The Red Dragon

Chapter 2

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.