New Beginnings

"Papa! Papa come back!" She sat high up in the nest, teetering precariously on the edge of a cliff. Draconis watched her silently from the entrance of the nest, amber eyes cold and distant. He let out a rumbling sigh, then without even a glance back, left her behind.

Lucy hadn't expected to be woken by talons wrapped gently around her middle, lifting her high from her bedding, her legs dangling limply beneath her. When he'd deposited her on the cliff, the one he always complained that scratched at his wings, she was completely awake, brown eyes wide with confusion. He stepped away quickly, putting enough distance between them that she wouldn't be able to jump to him.

"I'm sorry my little star…" Draconis rumbled out the words, barely able to meet Lucy's confused and scared gaze. Without waiting for a response, the galaxy dragon turned his head away, eventually padding away, tail still and wings slumped. "It is for the best." Lucy flinched at that. Draconis barely ever spoke with the common tongue, the tongue of monsters he called it, so his sudden switch completely shocked the blonde.

"Papa… Wh-where are you going?"

He left her behind, no explanation, not even a proper goodbye. Tears steadily began to prick at her eyes. She jumped at every little movement and shift in the winds, sat on the cliff for what felt like weeks.

'He's gone and abandoned you. Your Papa never even wanted you in the first place. You're weak, not fit to be a dragon, not fit to be his daughter.'

She whipped around, eyes wide, searching for the voice, her heart hammering violently in her chest.

'Because of you and your kind, Draconis is alone.'

"Where are you? Where's Papa?!"

'You'll never be able to find me, after-all little monster, I'm in your head.~'

Somehow, he didn't stumble over a root or rock on his way back to Erza and Gray, focus constantly falling to the girl in his arms.

The dark scales that had been covering her skin earlier were nowhere in sight, having sunk back beneath her skin as she had drifted off. Her hands gripped lightly at his scarf, her nose tickling at his neck. When he'd picked her up, she buried her nose in his scarf, eventually switching to his neck. Most likely, she found comfort in his and Igneel's scent.

He could understand the action, sometimes holding the scarf to his nose if only to take in his father's scent. Judging by her lack of belongings, aside from the warm pelt wrapped firmly around her as a dress, she didn't have any reminder of her parent.

Natsu managed to catch himself when he stumbled over a well-hidden rock, a few colourful words slipping from his mouth in dragon tongue. Looking fully away from the blonde, he turned his gaze towards where they'd set up, catching the wisps of smoke that floated into the sky.

Following them, it didn't take long before they were close enough that he picked up Erza and Gray's scents, as well as their little fire. Frowning slightly when the girl sagged more into his arms, he shifted her a bit more to make sure he couldn't accidentally drop her, curling her body slightly into himself. He didn't blush like most would when her lips ghosted lightly over the bare skin on his neck, letting a soft rumble escape from his throat.

The wind, which had been coming from their right for the majority of the trek, changed directions to blow softly in their faces, not that the blonde would really notice. Natsu shivered slightly when it brought her scent to his nose, much stronger than it had been before. He grunted when it invaded his senses, her rich vanilla and strawberry scent reminding him of the pastries Macao had brought in the other day. His mouth watered at the thought and for a second he wondered if her skin would taste like the sweet desserts.

Realising where his train of thought led, the pinkette snarled lightly to himself, reigning in the thoughts stirred up by his draconic side. He doubted that the blonde would come even close to appreciating him tasting her skin.

It didn't take long after that for him to finally reach the edge of the woods, stepping carefully over a rather thorny looking bush and emerging into the clearing. The redhead and ravenette were standing with their backs to him, a pair of swords hovering in the air in front of them. Natsu cackled when Erza's sword swung, shattering the icy blade that Gray had summoned with a rather light blow.

Erza stiffened slightly at the noise, her shoulders raised then quickly relaxing. He could tell she knew it was him before she turned, her ability to sense magic nearly as strong as a dragon's. Gray seemed to be a bit more startled, spinning to face them rather abruptly, unlike the calm and steady pivot the requip mage did. Almost immediately both pairs of eyes fell on the girl in his arms, rushing to meet him.

"What happened?! Did the monster hurt her?" Erza's motherly worry surprised the dragon-slayer, matching his pace as he moved to the blanket they'd laid out earlier. On his right, Gray was quiet, regarding the blonde with a pensive look. He carefully eased her down onto the blanket, kneeling by her side while Erza and Gray took to the other.

"No… Gramps'll tell ya what happened. She isn't hurt or anything, just exhausted." He brushed a few soft strands of hair from her face, listening carefully to the soft beating of her heart.

"That's good. Where is he, didn't you go in together?"

"He said something about going to see the other dude… Berri. Probably since there wasn't a monster at all." Natsu watched carefully as Erza reached out to touch the blonde, feeling rather protective. He relaxed a bit when she rested her hand on her shoulder, cringing slightly at how cool the blonde's skin was.

"She's really pretty…" Gray's comment surprised them both, and the dragon-slayer narrowed emerald eyes. It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, the blonde was rather nice-looking, although Gray's bluntness left much to be desired.

"She's drained, magic and energy-wise. She must have been awake the entire week…" Erza mumbled, a hand hovering just above the blonde's forehead. Both boys nodded at the observation, humming their agreement as well. "Let's give her some space, I doubt anyone would want to wake up to three people leaning over them."

Natsu threw her another glance before rocking to his feet, carefully stepping away. Gray and Erza were already a few steps ahead of him, but both froze when a whimper sounded.

The blonde had shifted slightly towards Natsu, quiet whimpers rumbling from her throat, hands twitching.

"I'll catch up guys, gimme a sec." He dropped to a knee when they left, unwinding his scarf from his neck. After folding it, he laid it beside the blonde, chuckling when she quickly snuggled into it, whimpers replaced by rhythmic purrs.

It had been three days since they'd gotten back to the guildhall. Makarov's friends had been pretty understanding—luckily enough—and helped them to get the girl to the train as comfortably as possible. Natsu had begrudgingly answered Erza and Gray's rather repetitive questions until they reached the station, he'd had to keep a tight leash on his instincts. He had felt uneasy when he'd let the adults carry the blonde, unable to keep himself completely calm, as if something would happen any minute now.

Makarov had let him sit beside her on the way back and he'd fallen asleep, waking up just outside of Magnolia with her head on his lap. They cleared one of the comfier cots in the infirmary for her, as far as possible from the overbearingly strong scent of cleaning agents. The pinkette refused to leave her side for more than half an hour, going as far as to sleep in an adjacent cot. He didn't listen to the others calling him weird and snapped when Gray mentioned doing the same thing.

On the 17th of July, he decided to spend more than the usual amount of time downstairs. The Strauss' had returned from a mission with one of the adults, and the youngest had tried to convince him to hang out. Lisanna quickly became his closest friend within his ten days at Fairytail. She was the only one that believed him right off the bat, something that he was rather grateful for at the time. She was a couple of years younger than her siblings, who took it upon themselves to be helicopter parents, so she had a tendency to be a bit more reckless and wild when it was just her and Natsu.

Since finding the blonde, he realised that the closeness he felt with Lisanna was nothing compared to what he felt with her. It was probably why he found it so hard to stay away. Nevertheless, he couldn't neglect his friends, so after a short while of making everything as comfortable as possible for the blonde, he finally left the infirmary.

Most guild members didn't bat an eye at the pinkette, but the ones that actually noticed gave quiet gasps of shock. Lisanna was sitting with her siblings, playing a game of cards when she noticed her friend, bright blue eyes widening at the sight.

"Natsu, where's your scarf? I thought you always wore it?" Her voice was a bit squeaky, giving away her age while also making the dragon slayer cringe slightly. How had he never noticed it? Natsu quickly reigned in his wayward thoughts, sliding into the bench across from her, bumping Elfman's shoulder in a friendly hello. The larger boy responded in kind before delving back into the game, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple as Mira dominated the table.

"I gave it to her, she gets really uneasy if I or my scarf isn't too close." Lisanna frowned slightly at his words but didn't say anything, focusing back on the game for a second, face paling as she took in what was happening. He kept himself from laughing when she put her hand down, leaving the game before Mira could annihilate her.

"You mean that blondie? She hasn't woken up?" Natsu shook his head—almost unnoticeably—lips twisting down in a grimace.

"No, she'll probably be awake in the next few days, the old lady said she's sleep-deprived." She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't too fond of the hopefulness in his voice. She's not a mean person, why would someone recovering from a stressful ordeal make her uneasy? She didn't realise she zoned out until Natsu kicked lightly at her shin, an expectant look on his face.

"What?"

"Do you wanna go to the market? Gramps gave me some money." He was asking her out? Lisanna blinked as she took in his words, a giddy feeling bubbling up inside her. Mira, the ever aware big sister she was, was already nodding when Lisanna turned to ask. Her lips twisted into a smile, bouncing out of her seat and grasping lightly at Natsu's wrist.

His skin was warm against her own and much warmer than anyone else's. It was nice. She let herself revel in the warmth of the dragon slayer's palm as they weaved through their guildmates, cackling when a fireball caught Gray's pant leg aflame. He yelled and chased after them, but Natsu managed to throw open the doors before the ice mage could catch up. They stood still for a minute, the pinkette eerily quiet.

"Natsu?" He jumped, whipping around to look down at her.

"Oh, sorry! The air's just really… weird." She took a deep breath, quirking an eyebrow at him. What was he talking about, it smelled just fine. The boy removed himself from her grasp and rubbed at his nose, turning on his heel. Lisanna debated on grabbing his wrist again, confidence swelling up at the idea. Her hand cut lamely through thin air as he walked off, oblivious to the embarrassed blush on Lisanna's slightly chubby cheeks.

They managed to walk for ten minutes without a single word shared between them, disappointing the girl to the point that she could feel tears of frustration pricking at her eyes. Natsu seemed to have almost forgotten she was there, not once looking back to check on her or anything. He was far more interested in their destination, steps hastening as people began to litter the streets.

Stuck in her own head, Lisanna didn't realise he'd stopped to look at her until he was snapping his fingers in front of her face. It took every last ounce of control she had to not jump a foot in the air. He gave a lopsided grin, his sharp canines glistening in the morning sun.

"C'mon, I need you to help me out 'Sanna!" He gestured to a jewelry stand off to the side, a multitude of expensive metals and gems decorating the shelves. No way! She practically bounced after him, eyes glittering as she looked over the stall. A portly old woman stood behind the shelves and racks, pale blue eyes watching the two titter around. Lisanna hovered around the necklaces, stuck between a sapphire pendant or an emerald one, both on silver chains.

"Uhh… ma'am do you have something that looks good with brown eyes?" she whipped around, shocked by his question. Brown eyes, she didn't have brown eyes… The pinkette stood at another table, head down, a subtle blush on his tanned cheeks. The woman gave a slightly surprised look but didn't question him, pointing out a few necklaces and bracelets that would match well

Lisanna stood watching, confusion turning to sorrow, barely able to keep her tears from spilling. Why would he invite her here if he was getting something for someone else? Why did she care so much anyway?

"'Sanna? Can you help me out, I can't choose which one." Natsu held up two necklaces, one with purple diamonds and the other with emerald gemstones. Both looked to be expensive as hell and jealousy bubbled up inside her. Maybe she could convince him to get her something, she probably deserved it more… No! What was she thinking? He's allowed to give his friends gifts, it's probably just someone's birthday.

"The purple one's cute!"

"Cool, I thought so too!" He carefully placed the emerald necklace down and handed over the purple one to the woman. She thoughtfully wrapped it in pastel pink tissue paper then placed it in a maroon velvet jewelry box, barely any bigger than her hand.

"That'll be 20 000 jewel." Natsu looked a bit uneasy at the amount, aggressively shaking his head before reaching to the pouch sat on his hip. The pinkette rapidly handed over the money, snatching the box just as quickly. He stared down at it for a moment before looking up to the woman and giving her a bright smile. The blue-eyed girl felt her mood lighten at his smile, a warm feeling washing over her.

"Thanks! Hey 'Sanna, is there anywhere you wanna go?" Maybe they could go to that ice cream stall Mira always talked about or Mr. Belfast's snack stand on main street. She knew Natsu loved his spicy chicken sandwiches for some crazy reason, it burned worse than any fire.

"Uhhh… Mr. Belfast's?" Natsu perked up even more at that, emerald eyes sparkling. He snatched up her wrist and took off running, giddily tugging her along as they weaved through people.

'Wake up…'

Her head throbbed. The dull thump left her squeezing her eyes, shifting to lay on her side. Something soft caressed her skin, cool and thin. The air smelled clean and lemony, to a point where it was completely overbearing. Slowly, she peeled her eyes open, hoping to find whatever atrocity was producing such a scent.

She was resting on a pale blue cot, its thin sheets blanketing over her body. There wasn't anyone in the room. Where was she?

As the blonde shifted, she hissed at the full body ache that racked her frame. Her muscles felt as if they hadn't been used in months, while also as if she'd climbed the tallest mountain in an hour. Yet again, she took in her surroundings, heart hammering in her chest as the situation dawned upon her. Where was she, where was her father?

The stiffness and pain was ignored as she slipped out of the cot, pupils narrowing to sharp slits. Taking a deep breath, she tasted the magic in the air, nose wrinkling at how… stale it tasted. In the medley of magics, she managed to pick out one that held a hint of familiarity, but that was something she'd consider later if need be.

Her eyes shifted to where the magic seemed to be greatest. A set of wooden double doors gave off a strong magical signature. A simple lock held them closed.

She had to get out, go find her way back to the nest. Draconis would be looking for her, she didn't want him to worry. As she crept up to the doors, a new scent hit her, muted but still present. The lemony scent of the room had smothered it. Opening one of the drawers to the large desk in the corner of the room, she paused as the scent fully hit her.

Frantically, she gathered the checker patterned scarf into her thin hands, pressing the soft fabric against her nose. A purr rumbled from her chest as the scarf's scent wrapped around her. It smelled like the campfires her father used to light on her 'birthday', hints of cinnamon peeking through. Beneath that all, was a scent she would be eternally familiar with, dragon.

Curiosity nagged at her as she wrapped it around her neck, relaxing slightly at its ever present warmth. Was there another dragon here? Maybe they could help her get home.

About to turn back to the door, her body froze when the magic in the air rippled, the spell on the door lifted. It swung open rather violently and a tall, pink haired woman strutted in, yellow eyes narrowed dangerously. Their eyes locked, and her limbs refused to do her bidding. Nuzzled into the scarf as if it were her ultimate protector, the blonde shook under the woman's glare, all thoughts of leaving smothered.

"What the hell are you doing out of bed?"

Hey guys! Yep, I'm still here with my botched update schedule! Hope everyone's doing good and staying sane with everything that's happening right now. Take care of yourselves, listen to the health experts, and please, pretty please, wash yo damn hands.

Aside from that, just wanted to tell you guys something I might've forgotten to mention. Whenever you see any bolded text, it means they're speaking in the dragon tongue. I just want to make that clear so y'all don't think they're constantly yelling at each other when the hold full conversations in dragon tongue. It's a language comprised of a lot of hisses and clicks, so yelling's not too common.

Yeah... I think that's all I needed to tell you guys, so that means I'll see you in the next update! Bye!