A New Family

"You'll like it, there's a lake nearby with tons of fish. Trout, rainbow and salmon in the spring that come up the river," Happy explains enthusiastically. The cat floats beside his companions as they head home, his pure white wings flapping every few beats to keep him in the air.

"I don't care about that. My home is with my tribe, not with you two males. They'll be back to save me again, wait and see," Natsu's female shouts. She struggles over his shoulder like a dying bore twitching for life, crying out its last fighting breath. She claws into the back of his mixed fur coat but the material is too thick to feel her tinny nails through. Her legs in front of him kick the air, sometimes smacking against one of his stout thighs.

"Who cares? I'll chase them off with the power of my Sacred Rod again. Show them who's dominant," Natsu simply says.

While her flailing is nothing he can't handle, having fought against worse things, he can't understand why the female is struggling against him in the first place. She saw him chase the Female Tribe off. She should be taking pride in the fact that he's chosen her and not fighting against him. Overtime, he'll learn what his female's every move and intent means but she's a mystery to him as of now.

But none of that matters. After fending off the Female Tribe with a single blow from his Sacred Rod, Natsu's elated mood can't be thwarted so easily. No other human in the Male Tribe was able to do such a thing. Laxus, the most powerful brave of their tribe, was taken down with a single look from that red headed female. It still makes Natsu want to piss in laughter thinking about Gajeel being taken down by that small, bird like female with blue hair.

The power of their Sacred Rods had not risen to the challenge but rather had its wrath incurred. For a moment or two, it felt as if that was going to happen to Natsu, a pain in his Sacred Rod he never knew could exist, but it became something completely different once he tapped into the power his female gave him. His Sacred Rod has calmed down since winning such a fierce battle but the euphoria that it bought about hasn't left his system. He showed all the other males in his tribe who's the strongest and in doing so has become the new brave of the whole Male Tribe!

Natsu's earned his right to keep this female.

At first, he thought she could be lunch for his tribe. After that, he debated about keeping her as a pet but neither of those things sounded right. The thought of any male sinking his teeth into her pale flesh makes Igny build in his blood. And she can't be a pet, not when she's human like he is. A very different kind of human but she has feeling, too.

Sensitive feelings from the sound of her high pitch protests, being carried off to his hut. Located away from the village to keep some privacy, there are dense oaks and maples that tower above the home to one side, creating shade and close hunting grounds. The land suddenly cuts off on the other side of his home, dropping to a valley of trees below and providing an excellent view to scout for trouble. Out this far from the main village there's nothing to hear but the call of birds and the cries of territorial chipmunks. In the season of upcoming change, summer will begin to die away soon as the days become cooler and the nights harsher. Natsu supposes there will be another thirty days of summery, sunny days before that happens, as the vegetation of the forest around them remains lush green.

Shouldering his way past the treated buffalo skin that acts as the entrance door way to his hut, Natsu gently sets the female down on a thick pile of pelts he and Happy use for their nest—silky cougars, course black bear and smaller pelts of fox, raccoon and coyotes.

She immediately scoots to the other side of the nest, pressing her back against the wall and keeping her guard up. "What do you want from me?" she asks.

His head tilts to the side. "Want from you? Nothing. I found you, I get to keep you."

"You can't treat me like some animal."

"Aren't we all animals?"

"Well … yes, but that's not the point."

Happy plops down to lie on top of Natsu's head. "Don't be scared. Natsu's a really nice guy once you get to know him. He makes an awesome charred boars' meat with his Igny."

Natsu takes to sitting in front of the female on the pelts, crossing his legs and squeezing his dirty feet in hand. "What's your name? I never got to ask with what was happenin'," he grins.

She hesitates, judging his sincerity. "… Lucy."

"Oh, that's odd. Doesn't sound very strong. Kind of soft."

"I could say opposite for your name … Natsu."

"Thanks!"

"Seems that everything males do is the opposite of my tribe."

"Your formal tribe," he reminds. "This is your home now. I hope you like it. I know it's not much but you can collect things to bring here, too, if you want."

He realizes that it's a bit of a mess in his home but everything has a reason for being here, mainly because he's developed a habit of collecting memorabilia. Those old spears with splintered handles were the first weapons he made as a whelp, there's no way he could discard something that sentimental. That pile of animal skulls is from his tribes' triumph over the Tiger Tooth Male Tribe from the north, who stupidly thought they could encroach into his tribes' lands. Their reward for their victory was a bountiful feast, taken from the northern tribe's caribou stash. Although Natsu has to admit that the bits of food and junk lying around aren't needed but there's no point in getting rid of them when you never know when your last meal will be, living in such a harsh world.

"I don't plan on doing such a thing," Lucy says as if insulted. "Collecting items would mean I've found purchase with my life, something I don't want here."

"Come on, don't be grumpy." He gives her a wide smile, grinning from ear to ear and shrugging easily. "You'll come to like it here soon enough, but we should sleep. The Big Igny in the sky is going down and I'll have to get up early to hunt since I didn't catch much of anything today." He hums to himself in ponder. "More than usual, since I have to feed the two of you."

"Don't worry about me, Natsu. I can catch all the fish I want. I've been practicing my hunting skills. I'll even store away extra fish for the winter," Happy says. He rubs at his companion's sunset pink hair before lightly getting off of his head.

Natsu scratches his friends' pointy ear. "As you should be doing."

"I'm not sleeping anywhere near you two," Lucy pouts. She searches the nest disgusted as if looking for ticks, which he's made sure to remove.

"It might be nice during the day but it's getting cold at night with the days getting shorter. I don't exactly want you to die just when I got you."

She juts her chin out. "I won't die from such a thing. I'm a lot tougher than I look."

"You're ten times smaller than me. Except for whatever is on your chest."

He eyes those mounds that rest above her rib cage, covered by leopard skin and string. He doesn't get what they are. Fat storage maybe? She must be well fed if that's the case. Whatever they are, back when he thought defeat was all but sure against the Female Tribe, he grabbed Lucy by the chest to prevent her from being taken away and it did something to his Sacred Rob. It awoke at such a fast and intense rate that it was as if the Gods granted him unlimited power. It burst out of him to blind those around him. Does Lucy have some sort of power within her that can be useful to him? He wants to keep her around because she's interesting but if she can grant his Sacred Rod power then that's an added bonus.

Natsu's startled out of his thoughts when Lucy pounces forward, her swift movements turning her into a blur that tries to dart past him towards the huts skin door. She has no muscle, ligaments narrow, her entire body soft and curving with the dexterity of a butterfly but, damn, is she fast. Way faster than any other male with their bulky builds. How can she move like that?

Instinct rears its head at the fleeing target, years of hunting practice having Natsu's eyes see a rabbit trying to escape from the jaws of death. With an accelerated heart and no thought to what he's doing, he snaps around and reaches a hand out. He snatches Lucy by the ankle, having her trip to the dirt floor on her stomach and knocking the breath out of her.

She glares back at him with a sneer, bearing her dull fangs. "Let me go!"

Igny builds in his blood at her challenge. He's tried showing her that he means no harm but if soft reassurance isn't going to work then it's going to have to come down to dominance. He needs to make her understand the hierarchy of their little family. With him being the stronger one of the two humans here, it should tell her that he can provide, hunt and give her shelter. Keep her happy and comfortable as he promised he would do. If it means shouting these things to her face with brute strength then so be it.

Natsu scuffle's Lucy to the ground, capturing her frail wrists in his hands and using his ample weight to drive her to the dirt floor. Hovering above her petite frame between her legs, he presses a knee to her thigh and keeps it pinned down. He distinctly notices how much larger his hands are compared to hers, as under the callous of his palms he can feel her wrists bones stick out. It makes him wonder how breakable Lucy really is. He'll think about that later though.

Natsu lowers his face to hers, bearing his sharp fangs right back at her. "Stay," he demands.

Lucy doesn't give into his foreboding presence, either not sensing it or too stubborn to submit right away. She glares at him, that heat in her eyes surprisingly stunning. "Why should I?"

"Because I like you," he admits, huffing away his irritation. "I don't take things unless they're interesting. Plus, you're fun to have around. I got more excitement out of today then I have in weeks. Beyond that, though, you made my Sacred Rod awaken."

Her eyebrows furrow. "Sacred Rod …?"

"You know, that thing between my legs."

"She doesn't have one," Happy reminds amused, watching them from the nest.

"Shit, that's right." When they first met, she was naked from her bathing and after pinning her to the ground, he got a full look at ... at nothing! There's nothing for the female down there. It absolutely freaks him out. "Did it get injured in a battle? Torn off or something?" he asks curiously.

"Don't say such things," Happy shutters, crossing his legs and curling into a ball.

All around baffled, Lucy unconsciously shakes her head. "I have no clue what either of you are talking about."

"Come on, you have to know what a Sacred Rod is. It's something all males have. It's our pride," Natsu says.

"Well, I'm obviously not a male. I don't seem to have whatever you're talking about."

He backs his head up confused. "Then how do you piss?"

"I am done with his conversation," she says appalled.

He lifts up a little to look down at her shapely body below him. For Lucy, there's definitely no bulge where the Sacred Rod should be, it's flat as an open field of wheat past her leopard hide. Unlike him she's taken to covering a cloth between her legs and wrapping it under the hide to cover whatever she could possibly have down there, if there's anything at all. If he did that his Sacred Rod would cry, as it likes its freedom too much. His thick pelt wrapped around his waist, slitting to one side and reaching down to his calf legs, is good enough to contain his modesty.

"Don't you want to know about one another?" Natsu asks. "You're like me but different."

She doesn't say anything to that but there's a curious intake of breath from her, seeming to take a silent agreement with him. Her earthy eyes linger on his stomach past the opening of his animal vest and slowly inches up towards his face. Natsu can't help but wonder what she's seeing. How different looking is he in her eyes?

Suddenly, she scoffs and quickly dismisses him. "I don't care to know. I've figured out enough to know you don't want me for me."

Dammit, most males find satisfaction with the basic things needed to be kept alive—simple life and simple happiness. Females don't seem to be the same, at least his female doesn't, because from the sound of it she doesn't want objects alone but a bond. Natsu luckily understands that. Being with his tribe for a good chunk of his life, their laughter, teachings and friendship can never replace anything. He would do anything to keep his tribe safe.

"You're not some "thing" to me," he says, locking their eyes together. "You're Lucy. All I want is to have you by my side."

Her expression changes into one of utter surprise, making her eyes widen and a small gasp pull against her lips. Redness creeps against her neck and up to her ears, the skip Natsu can hear in her heartbeat having him worry that he ruined everything, as he's only ever heard such a stutter in the heart out of fear. Thankfully, Lucy stops struggling against him, meaning he must have said something right within his honesty.

"I don't want to treat you bad," he says slowly. To prove his point, Natsu lets her go, backing away and giving her some space.

Lucy quickly sits upright and scoots away on her butt towards the skin door.

Panic riffles through his gut, having him snap an arm out and fist the string that connects at the front of her leopard skin top. He pulls back without thinking and as quick as the lightening that struck Laxus, he notices rosy patches resting on top of those mounds. He almost forgot that she has nipples like he does, having seen them for the first time when he caught her bathing, but it's the large chest they sit upon that first clued him into the fact that she was a different from him—and then all hell broke loose when he looked down at her crotch to see nothing but light blond hair.

Lucy squeals and swats frantically at his hand. "Let go!"

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to! Don't get closer to the door though. That's all I ask," he says worried, releasing the string.

Despite her sneer and the way she crosses an arm over her chest as if she can hide her hills from him, she doesn't move farther away. She sits defensively, legs curled as if ready to run and her head ducked low, prepared to head-butt him if he gets close enough.

"Uh, do girls not show their chests?" he asks confused.

"No, we do not. We are modest in our ways," she says hard.

"I don't really get it but …" Natsu sighs exasperated, rubbing a hand across his upper lip. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want to make you unhappy. You might not like it but I want to keep you around. You're pretty. Strange but pretty. I want to—" He looks to the ground frustrated, trying to find the right words. "You don't have to trust me but don't run away. We'll get to know one another and then you'll see that I'm not such a bad person."

Happy comes up to stand beside Natsu. "It's better to stay here with him than any of the other males. Mas Ter doesn't seem to like you, Gray will throw his Sacred Rod at you constantly without mercy and I'd hate to see what would happen if you got around the others. You're getting off easy with this simple caveman."

"Thanks," said caveman snorts.

Seeming to trust some of the cat's words, her flustered expression relaxes a little. She looks into Natsu's midnight eyes and he holds completely still, letting her do her thing.

Past the insult, Happy is right. The males of the Tribe took Natsu in without question after Igneel disappeared all those years ago, always being good towards him in both friendliness and in teachings, showing a young boy how to survive in what is normally such a helpless world. Natsu would trust his fellow males with anything.

With Lucy though, with someone different and powerful enough to bring about the wrath of all of their Sacred Rods … Natsu's not entirely sure. Will they fear her? Want to use her as a weapon to incur their Sacred Rods again? He admittingly might find some use in that, too, but he's not going to force Lucy into granting him power like that if she doesn't want to. Lucy is new territory, something that he can't fully predict how the others will take to her.

There's also a stirring in his heart, a settling seed becoming one with that beating organ. He's bothered by the other males' reactions towards Lucy. Beyond their confusion, weariness and hostility, something about their Sacred Rods awakening because of Lucy and having them bow before his female doesn't sit right with him. He doesn't want to share Lucy with anyone, not when he's the one that claimed her firstly.

For her own safety, Natsu will keep Lucy to himself until he knows for sure that the other males can be trusted. Maybe in the meantime doing so will allow her to bond with him like a kit to its parent. That way, she'll be happy.

Slowly lowering her arm, Lucy lets her breath go and reluctantly says, "I'll stay for the night."

The pit in his stomach lifts away and he glows with pride, having successfully persuaded such a stubborn person to stay with him.

Happy dash up to the female and raises an arm as if waving hello. "Glad to have you here," he smiles.

Something about the talking animal intrigues her and she gives him a small smile back.

Jealousy rises through Natsu—why does she accept this male easily when he's the one that will provide for her—but he tries to stuff it away. Everyone can't help but be drawn to Happy, a natural effect he has on those around him with his plush fur and wide eyes. Natsu will make it his goal to be able to get near Lucy like that someday.

"You have to promise me one thing though," he says.

Eyeing him weary but willing, she asks what that could be.

"You have to swear that you will not leave this house unless you're with me."

"At all? But what if I want to bath? Have to pee or something?"

He shrugs. "Then I'll stay close by."

"You can't expect me to have you follow my every move."

"I want to make sure I can trust you to be on your own. You say that you'll stay the night but what about tomorrow? I don't want you running off on me."

Sighing heavily, she turns away from him and looks at the dirt floor. "You don't have to worry about that. I promise that I will stay here."

Not liking having her eyes turn away from him during such a large promise, Natsu gently grips her chin and turns her head up. He hovers his face close to hers and locks their eyes together, the tips of their noses bumping. "You swear?" he asks intent.

Breathless but for a moment, Lucy quietly says, "Y-yes."

"Thanks," he smiles brightly, letting her chin go.

"But I'm not sharing the same bed with you!" she quickly interjects. "I-I'll take one of the furs and sleep at the other corner."

"I'm telling you, you're not gonna like it. The air may be warm but sleeping on rock hard dirt is going to hurt and make you cold."

"I'll deal with that on my own."

"Fine, but if you end up hating it don't be afraid to come ball up with me and Happy."

XxXxXxX

Lucy doesn't want to admit that the male was right. She can't. Not when the only possible outcome to her defeat would be to crawl into Natsu's nest and sleep beside him.

The hard dirt floor against her hip sets it aching and no matter how long she tries to sleep in the same position, the ground doesn't become warm underneath her. The heavy bear pelt wrapped around her does nothing to help, as the dirt is frozen down to its core and is trying to capture her life force. The cool night's air serpents it's away inside the hut, creating an unwanted second blank that overtakes all other senses.

How can the heat in the air drop this drastically from night to day? Lucy wonders. It never felt this cold back at the Female Tribe. When the changing of the seasons would begin, all of the females would take to sleeping in one large hut, surrounded by Igny and the warmth of companionship. Males don't seem to be the same, taking to keeping their territory strictly to their own and not sharing the land. How do any of them survive the winter? Lucy notices an Igny pit in the hut but Natsu didn't bother bringing about its flame before going to sleep, apparently none too concerned with the drop in temperature.

Upon the morning that changed her life drastically, Lucy had her bathing ritual interrupted by a strange looking creature. She could tell right away that Natsu was human but not quite like her—his build is wider and muscles are taunt. Being in such an exposed state, confusion was warded off in favor of defense. Fishing out from the pond the spear that Natsu almost impale her with, Lucy chucked it back at her attacker.

She knew she was in trouble the moment Natsu swiftly dogged the spear, catching it one handed. Seeing as she couldn't fight, she took to running, as she's normally light on her feet, considered one of the faster women of her tribe, but this male was able to outrun her and eventually pin her to the ground with ease, an astonishing outcome.

After coming to find that Natsu didn't know what she was either, Lucy took his every action as a life or death situation. He wrapped rope around her wrists and ankles, tied her to a stick and brought her back to his village with the help of his flying cat (although she's not entirely sure what Happy is but his appearance is closest to that of the feline animal). This male put Lucy humiliatingly up on display in the middle of his tribe, all of them the mysterious species she came to figure out where called 'male'.

Yet everything Natsu did was out of curiosity and caution, not of anger. He never once threatened her and instead took to treating her like a newly discovered animal. He was as confused by her as she was of him, only he went about it strangely. Everything he did came down to simplicity, straight forward in his actions and talk. When she thinks about it, it's becomes obvious that he tied her up not because she was to be cooked alive for food but in-case she was dangerous to him. When Lucy's tribe came to save her, he didn't treat her as if she was a hostage but rather wanted to keep the females away for Lucy's own protection.

Thank the Gods for small favors though. From the way he had spoken to her throughout the day, he truly doesn't see her as a scrap of meat. After gaining more knowledge from the village elder, Natsu came to realize that she was human like him and deemed her worthy of kindness. He promised to take care of her, that she was now a part of his family. Perhaps he sees her more as a baby bird that needs a helping hand.

It's something she doesn't understand. Why would Natsu choose her? He said that she was entertaining, fascinating in a way, and maybe he's keeping her around because of their differences, but that's not enough of a reason for her to be kept away from her family.

With a full day having gone by in getting to know this boy, she's no longer afraid of him. Despite his obvious size telling her she should fear him, as he outweighs her by a good eighty pounds from the look of it—an aspect she felt at full force when he pinned her to the ground on multiple occasions today—she came to accept that Natsu isn't a bad person. His actions and words are much too blunt to hide anything but the truth. She's never met another person with eyes as clear as spring water like Natsu has, letting his soul leak out in their depths and sincerity drip like honey from his every action. He genuinely wanted to know her name, to tell her that she was welcomed in his home and try to understand her.

The shiver that rocks through Lucy's body starts off normal but with no improvement to her body temperature, it becomes a convulsion that shakes her entire body against the ground.

Is she so stubborn as to die on the floor? The cold might not kill her right away but if her body were to become frail ... Without Wendy, the healer of her tribe, how would she survive the pain and sickness? She has seen many females get ensnared in mighty winter's grasp, nothing to be done beyond comfort them as they slowly faded away.

Lucy doesn't want that to happen to her. No matter where she might be and who she's with, death is not an option.

She agreed to stay the night at Natsu's, realizing past her panic at being captured the horrible mistake she could have made. If Natsu hadn't stopped her from leaving then where would she have gone? The land is new, the nights are getting colder and she doesn't know what kind of life could be leering in the woods. It's better to stay in the male's hut then it is to venture out to her possible death.

Across from her, Natsu and Happy curl warmly in their cozy nest. The male gives a light snore under the pelts, a consistent tone like the crickets outside of the hut that would normally soothe Lucy to sleep. Happy has taken to wrapping himself in the smaller pelts, looking to have the head of a blue cat but the body of an orange fox. Neither of them shivers in the night, their breathing is even with content and dreams.

Lucy groans and rubs her forehead into the floor, her envy in them making her pride burst. She can't take this dry, desolate aching anymore! She'd rather let embarrassment in defeat rule her life the next morning then have death win.

The moment she stands, her hip screams in pain from moving and the cold wraps around her legs past the bear skin, trying to keep a hold of her. Quickly going to the nest, she eyes the lump that would be Natsu under layers of furs and finds an opening in the pelts. She sets the bear skin above him before working her way under the covers. The trapped heat washes over her but doesn't penetrate her skin right away, as her legs and hands continue to feel like blocks of ice. Even in the warmth of the pelts she shivers.

Unable to see Happy due to him being on the other side of Natsu, she faces the male for warmth and silently watches him as her body grows accustom to the heat his body shares with her under the pelts. He looks different in sleep compared to the active, wide eyed awareness of the day—face smooth and his salmon pink hair rustled with sleep, there's something truly defenseless about him in the night. Being this close to him without uncertainty staining her mind, she comes to notice how he smells of the forest, pine burning into smoldering ash, a soothing scent that tells of protection and … strangely enough, a glimmer of home.

Are you going to be okay, Princess?

That would be Virgo. Although Lucy might not be able to see owner of the voice, she knows that within those beautifully bright stars that dot the heavens, there are friends that watch her from above. These bodiless voices, along with many others, have been Lucy's best friends for a long time. She's gone her whole life with them, guardians that guide her through life as they watch over her from above. She was waiting for one of them to come around.

I'm fine, Lucy thinks. She does more than thinking to talk to her spirit friends. It's more like talking with the soul, effortless by this point in her life.

Shall I punish him for taking you away?

No punishing. … Maybe have him drop in a hole as pay-back but nothing more.

I can't believe you were stupid enough to get caught like that!

Lucy cringes a little. That would be Aquarius. I didn't mean to. Sorry.

Don't come crying to me for help because of your own stupidity. I have an outing to go on with Scorpio. Interrupt and you die.

Yes, ma'am.

If you need anything, Princess, we're never too far away. Shout if you need help.

Thank you. I … I'm okay, for now. It's not that bad, really.

Sensing her spirits drifting away like a vail of soft fur rubbing gently against the skin, Lucy sighs quietly to herself as her soul goes quiet.

Through the chaos, she does have to admit one thing to herself, that everything she thought about when it comes to her escape from this place are mostly excuses. She's not such a fragile creature that she can't fend off large animals; she knows how to work with the land, gather food created by nature and travel by the stars of night, with the help of her celestial spirits, of course. Granted, traveling on her own would be harsh and unpleasant, death constantly lingering on her shoulders in such a world, but those things don't keep her tied down to this place. She could escape right now in the middle of the night—if she was willing to take the chance of freezing to death—but she's held back by one simple thing.

Curiosity.

Natsu intrigues Lucy's quizzical mind. They're both human yet seem entirely different from one another. His body is much bigger than hers, torso straight lined and ligaments corded with muscles, power saying he will never be the pray but always the predator. Yet when he sleeps burrowed beneath the pelts in peace, she's reminded of a small animal finding happiness with its life.

There's also what he calls his Sacred Rod. She got a glimpse of it before when her tribe was fended off by Natsu but all she saw was perhaps something sticking up between his legs. Whatever it was, it's obvious that she doesn't have one, an aspect that Natsu finds horrifyingly odd.

She's willing to stay by his side to figure out what he is. After that, she'll make her escape and inform her tribe what she's discovered.

Besides the obvious curiosity for his body, Lucy also wants to discover what this knew thumping in her chest is about. In the aftermath with his victory against the females, Natsu stripped Lucy of her ropes and he placed his hand gently on top of her head, saying that she was his from that point forward. He was so elated at that fact, his caress telling of fondness and that smile of his having a certain charm, that it did something to Lucy's heart. Something she never experienced before.

It fluttered.

Like the wing of a humming bird it soared in her chest.

XxXxXxX

"Natsu. Hey, Natsu," Happy whispers groggily. His little paws nudge against said males' shoulder above the pelts, disturbing his slumber. It's like waking up a grumpy bear.

"Go away," Natsu groans, smothering further into the furs.

"You told me to wake you up before the Big Igny."

"I changed my mind."

"Get up, lazy. You have to go hunting. Don't you want to get a good meal for Lucy?"

His eyes snap wide open upon the female's name.

That's right—everything that happened yesterday! Flashes of sound, colors and smells unravel before his senses, stopping upon one face. A girl with long golden hair and soft features.

Natsu quickly leans up on a forearm and frantically searches for Lucy in the waning darkness of the hut. His alarm grows when he doesn't find her until something softly touches his thigh under the pelt. He looks over his shoulder, finding that Lucy had crawling into the nest with him last night. She sleeps at ease against her side, the black bear pelt pulled up to an ear and having her burrow into the warmth of the nest.

Relieved, Natsu turns back to Happy. "Thanks buddy. I'll get right on bringin' back that fish I promised you for waking me up."

"You do that," Happy says soft. Wrapping himself in pelts, he goes back asleep.

Looking wearily to the girl that he's taken in, Natsu debates once again about leaving her alone. He's slightly afraid she'll go back on her promise to stay but there has to be some trust shown between them if they're going to be together for the remainder of their lives. Plus, there's a sincerity to Lucy, that no matter how hard she tries to deny her feelings and no matter how defensive she might sound, that told him he can trust her to stay.

In the distance, a wolf cries out as the midnight black of the forest gets replaced by the violet purple of a rising Igny.

Authors Notes:

This is simultaneously the stupidest and most entertaining thing I've ever written.

The story is rated M, although it may take awhile for that rating to come into affect. As of now, it's more of a T.

I can't say when I'll be able to update but please stay tuned for more in the future!

Please, leave a chapter review to tell me how its going! I appreciate any reviews!