IncuBUST

Goodnight

We remained out in the ocean past the breakers rolling gently on our raft of ice watching the stars. After some time Barapha asked, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I replied. Barapha shushed me and pressed his palms flat against the ice floe listening. A smile spread across his face, and he looked to the east.

"Wait," he whispered reaching up to touch my shoulder and point to a spot in the water. I followed his finger and saw nothing. Just as I was about to ask what I was looking for a massive humpback whale breached the surface.

"Ah!" I exclaimed, scrambling towards the edge of the floe and nearly sliding off. Barapha caught me about the waist and raised his hand. A thousand droplets of water soared into the air and froze glowing from within and shedding a soft, blue light on the dark backs of several humpback whales chasing each other through the warm coastal waters.

I could feel the ice rumbling beneath us with their sonorous song. I gazed out at their flippers thrashing through the swells and asked, "What are they doing? I don't see any prey." Barapha glanced at me and smirked saying, "They're not hunting, Chase, they're mating." My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I exclaimed, "We're in the middle of a whale orgy?!" Barapha laughed out loud. The water became rougher as the whales grew more passionate and I clung to Barapha's arm as the ice floe rocked wildly.

"M-maybe we should get out of here," I said and Barapha ran his fingers through my wet hair causing streaks of ice to appear in the strands before quickly melting from the heat of my skin.

"Relax, Chase, I won't let anything bad happen to you," he said, and the floe rocketed upward growing into a pillar of ice nearly ten feet above the surface.

"Oh, this is much better," I said shaking out my wings and gazing down at the whales stirring the waters below. Barapha smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders saying, "Let me know when you get too cold." I snuggled into him and watched the whales gleaming in the blue light of his enchanted ice crystals.

Nearly half an hour passed, and I felt Barapha's frigid fingertips on my cheek. I heard him softly call my name. I blinked blearily and looked up at him. He smiled and said, "I think it's time we head in." I hugged his arm and mumbled, "But I'm not cold yet." He chuckled and replied, "Maybe not but it's nearly three in the morning back home and you were drooling on my shoulder a little bit." My face grew warm, and I looked down at his shoulder. I laughed sheepishly and said, "Sorry."

He shook his head and curled his arms around me. The pillar of ice disappeared beneath us, and we fell for a split second before being whisked away by a miniature snowstorm. We landed back on the beach, and I mumbled, "I could have flown." Barapha smiled and let go of me saying, "I know."

I looked down at Quetz snoring softly by the fire, the flames flaring with each breath, and I asked, "Should we try and get him into the tent?" Barapha considered Quetz for a moment before replying, "Yeah, he'll feel left out if he wakes up alone."

He unzipped the entrance to the tent and all the windows so that the ocean breeze was free to travel through the mesh screens and he gestured at me saying, "Grab his feet." Barapha hooked his arms under Quetz' and I grabbed his legs. We lifted him off the ground and my knees nearly buckled.

"Holy shit! I thought you said he weighed 220!" I exclaimed and Barapha laughed lugging Quetz towards the tent and saying, "He just at a three-ton whale. Why do you think I asked for your help?"

The bony projections at the top of my wings snagged the edge of the entrance and I grimaced flaring my wings and shaking them out before retracting them, leaving a pink, puckered scar along each of my shoulder blades. Barapha and I heaved Quetz inside and dropped him on the sleeping mat. He grumbled in his sleep and rolled over onto his side clutching at a slightly singed pillow.

"I swear that kid could sleep through a tornado," Barapha said sitting down next to Quetz and gesturing for me to join him. I pulled at my soaking wet pants and frowned. Barapha, by virtue of his below freezing body temperature was completely dry. He smiled and reached for my frog backpack which was sitting in the corner and rifled through it finding a pair of clean, dry, boxer shorts.

He watched as I changed into them and threw my wet clothes outside. I zipped up the mesh screen at the entrance and lay down next to Barapha. He curled his arm around me, and I snuggled into his side. He kissed me gently on the forehead and I felt warmth spread through my body. Barapha leaned towards Quetz and brushed his lips against the dragon's cheek. Quetz sighed and wriggled closer seemingly in his sleep.

Barapha smiled and hooked his arm around Quetz' shoulders pulling him even closer. Quetz pressed his face into Barapha's neck. Barapha sighed at the warmth enveloping him from both sides and murmured, "Goodnight, Chase." I smiled and closed my eyes whispering, "Goodnight, Barapha."