Heyy! Sorry we haven't posted in a while, I promise our story is still coming along. We have both been extremely busy these past few weeks. But we will try to post sooner and quicker. Also, the prize for the 35th comment will get the prize for deciding an interaction between characters! Thanks for reading!

Itzel and Arthedor sat staring at the egg. This morning, they had been thrown into a room with the egg and told to "complete their assignment".

But it seemed like an unspoken decision: they weren't going to help the Stone Keepers. Instead, every day, they nurtured and comforted the little dragon egg. It was almost like they were talking to it, but with feelings. And little words.

"Itzel!" Itzel would often say to the dragon egg, and receive a transmission of the same word back to her.

Itzel!

"Arthie!"

Arthie!

They would teach the little dragon to transmit a few words to understand better. Sometimes, when the little egg was inflicting happy emotions, the words would be,

Itzel! Arthie! Hi! Hi! Hi! Egg! Food! Food! Warm!

And sometimes, the melancholy baby would say,

Miss. Mamma. Miss. Warm. Sea. Sad.

And the children would comfort the little dragon. Each and every day this was kept up, and the Stone Keepers were getting more and more suspicious.

Today, the egg was strangely silent.

"Eggy?" Itzel asked in a cheery tone that echoed across the cavern. Eggy was the nickname Itzel had chosen. Since they didn't know its gender yet, they didn't know what to call it besides 'Eggy.

"Eggy, hi!" Itzel repeated. Still, no thought sent from the egg echoed in their minds.

Itzel looked at Arthie's face with concern. "Why is he quiet?" she asked.

Arthie shrugged. He got up and walked cautiously over to the egg. He reached out a hand to touch it, and when his skin connected, firey pain shot up his arm.

"OWWW!" he shouted, whipping his hand away fast and frantically blowing on the burns.

Itzel rushed over, and grabbed his arm and dunked it under the icy water. Arthie sucked in a breath as the opposite elements burned each other away.

Just then, Snort came rushing in with the two Stone Keepers.

"Oy! What's goin' on 'ere?" Snort demanded as he wiped his nose.

Tears gathered in Arthie's eyes as he cradled his burned and blistered arm and looked up.

Itzel was too distracted to answer. Eggy had started transmitting. But it was only one word over and over.

Warm. Warm. Warm. Warm.

Amrah hurried over and snatched Arthie's other unburned arm and handed him to Snort to take him to a medical center. Itzel tried to follow, but Murgah stopped her and leaned down to ask her something.

"Tell me now, pretty, pretty thing," she said, her snakey tongue flitting in and out of her cracked lips. "Arthedor was hurt by the egg, was he not?"

Itzel nodded, eyes watering. How could Eggy do such a thing?

"Interesting..." Murgah said, turning her face away and thinking hard. "This means that the dragon egg is getting stronger in hate. It seems it has found its own hate with you two, since it wanted to hurt Arthedor. You have been doing well."

Itzel's face crumpled in dismay. Eggy didn't hate them...right? Why? How?

"It also raises an interesting question," Amrah said as she approached them. "How did this dragon egg inflict heat?"

Murgah studied Eggy as if it was the most interesting thing on the world. And to her, it probably was.

"Interesting..." she muttered.

Itzel was crying now. Eggy wouldn't do that on purpose right? But the voice of Eggy kept repeating in her mind, over and over...

Warm. Warm. Warm.

Janner heard a thud, and the shouts of men and the thump of boots on wet wood. Bells rang out as well, and he heard his crew stirring on the ship.

Janner opened his eyes and found Maraly was gone. He got dressed quickly and scrambled out onto the deck. They had finally reached the dock of Miller's Bridge! He saw his men unloading cargo and other supplies and tying up the ship.

He walked over to Maraly, who had a toothpick between her teeth.

"Took ya long enough," she said. "You sleep like a sound hog in the winter!"

Janner crossed his arms. "Who is in charge here? I'd like to speak to them."

Maraly gestures toward a dark haired boy, about Liam's age, shouting orders for unloading things and docking the boat.

"That fellow over there seems like 'e knows what he's doin'," she said.

Janner walked over to the young man and tapped the shoulder. The dark haired boy turned around and offered Janner a toothy grin. He had short cropped hair and broad shoulders.

"Mornin' mister Wingfeather! Oh, erm, I mean, Throne Warden Wingfeather! Should I be bowin'?"

Janner shook his head and chuckled. "No, you don't bow to the Throne Warden. As you already know, I am Throne Warden Janner Wingfeather of the Shining Isle. Who are you?" He offered his hand as a handshake.

The young man accepted it and shook his hand with a merry twinkle in his eyes.

"Me name's Lowell, of, er, Dugtown!"

Janner waited for him to finish, but he never did. Maybe that was a custom in Skree developed after the War? He didn't remember people not giving others their last name.

"Lowell...?" Janner asked.

Lowell smiled. "Ah, yes, well, funny story. I don't have a last name. I was orphaned at a very young age, and I never knew my parents last name. So I...never got one. Ah, but that don't matter no way. I am happy to be of assistance!"

Liam smiled gratefully. "I am very sorry, Lowell. But I have a question for you. Did by any chance a young man come here before us? Small boat, might have been slightly injured. Looks a little like me...?"

Lowell scratched his head. "Nope, not that I can think of. The only boy that you're describing that almost fits all of the things you said was exactly all that, except he was VERY injured! I was surprised he wasn't bleedin' do death! Anyway, I hope you find who you're looking for."

Before Lowell turned away, Janner yanked his attention back.

"Wait, did he give his name?"

Lowell nodded. "Eh, yeh he did. What was it again? Li...Lia...Oh! Liadro Sadarth, that's who! Anyway, he's not the guy you're looking for, he was very injured, not slightly injured. But he did look the spittin' image of you!"

Janner started pacing. "Liadro...Liadro...oh, I don't know..." he muttered.

It had to be him. It had to be Liam.

"Do you know which way he went?" Janner asked.

"Yep, I sent him directions to the Cozy Cuddly Dreamy Inn!" Lowell replied.

Janner nodded, and he gazed at the rising sun. "Can you give me directions to there?" he asked. Lowell nodded, his smile growing even bigger.

"I can not only direct you, I can lead you! I've been working night shift and I mist head back to Dugtown. The Inn is on the way to my home, so we can go together!"

Janner nodded. "Thank you very much, Lowell. You are a great help."

Lowell dipped his head. "My pleasure! We set out once we're done 'ere. Load 'em up!"