Chapter 2: Brats, Brawls, and Bonds
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Fairy Tail wasn't just a guild—it was a daycare with no adult supervision and far too much destructive magic. And for Caelum Alberona, that meant growing up surrounded by walking natural disasters with attitude problems.
Which suited him just fine.
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Age 7 – The First Fire Fight
"You're cheating!" Caelum roared, launching a stone ball the size of a watermelon toward the pink-haired menace across the courtyard.
"I'm not cheating, I'm just better!" Natsu yelled, countering with a burst of flame that scorched the projectile to ash.
They'd been playing "King of the Hill" on top of a training mound. Naturally, it turned into a full-blown battle royale. At stake: a week of bragging rights and a crate of Mira's best meat buns.
Gray had already tapped out after trying to pants Natsu mid-fight and getting punched in the jaw for it.
Caelum ducked a fireball and punched the ground, raising a wall of stone between them.
Natsu cackled. "Oh, is the little rock boy hiding?"
"You call it hiding, I call it tactical terrain usage."
They didn't stop until Erza showed up.
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Age 8 – The Sword, The Shield, and The Narcissist
Erza was the serious one. Even as a kid, she had this intense aura—like she'd grown up too fast. But Caelum? He had a way of getting under her skin in record time.
"Hey Erza," he said, grinning as she polished her wooden training sword. "You like strong men, right?"
"Are you volunteering to be one?" she replied coolly.
He winked. "I already am."
She promptly disarmed him during their spar, sat on his chest, and made him say "Erza is my queen" ten times before letting him up.
He said it eleven, just to be safe.
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Age 9 – Laxus' Fist and the Lightning Pact
Laxus was… complicated. Powerful, aloof, and packing the ego of a hundred Caelums—which, frankly, was impressive.
They butted heads immediately.
"You're just a cheap Gildarts knockoff," Laxus had sneered one day, crackling with static.
Caelum smiled sweetly and replied, "And you're a discount lightning bolt."
That earned him a thunder punch to the face, which he blocked—barely—with an earthen shield. The courtyard got wrecked. The sky thundered. The guild screamed.
And Makarov grounded them both for two weeks.
After that, Laxus didn't like Caelum—but he respected him.
They even sparred in secret sometimes.
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Age 10 – Mirajane and the Monster Within
Mirajane was already terrifying back then. Not because of her magic, but because she could end arguments with a smile and a single threat.
Caelum learned that the hard way.
"Mira, be honest," he said one afternoon, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Who's more handsome? Me or Laxus?"
Without looking up from her tea, she replied, "Whoever stops talking first."
"I'm serious."
She set her cup down. "Do you want to keep your face?"
They became unlikely friends after that. Mira enjoyed his chaos; he admired her ability to command fear without raising a hand.
She even helped him learn finesse with his magic.
"You're not just a hammer, Caelum," she said once. "You're a chisel. Use both."
He took that to heart.
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Age 12 – Trials and Promises
Caelum grew up among titans-in-training. Natsu's fire, Gray's ice, Erza's blades, Laxus' lightning, Mira's takeover—they all pushed him to improve.
But it was Cana who drove him hardest.
She wanted to prove herself to her absent father.
Caelum wanted to protect her from everything that made her feel like she had to.
He'd train from dawn to dusk, carving mountainsides into training grounds, shaping metal bars to test his grip, crushing boulders into powder with his bare hands.
One night, after a rough spar with Erza that ended in bruises and praise, he sat beside Cana on the roof of the guild.
"You think we'll ever be strong enough?" she asked.
Caelum smirked. "Cana, I already am."
"You're impossible."
"And you're drunk on apple juice. We all have problems."
They sat in silence, stars stretching above Magnolia.
Then, he said softly, "One day, I'll be strong enough to take care of both of us. You won't have to chase him anymore."
Cana didn't respond. She just leaned her head on his shoulder.
He didn't move.