Sorry for this slow update, just been having a rough few days and I didn't have time to myself to write, hopefully this chapter makes up for it :)

~Chapter Seven~

"Hello again, Igneel." Lucy gave him a forced smile, waving her hand slightly. The man gave her a shy grin as he walked up to her, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry for storming out before, I just have a strange feeling about Natsu." Lucy nodded in understanding, taping his shoulder for reassurance. "Mind out the way you idiot, let me get a look at her!" A deep yet feminine voice shouted out as a hand pushed the fire dragon to the side and revealed an eager woman.

She had deep red hair that was styled in waves and reached her waist. Her skin was very pale, almost white, which made her sharp features stand out that much more. She had emerald green eyes, a button nose and full lips painted in a dark purple. She was dressed in a floor length dress of the same shade of purple, with streaks of black flowing down the skirt. She wore black laced boots underneath her dress, as you could see from the side slit in her skirt. Since the dress was sleeveless, her arms were covered by fingerless black loves that reached her elbows. The woman was very tall, almost a foot taller than Lucy and she had to admit it did intimidate her. Lucy couldn't deny that the woman was very shapely and beautiful but her most striking feature was the red stripe across her neck, which she could only assume was a birthmark. "I'm Datura; Dragon of Poison and Blood, pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand with a dark smirk which Lucy gladly shook. "Nice to meet you too."

"You've already met Grandine and Metalicana." Demeter said as the two walked past Lucy with a greeting before standing to the side to let others speak to Lucy. "It is an honor to meet you, Lucy Heartfilia." A soft voice spoke, belonging to a mysterious looking man. His skin was pale, whiter than Lucy had ever seen. His hair contrasted greatly to his complexion, his long, thick hair was as black as the night; black seemed to be this mans preference. He wore a plain black long-sleeved shirt and black trousers which were tucked into larger buckled black boots. He wore a long black cloak over the top and even covered his hands with black gloves. The only other colour Lucy could spot were his blood red eyes and pink scar across his left cheek. "Just Lucy will do." She gave him a smile despite her obvious discomfort, and hesitantly offered him her hand. He shook it gently, holding her hand with such care. His gentleness didn't surprise her due to his frail looking physique. "My name is Samael, I am the Dragon of Death." Lucy nodded, it now made sense to her why she felt so uneased by him.

Lucy found it quite odd that they were all lined up to meet her one by one, and not to mention there were so many of them. Next in line was an eccentric woman, to Lucy at least. Her skin was fair but the rest of her was very vibrant. Her eyes and hair were both a shade of bright pink, her hair reaching the ground despite being pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a loose baby pink t-shirt that seemed to have been cut shorter, exposing her toned stomach. She wore low-rise hot pink jeans and red thigh high boots, matching her red cloak. She wore fluffy gloves that were the same shade of pink as her jeans, her whole outfit matching in one way or another. Lucy could guess what her powers were linked to by the heart shaped birthmark on her right cheek, just below her eye. "I'm Venus; Dragon of Love and I'm so so so happy to see you! You're so beautiful too, you'll make such a stunning dragon uhm slayer." Her mouth widened from ear to ear as she shook Lucy's hand rapidly, shaking the poor blonde all over. "Nice t-to meet y-you." Lucy struggled to get out.

"Mind aside Venus before you shake her brains out." Igneel joked before the pink haired woman pouted and let go of Lucy and moved to the side. Lucy rubbed her head, feeling a sudden dizziness come over her. "It'll wear off soon." A deep voice said but Lucy had to blink a few times before her eyes finally focused on a very large and very muscular man standing over her. His skin was tanned and scarred from what she could only guess were from battles, due to his slightly armoured body. He wore a beige tunic, a silver breastplate over his chest. He wore baggy brown trousers with silver kneepads and boots. His eyes were a soft turquoise and his hair a light brown. He had his hair pulled back into a bun while sporting a lengthy beard. Despite his incredible size, he gave off a comforting aura; Lucy couldn't help but compare him to the phrase a 'friendly giant' which caused her to smile at him. "My name is Werner, I am the Dragon of War. It is a pleasure to finally meet Demeter's successor." He knelt down slightly and bowed his head in a greeting. Lucy returned the act with a smile. "The pleasure is all mine."

"My name is Raghnall, I am the Dragon of Knowledge." A much smaller, but still toned, man greeted her next. He had an olive skin tone which seemed a little too tan for his blonde curly hair that fell just above his ears. His eyes were a mellow orange and his features were rather chiselled yet his lips were hidden by a thick mustache. He wore a maroon short-sleeved shirt that hung loose on him but wore tighter black trousers that were held up by a golden belt. Contrasting to his heavy brown boots and gold cape, his glasses humbled his appearance. He had a straight posture that portrayed either a contrasting arrogance or a resemblance of regality. He knelt down to take Lucy's hand, which gave her the tell tale sign that it was the latter. She could feel her cheeks forming a blush at the charming act and gave him her hand still. He kissed her gloved hands and gave her smile. If she was still the same Lucy she was two years ago, she would have swooned at his feet but now she wasn't as affected. "It is an honour to meet someone of such beauty." She felt the blush grow warmer. "Thank you." She gave him a shy smile as he let go of her hand and walked to the side. "Can you go five minutes without flirting eh Reggie?" Metalicana rolled his eyes at him. To which the blonde just smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

A woman with a gloomy aura moved forward with slow steps. "I am Aysu; Dragon of Water." The woman had pale skin and bright blue hair that appeared as though it was a stream of flowing water running down her back and landing at the back of her knees. Her eyes were pure white, with very little indication of a pupil apart from a sliver of grey in the middle of her eyes. She wore a royal blue long-sleeved dress with a flowing skirt and baby blue ribbons tied at her waist, connecting streams of turquoise silk from her waist to her wrists which hung low in her resting position. She wore matching royal blue flat, exposing her legs through turquoise fishnet tights. Lucy couldn't tell if the light blue markings below her eyes were birthmarks or painted on. "It's nice to meet you as well." Lucy held out her hand and Aysu lazily gripped it, shaking hands with little effort. She dawdled towards the previous dragons, no change in the little emotion on her face.

"My name is Donar, I am the Dragon of Storms, Thunder and Lightening. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He was larger than Raghnall, roughly the same height as Metalicana. He had white hair that was spiked up and out in all directions, matching his yellow eyes. He wore a grey sleeveless shirt and black jeans, a silver chain linking the front and back pocket together. He wore brown leather shoes with metal lining, matching the brown leather jacket he had slung over his shoulder with silver zips. He reminded her so much of Laxus, in fact all of the dragons reminded her of someone from her former family. His hands were adorned with gold rings but they didn't appear to have any sentiment to him, just for show. "And to you as well." She smiled at him and he only waved at her before walking off, not shaking her hand like the others.

"And last but not least, my name is Gaia; Dragon of Earth and Nature, so lovely to meet you." The woman had a warm brown complexion and hazel eyes, her cheeks adorned with freckles. Her hair was primarily a moss green with streaks of brown. It was cut short with bangs, barely resting on her shoulders. She wore a brown tube top and matching brown skirt with two slits up to her outer thighs. She had a darker brown cloak draped behind her, tied with a ribbon at her chest with matching fingerless gloves that ended at her elbows. She wore no shoes or socks, walking around in her bare feet. Her body was also different, much like Melinda, but instead of scales, her body was covered in brown markings that looked like tiger stripes. Lucy shook her hand as Gaia gave her a motherly smile and walked to the side.

Whilst all of the dragons were drastically different, there were some features that they all shared; for example, fangs and pointed ears. Lucy turned and saw that all the dragons were now all lined up. "Now that you've met all your tutors, we can start training." Demeter said, walking up to her from behind and placing a nudging hand on her back, into the direction of the training grounds. "Now?" Lucy asked in shock. Demeter chuckled. "Yes, now. You didn't think I brought you out here just to say hello did you?" She laughed. They appeared to have entered a shield, Lucy could feel a force come over her as she walked through it. "You just felt the safety spell, don't worry about it." Igneel said with a smile, picking up on Lucy's discomfort.

They were now in the middle of the very large grounds and it was only then that Lucy realised that only Igneel and Demeter were stood with her, the others now gone. "Your first training session shall be with Igneel, after him you are allowed a short break before training with Aysu. After that it will be lunch, there I will explain your entire training schedule for your stay. If you have any questions, you can take them up with Igneel. I must go now but I shall see you at lunch, good luck Lucy, I know you'll do well." Demeter left with a smile and exited the grounds. Lucy could only nod, it was strange being told what to do after having so much freedom this past year. She would need to get used to it if she wanted to stay here.

"Right, since this is your first session, I'm gonna go easy on you. But just this once! I don't want you thinking I'm gonna be soft on you, though surely you'll come to find that I'll be your favourite teacher." He said with a cocky grin, making Lucy shake her head paired with a small smile. "So what will your sessions be?" Lucy asked him, eager to start on her training. He smirked at her and chuckled. "Well I'm gonna teach you Fire Dragon Slayer magic silly." He scoffed at the question. Lucy grew awkward, embarrassed at the seemingly obvious answer. Igneel smiled at her to ease her. "It's alright, this is a pretty weird situation anyways, I can't blame you." He shrugged and then started walking away. "Follow me."

Igneel lead her out of the training grounds, Lucy felt the spell go through her again with a shiver. "Where are we going? Aren't we supposed to train in the training grounds?" He rolled his eyes, his smile not leaving his face. "Demeter likes to use the training grounds but I prefer my own methods." Lucy narrowed her eyes, now cautious at where he was taking her. They had entered a thick forest and were quite far into the forest before Igneel finally stopped them and pointed towards some rock pools. "There." He said and walked towards them, Lucy trudging after him. "Why have you brought me here?" She asked and he sighed, still smiling. "Just watch." Lucy peered over, staring at the calm water below her. "It's quite pretty don't you think Igneel?" Lucy spoke softly, mesmerized by the plants at the bottom of the pools. When he didn't answer she moved back slightly. "Igneel?" She was about to turn around to find him but felt a hand push her forward and she fell into the rock pools.

She came back up from the water with a gasp, coughing up some water that managed to get into her mouth. She heard laughter above her and glared at Igneel. "You should have seen your face!" He was clutching his stomach and bent over, laughing to his hearts content. Her eyes softened, the scene reminding her very much so of Natsu. It amazed her how alike they were. She grinned, noticing he was now caught off guard and used her whip to wrap around his leg and pull him into the pool as well. He yelled in surprise as Lucy laughed at his misery. He surfaced with a smirk. "Touché." Lucy mirrored his smirk and brushed back her now wet hair with her hand. "Now, when does the real training begin?"

Igneel smirked at her and went back under the water. He quickly grabbed Lucy's foot and pulled her down into the pool. She inhaled as much air as she could before he dragged her down. She tried to kick him off her but it was no use in the water. He kept going deeper and it surprised Lucy that the pool wasn't shallow. She saw a red light at the bottom of the pool, Igneel pulled the pair of them towards it. He sped up, the light growing bigger and brighter the closer they got. Lucy held her arms around her and closed her eyes when it looked like they were going to hit the bottom.

She fell through the hole, landing on her bum and gasped, her lungs on fire from holding in her breath for so long. Igneel gave her his hand to help her up and she took it. "Your training starts now." He says with a smirk before looking behind her. She turned as well and her eyes widened at the sight. There was a giant waterfall but replaced with lava, surrounding lava pools everywhere. "Okay this makes more sense." Lucy said with awe. Igneel grinned and moved passed her, walking towards the lavafall. "Okay, first lesson; withstanding the heat." He smirked, Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?" He pointed at the pool of lava. "Get in." Lucy's jaw dropped. "You want me to go into lava? Are you insane?" Igneel stared at her and kept pointing at the lava. "Maybe a little. I said get in." Lucy hesitated. "You either get in willingly or I push you in again." Lucy frowned at him but complied with a sigh.

She was just about to put her foot into the pool when Igneel stopped her. "Do you want to burn your clothes to shreds? Take them off." Lucy wanted to slap him. "You perv." She narrowed her eyes at him. He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I wasn't gonna look but now..." Lucy went to punch him in the face but he blocked it, grabbing her wrist. "Just take off your clothes, I'll turn around." Lucy huffed as he let go of her and turned around, his arms folded against his chest. Lucy grumbled but did as he said, stripping off her clothes and leaving them in a pile on the rocks. She used her hands to cover herself. "Now what?" He rocked back on his heels. "Get in the pool. Don't worry, you won't die." Lucy frowned but decided to trust him. She closed her eyes tight as she put her foot into the pool, but found that the heat was bearable. She relaxed at that and emerged herself into the pool with a sigh. 'It actually feels nice.' Lucy thought before telling Igneel he could turn around.

"Good." He smiled before sitting down on the rocks. "Now, move the lava." Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "As in...?" She let him finish the question with an answer. "As in bend it. Make it go up or down or side to side. You need to familiarise yourself to the element if you want to master your magic." Lucy sighed, staring down at the orange substance. "Close your eyes, and imagine it moving to how you wish." Lucy followed his instructions. "Imagine your magic is being channelled into the lava and moving it." Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She took in deep breath and imagined that the lava was in her control. It took her a few minutes of pushing herself before she could finally feel her magic leaving her body and she assumed it was being transported to the lava.

She pictured the lava swirling around her but she felt nothing. The image stayed in her head but nothing happened. Igneel frowned. "If you don't make anything happen in 5 seconds, I'm going to put your bra into the lava pool." Her eyes snapped open at his words. "You wouldn't dare!" She all but growled at him. "Try me." He retorted with a smirk, dangling her bra over the pool. "Get off that." She warned. "If you want to save it, make it happen. Five." He lowered it slightly. Lucy's glare deepened but she still was unable to make anything happen. "Four." Her bra was lowered again. She moved closer to Igneel but that only made him lower it further. "Three." She could feel her anger build up in her, her eye twitching. "Two, you really need to start trying sweetie." Igneel mocked with a grin, her bra almost touching the lava. Unknown to Lucy, the lava behind her began to rise and take form.

"One." Igneel had seen it but continued to taunt her, curious to see what form it would take. Lucy let out a yell, her anger spilling over as her raised her arms towards him. "Zero." It was then that she saw a lava creature looming over her and aimed at Igneel. It shot towards Igneel but he dodged it skillfully, watching the small lava dragon turn into a puddle next to him now that Lucy was no longer angry, her bra intact in Igneel's hands. "Impressive." He shot her a toothy grin, causing her to blush. "You just needed some encouragement." Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you let go of my bra now?" He smirked. "Nah I think I might keep hold of it." As he twirled it around his finger, Lucy shot balls of lava at him, seven at once. He wasn't able to dodge them all, his shirt burned now from the lava and caused him to fall back and drop her bra back onto the pile of clothes.

"Alright, I deserved that I guess." Lucy laughed at him, Igneel joined in. "That was pretty impressive for your first try, it took Natsu ten tries before he could even make the lava move into a ball." Lucy should have been hurt at the memory of Natsu but she wasn't. Instead, she felt proud that she was a much faster learner than the guy that called her weak. "Go again, you need to know the element in every form you can think of, it helps you gain better control with it later." Lucy nodded and closed her eyes again, pouring her magic into the lava around her.

I'm gonna have to leave it at that folks. Also I have kinda bad news, I'm not gonna be writing for a couple weeks because I have an operation and I'll be recovering from that so there won't be any updates for about 3-4 weeks. Sorry guys :(