Searching for Thanksgiving (Dragonlings of Valdier)

Chapter 7

7

“ M orah, are you awake?” Pearl whispered.

Morah groaned, rolled over, and pulled the pillow over her head. Her dragon grumbled when the bed shifted. She tried to ignore her dragon’s warning, but it was impossible. Her symbiot, Princess Buttercup, was trying to burrow down under the pillow with her.

“Go away, I’m sleeping,” she mumbled.

“No, you’re not. If you was sleeping, you wouldn’t be talking,” Pearl said.

Morah growled when Pearl pulled the bedspread back. Her growl turned to a frustrated huff when Buttercup rolled over, taking her pillow with her. Morah rolled over, sat up, and pushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw that Pearl wasn’t alone! Hope, James, Leo, and Sacha were standing at the end of the bed.

“What’s goings on? Why are you all in my room?” she demanded.

“We’ve been thinking,” Pearl said, sitting down on the bed next to her.

“Thinking? You?” she scoffed and shook her head.

Pearl pushed her back against the mattress. Her head would have hit the pillow… if Buttercup hadn’t taken it. Morah scowled and pushed herself back up.

“Yes, me. Well, not just me,” Pearl said, looking over her shoulder.

“We have to save her,” Hope whispered in a voice edged with desperation.

Morah frowned. “Save who?”

“Thanksgiving. We have to save Thanksgiving. I can’t stop thinking about her. We’ve gots to save her, Morah. We’ve gots to!” Hope replied, wringing her hands together.

“But… we don’t knows what happened to her,” Leo protested.

“I do,” Morah replied.

“What?” the chorus of voices demanded.

Morah looked at the small group that was clustered around her bed and sighed. She crossed her legs and leaned forward. She studied each of their earnest faces.

“Alice tolds me that Thanksgiving is scared and lonely. She gots to find the magic inside her to protect herself if she wants to finds the one she loves. Alice says she needs helps to do thats.”

“We can help her,” Hope insisted.

Pearl nodded. “We can go finds her and helps her.”

“How? We don’t knows where to start,” Morah said.

“I knows! I found a map in Amber and Jade’s room,” James said, stepping forward.

Morah reached for the map. She bit her lip as she studied it. The map was surprisingly detailed. She ran her finger over the spot where a small hut was circled. Beside the circle was a caption that said ‘Thanksgiving’.

“This is a long ways from here,” Morah murmured, looking up at the group.

“But we has a map, so we knows where to go,” Pearl countered.

“James and I can gets the food. We’ll raid the kitchen and packs up lots of it,” Leo volunteered.

Hope stared at Morah with vivid green eyes shimmering with tears. Morah interlaced her fingers with Hope’s and was surprised when Pearl covered both of their hands with one of her own.

“Please, Morah. I know you would knows what to do. You always knows what to do,” Hope said.

Morah pursed her lips together. It wasn’t like they hadn’t ever gone on an adventure before. When their daddies shrunk down, they had to go find them and they did just fine! Sure the older dragonlings had been there, but she and the others were older now. Besides, her daddy had taught her all about being in the woods on their camping trips. Plus, they would have their symbiots and Leo, Sacha, and Pearl; and well, James was super smart— She studied the group for a few more seconds before she gave a sharp nod.

“What’s we waiting for? Buttercup, I needs you,” she announced.

“Yay!”

“Shush!” she growled when the other kids shrieked with delight. “Do you wants us to get in troubles before we even does anything? Pearl, you, Sacha, and Hope go and gets dressed. James, you makes sure that you and Leo gets good food! I don’t wants nothing but popcorn and cookies. Makes sure that you and Leo gets the camping pieces Grandpa Paul says we needs to bring on our trips, too,” Morah ordered.

Leo scowled. “What’s you going to do… besides bosses us around?”

Morah lifted an eyebrow at the young cub. Leo huffed and rubbed his foot against the carpet.

“I’m going to make sure we have transportations. Hope, you’ll need to send Rainbow to me. I gots to talk with your symbiot and mine… unless you wants to walks the whole ways!” she snapped.

“I don’t wants to walk that far. It would ruins my new painted nails that mommy did,” Sacha replied with a horrified expression, holding out her pretty pink nails with flowers painted on them.