Hello, everyone! Sorry that the first chapter is so short! I decided to keep it short for several reasons. If you read me and my sister's profile, you'll see we post your username in our next chapter for reviewing the previous chapter! I hope you enjoy this story!

XOXO,

Amadea (Rachel)

Pickles In A Barrel

"Why is it so hot out? I'm sweaty! My pickles are going to go bad! Why can't your stupid dragon have a top attatched to it when it transforms, and some air conditioning to go with it as well? Huh, Rowan?" A young and petite girl with blue hair groaned as beads of sweat fell off of her forehead. She wore a light blue kimono, her hair up in pig-tails, with yellow bows holding them up into place.

"Listen, you little brat, if you complain one more time, I'm pretty sure Artemis is going to come after you with her sword." A half-demon youkai with red hair spoke, twitching in annoyance. She, too, also wore a kimono, but its fabric was purple, with a floral print on it. Her red hair was tied up in a high pony tail, and she wore matching sandals with the blue-haired girl.

"I honestly will..." The brunette in the passenger's seat spoke, taking her anger out by squeezing the handle of her fan until her knuckles turned white as her priestess robes. Her green eyes were switching to an assertive shade of crimson when she heard the young girl continue to whine.

"One more complaint, Mina, and I'll shoot a barrel in your pickle keg, kick it out of the car, and then I'll let Rowan's dragon, Ryuki, take care of this problem, and she won't be a happy dragon, either." Hearing the jeep let out a little growl, Mina sighed and sat back down, clutching onto her stomach... "So hungry... I need food..."

"Then, grab a damn pickle, and shut the hell up." The half-demon spoke again, running her fingers through her hair, taking a drag of her cigarette.

"What crawled up your ass today, Annetta?" Mina snapped at the half-demon.

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" The priestess took out her fan, turning around and promply smacked them over the head, spraying them with blessed water. "Stop cursing, it's such vulgar behavior!"

"...Oh, shit!" Screamed, Mina, pretending as if she was afraid of the priestess up front. Annetta let out a sigh, giving up with the quarreling. Today just wasn't the day to argue. The heat was bad enough from the glaring sun above.

Mid-Day, after a much needed rest in a rare spot of shade, the four girls continued on with their journey. "Rowan, why in the hell do you always drive so fast?" Mina said, poking her head up next to the blonde's.

"Stop with the cussing." Artemis warned, her patience diminishing with the young girl with each passing second.

"Sorry, Artemis... But why is it you drive so fast?"

"Well, Mina... Here's a question for you. Would you drive slow if it was over a hundred degrees outside, or would you drive as fast as you can to get to the next town?"

"I would drive as fast... as... Oh..." Realization hit Mina, causing her to blush profusely.

"There you go. Problem solved." Rowan let out a laugh.

"How did you find Ryuki?" Mina changed topics. Rowan's face hardened, only Artemis noticed briefly, until Rowan smiled softly. "Well, you see, little dragons, such as Ryuki are hard to find, especially ones that shapeshift in this world. I found Ryuki in the woods, about two years ba- WOAH!" Hitting a bump, the girls nearly went flying.

"OH, SHIT!" Annetta screamed, earning a hard wack from Artemis' fan.

"ENOUGH WITH THE SWEARING!"

"She said, "Oh, shit,", Artemis, because, Rowan's careless driving is going to cause us to crash into someone, or into another huge bump in the road."

"She's a prefectly good dri-" No sooner was Artemis about to finish when Rowan turned the corner, letting out a scream, taking the steering wheel to swerve the passengers resting in a green jeep. "Ryuki, transform!" Rowan yelled, hearing the pink jeep let out a squeal as it turned back into a little, pink, dragon. Sending the driver and passengers out into different directions and the barrel flying, a cloud of dust was sent everywhere, blinding the group.

"Ryuki!" Rowan said, stumbling upwards, hearing her dragon let out a squeal, she felt the nuzzle of her dragon's scaly skin. "Artemis? Mina? Annetta? Damn, I'm lucky that my piercings didn't get ripped out..." Rubbing her sore neck, she heard a blood-curdling scream. "Mina! Mina!" Running over to a boulder, Rowan saw Mina crying, curled up into a little ball on the ground.