Dragon Wisdom

A week later I was riding on Fireflash, heading for the wilderness that was Washington State, where the bronze dragons dwelled. Before I left, Dad admonished me to be on my best behavior, for the bronze dragons don't tolerate mouthy apprentices any more than he did. I promised him I would, because I'm not suicidal, and the last thing I'd ever want is to get a dragon mad at me.

Flash told Severus that he'd have me back within a month or so, maybe longer if it looked like I needed more time with him. The Director told him to take all the time he needed, then he hugged me and told me to be good and learn whatever Flash required. I agreed and hugged him back, knowing I was going to miss him, for this was the first time I'd ever been away from him for any length of time, unless you count the two days I was a guest of the Shifter-a.k.a Draco Malfoy six months ago. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I reminded myself, one that most wizards in America would give their right arms for. To study with a bronze dragon, even if it was only for a month, was a great honor.

So I said goodbye to Dad, Scout, and Nightfall, Sev's owl, who told me they'd keep my father company until I came back, mounted Fireflash and soared through the sky to the dragons' sanctuary. Riding Flash was a breathtaking experience, better than even riding my Windstorm. This was partly because Flash flew so very quickly, close to seven hundred miles an hour, and also because he occasionally did aerial acrobatics inbetween flying.

I loved those daredevil stunts, they made my heart race and my blood quicken, and they were plain fun. I was perfectly safe, for the straps of the dragonsaddle held me firmly in place, so there was no possibility of falling. Flash explained to me as we flew, that the place we were going to was a game preserve, which meant that most of the wild animals that lived there were off limits to hunters. Human hunters, that is. The bronzes still hunted deer or elk at will in the forest, though they mostly preferred salmon and sea kelp to venison. He also said that the caves I'd be staying while he taught me were only a temporary place for him and a few of his relatives, they weren't anything close to a bronze's real lair, which no human was ever permitted to know the location of.

Even so, I knew it was another privilege to be allowed to live with them for a time, temporary living quarters or not. I was both excited and curious to see the caves Flash had spoken of, which were close to Mount St. Helens, one of few active volcanoes in the US. The caves were beside a large river with a huge waterfall, which made it a prime spot for the bronzes to fish for salmon, one of their favorite foods.

It was one of mine as well, so I wouldn't mind if we ate it a lot. Like I said before, I'm not picky about food.

"Are there a lot of your relatives over there, Flash?" I asked, eager to meet other dragons.

"Depends on what you mean by a lot, Gavin," he answered, turning his head towards me slightly so I could hear him over the noise of the wind kicked up by his wings. "Right now there are four of us living near the Crystal Falls, as Sunstrike calls them. I'm one, Sunstrike's another, my mother Citrine is visiting us for a bit, and then there's Spark, my young cousin, who's also my apprentice."

"You've got an apprentice? Like a master wizard?"

"Yup. When a dragonet's old enough, that means over a century, he or she apprentices to another dragon in the same Clan, to learn magic and a lifepath, like a career for you humans. My lifepath is as a Hunter Guardian, and that's what I'm instructing Spark in. When he's older, he'll join the Dark Hunters and Sev will assign him a human partner, much like I was assigned to work with Amelia, Sev's wife. But he's got a ways to go till then."

"Do you dragons get to choose what you'll be? Or do you have to follow in your father's footsteps?"

"No, we're not bound by tradition to a particular path. But most of the dragons in the Brightwings clan do tend to become Guardians and Council Leaders. Your clan is determined by your father, according to custom. Spark's father was Aventurine, who was killed by the dragonslayers over six years ago," Fireflash said, referring to the gang of renegade wizards that had begun hunting and killing bronzes until Severus, Arista, Drake, Flash, Scout, and Sunstrike had put a stop to it. "His mother, Ambersong, is of the Fire Spark clan, but she wanted her son to be a Hunter, and so honor his father's memory. Spark felt the same, and so he was sent to me to mentor, as I was once apprentice to Aventurine. It's customary for a dragonet to be mentored by a dragon who is not his parent, for the mentor will be less likely to spoil the dragonet and discipline him firmly if necessary. Also it strengthens the bonds between dragons if we teach and learn from one another."

"Strengthens the bond between wizard and dragon too."

"Indeed, and if this little experiment with you works out the way I'm thinking it will, I'll bring up that point at the next Council meeting, and recommend we bronzes begin tutoring young wizards again, the way we used to long ago."

"I won't let you down, Flash," I promised.

"Good. I hope you and Spark will become friends as well, he needs to learn how to interact more with humans if he's going to become a Hunter's partner someday."

"I'd like that," I said shyly. Actually having a bronze dragon for a friend would be the ultimate in awesome.

We completed the rest of the flight, it was about three and a half hours long, in a blur, with me napping for some of it and Flash singing for the rest of it. Fireflash loves to sing, he's got a beautiful voice, and knows as many songs as a contemporary DJ.

In no time at all we were settling in for a perfect landing atop a large slab of rock next to a thundering waterfall. "Home sweet home for the next few weeks, Gavin," he announced before folding his wings tight against his body.

I undid the straps on the dragonsaddle and slid off his shoulder, glancing about eagerly. I couldn't wait to see my new pad.

* * * * * *

The cave complex, which was gigantic, and partly screened by the rushing waterfall, was formed of smooth igneous rock in a striation of colors. I'm showing off my newly learned geology vocabulary here, can you tell? The main area of the complex had been worn smooth by water and the bronzes had smoothed it out even more with their magic, so you could walk across it without tripping. The noise from the waterfall masked any sound coming from inside the cave, which was what the bronzes had intended, so they didn't need to resort to magic to keep from being discovered by a chance hiker.

Not that this part of the preserve got many people backpacking across it, it was pretty remote, and most of the big tourists and hikers preferred to go closer to St. Helens. Which suited me and the dragons just fine. Dragons learn early how to mask their presence from humans, and Flash promised he'd teach me as well, so I wouldn't have to worry about some Muggle coming up on me as I was casting something. Subtle is a bronze's middle name.

The top of the cave was lit by several large stalactites, which also radiated a comfortable source of heat. The stalactites were colored a soft amber, green, and blue. Their glow was soothing to the eyes, yet provided ample light for me to see and read by. There were four rather large-nests, I guess you could call them, where the bronzes slept off to the right of the main cave. These were large hollows lined with dried sea grass and shed scales, bronzes find shed scales comfortable to sleep on, or so Flash says. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

There was a large golden cushion set just below the stalactite lights, presumably for me, and a small wooden table beside it as well, looking as if it had been carved from a single piece of redwood.

"Your bedroom's through there, kid," Flash said, coming into the cave behind me. He swung his snout to indicate the left hand tunnel. "Hope it's okay, we haven't had to create furniture for a person in awhile."

"Create?" I stared at him. "You mean you made this stuff by magic?"

Fireflash snorted, his aqua eyes whirling in amusement. "Yup. Had to, it's not like we can go and shop at the nearest Wal-Mart or whatever. Sunny did most of it, since she's better at that kind of thing than me or Spark. Check it out."

I did. The bedroom was twice the size of mine at home, and the cave walls were decorated with forest scenes complete with animals that moved. The floor of the cave had a large throw rug across it that would have been right at home in some sultan's palace. It was done in blue and gold tones.

The bed was curved at both ends, rather like a sleigh, and like the table was formed of one piece of redwood. There was a silky comforter atop it with swirled patterns of blue and green and gold, rather like the sea. When I touched it, it felt like the most incredibly super soft silk ever. "Hey, what is this stuff, Flash? I've never felt anything this soft."

"Dragon silk, kid. It's made from a combination of sea silk fronds and a thin layer of our scales, spun with magic. It'll keep you toasty warm in the winter and cool as a sea breeze in the worst of summer heat. And the pillows are griffin down. My mom made this for you, she knows all the spells for fabrics and stuff, it's a specialty of her clan, along with healing."

I sat down on the bed, and found it was like sitting on a cloud. "Awesome. I'll have to thank her, Flash."

The rest of my things were here, transported by magic. My trunk with all my clothes and school supplies stood against the wall, near the redwood desk and a soft cushioned chair with wheels. Another large stalactite was emitting a soft amber glow. Next to the bed was another small table.

"Well? What do you think?"

"It's great," I said honestly. I noted my broom was also hanging on the wall, I'd brought it so I could fly by myself and not be totally dependent on the dragons' wings.

"There's a bathroom through the small door there," Flash indicated a small wooden door. "It's got a natural drainage system, and the bathtub is actually a natural hot spring. We can alter the temperature for you if you think it's too hot."

I grinned. "Don't worry about that, Flash. I'm a firecaller, remember? I like to broil myself."

"Right then. I'll leave you to get unpacked or whatever and then I'm going to hunt for a bit. If you're hungry, just go out to the table and request some food, it'll give you pretty much whatever you want. We weren't sure what you liked, so we decided a dinner spell like the house elves use was easiest."

"No problem, Flash. Where are Sunny and the others?"

"Hunting probably. They'll be along in a few hours. We can make introductions then. Eat, unpack, and take a nap if you want. I'll see you in a bit." He started for the cave entrance. Then he looked back over his shoulder at me and said, "Oh, and you might want to give Sev a call, let him know you got here safe and sound."

"Good idea." I was glad Flash had reminded me, for I'd forgotten that Dad had asked me to do that. Fireflash vanished through the waterfall, leaving me alone to get settled in. I quickly turned the ring on my right hand, which was connected to Dad's spellophone, and called him. Then I began to unpack my things.

Once I'd gotten all my magical books out, I decided to take a break and eat something. I walked out to the small table, squinting, and trying to determine what kind of spell was on it. But though I could sense plenty of magic about me, I couldn't tell the exact spell being used on the table. Dad had told me that bronzes are experts in hiding their spells from wizards, so I wasn't too disappointed that I couldn't figure it out.

I laid my hand on the table and asked for a ten piece chicken McNuggets, fries, barbecue sauce, and a large Coke. I rarely got to eat fast food and decided to indulge myself for once. It appeared on the table with a soft pop, piping hot and crunchy in the case of the fries and nuggets and ice cold for the Coke.

"Wicked spell! God, I wish I knew that one," I said in envy, then settled down in the cushion chair and began to devour my meal. Afterwards, I felt kind of sleepy, and so I went to take a nap and slept like a baby.

I woke up to find a set of huge green eyes peering at me.

They belonged to a young bronze dragon with scales the burnished orange and gold of a leaping bonfire. He was about three-quarters the size of Fireflash and his wings were a darker gold than the mature dragon's.

"So this is the firecaller, hmmm? Welcome to Camp Crystal. I'm Spark, of the Brightwings clan, son of Aventurine and Ambersong."

I sat up, blinking sleepily, and held out a hand. "Hi. I'm Gavin Snape, son of Severus. Pleased to meet you."

Spark carefully grasped my hand in his huge forefoot, which had his talons retracted, much to my relief. Like some cats, bronzes have retractable claws, and their forefeet are very flexible, almost like a pair of hands. "Is it true you are the offspring of Dragonfriend Severus Snape, who helped my mentor Fireflash destroy the dragonslayers?"

"Yeah, he's my dad. And my sister Arista's another Dragonfriend, she's a Healer."

"I know of her also, she saved Flash from dragonbane poisoning," Spark said approvingly. "You come from a very honorable lineage, wizard Snape." Then he inclined his head to me in a gesture of respect.

I blushed, for I wasn't used to being treated with such deference. After all, it wasn't me who'd done all those things to save the bronzes. "I know. But you can just call me Gavin, okay? Your lineage is nothing to sneeze at either. Flash says your dad was a hero, a great Dark Hunter."

"He was," Spark sighed sadly. "I curse the day that dragonslayer Crouch ever drew breath. My father's loss was a great one, especially for my mother. She has vowed never to take another mate."

I nodded in understanding. "Kind of like my dad after his wife died. He says that no other woman could ever replace her and so he'll never bother looking."

Spark looked puzzled. "But is not his wife your mother also?"

"Nope. Amelia's Arista mom, not mine. I never knew mine, she abandoned me when I was a baby. Severus adopted me and that's how I became his son."

"Ah. You are the son of his heart, and therefore doubly precious," stated Spark simply.

I blinked. "Why do you say that?"

"Is it not so? For did he not choose you out of all others? A child of your blood you must love, but a child of your heart is a gift that you choose and therefore beyond measure. So we bronzes say. Adoption among us is a rare thing, but when it occurs, the adopted son or daughter is given the same status and rights as a blood offspring, and called a child of the heart, beloved forever and always. Is it not the same with you humans?"

I hesitated for a moment. How many kids had I known from the orphanage that had gone on to foster homes or been adopted by people who only wanted an extra pair of hands or whatever? Blood is thicker than water, that's why you'll never be the same as a child born to real parents, so Ferrous used to say to us. "Sometimes it's like that. If you're lucky to get adopted by decent people," I said quickly. "Like I was with Sev."

Spark seemed satisfied with this answer, then asked, "Have you progressed far with your magical training? I am counted a third level caster, according to dragon rank."

"Uh, I only just started my magical training with my dad. But my firecalling talent is pretty strong, that's why Fireflash agree to tutor me."

"Flash is a good teacher, if a bit hard sometimes," Spark said. "Follow me please, Gavin. Lady Citrine and Lady Sunstrike are in the large cave, waiting to meet you."

I slid off my bed and followed him out into the main cave, where I was introduced to Citrine, who was Flash's mother and a dragonhealer. She was a member of the Council of Seven, which was the ruling body of bronzes. So too was Flash's girlfriend, Sunstrike, whom I'd met before.

Both females greeted me cordially, asking me how my flight was and if I'd rested enough. I said yes, and asked if I might take my broom and go flying for a bit.

"Fine, just remember not to let any Muggles spot you, kid," warned Flash.

"I'll go with you," Spark said swiftly. "How fast can that broom of yours fly, Gavin?"

"It's a racing broom, so it can go very fast." I answered.

Spark's eyes were glittering. "Shall we see who is faster, your broom or me?"

"Now, you two be careful," Citrine admonished. "No racing like a wind dervish, Spark, you hear me? You don't want to seriously injure Gavin, he's our guest."

"Yes, Lady. I'll be careful."

"Don't worry, ma'am," I put in quickly, before she could decide to forbid us to go flying. "My broom's got protection spells and all that safety stuff on it. Dad insisted before he'd buy it, so even if I fall off I won't get hurt."

Citrine seemed relieved. "That's good to know, considering the way you youngsters fly these days."

We took that as a dismissal, and I levitated my Windstorm to me and was off and flying before Spark had spread his wings. That's one advantage to being a small wizard with a Windstorm 2000, we can mount up and fly quick as blinking.

But despite my fast start, it wasn't enough to keep ahead of Spark, who could fly like a streak of lightning. At first that's all I saw of him, a bronze blur shooting past me. Then I kicked my broom up to its fastest speed and took off after him.

My Windstorm was really fast, a thing which I knew probably makes Sev wonder why the hell he agreed to buy it for me, considering I'm a speed demon and not always careful of my safety as I should be. Then again, that's why he insisted on all the safety spells. "C'mon, baby, let's show him what you've got," I whispered to my Windstorm, delighting in the screech of the wind in my ears and whipping through my hair.

I quickly looped around Spark, who had paused slightly to give me a dragonish grin. "Not bad . . .for a wingless human, that is!"

"Ha! I bet I can dust you with aerials," I challenged, referring to the acrobatic stunts flyers did at the air shows.

"You're on, Snape!" Spark cried, and proceeded to do a slingshot into a 180.

I rose beside him, mimicking his maneuver slightly, but then adding a three-quarter corkscrew twist at the end.

That maneuver left me slightly light-headed, but it was extremely fun.

I followed that up by a Spinning Dervish, which is a maneuver where you spin around and around until you're doing something around two hundred plus miles per hour and then you turn and loop in elongated spirals all over the sky.

It's a wickedly quick maneuver and it can make you sick unless you know how to spot-that's when you fix your eyes on an unmoving object for the length of your spin. I knew how to spot, I'd done this kind of thing before, and I think I surprised the scales off my new friend by how well I came out of that spin.

"Huh. You may give me a bit of competition, young Gavin," Spark snorted, then began a zigzag pattern across the sky that turned into spiraling death drop.

I hated to admit it, but Spark was superb at aerials, but I wasn't giving up yet. We flew and played for over an hour, challenging each other to even more crazy flying stunts, upside down, backwards, slingshot around the trees, diving down to the river and then skimming over it at something around a hundred and fifty miles an hour.

I was having the time of my life, and thanking God Severus wasn't there to see what all I was doing on my broom, he'd of throttled me for risking my neck that way, protection charms or not.

Then Spark got the bright idea of blowing rings of fire and having us fly through them, each one a different shape and size.

I did, for unlike most wizards, I didn't need to fear getting burned. Only I forgot that my broom wasn't fireproof, and I caught the tail end of it on a flame doing a quick fly through.

Luckily, I put it out before it could do much more than singe a few twigs. Still, it had been closer than I'd liked, and after that we agreed to call it quits and head back to the cave.

"You're a pretty good flyer-for a mere wizard!" chuckled my new friend.

"So are you. But I'll dust you next time," I said, smirking up at him.

"We'll see," he laughed, then banked and glided down towards the waterfall. "Tomorrow you start you real lessons, so I doubt we'll have much time to fly the next couple of days," Spark commented.

I sighed, for that little flying contest had made me forget, temporarily, why I was here. Still, perhaps these lessons weren't going to be too bad. I mean, Flash couldn't be any stricter than my dad was when he taught, right?

* * * * * *

I soon learned that Fireflash's methods were unique, unlike any teacher I'd ever had before. I called him sir out of reflex, I'd gotten so used to addressing my father that way when he was teaching, but other than that Flash wasn't all that formal with me.

We had our lessons in the middle of the large cave, with him lying on the floor in front of me and me sitting on my comfy cushion. "One of the first things I want you to learn, Gavin, is to trust yourself," Flash began, speaking in what was, for him, a soft tone. "By that I mean you should feel comfortable making decisions with your power, how you're going to use it and all. This is important, because ultimately you're going to have to make your own decisions about what and how your magic is used for, without the advice of your teachers or family. Now, your father said you seem to have some issues with impulsiveness . . ."

I winced, and wished my dad wasn't so damned honest. I mean did he have to tell everybody and his brother about how I couldn't think before I acted? Jeez! "Yeah, sometimes," I admitted quietly, knowing it wouldn't be smart to try and cover up my shortcomings, bronzes hate liars.

"That's a common failing in young ones of any species," the dragon said evenly, sounding slightly amused. "So we'll work on that, since it's in your best interest to think before unleashing your power, young firecaller. Which brings me to the way you can bring your talent under control. In order to impose limits on yourself, we must first discover your range, young Snape. I need to know exactly how strong of a fire you can summon and how far you can cast it before I can even begin to impose limits on you. So then, our first order of business is going to be you calling up a fire and making it burn as hot as you possibly can."

"Okay. I can do that. But where? Not in here."

"No, for that we're going to the lava fields, where any fire you summon won't damage any plants or wildlife." Flash said. "Hop on my back." He summoned the dragonsaddle with a word and I climbed on.

Once we'd arrived at the lava fields, which were pillows of hardened black lava behind the smoking St. Helens, Fireflash told me to conjure fire, as much as I could and let it burn as high and fast as I could make it.

I closed my eyes, feeling for the connection inside myself, and then I threw off the shields I had put up and let my power run unchecked, the way I hadn't done since that day in Central Park. Flames roared up in a huge swath surrounding me and the dragon in a sixty foot ring of fire.

My eyes glowed fire, which is the mark of a true firecaller, and my skin felt all prickly, but I was not harmed by the fire. In fact I was throwing off heat myself, but I barely felt warm. I encouraged the ring of fire to spread and burn higher.

It obeyed, expanding to double its size and the flames surged to over twenty feet high, close enough to set a tall tree on fire, if there had been any trees standing in the lava field. I could feel the fire dancing and flickering in my consciousness, eager to burn, wanting to slip free of my control and rage, devouring whatever was in its path.

But I held it back, soothing it softly with my mental command. Wait. Not yet. Be still.

Sparks were flying everywhere, and Fireflash blew a slight tongue of dragonfire into my fire ring, turning the orange flames a brilliant white for a brief moment. "Impressive. Most impressive. You're at least a sixth level summoner, if not a seventh. Now can you put out what you've summoned?"

I nodded, and concentrated hard. Putting out the fire was harder than it sounded, for it was like a living thing and it felt like I was slowly smothering it, but in the end my will prevailed, and the ring of fire dwindled to ash.

"Good. Now I know what I'm dealing with," the dragon said calmly. "There hasn't been one with your talent in, oh, some seven hundred years. The last was a young girl back in the time of Merlin and Arthur. Such strong talent tends to skip several generations, which is a good thing, otherwise there'd be trouble training all those firecallers properly. Come, let's return to the cave and I can begin your next lesson."

We flew back to the cave and Flash resumed his lecture inside. "One of the key to controlling fire is knowledge, Gavin. To exert any kind of control over it, you must first understand it. And in order to understand it you must first learn to listen to it."

"How?"

"By paying attention," Flash said dryly. "Watch," he ordered. Then he blew a short stream of dragon fire and held it out on his forefoot. It danced up and down, glowing with brilliant white and blue colors.

That's because it's hotter than a normal fire, hence it's color. Ordinary fire is orange and red, but the hotter the fire the more it turns to white or blue. Dragonfire burns hotter than anything, which is why it's white and blue. "Listen to the fire, Gavin," Flash ordered. "What is it saying?"

I cocked my head and went still, trying to do as he asked. I could hear, over the insistent hush of the falls, the fire purring in my head. It reminded me of a lazy kitten, sleepy and content. It hissed softly and crackled, reminding me that it could burn even more brightly if I wished to play with it. But it was not hungry, like the flames I'd conjured out in the lava field.

No, the dragonfire was, calm . . .merry almost . . .content to exist as a single tongue of flame.

"Well? Did the fire tell you something?"

"Yes, sir. It's happy . . .I mean it doesn't want to burn things to ash, it just wants to glow." I frowned, trying to put into words what the fire was feeling. "It's, um, content."

"Very good. You've listened to the firesong and discovered that it can be a force for light as well as destruction. Like everything, there is both a dark and a light side to fire. In order for you to command it, you must understand both sides."

He banished the single tongue of flame with a breath, then told me to summon up flame of my own. "Don't do anything with it yet, Gavin. Just hold it and listen, let it be."

I spent an hour just listening to the fireball I conjured, occasionally rolling it about on my palms, playing with it. I became one with the little flame, and discovered that fire was not always the all consuming destructive force everyone thought. Fire could be gentle, such as when it lit up a room, or warmed a set of clothes hung over a fireplace mantel. It could be giddy, such as when it roasted marshmallows over a campfire. It could also be playful, as when I tossed balls of it into the air and caught them again.

It could be patient, such as when you banked the embers of a stove for the night, so it could provide heat for a cabin or something. Then it hissed and waited sleepily for you to stir it to life again, like a drowsy dragon.

Fireflash encouraged me to play with the fire I conjured, experimenting on what I could do with it. Here I had no fear I'd accidentally burn down my house or Severus's library, or hurt anyone, so I was free to let my imagination roam. I could juggle many balls of colored flame, wrap myself in a cloak of fire, and make the fire into shapes of different kinds.

I was lucky my immunity to fire extended to the clothes I was wearing, else I'd have gone through clothes like well, wildfire, and caused my father to wonder just what the blazes (no pun intended) was going on out here. Not that the dragons would've cared a bit if I wandered about starkers, they didn't see what the big deal was about people and clothes, since they didn't need them.

As I learned more and more about the intimate nature of fire, how it could be soft as well as harsh, I also managed to get more of a handle on my temper than I'd ever been able to before. The exercises Flash had me practice, listening to the fire's voice and being one with the flame, weren't all that hard to do, but they did wear me out more than I realized. That first week I found myself going to bed right after supper, exhausted, and falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Now that was something I'd only done at home if I was sick or being grounded for something. My father would've been shocked speechless.

Fireflash merely grinned when I remarked on how tired I was, and said only, "That's how you know you've been studying properly, Gavin, when you're too tired to see straight."

But it wasn't all lessons everyday. Flash knew of the importance of having fun and all work and no play makes for a cranky apprentice. So we went flying every four days or so, or swimming in the Pacific, where the dragons taught me to deep sea fish for tuna, their favorite food, using a bubble charm and a pressure regulating spell. It was great fun, though I did end up with sunburn, unfortunately my immunity to fire doesn't extend to the sun.

Spark and Sunny thought it hilarious, but Citrine scolded them for making fun of me and mixed up a batch of sunburn cream that was the equal of anything Sev had ever made and gave it to me, so I could sleep comfortably that night. It was gone in a day or two, and next time I went out with Spark and Flash, I made sure to use sunblock.

Flash wanted me to learn how to use my firecalling for things other than setting things on fire, so to that end he showed me how to conjure light and from there we progressed to illusion casting. Flash told me that illusion was just a bending of light and perception, it was a mere trick of the light. "The eye perceives light in different ways, casting a glamour is just adjusting the shape of light to make the person see what you want them to."

Well, once he'd explained it like that . . .I could cast glamours like a master, just by visualizing light in my mind and then slowly sliding it over my image or something else's image, kind of like wrapping yourself up in a coat or something in a blanket.

"It's easy," I laughed delightedly to the dragon, after I made myself look just like Severus, raven hair and falcon nose and all. I pretended to glower fiercely down at Flash, imitating that famous Snape scowl and limping slightly about the cave, threatening to give some luckless student detention or blast a criminal to smithereens.

My imitation was dead to life and had Flash laughing so hard he nearly cried, and even Sunny and Citrine smothered chuckles. I wondered if Dad would have been amused, though somehow I think he wouldn't have found it so funny, even though I wasn't really making fun of him. Hey, imitation's the sincerest form of flattery, right?

By the end of my second week there, I'd learned to conjure fire without needing to be angry, and also that my ability to do so needn't always be linked to my emotional state. In other words, when I got mad I didn't have to call fire as a result of losing my temper. I asked Flash about that, why I could now control that aspect of my talent, and he said that before, I was constantly suppressing my talent, and it was the nature of fire to want to burn, and when I refused to play with it, it grew cranky and more apt to explode, like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

"But now that you know how to listen to fire and make it gentle, you need never fear it growing angry and then bursting out of your shields again," the dragon said. "And in learning to control fire, you've also learned a bit about controlling your temper as well, is that not so?"

"Yes, sir." I answered, smiling. It was true. I was a lot calmer than I'd been since my talent first emerged. I was no longer simmering with conflicting emotions of annoyance and irritability, like a pot ready to boil over. As I'd grown to understand the hidden nature of fire, so too had I grown to understand my own feelings, and control them.

I was a lot easier in my own skin, as Flash put it, and this in turn made me less prickly and apt to get in trouble. Dad would have been proud to learn that I didn't get reprimanded much at all by my teacher for being a smartass or not paying attention, the way I usually did. Instead it was Spark who was on the receiving end of Flash's lectures for being sarcastic and disrespectful. I have to say it was nice being the good student for once in my life.

Though I did ask my friend what else dragons did to punish misbehaving dragonets besides scoldings. Spark coughed and answered softly, "Well, we don't set each other on fire, if that's what you were thinking. Most times, a mother or father will make a dragonet who misbehaves stay inside the lair and not go flying for a few hours, or a day, or a week if they've been truly dreadful."

"Like grounding."

"Yes, as you humans put it. And if they've really gone and did something forbidden, like scared a person on purpose, or used magic on someone for harmful purposes, they can be given a good couple of lashes with a parent's tail. Very similar to what you wizards would call a switching."

"Ouch!" I winced. "That must really hurt."

"It does," he answered.

I raised an eyebrow. "Speaking from personal experience there?"

He grimaced. "Once, and only once, did I ever earn a thrashing from my father. Afterwards I swore by the Creator that I'd never be so stupid again, and I never was."

"What did you do?"

"My cousin and I thought it would be funny to fly alongside one of the Muggle jets and let them catch a glimpse of us for a few seconds, just to see what would happen. It was one of those big commercial airlines, TWA, or something, I think. The pilot nearly had a heart attack and the plane nearly crashed."

"Christ, I guess your dad wasn't too happy when he found out."

"To say he was furious would be putting it mildly." Spark shook his head ruefully. "We were so stupid, we thought it would be a big joke, kind of like all those UFO sightings you humans are always going on about. We didn't think we were going to cause such an incident. We were lucky no one got killed. As it was, I think we made the front page news for a week all across the country. I was lucky my father didn't strip the hide off me for that little stunt."

Somehow, Spark's little tale of mischief made me like him all the more, since it made him seem more human, so to speak, and less of a paragon. This in turn prompted me to tell him of my own mishaps and we spent one evening laughing helplessly at our own stupid mistakes and wondering what possessed us to make them in the first place.

At the end of each week I called Dad and let him know how I was doing. Our conversations usually went something like this.

"Miss me yet, Dad?"

"Miss what? The way you answer me back at least five times a day? Or the way I have to yell at you to pick up your clothes and shoes from the middle of the floor every day? Or the way I get called to school by your principal every other week for you causing some incident? Is that what I'm supposed to be missing?"

"Okay, fine. Guess I'll just stay here then, since you really don't miss me at all."

"Only kidding, scamp," he laughed then. "I really do miss you. It's very boring, though peaceful, without you here, Gavin. It's, dare I say, too quiet around here. I trust you've been behaving yourself for Fireflash?"

"Of course I have. I've been a model student, Dad."

"Good God, a miracle's occurred. Send me a picture, so I have proof. I've been waiting for a call to come and get you, that you've driven poor Flash so insane he's thinking about making a rug out of your impudent hide or something."

"Real funny, Dad. You just think I don't know how to behave."

"Oh, I think you know how to behave, but whether you will behave is another story."

"I've been good, just ask Flash if you don't believe me."

"I don't need to, I can tell from the tone of your voice that you're telling the truth, son. How are your studies coming along?"

I then proceed to tell him all about what I've learned that week and we end the conversation with the typical see you soon and he tells me that he's proud of me, which he knows makes me feel great, and at the same time makes me miss him more than ever. Go figure.

I mean here I am, over two hundred miles from home, with teachers who let me go flying for hours, play with fire on a daily basis, don't give me homework, don't make me do chores, and let me stay up as late as I want, and I find myself missing being at home with my dad, who makes me do all those things every day.

I think I've been brainwashed by my dad, right? Or maybe I've come to realize that there's really no substitute for a father's presence. Not even bronze dragons can take the place of that all-important figure, no matter how much fun they are to be around or how much I can learn from them. So, much as I enjoyed this time at Camp Crystal, I'll be glad when Flash declares me graduated and in full control of my powers, and I can go back to Lily Lane again. Because there really is no place like home, as Dorothy would say.

So how did you like this one?

Next: Gavin comes home, just in time for the birth of Arista's child.