The badlands were more peaceful than expected. The next dawn brought a morning as relaxing as the day before. The dragons woke up lazily, stretched their wings, and sunned themselves until they felt thoroughly energized. Even after they had begun their travels for the day, Fia and Viliant lay down for brief stops, closing their eyes against the sun's rays.

Rest your shoulder, Viliant said. We have a long journey ahead of us.

Thanks. Fia was grateful now that they had the ability to take reprieve whenever they needed.

Despite acting like he called the breaks for her sake, Viliant needed to rest too. Whenever he lay down, his eyelids started drooping down and flicking up again in a losing battle to stay awake. A soft snore came from his nostrils when his eyes shut all the way.

Aw, Fia thought to herself while doing her best to restrain a snicker. As much as Viliant humored her, she did not want her giggles to disturb him. The dragoness was resting her injured shoulder anyway, so he might as well sneak in a quick power nap. From the looks of him, he needed it.

Their freedom from the coliseum had only amounted to a few weeks, but the black dragon already seemed bigger than when they had first met. Viliant was undergoing a growth spurt, so his scales must itch and his bones must ache. At this time in his life, he needed more food and sleep than Fia which made their desperate escape taxing on his body as well.

Her eyes squinted against the intense sunlight which created a wavering haze as it baked the rocky ground. The dragons needed to keep moving, so Fia stirred Viliant awake. Rise and shine, friend!

The older dragon got up and shook himself awake. I was not asleep, he said grumpily.

Sure you weren't, she teased.

The dragons set off again, trudging side by side across the rugged landscape. At least there were no monsters like Fia had feared. We sure are lucky how we haven't run into anything scary yet, Fia remarked.

Don't get too comfortable, Viliant intoned. The beasts could strike at any time.

Against his warning, Fia drank in the wasteland around her with starry eyes. If only this place had some water to sate their thirst, the badlands would be an idyllic place for the dragons. Their third sunrise came without a drop.

Viliant, Fia moaned, I'm so thirsty. When she swallowed back the dryness in her mouth, her long, narrow tongue felt scorched and shriveled in the desert.

Me too. Hang in there, Viliant said. Where there's life, there's water.

In addition to the dry, prickly shrubbery, the dragons had observed some small animals here and there. But what if there's not enough water for anything bigger than a rabbit? Fia fretted.

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Those are bigger, Viliant replied as his chin tilted back.

Vultures soared above them, following their target in broad circles. The ominous shadows from their wings passed over Fia and Viliant's heads intermittently. The dragons needed to find water soon or perish.

Instead, Fia stumbled across a new animal which instantly lifted her spirits. "Ooh," she said gently as her nose came even with a tiny lizard hiding in the shadows, halfway concealed amidst a pile of rocks. The lizard's big, gray eyes blinked at her—full of innocence. When its eyes reopened, Fia lost herself in the intricate, black web which ornamented the reptilian iris. Viliant, look! It's like a teeny tiny dragon. I'm gonna name it Lil Vilie.

No…. Viliant said as his voice dropped in horror. The older dragon fell silent at a loss for words. He refused to entertain her childish antics.

It looks just like you! Fia insisted.

The lizard lacked all the defining features of Viliant: his emerald green eyes, the innumerable spines across his back, and the six, sharp horns which topped his head. Furthermore, the gecko had a smooth, round face which contrasted with the dragon's angular jaw and narrow snout. The circular pads on the gecko's feet looked harmless, unlike Viliant's overgrown claws. The only quality that the two reptiles shared in common was their black scales.

Are you blind? I look nothing like that thing. With a shake of his head, Viliant yelled with greater passion, More importantly, get away from it!

Fia jumped back like a cat had come across the creeping lizard, slowly emerging from its hovel closer to her nose. "Eek!" she shrieked. What is it? Is it dangerous?

However, the harmless, little gecko responded to the flighty dragon with equal fright. Its limbs became a whirlwind, rotating backwards as it dashed into its shelter with impressive speed for its size.

I don't know. Just don't touch it, Viliant replied.

Aw, Fia said, edging closer with her tongue flicking out. It looks more scared of us. We're the big dragons! I can't believe you were worried about this tiny baby lizard. Come back out! she called. No other creatures were privy to the conversation held across their telepathic link, so Viliant was the only one to hear her. To better communicate with the lizard and also annoy Viliant further, she cooed to the pile of rocks, "Lil Vilie! Come out."

Let's go. We don't have time for your games. Viliant turned around with a self-righteous flick of his tail and expected Fia to follow.

You just don't like the name I gave it, Fia muttered. She was about to turn to go, but then her eyes grew bigger as not one but two then three little lizards reappeared from the rocks. More and more kept scurrying out and settled on top of their shelter, all facing the dragoness, hunched over and leaning eagerly towards her.

Her mind lit up, marveling at how many miniature lizards surrounded her. So many friends… she thought to herself. If only we could ask them where we could get something to drink.

However, the swarm of lizards seemed to have something else in mind. The leader at the center of the pack leaped forward and landed squarely on Fia's nose. The pads of its feet tickled the thin, sensitive scales on her face at first, and the dragoness was content to let it crawl all over her. She lifted her nose higher, carefully balancing it while she went cross-eyed looking at it. Look, Viliant!

A deep red hue started to burn within the gecko's body. As Fia examined it closely, she noticed grayish stripe along its back was actually a recess into its hollow body. However, she could only glimpse its innards for a moment. Jagged streaks of darkness, almost like an eruption of flames soon swelled from within the lizard's body and engulfed it. A warm sensation started on the fire dragon's nose, reaching an unbearable heat which scorched her scales.

Fia shrieked from pain and called to Viliant, more desperate this time. Help!

All the rest of the lizards jumped onto the dragoness at once.