New Faces

"Okay Mouse since you will be staying here I will get a bunk-bed to put upstairs for us. I only recently let the dragons go outside, and I have been sleeping with them in the den. You can sleep on the couch for now." I said to Mabel. I pointed to my ugly dated couch. "It isn't much, and in the mornings, for the next few weeks we will continue moving it back and forth between bed time, and morning. I will continue sleeping down there until the bed arrives." I said. Mabel nodded her head the whole time.

"Umm, is it okay if I sleep in the den, and you keep the couch?" the girl asked timidly.

"Why would you want that Mouse?" I asked her with a raised brow.

She pulled off a very small backpack, that I hadn't noticed she had, and pulled out a dragon egg.

"What in the hell!" I yelled. I grabbed the egg from her, and bolted to the elevator. The egg had been too cold for a long time, not to mention how close it was to Coruscant's ice. I didn't stop pushing the down button until the elevator doors opened in the den. I put the egg on the ever-hot dragon nest, and put an emergency blanket over top to contain the heat around the egg. I waited for Mabel to come down the elevator as I stared daggers at the door. When she finally came down I was instantly yelling.

"You kept that egg cold for too long! Why didn't you come straight to the house to warm it when you got here?! I will have Mrs.Horn check it when it is warmed enough, to see if it is still viable! What were you thinking?!" I yelled in a panic.

"Well my back pack is heated, and I figured that was enough." she mumbled on the verge of tears. Mrs.Horn came from the elevator. "You said your mother raised dragons, how do you not know how much heat they really need? Those bags are only to be used for short transports, and they usually take breaks in several areas to heat up the eggs." Mrs.Horn said.

"Coruscant could have killed it!" I snapped.

Mabel started crying hard.

"I...I..I a..am so sorry." she said between sobs. She had tears flowing down her cheeks, and snot dripping from her nose. "I...I can't le..let my first egg die!" she sobbed.

Had I been too hard on her? She seemed as terrified as the dragon in the egg should be. I needed to remember she was still very young.

I walked over and rubbed her back.

"I am sure the little lizard is fine. Mrs.Horn can check on it in about an hour, when it is all warmed." I said in a comforting voice. You are very young to be raising a dragon, why do you have an egg so early?" I asked. I got her comfortable sitting on my cushions, and I grabbed my secret stash of cookies from the cold oven. I brought us a plate of them to share.

"Mum had five eggs this year, and she figured since I would be spending time with two dragon ladies, that I was in good hands to raise my own hatchling." Mabel said "I wasn't sure, but Mum said that she was certain I could handle it with your guidance." she finished

I gave her a soft smile. "I will try my best to help you, but this clutch is my first clutch as well, and Mrs.Horn has only ever raised Prism Scales and Blade Runners." I explained.

An hour of soft encouraging conversation later, and Mrs.Horn was ready to check the egg. She felt the shell to see if the cold had left any soft spots on the egg, then she held a stethoscope up to the egg. "The hatchling seems to be fine, you got lucky. "This guy could hatch any day." Mrs.Horn said. Mabel's eyes were sparkling.

"Will you stay down here with me and the egg?" Mabel asked the pair of us.

"Oh no child, my days of sleeping on the ground are far behind me." Mrs.Horn said. "I am going to eat lunch now that all of the drama is over." Mrs.Horn said. she raised her palm in a goodbye and walked away.

"I am used to sleeping down here anyways, I can stay with you. I just need more cushions." I stood up to leave to get more cushions, but before I could leave I heard a crack. I turned to Mabel, who hadn't heard it. "Mabel your dragon is hatching!" I yelled happily.

Her eyes grew wide and she bent on her hands and knees to see the egg cracking closer. It was taking its good sweet time coming out of that egg. Several cracks later a bright purple dragon came out. It ran rather sloppily to Mabel. She was awe struck and so happy that she didn't really notice the dragons details.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

"You can name this one." I said sadly. Mabel looked at me confused.

"Sweety it is a Gull Wing. It is missing one of its wings and the claws on its front left foot. It can't be wild, it won't be able to fly, and will have trouble hunting on its own." I said. "It will stay with you or here for its life." I said as calmly as I could. I knew the hatchling wouldn't be able to hear me because it was so young. That didn't make it any easier to say though. Mabel got teary eyed, and looked down at her new hatchling who was cuddled against her arm and licking her hand.

"Can you tell if it is a boy or a girl?" she asked me.

"I think it is female, because it doesn't seem to be timid or afraid of me." I said, still speaking quietly.

"I'll call her Peculiar." she said. "I read up on your dragons, and liked how you named all of your dragons words that matched their personalities. I know how you embrace being called odd. My dad told me these things. I hope she embraces these things too. My dad tells me stories about you, he really admires you...we all do. Is it okay if I spend some time with Peculiar alone?" Mabel asked.

"Of course." I responded. I put a fish filet in the sink with cold water, then I left.

I got off of the elevator and met with Mrs.Horn whom was eating a sandwich at the table.

"The egg hatched." I said in a sad voice. "Dammit I missed it I thought the drama was over." she said too loudly.

"The hatchling is deformed." I said. "It is a purple Gull Wing, but it is missing one of its wings, and all of the claws on one of its feet." I said. I rubbed my temples. The idea of it living a hard life broke my heart, even if it wasn't my dragon.

"Well, at least you have Gull Wings to keep it company, otherwise it would die." Mrs.Horn said. A new purpose put me out of my pity party. I need to be able to get all three Gull Wings together. The hatchling would fail to thrive without Reticent and Blithesome. I called the two of them to come into the house. "I got my phone out and called Bill, we would need a warm nesting area, so that Peculiar had a warm place where he could regularly see my Gull Wings. I went down to the den where Mabel was still snuggling Peculiar. "Hold Peculiar tight and keep her warm." I said. "Gull Wings need other Gull Wings to thrive. Luckily for you, I have two of them. I said. When we got upstairs, both Reticent and Blithesome were in the house, waiting to see the hatchling. Both of them blew hot steam all over, in obvious attempt to keep the hatchling warm. Reticent layed down and tucked in his wings. He chirped at Mabel. She turned to me for translation. "He wants you to sit against him, so they can get a better look at the hatchling." I explained. Even though the dragons were still the size of dogs, they were strong. Blithesome leaned her neck down over Reticent's body to see the tiny dragon. Blithesome gave it a warm lick, then blew more steam.

"Gull Wings are very family oriented, so even if they are different, the others will take care of it. Little Peculiar needs to live with other Gull Wings, even as an adult. I think your best bet is leaving her here when she reaches adulthood." I said

I looked at both my Gull Wings who were purring at the new dragon.

Then I changed my voice to a chipper one, but until then she will be treated the same as any other hatchling, which will be very difficult for you." I said smiling. I have all the information and details you could possibly want with Gull Wing hatchlings." I said proudly.

I turned my attention to Bill. "Can we park your camper by the river?" I asked. "Peculiar will need to be able to see the other Gull Wings daily, but we still need a warm place for her and Mouse to sleep, and my Gull Wings are getting too big for the house." I said. Bill looked at Mabel, whom he assumed was Mouse.

"Fine with me, it means I don't have to build anything." Bill said. I glanced to the ground to see the pile of snuggling dragons and a young red-head stuck in the middle.

"Mouse." I said, getting Mabel's attention. She flopped her head back on Reticent to give me an upside down look.

"It will be a lot easier to observe me if I live in a camper with you. You will have to stay in there with Peculiar for about a month. She needs to learn to regulate her body temperature before she can be outside." I told her.

"We must visit and feed the hatchling daily. Can you help?" I asked Reticent and Blithesome. "Yes she is one of us." they both said. I sat down in the pile of dragons, between Blithesome and Reticent. "Then it's set. Bill can you move the trailer now? The sooner the better." I asked. He nodded and walked out the door. I got up and walked to the kitchen. I turned on the oven. "What are you doing?" Mabel asked.

"Since that hatchling has to stay up here for a bit, we can set her in the oven to keep her warm." I am going to make a phone call." I said. I walked out the door with my phone in hand.

I dialed the DDP and went through the process of getting through to a DDP agent.

"This is agent Robert Eliot." I heard from the other side of the phone.

"Mr. Eliot, I need to speak to agent Paul Reese. The matter involves his daughter." I said in the most professional voice I could make. Instantly I heard a beep, and I was on the phone with Paul.

"What is wrong with Mabel?" I heard. He spoke quickly with fear in his voice.

"Your daughter is fine Paul." I said trying to reassure him. "It is her new hatchling I am worried about. Your wife sent the girl with an egg." I said.

"Giving an to child with an egg sounds like something my wife would do." He said

"Sir the hatchling is a Gull Wing, which by myself I can help with as I have Gull Wings of my own," I said, and continued, "but her hatchling is deformed. It is missing a wing, and all of the claws on one of its front feet. I let her name it, as I know it can never be released." I finished.

The phone was silent for a moment.

"Does she need her mother's help?" he asked, sounding oddly defeated.

"No." I replied, "We can handle it."

Paul sighed at the other line.

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

"Please call your wife and tell her what I told you. Mabel is trying to hide it, but she seems fragile because all of this. I thought it best if I informed your family." I explained.

"Yes I believe that this was the right thing to do. Thank you." he said.

"That is all I have to say. So goodbye." I said, and hung up.

This would make even more new experiences for me. I wonder what will happen.