Natsu of the Dragons
Chapter Seven: Meeting the Dragons
Natsu wasn't one to be patient. If it was Stripper, Iron-Head, or one of the Twins or even his own father, he would've marched out to beat the living daylights out of them. But, he had Happy with him to keep him entertained. And he was waiting for that special girl, Lucy. For her, he would wait. How much longer? He didn't know.
"Natsu~" Happy whined as the little three-foot cat climbed on his partner's back. "How much longer?"
Natsu laughed. "Not much longer Buddy." Natsu caught whiff of lavender and ocean salt in the air. He turned in the direction of the scent. "Look who's here…"
Lucy ran out of the forest trees and bushes as she pried a few leaves out of her hair. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday…Except they weren't ruined by Natsu's fire. Some of her blonde hair was bunched up on the right side of her head and tied with a blue ribbon.
Lucy looked up and saw Natsu standing across from her with a little blue cat-like creature hanging on his back. He grinned to her and she cautiously made her way towards them. Not completely trusting them yet.
"Hey You!" Natsu said.
"Hey…Natsu, right? I wasn't sure if I got it right," Lucy said.
"That's right Luigi," the fire Dragon Slayer said.
"It's Lucy, Idiot. L-U-C-Y!" the celestial Dragon Slayer corrected. She shook her head, giving up trying to deal with this idiot. Is everyone on this island like this? "Well, what was the point of making me come here?"
"To learn about stuff," Happy said.
Lucy looked to the cat, then to Natsu. Then back to the cat. Natsu nodded, confirming Lucy's suspicions. The girl screeched and ran behind a tree.
"The cat's talking!" she yelled.
"Well duh! I'm an exceed Silly," the cat said. Natsu took Happy off his back and holding him for Lucy to see.
"It's…It's not an act, or something?! Like a ventriloquist?" Lucy asked.
"What's a wind-trill-o-quest?" Natsu asked, tilting his pink head in confusion.
Lucy sunk her head. I'm not getting anywhere with these two. She waved her hand in dismissal. "Never mind. What exactly are you?" She poked Happy's furry stomach.
"I'm an exceed panther."
"Not very big to be a panther, aren't ya?"
Happy eyes filled up with tears and the cat lunged into Natsu's chest. Sobbing hysterically. Natsu patted Happy's back while glaring at the blonde. Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What?"
"Natsu! Lushie's being mean!" Happy yelled.
"Lucy, be nice to Happy and say sorry," Natsu said. "He's a very sensitive guy."
He's a cat… Lucy sighed. If she was going to get anywhere with them, she might as well play by their rules. "I'm…sorry Happy. It won't happen again."
"Okay!" Happy said, flying out of Natsu's arms.
He's bounces back fast and…he flies. Nothing's impossible of Dragon Isle.
"We'll show you around the island first. Then we can get to learning."
"Learning what exactly?" Lucy asked as she followed Natsu onto a forest path.
"What's it like in the Outside Land? What the people are like. What foods are there to eat. And about yourself too. Let's not forget that. Plus, you came to learn about dragons, right?"
"More about dragons. I learned some things about dragons from Celeste."
"Celeste?" Happy asked, flying around Lucy's blonde head.
"Yeah; she's the one who taught me my celestial Dragon Slaying magic. And my celestial spirit magic too."
"So, this Celeste's a-"
"Celestial dragon, yeah. But, she's been missing for about eight years."
Natsu looked over his shoulder to see Lucy staring at the ground with a sad, longing look on her pretty face. He turned back; "I'm sorry to hear that."
Happy, noticing the mood in the air, decided to change it. "What's celestial spirit magic?" The cat landed on Lucy's shoulder.
She looked to him and smiled. Lucy unhooked her keys from her belt and let Happy hold them. Happy looked through the fancy designs and drawings on the heads of the keys. "These keys opens the gate to the Spirit Realm. That's where spirits live. Spirit mages, like me, collect these keys to gain spirits. A mage agrees to a contract with the spirit and the contract is life bounding. Once the mage dies, the spirit is released from its contract and finds a new owner.
"Celestial Keys are separated into two groups." Lucy took the keys out of Happy's paws. She separated the golden keys from the silver ones. "The silver ones are very common in magic shops around Fiore. But, there's not a lot of celestial mages left in the world. They're a rare commodity, like Dragon Slayers. The gold keys are extremely rare because they're only twelve in total with a legend of a thirteenth lurking around."
"That's cool!" Happy said. He took the keys into his paws again. "Are you strong with these keys?"
"Fairly. I only use the keys when I'm on easy missions or I'm running low on magic."
"Missions? Oh, watch your step over the log," Natsu said.
Happy passed Lucy back her keys and she tied them on her belt. She hopped over the log and caught up with Natsu.
"Missions are jobs to mages in the Outside Land, as you call it. Mages join these institutes where they earn money on these jobs. My uncle's the master of the guild I'm in." She held up her Fairy Tail mark out for the two to see.
Natsu looked at it in wonder. "What's a guild?"
"A guild is the institute."
"What's a mage?"
"You're one and you don't even know what they are?"
Natsu shrugged.
"Mages are people who can use magic, like you and me." Lucy looked back to Happy, flying. "And Happy too."
"So, like dragons?"
"No, not like dragons. Dragons are powerful creatures that could teach us magic if they want. Like Dragon Slaying magic."
"Okay…"
"You haven't been anywhere beyond this island, haven't you?" Lucy asked.
Natsu stopped in his tracks. He pointed out. Lucy followed and her mouth gapped open. They were on the cliff overlooking the village. She saw children playing around with each other and adults talking to each other in the plaza. What she took in, though, were the twenty-foot dragons hanging out on the roofs of the houses.
"Dr-dragons…" Lucy said in awe. "I'm not crazy."
"Why would anyone think you're crazy?" Happy asked flying off her shoulder and in circles in front.
Lucy smiled; "Back homes there's not many dragon sightings. Only hunches and suspicions. I always go and investigate, hoping that it's Celeste or the one that killed my mother. I haven't seen one so close before since I was 'bout ten. I was beginning to forget that they exist because…" She cut herself off.
Natsu had a feeling why. He looked back to his village. "Because of your dad?" he asked.
Lucy smiled, more to herself than to the other two. "You've been around for a while huh?"
Natsu shrugged. "You shouldn't let him walk over you like that Lucy. It's not right."
"Get to the back of the line Natsu. Laxus has been telling me that for years. Same with my friends at the guild."
"This Laxus…Is he your-"
"Cousin. The master of my guild is his father."
"Is that so…" Natsu said absently.
Lucy looked to him staring out. She followed his gaze and he was eying birds that were flying out to the ocean horizon. "Why don't your leave this place Natsu?"
"I can't. I can't fly. Happy can't have his wings out forever, it's his magic. And like all magic, it runs out eventually. Plus, I'm not allowed to leave yet."
"Says who?"
"Says me." A deep grumble came from behind them.
Lucy turned around with her hand instantly on her whip. She was a man with red hair, defined muscles on his tall stature, and onyx eyes. A grin appeared on his face, identical to Natsu's.
"Igneel!" Happy called out. Flying over to the man. Lucy turned back and watched the other Dragon Slayer nod. She let her hand fall from her waist.
"You must be Lucy, am I right?" the man, Igneel, said.
Lucy nodded. "Yes. May I ask who you might be?"
"I'm Natsu's father. A fire dragon. I was a friend of Celeste's."
Lucy perked up to him. "Do you know where she is?!"
Igneel lowered his head. "I'm afraid not Young Miss. We haven't heard from her in the eight years she's been gone. Her son is waiting for her though. He knows she's alive."
"She mentioned that she had a son. Jerry, was it?"
"Jellal," Natsu said.
Lucy snapped her fingers; "Jellal! I remember. She lost him 'bout two years before she met me and Mama."
"Yes. Celeste would tell me plenty about yourself and Layla. I'm sorry to hear what happened to her. If anything comes up, I will gladly tell you everything that we find." Lucy nodded. "Now, Natsu was taking you on a tour of the island, yes? Let's start in the village. And if any of them try to eat you, you have my permission to use your magic on them."
{Line Skip}
The dragons have never seen a human besides Natsu before. Let alone another destructive Dragon Slayer. But, even with the title of Lucy the celestial Dragon Slayer, they were glad she seemed mellower than their resident Slayer. And it was a plus that she was extremely pretty.
The varied dragons lying on the roofs eyed her as if she was their next prey. Children looked up at her in awe. The females were whispering about her choice in very revealing clothes. The men were staring with a lecherous intent in their eyes.
Natsu glared at them whenever he caught them red-handed, which made them immediately back off. No one wanted to deal with a protective dragon (or someone close to a dragon). Lucy noticed and whispered something so low, not even Igneel could pick up. But the fire Dragon Slayer did.
"You protecting someone, eh Natsu?" Lucy whispered with a grin.
He had a blush dusting his face when he growled a "Shut Up!" to the female Slayer.
Lucy noticed the three she dominated over the day before. "Gajeel…Sting…And Rogue, right?" she asked Natsu.
He looked up and grinned. "Yeah; those are the guys." Natsu motioned his head to let them come over. They hesitantly walked over to them.
Lucy bowed her head to the three of them. "I'm so sorry for picking a fight with you. I wasn't sure what to expect on this island, so I was heavily on guard."
"It seemed like barely," Gajeel muttered.
Sting nudged him with his elbow and the iron dragon let out an 'uff'. Sting took Lucy's hand and brought it to his lips. "That's alright. I can understand why a pretty young lady, such as yourself, would want to stay safe."
Natsu was about to pull Sting away from the blonde until Lucy twisted her hand so that she was holding it. She squeezed gently, but for the light dragon, it seemed like she was crushing him.
"I know that look in your eyes. I don't like it. Don't make me own you like yesterday," she growled lowly.
Sting nodded quickly then she let his hand go. Gajeel and Natsu laughed. "Got owned again," Natsu laughed.
Lucy turned to Rogue and bowed her head once more. "I'm sorry to attack you like that Rogue-san. I mistook you for someone I'm looking for."
Rogue cocked his head to the side. "It's fine really. I'm simply impressed that you managed to put three of the islands strongest on a rope yesterday and gave Natsu a run for his money."
Lucy smiled.
"So, Flame-Brain brought home a girl," someone said. "Did you pay her or something?"
Lucy's eye widened and her face turned red. "The fu-"
"I don't even know what that means Stripper!" Natsu yelled.
From the circling crowd, four people emerged.
The first was a cute little teen girl with blue hair and brown eyes with a white cat on her tail. The girl seemed normal enough to Lucy. But was most likely a dragon. After all, it's a village full of dragons.
The second was an older blue-haired pale woman with dark blue eyes. She seemed to be clinging behind one of the others and was glaring darkly to Lucy.
Lucy sweat-dropped; What's her problem with me?
The third was a beautiful young female with long scarlet hair. Her brown eyes were welcoming. She seemed normal too.
And the forth person had black hair and dark blue eyes. He was muscular. But…Lucy only noticed that he was half-naked in his black boxers.
Lucy grabbed Natsu's arm and pointed to the half-naked man; "Why is he naked?"
"Half naked Woman!" the man yelled.
"Back off Gray!" Natsu said throwing a flaming punch the one named Gray.
"Oh! It's on Flame-Brain!" Gray yelled before the two went into full tackle mode.
"Gray-sama!" the older blue-haired girl yelled. She glared back to Lucy muttering; "Love Rival!"
"Wha?" Lucy asked as she blinked repetitively.
The scarlet-haired woman laughed gently. "Don't worry about Juvia. She calls the girls that whenever Gray looks at someone. I'm Erza, armoured dragon." She, Erza, extended a hand out.
"Uh…Lucy, celestial Dragon Slayer." They shook hands.
"Celestial Slayer, huh?" Erza asked. Lucy nodded.
"I'm Wendy! I'm a sky dragon!" the young blue-haired girl chimed.
Lucy giggled. "Nice to meet you Wendy. Is this your exceed?" Lucy pointed to the white cat.
"My name is Carla."
"Nice to meet you too Carla."
Gajeel laughed behind her before resting an elbow on her shoulders. "The idiot in the boxer's Gray. An ice dragon. Has a strange hobby of stripping at the most random times. But in a battle, he strips when he's most serious."
"I-I see."
Natsu pushed Gray over to Lucy's feet. The stripping dragon stood right up and held out his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Gray, ice dragon."
Lucy was about to shake his hand when Natsu blasted him with his Fire Dragon's Roar. Lucy immediately brought her hand back, not wanting to get burned.
"Ha ha! Pay attention you Stupid Stripper!" Natsu yelled in triumph. He looked to Lucy who was shaking her head, but smiling nonetheless. Teaches you to stay away from my girl.
With a grin, Natsu made his way over to Lucy to introduce her to more of his dragon family.
{Line Skip}
And so, two weeks, most of Lucy's trip, she stayed with the dragons in the village. Returning to her camp for lunch and dinner before heading back out with Natsu, Happy, and the others. Lucy confided in her Uncle Makarov and fellow Dragon Slayer, Laxus, of the activities she's done with the dragons. Not even telling her best friends, Mira, Lisanna, and Levy, of all people.
During the two weeks Lucy hanged out with Natsu and his friends/family, he's never felt more complete. He had a fellow Dragon Slayer by his side in an island full of dragons. He didn't think that she was gorgeous too. He only told Happy and sometimes Jellal about what he was thinking about the day. Never Igneel, remember the last time Igneel found out 'bout something. (Dirty old dragon, Natsu thought.)
Together, they learned plenty about each other's worlds. How dragons can to be. How the world was started. How magic was discovered. Even to the extent when Lucy had to teach Natsu how people come into the world. (Never doing that again! EVER! Lucy had thought.)
Natsu believed that Lucy was his mate. A life-long partner to love and protect forever.
Lucy thought that she was very close to her new best friend. Probably in love with him even.
But, as Lucy's trip came to close an end, Natsu felt the hard reality. He was probably never going to see her again. And that didn't sit well with him. Lucy knew it was going to be hard. Saying goodbye to these people (dragons) she just met. They've become family. It's not like she didn't like the family back home, awaiting for them at the guild. But, they've never quite understood her fascination with dragons. Not even Laxus or Makarov.
The only people who actually understood her…were dragons themselves. And five exceeds…And one fellow Dragon Slayer who fought with fire.
