Chapter Text
Katsuki was nine when he first met the red dragonling.
He’d been playing in the fields surrounding his lesser kingdom, something he’d been warned against, but who ever listened to the silly tales the adults told children to keep them in line anyhow? The green grass was tall, the soft blades tickling his nose as he trounced through them, some great adventure playing through his head as he went. The vast mountains bordering the southern section of his home provided cool winds that rustled the grass in gentle ripples, the little gusts of wind catching on his shirt and making his hair dance and whip around his round face. From a bird’s eye, he probably looked like a little dandelion puff caught in the wind with how he wound through the grass.
With the grass being so tall and Katsuki being so lost in his mind as he was, he didn’t notice the absence of his foothold until he was tumbling down a small hill, landing in a field of much shorter grass that was littered in little red flowers. They kind of looked like lilies.
Righting himself, he noticed a much larger splash of red. That certainly wasn’t a flower. It was a… boy? He didn’t exactly look like a normal boy. He had wild red hair, the roots looking mysteriously dark compared to the bright tips. Two dark, shining horn-like growths sprouted from his forehead. Though small they looked sharp at the points. As if he wasn’t already dazed, looking at the boy’s face made him all the more disoriented. Shining black scales were scattered across the boy’s tanned cheeks and nose, small and resembling Deku’s freckles if not for the careful interlocking and overlap of them. With each minute move the otherwise stock-still creature made, they shone with an oil slick of bright red, matching the wide, cat like eyes they were set beneath. Those deep red eyes stared at Katsuki with an intensity that most would perceive as threatening, like a predator sizing up his next meal. All Katsuki felt was curiosity to match his own.
The boy looked no older than him. Hell, judging by the baby fat softness of his cheeks, he could even be younger than Katsuki.
After moments of staring, Katsuki finally broke the silence, his voice held uncharacteristically soft like he was trying to befriend a startled kitten.
“Hi,”
There was a momentary pause, a tilt of that bright beastly head. The boy’s mouth split into a grin, sharp white teeth exposed with a few missing here or there. They were small too, but looked like they could host a nasty bite. The sound that came from that mouth was even worse. An unholy screech that sounded like at least ten birds being strangled together, but laced with a childlike joy.
Katsuki’s hands flew up to his ears to protect them from that awful sound, but did little in regards to the humanoid barreling towards him. Though the boy seemed smaller than Katsuki himself, he was heavy and solid, even for a kid. The blond wheezed as the full brunt of that weight hit him and forced him back onto the ground. A momentary flash of panic chilled his veins, remembering those teeth that promised destruction. Whatever fear he could have possibly felt dissipated as he felt a hot tongue lap his face, not unlike the village dogs that would play with him.
With a grunt of effort, his hands shoved the scaled face away from him, no longer wary of the other.
“What was that?” He grumbled wiping his face free of slobber, “You taste testin’ me or somethin’?” He turned to glare at the creature, but was only met with an excited puppyish stare. The kid even had his tongue poked out like a dog. What even was he?
Now that they were closer, Katsuki could get a better look at those glittering scales and protruding horns. Those were definitely horns. Looking closer, the blackness of them shone sleek with what looked like red glitter, much like the kid’s scales.
The kid just sat there and let Katsuki gawk at him. He was reminding the blond more and more of a dog with each passing second.
“Do you have a name?”
The red head of hair tilted, the goofy grin shrinking into a curious pout. Could he understand Katsuki?
“ Name ,” he repeated, “Mine’s Katsuki,” he pointed a finger to himself.
The kid’s red eyes flickered from the finger back up to Katsuki’s face. With a much milder screech of enthusiasm, he launched himself back at Katsuki, reacquainting him with the dirt and grass.
With a defeated growl, Katsuki just let the boy lick over him. Eventually the licking died down to intense sniffing. Was he smelling him? He briefly wondered what he smelled like. All he could smell was grass and burnt wood.
There was a chirruping noise, sounding again like a bird, and the kid used his hands to push himself up and off the boy on the ground. He repeated the noise before bounding away a few steps, pausing to look over his shoulder at Katsuki before running a few more steps and repeating.
He wanted Katsuki to follow him. Or did he want him to chase him?
Katsuki sat up, the boy’s attention focusing on him intently. He stood up and stared at the horned boy.
With no warning, Katsuki took off in a sprint towards the boy. The kid let out a delighted yell and took off through the flowers, kicking up red petals as he went. The kid was running on all four limbs, even more so like a dog. His back feet looked weird and animalistic as well. Was that a tail?
Shaking his head, Katsuki decided he wasn’t going to keep dwelling on his new friend’s oddities right now, instead focusing on chasing and catching the boy and teaching him a thing or two about wrestling. The other village kids were no match for his prowess. He was excited to test his new friend’s strength and ability.
Hours past and the sun was turning the sky an array of warm colors: pinks, yellows, and oranges bleeding into the violet of the oncoming night. The cooling air found Katsuki spread out on the grass, thoroughly dirty with an equally exhausted creature next to him. The two had run and wrestled so much, they’d lost track of time. Luckily the boy’s horns were small enough that they stayed out of the way most of the time. That tail was another story though and the boy certainly knew how to use it, albeit clumsily.
Katsuki sat up in a rush, previous exhaustion forgotten. He didn’t realize how late it’d gotten until he was able to start pointing out stars. His mother was going to absolutely annihilate him. He never stayed away this late. His frantic searching around had the boy sitting up with a concerned noise.
“I gotta go!” Katsuki announced, getting up and finally locating the hill he’d previously fallen down, “My mom’s gonna kill me,”
Before booking it towards the hill, he turned to the boy he’d been playing with. The boy looked saddened, actually understanding that Katsuki was leaving.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. Will you be here?”
The boy cocked his head again, so Katsuki huffily pointed to the ground.
“Here, be here tomorrow,” he instructed like the boy would comprehend the command. The boy didn’t look so lost, so maybe he did.
With the assumed confirmation, Katsuki turned and scrambled himself back up the hill. He could see the dotted lights of their kingdom’s lights, the faint flickering of torches along the walls and homes littered ahead of it.
When Katsuki got home, shoving through the heavy doors of their small, modest castle, his mom was there and ready to greet him with the verbal lashing of the century.
Her mouth opened, sound immediately dying when she took in the dirt covering her son.
“Katsuki! What have you gotten yourself into?” She said, dropping to her son’s height and seizing his arms. She immediately started looking him over, though with the same anger she’d been prepared with.
“You little idiot, you could’ve hurt yourself! Where were you?” She demanded, holding steadfast against her son’s little hands trying to pry her off himself.
“Nowhere! I just fell outside and lost track of time,” he grumbled, giving up on extracting himself from his mother.
“You better tell me the truth young man, you know the truth saves you worse punishment,” The threat in her voice was evident.
Katsuki huffed, bottom lip jutting out in a bratty pout.
“I went over the hill,”
“You what? ” Her voice held an eerie calm. Katsuki said nothing.
“You know you’re not allowed to go over there,”
Silence.
“Do you understand why, Katsuki?”
“It’s dangerous…” he said after a pause.
“Do you know why it’s dangerous?”
“No..?”
“Those mountains are home to dragons, Katsuki. Dragons who could easily scoop up a little brat like you, regardless of that attitude of yours,”
His mother’s words nearly chilled him, but his mind was immediately snatched back to the boy he’d met. Puzzle pieces seemed to fall in place together perfectly.
Was that boy a dragon?
“Hey Ma… Can dragons look human?
His mother narrowed her eyes in confusion and maybe slight suspicion.
“What are you talking about, Katsuki?”
“Nothing,” he said, his own eyes averting, suddenly interested in the plush carpet rug of the foyer.
Luckily his mother didn’t press further, though her eyes did was him curiously. She then none too gently ushered him to the bath hall to clean him up before bed. His punishment seemed to be a hard scrubbing and no dinner that night.