New Pieces

"I'm going to be what?" Mabel asked as she stared at me.

"Well I figured that since you are the most recent graduate from school, and were smart enough to teach yourself...you could teach Daisy...please." I said, begging (something I hate doing).

Mabel rolled her eyes, then gave the girl a hug.

"I can be your teacher for a few years, but the DDP will have to take over when you get a bit older, if you even still need to go to school then. PE and dragons will be Ivy's specialty. That is most definitely her forté. Who better to teach a dragon than another dragon.

Daisy seemed distressed at the mention of the DDP. "and don't worry about the DDP. Everyone here will take notes about you, and test you in different ways. That way only I will get the brunt of their experiments. I might have you do some of their tests, but only ones like running, and things you find fun." I explained trying to comfort her. "I will never let anything bad happen to you, you are my newest hatchling, and I will protect my hatchlings with my life." I said with a smile and a hand that tousled her hair.

"Then is it okay if I call you Auntie...or maybe Sissy?" The little girl said with begging eyes. Well Auntie makes me sound old, I like the sound of Sissy." I said with a smile. She ran to me and hugged my legs, "I love you Sissy." Daisy said while rubbing her head into my stomach. I smiled looking down at Daisy, then got worried when I looked up at Mabel. She was biting her lower lip and wringing the bottom of her shirt with one hand, with the other she held her phone.

"Mouse what did you do?" I asked, knowing she would only act that nervous if she was keeping something from me.

"Umm....so, I was really excited that I wasn't going to be the youngest anymore... Jasper doesn't count he is an old man with a young body. So I called my mom and told her all about meeting Daisy...but she was on speakerphone. so my dad heard everything, and I guess the DDP will be here tomorrow." She said the last sentence as if it were a question. Her eyes were closed tightly as her head lowered facing her feet. With everything in me I wanted to go berserk. I wanted to grab Mabel and scare her nearly to death. My eyes shown yellow and my claws elongated, but what happened next surprised me. Daisy walked up stood on her tip toes, and patted Mabel's shoulder. "It is okay they were gonna come anyways. Now just a little sooner." Daisy said.

My claws turned to ash, but my eyes remained yellow.

Mabel opened her eyes and stared down at little Daisy. Mabel crouched down to Daisy's level. "I am so sorry Sweety. I wish you could have longer without any tests, I didn't mean for this to happen. Tears escaped Mabel's eyes, but I growled. "What right does she have to cry? She is not the one who will be hurt!" I yelled into the back of my mind reaching a few dragons. I could feel the concern, and some anger from my other dragons. Suddenly my head was jerked sideways and I was airborne. "Telee what the Hell!" I yelled at the dragon who held me in his mouth by my horns.

He made a chuffing noise, obviously amused by my annoyance. "I finally found a purpose for these horns, they make grabbing you a lot easier. You were going to scare that hatchling if you got angry in front of her. She isn't used to..." Suddenly we heard the awkward flapping noise behind us. We both looked back to see a very angry and determined looking Daisy... with wings! Quickly Cortelco landed putting me on the ground, then soaring back into the sky to retrieve a struggling Daisy. He held her softly in his mouth, making sure not to leave even the smallest of puncture holes. He landed and the girl kicked his foot before running and hugging me. "What the Hell kid, I just saved you from falling to your death, and how do you thank me? You kick me." Cortelco said as he babied the foot that she had kicked, though it obviously hadn't been hurt.

I hugged her then thrust her in front of me pulling out each of her wings. They were a pastel yellow color, with a white pattern that was hardly noticeable. I felt them not believing how durable they actually were, because they felt like the lightest poke would tear them. I turned her around to see that the wings had sprouted from behind her shoulder blades. Her entire bare back was bruised, and her shirt was torn in tatters, most of which had fallen off while flying. Luckily she was still young enough for that not to be too much of an issue. I myself never bothered with shirts, so I gathered as much material as I could, wrapped it around her chest, and tied it loosely (as to not hurt her bruised back) under her wings. I looked at the girl now instead of just examining her new appearance. She was still breathing heavily from trying to fly. Each breath caused her to wince a little, because it obviously hurt to move her back.

"Daisy you are amazing. I can't believe you learned how to fly, right after sprouting wings." I told her. "but why did you push yourself to fly right away? That must have really hurt, just growing your wings must have hurt, but then you used them right away." I questioned.

"I had to save you." she said. "I thought that big dragon was gonna eat you and.. and..." tears started to well up in her little eyes as she began crying, just at the thought of me being hurt.

"Listen Daisy, none of the dragons here will ever hurt you, or me, or anyone; as long as they think you are a good person. Telee flew me away, because I was getting angry with Mabel, and he thought I would scare you. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone. Besides if I die, so does Telee"

"Telee?" she asked between hiccups.

"That is what I call Cortelco." I explained.

"So I guess these wings mean that not all of us False Dragons are the same. I am strong, fast, and have scales. You aren't strong or fast yet... but you have wings and can fly, I can not do that. The DDP will have to do some tests, because I can't do the same things you can do, but I won't let them hurt you, or push you too far, okay?" I explained. I picked up the small girl, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, and we ran back to Mabel. Daisy's wings were drooping now, and were obviously tired and sore. She actually fell asleep in my arms, causing me to slow down a bit so I wouldn't wake her. I changed my destination, and decided to drop her off at my cave to sleep. The walk over I thought how lucky I was to have Switch. Not only does she make a great sparring and running partner, but she has two legs and wings. Given she has to land on only two legs, she should be able to teach Daisy about flying. I laid Daisy down on the mossy floor of the cave. Wisp and Nymph both revealed themselves from the shadows. I told them to tell me when the hatchling woke up, and with that I ran to where I could smell Mabel.

I finally managed to track her down in the Gull Wing's territory, where she hid behind Peculiar. Peculiar was no match for me, and she new it. The dragon stepped away from Mabel "Please go easy on my Mouse." the dragon said. As Peculiar walked away I could hear "Some protector you are. I will get you back for this." Mabel told the dragon half-heartedly. "Ungrateful Mouse. She didn't say she needed protection from the master." I heard Peculiar grumble, which did help in lightening my mood.

Telee landed near me. I didn't know if he was there to support me, or protect Mabel. Though I would never hurt her, he never believed I had complete control.

"Mouse, you messed up big this time." I said in a low voice.

"I know, I just forget that my dad is a DDP agent. I just think of him as 'dad'. I never had to keep secrets before my life was normal... or at least as normal as a dragon lady in training can get." she sighed, looking sad. Her pathetic looks weren't enough to satisfy me though.

"Mouse, this has happened more than once now. It was one thing when it was just me that the experiments were for, but for a hatchling that will be too much! We didn't even have time to mentally prepare her!" My words started professionally, but the more I thought about the subject, the angrier I got, and the louder my voice became. My claws came out, but I kept my hands in tight fists at my sides, causing my palms to bleed.

"She seems mature and strong, but that is just a face she puts on, because she has had to survive without a parent. She is still a scared little kid, who just had her body and life change dramatically. This isn't freaking puberty; she has to new f***ing limbs! And I know you haven't had to do this since in utero, but growing horns or appendages hurts... a LOT!" I had to start to breathe. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I was beginning to yell at Mabel for things she had no control over; I needed to go back to issues with Mabel.

"Mouse she has no idea how much her life has changed already. She is still afraid of Telee, and most dragons really. Those scientists make me nervous, I can probably protect her now, but I don't know about the future." I sighed again. "So you are no longer allowed to call anyone except me, unless it is an emergency or you have my permission." I said. I sounded like a real parent, lecturing their child, but it needed to be done. Mabel looked as guilty and sad as she ever had, but she understood. Her only response was a nod of the head. Peculiar came past me and wrapped herself around Mabel, trying to comfort her. I turned heel and walked back to my cave, at a human pace. I stopped and took my anger out by scratching a few trees, or punching rocks before I made it back to the cave where Daisy was still asleep. I sat near her in silence for awhile before I heard footsteps near the entrance of the cave. Will walked in with a bowl of greenish brown mush and some bandaging wrap. He opened his mouth to talk, but noticed Daisy was sleeping. He began speaking, though only in a whisper. "Jasper made something herbal to help with her pain and bruising" he said as he gestured his head toward daisy. He sat down next to the girl and began softly applying the warm goo to her bruised back and shoulders. "These wings are amazing." Will whispered to me. I huffed, still grumpy from today's events.

"Ivy you can't hold a grudge against something Mabel did as an accident. It isn't healthy and it won't help anyone." he told me quietly. I knew he was right, but I hated it.

"She has done this too many times. I took away her phone privileges this time." I whispered in a grumpy tone. Will stifled a laugh.

"Okay mom." he mocked me quietly. He began wrapping the medical wrap around Daisy's torso, and around her wings to make it resemble a crop top shirt. I smiled at his handy work. "Didn't know you were so into fashion." I whispered with a crooked smirk on my face. He blushed as usual at my compliment, though it was sarcastic.

"She is a girl, and thus needs to wear a shirt, it doesn't matter how young she is. She will be uncomfortable when the scientists see her. though she will need something to show off the base of her wings." Will whispered, in a serious tone. "Oh I know I will get Jasper's old robe and tie it on backwards. My mom taught me a lot about these things before she died." Will explained. "Jasper was too little and my dad was hopeless when it came to housework." He smiled as he finished wrapping her bandages. My anger subsided, and I had a newfound respect for Will. I play mama for a lot of dragons, but you kept your family together. Kept them fed, and even helped raise Jasper, all the while still helping your dad with projects. You've earned my respect. " I told this to him, completely forgetting the foul mood I was in. He blushed again at my compliments.

"You're pretty cool yourself." he said.

"My 'coolness' is a newer description though before I lived here I was a bum who lived in my brothers basement, and even before that my class voted me least likely to succeed. Without the dragons... I am a pretty lame human." I said with a pitiful sigh.

"Well that is all in the past and with or without the dragons, you aren't human anymore. Now get some sleep tomorrow will be exhausting." Will said as he kissed the top of Daisy's head, and patted mine on the way out. "Try not to kill any of the dragon scientists okay." he mocked as he left the cave entrance. I smiled at his joke, and began to close my eyes, which soon was followed by a deep sleep.