the spell, usually the spell fizzles and the mage loses what energy they had and that's that. But if it's a really powerful spell, then the spell actually consumes every bit of energy the mage had, and the mage dies."

"Oh." Roxanne's eyes went wide. "Okay. I won't use magic unless you say it's okay." A deep breath, chin lifting in determination. "So, um, what do I do now?"

Gray nodded, getting back to the topic he wanted to cover. He hadn't wanted to scare her, but making her understand how serious it was… well, it was important. "We'll do this step by step, okay? Step one is to clear your mind, the way you do for meditation." Maybe meditation itself wasn't his thing, but this step was important. Roxanne nodded, and closed her eyes as they both fell silent, letting their minds go quiet and still, until only sensation remained. Then she opened her eyes again, so she could focus on Gray. He was watching her, as though he'd never had to close his eyes.

"Step two: Picture your goal. In this case, producing a pile of snowballs like I did earlier. Don't just imagine it visually; think of what you want it to do, to be. Think of how it’ll feel, how big it should be. A shield is strong, but snowballs are firm and crunchy. And almost white-hot cold."

Roxanne did so, dismissing even sensation from her mind, and focusing on a little pyramid of snowballs, round and cold and sparkling white and the perfect size for throwing in her little hands.

"Step three: Feel your magic energy floating in your body, or in your magic container." The solemn tone of Gray's voice wavered a little. "Whichever. Just make sure you feel it. Do you need help figuring it out?"

Roxanne shook her head, pretty sure that she already knew how to access the energy. She quickly located her soul, like she had yesterday. But instead of touching it right away, worried about her hands or feet getting covered in ice, she built up a picture first. Magic, especially Ice Make, depended on visuals, right?  So she imagined a faucet, turned off so none of the water would drip out and be wasted. As she touched her soul, she imagined the faucet turning on just a bit, letting a trickle of energy out.

It worked. She could feel her magic energy flow through her body, but slowly, and none of it escaped her skin.

When she was ready, she opened her eyes and looked at Gray.

"Step four: Mold your energy into the object you want, and basically tell the magic what you want it to do. You and I do this by using our hands." Gray demonstrated, moving slowly and narrating his actions as he did so. "Make a fist with one hand and leave your other hand open but spread your fingers. Now touch the bottom of your fist to your open palm and move both to your dominant side, whichever side feels more natural to you, and bend the elbow." A brief smile. "Think of your elbow like a kink in a hose, holding back the magic. At the same time, keep the image of that pile of snowballs in your mind and push your  energy towards the image. Then hold it there, keeping the energy from going anywhere until you're ready."

As soon as he mentioned using their hands, Roxanne knew exactly what to do. She didn't even think about it�"she'd practiced quite often when she was on Earth, when she'd fantasized about being an Ice Make mage. As she built up her magic energy, she could see the magic circle forming around her hands. She was captivated by its beautiful color, a light but brilliant blue like her soul and her guild stamp.

"Step five: Make the gestures that define the spell." Gray took a breath, and then moved his hands in a flurry of patterns.

Roxanne's eyes went wide. She couldn't even follow all of the gestures, so how could he expect her to copy him?

"Heh. Sorry." Gray repeated the gestures, more slowly this time, step by step as Roxanne clumsily imitated him.

"This is where you stop copying me," Gray said. "Step Six: Recite the incantation, and let the magic fly. When you do, throw your arm forward to unkink the hose." he concluded. "Ice Make: Snowballs!" A second later, there was a pile of snowballs replacing the ones Roxanne had thrown earlier, which had long since melted away.

Roxanne squeaked in excitement and clapped her hands, eyes shining as she bounced in place.

Gray smiled at her. She'd lost her grip on the magic energy she'd built up, but her distraction had prevented her from casting the magic anyway, so it hadn't been wasted. "Alright, let's try that again. Remember, don't actually release your magic when I do, okay?"

Roxanne nodded, smiling excitedly. She took a moment to get hold of herself, and shifted position to stand next to Gray, rather than across from him. As Gray demonstrated a second time, she copied him, reciting the steps aloud along with him. Again, she didn't actually cast the spell, because Gray had told her not to, but oh how she wanted to.

After the third round, Gray sat down on the grass and watched Roxanne practice on her own, checking his watch periodically. He was proud of her. She'd accomplished a lot today, and she took the worst news of the day like a champ, once the crying was done. Not only that, but she was doing dry runs of spell-casting, just calling forth the magic and letting it fall back into her soul without using it at all, which had to be hard for her. . He'd done his best to explain why she wasn't allowed to cast a spell today, and she'd seemed to understand, but he just had to hope that her belief that he knew best would continue to overcome her desire to cast her first spell.

When the chapel's bell tolled out the noon-time hour, Gray told Roxanne that it was time for them take a break. She sighed in relief. She had loved practicing calling on her magic, but she was bone-tired, her muscles ached, and her head thumped from concentrating so hard.

It's break-time now, and Gray already knows I'm tired… she thought as she relaxed and turned towards him. …maybe it's okay to let it show? It was instinct, habit, to pretend to be okay no matter what, but this was Gray. He was her teacher. Pretending, when she knew he already knew how tired she was felt kind of… not wrong, not silly, but somewhere in between, maybe?

Unnecessary.

Roxanne let out a breath, eyelids drooping and shoulders slumping. It was a relief to stop pretending, to stop fighting the exhaustion dragging at her limbs.

Gray frowned at the sudden transformation overtaking his student. He'd known she was tired, but he hadn't thought she'd still be hiding it from him, not after he'd already shown her he knew it and forbidden her from using magic because of it. D****t, I thought maybe practicing a spell without casting it would let her recover some, but it doesn't look like it helped much. He needed to rework his plans for the afternoon again. Would a nap help? Is she too old for naps? I don't think Romeo takes them anymore, and she's older than he is… One thing was for sure, though. He couldn't just teach her magic theory for the next hour and a half, not if he wanted her to remember it. She might brag that she had a good memory, but if she was this tired there was no way she'd retain it.

"Gray?" Roxanne reached out to grab her teacher's hand, worried by his thoughtful frown. "Are you okay?"

He blinked out of his thoughts and looked down at her. Really looked at her, and then crouched down with a serious look. "Everything's fine," he assured her, smiling briefly and putting a hand on her head again. "I was just thinking. Since today's your first day training with me, why don't I treat you to lunch in town? You've accomplished a lot today, and I learned a lot too. We should celebrate it. And maybe when we're done eating, we can go do something fun, okay?" Lucy had said something about Roxanne really liking books, even if she couldn't read them properly yet, so maybe a trip to the library to get some picture books or something?

Roxanne beamed, tired eyes brightening as she squeezed Gray's hand tighter. "Okay! That sounds great!"

"Alright, good." Gray smiled at her again, standing up. "What kind of foods do you like?"

"Um…" Roxanne shuffled her feet a little. "I haven't had many foods from here yet. Just one weird octopus thing, and the stuff Mira makes for me every day."

"Really? Well, okay. Then I guess…" Gray trailed off as he looked around the park thoughtfully. He turned slowly in place, making a mental map of the city and highlighting the restaurants he knew. Then he narrowed it down to cheaper lunch places that a kid would enjoy, and then narrowed it down further to the ones that were nearby�"as tired as she was, he wasn't making her walk far.

"Alright," he nodded. "There's a sandwich shop not far from here. How does that sound?"

Roxanne lit up in her excitement.

Yes! Sandwiches! Something else I'm familiar with!

"Let's go there!"

Gray nodded again and led the way. Roxanne stuck close to him, grasping his hand tightly so that they didn't get separated in the bustling crowd.

Finally, Gray tugged Rox across the canal. "Here we are. Can you read the sign?" Gray asked her as they approached.

Roxanne glanced at the sign above the door and shook her head. She recognized a few of the characters, but not enough to make sense of the wooden sign.

"It says 'Jing's Subs and Cafe'."

"Oh." Roxanne tried to memorize that, and how the sign looked, but she wasn't really sure how the runes she knew matched up with the words.

Gray held the door for her, and Rox absently half-curtsied as she slipped past him, flashing him a radiant smile and the sweetest 'Thank you!' she'd ever said. When she realized what she'd done, she froze briefly, asking herself that had really just happened, before shaking it off and moving over to the line.

"Uh, no problem." Gray blinked after her, surprised for a moment, as he followed her inside. Had she really curtseyed just because he'd opened the door?

Glancing up at the board, he read the menu to Roxanne, who absorbed his every word. He gave her a rough idea of how the shop operated, and then he asked her questions about her favorite ingredients or her favorite bread, favorite drink. And he felt really stupid. She was his apprentice; shouldn't he have at least tried to figure this kind of thing out before? Shouldn't their first day have been spent getting properly acquainted, getting to know each other better? Had he been rushing things with her training because of his own inadequacies?

Roxanne was oblivious to Gray's frustration. He calmly and patiently helped her figure out her order, even though he ordered for her when it was their turn. Roxanne smiled, seeing the understated compassion and consideration that she'd always loved, first-hand. It was all she could do to keep herself in check. If she hadn't, she probably would have melted into a puddle of squeals.

In addition to ordering, he also carried her tray and picked out a two-seater table a bit of a ways away from the rest of the crowd.

"Why this table, Gray?" she asked curiously as she sat down across from him.

"Because it's the most advantageous, I suppose." He handed her the sandwich she'd ordered.

Roxanne frowned. "What's advantageous?" Actually, she already knew what it meant, but she didn't think most kids her age would, especially not if they were really sheltered like she was supposed to be.

"It's when there are advantages, or perks, to a situation. Like, see how we're in a corner with no windows? That means that nobody can sneak up behind me. And I have a perfect view of the windows, the front door, the cash registers and a bit of the kitchen so I can see a lot that happens. And that's important to me, because we're probably the only mages here, and you're just starting out, so it's up to me to protect everyone if something bad were to happen. From my seat, I can see trouble coming and stop it before anyone gets hurt." It was important that a new mage like Roxanne understand a mage's responsibilities, as well as the rush and excitement of magic itself.

"Oh." Roxanne took a bite of her sandwich, thinking about that. "I get it." She'd thought that he was probably watching the door, but she hadn't thought it through that far. That's another piece of Gray that wasn't shown in the anime, she thought to herself as she took a bite of the sandwich. Why does he feel the need to protect everyone? …Oh, right. She almost smacked herself, she felt so stupid. Of course he'd feel like he needed to protect people, because he thought he hadn't protected his parents or Ur from Deliora. Roxanne knew that there was nothing Gray could have done�"except maybe not go running headlong to confront a giant, dangerous demon created by the Dark Mage Zeref�"to prevent the deaths of his parents and his mentor. She knew that, and she knew that he probably knew that, now that he was grown up. But just knowing it didn't mean he wasn't still hurt by what had happened. He felt responsible for others' safety now, and he probably always would, and it wasn't a bad thing.

I'm safe. Roxanne smiled up at Gray, something sharp inside melting, just a little. She still missed her friends and family, and being away from them still hurt, but… even if Jacob couldn't be there for her, she wasn't alone. There was someone who would always, always look out for her, and make sure she was safe. And Gray was someone that she should look up to, she knew it. Even back home she had always wanted to be more like him, as chivalrous and kind and as open to new friends despite his past. He was definitely someone that she should try to emulate.

"Gray?" she began, drawing his attention again. "There's more than one way to use magic, right? I mean, even if you use the same kind. Like, um… Natsu is the Fire Dragon Slayer, but Mr. Conbolt can use a little fire magic too."

"That's right," Gray nodded over his sandwich. Apparently Roxanne was the kind who wasn't content to leave the learning for the training field.

"So is there more than one type of Ice Make?" Roxanne asked, once she'd finished the next bite of her own sandwich.

"Actually, yeah," Gray said. "There are mages who can cast Ice Make using only one hand. But we practice using two hands. I'm not sure I adequately explained before. Do you remember?"

Roxanne nodded. "Two hands creates more stable, stronger creations than magic using only one hand." Actually he hadn’t explained it at all, but Roxanne remembered Gray’s anime fight with Lyon.

"That's right. But that's where it gets complicated. The differences don't stop at one- or two-handed magic. It goes into personal preference and tendencies. For example, I use two hands and I create only inanimate objects. Meaning my creations don't move. They're not alive. But Lyon, my mentor's other apprentice, uses animated Ice Make magic. Which means that-"

"His creations can move," she whispered, filling in the blanks. She already knew that, really, but it was fascinating to hear it from him anyway, if only because she honestly hadn't expected him to be okay telling her about Lyon so soon. Natsu hadn't had any idea who Lyon was, or that he even existed. But then again, no one had asked Gray about his past until the Galuna Island Arc. So maybe Gray hadn’t told anybody because he hadn’t needed to.

"Bingo."

"And he uses two hands, too? You both were both taught by-" She had to bite her tongue to keep from saying Ur. A slip like that would tip him off that she knew more than she should. "The same mentor, right?"

"Ur… discouraged the use of one-handed magic, for the same reasons that I told you. She thought that one-handed magic was unstable, and it made the creations weaker than the same creations created with two hands. But Lyon wouldn't listen. He was convinced that one-handed magic was better and made him a better mage, better than her, because it meant he had a second hand free for other things."

Roxanne frowned. "But he's wrong."

"Yes, he is. He just doesn't see that." Gray was frowning now, staring at his sandwich like it held the answers to all of life's problems. It was plain that he didn't really enjoy talking about Lyon, even if he felt like he should.

"So… you're opposites," Roxanne said thoughtfully. "You use two hands; he uses one. Your creations don't move; his does. That's neat." She beamed up at him, trying to make him feel better. "You'd make a great team!"

Gray laughed breathily, trying to stay quiet and also trying not to offend her. "Theoretically, yes, but I doubt I'll see him again. And if I do, he'll probably be the enemy."

"Really? Why's that?"

She shouldn't have asked that. She could see the effect her question had on him. He sobered again and the lines of his face and shoulders went tight with loathing. "Because he… he blames me for Ur's death."

"Oh," she whispered, and fell silent for a time. She watched Gray, and knew from his pained expression that he was hurting. She also knew exactly what scene was playing in his head, what memory still tortured him. She left him alone with his thoughts for a little bit, but then decided it wasn't right to let him wallow. She reached out and put one small hand on top of his grown-up and callused one. She couldn't say 'it's okay', but she could tell him he wasn't alone, right?

Gray looked up at her, and some of the tension melted away. He gave her a slight, sideways smile, and Roxanne smiled back at him encouragingly, before pulling back and trying to find something else to talk about. Something to keep him from thinking more bad thoughts.

For the next half hour, Roxanne asked a variety of questions, eating while Gray answered. He gave careful, detailed replies, and admitted when he didn't know the answers. Roxanne tried to give him plenty of time to eat too, but she couldn't quite hold back her questions, and ended up rapid-firing them at him more than once, so she was done eating long before he was.

At twelve-thirty, Gray's alarm went off. He deactivated it and went back to eating. "Now I have a question for you," he said, swallowing another bite of his sandwich. "We've got two hours before I have to get you back to the guild so you can study with Master Makarov. What do you want to do between now and then?"

"Oh. Um, I don't know," Roxanne admitted. "I haven't been here very long, and I haven't seen much of the city. I'm sure you've got a better idea than I do. What do you think?"

"Well, I actually don't exactly know that much," Gray shrugged. "When I was a kid, I didn’t really go places to have fun. The most fun I had was sparring with Natsu or wrestling with Erza.”

"Oh." Roxanne looked down for a moment, frowning slightly. She'd known he'd worked really hard as a kid, but that was just… sad. "I guess that makes sense." She looked up at him again. "We spend a lot of time outside. Um. Could we spend tonight in the guild hall?"

Gray seemed surprised. "Sure. But what do you want to do?"

"I dunno," Roxanne said uncertainly, swinging her legs. "Mostly just talking with everyone, I guess?"

"If that's what you want to do, then that's what we'll do," Gray shrugged. "You've certainly earned it."

"Yay!" Roxanne grinned at him happily.

Gray smiled and went back to eating, so Rox folded her wrapper and sipped from her juice. To her dismay, the cup was emptier than she'd thought, and she pouted a bit. She looked around for a sign, only to scowl again when she remembered that she couldn't read any of them. Yet. I can't read them yet.

"Is something wrong?" Gray asked.

"Oh, um. It's not important. Are the drinks free refills?"

"That's a new term for it," Gray mused, "but I understand what you mean. Yes, you can refill your cup without paying extra for it."

"Great! Thanks, Gray!" She chirped, happiness restored and she practically skipped across the cafe to the soda fountain. She stopped and pouted dejectedly again. She couldn't read, so she had no idea which tab would give her the juice and which ones were for other drinks.

She sighed and waited near the pick-up line until an employee came close enough to notice her. Thankfully, it was the same lady who had taken her order.

"Excuse me?" Rox asked, raising her hand. The lady smiled and stopped.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what drink I ordered?"

"Yes, I do! It's a berry and fruit juice blend." The lady smiled, which reminded Rox of Lucy’s own kind and friendly smile.

"Right. Which tab on the machine do I use to get more? I'm new to Fiore so I can't read the tabs."

"It's the third one from the right." She gestured and Rox followed her gaze, quickly locating the proper tab.

"Oh, great! Thanks so much, miss!"

"No problem." The lady smiled, laughter in her voice. Rox smiled back and made her way over to the fountain machine once more.

Gray watched everything, grinning.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked when she returned, refilled drink in hand.

She nodded, already gathering her trash onto the plastic tray.

Gray smiled again and stood up. He expertly balanced the trash and his still-full soda cup on the tray, and Roxanne followed him to the trash bin.

"Do you come here often, Gray?"

"Sort of. It's easier and cheaper for me to eat at the guild, but sometimes they can be a bit too rowdy." He winked, causing Roxanne to giggle. "So I come here when I need to get away. It's good food, and the sandwiches are healthy if you balance the ingredients right."

"Right. Because balanced meals are important."

Gray grinned and chuckled a bit as he ruffled her hair again�"Idiot! Stop that! "Yeah."