Igneel flew to the volcano, sure that this was the right place. He had been searching for a new home for weeks. His last house had unfortunately blown up. Igneel perched on the top and peered inside. He immediately yanked his head back out.

"What is this dark presence I feel?" He carefully lowered his head through the hole. The dark presence was nauseating, and Igneel nearly keeled over. He ever so carefully crept inside the volcano, peering this way and that. He followed the presence until he came upon a smaller cave. He could just barely squeeze through the entrance. Looking around, he spotted something that piqued his interest. There was a small child sitting in the corner. He looked no more than four years old. He crawled up to the boy, and saw that his eyes were closed. His hair was too dusty and dirty to tell the color. He wore plain clothes that seemed to be white, and his feet were bare.

"Hey, boy," Igneel called softly. The boy snapped his head up, but didn't open his eyes. His face was deathly pale, as if he hadn't seen light in years.

"What do you want?" he demanded in an unafraid voice. Igneel laughed softly.

"Well, I came looking for a place to stay. My name is Igneel, the great Fire Dragon King," Igneel stated proudly, expecting the boy to look shocked, or at least amazed. Instead, the boy looked bored.

"Oh, is that all? Well, Mr. Dragon, this is my cave. And unless you want me to beat the shit outta you, you better leave." Igneel was taken aback. How dare this...this... human order him around!

"Boy, you are lucky I don't kill you where you stand! Show some respect!" Igneel roared. The boy stood and stepped closer. His eyes were still shut.

"Me, show respect to you? Pssh! No way! You're just a single shitty dragon. If you want to gain my respect, then show me your army." He crossed his small arms. "If not, then go. I don't have time to be messing around with you." And with that, the boy turned and sat back in his corner. Igneel was bristling with fury.

"How DARE you! I ought to end your miserable life right now!" But still, Igneel was fascinated with how the child spoke easily at his age, and on top of that, it seemed as if the child was emitting the dark presence he felt.

"Go ahead. I won't care. In fact, you would be doing me a favor," the boy said, crossing his legs under him. Igneel paused. Why did a child act so world-weary? A little boy shouldn't even know about death yet.

"What's your name, boy?" Igneel asked.

"Ain't telling you, stranger," the kid answered, and, to Igneel's amusement, stuck his tongue out.

"You fascinate me. I will not kill you for now, but you must not disrespect me, or I will eat you," Igneel said. The boy laughed.

"How about I just pretend I didn't hear you and tell you to leave again, before I shove a rock up your ass?"

"No, I like this place. It makes me feel at home. You, on the other hand, should be living in a village or town, not in a volcano. It's too hot for mere humans." Igneel was puzzled at this. Why was a human child apparently living inside this cave? And why didn't he open his eyes?

"It's not too hot for me. I like the heat. And besides, I'm not a mere human, oh, no. Just ask the village near here." The boy chuckled. "For now, you can just call me Zeref. That's the name the villagers gave me." Igneel was puzzled at the boy's behavior, and his nickname.

"Why Zeref?" he asked.

"Because they believed that I was either a real demon, or I was possessed by one." Zeref shrugged. "It kinda made sense, so I kept the name."

"Why did they think that you, a small, four-year-old child, was a demon?" Igneel questioned. Zeref shrugged again.

"I wasn't exactly a fucking angel child, as all the other kids were." He struggled to keep a straight face, and failed. He burst out laughing, a sharp, unnatural sound.

"What's so funny?" Igneel asked, totally confused.

"Everyone thought that I was the demon child, and they were right. But the other kids could be just as bad as me. Wait, scratch that. They never could be as bad as me." By now, Igneel was hopelessly lost.

"So... everyone thought you were a demon, but you weren't a demon, and the other children bullied you?" Igneel tried to understand.

"No, I was a demon, but the other kids were almost as bad as I was. They tried to fucking kill me." Zeref laughed again. "They banished me to the mountains. Never to go back. That was two years ago."

"You were banished when you were two years old?" Igneel inquired. Zeref nodded, confusing Igneel to no end.

"Yeah, I was unnaturally smart, fast, and strong. Some of the older kids tried to out-do me, but failed. One tried to fight me, but he ended up in the damn hospital."

"Why do you never open your eyes?"

"Don't need to. I can see you perfectly fine."

"Open them anyways. I want to see them," Igneel ordered. Zeref sighed, but obeyed. Igneel was shocked by what he saw.

Zeref's eyes were a bright, iridescent gold. Little bits of blue, silver, and black flaked his iris. The pupils were a midnight black, with small bits of gold. Sadly, the beautiful eyes were seemingly clouded by something Igneel couldn't identify. The eyes closed again.

"I... don't know what to say..." Igneel managed. Zeref chuckled.

"Nobody does. Hey, you still want to live here, right?"

"Yes..."

"Well, I guess you can stay. But this is my part of the cave." Zeref waved his hand in a 'shoo' gesture. Igneel laughed softly.

"Fine. I can barely fit anyways. Well-" A loud rumbling noise interrupted him. Igneel tilted his head. Zeref looked mortified. "I guess I could go hunting..."

"Really? Oh... go ahead. I don't want any." Zeref waved Igneel off, trying to act nonchalant. Another growl from his stomach made him flush in embarrassment.

"Your stomach says otherwise." Igneel crawled out of the small cave. "I'll be back soon, boy."

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up already." Zeref mumbled. Igneel's soft laugh echoed in the cave.

In case you were wondering, no, that isn't really Zeref. Zeref is known as the strongest dark wizard in the world. Igneel isn't aware of that yet.