There was something about him that always felt…off. Natsu could never really explain it himself.
He woke up feeling just fine, it wasn't like he was sick or anything. He got through every day just fine and wasn't failing any of his classes.
He was plenty strong as well, though he couldn't go up against Erza. However, Jellal was the only person who had any real effect on her, which was beside the point.
But there was an odd feeling inside of him every time he conjured his magic, every time he tried to summon the beast within him.
He'd seen Gajeel do it plenty of times, that being him using his dragon force. When scales would cover the entirety of his body and gave him the strength to go toe to toe with Laxus Dreyer of all people.
Not that Natsu couldn't handle Laxus, the times he lost only counted as training matches.
His fire seemed dim, which was the only way he knew how to word it. It was like the flame in his belly was snuffed out by something when he tried to force it to grow.
He brushed aside this matter, knowing he was strong and still had much to learn, so there probably wasn't anything to worry about.
That was until he began to have these weird dreams.
Natsu would draw in a sharp breath as he suddenly opened his eyes, shocked out of his sleeping state.
He looked around his room carefully, his chest settling down from its rapid movement.
He heard a voice that hadn't been there before.
"Natsu…"
It had said, which wasn't a scary thing to say in general. But he didn't recognize the voice.
It was light and bubbly, it made his heart suddenly yearn for more of it.
He turned over and squeezed a pillow tight in his arms.
He decided to brush it off, thinking that it was probably just a dream.
But Natsu couldn't seem to stop dreaming about this voice.
There were some that he remembered. It was usually just him walking around town or in his neighborhood and hearing that voice call out from behind him.
He'd turn around to find no one there, even though it felt as if they were whispering in his ear.
He was more annoyed with the fact that he wasn't annoyed at all. He was excited, jittery, happy at the tone of voice. Something about it ignited the flames that rested in his stomach.
Natsu kept this to himself, thinking that maybe he had just gone crazy and this series of dreams would just end at some point.
But one night as he dreaming of walking through the woods and hearing that voice, when he turned around, a name slipped out of his mouth this time.
"Lucy…"
Something about that name…he couldn't quite remember. It itched at his brain, it clawed at his skin. But who the hell was Lucy?
He decided to ask his parents, nonchalantly to see if they knew or if he was just tripping.
"Lucy?" The name seemed to make them wary, their eyes settling on one another as they all sat at the dinner table.
"Yeah, do we know a Lucy?" He asked again, pursing his lips as his parents seemed to muddle over the decision to tell him or not.
"I guess it's okay, he's eighteen already." Grandine shrugged but looked a bit standoffish like she was scared of him knowing the truth.
