The Oddities Continue

Two months had passed by, and despite the fact that Peculiar no longer slept in the camper, I continued sleeping in the cave behind the waterfall. Sometimes I would sleep for two days straight, and still be unconcerned. Each morning (or the mornings I woke up to) I came back to the houses where everyone was living. Everyone still treated me like usual, but with a small amount of...fear. They had all by now seen me get territorial, and were walking on eggshells now.

"Guys you don't have to treat me like I could explode at any minute." I said whilst flipping a pancake.

"That is the problem Ivy; you really could go off on us at random. You have done it before, and we never know if you will become violent." Bill said calmly. I got angry that my friends would even think I would go as far as hurting them. "Why do you think I would or even could hurt you?" I asked while still staring at the pan in front of me. I couldn't turn around and let them see my angry face.

"We have all have seen you sparring with Switch, and you hold your own." Bill said.

"Oh no Switch is just going easy on me." I said trying to diffuse the soon to be argument.

"Think what you want, but I have seen you be thrown by that dragon's tail, and you always land on your feet." He said. "Most people would have broken bones or internal bleeding from that, but you are always fine." he finished.

I put the last pancake on a plate. I was getting angry I knew my eyes had to have been yellow at this point I turned around ready to yell, but before I could speak I suddenly felt the most excruciating pain coming from my scalp. I screamed loudly.

"See this is what we were talking about." Mrs.Horn said. It wasn't until I dropped to my knees that they both realized the scream wasn't directed at them. They both ran to me, frantically trying to figure out what was wrong.

"I couldn't tell them what was wrong, I couldn't tell them anything. All that came out of my mouth were screams of pain. I could smell that all of my dragons had run or flown to help me, but none of them could fit into the house anymore. All I could think about was this pain I was feeling, I couldn't tell my dragons anything. I screamed and screamed for another twenty minutes, before the pain had finally let me pass out.

I woke up with concerned faces all around me. I was outside in the grass surrounded by my friends and dragons. I tried to sit up, but I was too weak. "Why am I outside?" I asked no one in particular.

"You kept calling your dragons' names in your sleep, and each time they roared like crazy. So we took you to them." Jasper stood quietly holding the ugly mirror that was hung in my livingroom, this confused me. "Jasper why are you holding that mirror. All of my dragons looked to him and nodded. This was even more shocking. Switch came to me and wrapped her tail around me, then held me in a sitting position. I was getting nervous, and it takes a lot for that to happen. Jasper turned the mirror that he was holding onto so tightly, for it to face me. I looked into the mirror and was terrified. Out of my head stuck two horns. They were about a foot long and ever so slightly curved inwards. There was a screw like pattern to them. They reminded me of pictures I have seen of black buck antelope. I couldn't believe that I had horns. Then I realized I had dried smeared blood on my face and in my hair. I imagine my scalp did some tearing when horns came out of it. After the few seconds of me looking in the mirror tears started running down my face. I grabbed the heavy sturdy horns and pulled. This couldn't be real. There was no way this was real. I am dreaming I passed out from a sudden migraine right? This was just my subconscious trying to rationalize things, though this was not rational. I pulled and pulled on the horns until I finally gave up. These things were part of me now, growing out of my skull unwelcome and unwanted.

I cried and tears covered my face.

My friends tried to comfort me, but soon they were pushed away by my dragons.

"Mama it will be okay." I heard Blithesome say. "Mama you look pretty, I wish my horns came in." I heard Coruscant say.

"But my hatchlings, this is not normal. I must not be a real dragon lady, hell I am not even human. I tried to blame our bond for my heightened senses, but our bond surely couldn't make this happen." I spoke through my mind, as I wouldn't have even able to speak clearly between my sobs.

"I am sorry I could not protect you from this hurt." Valorous said. I leaned back and hugged his wide neck.

"This is something that no one could protect me from. Do not feel sorry, for this is not your fault my hatchling." I said to him with all of the motherly love I could muster. My dragons surrounded me laying down making a nest of their bodies. Peculiar stood by Mabel as she was not as close to me. I could hear Peculiar trying to talk to Mabel.

"Why does that human have horns Mouse?" she tried to say. I loved how she picked up the nickname I had given Mabel.

"Mouse!" I yelled getting her attention. "Peculiar is asking you why I have horns. Explain." I told her. Then I nuzzled back into my nest of dragon bodies. I fell asleep like that, we all did. At around 2am I woke up I was not cold, despite the fact that I was outside at night, close to an ice dragon, and only wearing pajamas. I sensed something was wrong. I got up from the nest, only waking Valorous to join me. I continued following the smell of this unfamiliar thing, until I reached a man holding a gun.

"Hide in the shrubbery." I commanded Valorous, though I knew he didn't want too. I walked up to the armed man, not knowing what his response to my appearance would be. "Why are you on my land?" I asked the armed man in a protective territorial tone. My eyes were surely yellow at this point.

He looked at me terrified, and fell to the ground. "I...I...I a-am just here to hunt." he managed to say.

"Oh really and just what are you hunting?" I asked coyly and intimidating. No matter what he said he was hunting, all of the wildlife here belongs to my dragons.

"I heard that there was a legend of beasts that live here...dragons." at that last comment my eyes turned to thin slits. I rushed to his body, and let him dangle from his neck in my grip. "Valorous I have something (I no longer viewed this man as a person) for you to take prisoner!" I yelled so the man could hear me. Valorous in his now large size, came running to my side. I threw the man to the ground, and Valorous picked him up and held him tight nearly crushing the man's body. "Let's go back I said calmly to Valorous. We walked back through the brush. The man's face was whipped by the underbrush, but he wanted to kill my dragons, and for that he was hated by me.

We got back to the houses, all of the dragons had woken up, and had been searching for me. "Bill!" I yelled as I knocked on his door. He opened the door. I had obviously woken him up, but this was important. "Where do we keep prisoners?" I asked. He looked frightened for a moment. I realized that in his sleeping state he had forgotten about my horns.

"Uh...ummm prisoners?" he asked, as though it was an insane question. "Why on Earth would we have prisoners?" Valorous walked behind me still holding the half conscious man. His face was bleeding from being pulled through the brush, but I couldn't care less.

"Seriously this is what you do to trespassers?!" Bill yelled completely shocked.

"No with them I will have you hornless people take care of that. Prisoners are those who have seen my dragons, and in this S**t face's reason for capture is because he was hunting dragons." I need somewhere to put him while we wait for the DDP. Bill looked shocked. Obviously this had never happened before.

"Wake up Cora, take the furniture out of the room, and lock him up there." Bill instructed. It took me a moment to remember that Mrs.Horn's first name was Cora. I looked to Valorous the man was now unconscious, but Coruscant and the Gull Wings were freezing him in place.

I got into my house and trudged up the stairs. "Mrs.Horn, wake up I am moving all of your things and making your room into a prison." I said, not even looking at the horror that is Mrs.Horn freshly awake.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" she half grumbled.

"I found a man trying to hunt my dragons, and my property doesn't have a prison. Now move." I said.

She got out of bed and grumbled and staggered down the stairs, still trying to wake up.

With my newfound strength, I found it easy to move all of the furniture down the stairs. "Okay my Gull Wings, start to thaw the criminal, I have his prison ready." I told them. As they worked, I remembered a necessity for every one, even a criminal. I grabbed a metal bucket, and a sticky note. I wrote "toilet" on the sticky note, stuck it on the bucket, and put it in one of the corners.

I went down the stairs and walked outside, where the prisoner was now in Valorous' mouth once again. I grabbed the man and threw him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I threw him into the room, and placed a chair under the doorknob to trap the man inside. Valorous stood watch outside the second floor window; in case the man decided to escape. Then it was a waiting game. We waited for the DDP to show up, we waited for the verdict of our prisoner, and we waited to see the reaction to my new horns.

I paced back and forth in the living room in anticipation of the upcoming events. despite the fact that I had imprisoned a man, I don't think that will be the biggest concern. The last time the DDP came here they ran tests, and said that I was a normal human. Now my eyes turn yellow and my pupils contract when I am speaking to my dragons (which is weird to begin with) or am angry. I, and most humans, don't usually get territorial and threatening with their own friends, but I do now, and that worries me, as I am much stronger and faster as of a few minutes ago. I also have a sense of smell that I will have to explain to them, and I don't think they will have to convince them, since I have massive horns to prove how odd I had become. There was no way that I was just human.

I went to the bathroom and showered to get all of the dried blood off of my head. I wanted to look slightly less like a monster when the DDP showed up. I went to get dressed, only to realize that most of my wardrobe wouldn't fit over my horns. I tore two shirts in attempt to put them on, but I gave up. I found an old strapless sundress, and pulled it up from the bottom. I dried my hair, and was prepared to style it, when I realized that horns made that very difficult. I just left my hair down. I felt it would probably be my primary hairstyle now. I walked outside barefoot, as always, and waited with my dragons for the DDP. When three black SUVs pulled up to my house I knew that s**t was about to hit the fan. I walked up to the man who seemed to be in charge. "Paul I presume?" I asked non-chalantly.

"H-how do you know my name?" he said, obviously afraid. That wasn't the first question I thought I would be asked.

"You smell like your daughter." I said as if that was the most normal answer ever.

"Who and... what are you?" He asked nervously.

"We have talked before I am surprised you don't recognize my voice. I am Ivy Jenkins, and as for the what am I...I have no idea." He looked at me seemingly no longer scared.

"You are Ivy? You don't look like your picture." he said.

"Oh it gets better." I said. My eyes turned yellow and into slits as I mind linked to Peculiar to wake up Mabel (whom still lived in the camper).

"Your eyes...what just happened?" he said shocked once more. I asked your daughter's dragon to wake her up. She knows if Peculiar wakes her it means I want her." I explained simply.

"Do you mean to tell me you can long distance talk to any dragon, not just yours?" he said, slowly adjusting to the insanity that is my life.

"Well only ones that I have met...so far. Also the babies only use body language." I said.

"So far? What does that mean?" he asked again.

"Well nothing has come instantly, the horns just showed up today. It was extremely painful I don't recommend it. At first it was just talking to my dragons, then my eyes started to change when I talked to them. Then my sense of smell became seriously strong, like how I could smell that you were Mabel's father. Then it was my hearing. I got stronger and faster, and now I even spar with my Deer Chaser. Also I can sleep for days, oh and I sleep in a secret cave." I was counting my fingers trying to count off all of my new talents. I looked back at Paul who was in utter shock. This was a lot to fling at a person all at once. "Let's go interrogate the actual criminal." I said.

"Actually the DDP will take care of that." he said

"What?!" I yelled snapping my head back. My eyes glowed bright yellow. "He wanted to hurt MY dragons and..." before I could finish my sentence Mabel came running to her dad with Peculiar. Peculiar stood between me and Paul. Mabel grabbed her fathers hand.

"What is the meaning of this Mouse?!" I yelled.

"You need to cool down!" she yelled from behind Peculiar.

Peculiar spoke to me. "I will protect Mouse." I rolled my eyes.

"I am not going to hurt anyone, I can't control how scary I look when I am pissed." Peculiar moved so she could stand next to Mabel. Then Mabel caught sight of me for the first time. "What the F***. When did you become freaking Maleficent?!" Mabel yelled.

Both Paul and I looked at Mabel.

"Watch your mouth young lady." we both said in unison. Mabel rolled her eyes and looked back to me. "So yesterday you looked like a.... you didn't have horns. What happened?" Mabel asked, genuinely concerned. Well since you stayed out in the camper all day you missed how interesting breakfast got today. I woke up, I made pancakes for Bill and Mrs.Horn, I started to get a little pissy, then It felt like my skull was trying to explode, I woke up outside with horns. Then this evening it got more interesting." I said calmly, as if I was just discussing the weather. Since I don't get to interrogate the prisoner," I said through gritted teeth, "I am going to bed than I sped inhumanly fast into the woods towards my cave.

----------------------------PAUL'S POV----‐-------------------------

I watched as Ivy sped past the yard into the woods. Both of her Gull Wings followed her, while my daughter's stayed with her.

"Mabel, honey, what is happening here?" I asked her. I thought sending her here would help both of the girls learn about raising dragons. Now I think I may have put my only daughter in harms way.

"Well dad, this is the weirdest training camp I have ever been to that is for sure. This new dragon lady puts the dragon, in dragon lady. So my new "friend" as you and mom put it is her. You know I was sent here to observe, so she calls me Mouse, now my baby calls me Mouse. Or at least that is what Ivy told me. She has always been a smart-ass, now she can be kind of scary, mostly she is just weird. She treats me like I know nothing, which most of the time she is right about..." I hated hearing these words coming from my daughter's mouth. Had I sent her to some kind of prison with dragons and a mutant warden? "but believe it or not I like her." she said. Now I was confused.

"It doesn't sound like you like her." I said.

"She is like a big sister. She gets on my nerves, but overall I genuinely like her. Like Aunt Cindy for every ten comments I hear about her nine are complaints and one is a compliment." she explained. I thought of my older sister, Cindy, and that would probably be how I would describe our relationship." I leaned back on the black SUV I drove in with. I wasn't really needed in this investigation, I was simply the agent assigned to this dragon lady, and wanted an excuse to visit my daughter.

"So then you are happy here?" I asked Mabel.

"I am. I have Peculiar, who is healthy because of the other Gull Wings." she said. Then she whispered in my ear. "I am kind of glad she has deformities, I don't want to ever let her go." I smiled at her and tried to rub the dragons neck, but it dodged my hand.

"Dad I have been training Peculiar on methods of escape and defense. She has disabilities, that make her body off-center, so I have been training on how to stay safe. We have even practiced running with Switch." she said proudly. "What is Switch?" I asked.

"Switch is Ivy's Deer Chaser. Switch is really energetic so she races Peculiar when she isn't sparring with Ivy." Mabel said as if that last sentence wasn't crazy.

"She spars with dragons?" I said not believing my ears.

"Oh yeah they spar daily. She said that Ivy started sparring with her, as a means of training Switch on how gentle you need to be with humans, so she started when Switch was still pretty small. Switch knows how to be gentle, but now their sparring matches are full on fights. They are fun to watch, that girl can take a real beating, but at the end both of them snuggle on the ground and are content not upset whatsoever." Mabel finished. She seemed unfazed by how strange this all was. Was she just numb to it now?

"We will have to take her for some testing, we are not sure what she is." I said. Mabel just started laughing. "What?...What's so funny?" I asked confused.

"Dad it would be safer to hug a Blade Runner than it would be to separate her from her dragons. And that is assuming the dragons don't help her." Mabel warned. I was in utter shock. "Stay in the camper with me tonight you can see her raw strength tomorrow." Mabel said. she grabbed my hand drug me down a trail until we were at a camper near a lake. What had I gotten myself and my daughter into?