Page 11 of Searching for Thanksgiving

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“Oh, boy,” Zohar exclaimed with aggrieved exasperation before he fell into his role as leader. “Amber, Jade, get the fire extinguisher. Spring, open the windows. Phoenix, grab Morah before she lights the whole place on fire. Roam, grab your cousin!”

“Aw, Zohar. It was just getting good,” Roam complained as he reluctantly went after his younger cousin.

“Yeah, well, you aren’t the one who has to explain the scorch marks or the stink of burning cat hair to your parents! Leo, no biting!” Zohar snapped.

“She started it!” Leo complained, shifting back to his two-legged form.

Morah gave a haughty sniff and lifted her chin. “And I’ll finish it, too.”

“Oh, yeah?” Leo challenged, struggling to break free of the circle Bálint, Roam, and Jabir had made around him.

“Yeah! Dragons are better than kitty-cats,” Morah retorted.

“But… Sacha and Pearl are cat-shifters,” Hope quietly interjected.

Morah pursed her lips and thought quickly when she saw the hurt feelings on the twin’s faces. She lifted her chin higher and tossed her shiny black hair back. She winked at the twins.

“Dragons and girl Sarafin warriors are better—and way smarters—than a boy. We don’t have to be in your stupid clubhouse. We can makes our own!”

“Well, we don’t want you in our clubhouse because girls aren’t invited, are they, James?” Leo snapped back.

“How about some ice cream and cookies?” Phoenix suggested.

“Ice Cream! Cookies!”

The boys, big and small, took off for the kitchen followed by everyone else except for Alice, who was repairing the damage Morah’s dragon had done, and Hope, who stood with her arms folded across her chest and was glaring at Morah.

“What’s the matter?” Morah asked.

“I wanted to find out what happened to Thanksgiving, and you and Leo ruined it,” Hope snapped before she stomped off.

Morah sighed and looked at Alice who was trying not to laugh. She walked over to the older girl and folded her hands together. Guilt gnawed at her. She hadn’t acted like a leader tonight.

“Alice,” Morah murmured, looking at the other girl as she straightened the last, colorful throw pillow on the couch.

“Yes, Morah?”

“What happened to Thanksgiving?” she asked.

Alice smiled and held her hand out to her. “Thanksgiving was scared and lonely. She needed help, and so her friends helped her. Now that she wasn’t alone, she was able to find her inner magic, and with it, she protected herself and found the one she loves. That’s what Thanksgiving means… here. It is about giving thanks for the things that mean the most to you… family, friends, even people you don’t know… and sharing the love with them. Even if you are different, or they are different.”

“Like Thanksgiving?” Morah asked with a frown.

Alice hugged Morah. “Like Thanksgiving… and Leo…”

“But… he’s a boy.”

“He’s also your friend and part of our family,” Alice gently pointed out.

Morah sighed and looked toward the kitchen. “He’s a dragonling.”

Alice nodded. “And dragonlings stick together.”

“I guess this means I’ve gots to apologize to him,” she grumpily replied.

Alice laughed. “It wouldn’t hurt.”

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