Here's to my new story. Hope you guys enjoy :)

Disclamer: I own nothing by my characters.
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Far away, in a secluded green forest, was a small shed. Or what appeared to be a shed. It was a couple of slabs of wood and several holes cut out to look like windows. It was an overall poorly shack that wasn't sturdy looking. The small breezes that pass by were able to make the shabby hut swayed back and forth.

There was some rustling within the shed before the front door opened and out came a young girl with long blueish hair. She surveyed the area, even checking the sky above. Her head was up for quite awhile before she saw nothing. With a long sigh she left her hut.

The girl traveled west for a good while before the grassland started appearing with a variety of large thick trees. Taking a left, she went past a large boulder, and kept on walking till she came upon more trees surrounding a large lake. It was pristine. Its glistening water mirrored the puffy clouds and baby blue sky. The young girl took no time taking her peasant dress off and went in the water with a loud splash. She came up with a blissful sigh. The lukewarm water was just the thing to sooth her.

Time wasn't a factor. She spent hours playing by herself in the pond without a care. It was a little while later when something felt off. The girl sensed a pair of eyes staring at her. She stopped what she was doing and immediately dipped herself in the water. Who could have found her? No one, besides her and her father, knew of the area. At least that's what she was told.

The girl hoped it wasn't someone dangerous. Her father had told her exactly what do to if she was in any danger, but the thought of being in danger made her forget what she needed to do. There was no knowing who her spectator was with her backside to them. So she turned around.

But no one was there.

Her heart was racing. She felt relieved and scared at the same time. But above all else, she was confused. She for sure felt someone was here. Out of nowhere, the young girl was roughly lifted out of the water, and thrown into the deeper part of the pond. Rough laughter was heard as the girl came back up the surface.

She glared hard at her assailant. "That's not funny daddy!"

Her father grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "It was to me, child." The girl crossed her arms with a pout. He let out a few more chuckles then beckoned her to him. "Get dressed, I fetched you dinner."

The girl was confused. She looked at the sky and noticed it wasn't blue anymore but a dull red-orange. She got out of the pond and did as she was told. The two then headed back to the shed where a pile of roasted meat was waiting. The girl hugged her father with joy and ran to what was her meal.

"Thank y–" She stopped herself.

Turning around was the biggest mistake she ever made. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Tears were forming in her eyes.

He was gone.

Talise gasped as she woke up. Her mind was a blur. She took a moment to breathe, before she sat up and realized she was in bed. Her eyes scanned the large and lonely room. Right in front of her was a writing desk, and a chair, both badly worn out. To her left was a dresser with most of the drawers half open. Several of them had all kinds of clothes and junk sticking out. Further down were two doors semi-opened, and a bookcase, a third full of books and knickknacks.

She took it all in and sighed with relief. Talise recognized her bedroom. Her eyes gazed at the blue curtains, to her left; light barely hitting the cloth. She'd guess the sun was barely coming up. The girl sighed once again and pushed the comforter wrapping her. Talise yelped as the cold had wafted over her exposed skin. It may be summer but the mornings were as cold as winter. Talise rubbed her naked arms as she stood in front of her window. With one push, she saw she was right. The sun wasn't even up. All she saw was a dark gray sky and the outline of the trees that surrounded her home. Talise groaned. She woke up too early. And she knew well sleep wasn't going to come back to her. She closed her curtains and begrudgingly headed for the bathroom.

About an hour later, Talise was in her kitchen finishing up her breakfast. She brushed off any remaining crumbs off her shirt before heading to the front door. Talise took one last look at herself in the mirror near the front before she went out. The sun was barely making any light above the treetops as she locked her door. Talise pocketed her key and followed the barely made dirt path into the trees.

Five minutes later, she came out of the woods and saw the beautiful town of Magnolia. She went over the stone bridge and waved to a small group of people, out on the river, tugging a large bundle of fish onto their boat. Heading straight she turned on the corner of Orangefair and kept north until she reached a three-story building with a huge wooden sign that read Fairy Tail.

Talise opened up the pair of doors and was met with an empty room. The heels of her boots echoed off the wooden floor as she made her way to the bar. "Hello!"

It took a second before she heard shuffling from the second floor. Up above was the always joyful Mirajane in her usual red and pink dress. "Good Morning Tali." She gave her a grand smile before heading downstairs to her. "You're here early."

"Yea… I… woke up early. Is anyone else here?" Talise said changing the subject.

"Just us," Mirajane's face turned devious as she went behind the bar, "why?"

Talise rolled her eyes. She knew what she was getting at. "I'm just asking."

Mirajane giggled. "Well… a little birdie told me a certain someone came back last night." She made a small grin when red creep onto Talise's face. "There's no doubt that he'll be coming in today… unless, he already stopped by–"

"Wow! Will you look at the time!?" Talise looked at her bare wrist. "I better start prepping before everyone comes in!" She then ran through the pair of doors next to the bar.

Mirajane stared at the swinging doors. The corner of her lips twitching in amusement as the girl hid herself in the guild's kitchen.

Talise leveled her breathing as she tried to calm down. Her face was hot from the mage's teasing. She was well aware that everyone in the guild knew of her crush. That is, everyone who was smart enough to know. But that didn't mean she didn't like it when people pointed out the obvious. Despite all that, deep down, she was really happy. She was going to see him today after what seemed like an eternity. A smile grew on her face as her thoughts went to him.

"Tali, I don't hear you moving about. Stop day-dreaming about your future husband and get to work." Mirajane said playfully from the other room.

The cook frowned as Mira's voice broke through her thoughts. "I'm getting to it!" she yelled back. With a small growl she pull back her black wavy curls in a tight bun, and got set to prep for the day's meals.

The mornings were usually slow. Not many choose to wake up early and come in, unless it was to meet up for a job request. It's around noon when the guild gets crawling with people, all loud and active. As Talise went back to the kitchen doors to fulfill an order, she got greeted by two fingers prodding her sides.

She jumped and let out a yelp when she felt the ticklish pressure. Her face went red from the sudden attack. She was ready to yell at whoever had the gull to do that, but then dropped it when she saw her assailant laughing. Talise froze as she stared at Gray. She bowed her head. She was slightly mad at herself for thinking of hurting Gray for a second. Her face was then flushed with pink when she felt a hand on her head.

"Sorry Tails, but I couldn't let the chance pass by." Gray grinned as he heard her mumbled, "It's my fault… not paying attention." He let out a chuckled and messed around with the top of her head some more. "How you been?"

"I've… been good." she muttered. She went absolutely stiff as he started stroked the top of her bun. Talise mentally groaned. She knew she was a total mess from working. He had to come in during her busiest hour. Why couldn't he have come in the morning? Talise heard giggling nearby and knew Mirajane was taking joy out of her embarrassment. That made her lowered her head. "I–I need to–to get back… to–to work." she struggled to say.

Gray nodded. "Sure." He moved his hand away, making Talise somewhat sad. "Mind if you make me my usual?"

Talise looked at him as he smiled. His handsome face made her nod her head dumbly and headed back to the kitchen. But before she went inside, Talise caught Mirajane giving her a mischievous grin. She was left with a sour note as she entered her domain. Talise rubbed her face, hoping the humiliation would come off of her.

As she tried to curse Mirajane from inside her little kitchen she heard a loud booming voice scream, "WE'RE BACK!"

Her ears twitched. There was only one person in the entire guild who loved to make an entrance loud enough to wake the dead. It was then that Talise heard a series of cries and what sounded like many things being broken. She stopped what she was doing and sighed annoyingly. Moving back to the door, there was a good sized first aid kit nearby, which she took and prayed that no one needed her assistance. She took a deep breath and looked at the damage outside.

It was pretty bad.

Left and right, up and down; everyone was in some sort of brawl. Talise groaned. She knew she was going to be the one cleaning up the mess. That left a bad mark on her. "I'm going to kill Natsu."

"It's not so bad." said Mirajane as she walked towards her with a tray of mugs. "Remember six months ago."

Talise cringed at the memory resurfacing. "I wish I couldn't." She remembered that day very well.

When hell broke loose.

Natsu challenged everyone at the moment to an all out, no rules brawl. Talise was surprised when all twenty-five mages had accepted Natsu's request. Usually some, if not most, ignored the idiot's challenges. But that day everyone who was in the guild joined in except her and Mirajane. The two of them couldn't do a thing. Erza went out on a mission and Master Makarov was away at a conference and wouldn't come back till the next day. They could only let them be and finish their fight.

But when it was over, the place was in shreds.

The walls and floor were brutally smashed, burnt, and filled with holes. The basement was trashed and flooded. Three pillars were taken down during the fight: one in the basement and two on the first floor. The tables and bar were gone, as well as half of the second story and the front of the kitchen. When the Master came back he was enraged that everyone almost destroyed the guild. So much, that the idiots were banned from taking missions until the guild was fixed. It took about half a month to restore it back to the way it was. But what pissed her off was that she and Mirajane did most of the repair and cleaning. And they weren't even involved in the fight.

Talise scrunched up her nose. Oh how she hated everyone for those two and half weeks, even Gray. She didn't speak or made eye contact with him for the entire time Fairy Tail was under renovation.

"Oh! We have a newcomer." Mira said softly.

Talise's surging anger subsided for the moment as she watched Mirajane walk towards the end of the bar to a busty blonde girl with a pink carrier bag. Talise ducked when a chair was thrown her way. She looked behind to see who threw it but it was a lost cause since everyone was throwing stuff everywhere. When Talise looked back at the two girls, she groaned and ran over to them. It only took two seconds for Mirajane to be on the floor, out cold, with her massive younger brother on top of her.

"MIRAJANE!" the blonde cried out in fear.

Talise placed the first aid kit down and tried to calm the new girl. "Relax, just help me mo–" She was then brought down to her stomach by something heavy. Talise moaned and wondered what the hell was thrown at her. She craned her neck to see what appeared to be Alzack on her back, unconscious. She swore under her breath. One, the guy was out cold, and two, it was Alzack.

Her thoughts lingered on number two as she quickly rolled the dead weight off of her. Relieved, she looked around for the blonde and Mirajane. She ducked down when several mugs grazing over her head. However, she was then knocked down again by a new force.

"I'MMA KILL YOU!" yelled out Natsu as his arms flailed around, hitting Talise's head in the process.

"OW! NATSU! OWWW–GET OFF ME!" She screamed.

"GET OFF HER!" cried a voice. That same sudden voice was able to remove the weight named Natsu and gently bring her to her feet again. "Are you alright Tails?"

Gray's voice made Talise blush. Her face went even redder as he looked at her up and down with concern. "I–I'm o–okay." She stuttered. Her eyes went to the floor. But she immediately regretted it and turned her head sideways. He was in nothing but his boxers.

"Go back to the kitchen." Gray demanded. "It's too dangerous out here." Talise opened her mouth to say something but Gray was then kicked away by Natsu.

"HA! IN YOUR FACE!" the dragon slayer said with glee. Talise heavily glared at Natsu. With no warning she balled up her fist and punched him in the stomach as hard as she could. Natsu immediately hunched over in pain. "WH–WHAT THE HELL TALI!" cried Natsu. He attempted glaring at Talise as much as he could whilst nursing his abdomen.

"YOU KICKED GRAY IS WHAT!" She screamed.

"B–BUT HE KICKED ME IN THE HEAD FOR NOTHING!"

"HE KICKED YOU IN THE HEAD BECAUSE YOU WERE ON TOP OF ME!"

"NO I WASN'T! I WAS ON THE FLOOR!"

"YES YOU WERE!"

"ENOUGH!" Cana yelled. Nearby the bar, the buzzed mage turned around and glared at everyone in her view. She then held up a card between her fingers and started up her magic. "YOU GUYS BETTER FUCKING QUIT IT!"

Talise groaned as she saw Natsu and everyone else in the room do the same as Cana. She quickly ran away from Natsu, knowing very well she would be barbecue if she was next to him. As Talise neared the kitchen doors, the whole guild started to shake violently.

"WILL YOU FOOLS CUT IT OUT ALREADY!" cried out a deep voice.

Everyone looked up and saw their Master, in his Titan form, looming over everybody inside. The room stood quiet as Master Makarov stared down at them.

"I'm sorry Master," Mira stated, "I didn't know you were here."

Talise let a sigh of relief. Mirajane would always be the brave one to subside their Master.

"Oi, Tals." She looked to the bar and gave Cana her full attention. "Give this back to the ice moron." The mage tossed a pair of brown crinkly pants to her.

Talise caught it and gave Cana a look of gratitude. As she headed towards Gray she kept a look out for the rest of his clothes. In this mess she was surprised his pants made it out fine. She found Gray sitting on the floor, looking disappointed. Her heart went out to him. She felt sad that he look so upset. Gray's head then turned to her, which made her blush. Talise barely realized she was staring at him in his boxers. Before she got redder, she held out his pants to him.

"Thanks." He said. She nodded and turned her head away as he took his pants back.

"You've gone and done it again, you fools!" Everyone looked at the Master, who was standing on the second floor railing. "Look at all this paperwork the council has sent me!" He held up a large stack of papers in his hand. "They're all complaints! All you idiots do is make the council angry with me!"

Talise felt bad. And it wasn't just her. The whole guild felt guilty as their Master shook with anger. Normally he would just yell at them, calling them idiots and whatnot. Coming forth with a stack of complaints was new. They didn't know what the Master would do at this point.

The Master took a deep breath and shook his head. Everyone watched as the Master raised the hand with papers and set them on fire. "Screw the council." He then threw the flaming stack out towards them. Natsu instantly jumped and caught the fiery bundle like a dog catching a Frisbee. "Listen up! Magic is an unreasonable power, but it's born from reason! It's not some miraculous ability.

When the spirit that flows within us combines with the spirit that flows within nature, it incarnates into physical form! It requires willpower and concentration! In fact, pouring all of your soul into whatever you do is magic! One cannot progress their magic by being wary of the watchful eyes of the higher-ups! Don't be afraid of those fools on the council! Follow the path you believe in! That's what it means to be a Fairy Tail mage!"

The guild blew up with cheers as their Master raised his hand and made their guild's hand sign. Talise joined him and the others and lifted her hand as well.

Everyone was in high spirits. However, for Talise, that joy soon disappeared when things calmed down and she went back to the kitchen. Reality kicked in and she immediately groaned. She still had to clean up Natsu's mess.

It was about three hours later when Talise cleared up the last of Natsu's chaos. Talise huffed with a little pride when she saw the floor free of large chunks of wood, ceramic, and metal. She was glad the guild wasn't too much of a mess; however, she couldn't say she forgave Natsu for the ordeal. Content with the guild being decent, Talise went to the kitchen and put away her broom and pail. When she came back out, she was met with a fully clothed Gray, who was sorry looking.

She knew what he was thinking and held up a hand. "Don't bother. You weren't the one who started this."

Gray frowned. "I was still a part of it."

"At least you helped me clean up a bit." Gray looked at her like he didn't think it was enough. "You do remember part of my job is to clean after you guys."

He sighed. "I know, but not like this–"

"YOU JERK!" a voice cried out.

The two turned their heads to the bar. Their Master was on his back on top of the counter while Macao's kid, Romeo, was running away crying. Talise quickly went to the Master and tended to his already swollen nose.

"Gray, ice please." said Talise.

He made a ball of ice the size of his hand and gave it to her. She took it and grabbed a clean rag from behind the bar.

A loud BANG made Talise jumped and dropped the ball on to the floor in to pieces. Everyone looked at Natsu, who left the guild with Happy in a foul mood. Talise looked back at the request board and frowned. There was a dent, in the shape of a fist, made right in the middle of it. Gray ignored the commotion made by the fire idiot and created another ice ball. He then grabbed the rag Talise had and wrapped it around the ice. "Here Master."

The old man took the makeshift ice pack and thanked him.

"What's wrong with Natsu?" asked the new girl.

Talise, Mirajane, and Gray looked at each other. They all knew of Natsu's past. He was an open book to a certain point. Nevertheless, it was hard telling some else's past, especially if it meant opening old wounds.

"A long time ago, something similar had happened to Natsu." said Mirajane. "In a way, he and Romeo are the same–" Her voice started to quiver. "All Fairy Tail mages carry something with them. Scars, pain, suffering; everyone has had their fair share of them."

The air was filled with sorrow. No one was able to speak after Mirajane's speech. The people around them sense the mood and barely spoke above a whisper. Talise couldn't handle the atmosphere any longer, so she quietly excused herself and went back to the kitchen.

Mira's words really hit her. It made her remember something she didn't want to.

Thunder roared across the sky. Rain bombarded the ground hard. The trees swayed with the harsh cold wind as lightning ripped and crackle. Teeth chattered as more wind came mixing with the already icy rain. There was no one around for miles except her, huddled under one of the trees. She wasn't dressed for the weather with her raggedy dress with holes. The only thing keeping her warm was her arms. Or so she thought. They were numb with cold. For all she knew, it was her imagination that was giving her the warmth she desperately wanted. The tree she was under wasn't any help. The wind moved it around like a rag doll, so much that it was useless to hide from the rain. She was drenched, cold, hungry, lonely, and scared. But she had nowhere to go.

Why?

She tried shuffling her feet to get warm, but they were too frozen to even move an inch. In the back of her mind, she slightly regretted leaving home. Regardless she didn't have a reason to go back. There was no one there. She started tearing up for the umpteenth time. She hated reminding herself that she had no one.

Why?

Talise jumped when she felt a hand on her bare shoulder. She tried to control her breathing, but didn't dare move her head. She feared the tears in her eyes would fall down the moment she moved even the tiniest bit.

"I know you're thinking about him again." She heard Gray's voice say.

That made her shoulders shook.

"I… I don't wanna–t–talk about it right now." her voiced cracked. Talise slowly moved to the sink and made herself appear busy with the dishes.

Gray gave her one more look before saying, "You sure?"

She gripped the edge of a plate. Her eyes were full to the brim with tears. But she forced herself not to succumb. Talise lifted her face up and tried blinking them away. After she felt she wasn't going to cry she took a deep breath and nodded. Gray was more than certain she was lying, but he knew not to pry further. This was one of the things Talise was very touchy with.

Talise looked at the dirty plate in her hand. In the back of her mind she raised the question she asked herself long ago again. Why?

Why did he leave?