#❰ ❄ ― asks. ― gray & rena. lucentaire. ❱

[resolvebound]

Sipping her drink (tea, of course, though she had decided to indulge, just a little, and ask the bartender for just a bit of oomph), Carena regarded Gray. He looked almost the same. Almost. Almost. None of them were the same. None of them could still be the same. Her lower lip quivered, strained as she tried for a smile. A part of her (and she was surprised to find that this part existed) was considering to ask if he would ever return to Magnolia. But a larger part of her knew that things did not work this way.

If they would, the world would be an easy place.

And it was not.

Ah, what did it matter? With how often they seemed to run into each other still, it seemed that it did not matter if they lived in the same country or the same city. Perhaps, for their next trick, they could see what would happen if they lived on the same continent.

'' You know, '' she started as she set down her teacup (dainty, but a little chipped) and looked at Gray, '' maybe, we should stop relying on chance for those meetings. ''

He stilled at her words, momentarily frozen like one of his ice creations. His mind, however, raced. Slowly, he turned his head to better look at her, eyes studying the expression her features held. What did she mean exactly? Stop relying on chance? He considered himself to be an observant type, able to notice things others missed and to understand what lay beneath the surface, yet with Evergreen…well, she had a tendency to surprise him, and he didn’t want to misinterpret or assume anything.

Attuned closely to every detail of her, he hoped to hear the whispers of truth from her body language, the way she positioned herself and moved. What was she thinking? What was she feeling?

There, in the curve of her lips and the way her eyes shifted, a hint of vulnerability, and perhaps a touch of hope, or something like it. Whatever it was (and maybe he was imagining it to begin with), it swept away any idea he’d had of giving a teasing remark in response to her. There was something frail between them in the moment, brittle like frost covered leaves. It ought to be handled gently, and despite what others might have thought of him at times, he was capable of doing so. And he wanted to do so.

He gave his agreement to her with a slow nod and smile, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

Fate (not that he particularly wanted to believe in such a concept) seemed to put them in each others paths as it was, so arranging the meet-ups themselves would be getting in control of it, getting ahead, right? And he had to admit, spending time with Evergreen was far from boring and there was a certain thrill coursing through him at the idea of being around her more often (not to mention the curious idea that she seemed to want to be around him too).

Tapping his fingertips lightly on the tabletop, he pulled his gaze away from her as he added, “Might have to make a regular time and place or something, since my track record with mcls isn’t the greatest.”

Despite how convenient the communication Lacrima was (to most people), it was not a reliable way of reaching him, given his penchant for accidentally breaking or losing them.

[resolvebound]

She rubbed her eyebrow. Gray could be quite confusing, but she was certain she had heard him right. Otherwise, this might be embarrassing. “I mean, yes,” she said slowly as she looked at what had been supposed to be iced tea but was not, not anymore, not after Romeo had stopped at her table to show off his newest fire trick. “I would appreciate the assistance, Gray. It's supposed to be iced tea, now it's lukewarm. This just won't do.”

One of the benefits of having ice related magic that he’d never really considered before, (until now) was the possibility of never having to experience the disappointment of warm drinks. Such disappointment as Evergreen was now experiencing, as it so happened. His offer to fix her drink had slipped out after her sigh carried over to him and he'd watched her stare down into her glass and stir the liquid around.

He merely gave a small nod at her acceptance of his offer now, shifting himself closer and reaching for the lukewarm tea. Even a beginner user of ice magic would be able to produce neat little cubes, so it would hardly take a thought for him to form a few within the drink. Unfortunately for him (and for Evergreen's tea), all thoughts scattered in his mind as he touched the glass, his gaze catching on Evergreen herself. The light streaming in illuminated her in a soft glow, lending an ethereal quality to her visage and drawing his attention to her eyes. And then her lips.

Pulling his eyes away and back to her temperature challenged beverage, he realised he’d gone too far in his distracted state. Her tea sat frozen solid.

He cursed harshly under his breath, annoyance at himself shading his features (and, yes, perhaps there was a bit of embarrassment too). “I’ll go get you a new one,” he grumbled, rubbing a hand briefly over his face as if to clear his head.

[resolvebound]

👀+ Gray (you should've known this was coming)

Send 👀 for my muse to catch yours staring at them! // accepting

Roughly halfway between their respective homes, the small roadside village made for an appropriate meeting place. The modest tavern in the middle of the village was likewise the best spot to meet. Gray waited inside the building, sitting at one of the corner tables where he could keep an eye on the other patrons and anticipate the arrival of a certain someone.

Although he appeared relaxed, with his legs loosely kicked out beneath the table and his back leaning heavily against the support of the chair, anyone watching the movements of his hands might guess he was, perhaps, a little nervous or excited. His fingers tapped repetitively against the surface of the table, always eager for something to do or fidget with. Earlier, he’d crafted an ice-make dagger and had been content flipping it in his hands, however the wary eyes of the tavern’s clientele had made him reluctantly rethink his object of distraction.

He passed his eyes briefly over the occupants of the room before focusing on the entryway for a lingering moment. When the door made no move, he sighed and once more stared at the tabletop. He traced shapes and swirls in the woodgrain, allowing the lightest touch of his magic to come forth and create a trail of frost wherever he touched. It didn’t take long (or much thought) for the random shapes to soon shift into something with a little more purpose or definition. A flower first, then the smooth curves of a set of butterfly-like wings.

The mild tension unknowingly held in his shoulders began to ease as he traced the gentle lines of a woman’s face. His thoughts wandered back to past times he’d spent with Evergreen. Their conversations always tended to be interesting, certainly amusing at times too. Her perspective and thoughts were given with care, and they were insightful, always intriguing to his mind. More than once lately, he’d found himself wondering what her opinion or thoughts would be on various things he’d come across, and he’d guess at what she might say. Most recently, he’d passed through a town with a rather striking water fountain, and as he’d admired the sculpture at its center (a woman in a flowing dress, her expression utterly peaceful as she held a flower up to her face), he’d thought of Evergreen.

Now, as his thoughts of her continued, flowing over and over through his mind much like the water within the fountain, he failed to notice her entrance into the tavern.

A clatter nearby drew his eyes upwards, finding someone had dropped their cutlery a few tables over. As he scanned the room for signs of trouble, his gaze skidded to a halt upon landing on a familiar face. If anyone had asked him, he would steadfastly deny that the sight of Evergreen made his pulse jump. She had simply startled him, that's all. He would also deny that finding her eyes on him made a strange flutter echo from his chest to his stomach. And her sudden appearance didn’t make him feel self-conscious at all, nope, he wouldn’t give into the urge to fix his hair or make sure there was nothing out of place.

From where she stood, halfway between his table and the door, it seemed she might have been there for a few moments at least. Hesitating? He wondered.

To erase his absentminded artwork on the table, he hurriedly wiped his hand across the surface, assuring himself she couldn’t have seen any of it from her position.

“Hey,” he greeted, clearing his throat slightly and attempting to banish the awkwardness he felt trying to tinge his skin a faint pink.

[resolvebound]

♦️+ Gray

Send ♦️ for a headcanon I have for our muses // accepting

Sometime between him leaving Fairy Tail and their current thread, he visited an art gallery that had a special exhibit focusing on architecture. Who else happened to be there? Oh, just Rena Evergreen & Freed. Gray saw her first and wanted to approach, yet she looked peaceful and he didn't want to disturb her, so he hung back and kept out of sight. Of course when he turned around, he bumped into Freed, who had an all too knowing look in his eye. Mercifully, Freed said nothing and allowed Gray to lay low and leave without being seen.

A similar instance happened in their younger years, during one of the rare times the Raijinshuu stopped by the guild. Gray was taking a shortcut through the gardens near the guild and spotted Evergreen examining some flowers. She intrigued him enough for him to consider going to talk to her, but he hesitated and in that moment, Freed was approaching and so Gray left. It's a moment he'd forgotten about until recently.

[resolvebound]

"can you keep a secret?" a question, Carena thinks, that is almost entirely rhetorical. she does not know everything, but that only proves her point---Gray is surely about as good at keeping secrets as she is.

Asking for favours // accepting

There was something about the late night hours, and the peaceful, almost intimate quiet of the world at that time, that seemed always conducive to philosophical or meaningful discussions. He and Evergreen had hardly needed evening light to have such talks before (they managed to have interesting discussions every time they met after all), yet he was reminded distantly of the first time they’d really talked, really interacted. It seemed an age ago now, that night outside the guild, talking among the soft lights Evergreen had produced.

A secret? The latest question from her raised his eyebrow slightly as he gave her a sidelong glance. He idly rubbed his hand along his opposite forearm, where the mark of demon slaying magic would appear when active. Secrets, he knew, were something both he and Evergreen had much practice with, and he knew too, that neither of them would pry into what the other held close to their chest.

A slight smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he answered her.

“Only on days that end in ‘y.’”

[resolvebound]

she was nobody who waffled around. being anything but confident in her course of action was uncharacteristic for her, and she rather liked who she had built herself to be. she was stone. stone did not tremble, did not waver. ever. and really, what did she have to lose? overthinking this was a disservice to herself. could her actions be misread? certainly. but people had long decided who they thought she was, and she was in no mood to disagree.

flipping her hair over her shoulder, she dropped the wrapped gift onto the table in front of Gray. he was an artsy guy, he might like a sketchbook. it was easy as that---and really not that deep, despite what some might think. '' happy holidays, Gray, '' she said as she continued her path. no one could say that she could not do casual.

The fact he wasn’t aware of her approach said a lot, as in recent times, his awareness of her had even started to become somewhat of a problem. His level of distraction now, spoke to the fact he was so twisted up in both his thoughts and the effort of tamping down the dark magic within him, that he hardly noticed anything else around him.

His eyes were fixed on the table he sat at, not truly seeing it, but the patterns in the grain would echo in his vision for a moment, even as he blinked at the sudden gift appearing in front of him. The focus that had been scattered across his mind in a dozen thoughts, snapped together again. Gaze jumping to Evergreen, his features eased in surprise.

Ordinarily, he thought himself quick to react, quick to reply, yet the woman had already moved on by the time he gathered himself. Did that really just happen?

He rubbed his face and then peered at the present she had left him (it was still there, not imagined like he had momentarily suspected). Happy holidays, she’d said. Frowning, unable to think for the time being about what she was referring to, he carefully picked up the gift.

When was the last time he’d gotten a present? It was a thought that gave his mind a decent workout, rewinding and rewinding the time. Maybe it had been something from Juvia, or Cana. He couldn’t recall.

Curiosity nudged him to drop his line of thought and instead focus on what was in his hands. He unwrapped the gift with care, eyes widening slightly as he realised what it was. A sketchbook. A very nice one too.

He slid his hand over the cover, then slipped it open to get a feel of the paper within. A soft hum of approval left him, mind already going over his array of pens and pencils back at his cabin, deciding which he would use first on the fine paper. But…hold on. Why did Evergreen give him this? How did she know he would like it?

His interest in artistic pursuits wasn’t one he openly advertised, yet given his creative magic, he knew it would hardly be surprising to some. Had he mentioned his hobby to her before? He didn’t think so. She was more observant, and much smarter, than people would give her credit for, he knew that, so it should be of no surprise to him that she would pick something like this out for him (it did, however, make him feel slightly exposed, and whether that was a bad thing or not was yet to be determined).

The only real question was why she gave it to him. But that was hardly something to complicate, he decided, they were…friends, after all. And Evergreen, despite how others might view her, was nice to her friends.

So, in fact, the only thing left to do now was to wonder if he should give her something in return. And to say ‘thank you,’ of course (his mother would have been disappointed had he forgotten his manners).

But, what to get her? It was a much better, lighter thought to distract him than what had swirled in his mind earlier at least.