The Red Dragon

Chapter 6

Gray whined, "I just got off working for the last three days."

"You should have thought of that before you attacked a fellow guardsman," Lyon remarked with zero sympathy. "He's stuck working the weekend as well, by the way."

His task completed, Lyon headed home, leaving a disgruntled Gray to think about what he'd said. Then again, even if he didn't, there would still be plenty of fireworks to keep him entertained.

O-o

"Of all the stupid, immature stunts you've ever pulled." Erza continued to yell, and Natsu debated tuning her out, but he knew from experience it would only irritate her further. So he sat in his chair and listened to Erza unload her displeasure until she was done. This day was going splendidly so far.

To his surprise, Erza got up from behind her desk and examined his bruises, which were already healing thanks to the regenerative ability that was part of his magic. He could occasionally extend this ability to others as well. Although it took a lot out of him to do so.

"Are you okay?" Erza asked him, and when he heard the concern in her words, it warmed his aching heart a little.

Natsu plastered his usual smile on his face, "This? This is nothing."

"Don't do that." Erza snapped.

"What?" Natsu asked, genuinely confused.

"Act as if nothing happened," Erza met his gaze and held it. "I've never seen you fight like that, Natsu. Not against a friend, anyway. What happened?"

"I couldn't let Gray kill that dragon, and he was determined to."

"Do you know what that's about?" Natsu could tell that Erza was trying to figure out how much of an issue she had on her hands, but he didn't hold it against her. There was genuine concern mixed in as well. He knew better than anyone that her job wasn't easy. He'd had it before her, and he still filled in for her when she went away on missions.

"Yeah," He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them. His green eyes fixed on Erza's waiting brown ones. "Before we met, the red dragon Deliora attacked his village. It was destroyed, and everyone but Gray was killed. He watched the whole thing happen."

The most frustrating part of the whole situation was that Natsu could somewhat understand. He didn't know how he would feel if everyone he loved was taken away from him.

Erza gasped. She'd heard of such things happening, but she'd met no one that had been affected directly. It indeed explained the animosity. Her mother had been fighting in the war for years, trying to keep Talos safe from those types of attacks. She'd been the first adult to receive magic from the dragon slayer spell.

After some training, she'd left with her dragon, Belserion, to join the battle effort. Even now, she was still fighting. It had been a long time since Erza had seen her, but she was proud of her mother. It's why she enjoyed her job so much, it made her feel like she was doing her part to keep them safe too.

Still, the village of Talos had a peaceful relationship with the red dragons that lived in the mountains. Erza had no desire to put that in jeopardy just because Gray couldn't control his emotions. Although the red dragons mostly kept to themselves, they could occasionally be spotted flying around the mountains or even over the lake. Erza was sure they kept most of the more dangerous dragons away.

"Natsu, I've been meaning to ask you," Erza asked sweetly, which in all honesty should have been the first clue he was about to get screwed. "How is it the two of you know each other?"

"When I was eight years old, I got lost and he... rescued me, I guess. We traveled together for a few days. Then... my uncle found me and brought me home." Natsu hedged, glossing over most of the details. "I never saw him again until he showed up here with Lyon."