Chapter 15 #3
“I fear my family would be harassing him regarding the lack of clutches in development,” I replied, bowing my head.
Tourmaline whistled and chirped, took flight, and went off to investigate the nearby flowers.
“They’d probably send him to a brothel for hands off education on how to create clutches to torment him. Yellows do not handle brothels well.”
Both dragons laughed.
Pascal rolled his shoulders. “All right, Kinsley. Today, you are getting two lessons on shapeshifting. First, you are going to learn how we transform without having to strip or destroy our clothes. Fortunately for you, both Jorge and I are masters of the art, and we can make certain your clothes are appropriately transformed with you. If you’re lucky, you’ll learn this quickly to spare your wardrobe budget.
And I know you, little hatchling. You will complain bitterly if you have to spend unnecessarily on new clothes. ”
“I had wondered how my father had just changed into his dragon form without stripping in front of the entire street,” I confessed.
“Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he had started stripping in front of the entire street just to rile my mother up.
His physique belongs to her and only her, and he enjoys her jealousy more than he probably should. ”
“Your parents are menaces,” Jorge muttered. “But yes, they know how to shift with their attire intact, and any destruction of their apparel is purely intentional, likely for the benefit of their spouse.”
Tricky parents. “What are the odds I’m going to be able to shift by myself after this session?”
The gold dragon smirked. “Far higher than your parents will appreciate, I’m sure.
If they didn’t want a bunch of old men teaching you how to grow into your scales, they would have taught you themselves.
They only have themselves to blame for this.
Pascal, why don’t you shift first and show her what it’s like in a controlled fashion?
It’ll be easier to work with her with someone else also shifting. ”
“Younglings,” Pascal complained, although his tone remained rather jovial.
“Pay attention, Kinsley. If you’re lucky, you’ll feel what I’m doing, and you’ll be able to mimic it.
And well, if you do and your clothing faces a terrible fate, I’ll go buy you something scandalous so Erik asks questions when we return to the station. ”
I grinned. “Can we do that anyway?”
“Absolutely. After the day we’re about to have, a little retail therapy will be a welcome relief.”
* * *
Monday, May 25, 2167
Death Mile
Dragon Heights, Wyoming
Unlike Enzo Acri, who was black from the tip of his snout all the way to his tail, Pascal boasted golden points, which explained a great deal about his odd relationship with Jorge.
“Are you related?” I asked while prowling around the black dragon.
While my father and mother had a more equine build to them, Pascal reminded me more of a living noodle, a rather large one with six pairs of legs, wings far larger than his narrow body required, and a maw capable of gobbling down sheep or goats in a single swallow without bothering to chew. “I have questions, Jorge.”
“We are not related. Pascal’s form is of Asian descent.
Your parents are of European descent. American dragons are closer in form to the alligator lizard, which is commonly found on the west coast. You’re familiar with European dragons, which accounts for roughly seventy percent of the dragon population.
You do have Asian and American ancestry, however—and I wouldn’t be surprised if you have traits of all three types.
” Jorge joined me, and he thumped one of Pascal’s legs. “Show her your claws.”
Unlike my parents, Pascal’s hand was more of a paw, and he displayed his pads before exposing his claws with a metallic clink. I investigated, and after touching and tapping, I determined the golden scales hid a titanium secret. “You have three colors, Pascal?”
“I do,” the black dragon confirmed in a rumble. “But I identify as a black dragon. At my heart, that is what I am, although I enjoy the benefits of my gold and titanium heritage. Titanium claws are quite adept at digging through soil.”
I bet. “Is it bad that I didn’t feel or notice anything when you shifted?”
“It’s not abnormal, especially when the hatchling in question is enthralled with the presence of other dragons. That’s a consequence of little exposure. I’m assuming your parents showed you their forms.”
“They did, but usually no more than once or twice a week.”
“Them being dragons is still magical to you, and that takes time to fade. Some never lose the wonder, which isn’t a bad thing, truth be told.” Pascal stretched out, and I estimated he was roughly fifty feet long when uncoiled.
He also boasted a few extra pairs of legs I’d missed.
I sighed at my ignorance. “I had no idea there were dragons with more than four legs.”
“Asian dragons have between six and thirty-six legs,” Pascal informed me in an amused tone.
“American dragons typically have four, but they can have six as well. European dragons are the only ones unfortunate enough to have only four. You might even have more than four, but you wouldn’t have noticed during your first shift.
Stressed hatchlings fail to comprehend many things, and you were quite stressed during your first time as a dragon.
” He swung his head around to face Jorge.
“We should make a figurine of her to taunt the Ramonses.”
The gold dragon grinned. “I’m game if you need to do some art after work.
That would be a nice challenge. All right, Kinsley.
I recommend that you put anything you don’t want damaged off to the side.
While I’ll try to help your clothes shift with you, accidents can happen.
Let’s limit the accidents to your attire. ”
I emptied my pockets into my purse, put my firearms inside, and marveled the thing managed to fit everything, including the pink beryl I carted around. In good news, I hadn’t brought the sickle with me, which I’d hid under my bed tied to one of the frame supports.
The weapon had somehow detected I wanted to keep it secret and safe, dimming its glow enough only someone looking for it might spot it in its hiding place.
“All right. I’m ready.”
Jorge came over and patted my shoulder, and the next thing I knew, I dropped several feet to the ground to land with a thump.
I protested the mistreatment of my person with a squeal.
Fortunately, I remembered how to use my legs and wings, and I spread the leathery membranes, whistling a rebuke at the gold dragon.
“Alas, it seems she takes after her parents and only has four legs, Pascal. Her conformation is unusual.”
“South American blended with European,” the black dragon reported.
“Perhaps a little Arctic and Antarctic as well, but we would have to do genetic testing to figure that out. Another time.” The black dragon reached over and bumped me with his nose.
“Take some pictures so she can get a good look at herself.”
Tourmaline flitted over, and after issuing a chain of clicks and whistles, he landed on my snout, settling in to preen.
I regretted my inability to speak English, and I whistled a demand at the dragons.
Pascal laughed at me. “Learning to speak will come with time. You’ll need to transform and practice.
It took me a few years of work to be able to speak coherently.
Generally, people understand growling dragons are unhappy dragons and purring dragons are happy dragons.
Whistles are good for making demands or asking questions, as you’ve already discovered.
Let’s see you walk around a little, and then we can start digging and you can get used to moving and using your body better.
After we’ve retrieved the casket, we’ll shift back, go over your photos, and then deal with what’s in the casket. ”
As a plan beat no plan, I bobbed my head.
Tourmaline took flight and resumed investigating the flowers around the cemetery.
After Jorge took numerous pictures with his phone, he guided us to the appropriate plot, which had four yellow flags marking the corners.
“This should expose the entirety of the casket if you dig to here. Since there’s no other plots in use next to him, it’s no problem if you make the hole larger than the markers, but you might damage the casket if you make it any smaller and you aren’t careful. ”
“We’ll be careful to avoid damaging the casket,” Pascal promised. “How do you want us to handle the grass?”
“Reseeding isn’t an issue, and it will give me something to do. The grounds are in good condition, so I could use a new project. Just worry about not damaging the casket, and that’ll be fine. Once you reveal it, I’ll bring out some ties so you can haul it out without damaging it further.”
“Probability it’s crushed from the burial weight?” Pascal asked.
“High. The vault would have unraveled when the corpse was finished gassing out, and once the vault unravels, the full weight of the soil would have begun compressing against the casket. It’s a nice casket, but we bury them ten feet deep, and that weighs a lot.”
“That’s deeper than normal,” the black dragon commented.
“We prefer that the residents of our cemetery remain in our cemetery, and we are in Death Mile, after all. It’s a concern.”
I regarded Jorge with wide eyes, and to make it clear I wanted nothing to do with corporeal corpses getting up and moving of their own accord, I whined.
“It hasn’t happened in hundreds upon hundreds of years, and that was during an era of necromancy in North America. We just can’t be too careful about these things. But don’t fear; the restless dead stands no chance against me nor against Pascal, so hide behind us. You’ll be just fine.”