All was quiet, only the wet sound of water broke the silence. The slow drip of water from the stalactite landing in the small puddle that had formed on the stone ground. No man dared to enter the dragon's cave, the sound of iron claws scraping against the stone deep within the cave scared most away. Only a few brave souls dared to make their way in, only run back out and return to the village screaming. Stories of how the fearsome creature would tear them to pieces or eat them whole strike fear into many.
However, a small woman wearing a black witch hat on top of her head and holding a basket walking deeper into the cave decided to ignore those claims. Pushing a strand of blue hair back, she could remember the whispers she heard while in the village a few miles away. "If only they knew." A glowing word floated in front of the small women, its light penetrated the pitch-black darkness of the cave. Soft hum came from her lips causing the bats to stir slightly before settling, unafraid of her presence when she stopped.
The wicker basket barely made a sound when she placed it on the ground, moving her hands she drew out several large words, light illuminating from each one of them. Each floated to the top of the cavern, their light revealing the large form that was hidden away from prying eyes. It's black scales shifting slightly as the dragon turned to face her having finally acknowledge her presence. If it wasn't for the light she casted for herself, a person would've never had known they just walked past a dragon. Blood red eyes staring down at her, long sharp teeth gleaming when it opened its mouth.
"Your back shorty." He said in a teasing tone as he lowered his head and looking right at the witch, the dragon clearly knowing that that nickname would get a reaction out of her.
Her brown eyes narrowing into a glare at the smirking dragon, she swore that his ego was bigger than her entire collection of books. "For the love of Mavis, it's Levy!" She yelled back at him, reaching down she picked up the basket with a huff and spun around on her heel to face the exit. "Or maybe you don't want my baked goods today." Before she could take a step, her path was blocked by a metal tail. His reflection could be seen in the sharp blade at the very end of his tail.
"Fine." The dragon huffing out causing the hem of her dress to flutter up slightly, her hand shooting down to keep it flying up causing him to chuckle slightly. As much fun as he had teasing Levy, he clearly could not risk the baked goodies from leaving from his lair. He could smell the iron bolts baked into each muffin, brownie and cookie that was hidden under the lid of that basket. Each of them were good on their own but the iron she made from her magic made them just mouthwatering good and well dragons were greedy about the things they want. Closing his eyes, he shifted into his human form, his appearance with long black spiky hair, a simple black sleeveless tunic, tan pants and heavy boots would be considered normal but with his studded face and blood red slitted eyes clearly showed he was different than a normal human.
"Couldn't resist them could you Gajeel." Levy placing the basket on top of the makeshift table he previously created from a boulder, an easy task for him to slice clean through with his tail and lift the top off with his claws. Reaching in she pulled out the wrapped bundle of goods, its aroma surrounding the pair when Levy undid the knot to reveal all she had brought. "You know you could always visit me for more right?" Resting her hand on her hip while watching him practically inhale the brownies he picked up, the crunch of the metal being roughly bitten into smaller pieces echoing off the walls.
Raising a studded eyebrow, Gajeel wiped the crumbs that stuck to his face off with his gloved hand. "Yeah and a dragon flying over a village would go over so well." Sarcasm dripping from his lips as he took a seat on the small boulder next to the stone table. "I don't exactly blend in with the surrounding villagers either." Licking his lips slightly before picking the muffin up and devouring it. "What?" Feeling a little uneasy at seeing her face change into a serious look.
"I have a spell that might help with that." Moving her hands swiftly, Levy formed a magic circle in front of her. Gajeel jumped up and back from his seat, iron scales ripping up from under his skin. "Hold still, it won't work if you keep moving." Adjusting her stance, she flicked her hand up causing the spell to shoot forward and collide with Gajeel when he shifted into his dragon form.
Gajeel cursing out when he felt the impact, the surge of magic surrounding him from nose to tail like a tight blanket.
"What is this?!" He roared out before feeling himself drop suddenly and landing hard on the ground, Gajeel was surprised to not hear the booming echo of his fall but instead the sound of Levy laughing at him ringing through the cavern.
"It worked!" She managed to get out after taking a moment from laughing to take a breath, wiping a tear from her eye.
It didn't take Gajeel a second to realize what that spell just did, looking up he could see that Levy was towering over him instead of it being the other way around. "You shrunk me!" Gajeel tried his best to glare at her but obviously failing when she busted out laughing again, her arms wrapping around her stomach. "What is so funny about this?" He hissed out from his clenched teeth.
"You just look so cute trying to look menacing." Levy commenting while poking Gajeel in the nose, quickly pulling her hand back before he had a chance to bite at her finger. The spell was meant to shrink items for travel or getting out of a tight situations not for turning a full sized dragon into a four inch high miniature who was clawing his way up to the top of the nearest boulder, wings spreading out in an attempt to make himself more intimidating. .
"The Great Black Steel is not supposed to be cute." Gajeel growled out in annoyance, his metal tail flicking from side to side. "Now turn me back to normal!"
"Nope." Levy smiling amusingly down at him before picking the now miniature dragon up by the tail and ignoring the flailing that he was doing. "I like this change for once." Placing him on the table, she undid the small bag attached to her belt and placing it before the fuming dragon. "Besides you might like what I've brought." Various sizes of screws spilling out of the bag and onto the stone table, Levy had to bite back a laugh when he greedily picked up the biggest screw with his claws and took a bite out of it. After several minutes and many baked goodies later, Gajeel was laying on his back having gorged himself on all the metal he could want. Levy reached forward over the table and poked the belly of the dragon earning her a groan from. "Still grumpy?"
Gajeel didn't want to admit it but that was the most satisfying meal he had in quite a long time and it was all thanks to her spell. "Hard to be after that." Slowly he got back onto his feet, he could feel the heaviness in his stomach from eating such a large meal in comparison to his current size. "Now will you turn me back to normal?"
Pulling out a small broom no bigger than her hand from her bag, she drew a small magic circle on the broom before tossing it in the air. The spell causing it to full return to its normal size by the time it landed back in her hand. "Well I would but you're the perfect size to go back with me without being noticed." Motioning to the basket on the table. "I mean you can even fit in here." She teased at him, finally getting a chance for revenge for all the times he said she could fit in his pocket.
"No." Gajeel quickly replying and tucking his wings tightly, there was no way he would travel in such a demeaning way. He was fine with flying but not traveling in a basket of all things, just thinking about that made him nauseous.
Levy traced out the word Iron before her, the heavy metal landing onto the table. "Not even for an unlimited supply of my iron?" She could see him tapping his claws against the stone obviously determining if the pros outweigh the cons if he went with her. "Also, I'll return you to your normal size too when we get to my castle."
"No one will see right?" Gajeel questioned, the last thing he wanted was any of the other dragons spotting him in a witch's basket. "Last thing I need is Natsu never letting me live this down."
Nodding her head. "I swear no one will see you." Levy promising him and holding out her hand flat so the miniature dragon could be lifted to sit on her shoulder before picking up the basket.
"I hold you to that." He commented while Levy started to walk back the same way she came into the cave, listing to the snap of her fingers as all but one of the glowing words to fade away. Leaving them with the one light to lead their way out of the dark and now soon to be empty cave.
