A treasure (2)

"So?" the dragoness pressed with an irritated voice.

"They're fantastic! I look really cool!"

"Beautiful. Especially if you disappear from my cave." The old dragoness pushed him away with a hand swipe. Sewing those clothes had forced her to use her human form for too long, and it was starting to irritate her. "Out!"

Natsu didn't need to be told again, and he rushed quickly towards the exit. He was almost out when he remembered he had forgotten something important. "Thanks, Grandeeney!"

The dragoness snorted, despite the deep bow she had just received. "I said out! I'm tired of sewing! All your fault, Igneel, and Erza!" At the mention of Erza, Natsu raised his head. "Erza?"

For a moment, Grandeeney hesitated, as if she had just let slip something that should remain a secret, but it was only for a moment. The dragoness quickly resumed her usual expression, snorting. "Exactly! Suddenly, she decided she wanted to learn how to sew too, but she'd better give it up! Erza can memorize the names of all the forest herbs and yet can't even hold a needle! That girl is made for swords, not spools! And why are you still looking? I said, out!" This time, Grandeeney emphasized the point by throwing a stone, and Natsu, to avoid it, had to rush into the trees. Unintentionally, the dragoness had given him an important clue to complete the puzzle, but Natsu wasn't the collage type. He didn't gather the pieces to put them together; he forced them to join by force.

Another couple of days passed, and the summer solstice arrived without the two friends meeting. Natsu was increasingly irritated and in a bad mood, but he hadn't stopped looking for Erza. He combed the forest far and wide, but without success. Where could she have gone? He had looked everywhere! Or had he? It was just when he was running out of ideas that Natsu realized there was still one place to check, that point where the forest met the swamp. He had automatically excluded it because he knew that after the Petrified Forest incident, Erza had always refused to go back.

It was worth a try.

Natsu immediately rushed towards the swamp, sniffing the air to orient himself. The mud puddles were still far away, but the smell of decay in the air was so strong that he could barely catch the hint of strawberries he was looking for. Oh, that was the right track!

The Dragon Slayer began to walk slowly, using the trunks as a hiding place, to catch his prey by surprise. He still intended to attack her from behind and fight her to the death, but when he saw Erza's figure just ahead, he stopped immediately. The girl was sitting near a group of plants with long leaves and was wrapping something she held on her legs.

From that distance, Natsu couldn't see what it was. When he heard Erza exclaim, "Finished!" curiosity got the better of him, and Natsu literally shot out of his hiding place. "What have you finished?"

Erza hadn't even noticed his arrival. She jumped, trying in vain to hide her bundle, but by now, it was impossible to make it disappear, even if she had eaten it.

"And what are you doing here? Why did you disappear all this time, huh? Were you doing secret training? Did you want to become stronger than me? Come on! Fight, and let's see who's the best!"

"I... Uh... Ahaha..." The Dragon Slayer stammered for a long time before managing to formulate a sensible sentence. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Natsu repeated, lowering his fists, and she nodded. "I know I've been gone without an explanation these days, and you're angry, but... But I had a good reason! I was preparing a surprise for your birthday! I wanted to give it to you tonight, but since it's over... Here!" And saying that, Erza jumped to her feet, thrusting the bundle she had held until then into his arms. It was a rather nice package, made with large green leaves and held together by the thread of a vine, while a large red flower served as a bow.

Too bad Natsu wasn't the type to admire the beauty of packages. Erza knew it, even if she had enjoyed preparing it anyway, and chuckled, watching him tear the vine with his teeth.

"What is it? What is it? Is it edible?" Natsu's expression dimmed a bit when he finally managed to open the gift, and a long piece of white fabric, sewn in squares, came out. It was soft, but it had the same roughness to the touch.

"What is it?" the boy asked again.

"It's a scarf!" Erza exclaimed. "Yes, I know you don't feel cold, but I made it for another reason. I asked for help from Igneel and Grandeeney and a bit of their old scales. Thanks to the magic soaked in this scarf, it will protect you from dark spells!"

There were no dark mages in the forest, but Erza still felt very proud of her idea and also of the result she had achieved. After all, it was the first time she had sewn, and moreover, using the wind magic to speed up the work. "Do you like it?"

"A lot!" And Natsu hurried to tie his new gift around his arm.

"No! Scarves don't go like that!"

The boy tried again, and this time, he wrapped it around his head like a bandana.

"No!"

Then on his face like a ninja.

"Around the neck!" Erza was forced to take it off and put it on him in the right way. "Mind you," the girl whispered, admiring the result of her work, "take care of it very carefully. This gift I made you is a very precious treasure!"

"A treasure?" Natsu mumbled too. Once, Igneel had explained to him that dragons are very jealous and territorial creatures that don't allow anyone to touch what belongs to them and those they love. Igneel had also explained that this was the reason why humans and other beasts were afraid to enter their territory. He had also explained that this was why in many fairy tales, the dragon always guards a precious treasure, a princess, or an enchanted castle.

Natsu had listened to those stories without much interest, but now everything would change: now he too had a treasure to protect. And what a treasure! A gift made by his father, Grandeeney, and his best friend!

"But today is also your birthday," Natsu whispered. "And I haven't prepared any gift..."

"Well, we've never given each other birthday presents!" Erza laughed. "And it doesn't matter. For me, it's already a gift that you like my scarf." She was smiling, and her cheeks were a little red. Looking at her, Natsu found himself thinking that she was becoming more beautiful. "Can I give you this as a gift?"

Erza still had her hands on the edges of the scarf, and she was so close that it took less than half a second for Natsu to give her a kiss on the lips.

"FORGET IT!" Erza pushed him away and unleashed one of her roars, but Natsu bent backward, and the whirlwind passed over his head without causing any harm. "You can't hit me! Now I have the scarf that protects me!"

"But not from the magic of a Sky Dragon Slayer!" Now Erza was even redder than before, so red that she almost seemed to be the same color as her hair. Natsu found her even more adorable when she was embarrassed, but not when embarrassment was accompanied by wild anger.

"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fangs!" This time, to avoid the blow, the boy was forced to roll on the ground, but in an instant, he had already gotten up and was running away, laughing his heart out, with Erza on his heels.

"You can't hit me, or the scarf will get ruined!"

"Don't worry! I will only destroy you!"