The Red Dragon

Chapter 14

Gratsu Bingo 2019
Prompt: Free

Chapter 14

It had been almost two years since the dragons had left their cave to take care of what they'd assumed would be a simple problem.

Once they'd arrived, however, they'd discovered that there were far more renegade dragon slayers than they'd expected. And while there was a lot of disagreement over how that had happened, there was one thing everyone could agree on, and that was that Atlas' was responsible.

It had been his spell that set the events in motion that had caused the murder of countless dragons on both sides of the conflict.

Atlas knew he'd made Igneel's job harder than it needed to be, and he hated it. He'd already begun trying to think of ways to revert the spell. To remove the magic from the dragon slayers and return it to its source, even if that was only the ethernano present in the atmosphere. It would be a complicated process, but he was confident he could manage it, given enough time and resources.

Two things he didn't have access to at the moment.

He needed to get to work on that spell, but he couldn't do that and be responsible for Igneel's protection.

Now that the renegade dragon slayers were after his brother, he needed someone to take his place. Someone he knew he could trust to protect Igneel with his life, no matter what the circumstances. Only one name came to mind, and even though Atlas knew his brother would hate him for it, he didn't think there was another choice.

He raced through the air, his body wreathed in raging hellfire while his powerful wings propelled him toward Talos. He kept above cloud cover to avoid detection from any humans who might be watching.

Examining his surroundings, he allowed himself to relax...

Not much longer now.

0-0

Sting didn't return home until the morning, having spent the night in the barracks along with Wendy, per Erza's request. Rogue was still asleep, so he hadn't been able to ask him about Natsu and why he'd felt the need to keep the patrols a secret from them.

It was something that had bothered him, even if he hadn't voiced it. He and Natsu had been best friends for years, and even though they'd had a talk some months earlier, it felt like they'd never quite gotten back to normal. Their friendship had devolved into a comfortable acquaintance, full of fondness for times past but with no future in sight.

Sting still felt as though Natsu had replaced him with Gray, and even though he could understand a lot of the reasons, it didn't keep him from feeling hurt by how distant their relationship had become.

He shook those thoughts away as he watched Rogue toss and turn in their shared sleeping area. Once they'd gotten together, they'd soon stopped sleeping in the main room with the others, wanting privacy to explore their newfound intimacy.

Sting reached out to run his fingers through Rogue's hair and attempt to provide him some comfort, but he stopped his hand in midair, realizing that would only wake his mate up.

He decided to let Rogue get whatever rest he could. The way things looked at the moment, it was something they wouldn't be getting for much longer. Sting sent some feelings through their shared bond to help ease his mate back into a comfortable sleep and watched as a small smile flitted across Rogue's lips as he snuggled into the covers, his arms reaching out for Sting.

Erza was on a rampage, demanding they find every able-bodied man and woman in the village, with or without magic, and train them to fight and defend themselves. Most of the mages Lyon and Gray had sent his way weren't powerful. They would have failed the tests required to enter the guard, but these were desperate times.