Story Time with Saffire, Part 1

Blackfire puts away the dishes as Flashfire pushes in her chair at the dinner table.

"That home-cooked hijork was great!" Flashfire compliments. "Even better than what Mother used to make!"

"Oh come on," Blackfire says with a blush. "I'm sure your mother does a better job than I did."

"No, no," you insist, "your's is better. She always made the edges too soggy for my taste."

Blackfire blushes again as the three of you move to the living room.

"There's probably nothing new or good on tonight," Flashfire says. "We could watch a movie, if you want."

"Actually," Blackfire says, "I've been meaning to ask you someting, Saffire."

"And what is that, my wonderful wife?" you reply as you sit.

"What happened to you after you left Tamaran?"

You are silent for a moment, staring into Blackfire's eyes.

"Blackfire, I've told you already," you say, "I turned to crime and--"

"I know the general," she interupts, "I want to know the specifics. What did you do first? I know you didn't automatically become a criminal, something happened to you to make you turn to that lifestyle."

"Yeah," Flashfire joins in as the two girls sit on either side of you. "What more happened?"

You look from one to the other, and can see that neither girl is going to drop the subject. You take a deep breath and begin.

"After flying out into deep space, I just wondered about, not knowing where to go." Images of the planets zipping by your teary eyes come replay through your mind. "Eventually, I got tired and hungry, and had to land on an inhabited planet.

"There wasn't much there, but there were people with food. I walked around the tiny town for an hour, begging for something, anything, but they gave me nothing. After all, I was an unfamiliar child, and it was of no consequence to them what happened to me."

Blackfire's and Flashfire's faces are so sad, they're actually rather adorable.

"So what did you do?" Flashfire asks. "Did you steal some?"

"No," you answer. "I wandered around some more, more worried about a place to sleep.

"I eventually found an empty spot in front of a hotel and slept sitting up. I didn't get to stay long, because an employee told me not to loiter and shooed me away. I asked him if I could sleep inside, even if it was on the floor of the lobby, but he said no."

"So where did you sleep?" Blackfire asks.

"Around the corner, against the wall where he couldn't see me."

The girls look even sadder than before.

"So, ok," Flashfire says, "what happened that made you a criminal?!"