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The next morning began just like most others, Tom screaming himself awake when he felt three more limbs than he was born with. His terrified roars grew even louder when he saw that he was surrounded by more lizards, like usual.

I swear it's like some dragons can't reset their psyches to deal with the fact that they are on four legs. As I watched him spin around himself and begin hyperventilating when he felt his wings rise up into the roof I wondered if he'd eventually crack. Maybe I could help him along, I always wondered what it would be like to watch someone go insane up close.

When his typical hysterics threatened the integrity of our shelter I shoved him outside and then stuck my head into our water trough. And just like I fucking promised, sprayed a neck full of water right into his god damned eyeball! That woke him up from his normal panic I tell you what! He immediately retaliated, and we swiftly dispersed our drinking water everywhere other than where it should have been. Thankfully the heavy curtain of our shelter was more than up to the task of keeping the interior splash free. Afterwards we sat staring into the large empty tub, still thirsty and now waterless after our fight.

This is your fault. I naturally told my husband. He howled something indignantly about his blood shot eye at me. Rolling my own in response, I mouthed along silently to his carping. He in turn pulled my legs out from beneath me with his tail and left me eating grass as I collapsed.

Our kids rushed out, eager to participate in a water fight, instead their smiles faded upon finding the battle over due to a lack of ammunition. I promised them that we'd include them next time and they perked up again, making me smile in turn. Turning the water back on to fill our tub for us, they then went to the house to get ready for school. Tom had his head turned to the sky and was wagging it back and forth in a search for Angie. I was a little less perturbed. She was running a little late, but given that she was six I was surprised every time she showed up within four hours of when she was supposed to.

When our children had come back out with their backpacks and ready for school, Angie had still not shown up. Making myself a liar after my earlier thoughts I was now worried. Just as Tom was about to launch to seek her out, we heard the whistling shriek of her good morning. Coming in and just barely clearing the trees the exuberant young female pranced her way over to us happily. As her wings folded I was surprised to see that Helen was on her back, and probably the reason why she was behind the clock.

She bumped her nose against each of ours in greeting

"Eskimo kisses!" The adorable little child crowed with glee.

Crouching down for her mom to make an easy dismount she spun away so fast that her own momentum knocked her to the ground. Her tail corkscrewed and rolled her through her tumble until she sprang into the air and laughed at herself before going to greet our giggling twins.

"Good morning Helen, what brings you around?"

She tried to straighten out her windblown hair and then gave up after a couple of futile moments. "Oh, you know. The usual. Some parents and administrators at the school have a problem with a child that is seven feet tall and has a twelve foot tail. And apparently doesn't have any problems taking her more than willing friends for rides around the playground. Sometimes on the ground, and sometimes above it."

That was a conversation I could not imagine going well. She must have noticed the dubious tilt of my head at that.

"Yeah, I don't know how it's going to go either. It would break her heart if she wasn't allowed to see her friends at school. You don't know how she goes on and on about the fun she has with them."

She paused as the topic of discussion galloped past chasing Lucy while Luke followed behind shouting that he was going to get them.

We smiled fondly at their play and Helen sighed. "She needs to be as normal a six year old as she can. None of her schoolmates are afraid of her. From what the principal said over the phone I understand that it's several parents that are scared instead. Some of them might be even be talking legal action against the school. I worry that the parents of her friends will make attempts to scare them away or forbid them from playing with Angie. It would hurt her deeply. I don't know why they are suddenly making a push for this. She has been going to school for almost six months now."

I could think of a good reason even if she could not. A week ago a feral had attacked and killed a group of five hikers that had come across him while he slept and startled him just outside of Vancouver. It hadn't taken much on his part, just a single swing of his tail had left all of them broken and dead. The RCMP had only seen that kind of blunt force trauma from vehicle collisions. Since it was obvious no motor vehicles were going to be on that trail without making tracks, they came to the only conceivable conclusion. A dozen trackers like my family had flown from the city and corralled the lost one. So far they hadn't had any luck in relighting his awareness of who he was. Neither would the feral allow any human near him. Apparently the incident had scared him just as much as it had everyone else.

Now the trackers and the Canadian government were desperately trying to find out who he was and if he had any family or friends to help him. There was also a growing demand from the families of the slain to have him executed as a murderer. Or if they couldn't hold him to our standards, to have him put down as they would with any other aggressive wildlife.

It was a fucking mess. There was no precedent for any of it, and the courts didn't even know where to start. Just look at everything they had to decide: Did he even do it? What evidence did they have? Is he clinically unable to understand his actions as a human would? Was he an animal? Does he have rights? Should he be tried in a court of law? Is he (and by extension us) a creature with human equivalent intelligence? How should he be treated if his psyche is restored? As each question is asked even more appear. Like I said, a fucking mess.

Thinking about this wasn't good for me. How could this misplaced fear be directed towards one such as my dear little friend Angie? I know how innocent she is, and that she would never hurt another person maliciously. Getting more and more pissed off as I listened, I was trying to repair my calm when Tom nudged me with his wing.

Let me take the harness today. I will ask Alex if he will come with me and we will see about putting these fears to rest. Why do you not take it easy for once?

Fine, fine. Just before you go, I am going to ask Alex to strap my little carry all onto my leg. I want to go find out if Harry is still able to put some fresh ink on me, and also see if his daughter can pierce my new ears.

In our conversation Alex had walked up and spoken with Helen, and hearing his name while we talked, put his hand on his brother's leg and asked him what was up.

"Alex would you mind coming with me to join Helen in talking to the parent's and schooool officials about Angie? Helen, would you mind if weee came along?"

She looked relieved. "I was hoping you'd offer." She wrung her hands and looked down on them and then up again. "I was actually a little scared to ask you."

Tom looked anxious and I felt the same way.

"We'rrrre going to have to work on that. If we can't convince you that we mean no harm, how can we convince others that are less familiar with those like us and your own daughter? Are you afraid of her too?"

Tears appeared in her eyes and she nodded her head. "When I see her eat, and see how large her teeth are. Or when she wants to be held, and the only part of her that I can fit my arms around is her nose. Or when I see her lift our car onto two wheels with one leg to see the cat that ran underneath it. Yes, when I am reminded how large, how powerful, my little girl is, it frightens me."

I felt sorry for her, but she had to be strong for her daughter.

"Helen, I am glad that yuuuu are open to sharing how you really feel about us. But please... You must overcome your fear. I am sure you hide your emotions from Angie, but I think it likely she already knows that you are afraid of her by your smell."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that sometimes little Angie comes here and nudges herself beneath my wing and presses tightly against me, shivering. She never would tell me why, and it made my anxious that she wouldn't, but she had promised me no one had hurt her and made me promise not to tell. Now I could see the cause was obvious.

"Iiiidooo." A deep yet small and sad voice said from around the corner of our shelter, startling us all.

"Oh, honey..." Helen cried spotting her as she came into view. She ran to her daughter where she had sat down with hot and silent tears running down her scales.

"Iiithought if I painted for yuuumommy and laughed and smiledalot that you wouldn'tbeee afraid anymore! ButIIii didaaa bad job." Angie hung her head morosely and the sharp acidic tang of her depression reached us as Helen drew it into her chest and soothed her daughter with gentle strokes along her neck.

I couldn't bear to look anymore and turned my head away.

"Whatever you two have to do keep Angie happy, you do. Promise meee."

Alex and Tom both agreed to my heartfelt plea. Just like with my own children and Tom, it made me physically sick to see Angie in distress like this. I saw my twins poke their heads around the corner looking concerned at their friend's grief. Before they could interrupt the mother/daughter bonding I called them over to me. I lowered my head and asked them if they were scared of Angie as well. I knew the answer, and I also knew she was listening as I saw her eye open and train its green iris in our direction.

"But why would we be mom? She's our friend! She takes us flying, and we help her with her paint and reaching things she can't! We like having fun with her!"

I smiled warmly at them (You had to know us to know when we smiled. It just looked threatening to anyone else.) With a twitch of my skin I opened my scales to emit the smell of my happiness at their response. How I wished I could keep them just the way they were.

I wasn't the only one happy with their response. Just as I had hoped, at hearing the words of her close friends Angie's tears evaporated, and she cautiously replaced the tart scent of her distress with the much more calm and peaceful one of lavender. She began to hum and brought her leg up to pin her mother against her chest.

"Please don't be afraid of me mommy! I won't bite or scratch you! I love you!"

"Of course I'm not afraid of you honey! Just sometimes you surprise me with how strong you are!"

Angie tittered. Lifting my spirits when she laughed again. "Mommy! I'm strong so I can help people! A nice man was stuck yesterday! His car made these noises:"

"Swish!" She danced sideways comically to pantomime a skid with her eyes wide in panic. "Whirrrrrr!" spun around herself. "Crash!" and tipped over her front legs until she buried her nose into the ground before falling back to all four. "And then it was stuck! I pushed it out! I helped! And when I told him I was hungry he bought me a ham-boog-er! It was tiny food but it was good! We were both happy!" She flared her fins and flapped her wings.

"Hamburger, honey." Her mother corrected her as she laughed with us at her recreation. "And I am so happy to hear that you helped the nice man!"

"Uh huh!" She bobbed her head. "I tried to help another nice man before, but he wasn't nice! He was mean! When I said I could help he pointed something at me! It was loud! BANG BANG!"

She mimicked the sound of a handgun being fired. Helen's face went pale and her hands flew to her mouth as Tom and I's scales flared wide open and soaked the area with the stench of our rage. She noticed of course and drew herself in tight and shrank.

"I don't know why he was mean! He yelled bad words at me! And then the loud thing scared me! And something bit me! Two times on my shoulder! I was scared! When I told him I had ouchies the loud thing went BANG BANG again! More ouchies! So I poked him with my nose and then I ran! I wanted to scratch him! But scratching people will make them have ouchies and that is bad! Even if they are mean! He was scary! I was con-fused! I just wanted to help! Am I bad?"

"Honey. The next time you meet a mean man or a mean woman I want you to come right home and tell me. Please! That mean man could have really hurt you!"

"He was scary! But I am big! When I bopped him he dropped the loud thing and flew! He hit the wall and went to sleep! Then I ran! What was the loud thing mommy?"

Went to sleep? Good! I hope that mother fucker is still in the hospital. It will make the disposal of his corpse easier.

Helen was not inclined to answer the question and deflected with a very good question of her own. "Angelina, why didn't you tell mommy or daddy when this happened?"

"I thought I would be in trouble! People are mean when you do bad things right? You called me Angelina! You only do that when I do bad things! I promise I won't do it again! But I don't know what I did wrong!"

"Angie" I fanned the smell of our anger away and replaced it with one of concern. Her nostrils flared and she looked worried in turn.

"Kimmy! I'm okay! See?" She stood tall, flared all her membranes, puffing herself out to show that she was unharmed. I could obviously tell that she was, but that didn't change the fact that some fucking dead man had shot her. I would have gladly ripped the man apart if I had been there, damn the fucking consequences. I fucking dare a court to find me guilty of murder in that situation.

"Do you remember where this happened? What the mean man looked like?"

"Uh huh! I remember everything! He was trying to move something heavy! But after he was mean I didn't want to help him anymore!"

Helen took over.

"Honey before you take me to your school I'm going to show you the way to somewhere else I want you to go. Will that be okay with you? I need you to talk to some nice men and women to tell them about the mean man. Will you do that for me honey?"

"Okay mommy! You have to show me the pic-tures so I can find somewhere new though! I don't know what every square is when I fly! Grownups don't like when I look inside to ask what they do!"

Helen pulled a thick folder out of her backpack that contained a series of aerial views of the town and the surrounding area and began to lay them out according to their numbers. Angie followed along intently with her head chasing after the pointing finger of her mother.

Alex stopped recording with his phone. "I got it all. We'll find that bastard and fry him for this."

An angry rumble came from my throat, spooking my wide eyed children into hugging themselves tightly against one of my legs.

"They better find him before I do."

"Take it easy Kim. I don't like this anymore than either of you, but Tom is right. Give yourself a day off from trying to solve everything yourself. Go see about getting new tattoos, your ears pierced, your nails filed. Hell, go find an auto detailer that's still in business and get your scales waxed. Whatever you do, just make it something calming alright?. Let me and Tom deal with the things that will just rile you up today. Consider this official medical advice. After the levels of stress that you underwent yesterday you need as much down time as possible. Remember." He pointed at my hips. "Okay?"

Helen had finished showing her daughter the police station she wanted to be taken to and asked her to go play with Lucy and Luke and our dogs in our overgrown pasture. They looked at Tom and I with an obvious question. We told them to go ahead, and not to worry about being late for school. Once they were gone Helen's eyes darkened in anger and she brought up the concern we all shared after hearing the story.

"That piece of shit! He better still be asleep! He better not ever fucking wake up again! Not only did he shoot my child, but when she defended herself she gave one more reason for everyone to think that she's dangerous! All she wanted to do was help him. And...and...he... Oh my god... my baby...." She dissolved into a sobbing mess and buried her face into my chest as I drew her close in an attempt to calm her.

She was taking this well. I wanted to set fire to the whole fucking town. Somewhere in it was this sewage drinking tunnel rat, and I needed to find him. My wrath grew thinking about it, making Tom and Alex nervous for the next few minutes while I struggled to calm myself as Helen muffled the screams for her daughter against my chest. A fucking six year old shouldn't have any reason to know how it feels to have a weapon pointed at her. Or to ever, fucking ever! Have one fired at her!

Colonel Stout came over, with dickfuck trailing behind him like usual, naturally curious as to why Angelina's mother was plastered against my scales screaming her daughter's name. Alex gave him the video recording of the recounting and it did ease my anger a single iota when I saw him become just as angry as we were.

"Do you see? This is what happens when these animals are allowed to pretend that they are humans. This beast child approaches an inno..."

With glacial iciness Stout stopped Sparrow's angry rant before it could lead to his death.

"Captain, return to the command tent. Sergeant Hernandez!" He called to an E-7 standing a good distance away watching for any impending trouble. He gave her orders as she approached. "Captain Sparrow is to be detained within the command tent under guard until he can be removed. Detail two men to watch him at all times. You will obey no commands nor orders that he may give you. Is that understood Sergeant First Class Hernandez?" She nodded, and called three more soldiers over.

"You can't do this! You know who has ordered that I remain here! Your career will be over Colonel! Do you understand me? You will be finished!"

"Sergeant, get the Captain away from me before I lose my temper."

He resisted, and the four non-coms had to tackle him to drag him away screaming. "I'll see all of you dead if it's the last fucking thing I do! Do you hear me vermin? This is my fucking world not yours! You lost your right to live the moment you gave away your god given bodies! Or were you always aliens? Tell me you animals! I want to hear it from you, you demon spawn! Let...Let go of me! That is an order!"

I felt my lips curl as I sneered wordlessly, enraging him further when I didn't bark on command for him.

His shouting continued from within the tent until the sound of the struggle increased. There was an agonized scream and then a heavy thud. After that, the only thing we could hear was heavy breathing and someone moaning in pain.

Sparrow had always been nothing more than a gambit to rile us into violence. He wasn't the real danger. The real danger was who had sent him, and who kept him here. A full bird colonel might very well be able to get rid of Sparrow where Ulysses had not. And after this latest example of him being completely unhinged there was no way his actions could be swept under the rug. But what comes next? Hernandez reappeared to relate what had happened in the tent.

"He kicked and broke Specialist Gryphon's knee. At that time I acted to end the danger to my troops by choking Captain Sparrow with a collapsible baton until he was unconscious. Sir, I present myself to face the full consequences of my actions."

"Is he still alive Sergeant?" I was disappointed when she replied in the affirmative. I wished it had been me choking that son of a bitch so much I could feel his neck crush beneath one of my toes!

"Designate some men to escort Gryphon and Sparrow to the hospital for evaluation. Issue two of them their side arms and inform the police. Begin taking sworn statements from everyone who witnessed or participated in the struggle. You did as you should have and I will speak with you more on this later. For now you have your orders, hop to it Sergeant." She saluted and ran off, already shouting commands.

All of this, and it wasn't even 0800 yet. Fuck me, right?

An hour later, I was alone. Or near enough anyway. None of the troops ever interacted with me without a reason, and Prometheus could go all day staring at nothing if you didn't ask him anything. Right now I had nothing to ask, so instead I coiled myself up on my pillows and looked out at the chaos that resulted from this morning. After a while, the lulling heartbeats of my unborn children made me nod off for a short, but refreshing, nap.

When I awoke, I found what Prometheus had chosen to stare at today. Me apparently.

What?

Today you will have unexpected visitors. It will be good for you.

What are you? A fucking fortune cookie?

He just continued to stare at me with unblinking focus.

Prometheus, do me a solid will you? Please be less creepy. It makes my scales itch, and I am trying to relax today. Doctor's orders.

His basilisk gaze shifted until it was pointed out into the yard. Good enough, let them feel the force of his creepiness for a while.

I cannot say that I am terribly fond of surprises nowadays. Months ago a surprise turned me and half my family into fucking dragons. So, why do you not tell me about these unexpected visitors?

They are a family of five from Spokane. On what you call zero day they were on their way to a vacation in Oregon. In the sparsely populated central regions of that state they experienced their welcoming.

I snorted in distaste at his bland description of what others like me had gone through in those few days. 'Welcoming', as if shedding your humanity like dead skin was checking in to a hotel or some fucking thing. I wondered if this approaching family was as casual about what happened to them.

They come because of you Kim. You and your family are well known now after the events with the militia. Think of it as a neighborly visit.

I'll think of it however I damn well please!

They are curious to see how you are managing your mixed species family. They have difficulties of their own, and seek advice.

And who has put that thought into their heads? I said pointedly.

It is true, this family will have their advisor accompanying them. It has a much more positive relationship with them than you with Thumper.

Why are they coming in person, dragon, child of the egg, what the fuck ever? Why did not they not call?

They have tried, but they could not reach you. And Alex's contact information is not known to them.

I still had words to say to Colonel Stout about Greta not being able to contact us, and now I could add this to the list of things that were pissing me off.

And what future glory will this family accomplish that made what happened to them worth their loss?

They do not see it that way. They do not see loss, they see freedom.

Well, maybe I would see it that way too if my whole fucking family could at least be the same fucking species!

Calm yourself Kim. Today was after all, meant to be a day for you to heal was it not?

You are not answering my question.

In a generation, the offspring of the present children will occupy several important positions in an organization of government that does not exist at this time.

I waited and when no more was forthcoming I was dismissive. So five more people are thrown into the meat grinder just so that their grandchildren can be fucking bureaucrats? Is that all?

In thirty years one of the children you meet today will become a member of your family.

...I am leaving, you are making me angry during my convalescence.

I ask you to keep the knowledge of your family's future to yourself. It should be allowed to proceed naturally. Your unborn children themselves will not open their eyes to the world for two more years after all.

I responded as I shook out my wings and tugged on my little leg pouch carryall to make sure it was tight.

Fuck you.

They are your children. Interfering with their relationship just to spite us will jeopardize their future wellbeing. Their devotion, their commitment to each other will be natural, any taint of their relationship will come from you Kim. I know that you would not stand in the way of something as pure as that. Use the knowledge I give you wisely Kim, your name will be known far past the time that you leave this world forever. It is for you to decide how it will be remembered.

Leaving his cryptic bullshit behind me, I beat my way into the sky towards the direction of town.

Landing in the mostly empty parking lot in front of my favorite tattoo parlor I folded my wings and waited a moment for a response. The agitated twitching of my tail made wider and wider sweeps until my infinitesimal patience exhausted itself. Drawing my head back and darting it forward I roared.

"Hey Harry! It's me Kim! Get out here you goon!"

As my blare echoed off the nearby storefronts many panicked cries could be heard from within Harry's. The door opened and his daughter Carla emerged with a baseball bat. Ah, so his daughters were here... Shit, well Kim, I guess it is time to see how many friends you still have.

"Who are you?!? Where is Kim? Shoo! Shoo, you big flying dog! You're so loud! Shoo! Off ya get!"

She poked at my leg with the end of the bat as I looked on with bemusement. Well, she was brave I'll give her that. She needed something to compensate for her complete lack of sense. It was hard for me not to notice the source of her odd behavior.

"Carla you stoner, go get your dad, I want to talk to him. I am Kim."

"But Kim isn't black?"

She must have gotten some really strong shit to be this far gone.

"For fuck's sake, just go get him."

She giggled and resumed poking my leg with the bat "The dragon is talking to me. Is it real? I must examine it more closely." She finished with a whisper to herself "How does it run? I want to take the dragon apart, I must find the clockwork. If only I could get to the widget..."

"Harry come out here and get your daughter!"

No Harry, but something even better, his other daughter, and one of my closest friends. Also the one that I hoped to have pierce my ears again. I wanted to wear my wedding band after I had scraped it off my finger months ago with my teeth. Right before last third of the digit hardened into the beginning of a claw and the whole thing blew up like an inflated condom. I figured the tiny ring would it least stand out in contrast if nothing else. Hopefully the rock in it was well secured.

Athena strode over, hiked up the hem of her dress, and kicked her sister in the ass hard enough to lift her off the ground. I liked Athena, she had this wholesome 'who me?' look to her that just made you want to hug her. Cute as a button and a drop dead brunette stunner. Every time I met with her to have a drink I always wore a push up bra. Not that I was particularly small or jealous...Well...maybe a litt...lot. Okay fine, I'll admit it, I felt like a boy next to her. But I could outrun her! So take that! Not that any of that matters anymore.

When she had hiked up her dress I could see the tattoo on her thigh of a pair of chopsticks speared through a heart. She had also been training in Jeet Kune Do for the past twelve odd years and could kick the living shit out of most anyone you're liable to meet. Getting pushed by her younger sister back towards the shop and the job she was supposed to be doing Carla giggled madly and stumbled off dragging the bat behind her.

"The dragon spoke and my sister, the goddess of death, appeared. Spoooooky! She kicked me, now it will hurt to sit down. Why does death torment me so?"

With her older, (and almost as cute) sister on her way, she huffed and tucked some of her long hair back behind her ear before spinning to give me a thousand watt smile.

"Hiya Kim! Long time no see! Hhhmmm..." She pursed her lips thoughtfully (I don't swing both ways, but holy shit did I want to kiss her.) and tapped a finger against her cheek. Then she broke into a new radiant smile. "It is you! I could recognize those two swirls anywhere!" She pointed at my right shoulder with her outstretched index and pinkie. "Just where I put them! I'm glad you and dad let me add in a section."

Her smile fell and she began wringing her hands, already I knew what she was going to say next.

"Kim... I..."

"I'm sorry." I hastily interjected, drowning her out entirely. "I haven't been myself lately, as you can see, and it's not like I haven't had the free time. Athena... I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you... It's been... there's been..."

"Kim!" She glared at me, her gray eyes flashing. "Don't you dare apologize! After everything that has happened to you and your family I would have kicked your ass if you had come to see me one moment before you felt ready to!"

My eyes grew misty. "I've missed you Thena. I've missed being with the friends I had."

She marched up to me as I recoiled warily, not knowing what she was going to do. Placing herself right beneath my raised head she jumped up and down until she grabbed the rim of my nostril.

"OW!" I roared, feeling her weight yank on the end of my nose. Her dress flapped wildly in the rushing wind of my pained shout, she was undaunted however.

The vise of her fingers tightened and she dangled limply from my damn face until I lowered my head as she obviously wanted and she was able to put a hand, just barely, on both sides of my muzzle. Disappearing into my blind spot, I felt her tresses tickle me as she laid her head on the top of my nose.

"What's this 'friends I had' bullshit? Kim we've all been worried sick about you. Did you really think that you being this way would make us turn our backs on you?"

Well, I had actually. I could play words games all day long but I had seen ample evidence of the fright I instilled in others. Born a girl, grown into a woman, then a proud mother of three children. Now, a monster right out of a fairytale, as a certain Captain Shitweasel was always keen to remind me.

"We know you've been around town, but we wanted to wait for you to come to us. We know how pissed you'd be if we came to you thinking that you were weak and in need of help. We wanted to give you the time you needed. I am so glad that you have finally come to talk to me. I can have the girls back together in no time! "

"Thank you Thena." A single tear drop fell down my scales and plopped steaming onto her bare shoulder, making her jump back.

"Oh oh oh hot hot hot!" Pulling her dress clean over her head she began to quickly try to mop up my heated tear. One other thing she wasn't, was shy about her body. As she stood before me in the public parking lot with her balled up dress in her hand, a pair of trail sandals on her feet, hair in disarray, and nothing else but her tattoos and a pair of tights. I was embarrassed for her, if you could believe that.

"I'm glad to see some things haven't changed." I laughed and shielded her from sight with my wing.

She looked up and around nonplussed. "Oh! That's right! It is kind of chilly out isn't it? Don't worry big girl, I think your tear will keep me plenty warm for a while. Wow that smarted!"

Chilly? I hadn't noticed, unabashedly staring at her chest. That wasn't really wh... Fuck it. If she was fine with her 34Cs bouncing perkily (lucky bitch, I lost my girls just a few hours into my dehumanization) in the frosty air that was her business.

"Your something else Thena, I walk around with my pussy above everyone's heads for all the world to see and I'm not as carefree as you are."

"If other people are bothered by my body that's their problem. I think I look cute."

Carla's voice came through the open door from inside. "If a dragon has a pussy, what do I have? Is it... an ur-pussy? Which came first? Nobody knoooows!" followed by her hysterical cackling.

I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. It probably did make sense to her though, she had a Master's degree in Fluid Mechanics and was presumably much smart than I was. What she was doing stoned working the front counter at her dad and sister's parlor was beyond anything I could explain. I asked Athena about it as I ushered her inside, she pulled a shirt out of the closet and was buttoning it when she responded.

"She won't be spinning her wheels much longer. She got an offer to join a project being dangled by DARPA at INL. This time next month she'll be making more in a month than we will in six."

"Don't tell them you smoke. They'll yank your clearance."

"I'll yank their clearanceseses! That's what clearance I have Clarence. Roger, Roger?" She roared with laughter and bent over to slap her denim clad knee, even Athena and I couldn't help joining in on her amusement this time. Although my laughter did make their window panes shake. I missed my friends, it was good to see some of them again. Maybe I had convinced myself to come here just to force myself to interact with them again. Maybe I had been afraid to finally find out how they would act around me when they saw up close that my head was larger than they were. Athena moved to stand in front of a large mirror for customers to check out their ink and was brushing her hair back into the long straight curtain it was when I first arrived.

"Where's your old man?"

"In the back, trying to fix what you made him screw up when you came here and shouted at us to come outside. I don't know how to tell you Kim, but you don't sound the way I remember you before. Is there something wrong? You're not coming down with a cold are you?"

I rumbled with amusement as Carla opened the other half of their double doors so my head could enter their lobby. I laid my it down on the cool linoleum of their floor and arranged the rest of my body outside for comfort while also completely blocking their storefront windows. I coiled myself to keep all of the under protected areas of my belly, and its all-important cargo, covered. The danger of someone opening fire on me thinking they had the advantage was always a very real possibility nowadays.

"It tends to happen when you the only way you can speak is with a few meters of muscles in your neck shaping the air going through it. I can mimic almost anything though."

"Oh yeah?" Carla challenged "Mimic this!"

Her cell phone began playing a jingle that almost made me slam my head into their ceiling given how loud it was in the enclosed area. Goddammit, I hated this fucking song! I had two fucking kids that wanted to watch nothing but this when they were allowed TV time! Instead of parroting it back to her as she danced spastically I began to snarl.

Ohh...!

_ Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?_

_ Spongeb..._

"Turn that shit off."

Harry had finally come from out of his work area.

"Carla, go sleep your high off somewhere no one can hear you. How many times have I told you not to smoke when you're running the counter? Athena...Nothing your fine. And you..." He whirled towards my watching eye and dragged the whimpering customer behind him forward by the obviously sore arm. He waved at the bloody bandage on the guy's forearm. Uh oh. That did not look normal. "You owe me for the three hours it's going to take to fix what I did to this guy's ink when you made whatever that blast of thunder was supposed to be.

I introduced them to a new aspect of dragon biology right then. The smell of my embarrassment as I gassed them all with emanations from my open head scales. Coughing, they fled out the only other door not being blocked by me. Soon it was just me, and the scent of burning tea leaves. I could hear their muffled voices coming from outside the back door.

"Jesus God Kim! Was that you? Did you fart or something? Do dragons fart through their mouths?"

"Maybe the clockwork doesn't clock work?"

"Shaddap!"

I whined loudly and thought despairingly to myself. Fuck me. Running through my list of options I selected the one that I knew what please their offended blunt snouts the most. Thinking of the time I had wanted to soothe the others after a particularly trying day. I let that feeling wash over me and soon enough the scent of calm began to drive the one of embarrassment away.

"Give me one more minute, and it should be tolerable for you to come back."

"Give you one more minute?" Harry asked incredulously. "I think I'll never be able to smell again! How can you stand it? I could fit my head in your nostril!"

"Wait... she's right...Don't you smell that? It smells like... a scented candle. It's lavender!"

"It's purple!"

"Carla, go sleep it off."

"Heeeheee"

"Can I go? I don't want that thing to smell the blood on me and attack or something."

Dumbass, I thought. If it was that easy for me to go feral you would have been dead minutes ago.

"That thing is me, Kim Schwarzkopf, and I'm not a shark, or mindless. You're the mindless one for thinking that after you've heard me talk multiple times."

"Well if you're not mindless, then you're an asshole for what happened to my arm."

That was much more accurate.

"...Sorry. If you think it'll be a fair trade I can take you flying. Or move something heavy for you. Do you need anyone to fear for their life?"

I heard a thoughtful noise before Carla began blaring a new song.

I can open your eyes

_ Take you wonder by wonder_

_ Over..._

The song cut out abruptly.

"Aladdin! No!"

After that racket had ended the group cautiously came back into the lobby with their shirts covering their mouths. After their sinuses didn't self-ignite they cautiously lowered their guard.

"Kim, what was that smell? What is this smell?"

I yawned, my bottom jaw on the floor as I felt the tip of my nose touch the ceiling. Closing it again I blinked sleepily. Bitten by the z-monster that I had created. When my eyes reopened the only one I could see was Athena, and she was halfway towards running around the corner.

"Haha." She laughed nervously. "Kim, your teeth, your teeth are really big. You're not hungry are you? Kim? I think I have a burrito somewhere."

I snorted in amusement at the thought that a burrito would help if I actually were. "What you smell are emotions, that burning one earlier was embarrassment, this one." I yawned again. "Is contentment, my family and I use this on ourselves...." my eyes snapped open after a moment of darkness that I didn't even realized had fallen. "We use this on ourselves to help us sleep, it calms us. It was the easiest scent to come up with to chase the other off... but it makes me so tired!"

I blearily watched her come up towards the tip of my nose, this time staying to one side to keep in my field of view, an act that I appreciated.

"Why don't we go on a walk Kim to wake you up, just you and me? I'd like to hear more about what you've been up to since the day everything changed."

I chuckled. "That's a long story, and much of it doesn't make for a fun conversation. Let's set that aside for a day when you have a few bottles of wine for yourself, and I have some ginger root to chew on."

"Ginger root?"

I winked at her. "If your father doesn't mind me stealing his employees, why don't we go for a flight? My treat!" As if anyone else here had wings.

Before I had even stopped rumbling my last word, Carla had somehow teleported onto my back. I felt her yanking on my wing arm and through the window could see her tugging on the right one while wearing a pair safety goggles.

"Permission to taxi? Check! Fuel status? Green! Motivation? Broncos! Wings? Attached! Let's flap!"

I then felt her feet run back and forth across my back frantically. From side to side and from shoulders to hips. As she stood at the base of my tail I heard her shout.

"Seatbelts? Red! Red! Equipment failure!"

Oh shit, that's right! I wasn't wearing the harness today. So much for not forgetting anything.

"Sorry Athena, Tom is wearing the harness today, there'd be no way for you to hang on. I want to take you back to my place, but I'd have to carry you there."

"Carry us? With wha..." She stopped when I raised one of my paws outside and tapped on the glass with a claw. I cupped the foot to make a basket that was more than large enough for her to sit in. Whether or not she would... that I didn't know. She was pretty adventurous, but this was probably beyond the pale for most people.

She gave me a strained transparent smile. "Kim, not that I don't..." She stopped when she saw her older sister already sitting in the pocket my paw made and grinning stupidly to herself.

"I have lifted 6000 kilos into the air before. You will not be in any danger. But I know that this is a lot to take in and do all at once, it won't hurt my feelings if you tell me hell no."

She drew herself up and my spinal fin stood up eagerly when she turned her glowing smile upon me once more. "Of course I will Kim. Let me put on something warmer."

I drew her attention to my foreleg and the bag strapped to it. "If you need anything else, put it in here."

When she got closer she had another reminder of the scale of my body when she realized it was a full sized ALICE pack that Tom and I had had lying around. We had to use some extra-long strips of nylon to get it to hold, but it was solid as a rock.

Harry had come out to see his daughters off. As the customer that had just ran off being his only one for the day. Just as literally every other operation in the entire fucking world, business had been slow since the Thumper calamity had struck. On my flight here, shuttered store fronts and for sale signs had been the rule not the exception. How he managed to stay afloat I couldn't guess. Probably had something to do with the fact that he had almost no overhead.

"Harry, another reason why I came today, was that I wanted to get more ink done. I can raise my scales at will, do you think it's possible for you to tattoo skin like this?"

The hulking biker stereotype came over to examine the bristling scales on my leg. I felt his finger slide into the gap between two of them and poke at the hide beneath. He shrugged.

"Fuck if I know. It's not like one of my other customers is Smaug. Won't your scales just cover it up anyway?"

"Look at my shoulders, I've been told that if the skin at the base of the scale is dyed, the scale itself will take on that silver color. Monochromatic maybe, but I'm sure we could work something out. Like a mosaic! You'll be famous! Customers flapping in from all over the country!"

He looked at the door to his operation and then at me, and I could already see him working out the logistics of it.

"Who told you that?"

I didn't know how much he knew about Prometheus, so I just stared blankly at him. It was hard to outstare a child of the egg.

"Are the rest of...whatever the fuck you are... still thinking? Intelligent? Not going to eat me when the needle starts? I can't block up this parking lot doing it here. Around back, if you think you can fit inside that old truck storage shed, I can do it in there. That eyesore could finally have a use for me."

"I ask you not to treat us any differently than you would have before. Harry, it is a real shock to become like this. The best thing others can ever do for us is just to treat us as they would anyone else. Within reason, of course. I'm not going to ask you to just pretend I'm not this size, just remember that we are still who we were before."

Except for the feral, I thought guiltily. But no reason to confuse the issue further, and it was highly unlikely he would ever have to deal with one... Hopefully.

"Kim, after everything you've done for this country, the least that you can ask for is to still be treated with respect. Still gotta pay for the art though."

I gave a roll of bellowing laughter. "You got it Harry."

"One last question Kim before you risk my daughter's lives with whatever you are about to do."

That. That kinda hurt. I was safer than an airplane!

"Can I get one of your scales? I want to see if I can impregnate them with ink."

I looked at them dubiously, they had shrugged off 5.56NATO, and I didn't know what luck he would have.

"You can have one, you should be able to yank it loose with a pair of pliers."

He pulled a leatherman from a pocket of his jeans and approached my leg as I watched. Laying his hand flat again my scales he grabbed one and yanked, leaving a little spot of blood were the plate once was and a bit of splatter on his hand. I wanted to make a big show of how much it hurt just to be funny, but I had barely even felt it. Like pulling a single hair from someone else's arm, and then having them tell you what it felt like.

I did see one way to fuck with him though. "I'd wipe that blood off though, that's what turns other people into dragons."

He gave a disproportionately shrill squeak of alarm from his large frame and dropped the scale. Jumping back he rubbed his hand on his jeans and ran inside to wash them. I was dying.

"Harry! Harry, come back! I was joking. If it was that easy, millions of us would be fucked by now."

He came back outside with what looked like an entire bottle of hand sanitizer squirted into his hand as he rubbed them back and forth frantically. It looked like he'd jerked the invisible man off.

"Damn you Kim! I can't even tell if you're laughing right now! You don't have any facial expressions and you sound like a couple of rocks being ground together!"

Carla meanwhile had used a finger to wipe up some of the blood and was drawing a circle on the back of her other hand with it.

"I'll be a gecko!"

"I wouldn't recommend doing that though. It's still blood. And not anything that evolved on this world either."

Harry slathered some of the copious amounts of disinfectant on his daughter's hand to clean the blood off.

"Try to keep Carla from doing anything else stupid like that until she's sober would you Athena?"

Athena came back out from the parlor, wearing much more clothing than she was earlier. She handed a jacket to her sister and stood in front of me expectantly. Their father stepped back to watch while I sat on my tail and plucked his daughters off the ground to hold them against my chest.

"Once I'm in the air, I'll let you move around a little. But launching will be a bit of the vomit comet. So if you feel the urge, please direct it downwards and to the side."

"Haha. Why does it sound like yourk." Thena's question ended with the sound of her stomach settling into her pelvis along with Carla's incomprehensible screech as I pushed into the sky and caught myself on outstretched wings. Nerves along their lengths lit up at the feeling of the pressure on them and with a few more flaps, accompanied by several dips and surges, we were clear of the surrounding buildings. Waving goodbye with a sweep of my tail I settled into the motion of flexing my back and chest to make steady flight possible towards my home. Once I had gained a little altitude I relaxed my legs from their tucked position to allow them to see better and to feel the wind on their snouts.

Wait... Did I just refer to them as having snouts too? What the fuck is wrong with me?