➵

Dealana remained unconscious for the remainder of the day and the next before she finally woke up. Her whole body ached and she immediately winced at the light shining in her eyes. Her mind felt like the aftermath of a rain storm, foggy and 'bleh'. She couldn't really remember what had happened. The last thing she remember was taking down one of the lizardmen when she, Erza and Lucy were looking for Natsu and Wendy.

That's when it all came flooding back.

Daphne, the headband, Gray's apparent betrayal, her storm barricade, potentially hurting people and...and Laxus. Dealana sat up with a startled gasp, mildly regretting her actions as pain blossomed all over every part she moved. Her heterochromatic eyes darted around as she took in Porlyusica's house. Her gaze finally landed on the small scribble note resting on the table beside Laxus' magic headphones.

Hesitantly reaching out, Dealana snatched both apparent gifts from the table. She placed the headphones around her neck and opened the note.

'You didn't hurt anyone, don't blame yourself. I know music helped you recover from the last time you lost control, don't break the headphones. I know you want me to come back, and I will in time, but I need to figure some things out first. Next time we meet, I want my bracelet back. ~Laxus'

Dealana snorted, despite the small tears that left her eyes. She hadn't been dreaming. Laxus had been the one to break through and calm her down. The Storm Dragon Slayer slipped the headphones over her ears and pressed play. As classic rock & roll filled her ears, Laxus' favorite genre of music, Dealana reread the note. A small smile finding its way onto her face when she noticed the part about the bracelet. She glanced down at the pink and yellow cords somehow still secure on her ankle after her breakdown.

Porlyusica wasn't in the house, which left Dealana alone with her thoughts, not wanting to risk Porlyusica's wrath by getting out of bed. In all honesty, Dealana didn't want to leave the comfort of the bed. There was still the knowledge that Gray betrayed Fairy Tail. She didn't understand why, and it felt like something stabbed her in the heart. She didn't want to believe that Gray would backstab his guild and family, it didn't make sense and she was going to punch him the next time she saw him.

Eventually, Dealana switched from listening to rock & roll to something more mellow while gazing out the window at the sun lit clearing. It wasn't until Dealana felt the soft smack of a broom on her head that she turned and noticed Porlyusica had returned, a small basket filled with herbs on a table by the door. Dealana quickly switched off the music and pulled the headphones down to rest around her neck.

"You reckless fool, you should be resting still," the elderly pink woman chided softly.

"...I'm sor––"

"Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault," Porlyusica cut her off quickly. She turned around and began mixing ingredients in silence while Dealana watched curiously. She had bandages wrapped around her torso, arms, and legs again. She resembled a mummy, but at this point, she didn't care. She felt odd and rather calm. Dealana assumed it was only a matter of time before she finally processed everything completely and stuff happened.

Porlyusica handed Dealana a cup of steaming tea, which the sky-blunette gladly took, blowing gently on the drink before taking a sip. "Thank you, Porlyusica,"

"You should thank the blonde brute and his friend for getting to you before you died," Porlyusica told her, shaking her head. "You likely won't be able to use magic properly for some time." Dealana frowned at this, wondering exactly how long she would have to go before using her magic again. "Your mind and body need to recover after the damage that headband caused."

Dealana nodded slowly, still trying to process everything. Finally she asked. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a couple days, you'll be able enough to begin moving around soon, but that doesn't mean you should." Porlyusica answered.

"I think we both know what'll happen," Dealana offered a small smile. Porlyusica only sighed. The Storm Dragon Slayer finished her tea before slowly sliding out of bed and moving to stand up. She stumbled forward in the first few steps but managed to right herself.

Porlyusica shook her head at the stubborn girl, watching Dealana slowly move through the East Forest with a branch acting as a walking stick. "You never listen do you?..."

By the time Dealana reached Magnolia, she was getting used to walking again, but kept the stick just in case. She took the more sheltered streets, wanting as little attention as possible while she made her way to the guild hall. The sun in the sky deemed the time to be around late afternoon and the Rainbow Cherry Blossom festival thing would be celebrated soon.

Dealana sincerely hoped the rest of the guild didn't wallow on her behalf and went back to normal even while she was recovering. It wouldn't feel right if they didn't and she would whack them with her new walking stick. That was the other reason for keeping it on hand. Dealana had music playing through the headphones as she neared the guild hall. For a moment, she was ready to go and open the doors, but something made her stop.

Her mind went back to everything that happened with Daphne. Maybe she should have stayed at Porlyusica's until she was ready, because Dealana certainly didn't feel ready to face everyone at the current moment in time. She didn't trust herself nor her magic. She knew all she would get would be relieved and pitying expressions, which while understandable, would only make Dealana feel worse about what happened. She could have easily hurt people when she lost control.

Without another thought, Dealana raised the volume of the music and turned on her heel, trudging in the direction of her cave back in the East Forest.

➵

It took a few hours for Dealana to finally convince herself to leave the comfort of her cave and make another attempt to go back to Fairy Tail or even go the the Cherry Blossom Festival. Dressed in a loose fitting yellow tank top and dark shorts, Dealana tied her jacket around her waist as she stepped out of her cave. She decided to leave the walking stick behind and if she fell, she fell. Dealana doubted anything would hurt as much as the headband for a while.

The Storm Dragon Slayer found the rest of the guild playing bingo beneath the beautiful Cherry Blossoms. She smiled as she noticed them all having smiles on their faces. At least she wouldn't have to beat everyone with a stick. Not wanting to ruin the game, Dealana moved silently around the edge of the clearing everyone was in and climbed into one of the pink trees to watch from above.

Dealana normally enjoyed this festival and made sure the weather was just right. Though she wasn't a 'girly' kind of person, the flowers were undeniably beautiful. While everyone was calling out bingo or the lack thereof, Dealana leaned back, music playing on a low volume so she could still hear the going ons below her. She closed her eyes. It was nice. This feeling of the sun hitting her skin softly while she lazed about in the tree, her guild mates having fun nearby. Dealana would recover from this. It may take awhile, but she knew for sure that she would get better.

Sitting together on one of the many blankets underneath the falling petals, the Thunder Legion were happily playing bingo when Bickslow spotted a familiar sky-blunette in a tree. She wore so many bandages, but her eyes were closed with genuine smile on her face. Noticing their friends sudden silence, they followed his gaze to see Dealana as well. Evergreen was about to call out but Freed put a hand on the woman's shoulder and used his other hand to gesture lightly at the headphones and her peaceful state.

They easily recognized the spiked headphones and realized that Laxus had been the one to help Cress calm Dealana down. It brought them close to tears but they turned back to their bingo game, not wanting to disturb the young girl.

The Thunder Legion weren't the only ones to notice Dealana's quiet arrival. Makarov and MiraJane had seen her too. The Storm Dragon Slayer made eye contact, offered a reassuring nod that she was alright before lifting a finger to her lips, asking them to keep quiet as she didn't want to make a big show when the flower festival was going to begin anyways.

As the sun began to set and the sky began to turn golden orange, Dealana slid down from the tree. Everyone would be looking up for the rainbow color shift, which meant if Dealana wanted to stay out of sight, she would have to move. She opted for sitting with the Thunder Legion, who she had a feeling wouldn't make too much of a fuss that she was up and about.

She smiled and gave each of them a hug assuring them in a quiet voice that she was okay before letting Evergreen fix the mess that was her sky blue hair. Evergreen undid the normal two braids Dealana had and combined them into one long braid weaving in a few flowers here and there. As Evergreen did that, Dealana began braiding different colored cords together, one for each member of the Thunder Legion.

"We were worried about you, little Lana," Bickslow remarked as she began braiding sky blue strings together. "Worried, worried."

"And now you don't have to," Dealana told him. "I won't be able to use my magic for a while and I still need to know exactly what happened." She had noticed Gray among the rest of them, making her think that Daphne had been wrong, but then again she had known something that only Dealana or Gray would've known. The ice-mage though appearing relatively happy during the festival, was weighed down by guilt.

Freed took care of explaining everything with Gray, Natsu and the City without Sound with Evergreen and Bickslow's added commentary when they felt the need to jump in. Dealana scoffed when she heard that Natsu had forgotten something so important. She also could understand why Gray did what he did. He needed to get close to Daphne so that Natsu could fulfill his promise.

Dealana had been caught in the cross-fire. She was more angry towards Daphne, who she learned was now behind bars, and partially at herself for being rather careless in her fight with the lizardmen. She would definitely be getting some form of repayment from the ice-mage, but she figured the amount of guilt he must've had to deal with after everyone believed he betrayed the guild and her was a fair start.

As the sky turned from orange to deep blue-black, the area around Fairy Tail was illuminated by the beautiful rainbow cherry blossoms. Dealana eventually parted from the Thunder Legion, much to Freed's ever-so-obvious worry when she winced at her aching limbs. She made her way to Wendy, who she hadn't seen since she initially left with Natsu chasing the rumor that started it all. Well, she'd watched the blunette and Carla hang with Erza during the bingo game, but Dealana hadn't talked to her yet.

Wendy and Carla were admiring all the colorful petals when Dealana stood beside her, also gazing at the rainbow trees. "They're beautiful aren't they?" She asked softly. Wendy's brown eyes lit up in surprise and delight upon seeing Dealana feeling well enough to move around. Dealana grinned back and waved off Carla's concerns. "Your first Cherry Blossom Festival as part of the Fairy Tail guild, what do you think?" Dealana asked them both.

"It's amazing!" Wendy replied. "I'm also glad that you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm getting there," Dealana told her.

"Dealana?" The Storm Dragon Slayer turned to see Erza behind her with a relieved expression. "I'm so glad you're feeling better. You made it to the festival just in time too."

"Actually I've been here for a while, I didn't want to take away from the cherry blossoms and bingo, or deal with people so I hung out in a tree for a bit watching," Dealana admitted. "It was nice and relaxing." Erza's eyes spotted the familiar headphones resting around Dealana's neck and her expression softened.

"I see," Erza replied with a knowing smile.

After a few more minutes admiring the trees with Wendy, Carla and Erza, Dealana sighed. "I should probably say something to Gray,"

"You don't have to if you aren't ready," Erza reminded her gently.

Dealana waved her words off saying, "Freed, Ever and Bickslow told me what happened. He needs to know it wasn't his fault," And with that, Dealana searched out the sulking ice mage after smiling and reassuring those who noticed her. She finally managed to find him slightly away from the others looking at the trees. Stealthily, Dealana made her way to stand beside him.

"You know," She began catching him off-guard. "Rainbows always follow after rain or storm." Gray said nothing as she spoke, seeing her wrapped in bandages just brought more guilt upon his shoulders. He deserved every bit of it too. "But not every storm should be chased, so let's focus on what comes after, okay?" Dealana finally looked up at the ice-mage offering a sad smile. "I'm still going to beat you to a pulp once I'm given the okay to use magic, but for now, we move forward. If anyone's to blame, let it be the crazy lady rotting behind bars."

Gray sighed, returning the small sad smile before nodding, not trusting himself to speak.

"Good," Dealana nodded before looking back to the rainbow colored petals that danced around in the cool night air.

➵

Comments? Theories? I'd love to know what you guys think about the chapter and the story in general. Also, Gray isn't off the hook yet, Dealana will definitely be punching him sometime soon. Bickslow and Evergreen will cheer her on and Freed will be waiting with a proud smile to wrap her hands.