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She flew straight back to the beach cave where the rest of the humans were waiting. Airibells landed and set her precious cargo down. Shawn's father came out to meet his son.
"Father, look what we got. Egg shells so we can make fresh water from sea water and cook in too!"
"Good. Fresh water and cooking pots are a must." He turned to Airibells, "Thank you for bringing my son back to me safe."
*I would not let harm come to my friends!* she said bowing her head to him.
"Father, allow me to introduce Airibells. Airibells, this is my father, Prince Shane of Lightning Island, Second Knight and First Admiral of the Fleet."
*I am pleased to know your name* she said.
Prince Shane looked astonished. "I heard you inside my head, but not with my ears!"
"Exactly," Shawn exclaimed, glowing with pride that his father could hear the dragon too.
*Would crab shells do for cooking pots? Or maybe I could find a large oyster for you,* Airibells asked, returning to the subject at hand.
"They would work for a while, I'm sure. And both would be fine to eat." Prince Shane replied
*I will try to find some of both for you in the morning then. I will fly back to my peak for the night. I would sleep here on the beach, but some of the men might feel imprisoned instead of safe. I realize that several are frightened of me. The only reason that I would ever hurt anyone is if they were trying to kill me, then I would be forced to protect myself.*
The boy walked up to Airibells's mussel and gave her a big hug. "I know that you are our friend and protector. It's just that the sailors are ignorant and superstitious. It's not their fault. They don't know any better. It was the gruesome stories they grew up with as children that makes them fearful. Like they believe that a pile of rags left in the corner will magically turn into rats. They don't realize that the rats are just using the rags for a nest. It is the false stories and twisted truth like that which make them superstitious."
*But you know better. How?*
"I am lucky that my father is an educated man. And I am being educated by our best scribes, magicians, and bards. But, now we are lost at sea, with little hope of getting back." The sadness in the boy's voice and heart made Airibells lick him in the face to try to cheer him up. It did. He laughed.
"Your tongue is scratchy like a cats."
Airibells didn't know what a cat was, but she took the picture from his mind.
*Do not give up hope, my young friend. I believe that I can fly you all back to your home. But, I will have to grow bigger and stronger to carry all eight of you. Also, you will need to make lots of hemp ropes to tie yourselves on with. How many days were you sailing when you were hit by the storm?*
Prince Shane answered, "We had been sailing thirteen days when the storm came up and we were in it for a day I think. It's was hard to tell, but it was morning when it hit and then pitch black. You rescued us just after it lightened up again."
*Hummm, that will be a long flight. I'm not sure that I can eat enough stone to keep me airborne for that long. I will have to learn to fly without it. This may take some time, so be patient my friends. I'm just a hatchling myself and have much to learn about life. Good night.*
"We owe you the debt of our lives. We are yours to do with as you will," said Prince Shane, and he bowed deeply.
Airibells was puzzled by the implications of his statement. She bowed her head and said, *I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and return you to your home.* Then she took three steps backwards to keep from showering them with sand when she lifted off. With a great spring of her powerful hind legs and giant tail she leaped on high and soared off into the night sky to her favorite sleeping peak.
At the first rays of dawn, Airibells awoke and went to hunt for crabs and oysters. The crabs posed a problem of containment. She couldn't spear then on her retractable talons like she did fish because it would break their shells. Finally, she took each one to the surface and breathed fire on it to kill it. Then she could hang on to them with one hand without them crawling out. She caught and ate fish as she went along. After finding twenty-six crabs for the men's breakfast, she finally located a giant oyster in deeper water. It was open, so she stuck her tail in. The oyster clamped shut and she swam to the surface. Leaping like a dolphin from the water, she was airborne and flew to the men's cave where she deposited the load. She slit the back of the oyster open so she could get her tail out and the men could get to the meat.
Shawn came running out to greet his friend. Prince Shane followed. At his beckon two more men followed, but the sailors hung back in the cave. "Airibells, allow me to introduce Captain Hayman, and First Mate Bozer. Gentlemen, this is Airibells." They bowed, so she bowed her head also.
Prince Shane continued, "Airibells, we have a problem. If we use the hemp wood to burn to evaporate the water as Shane explained to us last night, the smoke will rise up with the water and poison the water. We were wondering if we could impose upon you to supply the fire with your breath. We could set the shell full of water on stones to hold the heat so you wouldn't have to wear yourself out."
*It would be my pleasure to do anything I can to help you get water. I will go collect some stones while you prepare the egg shells.* Soon she was back with several big rocks and boulders.
"Oh, dear," Prince Shane exclaimed, "we had imagined rocks the size of two fists!"
*No problem.* She picked up one of the larger stones, turned it over and over until she was satisfied with the angle, then set it between her diamond teeth and crunched. The lava stone shattered into hundred of small stones between the size of a fist or a head. *There,* she said with a toothy grin. *Take your pick.*
Bozer picked up about 10 and placed then in the hole in the sand. Then he set the egg shell with the water in it carefully on the rocks. At last the large egg shell was placed over the other shells in a semi-circle.
Bozer stood back to admire his handy work. "I left out one shell and dug a trench in the sand for you to rest your snout in. Hopefully it is comfortable for you."
*Thank you. It looks fine.* Airibells crunched up one white "float stone" as she thought of it and laid down on her belly. As soon as she felt herself start to become buoyant, she raised her head and rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she exhaled. Instantly flames shot into the air. She controlled her exhale until only a tiny torch flame shot from her mouth. Carefully, she laid her head in the trench. She adjusted her exhale until the flame covered the rock and flickered around the bottom of the egg shell. In only three controlled breaths the rocks glowed red. Soon the water was boiling. Airibells continued with her task until all five egg shells were filled with distilled water. This became a daily task for Airibells. When she caught sharks for herself, she carefully saved the stomach for the men to store the extra water in for the trip.
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