Each time that Viliant kicked in an effort to scratch his scales, Fia's anxiety spiked. You're itchy. I get it. Try to keep it down!

I can't help it. I'll stop when I sense the humans come down the ladder. Until then, Viliant continued to itch himself. His clawed foot made a loud: Thump! Thump! Thump! It sounded rhythmic like the ocean waves sloshing against the hull of the ship.

Don't leave your scales all over the place, Fia warned. The pink dragonette writhed inside the dark crate. If Viliant was going to make a mess out of his discomfort, she at least wanted to see it for herself. Can I come out?

No.

A whine trembled from her snout. But why not?

It's unnecessary, Viliant replied tersely. In spite of the racket made by him, Viliant considered that entirely necessary. The dragonet could not help it that he had grown too big for his current layer of scales.

Fia wracked her brain for a way to make herself useful. I can help pick off your scales, she said in a teasing way, hoping that would make her offer sound more enticing. The faster we pull off your loose scales, the less time the humans have to catch you!

A tenuous pause held between Fia and Viliant's minds. Fine, he allowed at last.

An excited giggle escaped Fia. She bounced up and down on the meat, testing her horns against the crate's lid. Because of the amount of meat that they had eaten, Fia could not gain enough purchase to pry it up on her own anymore. Viliant's molt had made him lethargic, so he was slow to lodge his claws against the top of the crate.

The wood cracked open, allowing Fia to nuzzle it open the rest of the way. Hi, Viliant. Her front claws tapped onto the floor first, closely followed by her back claws. The pink dragonette circled her best friend to inspect the change in him.

Patches of his dingy scales had dried out, causing them to peel upward. His brittle scales snapped and flaked away with a little encouragement from his claws. The old layer had turned translucent in the process of molting. This gave Fia a glimpse of the sheeny, soft scales which had already grown to replace them underneath. Stop staring, Viliant seethed over telepathy. Stop prancing all around me! This isn't funny.

I know. It's totally normal, Fia replied. I just think your new scales look nice.

Viliant grunted. The unfortunate timing of his molt made him even less receptive to frivolous compliments than usual. His droopy eyelids made the dragonet look exhausted. Let's hurry up and get this over with. Help me get the scales off my back.

A husk of old scales caught in the long spines along Viliant's back. His own claws could not reach there. The only way for him to knock off the old scales by himself involved aggressively thrashing his whole body. Instead, Fia lay atop a crate about his height. From here, she could easily reach her front claws down to knead his back.

While Viliant scraped his own claws across his scales in quick, successive swipes, he became distracted by Fia's massage. All the spines along his back flexed, then relaxed. Viliant arched his back to make her claws dig deeper. "Mm," he groaned. A little to the left… right there, he sighed when Fia followed his instruction.

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The dragonette giggled at his reactions. She peeled away his old scales until none remained on his back except the new, healthy scales. Fia stacked the old ones into a pile so that the clumps looked vaguely like a shell of Viliant. She jumped down from the box and wiggled in front of it. Old, crusty Viliant, she addressed the husk, meet the new, shiny Viliant!

His bright, green eyes rolled around in his head. Stop goofing off. Despite how he tried to deflect the significance of his fresh suit of scales, the slight glimmer in Viliant's eyes revealed his excitement.

I'm serious. Once more, Fia circled Viliant to observe his scales from all angles. You lost the scales that you had in Syene. Most of your scars are gone now! These are super shiny like… like obsidian! She named a rock which Viliant had never heard of before. Fia, herself, only had a cursory understanding of the mineral. Since she could sense Viliant's lack of understanding, she shared what little she remembered about obsidian. It's a hard, fire rock that's shiny and black and tough! It forms under… extreme conditions. Fia gave up trying to explain exactly what made obsidian special. It's valuable! she promised.

Thanks, Fia. Viliant stood up taller and flicked his tail into a curve. He flipped his neck back to glimpse as many of his new scales as he could see for himself.

Fascinated by his scales too, Fia ignored how Viliant shied away when she stepped closer. The pink dragonette brushed her cheek against his shoulder. So soft.

Hey! Viliant leaped on top of the box to get away from Fia. That's enough. His scales would harden over the next, several days to the true toughness of dragon scales. Till then, Viliant ought to minimize his movement to avoid gouging the surface of his scales while they were still vulnerable. A simple scratch now would leave a mark like his old battle wounds. Most of all, he needed to avoid any violent altercations with the humans aboard the ship.

Fia focused on the evidence left behind by Viliant's molt. Get rid of it. She tossed her horns toward the wall of the ship, gesturing for Viliant to throw his shed skin away like he did with their other waste.

However, Viliant hesitated to apply his shadow magic and fling it into the ocean just yet. His forked tongue flicked out of his mouth. I don't know. Viliant hovered over his shed scales. They smell good.

My mom told me not to eat my scales, Fia explained. For the couple of times that her scales had molted since her hatching, Fia had looked forward to showing them off to her parents. I'd always get to trade them for meat!

Viliant tilted his head in expectation. I'd be willing to make that deal.

A big huff came from Fia's mouth. She just remembered that her hiding spot in the box gave her control over their rations. "Nuh uh!" The dragonette shook her head. Due to their depleting rations, she had already stopped bribing Viliant with food to play with her.

I'm gonna eat them then. Viliant lay down to enjoy his feast of crunchy scales. His fangs gnashed them into bits, dropping crumbs before he gulped the rest down.

Viliant had always devoured his shed scales in the dungeon of the coliseum. He thought nothing of the dry, bland taste. Whenever his scales had fallen off back then, he considered how his own scales might serve as his last meal. If the humans ever chose to make him fight before his new ones had hardened, then that would herald his demise. A similar anxiety flooded through Viliant on the ship, inspiring him to gobble up the scales as quickly as possible. At any moment, the sailors might come down to hear the ruckus that he had made.

Get back in the box, he ordered Fia. I sense someone coming

Viliant propped open the crate's lid to usher her back inside.

The tip of her tail thrashed as the last part of Fia to clamber into the box. She snuggled against the meat, holding her breath to better listen to the thump of boots down the ladder. Viliant slunk behind the crate in a slow, methodical movement. They waited to see what manner of business had brought the humans down to the cargo hold.