The great bearded Dragon raised his head. The previously silent woods were now filled with a new sound. The strange noise was somewhat irritating, and extremely loud, and unable to dislodge the noise from his ears, Weissogia stood up, stretched, and went in search of whatever was making the noise. Who knew it could probably be breakfast.

A small infant was crying in the clearing. His hair was blond and his eyes were scrunched up tight, his tears running down his face along with a stream of blood flowing down from a cut above his right eye. He was dirty and trembling, bawling at the top of his lungs, but otherwise perfectly healthy.

Weissogia arrived at the clearing, licking his lips at the thought of an easy breakfast. He wasn't as young as he used to be and an easy meal was welcome. As he walked into the clearing the noise got louder and louder. Finally he stood above a small bundle in the middle of the floor, making that ever irritating and headache inducing noise. Leveling his head with the bundle, Weissogia snorted in disappointment. This creature wouldn't even make a proper mouthful for one such as he. It wasn't worth his time, but he already made the trip, better not waste it. As he opened his large maw to snap up the tiny bundle, he saw it wiggle. He paused in curiousity. Again the bundle wiggled, and this time it managed to move. It fact, the bundle moved to its side, and a tiny human was facing him, its eyes shut tightly and still crying.

Weissogia quickly jerked up his head, closing his mighty jaws with a snap. A human? What the hell is a human doing here? He wondered. The child was still crying and as he continued to stare at it, he began to grow angry. Why is a human here? I hid far away from any human settlement of any kind! Those traitorous monkeys can't have found me. I should just crush this bug where is lays. Memories of the slaughter that was the Dragon Wars flashed through his mind. His people, his fellow dragons falling one by one from the sky, by the hands of the very allies to whom they had taught their sacred magic: the Dragon slayers. He had barely fled from the worst of them (that brute that dared refer to himself as the "Dragon King", Acnologia) with his life. No it was better to kill this creature now before it brought him trouble later.

Weissogia once again opened his jaws to swallow up the tiny pest, when the child slowly began to open his eyes. Blue eyes beheld the white dragon and the cries ceased. Instead, the child began to laugh, reaching its tiny arms out to the great white beast.

Again the dragon paused. The child was not afraid, and it rather confused him. He was not a vengeful or violent being by nature, and in truth, he felt tired of fighting, however the child would only lead to trouble. He opened his mouth wider and prepared to swallow the child. The child in turn did a curious thing. It sat up and untangle itself from its blanket, and opened its tiny mouth as big as it could. It fact the child even raised its head and roared at the Dragon of Light in a tiny but confident voice.

Weissogia just stared wide eyed at the audacity of this tiny creature. Then he began to laugh, his voice loud and merry, just floored by this little creature's action. Finally wiping a tear from his eye, he once again lowered his head to study the child. He sniffed the child's head and flinched with surprise. Other than the normal humany smell, there was the clear metallic scent of blood. Upon closer inspection, the dragon discovered the cut. Slightly bothered by the damage, the dragon gingerly placed the tip of his tongue against the child's face and licked away the blood. The child giggled and tried to grab the huge, wet, pink thing poking his face.

Sighing in defeat, Weissogia placed his head on the floor. Damn it all, I can't eat this. Human or not, it's only an infant. But I can't bring it back without revealing myself. What to do, what to do. In the meantime, the child struggled to stand. Curiously, the dragon watched the cubby creature stand and plop back down on its butt. It tried again with the same result. The third time however, it reached success, managed to waddle toward the dragon's great muzzle, falling across it. The dragon chuckled in amusement as the child tried to reach his beard. Oh well. He thought. I'll figure out what to do later. Tonight's the Gathering, perhaps Skiadrum or Grandeene can help me. So saying, he gently shook the child off his nose and into his open claws. Making sure the child was secure, he opened his feathered wings to take off, but suddenly remembered the blanket. The child would probably get cold in the air. Reaching for the small sheet between his claws, the white dragon noticed a something, there in between the folds of the blanket was a small note. Being a curious being, Weissogia tried to read it, but the script was much too small. After thinking for a minute, he began gently blowing on the note, the letters shifting into bright yellow lights, steadily growing in size, until it was just right for the dragon to read.

To whomever is reading this,

This child's name is (there was a huge crossed out spot here followed by another word) Sting. By the time you find this note, we probably won't be around anymore. Please to whomever finds this child, I beg you to keep him safe. Whether you keep him or not is up to you but please, please make sure he's alright, his safety is all we wish for. And even if you never read this (again there was a crossed out spot followed by the other word) Sting, know that we are so, so sorry it had to be like this. We won't be around to see you grow into the great mage we know you'll be, but know sweetheart that we always have, and always will love you. This is the hardest thing your father and I have ever done, but you must live. Live for us, live for yourself, and most of all, live for the future. We will always be with you.

Love,

Natsu Dragoneel and Lucy Heartfilia

The dragon read through the note once again and glanced down at his charge not sleeping in his paw. He shook his head sadly. The child's parents by the sound of it were dead. On the bright side, he thought gloomily, at least that means there's no one who'll come looking for him. The dragon sighed as the letters of light faded. Live for the future huh? Funny thing for a mage, that's all they seem to do…live. He shook his head. Well I think I can arrange that. He gently placed the child on his head, covering him with his mane. Well then…Sting, I can hardly leave you alone now can I? As if the child had heard his thoughts, he snuggled further into his soft mane. The dragon turned to face the woods, preferring to walk with his thoughts. Suddenly the almost completely faded letters caught his eyes. A single sentence that he had overlooked : P.S Please, to whoever sees this, please never tell (Again with that damned crossed out blott!) Sting about this note, nor about us. It's for his own good that he never knows.

Huh, they don't want their son to know about them? Humans, he'd never understand them. But he'd respect the deceased's wishes. The boy would never know. "Let's go Sting," Weissogia whispered. The duo stalked off into the forest leaving the blanket and note behind. Safely snuggled in Weissogia's mane, baby Sting dreamed of a blond woman with brown eyes, and a strong man with pink hair and black eyes both smiling down at him, the man tussling his hair. "Mama, Papa," he mumbled. He also dreamt of one other, a boy with black hair and red eyes, held by a faceless woman with blue hair, shadowed by a huge man with pitch black hair and silver dotting his arms. His friend. With these people in his mind and heart he continued in the world of dreams.

oooooo0oooooo0oooo0ooooooo

Skiadrum was in a bit of a predicament. One of his shadow servants just brought to him a strange creature, its hair as black as a moonless night, pale-ish skin, and blood red eyes. Admittedly attractive coloring but that's not what the trouble was here. This child was human. Just his luck, the humans seemed to be searching for him again. Can't those damned hairless apes just leave him alone? And what's with this brat, was it some sort of sacrifice or something? It really irritated Skiadrum when this happened. Just because he was the dragon of the shadows did NOT mean that he was evil. In fact other than the ones fed to him by his mother when he was a hatchling, he had never eaten a human in his life.

Skiadrum huffed irritably. Damn those humans. He's been hiding in theses dark caves for hundreds of years ever since the Dragon Wars. Was it not enough that he had buried the corpses of his fellows slaughtered by that, he growled, ... Acnologia. All he wanted was some peace. He was old, and it was getting harder and harder to move and breathe. He couldn't even hunt anymore, sending out his shadow servants to find him food while he hid away in this dark, obsidian cave. It would be difficult to get to the Gathering tonight. And to top it all off now he had to deal with this little ball of flesh. What to do, what to do. Abstenmindingly staring at the child, he tapped his claw against the clave floor in thought, the sound echoing across the cave. A soft slap snapped the dragon out of his thoughts. Looking down at the little creature, Skiadrum was surprised to see the child was staring right back at him. He tapped his claw against the cave floor; the child slapped his hand down in response, a smile on its face. Curious the dark dragon thought. Again he tapped his claw, and again the child slapped down its hand. The corner of Skiadrum's lips began twitched. Tap. Tap. Slap. Slap. What a simple game, yet so captivating to the ancient beast and the youthful human. The dragon began to chuckle, refreshed by this little game. He lowered his head toward the child, his large ruby red eyes gleaming. The child reached out to the dragon and tapped his muzzle lightly, laughing when the dragon blew warm air into its face. Skiadrum gently smiled at the creature. It had been a very long time since he had a reason to do so, the shadows usually being his only companions. Perhaps…No, He snorted. Not a human, when the shadows return, I'll have them take this child back to wherever it came from. The thought however, filled him with no relief.

"Master Skiadrum" a soft echo of voices whispered from the darkness of the cave. The child looked around curiously, but unable to locate the speaker, it went back to 'petting' Skiadrum's muzzle. The dragon raised his head out of the child's reach.

"Speak"
"We have found you sustenance master"

"Of what kind?

"Fresh meat from the woods down below, compliments of Weissogia."

A trio of large, freshly killed stags suddenly appeared at the Great Dragon's feet. The infant crawled over to the carcasses, poking them curiously. Skiadrum snorted, absentmindedly using his tail to slide the child away. Weissogia was an old, old friend, though much younger than him in years. Technically the shadows of the cave were enough to sustain him, but shadows can only satisfy his tastes for so long. "Master?" whispered the Shadow Beings.

"What is it"

"What of the child?"

Skiadrum paused, hesitant on how to procede. He was much too old to care for such a young creature, and eating him was out of the question. He tapped his claw once again, and again the child began to slap; the old dragon could help but smirk in amusment. But with a sigh, he closed his eyes and said to the shadows, "Take it back to wherever it came from."

"We know not from where that is Skiadrum" the Beings responded

"What? How could you not? Was this it not a sacrifice?"

"No human has approached this cave master"

"…None?"

"None."

"…Damn. Is there any sign of the child's parents "

"None my Lord. However…"

"What is it?"

"We found…a note master"

Skiadrum grunted impatiently, "Well? What does it say?"

A piece of paper fell from the roof of the cave, gently floating down to the cave's floor. The paper was small, as was the print, but Skiadrum was accustomed to reading human works, a habit he developed in his 'solitude'.

To whoever finds this child,

His name is Rogue and he is a mage. We wish only for his safety and well being, where he can learn to use his magic to the best of his ability. Giving this child a chance of life is the only gift we can give beg of you to make sure Rogue can be taken somewhere where he can be safe. And to you Rogue, though you'll never know this, Your father and mother love you oh so very much, but this is your only chance. You are strong, you are smart, and you WILL survive through anything and everything. We love you so very much. So, live and see the future we can no longer give you, and live it as well as you can. And to whomever holds this note, please never tell our son of this. He must never know. Despite the way he looks, he his a good child and will do great things, we just know it. He is not evil, and he is not a monster, and though this may not make sense, though we are gone, he will never be an orphan. Please take care of him.

Levy McGarden and Gajeel Redfox

Rereading the note, Skiadrum looked down at the infant currently playing with his tail. "So...Rogue's your name." The child looked up at him and as if in response, gave a wide toothless smile in return. bending his head closer to study the child Skiadrum looked over the young boy's gleaming red eyes and shadow black haired. Only a human would automatically think that this is a monster. But I can't keep it...him. Skidram closed his eyes and rested his head against the cold cave floor. What am I going to do? I can't just rush into this. He let out a deep sigh. Damn, I'm too old for this. He felt a gentle weight lean against his muzzle, and he cracked open a bloody iris to see the child...Rogue, curled up against him, staring back with the gentle fearless curiosity as only a babe could have. Should the child had been any older, there would only be fear in his eyes, and he would probably flee, leaving Skiadrum alone with his shadows once again. The dragon once again considered the child, they were both so alike and yet so different. Their ages were a chasm between them, one with the experience from many millennium, and the other having yet to experience a year in its short lifetime, but they were both now so very alone. The baby crawled toward the shadow dragons eye, meeting his blood red iris with its own ruby. Once again the child smiled that toothless yet endearing smile, snuggled up to the dragon's pitch black scales, and began to breathe deep as it fell into a gentle slumber.

"Master" the shadows whispered to Skiadrum once again.

"Speak" he replied without raising his head, his eye still on his temporary charge.

"What of the child"

The dragon closed his eye once again in thought. After what felt like hours, he spoke, his voice tired and low, "The Gathering. It will come with me to the gathering, and its fate will be decided there."

This was going to be a long night.

The child was breathing gently, his mind lost in the world of dreams and memories, with one standing out clear. A small woman with a gentle smile and sky blue locks and hazel eyes held him against her chest, smiling at him as she read from a story book. A giant stood beside them, silver dotting his face, hair as black as night, and ruby eyes, his lips cracked in a gentle smirk as he gently tousled his hair with a giant hand, a familiar laugh ringing in the air. There were two others and a small figure he recognized as his friend, but they were only blurs, with his focus being on the gentle giant and fairy that he loved. "Mama, papa," Rogue whispered and fell into a deeper dreamless slumber.

Oh Mavis! They're sooo cute! For those of you who don't know, this story is based off the Twin Dragon Paradox Theory. If you don't know I suggest you look it up. You don't have too, but it might make more sense if you do. There was no description for Skiadrum, so yea I made it up. So guys, I want ya to sit back, and enjoy. This is just a short description of how Sting and Rogue came into their relative dragon's care and their lives as they grew up. I expect three chapters at max four. So tell me what ya think! R & R and make my day. Bye!