This is what the dragon names are referred to.
Drake: A male dragon. More commonly referred to like this when the dragon gets his wings and breath attack.
Dragonelle: A female dragon. Same thing as the above.
Dragon: A reference to either of these.
Chapter 11: Encounter
Lisanna flew over the vast stretch of woods for two days before she reached her secret place of hunting and sanctuary. She could smell deer everywhere beneath the canopy of trees, and the young dragonelle loved the thrill of the hunt. But more than anything, she loved how peaceful the forest was.
With the sun dipping, she decided to rest in the hidden waterfall cave she had discovered a few years earlier. Lisanna flew through the cascade and into the cave, shaking herself dry before heading to the back and circling in a makeshift nest before she settled down.
Her mind once again wandered to the ever-present dilemma in her heart. Lately, her dreams were often haunted by a faceless drake flying beside her. She wasn't the only one with dreams like that, either. It was normal for dragonelles, once they reached maturity, to desire a mate. If they ignored or rejected this desire, as dragonelles in Thunders had done for who knows how long, their body would try to make the desire too strong to resist.
Most dragonelles in Thunders found ways to resist the desires. But Lisanna had watched her sister become miserable doing this. Mira had held a soft spot for Laxus at one time, but his growing arrogance and uncaring attitude about his Thunder made her heart falter. It was tough for Mira, having allowed herself to become attracted to the great Lightning Drake and then be unable to do anything about it.
Watching that hadn't deterred Lisanna from wanting a mate, but she couldn't have a mate and live in the Fairy Tail Thunder at the same time. Not unless she wanted to be exiled.
Lisanna shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. She needed to gather her strength for the hunt.
/
In the sky above the forest, something watched the dragonelle enter her hidden cavern with interest.
/
In the Fairy Tail Thunder Hall, a human messenger ran in with a message in his hands.
Levy saw the man rush by and called, "Hey, Jet, where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Jet glanced at the dragonelle with a mutter, "There was another dragon attack. Not fifty miles south of here."
"What?" Erza demanded, following the messenger to the back of the hall.
A huge, old dragon sat with several barrels of water beside him. He shook his head and grunted, "Blast, I can't believe I lost to Cana again. That human's stomach knows no bounds."
"Lord Makarov, there's trouble!" Jet ran up and knelt down with the message in his hands.
Makarov eyed the man and nodded, "Tell me what has happened."
"Two days ago, a dragon assaulted the Mistyoaks Village not fifty miles south of here. The town was burned to the ground. Only a few survived." Jet reported.
Makarov's eyes narrowed and his tail tip twitched, "I see…Another raid, eh? And quite close to the heart of our territory…These dragons are getting bolder. Seven years ago, it was just the occasional thievery of livestock...Is there anything else?"
"Yes, Lord!" Jet said, "For the first time since the raids began, we've gotten a description on the dragon that attacked! And in fact, a second dragon that appeared briefly after the town had been razed!"
"Well, let's hear it!" A dark colored drake with frozen horns on his head and ice spikes down his back bared his fangs in a snarl, "I want to hunt these bastards down!"
"Quiet, Gray." Makarov rumbled, "There will be no hunting until we know what we're up against. What was the description, Jet?"
Jet glanced at the report and spoke as he read, "Two drakes, adult size. One is a red with flame markings down the jaws and neck. He's the one who annihilated Mistyoaks. It appears he is a Fire Dragon. The other is a black and silver drake, slightly larger than the flame. It is unknown what type he is, but it would seem his body consists of a kind of metal, perhaps iron. Also, it would seem they are working in unison, but not following any particular leader."
Erza's eyes narrowed, "Two drakes? That's a surprise. I've never seen two drakes working together without domination issues. Is there anything else?"
Jet hesitated, but shook his head, "All that I know is that the town was razed in a matter of minutes. The Flame Drake at least, is a very powerful dragon."
"Well, we are powerful as well." Makarov said, "They'll strike soon. I can feel it in my bones. We must be ready for an imminent attack. Make sure the city is well defended and on high alert. Erza, I leave that to you."
"Consider it done." Erza bowed and immediately walked off while Makarov started giving Jet a return message to Magnolia's King. But her mind was only half-focused on her duty.
Lisanna flew south the same day this attack happened. If she meets either of those drakes out there…Please be safe, my friend.
/
When Lisanna woke up, light was streaming through the waterfall and into the cavern.
Morning already? she thought as she moved to stretch.
"Finally awake, are we?"
Lisanna's scales bristled at the growl, even more so when her nose caught the unfamiliar scent of another dragon in the cave. Her head whipped up with a hiss, but wasn't expecting the stranger to be so large.
A huge red drake towered over her, making her freeze. Where did he come from?!
The drake growled again, "Not very cautious. You didn't even hear me over the waterfall, did you? Either that or you're just a hard sleeper…"
Lisanna was still very nervous, but she decided to growl back, "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"
The drake stared down at her, "I'm called Natsu. I saw you fly in here yesterday. Nice cave. It's not a bad find."
Lisanna measured herself against the intruder slowly.
Natsu was large, larger than her, that was for certain. Maybe not as huge as Laxus or Makarov, but his bulk was impressive nonetheless. It was hard to tell, but she guessed he was probably fifty feet long, with a height of at least twenty feet, though in the cave, with his head stooped low, it wasn't a sure thing. His scales were a rich, deep ruby color, with lighter pink markings in flame patterns going along his jaws and the sides of his neck.
Those jaws had huge white fangs. Natsu's claws were black, long, and very sharp looking. His wings, though folded, looked like a bat's, while his tail was long and muscular, but lithe. Two curved horns sprouted from the back of his head, marking him as a young drake that had only recently reached adult size.
Despite the fact that he wasn't a whole lot bigger than her, Lisanna cringed. There was an air of immense power about the drake, and she realized with more than a little fear that he could kill her with no problem.
If he wanted to, Natsu could probably break her in half.
More wary now, she asked another question, "What do you want with me?"
Natsu appraised her with sharp eyes. It felt to Lisanna like he was deciding whether or not he should eat her.
"…You're a part of the Fairy Tail Thunder, aren't you?" he asked.
Lisanna blinked, then glared at him, "And if I am? I'll bet you're one of the dragons that have been raiding our territory for the past seven years. Are you just here to kill me?"
Now Natsu blinked, "Why would I kill you?"
That confused her.
"W-well, isn't that why you came here?" Lisanna demanded, "You've been destroying every human settlement you come across! Maybe you haven't met one of the Fairy Tail dragons yet, but you're just aiming to wipe us out, aren't you?!"
"No, I'm not going to kill a single dragon, if I can help it." Natsu said unflinchingly.
Lisanna stared at him in disbelief, "I don't believe you. After what you've done to all of the humans, you're telling me you aren't here to kill us?!"
Natsu nodded, "That's exactly what I'm telling you."
"You're lying!" Lisanna hissed.
The Flame Drake's eye twitched, "I'm not-"
Lisanna lunged at him. The dragonelle snapped at the much larger Flame Drake, desperately hoping to catch him off-guard, but Natsu dodged effortlessly and struck back.
Suddenly, his jaws were clamped around her neck. Lisanna struggled to get free, but he didn't let go. She tried to slash him with her claws, but Natsu shoved her against the cave wall with a hiss.
Her heart was pounding with terror. He could kill her in the blink of an eye. In this damp cave, where no one could hear her if she cried for help. Her sanctuary suddenly seemed like a horrible place. At least, a horrible place to die.
But Natsu didn't snap her neck like she thought he would. He hissed through his teeth, "That wasn't very smart. Don't try it again." He released the grip on her neck, but reared up and pinned her down to the ground with his front legs.
Lisanna froze and whimpered in fright, "Wh-what are you going to do?"
"I'm just making sure you don't hurt yourself, stupid." he growled, "What the hell were you thinking, attacking a drake that's clearly stronger than you? Do you have a death wish or something?"
"What does it matter…You're going to kill me anyway…" she whispered.
"For the last time," Natsu sighed and pronounced every word slowly, "I'm. Not. Going. To. Kill. You."
Lisanna was trying to keep her breathing even, but it was coming out in rapid, frightened gasps, "Th-then why are you here?"
Natsu leaned his head down so he was eye level with her, "Because I haven't met another dragon in a long time. At least, a dragon aside from my comrades. And I haven't seen a dragonelle in almost seven years."
"So…" she muttered.
"I'm not going to hurt you." he said, "So please don't make me, because I don't want to."
Lisanna's eyes shifted up towards the huge drake, "Then what do you want?"
"Do you want to go hunting with me?" he asked.
Lisanna was caught off-guard. She wasn't sure she'd heard that right. "Wh-what'd you say?"
Natsu rolled his eyes, "Do you want to go hunting with me?"
She was most definitely surprised, but suddenly became suspicious, "What are you planning?"
"Not this again." he grumbled, "I just want to hunt with another dragon for once, okay? Is that too much to ask?"
"It is if you're planning to kill me when I least expect- hh!" Lisanna gasped as Natsu's clawed hand forced her jaws shut.
He looked her in the eye with an angry hiss, "Let's get something straight here. If I wanted to kill you, I could've ripped you out of the sky before you even got to this cave."
Lisanna cringed under the anger in his eyes. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. She swallowed as he let her go and nodded, "O-okay, I'll-"
"Wait." he interrupted with a sigh, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I just want to fly and hunt with another dragon for once. Since you're in a Thunder, you probably don't get it, but I hate being alone…"
Natsu trailed off, then muttered, "Don't agree to this if you think I'll hurt you otherwise. If you don't want to hunt with me, then go ahead. I won't stop you."
Lisanna took a moment to process that, and allowed herself to relax fractionally. Her scales stopped bristling and lay flat. She was still very wary of him, but more…curious now.
"…Are you going to attack me again, or can I release you without any problems?" he asked.
"…" Lisanna was still considering, trying to decide what her best option was. At least if she stayed, she could find out more about the Flame Drake.
Well…I guess…it couldn't hurt if it's just for today...
"Let me go, please." Lisanna said, to which Natsu complied. She stood up, noting again how much he dwarfed her, but also how he didn't appear threatening in any way. She gave him an even look, appearing calm even if she was still wary, "I'll go…I came here to hunt anyways."
Natsu nodded, "Alright, then. Oh, before I forget, what's your name?"
"Lisanna." she answered.
The Flame Drake grinned, "Well, come on, Lisanna. The deer won't catch themselves!"
He actually seems happy about this, Lisanna realized.
Natsu led the way out of the cave, leaping through the waterfall with a burst of spraying blue. The Flame Drake roared as he took to the sky. Lisanna could've sworn that the very air shook with his power, but it wasn't so frightening to her anymore.
Though that didn't mean it was friendly.
/\/\/\/\/\
For hours, the two dragons hunted down deer in the forest until they'd had their fill. Afterwards, they flew back to the cave, feeling almost sluggish after eating so much. Their hunt had been very good, catching maybe double what they'd have caught alone.
Natsu yawned and lay his head down, relaxing a bit while Lisanna studied him. The Flame Drake noticed this and stared back at her, "What is it?"
"I don't understand you." she answered.
He shrugged, "So, how do I change that?"
Lisanna's tail twitched, "Why are you so intent on taking over our territory? What do you get out of it?"
Natsu snorted, "Are you sure you'll believe me?"
"I want to hear it." she told him, "Then I'll decide."
"Okay…well, where do I start…?" Natsu was silent for a bit, then started again, "About seven years ago, I was still living in the southern continent across the ocean. My parents and I lived in a volcanic cave. We were happy for a long time."
He smiled bitterly, "It was the day after I got my wings. A huge black dragon appeared and attacked us when the volcano started to erupt. That's how I got this scar on my neck, see?" Natsu twisted his head so Lisanna could see the large scar that had ripped through his tough red scales.
Natsu went on, "My father was killed by that black dragon. My mother and I escaped, but we were wounded. We flew north across the ocean to get away from that monster, but when we arrived, the journey had exhausted us. There was a human city on the shore…and they ended up killing my mother."
Lisanna's eyes widened until Natsu finished, "From there, I flew further inland and met two other dragons. We made the plan to take over your Thunder. If we succeed, I was going to lead them back to the southern continent and destroy that black beast. I can't beat it alone."
She comprehended this for a time, and found that she felt sorry for the Flame Drake. I can actually understand why he's doing this. He's had it rough…
"…Look, I can't say I know what you went through, but was all the destruction really necessary?" she asked, "I mean, you could have just tried joining the Thunder. Wouldn't that have-"
"I'm sure your leader has heard of the black dragon." Natsu interrupted, "I doubt he would listen to me. He'd call me a fool and tell me to get lost."
Lisanna frowned, "Is it that bad?"
"You have no idea." Natsu growled, scraping the floor with his claws. His eyes locked onto the waterfall, but it seemed as though he were staring past it at an enemy only he could see. The Flame Drake's scales bristled, "That monster…Sometimes I wonder if it's really a dragon at all…"
"Well, you could have just asked." Lisanna said, "Makarov would have at least heard you out."
Natsu rolled his eyes, "Even if he did-"
"If you heard his answer, then you wouldn't have had to go through with this crazy takeover for the last seven years." she interrupted, "If he refused, then even if you took over the Thunder, we wouldn't have listened to you. We'd probably just rebel."
He stared at her for a bit, as if just realizing this. Lisanna made a show of cleaning her claws, quite aware that his gaze was still locked onto her. Finally, she glanced at him, "What?"
"Let me ask you something." Natsu murmured, "If you were in my position, with my options, what would you have done? If you knew you could never take on that black beast alone, and that this Thunder was your only chance of success, would you have just given up because they refused?"
Lisanna hesitated, "Well, I…" She considered his words for a while, then sighed, "I suppose not."
Natsu lay his head down and closed his eyes, apparently satisfied with that. In mere moments, he was asleep.
The dragonelle stared at him in disbelief. Really? He passed out faster than Erza when she gets drunk!
It was one of the oddest things she'd ever seen, how someone who'd been her enemy not hours ago could fall asleep so easily in her presence. He either didn't feel threatened by her at all, or he had grown comfortable around her.
Personally, Lisanna hoped it was the former. She could sympathize with how difficult his life had been, but it didn't excuse all the raiding he'd done. And there was no way she was going to get attached to a ruffian drake like him.
When I get back to the Thunder, I'm telling Makarov about this dragon. If he tries to attack us, we'll be ready for him. Sorry, Natsu.
So Lisanna fell asleep, hoping to wake up in the morning and fly off before Natsu woke up.
/\/\/\/\/\
She wasn't so fortunate.
Lisanna awoke to Natsu standing by the entrance, dousing his head in the waterfall. She almost pouted. So, you can fall asleep faster than a drunken Erza, but you wake up before the crack of dawn? This drake is just too weird.
Natsu shook himself, spraying water over his neck while his wings ruffled. The light coming through the waterfall glistened off of the wet, red scales and made it appear as though he was covered in red gemstones. It was transfixing.
Lisanna blinked. She whipped her gaze away from the Flame Drake, shaking her head and almost hissed to herself. Idiot! What are you staring at him for?!
"Oh, you're awake?"
She looked back up as Natsu retreated from the waterfall with a grin on his face, "I like this cave. Mind if I stay here for a while?"
"It's sort of my secret place…" Lisanna muttered.
"Well, if it's a problem, I can always stay somewhere else." Natsu offered.
He's getting too comfortable here. Lisanna thought critically. She got up and looked the Flame Drake in the eye, "I'm going back to my Thunder today."
"Okay." he replied.
She stared at him, "I'm going to tell Makarov that you're here."
Natsu raised a scaly eyebrow, "You're not going to tell him why I'm doing this?"
"No." Lisanna growled, "Even if you've had things rough, that's no excuse for raiding all the human villages. If you want him to hear your story, tell him yourself."
The Flame Drake shrugged, "Okay."
Lisanna was taken aback. What's with this drake?
"Aren't you worried that I'll come back with a storm of dragons behind me?" she demanded.
Natsu yawned.
Lisanna promptly cracked his side with a whip of her tail.
He snarled, "Hey!"
"Are you even listening to me?!" she hissed, "I could bring the whole of Fairy Tail over here to attack you!"
"So what are you waiting for?" Natsu demanded, "I'll be right here. Bring them all. I could care less."
Lisanna gaped at him, "You can't be serious."
"I'm completely serious." he muttered, "And don't worry about ambushes- my friends don't even know where I am, and I hate sneaky tactics like that anyway. I'll take all of you head on."
"You are insane." she managed, shaking her head in bewilderment.
Natsu snorted, "If you're going to destroy me, why would you care if I'm sane or not?" He stepped out of her path and jerked his head towards the waterfall, "Go on. Go bring them."
Lisanna hesitated. Is he actually serious? How can he be so carefree about a whole Thunder coming after him?
"Well?" Natsu was staring at her expectantly.
She was still for a time, then slowly walked past him. Lisanna glanced over her shoulder, "I'll be back here in probably four days. That's how long you have to clear out and fly for your life."
The Flame Drake rolled his eyes, "I'm not flying anywhere. See you around, Lisanna." With that, Natsu went to the back of the cave, lay down, and fell asleep in three seconds flat.
Lisanna stared at him for a while. Then she turned and flew through the waterfall to go home.