The next morning brought Dany to Mel's bungalow. Upon walking in, she saw books already stacked on the desk, so many with worn, leather bound covers that looked like they'd seen centuries come and go, like ancient artifacts holding all the answers Dany was looking for. Dany almost wondered how Mel made the journey over with such an impressive amount of cargo, almost as though the priestess knew that Dany would have questions, and she had the means to answer them.
She brought coffee with her and she and Mel sat down at the desk, while Mel took out a book that detailed pictures depicting history. "Your family was born from Aegon's conquest from the back of his dragon, his and that of his two sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya. It was Valyrian custom to marry a sibling, and rather than just take one, which was to be Visenya, Aegon took both. It is said that he married Visenya out of duty and Rhaenys out of love.
"All three represent the three headed dragon of your family's quest. Aegon the Conqueror rode his dragon, the oldest and largest Valyrian dragon in history, Balerion the Black Dread. Rhaenys rode Meraxes and Visenya rode Vhagar. It was Balerion's flame that forged what was known as the Iron Throne which headed all of the continent of Westeros."
Daenerys' brows furrowed. "So my great ancestor married both his sisters?" She said.
"Less than ideal, I know, but they believed it to be the way to keep the line pure and the blood of the dragon within the family. It's because of that that you're able to have the connection with your dragons." Mel explained.
"Now, your father was Aerys Targaryen and your mother Rhaella, correct?"
"Yes," Dany responded. "I was told I came screaming into the world on a night of one of the worst storms of the year. My mother and brothers are really the only ones I have left."
"Your father is no longer around?"
"My father struggled. He suffered mental illness and various addictions throughout his life. We're not sure if it ultimately was his mind or his addictions that took him but it wasn't long ago," Daenerys explained, drawing a breath as her gaze fell to the book on the desk. "We're not entirely sure if it was hereditary, but I saw what he became, and knowing that my father's illness is in my DNA and that could be me one day... or any of my brothers terrifies me..."
Mel reached across the desk and squeezed Danny's hand. "You are not your father," She told her, blue eyes searching lilac. "You may share your father's blood but that doesn't define you."
Something about Mel's words made Dany's throat swell and ache a little bit. A part of her knew it, but it was still a nagging bite in the pit of her stomach that filled her with anxiety. Hearing that from someone else comforted her, even though she didn't know Mel, it felt as though she did.
Between work and the dragons, Dany went to see Mel regularly for the next week or so. She learned so much about her family history, but something still made her feel so disconnected from it. Like a part of her was missing, and while she still had a relationship with her dragons, which were the size of ponies at this point, getting much bigger than the raptors they were housed with.
All seven creatures had formed their own hierarchy, however, and had gotten close. Drogon was working on a pig he had charred, and while all of them had their own kill, Blue had taken a greater interest in what Drogon had, even though hers was virtually the same. Dany had come over and stood with Mel, Owen and Zara who came to see the dragons, all of them watching in amused anticipation.
Blue crept around Drogon as he ripped chunks of barely cooked meat off the carcass, taking hold of a bit of crispy meat and flesh off the back of the hock, but her attempt made the pig move a bit under Drogon's hold. She'd managed to rip off a little bit just as Drogon gave an annoyed snarl, snaking his head around at her and snapping his jaws. Blue bolted and put a bit of distance between the two, before circling back and seemed to eye the possible courses of action and where she could go, and Dany could swear she could see the calculations taking place in the raptor's almost scarily intelligent eyes.
"Blue, you are asking to get chewed out by him," Owen warned with a light snort, shaking her head. As Blue circled, Drogon's red eye tracked her movements, watching her warily. Both Delta, Charlie and Echo lingered near but gave Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal a wide berth, but the other two dragons merely lifted their heads from time to time curiously. The other three raptors seemed interested in what their sister was doing, but it was obvious they wanted no part of it.
"I don't think he'll hurt her...?" Dany looked at Owen, brows furrowing. Owen shook his head.
"Nah. They've been around each other long enough to know when enough is enough and the other is pissed off."
But Blue seemed determined to engage. She'd sneak up, grab the tiniest bit, and bolt the minute Drogon made shark faces at her and snarled. She circled again, took a piece, Drogon snarled again and snapped at her.
"Blue, you have your own. Don't piss off the death lizard," Owen said wryly, earning a laugh from Zara and Dany, even a grin from Mel.
Owen and Dany both slipped in the gates and watched from the bars still near Zara and Mel, but being there in case they needed to break up a tussle. Eventually, when Blue made another attempt at Drogon's food, the black dragon had had enough. Whirling around with impressive speed, overtaking her and cutting off both her options to turn with his wings, Drogon wrestled the squawking, shrieking and hissing blue and grey raptor to the dirt while snarling.
"Owen—" Dany said with sudden panic, and Owen stopped her from intervening.
"No, don't, it's okay." He told her, his eyes never leaving the scene. Drogon rolled her about roughly in the dirt in a thundering of movement, jaws snapping and Blue squealed like she was getting mauled, but the ordeal lasted hardly ten seconds. Drogon let her up and Blue twisted spasmodically to her feet, shaking dirt from her hide. Dany realized Drogon had only really used his teeth lightly, but the snarling and scrabbling, like one dog correcting another, sounded a lot worse than it actually was, but Drogon hadn't used fire and Blue, other than her pride, was unharmed.
Blue whined and shot an indignant look at the young black dragon, who returned to his food before looking to Owen, chirping and sulked toward him.
"Don't look at me like that, you got yourself into trouble." Owen told her with a laugh. "I told you not to piss him off. Drogon warned you more times than he should have."
Blue shot Owen an indignant look and proceeded to skulk back to her sisters. The ordeal had raised the heads of both Viserion and Rhaegal who peered at them but otherwise didn't give it much attention. Dany couldn't help but laugh.
"Poor Blue..."
"No, there's no poor blue in this," Owen retorted. "Drogon warned her. She didn't even really want it and she had the same thing, she just wanted to see if she could get away with it and wanted it because he had it. She pissed him off and she got her ass chewed for it. He could have very easily hurt her or even killed her and he didnt, that's telling. It's just their little pecking order."
His tone was lighthearted, knowing Dany would have sympathy for Blue right along with the amusement they all found in the matter. During all this, and once the dragons and raptors finished eating, Drogon stretched out his wings and arched into the air above them. The metal structure shook and groaned in protest when the black and crimson dragon tried to land on the catwalk, the only thing he could think to get a hold on. The moment he landed on it, all four humans grimaced. While the dragons weren't nearly full grown, it was obvious the enclosure was becoming too small for the three small horse sized winged reptiles, let alone four raptors along with them.
"How big do you think they'll get?" Dany looked to Mel, having taken a couple steps back to look at Drogon. His tail, coiled around him, still dangled off the side, and he seemed to try to balance on the metal catwalk which had a gradually weakening resolve.
"Dragons will keep growing throughout their lives as long as they're not kept locked away. It was what caused the demise of the Targaryen dragons. They were locked away and stayed quite small." Mel explained.
"Like goldfish? The bigger the aquarium, the larger they'll get?" Zara commented. Mel nodded.
"Balerion the Black Dread was large enough he could have swallowed a horse whole. The shadow of his wingspan blanketed entire villages."
"Yeah—they're not going to be able to stay in there for much longer." Owen said, arms crossed as he eyed the dragon trying to remain on the metal structure.
"You think giving them free rein over the island would be something the higher ups would remotely entertain?" Dany asked, looking in Owen's direction.
"Claire would come absolutely unglued." Zara shook her head. "Masrani might consider it."
Owen seemed to mull it over, wincing. "It could be either a huge draw to guests on the island or scare the shit out of them if there's dragons flying loose around the island, let alone the size they could potentially become. Plus, I don't think giving them absolutely no boundaries would be a good idea."
"The Dino petting zoo would be toast—literally." Zara pointed out.
Owen seemed to see the turmoil turning the cogs in Dany's brain and he squeezed her shoulder gently. "We'll figure something out, don't overthink it."
Dany gave a thin laugh. "I'm trying not to, but we've got three very big blaring issues that could arise if we don't figure out where to put them."
The last thing Dany had wanted to do was involve Claire in the matter, and was hoping to meet with Mr. Masrani so he could see the dragons himself. But Masrani was away for business when Zara had tried to arrange a meeting with him and Dr. Wu for Dany and Owen, and Claire was far too excited to jump on the opportunity. When the Mercedes pulled up near the raptor octagon and Dany saw Claire and Dr. Wu come out, her heart plummeted into her stomach. Claire looked like the cat that ate the canary. But Owen stayed with Dany for the meeting and Mel offered to stay as well, since she had become an advisor of sorts on the more behind which the dragons had come from. Regardless of whatever creature Jurassic World had resurrected, dragons were beyond their area of expertise and a whole new ball game all together.
Dr. Wu was visibly in awe at the size the dragons had grown to. Claire was also eyeing the creatures, her brows climbing higher the longer she and the scientist observed.
"I'm assuming we can't go in there?" Dr. Wu asked Owen, who shook his head.
"Wouldn't advise it. Those animals are imprinted and strongly bonded to Dany, they and the raptors accept very few in there to begin with. Even Mel they'll tolerate but she has yet to touch them." He responded and Mel nodded in affirmation. Out of the corner of her eye, Dany saw Claire roll her eyes and shake her head and couldn't help but bristle in the slightest.
"How much control do you have over them, Dr. Targaryen?" Dr. Wu asked.
"They aren't trained, but I've been trying to work with them. They come when they see me and let me near them."
"Do you have any command over them?" Claire asked.
"'Command'? They're still animals with minds of their own," Owen responded tersely.
"I wasn't asking you, Owen, I was asking Daenerys." Claire shot back. "Do you have any control or command over them whatsoever?"
Dany hesitated. "As of yet, no."
Owen brought them into the briefing room outside of the raptor paddock, having cleared it for them to sit down and talk. Dany felt almost sick, but Mel gave her hand a soft squeeze, assuring her she wasn't going anywhere. As they sat down, Claire wore a smug grin.
"It seems like you've run into a problem here, Daenerys." She said, "The assets are clearly too big for the raptor paddock, and you don't have enough control over them to even entertain the idea of them free flying about the island. They're a liability, and if Jurassic World is going to invest in containment for them, compensation is going to be expected, whether that's letting Jurassic World showcase them at our discretion or you signing over ownership to us entirely. You can't afford what it's going to cost for a secure enclosure to keep them in."
"Okay—they're not possessions, they're still living," Dany responded, her eyes narrowing. "Nor are they assets."
"They will be soon enough. Do you really think you can afford to look after them much longer? You need to consider the well-being of the dragons, Daenerys. Jurassic World has the means to look after them."
"At what cost? Putting them on display like some sideshow attraction?" Dany fired back. "They're not dinosaurs."
"No, but they can attract more attention than the dinosaurs could and be an incredible addition." Dr. Wu explained. "Daenerys, with the genetic technology we have now, we can bring your family's dragons back into existence."
Immediately, a mental image of the Indominus flashed in Dany's mind and the very thought made her stomach hollow out. Mel straightened.
"Locking the dragons away can severely stifle their growth, not to mention make them feral in lieu of human contact, especially Daenerys'." She said. "Rather than the enormous, impressive creatures the dragons have the potential to become, they may not grow any larger than what they are now."
"Do we really want them bigger though?" Claire said and Owen frowned.
"You're not serious."
"Maybe I am. Right now, they're maybe smaller than Rexy, we can manage predators around that size. Already, with their attributes, including wings and breathing fire—which, I'm assuming they can breathe fire—there's already multiple risks we're running into. If they get to the size that Mel is saying that they can, they'll be completely out of our control." Claire pointed out.
"Dany can control them." Owen pointed out. "And that bugs you more than anything, doesn't it?"
"She can't even control them now! This isn't about me, Owen. Nor is this about your girlfriend. This is about my concern for the welfare of the assets."
"You think that's not my concern?" Dany responded, eyes narrowing. "That's the only reason I agreed to meet with you is because I want to figure out how we can keep them safe as well as the guests and other animals on this island."
"If you were really concerned about the dragons, you'd let the Park do right by them and give them the containment that they need to keep them safe." Claire said in rebuttal.
"But that isn't what they need." Dany retorted. "And that's precisely why I wanted to meet with Mr. Masrani."
"Good luck," Claire scoffed. "If you find a way to get a moment of his time, let me know how you manage it. But what happens in this park goes through me, so ultimately, I don't think you have much of a choice in the matter, Daenerys, and I'm sure once we get started building an enclosure, Mr. Masrani will agree with me."
"No, Masrani's concern has always been the animals," Owen argued. "Which thank God someone's is, because his park director is a cold hearted b—"
"—Owen." Dany laid a hand on his arm. She was furious, but she knew provoking Claire further was going to cost them any say over the dragons' care. Dany gave a sharp, soft exhale which almost sounded like a scoff, at a loss for words and even looked at Dr. Wu. "Henry..."
Dr. Wu sighed. "I'm sorry, Daenerys. You would still have full access to them, but maybe this is in their best interest."
"What would it take to prove Daenerys has the ability to keep them under control?" Mel asked, her piercing blue eyes darting between the two.
"I don't think there really is anything." Claire responded. Wu gave a shrug.
"Ultimately, it's Mr. Masrani's decision, but if Daenerys can prove that she has, there's a possibility Mr. Masrani may consider it, but I can't promise anything." Dr. Wu explained. "But we need to consider the welfare of these animals."
When Claire and Dr. Wu went to leave, all of them came out of the briefing room with heavy hearts. Dany took it the hardest. Her gaze fixed on the raptor paddock where her dragons were, and turned only when she realized Owen was coming toward her. When Owen enveloped her in his arms, Dany buried her head against his chest, eyes glinting with unshed tears.
"I can't lose them," Dany murmured thickly, swallowing.
"You're not going to," Owen said softly to her, shaking his head while holding her. "We're gonna get this figured out."
"What other option do I have? They're right, how do I even begin to keep them safe and afford that? But you saw the look in Wu's eyes, I'd rather them be the only ones left than whatever he would create from them."
Mel came back over, her expression softening. "Daenerys, you can have that over to the dragons, more than anyone else. They're still their own creatures and will always be, but you've raised them. You're a Dragon, and once you've tapped into that, no one can take that from you."
Dany drew just far enough back from Owen to wipe her eyes, her arms still around his waist as he kept his own almost protectively around her shoulders.
"You can help me do that?" She asked.
"Without question."