Fia's mouth hung open in the salty water as she surveyed the sunny shallows for a suitable fish to catch. She needed a tasty specimen that would impress both Viliant and Mahi. However, the slush dragon dove as deep as he needed to catch the perfect fish. The shadow dragonet used his element to bring the fish up to him. Between these two stratagems, smaller fish frantically swam between the larger ones which were the targets of Mahi and Viliant.

A guppy vibrated its tail to escape the carnage of its brethren below. Fia snorted a stream of bubbles as her slitted pupils dilated. Although this tiny fish did not look particularly appetizing, Fia did not have many fish in the sea to choose from. The pink dragonette swooped to catch the first fish which swam into range of her.

The most difficult part of her catch was trying to keep the fish intact. Fia could easily gnash her fangs around its body and swallow it whole, but then she would have nothing to show for her efforts to Viliant and Mahi. So, Fia reached for the fish with her claws cupped around its floundering frame. The points of just two claws closed around its tail, holding it in place.

"Aha!" Fia announced her success with a triumphant whistle underwater. The sound carried through the water along with her telepathic signal. I got one! I caught a fish! she boasted to her friends.

Good job, Fia! Mahi praised her. But just wait until you see this bad boy that I'm hauling up.

I've caught fish too, Viliant pointed out. They're still on their way up.

When Fia looked down, she had lost sight of Mahi. Instead, she saw a cloud of dead fish that floated toward the surface. They would soon encompass her if they continued on their current trajectory. A gurgle caught in Fia's throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

No stealing my fish, Viliant warned.

I'm not trying to! Fia trilled underwater. The slimy, limp fish brushed against her scales. Some caught underneath her belly and forced Fia to float up with them. They're the ones stealing me! While Fia would normally open her wings and flap them to get to the surface quicker, she did not want the fish to catch under her wings too. The dragonette would consider this situation much more pleasant if she could eat her way through fish, however, this was Viliant's catch for the competition.

Fia breached the water first, closely followed by a ring of dead fish. Unlike them, her guppy was alive in her grip. Its body flapped with all the strength that the tiny fish could muster. Although she held onto its tail fin tightly, it surprised her by the fight still left in it.

Viliant paddled up to her with a smug twist in his tail. Where's your fish? Despite the fact that he could see her fish in plain sight, he acted as though her guppy was too small to warrant his notice.

"It's the same size as the first fish that you caught!" Fia objected.

Since Viliant refused to let that insult stand, he bickered back. At least I can tell that you didn't take one of mine.

"You'll need them all to figure out how to cook 'em!" Fia retorted. While she focused on having the last word, Fia did not realize the progress that her captive had made toward its escape. The guppy's thrashing had ripped through the membrane of its own fin, launching itself into the air. "No! My fishy!" In the process of shouting this, Fia also opened her mouth to bite it. The dragonette chomped back down on the guppy's tail before it landed in the water.

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In its struggle, the fish now slapped Fia in the face. "Mmph." Her eyes squinted shut as she grunted. The guppy seemed eager to get itself cooked as it tested Fia's patience. A plume of fire kindled in her closed mouth. The wet fish smoked and steamed, leaving its scales with two distinct flavors. Fia nodded to herself as she could taste the delectable result on the tip of her forked tongue. The scent wafted to her nostrils mere inches away from her dish for the competition. I'm done, she said alongside an unintelligible muffle from her mouth which held the tiny fish.

That's all? Viliant scoffed. He circled around the hefty helping of a dozen fish that he had caught. Now he just needed to come up with a creative way to prepare them—but not too creative. Maybe I can turn the fish inside out… he contemplated.

Use your magic! Fia encouraged him.

Yes, that's the most efficient way to do it, he mused. Viliant remembered when he had shredded the tapirs in the Malakow Jungle, making their skeletons rip outward.

No! Fia gasped with the fish tail in her mouth. No inside-out fish. Just cook them in your element like I do with my fire.

A series of confused blinks passed over Viliant's eyes. He did not understand how he might employ shadow magic to culinary applications.

Hey! Mahi interjected in the dragonets' headspace. Fia, I can hear you giving that guy pointers, up there. No cheating!

Sorry. Fia pouted with the dead fish hanging between her front fangs.

After Viliant had completed another lap around his fish, he attempted to cast a spell to steep one of them in shadows. Its scales blackened with an afterimage of his magic. Tendrils of darkness ripped off the fish's fins like smoke. Success? Viliant wondered.

That looks fishy, Fia commented.

It's a fish. It's supposed to look fishy! Viliant did not appreciate Fia's unwarranted criticism, at least not until they had tasted his concoction. His nostrils flared with two quick, successive sniffs. When Viliant dipped his head to take a bite of his own fish, his mouth passed through it.

Fia bounced on the waves in a fit of giggles. Try again.

Luckily for him, Viliant had plenty more fish to experiment on with his magic. While he quietly muttered to himself like a mad alchemist, Mahi ascended from his dive.

"Check it out!" Mahi shouted when he resurfaced. He flung a big fish above the water that spanned the same size as Fia. "This fish is called mahi mahi—like me."

I can see the resemblance, Viliant thought.

Fia thought so too, admiring the fish which Mahi had caught.

The scales along its dorsal fin had a deep blue hue to match the ocean. Its underbelly was tinted yellow in the same pattern as Mahi's scales. The fish would look quite beautiful if not for its squat head and shrunken eyes.

"All my friends say I look like this fish," Mahi bragged.

Your face does look like that fish, Viliant replied.

"My scales!" Mahi wailed to correct him. In doing so, he wrinkled his snout and squinted his eyes so that his face did look more like the mahi mahi fish. With that same level of determination held in his glare, Mahi dedicated his full attention to preparing his meal. His claws sliced through the fish as smoothly as the water. A blue light glinted from his eyes when Mahi applied his slush magic.

Meanwhile, Viliant persisted in his endeavor to make a flavorful shadow fish. He corrupted every last corpse with magic. The numbers were on his side; at least one of these fish had to taste good and exist outside of the shadow realm. If neither Fia or Mahi could actually eat his fish, then Viliant figured that would leave more for him.

All told, the three dragons had brought back three different meals—or a morsel in Fia's case. Each dragon had chosen to prepare their food in their respective element. The tiny fish, steamed in her fire breath, still hung out of Fia's mouth. Mahi brandished his cuts of iced sushi. Lastly, Viliant's shadow fish bobbed around them ominously. The three dragons dipped their heads together to try the food.