With her inner flame stoked by the challenge, Fia said, "We have to go looking for him!"

"No!" resounded several voices in unison. Fia's mother, Evander, and Viliant all shouted her down at once. Only Arenis glanced around in confusion, since he thought that Fia had proposed a good idea.

"You just got back," Fia's mother cooed in a softer tone. "You need to rest. And from now on, you're not allowed to leave the village!" The frustration flared in her mother's voice. She refused to overlook how her antics with Arenis had caused her to get egg-napped in the first place.

Fia cowered away from the explosion of her mother's concern. The dragonette had forgotten that she would get in trouble the moment that she got back.

Evander rapped the back of his claw against the doorframe which curved with a whale's rib bone. The dragon warrior sought permission to intrude. "It's only natural that you miss your father too," Evander vocalized on behalf of Fia. "However, you should put more faith in him. If you made it back, all on your own, then he can too." This revelation made a flurry of stunned blinks fall over the eyes of Fia's mother.

"Wait," the adult, pink dragoness drawled. "Did you not bring Fia back?" her mother asked Evander.

"No," he replied with a hesitant glance at Fia. Though Evander had spotted the dragonette in the surf while he scouted the perimeter of Carlinoa Island, only Fia knew how she had gotten that far. "I found her in the company of a water dragon."

"I see," Fia's mother murmured, assuming that Evander had rescued Fia from the clutches of a nefarious dragon from the Azuazu Clan.

While Fia had many dragons to thank along her journey, her biggest supporter had been with her every step, wingbeat, and paddle along the way. "Actually," the dragonette twittered, "Viliant's the one who helped me get back. He saved my life." Fia brandished her wing to show off her new friend—her hero.

At the mention of his name, Viliant straightened his neck and flung back his wings. For the first time in his life, he cared about leaving a positive impression on others. Viliant wanted to make Carlinoa Island his new home. Despite his best effort, Viliant did not understand why the other dragons' wings sagged when he became the center of attention.

With just a glance at Viliant, all the dragons could surmise the turmoil that Fia had endured with him. Even though Viliant appeared much healthier and happier compared to the skeletal dragonet that she had met in the coliseum's dungeon, his body still told the story of that abuse. A trail of old scars streaked his shiny, black scales in faded, jagged stripes. His wings, which he peeled back in pride, made him look like he had flown through war.

"Hi," he stated in an attempt to introduce himself. "I'm Viliant."

Fia's mother took a step closer to him. Though her rigid wings still angled in concern, the dragoness curled her tail into a smile. With a tilt of her horns, she offered Viliant to join her and Fia over telepathy.

"It's nice to meet you, Viliant. I'm grateful—what you did for Fia." Since words alone could never express her appreciation, the dragon mother let her emotions swell over their telepathic link. The pink dragoness bowed her neck across the ground. Thank you.

A twinge of embarrassment flitted through Fia, realizing that she had never expressed such extensive gratitude toward him. She attempted to make up for that now. Thank you, Viliant! The pink dragonette scampered to give him a hug. Once Fia had her wing flaps draped over Viliant's face, she told her mother, "Viliant doesn't have a home. I promised that he could stay here, if he brought me back to Carlinoa."

Fia's mother balked at that, and she dipped out of the shared, telepathic space with the dragonets. "Well," she stammered for an excuse, "I don't know...." The dragoness did not know enough about Fia's friend to promise anything. Viliant was a dragonet with far too many scars for his age. If Fia was going to get a brother, then her mother wanted a little, pink dragonet to hatch out of the egg behind her. She did not want to bring into their home an unrelated dragonet, old enough that he might cause problems.

"I'll ask our parents," Evander offered with a glance down to Arenis.

"What?" Arenis shouted. The red dragonet's eyes scrutinized Viliant with a squint. He can't stay with us!

Without a word, Viliant swept his neck back to glare at Arenis. That look from the shadow dragonet intimidated Arenis enough to break eye contact and fidget with his claws.

"Hmph." Viliant did not care if the other fire dragons actually liked him or not, so long as he stayed close to Fia. He felt foolish for hoping that Carlinoa had any more to offer him. The least he could hope for was the island to remain safe against the oncoming human invasion. Aren't you forgetting something important? Viliant reminded Fia darkly.

"Eep!" she squeaked when she remembered. Fia sprang up with her wings alert, ready to flutter away. "The humans are coming!" she shouted.

"What do you mean?" Fia's mother asked, worried more so about her daughter's emotional state than the state of their island's security.

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"I didn't see any ships when I made my rounds," Evander pondered aloud.

The two adult dragons dipped their heads closer to Fia and listened over telepathy. Arenis hopped underneath Evander's wing to join the circle around Fia. Everyone waited to discern the true meaning behind her warning.

The humans are coming to Carlinoa with big ships filled with these things called drakans! Fia recalled how she had seen the Dragon Slayer's declaration of war and his performance of a ritual to raise an army. Over telepathy, the dragonette shared the horrors which she had witnessed without any need to articulate complex ideas with words. Despite the earnesty of her report, Fia's mother and Evander had a hard time believing her.

The humans are coming to wage war... on our clan? Fia's mother thought, dubious of her distressed daughter's claim—not because she did not believe her. The dragoness would struggle to wrap her head around the gravity of the situation, even if it came from the Elder Council.

Why would they? Evander questioned about the humans. I thought Syene only attacked dragons that had humans in their territory. Why Carlinoa?

With an anxious tap of her claws, Fia realized that she still did not grasp the humans' motivation. I don't know! They're humans. It's in their nature. Her mind buzzed with all the information which Rokirith had relayed to her in hopes that the adults could make sense of it.

"Slow down, Fia," her mother cooed. "I'll call the elders. The council will figure out what to do."

"I'll go," Evander offered. "You can stay here with Fia." The dragon warrior hurried from the hut with a flick of his tail. This left Fia's mother with all three dragonets and the egg.

While she had countless questions for Fia, her mother did not want to overwhelm her with any more. Fia's mother figured that she would hear everything once the elders drilled into those same points of contention. "Right now," her mother murmured, "I don't care if humans are coming or the sky is burning. We can fly away before they get here. I'm just glad you're home." Her mother flung her wings around Fia and nuzzled the scaly ridge of her cheek against her daughter's head.

"I missed you so much, Mommy." The smoke cleared from Fa's throat when she huffed out a sigh. Once more, they hugged and chatted about quiet topics.

"I've added fresh down to your bed," her mother shared. "Do you want to flutter up to the loft to check?"

"Yes!" Fa bounced from excitement, grateful that she was not forgotten when her mother improved the nest for the family's new egg. The pink dragonette accepted the lift on her mother's snout. Fia hopped onto the hut's smaller, second level which only had enough space for baby dragons. She leaped into the tidy corner where her mother had her bed made for her.

With the strength of his own wings, Arenis followed Fia up to her room. His tail curled in a goofy grin while he watched his friend roll around and mess up her bed.

On the ground level, Viliant flicked his uncertain tail. Although he wanted to shadow Fia throughout her home, his wings did not let him access the loft. His expectant eyes flickered to the mother of his friend one too many times.

No longer could Fia's mother pretend that she did not notice Viliant. Her gentle hum caught in her throat when she looked away from the egg. "You're too big for the loft. Sorry, Viliant."

"That's... fine." Viliant flexed his talons, anxious for something to do while he waited for Fia. I can't go up there, he shared over telepathy. Hurry up, and get back down here!

Just a minute, Fia assured him. The dragonette swept her gaze around her cozy bedroom where she would get to sleep tonight.

Check this out, Arenis boasted to Fia. The red dragonet sauntered to the gap between the thatched roof and woven walls. He hopped through the window and propelled himself higher with two subsequent flaps of his wings. Arenis glided across the distance between Fia's house and his family next door. At first, she did not expect him to make it, but then a couple more flaps of his wings lifted his body upward. Arenis swooped through the narrow window that opened up to his own bedroom loft.

At a loss for words, Fia's mouth hung open. Her reaction was limited over telepathy. You can fly? she asked out of astonishment.

Arenis's horns bobbed as the only thing visible from the neighbor's window, after his landing. Soon, he propped his chin onto the ledge with a smug twist to his tail. Arenis tipped back his head and puffed a small ember into the air.

Past her giggles, Fia returned his signal. The dragonets often animated puppets with fire before they went to sleep. Now, Arenis could fly across the upper floors of their houses if they wanted to play more after their bedtime.

Arenis leaped from his bedroom and glided back over to Fia's room. I really missed you while you were gone, he reiterated, unable to look Fia in the eye. I trained with Evander every day, so that I'd be stronger! When Arenis gathered enough willpower to raise his head, a wildfire burned behind his eyes with the desire to protect Fia the next time that she was in danger.

Although the intensity of Arenis's unbridled emotions made her want to withdraw from telepathy like she had on the beach, Fia tilted her head in consideration. I understand. I needed to get stronger too, so I can save our clan! She did not understand why Arenis focused solely on her welfare, rather than the clan as a whole. It did not matter since any passionate emotion stoked their fire magic.

Fia slipped away from telepathy with Arenis and retreated to the ground level. The two dragonets fluttered back down to join Fia's mother and Viliant.

"Thanks, Mommy," Fia said, hugging her wings around the foreleg of the dragoness. "My new bed is so fluffy."

"I'm glad you like it, Fia." Her mother draped a large wing around Fia's whole body.

At this point, another rap of claws sounded near the door. Evander poked his head inside and reported, "We have Elder Nura's attention. She'd like to see Fia—and our guest—immediately." The amber eyes of Evander flitted to Viliant who would join him. Like they had done on the way here, Evander carried Viliant in his claws.

Fia flew on her mother's head to her audience with the first elder of her clan.