#and so we drove through this like... pathway? with tall dark plants on either side

[glitchdollmemoria]

yknow the cool thing about having a ptsd induced bad dream is it gives me more motivation to go watch cozy movies and eat comfort food til i feel better

[officerjennie]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Naruto Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Pre-Slash, Magic-Users A commission for @kitsunekage88 - hope you like it!

Commission and Ko-Fi info in blog header :) Click the link or continue below to read!

Traveling alongside a high ranking fire elemental hadn’t originally been on Tobirama’s To-Do list. Interfering in anyone’s business seemed so unlikely it was laughable at this point in his life, so used to minding his own, taking work where he could and never staying still long enough to learn the names of those around them let alone help them. Growing attached enough to a cause to care was as foreign to him now as it had once been a part of his nature.

What exactly had possessed him to aid in this venture, then, he couldn’t really say. The part of him so against careful analysis of himself wanted to say it was merely for the sake of preserving what was left of his powers. Too many dragons had been lost already, the earth’s magic dwindling further and further as their blood seeped into the ground. Jealousy was a nasty beast that drove men mad, and the ancient sky gods said to be too intertwined with the planet’s life force to cause any harm, even to defend themselves from their impending extinction.

Protecting one, preventing yet another dragon slayer from slaughtering a sacred animal for its scales and bone, should have been his reasoning. Stopping a magicless human from felling that which gifted the world what they could never use was surely enough to allow another pair of boots to march alongside his own, to sit across the campfire from another person for the first time in years.

It hadn’t been the only reason he’d stayed rooted in place at the inn all those nights before, voice cracking with misuse when he’d agreed to aid the Uchiha with his mission.

Their destination was the forest region at the northern border of their territory, at the foothills of the Senzu Mountains. Any path, dirt or paved or otherwise, had been left behind them several hours hence, the crunch of leaves beneath their feet only accompanied by the chattering of squirrels and the incessant grumbled curses under Madara’s breath. Even after traveling in each other’s company for weeks now, his pride had apparently not yet healed from the blow of asking for aid, no matter that it was necessary. An elemental might need no conduit to call upon their powers but it came at the cost of being limited to their bloodline’s element. With the hanging trees and brush becoming denser around them with each step, it was all too clear fire would do more harm than good here.

He paused as he felt a shift in the air, stopping next to a young oak just tall enough to avoid being smothered by its brethren towering above. Something pulled at the edge of his senses, tugging at the magic in his veins, and whether or not it was a warning or a call he could not tell.

“Why on earth are we stopping here? I see no dragon or slayer, mage.”

“Quiet.” Fingering the silver talisman hanging around his neck, he stepped closer to the oak, removing one glove with his teeth to place his palm flat against the rough surface.

Madara’s indignant squawking slipped away with his conscious awareness. Becoming one with the greater stream was dangerous, leaving a small part of himself behind each time he reached into it but he did so anyway. Followed the endless tracks like spiderweb fractures on glass, felt the pulse of something beyond his understanding, overwhelming enough to be just around the next corner but never quite able to find what he was-

There.

It took more effort to pull himself back together than to let go, but that was nothing new. His tracking had felt like seconds to him though by the look on Madara’s face it must have been some time. It left Tobirama panting, blood trickling out of his nose but he wiped it away with little care, slipping his glove back on and taking a moment to gather his wits.

“East. It’s due east.” He hated how breathless he sounded, how he didn’t feel like himself after (it had been far too many years since he had stopped feeling like Tobirama, so much of him lost in small increments. Yet every time felt like a fresh wound that made him long for the comfort of the family he’d lost touch with long ago).

Giving Madara no time to respond, Tobirama set off immediately toward the source of heavy energy so dense it made the air thick around them.

Tobirama may have never seen or sensed a dragon before, but he knew a powerful being when he felt it. And that energy had been massive and very much alive.

The quiet lasted only a few minutes between them, the whole while Madara’s steady gaze burning a hole in Tobirama’s back. If it wouldn’t have been a waste of precious energy to fight with him Tobirama was tempted to snap and demand what the issue was. Madara solved that mystery for him either way, walking faster to catch up and frown thoughtfully over at him.

“Sure you’re going to make it, mage?”

His tone lacked its usual verbal sneering, barely sarcastic enough to not be sincere concern. Not knowing exactly what he was supposed to do with that, Tobirama stopped to send a seething glare his direction, clenching his fists to stop the exhausted shaking in his arms.

“Spare me the unnecessary concern and worry about keeping yourself in control. The last thing I need is to deal with a forest fire brought on by a temper tantrum.”

“Temper tantrum?” Small flames flickered to life in black hair, and Tobirama used the moments it took Madara to breathe through his frustration to duck under a low hanging branch and continue onward.

Sheer stubborn will was all that kept him going until dark. By the time Tobirama allowed himself to rest black had crept into his vision, and he all but collapsed against a vine covered tree trunk, any and all camp setup left to his companion as unconsciousness took him.

The midday sun greeted him through the thick canopy overhead. It was quiet around him but not eerily so, air heavy but not suffocating. Before opening his eyes Tobirama took stock of his state, making sure he’d fully recovered from slipping into the magical pathways the day prior.

When he lifted his head, Madara stood not far away with a large hawk perched on his arm. He seemed unconcerned by the sharp talons digging into his skin, head titled to the side as the bird clacked its beak.

Madara chirped, and it sounded so close to an actual bird sound Tobirama snorted in surprise. It earned him a sharp look from his companion, and a squawk from the hawk as it took off, leaving behind a deep cut on the arm it had been perched on.

“I didn’t know you spoke bird, Uchiha.” Despite his drawling tone, it was admittedly an interesting and unexpected talent. Not that he thought Madara could truly speak an avian language, just that he’d been clearly attempting to communicate in some fashion.

“I wasn’t speaking bird, mage.” Tobirama rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, finally pulling himself up while Madara continued. “She’s trained to understand my commands - how do you think I planned to track the hunters in such a large forest?”

He had a good point, though Tobirama wasn’t going to admit it out loud. Instead he rolled his stiff shoulders and dusted some of the dirt and leaves stuck to his cloak.

“Since you asked for my expertise, I thought it understood that I would be doing the tracking. Why else would I have wasted time locating the dragon if not to find our quarry?” Without being able to sense the hunter’s magic, since they lacked even a drop in their system, he couldn’t exactly track them. But knowing what the hunter was here for made that getting around that hurdle easy.

“Well I hadn’t planned on having help.” Madara crossed his arms with a huff, ending the conversation with a childish jerk of his head and something too dangerously close to a pout to be good for Tobirama’s sanity.

Before his brain could make any insane connections between that expression and anything even remotely close to the word ‘cute’, Tobirama turned away and busied himself, crouching down to search through his pack for a late breakfast.

It took another two days travel to reach the heart of the forest. Location wise it was no where near the center, but the magic was so thick there it near sparked across his skin, the trees so old and tall they blocked out the sun. Yet though the sky was not visible, the forest around them was lit by something unseen, so bright they could have traveled on during the night if they had wished to.

The fact that the forest was not only surviving but thriving with a giant fire-breathing reptile residing there had Tobirama understandably baffled. If it weren’t for the otherwise in-explainable force they were making steady ground towards, he wouldn’t have believed it to be the right place at all.

But even Madara had begun to sense the energy, every so often shaking himself with furrowed brows at the odd sensation. So further in they went, climbing over twisted roots and pushing past plants that had grown well over three times the expected size - making Tobirama more than thankful for the unusual lacking fauna population. Dealing with a fifty pound squirrel or a two ton bear weren’t exactly up there on his bucket list.

Early afternoon on the third day, Madara held out a hand to stop him without warning. When Tobirama sent him a sharp look he merely pointed at a low hanging branch, gesturing towards where his hawk sat staring off beyond the trees ahead.

They crept up close, discovering the forest opened up to a clearing. In the center sat a giant stump, several men tall at its highest and far too wide to measure by sight alone. The clearing around it was bare of trees, instead filled with wildflowers and splattered with berry bushes, a sea of color surrounding the umber brown bark that almost seemed alive despite obviously being long dead.

This was the source of the magic, the heart of the thrumming woods. He had little doubt that the stump was the dragon’s den.

His suspicion grew stronger when he spotted the hunter. Two of them, as a matter of fact, communicating through hand signals he couldn’t fully make out from their hiding spot in the tree line.

Madara already had his weapon in hand, a gunbai previously strapped to his back that was no doubt usually meant to fan his flames. He raised a single brow at the odd choice even as he pulled a scroll out of his pack, running a finger over the seals to activate them and pull out his staff. Not his choice weapon, but without a natural water source it would take too much energy to use that element efficiently in battle. A blunt bit of sturdy wood could knock most people out with enough force; the fact that it was a conduit of its own only made it even more useful, giving him the option of earth magic if it became needed.

Sneaking up on the hunters proved easy, and one went down in an instant when Tobirama cracked his skull open with a swift strike. It was a bit of bad luck that Madara didn’t manage the same, Tobirama turning around to find him struggling against his opponent, fan against blade, the elemental baring his teeth as they pushed against each other to see who would falter first.

Not wanting to too obviously steal his thunder, if only because he’d never hear the end of it, Tobirama called to the plants around him using the earth conduit embedded in his staff. Such magic wasn’t his strength, but it bent to his will with a little effort, roots tangling around the hunter’s feet to give his companion the advantage.

The resulting victorious and near feral grin on Madara’s face as he stood triumphant sent an odd shiver down his spine, and Tobirama looked away quickly to not have to analyze the feeling further.

Checking the bodies was a necessary evil, needing to find whatever magical item they’d used to track the dragon. Stolen magic, if his gut was right, and even knowing the amulet might be useful to him didn’t stop Tobirama from snapping it to pieces. Nothing was worth using magic taken by force, ripped from the user’s body, a part of them lost forever. He knew all too well what it felt like to lose parts of himself, but at least his were lost to the greater stream by choice.

With the threat dealt with, their mission of sorts was complete. Madara seemed ready to leave immediately, leaning against his gunbai, head tilted back to watch his hawk circling above them.

But something gave Tobirama pause. A familiar thrill down his spine. The urge to discover, smoldering curiosity, still muted as every emotion was to him but trying its best to tempt him anyway.

Scientific discoveries had lost their flair to him years ago. All his hobbies had fallen to the wayside, more victims of his sensing magic. Interest sapped out of him, leaving him to wander aimless and hoping to stumble upon a purpose once more.

A dragon lived here. A dragon. Creatures that had went into hiding centuries ago, almost abandoned to legend by most since so few living had ever seen one. Just inside the stump. And it begged to be discovered.

“What are you doing, mage?”

Madara sounded baffled, almost concerned, but Tobirama paid him no mind. Instead he wandered around the stump, finding the part with the lowest height and judging the best way to climb it.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Just a minute.” The first few feet were easy, though the sputtering behind him was rather distracting. He ignored all of Madara’s spewed protests, slipping and cursing as he caught himself once more, pulling himself up further.

The last step, last foot of bark, had his heart beating fast. Hands shaking with excitement. One of the original magic users, one of the very beings that had given the earth and all the races therein magic, created the greater stream that connected so much of the world. Just beyond this last foot of bark, a dragon-

It wasn’t there.

He stopped, halfway pulled up on top of the stump. Blinked unbelieving at the empty ring of just more grass, just more flowers.

No dragon. No reptile of any sort. And nothing to suggest anything had ever lived there.

“Are you coming down sometime today or not?”

“It’s not here.” He whispered the words, only vaguely aware he’d done so, flooded with disappointment. Swallowing it back the best he could, he leaned back far enough to look down at his companion. “It’s not here, Madara. The dragon. Nothing is.”

“Then hurry up! I’m tired of eating granola and berries, get down here so we can leave!”

“Alright, I’ll be down in a second, don’t set anything-”

The ground shook violently, cutting him off. It was enough to throw him off balance, scrambling to find purchase but unsuccessful as he was pitched backwards off the stump.

His back hit something hard though it wasn’t the ground. The groan of protest and steadying arms around his waist clued him in, though his mind was quick to focus on something much more important than the fact that Madara had saved him a nasty fall.

The ground wasn’t shaking. The stump was. Bark peeling away from the dirt and grass around it, as if the roots were digging themselves up, leaving deep groves in its wake.

Only once a massive snout appeared, one giant eye rolling about until it spotted them, did it finally click.

“Dragon,” Madara breathed in awe behind him.

“Technically, a lung dragon, but yes.” His voice was pitifully small as he took in the creature towering over them, the branch-like knotted horns atop its head, the lack of wings at its sides. The way its scales clacked together as it shook itself, the ground rumbling and forcing the both of them to shift their weight with it. It sounded like bamboo in the wind, like the wooden wind chimes the elders in his home village had been so fond of.

Neither of them moved. Tobirama found himself holding his breath as the dragon’s eye moved over and passed them, its head moving up and down as it sniffed the air about the clearing. Madara’s hands tightened around his waist when its shadow fell over them, though it shifted soon after, focusing in on the two corpses laying still on the ground nearby.

The cry it made when it sniffed the bodies went straight to Tobirama’s heart, eyes falling closed against the mournful sound, throat tight. It pitched lower as the dragon scooted its head towards the dead hunters, flowers and bushes sprouting forth where its nose touched the earth, the one big eye Tobirama could see full and wet.

A single tear fell down its scaly cheek as it turned towards them, long tongue flickering as if to taste the air. With its neck stretched out against the ground, it nudged forward closer to them until it was but an inch from Tobirama’s face.

He’d never been more frightened in his life, and yet he felt no ill will coming from this beast. Without even being able to communicate with it he could tell it didn’t mean them harm, though Madara didn’t seem to be as convinced as him, a low whimper escaping him that he would no doubt deny later.

After a few moments of stillness, nothing but the gentle breeze moving about them, the dragon inched forward to nudge Tobirama once - and the force of magic that shot through him at that single touch nearly brought him to his knees, left gasping and clutching at his chest when the dragon pulled away with a pleased shake of its body.

It trumped on off to another side of the clearing, stretching and shaking once more while Tobirama all but gawked at it from where he knelt on the ground. Then the dragon flopped itself back down, the force shaking the trees and sending Madara yelping to his bottom, both of them staring at the ancient being that once again resembled nothing more than a giant stump.

“What...just happened?” Madara’s confusion was understandable, but it hardly registered. Tobirama was too dazed at the moment, too busy running an inner analysis of all the things he could feel, all the parts of him that had been lost suddenly slotted back into place.

“It healed me.” He sounded small, felt small, compared to such a being, and it took several minutes for either of them to recover enough to be on their way once more, looking over their shoulders until the inconspicuous stump fell out of sight behind the trees.

By the time they made it to town a little less than a week later, it still didn’t seem real. After all the time spent as less than, being fully himself again was almost overwhelming, mind whirling away with the storm of thoughts around what had happened to them.

“You know, there are probably more out there.” Tobirama eyed the man at his side in his periphery as they entered the local inn, the burn of curiosity coming back like an old friend. “More dragons. More hunters as well.”

Madara’s frown didn’t have a hint of displeasure in it, huffed breath more a show than anything else as he headed straight for the bar, waving down the tender to bring them their first hot meal in weeks. “If that’s an invitation, mage, it’s a poor one. Gonna have to do better than that.”

They both knew he didn’t. Not after what they’d seen, the benevolent majesty that had shown itself to them, the creature powerful enough to shatter the trees around it and crush them - that had mourned the passing of those who would have done it harm, as if their deaths had torn into its heart.

If protecting such a creature hadn’t been reason enough to travel together before, it was more than enough now. And without even discussing it they left town together the next day, originally meaning to part ways but now set on the same path.

He might have never considered traveling with a fire elemental before, used to being alone after all his years as a vagabond. Madara was certainly an odd choice for a companion as well, quick tempered and full to the brim with snark. But Tobirama realized quite quickly that he didn’t mind the company all that much, feeling at easy with another person poking at the campfire, another pair of boots beating the dirt down as they tracked another rumor across country.

And if there just so happened to be other reasons keeping him at Madara’s side, other interests beyond scientific discovery, it would hardly be Tobirama’s fault he found himself falling for the man who had dragged him out on his adventure - and had inadvertently saved him by doing so.