Disclaimer : We (Lashana and Telca) own only ourselves, Mischief and Korin. The dragons are based on statues from Windstone Editions, the names of Kalamadea and Akhor belong to Mercedes Lackey and Elizabeth Kerner respectively, and none of the Harem Guys belong to us. (That's kinda depressing....) Anywho, read and enjoy!

03/27/02 Learning experiences

It had been just over two weeks since Kalamadea, Korin and Akhor had hatched, and I think I went through two bottles of Tylenol. It wasn't that they were annoying, not at all, it's that they were the most curious things I had ever had the misfortune of knowing! They got into everything! The cookie jars, the cupboards, the toilets... I think I developed a twitch just trying to keep tabs on them.

What complicated things a little was that they had doubled in size over the last two weeks. Which meant that their wings were now large enough to sustain their weight in flight. Oh how I wished that egg had held only held one dragon.....

"Korin! Don't you dare! Ack!" I launched myself forward and caught him as he jumped off the top of the entertainment centre in the Living room, barely able to take a breath before I saw Kalamadea perched on the edge of the light fixture near the doorway. "No!"

Still holding Korin, I flung myself towards the doorway and yelped when I didn't manage to clear the couch. I slammed my knees into it and gasped when my weight and momentum upended it, sending me crashing to the floor. I lay there for a moment, my arms stretched out in front of me, fingers still firmly curled around a wriggling Korin. Kalamadea landed on my head seconds later, sending my forehead down to meet the floor with a sickening thud. "Owww....."

::Elfy?::

I groaned. "Yes, Kalamadea?"

::Elfy hurt?::

"Elfy has headache now," I muttered, grimacing when shades of orange and red flashed in front of my minds eye. The dragons had steadily been expanding their vocabulary as they grew, and I had found that over the past two weeks, each of their mental 'voices' had gained distinctive tones, helping me tell them apart from each other. I had also been learning that the flashes of colour that I got from them usually gave away their emotional state. "I'm alright, Kalamadea. Just...get off my head."

This had been the traditional day for the past week. I would run around trying to keep them from killing themselves, and get bruised, scratched and bitten by Telca's cat in the process. As it was, I had already wasted more than half the day. I needed a vacation, and I needed it badly.

I had just managed to haul myself up into something that resembled a sitting position when Mischief arrived on the scene. Telca's cat, it seemed, thought that my dragons were play toys, and regularly chased them around the Palace. Once I had caught it with just the tip of Akhor's tail sticking out of it's mouth. I think the Gods themselves heard my scream that day.

But my dragons didn't have to be taught twice. The moment Mischief padded into the room, they scrambled over to me and climbed up my shirt to perch on my shoulders, hissing at the cat in warning. Not that it did any good. If I was that cat, I wouldn't have been too afraid of something that was less than half my own size either.

Spurred onwards by the fear that the cat would jump at one of my dragons, I hauled myself to my feet and glared down at her. "Not today, fuzzball."

~Lashana?~

The rather soothing voice intruded on my thoughts, and I blinked as I glanced around for a minute. "I'm in the living room, 'Two." I knew the pokemon could hear me speak out loud, even if he wasn't in the room. He had tried to explain that to me once, but I had been too decaffeinated to care.

Blue light flashed from behind me, and I felt my two dragons tighten their grips on my hair as I turned to look at the resident pokemon that had just teleported into the room. "What's up?"

He stared at the upended couch and frowned. ~What happened?~

"These two," I gestured to Korin and Kalamadea, "were trying to fly."

~Jumped off the light fixture again, hmm?~ he chuckled, eyeing the two on my shoulders. ~Damned if I know how they get up there in the first place.~

"Tell me about it," I sighed, a smile spreading over my lips as Kalamadea rubbed his head against my cheek. I'm turning soft.... Sharp stabbing pain in my right leg yanked me out of my thoughts, and I growled as I stared down at Mischief as the cat tried to climb up my leg. "Get. Off." I don't know how I did it, but she hopped down, gave me a disgusted look, and promptly strolled out of the room.

~It's freaky now much she's like Telca,~ Mewtwo commented as he walked over to me, using a bit of his psychic powers to right the couch. ~Anyway, have you seen Akhor?~

I immediately went into panic mode. "Oh shit." Closing my eyes, I reached for the link I had with my dragons, frowning in concentration as I followed the third thread of draconic thought... "Oh dear lords!"

~What?~ Mewtwo called as I shoved Kalamadea and Korin into his arms and promptly bolted from the room. I was dimly aware of him running after me as I barreled my way through the Palace.

"Out of the way!" I followed my warning up with a few well-aimed Diem Wind spells, literally blowing Harem Members out of my way as I raced out onto the Deck and looked up. There, perched on the edge of the roof, was Akhor. He looked down at me, gave me a draconic grin, then spread his wings and jumped.

I reacted without thinking.

As the white form tried vainly to get his wings to hold his weight, I took a running start and threw myself off the deck. Akhor slammed into my outstretched arms seconds later, and I hugged him to my chest as I twisted in midair, shielding him with my body as I crashed into the ground.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Lashana? Lashana!~

The voice tugged at my consciousness, pulling me out of a warm comfortable darkness back into a plane of wakefulness that brought about aches and pains that I didn't even know my body could have. I groaned and forced my eyes open, grimacing at the bright sunlight before something moved to block the unholy light. "Ow."

::Elfy!:: The cry was accompanied by three separate weights that settled on my shoulders, small scaled bodies curling up as close to me as they could get. ::Elfy okay!::

"You really are insane." I glanced to the side and saw a frazzled looking Kang kneeling next to me. I didn't know draconians could go so pale.

"Thanks," I croaked, closing my eyes and grimacing as I weakly tried to shove myself up into a sitting position, feeling the dragons cling to my hair and shirt. Hands cradled my shoulders and supported me as I was gently raised upwards, and I grasped at the warm feathered wings that curled around me when a wave of dizziness hit me.

~Hold still.~ Oh yeah. As if I was going to leap to my feet and start a triathlon. I felt fingers on my temples and sighed gratefully as the dizziness and pain were washed away, leaving me dazed, but otherwise okay.

Now that I wasn't going to throw up because of said dizziness, I opened my eyes and blinked up into worried pale green eyes. "Hi."

Malcho hissed. "You really are insane, chica." Ooo. I think I really did it this time.

"That's been said that already."

"We're making sure you heard us," Kang growled, glaring at me angrily.

"I heard. I'm also thinking of a way to keep this little incident from reaching Black," I said as I held a hand out to Mewtwo. "Help?"

He sighed but grasped my hand and carefully pulled me to my feet, supporting me when I staggered. ~Are you alright?~

"I'll get back to you on that," I muttered as I carefully removed all the dragons from my shoulders and held them in my arms, glaring down at them. "Listen up. No more death leaps off the roof. Actually, no more jumping off of anything higher than the back of the couch, comprende?? You're going to get yourselves killed! Either that or you're going to give me a heart attack!" The trio had the good graces to look ashamed as they all gazed up at me with big sorrow-filled eyes. Damn that puppy-dog look! I sighed in defeat and hugged them all, letting them wriggle out of my hold to cling to my shirt and hair.

"Are you certain that you're alright, mi amiga?"

I sighed again and looked over at Malcho. "No. Not really. I think I'm gonna go lie down....or pass out. Whichever happens first."

I was dimly aware of the three Guys exchanging worried looks with each other as I turned and trudged my way up the deck stairs. This taking care of three dragons thing was going to be the end of me. I loved them dearly, but I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in two weeks thanks to their demanding late-night hunger pangs, or the sudden unpredictable bursts of energy which would turn them into Tiny Terrors of Hyper Destruction. Add to that the fact that I was running myself raw trying to keep them from accidentally killing or hurting themselves, and I was one exhausted Elf.

A tiny scaled head nudged my cheek ::Elfy?::

"Yea Korin?"

::Okay?::

"Yea. M'just tired." I headed upstairs and located one of the free TV rooms in my wing of the Palace, sighing heavily as I let myself sink into the old worn-out couch. It was one of those couches where if you sat down, you swore you'd never be able to get back up. That suited me just fine : I didn't want to get back up. Hell, I didn't even want to move.

Kalamadea quickly relocated himself onto the arm of the couch as I lay down on my stomach, groaning softly. ::Elfy sleep now.::

I blinked at his stern commanding tone and lifted my head to look at him, meeting his light blue gaze. "Huh?"

::You sleep. We watch over you.:: Yeah okay. Like I was going to pass up sleep. Ha. I smiled at him and reached out to rub at a spot between his horns before lowering my hand and pulling a pillow under my head. The sensation of Akhor and Korin curling up on my back was the last thing that registered before I let the lure of an exhausted sleep take hold.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

::....hungry....::

No.... not now.... I moaned and pulled a cushion over my head, trying to go back to sleep. Lemme 'lone. Sleepin'.

::Hungry.::

I'm not listening! Lalalala!!!

::HUNGRY!!::

"ACK!"

A trio of draconic giggles reached me. ::Hungry!::

Oh my gods...what time is it? I rose my face from the cushion and blearily squinted over at the VCR clock, groaning when I managed to make out a three a one and a four. Noooo......

Tiny talons dug into my shoulders. ::Hungry!::

Eat the couch.

::Ew.::

I had to chuckle at that. "Awright. M'up." It took me a moment longer to convince my body to move before I managed to haul myself to my feet, swaying slightly. Three heat sources attached themselves to me then. One on my left sleeve, one on my right, and one on my right shoulder. I want to go back to sleep...

Flashes of bright red, orange and yellow colours spurred me onwards. ::Hungry!::

Grumbling, I staggered over to the door and pulled it open, walking out and coming face to chest with Mewtwo. Wha?

~They're hungry again, hmm?~ he commented, the tone of his mental voice telling me that he hadn't been awake much longer than I had. It was disgusting how early some creatures could wake up at.

I mumbled out a response and trudged past him, moving on autopilot as I headed for the Kitchen. The dragons had a nice chorus of 'hungry' going on in my head, the rainbow of colours making me wince before someone other than me rose a psychic dampening field in my head. "T'anks."

~No problem,~ Mewtwo said as he came up beside me, discreetly guiding me towards the stairs. ~How much sleep did you get?~

"Not n'uff," I yawned, one hand gripping the banister as I started down the flight of stairs. "What're ya doin' up again?" This wasn't the first time he had gotten up with me to feed the hatchlings. Not that I minded, but I was curious.

~I heard them. I thought you could use my help again.~

I smiled. He really was turning out to be a big sweetie.

~Just don't spread it around,~ he added, obviously listening in on my thoughts. I decided that I wasn't awake enough to care about whether he was in my head. He was keeping the trio from giving me a migraine, that was all that mattered.

We reached the Kitchen moments later, and I yawned again as I went over to the cupboard and rummaged around in it before pulling out a can of salmon and a can of chicken. Not the best of meals, but the trio seemed to love it and it was easy on the wallet, so hey, who was I to judge?

I let Mewtwo take them from me as I fought with the can opener, knowing that Korin especially would try to crawl into the can as I was in the process of opening it. I had barely finished upending the cans into two bowls before they were attacked by the hatchlings. Akhor practically landed in the bowl.

A large, furry and warm body moved to stand next to me then, and I took advantage of it, leaning against Mewtwo and resting my head on his chest. The sensation of arms going around my waist added to the extreme comfort, and I yawned softly as I snuggled closer.

~Don't you fall asleep on me again,~ he murmured in my thoughts. Oh please. That only happened twice... er... make that three times.... Well you try getting up at 3 in the morning everyday for two weeks and see how long you can stay awake! Hmpft.

"I wouldn't.....do.....that......" Okay.... So I lied. Sue me.

~Oh for the love of....~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Warm. I was warm. And comfortable. Very comfortable. I didn't want to move. But someone was calling me. What did they want? Couldn't they see I was busy?

"Lashana!! What the hell are you doing?!?"

My they were loud. Didn't they have any respect for people who were trying to sleep? I tried to reason with whoever it was. "Gmft!" Okay...so maybe it would've helped if my face wasn't buried against something warm and furry.

"Lashana!"

What fine hell awaits me now? I cracked open an eye and peeked through a curtain of my own hair, making out the form of my Bonded above me. Hmm...sleep or fight? Sleep or fight? Better go with sleep. I was seconds away from reentering that place between full sleep and half-sleep when a hand closed on my arm and yanked me to my feet. I, of course, protested. "What the flamin' hell are you doin'?! LET GO!!"

Loud hisses sounded from behind me, echoing my anger, and I glanced back at my three dragons who were perched on a sleeping Mewtwo's side, glaring at Blackwargreymon. Waiiiit a minute. This is Mewtwo's room...I must've fallen asleep in the kitchen again.... I looked at my rather pissed off Bonded and sighed. "It's not what you think."

He growled lowly and folded his arms over his chest. "No? So I didn't just find you sleeping with Mewtwo? Is this why you haven't come to bed lately? You've been here?"

Ooo. Bad idea. I returned the glare with one of my own and snarled, fangs bared. I was seconds away from going into a screaming fit that would have made Telca proud when a hand landed on my right shoulder.

~You're an idiot, Blackwargreymon, if you think she'd leave you,~ Mewtwo growled. I glanced back at him and frowned when I saw that his eyes were glowing blue. Bad sign. ~In case you haven't noticed, the hatchlings are very much like babies. For the past two weeks they've been waking up at three in the morning, demanding to be fed. Four nights ago I went downstairs and found Lashana asleep in the Kitchen, and since the hatchlings can't sleep with you snoring away like you've been doing, I brought them here. Or haven't you noticed that she's been exhausted these past few days?~

Wow. Mewtwo to the rescue.

I glanced over at my Bonded, noting the shocked look in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, looking at me curiously.

A blue form landed on my left shoulder and hissed, tiny wings spreading. ::She try. You tell her you talk later. You leave with others for football game!::

I gaped and exchanged shocked glances with Mewtwo. Hadn't realized their vocabulary had grown that much. I nearly fainted from surprise when Korin landed on Mewtwo's arm. ::You not help her! Daddy only one who helps!::

Whoa a minute! "Daddy?!" I repeated as I gathered Kalamadea and Korin into my arms, staring down at them. "You think Mewtwo's your father!?" Akhor chose that moment to land on my now free left shoulder, rubbing his head against my neck.

::Elfy mommy. Big purple one is daddy.::

"Holy shit...they can talk...." Blackwargreymon made a sound between a choke and a groan. "I-I didn't know..... Lashana....."

I looked from my now mortified Bonded, to a catatonic Mewtwo, then to the trio. "I think I need a drink."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took the better part of an hour and three coffees for me to calm Blackwargreymon down and assure him that he was forgiven and that I wasn't about to go cavorting off with Mewtwo. It didn't help that Mewtwo chose that moment to be a pain-in-the-arse : curling his arm around my shoulders and announcing that next time we'd try for quintuplets.

While Blackwargreymon sputtered, I busied myself with slamming my forehead against the kitchen's counter until a worried squeak made me stop. I groaned and rose my gaze to where Akhor and Korin were sitting on the counter in front of me, sighing when flashes of worried oranges and yellows assaulted my minds eye. "M'alright."

Mewtwo, meanwhile, was fighting a loosing battle with Kalamadea. ~Mewtwo.~

::Daddy!::

~No. Mewtwo.~

::Daddy!!::

~No. Mewtwo.~

::Daddy!::

~No! Mewtwo!~

::DADDY!!::

~Oh this is hopeless....~

"Okay wait. Why exactly do they think you're the parents?" My my, that's the first intelligent sentence Black's been able to manage in the past hour.

"Not a clue," I sighed as I reached for my coffee mug, frowning when I saw that it was empty. "Nuts."

~I think they imprinted on us,~ Mewtwo said as I got up to refill my coffee mug. ~The first male and female they see immediately after they hatch automatically become their parents...at least to them.~

"That's fricked up," I muttered. It was a house rule that no one could majorly curse around the hatchlings. They picked up on everything. "I mean, what happened if they saw Mischief first? Or, Goddess forbid, Xellos?!"

~I don't think you should dwell on that too much,~ the pokemon told me while I carried the pot over and refilled his own empty coffee mug.

"Then what about that bit when you and the others gave her the egg? About only Lashana being allowed to touch it?"

Mewtwo looked at the Digimon in surprise. ~I had forgotten about that. It was because the hatchling inside would attune themselves to whomever handled...the...egg.... Oh my god....~

"What?" I frowned, shaking him when he didn't answer. "What?!"

Wide amethyst eyes locked onto mine. ~The egg.... I was the one that picked it up when we were at the market.....~

"So that's why you can hear them. They're tuned to you too." I glanced over at my Bonded and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You couldn't help this," he said as he reached out to rub the pad of a finger over Akhor's back, smiling when the hatchling gave a little purr of pleasure and arched his back. "I should have asked before...."

~Before acting like some rampaging moron?~

The groan that escaped me drew the two male's gazes to me. " Black, you have to learn how to start trusting me, else I'm putting you on Prozac. Mewtwo, stop picking on him. Now, I am going back to that hammock, and I'm going to get a few more hours sleep." I stood up as I finished speaking, letting the three dragons get a good grip on my shirt before heading out of the room....

::Hungry!::

Noooooo!!



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