I drifted in to our cave and curled up against Irik's side. "What troubled you so?" He asked lazily, yawning and revealing his big teeth.

"It was a waterbender... but...there was fire in her belly."

"Oh?" He asked as he stretched and then curled up around me.

"Yes. It seems as though she is with child; a firebending child," I answered staring over him at a spot on the cave wall. He raised his head and caught my eyes.

"I didn't think that was possible. Does not flame flicker out at the sight of water?" I nuzzled his jaw and he rest his head over my neck again.

"I did not think such a thing was possible either but... it must be," I sighed.

"Humans are strange creatures. They continue to surprise me."

"I as well." We lay there in silence for a long time before Irik spoke up.

"Do you suppose the female will live until the birth?"

"I am not sure, darling. Perhaps. She seemed strong enough to me," I answered softly. "But then again, fire is an ever-consuming element-"

"-And not to be trifled with," Irik finished. I flipped my the tip of my tail over in thought. Today had been very puzzling. Very puzzling indeed.

Months had gone by and I tried to check in on the humans every few weeks. I found that after two or three months I did not see the waterbender anymore, just the firebender with the scar over his eye. I would perch on a skinny ledge on the side of the mountain facing their little dwelling and watch. I could see their little cottage further down the slope on a small plateau. It was perhaps a mile away, but I could see what kind of flowers were in their window boxes, even with my old eyesight. Every now and then I would see the firebender gaze up at our mountain and just stare, as if he were searching for something. Probably Irik and I. After that I would return to my other half and curl up against him.

It was a warm, pretty evening and we had eaten the dinner Irik had returned with. We were now curled around one another, letting the food settle in our bellies. His muzzle was pressed against my jaw, his warm breath against my skin. He stretched one of his wings out and tucked it over my smaller body, snugging me a bit tighter against his side. It was times like this that I remembered when we were young. We were perhaps fifty years old when we had met. We fell in love at the threshold of adolescence, the very beginning of our lives. In fact, Irik had just come into his adult hide. No longer did he wear the fragile skin of a baby or the tiny leftover feathers under the wings of a flightling. He was a grown male. The first time I saw him, I knew. I knew he was the one. Maybe it was the confident swoops and arcs in the air that wooed me, or perhaps his impressive display of firebending. I was shy, more bashful than the other female dragons that were watching the males show off. It was mating season afterall.

He had spotted me from the air and swooped down on the cliff ledge in front of me. His claws had gripped at the stone and his face was level with mine when he invited me to fly with him. I suppose humans might call in a proposal. We fell in love that very day and forty years later we had our first clutch of hatchlings. We were parents to many, many children. So many I had even lost count. It is hard to tell what happened to them. Most were probably cut down by those poisoned, vile firebenders that hunted our kind for sport. I remember Ran and Shaw telling us of a man name Iroh. He had met them and never told a soul, claiming to have killed them to protect our kind. Perhaps he is still alive. I should like to meet him one day.

We had just scarcely dozed when a horrible cry tore up the mountainside. Our heads shot up and we peered towards the entrance of the cave. There was another wrenching cry. "What is happening to that poor beast?" Irik asked quietly. I found that we spend a lot of time in the quiet. There is never a need to be loud when one can enjoy the peace and beauty of quiet. So much can be said in whispers that cannot be said spoken out loud.

"I don't know," I said tilting my head to better capture the noise. "Whatever it is, I feel very sorry for it."

"It sounds as if it is a great deal of pain."

Irik and I stayed awake into the night, moving out to the mouth of the cave. We had looked up at the stars, and with his wing over me, I was safe from the cool breeze of the night air. I loved him more and more every day, even over the simplest things, things he had always done, such as warming the rock beneath us with fire before we had settled down. It was those things that made me keep falling in love.

"It has been far too long since we have looked at the stars, Shua," he said softly.

"Perhaps we might do it more often," I replied.

We laid there for a long time, not speaking but always talking. It is amazing what can be said in the silence. However, while we were still, cries of pain came up the mountain side every so often. It was quiet for a few minutes, before the worst, wretched scream of all reached our ears. And then... something strange followed the scream. "Is that squalling?" Irik asked.

"I do not know."

The strange noise continued for several minutes. I felt something, had been feeling something, creeping into my lungs and mind, the very being of myself. "Do you feel that?" I asked.

"I do. It's fire."

"Do you suppose?" I started.

"I think so. I never thought I would see the day when we would welcome a new firebender onto our mountain," he said happily.

We took to the air, twisting around eachother and locking talons every so often like love-struck flightlings, until we reached the top of the volcano. We stood next to one another and lifted our heads, breathing out all the colors of fire into the night air. I so hoped the child's father would see and understand that his offspring would be under our protection so long as they lived on this mountain.