Beginning the Hunt

The rain was blinding, and gusts of wind smashed into the sides of the trailer, creating a thundering racket as the water was driven against the metal. Peering through the cab window, Cammie could barely see the road. The truck bounced as it hit another waterlogged pothole, and she felt herself momentarily lift off the seat. She tightened her grip on Mercury.

For his part, the young Clarus was having the time of his life. Every time they hit a large bump, he would let out a high-pitched trill, apparently the dragon version of, "Wheee!" Kitty was busy mapping the weather, chattering off wind speeds and locations to Weather Channel over her headset, but every time Mercury trilled with glee, Cammie could see her smile. The trailer rocked as they made a sharp turn, making Cammie's stomach lurch with a sensation that was both fright and exhilaration.

"We're getting close," Kitty called, raising her voice to be heard over the bombarding raindrops. "You're going to have to help with all the equipment when we stop. This storm is getting rough."

What, it isn't rough yet? Cammie wondered, hearing the wind howling around the trailer as it rushed along its path.

*Marbles!* Mercury squeaked, bouncing on her lap like an excited toddler. *Maaaaaarrrrbllllllesssss.*

Yes, yes, marbles, I know, but first we have to get out and watch the storm for George. You're going to have to stay in the trailer. Cammie explained to the hatchling. Mercury immediately stopped bouncing, and his head snapped around so he could glare at her.

*NO!* he yelled, causing Kitty to flinch a bit in surprise.

"Now, now, don't be like that. It's dangerous out there. I don't want you getting hurt. I'll be right outside..." Cammie soothed.

*NOOO!* Mercury howled, opening his mouth to let out an ungodly screech. Cammie winced, the sharp sound sending daggers into her eardrums.

"Mercury Murphy, you will stay inside this trailer!" Cammie commanded, changing to a stern tone.

*NoNoNoNoNoNo...* Mercury started chanting, struggling violently to get free from her arms and squeaking repeatedly.

"My word is final," Cammie told him, raising her voice slightly; she didn't want to give in to his whining. Mercury twisted in her arms and turned to stare at her again, an odd, wild glint in his eyes. Then, he hissed and suddenly, his head snapped down and his teeth closed around her hand.

"Ah!" Cammie yelped, his tiny teeth creating a hundred pinholes in her skin. "Mercury Murphy, you let go of me right this INSTANT!" she thundered.

Mercury held on only a second longer before releasing and drawing back his head. He looked angry and guilty at the same time, arching his head down to his chest and watching Cammie out of the corner of his eye. Across the trailer, Kitty's hands were frozen above her keyboard, and her wide eyes were fixed on them.

"Thank you," Cammie said, her voice returning to a normal volume but edged in ice. "That was not nice. I never want to see you bite anyone ever again, Mercury. That is not the way you solve your problems." As she spoke, she inspected her injured left hand. Blood was welling up from the tiny wounds and starting to trickle across her skin. She winced as her hand started to throb and gave Mercury another stern look.

Mercury ducked his head away and trilled quietly. He hadn't exactly meant to bite Cammie... but she had made him so angry! She was trying to leave him behind again! Never, ever would he let her leave him behind. She might not come back, and then Mercury would be alone in this strange world, with no one to help him learn about Queen or cops. He squeaked and narrowed his eyes into slits. He could feel Cammie's hurt, and it made him feel utterly terrible. He slowly turned and inched his nose toward her elbow, moving gingerly in case she was still very angry. He stretched out his neck and nuzzled her apologetically.

*Sorry...* he insisted, trying to crawl up and sit in the crook of her good arm.

Cammie tensed up for a moment and wanted to push him away. The bite was painful; even at his small size he had inflicted some deep punctures. But something in his eyes made her resist her anger, and she let him crawl onto her arm and slide his tail end around it. He ducked his head against her chest and made a small whimper.

"I forgive you," she told him quietly, "but never do that again... to anyone."

*Don't leave me,* Mercury whispered to her, relaying a feeling of intense fear and need. Cammie felt a guilty flush rise to her cheeks. It was partially her fault that he was so afraid to be left alone and separated from her.

I won't, she promised, reaching over and brushing the top of his head with her wrist. Some of the blood was running back and soaking into the cuff of her jacket, she noticed; she really needed to get that hand cleaned up before they stopped.

Cammie got up, holding the arm Mercury was wrapped around against her chest, and moved over to the first aid kit location, plopping down in one of the seats. She glanced up to see that Kitty had resumed work, but the other woman was still looking up every few seconds to check on the situation. Cammie popped open the kit and started dabbing at her hand with some pieces of gauze. Once most of the blood was soaked up, she left the gauze there and found a package of Betadine gauze, which she ripped open and began cleaning the wounds with. It stung only a little, but Mercury cringed against her when she winced in pain.

"See, I'm going to clean this up, and it will be all right once it heals," she said, trying to comfort him. True, he had caused the wound, but it had obviously been some sort of panicky mistake. She finished cleaning the hand and started putting clean gauze on it and wrapping it. After it was wrapped, she began wrapping with tape over it. It would be raining hard outside, and the gauze would get soaked almost immediately. The tape would at least provide some protection. When she was finished, she carefully closed up the first aid kit and stumbled back to her area, lurching a bit as Wes hit another pothole and nearly falling into her seat. She reached down to rummage in her bag and pulled out a bottle of aspirin and her water bottle. She quickly took a few of the small pills, which Mercury looked at in confusion.

"This is medicine," Cammie explained, "which you should never, ever eat. For me, it will help with the pain in my hand, but for you, it could hurt you. It isn't made for dragons to eat. Understand?"

Mercury chirped quietly and bobbed his head in an imitation of a nod. Cammie found herself falling to the side as the truck suddenly slowed.

"We're as close as we can safely get," Kitty said, starting to get on her gear and reaching for a poncho. Cammie grabbed one as well, then started rifling through her belongings, finally pulling out The Bag and a quasi-clean t-shirt, which she stuffed inside. The Bag was still covered in patches of dried egg goo, but it would have to do.

"Get in," she said, holding the lined bag out to Mercury. He slid in without protest, curling around and then popping his head back up. Cammie put the bag around her neck, pulling the strap until Mercury was hanging just under her chin and knotting it to keep him at that level. Then, she threw the poncho over herself. It was a tight fit, but Mercury could poke his head up and out of the plastic by her neck if he wanted to. She heard the truck doors open and slam; Wes and Beethoven were out. Then, the trailer door banged open, letting in the cries of the wind and the sound of rushing rain.

Weather Channel, Lupe, Wes, and Beethoven rushed in, and chaos broke loose. Everyone was trying to grab the necessary gear and get out there as quickly as possible. Cammie joined the rush, grabbing one of the tripod recorders and a bag of camera equipment, as well as an extra poncho. She pushed her way down the stairs, trying to follow Lupe. Once he stopped, she immediately dropped the bag, then went to set up the recorder near Weather Channel and Kitty.

Mercury poked his head out and kept his eyes on what sky he could see around Cammie's face, watching the rain, the wind, and the rapidly moving clouds with awe. A roll of thunder rippled across the storm, sending a thrill through the hatchling. The storm was coming, and so were the marbles. He could feel it.

"Help me hold this down!" Lupe yelled suddenly. He was having trouble keeping the lens clear and the camera dry. It was water resistant, but only to a certain point. Cammie lunged over to grab the edges of the plastic and wrap them more securely around the camera and tripod, while Lupe grabbed the flapping ends up front and held them behind the lens, out of the way.

"How's it look?" Cammie asked. The daylight was fading, and paired with the darkness of the storm, it wasn't leaving much light to film by. Weather Channel and Kitty were probably having more luck with the weather data.

"There she blows!" George yelled, raising an arm to point to the northwest. About three farmer fields away, a thin funnel was darkening, standing out against the hazy backdrop.

Mercury squeaked, and Cammie reached down to comfort him before she realized that he was excited, not afraid. He strained out of the poncho, trying to see the tornado better. He was completely entranced by the wind and the rain and the absolute power of the storm before him. The little hatchling felt an overwhelming wish to join in with the dance of the clouds and be free to follow the winds.

"It's an F2!" Weather Channel yelled. On the Fujita Scale, the numbers ranged from zero to five, with zero indicating only light damage and five embodying the most awesome power nature could muster. An F2, however, would cause considerable damage in a residential area, especially in areas where homes did not have strong foundations and families didn't have a tornado shelter to which to retreat.

"We've called it in!" cried Kitty. The winds, although a mere fraction of what they would be closer to the tornado, were still strong enough to make communication difficult.

"Arg, we're losing it rapidly," Lupe complained, referring to the light, rather than the tornado. The funnel was snaking its way to the east, with the team tracking its path from a safe distance. If it turned, they would have to clear out, just to be safe.

Cammie's heart was pounding in her chest, and she was almost ecstatic watching the tornado tear along, pulling up the earth. Luckily, all it was ruining was a field, and although the farmer would not be happy about it, it was better dirt than a farmhouse. Mercury strained out of the poncho more, but Cammie didn't put out hands to support him. She didn't want him completely out in this rain; who knew what sort of colds hatchling dragons could catch. The dragon reveled in the gusts of wind that battered the group, green eyes alight with joy.

The team was transfixed; most of their eyes were on the tornado, while Weather Channel and Kitty's were locked onto the equipment readouts. After too short a time, the form of the tornado started dissipating and fading away.

"Duration?" George asked when the funnel rotation was no longer visible.

"Four minutes, twenty-six seconds," reported Weather Channel, grinning and shaking his head. Cammie knew how he felt. They had been working days for this, and it was over in under five minutes. They might not catch anymore at all.

"Are we tracking anything else?" questioned George as Lupe started breaking down the camera.

"No, just that one area of rotation, but it's rapidly heading east. Do you want we should follow?" Weather Channel asked, still watching the monitors as Kitty started preparing the equipment for shutdown.

"Depends. What's it looking like?"

"Hard to say. There's still rotation there, so it's worth a watch..."

*Marble,* Mercury suddenly piped, dragging Cammie's attention away from the discussion. He was hanging his head down toward the ground, and sure enough, she followed his gaze and saw a small, pinkish orb glowing in the mud. She bent over carefully to retrieve it, wiping the mud off with her fingers the best she could.

What do you think, Mercury? Are there more in that storm? she wondered, trying to work up her poncho so she could put the marble safely in her pocket.

*More,* answered the hatchling, staring into the west, away from the retreating rotation, toward the remainder of the storm.

Cammie tuned back into the discussion. George was shaking his head and looking at the storm while Kitty was trying to bring up data on the rest of the front.

"I don't think we should chase it," decided George. "It will take us away from the rest of the storm, and there could be a lot of action lurking in those clouds."

"I agree, sir," Cammie said quickly, feeling that Mercury would be right about the oncoming marbles. In her haste, she slipped into her old habits.

The team ended up agreeing, and the equipment was packed away and returned to the trailer in a much more orderly fashion. Eventually, everything was battened down. George and Bulldozer went back to the lead truck, while Wes and Beethoven hopped in the truck cab. Weather Channel, Lupe, Kitty, Cammie, and Mercury remained in the trailer. Lupe had to get the camera cleaned up and the film safely stored and labeled. Weather Channel wanted to do some preliminary scanning of the data, of course. Kitty and her superior huddled around the computer system, downloading data from the different recorders and the laptop, while Cammie went to the corner and pulled off her poncho.

"One more down..." she told Mercury, leaning over to let him crawl out of the wet bag and onto the seat. After removing The Bag from her neck, she got out her last clean shirt and wrapped the small dragon up in it. His skin was cool to the touch, and that worried her. At the moment, she didn't even care that her extremities were soaked. She'd have to do something about that at their next stop, which would hopefully be a motel with a laundry room.

Mercury nudged her pocket when she had taken a seat next to him, and she reached in and pulled out the marble for him to examine. He pushed his nose to it once and then, apparently satisfied with that inspection, curled up inside the shirt. There was a purr as the truck started up and then a lurch as it started moving again. It was getting dark, and they would have to find a stopover for the night soon. Cammie yawned. Her hand still hurt, and now the fingers on it were cold and numb as well, but she would take care of that when they stopped. For now, she wrapped an arm over Mercury and stared at their newest marble, watching the glow inside flicker like a small, purple flame.

They ended up pulling into a small town motel and getting some cheap rooms for the night. Kitty and Cammie shared one of the rooms, and Kitty took the first shower. Cammie used that time to start some of their laundry going. Mercury stayed burrowed inside her jacket as she loaded a mixture of her clothing and Kitty's, and he pestered her with the occasional question about why she was feeding the washing machine her clothes. When it was time to switch the clothes into the dryer, she did so and then returned to the room. Kitty was out of the shower, and Cammie told her where to find their clothes before stripping down and wrapping herself in a towel, so Kitty could have the last load of clothes to do. Then, it was finally time for Cammie to take a shower.

"Okay, Merc, I need to take a shower. Can you behave while I'm in there?"

Mercury suddenly fixed her with a panicked look and squeaked. He looked around at the empty room, then slithered over to wrap around Cammie's ankle.

"Mercury, I'm right behind the door! It's not like I'm leaving the room..." Cammie said and tested his grip by lifting up her foot. The little hatchling tightened his hold and stayed firmly fastened around her ankle. Cammie sighed. "Fine, you can come into the bathroom, but I am not letting you in the shower with me."

She went into the bathroom with her bath kit, walking slowly since Mercury was still hanging onto one of her legs. Once they were inside, she shook her foot gently.

"Come on, off," she ordered. Mercury let go and slipped to the floor, turning to peer up at her. "Now, you say outside the tub, got it?"

She started the water, which interested Mercury immensely. He slithered up against the side of the tub, so he could look over the edge and watch the water cascade from the faucet while she adjusted the water temperature. When the water felt right, Cammie stepped into the basin and closed the curtain before taking off the towel and tossing it out to perch upon the toilet seat. Then, she switched the water flow to the shower head. Mercury chirped curiously at the new noise and tried to see what Cammie was up to.

"No, Mercury," she protested when she saw his tiny gray muzzle try to push around the curtain. The muzzle disappeared, and Mercury churred sadly.

*What you do?* he asked. She could hear him slithering back and forth outside the tub.

"I'm getting cleaned up... washing off with water," she explained as she let the warm water flow over her.

*Me?*

Cammie paused; she supposed that baby dragons would need baths just like any other baby. "When I'm done, you can have a bath," she promised, getting out her shampoo. Mercury stayed quiet for awhile while she washed her hair, although she could hear him moving back and forth restlessly outside. Suddenly, she heard a very light thump.

"Are you all right?" she asked, wondering what on Earth the dragon was up to.

*Yes,* Mercury answered. He had gotten bored with patrolling the side of the tub. Now, he was trying to get up to where Cammie's towel was. He could reach the edge, but he couldn't seem to propel himself up onto it. He tried again, curling himself like a coiled spring before leaping upwards. Half of his body got up onto the toilet seat, but as he swished this way and that, trying to get the rest of himself up, he managed to lose his grip and slid backwards onto the floor, landing on the throw carpet again. He growled softly, curling up for another try. This time, he gave the leap his all, and when he got his front half up onto the seat, he grabbed Cammie's towel in his teeth and desperately inched his way up until he was completely over the edge. He sat up and looked around from his new tower and chriped in triumph.

Cammie, meanwhile, had her mind on other things. She was just now realizing that she wasn't going to be returning to work at FEMA. She wasn't going to be around for much longer. She would have to send FEMA her two-week's notice. Not to mention her parents. How was she going to explain this to them? She sighed as she rinsed the soap off her arms. She didn't even want to picture that conversation...

So, Mom, Dad, this is Mercury. Yes, he's a dragon. I know what you're thinking, but wait, it gets better...

"Hoo boy..." she exhaled. At least the parents could wait a bit. FEMA, however, needed to be notified as soon as possible. After she had finished rinsing, she shut off the water and shook off. Her hand snaked out from behind the curtain to grab her towel, but she ended up grabbing something unexpected instead.

"Mercury!" she exclaimed and popped her head out from behind the shower curtain as the dragon chirped and looked pleased with himself from his throne. "Very funny, now I need that towel. Hand it over."

Mercury looked around in confusion and burrowed awkwardly around, slowly pushing the towel out from under his body so Cammie could get it. When it was free, she dragged it into the shower, toweled off briefly, then wrapped herself up. She opened the curtain and stepped out, feeling a bit chilled but a lot happier. Mercury inspected her from the toilet seat, then peered down into the droplets left clinging to the sides of the tub.

*Me now?* he beseeched.

"One second, Merc."

Cammie combed through her bath kit and pulled out a safety pin. After readjusting the towel, she pinned it to keep her hands free. She combed out her hair and brushed her teeth, then opened the door and peeked out. Kitty wasn't back yet with her clothes apparently. She turned back to Mercury.

"So, you want a bath?" she asked.

*Yes! Bath!* he agreed, poking his nose over toward the tub. Cammie went over and turned on the water again. She ran her hand around the tub bottom to rinse any soap away, then closed the drain and started filling the tub with very warm water. She only let it fill to about four inches on the shallow side; it was Mercury's first bath, and she didn't want him getting in too deep. She twisted the faucet off and then reached for the hatchling.

"Okay, in we go," she narrated, lifting him from his seat and slowly lowering him into the shallow end of the tub. Once he was down, Mercury looked at the water curiously. He peered at the surface, and his tongue flicked out to lick it; then he gave it a confused look.

"No drinking the bath water, Mercury. Bathroom water is not for drinking."

Mercury seemed nonplussed by something, although Cammie couldn't figure out what. He didn't seem to be able to put it into words either. Eventually, he just gave up and stretched himself down into the water, letting his head drop below the surface. Cammie watched warily, but then he lifted his head to let his nose peek above the water and sniffed. She smiled and reached into the water to rub his back. Mercury churred happily, then started rolling around and splashing.

"Hey, watch it, Shamu," she warned as some of the waves flicked drops of water toward her. She winced as her hand suddenly throbbed, reminder her of what she had yet to take care of. "You behave in there while I clean off my hand again."

She unwrapped the old, wet gauze and dried her hand before getting out some Betadine gauze wipes and cleaning the wounds again. She had thought about putting some antibiotic ointment on it as well, but she was sure she remembered something about not putting that stuff on puncture wounds. She hoped that dragons didn't carry any extremely harmful bacteria in their mouths... like a dragon version of rabies. If so, she was as good as doomed.

She started repadding and rewrapping the hand. Her fingers were a bit stiff and her hand was slightly swollen. It was also starting to bruise around the bite. It didn't look too bad though... not gangrenous or anything. Hopefully, it would heal without incident. Mercury cheerfully swam around the shallow water in the tub while she finished.

When she was done, she knelt by the tub again and reached her good hand in to rub the hatchling all over. He enjoyed the attention and rolled over so she could rub his stomach as well. While he was splashing and experimenting with blowing air bubbles under the surface, Cammie noticed that his tail tuft—if it could truly be called that, not being made from hair—had nearly doubled in size. She put her hand through it cautiously. It felt cool and moist, as before, but she also felt the tiny hairs on the back of her hand rise with an odd sensation.

Weird... she thought. "Hey, Merc, what is your tail made from?" she asked suddenly. She didn't really expect the hatchling to know, but she figured she would ask anyway. Mercury popped his head up, throwing an arch of water away as he did so, and twisted to look at Cammie. Then, he looked at his tail and flipped it from side to side. Finally, he leaned back to sniff at it, his breath causing the mist to ripple and swirl.

*Storm,* he said with authority, then immediately lost interest and started dipping his head under the water again.

He must be connecting the smell of water condensation with the smell of rain from earlier, Cammie decided. He probably wasn't too far off... it felt like water to her as well.

"Okay, Merc, time to get out."

Mercury snorted into the water before bringing up his head and shaking it off. *Nooo...* he whined.

"Hey, you can't be wet all the time, and I can't stay in this bathroom all night. I know that it's lots of fun, and you can have another bath another time, but for now, I need to go out, so you need to get out of the tub and get dried off." Cammie waited for her words to take effect. Mercury ducked his head under one last time and then flung it out, letting the drops of water fly everywhere.

*'ay,* he agreed.

Cammie opened the drain and let the water out. Mercury followed the sound to its source and sat watching the water swirl down the drain openings.

*Storm!* he chirped excitedly, spotting the similarities between the draining water and the tornado funnel from earlier.

"Not exactly, but close," Cammie answered, smiling. She got another towel from the rack, and when the tub had drained out, she dried Mercury off. She lifted him from the tub and popped her head out into the living room. The first load of clothes was piled on the table, so Cammie assumed that the second load must be in the dryer, with Kitty watching it. She placed Mercury on the bed and went to the warm clothing pile to pull out something to dress in. Then, she returned to the bathroom to put on the clothes. When she emerged, she found Mercury staring at her intensely.

"I'm right here," she assured him, walking over to stretch out on her side of the bed. She wriggled for a moment to get comfortable, then sighed in relief and threw an arm over her face. Within a few minutes, she had slipped into a doze, despite the throbbing in her hand. Mercury slipped up to burrow in next to her side.

Before he fell asleep, Mercury gently reached out to Cammie's mind, but it was fairly blank tonight, with only the occasional swirls of color or clouds. She was too tired for dreaming. Still, Mercury curled himself up in the back of her mind, just in case she decided to dream later. He didn't want to miss out on anything. He could vaguely hear the girl, 'Kitty', returning to the room and moving around. Then, the lights went out. When she climbed onto the other side of the bed, Mercury curled closer to Cammie and squeezed his eyes shut. The other woman soon fell asleep too. Mercury was the last to sleep. Something was worrying at his mind, but he didn't quite understand what it was, and he was very tired. Eventually, he succumbed to slumber.