The Baby Dragon Shifter

Chapter 1 ALONE

Looking back on the early years of my childhood, I realize I should have died before my third birthday. A human infant would have, but I have always been far more than human. Or less, some would say. I beg to differ. Since birth, or so I assume, I could take a second form. The agony of the Change was quite familiar even during my earliest memory.

The bungalow where my guardian, David, and I lived outlined the limits of my world. Each room was a different country where I ruled. All but one. The bathroom was my watering hole. My bedroom was my den. The kitchen, my hunting grounds. Only David's bedroom was off limits.

I had just reached the two year mark when I was first left home alone for two days. David had never been the most vigilant caretaker but, up until that point, he'd never been absent for more than a few hours at a time. There had been days when he forgot to feed me, but it was easy enough to remind him. Now, I was alone and there was no one to remind.

My stomach growled. I wanted to cry and throw a fit, but there was no point. David was missing and had been since the morning before last night's sleep. I stood in the kitchen on wobbly legs, staring at the fridge. Big, white, and loudly humming, it loomed over me. Another rumble of sound came from my midsection.

Though small for my age, my metabolism was twice as fast as other children's. I ate a lot. I had no basis for comparison, but David had said so. What he didn't say was that I was smart for my age, too. I could talk in full sentences though I rarely chose to, and I could operate the television. The latter had helped teach me the former, but most things I learned by watching David. Things like the proper use of a toilet, how to dress, and how to get water from the tap. I like to think I'd have been just as smart if I were human, a naturally gifted mind, but I don't truly believe it.

Against the linoleum tiles, my chubby little feet were cold, but I didn't move. I couldn't. Though it would be easy to walk up to the fridge or the cupboards, open them, and take something, David had forbidden it. My brain rebelled against disobedience. The first time I'd gotten into the fridge, I'd made a mess. "Goddamn it, Sasha," David had said to me upon arriving home. "You're not allowed to get your own food. Now I'm going to have to clean this shit up! Fucking kid..." I hadn't been able to understand every word, but the gist was clear; I was not to get my own food.

My reluctance could be laid at the feet of my instincts, the urge to obey David, my leader. Currently however, this instinct was at war with another: survival. Survival won. It always does. I wobbled forward and groped the door handle. That was when it happened.

I fell back, pain rippling though me in a wave. I started to cry because I knew it was only going to get worse. When the Change finished, I wiggled my head out of a too small t-shirt. I stood on four legs and stretched. My long, ivory talons clicked on the floor. As painful as the Change was, the aftereffects were equally as glorious. As a child, I was very vain when it came to my second form. I loved the way my mane fell over my long, flexible neck; the way my dark red scales were decorated with silver half moons at the tips. I flapped my translucent wings, feeling them catch the air on the down stroke. I couldn't fly yet, but I wanted to. My ears, shaped like jagged sails, rotated forward like a dog on point to better hear the sounds of the fridge. I made a very pretty dragon.

No longer a clumsy human child, I moved forward, lazily letting the ends of my wings drag on the floor. I sat back on my hind legs, using my tail for balance like a kangaroo, and pawed at the fridge door handle. My nails left white scratches. I hoped David wouldn't notice. Finally, I got it open, the sound of the seal breaking making me giggle. The sound emerged as high pitched squeaks that would deepen to throaty rumbles with time. Cold, dead air billowed out. I reached for the box of left-over pizza, but paused over some sausages. I sniffed and flicked my forked tongue. They looked much more appetizing than cold pizza. So what if they were still pink? I bit the package, my razor-sharp baby teeth popping through the plastic and Styrofoam, and dragged it onto the floor. I raked my talons over the plastic covering, tearing it the rest of the way off.

When I finished with all six sausages, I ate the pizza too. I was right - the sausages had been much better. With my belly comfortably full and my eyelids drooping, I wandered off to nap. My bedroom however, was closed. I wined and tried to open it, but the round brass handle required opposable thumbs to turn. Disgruntled, I loped into the bathroom and scrambled up onto the toilet seat. I managed to only dunk one scaly foot before stabilizing. Then I put my forepaws up onto the counter and nudged the tap with my nose. I took three long droughts from the stream and then nudged the tap again, turning it off - David had explicitly explained the concept of 'wasting water'.

Later, after I'd finally decided David was not going to return anytime soon and open my door for me, I curled up in the living room, resigning myself to a night on the sofa.

Early in the morning, I woke to the rumble of David's approach and sat up, chilled. I'd Changed back while sleeping and my bare skin was covered in goosebumps. Needing to pee, I scuttled off to the bathroom. As little kids do, I left the door open. Unlike little kids. It was a habit I never grew out of. I simply never learned why one had to hide to perform natural bodily functions.

The lock clicked over and the front door opened. Keys jangled, accompanying the sound of the door closing again. David's footsteps moved toward the kitchen as I flushed the toilet. They stopped abruptly and I knew he'd seen the scratches on the fridge door. Or maybe it was the empty sausage package. I realized belatedly that I should have hidden it.

I ran into my bedroom, my small fingers finding no difficulty with the knob. The room had a single bed, a dresser with a mirror, and a closet. I used the closet to hide my special things; a fall leaf I'd found caught on David's coat; the pacifier I'd used as a baby; some coins. Items I thought were valuable. The coins I liked best because they were so shiny.

I dove under my blue comforter and hoped he wouldn't be too mad.

From the kitchen I heard David mumbling angrily. Cupboards opened and closed and plastic crinkled. Liquid gurgled down the drain and the tap came on. When the pshhh of running water stopped David barked, "Sasha, get out here."

Shamefaced for having disobeyed my leader, I crawled out of bed and wobbled into the living room. David frowned at me across the kitchen table. He was no more than five foot nine, maybe five ten, but to me he would always be a giant with big hands and big feet and big arms. He towered over me, looking down with dark eyes and dark, black hair slicked back with stinky gel.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself."

There was only one answer to that. "Sorry," I said softly, hanging my head.

"You left the fridge open all night," he growled, bracing his hands on the table. "The milk spoiled and the cheese is probably covered in mold."

I brought my head up. "We don't have any cheese."

He slammed one hand down on the table. It quaked under the blow. "No one likes a smart ass. You are just...ugh! How can you be so stupid? How hard is it to close the fridge? You know what? Just get out of here." He threw his arms up in the air, half turning away. "Why am I even doing this to myself? Goddamn stupid kid," he muttered, and fished his cell phone out of his messenger bag.

I wavered but stayed where I was. "David?"

He didn't look at me. "I told you to get lost."

"Gone," I said. Then, remembering that David hated it when I didn't used full sentences, said, "You was gone out."

He looked at me, not like a person, but like an annoying puppy demanding his attention. "Go," he said, a hint of growl colouring his voice.

"You go out soon two time?" I asked even as my feet started to back up.

David moved around the table and grabbed my wrist, tugging me toward my room.

"Sorry, David! Sorry, I go now." I tried to tug my arm free but he wrenched it harder in response. My feet tangled and I fought to get them back under me as he pulled. It was useless. He dumped me in a heap just inside my bedroom door.

"And what did I tell you? Put on some clothes. You're not an animal." He stomped away. "And don't come out until I tell you!"

I stood up, my shoulder aching, and went over to my dresser. I didn't really see the point of clothes, but David liked them. Most of the clothes were too small, but I had two outfits he'd brought home recently. They were too big, but that was preferable. I couldn't seem to get my pants on and decided a shirt would have to do. It came down to my knees and would have preserved my modesty if I'd ever had any.