"A firecracker," she repeats, trying it out for herself.

'Tis a wonderfully sharp-edged word, and while she may not exactly get his meaning she likes it very much. It feels wholly satisfying as it rolls off the tongue.

"That is a nice word for it. My mother is exactly as fierce as a dragon."

Firebreather, perhaps, is more accurate, but it does not have the same crisp syllables.