I should be working on something else… But I can't focus on it… So, if you've read the description (I mean, unless you go randomly tapping on stories, how would you not have?) you know what's going on here, EXCEPT! There's something that's isn't mentioned there! I've taken a lot of characters, and swapped them around. Also, no relationships. Now, let us begin…. (Also I don't do well with schedules… So….) ((also also, I don't really pay much attention to dates in tv shows, soooo, every date, except for July 7th, x777 is probably gonna be wrong.))

*shows up months later, sipping starbucks* what'd I miss

Updated 20/3/19

Igneel roared, just barely enough to drown out the bickering dragons in front of him. Timidly, a river blue dragon, smaller in frame to Igneel, with slimmer features and a webbed spine down her back spoke up. "Igneel, are you certain…. You really did hear a child's cries? It could not have been a bird, or some sort of animal?"

Before Igneel could respond, before he could do much else than process the question really, another dragon, this one a gleaming yellow, snapped her wings out to either side of her. Despite her smaller stature, the smallest of the group, her wings far outreached even Igneels. It was simple logic that such a display was intended as threat, and with her giant wings it promised not to be an empty one.

Igneel lowered his head, and allowed a growl to bubble in his throat. "What is the meaning of this, Empra?"

"Allow me a moment of repose," came the response, "but I was in the middle of important studies, far more important than some imagined child you dragged us out here to meet. Explain." The very air around her crackled, little strands of lightning dancing from her scales to her wings, up her impressive wingspan and then down again, highlighting her golden body from snout to tail-tip.

Around Igneel, the air bubbled with heat, waves of burning wind emanating from the dragon and rippling the air around him. Small flames licked off of his scales, sparks lifting into the air.

"I see no need to explain my actions to you, Empra," Igneel snorted, a heavy gust of hot air emerging from his snout, and Empra narrowed her ruby eyes.

"Very well, I'll be leaving you and this little group behind. You aren't important to my studies, anyway." With that said, the little dragon went to flap her powerful wings, more than prepared to take off and leave the group behind when one massive, dirt-encrusted paw swung down on her shoulder.

"Pah. You do nothing but study. This is the first time I've seen you outside your cave in months, young one. Cool your tempers, we will have plenty of fights later." The largest, and by far the oldest dragon in the group finally spoke. A few sparks escaped off of Empra, dancing up her elders talons, but unable to reach his scales through the thick layer of dirt he wore like an overcoat. The thing was barely held together by tangled roots, and a few chunks fell and bounced off of Empra's back.

It took a moment, but Empra lowered her wings, and both gold and maroon dragons reigned in their magical auras.

Which left one aura still crackling.

In a previously neglected corner of the clearing, a positively fuming dragon sat. The grass around him had long since turned to ice, the air had little snowflakes drifting around, and the closest trees had bark and leaves snap off alike.

"Kyu?" The blue dragon, Whirl, questioned, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine, in this burning hot forest, away from my nice cool mountain where I should be." Kyu growled, "in fact, I feel perfectly content! Not like this trip was a waste of time on mine and everyone's behalf at all, Igneel."

Kyu took a menacing step forwards, sending Whirl skittering backwards and spreading the icy temperature further into the clearing. His scales, a frosted white, glinted as he moved, showing a deeper frozen blue where the sunlight hit. His wings, massive, ragged things, spread from his back, not quite showcasing the impressive length Empra had but an intimidating sight all the same.

It is hard to say where, exactly, that encounter would have gone, had someone not intervened at that very moment. Perhaps Grotee would have again played mediator, or maybe it would have come to blows between the two of them. Maybe Kyu would have left in much the same way Empra was going to, reducing the group to four, but as it was, fate had other plans.

Quietly, from a darker part of the glade, there was a gasp, and a little boy stepped forwards, eyes gleaming with admiration at the dragons he found himself surrounded by. His hair, a shock of pink on his little head, swayed in the breeze created by Kyu's wings, but he didn't even take a step back, too amazed by the sight that greeted him.

Unseen to both the group and the boy, a figure smiled in the shadows before melting away.

Kyu sneezed, sending a burst of frozen air over the boy, getting him to shiver and frosting the tips of his hair, but not diminishing the awe in his eyes.

Igneel picked the boy up carefully with one giant clawed hand, the heat eminating from his scales more than enough to warm the boy and melt the tips of his hair.

"Igneel?" Empra questioned, hesitant. "What do we do with him? How- how will we find his family? What if he doesn't have one? In all the books I've read orphanages have been just awful, there's no way we could… could…"

Kyu backed down, the ice melting away at the edges as he watched the young child reach for at Igneels snout. "I'll be damned… what should we do?"

Igneel huffed, sending a wave of hot air washing over the boy. It was just like his friends to bicker with him every step of the way but turn to him when the decision making got tough. The child was small, and weak, but even just holding him, Igneel could feel something else to him, something promising.

Making brief eye contact with Grotee, who nodded, Igneel turned to the rest of the group, who watched him with expectant eyes.

"We'll raise him."

Had, perhaps, Natsu one dragonic parent, he would have turned out a far cry from how he had. The combined efforts of everyone in the group had managed to, somehow, make a relatively functioning human, though he was more inclined to draconic tendencies. Igneel had more than once caught him hoarding small pebbles, or deciding to attempt flight.

Empra, ever the scholar, set about teaching the boy how to read and write, deaf to his complaints but certainly not blind to misspelled words. Eventually, under her steady tutelage, he gradually learned, though grudgingly at first, and then with an appetite for knowledge as she introduced some books from her collection to him.

Whirl did as she did best, shying away from his eager personality. That said, after years spent raising the boy, even the shyest of dragons would have cracked, and crack Whirl did. In small ways at first, not jumping at every unexpected move, or even returning the wide smiles tentatively, and then in bigger ways, stirring up waves with a swish of her tail to soak the boy, or giving her input in conversations without being prompted.

Grotee, while arguably the wisest of the group, was also twice all their ages put together, making him veritably ancient. Even dragons begin to slow as the years accumulate, and Grotee proved a prime example of this, barely recalling to teach to boy the most basic of spells, and altogether neglecting the more complicated ones in favour of sleeping, or making giant batches of tea. With the help of Whirl and Igneel, of course.

Kyu perhaps, was the most aggressive teacher. Where Empra spent time on technique, or Whirl time on feeling the spell, or Igneel with his do or don't attitude, Kyu took a rather more physical option. Sparring. It was argued, mostly by Empra, that a dragon fighting a small child was an unfair match, but Natsu took to it like a moth to a flame, and threw himself whole-heartedly into every duel.

For a while, there was peace. The boy, Natsu, as they had named him for he was as bright as summer, and despite their shared parentege he always seemed to take after Igneel that little bit more, shaped them into something resembling a family. Maybe a little dysfunctional, a little ragged around the edges, but something they could safely turn to at the end of the day and smile.

But the dragons knew what was coming. The dark dragon, one created by centuries of malice and anger, wrought unto the world by unsuspecting creatures always just lingered at the edge of their minds, and many a night were spent watching the sky, for even the faintest hint of blue or flicker of movement.

They did not have nearly long enough.

And July Seventh, x777 came all too quickly.

They could only hope they did the right thing.

For the first time in years, Natsu woke up alone.

"Igneel?" He shouted first, "Empra? Whirl! Kyu?! Grotee?" No response met him, and he smiled, because surely this was just training, to hone his senses and help him with finding magical auras, right?

He never would find them.

Greeting him, as he stepped out of the well-worn cave that had been home for years, was a haphazard collection of objects, though each one had a definite tie to each dragon. An armband, a ring, a necklace, a scarf, and a heavy looking tome and quill sat on a flat boulder Natsu had used as a desk of sorts, looking almost expectant.

The first Natsu picked up was the armband, it looked as if someone had taken the outer ring of a whirlpool and forced it into shape, was evidently a gift from Whirl, as no one but a water dragon would be able to master the level of control it took to shape this element in such a delicate way, and make it permanent.

A golden ring was just next to it, the smooth metal of the ring lightly crosshatched, a Jade dragon curling over its exterior. Slipping it onto his finger, Natsu smiled as the dragon moved ever so slightly, little head tilting to the side. A gift from Grotee, no doubt.

The delicate chain of the necklace laid over the next two items, so naturally it was the next item Natsu picked up. Strung on the silver chain was a diamond, not too big, but not exactly small either, and a silverish blue in colour, matching the shade of Kyu's scales exactly. Looking closer, he could make out a tiny snowstorm raging in its heart.

The scarf was warm to the touch, the material it was knitted from anything but wool. Slinging it around his neck, Natsu took a moment to appreciate its warmth, while Whirl and Empra had made sure he had proper clothing he'd never worn a scarf before.

Finally, young arms hefted the heavy tome, and he frowned as he realized all the pages were blank. Shifting its weight to one arm, he picked up the quill with the other, and smiled as his sharp eyes picked up on the inscription delicately carved into the side. 'Knowledge is an inkwell away,' was a very Empra thing to say, after all.

New gifts secured on his person or tucked away in his requip space, a neat little trick Kyu taught him, Natsu set off. He just had to follow their scents, right? It should be easy…

Jude grumbled as he adjusted his tie, watching with a sneer as the estate guards pulled an unruly child to just outside the manor, observation lacrima showing him the scene in detail. The child kicked and bit, and Jude was almost certain there was an arcane crackle to the air about his fingertips, despite the anti-magic cuffs the guards had wrangled on upon finding him.

The lacrima feed cut off as he set it down, crossing his fingers in his lap as the doors to his office opened, the shouting of the child echoing through the room.

Hitting him with a harsh glare, Jude barked for silence, at must to his satisfaction the demand was met, even if petulantly. The boy was lead forwards until he stood just in front of Jude's desk.

"Boy. Where are your parents?"

"I don't got any!"

"Ridiculous, everyone has parents. Stop being so petulant."

"'M not bein petulant, I don't got any!"

Interesting, for all he mispronounced and shortened words, the boy didn't even stumble over 'petulant', nor did he ask what it meant.

"What is your name, boy?"

"Oh," he paused, before struggling with the grip the guards had in his biceps and managing to pull a small bow, "I'm Natsu Dragneel. What's yers?"

"Humph. You will have to prove yourself worthy of the Heartphilia name, but I am willing to teach you." Nodding to one of the guards, he let go of the boys arm, leaving what was quickly turning into a bruise, and stepped outside of the office before returning with a rather frazzled looking maid.

"M-mr. Heartphilia sir?"

"Have a guest room prepared, and call in a tutor."

"Y-yes sir."

"And get rid of that damned stutter or find yourself another job."

"B-but si—! Yes sir, r-right away sir."

The port town of Hargeon was bustling, traders advertising their wares and consumers wandering from stall to stall, usually with a wide smile. That was not to say all of them were smiling, quite to the contrary one girl went around with a rather sizeable frown on her face.

An odd little blue cat flitted down from a nearby rooftop, wiping little crumbs of leftover fish from his paws as he did so, and rested on the girls head, fluffy white wings vanishing in a puff of magic. "Lushieeee," he whined, tangling his paws in the blondes hair, and wrapping his tail around her head so to block off her eyes. "I'm hungry," he complained, dragging the 'y'.

"You just ate a huge fish! How much more could you need? Besides, the rest of my money is for a key, you know that." She reprimanded, and tugged the little cats tail out of her eyes. Free to look around again, she scanned the street, and couldn't help a happy little gasp as her eyes settled on an antique store, which was tucked away a fair bit.

The door gave a pleasant jingle as she pushed it open, and she took the time to scan the room and she made her way to the front counter. The first word that came to mind was clutter, closely followed by dusty, but even under that thick grey layer she was able to make out magical artifacts.

This had to be the place.

The shopkeep, a strange wavering old man with what looked like a party hat on his head almost fell over when he spotted her, but greeted her with a grin all the same.

"Ah, hello, hello! What may you be looking for?" He said, fingers already itching a little bit at the thought of a purchase.

"Hi! I heard rumours of a celestial spirit key in town, I was wondering if maybe you...?"

"Oh, a key eh? Don't get too many requests for those, no no. I just have this one here," he responded, voice growing strained as he ducked under the counter, almost further than should be possible. After a moment there was a faint shout of victory, and then the desk shook as the poor man slammed the back of his skull into it.

There was a moment of silence, in which Lucy debated hopping over the counter and seeing if the poor guy had managed to knock himself out, before he popped back up, one hand clamped on the back of his skull and the other clutching a little box.

His little party hat had a cobweb hanging from it.

"A-as I was saying, I just have this one here!" As if to save face somehow, he shoved the little box into Lucy's hands, backing off a little bit and stoutly ignoring the swelling that started on the back of his head.

Lucy cracked the lid open a little bit, and winced as a little spider scuttled out, running over the back of her glove before dropping to the desk and scampering off. With a sizeable puff of dust, the lid finally came off, and revealed a gleaming silver key.

"Hm, only a nickola? I was hoping for something more... offensive."

"Terribly sorry miss, are you interested in buying?"

"Nickola are cute though... how much?"

"Mm... those keys are pretty common, yes yes, maybe only... 200 jewel?"

"Only two hundred? I'll take it!"

"Wonderful! Ah, would you like a er... a bag?"

"No, I'm alright, I have my loop. Here, you can keep the box if you...?"

"Hm? Ah! Oh, the box, yes. I'll, yes. The box. Thank you?" The poor shopkeep seemed a little out of whack, though for what reason Lucy couldn't imagine. Maybe he had hit his head a touch too hard? Either way, she fished the necessary Jewel out of her purse, handing it over to the elderly man who seemed to have a blush spreading across his features rather quickly.

Her shirt was properly zipped up, right? A quick glance, and yeah. Her skirt was knee length as well, and it wasn't like she had chosen particularly tight clothes. Maybe the old guy was just a pervert...?

Or maybe the stampede rushing past outside had something to do with it.

The newest of her keys was quickly hooped onto her belt, and then Lucy found herself on the street, caught up in a near tidal-wave of men. The shopkeeper slipped out behind her, shutting the door with a jingle, and Lucy let the crowd carry her along, curious as to what exactly was going on.

Eventually, she decided far enough was far enough, and dug her heels in, fighting her way to the edge of the crowd. Happy bobbed and weaved in the air above her, occasionally shouting half-hearted encouragement, but mostly content to glide. Gradually people noticed her making her way through, even in their trances, and half heartedly moved out of the way.

Eager to escape the crowd, Lucy broke into a half jog, bumping a few shoulders with people, but her jog was incentive enough for people to move aside for her quicker.

Faintly, over the sound of her own footsteps, the murmur of the crowd, and the light beat of Happy's magic, Lucy heard quiet shouting, something about meeting at a dock, and everyone being invited, but not much more than that. Seeing the crowd begin to thin out, (what, did she attract every man in town here?) Lucy upped her jog to a run.

It only really occurred to her that running in a place where visibility is foggy at best wasn't the best of ideas when she slammed into someone. It was almost like running into a rock, except that rock fell away as soon as you hit it hard enough, and it wasn't actually all that craggy, instead just sort of fleshy...

It wasn't much like running into a rock, but the sudden impact was comparable.

Happy landed on the ground next to her, managing to look defensive with a cod clutched in his little paws. "You jerk! Watch where you're going!" He warned, before the smell of fish fully registered and he couldn't resist a small bite.

The stranger, whoever he was, laughed lightly. "Of course! My apologies. You are?"

Lucy quit rubbing her forehead when she realized he was addressing her, and gave her head a brief shake before responding in kind. "My name is Lucy, and it's really my fault, I should have been... pink hair?"

The boy across from her on the ground picked himself up, before responding, all while holding out a hand to help her up. "You should have been pink hair?"

"Oh! No, no, sorry, it's just your hair is pink and I was... sorry." Lucy fought back the blush emerging on her cheeks, and accepted the hand up.

"Really, its no big deal," the stranger insisted, a smile tugging at his lips that somehow didn't seem all that genuine. "I do feel bad though, how about I buy you a meal at a restaurant around here?"

"She was using WHAT?" Lucy shouted, half choking on one of her fries. "That's super illegal, isn't it?"

"Mm." The man across from her agreed, nodding his head ever so slightly. "It's only because you slammed into me that I was able to break out of it in time."

"So this isn't so much an apology meal as it is a thank you meal, isn't it?" Lucy said, eyeing the lack of food set out before him despite how much she and Happy must have eaten.

"You could say that, I guess. Maybe I just wanted to pay for a meal for a member of the famed Fairy Tail?"

Lucy frowned, looking at the pink guild-mark on the back of her hand almost guiltily. "Despite my guilds reputation it wasn't like I was gonna attack you. We're not a dark guild, you know."

"Of course not! If you were... well, never mind that. How does one set about joining a guild?" He leaned forward, an interested glint in his eyes but somehow... he seemed... defeated? Lucy shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Oh, it's really easy actually! Or, it's easy with Fairy Tail, you'd probably run into problems with Guilds like Lamia Scale. Our barmaid, Mirajane, handles registration, so you just need to fill out a quick form detailing your magic and why you want to join, and she'll read it over and stamp you! Sometimes, if Master Makarov is in, he'll ask for a practical demonstration of your magic, but that's not very often as our guild doesn't exactly hold back, heh..."

"That's it, huh? How long have you been a member?" The man enquired, and Lucy realized with a jolt she didn't even know his name. Had she even introduced herself?

"Pretty long, I'm so sorry, I just realized I haven't introduced myself to you yet! My name is Lucy Ashley, and this is Happy. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She quickly wiped her hand on a napkin, before proffering it for a handshake.

"Oh, of course, where are my manners? My name is Natsu. Natsu H... Dragneel."

Hahahahaha… I'm going places with this story. I have around five or six other story ideas that I'm going to fit into this one… Any and all feedback is welcome, Im a complete amateur, so any feedback and advice is totally welcome!

Well, there's the first chapter. Im gonna keep the original notes around sometimes, but if theyre too long or rambly I'll dump em. no one has time for that! Review answers will also be preserved. (man look at that repetition up there what was i thinking?) Damn though, the anime is back, eh? It's been ages since I've updated! Fair warning, everyone, but things are gonna get a little weird storyline-wise as I go at this thing with a hammer, but things should smooth out and flow well when I'm done.

~ShadeShadow