Sephora flew next to her young and beloved daughter. She had grown so much. Her scales were tougher now and her green color had turned only a tint lighter. Her big, black eyes remained the same, but she had sharp claws and bigger wings. Her neck had also grown very much. She was an attractive female. She still had more growing up to do and despite her spit issue, everything else about her was wonderful. The giants loved her and the dragons were also fond of her. She hoped that Lamashi had answers for them.

After a long flight, Sephora instructed her daughter to land. Her wings hurt. She was tired. Nefataria who was way younger had more resilience, but she obeyed her mother and landed alongside with her into the deep, green forest.

"These leaves almost look like your scales," Sephora said and then she laughed. Nefataria did so too.

"Mother, are you sure you will love me if I cannot spit fire?" Nefataria asked her mother again. This made her worry so much. She didn't want to disappoint her mother and she felt like she was already doing it by not spitting fire. With all of her heart she wanted to spit fire to make her mother proud. She felt worried and sad that she could not make her mother, the greatest champion of spit fires, proud.

"Yes. I am sure. Come, let us meet Lamashi," she said. Both dragons wondered into the forest and although there were many creatures in there, they were all hiding because the dragons were mighty and they were scared of them, so Nefataria and Sephora had no beastly encounters. Dragons were known to be ruthless against their enemies and most of the creatures knew that they had the ability to spit out fire. That alone was enough to send all of them into hiding. The dragons walked on until they saw the silhouette of a dragon from a distance.

"Look, that is him, I think," Sephora said. Lamashi was a white dragon and unlike most dragons, he had long, white fur over his forehead. They had never seen a dragon like him before. It didn't matter. Nefataria saw him move his tail once. When they were near him, he sensed their presence.

"Why are you here?" Lamashi asked.

"Are you the wise Lamashi?" Sephora asked. Lamashi turned around and facing them were the bluest eyes they had ever seen. They seemed deep and filled with the knowledge of time.

"Yes, I am. Why are you here?" Lamashi asked and then he glanced at the younger dragon. Nefataria gazed away. She was scared.

"We come for your counsel. It's about my daughter Nefataria," Sephora said.

"She is afraid. That is your answer," Lamashi said.

"But, you don't even know what it's about," Sephora said.

"I saw it in her eyes. I don't need to see anything else. You can leave now," Lamashi said.

"No. We didn't come all this way to get no answers. We were told that you were wise, was this a lie?" Sephora said angrily. Lamashi turned around.

"I can't spit fire. I want to, but I can't," Nefataria said. Lamashi's ears wiggled. This was definitely an unusual case. He turned around to look at Nefataria.

"Why can't you? Are you afraid?" Lamashi asked her.

"No. My mother is champion of the spit fire. She can spit intense fire balls, but I cannot. I practice and practice and practice and nothing comes out. Maybe I can't spit out fire," Nefataria said.

"I've never heard of a dragon who doesn't spit fire. This can't be possible," Lamashi said.

"But it is and what she is saying is true. She cannot spit fire," Sephora said.

"And I'm not afraid. I want to make my mother proud," Nefataria said.

"Okay. Let me look at her. Come forth," Lamashi said. Nefataria gazed at her mom for a brief moment and then she paced towards Lamashi. Lamashi looked her eyes and scales.

"Let me see your tongue. Open your mouth," Lamashi said. Nefataria opened her mouth and stretched her tongue out. Lamashi looked at her tongue and then he gazed into her throat. He noticed that there was no smoke at all.

"That's strange," he said and then he placed his paw in front of her mouth and noticed that her breath felt cold instead of warm.

"This is fascinating, indeed," Lamashi said.

"What is it?"

"She has no smoke and her breath is cold," Lamashi replied.

"What does that mean?" Sephora asked worriedly.

"Well, it means that she does not in fact spit out fire," Lamashi said.

"We already know that. The question is what can we do about it?" Sephora asked and Lamashi studied Nefataria for a while.

"Leave her with me for a year and you will have your answers," Lamashi replied.

"What? I can't leave my daughter alone here with you. She's coming back with me. Come on Nefataria, let's go. This guy isn't wise. He's just a fraud. He doesn't know what he's saying," Sephora said, but Nefataria wanted to stay.

"Mom. I want to stay. I want to know what's wrong with me. Maybe he can cure me," Nefataria said. She frowned at Lamashi and growled at him.

"Mom, please. Don't be afraid. Everything will be alright," Nefataria said.

"How can I trust you with my daughter for one full year. I barely know you," Sephora said.

"If something happens to your daughter you can have one of my daughters in return," Lamashi said.

"Your daughters? I don't want a substitute. Nobody can substitute my daughter. Are you crazy? If she stays, I stay with her," Sephora said.

"Your influence worries me," Lamashi said.

"My influence? What is that supposed to mean?" She asked Lamashi. Nefataria didn't like where this was going. Hopefully, this would all end well.

"If you stay here, you must forget about the fire spitting. She won't do it. Can you accept that and not push her into it, or not?" Lamashi said.

"This is ridiculous. She can do it. She's a good, healthy, normal dragon like everyone else," Sephora said. She was in denial.

"She's not normal. She is special. An exception to the rule. You must accept and understand this or I cannot discover the reason of this phenomenon. Do you understand? You cannot pressure her into fire spitting. You must allow her to be," Lamashi said. Sephora gave him a nod, but Lamashi wasn't sure if she had accepted the news or not.

"You must not interfere with her or you and her are to leave me alone. Do you understand?" Lamashi asked. Sephora agreed.

"Now, this forest is big enough for the three of us. I suggest you hunt your meals and rest. Tomorrow I will work with Nefataria and like I said, this may take longer than a day or two. If you are willing to accept that and to not influence her into fire spitting, then maybe I can discover what's special about her," Lamashi said and Sephora agreed.