Chapter 1—Intro

By Faralyne

Life was good.

A toothy grin broke out from beneath fiery lips as the giant monstrosity fell to the charred ground with a thud. Burning flames expelled from the tightly clenched fists, the muscles of lightly tanned arms becoming less tense. Natsu Dragneel swiped at the sweat beading on his forehead before pumping one of his fists into the air.

"Take that, bastard monster! That'll teach ya to terrorize innocent villages!" he shouted at his unconscious opponent, the bright smile never leaving his face. Natsu whipped his head to the side with laughter in his voice, "That was so fun, right Hap—oh." The space next to him was empty.

Right. He took this quest by himself, and actually by himself this time. Natsu ran a quick hand through his spiky pink locks in slight frustration. He just wanted a little alone time… but he forgot how lonely alone time could get.

The team was fun to take quests together, and they did it often to make sure Lucy's rent was paid and looked after. Nevertheless, it got a little overbearing and annoying. Erza was bossy, Lucy complained a lot, and Gray was, well, Gray. His existence alone was enough to piss off Natsu. The pinkette just wanted to get away from it all for a little bit—a few days at most. He wouldn't dare leave his family for much longer on such a petty reason. The team was so much fun too. His heart squeezed slightly, and he knew it was time to go home.

That pretty much sums up this quest. Time to get paid! Natsu drooled at the thought of succulent meat from the pleasant village restaurant. He might just use all of his earnings to eat as much of that smoked meat as possible. With that thought clouding his mind, the pinkette darted back to the village.

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Stupid village.

Dockin' my pay, and for what!? A couple of burnt forests, destroyed buildings, and dried-up streams! It wasn't even that bad… Natsu huffed in his mind, gripping his pack a little tighter as the villagers watched him leave. They were wary of having him in their village for much longer. Meaning, no smoked meat for Natsu! The pinkette cursed under his breath. Just about a thousand jewels and a weird, magic fruit. It was a dull grey color with lime green slashes in it. The villagers said it was a little party favor fruit that would turn its eater into their favorite animal for the night.

"Just a bite to go wild for the night!"

He tried to trade the fruit for a pass at the little restaurant, but the villagers really didn't want him there anymore. Everyone was so tense. This was so not fun—well, kickin' the monster's ass was, but everythin' after went downhill! Natsu stomped down the dirt road. It was a long ways back to Magnolia. Technically, it was a five-to-six hour train ride, but Natsu would rather chew off his own hand before taking a train. And Erza wasn't there to scare him into one. So, it was a long two-day walk instead. A safer, less vomit-filled two-day walk—he may add.

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It felt as if his legs were going to give out any moment now. His sandals dragged against the dark forest floor, kicking up dust and soil as he trudged by. The sun was already setting. The day was almost over. He'd been walking for who knew how long; he didn't keep track of the time after the hours started flying by. The adrenaline rush from the battle wore off a few hours into the walk, and the exhaustion was weighing down his shoulders.

His mouth widened without his permission, a loud yawn escaping as he rubbed his dry eyes. Just a little longer and I'll take a break. Was his backpack always this heavy? Natsu sighed, and before his mind could even think about it, his stomach growled. He was surprised the poor thing lasted so long.

"So hungry…" he exhaled, another grumble shaking his stomach. Patience running out, Natsu shrugged his pack off his shoulders to set up camp. He had to have something to nibble on. Oh, wait! Ripping off his sleeping bag, and pulling out a couple of items, the pinkette found the strange-looking fruit at the bottom of his bag. He silently thanked the gods for keeping him from throwing it away as he shoved the whole fruit down his throat. It wasn't very filling, but it was better than nothing.

Natsu rolled out his sleeping bag, deciding that walking more would just make him even hungrier. If I sleep now, then I'll have enough energy in the mornin' to flame some bird in the ass. He thought, his eyes clamping shut as if they were meant to stay closed forever.

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Rays of sun beat against Natsu's eyelids until he finally woke up. He growled, scrunching his obsidian eyes up more before gradually opening them. Argh… Is it mornin' already? The sun was already sitting so high in the sky, the morning already passed by. He definitely wasn't too far from Magnolia now. This forest was the last big obstacle, and then it was just a long road to follow back. He yawned, raising a hand to rub his eye… until he froze.

Natsu blinked. Once. Twice. A couple more times, trying to see if his eyes were deceiving him. His hand… it was dark red. Little scales coated the skin, leading up to the black claws that used to be tanned fingers. Natsu blinked again. His brain had shut down, refusing to process any of this. He looked at his other hand, finding it to suffer the same fate.

"Grraatggh—grr …!" Natsu instantly clamped his mouth shut. He couldn't talk! All that escaped his mouth were low growls. What the hell is goin' on?! Natsu panicked. He jumped back, landing on all fours. He could feel something extending from his backside, and something twitching around the middle of his back. There was a stream not too far from him, Natsu remembered. He stumbled over to it, trying to get used to running on all fours. Tripping into the cold water, he climbed out and waited for the water to settle—to see the image staring back at him.

A dragon.

He was a fucking dragon! Dark red scales extended across his entire body. Little black horns pointed out of his head, and his mouth protruded forward, sharp teeth filling it. Out of surprise, his wings extended outward, spiked tail sticking straight back. I'm a… I turned into a… I… Obsidian eyes blinked owlishly in his reflection. He wasn't large or intimidating, just barely the size of a small dog. But he was still a dragon. The creature he'd been searching for all these years was staring right back at him. The irony of his appearance irritated him.

I need to get back to the guild now! Wendy—yeah, Wendy'll be able to cure me! Natsu thought as he raced back to his little campsite. There was no way he'd be able to carry all of his things. But, he could still wear his money pouch around his neck and hold his muffler in his mouth. Natsu wasn't losing his muffler no matter what. Staring back at the left baggage for a little longer, Natsu sprinted off towards Magnolia once more.

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A/N: Hi, Faralyne speaking. I'm new to Fanfiction and Fairy Tail, so this is my first story. I have a pretty good idea on how I want to take it, but there might be fluctuating changes in the rating (from teen to mature) depending on how it plays out. I definitely welcome expressive reviews and constructive criticism! Thanks for reading!