Hi! I am so happy with all the attention this story has gotten! However, my beta The Red Lurker has dropped out due to personal issues so the position is open again. I only ask that if anyone does apply, then they need to have the time to do so. This chapter was Self-Beta'd with Grammarly.
This chapter is more of a filler chapter than anything, but it's an interesting one, so don't worry.

Also, Harry arrived in Fiore on December X773, so come FT Episode/Chapter 1, he'll be around Gray's age (17-18).

Hope you enjoy and constructive criticism is welcome! BETA NEEDED!


Chapter 2 – Hunting 101

Mt. Zonia, February X774

Morning

Harry – or Bahamut, as he was called these days - stood bow-legged with one arm in front of the other, his eyes never straying from his opponent. The air around him was completely still as every one of his senses was on full alert, waiting for the slightest movement so that he may react.

A small gust of wind blew by, and then – where did he go!?

That was all the warning Bahamut received before immediately dodging to the side as a blur crashed into the spot where he stood, leaving a hole in the snow. The green-eyed child had no more time to think as the blur jumped towards him, with him barely managing to roll sideways as another hole appeared. The blur then flashed at him once more, but this time, Harry jumped and made a sideways kick as it landed in front of him.

He hit something and tried to move, but a muscular arm shot out and grabbed his leg, throwing him back into the snow. He tried to get up, but something crashed into his body once more, sending him flying a few meters ahead.

He tried to move his arms, but his muscles protested heavily by sending a flare of pain, which made him drop to the ground.

As he struggled to at the very least, lift his head, a shadow loomed over him and a familiar, rough voice said: "You lasted one move more than the last time."

There was no haughtiness, approval or accusation in that tone. It was a simple statement of fact, casually spoken as though mentioning the current state of the weather.

Slowly, the boy raised his head, his glasses once more nearly broken from the crash and met his eyes with those of his father's, who stood there cross-armed with an emotionless expression on his face.

"Still..." He muttered. "That's two moves more than what any other human could do. That kick was a step in the right direction, although you took too long to respond."

Bahamut's face warped into a disbelieving look. Too long? He barely had any time to react at all! He opened his mouth to complain, but one look from Acnologia made him clam up, although he did grumble a little.

Acnologia just sighed and said "You will reach that level soon enough; all competent warriors, be they dragon or human, do. Now get up and follow me."

The black-haired child got up, despite his aching body and followed after his father. Inwardly he smiled. Ever since Acnologia had given him a new name, he had truly realized something for the first time since he landed on this world (which he now fully believed that he did); he was finally FREE.

No more chores, no more Harry-Hunting, no more sleeping in a closet, no longer listening to others calling him "freak", and best of all: no more abuse – no more hitting him just because people felt like it!

Okay, sometimes he did get hurt a lot more here (courtesy of his father) and sometimes in places he didn't know he had, but it was different; here, the pain was making him grow stronger – it had a purpose behind it.

As he followed Acnologia through the snow and back to the foot of the mountain (which he now learned was called Mt. Zonia), he looked at his father's cloaked form with awe and reverence; sometimes he couldn't even believe that someone as strong as him had made him his son. Kazuto was nice and all but…it just wasn't the same with him. He taught him a lot of things over the past month and a half; how to hunt and light a fire, a bit of history, some grammar and other small things. He even got more books back in Kilika!

Of course, one couldn't see it by their interactions with one another; while Acnologia did teach Bahamut some things, he wasn't really what one would call 'social' or 'caring'. When he trained him in fighting, he was ruthless and only stopped when Bahamut could no longer move. Every time they returned to the cave, the Dragon King would just fly back up to the peak of the mountain and do who-knows-what (from what Bahamut had learnt about his father, he was rather lazy so most likely he would just sleep), leaving Bahamut to either exercise, read, or just do nothing in general. There were a few times when Acnologia entered the cave for a reason that was not to take him training or to town, but during those times he would just sit with his back to his adoptive son and meditate, not making a sound.

Bahamut sometimes wanted to go and ask him a few things when he did that, but he always backed off in the end, as though an aura of intimidation and isolation surrounded the dragon-man that prevented anyone from approaching him.

Regardless of his flaws though, Bahamut couldn't ask for a better father.

The two soon reached the base of the mountain. Instead of transforming though, Acnologia bent his knees just a little bit and leaped up to a crag on the mountain, grabbing onto it for a second, and leaping again up into the cave.

Bahamut just stared in awe at his father's strength. When would he get that strong? Unfortunately, he noticed something that warped his awed expression into a frown: He now had to climb up on his own.

Luckily, this had happened lately over the past two weeks, so he just grumbled in irritation before climbing up a path that he had managed to trace that would lead him up and down the mountain, and by extension, the cave.

He reached the mouth of the cave after what seemed like half an hour of climbing, where he was greeted by the sight of his father sitting cross-legged and eyes closed in the entrance, not even twitching to acknowledge his presence. Bahamut just sighed inwardly; it was nothing new.

He went to the back of the cave where a small fur rug lay near a ring of stone and ash, his firepit. Near the rug was a pile of several books. He just sat down and opened one of them, which was titled "History of Fiore".

A few minutes of silence passed in the cave as the two were engrossed in their activities (or lack of thereof). Every now and then Bahamut would peek over the pages to see if his father had moved, but the Dragon King just remained where he was, unmoving and silent as a statue.

Even so, Bahamut didn't speak out. He just waited.

Meanwhile, Acnologia was mulling over his thoughts while in his meditative state, something he had found himself doing rather often. After the little incident at the mountaintop, he had thought that actually raising his new son would irritate him more than usual with the constant attention. It did, yet surprisingly at the same time, it didn't.

For all of his awe of him, Bahamut was a rather independent and quiet child. He never questioned him, always listening to his comments and taking them in stride. He learned things rather quickly and didn't demand or request any unnecessary items when they were in the human town. Sure, he did allow him to buy books and food, but he allowed him to do so because he knew the saying that had existed since before even he was born:

"Knowledge is power." If he wanted to make a good challenge, then knowledge was also a very important factor. Despite his personality and way of fighting, he was knowledgeable in many areas. Living for 400 years, even in relative isolation, has taught him much (except for things about humans).

Besides, he hated ignorance; that was a sign of weakness.

As for buying food…that was rather obvious. While he did teach him hunting, his son had yet to actually embark on a hunt. He hoped to rectify that today.

He felt his son's gaze land on him for a second before retreating back to his book. This cycle repeated itself several times over the next 10 minutes before he heard his small voice ask "Um…what now?"

What now indeed. He supposed that he might as well get it over with, it would save him the trouble in the future. He took a deep breath and commanded: "Come here."

A pattering of feet was heard for a second before stopping. Acnologia rose up from his meditative position and turned around to look at his son.

Even though it was only a month and a half since they first met, he saw many visible changes in his young apprentice. While he was still a bit thin, signs of slowly developing muscles were seen in his arms. His messy black hair was starting to grow longer, already reaching the nape of his neck, with front bangs covering his unusual scar. He currently wore a dark-blue shirt with black cuffs, but he still retained the baggy pants and sandals from the previous month. What was especially different was his posture; he no longer seemed to shrink in n on himself (unless he was giving him the criticizing stare) and stood tall and eager, his natural curiosity slowly starting to show more openly, that fact reflected off his emerald-green eyes, which were hidden by those silly glasses.

Acnologia inwardly frowned at that last thought. Those glasses looked too ridiculous on him; they would have to go soon. 'But not now, unfortunately…'

Bahamut tilted his head in curiosity and some small amount of anticipation. What did his father want?

Acnologia the blinked and cleared his throat before he began to speak once more. "I have observed your growth over the past month and by my astute observations, I believe the time is right for you to go on your first true hunt."

Bahamut widened his eyes. "R-really?"

"Yes, it will help to improve your resolve and strength, not to mention that it will lessen for me the chore of hunting so frequently." His father bluntly replied.

While Bahamut did inwardly cringe at the directness of his father's statement, he had grown used to the Dragon King's cold attitude. Plus, the prospect of going on an actual hunt sent a shiver of excitement down his spine.

"Get your gear and we will leave immediately." Acnologia said while gesturing to the back of the cave, with an underlying 'NOW!' in his tone.

The black-haired child quickly turned and dashed to the back of the cave. Lying against the wall was a grey satchel filled with an assortment of small items and rope. Near the satchel lay a long, wooden stick with a pointed rock tied at the tip; his makeshift hunting spear. He grabbed the items and ran back to his father, standing attentively.

Acnologia nodded and walked out of the cave with Bahamut following him, only to stop and the ledge that marked the cave's mouth. Bahamut moved to ask what was wrong, but the Dragon King suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and leaped off the mountain, crashing into the snow far below.

The green-eyed human was startled by the sudden movement but he had no time to protest as they had landed very fast. As he opened his eyes after the shock of the impact, he saw that a crater had formed around him and his father, sending another shiver of awe up his spine.

The moment was, of course, ruined when Acnologia dropped him unceremoniously onto the snow. Bahamut just got back up with his equipment (silently thankful that he hadn't let them slip during the leap) in his hands. Wordlessly, the Dragon King marched ahead with his son walking behind.

They silently kept walking through the snow, Bahamut with his mind calm and Acnologia with a bored look. At some point, when the sun had passed the mid-day mark, they had reached the border of a large forest, filled with tall trees decorated with dark-green leaves.

Acnologia turned to his son and started to give him instructions. "This will be your hunting grounds from here on out. As you can see…" he gestured to the faint outline of Mt. Zonia behind him. "Our home is not that far, so you will carry your kills back to the mountain on your own. Your task will be to hunt down a large boar along with a few small mammals, if possible. If you haven't caught your prey by the time the moon rises, you will have to go back on your own. Now go and use what I have taught you over the past month."

Bahamut nodded eagerly and started walking into the forest. He had passed by a few trees when he turned around to see if his father was still there, only to find him nowhere in sight.

'I should've expected that.' He thought. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and ventured deeper into the woods.

As he kept walking, every now and then he would use his spear to mark an "X" on one of the trees, remembering Acnologia's lesson on that:

"When hunting, it is important to know not only where you are going but to know where you came from. I use my enhanced senses to find my way back and so will you in due time, but for now, you must find another way of doing so."

That was perhaps the easiest lesson that he was given.

Bahamut kept trekking through the forest, paying attention to any signs of prey. His eyes were narrowed, watching every small detail along the snow and the trees. His ears, sharp and alert, listening for the slightest rumble of the ground or rustling of leaves. Every step he took was paced – hurried, yet cautious – giving him time to survey his surroundings and react should the slightest disturbance be detected. He kept doing so for some time and he could see through the leaves that the sun had moved a little from its previous position. Despite his slowly growing anxiety, he kept moving, observing and marking.

He was about to pass by a tree that was mounted on a slight slope when he noticed something below it. It looked like a small imprint that hunched over itself. Another lesson popped up in his mind:

"Whenever you see something that seems suspicious or out of place, no matter how slightly, then it is a sign of your prey. Let not even the smallest detail be left unchecked; callousness is a weakness, one that can cost you your life."

Sure enough, hidden by the snowbank, a small hole peeked out slightly, with tiny near-invisible tracks leading to and from it, in his opposite direction – a den!

He immediately stopped and ducked behind a nearby tree, his hands gripping his spear and satchel tightly. He had to be careful not to scare the potential prey after all. He set his spear aside as he opened the satchel and pulled out some rope and two sticks. He took a quick look at the surrounding area before he found something that could help; a large rock.

He dashed to the rock and picked it up. It did require him to drop his sticks and berries beforehand, but nevertheless, it was what he needed. He set the rock a couple of meters away from the den's opening and dashed back to his hiding spot to retrieve the berries, rope and the sticks. Upon returning, he lifted the rock and cleared the area under it of snow, put a stick to support it (it didn't break, so that was good) and placed the berries under the rock. Then, he made sure he had enough rope to reach the tree before hiding once more.

After returning to his hiding spot, he took a quick peek at his makeshift creation; the trap was simple yet effective, just like the book and Acnologia had described it. The only thing to do now was to wait. So, he waited.

He remained still behind the tree, his hand ready to pull the rope and spring the trap. He was careful not to make a single sound, lest he ruins everything. Since it was wintertime, food was scarce; an animal would be bound to come here sooner or later.

As the minutes passed by, he did his best to remain still, but Bahamut's patience was ever so slowly eroding. At one point he was about to just give up when he remembered two things that Acnologia had said; the fact that without prey he would have to walk back home and:

"The key to catching or defeating your prey is patience. Whether you are waiting for it in the shadows or attacking it head on, you must wait until the right moment presents itself to you and when it does – strike!"

So Bahamut just inhaled briefly and kept waiting.

An hour seemed to have passed and the sun had kept moving. Yet Bahamut waited and waited. Suddenly, a small rustling came from a nearby bush. He immediately snapped back to attention. Could it be…?

Sure enough, a small squirrel poked its head out from behind the leaves. It raised its tiny head and sniffed the air before settling its black beady eyes on the berries. A moment later, it scurried over to the berries and sniffed them a bit, unaware of the rock above its head. It took a berry and nibbled on it-

NOW!

In a flash, Bahamut yanked the rope and the stick was pulled away, causing the rock to land on the rodent with a sickening CRUNCH! The poor creature's tail twitched a couple of times, before falling to the ground unmoving.

Bahamut inwardly shivered at the sight, but he showed no changes in his expression outwardly. Combining his past traumatic experiences and a father who liked to destroy things has made him less sensitive to death for a child his age, but not completely.

After making sure that the squirrel was dead, he removed the rock and put the dead carcass in his satchel. Packing up his rope and sticks, he noticed that the sun was getting close to the horizon when he turned around.

'I have to find a boar' he thought. He couldn't stick around for much longer, so he grabbed his spear and dashed off into the forest.

He repeated the hunting steps once more, this time increasing his pace. With every tree he marked the sun slowly drew closer to the horizon. Bahamut kept searching with a determined expression, though he was growing nervous. What if he couldn't find a boar on time? It would take him a long time to walk back home and climb up the mountain, and he would get less time to sleep thanks to Acnologia's training regimen, which would result in him getting thrashed (more so than usual). Nonetheless, he kept looking for clues, stopping once to eat some of the berries.

He had already marked a fair number of trees since the trapping and was about to mark another one when he spotted something on the snow; tracks. His eyes widened with relief and excitement at the sight. They were big, no tail signs, hoof patterns – that meant boar! He dashed ahead, following the tracks, afraid as though they might disappear at any moment. Luckily, the snow never seemed to melt in the Mt. Zonia area and the sky was clear, so the trail remained untouched.

Bahamut kept following the trail until he came to a small clearing. He was about to enter it when he heard a grunting noise coming from up ahead. He quickly ducked behind a nearby tree and peeked out.

Just up ahead with its behind turned to him was a large boar (a bit higher than him) who was struggling to rip out what was presumably a flower. It had grey fur with brown splotches and a short black tail. Two dirty tusks protruded from its wrinkled snout. It made grunts and squeals as it attempted to rip out the plant.

Bahamut pulled his head back and let out a sigh of relief at finding a boar at such good timing. But now was the moment of truth; it was time to claim his prey.

He adjusted his satchel so that it wouldn't fall if he moved around too much and readied his spear. He peeped again to see the boar still struggling to get the plant. He would've normally waited more, but the sky turning orange with the dusk and his long time in the forest had grown on his patience, despite his father's words. So he slowly started to advance towards the beast, spear in hand, and waiting to strike.

But just as he was about to lunge, the boar quickly stopped and raised its snout, sniffing the air. It quickly turned around to meet his green eyes with black beady ones. As the two, man and beast, stared one another down, Bahamut noticed something that a normal boar shouldn't have.

'Since when do boars have predator's teeth?'

He had little time to register that fact though because the bovine let out a squealing roar and barreled towards the boy. It was only thanks to Acnologia's relentless training that he managed to dodge away in the nick of time just as the boar was about to crash into him. The beast skidded on its hoofs for a second before stopping and turning it snout towards him, nostrils flaring and an angry gleam in its eye.

The boar scraped its hoof against the ground twice before charging again. This time though, Bahamut was prepared and jumped to the side once more, farther away this time, evading the charging beast. But the boar turned around faster this time and charged immediately, without stopping to scrape.

As the boar charged it opened its mouth and let out a loud squeal of fury, saliva flying from its jaw. Unknown to it though, it had just secured its own demise.

Bahamut widened the gap between his legs and bent his knees. He raised the spear upwards and narrowed his eyes. Everything around him became blurred and static; only the boar and its tusked, teeth-filled jaw remained clear as day. The beast made one final leap, and that was when Bahamut moved.

"You must wait until the right moment presents itself to you…

He thrust himself forward, guiding the spear towards the beast's open jaw. If anyone would have been looking at him just now, they would see a very faint, yet visible kaleidoscopic aura surrounding his arms and legs.

And when it does…

It was as though time had slowed down to a crawl, the drool and tooth-filled jaw beckoning him forward as he aimed his weapon. With one thrust of his arm…

STRIKE!"

…the spear pierced the bovine's inner jaw and went out its head, making it emit a high-pitched squeal of pain. Bahamut's thrusting momentum allowed him to stand his ground, but unfortunately…

SNAP!

The same could not be said for the spear.

The boar flew to the side with one half of the spear lodged in its jaw. Bahamut landed on the ground and noticed his broken spear, only to wrinkle his nose in irritation; he had spent a good amount of time making that spear.

He turned to the boar, who was now lying on its side and breathing heavily. The longer he stared at it, the heavier the breaths seemed to get.

As he stared at the creature he had just battled, some odd emotion welled up in the green-eyed child's chest. He put his free hand over it and looked at the dying boar with an odd and confused look.

'Why…why am I feeling this way? Why do I feel bad about hurting that boar? I hunted him, I needed to kill him, I shouldn't feel sorry, I shouldn't feel sympathetic. Father said that sympathy was a weakness, so why…?'

He was drawn from his thoughts when the boar gave out one last wheeze and fell lifeless on the ground. Bahamut kept staring at the now-dead animal, the same feeling welling up in him once more, but he then quickly shook his head and dispelled them. He shouldn't feel sorry; the boar was going to kill him too.

He went over to the carcass of the boar and examined it. He couldn't really carry it over his shoulder due to its weight, so he would have to improvise. He opened his satchel and pulled out the remaining rope, which he used to tie boar's legs together, leaving enough for him to drag. He took a deep breath and was about to pull the boar when he remembered something; something very important.

He looked all around for a few seconds and then dashed to the spot from where he had attacked the boar, only to start panicking; he forgot to mark an "X" when he first found the boar tracks!

His breathing became louder as he ran back to the carcass, his hands on his knees when he stopped. What was he going to do now!? How would he get out of this forest!?

Just as he was about to enter a fit of anxiety, his father's words suddenly echoed in his mind, a lot clearer than when he usually recalled them:

"A clear mind is always important for every situation. Do not let your fear weaken you; you are above it."

He slowly took deep breaths as he closed his eyes to try and calm himself down. After a minute of doing so, he opened his eyes and tried to focus. He couldn't panic now; not when he could make his father proud. He looked up at the sky to see that the sun had already reached the horizon and was slowly setting. He kept looking at the darkening sky when he remembered something. He could always see the sun when he woke up in the cave; that meant the mountain, and therefore the edge of the forest was in the direction of the setting sun!

Seeing as he had no time to waste, Bahamut tugged on the rope and began pulling it towards the sunset, carcass in tow. Although it was a bit heavy, he pushed the feeling of the weight to the back of his mind and kept pulling, unaware that while he was correct in his assumption, he was going a little off course…

Bahamut slowly trudged through the trees with his boar in tow. The sky was growing darker by the minute, so he had to keep going. Eventually, he stopped to rest and leaned back against a tree, sweat gleaming off his arms. His legs were aching and he had eaten very little since those berries. Yet he knew he had to go on.

Suddenly, a loud growling noise came from his right. Bahamut's body froze, but his head slowly turned in the aforementioned direction. When he did, he saw something that made him break out in a cold sweat; an enormous black bear, with red eyes and vicious-looking teeth, was growling at him with a particularly hungry stare.

'Oh no.'

The beast then roared and dashed towards the boy, with the latter dropping the boar and running away as fast as he could, still holding the broken end of his spear. Unbeknownst to him, the smell from both the squirrel in his satchel, his sweat and the boar combined with the need for food in the winter provoked a rather tantalizing reaction from the bear, with the result obvious.

As Bahamut ran, his instincts from his old "Harry-Hunting" days kicked in and combined with his training with Acnologia, resulting in him running a little faster than the bear. The world became blurry around him and he didn't look behind, lest he be eaten by the ferocious beast. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and he felt the bear's warm, smelly breath drawing closer. In a near-instinctual manner, he rolled sideways and kept running. The bear did skid a little, but it managed to stop and change its direction.

Bahamut just kept running, and in the far distance, he saw the edge of the forest. He mentally sighed; he was saved! But then the roar of the bear distracted him, prompting him to look backward for a moment, only to receive a painful slam on his head as he crashed into a tree. He held his head as he tried to refocus, but the sound of growling froze him in his place once more. When his eyes regained their clarity, he saw the bear slowly approaching him, a nasty look on its face.

The young child tried to move, to run away, but his legs were frozen in place. The only thing he could do was raise his broken spear in a futile manner as the beast drew slowly closer. As it did so, the black-haired creature was replaced by another image in Bahamut's frightened mind: a tall, armored figure with a flaming ax and a banner with a wolf's head.

The bear paused for a moment and then roared as he bared his fangs. Bahamut screamed at his body to move, but his legs were seemingly stuck. He couldn't even close his eyes. The only thing he could do now, other than holding his broken spear was to accept the futility of the situation.

'I'm…I'm going to die? I can't! I don't want to die! I don't…'

The bear took a final leap towards the boy who silently screamed in fear, fear of his end after all he had gone through…

Only to be stopped by a black-cloaked figure, with long spiky blue hair, his muscular right hand holding the bear's nose.

"In trouble already, whelp?" asked the familiar rough voice. It was enough for Bahamut to snap back into consciousness and properly register who was in front of him.

"F-father?"

-OBW-

Earlier…

Acnologia was sleeping against a tree, his mind quiet for the first time in a while. He had sent his son earlier on his first hunt and was now content to wait in peace and silence for him to finish the task. A month and a half of his superior teachings should've taught him well enough.

Not that he needed them anymore; the Dragon King was beyond such things. Why exercise caution when there is no need for it?

He was awoken by the very faint smell of dead boar and a familiar sweaty scent, one that he had familiarized himself with recently. His posture and closed eyes didn't so much as twitch though.

'So, he finally finished hmm? Took him long enough. Let's see if he bothered to memorize my training.'

It had never occurred to him that it would take longer for Bahamut to hunt smaller creatures due to the fact that he lacked many things that he had, nor the fact that the moon rose earlier in the winter, therefore shortening the time needed for the task.

He returned to his state of slumber while keeping a discreet whiff out. At some point, the whelp's approaching scent has stopped, and Acnologia opened his eyes to a new scent that made him frown.

'A bear? What's one doing out here?'

He got up and cricked his neck as he noticed that both the whelp and the bear were now running in the same direction, probably because of one's "hunger-induced attraction" to the other. He dashed into the woods at speeds far higher than a human's, yet he kept a fair distance to observe the events. Bahamut had learned from all those torture-um, training sessions after all. After dodging the bear a few times, the whelp was running in the direction out of the forest. He moved to dash forward and met him on the edge when the whelp suddenly crashed into a tree.

Acnologia by now was seeing the events unfolding as he had caught up to the whelp and was hiding in the shadows of the trees. He saw the bear approach the brat slowly as said brat raised a fragmented stick (presumably the remains of his spear) with a haunted look in his in a futile manner of defense.

Acnologia inwardly scoffed. It seemed that the brat had not listened to him in the end; dragons do not cower from their enemies! Maybe a sting of defeat at the hands of such a weak creature would do him good; humiliation was a great motivator after all.

Just as the bear was about to lunge, a familiar scene flashed within his mind, overlapping with the whelp and the background…

-OBW-

(Fairy Tail Dragon Cry OST - Memory of the Beginning)

He had arrived at the grove after hearing rumors of a dragon hideout nearby. He had searched the area, but those rotten lizards were clever, erasing their scent. He was about to look in another area when he heard a loud cry. He ran to it.

He found himself standing in front of three dragons; one was red with diamond-like horns and spikes, the other two were green and jade with large wings. Running from them was a little girl in a white dress.

"Help me! Help me!" she cried, tears running down her tiny cheeks.

A tail swipes.

Her frail body fell on the ground.

His eyes widened in rage.

"Perfect" the green one said. "This little girl will satisfy us." How dare this filth…

He felt his power whirl around him, reacting to his rage. "I am the Dragon Slayer, Acnologia. I will destroy the dragons!"

The jade one smirked and all three of them roared, attacking him.

Fools.

Not three seconds later, they all lay dead, a smoking heap of scaled corpses. He looked at her battered corpse, an angry feeling welling up within him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…"

-OBW-

The image…no…the memory faded from his sight, but he found himself in front of the bear, gripping its snout. How did he get here?

He fully snapped back to reality when he heard his son's erratic breathing. Ah, that's what happened…

"In trouble already, whelp?" he asked.

After a silent second, the familiar frail voice called out "F-father?"

Father, huh?

The bear tried to move by attacking him with his paw. Insect…

If one was to observe as a bystander, one second they would see the bear trying to free itself, and in half a second, they would see the head just…vanish. Not a trace remaining but a stain of blood on the cloaked man's hand.

The bear fell down in a headless heap. Acnologia frowned as he shook the blood off his palm. 'Good riddance' he thought. 'Trash that dirties my being does not deserve to exist.'

He heard a sniffling sound and turned around to see Bahamut still holding the spear, eyes looking down with his hair bangs shadowing them. What was wrong? Was this brat ungrateful that-

Bahamut suddenly dropped his broken spear, launched himself at him and hugged him, crying into his cloak. His thin body shook with every sob and his words were warbled by his tears.

Once again, Acnologia had no idea what do to in such a situation. Hadn't he told the brat bot to hug him again? The whelp was scared true, but he should overcome that fear, not break down into tears from it!But when he looked at his trembling son's head, he felt his irritation fading away into confusion. What should he do?

A flash of memories entered his mind once more. Not a scene or even an image like before, but this one was more a memory of feelings and emotions, one that had even predated his dragon-slaying days. With an indifferent face and in a moment of trance (of sorts), he slowly raised his hand and patted the boy on the head a few times, leaving it on his black mop. He looked down at the boy's satchel, which was still tied around him. The faint smell of meat came drifting from it.

'A squirrel?' he turned his head to the direction of the bear and then left, using his nose and enhanced eyesight to see in the dark. 'He got the boar too. Well, he did complete the task…and we have extras now.' he thought as he looked at the headless bear corpse.

Having made up his mind, he looked back down at Bahamut to tell him that they were heading back, only to see that the child had fallen asleep while hugging him. He sighed in resignation; this whole mess really wasn't going to be easy…

-OBW-

Bahamut slowly woke up to the soft feeling of fur, the sound of crackling fire and the succulent smell of meat. He groaned as he tried to lift himself up and rubbed his eyes. He felt the ground around him for a moment before touching his glasses and then putting them on. Once his sight focused, he saw that he was back in the cave and sitting on his rug, in front of him a blazing fire roasting a large piece of suspended meat.

"You are awake." A familiar voice said.

His black-haired head immediately turned sideways to see Acnologia sitting beside him with one leg upright and the other on the ground, looking into the fire with an emotionless expression.

The Dragon King met his gaze with one eye before looking back at the flames. A moment of silence passed between them, during which Bahamut looked back and forth between the meat and his father, slowly registering the day's events. The hunt, the boar, the bear attacking him – his father saving him.

He quickly looked at the muscular, tanned man who sat near him as it finally clicked in his mind.

His father had saved him.

He was about to hug him again, out of sheer instinct, when Acnologia's blueish-gray eyes met his own. That was enough to make him stay in his spot and keep silent; his father didn't like hugs.

The two kept looking at each other for a few seconds before Bahamut asked in a timid voice "Why?"

Acnologia's facial features didn't so much as twitch, but he understood the unspoken question. "You completed the task I gave you; had that bear not interfered you would have succeeded."

Bahamut's head perked up at that. It was as close as something could get as a compliment from Acnologia. But then he noticed something. "How did you know about the bear?"

Acnologia scoffed. "You are forgetting that my senses are far superior to those of any man or beast. Its natural scent, combined with its hunger was a dead giveaway. Although there shouldn't be any bears in that area."

"Why?" Bahamut asked.

"The terrain is too sparse and lacks food to sustain a beast of that size. My guess is that one must have wandered off too far from its cave."

Bahamut just nodded in acceptance. The dragon-man then turned his head to meet his son's gaze. "Let this be a lesson to you: you must always prepare for the unexpected. You can allow nothing to catch you off guard. Do so, and no foe shall be able to ambush you."

Acnologia then gestured to the meat. Bahamut looked at the roast before looking back at his father and pointed an unsure finger at himself.

"It's your kill. You earned it."

The child's eyes brightened and he got up to slowly remove the meat from the spit. Once he did so and carefully set it on the ground, he suddenly started tearing off pieces of it and devouring them ravenously.

A normal human would've been a tad repulsed at the abysmal eating manners of the child, but Bahamut had to eat whatever he could get his hands on as quickly as possible during his time with the Dursleys. That and Acnologia couldn't care less.

"I've placed the bear meat in a little storage hole that I made," Acnologia said after a few minutes, pointing to a culvert filled with snow and ice on the far side of the cave. "Now you can store any meat that is left over from your hunts."

At the mention of the bear, Bahamut's mind flashed back to when the beast had cornered him, teeth bared with an angry growl and how he had been so helpless to stop it. He stopped in mid-chew, swallowed and looked down at the floor with a disturbed look.

Acnologia noticed this and asked in a slightly irritated tone "What's wrong, whelp?"

If Bahamut was startled by the irritation in his father's tone, he didn't show. He just remained silent before replying in a nervous tone "W-when that bear attacked I felt…weak. Helpless. Just like when my uncle was abusing me."

He looked to Acnologia with a hint of desperation in his voice "Why aren't I getting stronger?"

The Dragon King tilted his head and said "Your body is still recovering from your stunted growth. It will take time for you re-develop your muscles." Bahamut shook his head in response.

"What I meant is, you know magic, right? Why haven't you started teaching me yet?"

"Your body is unable to handle magic yet. You will learn in due time." Acnologia replied, ending with a tone that firmly closed the conversation. Bahamut heard the underlying statement because he sat down with an angry pout.

Acnologia however, wasn't done talking. "There is something else to what you said. What is it?" Uncaring he may be, he hated it when secrets were kept from him.

Bahamut opened his mouth to reply, only to close it and look back down at the cave floor with a troubled look. Eventually, he answered.

"W-when my village was attacked...my friend was killed by an armored man with a huge ax. He kicked me to the ground and I saw that he was going to kill me. When the bear attacked me…" a shiver went through his spine. "I felt like I was back at the village, fire all around me, and the man was about to kill me like he did with Kazuto."

"What did this man look like?" Acnologia asked in a bored tone.

"He wore huge black armor that looked really scary. He had a huge ax that glowed like fire and a dark helmet." Bahamut's eyes gained a haunted look to them as he spoke. "He also carried a flag; it had the head of a wolf with a moon behind it. The words "Midnight Wolf" were written there as well."

Bahamut shot his head up to meet Acnologia's gaze, eyes burning with emotion. With each word he spoke, his voice rose to a crescendo. "I don't want to be weak again. I want to be strong so that no one will hurt me again. I want to be so strong that I can hurt that man for killing my friend!"

A silence stretched out between them, Bahamut's eyes locked with that of his father, who didn't even twitch at the desire his son mentioned. After what seemed like a minute though he threw his head back and burst into a cackling laughter that echoed throughout the cave. The laugh sounded strange to Bahamut's ears, who had never heard his father laugh like that.

"You, you desire revenge, whelp! As amusing as that notion is, it is irrelevant to you."

Bahamut tilted his head in confusion "R-revenge? What does that mean?" The word sounded familiar, but he had either heard or saw it in passing or forgot its meaning.

His father chuckled in that same odd tone. "Revenge is a petty human thought. It is a desire to harm those who have harmed you." Acnologia then raised his arm and pointed down at the green-eyed child, his eyes possessing an unnerving glint to them. "But you are Bahamut, son of the Dragon King! When you will complete your training, when you will become a dragon just as I have, such petty notions like revenge will be meaningless to you; as a dragon, you will become so powerful that no living being could ever harm you."

"Like you?"

Acnologia just chuckled. "Yes, like me."

Bahamut was mystified at his father's words. He will become so strong that he won't have to "take revenge"? As enticing as that thought was, a fear still lingered in his mind. "But what if I meet that man again? What if someone insults me or tries to hurt me?"

Acnologia understood what his son was thinking right now. "Should you do so in the future, then you will kill him because he is an obstacle in your path; not out of a desire for revenge. Do not let anyone walk over you."

Bahamut nodded, entranced by his father's words. The Dragon King just smirked at him and got up from the ground. He headed towards the mouth of the cave, but then he paused and said "Although…you do feel naturally more inclined than most. I suppose learning the basics behind it couldn't hurt…"

He turned to Bahamut with an amused look on his face. "Looks like you get your wish, whelp. This week, I will start teaching you the basics of magic; prepare yourself, because the moment you will do something wrong…" his smirk widened into a fanged grin and his eyes gained a dangerous look to them.

"…you might have to pay with more than your life." With those words, he jumped out of the cave and up the mountain.

Bahamut was left with a look of awe on his face. He shook his head and prepared to go to sleep, all the while mulling over his father's words. He soon fell asleep on his rug, the warm fire glowing at his side, soon entering the arms of Morpheus with one last thought:

Despite all of his faults, he couldn't ask for a better father than Acnologia.


It looks a little strange for Bahamut to get into trouble on his first hunt, but remember that he has only been training with Acnologia for a month and a half, which doesn't fill up a malnourished child even with proper food. Same goes for his lack of strength.

It may seem out-of-character for Acnologia to just save Bahamut like that, but to those of you who have read the manga the tragedy with the little girl AKA Sonya was a crucial turning point in Acnologia's mindset, and he was sorry that he couldn't save her. This is more of an unconscious reaction on his part though since that memory was buried under 400 years of "dragon". As such, this isn't too out-of-character.

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