The Dragon's Daughter

Chapter 1

Kendy was standing in the small room which she had decorated and furnished specifically with the vision of her doing her glass-blasting artworks in. The room was sparsely furnished with only the most necessary cupboards and a single, small table. It was at this table and the decoration it held, that she was staring at in displeasure. With a sigh she turned around when she heard her cellphone ringing in her bedroom. She will let the problem of her newest creation lay for now. 

Walking out the door, into the rest of her little home. She felt pride and joy surround her as she looked at what she had created. When she had moved out to this small beach house away from her parent's place, her decision had been met with disapproval, so too was her decision to study marine biology instead of the artistic degree her mother had planned for her. But truth was, she was happy. 

Yes, she rarely saw other human beings, but she enjoyed the company of the animals and the sea, and both were things she couldn't really enjoy when home. Animals in general, disliked most shifters. Dogs where scared of wolves, cats tent to hate dragons and to top it off, any sea animal fled as soon as the shifters stepped into water. 

Having learned how to harvest and use her powers for healing and growth, word in the animal kingdom must have spread. These days she rarely had time for creating her art pieces out of glass without being disturbed by some animal or another showing up for tending. Just earlier the morning a dolphin had come requesting help with an injured fin and was now currently resting in the lagoon in front of her little place. 

Seeing her mum's name flashing on the screen, Kendy gave an internal sigh. She loved her mum truly and deeply; she just wish the woman would worry less about her. Pressing the phone to her ear, she started talking while simultaneously leaving the house to go check on her dolphin friend which had been making strange chirping noises to draw her attention. 

Her mum had been nagging on her to go over for a family do in two weeks’ time, something Kendy wasn't sure she wanted to attend. But on the other hand it was her father's birthday and he really loved having his "baby girl" as he liked to call her, there. Listening only with half an ear as her mum tried to guilt trip her into the visit, when she suddenly saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

“Yea, listen mum, I'll be there okay? Just stop nagging. Now please I've got to go. Emergency this side. I'll phone you later okay?!" Pressing the red cancel button she rushed to where the dolphin's clicking sound that had alerted her to the problem in the first place.

On the sand, just inside the waves still licking on the beach laid, what looked like a human. But as she looked over the undressed body, she had to swallow a lung full of air as she realized that it was no mere human laying there.

Resting her hand on the woman’s neck, she swallowed silently and gladly when she felt a pulse. Turning to the dolphin, she spoke to it before continuing. “Thanks Boy! You might just have saved her live! I’ll be back a little later you hear? Let me get her to a bed first.”

Concentrating, she lifted the girl with the help of some of her powers before moving back to the house, the silent body floating in front of her in the purple colored air.

As soon as she had the girl in her little house, she realized her next problem. She only had one, small single bed in the house. Living alone, with Rudi her only frequent visitor, she had learned to cope without the usual luxuries. Her brother usually just camped on her sofa or even inside his car if he felt like it when visiting.

O well, she can use the bed, and I’ll just camp on my sofa instead.

Turning her attention to getting the girl better, she felt uncertainty fill her. When she had first noticed the girl, she could have sworn there was scales on her feet and legs with gills next to her neck, but now she looked entirely human with nothing to differentiate her from other girls.

Working with a siren-shifter was entire new for her, and for the first time she actually wished that Aria were there. Even though she could talk a dead person into the living from her never-ending stream of words, driving Kendy up the walls sometimes, Aria’s knowledge of shifters and their treatment was unbeatable. With a sigh, Kendy decided to use her knowledge of marine animals and to combine it with the first aid her mother had been so adamant she should learn about.

Once she had tended the girls injuries, she covered her in a nice warm blanket to ward of any chill, hoping the girl’s body would be able to handle a bit of heat as she was icy cold to the touch. She didn’t feel comfortable bathing her. When she felt she had done all she could, she went to the kitchen to cook the two of them something to eat. From the looks of her, the girl was as thin as can be, and needed some feeding.

In the kitchen, a lazy grey-blue cat stretched herself when Kendy entered, throwing her a reproachful look before sauntering of. “Hey! If you stay I’ll give you something to eat. I just had to take care of that girl first!”

However a swish of the tail was her only answer as a voice filtered into her mind. “I’ll go catch some tadpoles or something. It seems you’ll be busy for a while.” At the same moment that the cat’s voice faded another, louder sound willed the air. Sounds of wings thundering through the air. What the hell?!

Walking out, Kendy saw her dad land on the sandy beach with her mum jumping down with the ground shimmering around her as she rushed towards her daughter.

“What the hell, Mum? Dad? Why are you here?!”

“You said you had an emergency, so we came as quickly as we could.”

“Who’s threatening you, baby-girl? What’s up? Where are they? Are you okay?”

“Hey! Just wait okay! An emergency doesn’t necessarily mean danger! Jeez, I meant I had a patient emergency, someone needing my help!”

“Why didn’t you say so then? You don’t have to cut our discussion short for a damn fish, Kendy!”

“I didn’t cut it short for a fish, mum! I...”

“She cut it short for me.” A soft, melodic voice filled the air as all three swirled to where it came from, Kendy’s front door.

Kendy automatically took a step forward as she watched her patient clutch to the door frame to keep herself up, but another, harder and stronger hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her against her father’s chest.

“Watch out, Gil, that’s a siren.”

“I know it’s a siren Dad! That’s my patient, she’s the reason I dropped the call with mum.”

“Then why didn’t you answer when I called back?! You could have just told me!”

Patting her pockets, Kendy grimaced as she realized why she hadn’t even known her parents had been on their way. “s**t, I must have left the phone on the beach when I went to help her.”

“Then, go get it!”

“Can’t, Mum. The tides come in. I’ll have to go get a new one next week when I’m in town.”

The sound of her father clearing his throat, had her look back to the girl who was swaying on her feet dangerously. “s**t, she’s going to fall!” Rushing forward, Kendy was just in time to catch the girl just as she collapsed, at the same moment that her father tried to prey her away from the young woman.

“Dad leave me alone! I want to help her!”

“You can’t trust sirens, Kendy! They are the lowest of the low in supernatural society! Let me take her back to the sea so her own type can help her!”

After ensuring the girl hadn’t hurt herself more, Kendy slowly stood up. Glaring at her parents, she put her hands on her hips before speaking. “Look, Mum, Dad, I know you’re trying to help, but right now, you’re not. This is a young girl and I will help her! Now Dad, either you can help me get her back to bed and Mum can help me cook her something to eat, or you can both just leave! Now, I’ve got a dolphin patient that needs my attention, so make up your minds and quick!”

Her tone must have had the needed effect, because the two shared a look before her father bent down to pick the young girl into her arms and heading towards the bedroom as Sheara headed for the kitchen.