Horaah! Another chapter, even if it's a bit on the short side. But hey, sometimes short is good right? Right? Of course this has nothing to do with me being short or anything. I'm just fun-sized, not short. I can kick the crap out of your shins so don't call me short!

Anyway, another chapter! Yay!

Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form. I wish I did but we can't always get what we want. *sigh*

Enjoy!

-xxXxx-

Jim had barely closed his eyes when someone threw open his door with a loud bang. On instinct, Jim shot up and reached for the gun hidden under his pillow but the intruder was faster. It tackled him on his bed causing him bang his head hard on the headboard.

"It's coming!" the intruder whispered excitedly.

The stars vanished from behind his eyes and he could make out Rune's silhouette in the darkness. Her hair was disheveled, the small beaded braids and strands flying about in her haste; sweat glistened on her brow and her eyes seemed to glow gold in the diminished light coming from the hallway that barely illuminating his chambers. All in all, she looked beautiful with her messy hair and the fire in her eyes drew him like a moth to a flame.

"It's hatching!" she whispered again just as excited as when she first barged into his room. She didn't give him any time to react before she flew back out the door and down the hall. It's hatching? The egg is hatching?!

Jim threw off the covers and ran to Rune's cabin. Rune must have stormed in on Amelia too, because she soon joined him in the hallway leading to Rune's room.

When they opened the door, a wave of heat assaulted them. Rune's room was boiling compared to the cold of the rest of the ship. In the middle of the room on the floor sat Rune on her knees with her back to them. Jim and Amelia edged forward to see the white egg with various splashes of blue and silver swirls, covered in what looked like a delicate black net of cracks. Small clicking sounds were coming from the egg. Jim stared wide-eyed.

The clicking and scratching grew louder from inside the egg. Rune watched unblinkingly as the web of cracks grew darker and bigger. Amelia and Jim had taken a seat beside her. A small broken triangle of shell near the top of the egg began moving, slowly at first, as if the creature inside were unsure of hatching but then with more and more gusto. The cracks spread lower and soon the little triangle of egg shell fell away revealing a little black hole. Rune, Jim and Amelia all leaned in to see the creature inside with bated breath. And then it exploded.

Jim and Amelia were the only ones to jump back at the small barrage of egg shells that flew every which way. Rune refused to move and had only thrown up her hands to cover her face. There, struggling to stand in the remnants of the egg, shaped kind of like a bowl, was a beautiful white baby dragon. About the size of a kitten, its white leathery wings flapped around uselessly as it tried to regain its balance. On its head were two small pale gold horns that curved back gracefully and mane of light gray hair followed the spine, ending in a flowing tail with a tuft decorating the end. As it fumbled for a foothold it opened its eyes and stared directly into Rune's wide blue and green eyes. It had the most beautiful golden eyes Rune had ever seen.

The two seemed to stare at each other forever before the baby dragon opened its mouth and let out a cross between a squeak and a yelp. It coughed, nearly throwing itself off its feet and squeaked again.

"Kiwidinok!" (Kiwi-Deen-knock Native American for 'Of the Wind') it sounded like. Rune gulped.

"Kiwidinok?" the dragon blinked and nodded squeaking happily. Jim cleared his throat and nudged Rune with his foot. He waved the pamphlet in her face.

"You have to give him your name and a drop of blood," he watched as Rune nodded and turned back to her dragon, Kiwidinok.

"Rune!" she pointed to herself. Kiwidinok tilted his head and squeaked.

"Rune!"

He stumbled forward and fell into Rune's lap. Before she could stop him, he sunk his sharp fangs into her arm and licked at the drop of blood that oozed to the surface. A flood of power flowed into Rune's body. The wind swirled around her tossing her wild hair about and her eyes glazed over completely white. Jim and Amelia both let out a yelp as an electric shock passed through them. Then as soon as it started, it stopped. Rune's eyes turned to their normal blue and green and the wind died.

Rune turned to Jim, panting with sweat dripping down her face holding Kiwidinok in her arms. Smiling like a lunatic.

"I told you so!" Kiwidinok squeaked up at him mom who smiled down at him, "Oh and Kiwi's a girl."

To say the next couple of days were strange would be the understatement of the year. Rune was ordered to keep Kiwi out of sight of the other crew members as dragons were still supposed to be nonexistent, but the little dragon 'somehow' always managed to find a way out of Rune's cabin. Through the open door. Three guesses as to who left it open.

The crew loved Kiwi and taught her all their names and promised Rune that her 'baby's' existence would remain a secret. So Jim had to let go and allow Kiwi to roam along the deck at her leisure. She hadn't gotten the hang of flying yet but she'd almost doubled in size. Rune had been following the pamphlet and giving the growing dragon one cup of honey, milk and chicken's blood a day and now Kiwi was the size of an adult cat or a small dog. There had been a royal mess in the kitchen after Rune had made the concoction. The smell of burnt milk permeated the kitchen for days and she'd managed to burn a thick layer of milk to the bottom of the pot she had used. The stuff never came off and they were forced to throw it out. The cook then offered to warm the milk for her to save his pots and pans.

The honey and the chicken blood worked fine enough until Rune ran out of the chicken blood packs she'd bought at Wayra. She'd then turned to the live source stowed under the cargo hold. The entire crew had to help rally the loose chickens as Rune picked out one and slaughtered it. The evidence of that day still flew around the engine room in the form of feathers, clogging up the tech and making the crewmen sneeze.

Finally the day of arrival came. Donoma loomed ahead of them, a good wind behind them and the sun on their side. They were making excellent time. And it was all thanks to Rune, though the Captain never said anything. Jim didn't want her head any bigger than it already was. Proving him wrong with the dragon egg had definitely inflated her ego. Either that or she only acted smug in front of him. 'Could be either or,' he shrugged.

He was standing on the Quarter deck when a crew member who looked like dog-snake hybrid, came rushing to him with a message. Sepla Chua, a very high ranking political official and the person in charge of the Ohcurian Solar Crystals package, would be greeting Jim and his ship at the border. Jim and Amelia both jumped into action and ordered the deck spotless. Rune had just wrapped Kiwi protectively around her neck when Jim walked up to her.

"What? I haven't done anything wrong!" she protested. Jim eyed her down.

"Ok well nothing lately…" she added defensively.

"You were about to sneak out of cleaning duty weren't you?" he demanded. Kiwi looked up at her mother who sighed.

"Either I'm loosing my touch or you're getting to know me better," she grinned cheekily. Jim could suppress a smile. He was getting to know her better wasn't he.

"Yeah I was about to bail out, but mostly for other reasons," she brought up a lazy hand and pet Kiwi, "The Donoman people freak me out. Especially the officials," Rune shuddered as someone called out 'The official's on his way here!' "You'll see what I mean when he gets here."

Jim turned to order his men in line to properly welcome the guests. When he turned back to Rune, she was gone. He looked up to see her butt disappear over the edge of the crow's nest and out of sight. Were the officials really that bad that Rune wanted to run and hide at their coming?

Sepla, as it turned out, wasn't so bad. He just…took a lot of getting used to. A bit of a heavyset man, he was clad in bright gold and yellow finery with gold sun designs penciled in on his face he was a sight to behold. When he talked or laughed, it was a loud booming voice that echoed through the bones of ones' body and made his face jiggle. His son, Nastas, (Nas-taz) was another matter. For one he was tall and lean with dark sun-kissed skin. He also dressed a little mellower compared to his father but still higher than any normal commoner. He wore a dazzling set of royal blue robes and only bore a few rings and bangles on his hands.

Jim stood at attention as Sepla and company boarded.

"Welcome aboard the RLS Glory your Excellencies," the crew brought up their hands in a formal salute and Sepla laughed.

"Oh my dear, dear boy! How fare you? Haven't your travels in this great Quadrant been absolutely gorgeous? And such a fine ship my lad! Very nice indeed!" Sepla ran his hands over the polished wooden railing.

"Thank you sir. May I introduce you to my First Mate, Mrs. Amelia Doppler," Amelia strode forward and held out her hand to shake the official's hand. Sepla staggered back a step gasping.

"Such a beautiful flower blossoming in such a harsh wilderness! Oh! You, my Lady, you are by far the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on!" he bowed low, took Amelia's hand in his and placed a sloppy wet kiss there. Jim eyed Nastas biting back a laugh and had to fight one down as well. The look on Amelia's face was enough to send any grown man running home to his mommy but thankfully Sepla didn't notice. She recovered quickly and put on a pseudo smile.

"Why thank you Mr. Sepla. I'm sure my husband would agree with you," Amelia gently took her hand back from Sepla who ran a hand through his gray hair grinning like a teenager.

"Married?! But you are so young, so frivolous! It cannot be! It seems Lady Love is not on my side today! So!" he turned to Jim, "Captain Hawkins was it? Show me around this fine vessel in which my lovely Ohcurian Solar Crystals will be housed until the next fabulous port!" Sepla turned to the crewmen still standing in line, neat and orderly. Nastas stepped behind his father and pointed to each sailor, mouth moving along silently. He was counting.

"Father? It would seem that Captain Hawkins is missing a crew member. The ledger clearly stated that he had 38 crew members total, including himself and Mrs. Doppler. But I only count 37," Nastas turned to Jim, "May I ask where the missing crew member is? We cannot allow entrance to Donoma without everything in order," he finished professionally. Sepla grinned and slapped Jim on the back.

"Oho! Jim my boy! Hiding another beautiful flower from my illustrious eyes are you? I demand their presence immediately my good man!" Sepla guffawed in good humor, clearly thinking Jim was hiding another Amelia on board somewhere. Jim sighed.

"I truly apologize for the inconvenience your Excellencies, but Rune took to the crow's nest," he pointed up to the object housing the offending deckhand. Sepla and Nastas followed his gaze. Sepla crossed his arms and smiled not unkindly and waited for Jim to give the orders. He sighed. 'I'm so gonna pay for this later,' he thought bitterly.

"Rune! Come down here! I have some Donoman officials who would very much like to meet you!" he hollered up to the crow's nest. No sign of Rune nor her 'daughter' Kiwi.

"Rune! Come down right now! That's an order!" Nastas coughed into his hand to cover up his chuckle as a hand came over the edge of the nest effectively flipping off the captain. Sepla gazed interestingly up at the crow's nest.

"I'm sorry your Excellencies, but Rune is a very spirited deckhand," Jim explained nervously and looked to Amelia for help. She nodded and stepped in front of the crowd. Even the crew members had broken ranks to watch with interest.

"Rune, you come down here right this instant!" she boomed with volume to challenge even the late Mr. Arrow. Rune's face peeked over the edge of the nest and scowled.

"Why?! I'm only a deckhand 'cause SOMEBODY wouldn't promote me!" Sepla eyed Jim who reddened under his gaze. He only laughed and called up to Rune.

"Oh fairest maiden thee upon your crow's nest so high! Would you do me the honor of coming down hither to join my son and myself?" Nastas rolled his eyes at his father's behavior and Jim was tempted to join him. But for professionalism's sake he settled for a mere raise of an eyebrow. Rune snorted loudly and looked straight at Jim.

"Will the 'oh so great and noble captain!" Oh great now she was doing what Sepla was doing, "Be so kind as to promote me, a poor intellectual damsel in distress, to navigator? Or something?" Sepla grinned wildly as Jim called up his agreement. Rune grinned hopped out of the crow's nest and jumped. Sepla and Nastas both gasped as Rune fell into open air, only to sigh in relief when she grabbed a rope and swung down to the safety of the deck, right in front of Jim, Sepla and Nastas.

"There Jim! That wasn't so bad now was it?" She grinned as she stood on tiptoe to pat his head, "All it took were some high ranking Donoman city officials!" She turned to the father and son who both openly gaped at her, "You have no idea how bad this guy is with directions!" she thumbed at Jim and grinned. Sepla was the first to shake himself out of his shock.

"Why a young desert gazelle jumps across my path! You, my dear sweet Rune, are spirit in the flesh! Fire in its most primal and beautiful form! You are exquisite!" Sepla grabbed her hand and placed a big wet kiss there, much like he had done to Amelia not long ago. She grimaced slightly, goosebumps visibly sprouting up the arm Sepla held.

Sepla released her and stepped back and focused his eyes to the white form wrapped around Rune's neck like a scarf. A golden horned head popped out of her auburn locks and stared with golden orbs. Sepla jumped back in fright as Nastas took a step forward.

"Is…is that a-" he started but Rune grinned.

"Yup! The real thing! This is Kiwi," she gestured to the white dragon perched on her shoulder, gray-tufted tail flicking lazily. Nastas raised an eyebrow.

"Kiwi?"

"Well I ain't calling her Kiwidinok every time I need her attention," Rune shrugged and nuzzled Kiwi with her cheek. Sepla had overcome his shock and had stepped forward.

"She's so majestic! Truly Miss Rune, you have a wonderful specimen there upon your shoulder!" he turned to Jim who straightened, "We have met your entire crew. As promised, you have permission to make port in the great planet of Donoma! Welcome! To the 'Sight of the Sun'!"