TLoS: VfUtS, Chapter 4, Pt. 1 (updated)

            It has been a week since Sebastian witnessed Spyro first using his new elemental move, now officially known as the Seismic Blast, at an elemental training session in Warfang.  During that time, Sebastian often accompanied Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx wherever they traveled in the immense city, either to search for food or to visit with their friends.  At the end of that same week, Sebastian accompanied Spyro and Cynder with some of their friends to help deliver a large cart of food to a dragon orphanage in the eastern section of Warfang.  Amongst these friends were Blue, Static, Gravel, Glacier, Michbellus, and a few members of the Warfang Guard.  Sparx didn’t come on account that he had left Warfang two days earlier to stay with his parents at the swamp for a month.

            On the way to the orphanage, Sebastian had observed the braces on Static’s teeth were absent.  When he asked her about it, the young electric dragoness told the little red crab that Messick had to remove the braces a few days ago on account that they were causing her some problems for her teeth.  She additionally noted that it was actually a relief to not have them there anymore.  When the group finally arrived at the orphanage they were greeted by its owner, Moonlit, a beautiful and gentle white ice dragoness with dark purple under belly and dark blue wing membranes, and a white tail blade that emitted a soft, white mist.  Moonlit was very grateful of Spyro, Cynder and their friends for bringing food to the orphanage.  She was also very intrigued and delighted in meeting Sebastian, despite him being a crab, which Moonlit didn’t mind a bit.  Moonlit then led the group, with their delivered cargo in tow, into the orphanage where they then followed her toward the building’s pantry.  Much to the relief of Spyro, his mate Cynder, and their friends, all the young dragon orphans were currently having recess behind the orphanage.  If they were to became curious or excited over Sebastian upon seeing him, they would immediately rush toward him for a closer look, which would greatly frighten the little red crab in the process.  Sebastian also recognized this and immediately became agitated over whether or not the orphaned drakes would swarm him, as he would put it, like a school of ferocious barracudas.  Moonlit, of course, gently assured Sebastian that no such scenario would befall him while she was present, which calmed him down considerably.  When the group reached the pantry, they immediately began refilling it with the food they delivered, while Static stood watch for any signs of the orphans returning from recess.  After several minutes, the pantry was restocked, and after receiving some verbal gratitude from Moonlit, Spyro and his companions departed the orphanage just as the children returned from recess.  This experience served as a positive one for Sebastian, for he learned that dragons could demonstrate compassion with each other.

            Then, later that night in Spyro and Cynder’s elevated pavilion, both beloved mates and their little red companion were sound asleep on their respective beds.  Then suddenly, a loud and frightful scream was heard from Sebastian as he instantly awoke, which instantly jolted Spyro and Cynder out of their peaceful slumber.  The young couple then rushed over to Sebastian’s bed where they found him gasping for breath while holding one claw over his chest.

            “Sebastian, what’s wrong?” asked Spyro with urgency.  Sebastian stopped gasping and gazed at the young purple dragon before Cynder said:

            “We just heard you screaming and we came to see if you were alright.  What happened?”  Sebastian glanced at both of them before casting an anguished expression on his face.

            “Oh, it was horrible,” he moaned loudly.  “I had such a most horrible nightmare.”

            “What was it about?” asked Spyro concernedly as he and his black mate sat down a few inches from his bed.  Sebastian gave a morose sigh before he began.

            “Well, in dis dream, I was standin’ on the ocean floor in a coral reef.  Then I saw Ari-elle and her friend Floundah swimmin’ over da reef callin’ out my name.  I tried shoutin’ back to dem, but den I noticed that no sound was comin’ out of my mout’.  But I kept tryin’ in vain to call out to in hopin’ dat dey’d find me, even aftah dey passed over me, dey still didn’t hear me.  And de last thing I remembahed seein’ before I woke up screamin’ was watchin’ Ari-elle and Floundah dissappearin’ in the distance.”  As Sebastian progressed in describing his dream, his eyes moistened and his expression became morose.  When he finished, Sebastian then immediately broke down sobbing loudly, with both crab claws covering his face.  As both Spyro and Cynder witnessed this, their hearts ached with deep sympathy for Sebastian as he wept.  They both look into each other’s eyes for a moment, as if in a silent conversation with each other, before they refocused their gazes toward Sebastian.  Then, Cynder stood up on all fours and gently placed one forepaw on Sebastian’s shoulder.

            “Sebastian,” she said softly.  Sebastian, tears down his face, slowly brought his crab claws down, looked up at Cynder’s beautiful visage and gazed into her emerald eyes.  Cynder then gently laid herself down flat on her stomach, thus allowing Sebastian to crawl forward, from his bed, and bury his face against her smooth ruby red chest scales to where he resumed sobbing more softly.  Cynder then placed one of her forepaws gently over Sebastian for emotional support as the warmth from her chest gradually mellowed the red crab’s morose and mournful mood.  Then, when Sebastian calmed down several minutes later, he looked up at Cynder and gratefully said:

            “Danks, Cyndah.”  The black dragoness showed a genuine, yet also sad smile.

            “You’re welcome, Sebastian,” she kindly replied.  She then watched the little crab return to the comfort of his sleeping cushion before asking him: “Will you be alright, now?”

            “Sure, I’ll be fine, Cyndah.  You and Spyro just go on back to bed now.  Goodnight.” Then with a great yawn, Sebastian laid himself down and drifted back to sleep.  The couple watched the dormant Sebastian for a few seconds before they retreated to their bedside and cuddled up against each other, felling into a blissful sleep.

            Over the next few days since that night, Sebastian experienced two more horrifying nightmares that caused him to jolt awake screaming with fright in the middle of the night.  Like the first nightmare he witnessed, they both involved Sebastian watching his friends within his home dimension desperately searching for him (including King Triton), which utterly grieved him to tears.  Both times Spyro and Cynder, who were often awoken by Sebastian, had to help the little crab pacify himself from his dolor outbursts.  Two days following the occurrence of Sebastian’s third emotional breakdown, the young beloveds travelled to the Dragon Temple to speak with Kindle, the Fire Guardian about the little crab’s nightmares hoping that she would provide a solution to help him overcome them in the future.  But along the way there, Spyro and Cynder had Sebastian dropped off with Flame and Ember (partially because of the fact that both fire dragons wanted to learn more about him), assuring the anxious red crab that they would join them later in returning from the Temple.  When both Spyro and Cynder arrived at the Temple, they sought and found Kindle in her quarters, who greeted them both warmly.  The young couple then discussed with the Fire Guardian the details about Sebastian’s nightmares, and how they felt troubled about him because of the ordeal.  When they finished, all three dragons had the same realization: within his subconscious, Sebastian was deeply worried about his friends back in his home dimension.  At the same time, Kindle had also thought of an excellent idea that would help Sebastian in dealing with his nightmares, which she shared with Spyro and Cynder.  They both agreed that it would work for Sebastian and that they would carry it out tomorrow.  The two young dragons then departed from the Temple and rejoined with Sebastian and their two friends just as they promised him.

            “Um, may ask why can’t you just tell me where we’re goin’, Kindle?” asked a blind-folded Sebastian, who was seated at the base of Kindle’s long neck as she, Spyro, and Cynder flew south from Warfang.  Earlier that morning after breakfast, before departing from their elevated domicile, Spyro and Cynder informed Sebastian that both they and Kindle wanted to take him somewhere special, with the condition that he wore a blind fold until they reached their destination on account that it was a surprise.  Sebastian felt hesitant about doing so because of how he never really liked surprises very much, but after the couple assured him that it was a good one, he complied.  Along the way, the trio stopped at the Dragon Temple to meet up with Kindle, who agreed to accompany them during the flight.  All of this had occurred fifteen minutes ago.  After Sebastian had asked his initial question, Kindle simply chuckled heartily and replied:

            “It would only spoil the surprise, Sebastian.  And don’t worry, we’re almost there anyhow.”

            “Ah you sure, Kindle?”

            “I can assure you that I am.”  Sure enough, within half a minute the group of four reached their destination, even though Sebastian couldn't see it at the moment because of the blindfold.  After the three dragons landed, Sebastian gasped slightly as he felt himself picked up off of Kindle's back and then gently placed on some semi-firm and soft ground.

            “Alright, Sebastian,” said Spyro.  “You can take off your blind fold.”  After Sebastian removed the blind fold, he gasped in awe at what he saw: before him was an expansive beach that he and the three dragons—Spyro and Cynder to his right and Kindle at his left—stood on and laid out before them was the blue vastness of an ocean that sparkled against the light of the late morning sun.  Behind them stood a hundred foot high wall of cliffs, stretched out along the same beach.  Along both parts were variations of red, green and blue crystals sticking out of the ground.

            “Um, where…where ah we?” asked Sebastian as he looked up toward Kindle.  She adjusted her gaze down at Sebastian smiling warmly at him.

            “We are standing on the shores of the Nerine Ocean, Sebastian,” she replied.  “What do you think of it?”  Sebastian then gazed out at the ocean again for a few moments, when he smiled slightly.

            “Oh, it’s…it’s so beautiful.  It’s as if Ah feel very close to home.”

            “That’s part of the reason why we brought you here today, Sebastian.”  The red crab looked up at Kindle again with expressions of surprise and confusion after she spoke those words.  “If you’d care to join us for a stroll down the shore, we will explain everything to you.”  Sebastian complied with this.

            As the four friends strolled together down the serene beach, Spyro, Cynder, and Kindle began their explanations to Sebastian, beginning with how the young couple became increasingly concerned for him and the nightmares he experienced several nights ago.  This was followed with the sequential events from yesterday when the young couple informing Kindle about Sebastian’s anguish, how they concluded that he was homesick, and the idea that the Fire Guardian formulated, described in her words:

            “If we could take you out to spend a day with us—somewhere that you would feel close to home as possible—it would help greatly soothe some of your anguish in missing your home.”  It took half an hour for all three dragons to finish their explanation to Sebastian, which ended in each of them apologizing for keeping him in the dark about it.  For a half a minute, Sebastian said nothing. 

            “It’s quite alright,” he finally said, exhaling softly.  “Ah’m glad that you all cared about me enough to do dis.  For dat, I thank you.”

            “You’re most welcome, Sebastian,” replied Spyro.

            “We’d do anything to help you as friends,” added Cynder.

            “Indeed.  Just know that you are never alone, Sebastian,” said Kindle kindly.  Sebastian smiled as he heard the three dragons' encouraging statements.  The four friends continued walking down the beach silently for a minute or two when Sebastian suddenly stopped, to which his friends also halted in their steps.

            “Hey, what’s dat?” he sequentially asked, pointing with one claw out toward the ocean.  Spyro, Cynder, and Kindle looked in the same direction Sebastian indicated.  What the four friends witnessed was this: about quarter mile ahead of them on the surface of the water, a few hundred feet from the beach was the head and neck of a blue dragon, which appeared just a few seconds before Sebastian indicated it (which he initially thought was a serpent).  For a minute or two, the foursome watched as the dragon approached the beach until she managed to place a foothold on it and walk out of the waters’ reach.  The three dragons’ cautious expressions shifted into more relaxed ones, while Sebastian felt visibly surprised and amazed at the same time.

            “Why, it’s our friend, Serenity,” Kindle spoke with a gentle smile. 

            “Serenity?” asked Sebastian, as he turned and looked up at Kindle.  All three dragons nodded in response. “What kind of dragon is she?”

            “She’s a water dragon, Sebastian,” answered Spyro.

            “Water dragon?”

            “Yes,” replied Kindle.  “Unlike most of dragons you’ve seen here in Warfang, water dragons usually dwell near a source of water, such as a river or ocean.  Water dragons such as her are usually known to be very gentle as well.”

            “You know, I really think you’ll like Serenity, Sebastian,” suggested Cynder to Sebastian.  “She loves the ocean just like you do.”  Sebastian shifted his gaze toward Cynder, interested in what she stated.

            “Ah ya sure, Cyndah?” he asked her.

            “Of course I’m sure.  You’ll be friends with her in no time at all.”  Sebastian then refocused his gaze out toward Serenity up ahead, who was currently standing in the middle of the beach looking down at a spot marked by a small black rock in front of her.

            “Well,” said Kindle kindly.  “How about we introduce you to her, Sebastian?”  Sebastian took a deep breath as he then replied:

            “Well, ahright.”  All three dragons smiled in hearing this.  The four friends then proceeded at a walk's pace down the beach toward Serenity, who hadn't averted her gaze from the small rock.  As the group edged closer to Serenity, Sebastian’s eyes grew wide as he got a more defining look of her physical appearance.  Along with her dark blue scales, Serenity also had light blue wing membranes, tan colored underbelly, two horns that curved upward slightly, several pink dots scattered across her back, a long graceful tail with an emarginated caudal fin on the end that was colored pink, a long, light blue dorsal fin that ran down her spine from behind her head to the bottom of her neck, and small light blue fins on the sides of her head.  What astounded Sebastian about Serenity, was that her physical attributes reminded him of the merfolk that he personally knew back in his home dimension, such as his friend Ariel.  The four friends had come to a stop within a few feet of Serenity when Cynder called:

            “Hey, Serenity!”  The water dragoness yelped loudly with a jolt, and she quickly shifted the gaze of her beautiful teal colored eyes in the direction of the group of four, after which her surprised expression changed into a more pleasant one.  

            “Oh, hello, Cynder,” she replied in a soft and quiet voice.  “Spyro, Kindle, it’s good to see you as well.  But, um, if you don’t me asking, who’s this little fellow?”  Serenity was gazing down at Sebastian in asking this question, after which the latter immediately felt a little nervous with the former’s gaze.

            “This is our new friend, Sebastian,” said Kindle.  “And we wanted to show him around the beach today.”

            “H-hello,” said Sebastian, waving one claw at the young water dragoness while smiling.

            “Oh, hello, Sebastian,” replied Serenity.  “It’s certainly nice to meet you…oh my.  D-did you just speak to me like an intelligent dragon?  I mean, I’ve never seen or even heard of a little crab communicating like that before.  How’s that even possible?”  It was Kindle who answered her, briefly explaining:

            “Serenity, from where Sebastian comes from, nearly every living sea creature beneath the ocean waves are so intelligent that they are capable of speech just like you and me.”  Upon hearing this revelation, Serenity had an expression of amazement on her facial features, as she then looked back toward Sebastian.

            “Is this true?” she asked.  Sebastian just nodded to her in confirmation.  She then squealed softly with delight. “Oh, this is so amazing!  I mean, I speak with several of my marine wildlife friends every day, but I’d never thought that there existed any who spoke intelligibly.  Just imagine how much we can learn from…” she stopped at mid-sentence resuming with slight embarrassment. “Sorry, I got a little carried away there.  So…Sebastian, what brings you out here today?”  Sebastian, with a sad expression on his crabby face, replied:

            “Well, I’ve been feelin’ very miserable recently ovah the fact that I’m fah awee from home and that I can’t seem to find a wee back.  So, Spyro, Cynder, and Kindle brought me here near the ocean to help calm an’ soothe me agony.”  He gave a deep sigh before he resumed speaking.  “I guess it’s helpin’ me so fah, but part of me still feels very homesick.”  Sebastian’s eyes began to bead with tears when he finished.  Serenity, along with the trio of dragons who were present, had facial expressions of sympathy for the little crab.  The water dragoness bent down her neck and softly nuzzled the tip of her snout on the little crab for a moment.

            “Oh, I’m so sorry about that, Sebastian,” she gently spoke.  “I know how it feels to be far away from home; it’s utterly dreadful.  But I’m thankful that I’ve made friends here who have treated me with kindness and compassion.  And I’m positive that they’ll be here for you too.”  Sebastian looked at Serenity amazed, before he then looked to his right—and straight into Cynder’s gentle emerald eyes as she gently spoke:

            “She is right, Sebastian.  I can assure you that we’ll be right here for you; all of us including me, Spy, Sparx, the Guardians, Static, Blue, Flame, Ember, Hunter, MichBellus, and several other friends you’ve yet to meet.  I promise that we’ll all help you through your loneliness while we find a way back to your home world, no matter how long it takes.”  Sebastian felt overwhelmed with joy and hope while listening to Cynder’s encouraging words, as he then looked around to see that both Spyro and Kindle were smiling warmly at him.

            “Thank you,” he finally said with a smile.  “All of you.”

            “You’re welcome, Sebastian,” gently replied Cynder, as she then nuzzled him for a moment.  As he the little crab shifted his direction back toward Serenity, he caught sight of the small black rock she was gazing at earlier.  Thus, Sebastian looked at the water dragoness and asked:

            “Um, Serenity, could you show us what’s so important ‘bout dat little black rock over there?”  Sebastian indicating the said rock with a crab claw as he spoke.  Serenity looked in the direction the red crab pointed before she looked back with a look of enthusiasm in her eyes.

            “Why of course, Sebastian,” she replied.  “I’d be delighted.”  As she turned around, she motioned with one wing to encourage the other three to follow her.  They all gathered the spot where a black stone was placed on the beach, Serenity then explained: “What you’re looking at is a spot I marked where that a female sea turtle chose to lay her eggs beneath the sand last night.  She was the last of one hundred that came up on this beach yesterday and last night to lay their eggs.  You see, I placed that rock there to remind me of where she laid them while I escorted her out to sea, then when I was certain she’d be safe, I came back to check on the eggs.”

            “That’s very thoughtful of you to protect the mother, Serenity,” complimented Spyro.  “Well done.”

            “Thank you, Spyro.” 

            “Um, Serenity,” asked Sebastian.

            “Yes, Sebastian?”

            “If you don’t mind, where do you live exactly?”

            “Oh, I actually live over there.”  She rotated her tapered snout in westward and upward direction, pointing at a structure on top of the cliffs half a mile down the coast.  It was a tan colored two-story circular building with a dome for a roof and had the style consistent with most structures within Warfang.  Serenity then looked back down to at Sebastian with a look of excitement.  “Would you like to come on over to my house for a visit…um, if you don’t mind that is?”  Sebastian looked up and briefly gazed at Spyro, Cynder, and Kindle, who all gave him an encouraging nod of approval.  He then fixed his eyes back toward Serenity and pleasantly answered:

            “Uh, sure, I don’t mind.”

            “Oh, that’s wonderful.  Um, I hope you don’t mind if I carry you there, do you?

            “Sure, I don’t mind at all.”  With that, Serenity then gently lifted Sebastian with one forepaw onto her back as she, Spyro, Cynder, and Kindle ascended into the air, making their way to the water dragoness’ domicile.  When they arrived, Sebastian was able to observe how big Serenity’s house was: the building’s diameter was 100 feet, with a height of 150 feet including the dome.  The structure also had three windows; one located on the first floor while the other two are on the second.  Two of these windows faced out toward the ocean, while the third, located on the second floor was in the opposite direction.  As Serenity then welcomed Sebastian and his three friends into her home, he was amazed with what he saw on the inside: on the ceiling of the first floor was a large fresco displaying a scene underwater in the vast blueness of the ocean.  Scattered throughout the fresco were the images of a multitude of sea creatures, including sea turtles, various species of fish, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, a whale, and two humanoid creatures at the center that Sebastian immediately recognized as a merpeople, one a merman and the other a mermaid, both hand-in-hand.  In addition, Sebastian also observed that the house’s interior was decorated with several objects brought up from beneath the sea, including a variety of sea shells, sand dollars, conch shells, and many similar objects neatly displayed throughout Serenity’s domicile.  Sebastian wasn’t the only one amazed upon entering.  Although they’ve visited Serenity’s house several times, Spyro, his beloved Cynder, and Kindle would be awe-struck with not just the wonder of the interior, but also a serene, peaceful aura that seemed to emanate within and throughout Serenity’s house.  Even Sebastian noticed this. 

            “Um, would any of you like something to drink?” asked Serenity, as all four of her guests sat down on some cushions within the den area, which was close to the ocean-side window.  They all politely declined for a drink of course.  “Oh.  Well, alright.”  Serenity seated herself in the den within proximity of her friends.  It was then that Sebastian asked her:

            “Excuse me, Serenity, but ah dose merpeople up dere?”  As he spoke, Sebastian pointed with a crab claw up at toward the mermaid in the fresco above.  All four dragons looked up and gazed at the same figure he indicated for a moment before they returned their gazes toward the red crap with expressions of amazement.

            “Y-you've seen them before, Sebastian?” asked a surprised Serenity.

            “Yes, I have.  In fact, from I come from, I’m very good friends with a several merpeople, including my best friend, Ariel.”

            “Are you sure they’re called that?”  Before Sebastian could answer, the young purple dragon answered for him:

            “Yes, Serenity.  Sebastian has told both me and Cyn about the merpeople before and how he’s lived around them all of his life.  We’ve even mentioned them to some of our friends in Warfang, including Kindle.”

            “Of course, the way that Sebastian first described merpeople was pretty vague,” added Cynder, in a slightly sarcastic tone, causing her purple beau to chuckle softly.  She then looked back up toward the two merpeople in the fresco.  “But now that I’m looking at two of them before me, I now have a glimpse what they truly look like, especially since I’ve never seen images of them before, until now.” 

            “I agree with you on that, Cynder,” said Kindle kindly, whose gentle amber eyes also looked upon the mermaid’s image, before refocusing on Sebastian.  “The merpeople must be quite lovely and peaceable individuals.”

            “Believe me, Kindle, dey ah,” replied Sebastian to the Guardian of Fire.  The crab then shifted his gaze away from Kindle and to Serenity.  “But, h-how is it dat you know ‘bout dem, Serenity?”

            “Well,” replied Serenity.  “From where I come from, there is some folklore shared amongst the water dragons about the mysterious and legendary sirens, who you know as merpeople, Sebastian.  According to legend, there was once a time where the sirens and the water dragons interacted and mingled peacefully with each other, kind of like how the dragons on the surface did with moles and felines.  But, then one day, the sirens mysteriously began disappearing, as if they've vanished without any reason.  Over time, more and more of the sirens slowly began disappearing until finally, none were left.  The reason for their disappearance has remained a mystery to this very day.”  When she finished, there was a minute of silence throughout the room, while Sebastian was simply astounded in learning that merpeople similar to the ones he knew and grew up with had once inhabited the Realms for a time.  The silence was broken when Spyro asked Serenity:

            “Serenity, if the merpeople you spoke of have disappeared from the Realms, how is it that you and the rest of the water dragons remember what they look like?”  Spyro indicated one wing toward the two merpeople in the ceiling fresco.

            “The reason is because the some of the ruins of the siren’s abandoned structures contained carvings and sculptures of each other.  And my home has frescoes and paintings of them so that the water dragons would never forget them.”  She then glanced at Sebastian, who seemed frozen with amazement. “So, Sebastian, could you tell me how much you know about the merpeople?”  The question brought the red crab back to reality as he replied with a heavy sigh:

            “Well, to be honest, there so much I could tell ya ‘bout the merpeople that it would take me all day or all week ta finish.”

            “It’s alright, Sebastian,” said Cynder.  “You don’t have to tell her everything about the merpeople today.”

            “That’s true,” agreed Serenity.  “Why, you could tell me more about them each time you come to visit me.”

            “Danks.  Hmm.  Well, back where I come from, the merpeople have a ruler known as King Triton, who also happens to be Ariel’s fathah.  I personally know him as his advisor, court composer, and good friend.  He’s a very good ruler to all his subjects, but be careful not angah him, for when gets angry, the whole sea floor uttahly trembles like thundah!  And when he gets angry, he’s also quite scary sometimes!”  He quivered frightfully for a brief moment before Kindle managed to solace him, gently saying:

            “Relax, Sebastian.  Just calm yourself down and take a few deep breathes.”  Sebastian did so before continuing:

            “Any way, the underwater kingdom that King Triton rules is known as Atlantica.  Sometimes, the merpeople dere gathah to witness glorious events such the music concerts that I personally conduct within the music hall in the main castle.”

            “That’s incredible, Sebastian!” Serenity softly exclaimed.  “I never knew that the sirens actually held wonderful events like that.”  Sebastian smiled at Serenity in response to her admiration for merpeople he lived with, but it was more of a sad smile.

            “It is indeed wonderful,” he stated with a sad sigh.

            “Oh, I’m so sorry, Sebastian.  I didn’t mean to make you feel sad like that.”  Then, the lovely water dragoness then stood up from her cushion.  “Now, if you’d like, Sebastian, I’d like for you and my friends to come upstairs with me.  There’s something else I’d like to show you.”

            Thus, Sebastian, Spyro, Cynder, and Kindle followed Serenity up the stairs to her second floor bedroom (Spyro of course carried the little crab along the way).  Upon entering it, Sebastian softly gasped in amazement with what he saw.  On the domed ceiling above him and the four dragons had another underwater fresco, yet unlike the one downstairs, this was filled with water dragons of various sizes, genders, and physical traits, postured in a manner where they were swimming around in a circular motion.  At the center of the fresco stood two water dragons—male and female—both portrayed bigger than the others and wearing crowns on their heads.  The four dragons and Sebastian then sat down in a circle as Serenity explained:

            “You see, Sebastian, there are times when I feel very homesick and deeply miss some of my friends and family among the water dragons back home.  That’s why I had this fresco done in my bedroom, so that whenever I wake up, I’ll always be happily reminded where I came from.  So you see, Sebastian, I do understand what you’re going through because of that.”  Upon hearing this, Sebastian smiled.

            “Danks again, for understanding, Serenity,” he said, his voice strained with emotion.

            “You’re most certainly welcome, Sebastian.”