The Red Dragon

Chapter 1

He flailed his arms once more, desperately trying to grab on to something before hitting the ground.

"OW," he screamed as branch after branch broke his fall until he came to a stop. He dangled from an immense tree, trapped by the scarf he usually wore around his neck.

Yeah, flying was great. The only problem was he never knew how long he would remain in his dragon form. Natsu struggled to get free, but all he managed was to tighten the scarf around his neck even more.

How was he going to get out of this one?

o-o

Gray Fullbuster was also an eight-year-old boy who had taken an unexpected journey on his own. All of his possessions were stuffed into his knapsack and he'd been walking around the woods that had bordered his village for the last few days, eating when he could.

He couldn't remember much that had happened in the last few days, his mind still caught up in the immense loss he had suffered. So he'd just kept walking, knowing eventually he would either come to a village or die. At the moment, he was okay with either.

Gray startled out of his stupor when he heard a rather loud crash somewhere to the west of him. Part of him wanted to ignore the noise, but he couldn't. A noisy "OW" had captured his attention, and the voice had sounded quite young. After what he'd just been through, he couldn't just leave someone to their own devices if he could help.

Besides, it's not like he had anywhere he had to be.

With a slightly annoyed grunt, he turned west and began his search. He looked all around, hoping to see any evidence of the noise he'd heard, but nothing seemed to be amiss.

"Hey!"

Gray looked around once more but couldn't see anyone.

"I'm up here!" The voice called out again, and this time Gray was sure it belonged to a kid. He looked up and caught his breath. There was indeed a boy hanging on to a tree branch that had to be at least twenty feet up. How the hell was he supposed to get him down from there?

"Let go, I'll catch you."

It was only after saying the words that Gray realized how incredibly stupid they were. If the boy let go and Gray didn't catch him, he could easily break something and then he'd be in even more trouble. Hell, even If Gray did somehow catch him, they'd both get hurt.

"I can't, I'm stuck."

The boy took one hand off the branch and pointed to his neck before returning it to its original position. Gray could barely make out a piece of fabric that was caught in the branches. He understood the problem now. If the boy let go of the branch he was holding on to, the scarf that was wrapped around both his neck and the tree branches would hang him.

Gray put his knapsack down and rummaged through its contents until he found what he was looking for, a utility knife he'd rescued from the rubble that was all that remained of his village. He tucked it into the back of his pants and stared at the tree, trying to figure out a way to get up to the boy.

Gray found the lowest branch that he thought would likely support his weight and jumped up, trying to catch it in his hands. His fingers barely touched it the first time, but he was able to grasp it on his second try. He pulled himself up until both his elbows were on the branch. Then he used them to hold his upper body as he swung his legs until he had hooked one on the branch and then got himself into a sitting position.

The boy was still pretty high above him.

Gray took a couple of deep breaths, and without looking down, he cautiously climbed branch by branch until he was close enough to get a good look at the boy he was trying to help. He looked to be about his age, and Gray was immediately intrigued.