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Chapter 4

"Natsu are you sure about this?" Happy asked hesitantly.

The two of them sat perched on the edge of a cliff overgrown with ferns and bushes. Water cascaded down into the crystal clear pool below. It was a secluded oasis surrounded by lush foliage and deep greens. The two juvenile dragons they had fought with sat behind them, snickering to each other. Since their last fight in the colony, Natsu's wounds had healed up nicely. It left very little evidence that there had ever been a fight to begin with.

"Come on, Natsu," Weiss jeered. "Let's see you fly!"

"Yeah!" Lugg joined in. "A real dragon can fly, so let's see how you manage!"

"Just a minute, guys!" Natsu said with a grin. "I just gotta get ready, okay?"

"Natsu, I don't think this is a good idea…" Happy muttered, glancing back at the two dragons.

"C'mon! It'll be fine. Just like we planned," Natsu said, resting his hand on the little cat's shoulder. "I'll take a running start and jump. And then you just catch me and I'll fly with your wings!"

"I don't know…I've never carried someone else before."

"Just trust me."

Natsu crawled back on all fours, backing away from the cliff's edge as best he could.

"Ready?" He nodded to the little blue Exceed.

"Aye, sir!"

With a loud battle cry, Natsu raced toward the edge of the cliff. The closer he came to the edge, the louder the boys began to laugh. Happy spread his white wings and soared out over the drop-off. Natsu gripped the edge of the cliff tightly with his finger and toes before launching himself over the edge. He spread his arms wide, still roaring with confidence. And then he started to fall. He flailed his limps, trying to catch onto something—anything! His roar turned into a shriek as he plummeted toward the water below. Happy tried to catch him by the arms. He flapped his little wings madly as he tried to slow the falling boy. But Natsu was too heavy.

"Natsu! You're too heavy!" Happy cried, as he pulled harder. "I can't!"

The bottom was coming up fast. "C'mon, Happy! Pull!"

The two juvenile's leaned their heads over the side of the cliff.

"This doesn't look good," Weiss muttered.

"Maybe we overdid it." The other glanced at his friend.

A resounding smack followed by a loud splash echoed throughout the clearing. Natsu sank beneath the water's surface, air bubbling up to the surface where he landed. Happy circled the water where he had disappeared, shouting his name frantically.

"Go get help!" Weiss shoved the other off the edge. "If he dies, Igneel is gonna kill us!"

As the stubby green dragon flew off toward the colony, Weiss dove over the edge. He folded his wings close to his side as he nosedived into the clear water. He hardly made a splash as he dove down toward the bottom of the pool. He spotted Natsu, sinking deeper. Slipping his scaly arms beneath the boy's floppy smooth ones, he flapped his wings and boosted himself upward. He gasped as they breached the surface. Natsu's head flopped to the side, but he made no movements.

"Natsu!" Happy cried, tears in his eyes.

Weiss dragged him onto the shore, rolling him onto his back. His chest wasn't moving. Happy landed beside the boy, nudging his shoulder gently.

"Crap crap crap crap!" Weiss looked around nervously. Where was Lugg with help? "Come on, Natsu, don't die on me! Don't die! We were just kidding around!"

The rush of wings filled the clearing. A gust stirred the trees, making them sway back and forth. Two dragons appeared in the sky above them—a mighty red dragon covered in scars, and a pure white one with feathery wings. Igneel and Grandine landed beside them on the bank of the pool.

"What happened?!" Igneel bellowed.

"We were playing and we just…" Weiss stammered. "And he was—we were…."

"He was trying to fly," Lugg muttered.

"YOU WHAT?!" Igneel roared.

Happy started crying. "I tried to catch him but I wasn't strong enough!" he wailed.

Gathering his dragon magic, Igneel transformed down to his humanoid form. His wings shrank down and his tail disappeared. He was still covered in patches of red scales and his yellow eyes glowed like lamps. He knelt down beside Natsu and rested his ear against the boy's chest.

"He's not breathing."

Igneel pinched Natsu's nose closed and tilted his head back. He inhaled deeply and breathed into the boy's mouth. As he transferred hot air into the boy's lungs, Natsu's chest rose and fell. After a few breaths, Natsu's chest heaved and he coughed violently, dislodging the water from his lungs. Water dribbled down his chin and he continued to cough, but at least he was breathing. Igneel sighed, relieved.

"This child is going to be the death of me…."

"Igneel," Grandine said, laying the pack of her paw gently against the boy's skin. "Is temperature is dangerously low. We need to get him back to the colony."

Transforming back into his majestic dragon form, Igneel scooped the boy into his arms. With a sweep of his powerful wings, he soared into the air. He held Natsu close to his chest as he glided down in the colony and landed gently in their nest. He laid the child down and curled up close to him, wrapping his tail protectively around the boy. His immense warmth radiated from his scaly body, warming up the boy's wet body quickly.

Natsu slept for several hours before he finally awoke. He groaned, rolling onto his side. He blinked drowsily, trying to figure out where he was.

"Nnnn…Dad…?"

"Glad to see you're still alive," Igneel grunted. "Trying to kill yourself again?"

"Not on purpose." Natsu sat up slowly, his limbs shaking. He held his head in his hands. "Why does everything hurt…?"

"Because you stupidly jumped off a cliff that was over a hundred feet high!" he roared. "What in Earthland were you doing?!"

"I was trying to fly," he said groggily, wincing at his father's loud roar.

"You don't have any wings, Natsu. You can't go pulling stunts like that or you might really kill yourself next time."

"I just figured Happy might be able to carry me," Natsu muttered, scratching his head. "Since he has wings and stuff."

"The Exceed?" Igneel sighed. "You're too heavy for the poor creature. You're just going to have to find another way to get around other than flying."

Natsu pouted. There was nothing he wanted more than to be able to fly like the other dragons. He was tired of being different—the only one without scales or talons or tails or wings. He curled up against his father's warm scales and closed his eyes. The steady rhythm of the dragon's heartbeat and his warm body heat soon lulled him into a deep sleep.

V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V*

After the incident at the pool, Natsu had been experimenting with other modes of transportation. Walking around on the ground left him vulnerable to predators, and since he couldn't fly he had to find another way. Thankfully the jungle was incredibly dense and vines hung down from the trees, making it feel even more overgrown. He found that the vines were strong enough to hold his weight. And even without wings, it felt as though he could fly when he swung from tree to tree. The other dragons laughed and jeered him, saying he looked more like an ape than a dragon. But it was better than crawling around on the ground like a lowly animal. With quite a bit of practice, he became quite good at vine swinging. By the time he was eleven, it was his primary mode of transportation. He could navigate through the jungles with ease, avoiding trees and other dangers. His speed in the trees could almost rival a dragon's wing speed. Almost.

Taking one of the low hanging vines, Natsu stood on a tree branch. He stared down at the ground far below him. Happy flew up beside him, hovering in the air.

"Did you learn how to fly?" Happy asked.

"Yeah! This is why better than crawling on the ground." He held the vine out for the little blue cat. "You wanna try?"

"Aye!"

"Hold on tight."

Happy held onto the vine. Gripping it tightly, Natsu pushed off hard from the branch. The momentum pushed him forward. The wind whipped his pink hair back from his face. He breathed in deeply. It felt so good to be up in the air away from the others. He felt so…free. As he soared through the trees, swinging from vine to vine, he watched the animals below him scamper about. Happy let go of the vine and flew along beside him.

"You're as fast as me, Natsu!" he said.

"I never thought it would feel so good to fly." Natsu reached the end of his vine and he landed nimbly on another branch. "When I'm up here I don't have to worry about anything. I can just be me." He breathed in deeply and sighed. "I feel so free."

"You're just like a real dragon!"

Natsu pouted, glancing at his little friend. "What do you mean 'like a real dragon'? I am a dragon, remember?"

"Aye."

He sighed. "I wonder if there are other dragons like me." Natsu stared at his scale-free hands and lack of talons. "Maybe I'm the only dragon that was born like this."

"Maybe Igneel knows," Happy suggested.

Natsu shook his head. Sitting back on his heels, he wrapped his arms around his knees. "Dad won't tell me anything. He just keeps telling me that I'll understand when I'm older." He groaned. "What does that even mean?"

Happy shrugged. "I dunno."

As Natsu stared out at the vast jungle that spread out before him, he wondered if he was the only one like this. He wondered if there was anyone else out there who was just like him. And if they were out there…maybe he'd actually get to meet them. And for once, the world seemed so bright and promising. And maybe, just maybe, he'd see what was beyond those trees.

Chapter 5 coming soon!