Gail spent the morning perched quietly on her windowsill, blowing a smoke ring now and then and sighing. She thought a lot that day. But no matter where her thoughts wandered, they always returned to Laurel's story. At last she glanced around furtively and fluttered over to the ebony desk in the corner.
She walked around the laptop a few times, frowning and blowing the occasional smoke ring. Finally she gripped the top of it firmly and struggled to force it open.
The computer didn't budge. Gail backed off in a huff and made several more fruitless efforts before returning to her windowsill, considerably discouraged. She was sure that the words on the screen would tell her much more of what she wanted to know-or at least entertain her for a few hours. She sighed and gazed at her glum reflection in the windowpane, making faces at herself in her moments of boredom.
She got up and made a few more tries at the laptop. At last, by grabbing the lid a certain way and bracing herself against the desktop, she could force it open just enough to slide her arms under it and force it open wide enough to crouch beneath it and shove it open. After several long minutes of harsh labor, the little clay dragon had finally opened the laptop. Now what had Laurel done once it was open?
Tentatively she touched a sizeable white square beneath the rows of keys. The screen, which had been dark, jumped to life. Gail, pleased with herself, hrred softly in delight. Now, how would she get the words to appear?
A small box containing a picture of a kitten appeared against the blue screen, which was covered with pretty designs. Gail touched the square again and watched a small object on the screen jump. She touched it again, but this time left her paw on longer, moving it slightly. The object, which was shaped like an arrow, jumped towards the box. Gail, feeling by now that she had gone where no dragon had gone before, continued to move the small arrow towards the kitten. When at last the arrow hovered over the kitten, Gail looked around for something else to do. She pressed a few of the keys experimentally.
Nothing happened.
Blowing a disappointed smoke ring, Gail looked a little closer. The arrow-square had two small rectangles above it. Gail pushed one. It didn't go down as easily as the keys, but finally there was a sharp click. Gail stumbled backwards and the kitten vanished.
A second box appeared on the screen. It was white. Above it was a word written in human scribbles, the same ones that were on the keys and in Laurel's diary. She squinted for a second. Password. What was a password? Gail thought for a second. She tried pressing the click-key again (a little more cautiously this time) and a blinking line appeared in the white box. She tilted her head to the side, frowning slightly. What about the scribble-keys, the word-pieces? Gail crept forward and poked one.
A small black dot appeared in the box. Gail, giddy with delight, began striking the word-pieces left and right, hitting them randomly. Suddenly the box vanished and then reappeared with more words beside it. Gail squinted at them.
Did you forget your password?
Hrr! Gail snorted. How can you forget what you never knew in the first place?
Paws heavy with disappointment, Gail spent several more minutes struggling with the lid of the laptop. At last, at last, the hateful thing was closed. Gail sighed and prepared to fly back to the windowsill.
She froze, unable to believe her violet eyes. The window was open. And up on the sill was a creature who resembled her reflection; green scales, violet eyes, leathery wings. Another dragon! Another dragon sat up on her windowsill, beckoning her to join it.
Gail spread her wings and hurried to her perch, where she landed beside the beckoning dragon. This close, she saw that the creature she had thought almost a reflection of herself, while very similar, was not like her at all.
Firstly, the dragon who stood before her was completely and distinctly male. And second, he carried two strange objects in his right paw: a notepad and pencil.
The dragon was very open and polite. He introduced himself to Gail as Gadzooks, then asked if she had any questions.
Yes, Gail hrred. Why can't I remember anything before today? And what is a password? (She pronounced it pass-word, with a very distinct accent on the hyphen.)
You can't remember anything before today because there was nothing to remember, Gadzooks replied, not unkindly. Before this morning, you were nothing but a pretty lump of clay. Now you have been animated. And now you are alive.
Gail did not miss the small compliment in the sentence, but it didn't help so much. Who animated me? Why did they do it?
The great ice dragon, G'Oreal, leader of the Wearle of the Polar Ice Cap, is the one who animated you. You are made from the clay that makes up the body of the earth. G'Oreal was able to animate you by tapping into the Fire Eternal-the heart of the Earth-through the Earth Mother, Gaia. He animated you because, as you saw-he gestured to the laptop, making Gail cringe-the human Laurel has been exploring in her dreams. It surprised G'leareth as much as anyone else when she appeared. We need a dragon eye on her.
Gail frowned. Gaia? Earth Mother? Wearle? Fire Eternal? How could words she couldn't possibly remember seem so familiar?
It's in your blood, so to speak, Gadzooks explained, as if reading her mind. You are a dragon. You have knowledge of these things, even if you might not know it. In time, you will come to understand it all. Dragons, as Laurel guessed, are very "big-picture people".
Gail nodded. Where did I come from? Why wasn't I animated before?
A potter called Liz Pennykettle, an old friend of mine, and my maker as well, created you. She shares the blood of Gawain, one of the dragons who walked this Earth in the Before Times. She possesses the power to animate her creations using something known as icefire. But you weren't one to be animated at the time. Don't blame her; she had no idea of your destiny. You were sold at an artists' market to your girl, Laurel here. And you've been here ever since.
Gail nodded slowly.
Any other questions? Gadzooks hrred politely.
No. I guess I'll learn more later, Gail responded, just as politely. She guessed Gadzooks, however he had come to be there, was headed elsewhere as well.
Good, Gadzooks smiled. Before I go, I have a gift for you. David had Lucy-Liz's daughter-and Gwendolen-her dragon-make it for you.
David? Gail started to ask. But before the hrr had actually formed, Gadzooks had produced a strange, flat object that resembled the top part of Laurel's laptop from beneath a wing. The word David turned into the words What is it?
It's called a tablet. It's like the computer Laurel used for her diary, Gadzooks explained. You can use it to communicate with us. Here, he said, scribbling on his notepad. He ripped off the top sheet and handed it to her. Written on it was an e-mail address:
Gail frowned. What's this?
Gadzooks took the tablet from her and showed her how to turn it on and helped her set up a dragonmail account. (So that's what a pass-word is! Gail exclaimed.)
We can use the e-mails to communicate, Gadzooks explained. This is David's e-mail. He held up the paper. Type him a message, maybe even one of Gail's diary entries, then hit send, and-he tapped the screen with a flourish-it goes right to David.
I get it, Gail hrred thoughtfully. Interesting.
Very, Gadzooks agreed. Remember to keep it under your wing and don't let Laurel see it. Okay?
Gail bobbed her head. Just one more thing, Gail said.
Gadzooks turned. What?
Who's David? she asked.
Gadzooks chuckled, blowing smoke from his nostrils. You'll find that out soon enough. Enjoy that tablet. There are some pretty fun games on there.
If I can figure it out, I will. Gail watched him as he hopped to the window. They waved at each other, and then Gadzooks flew away.
