Before Spark could reply, Dartwing reentered.
"Stay here and relax, ladies. I'll get the rest of the deer," he said while passing.
"Dartwing, wait," Spark called out. "We appreciate your work, but you've already given us more than enough. Please, feel free to take the rest back to your own cave."
"What!?" Bluefire exclaimed. "ALL the rest?" She was stopped short with another look from Spark.
Bowing his head, Dartwing answered, "I appreciate your generosity, miss, but I have no cave in which to store it. I have only recently come of age, and have yet to find an available home. Please, keep the deer for yourselves."
"You have no cave?" Spark frowned. "But winter is nearly here. Where have you been sleeping?"
Dartwing shrugged. "Oh, here and there. I am good at finding shelter, and I am an excellent hunter. So, don't worry for me, kind lady. I will get by."
"No." The dragoness shook her head. "This is not right. You have wasted precious time hunting for us, and I will not send you off into the cold like a heartless ingrate." She glared at her partner who flinched. "So, please, accept my invitation to winter with us."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly," Dartwing refused, though inwardly he was leaping in victory.
"I insist," Spark pressed, bending down to nuzzle little Ember who had woken up and was watching this exchange curiously. "How could I live with myself if I set a poor example for my daughter in how to repay kindness? So, please, stay with us. My honor as a dragon and a mother are at stake."
Dartwing smiled. "How could I refuse such a plea? Very well. I accept your hospitality, miss."
Spark stood up from the nest. "Call me Spark. And welcome, kind sir. I will help you bring in the meat. Bluefire, be a dear and mind the nest for a bit."
Tail between her legs, and knowing that a long talk was in her near future, Bluefire took Spark's spot in the nest and curled around Ember and the two eggs. In her head, she was furiously trying to think of a solution to this new problem. Aside from garnering Spark's ire, she now found herself with a possible rival in her own cave. She really needed to think of a solution.