Here's a picture of our long journey on the Noel town map that's pinned to "The Quirkiest little holiday themed town there is." sign.

On the Noel town map I circled some things.

Picture of Noel town map and the Middlecreek B&B is beside the gas station that is "where we are."and Maricle road is across the street and Blister square is close by with some important businesses like the Twisted cafe and the community center and then the Maple mountains that have a patch of snow on top.

But the most important thing about this picture is those resilient little dandy lion flowers growing threw that little patch of soft snow!

And BTW, there's no dragon yet...

***

So... I've got a secret. I haven't actually been listening to music and playing video games while we've been driving back home...

I've been napping.

I hope that no-one knows though, I mean, I'm a preteen!

Anyways... I yawned as I opened my eyes and noticed that the clock on the car dash said...

12:00pm.

"Wait..!" I quietly screamed, "The battery didn't die again did it??? Because it did that one time and... That really sucked... The car didn't start, and we were like 23 hours ahead of everyone else....

(Comic with Sunny asking, "Hey, There's no school today!"

And Mom saying, "Check your phone."

And caption saying, "And this is why you learn how to set your car clock.")

12:01pm.

Phew! I guess that the battery didn't die because Mom just stopped the car, roared like a dragon and I... Looked out the window and asked... "Wait! This isn't home!"

"Nope!" Dad smiled at me, "But go surprise Narrie and we'll pick you up later, alright?"

"Alright..." I took off my seatbelt and well... Anyways!

My name is Sunny Luna Crumpet and I will be your narrator as I wake up my legs and trudge through the dusting of snow that sparkles as it blows off of the roof of my best friends bed and breakfast.

The middle of the creak! It's not actually in the middle of a creak, but my best friends secret garden is! She has a secret garden like Aunt missy's and I wonder what the new thing is but...

As I walk around, everything looks exactly the same as when we left...

"What gives?!? It's already the 14th!" I begged Dad, "So like, where's the Christmas dragon that greets us into the quirkiest little Christmas town there is??? Huh?"

By the way, the sign is SUPPOSED to have a dragon with wearing a Santa hat!

(Picture of a bad drawing of a wooden dragon with Gaian symbols in a Santa hat.)

"I don't know why they don't have the dragons up yet Honey..." That's what Dad said before he closed the door and started working the gas pump... I mean, he might have said more, but by that time the wind was in my ears and I couldn't actually hear anything...

Anyways, I know that Mom usually heads up all the fun dragon stuff. I mean like... This whole dragon festival is actually just an ultra undercover front so that she can treat injured dragons in the mountains behind of our house.

...WAIT..!

You are like a trusted reader person right? I mean like... I didn't just blow my secret to people who will lock me up and throw away the key and then I'll always have bad nightmares forever will I?

No?

Okay...

Phew...

Now, the thing is... Before Auntie Missy told me that it is not the most normal thing in the world for Mom to work so much that I start to think she's avoiding spending time with me, or how she stares blankly at the wall when she thinks that no one is looking...

Or how on occasion she screams in the bathroom when the water's running...

Or like... I wish that she'd simply explain to me like WHY she "needs" to tell me that everything's okay now.

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Like, wasn't everything always okay? I mean...

She says things are dangerous but...

(Break away from line.) (Leaf blowing in the wind headspace motif.)

Well anyways, for a long time I was just your super common energetic kid who was just a teensy little bit confused about things like why Mom keeps her job a secret from me..!

But now I know the truth!

See, Mom is a veterinarian who specializes in mythical creatures and even runs a dragon clinic out of the mountains behind our farmhouse!

And you know? I'm beginning to think that I'm actually not that common a person... But the trade off is so worth it!

A comic of Mom and Sunny helping a small dragon with small wings learn how to fly by hopping up and down.

"Hey honey," My Dad finished pumping gas and asked me, "what's going on over there?"

"IDK..." I told him but couldn't stop my itchy legs from trudging over the dusting of snow towards the park and slowly wonder, "What is going on over there?"

"Hi Honey." Mandy Inkwell, the town publisher of PenNium publishing, who at that moment was setting up her tripod and...

Chances are she doesn't even remember who I am...

"So umm..." I glanced around at this dull December day and asked Mandy, "So are you going to be shooting the dragon festival?"

"Well little missy," Mandy tipped her puppy dog eared hat, then put her fingers in the air like a finger gun, but instead of beat boxing "Peiuuoo" rocket sounds, we were greeted with big

BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOMS!!!

This is a comic about Mandy Inkwell making those by a tripod and booms go off. "Puoo, Puoo, Puoou." "bOOm! bOoooOM!!! SHHH

WELL! Don't be scared to death because that was a controlled avalanche!

See, there's a ski resort over there that sometimes needs to make them so that nobody gets hurt with an accidental avalanche but... "Those are fireworks..!"

"Sure are!" Mandy said and then shouted to Ryan, "Did you get it?"

"Yep." Ryan yawned, "Good drone footage around town and ending and starting with the newly opened Middle Creek Bed and breakfast, and fireworks all the way to the Noel ski park for the dragon festival kickoff."

"Good." Mandy smiled, then I followed her towards the bridge to Narrie's secret garden until she stopped in the middle, looked down into the water water and asked me, "I wonder what the cloud dragons are up to today?"

Cloud dragons? Mom just told me about all about them! So I proudly smiled into the water and told her, "You know... Mom says that cloud spirits travel between worlds!"

"Really?" Mandy smiled at me and did NOT forget my name. "You know Sunny... Stephanie told me that you'd be coming today."

"Really?" I mean... Maybe it's just the fact that I'm still waking up, and on a cold windy cold day at that, but I mean... How did she know I'd be coming home today? Huh?

"Yup, just like that kid," Mandy pointed to the family that Mom invited here last month, Joy and the little girl and their family just so that she could show off a really beautiful healthy dragon from our home town of Noel and told me that they, ""Keeps their mind open to the future."

"You smell that?" Joy played with key by proving that he does in fact keep his mind toward the future and told her that, "I think that Sammy and Kiera are bringing us some sparkly chocolattie cocoa!"

Then Key pulled at Joy's hand to communicate something, so Joy told them that, "I wonder if there's any foam hearts floating on top of your mug too."

(Picture of a hot chocolate foam heart.)

Well anyways, As I see everyone but the only one I care to get to know I mean... I'm hoping to get to know all about that cool dragon rider and maybe relieve some of Mom's fears about me getting hurt, so anyways, "Is Emerald with you guys?"

Kiera spilled her mocha, then Joy came over with a towel and told me, "She'll be here soon as her work is done."

"She doesn't always need to work..." Kiera sighed, then picked up Key's teddy bear, gave me a smile and told me, "But Purple flame is here..."

Now that's "good"... I guess?

Whatever, the only reason that Mom insisted they even come here was because she's "so proud to have a young and majestic dragon like Purple flame to contribute from my home town of Noel to deliver presents in both the dragon festival here and the one in Gaia!"

Picture in front of the Middlecreek bed and breakfast where the family of Joy Kiera, Key, Noah and Sammy are enjoying hot cocoa.