(W/n: Wow, been a while huh? Sorry, life decided to smack me in the face with "responsibilities" and crap. (pssshhhh) Any who, so this is the prologue to the much anticipated, I dunno, sequel(?) to Bitten and Piercing; hope you like it, lemme know your thoughts. It's short btws, but hope y'all like it.)

Prologue: Devils in the Details

"Pregnant?"

"Yes."

"You think you are?"

"Yes."

"...With Natsu's baby?"

"Who else would it be!"

Voice cracking, Lucy felt her eyes swelling with tears. She wasn't ready for this, to be a mother; she could barley take care of Natsu; Natsu who was, in her mind, never, ever going to be ready to be a father. How could this have happened?!

Voicing her frustration in a mix of crying and hissy fit, Lucy felt a head ache creeping into the base of her brain, her stomach churning and burning inside her.

Granny Baba merely looked at her, her eyes all but rolling out of their sockets, her thin, cracking lips in the shape of something halfway between a smirk and a smile.

"You two aren't the most careful of lovers; Levy-chan buys scrolls of protection, and I've seen her once or twice for blood tests . You and Natsu, well." Turning away, the older woman took a drag from the long, bone pipe she had been holding on to sense Lucy burst into her caravan moments before. "I'm more surprised that you've taken this long to come see me."

Her face turned a deep crimson, then maroon. How could she have been so careless? Of course she could have gotten pregnant

"I'm such an idiot!" Flinging herself to the floor, Lucy sighed, her body going limp. "Maybe it's for the better... but how can I become a super powerful wizard now!" Her cried fell on def ears; Mama Baba simply sat back and chuckled to herself.

"Girly, settle down. You aren't pregnant"

"Really!" Sitting up quickly, Lucy grasped the older woman's hands in her own. "You're sure?"

Cocking a brow, the older woman grinned.

"Child, I am a Succubus. I can tell the difference in pure blood versus pregnant I can tell you with certainty that you are not with child."

A ray of light seemed to shine down on Lucy and for a moment, she felt as if god himself was smiling down on her.

"However..." Taking a drag, the older woman chuckled to herself. "If things progress, you won't be without child for long."

Looking at Lucy, Baba almost let out a laugh; the blonde's face was similar to that of a ghost, her normally pale skin taking on an almost pure white form.

"What do you mean?"

Looking at the blonde, that old woman chuckled again. "Do you know anything about dragons, Lucy-chan?"

"Well, not really. I mean, we've met plenty of them, and I can tell you my opinion, but nothing about...biological things." Shifting her weight, the younger woman tucked her legs under her body, her body radiating with questions. "Why?"

"Well, I had a lover long ago who hunted and studied dragons; the only wizard brave and foolish enough to do so. He gave me this lovely item..." A dark grin cracked across her mouth, pointed teeth turning her from elder to a shark with little effort. Her bony hand reached towards her left, a large cloth slowly falling away from the hidden object with just her touch, and Lucy felt her stomach drop.

A large, fully intact dragon skull sat before her, it's age showed in the tarnish and many nicks and bumps in on the surface, a large crack ran from the center of the skull down the cheek bone and crossed the worn bone.

"He'd killed several, both for money and fame. He was contracted to kill a bothersome male dragon, however it turns out that this dragon was part of a mated couple; he chased down the male, which led to a female, that led this moron to her nesting island and so he studied them and their rituals."

Her body seemed to have reverted to a slightly to a younger Baba, her skin had gone smooth and her hair seemed darker, and her smile...unnervingly gleeful. Lucy felt the hairs stand up on her neck.

Leaning forward and replacing the fallen fabric, Baba's voice carried a heaviness that dropped her it to a mere raspy whisper.

"Now, a she-dragon will only lay her egg, or eggs, in her nest, whether it be volcano, village, island or ship and she will not roam far from it once she has decided." Taking a long puff, the old woman didn't even blink as there was a light tapping on the door. "Ahh, the other ones here."

"Baba, you asked me to come see you at noon, and well it's noon and here I am."

Looking up, Levy smiled as her eyes fell on Lucy.

"Lu-chan! You're hear too?"

Before she could form her words, Baba interjected.

"As I was saying. Levy, you were able to translate that old world tome, correct?"

"Yes ma'am, though I was confused about the transfusion part." Sitting next to Lucy, Levy handed her a book, it's yellowed pages dog-eared in some areas. The cover had an intricate and mesmerizing etching of two dragons intertwining on the front. Tracing her fingers over the cover, Lucy felt a hard knock on her head as some small and sturdy skull bounced onto the floor.

"Oy, pay attention girly, this lesson isn't for MY benefit."

Looking back towards the elder woman, Lucy settled down, ready for one of Baba's long speeches again.

"Now, the transfusion part. When the male takes a mate, they need to be on the same level of magic. Some times they are, some times their not. When they are close, it doesn't take long, maybe a week or less, and then they are good to mate successfully." Baba's eyes rested on Levy, before moving and locking with Lucy. "However, if there is a vast difference, then they have to go through a much longer transfusion, were the stronger mate, through acts of physical and magical contact, will up the magic level of their mate by transfusing their magic into said person."

"You mean it's like a power up?" Lucy's question hung in the air, and for a mere second, she was afraid she had said something stupid.

"Kind of." Tapping out her pipe, Baba sat back and packed another round, her actions masking her thoughts. "You will have an increase in your power after the birth and during the pregnancy; however, should you try to conceive before full transfusion, you will die from the sheer stress." Looking at the scared faces, she gave her toothy shark grin. "Birthing a dragon is a large order, and a lot of magic goes into it. If you don't have the energy to hold and control it, the flux in magic could kill you both." Taking a drag, Baba let out a long plume of yellow smoke.

"That's why it's very important for you to be equal and balanced. Then after equilibrium has been reached, you will conceive and begin to look for a place to nest." Looking at Lucy, she pointed with the end of her pipe. "You'll probably have it on the beach, close to water, or somewhere hot, like a volcano." Shifting her gaze, she pointed at Levy. " You, you'll probably in a cave, maybe atop a mountain." Replacing her pipe, she took another drag. "But it all depends on you; you could have it in a library, or even here in Magnolia. Now, where you nest will only be decided on after you become pregnant, however, it doesn't hurt to look around for places where you may want to nest. Take your mates with you and scout with them. I know they are not the best with directions, but to find their mate and child?" Chuckling, Baba locked her eyes with both girls at once. "They'll remember."

Levy raised her hand quickly, her question burning her tongue.

"Baba, what happens after we choose the spot? The book only mentioned that it ranged between dragons and couples."

"Well, Levy-chan, what happens next is bizarre; the male will build, on said spot, a retreat for his mate. Lavish and beautiful nests have been found and it was believed that they were made for the dragon couple, but in truth the dragon males build them for their mates. The belief is that they build it to sooth their mates, so they don't feel stressed and can considerate on the birth at hand. "

Silence filled the caravan as the information was processed.

"So, what you're saying is that, eventually, we will be on the "same level" magic as Natsu and Gajeel, and then, after that, we'll mate, create a baby, then proceed to create a nest, somewhere, could be ANYWHERE in this world, where we then birth our baby, and hopeful have enough magic to survive."

Lucy held up fingers as she sounded each thing off, her mind spinning and her stomach flipping inside her.

"Yes, that's about the gist of it..."

"Wait, wait, wait. How do they know when we're equal? I mean, Natsu is pretty simple. He may not understand unless you spell it out for him, and even then, you'll have to do it a second time with flash cards."

Laughing, Baba let out another long plume.

"How do you think? Come on girly, think like a dragon." Holding up a clenched fist, Baba seemed a little to excited by the idea. "By beating them in a fight with brute force."

Before anymore questions could be asked, a knock on the door caused the two girls to jump, their questions falling from their minds.

"That's my one o'clock. You girls better get going. I imagine you've got some testing out to do."

Standing slowly, the girls thanked their mentor, and in single file, left the caravan passing by the short and balding one o'clock with little more then an "excuse me".