Not a Pet

I began what almost seemed like a March towards the woods near the cabin. I was gathering up all of my authority and what little knowledge I had on rearing children; just hoping I could convince Xander that getting a hatchling would be a good idea.

"You're screwed. Why don't you just change your mind and wait until another clutch arrives? I'm the only one who knows about your idea anyways." Cortelco spoke with reasoning. I however wasn't known to be too reasonable. I had made up my mind. After all I was given no warning or time when I first hatched dragons. I also didn't know anything about them, so technically Xander is more than qualified than I was.

"My mind is made up. I see Xander so you and your reasonable tail go away." I said shoving the giant beast like a small child would shove their sibling out the door. Cortelco looked dejected for a split second before he said.

"I will be watching you, with an I told you so waiting." he said before he walked away satisfied that he could watch and listen the whole event through me.

I took a final breath and walked over to Xander, who was sitting down by a tree, scorching drawings on it with his finger.

"What do you want?" Xander said without bothering to turn to face me.

This kid is such a brat he needs something to hold him back, I thought to myself. I clenched my fists annoyed but spoke normally.

"I have noticed you aren't a fan of anyone here. You kind of avoid us all." I started. I knew he didn't mind anyone, but was simply a hormonal jerk like most kids his age. He opened his mouth to object, but I wasn't going to give him any openings to rationalize his way out of this.

"So I think it would be best if you raised a dragon yourself. It is very rewarding, and you get a friend from it. So next clutch that comes in , one egg will go to you." I finished. I sounded like an elementary teacher rather than the dominant tone I usually use.

"What do you mean give me an egg?! That is a dragon lady thing. L.A.D.Y. not a guy thing." he exclaimed with the first excuse I imagined he would use.

"Yes only a select few human women can successfully raise dragons, however any dragon can raise another. I have had plenty of help from the original eight raising hatchlings." I explained, again with a chirpy kindergarten teacher voice.

"I don't need a pet. I get along fine." Xander huffed.

My fluffy chirpy tone ended when he called dragons pets.

"Say that again! Tell me how all of these beings including you and me are mere pets!" My eyes went yellow and my claws came out. "We are beings that can rationalize, converse, form relationships, have likes and dislikes, personalities, and are recognized as so by others! What gives you the right to call any of us pets!?" I yelled. my claws remained elongated and my eyes yellow as I awaited his answer.

"Uhh..um. uh... it's just." Xander studdered, obviously afraid of my current state.

"It's just what!?" I yelled back, causing birds to scatter from the trees.

"They are just lizards that you have to feed and clean up after until they are big. It is also an extra responsibility. They can't talk or do anything, just you know... like a pet." he said sheepishly.

I looked at him dead in the eyes. "Oh I am sure your parents considered you a pet then. I mean after all you didn't actually do anything but eat, sleep, and poop. I wasn't there but, I assume you weren't much of a talker. I mean you were basically an ape." I lectured with spite coming from every word.

I finally really looked into his eyes. I could see the shame, and a bit of fear that he was feeling. I took a deep breath. My claws faded away, and my eyes went back to normal.

"Now that you get the gist I am going to have you raise one egg. Don't worry too much, as long as you don't name it or it isn't disabled it will be shipped off into the wild in a few weeks to months. Unlike with you, eighteen years isn't the minimum requirement." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Do we know when the next batch is coming?" He asked sounding as if he was already exhausted.

"Three days." I said with a wave of my hand.

"What! I don't have enough prep time for that! There is too much to learn and. and. and." he started but couldn't even think properly.

"Let me tell you how I met my first clutch. Some relative that I had never heard of decided to leave me her "goose farm", This is that farm. Bill very poorly pretended to be a lawyer to make things official. I wandered through the house to see what it looked like, and I found a trap door."

"That tiny elevator?" he asked.

"That's the one. Curiosity got the best of me and I got in. I looked around the place utterly confused, about the half kitchen- half cave, underneath my floor. Then I saw eight eggs. I convinced my delirious self that these were goose eggs, because I lived on a goose farm. Then quickly one by one these "goose eggs" hatched into tiny dragons. At first I convinced myself that they were just rare lizard breeds. Then I found a note saying these were in fact dragons, the largest clutch given to anyone at once, and it was my job to raise them. I was given a binder with pictures and information on the dragons. After I sat and played for a bit, I was ready to wake up. Yeah all my sanity rested on the theory that I was dreaming. When I realized it wasn't a dream I passed out." I told him.

Xander looked shocked and impressed.

"I woke up, realized it wasn't a dream, and I had to get my s**t together. I identified genders gave them names. I learned afterwards you aren't supposed to name them. Then Bill and Jasper taught me what I needed to know about feeding them. When I moved here the freezer barn was just a regular barn, there was no cabin, Bill and his family lived in your camper they didn't have a house, there was no training obstacle course, Callalilly's field wasn't existent, we didn't keep bees, the forest trail to the river didn't exist, we didn't keep chickens and peacocks. All of this changed the moment I decided to raise my dragons. Of course Bill and Will did most of the heavy lifting, my job was raising dragons. Oh did I mention I thought I was human until the dragons were the size of large dogs. My dragon features came in late. So I did that basically as a human." I spoke with a bit of a chuckled remembering all of the times I almost lost it.

"You have even more people to help you, you have a great environment to raise a dragon, If you really can't figure out what your hatchling wants Valorous can understand the hatchlings who are too young to speak. You also don't have to do the direct teaching like I had to, since we have our own dragon teachers." I spoke softly to him. I had put this poor boy through an emotional rollercoaster with my tone constantly changing.

"Okay the eggs are coming in three days, so put up with tomorrow's DDP testing, it will be worth it later...probably." I said as I got up to leave. "Oh and pick your egg quickly dragon eggs tend to hatch quickly around us False Humans."

I walked back into the woods and suddenly Cortelco showed me that Xander was punching a tree, he stopped rubbed his knuckles a bit, then smiled.

"I don't know if that means he's angry or happy, but that is his reaction." Cortelco said.

I smiled a bit as I knew it was a combo of both emotions. Soon the ground behind me shook as a dragon landed.

"Mama my babies hatched!" Blithesome yelled excitedly she quickly picked my up in her mouth and flew away with me.

"What the? When did you lay eggs? No one told me! How many! I would have made you a cave if I knew!" I yelled excitedly forgetting I could have just talked to her mentally. She landed in an alcove near the trail to my cave. Out pounced three little Gull Wings. All three various shades of blue like Blithesome. Dashing walked out chest puffed, well these are the best hatchlings to have ever existed right?" Cortelco said I am an in-law now, so I should call you Mama. he said as he began to wrap is neck around Blithsome and one of his wings to shade his daughters. I got on my knees and welcomed the three hatchlings to play with me, and all came over and hopped around, just as their mother once had.

"Why didn't you tell me you had eggs?" I said as I held one of the hatchlings to my chest.

"Mama I have had many eggs, they never hatched." Blithesome said solemnly.

I never imagined my dragons would someday have to deal with the emotion that come from loss of eggs. Dashing instantly licked Blithesome's face.

"We just had to wait for the perfect ones." Dashing said this time giving one of their daughters a lick.

I had never imagined that any of my dragons would be husband material, but Dashing was amazing me. Soon Meadow and Clementine dropped in. I was worried what Dashing in Blithesome would do. Rose and Reticent were very protective of their hatchlings. It seemed though that Dashing was more than happy to show off his family.

"Look what we made! They are Perfect." Dashing yelled, Blithesome and the hatchlings turned their attention to Meadow and Clementine.

I looked to the back of the alcove and there was still one unhatched egg. I grabbed and tugged a bit on Blithesome's wing.

"Why have you left that egg?" I asked her calmly.

"Our eggs hatch all at once, that one did not hatch... like the others." she said sadly.

I smiled, "Dashing and babies, get over here you're celebrating too early." I walked over to the egg and rubbed it a bit. I crouched close to the egg, and just stared at it. Soon it began to crack.

"Remember, your Mama can help sometimes. Some just need a little help." I said softly to Blithesome. I At that comment Clementine chirped.

The egg rolled off of the make shift nest and cracked into pieces, revealing a Hatchling that was bright red with a flec of silver in random places. Instantly the hatchling tried to hide under the pieces of egg. Shortly though he was buried in the snouts of his loving parents. The three other hatchlings soon had the little red male covered as they began playing. Before I saw it coming both Blithesome and Dashing had their heads on my shoulders rubbing their snouts into my neck.

"He just needed your help." Blithesome said almost crying.

"We made four of the most perfect things on earth. Thank you for making it more than three."

They moved their attention back to their children. They were the perfect picture of a family, straight out of a fairy tail. I started punching a hole into the cave near their alcove. They deserved a cave to raise their babies. Soon Coruscant and even Xander heard the news and helped with the cave. Xander blew fire on the rock then Coruscant froze it, making the stone brittle. Once it was brittle I punched it making larger chunks fall. Xander took multiple breaks saying he needed time to recharge, but each time he just went and played with the baby dragons. I think after hearing Blithesome and Dashing brag and love on them so much he was understanding that they weren't pets. We worked until nightfall, the cave was getting bigger but most certainly wasn't big enough yet.

"Okay you SIX." I made sure to essentuate that they were a family of six now. once again Dashing puffed out his chest with pride of his family.

"I will be back to finish your home later. I have testing tomorrow, stay away from the DDP, I am not sure if they will be interested in your hatchlings or not.". Blithesome growled at the mere thought of that. I had never seen her upset.

"Don't worry I will never let anything happen to any of you." I said then ran off.

THE NEXT MORNING

"Daisy, why in dragon's name did you wake me up so early. Where are we even going?" Xander whined.

"Trust me Xander you. will. love. this." Daisy said trying to put emphasis on each word. "This is the only good part of the DDP showing up." Daisy continued to drag Xander by his wrist until they reached the driveway. Daisy had gone completely camouflage before even letting go of Xander's wrist. Suddenly her neon blue eyes opened, making Xander flinch.

"If that made you flinch, imagine the human scientists."

Xander finally realized what they were there for.

"Are we really going to terrify the scientists?" Xander asked excitedly.

"You bet. It's a bit of Karma for all the tests. A few people are used to our greetings, but the majority still get scared of the dragons that they can't tie down." Daisy explained.

"Tie down?" Xander asked.

"Not everyone sees dragons as more than animals. That's what Sissy said." Daisy held his hand and waited for the trucks to come.

Soon Paul and myself were there as well. We needed to check if any of the agents had that tattoo proving they were hunters. Cortelco and Coruscant decided to be the ones blocking the road today. Valorous decided to stay close to yesterday's hatchlings. From each van we heard different screams as Xander and Daisy terrorized the DDP agents. I had Wisp and Nymph crawl into the back seats and examine the agents sitting in the back seat. We searched eighteen vans and luckily had found no visible hunters.

"What if it is something you get when you have a successful hunt?" I whispered to Paul, "We have day old hatchlings, and there are too many new smells to differentiate one specific person." I spoke still whispering.

"You have both dragons and humans here to keep everyone safe. We have had a lot of these people here multiple times. Don't worry too much today. Just deal with how stubborn the boy is." Paul said, then pointed to Xander who was already making a fuss.

I walked over to where he was.

"We are only trying to examine our mouth it won't take long we promise." said one agent. Another used a tool tray as a shield.

I walked up to the boy. "Listen I know none of this is fun the first time is the worst. Since you blow fire, they are trying to figure out why your mouth doesn't get charred." I said out loud.

Then telepathically I added, "and if you don't behave I will tell everyone your real name...Herbert."

After he heard that last part he quickly sat in the chair and opened his mouth. Now the agents could get work done.

Two hours past and I could hear the agents frantic voices again.

"Xander remember what I told you." I said like a threat.

"Th-This is different. they want me to strip down to nothing and examine... things." he said nervously with scared eyes and a blushing face.

"Kid this is just a normal physical. You should have had one of those as a human too." I said as I put my hand on my forehead. "You know the turn left and cough. It is nothing to be nervous about." I explained.

"They have a bunch of tools though." He shuddered.

I checked the different tubes and tools that they had prepared. I started throwing the ones I knew were unnecessary.

"If you want to see his colon do a CT, no need for anything exploratory, same goes for the ureter tube, just make him pee in a cup." I said this, then looked at all of the DDP agents who were in shock. I know bringing a CT and MRI machine here is expensive, but that is your problem."

I walked back over to Xander, "There ya go now it is a regular physical, sept no gown, sorry they have to check all of your scales. They are probably going to put heart EKG stickers and wires on your body, then a bunch of wires on your head, but that will be all. just call me if something else is a problem." I nodded to reassure him. As I turned around I glared at all of the present scientists and walked away.

I walked toward Daisy who was flying in place while holding weights. Her wing strength was being tested. They had run out of tests for me, so I was done with these tests. Instead of giving any insight of life to the DDP workers I just guarded Daisy and Xander. Soon Xander walked out of the privacy tent and was on to the endurance tests.

"All right this is where all of that cardio we have been working on is tested." I teased as Xander got on the treadmill.

I went back to Daisy who had her wings drooped and was wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Hey sweety getting tired?" I asked her.

"My wings are noodles now." she said a bit exaggerated, "I can fly with twenty-five pounds on each wing." Daisy said in a huff.

"Holy cow that is a lot." I said genuinely impressed. This kid could carry her own bodyweight while flying. I suppose she isn't as frail as I treat her. She had to leave for another test before I could explain how awesome she was.

All of the tests had finally ended by 3:00pm. Once everybody left I ran to where Blithesome and her family were. They were curled up in a smile with all of the babies asleep in the middle. The one red dragon surrounded by his sisters. Valorous was still diligently on guard protecting the family. I decided it best to let them rest and work on the cave tomorrow. I sat down and stroked Valorous for some time before I took the short walk to my cave. Wisp, Nymph, Clementine, and one of Reticent's hatchlings were already curled up asleep.

"No you don't I said as I picked up the dog sized hatchling from my cave floor. Your mother already dislikes me there is no way that I want to be accused of kidnapping. I carried the orange dragon all the way to Reticent's and Rose's cave, where they were looking frantically.

"Looking for this?" I said as I put the hatchling on the ground so he could greet his parents. Rose, immediately ran to the hatchling and nuzzled him, wrapping him in her wings. She then glared at me. I knew she would assume I took him.

"I had nothing to do with this" I said with my hands raised. I went to my cave to fall asleep and he was in there, already asleep. I brought him here as soon as I found him." I explained frantically, I knew I would win in a fight if push comes to shove, but Rose still scared me a bit.

Reticent gave me a head bow as a thank you.

"You know he is really brave for a male. Blithesome's male is just as shy as you were." I said. Instantly both dragon snapped their heads towards me.

"Blithesome has hatchlings?" Rose said shocked.

"and they are healthy?" Reticent asked.

"Yes didn't you know this? She has four: three females and one male. I did have to help the male hatch, but he is totally healthy." I explained.

"She didn't tell you?" Rose asked Reticent.

"No." Reticent said looking sad. The two had always been close, so this was a blow to him.

"Don't take it too hard little one." I said as I stroked Reticents face." Dashing probably doesn't want any males near his babies yet. He is very proud of them already. He is just more easy going than Rose was."

I couldn't lift his mood. His best friend and big sister didn't tell him something very important.

I walked back to my cave and was saddened even by the tone of Reticent's voice. I tossed and turned all night, but I knew that I would have to talk to Blithesome when the sun rose.