Searching for Thanksgiving (Dragonlings of Valdier)

Chapter 6

6

“ O h, boy,” Zohar exclaimed with aggrieved exasperation before he fell into his role as leader. “Amber, Jade, get the fire extinguisher. Spring, open the windows. Phoenix, grab Morah before she lights the whole place on fire. Roam, grab your cousin!”

“Aw, Zohar. It was just getting good,” Roam complained as he reluctantly went after his younger cousin.

“Yeah, well, you aren’t the one who has to explain the scorch marks or the stink of burning cat hair to your parents! Leo, no biting!” Zohar snapped.

“She started it!” Leo complained, shifting back to his two-legged form.

Morah gave a haughty sniff and lifted her chin. “And I’ll finish it, too.”

“Oh, yeah?” Leo challenged, struggling to break free of the circle Bálint, Roam, and Jabir had made around him.

“Yeah! Dragons are better than kitty-cats,” Morah retorted.

“But… Sacha and Pearl are cat-shifters,” Hope quietly interjected.

Morah pursed her lips and thought quickly when she saw the hurt feelings on the twin’s faces. She lifted her chin higher and tossed her shiny black hair back. She winked at the twins.

“Dragons and girl Sarafin warriors are better—and way smarters—than a boy. We don’t have to be in your stupid clubhouse. We can makes our own!”

“Well, we don’t want you in our clubhouse because girls aren’t invited, are they, James?” Leo snapped back.

“How about some ice cream and cookies?” Phoenix suggested.

“Ice Cream! Cookies!”

The boys, big and small, took off for the kitchen followed by everyone else except for Alice, who was repairing the damage Morah’s dragon had done, and Hope, who stood with her arms folded across her chest and was glaring at Morah.

“What’s the matter?” Morah asked.

“I wanted to find out what happened to Thanksgiving, and you and Leo ruined it,” Hope snapped before she stomped off.

Morah sighed and looked at Alice who was trying not to laugh. She walked over to the older girl and folded her hands together. Guilt gnawed at her. She hadn’t acted like a leader tonight.

“Alice,” Morah murmured, looking at the other girl as she straightened the last, colorful throw pillow on the couch.

“Yes, Morah?”

“What happened to Thanksgiving?” she asked.

Alice smiled and held her hand out to her. “Thanksgiving was scared and lonely. She needed help, and so her friends helped her. Now that she wasn’t alone, she was able to find her inner magic, and with it, she protected herself and found the one she loves. That’s what Thanksgiving means… here. It is about giving thanks for the things that mean the most to you… family, friends, even people you don’t know… and sharing the love with them. Even if you are different, or they are different.”

“Like Thanksgiving?” Morah asked with a frown.

Alice hugged Morah. “Like Thanksgiving… and Leo…”

“But… he’s a boy.”

“He’s also your friend and part of our family,” Alice gently pointed out.

Morah sighed and looked toward the kitchen. “He’s a dragonling.”

Alice nodded. “And dragonlings stick together.”

“I guess this means I’ve gots to apologize to him,” she grumpily replied.

Alice laughed. “It wouldn’t hurt.”

She sniffed and lifted her chin. “That doesn’t mean I wants to be in those two’s stupid clubhouse.”

“I’ll help you make your own clubhouse for girls tomorrow,” Alice promised.

Morah grinned, nodded, and began walking toward the kitchen with Alice.

It’s hard beings a leader.

She ignored her dragon’s snort of amusement.

Spring motioned for Jabir and her sister to follow her into the other room while the other kids were absorbed in the movie that was playing. Her eyes glittered with fire. If she had any doubt that Roam had been behind the destruction to her garden and the missing worms, it had disappeared when she saw the telltale green residue on his palms. It was proof of his dastardly worm-hunt.

With grim satisfaction, she watched Jabir retrieve the large jar of sticky worms he had hidden.

“You don’t think Roam will hurt them, do you, Spring?” Jabir asked as he handed it to her.

Spring snorted. “You can’t hurt sticky worms.”

“They are pretty much indestructible,” Phoenix agreed, laying her hand on Jabir’s shoulder.

“What if he tries to eat them… or use them as bait?” Jabir fretted, looking at the jar as if he wanted to grab it back.

“He won’t. You know that once he touches them, he won’t be able to pull them off without your help. You’re the only one of us who knows how to get them to release,” she said.

“I just talk to them really nice,” Jabir said as if this were obvious and anyone could do it. He bit his lip anxiously. "Remember, when you get done with them I need to put them back in their nest. I promised them I would.”

“You’ll have them back by morning. Roam won’t be able to get rid of them fast enough!” she replied.

“We’ll keep an eye on Roam while you go do your thing. I can’t wait to see Roam’s face in the morning,” Phoenix said with a grin.

Spring slipped out of the living room and onto the terrace. Shifting into her dragon, she clutched the jar of sticky worms to her chest and launched herself off the balcony. Within seconds, she was soaring across the garden toward the guest quarters which had been reserved for her Aunt Riley, Uncle Vox, Roam, Sacha, and Pearl. She pulled up, landing on the railing. Shifting back into her two-legged form, she jumped down and silently traversed along the long, narrow outer gallery until she came to Roam’s bedroom. Pushing open the French doors, she stepped into the darkened room.

He going to be mad at you, her dragon warned.

Let him! I’m mad at him more! she retorted.

Her dragon’s chuckle told her that she wasn’t upset about the plot underfoot. Spring walked over to the bed, pulled back the covers, and whispered quietly to the sticky worms before she released them.

She covered the worms, being careful not to pat the sheets and bedspread, before retracing her steps. She looked over her shoulder, a slight grin of mischief curving her lips. The worms wouldn’t hurt Roam, but they would make him think twice before hunting for any type of worm the next time he wanted to go fishing.

She placed the jar with a note inside it on the table next to the door before exiting the room. Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day.