Book IV: Avi Dragon

Tough Love

Angel stared at the little stick. It flashed a plus sign almost immediately. She'd never seen it come up so fast!
   Anxiety riled up her stomach acid so much that she had to fight to keep her breakfast down. It was one thing to quietly take a test in the comfort of one's home, and then call their partner with the news. It was another thing entirely to have one's in-laws waiting on the verdict with one's partner. She felt like an actress in a play, waiting in the wings for her curtain call.
   Her breath hissed through her teeth in shallow pants. Her stomach felt empty, and on fire, at the same time. She didn't know how to go out there and tell everyone the news. A wave of emotions too big to name swept her up, and out of the house. The door slammed behind her, but she barely heard it. Her feet flew across the grass, unprotected against the rocks and twigs.
   The pain registered at some point. She launched into the air, but there wasn't a tree to perch in. She swung back toward the house to land on the roof. It was uncomfortably warm, but she didn't care. She leaned against the chimney and wept, though she didn't know why.
   When her tears had run dry, she just sat, not thinking about anything. She'd cried herself numb, and now she didn't know what to do.
   :You ready to come down and talk?: 
   Angel heaved a sigh, and stood, leaned against the chimney for a moment. :Yes ma'am.:
   She walked to the edge, wings fanned out, and simply stepped off. She'd intended to float down, the same as she'd done before, but her husband had other ideas. He caught her before her feet could touch the ground.
   "You could've at least put on shoes," he chided.
   Her head drooped against his chest, knees over his arm. "I'm sorry, I just... didn't think."
   "Obviously."
   Angel cringed at the tone in Mike's voice. Avi's hands tightened on her legs and back, in silent support. He knew what this pregnancy meant to her, even if his parents didn't.
   So they had to explain everything. Side by side on the couch, they felt like recalcitrant children. She'd been dreading the day his parents found out what happened to her other children, and it was every bit as difficult as she feared. She could face a horde of demons with nary a qualm, but telling her in-laws what Gabriel knew when he Chose her? There were many tears shed, on both sides. There was anger, which she'd feared; but it was on her behalf, which was a surprise.
   "Well!" Shelly sniffed. "That won't be a problem, this time!" She patted her daughter-in-law's knee. "Just let them try to take my grandchildren away; see how that goes!"
   Angel wiped tears from her eyes, a smile trying to be born. "I knew I liked you," she sniffled.
   Shelly pulled her into an awkward diagonal hug, across her son's legs. "I think I like this you, too."
   Angel looked between mother and son. "Did... did you not like me as a dragon? I've heard awful things about her--me..."
   Shelly snorted. "She thought emotions were irrelevant."
   Angel's jaw sagged. She tried to say the last word, but it just wouldn't compute. That, in itself, raised Shelly's opinion of her.
   "Speaking of dragons..." Avi hated to bring it up, but it was important. "I'm guessing you won't be able to Shift?"
   The women looked to each other for answers, and found none.
   "Does that mean... Do I need to learn how?"
   The dragonesses exchanged another unhelpful Look.
   "I don't suppose it would hurt, this early, to teach you. If you don't catch on pretty quick, though... It's probably not a good idea for me to Shift beyond... what, a week? A month?"
   "Why do you need to Shift?" Shelly asked.
   "Because he can Feel what I'm doing." Angel thought it was obvious.
   Nobody liked her logic, but he'd been trying to Shift for months, with no success. They no longer had the luxury of waiting for him to get it on his own.
   "Forgive me for asking," Mike said into the silence, "But why can't you Shift past a certain time? Will it hurt the baby?"
   As always, it was Angel who answered the difficult question. "Only if you don't mind having more dragon grandchildren. In the early stages, all fetuses look alike. As they develop, they start to take on more distinct characteristics." She paused and looked at her hands. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to know that I won't have to try and lay a dragon egg as a human."
   Shelly's knees, and those of the men, subtly pressed closer together at the thought.
   "That's if I don't get stuck in dragon form, of course."
   Avi shot to his feet. "Then we'd best get started."
   "Now?" three voices asked in unison.
   "We can't afford to wait, can we?" he asked.
   No one could deny it, so the women got to their feet and followed him outside. Shelly carried her granddaughter. Mike was slower to join them. He wasn't looking forward to seeing his son stretched into unnatural shapes (like her arm had been in the hospital room), or the bizarre flesh-colored wings.
   "What do you think we should do first, the arms or the tail?" Angel was asking. He almost turned around and went back inside, but his son needed his support. He didn't want him to think that he wouldn't love him as a dragon, like his wife thought for years.
   "If you do the tail before the legs, it'll hit the ground."
   "I can see how that might happen. Oh! Maybe the wings? They're pretty easy."
   They were far too calm for his liking, but they'd Shifted before.
   The younger woman tried explaining to his son, but he didn't understand how he was supposed to pull his own shoulderblades apart. He hugged his torso, but the instinct just wasn't there yet.
   And so this angel-dragon of his asked if he trusted her. When he said yes, she took a shoulder in each hand and... The sound his bones made when she pulled them out of their natural alignment was too much. Mike beat a hasty retreat indoors.