Hey guys, Kytrin again! Lol I swear, at this rate when Mslead returns she'll have to put she's back in bold since you guys will be so used to me! No particular announcements currently, so you guys enjoy the chapter! :)

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CHAPTER 22

Dryad

A dryad (/ˈdraɪ.æd/; Greek: Δρυάδες, sing.: Δρυάς) is a tree nymph, or tree spirit, in Greek mythology. In Greek drys signifies "oak." Thus, dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general.


Natsu yawned and stretched out, lifting his arms over his head. He was tired after a long day of motion sickness. His stomach churned and fluttered with odd thoughts still, but it wasn't a lingering effect of the boat ride to Tenrou Island.

He bit his bottom lip, his mind turning over the kiss he shared with his mistress over and over and over again.

He thought about it from every angle, remembering the soft press of her guiding lips against his. How she pulled and pushed until they ebbed together like waves lapping at the shore. Natsu could still feel the heat it sparked simmering happily away in his veins, like a creature that had been woken up and could no longer go back to sleep.

But Lucy didn't seem to react to it at all, so he kept his mouth shut. Even when Gajeel returned to them later on when night had fallen. It seemed his discussion with Metallicana had run late.

He joined them around a crackling firepit Natsu was tending to, poking at it to keep it burning happily.

Levy for her part looked extremely deep in thought, a frown on her face.

"Everything go well?" Lucy asked Gajeel when he rejoined them.

Gajeel nodded, "Igneel is currently nesting in the mountains of Old Fort, past Magnolia on the western side of Fiore."

"Old Fort is so far away!" Lucy gasped in shock, "It'll take us ages to get there!"

"Three months on foot," Gajeel shrugged, "We'll figure out a faster way when we get to that point."

"Until then-" Gajeel found himself being suddenly cut off when Levy looked up.

"Mountains," She said, her brows knitting together as she looked at Gajeel, "You always said Metallicana found you in the mountains."

Gajeel froze at Levy's words and he blinked dumbly at her, "Errrrr..."

Levy's frown turned into a glare that had one of their dragon hosts coughing and wheezing as he tried to smother his laughter.

"Shut it!" Gajeel snapped at the dragon, "It ain't funny!"

"Actually, it kind of is." Rogue contradicted with an amused smirk.

"Gajeel..." Levy warned with a decent imitation of a growl, her expression fierce, "What. Is. Going. On. Here?"

Gajeel grimaced and sighed, "Damn shrimp." He muttered, "Too smart for my own good."

He waved off the furious shouting she was surely about to unleash on him and met her gaze unflinchingly, "I want your word this don't leave the nest." He growled fiercely, "Not until I say the word. Not to anyone. Not even the rest of the guild. You all promise that here and now or you won't get an answer out of me."

Levy's eyes widened a bit at the ferocious statement, and she nodded a little numbly. She'd never seen Gajeel so serious about anything before, and he wasn't exactly free with most things.

Beside her Lucy nodded as well, "You have my word Gajeel."

Whatever this was it was clearly very serious for the dragonslayer, and she wouldn't break whatever fragile trust was between them by saying anything out of turn. It wasn't like she was a stranger to keeping secrets after all.

Gajeel growled a little and settled down, the dragons shifting around him in clear support, "There's no such thing as dragonslayers." He told them, "Humans can't learn dragon magic. Dragonslaying is a term we created centuries back to explain what we were."

Levy stared at him uncomprehending of what he was saying. She shifted her weight and peered at him, "What exactly are you then?"

"Half dragon?" Natsu asked, cocking his head to Gajeel. He didn't seem particularly interested with the topic's thread as he bent around to see several dragons walking by with a tray of meat. He whined as he watched it go, but surprisingly didn't pounce for it, "That's why you smell so weird."

"You ain't exactly a flower yourself," Gajeel growled back at Natsu, a little annoyed with the demon for being so casual about it. Not that he would actually understand anything about dragons.

"After Igneel withdrew, dragons cut off relationships with humans. It wasn't looked upon kindly, and the dragons had recently had a civil war of their own about living with the humans in peace," Gajeel frowned, "Igneel didn't want the destruction of the humans and won the war, but his love for humans ends there."

"But my father fell in love with a mortal woman, so to prevent putting Igneel in a tough situation, he kept the relationship a secret and left the nest to start one of his own. He's a drake in his own right, so it wasn't a problem for him to lead," Gajeel murmured, "To protect me from other dragons who may have had a grudge against my father for his relationship with my mother, Metallicana told everyone I was adopted."

"And it's been your story ever since?" Levy asked quietly. Her eyes were filled with sadness over having to keep something like that a secret.

Gajeel just shrugged.

"I know the truth, that's enough for me," He murmured.

Levy shook her head, and reached out to grasp his hand, "I'm sorry." She murmured, feeling guilty about having cornered him like that, "I just… When your story didn't add up…"

Gajeel snorted at her, "Don't start bawwin' shrimp." He grunted, "I just wasn't expectin' it is all." He shrugged, "As long as you don't go spreading it around it's fine."

"Would it really be that much of a problem?" Lucy asked, "I mean, I know dragons don't generally like humans, and they've refused to get involved in this war so far, but…"

Gajeel scowled, "It would." He growled, "Igneel's got a lot of reasons to hate humans. Especially after fightin' so hard to live in peace with them. Safer to call me a dragonslayer and not invite trouble. Would ya quit whinin' at the meat Salamander?!" He snapped at the demon, "You'll get it soon enough!"

"What he said!" Lucy huffed, "They're going out of their way to be nice to us and help us out when they could just kick us off the island and back onto the boat! We could show some manners and gratitude for it."

"But Luuuuucy!" Natsu whined, "I'm hungry!"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Is there a time when you're not hungry Natsu?"

Natsu grumbled, but settled down to pout at the earth. He sprawled sideways against Lucy, but gave Gajeel a beady glare.

"Now whatcha lookin' at?" Gajeel grunted at Natsu, his eyes narrowing on the sullen demon.

His eyes glowed in the firelight, but watched Gajeel with a closed off expression he was beginning to suspect had nothing to do with him being denied food.

"What?" Gajeel demanded, a touch of impatience coloring his voice.

"You called me Salamander," Natsu said, his eyebrows slanting down. His mouth pinched together and even the tips of his tapered ears wiggled in thought.

"My name is Natsu now, not a weird lizard," He growled in confusion.

"You making fun of me metal mouth?" Natsu's shoulders hunched aggressively.

"Not like that would be hard to do," Gajeel snorted. He tossed his head and reclined down next to Levy.

"But not in this case, I just thought it fit," He continued, dragging his attention to the silent script Mage by his side.

Levy smiled back at him as Metallicana re-appeared and grabbed a slab of meat, which was apparently the signal for the other dragons to dig in as it started a general feeding frenzy.

"Here." Rogue murmured, offering Lucy a platter of various roasted vegetables and meat still soaking in the juices, "Most of us prefer roasted or raw meat only, so I'm afraid there's not much variety in our cooking."

"No, this is wonderful!" Lucy gushed, "Thank you!"

And truly it was. Whoever had done the cooking had gotten the idea of a roast beef perfect. She might not care to eat it for every meal for very long, but it was certainly the most filling thing she'd had all day since she spent most of 'breakfast' kissing Natsu.

The thought made her cheeks heat, making her thankful that it was now dark out, and it could easily be passed off as firelight. She hoped.

She tried not to think about it. The last thing she wanted was to start reliving that kiss in a room with a bunch of hypersensitive dragons. There was no telling what kind of embarrassing stuff they would pick up from her!

Unfortunately, her determination made her think about it even more.

She hadn't been as into it as she would've liked because of the circumstances, but now... oh now she was thinking about it. The way Natsu's lips had tasted, and the way his hands had gently caressed her back and sides... no. She was not going to think about this now.

Or ever.

It was wrong, and there was no getting around that. Natsu didn't even understand the concept of wants much less free will. She couldn't take advantage of him. Heck, she couldn't even be sure he was really interested.

So she shoved the thought firmly to the back of her mind and turned her attention to Rogue, "So... have you ever been off the island?"

His expression seemed to grow distant over the question and Lucy swallowed, wondering if she had stuck her foot in her mouth. However the way his mouth pulled down at the corners made her think he was sinking into his thoughts.

"Yes," he replied in a way that was far too simple for the weight behind his words.

"I've seen it all," Rogue murmured, his eyes flashing over to Metallicana.

The way his mouth closed made Lucy realize she wasn't getting any other information out of him. She supposed all dragons kept their secrets.

Metallicana caught Rogue's eye, even as Lucy frowned over what was a clear run around.

Natsu pressed his weight against her side, a distracting warmth.

"What's the matter?" He asked. In his very tactile way, he dipped his chin down against her shoulder.

Lucy felt his weight and the comforting brush of his nose against her skin. She smiled affectionately at the feel of him, allowing it to chase away the shadows cast by Rogue's cryptic response.

Lucy pressed a hand into Natsu's wild mane of hair. He made a soft noise in the back of his throat, almost feline in nature. It was like a mix between a growl and a purr.

He shifted a little, his arms dropping around either side of her. He rolled his head against the curve of her neck and she smiled.

"I suppose nothing," Lucy hummed, but turned towards Natsu, her lips skimming against his pointed ear. She breathed quietly into his ear, her doubts bubbling easily to the surface. They were coaxed out easily by him, but she had no intention of letting dragons eavesdrop.

"I think the dragons here know how bad the rest of the world is," Lucy breathed into his ear.

Natsu stiffened against her, his own breath catching at the feel of her lips against the sensitive skin of his ear.

Lucy pulled back a little and gave him an inquisitive look, silently asking if something was wrong. Natsu smiled and shook his head a little. He didn't want to worry her any more than he wanted to let her know how she'd affected him. It was a warm, shivery, sensation that had nothing to do with his fire, and it left him tingling all over.

Thankfully, Lucy accepted his response and turned back to her dinner. Though he was ridiculously pleased that she stayed cuddled up to his side. He knew it was mostly because she was a heat vampire when it wasn't super hot outside, but it still pleased him.

He was glad when dinner was over though. The dragons hadn't stinted them on food, but the conversation had been... lacking.

Except for Gajeel catching his nest up on his adventures, and the odd comment Metallicana made in an effort to include the rest of them, no one had really talked much. The dragons didn't seem interested, and after Lucy's failed attempt at starting a conversation with Rogue neither she nor Levy had seemed to care to try again. It was awkward all the way around and he didn't blame Lucy in the least for jumping all over the idea of retiring for the night.

"Thank you Rogue." Lucy told the dark dragon as he led them to their door.

He nodded curtly, and turned to go before pausing, "I have to apologize for the lack of warmth you and your friends received." He told them, "Believe me when I say that we appreciate the effort you're going through to try and end this war, but I'm afraid none of us really believe it will happen."

"We will find a way." Lucy half growled, "Even if Igneel and dragonkind refuse to help us, we will find a way."

Rogue cocked his head slightly, "Forgive me, but why do you even consider that a remote possibility? Humanity hasn't been able to stop the demons in four hundred years."

Lucy smirked back at him, "Maybe not, but it's been four hundred years and we're not dead yet. That's reason enough to fight, and reason enough to hope that a solution will be found. Even if it's not this one."

Lucy nodded at the stunned looking dragon, and turned to head inside the room they'd set aside for her and Natsu with all the superior dignity she could muster.

Once she was inside, Lucy put her hand over her chest and breathed deeply. She was hardly able to believe she had dared to talk to a dragon like that, and in truth it made her extremely nervous.

Still, her runaway mouth seemed to have come out on top this time, so she relaxed.

"I think you shocked him into the next century Lucy," Natsu purred, his eyes falling over their room.

She could see an odd glint to his eyes, almost like an appreciation to the thick tapestries and lush pillows piled in a corner of the room. There was no bed, but plenty of blankets and cushions.

She imagined for dragons, they didn't need something like beds with their hardy bodies. But it still looked very comfortable.

Natsu made to slither into the cushions, but was caught by the back of his vest by Lucy's quick hand.

"Oh no you don't! Take a bath, you're filthy!" Lucy ordered, causing a tired whine to erupt from Natsu before he reluctantly headed towards the bathing chambers joined to their room.

Unlike the demon's with their public bathing, it seemed dragons valued their privacy.

Lucy touched an expensive looking pillow.

And they clearly liked their riches.

She shook her head a little at the irony. She'd gone out of her way to eschew the trappings of wealth in most areas of her life, and here she was about to sleep on something every bit as fine and expensive as the beds she slept on as a child.

There had to be a god somewhere snickering about that.

She pulled her hand back and wandered over to one of the bookcases on a far wall, pleased that it was there and gave her something to do while she waited on Natsu. She wasn't exactly smelling pretty either after a hard day of rowing in the hot sun. It was a miracle the dragons hadn't started pointedly standing downwind now that she thought about it.

Maybe things smelled differently to them?

She wasn't sure, but overall she didn't really care. What mattered was that now that she was thinking about it she was starting to itch really badly for a bath. Just what was taking Natsu so long anyway?

She pouted a little and told herself to be reasonable. It hadn't been that long. He was probably only halfway through his bath at best.

At least the books were interesting. They weren't any definitive dragon histories or anything like that, but she could tell many of them were old and some were relatively rare. Of course, it wasn't likely they would put the really good stuff in a guest room, but there were definitely a few in here she would like to read if she got the chance.

Too bad it wasn't likely she would.

She ran her finger down the spines, tempted to take one down to investigate it's pages.

It didn't take long for her to succumb to the impulse. She grabbed an interesting one written in a print she could understand and sat down.

There Natsu found her when he emerged from his bath. Her shoulders hunched over and a book laying open on her thighs.

"Find something-..." Natsu looked thoughtful, groping around for the occasional word that threw him off.

"...Historic?" He finished, his smile widening with pride.

"You could say that," Lucy smiled, "It's a book of handwritten Fairy Tales."

"Really?" Natsu asked enthusiastically as he dropped down next to her, "Will you read some aloud?"

Lucy hesitated and rolled a stiff shoulder, "I don't know Natsu. My back really hurts from all that paddling and I still have to take a bath myself."

Of course she was immediately faced with the most watery, puppy eyes ever seen on a demon's face. Natsu held his hands together, lifting himself up on his knees as he bowed his head forward, "Please Lucy? I still struggle with reading and you tell stories so good!"

He nudged in closer, his forehead knocking lightly into hers, "What if I give you a massage after your bath?" He bribed.

Lucy blinked at him, completely flabbergasted at both the eyes and the bribe, before giggling softly, "Could those eyes get any bigger?" She asked, and shot him an amused look, "Alright, alright... I'll do one at least. No promises on more though."

Natsu grinned brightly and pulled back to help her to her feet, "Thanks Lucy! You're the best!"

Lucy smiled a bit in pleasure and handed him the book, "I didn't even know you could do a massage?"

Natsu shrugged, "I've never done one before, but I know how. It's part of my magic. I just know whatever I need to whenever you need me to know it." He grinned at her, "You've been nursing those muscles since we got here! That was plenty of time for me to learn how to give you a massage!"

Lucy wasn't sure if she was more stunned or impressed by that revelation. Natsu simply absorbed knowledge magically if she had a need for him to know it? It sounded ridiculous and impossible, but somehow it didn't entirely surprise her anymore. Though she was pretty sure massage hadn't been what Zeref had in mind when he programmed Natsu.

Still, she wasn't going to turn it down. Not after the day she'd had!

"Well I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that!" She replied, "But I definitely won't turn you down! It's been ages since I had even a passable massage let alone a good one!"

She grinned as she turned and made her way into the bathroom, more eager than ever to get clean. She just hoped she didn't fall asleep while he was working on her. She would hate to cheat him out of his story.

So she decided to hurry through her bath time routine. She soaked in the bath just long enough for the exhaustion of the day melt from her.

Still, by the time she returned, Natsu was practically vibrating with impatience. She could see the way his sharp eyes were squinting at her and the pull of his eyebrows.

"Come on Lucy," He whined, sprawling out sideways on the cushions and holding out an arm to her.

Rolling her eyes, she walked over much more sedately and sank down to her knees.

Her hips were cushioned by the mounds of pillows and Natsu shuffled in behind her. She was still wearing one of the outfits provided her by the Galuna Island tribe, which allowed her to expose her back and not have to lose her shirt.

A good thing, she realized, because Natsu was sweeping her hair over her shoulder to expose it.

"Alright Lucy, lay forward," He pointed at the book in front of them, "I picked out a story, so just relax while I work."

Lucy obediently sprawled forward on her stomach, her forearms resting under her chin, "'The Midnight Visitor'? Sounds like a dark story."

Lucy could feel him shrug behind her, and nearly gasped as slick, hot hands gently touched down against her back.

"I liked the dragons on the cover of it," Natsu admitted.

"Fair enough." Lucy replied, gasping softly as he began working on a particularly large knot and settled further into the pillows, "Oh man... I could get used to this." She grinned at him over her shoulder, "Careful Natsu, you might spoil me."

Natsu grinned toothily in reply. He knew she didn't like thinking of him as subservient to her, even though he was, so he made no comment as she turned back to the book.

"Alright... Once upon a time..."

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"Oh no..." Lucy breathed horror, her eyes wide as she stared at the page. Even if this was just a story, it was heartbreaking to imagine such a thing. Was this how dragons warned their children of the dangers of humans?

If it was, she couldn't entirely fault them. Humans were every bit as deceitful and treacherous as the one portrayed here. Of course, that wasn't all they were, and she really hoped there were some stories that reflected that. Though at the moment she wasn't feeling any of the positive. She was too wracked with guilt over what the fictional human had done.

"That's terrible." Natsu murmured from where he was curled up next to her. She hadn't even noticed when he'd finished his massage she'd been so caught up.

"I wish it were untrue." Lucy murmured, "But some humans really are like that."

"You aren't." Natsu replied firmly and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, giving her a slight squeeze, "You're the nicest human to ever live."

Lucy blushed, "I don't know about that exactly..."

"You are." He insisted, "Anyone else would've made me a weapon and that would've been the end of it." He smiled and nuzzled her softly, "Instead you're my friend, and you treat me like a person and not a thing. That makes you the best ever."