I had made it to Possibility just in time. I landed at my house and opened the door.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home," as soon as I said that, my pet fox, Mountain, came running up to me, yipping.
"Hey buddy," I said, picking him up and nuzzling him. Then my mother came up and hugged me.
"Missed you," she said.
"Missed you too, Mom."
"Sandstorm, I'm glad you're back," my dad said, coming up and hugging me.
"Sandstorm, you're back," my little sister, Crab, said. She looked a lot like me, but her yellow spots were on her feet. Remember when I said that I ran away from home? Well, it was sort of her fault, but not in the way you're probably thinking. You see, she was 1, and I was 4, and the Sandwing war of succession had just ended. I had just found out that I was an animus, and I had heard the stories. I didn't want to end up being a jerk of a big brother or worse, going insane and killing everyone. So I ran away from home. Eventually, my mom found me, and I just told her that I was worried about being a bad brother. So no, they don't know I am an animus.
"Hey Crab," I said, hugging her.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"Well, who is hungry because I'm starving," my dad said. We all went to the table, and my dad somehow managed to catch a bear. We talked as we ate, and eventually, my dad brought up school.
"So how has school been? Didn't you have that prom thing?"
"Oh yeah, do I have the story," and I told them about the prom and how that led to Mason and the stuff he did. I left out Osprey, Umber, and Sora (since they are still on the run from the law) and the stuff Mason revealed, but other than that, I told them everything.
"Well, that was quite the story," my dad said. "Should we be more concerned that we could be at the mercy of someone whenever they are in a bad mood?"
"I don't think so. If he wanted to hurt us, he would have already done it," I said.
"But what if he is doing his evil deeds now?" Crab said.
"No, Sandstorm is right. If he wanted to hurt us, he would have done it already. Now let's change the subject. Sandstorm, how is getting a girlfriend going?"
"Mom!"
"What? I am your mother. I am supposed to ask you these questions."
"Well, I don't, and I don't have anyone I like like that," I lied. I didn't want to get their hopes up in case I messed up my first date.
"Don't worry, Mom. When I get into Jade Mountain, I'll make sure he gets a girlfriend."
"If you get in, aren't there not many spots, especially this year? Pantalan dragons and humans are coming this year," I said.
"Really, they are?" my dad said.
"Yeah, they are. So I guess we will find out in 7 weeks."
"Well, I'm not worried about it, especially now with your new friend," Crab said.
"Yeah, that's not how I roll," Mason said in our heads.
"Well, I am guessing that was Mason," my mom said.
"Yep, and for the record, I'm not going to make the founders choose anyone unless they are going to do something important at the school."
"So will I do anything important for the school?" Crab said.
"Crab, if I tell someone that they are going to do something, they are probably not going to do that thing."
"So is that a yes?"
"Oh, three moons. I'm not going to tell you. As far as you should be concerned, you have the same chance as anyone else. I am going back to silent mode now."
"Well, I'm going to my room because I'm stuffed," I say, going to my room.
"Don't stay in there too long so you can go see the town," my dad said.
"Yeah, you might find a girlfriend that way," my mom added.
"Mom! What is up with you and that?"
"I want to make sure that they are right for you so you can be happy for the rest of your life."
"Wow, that was a lot more wholesome than I thought it would be. I will make sure to tell you when I get a girlfriend," I say entering my room. I go and lay in my bed, and I start to think about Osprey and our date in 3 days.
"I should probably get her something for our date. But I don't have enough treasure to get her anything nice. Oh, I know. I will ask Qibli. Ever since he became a prince, he has had loads of jewelry. I'm sure he won't mind giving one away. It's too late to get there and back, though. I guess I will ask him tomorrow. I guess I should visit the people I know now," I said to myself.
So I went. The first stop was next door, a girl Mudwing florist called Swamp lived there. I walked up to her door and knocked.
"Oh, Sandstorm, you're back," she said, hugging me.
"Good to see you too."
"So are you here to chat, or do you need some flowers?"
"To chat, and speaking of flowers, how is the business doing?"
"Well, it's a little slow since flowers are growing everywhere this time of year, but it's overall doing good. I was just getting ready to go back after my lunch break. Want to come?"
"Sure, why not." So we went.
"You know that this is my busiest time of day."
"Really."
"Yeah, mainly dragons getting flowers for lovers, and most of them are dragonets."
"Ha, young love. But most of them probably get their hearts broken though."
"Yeah, you're probably right, considering I usually don't see them again. But you have to admire their bravery."
"True, speaking of love, that gives me an idea. Can I come into your shop?"
"You were literally just talking about hearts getting broken."
"This is different. I already have a date."
"Well alright, we are here anyway. Take a look," she said, opening the door and flipping a sign from closed to open. I spent 10 minutes looking before I found something I liked. It was a purple flower shaped like a star.
"Can I have the head of that one in three days?"
"Oh, the Platycodon grandiflorus. Good choice."
"How much do I owe you?"
"It's on the house, but only because it's for love and you're a friend."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"Well, see you in three days."
"See you in three days," she said just before I closed the door.
Next the butcher. The butcher was a Sandwing named Scorpion who was a captain in Blister's army. He fought for her because, and I quote, "she may have been evil, but at least she was smart." When I arrived at his shop, he was cutting sheep.
"Scorpion, good to see you."
"Sandstorm, glad you're here. Come for another story."
"No, just saying hi."
"Well, nice to see you. If you don't mind, could you put these in the back?" he said, giving me a pile of sheep meat.
"Sure, no problem." I go and open the door to the back, and I was hit with a blast of cold air. The back was a room with frostbreath covering the walls, floors, and shelves. He has an Icewing help him with that. I put the meat with the other sheep meat and quickly left, closing the door behind me.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," I say, leaving the store. "Next up, Falcon," I thought. Falcon is a Skywing jeweler. I got to his shop and opened the door.
"Sandstorm, good to see you. You here to buy some jewelry? It looks like you could use some," he said in his energetic voice.
"No, not today. Just saying hi."
"Well, maybe next time. Either way, it's nice to see you."
"So how are you and Jaguar doing?" Jaguar is a Rainwing and Falcon's girlfriend.
"Oh, it's going great," he said, with the look of love on his face. "Hey, can you keep a secret?"
"Sure."
"I'm going to ask her to marry me on our next date tomorrow."
"Really? That's great. I was just going to see her. I will make sure to tell her," I say, starting to leave.
"Wait, don't!" He said, just as I opened the door. I turned my head around and gave him a smirk.
"Oh, you dare use my own tricks against me," he said teasingly.
"Looks like you're rubbing off on me," I said, leaving the shop. Now Jaguar. Jaguar's shop is just a market stand with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. I got to her stand, and she was yelling.
"Fruits and vegetables here from the tip of the Sea kingdom to Pantala."
"Now, how do you have food from Pantala? It's the most expensive stuff."
"Well, as you should know, I have my connections, Sandstorm. Good to see you again." She really did have food from Pantala, but even though her boyfriend is a jeweler, it's still way too expensive to get every day and that much. So, as far as I am concerned, she really does have connections. And you may think that a food sales dragon and a jeweler would be a strange couple, but if you saw the way they sell their products, you would get how they fell in love.
"Good to see you too. So how is the business going?"
"Oh, it's doing great, but when you are the world's best sales dragon, you can make anything work."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you were. And how is you and Falcon going?"
"Oh, it's going great. He is sweet, romantic, and he just gets me. I am definitely going to marry him one day."
That day is closer than you think.
"Well, that's nice, but I have to go."
"It was nice seeing you, then."
"Nice seeing you too, Jaguar," I said, leaving. I got home when the sun was setting.
"Where have you been all day?"
"I was just saying hi to Swamp, Scorpion, Falcon, and Jaguar."
"Alright, come join us for dinner." After dinner, I went to my room and got in bed, and Mountain climbed on top of me, and I fell asleep.