CHAPTER 5: AROUND THE FIRE


Everything her father had taught about bear encounters fled Lucy's mind the very moment she locked eyes with the wild beast.

The bear popped its jaws and swatted the ground with its huge paw. A loud, low growl sounded from the bear's throat, and instinctively, Lucy hid behind the armoured woman. Erza was a Companion, after all, and possibly dealt with bears all the time. She held her breath and stayed still as the bear's gaze moved from her to the fire wizard, the origin of its annoyance. The bear's fur smoked where the firebolt had caught it.

Erza spread her arms as the bear lunged toward Natsu. The mage stumbled on his feet and fell to the ground. Suddenly, the bear stopped its charge, halting at a small distance away. Lucy wondered why. It seemed enraged as it roared, but like all animals, it feared fire. The beast studied the mage cautiously as if trying to decide if fighting him would be worth the struggle. The mage rolled on his stomach, covering his neck with his hands as the bear charged at him again.

"Stop!" Lucy shouted at the bear, her heart jumping to her throat. She didn't know where the courage came from. The bear turned towards her again. Natsu's flame atronach expired and disappeared to the wind, leaving only a trail of ashes behind.

"Idiot! You're supposed to play dead!" the mage hissed from the ground. "So play dead and it will leave!"

That was what her father had taught, she recalled now. But if she'd play dead now, she wouldn't need to play long. The bear was furious. Too furious to let them be. Running away would be futile, for it would catch them in a blink of an eye, then tear them apart limb from limb.

Lucy shivered in fear and refusal. The thrill she had looked for had been looking for her as well… but the adventure had just begun, though in horror and blood, and she wouldn't let it end so soon. Lucy stamped her feet as she stepped forward, despite Erza trying to hold her back.

Suddenly, she remembered what her mother once told her. Father had discarded it as foolhardy, but it had saved mother's life. The time before Lucy was even born, her mother had encountered a bear while picking mushrooms. As a fierce Nord woman she was, she shouted at the bear, making it retreat to the woods with her mere voice.

Lucy took a deep breath and stared the bear into the eyes, swinging the bows and arrows in her hands. "Leave him alone!" she shouted as loud as she could. "Go away!"

Erza drew her sword and joined her battlecry. "Don't dare to come closer!"

The bear lost interest in the mage and stared at the women instead. Natsu lifted his head from the ground, dumbfounded and confused. Erza swung her steel in the air as a response to the bear showing its fangs.

"That's close enough!" Lucy shouted as the animal stepped closer. It stopped, murmuring and putting back its ears. "I'm warning you, back off! BACK OFF!"

The magnitude of her own voice frightened her. She had been taught to be nice and quiet, not screaming like a feral beast, but now the bear backed off upon her command. It lumped back to the forest, peeking over its shoulders a couple of times, but it truly left.

Lucy's heart pounded so hard her ribs hurt and air ran thin in her windpipe. She couldn't believe the beast was gone – the bear had feared her more than she had feared it. When the bear was out of sight, Erza marched to the fire mage and lifted him from the neckline of his robes.

"IDIOT!" Erza shouted at him, even louder than Lucy had shouted at the bear. She punched him straight to the cheek with her armoured hand. A loud smack echoed in the air. "I'll gut you like a horker if you don't keep your little flames to yourself from here on! Do I make myself clear?"

Natsu nodded, whimpering as Erza hit him again and dropped him to the ground. He rubbed his bleeding cheek and sullenly stared at Erza's back when she walked to Lucy.

"Are you okay?" the warrior asked her.

"I am," Lucy answered, watching how the mage rose to his staggering feet. Natsu mumbled something about Nord women being worse than bears, but Lucy couldn't hear the rest. She couldn't help but feel bad for him. It wasn't necessarily from Erza to hit him twice. One strike might have been enough to scold him.

"You are braver than you look, Lucy," Erza said and pat her on the shoulder. "Have you ever considered joining the Companions? You'd make a decent shield-sister."

Lucy smiled shortly, but didn't say anything. Magic felt like her true calling, and it required bravery as well. She breathed out the fear as it began to dissolve in her body, still shivering from shock.

"Time to keep going, then," the Companion ordered then. "It will get dark soon."


The mountain road grew colder with each step. When the sun touched the furthest mountains on the horizon, it was time to set up a camp. Off the road and by the mountain's base, they found a good spot sheltered by large pines and a natural spring close by. Erza built the tent, Lucy picked some snowberries, and Natsu vanished into the woods.

They had come so high that a thin layer of snow covered the ground. Lucy looked at the steps which led from their campsite to the forest and wondered if the mage would return soon. He hadn't said a single word after the bear incident, and worry began to root in Lucy's mind. Though she barely knew him yet, she sensed that everything wasn't right.

Lucy sat on a rock, eating the sour berries she had collected. A handful was all she could eat, then her appetite disappeared again. Some mountain flowers grew at her feet. She picked one up, turning it around with her fingers. It amazed her how they managed to flourish through the snow and endure the ruthless cold winds. The flower was the colour of Natsu's hair – pinkish, pale red. It was the shade of his hair which caught her attention when he arrived in the city in a cart, bound in chains.

She couldn't recall seeing anyone with that hair colour before. Did it have something to do with flowers? Or alchemy? Was he blond by nature, but dyed his hair with some extract? Lucy chuckled by herself at the silly thought. From the very first sight, she had known he was one of a kind, and she hadn't been wrong. Playing fetch with a flame atronach and accidentally hitting a bear? That had to be only a beginning.

Lucy eyed at the steps again. The twilight had already fallen, and it didn't seem like he was coming back. Her chest tightened, a different kind of fear suddenly churning inside of her. Erza probably wouldn't care less if he left. Maybe she'd be glad, but Lucy didn't want him to leave. He had promised to take her to the College of Winterhold, and he couldn't just break that promise. She picked another flower and decided to go after the mage, even though her feet ached terribly from the long day's walk.

The steps led her deep into the snowy forest, over the ancient roots and stones, the trail eventually faded the further away she strayed. Only a small path was paved on the ground, and Lucy followed it, unsure if he had even walked on it. She didn't dare to call for him, for the beasts and bandits would hear it too, but the fear within her kept growing with each step that did not lead her to him.

Eventually, when Lucy was sure she had lost him and herself in the woods, she saw a light among the trees. Smoke rose towards the starlit sky, and someone sat in front of the campfire, back turned towards Lucy as she arrived. She halted for a brief moment, afraid she had found a hunter or an outlaw, but then she recognized the familiar robes in the darkness. It was Natsu.

Lucy walked to him and stopped by the fire. "Hey! Why are you here alone?" she asked.

She flinched as the mage raised his head to meet her gaze. Trails of tears had washed the blood and dirt from his face. His large, emerald eyes were reddened, and he bit on his lip to stop them from quivering. Natsu sighed and hung his head down again, staring into the bright dancing flames.

He looked so broken.

Sudden guilt struck Lucy's heart. There was no way he had meant to hit a bear, or cause it to attack them. Erza had been way too harsh on him, but what had Lucy done? Nothing. She'd just watched how the warrior smacked him, and didn't even ask if he was okay. No wonder he had left them.

"Are you… are you alright?" Lucy asked, her voice warm and considerate.

The mage sniffled, wiped his eyes, and didn't say anything.

Lucy sat next to him. She left the mountain flowers on the ground beside her feet to warm her freezing fingers in the campfire's warmth. Her gaze lingered on his face as he stared into the flames. The lights fluttered on his closed eyes, on the bloody bruises on his both cheeks. They had to hurt. But when he turned his head to hide his tears, Lucy looked away.

"I'm not angry at you, if that's what you fear," she said, not knowing what else to say. "But why are you here alone?"

Natsu fell silent for a moment, and his silence fed the distress in Lucy's heart. "This is my camp," he finally said with a sigh.

"Your camp?" Lucy wondered and looked around, the anguish within her growing. A small fire wasn't enough to make a camp. The trees surrounded the area but gave no protection against the wind. "You'll freeze without proper shelter."

Natsu scoffed. "And I'll be strangled in my sleep in your proper shelter."

Lucy gave an inward smile. Now she understood what it was about. There wasn't a grudge between her and the mage, but between him and the warrior. He had mentioned it briefly, but left the whole story untold. His side of it could be a lot different from Erza's.

"Erza isn't angry at you either. She just… got scared. Bears are fearsome creatures, even for experienced warriors.

"She isn't scared of anything except running out of boys to kill with her bare hands."

"Hey, she's not going to strangle you," Lucy told again and sighed. "Come with me. Just… Just stop playing with those flames when we are around her, alright?"

Natsu glanced at her, the tears in his eyes dried up. There was reluctance in him, and he didn't seem to be able to put it into words. He noticed the mountain flowers she had placed beside her, his brow furrowing as he fell into his thoughts, but then he looked back to the fire.

"Isn't it strange how fire, that gives life, takes it as well?" he muttered, bringing his hands closer to the flame. He snapped his fingers, cast a spark to the fire, and it roared skywards. Lucy flinched as the heat hit her skin. "Without fire, there would be no life. But as we've just seen, fire can also end it. There's beauty in the disparity, isn't there?" He chuckled dryly. "Were you wondering why I burnt Igneel's body?"

Natsu had changed the subject so abruptly that Lucy didn't know how to answer, but the reasons for his gloom lay behind this instead of what happened with Erza and the bear. She had seen how he had returned the severed head back to the body, seen the pyre rising to the sky, but she had been too distressed to think why he'd done so. Lucy nodded softly, letting him continue.

"When a Dunmer dies, his body is given to fire, so that he might return to the ash from whence he came. They believe that death is not the ending, but a beginning," Natsu said and sighed. "Damn it, I wish I had listened better when he talked about it, but I never did. I never thought that he'd… die before me."

As his voice died, a sharp pain pierced Lucy's heart. If she could remember correctly, the fire mage had been going to the block before his friend, but something made them execute the Dunmer first. Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes as she thought about how he must've felt to watch that. Damn it, she had seen it too. There had been so much blood. At least for her, there had been the solace of unconsciousness when her parents had died. First, they'd been alive, and in the blink of an eye, they weren't.

Natsu pressed his face into his hands and sighed. "Gods be damned, I fucking miss him," he muttered, voice cracking again. "Sorry, I…"

Lucy gave him a soft, sad smile. "I miss my parents, too," she whispered. "But life has to carry on. Death is not the ending, but a beginning, as you said. For those who were left behind, as well."

"I know, I know, life must go on, but I just…" he stuttered, laying his hands back on his lap. There was hesitance in his words, as if he didn't quite want to speak to her, but didn't have anyone else to talk with either. They were strangers to each other who just shared the same wound. "It's so hard to see anything right now. It's all just so… dark. I don't know what to do now that he's not here, where to go, or…"

Somehow, Lucy sensed that he left something unsaid. She looked at him in silence, wondered for a while if he'd continue, but he didn't. He doesn't know what to do now? Lucy's heart sunk to the bottom of her body, growing cold as ice.

"What… What do you mean?" she asked silently. "We are supposed to go to the College together, right? Don't you… Don't you want to go back there?"

Natsu shook his head. "I've gotta go back. I must report Igneel's death to the Arch-Mage, but it feels so wrong to return home alone."

"You wouldn't be alone," Lucy said. "I'm here."

A brief, sad smile flickered on his lips, then it was gone. "Lucy, I… I really don't know if I'm good company for you," he said, turning his eyes to her, and Lucy couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks. The mage flinched at the sight. "I don't mean to make you cry, but just look what happened today. That damn bear could have killed us all. I might've helped you in the beginning, but now you're better off with Erza. I'll go to Winterhold on my own, tell them that Igneel's dead, then –"

"Please, don't."

Lucy stared at him, a fierce fire burning in her gaze. Her chin quivered, all hope within her suddenly extinguished, and the mage saw that. A hint of regret flashed on his face, forcing him to look away.

"I don't care about what happened earlier. You saved me, Natsu. I wouldn't be here without you, so don't you even think you aren't good company for me," she spoke through the tears. "Even if I made it to the College with Erza, they wouldn't let me in. She can't teach me magic. Only you can."

Nervously, Natsu rubbed his neck. "And as I said, I'm not good at teaching."

"You could try. We haven't even started yet," Lucy answered. "Please, just come back to the camp. The night will be cold."

"I know."

As he kept nonchalantly staring into the flames, Lucy placed her hand on his, curling her fingers tight. Natsu turned to her, surprised by the touch, the seriousness in her being something he hadn't expected – as if he had learned long ago that nothing mattered, and no one cared.

"I don't want you to die here, too," she pleaded. "Come back."

As he looked into her eyes, she saw something in him changing. The grief was still there, so were the doubts, but he didn't have the heart to leave her now. He grew difficult as her hand stayed on his, and so she pulled it back, the warmth still lingering on her skin. Natsu sighed, his shoulders slouched, as if defeated by her will.

"Well, I and Igneel were called Brothers of Disaster, so I guess you'll know why soon enough," Natsu chuckled dryly. "I don't promise anything, but I can try teaching you some basics of spellcasting. However, if the Companion starts getting on my nerves, we'll throw her off the mountain. Does that sound good?"

Lucy smirked, relieved that he'd changed his mind, but nervous about the tension between him and Erza. He'd meant it as a joke, yet there seemed to be a bit of truth in it.

"Not until I've learned some archery first," Lucy answered.

"Then it's a deal," he said with a quick grin, then he got serious again. "And… sorry, for all of this. I guess melancholy is an easy trap to fall into, in times like these."

Lucy glanced into the fire. While they'd talked, it had started to die, and the woods surrounding them had darkened completely. "Yeah. I know."

They sat there in silence until the fire went out, Lucy's hands numb from the cold. Then, the mage rose up, and cast a gleaming ball of light to hover above him.

"Well, shall we head back?"


By the time they made it back to the camp, Natsu was on the verge of fainting. He barely felt his legs, numbed by the cold. Lucy followed behind him, panting from exhaustion. They had, unfortunately, got lost in the woods as they strayed from the right path. After circling around the same trees and rocks for a frustrating while they eventually glimpsed a firelight from the distance, and finally found back to Erza.

The Companion had caught a rabbit while they were away. She gave them a questioning gaze when they arrived, but didn't say anything as she continued skinning the rabbit. That was good. Lucy was nice for a Nord, surprisingly pleasant even, but Erza was a beast he'd rather not talk with – or even be in the presence of – in this state, vulnerable like creaked glass.

Hesitantly, Natsu glanced at the camp they had made. He knew he'd have a better chance for survival if he stayed with Lucy and Erza, but there was still this uncertainty within him, swirling like a portal to Oblivion where all the demons swarmed out. He wasn't used to being in the company of women – especially Nord women – so he didn't look forward to the upcoming journey. Especially now, when he just wanted to be alone and weep.

But maybe, maybe there'd be some light to be found. He'd seen it already, a spark dancing in Lucy's eyes when she talked about magic. And when he had told her he'd leave, he'd seen the light die.

And he did not want to kill it.

They sat in front of the fire and let their breaths steady a bit. Still silent, Erza offered them a waterskin with fresh mountain water, and they both took a long drink. The skies were bright with stars, the light of two moons landing softly on the ground. And under that light, Lucy picked the spellbook from her knapsack, and began to read. Her tireless enthusiasm confused him, though it reminded him of the times when he had first started learning magic as a child. He, too, had stayed up all night practising firebolts and giving grey hairs to his mother.

"So these are the instructions for summoning familiars?" Lucy asked after browsing through the first pages. "I don't understand anything it says though..."

Natsu took the book from her and closed it, placing it on the ground. There was something that the spelltomes couldn't teach, what was the foundation of all spellcasting: recognising the magic. He didn't quite know how to explain it so someone who had never cast a single spell, but he knew for certain that the tome wouldn't help her much.

"Before you try summoning any creatures, or well, doing any spells, you have to recognise the magicka in you. In other words, you have to feel the energy, and take control of it," Natsu explained. "First, close your eyes and try to feel it. It flows through you, it's in your blood, it's all around you. Focus on it."

Lucy did as he told. She crossed her legs, laid her hands on her knees, and let her eyes slip closed. Calmly, she breathed in, and concentrated hard. Suddenly, Natsu could feel the magicka around her resonating to her recognition. Natsu had been using magic for years now, so he couldn't even pay attention to the surrounding energy threads on regular basis, in everyday situations. But now, they truly changed.

"I think I feel it," Lucy said suddenly, her eyes wide open. "The magic."

Natsu nodded. "Then gather the magicka to your fingertips. Imagine a little candleflame, and manifest it. Transfer the energy to your vision. Flame is the easiest form for magic to alter into, so you should be able to do it."

Lucy closed her eyes again and concentrated for a while. The forest was eerily silent. Only the fire crackled in front of them, and soft night wind swayed the trees. For a moment, the world seemed to be at peace, with no dragons, no death, no screams. They were still echoing in Natsu's head, no matter how he tried to forget them.

For Lucy's first attempt to summon a spell, she was doing good. Magicka condensed on her palm just as it was meant to be, as if she had practised for a longer time. She'd mentioned that her grandmother or so had been a skilled conjurer, so the talent must run in her blood. Natsu's big brother, ten years older than him, had also been a prodigy. Natsu had grown in his shadow, never been as good as him, but gladly he had outgrown that bitterness by now.

Then, the energy on Lucy's hand began to simmer. Natsu's gaze found the spark that left her fingertip, then a little flame ignited into the darkness. Lucy gasped in surprise, but the excitement killed her focus, and the flame disappeared.

"I did it!" she exclaimed. "I cast a tiny flame!"

Natsu smiled. "Then try making it bigger," he said, spread his palm and set a ball of swirling energy on fire. The fireball reflected from Lucy's eyes. "Like this."

Suddenly, they both felt an intimidating stare landing on them. Erza glared at the fireball, then at Natsu, then at the fire again. Natsu resisted the urge to throw the spell at the warrior's face, and let the spell expire. Disappointed, Lucy sighed as the smoke rose towards the night sky. Natsu gave the spellbook back to her.

"Aren't you two thinking about it?" the warrior asked, still staring at them both.

"Thinking about what?" Lucy answered.

"The dragons," Erza said as she pierced the skinned rabbit with a stick and put it to cook on the campfire. "Those things were dead and gone for centuries. Where did that one suddenly come from?"

As Natsu's thoughts drifted from fire to dragonfire, he realised he hadn't thought too much about the dragon. Igneel's death had seized his mind, making him unable to think about anything else. The dragon's sudden appearance from its centuries-long slumber had saved his life, but what it could mean, he didn't know.

Thousands of years ago, there had been dragons in Tamriel. Natsu's older brother had told him about that, telling him stories of those ancient beasts before putting him to sleep. Now the legends had come to life, in this turning of an age.

"Their return has been foretold," Erza continued as both of them remained silent. "The oldest scrolls tell that one day, the dragons will come back, and then the end times begin. Alduin, the World-Eater returns, and swallows the whole world, and only one could stop that." Erza paused for a breath. "A Dragonborn."

"Dragonborn?" Lucy wondered, glancing at the warrior. "Like from the children's storybooks? Dragonslaying warriors from the old Nord legends? Like Talos?"

Natsu could barely understand what they were talking about. For the last years, he'd mostly heard Igneel talk about Azura, the Daedric Prince of dusk and dawn, an ancestor to all Dunmer, or so they believed. As Natsu held no faith in anything himself, and was perfectly ignorant of the Nordic pantheon, he fell from the conversation.

The warrior nodded. "In the old tales, only a Dragonborn could slay a dragon permanently. Some legends have foretold that when the dragons return, the Last Dragonborn would also appear. But the last ones of the dragonblood have died two thousand years ago, and so their line has ended. I'm afraid we don't have much hope left, but we've got to fight to the bitter end, in this war that has barely begun."

"No offence, Erza, but why's a Companion investigating a dragon attack anyway?" Natsu asked abruptly. "Don't you just beat people up and do animal exterminations?"

"Doesn't a dragon hunt count as animal extermination to you?" Erza answered with half of a grin. "Well, the court wizard in Whiterun has been researching into dragons for years now. I've been helping him from time to time, retrieving some artefacts from barrows, locating burial sites of the dragons, that kind of thing. And now, when the news of the first dragon attack in centuries arrived Whiterun, he sent me to investigate. That's why I'm here."

"Does it pay better than beating me up did?"

Erza smirked. "Multiple times better."

Silence fell around the fire. Erza turned the cooking rabbit around, the pink flesh slowly turning into copper brown. Lucy browsed the pages of the spelltome, curious eyes wandering across the blocks of text and ink-drawn illustrations. Casting a tiny flame was simple compared to summoning familiars. Lucy was determined to be able to do it by the time they'd reach the College, but Natsu doubted she could, even with relentless training. One could always dry. Determination was a feature Natsu admired in people.

"But if a part of the prophecy has already been fulfilled, the other half is bound to be true, too. Maybe the Last Dragonborn will appear, after all," Lucy broke the silence. Her finger marked the spot she'd paused reading at, then she turned towards Natsu with a strange smirk. "What if you are the Last Dragonborn, Natsu? It was your head on the block when the dragon appeared. I think it's fitting."

Natsu burst into a laugh. "Me? No way. The world would be as good as doomed already."

"I agree," Erza chuckled. "Anyway, the rabbit's soon cooked. Are you hungry?"

Natsu shook his head. He had last eaten yesterday evening, and though he was getting hungry, resentment filled him as he thought about sharing a meal with Erza. He didn't like to receive food from strangers, especially from those who had beaten him in the past. At least Lucy didn't have the same issue, so she nodded faintly, then continued reading.

After a while, when the rabbit had cooked, Erza tore it into pieces and offered half of it to Lucy. While the Companion swallowed the meat in three or four mouthfuls, Lucy only nibbled it, chewing every bit for a long time.

"I'm going to sleep now," Erza said after finishing her meal. "If you two want to stay up, please, do not set anything on fire or summon a horde of Daedra here."

Lucy nodded as an answer and the warrior crawled into the tent without taking off her armour. How could anyone sleep all clad in steel plates? Perhaps it was a sign of mistrust. The thought of going to sleep in the same tent with Erza fucking Scarlet made him anxious already, but he knew he had no other choice if he didn't want to freeze to death.

"Igneel used to conjure a tent, did you know that?" Natsu said suddenly. Lucy shook her head – of course she didn't know, but he just wanted to talk to her about something insignificant. "Somehow, he managed to store a fur tent in Oblivion. Whenever we needed shelter, he just summoned the tent, and we were all good. No need to carry heavy equipment all around Skyrim. Though, we had our bags full of mead bottles instead."

Lucy chuckled softly, then her smile became wistful. "That must have been fun," she said. "Adventuring through the world with a good friend by your side."

"It was," Natsu answered. But sad it had to end this way, he thought. "I wonder what happened to the tent now. Do the Daedra use it now?"

"Can't you ask one of your atronachs?"

"They don't speak, unfortunately," Natsu chuckled, letting out a sigh. "Maybe it would be best to head to sleep soon. Aren't you tired?"

Lucy turned another page. "Go ahead. I'll stay up for a while and test some things out," she said, turning her eyes to him, "if that's okay."

Natsu nodded, despite the thought of going to sleep with Erza before Lucy joined them scared him a little. However, the exhaustion had begun to take its toll on him. His eyes slipped closed on their own, his speech was growing slurred. If he'd stay up for a moment more, he'd fall asleep right there, and Lucy would have to drag him into the tent.

"Yeah, it's okay," Natsu answered, and crouched by the tent's flap door. "Goodnight, Lucy. Put the fire out when you're done."

Then he crawled in. The warrior slept on the other side of the tent, suddenly not looking so fierce and frightening, but Natsu still wondered if the innocent appearance was merely a deception. Would she strangle him the moment he'd close his eyes, or should he strangle her first? Natsu shook the thought off his head. Killing a sleeping person would be cowardly of him, and her as well.

Natsu spread his own bedroll as far away from Erza as he could, to the very end of the tent. Before he crawled into the warmth of the furs, he unsheathed the orcish dagger from his belt and grasped it tight around the handle. Then he lay down, the security of holding the blade finally letting him fall asleep.

In the middle of the night, something soft and small jumped in his chest. Nearly stabbing the thing, Natsu awakened with a startle but calmed down when he realised that it wasn't Erza's strangling hand, but a ghostly pup of a wolf, shining gentle blue light. It licked his wounded cheeks and barked quietly like a dog.

Lucy smiled at the tent's door. "I did it!" she whispered joyfully. "I conjured a wolf! I know it's small, but it's still a wolf!"

Natsu smiled. The familiar expired as he rubbed it behind its ears. Even if it had been just a pup and existed for a very short while, she had still managed to cast the spell. He didn't know if anyone, even his brother, had been as gifted as her.