Hey guys, I finally got the next chapter out. I'm sorry I'm so slow at getting these out, funny story, I actually finished this chapter a while ago, it was just with my editor for a long time along with the first chapters of two one shots I'm working on. Please check them out when they go up!

P.S. SakuraPetal91, thank you for being so patient. The day you reviewed I tried to get ahold of my editor, but alas, she would not answer my calls! But now the chapter's up so it's a-ok!

Chapter 6

Natsu raced through the forest as fast as his little ten year old feet could carry him. He had to make it back to the cave and warn Igneel before Bard and his friend got there first. He couldn't believe what he had seen. Surely those men were rich enough. All the animal skins wiled high onto the wagon; the rare creatures that his father said were sacred and should never be killed.

Natsu gritted his teeth in anger and tears threatened to fall from his dark green eyes. So much waste, he thought. And for what, money? Where will killing those animals get them? What would they get for killing Igneel?

Natsu pushed those thoughts to the back of his head as he willed himself to run faster. He wouldn't let them take Igneel, he'd die before he let them take his family!

A plan started to form in his mind as he raced for the cave that he and Igneel shared. He knew what he was about to do was stupid, but he had no choice.

He would protect Igneel.

Lighting his hands of fire, Natsu scorched the trees and plants as he passed them. He made sure the fire in his hands was hot enough to burn the trees, but not enough to set them ablaze. A clear trail of scorch marks followed behind him as he ran, glowing as the embers within struggled to be brought to life before dying, staining the forest floor black with ash.

FT

Bard knelt in the tall grass that had managed to grow at the edge of a large clearing, watching as a thin line of smoke lifted lazily into the air from the caves entrance, dissipating as a calm wind blew it away.

He had followed a trail of scorch marks through the forest, which eventually led him here. Joel crouched off to the side, silently loading his gun for the confrontation that would soon come.

Bard couldn't help but feel skeptical about this whole thing. Dragons had died off a long time ago and none had been seen for over a hundred years. He felt like a fool being led on some wild goose chase; that his "boss" wanted to get one good laugh out of him before finally pulling the plug on this whole charade.

He and Joel had set out almost immediately, and had found a conveniently placed trail of scorch marks that he was supposed to follow. He didn't mention to Joel that he knew there were more of his me surrounding the cave. He would feign ignorance of the situation for now, but when the time came, he would make his move.

FT

He could smell them. There were dozens of people surrounding the cave. Natsu was completely trapped. He tried not to panic as he realized that there was no way for him to get out of this now. He was committed.

He had lit a small fire near the entrance of the cave, and smoke slowly rose out and into the sky. He needed them to think Igneel was here so he could draw them in. Once they got too close, he would attack with fire while still keeping hidden. He hoped that would scare them off for a few days before Igneel returned and he and Natsu could flee together.

Natsu hated the idea of using deception and running away in the end, but he had no choice. If he and Igneel were going to make it out of this alive, then he needed to swallow his pride just this once.

After what felt like forever, one of them finally emerged from the woods, stepping into the clearing cautiously. Natsu's super sharp vision allowed him to see the man, and he realized it was Bard.

Natsu scratched his head in frustration. Out of all the guys surrounding the clearing, he was the one Natsu least wanted to confront. He felt sorry for the man and honestly didn't want to make his life any harder than it already was. He could never forgive the man for helping these thugs hunt those animals, but he knew Bard had no choice. He was protecting his family, just like Natsu.

He watched as Bard made his way over to the cave, slinking deeper inside so as to not be seen. He didn't want to hurt Bard, so he would simply disappear and give up on his plan altogether. He would make it seem like the cave was abandoned.

Bard neared the entrance cautiously, hesitating slightly before stepping a foot inside. The man hefted a crossbow onto his shoulder and kept it aimed up as he made his way into the cave.

A few steps in he encountered Natsu's fire. He paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stomped on the fire angrily, squashing the flames under his boot. He whipped his head up quickly and turned around, stomping towards the entrance of the cave angrily. Suddenly he stopped and Natsu took a sharp breath of anticipation.

Bard kneeled and picked up something off the ground. Natsu gulped when he realized what it was.

A scale.

Bard rose slowly and turned to peer into the darkness of the cave. Natsu ducked behind a large boulder and hoped that he hadn't been seen. Bard was definitely curious now and he turned back into the cave. He went in farther this time and Natsu scrambled to move on ahead of him without being seen. He would have to do something soon. If Bard went much farther he would find the large space that he and Igneel had made their home.

When he was well ahead of Bard, Natsu sprinted down long cave. He finally reached a large open space and quickly began to his and Igneel's things, but sadly enough, there were something he couldn't hide.

Shelves had been cut into the stone walls for Igneels scrolls and books and Natsu's knickknacks that he had collected over the years. Scorch marks covered the walls and a small hollow that had been formed by Igneel's massive body over the years was unmistakable.

Natsu panicked. He hadn't planned for this, he never meant one of them to get this far inside the cave, but it had happened. Bard was coming, and Natsu didn't know what to do.

He heard the shuffle of feet on the stone floor and immediately hid himself behind a boulder that he often used for target practice. Bard never noticed him, as he was too busy staring open-mouthed at the scene before him. He slung the crossbow over his shoulder and ran to the shelf. He pulled off a few scrolls and scoffed as he realized that they were written in some ancient language that he could not read.

"Ah, Sheele would love these," he muttered to himself. Natsu listened intently.

Bard glanced around before placing the scroll back gently. He quickly inspected the rest of the room, completely skipping over Natsu's hiding place. Bard sighed, whether in relief or frustration, Natsu couldn't tell, but he'd like to think that no one wanted to encounter a dragon on any day.

Bard walked back to the shelves, but started inspecting Natsu's keepsakes instead. He didn't touch any of them but he eyed them closely. His eyes skimmed over the pretty stones, leaves, and bones that Natsu had collected in his adventures and settled on a length of cloth that was neatly folded near the place where Natsu slept.

Natsu's heart stopped. He had left his scarf at home for fear that he would lose it. Despite how long he'd had it, he still had a habit of losing his precious muffler every now and then. Also he didn't want it to get torn up. He knew his change was coming soon, and the scarf would surely be destroyed in the process.

Bard didn't pick it up however, and simply turned around toward the way he had come.

"There's nothing here," he mumbled to himself. "We'll just have to come back later when the Dragon is home."

Natsu sighed as Bard left, but his elation was short lived, when suddenly a blinding stab of pain shot through his body.

The surprise caused Natsu to cry out, and his cry did not fall on deaf ears. Within seconds, Bard had returned, Crossbow armed and ready to go. He aimed it around the room and listened intently for another sound.

Natsu was crouched on the floor behind the boulder, a hand clamped over his mouth as his body shook in pain. His spine ached, and his shoulder blades felt like they were being ripped out of his body.

Why now, damn it! Natsu thought. His body was reacting to his feelings of being threatened and was changing to give him a fighting chance, but he didn't need this right now! There was no way he could keep quiet during the transformation, he would be caught.

As if confirming his thoughts, his body sent a wave of pain that was like lightning shooting through his nerves. He couldn't contain his whimpers of pain as his back seemed to rip itself open. He could no longer see Bard from his position, but he was sure the man would be on him any second now. He needed to escape. In his current condition, he couldn't fight, but he also couldn't hide. Before he could make a move, however, Bard was there.

FT

Bard launched himself behind the boulder, whipping his crossbow to point at the head of a- boy. He blinked in surprise as the child cried out and tried to crawl away, but fell in a miserable heap on the floor.

Bard looked on in slight fascination and horror as the boy's back muscles rippled, and then stilled. The boy gasped and suddenly his back seemed to explode, and something knocked Bard away.

He slammed into the ground hard, but quickly picked himself up as he saw the boy trying to crawl away. Bard hesitated, eyes wide as he took in the sight before him. Huge, bat-like wings now sprouted from the boy's back. Thin skeleton ribbing curved in between the flaps of membrane, which glistened with moisture from their release. The wings ended with deadly claws that looked like they could rip a man to shreds.

A long, scaly tail curved lazily around the boy's legs, the barbed end flicking in irritation. Bard stepped forward carefully, keeping his crossbow level with the boy's head. The boy barely seemed to register his movements as he slowly crawled toward the shelves set in the cave wall. Bard watched cautiously as the boy reached the shelf and gripped the cloth from earlier in his hand. Bard gasped when he saw that the hand was covered in scales, and that each finger ended in deadly black claws.

In his effort to retrieve the cloth, to boy's wings extended a little, revealing a knobby spine that sported tiny spikes on each bump. The boy snatched the cloth from the shelf and it unraveled, revealing a large, scaly muffler. The boy wrapped the scarf around his neck and then quickly turned so that his back was facing the wall. He took a moment to catch his breath and then acknowledged Bards presence for the first time.

He seemed to puff up, almost like a startled cat, as he lowered himself to his hands and knees in a horizontal squat. The boy's muscles were tense and his teeth bared, ready to launch an attack the moment Bard made a threatening move.

A deep rumbling growl that sounded like thunder filled the cave. Bard tensed, slowly lowering the crossbow so that it aimed at the boy's knee rather than his head. He realized that he was in a very precarious situation and that the moment he lowered his guard could mean certain death. He wasn't about to give this creature an opening.

They both stared at one another, each sizing up the other, looking for weaknesses. At least that was what Bard was doing. As he stared at the unique creature in front of him, he couldn't help but feel that it was extremely distracted for an animal facing a life or death situation. Its eyes darted around the room, looking at anything but Bard. This creature's mentality might just be closer to a human child's than to a dragon, if that was what it was supposed to be.

Bard lowered the crossbow and slowly set it down. The creature, that's what Bard decided to call it since he didn't really know what it is, flinched and immediately slid away from him, retreating towards the exit. Bard held back a curse as he raised his hands above his head, lowering himself to the creature's level so that he didn't tower over it.

"Hey,hey," Bard said soothingly, trying to calm the startled creature. "It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. See, I left my weapon over there."

He slowly walked forward as the creature continued to back away, its growls intensifying the closer Bard got. Bard stopped moving and let it create distance. It stopped a good dozen feet away, sitting right in the entrance to the tunnel that would lead to the mouth of the cave.

It seemed to study him for a moment before seeming to decide something. It slowly moved forward, its coal black eyes locked on him, watching warily for the slightest movement. Bard remained still, letting it approach despite his instincts telling him to run for his life. Somehow he knew that it wouldn't try to hurt him.

The creature stopped just out of arms reach and seated itself on the stone floor, its legs crossed. Bard waited a moment before also lowering himself down, mirroring the creatures form as it watched him. When he was comfortable, it seemed to nod, and to Bards astonishment, spoke.

"I know you're in trouble," it rasped, "and I can help you, but you need to help me in return."

FT

And there's the chapter. I'm sorry to leave it right there, but the next chapter will be very long and will reveal a lot of things! I don't want you to know those things just yet *smiles evilly.* I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though nothing really happened. Please review, even if you didn't like it. Just tell me how much you didn't like it. Next chapter will come out hopefully soon!