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“I’m so sorry,” she gasped. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. We almost died down there.”
“Yes,” he agreed, feeling more concerned than ever.
“But we were saved,” she said, her eyes dancing with mirth. “By a commercial jingle.”
“But why were you singing it?” he asked.
“The deer was spooked,” she told him. “I put the baby’s sling around his ears, but it wasn’t enough. So, I just started singing the first thing I could think of.”
Jhon stared down at her, thunderstruck.
“What?” she asked.
“That was very, very quick thinking under pressure,” he told her. “I’ve had plenty of cadets under me who wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“Thanks,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said with a smile. “I guess I should be proud to be a dumb Terran who can be as quick on her feet as a baby dragon.”
“Quicker,” he told her.
That made her laugh again, and this time Bo joined her, their laughter weaving together and making the floating island seem less ethereal and more like the bustling lichen farm he hoped it would one day be.
Jhon couldn’t help but smile.
“So, what’s that building?” she asked, indicating the house.
He wondered if she was joking, but her expression was serious.
“That’s your house,” he told her.
“That giant thing?” she asked him, looking amazed.
He glanced back at the house again. It wasn’t anything spectacular.
“You’ve had a long day,” he told her. “Let’s just go in and check it out.”
“What about the deer?” she asked.
“We’ll bring him to the stables,” he told her, feeling inwardly pleased that she was concerned about the animal’s needs.
She respects all beasts, the dragon whispered in his ear.
They walked the deer to the stables in silence as Ella’s eyes swept the island.
“I can’t believe we have Hera’s mantle on the island,” she said. “It will always smell so good.”
“The buds close at night,” Jhon told her as he rubbed the deer down. “So, in the morning when they open, you’ll notice the scent all over again.”
“Amazing,” she said.
“The agency chose this island and the land below because of the vegetation,” he went on. “If you baby it, you can harvest twice each year. There’s a special market for this lichen because of the scent.”
“I’m going to be a lichen farmer?” she asked, looking like she was about to laugh again.
“Yes, of course,” he told her.
