While I'm not writing the Rising Dragon Champions, I thought I'd give a new story a shot. Ever wondered what Natsu and the others in the Fairy Tail world might be like as dragons? Well, you're about to find out! This is really just an experiment right now, but I like the idea and think I could go into a full blown story with it.

Please review and tell me what you think! No, I have not decided pairings yet! (If you have a preference, do tell me (: )

As usual, thanks for reading!

Chapter 1: Fire Born

Crack.

He struggled to free himself, desiring to leave the cramped space of his egg. He could sense something large, warm, and safe just outside. All he wanted was to break free and meet the huge presence that felt familiar, even though he'd known nothing but the inside of this egg.

Crack.

A hole breached the shell as he jerked his head up against the top. Excitement ran through his blood. He was so close. Just a little more, and he'd be free.

Crunch!

Summoning every ounce of strength in his tiny body, he used his tail to push up and ram into the top once more. And this time, he forced his whole head through the small breach he'd made.

He sucked in his first breath of fresh air and opened his eyes wide. The space around him was huge, dark, and lit with a low orange glow of something that was warm and flickering. It intrigued him, so he sought to get closer, but his attempt to walk resulted in his egg falling over. He squeaked in surprise. He'd forgotten that only his head and neck were free, not the rest of his body. At least the ground was soft. He briefly wondered if he should fall asleep, but a mixture of instinct and curiosity kept him awake.

There was a deep rumbling, but it seemed…nonaggressive. In fact, it was laughing.

"Oh, little one, however do you plan to go anywhere like that?"

He rolled the egg so he was on his back. At first, he was alarmed by the strange voice, but his fear was quickly replaced with calm. He knew this creature, even if he'd never seen it.

A huge, dark pink head loomed over him. The light blue eyes gazed down at him softly with a deep affection.

The creature snorted with amusement, it's voice light, "Do you need help, little one?"

"Don't help him, Sunrose. A drake fights his own battles."

The new voice was far deeper, more masculine. And it was more intimidating than the first one. As he looked to the side, he also realized the second creature had a much greater bulk than the first, and its body was covered in dark red scales.

"Oh, Igneel, can't you see how eager he is?" the first voice chided, "He wasn't supposed to hatch for another week. But he's already out and seeking the fire. I've never seen a hatchling come out that early. I know you haven't, either."

"All the more reason to let him break free on his own." Igneel grunted, "He'll get even stronger because of it."

Sunrose nipped Igneel's lower jaw, "Strength is important, I admit that, but so is kindness, my dear. I don't want to watch our son become vicious like that black beast. It would break my heart."

Igneel hesitated, but then relented. The huge red creature leaned down so it was right in front of the tiny hatchling, who recoiled slightly. When Igneel's tongue slithered out and jabbed at the eggshell, the hatchling snapped at it in alarm, not sure whether the strange pink snake was friendly or not, but not willing to take his chances.

Igneel reared back with a slight hiss, but Sunrose laughed, "Who's not strong? He's fierce enough to attack a dragon a thousand times his own size!"

"He surprised me is all." Igneel grunted, shaking his head and licking his lips, as if to check that his tongue was undamaged.

The hatchling was still belly-up and watching the two titans above him with hesitation. While he knew he liked the pink one, he wasn't so sure about the red one. It may have just tried to eat him, after all.

Instead, Sunrose leaned down and gently pressed her nose to the small egg. She murmured softly, "Little one, I'm going to help you out of there. Do you understand?"

He didn't really, and to be honest, he didn't have a clue what she was saying, but he trusted her. What other choice did he have? If he agreed, at least he had a chance. If he didn't, he might be dinner. But the hatchling sensed that the female at least, meant him no harm. She was his only protection.

Sunrose opened her jaws slightly and revealed huge, gleaming white fangs. One of them slowly came down on the egg and pressed. For the huge pink dragon, the movement was delicate and not necessarily easy, but the egg almost shattered from the force she put on it.

The hatchling found the rest of his body was freed and rolled so he was upright. He tried standing, but squeaked when his legs wouldn't support him for more than three seconds and made him flop over.

Igneel grinned, "Not as strong as he thinks, eh?"

"All hatchlings have weak legs at first." Sunrose reminded him, "You were no different, and neither was I. That he can get up at all, since he hatched early, is impressive enough."

"And now, for a name…" Igneel muttered, leaning down once more to look at him. His huge eye rolled over the hatchling, appraising every inch of the small body.

The hatchling's scales were a dark red, not as dark as Igneel's, but more of a ruby color. Starting along his jawline, pink marking in flame patterns ran down his neck to end at his chest. Two fleshy casings on his back marked where his wings were still developing.

His neck was long and slender, as was his tail, which accounted for nearly half of his total body length. The hatchling's teeth were small, but sharp. (As Igneel's tongue had discovered.) His claws were also sharp, however small, and pitch-black, just like the small, still-growing spikes along the hatchling's back.

In all honesty, because of his small size, just a little more than three feet, the hatchling resembled a large lizard with two oval shaped bubbles on his back. And that was if he stopped wobbling. At this point, he looked more like a strange, wriggling snake.

Igneel looked the hatchling over for several more moments until he finally decided, "The shades of red and salmon are warm colors…And he's got a fierce attitude to go with it. Like the hottest days in summer."

"Summer…" Sunrose brought her head down to gently lick the hatchling's forehead. He shivered at the touch, arching like a cat with a purr to match. The female dragon hummed happily, "Then his name is Natsu?"

"I believe it suits him." Igneel murmured, a toothy grin appearing on his face.

Natsu looked up at Igneel and, what in his mind was probably a roar, barked at the huge red dragon.

Igneel bellowed with laughter, "And I believe he agrees."

"Natsu, then…" Sunrose whispered to the hatchling. Her eyes watched him with a softness that Natsu instinctively was drawn to. He knew who she was now. Though just out of the egg, he knew enough to know that this female dragon was his mother.

Natsu wobbled over to her on unsteady legs and tried to climb over her tail. Sunrose's eyes followed him wherever he went, until she used her tail to gently shift him so he was nestled close to her body.

Now he gazed up at her with bright, expectant eyes.

Sunrose leaned down and opened her mouth ever so slightly, then, with great care, breathed out a small stream of fire. In fact, it was more like sparks, since she was being as careful as she could.

Adult dragons rarely held back their breath's true power, after all. Being a first-time mother meant learning on the go. She would get the hang of it, eventually, but for now, Sunrose still struggled to not douse her son in the usual blaze of fire she created. Even though he was a fire dragon, he was also just minutes old. She didn't know how well his scales would hold up, and frankly, she wasn't going to find out the hard way.

Sparks or not, the flame lit up the soft floor material easily enough, and Natsu wasted no time.

Instinctively, he crouched down by the small flame, opened his mouth, and breathed in sharply. The flame flickered, then was drawn to his open jaws, where Natsu swallowed it down. He coughed at first, shaking his head at the sensation of flame going down his throat, but his hesitation only lasted a few moments. When Sunrose made another small fire, he devoured it without the slightest problem, and continued to do so until his belly was full.

Natsu, satisfied and fairly tired from his introduction to the world, circled around unsteadily a few times, settled down, and fell asleep on his mother in three seconds flat.

Sunrose licked his small body again lovingly, "Sweet dreams, my little one."

Igneel grunted, "Don't burn the nest too much. You have no idea how many sheep it took to make this."

"There's always more." Sunrose reminded him, "Besides, I'll learn how to control my flame better soon. I'd like to see you do this."

"Do not tempt me, my dear." Igneel chuckled, "I might accidentally incinerate the cave."

She sighed, "It's too bad he didn't have any nest mates…"

Igneel lay his head on top of hers gently, humming to soothe her, "It's probably best he was the only one. Can you imagine how exhausting it would be to watch three or four more hatchlings scurrying around? We'd have to watch our every step so we didn't crush them. And the drakes try to kill each other at first sight, even when they can barely walk. I think we were lucky, considering this is our first clutch."

Sunrose frowned a little, "I suppose…well, even if there was another drake, we could have separated them-"

"Sunrose." he rumbled firmly, but not unkindly, "There will be more eggs in time, my dear. For now, just learn what we need to so Natsu grows up to be a great dragon. He will have siblings in the future, do not doubt that. But just for now…he is our only hatchling. We must care for him alone."

The female set her head next to Natsu on the soft wool and hummed in response, "Yes…I know you're right, my love…"

Igneel curled his huge body around his mate and hatchling, laying his great skull down beside Sunrose's and Natsu's tiny, sleeping form. He inhaled their scents in one deep breath, feeling a surge of protectiveness come over him.

The great fire dragon remained awake for a while, even when Sunrose had fallen asleep a while before. His gaze was fixed on the tiny dragon still sleeping peacefully at its mother's side. Igneel opened his jaws and let out a soft breath of warm air, which made Natsu shift a little in his sleep and purr.

Rest well, my son. Igneel thought. You will need your strength. This world is not kind to the weak. You must become a true dragon if you are to survive at all, and something even greater than that if you are to find happiness in life. Rest well, Natsu…