He was so hungry. It had been so long since he last ate that he wouldn't be surprised if his stomach ate itself. All he needed were some jewels, and he could buy a piece of bread or something to replenish his hunger.
But he had no way of making any money. A lot of places won't give him a job because he was a kid. He wasn't useful to the people who were willing to let him work because he was too weak. Then he tried begging.
He thought it would work because people would feel sympathetic to a small, weak, homeless child. He was wrong. They all looked at him with disgust or outright ignored him. He felt like they treated him as if he were some sewer rat.
It wasn't right. He was a human, just like them. So what if he was dirty and his clothes were raggedy? They shouldn't leave him there and let him starve to death.
That was all the justification he needed to push him to do what he was going to do. If no one's going to give him money to buy food, then he'll just take it.
He knew his dad would be disappointed in him, but they left him no choice. He didn't want to die, and he tried working for it. He hoped his father would understand.
He had the perfect target. The town baker, a portly old man who always gave him the dirtiest looks. He usually comes out early in the morning to sell his freshly baked bread to the townsfolk. It always smelled good, and it was going to be the first thing he bought if he had money.
He scouted the area where he would put his plan into action. It was in front of the bakery, and there was a stand already set up. The baker wasn't out yet, but people started to gather in anticipation.
He could smell the bread being pulled out of the oven, and he could hear the baker getting the trays ready. His stomach growled as he licked his lips.
"Soon…" He muttered while patting his stomach.
The baker soon emerged from his bakery with his help, each carrying a tray full of bread. There was much fanfare as the townsfolk swarmed the stand. He heard the baker laugh at the commotion as he tried to settle down the hungry people.
It was the perfect time to strike.
Using his magic, he sunk into the shadows. The crowd made it easy to slither to the stand undetected. He reached the side of the stand furthest from the baker. He then waited for his opportunity.
He studied the baker and his help days in advance to prepare for today. The baker's help would usually be busy sorting the bread, while the baker would be handling the transactions. He didn't have to worry about the baker catching him, but his help was going to be a problem. They never move or turn their attention away from the bread, except for one thing…
"Oh my gosh, look at the baby!"
The help stopped what they were doing and crowded a mother and baby at the register. They pinched its cheeks and even broke off a small piece of bread and gave it to the baby. It angered him when he learned they would give a child that couldn't even chew free food but couldn't spare him a crumb. It doesn't matter now because soon he'll be able to eat.
He slowly inched his arm out of the shadow and reached for a loaf of bread. It was out of his reach. He then crept part of the upper half of his body out of the shadow and tried to grab the loaf. Still too far away.
He didn't want to leave the shadow out of fear of being caught, but it was the only way for him to reach the bread. He checked to see if the help was still preoccupied, and they were. Not knowing when he'll get another chance, he gathered his courage and left the shadow.
He still did his best to remain hidden by keeping his body low and out of sight. He checked again to see if anyone was still distracted. They were, and he didn't waste another second.
He heard heavenly music as he held the loaf in his hands. It was still warm and so soft. He drooled, but he didn't care. He had finally gotten some food.
"Hey, you brat!"
He quickly turned and saw the baker glaring daggers at him. His yelling also drew the attention of everyone. It also made the baby cry, which angered the help, but not at the baker. They were angry with him.
"Are you gonna pay for that?"
It was a simple question, but it shook him to the core. He tried to speak, but everyone looking at him as if he were a stain in the world left him a sputtering mess. He thought about putting the bread back to avoid any conflict, but he was so hungry, and he came too far to leave empty-handed.
They slowly converged on him. He backed up to get away from them. They didn't stop. They wouldn't stop until they took back the bread, killed him, or maybe both.
His back met the brick wall of the bakery. The townsfolk encircled him, taking away his chance to run. He was trapped.
He started hyperventilating. It was too late to talk his way out of this, not like they were going to listen to him. He couldn't climb up the bakery, and he couldn't run through it because the people had blocked off the door.
He only had one option left.
He sunk into the shadows and slithered away. He heard the townsfolk call out his position as he slithered away. They chased after him, wielding whatever object they could find. He could feel their footsteps, giving him even more of an incentive to run.
He didn't stop moving, not even when he saw he was leaving the town. It was a forest, the same one he came from. It was full of dangerous monsters and animals, but it was much safer than staying in the town. He made a break for it.
He kept going, not slowing down for a second. It didn't matter that the buildings were replaced with trees or that it got darker. He wouldn't stop until he knew he was safe.
It wasn't until he didn't feel or hear the footsteps that he slowed down. He stayed in the shadows just in case they were still chasing after him. After a few minutes, he deemed it safe to emerge from the shadows.
He took in his surroundings. It was trees for as far as the eye could see. He knew he was lost, but he certainly wasn't going to go back to that town. They would definitely chase him again if they saw his face.
His stomach growled and decided that he'd worry about where to go next after he ate. He sat against a tree and ate his prize. It was delicious and he was in a calming place to eat it. It was kinda like a paradise.
His nose then picked something up. It smelled familiar, but it mostly smelled like iron and feathers. He looked in the direction where it was coming from.
He was unsure about checking it out, but the familiarity of the smell kept drawing him in. Every part of his brain was telling him to go in the other direction, but his heart told him to go.
Unsure if it was smart or stupid, he chose to listen to his heart.
After the run-in with the boar, Gajeel realized Wendy had little fighting experience. He asked her if her dragon ever taught her how to fight, and she told him her mother paid more attention to teaching her healing magic. She also said she knew how to fight a little, but she was better at healing. Gajeel disapprovingly shook his head after hearing that.
He knew firsthand that her healing magic was useful, but if she was going to travel with him, she'd need to know how to fight. It was important for her to learn because, unlike him, her source of replenishing her magic was infinite. So if they ever ended up in a dangerous situation and he had no magic, they wouldn't be completely defenseless.
It's why he woke her up early in the morning and led her to a river. There were trees and rocks everywhere. The perfect targets for her to train with.
"Gajeel! Why did you wake me up so early?" Wendy whined. Her hair was a mess, and she was trying, and failing, to wipe the tiredness from her eyes.
"Because, Squirt, I'm gonna be teachin' ya how to fight," he told her. He held her up to prevent her from passing out. It was clear to him that her dragon never did any early morning training like his dad.
"But I'm tired. Can we do this later?"
"Go dunk yer head in the water if you're tired. If you're gonna get stronger, then we'll hafta do this the right way: My way."
Wendy didn't move or say anything to what he said. He looked at her and saw she had fallen asleep. He shook her, and she instantly woke up.
"Next time I'm throwin' ya in the river."
He then led her over to the biggest rock in the area. It was a huge boulder with a little bit of moss on top. She puzzledly looked at it, unsure what Gajeel wanted her to do.
"Other than yer roar, did yer dragon teach ya anything that wasn't healing?" Wendy timidly nodded while digging her foot into the ground.
"Y-Yeah, but I'm not good at any of them."
"Show me."
"Huh?"
"Use yer magic on this rock," he told her while patting the boulder. "I don't care what, as long as it could hurt someone."
Gajeel gave Wendy some space as she took her place in front of the boulder. She took a deep breath to replenish her magic. She stood still for a few minutes, which annoyed Gajeel to no end. He was about to yell at her to hurry, but she sprung into action.
She jumped high up into the air, raising her legs up high. As she was falling, she swung her legs down, forming some high winds.
"Sky Dragon's Claw!"
Her magic made contact with the boulder, blowing most of the moss off of it. After the dust settled, Gajeel checked the damage. Outside of the lack of moss, he didn't see anything. She had pretty much cleaned from what he could see.
Gajeel saw she was proud of herself, but he wasn't. Someone who was trained by a dragon should not be this weak. He wondered how long she would've survived if he had never stumbled over her.
"Again," Gajeel said bluntly.
"What? But I did what you told me."
"And it was weak," Gajeel told her. He then turned his fist into iron and punched the boulder, creating a fist-sized crater and multiple cracks. "Until you can do something like that we're not stopping."
Wendy tried arguing, but Gajeel remained steadfast. He was undeterred by her pleas, promises, and begging eyes. Realizing Gajeel wouldn't budge from his stance, Wendy sighed in defeat and got ready again.
She repeated what she did the first time and had the same result, with the rest of the moss being taken care of. She did it again. Nothing changed. One more time, it was the same as her first try. She wondered if the rock was indestructible, but Gajeel had already shown her that wasn't the case.
Gajeel then told her to try something different, and she did. She charged at the boulder and swiped her fingers at it. There was a huge gust of wind from her attack.
"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"
Wendy smirked proudly. Surely, she did some serious damage to the boulder, but her smirk fell when the dust cleared. The only visible damage was the crater Gajeel made.
Gajeel clicked his tongue.
"I think ya know what to do," He said, and walked away from the boulder and got himself comfortable at a nearby tree.
Wendy used her Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang attack again and did no damage. She tried it again, but still nothing. She then tried her Sky Dragon's Claw again, the same result as before. She was getting frustrated, and what made it worse, Gajeel started to insult her.
He started talking about how she was only useful on a hot day or how she was getting dirt in his eyes. He kept it up after every attack. She was so frustrated and angry that she kept putting more and more effort into every attack to shut him up.
But then, he said something that made her snap.
She had just finished using her Sky Dragon's Claw attack, and just like before, she did no damage, but she felt like she was getting close. She got ready to do another attack when she heard it.
"I can see why your dragon abandoned you."
He didn't say it loudly, but it was loud enough for her to hear it. She fell to her knees and gripped the ground. She heard him stomping over, mumbling about her being annoying and wasting time.
"Why d'ya stop Squirt?" Gajeel asked in a demanding voice.
Wendy shook, which frustrated Gajeel more. He stomped the ground next to her, making her lose her hold.
"Answer me!" Gajeel barked.
Wendy finally looked at him, which made him recoil. She was a crying mess.
"Because you're being m-mean to me!" Wendy yelled.
Tears rained down her face. She sobbed loudly, causing Gajeel to cover his ears. He tried to calm her down, but he couldn't get a word out. So, he let her cry until she was ready to talk.
She cried for what felt like ages. For a sky dragon slayer, she sure had a lot of water stored away. There were moments when Gajeel thought she had calmed down, only to be proven wrong seconds later.
"Alright, that's enough! Quit yer blabbering!" Gajeel yelled after having enough of Wendy's sobbing.
Wendy stopped crying, but her lip kept on quivering. Her eyes were also red and puffy, and there were also faint tear streaks on her cheeks. There was even a small trail of snot running down her nose. Gajeel sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, ya lucked out with yer magic. All I'm tryin' to do is make sure ya ain't defenseless if we're ever split up."
"But do you have to be so mean?" Wendy finally spoke up. Gajeel groaned as he rolled his eyes.
"It's how my father taught me. I don't mean anything I said."
"Grandeeney was always nice to me. She always praised me after everything I did," Wendy wiped her nose and lightly smiled as she reminisced about her mom. "Maybe if you were nicer, I'd be able to do it."
Gajeel let out a long, drawn-out sigh as he dragged his hands down his face.
"I'll stop the insults, but don't expect me to praise ya for somethin' ya should already be good at."
Wendy puffed her cheeks before quickly exhaling. She knew that this was the best she'd get from Gajeel.
Wendy got ready to attack the boulder, and Gajeel was going back to his spot by the tree. Then all of a sudden they were on high alert. There was a familiar scent in the air, something they both knew well. It was a dragon.
But this dragon didn't smell like either of their parents. Instead of iron or feathers, it was darkness. They didn't know how darkness had a scent, but it did, and it was coming right at them.
Gajeel quickly pushed Wendy behind him and turned his skin into iron. The scent of darkness was growing stronger, and he could hear them moving through the woods. He braced himself for what was to come.
"Iron Dragon—!"
Gajeel quickly bit down to stop his roar when he saw who was originating the scent. Instead of a dragon, it was a young boy who was barely taller than Wendy. He had really short black hair and was wearing a blue hooded shirt and tan pants. He also looked really skinny.
But what really stood out to Gajeel were his red eyes. He had seen those eyes before, but he couldn't remember when.
"H-Hello," the boy meekly said.