A new type of surprise settled over Mahi's face. A curl entered his tail when Viliant made the suggestion to play. "What sort of game do you have in mind?"

Since Viliant did not know many games, he said, "I'm thinking of a number, one through ten—"

"Zilch! Zero! Absolutely not! No way." Mahi rejected Viliant's suggestion with an aggressive shake of his head.

"Well, I'm thinking of a type of bug," Fia interjected, introducing a modification to the guessing game on the fly. Over telepathy, she thought of the attributes which described a particular type of insect. It has wings that flutter really fast….

Viliant rolled his eyes. He knew Fia well enough to know her favorite bug. "Butterfly."

"Dragonfly!" Mahi shouted.

"You got it right, Mahi!" Fia cheered.

Just between the two dragonets, Viliant growled, You're lying. I can tell.

Hush. Although Fia admitted that she had actually been thinking of a butterfly, she concealed that fact from Mahi. Besides, a dragonfly kind of fits my hint better.

You don't get to change your answer whenever you want, otherwise what's the point?

No, that's the whole point! Fia thought back. The chaotic guessing game helped them practice concealing and teasing out truths over telepathy. Plus, we gotta keep Mahi happy.

Viliant grumbled to himself. Although he could not disagree with Fia, he did not like it that he always had to lose in order to entertain Mahi.

The adult dragon either did not pick up on Fia's lie, or he did not care. Mahi chortled gleefully, "Since I won, I get to go next." With his eyes closed deep in thought, Mahi slunk slowly southward. I'm thinking of a flippity, floppity fellow—

A fish, Viliant thought.

"Nope! You've got to be more specific than that." Mahi continued to describe his secret target, his enthusiasm bleeding through their telepathic link. My fins are my wings! I soar through the air when the waters get too hot. When I fly too close to the sun, I dive back into the water to cool off. What am I?

The manner in which Mahi presented his riddle helped obfuscate the actual thing which he intended them to guess. Fia took a stab at it as her paddling claws repeatedly splayed through the waves. Is it… you? she asked Mahi.

"Nuh uh! But good try," Mahi offered.

"Hm," Viliant hummed low, hanging his head as he followed in Mahi's slipstream. But it is a type of fish?

"Well…." Mahi swayed his head around mischievously. I suppose you could say that. But is a fish still a fish if it wants to fly like a bird?

"Yes," Viliant drawled out of disbelief. What else would you call it? A bird fish?

"A parrot fish!" Fia shouted with a gasp. The big, colorful fish was one of her favorite foods. She liked to pick off their pretty scales and crush them between her teeth. Do they fly? the dragonette wondered.

"Not quite. But the fire salamander knows her fish! Try again."

A fish bird, Viliant thought glumly, trying to reverse his first guess. The dragonet knew that he stood no chance to win against Fia's prior knowledge of the native fish species, so he resigned himself to lose again.

Fia began to list off every fish that she could remember ever eating or her parents ever mentioning to her. However, Mahi denied her guesses one by one. Fia became more desperate to get it right. With a flash of her snapping fangs, she yelled, "A shark!"

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"Oh boy. I sure hope there aren't any flying sharks around here!" Mahi retorted with a snort.

A flying fish, Viliant offered for an intentionally dunce answer. As he kept swimming, the black dragonet did not expect Mahi to suddenly stop. Viliant bumped into the slush dragon's tail.

"We have a winner!" Mahi bellowed, shaking his head back and forth like a water spout. He added, "And here they come to celebrate." The slush dragon dove under the water, grabbing Viliant to encase him in a shell of ice.

A wave of heat bubbled up from the vents of the depths. In addition to this, a school of tiny silver fish sped toward the two dragons at high speeds. Viliant winced at first, but once he recognized that the small fish posed no threat, his mouth hung open ajar. Mahi's layer of slush diverted the trajectory of the fish and guided them to swim around the dragons—much to Viliant's dismay who had hoped to catch one or two in his mouth. The water's temperature swelled, radiating an intense heat past the cool chill of Mahi's slushy shield.

To escape the boiling ocean, the fish leaped out of the water. Their thrashing tails propelled them into the air, flicking off glistening droplets as they crested over a low wave. Their long, narrow fins stiffened to catch the breeze like wings.

"Wow! They really are flying fish!" Fia squealed out of delight. Thanks to the fire dragonette's natural heat resistance, she marveled at the sight while her body bobbed atop the gentle waves. With her chin tipped back, her jaw dropped open to watch the fish glide through the air. A trail of saliva dribbled from her tongue in a similar reaction as Viliant.

When an unfortunate fish hit her in the back of the head, Fia jolted out of confusion. "Huh?" The pink dragonette turned around to find a boiled fish adrift on the waves. Yum! she thought. While Fia did not feel particularly hungry after Viliant had finished hunting not long ago, she would not decline a snack if it looked her in the eye. The round, empty eyes of the fish made delight spark in Fia's slitted ones. She slurped up the flying fish by its tail.

Once the water cooled to a safe temperature, Mahi let Viliant float back to the surface. The flying fish had settled back into the water by this time. Even if Viliant did not get to see the fish soar through the sky for himself, Fia told him all about it. "Mahi was right. There really are fish that fly like birds."

"I've been out on the ocean my whole life," Mahi bragged. "I've seen just about everything there is to see. Anywho, it's your turn, little shadow guy."

Viliant gave pause, unprepared to lead a round given that he had never expected to win. I think of a thing, he clarified.

Anything! Fia encouraged him.

Anything at all… Viliant looked all around him. However, he did not want to pick something too obvious like the endless water. That would bring his turn to a prompt end. However, Viliant wanted to bask in his victory as long as possible. Alas, creativity was not his strong suit. Maybe I don't have to pick one, solid thing at all, he realized. Maybe it's just the idea of a thing….

While he contemplated his choice carefully, Viliant glanced up to Mahi whose jaws peeled in a yawn. The black dragonet's glum thoughts became weighed down by an unfair comparison. Mahi says he's been out here his entire life, free to ride the waves, Viliant observed. I've been in a cage my whole life, at least until I met Fia. Although he kept these thoughts to himself, his gaze flitted to his best friend.

The tip of Fia's tail curled out of the water as she smiled at him.

"I don't mean to rush you, little dude," Mahi said, "but I'm definitely rushing you."

With a deep breath, Viliant regarded slowly, I'm thinking of a place. The location matters less than the people who you find there. Where is it?

Mahi gasped, his neck reeling back. "I know! I know!" he shouted. "The bar—! Wait, no, you dragonets might be a bit young for that…." While the slush dragon dipped his snout into the water to think, his eyes narrowed in a squint, this gave Fia a chance to think about her answer.

Her blue eyes reflected the roll of the waves. To herself, she mused, A place where the people matter more than the location…. That description inspired her to think of no other place than Carlinoa Island. The whole reason why Fia fought her hardest to return to her homeland was because she needed to save her people. Mommy and Daddy, she thought of who she missed most. With her clear eyes glimmering, Fia looked up to say her answer. "Home."

Before he could restrain himself, Viliant's tail lifted into a knowing smirk of his own. His steady gaze matched hers for a while. That's right. Fia got it.

"Blegh!" Mahi shouted. "You dragonets are too cute. It's killing me."

With Mahi as their guide, Fia and Viliant would make it to Carlinoa Island within a couple of weeks. While Fia looked forward to seeing her family again, Viliant looked forward to gaining a true home.