Queen Of The Beasts

2| I Glide And Get A Visit From The Wild

Connor shoved me aside and went about his day. I mean, whatever. Well long story short Connor Wild was a pig, not only because he can turn into pigs (and other animals) but he's a pig, the kind that likes more than one girl on his lap at once. 

I shuddered at his sight and found a seat. As usual Mr. Riley arrived with a bunch of work and other stuff that he puts beside him to make him look busy, when in fact all he ever does is play sudoku on the newspaper. He wasn't exactly the nice type either, nor was he the angry type. He just didn't care what we did, as long as we didn't annoy him.

I eventually gave up on his work and started conversation with his bearded dragon instead.

"I don't know. I want to, but big animals are too much for me. I mean I'm 5'2." I sighed, telepathically of course.

"Yeah, that's no good, " Koko the bearded dragon replied.

"On a scale of 1-10 how hard do you think it'd be?" I tapped my pen against the desk as I leaned back in my chair.

"I don't know, I'm a reptile." Her huge yellow eyes regarded me, with no hint of emotion. People don't realize how much goes through the mind of a bearded dragon, do they?

"Are you talking to the lizard?" A voice said from beside me. I turned to see a girl, whom I knew but couldn't name. Her eyes were an empty black that seemed to see right through me and was at the same time doleful. She wore a oversized hoodie, and a silver necklace that had a rose hanging down the middle. Her neck length hair was strikingly white against her dark hood.

I said something stupid in reply. "Are you the grim reaper? "

She smiled, and I thought that was impossible at first. "No, my name is Flora. "

"Oh wow." I couldn't help thinking her name didn't suit her, but I wasn't going to let her know that. Then it clicked. "Flora McDouglas, you transfered in Grade 8."

"Yes, " She said then turned to stare at Koko. She had a frightful aura that could put you in a trance, if you stared at her long enough. Something about her felt unreal, as though she wasn't supposed to be here, or even exists.

"So, um, Flora how did you land yourself in detention?"

She turned back to me, and I half expected her neck to creak. "I will do something that will make Mr. Jones mad. So I have decided to take my punishment earlier... May I tell you something?"

I nodded, blankly.

"You will glide and be visited by the wild."

"That's cool too, " I mumbled more to myself than her. Then I did something I didn't think I would've done anytime soon.

"Go on, " Flora prompted, as if she already knew what I was going to say.

"Well, I was going to have ice cream after school, you wanna come along? "

"I would love to, " she said. And I guess we just sorta spent detention talking. I talked and asked more. She said some weird things but I shrugged it off and told her she was funny.

➷

The afternoon came and went. Flora showed up, surprisingly. Emi asked me who she was, and I told her who I knew she was, but Emi asked me again who she was. Emi has always had bad memory and it's true, she once asked me who Nile was after three years of being friends. But we enjoyed our ice cream nonetheless, the two seemed to get along, I mean Emi didn't seem too freaked out by Flora. We talked, joked, and laughed. And finally before the sun could set we all left for home.

I made it down the street to the fire fighter homes. Surrounding the neighborhood was a forest. They were small but steady homes. Ours was a little bigger, because we were six in the family. The sky was a bright orange streaked by dark clouds. It was as if the world was reminding me of the loose tiger.

I pushed the door open to be met with a blast of cold air. I shivered and shut the door behind me.

"Fro-ost..." My teeth starting shatter. "Wha-ha-t ah hu do-ing? "

At that moment, my little 8 year old brother slid down the stairs on something that looked like a sled.

"Christmas came early! " He exclaimed, throwing a hand full of snow in the air. He didn't even seem bothered by the cold air, and I was about to die from hypothermia.

The door burst open behind me and in came Blaze, you could see the flames radiating of him if you squinted hard enough. He looked angry, the sort of angry he gets when someone teases him. He stomped in, mumbling something about his teacher. I scooted closer to him for warmth, as the ice around us melted.

Frost frowned and sneered at us, pointing indignantly. "Hey, stop destroying my winter wonderland!"

After that it was a blur, Zooli ran in screaming something about kittens with Nile right behind her. Dad wasn't gonna be home early and thank goodness for that because his house needed cleaning and these kids needed to get to bed.

People have asked me why I didn't have pets of my own. This is exactly why I don't. Either my pets would run away or be used by my siblings for something stupidly dangerous.

➷

When I fell asleep that night, I had a dream. It was quick. I was high up in the sky, gliding. Surrounding me were ducks and I then realized we were a flock. I was flying towards a building which was odd for ducks or animals at that. A bare gray building in the middle of a forest. Then before I could land, I felt something sharp puncture my skin. I fell, and my body hit the earth.

I woke with a start. My heart ramming againt my ribs, I had to check my arms for feathers before I felt better. Sometimes they're nice dreams, I could be an ant building ant homes, or a fish among a school just enjoying my way through the current. Then there are the more frightening ones, I could be a small prey to a large beast, a baby deer to a hunter.

My throat felt like sand. I pushed myself off my bed and made my way downstairs. Dad's truck still wasn't here yet and the clock on the kitchen wall struck 3 am.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and finished it in one big gulp. I bristled when I heard the sound of groaning. The all too familiar sound of feline cries. I gripped the bottle in my hand and darted for the back door. I tried to tell myself I wasn't scared but my heart was pumping too loud for me to convince myself otherwise.

I pushed the back door open half expecting a tiger to pounce on me. But instead I found her lying on the pile of wood scraps we had thrown out back. Her eyes were wild, and she bared her teeth at me when I approached.

"Hey girl, " I said. She growled. And I thought maybe she wasn't actually a she. "Or boy? "

He seemed to calm down. "What's wrong?" I asked. He didn't respond. He only regarded me with his green eyes. Something felt off about this one, he definitely wasn't the loose tiger but he was a loose tiger.

I studied him more closely till I saw the blood on his shoulder. I drew closer, and he only growled louder. I stepped back.

"I'm going to help you," I said, dropping my hands. Maybe he understood because be didn't growl when I stepped forward again. I was able to get a better look at his wound. I hurried back in search of bandages and ointments. Now I didn't know if they would work but I had to do something.

He soon fell asleep after I bandaged him up. I told him to stay before I left, and I wasn't sure if he heard me. Either way, no animal has ever not responded to me.

(A/n: heylo. I wish I knew other ways of saying hello. I know aloha, which works well in author's notes since they're short and you usually have to say hello and bye in them [or do you?] It's a shame especially as someone who boasts about her country having 800+ languages, hehe. Aloha!!)