Chapter 2
Igneel had worried ever since he'd realized Natsu was missing. He immediately knew what had happened. Natsu was constantly testing boundaries without thinking about the consequences, and he'd surely gotten himself into a situation where he was lost and alone.
Human scents were not as strong as a dragon's. They dispersed more quickly. Even though they'd gone searching the moment they'd realized Natsu was missing, they knew the odds of finding him were slim. They'd gone out every day since, moving their search pattern further away from their cave, desperately hoping that they had taught him enough to keep him safe.
Igneel was relieved when Atlas had flown in with his sleeping son on his back, but he could tell that his brother was worried. As much as Atlas liked to pretend that he cared little for his nephew, Igneel knew it was just an act.
He grabbed his sleeping son from his brother and rocked him in his arms, bringing his snout close to Natsu's face.
From the moment he'd awoken, Natsu had done nothing but cry, saying he didn't want to be a dragon anymore.
"What happened?" Igneel asked his brother as he watched his son continue to cry in a way that tore at his heart.
"I don't know, he ran into me," Atlas said as he thought back to when he'd found his nephew. "He seemed to be running away from someone. There was another human scent mingled with his and he was upset."
"He's wounded," Atlas said, "I should heal him."
Igneel couldn't help but smile at the concern in his brother's voice.
"He'll be fine," Igneel assured him after he had checked the small boy over. "It just looks like a bump."
"Now then, Natsu." Igneel said sternly, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
It took Natsu the better part of an hour, but he got his story out. Igneel was flabbergasted. Not only had his son found his mate at a very young age, but he was a human?
He supposed weirdly it made sense. Human lives were brief. Perhaps this Gray had called out to Natsu without even realizing it. It sounded like he was in a lot of pain and his soul might have called out to its twin. Igneel had heard of such things happening before, just not at such a young age.
That created a problem Igneel had tried to avoid. If Natsu were going to be mated to a human, then he would have to prepare him to live in the human world, not the dragon one as he'd planned.
If he felt up to it, Natsu could always return to the dragons once his mate died, like Igneel himself had.
There were so many things about Natsu that Igneel didn't know or understand. He still couldn't change between forms at will, although his dragon nature appeared to be asserting itself more and more as he got older.
Did that mean that at some point Natsu would no longer be able to keep his human form? There were so many questions Igneel didn't have answers to.
The Dragon War was spiraling out of control, and their side was losing. There had been much talk of trying a new tactic. One based on what Igneel had inadvertently discovered when he'd created a spell that transformed him into a human temporarily, and Natsu had since proven when he'd first manifested his fire dragon magic. With some modifications, humans could use dragon magic.
Atlas was working on an enchantment that would allow a dragon to bestow its magic to a human. This would give the dragons access to a new army to help fight on their side.
Igneel wasn't too fond of this plan, feeling it was too short-sighted. They had done no tests, so they did not know what the effects might be, but Igneel understood the desperation.
However, he realized now that if Atlas succeeded, it might benefit them. They could hide Natsu among the newly enchanted humans and keep his identity a secret. Natsu could live among the humans, hopefully with his mate being none the wiser to what he was.
Igneel decided then that he would work with Natsu until he could control his form at will. Then he would allow him to attend the school that Anna was running for the orphans in the village. It would be good for him to learn how to interact with other children.
"Natsu," Igneel began, already knowing the answer to his question, "How would you like to go to school?"
After receiving an enthusiastic reply from his son, they went into Natsu's bedroom. Igneel let Natsu snuggle up to him and murmured soft, comforting words to ease his son into sleep, along with the purrs that he knew Natsu loved. Igneel wasn't ready to let him out of his sight so soon after having lost him, so he remained there long after the young boy had fallen into a restless sleep.
This fire dragon that Natsu had told him had attacked Gray's village worried him. He was reasonably sure he knew who was responsible. Deliora had not been happy about Igneel's decision to side the red dragons with the humans.
He'd thought Igneel's time with the humans had turned him soft, so he'd challenged him to a fight for leadership of the fire dragons. Igneel had agreed and had defeated him after a long worn out fight. He hadn't felt it necessary to kill Deliora for his insolence, opting to exile him instead.
That had apparently been a mistake he now regretted.
o-o
Gray watched Natsu run away, and he was furious at himself. He'd not only hurt his friend, his only friend, but he'd scared him as well. So what if Natsu liked to pretend to be a dragon? He had fire magic, of course, he'd want to think that. What kid wouldn't?
He'd overreacted, blinded by his rage and the terror from the dream. He'd tried to call him back, but he knew Natsu would not return willingly, and Gray couldn't really blame him. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to find Natsu if he didn't want to be found. Gray had seen enough of how Natsu moved and hunted to realize he was very comfortable in the wilderness, much more so than Gray.
He thought as loud as he could, trying to communicate with Natsu like he'd tried to do the night before.
I'm so sorry. Please come back.
Over and over he repeated the thought, hoping against hope that Natsu would hear him and return. He'd almost given up when he heard Natsu respond.
I'll always come when you need me.
Gray waited for anything else. Another message, a return, but there was nothing. Natsu was gone, and now Gray was alone again. Except now he was even lonelier than before, and he felt terrible about what he'd done.
He stayed at their campsite until the next morning. Gray was hungry, unable to hunt anything or catch fish without a fishing rod, even though he'd tried.
Natsu was not coming back.
Gray hoped that Natsu's father had found him by now and that he was on his way home. Someday Gray would make it to Talos, and he would see that field that Natsu had told him about, and he would apologize appropriately for what he'd done.
For now, all he could do was to keep walking in search of the next village.
It took him a couple of days, but he found it. It was smaller than his own village, but that was fine. Now that he was there, though, he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He'd only thought as far as getting to a village.
He was an eight-year-old boy. What could he really do?
He could try to find someone to apprentice under, or he could try to find a job that would allow him to take care of himself. Gray sat at the edge of a fountain observing the village. He noticed quite a few people giving him curious looks, but none of them stopped.
His stomach rumbled at the smells coming from the bakery. He hadn't eaten very well since Natsu had left. He looked through his knapsack to see if there were any jewels, but he rather doubted it. They had been going camping after all.
Gray didn't like the idea of begging, but he liked the idea of stealing even less. Working up his courage, he made his way to the bakery. He'd ask for food and offer to do some work as payment.
He opened the door and waited patiently for the baker to finish attending to customers. Once the shop was empty, he walked towards the counter.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Gray tried to use the best manners his mother had taught him.
"Well, what is it, brat? I don't got all day!" The woman looked at him with impatience. There was no smile or kindness to her demeanor, and Gray froze, forgetting every word he'd rehearsed in his head while he waited.
She looked at him with a sneer and came around the counter, broom in hand.
"Surely, you don't mean to touch my student with that broom, Fiera." A smooth voice interrupted the baker's movements, and Gray looked up to see a tall woman with a pale complexion and short dark hair. Her hands were at her hips, and she looked decidedly unhappy with the baker's planned actions.
"You're lucky Ur noticed you kid." A boy with light blue hair distracted him from the two women's conversation. He gave Gray a friendly smile, but all it did was remind him of the one he'd lost, and it made his heart ache all over again.
Gray decided right there that whoever this boy was, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Gray would not let him in so quickly.
"I'm Lyon." Lyon extended his hand, and Gray shook it.
"I'm Gray." Gray looked at the woman that was still arguing with the baker with unabashed curiosity. Who was she, and why had she come to his rescue?
"That's Ur, she's my teacher," Lyon remarked. "She took me in after my parents died, and it looks like she might be thinking of doing the same for you."
"I'm not alone," Gray replied immediately. They might have good intentions, but they were still strangers, and it wasn't a good idea to show he was vulnerable.
"Yes you are. You're not from around here." Lyon smiled. "Relax, Ur is good people. She won't hurt you. She saw you sitting at the fountain earlier and wanted to make sure you had someone to take care of you before we went home."
"What does she teach?" Gray asked, mostly as a way to buy time while he thought this through.
"Magic." Lyon answered, "She's a powerful mage, best in this part of the world. And someday I'm going to surpass her." Lyon grinned cockily. "Come on, let's go outside."
Lyon left the bakery, and Gray followed him outside.
"Did you say magic?" Gray asked, suddenly very interested in the woman who had acted on his behalf. He'd love to see Natsu's face when he learned Gray had magic too!
If he ever saw him again, that was.
They made their way back towards the fountain and Lyon played with the water, freezing and unfreezing the sprays. He grinned when he noticed Gray watching. He did something strange with his hands and handed Gray a small block of ice. Gray turned it over in his hands.
Ur approached the boys with two pastries that she'd gotten from the baker, handing one to each of them. Gray thanked her and quickly devoured his, trying very hard not to look at the one in Lyon's hands.
He was so hungry.
Lyon just handed him the other one, and he quickly devoured that as well.
Gray heard Lyon telling Ur his name as he ate. He watched them talking, trying to get a feel for these people that seemed to want to insinuate themselves into his life. A few moments later, Ur walked towards him, and the interrogation began.
"Why are you here all alone?" Ur asked Gray directly.
"I'm not." He tried to meet her gaze, but found he couldn't.
"You're alone." Ur ignored his obvious lie, her expression serious, "The question is why? Did something happen or are you running away from someone?"
Gray reminded himself he could still walk away. He didn't owe this woman anything. Her eyes probed him, but she seemed kind, and she could teach him magic. Plus, the fact remained, he had nowhere else to go.
"My village was destroyed about a week ago," Gray said honestly, his mouth dry as he parroted the information. Every time he said the words out loud it brought the pain back and he pressed his fingernails down on his palms until he could focus on that pain rather than the one inside him.
"My parents were killed."
"You're from Isvan?" Ur covered her mouth with her hand. "I heard about what happened there. You have my condolences. It was a fire dragon, wasn't it?"
Gray nodded, not knowing what else to say. It was still too fresh for him. He couldn't really talk about it yet.
"Have you been by yourself all this time?" Ur asked, impressed that he had survived so well at such a young age.
"Mostly."
"Well, my name is Ur, and you're welcome to come with us. We don't have much, but we make do." Ur offered her hand in greeting, and Gray shook it.
He'd already decided, so he walked with them as they made their way up the mountain, his mind still full of Natsu.
He'd see him again someday, but for now, he had to follow his own path.