"Bring those boxes over here, Igneel!" a man called out. Igneel turned at the sound of his name and saw a familiar head of unusually messy blond hair. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar unbuttoned. His left hand was waving him over before he ran it through his already unkempt hair explaining its odd appearance.

"Oh, Jude. I didn't know you'd be making this delivery with us!" Igneel grinned widely when he reached his old friend. He placed the crates next to the pile behind Jude before he rested his back against them. "I see you've also ditched the 'I don't know how to have fun' hair."

Jude laughed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah. Layla is onboard too. Her homemade tea seems to be quite the success over in Ishgar."

A fond smile lit up Igneel's face. "That's great for you and your family. I knew her tea would be a hit!" He took another box from a crewmate and placed it onto the ever-growing pile. "I'll have to snatch some before we reach the port."

Jude's lips parted with a tut unable to hide the skepticism in his tone, "Really? You actually like that stuff? I personally think it tastes like tree bark." Eager to change the topic, lest his wife somehow overheard them, he added on, "How're your little ones, Igneel?"

Igneel groaned thinking back to this morning when Natsu thought it was a genius idea to glue his older brother's hand to his face, one of his more devious and rather painful pranks. "Spoiled as ever. They get away with everything. They also weren't happy that I would be taking another long voyage." He grabbed the last box to carry onto the deck. "You should bring Lucy to the house sometime. She's around the same age as Natsu, yeah? I bet they would get along great. She'd probably be a good influence on the brat."

Jude let a long sigh out through his nose. "That's not a bad idea. She could use the company. She's been really lonely with both of us gone all the time. Layla stayed behind with her in the beginning but now, with all the open trade, she's even busier than I am."

Igneel clamped a hand around his old friend's shoulder. "I look forward to it and thanks for all your hard work, Jude." He placed his other hand on his own lower back, groaning when he took a moment to try and straighten it out before hobbling across the upper deck. "I'm getting too old for this."

Jude sniggered as he fell into step beside him, tilting his head from side to side, stretching out the muscles that tightened from looking down for so long. "You're telling me."

"Alright, boys! Set sail!" Igneel shouted across the ship, taking the helm as his crew hoisted the sails, tied down the cargo, and pulled up the anchor. "Time for another long journey," Igneel mused, wishing more than anything that he was snuggled up with his brats on the couch telling them stories about the sea instead of living in one.

"So this is the Red Dragon's first trip to the neighboring continent?" Jude interrupted Igneel's daydreaming, unable to hold his tongue any longer. He was hesitant at first, seeing as how Igneel looked so serene staring up at the starry night sky, but the minutes had soon turned into hours and the silence was becoming unbearable for the social businessman.

"Mmm," Igneel hummed, adjusting the direction of the ship to starboard. "I'm surprised there aren't any ships out here. Seems a little too quiet."

As if rising from the sea itself, a ship drifted towards them, floating on the murky onyx waves. Attached to the mast was a black flag, embroidered with an extravagant emerald crown, rippling ominously in the wind.

"Captain! We've got a problem!" shouted a young man with panicked eyes and unruly brown hair. He nearly stumbled over his feet as he ran up the stairs trying to get to the Captain of the ship.

"Ian-" The words died on Igneel's tongue as the whole ship shook violently. The roars of many men could be heard not far off in the distance.

Jude turned to Igneel, concern furrowing his brow. "It couldn't possibly be."

Igneel shook his head, red ponytail swaying across the width of his back as he confirmed their worst fears. "Pirates."