Within the week, Sage Rokirith returned to the foot of Diwa's treehouse and thumped his tail in the pattern of their secret code. "Diwa!" he called.

The green dragoness bounded down the tree. Even if her small wingspan struggled to sail over the mountain range in a single flight, Rokirith admired how her lithe frame could navigate between the tree branches—something which he could not do without busting through them all.

"Hi Roki," Diwa said, beaming up to him. "Nice to see you again."

"Agreed. I come under much better circumstances this time."

"I don't know what could possibly be better than you coming here with children," Diwa said teasingly. "I only wish you'd bring me more…." The aroma of blood in the air made her trail off. The nostrils of the petite dragoness twitched, and her emerald eyes lit up. "You brought food!"

Rokirith stepped aside so that his large body no longer blocked the view of the game which he had killed. Most alligatoises did not have a chance to grow to the size of the pest which had invaded his oasis. He had brought a much smaller one stripped of its shell over the mountains, preserved in the gelid bite of his blackfire. "It would be quite discourteous of me to bring you extra mouths to feed but nothing in which to fill them."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it, Roki," Diwa said. As she passed him to approach the food, she brushed her neck against his. The scales of the jungle dragoness were smaller and softer compared to his rigid ones.

Rokirith recoiled. His claws dug deeper into the moist earth, charring it with frost under his glare.

Once she stood in front of the food, Diwa protested with a gasp, "But this is too much food for the dragonets!"

In monotone, Rokirith said, "You have been expending much energy to bring the wyrms back to health. It is only fair that I provide food for you too, so you may recover yourself."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, Roki."

A twinge of annoyance flitted through Rokirith who had to listen to Diwa constantly coo that childish nickname. He ruffled his wings to keep them from curling into any show of endearment.

"But," Diwa drawled, "I'm afraid this is still too much food for me and the children. Won't you stay and eat with us?" Neither dragon faced each other, so she flicked her tail against his when she extended her invitation.

As much as he secretly reveled in Diwa's affection, Rokirith swatted his tail to the side. Much of his willpower was required to keep the tip from curling into a slight smile. "I… suppose I could linger here a while yet. Feed the wyrms first. I shall wait."

Diwa carved out a large slab of meat and scurried up to the tree like a hard-working ant back to her nest.

"Oh, and Diwa?" Rokirith called from the ground before she could get too far. "Feed the little pink one first, not that the glutton steals it all from her."

The green dragoness slithered around the girth of the tree trunk. When the wood concealed her body on the far side, she must have flipped around. She came back into view hanging upside down. Her neck reached downward the same distance in which Rokirith lifted his chin upward to meet her. Their noses nearly touched. Rokirith was enticed to stare at the slight flare of her nostrils—annoyed with him as always.

***

A blithe huff escaped Diwa's snout. "I'll make sure they're both well fed," she snipped, despite how her tail curled into an endearing smile. At least he cares about the children, she thought to herself, but if only he could care about them both equally.

When she made it back to the treehouse, she visited Fia and Viliant in turn. After the dragonets had fallen asleep together, Diwa had carried Fia back to her own room. She intended to have a motherly talk with her later; Viliant was old enough to appreciate a bit more space. For now, she greeted her favorite dragonette cheerfully.

"Hi, Fia! How're you feeling?" she said, her verbal words and telepathic meaning in tandem. While the dragonets were in her care, this was the best way to teach them the language of the Malakow Empire—something which would aid them on their journey. "Sage Rokirith has brought us food!" Diwa sliced a generous piece of meat for Fia, then turned to take the rest for Viliant.

Wait, Fia croaked in Diwa's mind. Is that for Viliant?

"Yes," she replied.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Can I cook it first?

Diwa walked back over and caressed Fia's cheek with the tip of her wing. "That's very sweet of you to think of him, but I think you should take it easy for now."

Okay, Fia droned. The dragonette's mood drooped in disappointment.

"Once you're better," Diwa said to raise her spirits, "we can have a big, roast feast to celebrate!"

Fia lifted her chin at once, mouth slightly parted in glee. Her jaws opened the rest of the way which allowed her to take a fierce bite of the meat. She snuffled as she swallowed hard and slurped at the blood, unthawing in the heat of her mouth. The dragonette ate hastily under the guise that this would help her recover faster.

"Don't eat too fast," Diwa suggested gently. "You might give yourself a tummy ache. There's no need to rush."

After another gulp, Fia gasped and paused till her eyes stopped watering. This is really good.

"I know. It's my favorite food," Diwa shared.

Thank you, Fia said but paused. Her mind wracked all the sounds of the new language that she was absorbing. Fia managed to say aloud, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, dear. I'll tell Roki that you liked it." Diwa hurried to Viliant's room so that she could get back to the sage sooner.

"Hello, Viliant," she greeted her favorite dragonet. "How are you doing? Do you feel any pain?"

No, he shared at once, even though Viliant clearly struggled to sit up.

A soothing spell seeped from Diwa and transferred to the stubborn dragonet. "You can say 'yes' with your words. You don't have to let your body speak for you."

Viliant lay back down easier and sighed now that the twisted ley lines running throughout his body no longer ached. Nonetheless, he denied any appreciation in favor of saying, What you just did was entirely unnecessary.

"Your pain was entirely unnecessary," Diwa growled back.

He recoiled at her sudden change in demeanor, but his eyes softened in understanding. Someone was angry on his behalf. The child could rest easier now that he had an adult dragoness who cared for him. At least, this was what Diwa hoped to communicate to Viliant in a way that he would understand.

"I've brought food. This is necessary," she said and placed the hunk of meat in front of Viliant.

The slitted pupils of his eyes widened at the center. His forked tongue flicked out, nearly licking the meat and giving it a taste. Who killed this?

"I'll have you know, I'm an excellent hunter!" Diwa said. Just because she pounced from the trees instead of swooping from the sky, her quarry was not any less impressive. "But in this case, Sage Rokirith has come to visit us with food."

What type is it? Viliant asked, pulling back from the meat with a leery, sidelong gaze.

"A rare creature of the badlands—an alligatoise if you've heard of it."

"I have." Viliant took a massive chomp of the meat, his jaws snapping as though he imitated the animal which he zealously ate. After swallowing the substantial mouthful, he clarified, I was just wondering because it looked good. The dragonet lowered his head as though self-conscious of his rudeness before, now trying to make up for it with compliments. His green eyes flitted to assess Diwa's response.

Her tail swished into a smile. "I'll tell…"

Don't tell him I said that, Viliant added brusquely.

With a sigh, she said, "But he brought us a delicacy. It wouldn't hurt to thank him."

His ego is already too big for that, Viliant countered.

"You could say that about yourself," Diwa snapped. It should not be such an ordeal to give thanks where credit was due. Her tail swished out of irritation as she turned to go.

Quickly, Diwa's mood soared like the air beneath her wings. The dragoness dropped from branch to branch as fast as she could to get back to Sage Rokirith. Once she had reached a height where she could land on her feet, Diwa whistled as she struck a pose. "Ta-da! Our children are fed."

Sage Rokirith turned to her, his attention lifting with little surprise. "They are not our children," the miserly sage corrected. "They are strange wyrms—nothing more, nothing less."

A hissed slipped out between Diwa's teeth. Even if the dragonets did not hatch from eggs of her reluctant mate, she felt blessed to be surrounded by what seemed like family.

The crimson eyes of the sage narrowed. "Do not pretend to see things which are not there. You know those wyrms will not stay."

He sees me happy. Can he not let me be? Diwa bemoaned. Sage Rokirith might as well pry his talons beneath fresh scales grown over an old wound and rip it afresh. In contrast, she played off her pain with a roll of her eyes. "I don't know what you mean, Roki." Diwa looked back to him with a devious kink in her tail. "I only have eyes for what's right in front of me." She fluttered her eyelids rapidly, carefully watching his reaction between blinks.

"And there will be nothing more than that." Sage Rokirith picked up the remainder of the alligatoise in his mouth. The thick base of his tail drooped. Its narrowing length dragged behind him, sweeping across the trail toward the river—their favorite meeting spot.