Loss

Natsu and Joseph traveled from their small town to a city 4 days away. When the sun started setting on the 2nd day, they stopped and set up a tent and made a fire to keep warm. While sitting on the ground and eating some fish, they cooked. A man passing came across them and walked over.

"Hello there," the man said.

"Hi, mister!" Natsu said, waving at the man with his fish.

"Can we help you, sir?" Joseph asked.

"I've been traveling for a week or so and have run out of food. Could you spare a fish?"

"Of course, come eat."

After a few minutes, Joseph sent Natsu to bed in the tent they set up.

"What brings you out here, young man?" The traveler asked.

"My daughter is very sick and most likely won't make it another month. I heard of a wizard that can heal any illness. I want to find him and take him to her, then have him teach me that magic so I can heal those who fall ill in my town."

"You're a very noble man Joseph."

Joseph looked at the man and stood up.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"The wizard you seek is not in the city you are walking to," the man told him.

The man stood up and gave Joseph a cloth with something inside. When he unfolded the material, there was a big red scale.

"What is this?" Joseph asked as he picked it up.

"A dragon scale."

Joseph looked at the man confused, then asked, "why are you giving me this?"

"The wizard you seek will heel your daughter, but it will kill her weeks later. My wife was ill as well, and I went to the wizard, but the magic he used wore off a week later, and she passed. I took her body to barry at the foot of her favorite mountain; then I was approached by a red dragon his name... Igneel."

"Igneel?"

"He did something I thought was impossible. He brought my love back to life with the magic that resided in his scales. When he flew away, a scale fell off his body, and I've saved it for when I find someone sick; seeing you travel far away to help your little girl makes me want to give this to you."

"Thank you, sir; I owe you."

"Go save your baby, Joseph."

Joseph watched as the man left then woke up Natsu, and they quickly headed back home, but when they arrived, they saw something terrible. Their town was engulfed in flames, with men on horses killing the townspeople.

"Natsu, listen closely. Hideout here; I'm going to go find your mother and sister," Joseph said as he put his son behind a boulder.

Joseph gave Natsu the scale predicting he wouldn't make it back to him.

Joseph ran to his home and searched all over and didn't find his family, he heard his wife scream and looked out a window and saw the criminals murder his wife in cold blood. He jumped out the window after watching one of the men pick up Nala.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!"

Joseph picked up a sword and swung it, cutting off the man's arm, causing him to drop Nala. He picked her up and started running in the direction where he hid Natsu. He looked behind him and saw the men getting closer. He looked down to his daughter and said, "I love Nala, and daddy doesn't want to hurt you; what I'm going to do is to save you. Your brother will protect you." Joseph cradled Nala and kissed her head, yelled, "NATSU," then threw his daughter; he turned around with his sword and ran towards them to fight so Natus and Nala could get away.

When Natsu heard his father scream his name, he peeked out from the rock and saw his father throw Nala; he ran to try and slid on his stomach and let Nala land on his back. When he looked up, he watched his father fight the men and cheered him on, "GO DAD GOT THIS! KICK they're-" Joseph got cut down in front of his kids.

"Dad?" Nala said as she started crying.

"No," Natsu said.

"Over there! Two got away!"

Natsu put Nala on his back and started running as fast as possible.

"What about mom and dad?" Nala asked.

"THEIR DEAD!" Natsu said, crying.

Natsu darted into the forest and hid his sister in a tree trunk, then climbed up a tree next to it so he could hide in the leaves.

"Those brats ran over here!"

"Them, where are they!?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know!"

The men started getting closer to Nala, and Natsu got scared, so he threw a branch to make a sound.

"Ove there go!"

After the men left, Natsu climbed down and took his sister, and ran the opposite way.