Natsu jumped up and down at the sight of the enormous creature for it was his first time setting eyes on such a being. "Igneel? That's a cool name, I'm Natsu Dragneel! How about you and I have battle to see who's the strongest!" He firmly clenched his left hand and punched his right palm as he beamed with determination.

"Are you crazy? You just challenged a thirty foot high monster and expect to win that easily!" Lucy gawked at her pink haired friend in disbelief. If not for her knee, she would've knocked some sense into her companion. His carelessness was getting on her nerves to the point where she was willing to take him on in a fist fight.

"That's the understatement of the year, Natsu's lost his marbles!" Happy shouted as he peeked from behind the blonde at Natsu who was stretching his muscles with a buoyant smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah, I don't know what will get him sane again." The blonde sighed in frustration while shaking her head disapprovingly.

"We could try finding his marbles!" Happy suggested. Lucy stared at him weirdly, lifting up a curious eyebrow. "What? I'm not in the mood for jokes right now Happy."

"No really! Natsu always carried around a marble he considered lucky. We were flying around an old mansion we stumbled upon and being the klutz he is, Natsu dropped his 'lucky' marble." Happy explained.

"Okay..."

"I can hear you! I'm not a klutz!" Natsu whined at his friends, as they conversed without him.

"It seems as though I have been forgotten." The red scaled creature said, lowering his head so that he was eye level with the three friends. Lucy and Happy jumped as they realized that the creature was with them. "Natsu was it? You have caught my interest. I watched as flames ate up the forest earlier, they were from you were they not? Due to your outstanding abilities, I believe that you have great potential to become a powerful dragon slayer." Igneel complimented.

"Dragon slayer?" Natsu questioned, curiosity was clearly radiating off him.

"Yes. I will train you to achieve strengths greater than you could ever imagine."

"Alright then, teach me."

"I will, after your friend's wound is healed. There is a cottage on the other side of this forest, take your friend there. I will wait here and expect you to return by sunrise tomorrow. Now be on your way." Igneel instructed as he pointed in a direction which the trio assumed was the way to the cottage.

"Gotcha! Be back soon!" Natsu helped Lucy onto his back and made sure that she was secure before he whizzed off at the speed of light. Excitement filled his veins as he thought of how much his magic would grow in strength after the training.

"Natsu, are you positive that we can trust him?" Happy asked, flying at the same speed as Natsu's dashing legs. "Yeah, I'm not too sure about all this either." Lucy added, tightening her arms that were wrapped around Natsu's neck as she felt she was slipping from his grip.

"You guys worry too much! I've got a feeling that we can trust him," Natsu replied, reassuring his friends.

"If you say so..."

"I still think this is bad idea!" Happy mumbled with a frown on his face. The trio continued on their quest to reach the cottage. All they had seem for hours were trees and bushes, the cottage was nowhere to be seen.

Due to the hours of travelling, the sun had already begun to set behind the beautiful horizon. The many colours illuminated the forest giving it a magical glow, but that didn't help the trio at all. Soon the night would consume the warm rays of the sun with darkness.

Lucy was sure they were lost, but Natsu was stubborn and insisted that they were on the right track. Happy decided to take refuge on Lucy's head as Natsu continued running, determined to reach the cottage by nightfall. However, luck was not on their side. They watched as the darkness slowly prevailed, leaving only the moon and stars as a light source.

"Natsu, just admit it. We're lost!" Lucy grumbled angrily, clearly agitated with her friend. Nothing could be worse than losing her beauty sleep. Natsu yawned loudly, trying to keep his eyes open. "We're not lost. We just haven't reached the cottage yet," he proclaimed tiredly.

"Let's rest for the night. My knee doesn't hurt anymore and it's starting to heal." Lucy mumbled with her left cheek resting on the top of Natsu's head.

"Stop talking! A cat needs to sleep!" Happy huffed grumpily, burying himself deeper into Lucy's hair. Lucy gazed up at the stars like she used to as a young girl, wondering what secrets they might hold. The stars seemed to know everything. From their position, they had a clear view of the world and all its issues. Lucy always believed that her mother was amongst the stars watching over her. At night her mother would light up the sky to guide Lucy through the darkness and in the day, even if she couldn't be seen, she would protect her little girl. The thought of her mother never ceased to bring a smile to Lucy's face.

"There it is! I told you we weren't lost!" Natsu cheered, terminating Lucy's thoughts. Happy sighed with relief. His wings appeared as he flew ahead, knocking on the door of the cream coloured cottage. It was surrounded by a row of luscious green trees and a beautiful garden. "Whatever, we stumbled upon it by accident." Happy said simply, waiting for someone to answer the door as Natsu and Lucy caught up to him.

"Was not, I knew where we were going the whole time!" Natsu exclaimed, holding his head up high. Lucy sighed at the boy's antics. "We got here and that's what matters." Right at that moment, the door opened revealing a petite young girl with long dark blue hair. Her brown eyes stared up innocently at the three unfamiliar faces.