Sorry it's been taking me forever, guys. I've been super busy. Anyway, don't forget to review!

Chapter 10

When Lucy arrived back at the camp, Professor Markarov and Clayton were in an uproar. As she walked into the tent, hair disheveled and dirty dress, the professor rushed toward her. He held her leather pouch in his hand, keys jingling inside.

"I just think we should go look for—" Clayton looked up when she entered the tent. "Good lord, Lucy! What the hell happened to you?"

Professor Markarov leapt to his feet and hurried toward her. "Lucy, are you alright?" he asked, urgently. "When we found your keys on the ground, I knew something had to be terribly wrong!" He held out the leather pouch to her.

"Professor!" She gratefully took her keys back from him, hugging them to her chest. "Thank you."

"Lucy, what happened?" Markarov asked.

"Professor, you wouldn't believe it! I was drawing—a little cat, little blue cat!" She spoke quickly, her excitement boiling over. "Suddenly, the Vulcan comes barreling toward me and just scoops me right up. And all of a sudden, there's a whole fleet of them! An army of big howling monkeys, all screaming at me!" She started imitating the way the Vulcans had acted. "Terrified, I was, terrified! And I got away but then suddenly I'm in the air, up in the trees—swinging, flying—I was in the air! And then we were surrounded. And I lost my sketchbook. But I was saved! Professor, I was saved by a flying wild man in a loincloth!"

"A loincloth?" Markarov looked at her skeptically. "Good heavens, I'm not sure I follow."

"It was extraordinary!" Her face glowed as she recalled meeting the wild boy. "Quick, give me some chalk!" she cried, rushing toward the small chalkboard at the back of the tent.

Clayton dug out a box of fresh chalk and handed it to her. Lucy quickly began to sketch the wild dragon boy that had saved her from the Vulcans. He saw crouched on his heels, fingers curled like talons. "He didn't stand upright, he sort of sat crouched," she said as she sketched the rounded back, "like that. And he supported his weight on his palms and fingers, like he had claws or something."

"Fascinating! A human, this far out in civilization?" Markarov muttered. "It's amazing he survived out here on his own for so long."

"He looks hideous," Clayton mumbled.

"Well that's the thing," Lucy said, ignoring Clayton's comment. "I don't think he survived on his own. He didn't understand any English. He growled and he…."

"Go on, go on," the Professor urged. Hearing about this strange boy excited his curiosity.

"Well, he could use magic."

Clayton and Markarov exchanged curious looks.

"I mean, he could breathe fire and the way he acted…it's like he was raised by dragons."

"Dragons?!" they cried in unison.

"He was raised by dragons?!" the Professor asked quickly.

Clayton rushed toward her and grabbed her by the arms, shaking her slightly. "Did you see the dragons?!"

"No. He was alone. But he told me about them."

"If he couldn't speak, how did he tell you?" Markarov asked.

"With his magic. He made a dragon out of fire…it was so beautiful."

"Oh, Lucy!" Professor Markarov clapped his hands in excitement. "What a discovery! A man with no language, no human behavior—"

"And no-o-o-o respect for personal boundaries."

"What do you mean?"

Lucy suddenly leaned in close, so their faces were only inches apart. "He was this close to me, Professor! Staring at me!" She turned back to the chalkboard. "He seemed…confused, at first. Like he had never seen another human before." She finished sketching the features on his face, the spiky hair, the dragon scale scarf, and the intense eyes that had watched her so intently. "His eyes were so intense and focused and…" she lingered on his eyes, "I've never seen such eyes."

Professor Markarov grinned and arched his eyebrows. "Oh, should I leave you and the blackboard alone for a moment?" he chuckled at the way she had been so enamored with the sketch of the wild man.

"Professor, stop it!" She blushed. "But just think of what we could learn from him! We must find him."

Clayton growled. "Professor! You can't possibly believe such a wild story. We're here to study dragons, not indulge in some girlish fantasy." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Fantasy?!" she cried. "I didn't imagine him! Natsu is real!"

"Natsu?" Markarov asked.

"That's his name," Lucy said defensively. "He told me his name was Natsu."

"And if he doesn't speak English, how did he tell you his name?" Clayton asked.

"He—"

"I've heard enough of this nonsense," Clayton said, annoyance in his voice. "The wilderness is getting to you, Lucy."

Her face flushed in anger as Clayton ducked out the entrance of the tent. She certainly hadn't imagined the wild man, but there was no convincing him. If only she could show them. Then they would know he was real.

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

"YOU IDIOTIC LITTLE BRAT!" Igneel roared.

"Dad, I was just—"

"SILENCE!" Igneel slammed his heavy foot down on the boy, pinning him between his sharp talons. "How dare you disobey me! I told you not to go near the humans! Do you know what the elders would do to you if they found out?!"

"What's so wrong with them?! I was just watching them!"

Igneel growled. "You reek of human. You weren't just watching them."

"Well that's not surprising I smell that way, since I am human!"

The red dragon hesitated.

"I'm human, aren't I?" Natsu asked angrily, his voice shaking. "Why didn't you tell me there were others that looked like me?! Why didn't you ever tell me I was a human and not a dragon?!"

"Natsu, listen to me."

Natsu squirmed beneath his father's weight. "No! Why should a listen to you?!"

"SILENCE, BRAT!" He bellowed.

Natsu fell silent, glowering up at the enormous red dragon.

"I found you alone in this forest when you were just a hatchling—abandoned. You would have died if I hadn't taken you in. I raised you as a dragon, Natsu. You are more dragon than human. Those humans…." He hesitated. "They are dangerous. They kill thoughtlessly, they destroy forests. Humans don't care about other creatures. They have hunted our kind nearly to extinction." Igneel finally released him. "I'm warning you, Natsu. Stay away from the humans."

Natsu refused to look at his father. It hurt to discover the truth after all the years of being kept in the dark. It was like Igneel was ashamed of what Natsu really was. Igneel sighed.

"Most dragons are not as human-loving as I might be. Any other dragon would have killed you where you lay that night in the woods."

Natsu nodded absently.

"Be more mindful of your actions, Natsu. If not for you, then for those humans down there. The elders will not be as forgiving as I will."

Chapter 11 coming soon!