So in this chapter, Natsu is a year old. This is really more about showing Natsu's growth and introducing some new dragons, but the next chapter will begin the major part of the story.
Oh by the way, this chapter has some violence.
Please review, and thanks for reading!
Chapter 4: Yearling
One year had passed since Natsu had hatched.
The once little drake was now much more solid, having reached nearly fifteen feet long, with a height of seven feet when his neck was stretched. His scales, once weak and slightly dull, were now tough, and starting to become more vibrant in color. Natsu's claws were long, his teeth sharp, and his eyes quick. The wing casings on his back were gradually starting to swell. It was slight, hardly an inch, but his wings were definitely growing.
His speech had improved greatly over the course of his first year. Igneel had staked his pride on teaching him personally, and had pulled it off well. Natsu could even write basic words out with his claws.
Natsu's hunting skills had been channeled by Sunrose's careful teaching. He'd long since moved on from sheep and had started hunting down deer, boar, and even a bear (Albeit, with difficulty) in the last month. Sunrose had actually let him loose in the forest for a whole day to hunt on his own. He was a menace to the forest wildlife.
His parents couldn't have been more proud of him.
But today was a special day. Because today, Natsu would be meeting other dragons. Dragons that Igneel had asked to come meet his son.
The Flame Drake was already somewhat shifty.
Sunrose watched her mate pace the cave length a few times before she finally interrupted, "My love, you'll tear up the nest if you keep this up."
Igneel sighed, "I just want this over with. I trust Atlas Flame and the others, but I can't believe Smaug is coming here. It's making me uneasy."
"Well, if he tries anything, Natsu has you to defend him." Sunrose reminded, then let out a soft hiss, "And if he so much as scratches a scale on Natsu, I'll shred him."
"Can you stop talking like I'm not here?" Natsu growled. His tail lashed once, "I'm not a defenseless hatchling. I hunted down a bear on my own, remember?"
"Smaug has killed mammoths many times the size of a bear, little one." Igneel remarked, "And with hardly the same amount of effort. He is a fiercely powerful drake."
Natsu scratched at the cave floor, "I'll show him who's stronger. I bet he used his breath to kill the mammoths, right? Well, I killed the bear with my own claws and teeth! Bet he can't do that!"
Sunrose shook her head, "Natsu, just be polite, okay? Don't give Smaug an excuse to dislike you. He doesn't exactly get along with your father, you know."
"Why not?" Natsu asked.
Why, indeed? Sunrose thought, then replied, "Because your father is a stronger dragon than he is. And Smaug must listen to him."
Igneel grunted, "I'm actually a little surprised he's stayed as long as he has, considering his dislike for me."
"Well, Smaug might be a rogue fireball, but he's loyal." Sunrose remarked, "You know that. He's proven it before. He'd just rather be in charge than following a leader."
"I suppose so." Igneel muttered, then stiffened and sniffed the air. He glared out to the front of the cave.
"They're here."
/
The dragons met in the center of the volcanic crater.
Igneel and Sunrose stood side by side, with Natsu's smaller form between them. He didn't like being in such a belittling place, which was not a pun considering that his parents were many times his size, but Natsu knew better than to argue. Even he could feel how tense the air was.
At the head was Atlas Flame, followed by a red drake with ash-gray stripes like a tiger, and a white dragonelle whose eyes were a pale blue, but most remarkably, the irises seemed to flicker like fire.
The newcomers assessed the family and approached cautiously. Well, the red and gray drake did. Atlas Flame and the dragonelle seemed more at ease.
The Blazing Drake dipped his head, "Igneel, Sunrose. It's been a while."
Igneel nodded in return, "It has, Atlas. And this would be…?" His gaze was cast to the flame-eyed dragonelle.
She snorted with amusement, "Oh, right, I didn't have my wings when you and Sunrose left. I'm Fire Lily, remember?"
Igneel muttered the name in an attempt to remember, but Sunrose gasped, "Fire Lily?! It couldn't be! You were so small when we left!"
"Well, I grew, Sunrose." Fire Lily said happily, "It's been so long. I just had to come see you at the first chance!"
Natsu was eyeing the third visitor with the same silence the visitor was using to eye him.
The small drake finally broke the quiet, "You're Smaug, aren't you?"
The other dragons hesitated, but Smaug rumbled a reply, "Indeed, I am. And your name is…?"
"Natsu." he answered, then looked the visitor over again.
Smaug really was a giant; easily ninety foot plus, with a huge head that had several spikes protruding from the base of his skull. Surprisingly, Smaug had no front limbs, but instead had claws on his wing joints that he used to walk instead. His tail was long, with three layers of spikes at the very end. His pale orange eyes seemed to stare through Natsu and into his soul.
The little dragon understood. This drake was far more powerful than he'd originally given him credit for.
Natsu reluctantly decided it would be smarter to act submissively towards the huge drake, so he dipped his head politely, "It's nice to meet you."
Smaug regarded the smaller drake with narrowed eyes, then nodded, "I suppose it is."
Igneel broke the uncomfortable air with a cough, "Anyway…Atlas, Lily, and Smaug, he's already seen to introducing himself, but this is my and Sunrose's son, Natsu."
Atlas leaned down and appraised the youngster from close up, "I've longed to meet you, Natsu. You really do look like your parents. Perhaps more like Igneel, but I hope you've inherited some of your mother's fiery personality. It'll make you into a fearsome drake one day."
Natsu decided he liked the Blazing Drake and chirped, "I'm happy to meet you, too! It gets kind of boring with just my parents around- I've never met another dragon before! Are there other dragons like you that are made of fire?"
Atlas chuckled, "If there are, I've yet to meet them. Though I have heard of dragons made entirely of water, or rock, or even wind. You'll find many varieties of dragon in your lifetime, little one-"
"Igneel, is there anything to eat around here?" Smaug interrupted.
The Flame Drake hesitated, then nodded, "In the woods on the edge of the volcanic land. It's just a mile away. You'll find deer in the thicker parts."
Fire Lily stretched, "You know, I wouldn't mind a deer or two. Maybe we should all go hunt?"
"Not me." Atlas Flame remarked, "Entering a forest is a terrible idea for me."
"Agreed." Smaug rumbled, "So perhaps we should just go in a group of three. Say, myself, Fire Lily, and…" His gaze fell to Natsu.
Sunrose's jaws opened in what was probably about to be a hiss, but Natsu beat her to it, "Sure!"
"Natsu, you don't decide that." Igneel reminded him.
"This is-" Sunrose started.
Natsu gave them a pleading look, "Please? Even if they want to hunt, they don't know any of the good spots. They won't catch anything on their own."
Igneel hesitated. Natsu made a good point, but he tried another approach, "Alright, then I'll go."
"No." Smaug growled, "It's bad enough that two adult dragons are going, but three? We'll scare off all the prey before we even have a chance. Besides, I'm curious to see if your son is a skilled hunter."
Sunrose's scales lifted as she bristled, "That's not something you can-"
"Mother, pleeeaaase?" Natsu begged.
Sunrose looked down at him worriedly, but Fire Lily nodded, "That's fine. You can fly with me, Natsu."
With that decided, Smaug flew up out of the volcanic crater.
Lily brushed past Sunrose for a moment, "I'll keep him safe, don't worry."
The older female stared at her, "If something happens, can you protect him from a drake like Smaug?"
Lily nodded, "I can breathe fire. If worst comes to worst, I'll keep Smaug off long enough for Natsu to hide. I'll die before he gets hurt."
Sunrose dipped her head, "Thank you…"
"It's to be expected, isn't it?" Lily offered Sunrose a smile, "I mean, you are my sister after all. I won't let a bloodthirsty drake like Smaug kill my own nephew."
/
They flew out over the woods for a while until Natsu peeked out over Fire Lily's back and shouted, "Down by that clearing! Land over there!"
Lily and Smaug flew down and landed with surprising stealth, hardly making more than a slight breeze with their arrival. Natsu hopped off of Lily and glanced back at them, "I'll make the herd come your way. Just wait here for a bit, okay?"
Lily stared at him, "Are you sure you won't need any help?"
Natsu spun and growled, "A drake-"
"-fights his own battles." Smaug finished.
Natsu stared at the huge drake with surprise, but Smaug ushered him with a flick of his wing, "Go on."
He nodded and scurried off into the underbrush, leaving Smaug and Fire Lily to wait on his return.
/\/\/\/\/\
Natsu stalked the herd for nearly half an hour. He was doing his absolute best, so as to not seem like a bad hunter to the new dragons. Even if they made him excited, he kept calm and focused.
If I mess up and look like an idiot, Smaug will eat me for sure, he thought.
Suddenly, the herd tensed. Natsu froze. He hadn't actually moved, and the wind hadn't shifted, so he wondered what had made the deer so on edge. Then they started to run.
Now or never! Natsu charged out of the underbrush at top speed and flanked the herd, snapping at the feet of the deer to make them change course towards the waiting dragons.
The herd burst into the clearing with brays of terror. Smaug and Fire Lily were on them in an instant.
While Lily snapped and slashed at them to down a few for the other dragons at the volcano, Smaug literally engulfed a whole deer in one snap of his jaws.
Natsu watched him with awe.
Then Smaug eyed him.
Natsu felt himself freeze under the piercing orange gaze.
The giant drake towered over him and pulled his head back like a snake ready to strike.
Fire Lily gasped, "Natsu!"
Smaug lunged, jaws flying open to reveal sword-sized fangs-
Natsu squeezed his eyes shut, frozen with panic. He's gonna eat me!
But the pain never came.
Natsu heard a sickening crunch behind him, then a loud scream. His eyes flew open and he spun around, staring at the scene with shock.
Smaug had a human clamped in his jaws. A spear was on the ground, dropped from the human's nerveless fingers. More humans were behind them, shrieking in fear of the huge dragon that had just killed their comrade.
In fact, Smaug pulled up and separated the human's torso from his waist. The lower half slumped to the ground with a spray of blood. The huge drake glared at the other humans with Natsu beneath his great neck.
Natsu was stunned. He..did he just save me…?
Then Smaug roared.
It was a bellow unlike anything he'd ever heard before. Natsu dropped to the ground and scrabbled to cover his ears. Fire Lily shook her head with a yelp of pain.
The humans ran for it, their hands over their ears. Even the trees swayed from the sheer force of the overwhelming roar. The earth and sky seemed to tremble in amazement.
Smaug finally closed his jaws and snorted, "I hate humans. Cowardly vermin." He muttered something that was probably a curse as he sniffed the lower half of the human he'd bitten in half, then snapped it up lazily.
"Natsu!" Fire Lily raced over and sniffed him from head to tail, "Are you okay?! You weren't hurt, were you?!"
"I-I'm fine." he managed, still subdued from Smaug's display of power. Natsu found his eyes locked on the huge fire dragon. Why did he save me?
Fire Lily also seemed to be surprised at Smaug, but she put it aside for the moment, "Let's get back to the volcano. Your parents are probably worried sick after hearing that roar."
Natsu's voice was small, "Okay…"
Smaug eyed the young drake and huffed, "You did a good job driving the herd this way, little one."
"Th-thank you." he stammered.
Lily helped Natsu climb onto her back, then flew off with two deer in her claws. Smaug snapped up one more, then went after them.
/
They met the other dragons halfway home.
Igneel and Sunrose flew ahead of Atlas Flame, both of them on edge after hearing Smaug's roar. Once they found their son safe and unharmed, Igneel relaxed, but Sunrose was still pretty frantic. Natsu protested when she attempted to pick him up off of Fire Lily's back. The white dragonelle explained what had happened, while Igneel and Atlas Flame remained quiet and listened.
Smaug said nothing to them, and just kept on flying.
/
The dragons returned to the cave and settled to eat and talk amongst each other.
Natsu was trapped by his mother, unable to leave her side while she made sure that he was really unharmed. He let her worry; Natsu'd never seen Sunrose so distressed, and he was still a little shaken himself. Fire Lily remained beside them, trying to keep her sister calm and ensure her that Natsu was okay.
Igneel and Atlas were having a quiet word with each other, glancing every so often at Smaug.
The huge drake was lying at the mouth of the cave, uninterested in talking or anything else. In fact, he took a nap.
Natsu found his eyes focused on Smaug for the majority of the time. He didn't get it. He just didn't get it.
/\/\/\/\/\
At the end of the day, the other dragons had to leave for the Flame Capital.
Fire Lily and Atlas Flame said goodbye and took off, but Natsu stopped Smaug before he could fly.
"What is it, little one?" Smaug muttered.
Natsu glanced down at the ground, summoned his courage, and looked back top at the huge fire dragon, "U-um, thank you!"
"What for?" the drake asked.
"W-well…you saved me from that human earlier…" Natsu said quietly.
Smaug eyed the little dragon for a moment, then sighed, "That does not require thanks."
Natsu stared at him, "What?"
"I imagine your parents weren't very keen on me flying here, were they?" the fire dragon snorted, "That doesn't really surprise me, but contrary to popular belief, I'm not a bloodthirsty beast. To think some compare me with the black dragon of the apocalypse, bah!"
"So you're not a bloodthirsty beast?" Natsu asked without thinking, then snapped his jaws shut. That had been a very rude thing to say.
Smaug leaned down so he was eye level with him, and snorted again. But with laughter.
Natsu was more than a little confused now.
"Little one, I admit I have a quarrel with Igneel, but I mean you no harm. You are not your father. Children do not choose their parents. Therefore, I will guard you from what dangers I can." Smaug chuckled, "But keep that between you and me. I admit, I like the fear that comes with my reputation. At least I get a little more respect for it."
Natsu didn't really get it, but he understood that the fire dragon wasn't going to hurt him. So he nodded, "Okay. Maybe we can hunt again sometime?"
"Perhaps, little one." Smaug turned away and launched himself out of the cave, soaring up after Atlas Flame and Fire Lily.
As if saying goodbye, Smaug spat a huge fireball across the sky, dazzling in the fading light.
Natsu heard Igneel and Sunrose walk up behind him and stop at his sides. Igneel rumbled, "What did he tell you, Natsu?"
"Hm." Natsu hummed, "It's a secret!"
Humans children had their heroes. So did young dragons. Natsu knew who his were. His mother and father, Atlas Flame and Fire Lily, and Smaug. Even if the fire dragon was Igneel's rival, Smaug didn't have anything against Natsu because he was the son of his enemy. Instead, he'd saved the little dragon, and gained his respect.
Smaug was like a book. You couldn't judge him by the cover.