Fireball

The Expedition

Fireball didn't sleep well. He was worried about Dronin. He also felt uncomfortable not telling his mother what was going on. Fireball had never lied to his mother before, but he knew if he told her what they planned to do, she would try to stop him. He had to go look for his friend.

As the light of a new day billowed into the cave, Fireball cracked one eyelid and rolled over, not quite ready to get up. Finally, hearing noise just outside the cave, he rose and went to the entrance. Drake was pacing back and forth, waiting for Fireball to make an appearance.

"Hello." Drake called into the cave. "You coming out this morning, Fireball?" Elyse and Endrik have been looking for you."

"You're all up very early today." Malvina commented. "Are you and you friends up to something?"

Fireball started to turn a shade of red. He wasn't sure what to say. He was terrible at hiding anything from his mother. Why would she think they had anything special planned today, he wondered. Before he could say anything suspicious, Drake strolled right into the cave.

"No plans today." Drake blurted out. "Elyse and Endrik want to explore some new caves they found. We just wanted to get an early start."

"Be very careful," Malvina responded sharply. "I worry when you are off exploring. What happens if you get stuck in a cave, deep in the ocean? Please stick together and be sure to be back in time for supper. Last night I was very worried. You missed supper and stayed out very late."

Fireball kissed his mother and quickly left with Drake. He sometimes felt embarrassed. Most dragons his age lived on their own. He was nearly 16 and still lived with his mom. 16 may not have been very old in dragon years, but Fireball still felt foolish. When his father was 16, his parents were married, and his best friend, Drake, lived on his own.

Drake took the lead, heading toward Kaida's cave. When they arrived, Fireball was still hanging his head. Drake laughed and told him to shake it off. Then he joked that maybe he and Kaida could move in together. Fireball again turned red. He liked Kaida, but he didn't think of her that way. She was always horsing around and having fun with everyone, but she was also super smart. Anytime anybody had a hard question, Kaida usually had the answer. The other dragons affectionately called her the flying encyclopedia. Fireball also liked the fact that Kaida was not much bigger than him.

Kaida and Fireball were much smaller than the other dragons. Kaida's family had come to the island quite recently. She told Fireball that they had flown a long distance before they arrived. Her father had wanted to get his family far away from wizards and their fighting. Like Fireball's father, Kaida's dad had flown with the wizards, but after losing many friends, decided the time had come to leave.

"Come on Fireball." Kaida said, deliberately bumping into him in mid-air. "Elyse is probably waiting for you."

Kaida joked with Fireball about Elyse having a crush on him, but Fireball was pretty sure that Kaida actually liked him and was a bit jealous when any female dragon talked to him. It wasn't one-sided either. Fireball usually blushed when Kaida talked to him. He liked her, but he was afraid to tell her.