Page 15 of Fire Dancing For Icey Dragons

"I don't really have anything like that to spill about," Blaze responds, picking another marshmallow out of the packet and holding it out to me.

I take it from him, my fingers brushing against his as I do. Tingles travel through me and I realise that I don't mind him seeing a more vulnerable side to me than most people do.

He sticks his marshmallow into the fire. "My parents are both fine, though my dad can be hard on me. He's tough on everyone."

"Like trying to get you to join a team here at the academy?"

"Mmm. He doesn't particularly like that I want to be an artist."

"Oh? What kind?" I ask.

"I'm still figuring that out," Blaze admits. "I love drawing, but I've recently started working on some sculpting and I'm really enjoying that. I know I'm probably going to have to get a different job when I leave the academy and be more realistic."

"That doesn't mean that you should give up on your dream, though," I point out. "You can work on being an artist at the same time as working another job," I say, not seeing any issues with that, especially if it's what he wants from his life.

"True. What do you want to do after you graduate?"

"Coach cheerleading."

He raises an eyebrow. "I don't know if you're being serious or not."

"I am. I love it. Not just because my mum was a cheerleader, it's just that I've never been happier than when I'm doing it. I'm not naive enough to think that there's much of a career for me competing professionally, but coaching? I can do that for the rest of my life. I'm hoping to work with kids. Seeing their faces light up when they get their first trophy, that kind of thing."

"So everyone's opinions of you are completely wrong," he says. "You've really got a soft heart."

I shrug. "I don't know about that. I can be hard on the team, but it's just because I want what's best for them. And it's not like most of them haven't already come from a competitive cheer background, they know what to expect."

"Do you pick them based on that?"

"Oh no, definitely not. But very few people even think about trying out if they don't have a good reason for it."

"That makes sense," Blaze responds. "We have some people try out for the Fire Tumblers who are just wanting to have some fun, but most of the people who stick around used to do some kind of gymnastics or dance."

"Except you?"

"Yeah, I'm the outlier. But I stuck with it." He finishes the rest of his s'more.

"I'm glad. You're really good at it."

"Thanks, I'm glad you think so."

We lapse into silence, cooking another couple of s'mores and enjoying the crackle of the fire. It's warm and inviting, and makes me want to lean my head against Blaze's shoulder and just watch the flames dance, even if there's no way we're anywhere near that stage of whatever it is between us.

I sigh and wrap my arms around my legs. My neck cracks even as I get myself into position.

"Was that you?" Blaze asks.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I shifted, my body has been protesting lately."

"Want to change that?" he asks, a twinkle in his eyes.

"We can't shift here," I respond.

"No, but I know somewhere we can." He gets up and holds out his hand. I consider for a moment, realising that I want to go with him, and not just because I want to shift.

"Okay, but I need to check with Yuri though." I can't just abandon her, especially not to run off with a guy, though Idon't imagine that she's going to have much of a problem with it, especially when she's already thinking of me as flirting with Blaze.

"Sure." He smiles and I realise that he's not trying to trick me or do anything like that. Especially if I tell her that I need to stretch my wings.

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