Issue 32: My Friend is a Dragon

My Friend is a Dragon is the thirty-second issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
Bloom rescued from the Chamalions way back has come to visit her. While the girls enjoy the dragon's company, he must be returned to the wild because that is his real home and where he belongs. However, the dragon is kidnapped by smugglers in order to be sold for profit. And so, the Winx and the Specialists urgently search for him and bring him back to safety.

Plot
One morning, at Alfea, a dragon flies into the courtyard and lands on the balcony just outside of the Winx's dorm! The girls are woken up by a loud sound and find the dragon waiting for them on their balcony! As they try to figure out what to do, Musa suggests that they call in the Specialists from Red Fountain since they are usually trained to handle dragons. Stella takes the opportunity to call Brandon as a way of surprising him while telling him the recent news.

A few hours later, the Specialists arrive with large nets as Codatorta instructs them that they need to capture the dragon without harming it. Most of the Alfea students find it strange that the dragon has not moved as soon as more and more people started to arrive. Stella runs out towards the courtyard to greet Brandon, and that is when the dragon swoops down from the roof, pouncing on top of Bloom as everyone else runs away in a panic. Sky tries to rush to Bloom's aid but Codatorta holds him back. As it turns out, the dragon acts like that over a harmless puppy and has taken quite a liking towards Bloom. Codatorta takes this opportunity to hook the dragon onto a chain-leash as Bloom gets the dragon to relax. The rest of the Winx approach Bloom, applauding her on seemingly taming the dragon. One of the other students asks Bloom if she will keep the dragon, but Bloom is not too sure about it and decides to ask Headmistress Faragonda, who just so happens to be heading towards her with Griselda in tow. Faragonda asks Bloom why the dragon seemed to be looking for her, which is when Bloom realizes that this dragon is the baby dragon she saw being born in the Dragon's Land when she was dragged there with Diaspro. Since Bloom was the first thing the dragon saw when it hatched, he imprinted on her. Bloom starts to realize that the dragon must have overcome many dangers and obstacles to get to Alfea, which is when Faragonda asks if Bloom would want to keep him. Griselda, on the other hand, thinks that keeping a dragon at Alfea would be a ludicrous idea. Faragonda claims that keeping the dragon would be fine so long as they do not keep him there forever and notes that the dragon may have been seeking Bloom because it is malnourished or even sick. She announces that the dragon shall be kept at Alfea at least until they figure out what is going on and she asks Codatorta for help, as he is a dragon expert. Codatorta confirms that he will help and that the dragon can be kept at Alfea after he sees their veterinarian and gets all of the necessary vaccinations. As Bloom fantasizes over having a new dragon friend, Sky lets her know that they are ready to leave and tells Bloom to make sure not to forget him. Bloom obviously assures Sky that he always comes first in her heart. The next day, the Winx try to enjoy having to keep a dragon, however, it is proving to be quite the task, as he is already too big to fit inside their dorm. Plus, Bloom cannot seem to get the dragon to listen. She initially told the dragon to stay outside but the dragon refuses to stay away from her and followed her into their dorm. The dragon's constantly wagging tail has already destroyed half of it as well. His tail knocks over a vase which shatters upon hitting the ground, revealing that Kiko was hiding inside. When Kiko and the dragon catch each other's attention, both panic and the dragon tries to climb up on the couch, unintentionally crushing the Winx. Bloom then tells the dragon that he needs to get along with Kiko and must not hurt him, until she realizes that the dragon is genuinely afraid of Kiko. Bloom figures that she cannot force them to get along and is able to safely send the dragon outside. The Winx then try to clean up the remains of their room before Griselda catches them and Bloom tells the dragon goodnight as it sits on their balcony. As the girls get ready for bed, Bloom tells Flora that being a dragon's mother is very tiring and Flora offers to help. However, Bloom just wants to think about Sky as she falls asleep. The dragon sits atop the roof as the girls fall asleep. The next morning, Knut has already repaired the Winx's door to their balcony. He reports to Bloom that Faragonda has given him permission to keep watch over the dragon while she and the Winx attend their classes, too. The two of them leave the dorm to attend to their own duties as they talk about how docile the dragon is.

During breaks between classes, Bloom and the rest of the Winx play with the dragon and as they are attending classes, Knut takes care of him. As Knut is giving the dragon a bath, he starts shivering over how cold the water is. Knut knows of no way to heat up the bath until the dragon hops out and breathes fire to the bottom of the barrel, boiling the water and make it hot enough for him to enjoy. Knut gets ready to take a break as the dragon dries himself off but the dragon sets fire to the iron chair Knut is about to sit in as a prank, causing him to jump at the intense heat. Soon, the weekend rolls around as the Winx and Specialists are enjoying a nice picnic by the lake. Sky suspects that Bloom managed to train the dragon but Bloom reveals that she had nothing to do with it; the dragon learned everything on his own! Timmy tells everyone that they cannot eat the sausages now due to the firewood being too damp, but before anyone gets too saddened by this, Bloom's dragon breathes fire on the firewood under the sausages, allowing them to cook. Once they are fully cooked, the group settles down to enjoy the hot dogs until Bloom's dragon starts drooling at the sight of them. Bloom gives her dragon a hot dog to eat and compliments him on his great "cooking," until Brandon asks Bloom what she plans to do with her dragon. Bloom is still unsure on what to do and, while Brandon does not know what to do either, he suggests that they talk to Codatorta for advice.

Sky, Brandon and Timmy asks Codatorta where he tells them that even he does not know what to do about such an unusual case, however, there is a man who was a legendary dragon tamer named Tabshir who lives near a place called Melamamora. He warns the boys that Tabshir can be a rather difficult person to deal with but, if they mention Codatorta, then Tabshir will receive them. The boys them arrive just outside of Alfea's gates and tell the girls what Codatorta told them and, as they hop on their hoverbikes, Bloom instructs the dragon to follow closely behind them. The boys park their hoverbikes just downhill from where Tabshir was rumored to live and Brandon explains that Tabshir hates loud noises or the sounds of anything modern. The group spots a house at the top of a hill and assume that it belongs to Tabshir. The old man greets them as soon as they mention Codatorta and offers to help them. Tabshir then places his palm over the dragon's face and is suddenly surprised, telling the group that the dragon is a lot more intelligent that they would think as he was able to break through Tabshir's hypnotic powers. Sky asks Tabshir why the dragon seems to be smaller than average and, thanks to what they told him, Tabshir concludes that the dragon's birth was agitated, causing him to hatch earlier than he was supposed to. Since the dragon was born early, he was rather small and because of this, his much larger siblings most likely did not leave him with enough food. Furthermore, the dragon did not identify with his real mother and after realizing that he was smaller than the rest, he felt lost and confused. Bloom suspects that the other dragons were possibly trying to kill the dragon they know and so the dragon flew away in order to escape. Tabshir confirms that to be a possibility and suspects that the dragon developed more intelligence as another way of survival, in order to find Bloom. Bloom then asks if this means that she should keep him forever, but Tabshir tells them that they need to release him into the wild because he is still a dragon in the end. More importantly, they need to bring the dragon back to his homeland in order to release him back into the wild. Sky thanks Tabshir for all of his advice and the group returns to Alfea.

Bloom thinks it is a shame that they cannot keep the dragon at Alfea, as they could had a garden den built for him since there is so much room, but Flora reminds her that while it may be nice to keep animals as pets, truly loving them means that they need to do what is best for them, even if it includes having to set them free. Bloom realizes that Flora is right and promises to let the dragon stay with them as long as he would like but once he starts feeling homesick, they will do everything they can to release him into the wild. For the next few days, word quickly spreads about Bloom's new dragon friend. At the White Horse, all of the patrons gather at the pier to watch the dragon fly around. Bloom signals the dragon to come down to the grill where he sets fire to the grill, cooking the hot dogs. Bloom, Sky and Timmy then sell the hot dogs, advertising them as "Dragon Fire Hot Dogs." The Dragon Fire Hot Dogs become such a popular order that Bloom rushes back into the cafe to tell Greta that they need more sausages. Greta comments on how popular Bloom's attraction has become and Bloom agrees, adding that she is glad that everyone is having fun. As Bloom brings out another round of sausages for her dragon to cook, she is completely unaware that she is being watched by some familiar faces.

Lothar and one of his henchmen have been seeing how popular and well-trained the dragon is and Lothar starts thinking that the many rich tycoons of Magix would pay big money to see such a well-trained dragon. The man with Lothar reminds him that thanks to Belizarius fleeing without even paying them, he would do anything to get out of their terrible situation. Lothar tells the man that they will take the dragon and flee Magix, remembering that he knows the owner of a circus in the Gourkal Dimension, that is always looking for oddities. His henchman asks how they will be able to kidnap the beast with fairies being close to him at all times, to which Lothar reveals that he still had pieces of the Shaab Stone on him from when they had to retrieve the stone for Belizarius. Now that they have a solid plan, Lothar and his henchman run off to gather the rest of his men.

A few days later, Bloom wakes up feeling exhausted. The rest of the Winx are also rather exhausted as Musa explains that this has been going on for the past two days and that they may feel sick from what they ate. Aisha enters their dorm, asking how they are all doing, and Stella tells her that they are doing terribly. Aisha then tells the girls that Palladium was investigating the problem and it turns out that someone has contaminated Alfea's drinking water with a sleeping potion along with fragments of the Shaab Stone! As the Winx try to figure out why a sleeping potion was put into the water, Bloom comes to a terribly realization and runs for their balcony, with the dragon nowhere in sight. She concludes that the dragon must have been taken away and that the sleeping potion was to make sure no one would be able to wake up and help him as he made loud noises. The Winx then go try to wake everyone up before they come up with a plan to take the dragon back.

An hour later, Knut comes back and tells the Winx that he was unable to find the dragon in the Gloomy Wood Forest just outside of Alfea, but he was able to find a piece of a chain, confirming that the dragon was indeed kidnapped. Bloom asks Knut if he knows of any way to track the dragon down and Knut claims that he does not, despite being able to smell the faint scent of leather and body armor in the northern direction while he was still in Gloomy Wood. Stella asks if Knut can really smell the thieves and Knut explains that ogres have a heightened sense of smell. Tecna realizes that the body armor smell could be coming from the men that worked for Belizarius way back when and Bloom suspects that they may have smuggled fragments of the Shaab Stone for themselves to use. Palladium comes to the conclusion that they may have stolen the dragon in order to make some large sums of money now that they are out of work, and the Winx take it upon themselves to follow them. The Winx try to transform until they are all stricken with large headaches, causing them to fall out of their transformations. Bloom remembers that while the Shaab Stone fragment's influence is weak compared to the whole stone, it still has a powerful influence on them. Stella then suggests that they ask the boys to help them track down the thieves.

The Winx and Specialists zoom through Gloomy Wood on the Specialists' hoverbikes as Knut struggles to stay in front. When Sky asks if Knut can still smell the thieves' scent, Knut reveals that he cannot smell it anymore and may even have caught a cold. Sky tells Knut to head back to Alfea to rest as they continue trying to track down the thieves by splitting up.

As Musa and Riven split from the group, Riven notices broken branches and, upon further inspection, learns that the branches have recently been broken. Musa concludes that it may be due to the thieves carrying the dragon in a large cart and Riven advises that they continue tracking the thieves on foot so they do not make any loud noises. As it turns out, the two of them soon come across Lothar and his henchmen guarding the dragon, who is locked up in a large cage, as they wait for the buyer. One of his henchmen asks when the buyer will be here, to which Lothar reveals that the appointment is that evening and that once the buyer pays them, it will be up to the buyer whether or not they haul the dragon out of Magix. Musa asks Riven if they should go let the others know but Riven wants to figure out how many men there are first. Suddenly, a snake slithers up to Riven and bites his wrist, causing him to scream in pain. As Riven realizes that the snake was poisonous, the scream startles Lothar and his men and they start to shoot their rifles in Riven and Musa's direction. The two of them flee as Lothar's men chase them close behind. As they try to find a place to hide from the thieves, Riven collapses by a large rock. Musa comes to his aid, noticing that he had fainted and tries to suck the poison out of the snake bite on his arm in order to stop the venom from killing him.

As Sky and Bloom zoom through Gloomy Wood, the two overhear gunshots. They then head in the direction of the gunshots in order to back up whichever one of them alerted to thieves and soon all of them make it to Lothar's campsite. The Specialists apprehend Lothar and his men as the Winx try to free the dragon. However, two of the thieves that ran off in search of Musa and Riven return to the campsite, only to find the Winx and Specialists apprehending their boss and coworkers. They shoot at the boys and try to shoot at the Winx so they run away from the dragon. Tecna barely manages to transform and Aisha, Flora and Stella lend her their powers in order to conjure up a shield to protect themselves and the dragon. The two henchmen manage to free Lothar and the rest of the henchmen as the Specialists regroup with the girls. Suddenly, another dragon swoops in and breathes fire on the thieves, causing them to flee. Bloom is able to free the dragon and it darts towards the other, larger dragon. The larger dragon turns out to be the dragon's mother and she understands that the Winx and Specialists are her child's friends. Bloom realizes that the dragon's mother never stopped loving her child and went looking for him right after he left but before she lets the dragon go back him with his mother, she asks him if he can help her find Musa and Riven. The dragon picks Bloom up on his back and flies above Gloomy Wood to help her look as his mother lets Sky ride on her back. After just a bit of searching, the two of them manage to find Musa waving to them on top of a large rock with Riven resting on the rock's side.

At Red Fountain, Sky urges the rest of them to leave Riven to rest now that he is out of danger. Meanwhile, in the room, Riven is impressed by how Musa took a big risk in sucking the venom out of his wound. Musa claims that Riven would have down the same if she were in his situation and the two have a bit of a heart-to-heart, possibly making their relationship official.

Spells Used
None.

Mistakes

 * On page 17, as the Winx and Specialists enjoy a picnic by the lake, Bloom's hair is a much lighter shade of reddish-orange in one of the panels.
 * On page 32, as the Winx transform on, Stella's headband is still a lavender color, rather than being blue as it usually is in her Winx form.
 * On page 38, when the rest of the Winx and Specialists confront Lothar and some of his henchmen at their campsite, Brandon's hair is colored red instead of brown and his and Sky's phantoblades are not even colored in.

Debuts

 * Tabshir

Characters

 * Winx Club
 * Bloom
 * Flora
 * Aisha
 * Stella
 * Musa
 * Tecna
 * Specialists
 * Brandon
 * Sky
 * Timmy
 * Riven
 * Helia
 * Animals
 * Kiko
 * Dragon
 * Mother Dragon
 * Humans
 * Tabshir
 * Alfea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Griselda
 * Palladium
 * Knut
 * Red Fountain Staff
 * Codatorta
 * White Horse Staff
 * Greta
 * Enemies
 * Lothar
 * Lothar's men

Trivia

 * Musa and Riven do not seem to be dating until the end of this issue, much like how the two of them do not become official until some time after Lord Darkar's defeat in Season 2.
 * According to many sites, such as WebMD, trying to suck the venom out of a snakebite does not work and can cause more harm than good.