Lior's POV

The next day, I walked into the guild with "Team Natsu," as they called it.

The looks from yesterday were no different, though I was aware these things took time.

I was a bit groggy as I walked.

The lack of any good sleep last night was getting to me.

I sat down at a table with the three.

"What can I get you four?"

The girl I'd apologized to went around taking everyone's orders until it got to me.

"I-I'm fine..."

"You sure? I figured you'd be hungry after coming all this way yesterday."

"I'm sure..."

I'd learned a long time ago to ignore the growling in my stomach.

I'd find it rude to ask for something when they've already given me so much.

"So, Lior... any clues on how to help Lucy?" The dark-haired boy asks.

I had yet to know their names.

"Not yet... I can't really force it to happen either."

"That's okay... Just do your best." The scarlet-haired girl from last night replies.

The girl from earlier brings back plates of food for the three guild members.

I watch as they eat.

One thing I can remember is that after Aunt Lilith began to change, the food around the house became less available.

It started to feel more and more like my past life.

I can't remember the last time I had a decent meal.

My stomach rumbled, though I wished it'd quiet down.

"You sure you aren't hungry?"

I look up to see the kindhearted girl over my shoulder.

"You sound hungry to me."

I just look at her awkwardly before she gives me a bright smile.

"I'll bring you something."

A few minutes later, she returns with a plate of food, setting it in front of me.

"Thank you, uh..."

"Mira." She replies sweetly.

"Thank you, Mira."

As she walks away, I turn to my food.

It smelled so good.

I grabbed my silverware and dug in, eating at least half almost instantaneously.

I felt as if I hadn't had this good of a meal in years.

Maybe, in fact, it was because I hadn't.

I looked around the table.

I'd finished before everyone else.

"You really we're hungry!" Mira claims, taking my plate away.

"Even Natsu doesn't eat that fast!" A blue, talking cat mentions.

I think I'd read about them somewhere...

An exceed?

"I can't believe I ate all that in one sitting..."

To them, it must've seemed fairly regular sized, as they looked at me weirdly.

If this was the past, that would've lasted a few months, but I decided not to bring it up.

Clearly I was already acting strange enough.

We moved on in the day, the actual members of the guild having to get to work.

I stayed alone in the room, entertaining myself.

There was a knock on the door.

Hm?

"Come in."

Fairy Tail's Master walks in.

"Lior... may we speak for a moment?"

I get up off my bed.

"Sure... of course."

I step out of the bedroom, following him to what appeared to be an office.

Team Natsu was already in there.

"Erza has brought it to my attention that you might want to know of Lilith's whereabouts."

He gestures me to take a seat in front of his desk.

Where was she?!

"First, I must know. Lilith took you in at a young age, correct?"

I nod.

"Can you tell me everything you can?"

I look down at my lap.

"She... she wasn't always such a bad person. When she found me..."

I paused.

It was hard to admit how bad off I'd been.

"When she found me, I was cold, malnourished, thirsty, and barely alive. My parents had left me out on the street... I don't really know what happened to them. Lilith took me in to her home out of the kindness in her heart. She fed me, gave me a room, and became my overall caregiver. She even introduced me to my best, and only, friend, Lucy."

I looked up to see they were all listening intently, waiting for me to continue.

"Things kind of went downhill after Lucy's mom died. Lilith became unstable. She started acting weird, but I just tried to be there for her like she was there for me. It was a little hard, though. I definitely had to improvise when it came to food and stuff, since I was still pretty young."

They were still listening to me babble on about my life for some reason.

"A few years ago, I thought she was making progress. She asked me what I would think if she created a guild. I, of course, offered her my support no matter what. She became greedy for power, though. I tried to tell her what she was doing was wrong..."

"Do you remember what happened next?" The master asks.

I nod my head again.

"I did, last night..."

I pause before continuing on.

"One night, she told me to come with her. I agreed. She drove to this... weird lab... We went into this dim room, and she sat me down. I had no clue what was going on, but she handed me a small bottle. She said it'd 'make me okay.' She said it'd 'fix everything...' So, I took it. I started to feel funny, and as I began to black out, she mentioned something about me obeying her. The next thing I know, I'm waking up in the middle of some forest, random memories flooding back to me. I saw what I did under her control. I... I don't remember having such powerful magic, but I was horrified to see that I'd used it for something like harming others, especially if those others are friends of Lucy. She's like a sister to me. As soon as I found my way out of the forest, I came here to apologize."

"She drugged you?" He asks.

I nod once more.

"...but even after all she's done... it's hard not to love her. I always think back to the person she was back then, and I just can't hate her for what she did in the present."

The man sighs.

"That makes it even harder to say this, but..."

Harder to say what?!

"Lilith is..."

My eyes widened.

He wasn't saying what I think he was...

"Lilith is dead."

I feel a tightening in my chest.

I dug my nails into the palm of my hand as I clenched my fist, trying to bear the news.

She was...

Aunt Lilith was...

Dead?!

I could feel the tears forming in my eyes.

I had lost my voice, unable to say anything... unable to make a sound...

Still, I felt a tear stream down my face before dropping onto my lap.

Sometimes, the truth hurts.

Hello!

You may be wondering why Lior has so many chapters.

For one, he's pretty key.

Another reason is that he's an OC, so you don't really know much about him.

I wanted to give you his past.

Most of the characters are real, so you already know about them.

Of course, I can't cover everything, so you have any questions about Lior, feel free to comment them!

I'll try my best to give you a good answer!