Chapter 17: Something's not Right
Before Natsu runs down to be with Igneel, Gajeel grabs his scarf. "What do you think you're doing, Salamander?" He asks bitterly in Natsu's eyes. Natsu grabs Gajeel's hand to release his scarf. "What does it look like? I'm going down there. As a matter of fact, the rest of you guys should be as excited as I am." Natsu turns from Gajeel to the others. However, the others' expression says otherwise. "What's wrong?" Natsu asks them. The group look each other, hoping that one of them would have the best answer to Natsu's recent question. Wendy walks up in front. "Natsu, the dragons down there. There is something wrong down there." She tells him Natsu raised his one brow. "Like what?" He asks her.
Lucy steps up this time. "Natsu, the first thing to think about is the dragon's senses. Judging by how close we are, they would've been to tell that we're here by our scent of smells." Lucy explains to him. Natsu realizes that she has a point. Being a dragon slayer's sense of smell isn't any different from the dragon's senses of smell. Taking in the information, he looks down the cliff to see that dragon are not even noticing them. How odd. "Then why is it that they can't smell us. Despite how close we are to them." Happy asks Carla this time. Carla narrows her brown eyes. "I'm not really sure. Tell me, Wendy. Can you smell them?" She asks the Sky Dragon Slayer. Wendy sniffs the area. "Carla, I can't smell any scent from the dragons." She tells Carla in shock. Everyone else try smelling the area too, but they could pick up a trace of the dragons either. "This isn't right. Us dragon slayers have the capability of the scent of smell. Then why is it that we can't smell them?" Sting asks this time. Rogue looks down to see what the dragons are doing.
For now, the dragons are just minding their own business, not even noticing the newcomers up on the cliff. Natsu sighs and sits down disappointedly. "Hey, don't worry Natsu." Lucy sits down by him taking hold of his shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this." She assures him. All Natsu does is nod back, deep in thought. Lucy looks up at the rest of the group, hoping that they could get through to him. But by the looks on their faces doesn't show such a thing. "We might as well wait till something happens." Gray suggests as he sits onto a rock closeby. Everyone begin to make camp, Natsu uses his fire magic to light the campfire. While everyone is getting ready to go to sleep, Natsu is the only one who just couldn't. He looks back to see everyone sleep, seeing some of them snoring away. Natsu shakes his head, and runs down the cliff, determine to find why the dragons are not able to smell them.
Natsu makes it to the bottom of the cliff. And that's where the problem is. Once he landed onto the grass, there's not a single scent of anything around him. Shockingly enough, he can't smell his comrades up on the cliff. "Well, that's why the dragons can smell us." He states as he looks up ahead to see the dragons. He walks casually, just casual. The brown dragon sniff the unfamiliar scent. "I smell a mortal." A deep voice tells the other one. Natsu smiles, glad that they can smell him, for now. The grey dragon sniffs the area. "No doubt about it. It's indeed a mortal. However, there's something odd about it." It tells the first dragon.
The two dragons spot Natsu. "You're the mortal." They marched towards Natsu. Natsu doesn't seem fazed by their intimidation. "I'm looking for a dragon named Igneel." Natsu tells them fiercely. The brown dragon widens its eyes. "Igneel? You know Igneel?" it asks Natsu. Natsu nods. "Yeah, Igneel is the fire dragon that once raised me, and taught me his fire dragon slayer magic." Natsu explains as he ignites a fireball in his fist. The dragons look at each other. "Well, it's not that hard for either of us to tell you where Igneel is." The grey dragon spoke as it lowers its head to Natsu's level. "I'm not the only one who's looking for dragons." Natsu said to it eagerly. The brown dragon looks down to him. "You're not the only one here? Then where are they?" It asks curiously. Natsu points up the cliff he came down from.
The dragons widen their eyes in surprised. "Up there?" He points up there. Natsu nods back. "Yeah. Me, and the others weren't able to smell you guys. Why?" Natsu looks back at the dragons. The grey dragon frowns, "That place is forbidden. It's has an ability to nutrulize smells within a fifty-mile radius." It answers Natsu's question. Natsu widens his eyes. "Aw man. My friends and I didn't even know about it. We just arived here. We don't even have the slightest clue about Draco Orbits." Natsu tells them in surprise. The dragon gestures Natsu onto its back. "Then we should get them away from that cliff." The grey dragon tells Natsu as it widens its wings to take flight, with the brown dragon flying by it. "So, what are your names?" Natsu as the dragon he's riding. The grey dragon looks behind him "I'm Laprision. The Stone dragon." Laprision gives its name. "And I'm Lignum, the Wood Dragon." Lignum gives its name. "I'm Natsu." Natsu gives his name to the two.
Lucy wakes up to find Natus missing. "Damn it, Natsu." She grows as she gets up to look around to find a certain pink spiky haired boy. "Ugh for all the times to look for that jerk, it had to be now." She walks up to the cliff's edge and widens her eyes. "Um guys." She calls out to the others. The group wake up and look in Lucy's direction over the cliff's edge. "Oh, my god." Sting widens his eyes, can't believe what he is seeing. Lector hopes onto his shoulder. "Please tell me I'm dreaming." He begs as he holds Sting's ear. Rogue shows the same expression, protectively hold Frosche in his arms. Wendy and Gajeel look a bit calmer than Sting and Rogue. "Natsu! Down here." Happy waves his tiny hands to get Natsu's attention.
Natsu waves back down. "Is that them?" Laprision asks Natsu. Natsu nods. "Yeah they're my friends." He gives Laprision his answers eagerly. "We should get them down to the ground before something bad might happen." Lignum tells the Stone Dragon. As such they both land in the big clearing by the cliff. "Guys. Get on." Natsu shouts at them. Lector, Frosche, Carla, and Pantherlily activate their wings and lift their friends off the groud. Lucy and Gray get onto Lignum's back. They all fly back to Laprision and Lignum's place far away from the cliff.