Hey guys! Its been a long time coming, but I'm finally continuing this! Speaking of which, I have a shout out for Lonestorm for all of her help in helping me brainstorm. :3 Thank you so so so much! You have no idea how much you helped me, not to mention how much fun I had XD.
Enjoy everyone!
"Do you believe in dragons?"
I froze, my entire body visibly tensing at the out of the blue question. Like a switch had been flipped, my brain instantly went into panic mode, and with my eyes wide, I hesitantly turned my head away from the desk in front of me to the girl who had just spoken.
"No," her friend responded matter-of-factually, rolling her eyes like that was the stupidest question ever asked. "What brought that on?"
The first girl stuck her tongue out. "It was just a random question; cool it. Everyone knows that gigantic, flying, reptiles haven't existed in, like, ever."
Finally, I turned away, releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding. Words couldn't express how relieved I was at that moment. For a second there, I thought that one of them had seen him. It wouldn't have been the first time over the past three years that he had almost been discovered by a poor, unsuspecting, Magnolian citizen. It also didn't help that he would randomly just take off without me knowing where the hell he was going.
That oblivious dragon obviously didn't grasp the concept of discretion. Even now, when he's three times the size he was when I had first found him, he still just disappears. Then I worry for hours about where he's going and if anyone could potentially see him; he wasn't exactly hard to miss.
Brushing away a few strands of my blond hair, I began rubbing annoyed circles into my temples. I swear, his disappearing acts are going to be the death of me… I haven't seen him since the night before, which was unusual in itself because he usually waited until I was at least conscious before he took off.
Suddenly the ending bell rang out, making me squeak and jump in my chair. Ugh, damn it Lucy, get yourself together!
Shaking my head to rid it of my distracting worry, I quickly collected my things into my arms and hurried out into the hallway only to run right into what felt like a brick wall. My arm's contents launched and scattered across the white, tiled floor as I was knocked flat onto my butt. Great, looks like this just wasn't my day.
I stammered in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorr- huh?" Looking up, I expected to see someone towering over me, but there was absolutely no one there. That couldn't be right; I was positive that I had just bumped into someone.
My brow furrowed in confusion, I swung my head left and right down the already crowded halls, none of the students even giving me a second glance. How strange…
"Lu? What are doing on the ground?"
My focus instantly snapped to my best friend Levy, leaning over me with one eyebrow raised in question. Her arms held three, insanely heavy looking books, but she was carrying them like nothing; typical, bookworm Levy.
"U-um," I stuttered, a little embarrassed to be caught spacing out like that. "I kinda ran into someone."
"And they just kept walking?" she asked, setting her precious books down to help me up. "The people in this school can be such jerks sometimes."
I chuckled a bit as I began collecting my things. "Thanks Levy."
She grinned at me, one of the few genuine smiles I'd seen all day. "What else are friends for?"
Yeah, I smiled. Even if she was the only human friend I've had in a while, she always found ways to show me that she was honored to be that one friend. I felt the exact same for her.
Levy continued to walk with me until we reached Magnolia High's outer gate and remembering I still had to give a dragon a piece of my mind, I hastily said my good-bye, earning yet another weird look from the short bluenette. Thankfully, she dropped the subject though with just a roll of her eyes and the mumbling of the word, "Weirdo." Then I sprinted down the street.
"I'll see you later, Levy!" I called back over my shoulder cheerfully, though inside I was fuming.
He had better be back, I thought as my feet pounded against the pavement. Or so help me, the dragon population will be one less!
Launching myself over the bushes bordering my yard, I dropped my bag and sprinted straight around back, submerging myself under the cover of the trees. If I was going to find him, it probably wasn't going to be in the house anyways.
"Natsu!" I yelled as I ran a little deeper in, just to make sure no one would overhear me. The crisp, autumn leaves crunched loudly underneath my gym shoes. "Natsu!"
Silence; that's all that followed. The trees that would normally be shuffling in the slightest breeze around me, were uncharacteristically quiet. The forest was cold, and I knew he wasn't there. Where in the world would that dragon run off to?
Suddenly, the quiet trees rustled, making me jump slightly as a dark shadow darted in the corner of my eye. I looked around, my heart jumping into my throat as another shadow leapt about in the canopy, taking special care to stay out of my line of vision.
My heart dropped, this wasn't right, something felt…ominous. It was as if everything around me was closing in. "Natsu?" I asked, my voice coming out shakier than it should have. "This isn't funny! Come out!"
A large branch snapped behind me and crashed to the ground, blocking the way I had come, and instinctively, I took off running. The large shadow still continued darting around me, taunting me, trying to scare me, and it was working. A few growls reached my ears; feral growls, the growls of a hunter tracking prey.
Panting, my heart about to burst out of my chest, I dodged and threw my body to the ground as something charged right past me. A scream escaped my lips and clashed with the loud growls surrounding me, and I held up my hands in front of my face as something pined me, helpless, into the dirt.
Never feeling so vulnerable in my entire life, I screamed more until my throat hurt, thrashing my body around in a futile attempt at getting away. My eyes squeezed as tight as I could make them and tears flowed freely down my face. Don't kill me, please don't kill me!
Then a whine reached my ears through my sobs, a concerned whine; a familiar one. Hesitantly, I cracked open my terrified, brown orbs and when my mind registered red scales and dark eyes, I allowed myself to relax.
Natsu was standing over me, deep onyx eyes filled with confusion and worry. A shaky breath left my mouth. It was just him… I consoled myself. Calm down Lucy…it was just him. He probably thought we were just playing or something… God, if I wasn't pissed before, I sure as hell was now.
"Idiot!" I hissed, bringing a hand up and smacking him between his horns. "You scared the crap out of me! I thought I was actually getting attacked!"
Guiltily, he backed up off of me, his regret coming across as a high pitched whine, his eyes not meeting mine. I, on the other hand, stood up, crossed my arms and pouted, refusing to acknowledge him as I wiped away my tears. I felt like such a moron.
A few seconds later, I felt his nose gently nudge the side of my head, his attempt to get me to smile probably. "That's not going to work this time, Natsu," I hissed.
He draped his large head across my feet and when I dared a look down, I cursed myself. Damn it, he's doing it again! His bottomless pits for eyes were large and a little watery as he stared up at me, looking as pitiful as a kicked puppy. How did he even learn that?
Sighing in defeat, I slumped my shoulders, a low grumble escaping my lips. "Fine," and instantly I was back in the dirt, staring up and chuckling at, what I've come to call, Natsu's gigantic, goofy grin. I could never stay mad at him for long and he knew it too.
Playfully, he licked my face of any more stray tears before I shoved him off. "Alright, alright, don't be so happy just yet, I still have a lecture to give you."
Natsu plopped himself down on his butt, his tail swinging around only to lay to rest with the tip at his front feet, and his eyes asked the million dollar question, "What did I do now?"
"That's better," I grinned up at him, seeing as even when he was sitting he was still a few inches taller than me, before getting straight to the point. "What's with these long flights, Natsu? I get that it's in your nature, you are a dragon, but I'm worried about someone seeing you. Your scales aren't exactly camouflaged; you stick out like a beacon in a storm." Up until this point, he looked bored, but when I asked the question, "Where do you even go?" he visibly flinched. "Natsu?" I pressed, now getting a little worried.
Suddenly, in one fluid motion so fast that I barely saw, he spread his wings and launched himself off of the ground. I shrieked in surprise at the gigantic updraft he caused and glared at him as he hovered himself in mid-air. That childish little… He stuck his tongue out at me. Oh, now it's on!
"You're dead lizard!" Then just like that, we both took off deeper into the woods, my pervious questions completely forgotten. Fine Natsu; you want to play? Let's play!
The dragon flew through the underbrush with practiced precision, tucking in his wings to fit through tighter areas without even so much as making a crack in his speed or his focus. I would've been intimidated if I wasn't just as comfortable as him in this kind of game. We sure did play it enough over the past three years; extreme tag. This game has made me a pretty good runner over the years. After all, dragons weren't exactly slow, especially in flight.
My feet pounded the ground in time with my heart, my eyes locked on Natsu's every move, knowing that as soon as I lost him, I'd lose. Every time he'd dive, I'd jump; every time he'd feint, I'd run a little faster and spin around tree trunks, my speed never wavering if I could help it. In a way, this game was almost like a woodland version of parkour, and even though I've never been very much of an athletic person, I loved it.
I leap-frogged over a large fallen trunk, Natsu probably only a good twenty feet ahead of me now. As he feinted around another one, I on the other hand decided to use it as my means of winning. The broken trunk was leaning up against that of a healthier tree, creating a large ramp.
My throat was burning at the contact with the chilly, October air, but I wasn't going to stop now; I had him. Natsu zipped past the other side of the healthy tree and at the same time I sprinted up the ramp, swinging my entire body around the trunk with all the momentum that I could muster. Then I reached out and grabbed him tightly by the horns, clearly surprising him because his eyes widened as I smirked.
He landed roughly and I planted my feet in the dirt as he attempted to push me back. "Hehe," I lightly laughed, breathless. "Got…ya." The only reply I received was an annoyed huff; he didn't look like a happy dragon.
Satisfied with my win, I let him go, leaving me wide open for his brooding self to trip me with his tail. "Sore…loser…," I coughed from my spot on the ground, not even bothering to try getting up.
Completely exhausted, I stared up at the blue, cloudless sky and after a few seconds, I heard Natsu plop down next to me. I turned my head to look at him. Natsu definitely wasn't the small dragon I had taken in three years ago anymore. Not only was his body three times bigger, but also his claws, his horns and teeth. Just by only taking a glance at him, any normal person would be afraid. His claws were huge, big enough to take off my head in one swipe, and each of his teeth were easily the length of my pinky finger.
I smiled as he shifted to rest his head on his front claws, tiny puffs of steam coming out of his nose as he calmly, breathed. He was intimidating, no doubt about that, but inside, he was just like a big puppy. Appearances didn't matter; I knew the truth.
"Can't believe it's been three years…," I said aloud, but if he heard me, he didn't show it. "Not much has changed has it?"
This time he looked at me, but I was already on my feet, dusting myself off. "Come on, let's head back to the house," I grinned and he energetically bounded up behind me. That was strange; usually he would run ahead.
Laughing at his antics, I didn't realize what he was planning until his head bumped into my legs and I was flipped over onto his back.
"Woah, woah, woah!" I yelled frantically. "Natsu don't-" But then his large, red wings spread so wide that I could see the thin scar lines on the once injured one. He stretched them out and they almost wrapped over me like a tent. There was no stopping him now.
My eyes widening in horror, I leaned forward, tightly wrapping my arms around his neck as he rocketed us up into the air, so fast that I probably would've gotten whiplash if I wasn't holding on for dear life. No matter how many times he did this, I could never get used to flying, but…
I buried a scream in the back of his neck as he tucked his wings in around me for a dive in between two, very close tree branches. Then a low rumble sounded from his chest, his version of a laugh, and he then dropped his wings and flew faster, much to my discomfort.
But… I smiled, then a few seconds later I found myself laughing along with him. I'm happy.
Feeling my stomach drop again, I let out a squeak, rolling my eyes as I tried protecting my face from more branches. Yup, nothing's changed at all.
Throwing myself onto my bed, I let out all of the tension in my muscles with a breath. "Oh my God, I didn't die," I sighed in relief, wiggling all of my fingers and toes to make sure they were all still there.
Natsu huffed from where he lay on my bedroom floor, his lips slightly pulled up in what looked like a smirk. I knew what he was saying; "Now we're even."
I have him a hard look. "You know, sometimes I think you're really trying to kill me." At that he blew some air out of his nose in a whistle and stared up at the ceiling like it was the most fascinating thing on the planet. I threw a pillow at him and laughed.
It was when my laughs subsided that I realized just how quiet it was. The silence was deafening and I knew why; Natsu and I were the only ones in the house. I'd expected as much though, the only other family member I had left never came home. He would rather work than see my face.
When I was younger, I didn't know why my father would never meet my eyes, never want to spend time with me and never even speak to me. However, now I know all too well; I looked too much like my mom for his comfort.
Mom… I glanced over at my white desk, my eyes lingering on a small box in which sat the note, the small slip of paper from when I had first met Natsu. Over the years I had wracked my brain with the possibilities of what she could have been thinking as she wrote it; the last words she would ever get across to me. Even if Natsu was my guardian, like the ones she had told me stories about, why would she send him to me?
I still didn't believe in everything she had told me as a kid; I had closed myself off from it. However, after living with Natsu, I had to admit that a strange energy followed him wherever he went, and I often found myself being affected by it.
Is that what you were talking about mom?
I shook my head, snapping out of my daze when my eyes locked with Natsu's. He could probably tell what I was thinking, and he was just about to get up and make his way over to me when I smiled to mask my thoughts. Taking one look outside the window, I noticed how dark it was and I couldn't help but wonder where the day went. "Let's just go to bed."
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