spikes and the larger one was purple with long spikes. The purple one looked like it was trying to creep back to the shore.
“Here’s a tasty snack,” Big Mama said as she grabbed the closest urchin.
“I haven’t eaten urchin before,” Lilliana said. All she could remember is how much the sailfish disliked them.
“They’re bad company, but good eating.” Big Mama picked a large rock from the shore and opened the smaller urchin. She offered half to Lilliana and she took it. They walked closer to the water.
“You can lick the stuff out,” started the otter, sticking her nose right into the urchin she had, “or if the stickers itch your whiskers you can use your paw and put those yummies right in your mouth,” Big Mama continued.
Lilliana eyed the urchin half that was in her hand. The spines were sticking in her palm and the soft middle looked awful. Still, she hadn’t eaten in a long time. Her stomach growled as if in response. She sniffed it. It didn’t smell so bad. She made up her mind. She stuck her fingers in and put the soft flesh in her mouth. Not the best she’d had, but it was better than nothing.
“What do you mean by bad company?” Lilliana asked. “They don’t seem to do much.”
“Yep. That’s what most fish think too. But they’re the most gossipy critters in the ocean and they’d tell all your darkest secrets just because they could.”
“Do any of the fish ever listen to them?”
“Not that I know of. Gossip isn’t popular with most ocean folk. It’s just plain mean, so we ignore the talk and eat them.” Big Mama tossed her empty urchin shell over her shoulder and picked up the larger one.
“These purple ones are nastier than the rest,” continued the otter as the urchin squirmed in her paws. “They’re big and sneaky and they go all over the sea. They don’t taste as good as the others so most ocean folk leave them alone, but I think they’re an acquired taste.” The urchin started making funny noises in the otter’s paws. Big Mama ignored it and held it up in the sun as if to examine the creature.
Lilliana’s stomach growled again. Half an urchin wasn’t enough to satisfy. She looked at the purple urchin with new interest. Perhaps it wasn’t too bitter.
“Those sharks are something else though,” the otter said as she split the urchin open, giving half again to Lilliana. “They’ve taken to these purple urchins like they’re pets instead of pests. They herd them up and take them off, and then they come back and scatter a few here again. We don’t like them messing with our food, but otters can’t mess with sharks. Have you ever seen those teeth?” Big Mama bit into the purple urchin and smacked her lips. She tossed the empty portion and licked bits of meat off of her paws.
Lilliana ate her urchin in a hurry and made a face at the taste. At least it was food. But something the otter said bothered her. Sharks and urchins. That seemed like an odd combination.
“Why do the sharks want the urchins?” She dipped her feet back in the water and enjoyed the coolness on her warm skin.
“Who knows? Well it’s not like an otter is going to go and ask. Those sharks like otters, and not as friends. They think we’re tastier than the urchins, so when they come swimming we go climbing.”
Water splashed in Lilliana’s face as a large prickly ball landed in the water next to Big Mama. “I don’t want to play anymore,” Spike panted. His Jibbertyfish sounded like small squeaks and Lilliana could barely pick out the words.
“If you don’t want to stay, will you go with me to see the king?”
Spike deflated a little and used his fins to balance. “I can’t. They didn’t like my last appearance so I’m not supposed to go there from here anymore.”
“I understand, Spike. I’ll miss you.”
“Not for long! You’ll see me soon.” He wiggled closer to Big Mama as Cata and Edge splashed along the bank looking for their toy. “If I can get out.”
“Don’t you worry none little fish. Big Mama will take care of you. Now let’s get your friend back to the king.”
“You said that I need to climb, right?”
“That you do. So look up the rocks to the top of the hill. See those bushes? They have berries that the birds like and you might too. Go to the top, through the thorns, then keep climbing until you run out of up. There’s a big cliff that goes down to the throne room. It’s shorter on the opposite side of the mountain, but you can’t get there unless you’re a bird. This is the only way up, and falling or flying is the only way down.”
“Thanks Big Mama. Take care of Spike for me.” Lilliana turned to make her way up the rocks.
The path was narrow and well-worn by the otters. Several of the younger otters scampered around Lilliana’s feet. As the path turned into large boulders the otters lost interest and went back to playing or grooming. The boulders here were taller than she was and Lilliana had to look hard for places to put her feet and hands. It was hard and hot work, but after about an hour she had conquered the first wall of rocks.
Lilliana approached the berry bushes. They sparkled in the sun with many different colors. Some were bright blue, some were red, and still others were white and creamy. They were all smooth, round, and about the size of a pearl, but it was hard to tell which color was ripe. Lilliana reached for a blue berry and placed it in her mouth. The fruit was mellow and sweet like a melon and Lilliana felt more energy and a little lighter. That was definitely a ripe berry. Her stomach growled and she reached for a red one. It was sweet with just a bit of sour and it was hot like a pepper. In fact Lilliana felt her whole body growing a little warm. Perhaps the red ones needed a little more time on the bush. Lilliana reached for a white berry. It looked familiar somehow. She put it in her mouth and tasted the lemony-peach taste she had tasted once before. She looked at her hand and it was indeed paler. These were the same berries Nana had given her the morning of her birthday. Why did Nana give them to her? Dragonberries, that’s what they were called.
Lilliana was so hungry she didn’t care if they did turn her into a dragon. If she were a dragon maybe she could help fight Titan and the other sharks. If the birds ate them they couldn’t be poisonous, and may be they just turned people into dragons.
Lilliana took a handful of berries, mostly white and began to eat them. The sweet and tangy juices ran down her throat and filled her belly. She felt light and hot and invincible. Lilliana looked at her hands and waited for them to grow big dragon scales. Instead her body began to fade, but Lilliana felt stronger than ever. Some small birds flew to the bushes ignoring her presence and began to eat the blue berries.
“Fly away!” Lilliana shouted. Startled by her presence the birds jumped and flew off, a little higher than most birds might.
So she wasn’t gone, just invisible, and she wasn’t a dragon either. These berries were delicious. Lilliana grabbed another handful, getting mostly red ones this time. They burned her tongue a little, but the sweet and spicy flavor was addicting. After another bunch of red berries Lilliana’s tongue was so hot she could barely stand it. She breathed out air to cool off her tongue and the bush in front of her started to burn. The moist leaves poured smoke into the air as they smoldered and the fire went out.
Lilliana picked up a dried stick from the ground. She took in a deep breath and blew on the stick. Fire came from her mouth and caught the stick in flames immediately. Lilliana touched the tip of the flame with her fingers. It felt cozy, not hot. She put the flame to a small pile of dried leaves and they burned immediately to a crisp. Lilliana put both hands around the stick and snuffed the flames out. Her hands were fine, without even a dark or charred mark. She could see her hands again.
Thoughtfully Lilliana reached for a blue berry. Melons, she remembered. She popped a couple into her mouth and stood still waiting to see what they would do to her. She felt fine, better than she had at the bottom of the ridge, and she felt smaller. Lilliana looked around her. She was the same size a
s normal, so she didn’t shrink, but dragons didn’t get small either. They could breathe fire, and evidently could be invisible. What else could dragons do that these blue berries would help? Lilliana decided to risk it and she put a handful of blue berries in her mouth.
She didn’t feel smaller exactly, she felt lighter. Lilliana lifted her foot up and it took almost no energy. She jumped straight up with both legs and went up twenty feet. Instead of falling to the ground, she floated softly like a feather, and landed in the same place. This was fun, and it felt so good. Lilliana stuffed her pockets with her favorite blue berries and put a few of the white ones in too. Fire wouldn’t help much against the sharks under the water, but the others might come in handy.
Rejuvenated, Lilliana turned to go up the last part of the cliff. This was where the rock wall was the steepest. Lilliana popped some more blue berries in her mouth and approached the wall. With less weight she was able to find the footholds and climb the wall easily. In less time than it took to blunder over the big rocks at the bottom, Lilliana found herself at the top of the volcano rim. Big Mama was right. There was no more up unless you were a bird.
The inside of the volcano was large enough for a small castle. Its edges were over a hundred feet high here and the surface of the water