“Well Mr. Flame, your wings seem in good shape,” Dr. Ash said. “But your scales seem so…pale.”

Dr. Ash inspected Mr. Flame’s dragon scales, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Mr. Flame’s once gleaming gold scales looked like a pale yellow. He used to shine like the sun, but now he looked like a dull morsel of corn.

“I’ve been a bit off,” Mr. Flame explained. “My mouth constantly tastes like cinders. I never taste my fire anymore. It’s like…” Mr. Flame stopped a moment, tears swirling in his vulnerable eyes. “It’s like I’ve lost my flames.”

Dr. Ash looked concerned, writing notes on his notepad.

“When’s the last time you ignited something?” Dr. Ash asked.

“Two months ago. It was a campfire up on West Mountain campgrounds.”

“Ah,” Dr. Ash concluded, walking to his medicine cabinet. His dark brown wings matched a chocolate-looking syrup in a glass vial.

“What is it?”

Dr. Ash swirled it around. “It’s a cleanser. The trolls up at West Mountain love to sabotage us dragons. They spelled you to shine dull rather than bright.”

Mr. Flame grabbed the vial and took it as prescribed.

Within three days, Mr. Flame shone as bright as the sun. He could finally taste his flames as well.

A dragon of sunshine he was, gleaming with happiness.

☀️