Laxus Dreyar shuffled through the streets of Magnolia. He was a bit intoxicated, but it was all Mira's fault! No matter how many times he asked, she kept turning him down. So, naturally, he chose to drown his sorrows.

'How can she resist the most powerful mage in the world?!' he thought. People may have said his grandfather was the best, but he just needed a chance to prove himself. Then they'd see!

Eventually, the man stumbled his way back to his grandfather's shop; it was getting late, but the old man always expected him to check in. 'If that brat knows what's good for her, she should've told Gramps that I went out after getting back from the woods.'

Laxus moved to open the door and was greeted by a harsh smack on the back of his head!

"Geez, Gramps, what was that for?!"

The small man looked up at his grandson, waving a paper fan in his hand. Laxus blinked. 'Is that what he hit me with? Didn't feel like it!'

"And just where have you been?! How dare you allow a young girl to wander in the dead of night! And where is Levy?!"

"Huh? You mean she didn't come back?"

The old man was shocked by the comment. Then the pure fury became evident on his face. "You were supposed to be watching her. How is it, then, that you don't know where she is?" he growled.

Laxus kept his face indifferent as he shrugged. "She went off on her own."

Makarov hit Laxus with the fan again! "AND YOU LET HER?!"

The old man sat on the counter as Laxus continued to piss and moan about "old men," a "blue-haired brat," and "damn fans." He sighed as he tried to compose himself. Levy was gone for too long, causing him to believe something had happened to the girl.

'Levy can take care of herself. I need to trust her abilities.'

He decided to have faith in his apprentice, but it didn't hurt to pray for her safe return. "Please. Be safe, my child."

There was nothing but darkness. Levy felt nothing; there was no pain from her fall or from nearly drowning.

'Am I dead?' she wondered to herself.

At that moment, she had considered the possibility, but a faint sound disproved her theory. It was the crackling of a burning fire.

'Fire? I was being washed down a river! How can there be a—'

Memories immediately began to flood back; Levy recalled someone pulling her out of the river. She never got a clear view of her rescuer's face: only a shadow. Just who was it that saved her?

Though unconscious, Levy's curiosity was getting the best of her. Despite the fact that her body needed rest, she did her best to force her eyelids to open. Her vision was blurry at first; she could only make out the shadows and light from the fire. When it came into focus, she was able to take in her surroundings.

As far as she could tell, she was nowhere near the river. Instead, she was lying in the mouth of a cavern. Levy felt the ground beneath her and discovered a bed of dried grass. Whoever saved her must have made the bed as well as the fire. The flames were burning strong, meaning that someone had to be nearby; if she had been abandoned, wouldn't the fire have died down at some point?

Levy found her bag next to her makeshift bed. She grabbed it and opened the flap; thankfully, the herbs were still there. Yet oddly enough, she also spotted the flower she had tried to pick! Were these the same herbs she had collected, or did someone recollect them for her? This mystery was getting more and more complicated. 'First things first, I need to find out where I am.'

Summoning the strength to stand, Levy ventured outside the cavern. She was still somewhere in the forest, though she wasn't familiar with this area. The sky was dark, meaning that she must have been out for a few hours at least. 'I'd give anything for a clock right now. Just how late is it? Master's probably losing his mind with worry.'

The task she had been assigned was not supposed to be difficult. Yes, he had assigned Laxus to be her escort, but that was just a precaution against bandits or beasts. Levy imagined the look on Master Makarov's face when he'd discover that Laxus had left her at the very start.

'It'd be like a scene from a nightmare…'

Levy cringed at the thought. Yet part of her felt that Laxus somewhat deserved a good scolding.

The young mage took another look at the night sky. 'There's no way I can make it back tonight; traveling in the dark alone would be too risky. Besides, a shelter has already been prepared, so I can show my gratitude by putting it to use. Someone worked hard to set this up for me, so it'd be a shame to simply abandon it.'

Levy made her way back into the cavern; she was already beginning to miss the warmth of the fire. Taking a seat on the grass bed, Levy held her hands out to the source of heat. Thankfully, the season wasn't too cold, so there was hope she wouldn't get sick, even after resting in damp clothes. Still, a blanket would have been nice.

The cool night breeze began to blow into the cavern, causing the girl to shiver a bit. Perhaps she could explore deeper in the cave? At the very least, she could avoid the wind. But she would abandon the fire…

'Just a peek. If it's not much better, I'll come back.'

Levy grabbed one of the branches from the fire to serve as a torch then slowly walked forward. She held the torch up and turned back and forth, observing every nook and cranny. It really was fascinating; she had never been inside an underground tunnel or cave. Naturally, her brain was taking everything in. Oddly enough, she was finding the rock formations to be…

'Incredible.'

As she continued to dance around the rocks, she began to walk backwards. Her mouth was slightly agape as she looked around her. She pressed on until her back collided with something solid!

'I guess I reached the end of the cavern.'

But something was off; whatever was behind her did not feel like rock. Cavern walls were normally rough and jagged, but this felt… smooth.

Levy moved off the object and whirled around; she could not believe her eyes! The torch revealed something large and silver. On closer inspection, the thing was made up of silver plates, almost like scales. As she moved the torch along the object, gathering its immense size, her eyes caught how the scales seemed to rise and fall. Whatever she was looking at, it was breathing!

Now, most people would have the sense to escape as soon as they discovered a giant beast, but Levy wasn't like most people. Her curiosity and sense of discovery outweighed normal human logic. Instead of darting out of the cave for safety, she simply continued her investigation.

The light revealed that the creature wasn't blocking the entire tunnel; there was a small opening on one side. Did she dare to climb on this thing? At that moment, she dared.

She placed a hand on the thing's body and raised her knee to begin her climb. But as her knee made contact with the cool scales, the body began to shift! Levy jumped back as a head of the beast appeared from the other side; mesmerizing ruby eyes stared back at her.

The mage froze as the beast continued to watch her. Neither being moved an inch. Now that the creature had turned around to face her, Levy caught sight of a long tail as well as four legs with claws. On the beast's sides, she swore she saw what appeared to be folded wings. She couldn't help but gasp; she was inside a dragon's den!

The entire scenario was unbelievable! She had only read of dragons in books; most people believed them to be creatures of myth. Yet here was one, right before her very eyes.

Levy didn't flinch as the dragon's head moved in closer. It reminded her of how Laxus used intimidation to get his way; due to experience, the girl wasn't swayed in the slightest. Instead, she offered an apologetic smile.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Did I wake you?"

The dragon seemed startled by her comment. Levy supposed the creature would expect the fight or flight instinct to kick in, so striking conversation was not the response it had anticipated.

"I didn't mean to impose," she continued. "You see, someone left me here while I was unconscious."

The dragon stared at her for a second, but then the head turned away, now ignoring her presence. Levy moved in closer.

"You know, I never thought I would actually meet a dragon! And I must say, you're more incredible than I could have ever imagined!"

The beast began to fidget, then tucked it's head further away from the girl, but she persisted by leaning against his neck.

"I was hoping you'd be so kind as to let me stay? I'll leave for my village in the morning, I promise."

The dragon's ruby eye looked back at her, then looked away. But it made no move to attack or chase her away. 'Is it possible that it understands me?'

Levy took the act of indifference as permission. She remembered the fire she had left behind, but with that breeze, there was a good chance the flame would be out soon. But with the walls shielding her from the outside as well as the warm presence, she opted to rest right where she was at.

Suddenly, Levy remembered her bag. How could she forget about her magic?! She scurried back to the entrance to retrieve it then returned in a flash. The dragon was exactly the way she left it: resting with its back turned to her.

She pulled out a pen from her bag; this pen was actually a magical item that assisted with her specific type of magic. Levy had the power to write a word, and that word would materialize into its meaning. With her item, she wrote the word "BLANKET," and the letters pressed together to form a rectangle. With a puff, the lines of the letters disappeared, leaving a simple gray blanket.

Levy got settled against the dragon's side, wrapping the blanket around her. She slept sitting up, but her back was pressed against the warm dragon. The beast flinched, and its head whirled around to glare at her. But the girl was already dead to the world. With a huff, the dragon's head returned to its original position, trying to ignore the tiny human snuggling against it.