The fire spread across the dry forest. The winter earlier hadn't been wet at all, no snow, not even a downpour of rain so by spring everything was dried up and long dead. Creatures tore through the forest hoping to escape from the heat, along with them were villages that had been destroyed miles away and people were fleeing for their lives.
However, not many survived since the smoke had filled their lungs and the fire caught up to them. One family however had taken a different route, hoping to go upwind where the fire couldn't spread. When they finally reached the other side and watched the black smoke reach into the sky, there was a terrible sound from around them.
The family looked up to find a large black dragon looming over them. The father and son stood their ground both magic users, they threw everything they had at the beast but nothing could penetrate it's scales.
"It's no use. This is the dragon named Acnolgia, it is probably what started the fire on the other side of the mountain." The older man said.
"I heard villagers from the lower parts saying there had been dragon sightings." The younger one reported.
The black dragon roared into the sky and swept its claw across the terrain collapsing several large boulders and trees. Then it quickly took out the two mages, the last in it's path was the young woman who stood tall and stared the dragon in the eye. Acnolgia glared back and sucked in a large breath meaning to melt such a small nuisance with it's breath.
However it was not carried out, a second dragon came out of the forest and rammed itself into the threat. Acnolgia took on it's attacker and both dragons ended up in a fight. Fire against death magic, the woman below couldn't think of which great beast would win. Right now though, her only thought was the two year old boy hiding in a bush behind her. She was happy that his bright pink hair was not noticeable to the dragons. To them it was only her left that lived, and it was everything she could to keep her brave face on. She had watched her father and brother die before her eyes, now it was up to her to keep her last living brother safe.
The roars of the dragons raged on until finally Acnolgia became bored and flew back into the sky, for a moment its wings blocked out the sun, but as it disappeared into the heavy clouds the sun returned. The fire dragon huffed and turned to go back into the forest, it must have only been angry that the other one had strayed into its territory.
The woman coaxed the child to stay put while she went looking for some decent shelter. As she wandered into the forest not too far from his hiding spot there came the sound of one of the large monkey like creatures that wandered often throughout the wild. It stared down at her and instantly crushed her, killing her in one swift motion.
The little boy waited and waited, but there was no sign of his elder sister. He slid out of the bush and looked around curiously.
"Perhaps she got lost..." He told himself, then he made his way into the trees following the direction he had seen her go. But before long, he had gotten lost, and he couldn't even find his way back to where he had entered the forest. Something stood in the shadows, watching the boy with curiosity sadness, for it knew what had become of the girl from before.
"what is your name?" Its voice spoke.
The boy turned and looked into the trees at the two great yellow eyes and the scaly nose, "Natsu." He smiled, "You were the one who chased the other monster away right?"
"I am." The voice said again, "Where are you going?"
"I'm lost." The dragon was surprised that this Natsu was not afraid of being alone, and he was not afraid of him.
"I am Igneel. The fire dragon." Igneel came forward so that Natsu could get a better look at his red color and his strong muscular form. His head leaned down, "Come with me." He allowed Natsu to climb onto his snout. I will take care of this human from now on.