Fireball

A Day of Mourning

"I'm very sorry you suffered so much at the hands of wizards and I will do everything I can to protect your community and the rest of the world from these evil wizards. Please understand most wizards are not bad. I will leave now and not bother you in the future but know I will still be watching out for the safety of your community."

Fireball walked over to his friend, Amos and shook his hand. Then he went back to hug his mother. He smiled at his mother as best he could, but it was hard as he kept thinking about Kaida.

"My father always said I would work with wizards to help rid the world of evil." Fireball started. "I now know what he meant. I need to stay here, so we can have proper burials for our dragon friends and loved ones. After that I must go with Amos, if he will have me. I will help him however he needs me, until we can rid the world of all evil."

Amos came over and picked Fireball up. "I would love the help, though I think we have our work cut out for us."

Malvina mustered a smile. She was sad her son would soon be leaving, but she knew in her heart that he wanted to work with Amos and she believed together the two could make a difference for their world. Her little Fireball was a special dragon.

The older dragons mixed more magical mortar to fix up their wall as they began to restore their community. Fireball and Amos helped clean up and Amos even put a few additional protection spells on the whole community, including down to the beach. He wanted the dragons to be well protected from outsiders.

Several days after the attack, the dragon community was well on their way to restoring their home to its old self, at least in appearance. The loss of so many dragons would require a great deal more time for recovery.

The elders decided that it would be best to have all the funerals the same day and at the main gardens. The dragons were laid on traditional woven straw beds, surrounded by wooden stakes, topped with chunks of anthracite that emitted a bright blue flame. The whole community was present but many family members could not let go of their loved ones, clinging to their sides. Fireball held one of Kaida's hands while her mother held the other. Dragons walked by the dead paying respects and offering condolences to the living family members. Fireball was oblivious to the other dragons moving between the bodies. His mind focussed on what his future could have been with Kaida. His mind kept asking the same simple questions: Why Kaida? Why Khalid? Why was life so unfair?

Amos attended the funerals, but he sat in the back, to not offend the dragon community. He knew they were still hurting from the pain brought on by the evil wizards. After the ceremonies, the community had a large party to celebrate the lives of their fallen. Fireball sat alone, off to one side. His friends and mother kept checking on him, but he could not bring himself to celebrate, no matter how hard he tried. Finally, he made excuses and slipped off to his mother's cave to be alone. Once inside he could no longer hold back his emotions. The little dragon laid down with tears streaming down his face. He cried until pure exhaustion kicked in and finally, he fell asleep.