Dragonman (To Beat the Heat)

         Skydan heard the radio's static as he woke up from his slumber. Immediately, something hit him like a meteor.

         "Whoa. It's hot," he said tiredly. He moaned as he sat up in his bed, stretching his wings and tail to wake himself up. His treehouse and tree were built with dark wood, so the heat was trapped like the greenhouse effect. Skydan hated that he didn't have air conditioning. After getting dressed and donning his bling, Skydan lazily walked downstairs to the family room. He saw Varoura in the kitchen slumped over the table. 2 bowls, a carton of milk, and a box of blueberry corn flake cereal were there with her. Skydan grinned at Varoura as he walked over. "You hot, love?" Skydan asked, then blushed when he realized what he said.

         "Totally hot," Varoura moaned, trying not to giggle. "So. Totally. Hot!" Skydan poured himself and Varoura some cereal. Varoura lifted her head and poured herself some milk and Skydan did the same. The sweet, delicious cereal was good, but the milk slightly relieved them of the scorching heat.

         "If there was ever a time I wished I had an air conditioner, now is the time," Skydan groaned.

         "After the cereal, I'm helping myself to some fresh, cool, vorik yogurt," Varoura said. Soon, the 2 dragonman finished their cereal and darted for the fridge. "First dibs," Varoura giggled. "Unless there's only 1 left."

         "You're almost too sweet," Skydan chuckled. When Skydan opened the fridge door, the couple stared in shock and disappointment, mouths wide open. There was not a single packet of yogurt to be found. None. "Aw, kludd," Skydan cursed.

         "Now what'll we do?" Varoura asked tiredly.

         "Let's go to Ruleroar. Perhaps our friends can help us," Skydan said.

         "Good idea, Skydan," Varoura said. After a quick drink of water, the 2 dragonman walked down the spiral staircase in the middle of the tree trunk. Once through the front door, the pair flew off north to the lovely city of Ruleroar.
         
         Flying was difficult in the sweltering heat. Still, they tried hard to not complain. The flight over the Ruleroar Canyon Bridge was more daunting than usual due to their fatigue.

         "I think I might just dunk my head in the golden fountain," Skydan said. Varoura giggled as they flew through the open gates of the city. In no time, they arrived at the Skyhood's meeting spot. The old golden fountain of the southwestern nature field. There, Raveesha sat down on the grass, casually listening to music on a portable radio. When Skydan and Varoura landed, they noticed Zondike was at the fountain, dunking his head in the water. This sight made them laugh. "Hey! That was my idea," Skydan chuckled.
         
         Skydan walked up to Zondike and patted him on the back. Zondike brought his head up, gasping for air, whipping his head back and forth, spraying the dirty fountain water everywhere.

         "Hey! Watch it, el fire go go! You'll ruin my hair like you ruined yours!" Raveesha shouted.

         "Aye, aye, aye. I don't care. It's demasiado caliente!" Zondike shrieked. The wild dragonman, now burned out, fell backwards and plopped on his back, groaning loudly.

         "Looks like the fountain's free, Skydan," Varoura giggled.

         "I was joking, love. I'm not messing up my hair," Skydan sighed. The heat was truly scorching, but Skydan wasn't willing to mess up his hair to cool off. Yet. Skydan fell to his knees and gasped. Varoura sighed and sat down on the grass. Raveesha was annoyed by these actions. She shook her head and stood up, crossing her arms.

         "You guys are a bunch of babies," she taunted. "It's not that hot out here."

         "Are you crazy, Veev?" Varoura gasped. "It must be 90 degrees out here."

         "Oh please. You guys need to toughen up. If you're really too hot, go find relief somewhere." Skydan looked up and thought for a few seconds. Varoura looked down and scratched her head, trying to figure out a way to beat the heat. Then, she perked up like a flower blooming in the sunlight.

         "Maybe some sweet, creamy Vorik yogurt will cool us down," she suggested. Skydan grinned widely at that mention. He loved fruity sweets, and Vorika was practically famous for its delicious, refreshing yogurt. Zondike, however, did not seem satisfied.

         "I say we take a dip in the Sweekos Meadow waterfall pond," Zondike suggested. "That ought to cool us down instantly." Skydan gritted his teeth and shook his head.

         "That pond may be clear, but it's no pool," Skydan said. "Who knows what kind of vermin is swimming around in there." Varoura and Raveesha shivered at the thought of such things. Zondike sighed and sat up.

         "If only the pools at Ruleroar weren't so crowded and full of kids all the time," Zondike said. "OK. Let's go get some yogurt."

         "I'll chill here, thank you," Raveesha said casually. Skydan and Zondike groaned at her remark. It was almost like she was trying to be funny. Raveesha never seemed to feel the heat. Perhaps that was a good thing, though. She was already quite a hot-tempered girl. The trio flew off to find the closest yogurt bar. Skydan led the way, knowing all the locations by heart. When they came across the first one, they were very displeased at what they saw. The line was very long, which they should have expected. Among those in line were Dazarth the Loud and their joyful friend Laylee, who also seemed to be struggling with the heat. She was halfway through the line. Sensing her friends, the pink dragonman looked up and waved at them.

         "Guys! Over here!" she called. "Come in my space in line!" The friends sighed in relief. With Laylee's help, they might just conquer this sweltering predicament. They landed beside her, when a familiar loud voice made their ears ring like telephones.

         "Hey dorks! Get to the back of the line!" Dazarth yelled from near the front. The friends glared at the loudmouth bully annoyingly. Dazarth simply smirked and waved his hand, gesturing them to move. "Back o' the line, losers! That's the rules, and you goody goodies follow them! So, scram!" The others in line gave sheepish smiles and nodded as if politely asking them to do what Dazarth said. Obviously they wanted yogurt as much as they did. Even to the point where they'd listen to that bully. Skydan and Zondike growled at Dazarth angrily. Varoura pouted and her eyes watered comically.
         
         "Don't worry, guys," Laylee whispered. "I'll get you guys some when my turn comes." Skydan, Zondike, and Varoura instantly grinned and thanked Laylee.

         "You are awesome, Laylee," Varoura said.

         "Efcharist" Skydan said in a relieved tone. After telling Laylee what yogurt flavors they wanted, Skydan, Varoura, and Zondike walked over to a nearby bench and sat down to wait for their treat. Varoura cuddled up to Skydan, leaning her head on his shoulder and clutching his arm. Skydan sighed and returned the cuddle.

         "Ah love. What a glorioso thing," Zondike said dreamily as he leaned back on the bench. Time seemed to slow down as the friends waited, watching the line slowly move and continue to get longer. The heat pounded like fire breath on their faces. Trying to be patient, they toughed it out the best they could. The group started to nod off until Dazarth's loud voice startled them.

         "Finally! My turn!" he said loudly. Laylee rolled her eyes at Dazarth's rude loudness. At least she was 3 spots away from the front now.

         "What can I get for you, sir?" the yogurt seller asked, slightly annoyed by Dazarth as well. Dazarth smirked, then pulled 2 big bags of silva out of his magic sack.

         "I'll take all the yogurt you got for twice the price," Dazarth chuckled. Everyone in line gasped. Then, 3 of Dazarth's fellow cronies ran in with 2 fancy wheelbarrows. "Just fill the wheelbarrows and we'll be on our way." The crowd sighed and began to disperse. Laylee pouted angrily at Dazarth, stomping her foot and clenching her fists. Skydan and Varoura were shocked and Zondike was blazing mad.
         
         "Why that monstruo verde codicioso!" he shouted enraged. Varoura raised an eyebrow confusedly at Zondike.

         "I think he said greedy green monster," Skydan explained. He then got up and furiously stormed at Dazarth while his devious pals filled the put cartons of yogurt in the wheelbarrows. "What the kludd are you doing Dazarth?" he protested. "This is so unfair! You can't take all this yogurt for yourself!" Dazarth laughed and waved his finger at Skydan.

         "For your information, Skydork, I'm having a party at the first-class district pool. I rented it out for the day," Dazarth said arrogantly. "Of course, you're not invited, so scram! Fight the heat yourselves!" Skydan and his friends glared and growled at Dazarth, who remained arrogant and proud. Finally, his pals finished filling the wheelbarrows with all the cartons of sweet, creamy yogurt. "Later, losers!" Dazarth shouted, giving the Skyhoods the hand. The frustrated friends could only watch as Dazarth walked away with the frozen treats.

         "How greedy and selfish," Varoura said.

         "That son of a stitch. I can't believe it," Skydan groaned. "While he and his no-good cronies are cooling down at the pool, we're left to dehydrate in this heat." Zondike growled and kicked a nearby trash can, screaming loudly after he hit it.

         "I'm mad, too, Zondike," Laylee said.

         "Ah! My toe!" Zondike yelped, hopping around in pain. Laylee sighed and face palmed. Skydan and Varoura looked at each other and groaned. They couldn't believe Dazarth was doing this.

         "What a jerk," Skydan grunted. "Ugh. My yogurt. My delicious, sweet, cool, creamy yogurt," he moaned. The unforgiving sun blazed upon the helpless friends. Their hopes for beating the heat seemed to be lost. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps caught the friends' attention. They turned to see Raveesha walking up to them, clearly unamused.

         "Are you guys gonna let that loudmouth get away with this stupidity?" she asked grudgingly. Skydan and the others looked at each other and felt their confidence rise. Laylee stomped over and stood in front of her friends.

         "Veev's right, guys!" she said strongly. "We can't let Dazarth get away with this! He doesn't deserve to conquer the heat. We do!" Zondike stopped hopping and clenched his fists.

         "She's right, guys!" he said. "I say we go over to that pool and crash that jerk's party!" Laylee and Raveesha seemed excited by Zondike's idea. Skydan and Varoura remained composed, though. Skydan put his arm around Varoura and smiled.

         "You feel like going along with that plan, Varoura?" he asked wittily. Varoura giggled and hid her smile gently.

         "Absolutely. I'd love to give that jerk some payback," she answered.
         "Let's do this!" Zondike shouted. The friends quickly huddled together to discus their plan, filled with anticipation on their mischievous intents.

         "OK guys," Skydan said. "First things first. We have to know the situation. Let's head to the first-class district pool and find out what chaos we're dealing with."

         "Right!" his friends exclaimed. Fighting through the heat, they flew through the city to get to the pool. Skydan didn't like going to the first-class district, but he'd do anything to get payback for being robbed of his precious yogurt. The heat was incredibly harsh. The weary Skyhoods struggled to stay aloft, but eventually they were forced to glide down and walk. They all slumped over as they walked, panting heavily with their mouths open. All except Raveesha, who was unfazed and walking confidently. The rich folk around them weren't much better off. However, they had frozen treats to cope with the blazing hot conditions. The friends tried not to look at it.

         "Goodness. Even these fancy pants millionaires aren't immune to this craziness," Varoura said as she tiredly walked. Skydan sighed as his mouth watered, craving for the sweet creaminess the snobs around him were having. Finally, the weary Skyhoods reached the fence of the public first-class pool. The stone fence was white and strongly built, with small spaces in between pillars perfect for peeking through.

         "Come one, guys," Skydan said. "Let's see what we're up against." The friends peeked between the pillars and saw an envious sight. Dazarth and about a dozen other people were splashing around in the pool. Though it was too shallow for swimming, the water looked very refreshing. That wasn't all, though. People were relaxing in the pool chairs snacking on packets of Vorik yogurt. Skydan drooled even more from the sight. Zondike growled angrily and Laylee moaned annoyingly. That wasn't all, though. Dazarth was cooking burgers on a small metal barbeque. A bag of buns and a bottle of ketchup were on tables near the grill. When Zondike and Raveesha saw this, their mouths also began to water.

         "This is so unfair," Raveesha said. "I mean, I can handle the heat, but I deserve those burgers more than that son of a stitch."

         "I know," Zondike said. "What gives that jerk the right to take all that yogurt and claim the entire pool for himself?"

         "OK, guys," Varoura said. "Now that we see what's going on, how do we crash this party?" Skydan and Zondike looked at each other and shrugged. Laylee, however, had a glint of clever mischief sparkle in her eyes. Raveesha noticed this.

         "Oooo, giggly puff. I like that look in your eyes," she chuckled. Laylee rubbed her hands together and grinned widely. Skydan, Zondike, and Varoura smiled and surrounded the pink dragonman girl, anxious to find out her plan.

         "I have an idea, guys," she said. "We're going to need Kayo's help, though. Do you know where he is?" The friends looked at each other.

         "Maybe he's at home. After all, we didn't see him at the fountain," Skydan said.

         "Alright! Let's fly over there so he can join us!" Zondike exclaimed. With that, the Skyhoods flew off to find their friend, the ice elemental Kayo the Frozen. Skydan realized some time with Kayo would do them some good. Being an ice elemental, his body emanated a cooling aura. Exhausted, the friends finally arrived at Kayo's townhouse. Knowing his mother would never answer the door for them, they looked up at the upper level porch of Kayo's bedroom.

         "Let's head up there, Zondike," Skydan said. "You girls wait here." Varoura nodded and stood with Laylee and Raveesha.

         "Good luck, Skydan," Varoura said. Skydan and Zondike flew up to the balcony and knocked on the door.

         "I bet Kayo is taking the heat harder than we are," Zondike said. Skydan nodded in agreement. Through the glass, they could see Kayo approaching them with a look more stern than usual. The ice dragonman opened the door and sighed. Kayo didn't say a word. He just stared at his friends with a look of exhaustion and impatience.

         "Hey Kayo," Skydan said. "How're you handling this heat?" Kayo glared at Skydan as if he were annoyed. He then sniffed rather hard like he had a stuffy nose.

         "What do you think?" he replied coldly. Skydan and Zondike could barely feel Kayo's cold aura on them. It felt very relieving. They knew better than to hug him, though.

         "Listen, Kayo," Skydan said to him. "Dazarth took all the Vorik yogurt and claimed the first-class pool for his own private party. We want to crash it, and we need your help." Kayo kept his composure as Skydan explained everything. He looked down and saw the girls waiting anxiously. Kayo was silent for a while, then made some funny faces. Skydan and Zondike looked at him confusedly. Then, Kayo sneezed loudly. Sniffing again, he nodded.

         "Alright. I'll help you out," he said. "Just don't ask for too much. You know what happens to me in hot weather like this." As if to show it, Kayo sneezed again. Skydan and Zondike couldn't help but chuckle at their friend. Kayo was usually so stern, cool, calm, and daunting. It was fun to see him lose his coolness once in a while. Kayo was not amused by their amusement, though. The friends glided down to where the girls were waiting. Laylee jumped excitedly and motioned for them to follow her.

         "Come on, guys!" she exclaimed. "Our next stop is the alchemy shop!" The friends flew with Laylee leading the way. Luckily it didn't take long to reach the shop. When they entered, Laylee excitedly ran over to one of the alchemy crafting tables. She then pulled out her magic sack and rummaged through it.

         "What're you doing, pinkly?" Raveesha asked.

         "Making a potion that will punish those pool hoggers," Laylee giggled. "Varoura, could you grab some snowberries from the shelf?"

         "No problem. I actually have my own," Varoura answered. Varoura took out her own sack and after looking through it pulled out a handful of snowberries. She handed them to Laylee, who was giddily crafting an unknown potion. The process looked quite complicated. She shattered crystals to dust, squeezed the juices out of the berries, and added an assortment of drops of other potions on the shelf.

         "You done, yet?" Zondike asked impatiently.

         "Almost," Laylee said excitedly. "All I need is a small blast of Kayo's ice."

         "I guess that's your cue, Kayo," Skydan said making room for him. Kayo sniffed and wiped his nose with his hand. his friends moved aside as he approached the counter. After a strong inhale, the friends expected a blast of ice from Kayo, but instead were met with a messy sputter of ice specks. The friends stared with wide open eyes of confusion. Kayo sighed.

         "Sorry. Let me try again," he said. The friends stared at Kayo as he regained his composure. His icy aura became stronger, causing his friends to crowd around him. Taking an even longer and stronger breath, Kayo now blew a strong flurry of ice on the potion. Instantly, the potion seemed to freeze solid, then it sparkled like snowflakes reflecting in light. Cooling vapors emanated from it. The Skyhoods stared at it in awe.

         "What is it?" Varoura asked mystified.

         "It's a permafrost potion," Laylee said. "When this volatile icy liquid hits water, boom! The water quickly becomes frozen solid." Skydan, Zondike, and Varoura grinned mischievously.

         "Wow. So we're gonna sick an icicle spell on Dazarth's party?" Varoura asked.

         "Fighting too hot with too cold, huh? How original," Raveesha said sarcastically.

         "Not just that," Laylee said. "Raveesha, the grill is very close to the pillar fence. I was thinking you can blaze up those charcoals to blister that barbeque."

         "What? And ruin all those burgers?" Raveesha asked. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Man, you guys just don't know how to handle the heat. OK. I'll so it."

         "Good!" Laylee said joyfully. "OK, guys. Huddle up! It's time to explain operation pool party crash!" Skydan and Zondike chuckled at Laylee's excitement. The friends huddled up and listening to Laylee's ingenious scheme. After it was told, Skydan and Zondike laughed hysterically while Varoura giggled shyly. Kayo and Raveesha seemed unamused, though.

         "That's a weird idea," Raveesha said.

         "Well I'm good with it," Zondike said. "It'd be nice to inflict some karma on those big rich jerks."
         
         "I'm with you!" Varoura said excitedly.

         "Me too," Skydan said. Kayo simply nodded in response. With everyone in agreement, it was time for their mission of payback. As they flew through the heated air, they were full of excitement and anticipation.

         10 minutes later, back at the pool, Dazarth and his pals were enjoying the water, burgers, and yogurt. Dazarth continued cooking burgers on the grill, laughing and making jokes with the crowd. The Skyhoods hid from the crowd. Raveesha was near the grill, Laylee watched from a roof on a nearby building, Skydan and Zondike hid behind the pillars, and Kayo waited for his signal for action on the pool house roof.
         
         Eventually, the pool had 7 people in it. This was their chance to start their assault. Laylee pointed at Kayo and gave a large smile. That was his cue. Kayo nodded and leaped off the pool house, flying over the pool and dropping the permafrost potion in the water. On the instant, the water began to freeze solid, trapping the people in the pool in ice. They growled and chattered their teeth from the cold, struggling to get out. Dazarth gasped and panicked when he saw this.

         "What the kludd?!" he exclaimed noisily. Still clutching the spatula he used to flip the burgers, he ran over to the trapped pool partiers. Once he was away from the barbeque, Raveesha exhaled a stream of fire on the grill's charcoal. Instantly, the grill lit up with black fire and the metal bars began to melt.

         "Too bad we had to melt the grill," Skydan said.

         "Oh well. Now it's our turn!" Zondike cheered. Skydan and Zondike quickly began to scale the walls to inflict their last piece of payback.

         "What is going on here?!" Dazarth yelled. Frantically, Dazarth shot streams of his green fire to try to melt the ice trapping his cohorts in the pool. There were many times he almost hit them by accident.

         "Watch where you're aiming, dude!" one shouted out. Dazarth tried his best, but the ice was too strong. Eventually, the other partiers jumped in to help. Meanwhile, Skydan and Zondike hop the fence and rush over to the fridges containing the yogurt. With the chaotic distraction, they remained completely unnoticed. The 2 friends grinned widely as they stuffed their magic sacks with the packs of cool, creamy treats. By this time, Dazarth noticed the grill being destroyed and told his ice elemental friends to put out the metal melting fire.

         "Put out that fire before my grill is melted to muck!" he bellowed. Finally, Skydan and Zondike completely emptied the fridge of yogurt. With their magic sacks close to being full, they hopped the fence again and began to run off.

         "That'll teach that greedy punk!" Zondike laughed. As Dazarth and his cohorts panicked through the chaos, the Skyhoods victoriously escaped with their prize. Regrouping, they flew off to find a place to enjoy their treats.

         "So where shall we head now?" Varoura asked. "I mean, we have the yogurt, but it's still blazing hot." The friends looked at each other and slowly descended to the ground, gasping from the heat.

         "How about the Academy?" Skydan asked. "I'm pretty sure it's air conditioned."

         "That's a great idea, Skydan!" Laylee cheered. Everyone agreed that was a great idea. Fighting through the heat, finally ready to beat it, the Skyhoods headed to the Academy. Once they reached the stairs, they flew the rest of the distance. When they arrived, the academy seemed more crowded than usual. Then, Skydan heard the sounds of laughing and random conversations from the training yard. Not only that, he heard splashing noises.

         "Guys, I hear something interesting coming from the training yard," Skydan said a bit enthusiastically. Without seeing his friends' reaction, Skydan briskly walked towards the field. Varoura followed after him closely.

         "What is it, Skydan?" she asked sweetly as she ran after him. The friends also followed Skydan to the training grounds. When Skydan saw it, he stopped dead in his tracks from shock. His friends quickly did the same. What lay before them was a very pleasant surprise. All over the training field, small wooden pools were spread throughout the area. Groups of 6 soaked in the cool water as they conversed and relaxed. The Skyhoods were amazed.

         "What is this?" Varoura wondered aloud as she hugged Skydan from behind.

         "A new idea of ours," a familiar voice behind them said. The friends turned around to see Astravolt and Flamrussel approaching them. Flamrussel smiled brightly and nodded at them while Astravolt crossed his arms and casually looked at them. The Skyhoods patiently waited for the masters' explanation.

         "We bought some cheap lounge pools for the Academy so we fight this blazing day," Flamrussel said.

         "It was merely an act of sympathy. These young folks are taking the heat harshly," Astravolt added. Raveesha sighed and shook her head.

         "What wimps," she grunted. Skydan chuckled and glanced back at her with a smile.

         "Really, Veev?" he asked amusingly. "All these guys and girls are wimps?" Zondike and Laylee laughed a bit and patted Raveesha on the back. Skydan saw a few pools were available and approached the masters. Before he could speak, Flamrussel read his mind and nodded.

         "Of course you can use some of our pools," the fire master said kindly. "It's really too bad that greedy boy Dazarth claimed the best of the Vorik yogurt. It would've been a great addition to our quest to beat the heat." Skydan and Zondike looked at each other and grinned widely. Varoura giggled and stepped forward.

         "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this, masters," she said. Skydan and Zondike quickly pulled out their sacks and flipped them upside down. Dozens of packets of yogurt dropped from them. Flamrussel, Astravolt, and the soaking pool partiers were amazed. Skydan looked at them and waved.

         "Help yourselves!" Skydan said joyfully to the crowd. Instantly, the people rushed to grab some yogurt. They had a deep craving for the treat just like the Skyhoods. The friends were not like Dazarth. Their feelings of generosity made them happier than eating the yogurt themselves. Varoura, impressed by Skydan, gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

         "Great job, Skydan," she said lovingly. Skydan blushed at his lover's sweet gesture.

         "Alright! Now let's get some swimsuits on an enjoy these pools ourselves!" Zondike cheered. The Skyhoods rushed into the building to get some Academy swimsuits. After changing, they claimed some pools and enjoyed the cooling water and sweet, juicy yogurt. Skydan and Varoura shared a pool together. Varoura lovingly cuddled up to Skydan as she ate her strawberry yogurt.

         Kayo was in a pool with Zondike and Laylee and Raveesha shared one. All of them feasted on yogurt joyfully and talked to each other about all kinds of things. Laylee and Raveesha talked about their time with their families and Zondike chattered to Kayo about events at his job. The rest of the guests were very grateful to the Skyhoods for sharing their delectable treasure. Skydan couldn't help but listen in on their kind words.

         "Those kids sure are legendary," one said.
         "Yeah. Still, it's kind of hard to believe they saved the world. They're just a bunch of ordinary people."
         "But doesn't that always happen? Aren't the greatest of heroes just ordinary people doing extraordinary things?" Skydan chuckled at this. He was so happy everyone kept treating him with kindness but didn't treat him like a great hero.

         "Are you listening again?" Varoura asked mischievously. Skydan immediately looked away and shook his head. Varoura then tapped his chin with her finger and made him turn his head towards her. "How about a taste of strawberry, Skydan?" she asked lovingly. She then took a spoonful of her yogurt and fed it to Skydan. Skydan licked his lips and smiled.

         "Mmm-mmm," he hummed. "Yummy." Skydan slowly leaned over and kissed Varoura. The kiss, though deep, was also gentle and full of love. The feelings in their hearts spiraled warmly like a comforting blanket in their chest. When they pulled away, Skydan tapped his yogurt cup with his spoon. "Everyone! Attention!" he said loudly wanting everyone's notice. Once everyone had their eyes on him, he smiled and raised his yogurt pack. "A yogurt toast to our victory over the heat!" he cheered.

         "Stin ygeisas!" many people shouted.

         "Cheers!" the rest cheered. With that, everyone ate a large spoonful of yogurt.

         "Hooray for the Skyhoods!" one person shouted. Everyone cheered as the Skyhoods quietly listened to their praise. Kayo and Raveesha were annoyed by this while Zondike and Laylee enjoyed it. Skydan simply cuddled with Varoura and they kept enjoying their treat. This was a true victory worthy of celebration. Together, they delivered major payback to Dazarth and won the battle against the heat. Today turned out to be great. Varoura gaze at Skydan with sparkling, deep blue eyes.

         "Do you think tomorrow will be just as hot as today?" she asked him. "I sure hope not." Skydan smiled and looked up at the sky, then looked at her lovingly with his scarlet eyes.

         "Potden xeis," he said happily. "I wouldn't mind if it meant being close to you like this again." Having finished his yogurt, Skydan put his arm around Varoura and held her closer. Varoura leaned into his embrace as she continued her sweet creamy snack.

         As the blazing heat attacked the land, the Skyhoods victoriously enjoyed their Vorik delicacies and the cooling pools all day long. It was a victorious conquering over the unbearable heat. An overall wonderful day.