The night fell over the harbor with a chill that sent all the visitors away. The previously bustling port had now emptied of its sailors and travelers—all except one. Fia bounded alongside the uneven posts of the pier. Her claws scritched against the wood as she slinked around the tallest bollard. With her nose upturned, her blue eyes sparkled at the tall masts of the sea-faring ship. The starlight reflected in her slitted pupils, dilated at the center to let in more light.

Viliant? Fia called out to him over telepathy. She probed the area for a dragon within range, prepared to snap the invitation at a moment's notice. The dense population of Malakan cities increased the risk that she would accidentally contact another dragon. A relieved sigh whooshed from her maw when a familiar mind greeted her.

Fia! It's about time you showed up. Though Viliant tried to downplay his concern, his mind was bereft with worry over their stowaway mission. Stay where you are. I'll make sure the coast is clear.

We don't need the whole coast, just the ship, Fia giggled.

Focus. Viliant did not spare any of his attention on idle chatter, only his objective. He needed to survey the deck and signal to Fia when she could glide across. First, that meant Viliant had to get out of their crate of rations. He centered himself to cast magic with good technique. When the black dragonet slipped into his shadow form, he fell through his bed of meat before he could stop himself.

"Oof," he grunted. The delectable scent and palpable taste overwhelmed Viliant's senses, diverting his focus momentarily. Well, this is interesting. To himself, he mused, Normally the meat goes inside of me. I don't know how I feel about being inside the meat…. His fascination with their rations bled over their telepathic link to Fia.

I told you not to eat our food! she whined.

I'm not… anymore, he let slip.

While Viliant had waited for nightfall in the cramped crate, he had writhed with anxiety. When is Fia going to get here? Does she remember what the ship looks like? Are the men going to catch her—or me?

Shortly after the crate with Viliant had been loaded onto the ship, the sailors' boots tramped around their box of rations. They placed similar containers and barrels of food in this section of the cargo hold. Viliant readied himself to dive into the shadows at a moments' notice. One wrong move, and the sailors might bust the crate. All afternoon, the stowaway dragonet flexed his claws, prepared to fight if he must. Viliant abhorred each human step that he heard, keeping him on high alert.

To distract himself from his worries, Viliant took his first nip of meat. He lapped at it with his tongue and sucked it between his fangs. Viliant tried his best to savor it and make it last as long as possible before he took another bite. The dragonet nibbled the smallest piece that he could still enjoy.

He kept his telepathic receptors open, waiting for Fia to fill his mind with her chipper attitude. Eventually, the human activity in the storage hold diminished and disappeared altogether. Is it nighttime yet? The black dragonet did not want to risk leaving the crate, so he could not monitor the passage of time. Viliant dwelled completely alone in the dark. The boredom set in along with his hunger. Just one more bite, Viliant thought as he continued to munch on their rations.

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Now, nighttime had come along with Fia to the ship. Viliant! she whined at him, exasperated.

So what if I had a little snack? Viliant shrugged off her agitation. The wispy tip of his shadow tail swished into the open space at the top of the box. The ephemeral head of the dragonet stuck through the side of the crate. Viliant turned his head from side to side, surveying as far as he could see. Beyond the darkness, he sensed no one in the shadows.

The black dragonet walked the rest of the way outside the crate. His physical scales returned to cover his ghostly body with each step that he took. His ripped wings lost their wispy appearance in favor of their natural, leathery one. However, the grainy texture of the wood could still be seen behind the rips in his wings. Viliant's tail flicked back into physical form last, its razor tip striking a chip against the crate as he left.

Viliant lurked in the cargo hold until he found the ladder up. Once more, the dragonet observed his surroundings before he exposed himself out in the open. I sense someone's here, Viliant warned Fia. Though he could not see them from here, he could feel the disruption of shadows on the far side of the ship.

A sharp sense of panic filled Fia's mind. I see a light! The pink dragonette tumbled from her spot atop the bollard. Fia crawled beneath the boardwalk instead.

Hide! Viliant told her, aware of neither her swift reaction nor her current position. The black dragonet popped up from the hatch and darted around the ship's cabin. Since he could sense the steady strides taken by the human guard, he evaded him by circling in the same direction around the deck.

Viliant paced himself so that he always stayed on the opposite side of the cabin. Once the guard with the lantern patrolled the other side, Viliant paused where Fia had originally seen him. The black dragonet claimed a perch on the ship's rail. Do you see me, Fia? He flapped his weak wings to signal to her.

Hi, Viliant! Fia blew a small ember to reveal her location to him as well—something that he had already derived from the shadows. The pink dragonette scrambled back up the post and leaped from the top. Her wings snapped open to glide across the water. A flap or two of her wings even helped her gain a little air. Fia landed with all four claws wedged between the wooden exterior of the ship. She began to climb her way up.

Once she reached the top, Fia jumped next to Viliant. Her giddy claws tapped next to him on the guardrail. She had resisted the impulse to tackle him. Instead, she jumped down from the rail and bounded after him.

Hurry. This way. Viliant led Fia around the cabin in the same orientation that he had been going. The dragonets smoothly avoided the guard this way when he walked in a circle to the other side. Down here. Viliant's faster run brought him to the edge of the hatch first. He waited for Fia to go down first before he slid down himself.

Hooray! We did it. Fia strutted with her tail wagging side to side. We're on the boat.

Yeah. Viliant huffed out a sigh. Let's not do that again. It's better if we plan carefully.

Fia shrugged her wings and bobbed her head. She had improvised a backup plan on the fly, after their first attempt had fallen through. It was Viliant who did a poor job sticking to the plan. She tossed a squinty look back to him. Where's our rations? I gotta see how much you ate.

Not that much. Just a bite. Viliant walked over to the stores of food with a dragging tail and hanging wings. The older dragonet was not looking forward to Fia's reproach after he had been the one to do something that complicated their journey. If the dragonets ran out of food before they reached Carlinoa, then they might have to risk stealing from the humans' stock.