XXIII

It'd been one hell of a journey, both physically and emotionally, getting to the top of that damn mountain. Natsu was out of breath and close to collapsing by the time he got to the top, and Igneel had such a stitch in his side from laughing at his son that he thought he might have perhaps ruptured something. …Not that he could, in his state within Natsu… but still.

The cult and its leader were gone by now, along with the Moon Drip ritual. It was clear and crisp and the only sign of life atop the mountain was Gray, collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Natsu muttered angrily to himself about always having to save Gray's sorry ass as he heaved him up onto his shoulders… or on top of the ice ball still covering his shoulders. Igneel was proud, in a way, that Natsu still helped his fallen comrade, even after he'd made his life significantly more difficult by throwing him down the mountain. Igneel snorted before taking a deep breath of composure. He would not start down that track again because it only led to more laughter and right now, Natsu was faced with quite the dilemma.

Lucy and Happy were nowhere to be seen, although Igneel assumed with Lucy's quick wit they were probably already back at the village. Gray was stirring now, mumbling incoherently to himself and only getting heavier by the second. Natsu scanned the treetops for some sense of direction and found a few little puffs of smoke to the east. Undoubtedly that was the village, and Igneel was grateful when Natsu made the same connection.

Natsu adjusted Gray on his back and began what would be a lengthy journey to the village. Although, his son knew not of the word 'quit' and Igneel found his fighting spirit only burning brighter with the challenge.

Somewhere along their trek Gray awoke more fully, and Igneel heard words muttered to Natsu that he had most certainly not seen coming. Gray apologized. He apologized for trying to stop Natsu from going on the S-Class mission and he apologized for being so harsh about it. Igneel's eyes narrowed and he wondered exactly where that very out-of-character admission had come from. Then again, it was also very out-of-character when Gray broke down so easily in front of Deliora. There was a past there, somewhere, in between him and Deliora and the one he called Lyon. Igneel was uncertain if he should be curious or worried, seeing that one of Natsu's closest comrades had connections to a Zeref Demon.

However, no such thoughts fired in Natsu's head. He did not question any connection or how odd it was that Gray had apologized. Instead, irritation prickled at his skin and he cut Gray off before he could finish. He told him not to apologize, that they were both Fairy Tail members and Fairy Tail members knew nothing of the word 'stop'. Whether in relation to persevering in their current situation, or the fact that he'd defied Gray and gone on the mission anyway. Igneel was uncertain if this would provide any comfort to Gray in his current state, however he was quiet for the remainder of their journey and so Igneel assumed it somehow, had.

It'd all actually turned out much better than he had expected. Natsu and his bonehead move of yelling out their presence had backfired at first, sending him down a hill, encased in ice, but eventually he'd found his way back and none of his teammates had died in the process. Igneel considered that a win, at this point. Natsu sniffed the air as they neared the village and indeed, both Happy and Lucy were inside. Good, they'd have time to regroup and actually decide a course of action-

Igneel followed Natsu's gaze to the ground in front of the village gate. It was abnormal and lumpy and clearly a poorly-concealed trap aimed to stop anyone from coming inside. He wondered who had set it… maybe a villager in attempt of protecting themselves or… Igneel spotted a little speck of yellow and saw Lucy peering out…

Maybe she was fairly quick witted but she was not meant for making traps.

Well, at least she'd… tried. Although it wouldn't fool anyone. Igneel blinked. Wait… Natsu was huffing and puffing and bumbling his way toward the village and toward… no… he'd surely turn and go around it… It was so obvious, after all.

'Natsu...' Igneel thought, as if trying to get his attention even though he knew it would be impossible. 'Natsu. Natsu's there's a trap.' Surely he saw it… surely he- THWUMP!

Igneel closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. He'd quite possibly raised the most idiotic idiot in the history of idiocy. He'd sworn Natsu had even acknowledged the trap and yet he'd still fallen into it. What kind of-

'Ooh hey the ice broke!' Natsu's thought broke Igneel of his own and indeed, his fall had broken the ice ball he was still trapped in. What were the chances that his stupid move had actually benefitted him in the end?

Igneel decided in that moment that his son's most redeemable quality was his dumb luck.

Natsu's unfailing ability to make bad decisions and have them turn out okay is always my favorite part of his personality.
Because hey, luck is an aspect of skill, right? XD
I haven't written on this for a while but hopefully more methodic updates are in the future.
Thank you so so so, much for the continued support and reviews! I seriously love hearing what you think of this and what your own headcanons are! :D

~Foxtail-chan