Still don't own Fairy Tail (:

-Chapter 2-

Casey woke with the heart-dropping, gut-wrenching feeling that something was terribly wrong. She flew out of her bed, crashing through the front door of her little-cottage. Her panic rose as she desperately searched for Inazuseis, who was like her mother. Her panic and sense that everything was wrong had been confirmed. Her heightened sense of smell told her that the dragon had left a couple hours ago. But her ability to sense the magic energy of others told her something that scared her even more. She couldn't feel her mother's energy. No matter where on Earthland her mother was, Casey should have been able to feel her energy.

It wasn't just her mother that was missing either. Igneel's energy was missing as were the other two massive energies she knew belonged to other dragons. Igneel was like a father to her, even though he had a separate camp with Natsu. He had helped Inazuseis to raise her, and Inazuseis had helped him raise Natsu. They were almost like a family, a weird sort of family, but family nonetheless.

The other dragons, she had been told, were Metallicana, the iron dragon, and Grandeeney, the sky dragon. We didn't know if they had kids, but we did know those four were the last dragons alive. Even they were gone now, too.

They weren't dead, however. Casey knew that for certain. When living things died, their energy slowly disappeared over time, usually days to weeks, even months, depending on how much energy they had. No, this was different. It was eerie and unnatural, and it was really scaring Casey.

She dashed back inside, quickly getting dressed and throwing some stuff in her backpack. She only took what she needed, a few changes of clothes, some food and the pendant her mother had given to her. It wasn't fancy or pretty by most people's standards, but to Casey it was priceless. It had been made by accident while Casey had been learning a new spell. As lightning rained down from the sky around her mother, who was demonstrating the spell, a bolt had hit a patch of sand nearby, turning it to glass. Inazuseis broke a small piece off carefully, saying to Casey keep it close and know I am always with you. Now it hung on a string around her neck, over her heart, and was the only thing she had left from her mother.

Casey shook her head, trying not to think too much about it. All that mattered at that point was getting to Natsu, and fast. Once he realized Igneel was gone, without a word as to where he was going or when he would be back, there was no telling how Natsu would react. Casey guessed that Natsu would run off, chasing after Igneel by following the path his scent left. There was no way he could catch a dragon, but he would sure as hell try.

Once again she shook her head, this time at how stupid she knew her brother could be at times. Casey checked her bag again, making sure she had everything she needed, and, after making sure she did, set off towards Natsu's camp. She walked along the bumpy, dusty trail that she had formed over the years of running back and forth to build up her endurance. It was about a forty-five minute hike, since she hadn't perfected travelling by lightning yet. It usually resulted in her being lost and way off course, so she didn't feel like practicing just then.

She hurried down the path, hoping Natsu was still there. Since she was still so young and learning, she couldn't tell exactly where Natsu's energy was, just that it was nearby. As Casey walked, she became aware of a storm that had been blowing in overnight. The wind began to pick up, tousling her already messy shock of hair. Quickening her pace, Casey began sniffing the air to see if she could still pick up the scent of Natsu, to make sure he was still at home, but with no luck. The wind had blown every stray bit of Natsu's scent away, and whatever slim chance she had of catching it was washed away by the sudden downpour of rain.

Panic rising once again in her chest, Casey began running as fast as she could so as to not lose any more time getting to her brother. Several minutes later Casey burst through the treeline into the clearing that housed Natsu's little cabin, but even from this distance she couldn't smell him. She couldn't hear anything either, with the wind howling and thunder crashing overhead.

Casey bolted through the door to Natsu's cabin, hollering to be heard over the thunder. What she found crushed every last shred of hope that she had.

Natsu's cabin looked like hers did, abandoned, and in a hurry. Drawers and cupboards were hanging open, their contents strewn across the floor. Judging by his lingering scent, Natsu had left about an hour and a half to two hours ago.

Knowing Natsu, he could be anywhere. One thing Casey did know, he was long gone, and her chances of catching him without lightning travel were slim.

What do you guys think, will she find him? :D Let me know how I'm doing so far, really appreciate the 2 reviews I got on my last chapter :D