The Young Guardians Series: Shall We Kiss?(A young Terrador story)

Shall We Kiss? – Chapter Seven: A Place To Call Home

(Idea): Della's arrival at Sand-Storm's cave, and their first few days together.

As the day was close to ending Della finally spotted a cave that looked like it was once a church. There was concrete bricks built into the mountain with a bell tower rising from the top. A bell was inside it. Deciding that this was what Sand-Storm must have meant she flew in and gave the rope a few good tugs. It didn't take long for a sand colored head to look out the door of the brick work. On sight of Della, the dragon's body accompanied his head as he rushed to greet the dragoness who favored the element that clashed with his own. "I thought you weren't ever going to accept my invitation," stated Sand-Storm.

"It's the first time I've ever actually made a choice for myself other than jobs or meals and such," she replied.

"Seriously?"

"I never got much freedom, my parents said they were proud of me because I work hard but the truth is that I only work hard because they tell me to. Everything I have with me in this pack is all I've ever really had."

"Couldn't you just move away?"

"They wouldn't let me, they'd just tell me that I'm an inspiration to my sister to work hard and that by leaving I'd be letting her down."

"More of a cage than a home."

"Yah, and now I've ran away to here and they probably won't want me coming home because they would be ashamed of me or something," said Della as she looked away trying to hide a tear, but it had not been missed by Sand-Storm.

"It's alright with me if you want to stay here, my family would be delighted to have you with us," he offered.

"Really?" she asked, turning her head to look at him without a care of the tears showing.

"Sure, follow me," with that Sand-Storm and Della went back to the door and entered the place, through the door was a nicely illuminated tunnel that had two doors on the left before it curved downwards and left. The tunnel led to a room that Della guessed was the living room. The two doors upstairs were probably the bedrooms and as Della looked around she saw another door near the fireplace. This was the door where Sand-Storm was headed and as he knocked on it he called out. "Dad, Mom, can you come out here please?"

Two dragons slightly darker than Sand-Storm walked out, "Storm, who is your cute female?" asked the feminine one. Della blushed at the words and Sand-Storm looked embarrassed.

"Mom! We're friends!"

"Alright than, so who is your cute friend?"

"Dad, Mom, this is Della, she's a water dragoness, she is disowned and disinherited by her parents and I was wondering if we could let her stay here. Della, this is my dad Dune and my mom Sandy."

"Hey," greeted Dune.

"Nice to see you here," added Sandy.

"Thank you, you don't know how much it means to me," replied Della.

"Haven't seen any water dragons around here for a while, must think our humor is a little dry," joked Dune, "But any interest of Sand-Storm's is welcome here."

"Dad!"

"Maybe you should tell your sister about our guest too. And Della, sorry we won't be able to provide any rooms but your welcome to share a room with Storm, sorry for the lack of beds," said Sandy as she with her mate returned to their room.

As Della and Sand-Storm returned to the upper part of the cave to introduce Della to his sister they conversed, "Storm?"

"Yah, it's a lot easier then calling me Sand-Storm all the time, would have called me Sandy but mom has that name and it sounds too feminine," he replied.

"So you have a sister?"

"Same age as you and me, her names Kaeri (Not pronounced Care-ee, but pronounced Car-ee), and its only fair to warn you, she owns what has to be the largest music bowl in the valley (A/N: The bigger the bowl the louder the volume of the music, so basically the volume is predetermined.).

"Ouch."

"Yah, big-time," replied Storm as they approached one of the two doors upstairs, the one farthest from the entrance was apparently Kaeri's and as Storm opened the door Della was surprised that she hadn't heard the sound of music when she had walked by the door. The noise was close to unbearable and it made Della want to run screaming and dancing in insanity. To her amusement that was what a sand colored dragoness was doing. "Kaeri!"

"Yah?" called back the dragoness.

"Take the cylinder off!" called Storm. After a few seconds Kaeri did just that and turned back to her brother.

"So, who's the lucky dragoness?" asked Kaeri.

"Not you too!" cried Storm.

Kaeri laughed, "Hey, I'm Kaeri, nice to meet you."

"Same to you Kaeri, I'm Della."

"Okay, and Sandman, you better clean your room if she's going to be sleeping with you, besides, I'd like to get to know Della better."

"Sandman?" inquired Della.

"Mom and Dad and some others call him Storm, but I and his buddies call him Sandman."

"That makes since," Della replied. As she made herself comfortable on Kaeri's bed she looked back at the doorway to see Storm still there, "You can go you know."

"Wha? Oh, yah sorry I'll get going now," he said with a sheepish grin as he left.

"He thinks you're really something, and I can tell you think the same of him," commented Kaeri.

"Yah, he…I guess you could say he opened the door of my cage and showed me the real world."

"Could you say that without the analogy?"

"Before I met him I just did what my parents told me to, I had a bed, a room, a rug, a diary, some pens, a pack, and that's it. Then I met him, that was the first time I ever disobeyed my parents, they had a rule against letting customers help with work, to even let a customer near the kitchen was against it. He wanted to help me with my work, he just wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Yah, he did that with Lissya Sprif three years ago. She was carrying some boxes home and he asked if he could help her but she declined. He followed her and kept asking. Liss just dropped those boxes right there and I'll tell you, I've never seen a dragoness run so fast in my life, poor Sand-Storm was outside her door for close to an hour with the boxes in hand." The two dragonesses laughed.

"He's to die for," sighed Della.

"That's my brother, he's always had this thing for helping dragonesses," replied Kaeri, "Don't worry, I can tell he's got his eyes on you, despite him denying it."

"So, what's Sinclaipe Valley like?"

"Wonderful markets, lots of parks, it's a collection of sand, wind, and fire elementals so we've got the best glass wares, real beautiful. Look, here's one that I received a year ago at the Festival Of Life," said Kaeri, pointing to a beautifully crafted dragoness figurine totally made out of glass, it had its jaws open and Della could see that the glass dragoness acted as a sort of pot if you put stuff in through the mouth. "It's a Wishing-Dragoness, I'm a sand elemental so when I make a wish I have to put some sand inside if I want my wish to come true. My boyfriend got it for me, hasn't failed me yet that little dragoness," she said as she watched Della examine the little glass dragoness.

"My Grandmother had a dragoness made of glass, she was a water elemental like me, she put some water inside every night before we went to sleep and prayed that we would have good dreams and that we would be kind and good throughout our lives."

"We?"

"I have a younger sister, Mia. That little glass dragoness of Grandma's never failed us."

"That's because your Grandma had a Dream-Dragoness figurine, she was an aqua elemental so she put water in it and instant good dreams for anyone sleeping in the near area."

"How many Dragoness figurines are there?"

"There's the Wish-Dragoness, the Dream-Dragoness, the Hope-Dragonesses which are really rare now, the Health-Dragoness, the Mood-Dragoness which are supposed to be illegal because of use on others, and the Luck-Dragoness which are illegal if used at sporting events," said Kaeri.

"So what's this Festival Of Life?"

"You know about Life-Rings?"

"Yah."

"Well the Life-Festival is where dragons and dragonesses go to look for a potential mate, like it's a week of looking, building relationships, courting, and the end of the festival Coupling-Flight."

"Coupling-Flight?"

"Yah, it signals the end of the festival, its where all the couples go into this complex flight formation, it's really quite a sight. According to some people, when you fly you have no idea what to do, you just follow your heart. Even the unsuccessful dragons and dragonesses take part because there's a saying about the flight, 'take flight, and your heart will lead you to your soul mate'. That way no one is left alone after the festival."

"So you're more than-," began Della.

"No!" Kaeri cut Della off laughing, "Me and my boyfriend just went because it's a wonderful time to spend with your most cherished. Lots of couples have gone without having to pledge there love then and there."

"Okay sorry about that." Della laughed a little realizing how stupid her question had sounded.

"Its alright, you're a real pal Della, really, how about we take a look around the Sinclaipe markets tomorrow? If I can pry you from Sand-Storm's grip." Suddenly Storm was in the room.

"I heard that sis," he said to which Kaeri laughed. "Della, I've got my room clean now."

"Della, I've got our room clean now," repeated Kaeri in a mock Storm voice, purposefully adding the 'our'.

"Kaeri!"

"I know, I know, save it for when your honeybunch is out of the room," she said, seeing his face grow even more annoyed she added a, "don't get your tail in a knot, I'm only having a little fun."

After some "see you later"s and "goodnight"s, Sand-Storm and Della were finally able to move to the room next door which was apparently Storm's. The room had a small stone fireplace with a shelf over it and not much else other than some tapestries, a bed, some blankets, a table, a pack, some books, and a half empty book and some pens. Della walked over to take a look. "I haven't finished writing it yet," said Storm as he unpacked Della's pack for her, "It's a romance between an aqua dragoness and a sand dragon, and I think I've found a name for her."

"And what is it?" asked Della with a smile

"You'll find out," said Storm returning the smile. Della watched him set her pens and books upon his table near his own. He set her rug down in front of the fireplace and put her blanket on his bed. "Do you mind?"

"No, its fine, but I think I'll set up the last of my things," she replied, taking from her pack the last of her possessions, a small silk tapestry of her grandmother. As she moved to put it on the shelf above the fireplace she tripped on her rug and stumbled into the arms of Storm who had moved in a flash from where he had been just to help her. "Sorry, I can be a little clumsy sometimes."

"That's alright, besides, I'm here to catch you," he replied as she leaned into his embrace. Next thing she knew she was curled up against his side asleep on the bed.

In the middle of the night Storm woke to find Della shivering against him trying to draw as much warmth as she could from him. Getting up he walked across to collect one of his own blankets from the corner of his room and returned laying it over the sleeping dragoness. Before he returned to sleep he took one last look at her smiling face, then sleep took him.

In Kaeri's room she was about to put some sand into her Wish-Dragoness before she stopped herself, "Nah, they don't need me to wish for them, they've already got their feelings figured out." She slowly blew the sand from her paws, watching it spiral in the air before she made it go into nonexistence, "Goodnight you two, you've got eachother and that's all you'll ever need."