Natsu's P.O.V
Ugh, I feel like I swallowed Gray's nasty ice or something. I guess other people would describe it as their stomach being on fire, but that's just my regular meal. I don't know how else to describe it except that my insides are roiling in pain.
"Is he awake?" I heard the Master asking someone else who must also be in the room with us.
I inhaled the air to sense who else was here. I could smell Gray who seemed to be closest. Romeo, Happy and Gajeel were also here as well as Porlyusica and Gramps. I must have been brought up to the infirmary then if that Grandeeney lady is here.
"Yea, he's up," Gajeel stated with certainty.
I felt like growling at him as I opened my eyes in annoyance.
"Natsu!" Romeo exhaled in relief.
"How long was I out?" I asked, using my arms to push myself into a sitting position.
"One whole day Natsu," Happy answered in an anxious voice.
I raised my hands up and beckoned my little blue friend into my arms. I always hated making Happy worried or upset.
"A whole day? What the hell is wrong with me?" I asked out loud, surprised I had managed to stay asleep for so long.
I hadn't really been sleeping that great lately and usually only got a few hours here and there instead of sleeping the whole night through.
"Well, we've actually been doing some research," Master answered in his typical gruff voice. "It seems you've met your mate."
"What the hell does that mean?" I asked feeling frustrated that Gramps' answer only brought about more questions.
"Do you ever feel sluggish in the winter Salamander?" Gajeel asked from where he was standing off to the side.
"Yea I guess… I noticed it started a few years ago but I never thought anything of it," I replied while absently scratching the back of my head.
"Well it seems it's something that only happens to us dragon slayers. Once we hit a certain age our instincts start looking for a mate. Once we find someone we like, our bodies react," Gajeel explained with his hands folded over his chest as he leaned against the wall.
"Ok… so what happens once we find someone we like?" I asked, feeling myself become interested despite my frustration.
"We mate them," Gajeel answered in an exasperated tone.
Master cleared his throat. "Yes, well we don't have all the specifics right now. Levy is currently down in the library trying to find more information. But Natsu, we have reason to believe that Lucy is your mate."
"Wait, Lucy? Is she okay?!" I remembered that her and Wendy had been out on an S class mission before I passed out.
"Yes, they're both fine. We sent Laxus and Mira out after them," Master replied trying to placate the fire dragon slayer.
"We have to go after them!" I replied angrily moving myself to stand up.
Once I got to my feet though I felt a rush of nausea causing me to falll back down onto the bed.
"Natsu!" Happy cried out.
"Hey man! Relax. Mira and Laxus have it under control," Gray said steadying me and making sure I didn't fall to the ground.
"You better be right Gray," I replied in a steely tone.
I shook my head, not quite understanding why I was reacting so harshly towards Gray. I knew Laxus and Mira were two of our best members. But somehow, I felt that if I managed to get to my feet that they would carry me straight to Lucy.
"Well Gramps, it looks as if you guessed right about bunny girl," Gajeel said still staring over at me.
Makarov sighed. The master had never heard of such a thing as dragon slayer mating until now. Honestly he felt that the less he knew about it the better. But when it threatened the wellbeing of his children he would do anything in his power to fix the situation. Plus, he was also concerned about Lucy and Wendy. He never liked the arrangement that Lucy and Wendy didn't come back to the guild to collect jobs, but he had seen the hurt in their eyes when they had pleaded their case to him. Makarov had thought putting his faith in the situation would bring both of his children back home to him safely. But his own oversight had led to this situation and all he could do now was wait for Laxus and Mira's status report once they arrived. Since the two of them had left early this morning they wouldn't make it until the following night. He also knew this meant that Lucy and Wendy would have already arrived, fronting whatever situation faced them right now.
Natsu was now put back haphazardly in the bed by Gray while Happy now sat beside his best friend.
"Wait, Gramps. If this is a dragon slayer thing, does that mean it affects Wendy and Laxus too?" I asked now that the nausea had subsided.
"I have to assume it does affect Wendy, but I have no way of confirming my suspicions of her mate or if she has been affected by this season's change. But I think I am safe in assuming that since you are only now feeling the full effects at this age, that she is fairing better. As for Laxus, he said he hadn't experienced anything like it so far, but we have no idea of knowing if he will go through the same process or not," Gramps answered despairingly.
"Hey Natsu, thank goodness you're awake," I looked up to see Levy enter the room.
I also noticed how Gajeel straightened up. If I was feeling better both physically and mentally I would have laughed at him. I guess Gajeel knew so much about this since he was going through the same thing. But then why wasn't he laying in a hospital bed as well?
"Levy have you found anything?" Master asked as he watched the bluenette enter the room.
"Yea, but this book is written about dragons since I don't actually think any book exists on dragon slayer magic," Levy explained.
By this point we knew that besides those like Cobra and Laxus who had consumed lacrimas, that there were only five true dragon slayers in existence.
"So, what does it say?" I asked, feeling my very little patience diminishing.
"Well, honestly, it doesn't look too good," Levy prefaced with a frown. "It says here that dragons experience what we call love differently. Apparently they have very few feelings for anyone romantically until they meet their mate and even then it can take a while for them to discover their true emotions. They might not be the appropriate age, or it says something about the seasons having to be right. Anyways, the book is a little unclear about that part, but I figure the author had to study dragons and not too many of them were willing to discuss such things with humans."
"So, what does this all have to do with me?" I asked impatiently.
I saw Gajeel step forward and gave me a very unforgiving look. I just shook my head to try and collect myself. Levy had done me a favour by looking all this up so I shouldn't lose my temper with her.
"Well, apparently once the dragon's age and interests line up with the seasonal change their instincts start to take over their body. But, if the mate were to leave before the dragon could claim them, then their instincts take hold of their mind which can lead them to insanity," Levy's frown deepened.
"Hold on Shrimp, are you saying that Salamander has been slowly losing his mind ever since Lucy left in the springtime?" Gajeel asked, surprisingly taken aback.
"I don't think so. I think the insanity thing only starts once the season changes, but it never clarified what season they meant," Levy explained exasperatedly.
"Winter," both Gajeel and I answered together.
"Oh," Levy blushed a little. "Well, that would make sense since winter just started a couple of weeks ago. And that would also explain why Natsu is now reacting so severely. Plus, it did mention that despite the insanity starting at the season's change that the dragon will also feel physical deficiencies before then."
Master grunted in agreeance. That made sense why Natsu had seemed so off for the past nine months. This new knowledge now only heightened the need to bring the girls back quickly.
"So, what will happen if Lucy doesn't come back soon?" Romeo asked worriedly for his friend.
"Erm—well that is also vague since I'm assuming the author didn't stick around that long when the dragon did start going insane, that would have been bad. But, it seems that there are a bunch of different factors like how long they have known their mate previously since that allows for them to subconsciously become more attached. And also if their mate is in some sort of danger, they can sense it somehow. I'm sorry Natsu, that's all I could find. But the good news is that once Lucy is home again the effects should subside a bit. It says that being near your mate has the ability to dampen the effects until the mating can take place," Levy finished explaining what she had found.
"Well, since we don't know very much else Natsu is now under surveillance until the girls return. I will update you once I hear back from Mira and Laxus. All we can do now is have faith that they will bring the girls back soon," Master frowned deeper.
"I'll stay with him for now," Gray offered since he was already sitting shirtless by Natsu's bedside.
"I don't need a babysitter," I huffed indignantly.
"Yea, well until bunny girl gets back we aren't taking any chances that you might go on some homicidal rampage," Gajeel retorted.
Natsu could tell he was being even more protective since Levy was in the room. He wondered if Gajeel had figured it all out for himself yet.
"Please Natsu…" I looked down to see Happy's eyes brimming with tears.
I sighed and nodded before flopping back down onto my pillow. The truth was my head was pounding and I felt more exhausted than I ever had before.
"Just wake me up when Lucy gets back," I said and watched Gray nod before I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep.