16. First Trip

The new day dawned clear and cool, perfect for a morning flight.  Talsha packed a lunch for Brinn.

          The plan was for Brinn and Regal to fly to the coast as close as they could to where Brinn remembered the cave to be.  After a rest, they would find the cave and scout out the area.  After lunch (Talsha even packed a slab of meat for Regal to have as a snack), they would head back home, stopping only if Regal really needed a rest.

          When Brinn went out to find Regal, she almost walked into him as she went out the door.  "Excited to go?"  She laughed as he paced around her.  Regal snorted and nudged her toward the barn where her riding harness was.  "Patience, Regal. You'll be tired before we leave!"

          In no time at all, Regal was harnessed, the food was tied on, and Brinn was ready to go.

          "Be careful and try to avoid any people,"  Talsha warned.

          Brinn gave her a hug.  "Don't worry.  I would rather not have either of us shot out of the sky."

          Soon Regal was beating his wings for take-off and Brinn's stomach was churning with nerves and excitement.  The cool morning air on her face quickly calmed her as she took a few deep breaths. 

          The view, as always, was amazing!  She could see the stream appearing and disappearing behind the trees as it wound its way to the ocean.   She could see the deer out grazing on the meadow.  Off in the distance she could see the sparkle of the sun on the ocean.

          The flight was uneventful.  One time Brinn suddenly realized they were flying over a ranch.  A quick nudge to the shoulder and they had ducked behind a ridge.  Talsha's words "avoid people" came back to her.  She realized she had better pay closer attention and also watch for landmarks so they could find their way home.

          When she told Regal of her thoughts, he snorted (of course).  She got a strong feeling that he was saying, "I am a dragon.  I do not get lost."

          After about 1 ½  hours, Brinn could see some detail along the shoreline.  She scanned the area for familiar landmarks.  About the time that Brinn decided she might be lost, she saw a familiar rocky point. 

          "To the left, Regal.  The cave should be just below those rocks."  She nudged him toward the rocks.

          Regal landed on the sandy beach just in front of the cave.  Brinn slid off and stretched.  The first thing to do was to unharness Regal so that he could relax.  As soon as it was off, Regal took a sand bath.  He rubbed his neck and belly on the warm, sandy beach.  He then rolled over to scratch his back.

          Brinn laughed at him. "Now you'll need a swim to get the sand off."

          With a snort and a spray of sand, Regal was in the air.  With a flip of his tail, he turned and dove into the ocean.  Brinn could feel his relief as the cool water washed over him.  She thought she heard a sigh.

          Brinn smiled and headed into the cave.  She remembered a small hole in the wall that had been made into a storage area.  She didn't want to have to go all the way back to the cottage if she did need something.  She also didn't want to take too much to the island because the bottles would be much heavier on the trip back from the island being full of the broth she would fix from the volcano thistles.

          She found the wooden door that covered the hole in the wall and, with a little work, was able to get it open.  It was fairly clean and studying it gave her an idea of how much she could fit in it.  Ten spare bottles and enough food for one day would fit easily.

          When she went back out, Regal was stretched out on a rock enjoying the sun.

          "Happy?" Brinn asked the sunning dragon.  The only response she got was a twitch of his ear as he got rid of a fly, but she could feel the dragon's relaxed happiness.  "While he gets his energy back, I might as well have some lunch," Brinn decided.

          Brinn settled on a rock not too far from the resting dragon and took out the sandwich and goat milk Talsha had packed for her lunch.  She ate slowly, going over their plan as she looked out toward Lonely Island.

          She would need to collect about 3 bags of thistles (assuming she could find them).  They needed to be boiled the day they were picked in freshwater, not the salty water from the sea.  That meant finding the spring that the healer remembered hearing of.  If she had to hunt for water, it could take much longer than they had planned. Water was way too heavy to carry over from the mainland.

          If things went well, Brinn should be able to make the trip in 5 days: one day to get there, one day to find water and thistles, one day to pick, cook, and bottle the thistles, one extra day (just in case), and one day to get home.  "That shouldn't be too bad," mumbled Brinn as she drifted off to sleep.

          A nudge and a snort woke her from her nap.  Regal was glaring at her.

          She slapped him playfully on the nose and got to her feet.  "What, I can't take a nap, too?  You are right, though.  We better get going."

          After she had given Regal his snack and gotten her lunch leftovers picked up, she strapped the harness back onto Regal and gave him a hug.  "Thanks for looking out for me," she told her friend.

          The thought, "Somebody has to," drifted through her head.  Brinn glared at the dragon.  Regal just bent down to let her on.  She decided she was glad she was to have his company on this adventure.  With a flap of his wings they were in the air and on their way home.