‘Waffles…’ whispered a quiet voice next to my ear. I blinked in my dark room, yawning. The thick blankets covered me, but a foot and my head were outside them.

‘Can we have waffles for breakfast?’ A warm snout pressed right next to my ear, almost tickling me.

Thankfully, I recognized Indigo. Groaning, I wrapped my arm around her, causing her to chuckle, before I dragged her under the covers. “Waffles in the morning,” I mumbled. “Sleep right now.” After I closed my eyes, I felt her snuggles under my chin, her scales feeling softer than they should.

Something nudged me again, interrupting the dream that involved elves, magic and little pink flowers.

‘You said waffles!’

This time when I opened my eyes, the bright sunlight streaming in from above kept them open. “I’m moving, I’m moving.”

Indigo pounced across my bed and then jumped high in the air before soaring out my open door. Chirping echoed from the shop as she flew around the open space.

It didn’t take long for me to get up, dressed, and ready for work. Before Indigo could bug me again, I was staring into the oven, watching the waffles like a hawk. Indigo kept flying around the room, trying to draw my attention, but I resisted. I didn’t want the waffles to burn. They were just a little too big for the toaster - the waffles, not Indigo. Though, she wouldn’t fit in the toaster either.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up. Indigo and I had spent too long in the hot tub trying to get my magic to work again. All it left me with was a headache, and weird dreams once I finally fell asleep. Indigo woke up bright and early, waking me before the sun came up and asking about waffles.

My bright blue mug with stars already sat empty, and I needed to make another. First, the waffles, or I might have a very upset dragon on my hands. It didn’t matter that she was the size of a cat. I didn’t want to see what she could do.

I yanked the oven open and pulled out the large waffle using the tips of my fingers, which burned slightly in the process. Then I did it again for the second and third one, stacking them on a plate.

“Tongs exist for a reason,” said the Cat, jumping onto the island.

“Yeah, yeah… I’m a little tired today,” I mumbled, setting the plate on the island. The Cat stared at me, then the waffles. “Weird dreams, and Indigo really wanted waffles.”

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The dragon crash landed on the island and I yanked the plate of waffles out of the way. “Woah, woah, woah, Indigo…!”

‘Sorry…’

“Do you want butter and syrup?” I tossed a waffle on my plate, and another on the Cat’s.

“Yes, please.” The Cat nudged Indigo toward her normal sitting area.

I fixed mine and the Cat’s waffles, cutting them up and adding lots of butter and syrup, before setting it in front of him. Then I stared at Indigo for a moment. “How do you want your waffle?”

‘I make!’

I opened my mouth and then closed it before setting the whole waffle on her plate and grabbing my fork. Both the Cat and I watched Indigo as we dug into our food. She carefully used her front claws to ‘cut’ up her waffle. By cut up, I mean rip into uneven pieces. Some were as big as her head, others much smaller. Then the syrup bottle wobbled in the air all by itself.

I resisted helping and instead took a few bites of my waffle. Inside my head, I shouted words of encouragement as Indigo concentrated on using her magic. Buttery, maple goodness exploded in my mouth and it helped wake me up even more. “Waffles were a good idea, thank you Indigo.”

The syrup bottle wobbled back to the countertop after dumping some on her plate. Indigo smiled in glee and did a small happy dance. ‘Waffles are the best.’ Indigo stuck her head in the pile of shredded waffle to grab a piece. Then, she dipped it into syrup before swallowing it whole.

“Bacon is the best,” said the Cat.

‘Ooooo - bacon.’

“Bacon is totally the best,” I agreed. “But I don’t have any precooked bacon in the freezer, while I have an entire stack of these waffles that just need to be baked in the oven quickly.” I usually needed to unthaw them first, but magically they had already been unthawed and waiting on the counter for me to pop in the oven this morning. “So, are you ready for today?” I asked the Cat.

The coffee shop layout had greeted me this morning as I made myself an Americano. Usually, that put the Cat into a grumpy mood.

The Cat’s tail twitched in the air a few times before he responded. “Today will be interesting, to see who shows up. All the book said was ‘A pleasant moment can change everything.’”

“That sounds like a fortune cookie.” My fork hovered in midair. “A particularly unhelpful fortune cooking, at that.” I finished my waffle quickly, wanting more caffeine rather than a slow breakfast. Both the Cat’s and Indigo’s plates still held waffles. “I’m going to go make a latte. Do you want one?”

“Yes, please.”

‘Hot chocolate?’ asked Indigo, her snout dripping in syrup.

“Of course, just make sure you wash your face off before you go flying around.”

The little dragon nodded, and a drip of syrup went flying.

I walked to the front of the shop where the lovely espresso machine sat. '“Betty, thank you for cleaning up all the syrup.” I patted the machine, even though it didn’t really make sense. Still, for me the machine represented the shop. From there, I quickly ground up some beans and pulled out a teacup for the Cat. It was the one with the soft pink roses along the edge. I admired it for a second, then got to work to make us all something warm, yummy and most importantly caffeinated. Hopefully, the cryptic book was hinting at a pleasant, easy day. I could use it.