Lucy yawned, lifting the blanket over her head, and tried to sleep in for a few more minutes.
This was five years after the seven eggs hatched, and Lucy had taken them in as her siblings once they were old enough to leave the hatchery. Jude and Layla helped her with teaching them to read and speak.
Around Lucy's room, there were seven beds, each containing a sleeping Dragon. Except for one.
"Lucy... Lucy.. Lucy!"
She jolted awake, immediately glaring down at the Dragon who woke her up, "Natsu. It's too early to be playing games right now. You'll wake the others."
"Oh yeah! WAKE UP!" Natsu ran around the room. "Belserion said he would teach us how to fly today!"
Erik yawned, "Yes, we're aware, Natsu. We were all there during yesterday's class," the Poison glared, then lowered his head, tucking it under his wing. Gajeel nodded, "Yeah… We know about the flight lessons. Go back to sleep…" The others agreed, sleepily murmuring and muttering.
Natsu glared, growling. "Guys! WE'RE LATE!" he exclaimed. "We overslept! Everyone else is waiting on us!"
That got their attention. The other six Dragons jolted, scrambling to their talons. Lucy also hurried up out of bed. Lucy stayed behind to get ready for the day, but the Dragons quickly hurried out of the house.
"Morning kids!" Jude greeted them as they ran by. "Morning! Can't talk! We're late!" Natsu exclaimed. "We'll see you later!"
They quickly ran. "We're so late! We're so late!" Sting chanted. "Do you think they started without us?" Wendy asked, looking at Erik, who simply shrugged, "Who knows? They might be waiting on us. Whether they started without us or not, it doesn't bode well for us. If they start without us, we'll have to wait until tomorrow, but if Belserion is waiting for us, then the other Dragons will be mad at us for holding up the class."
"It's bad enough that they already don't like us for being different, the last thing we need is another reason for them to get mad at us," Gajeel growled. Natsu scoffed, "They're just jealous that we're different! We're the only ones of our kinds in Magnolia! They wish they were more like us!"
"Somehow, I don't think that's true…" Wendy murmured, with her crest flattened against her skull.
"We're not here to impress them, nor to gain approval!" Rogue snarled, "We're here because the others took us in. If they have a problem with that, then they can whine to Dragons who care!"
"True that!" Erik nodded in approval, "But for now, let's just focus on getting there!"
They kept running, and eventually reached the large group of Dragons, led by multiple adult Dragons, including Irene and Belserion.
"Well, look who finally made it!" said a Water Dragon. A particularly nasty one named Amris. "We should've started without you slowpokes!"
"You just wanted to start without us because you're afraid we'll show you up!" Natsu growled.
"Excuse me-?!"
"If you two are done.." Belserion glared down at them, prompting them to back away from each other. He glanced at the rest of the class, which included multiple Dragons of multiple elements.
Off the top of his head, Natsu could remember Jellal and Erza, as well as a Rune Dragon that Laxus was friends with named Freed.
Before Belserion could start, someone called out, "Hey, Erik!"
Erik perked up, spotting his friends sitting nearby, "Why are you guys here? Not that I'm.. complaining or anything.." he asked as he walked over.
"Our teachers let us out for the day so we can watch the Dragons!" Sorano grinned.
"We're here to watch you crash and burn," Sawyer smirked, patting Erik's head.
"Don't forget moral support!" Sho said as he scratched Jellal's neck. The Dragon purred happily.
"Whenever you kids are ready," Belserion chuckled.
"Right!" Natsu jogged to the edge of the fell, then began losing his nerve when he noticed just how far down the ground underneath was. Knowing he would be flying over it suddenly made it look taller than it was. In reality, it wasn't high enough to cause any severe damage should one of the Dragons fall from flight, but that didn't stop young imaginations from running wild.
"Well?" Gajeel stormed over, "Are you going to fly or…" he looked over the edge and was no longer feeling overly confident.
In fact, none of the Dragons seemed all too confident. They glanced at each other, then down at the edge, then back to each other again, waiting for someone to go first.
"It does look a bit intimidating, doesn't it? Don't worry. These nerves are natural for all young Dragons learning to fly!" Belserion assured. He spread his wings, "Just watch what we do and try to mimic it."
"Focus on the Dragon with the same set of wings as your own. Different wings require different methods," spoke a large Water Dragon. She had the same serpentine body lined with fins as Amris, which seemed to imply some form of familial relation between them. Her name was Oceanum. "Those with fin-like wings shall follow me."
"Those of you with feathered wings shall follow me," Irene stated.
"And those of you with metal wings.." a large Steel Dragon, Aceron, looked down at Gajeel, who was the only other metal Dragon there, "..shall follow me."
Gajeel snorted bitterly, "So I get the special solo lessons, huh.."
"You always were a unique one," Erik teased with a toothy grin.
"Hang on, what about Laxus? He doesn't even have wings!" Sting pointed out. "Can he even fly?"
Sting was immediately shut up by a sharp smack to his head from Freed's tail, "Shut up, you idiot!" Sting growled at him, until he noticed the somber look on Laxus's face.
"A wingless Dragon does not always equate to flightless, young one," Aceron stated, "They merely have a separate method for flight."
"What do you mean by that?" Rogue asked, curiosity sparkling in his red eyes.
"Ever the inquisitive little Shadow," Aceron chuckled, "Wingless Dragons rely on their magic in order to take flight."
"So.. who will teach me to fly then?" Laxus asked.
"I will," a large, pastel colored Dragon flew by. She was an Aurora Dragon named Auriones.
Gajeel chuckled at Laxus, "Looks like we both get the solo lessons!"
"You're both unique," Erik winked cheekily.
Following Auriones's lead, the other adults leapt into the air. The young Dragons watched the older ones as they flew through the air, although they were still unsure, and continued hesitating.
That was, until Wendy blew past, taking a daring leap off the edge.
"WENDY!" Natsu and Sting cried out, only to stare as she flapped her wings, flying higher and higher.
Belserion laughed, "Like a fish to water, that one." He watched as she twirled in the air, already mastering the various tricks. "Sky Dragons are naturals when it comes to flight, so I'm not surprised she's progressing quickly. However, don't let that deter the rest of you. It'll come quickly with practice and hard work!"
Natsu inhaled deeply, then leapt off, flapping his wings. He was a lot more sloppy and uneven than Wendy, but he managed to stay airborne.
"Don't flap your wings so much!" Irene called, "You'll tire yourself out! Spread your wings and let the breeze carry you!"
Natsu inhaled, then slowly evened himself out. Sure enough, the wind carried him. He chanced a glance at the ground, and felt himself growing slightly more confident. "Haha! Look, I'm doing it!"
"Wee!" Wendy trilled as she soared past.
"What are you guys waiting for?! Get up here!" Natsu called down to the others. He tilted his body slightly, using the wind to push him into a turn.
Jellal inhaled deeply, then leapt off the fell, using his wings to propel himself upward. Erik soon followed, along with Freed.
"Stay above the fell for now, young Lightning," Auriones said. Laxus scoffed, "How come I get the doggy-paddle lessons?"
"Flying for you is not the same as flying for your peers. Yours relies on your magic. Should you lose focus, your magic fails you. I'd rather you fall a mere foot above the ground than several yards above it, since you will likely fall more often than the rest."
"And keep in mind, all of you will fall at least once," Irene warned and she glided along an air current with Erza by her side.
Wendy spread her wings as a strong air current shot upward underneath her, sending her soaring up above everyone else.
"Hey! Wendy's cheating!" Amris exclaimed. "Using magic is cheating!"
Gajeel cackled, "What's the matter? Ya jealous?"
"Stupid Ferals.." she hissed.
"I heard that, hatchling!" Oceanum hissed down at her daughter.
"Am I wrong?" the younger Water exclaimed. "They're all Ferals! Why did you guys let them stay here?!"
The seven of them paused what they were doing, turning to watch Amris as she continued her tirade. Other Dragons had stopped flying in order to watch as well.
"They're dangerous! We fear them for a reason! We don't even know what the White and Shadow are capable of, but we do know that the Iron, Poison, and Fire are all violent and nasty!" Amris continued. "I don't know about the Lightning and Sky, but I'm sure they're just as bad!"
"Knock it off, Amris! You're just being rude for no reason!" Venski, Phantasmagoria's son, exclaimed.
"Stay out of this, Venski! You know I'm right!"
Wendy sniffed, not even trying to stop the tears that flowed down her face. Erik and Natsu both growled, but before they could charge, Erza darted in front of them, "You mustn't attack her," she hissed.
"Somebody needs to teach the spoiled little loudmouth a lesson!" Erik hissed back.
"Attack her now, and you'd just be proving her point!" Erza stated, "And in front of all these Dragons? You'd create a scene and turn even more of them against you! Is that what you want?"
"No.." Natsu murmured, then growled, "But it's still not fair! She gets to badmouth us every single day, but we can't fight back at all?"
"Let my mom and the other adults handle her attitude. Trust me, I think she's as nasty as you do, but violence won't fix anything."
"Oceanum," Irene growled lowly.
"I know. Amris! Lesson's over for you today, you ornery waterspout! Go home!" Oceanum ordered angrily. "And you will sit there quietly and wait for me to return from teaching the others."
"Mom! You can't-!"
"I can and I just have! Do not argue with me!"
Amris let out an angry shriek before turning tail and flying off.
Oceanum sighed, "I'm so sorry all of you had to witness that. Go back to the lesson."
Wendy glided down to the ground, followed closely by Erza, before collapsing onto her stomach. "Why.. why is she always so mean to us..?"
"I don't know.." Erza gently nuzzled her, "But try not to let it get to you, okay? Amris knows nothing about you. You're an amazing young Dragon, Wendy. The type of Dragon you are shouldn't matter, but rather, who you become. And I can see that you're going to become a great Dragon who's willing to do great things."
Wendy sniffed, then wiped her eyes, "Y-you really think so..?"
"I know so!" Erza nudged her, "Let's get back to flying, that'll cheer you up, right?"
Wendy nodded, "Y-yeah! At first, I thought it would be really scary, but then I felt the breeze, and saw the ground beneath us and.. and I just took a leap off the edge and.. everything just felt so right. The wind beneath my wings, the sun on my back, and the thrill of it!" she trilled happily as her crest flared up, "Now, I couldn't imagine anything else that's more fun!"
Erza smiled as Wendy ran circles around her, "And the spinning, and the loops, and the dives and. And.. and.. Weee!" Wendy darted off the fell, spreading her wings and soaring up above the ground.
"That's the spirit!" Erza chased after her, flapping her wings in order to try and catch up.
"Hey guys, I'll race you!" Natsu called, before dropping into a dive, catching himself on the wind just before he hit the ground.
Erik laughed, before diving down after him, "You are ON, Fire Dragon!"
"Young ones, this is a lesson, not playtime!" Belserion called after them, gliding down to them. "The two of you can race once the lesson is over," he stated.
"Aww."
"You're no fun!"
"There is plenty of fun to be had after learning!" he herded the two younger Dragons back to the rest of the group.
"This is ridiculous.." Laxus watched the others fly, then glared down at his talons. He summoned magic to course through his body, which let him hover for all of about five seconds before he flopped onto his stomach. "All of the others are doing it as if it's completely effortless! And I'm grounded because I can't figure out why I can't stay afloat for more than a few seconds!"
"It takes practice, little Lightning," Auriones explained, hovering around him, before landing and sitting next to him. "It took me a while before I could safely fly more than a couple feet above ground. These things will come with time and patience."
"Meanwhile, everyone else gets to do loops.." he scoffed irritably.
"Not quite. They'll have their own struggles to overcome."
As if on cue, Laxus heard a loud, "WATCH OUT!" from Rogue right before watching as Jellal accidentally rammed into Freed.
"Umph!"
"Ack! Jellal!"
"Sorry!"
"Are you two alright?" Auriones glanced over the edge of the fell. Laxus followed her gaze, staring down at Freed and Jellal where they laid on the ground.
"We're good!" Jellal called up as he scrambled to his talons uneasily. Laxus chuckled lightly as he made his way down the fell. "Oi, Freed. You alright?"
"Perfectly fine.." the Rune pushed himself up, then started grooming the dirt out of his scales and mane. "Oh well, these things are to be expected when trying to fly."
"Do try to pay attention to where you are flying, Jellal," Auriones lightly scolded.
"Sorry.." the Heavenly Body murmured sheepishly, ducking his head.
"Freed!" a human girl ran to the edge of the fell. She had brown hair, and wore a green dress and glasses, "Are you okay?"
"We saw that crash, man!" a boy with a visor stood next to her.
"Who are they?" Laxus asked, constantly glancing back and forth between the two humans and Freed.
"Bickslow and Evergreen. Human friends of mine," Freed explained, "I'm alright!" he called up, "Nothing broken, bruised, or battered. And I can stand alright."
"Oh thank goodness," Evergreen sighed, "That was quite the fall!"
"Oh no, I hope Erza didn't see that crash.." Jellal groaned as he laid on his belly with his talons over his face.
"Eh, don't worry. If she did, she's likely the only one up there not making fun of you for it. Well, along with Wendy," Laxus commented, smirking slightly.
"Not. Helping," Jellal hissed, flicking his tongue at Laxus irritably, before taking off back into the air.
"When is he going to realize he doesn't have to go out of his way to impress her?" Laxus asked. Freed shrugged, before preening his wings. "I'm pretty sure she likes him just as much."
"Back up to the fell to continue your lessons, little Lightning!" Auriones called down to him. He sighed, "Back to being only able to fly for two seconds.."
"Don't be like that," she grinned down to him, "It'll come easy with time and practice!"
"Yeah.. sure.." he muttered as he climbed back up the fell. He glanced up, watching Aceron soar overhead.
"So.. Mr… uhh.." Gajeel flew beside Aceron. The large Steel looked down at the small Iron, "Aceron."
"Mr. Aceron.. How come we're the only two metal Dragons here?" Gajeel asked. Sure, he knew plenty about why Irons like him weren't in a human city, but Aceron was the only other metal related Dragon around. Did metal element Dragons in general just hate humans, aside from the rare few like Gajeel and Aceron?
"I'm sure you have been told about why you're the only Iron living here, so I won't go into that," Aceron started, "but we Steel Dragons have no issues with humans. I am just one of the few who chooses to live amongst them."
"What about other metal Dragons?"
"I cannot speak for them."
"Oh.." Gajeel went quiet for a short moment, then looked up at his teacher again. "Why do Irons hate humans so much?"
"Again, I cannot speak for them, but I'm sure it's because of some twisted belief that humans are bad, or too weak to deserve coexisting with Dragons. As if we're any better, honestly.." Aceron let out a heavy sigh. "The Steels and the Irons did go to war over it at one point."
Gajeel lifted his head, interest piqued, "Were you a part of that war?"
"No, this was before my hatching, but it is a story all Steels know quite well. It is a part of our history, and most history is not to be forgotten."
"Most history? What parts are to be forgotten?"
"The parts that teach humans and Dragons that the other is to be despised."
"Oh.. I see.." Gajeel paused to think, getting lost in his thoughts for a long moment.
He was living proof that Irons could potentially befriend and coexist with humans. If he ever found his own kind once he grew up, maybe he could teach the others that it was possible. If they even listened, that was. Since the Irons were so hellbent on their beliefs towards humans that they were willing to fight a whole war over it, then maybe they wouldn't be so willing to listen.
Gajeel snorted in frustration.
As if he read Gajeel's mind–which was entirely possible since Erik could apparently hear thoughts–Aceron said, "Don't ponder on it too much. Some Dragons just can't be reasoned with. The same goes for humans too."
"Humans? What can humans do to Dragons? I thought we were the dangerous ones."
"That was initially believed, yes, but as of late, humans have been inventing weapons that can take down fully grown Dragons. Even without these weapons, you have human settlements that refuse access to friendly Dragons such as us."
"Not like they can do much to scare off Ferals.." Gajeel sighed. Aceron nodded wordlessly.
"There is not much that can scare Ferals. They make up most of the Dragon population. If not for the barriers like the ones surrounding Magnolia, these cities would have been wiped out ages ago," Aceron murmured.
"What would happen if the barrier ever fell?" Gajeel asked.
Aceron shook his head–the sunlight bounced off of his axe-shaped snout–and snorted, "I understand the fear, young Iron, but that is not possible. The Lacrima we use to summon the barrier draws in Ethernano from the air around us. It is a near-endless supply of magic power, keeping the barrier stable."
"Well.. hypothetically.. what would happen if it did fall? What if someone, say, broke the Lacrima? Or it just.. one day.. runs out of power?" Gajeel asked, "Would we just be defenseless?"
"Not entirely. We do have Dragons of our own to defend the humans. Or human-made weapons to fight back. While it wouldn't serve as a permanent solution, it would help buy time in order to fix the problem, or to evacuate."
"Oh.." Gajeel nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. Well.. I hope it never comes to that.."
"So do I. Just because I can fight, doesn't mean I want to. I will gladly protect the humans, but I see no need for violence if the threat is kept at bay."
"Yeah! I really want to learn to fight, so I can help protect the humans like you guys do!"
Aceron laughed heartily, "I am sure you do, young Iron! I will be happy to watch as you grow into a strong Dragon."
"I'll become the strongest Dragon! Stronger than my silly brother at least. Natsu is so annoying sometimes."
"Brothers are simply like that, I suppose," Aceron chuckled. "But he means well. All of you do. I have a lot of faith in all of you growing into proud, strong, intelligent Dragons."
"We will!" Gajeel promised.