The Phoenix Files : Hatchlings

Chapter 1: The Start

We were fresh out of high school, looking forward to the next adventure in our lives with unbridled enthusiasm. The apartment which we had found a short distance from campus was old and completely empty. A perfect opportunity to redecorate the entire place. After we've bought it, that is.

"This, as you can see, is a four bedroom-"

"WE'LL BUY IT."

The first thing that Alexandra Daskey, or Alex - 'cause Alexandra is for too long - noticed was the fact that the doorway was two centimetres shorter than she was.

"Motherfu--uuuuddgggiinnngg..." She looked around awkwardly, quickly checking to see if anyone else had noticed her unceremoniously smash of her forehead on the top of the doorway. The boxes she was holding teetered dangerously. She held her breath as she felt it slip.

Thank goodness for thick, soft carpet. Something rattled in the box as radio static broke through the room. Alex rubbed her ear as the comms unit buzzed to life with groans of discomfort.

"Sorry!" she hissed, before digging through the box to find the microphone stored within it. She was kind of clumsy at times - mostly, she liked to think that she was a brilliantly efficient agent but... well evidence spoke for itself.

"Are you alright?" Annabeth Hastings, whom most just called Anna - because Annabeth was way too long to say in heated conversations - looked into the apartment to see Alex rubbing her head and holding a broken microphone grumpily.

"What is this... a doorway for ants?!" Alex grumbled staring harshly.

"...I don't see any problems with this doorway." Anna said, walking - whilst standing upright with her highest potential- into the apartment. Of course, the fact that she only reached up to Alex's shoulders - with heels on - helped tremendously.

Alex glowered at Anna, who gave her a smug smile in return.

"Hey guys, what's going o-OOWWW!" Natalia Collis, the second tallest of their group entered. She too discovered the height of their new door.

"Natalia be careful!" squealed Alex, immediately going over to check Nat's head.

"I'm fine! Geez!" Nat dismissed, waving a hand half-heartedly in Alex's direction, knowing that resistance was futile after years of being friends - and colleagues- with Alex.

"Precious cargo. Take care of it." Alex said seriously, warping her hands around Nat's head and shaking it.

"Wow... it's great to know that you're only friends with me for my brain." Nat snorted with a sarcastic eye roll. Natalia managed to get her head out of Alex's grip and turned to Anna, who was attempting to hold back a laugh behind a mask of concern.

"Oh shut up fun size." Alex and Nat shared a high five and chuckled at the joke, which earned them a glare from Anna.

"Hello fellow short person, tall people. I got the package, where's the table at?" At the door was Guinevere Maria-Anne Bonney - but mostly called Gwen - the shortest of the group, as she held the biggest box of pizza in the world.

Alex's eyes widened. She turned around and sighed. She pointed to a pile of boxes. "That should do for now. I'm too lazy to build the table."

"Oh come on Alex, it'll be fun. Ikea furniture is always fun." Anna pouted as Alex stared on, conflicted. "I have... bad experiences with Ikea furniture," Alex admitted as she looked into the distance, suppressing memories of basic training.

"How can building furniture be fun..." Natalia said with an eye roll and a hand on her hip. "It's building furniture."

"It's possible..." Anna continued to pout as both tall people were against her idea of fun.