The path that they took to the river, cutting through the jungle, had not always been here. Diwa contemplated the time of its inception as she followed the stubborn sage. After she had met Rokirith, injured in the badlands, she had stayed in the mountains to help his recovery. However, the vast open space made her feel even smaller at his side. The lower levels of ambient mana made her more homesick than anything else, but on the day that she declared her return home, Rokirith offered to go with her.

Diwa…! he had blurted out, his angular eyes with the increased vigor of his youth. His mouth hung slightly agape, searching for words which ultimately reverted to his ceremonious pattern of speech. Travel constitutes no burden to me. Let me accompany you.

Once Rokirith crouched beneath the grand trees which Diwa had told him about, the dark jungle weighed upon him. He felt equally uncomfortable with his wings tightly folded as she had felt with too much air beneath hers.

So, the sage returned to his mountain while the healer remained in her forest. Any plants which encroached on this trail were promptly frozen in Sage Rokirith's blackfire the next time that he visited.

A wide berth of the river had a small island at its center. Here, Sage Rokirth could spread his vast wings and jump to the land mass with a single beat. Diwa let the draft from his wings help her along, yet she still had to flutter them to reach the island.

"I hope you are hungry," Sage Rokirith said as he lay down with the meat, freshly melted from the preservation of his element. Even after it had been frozen, Diwa loved the tough, tangy meat of the alligatoise. She shredded it beneath her fangs and savored the flavor in her mouth.

"Thank you," she said after a swallow. "You always bring my favorite meat from the badlands despite its rarity."

"I swear the alligatoise become more scarce with every hunt," Sage Rokirith chortled softly, expressing his high spirits. "I'd hunt them to extinction for you."

Diwa giggled, a bit more nervously than him. I love you too, she thought but could not share those forbidden words. In their liminal relationship, Diwa and Rokirith expressed as much in countless other ways aside from an outright, declared commitment. "You might even convince me to go back to the mountains with you if you'd bring me one of the colossus alligatoise."

"You would have to travel to the badlands for that."

"Exactly," Diwa said, taking another bite.

A quiet moment held between them. The two natural states for Diwa and Rokirith were banter and silence. The sage had a sharp tongue which always spoke candidly, so she would coax answers out of him under the guise of teasing. "Since you've brought me two adorable children, does that make you the father?"

A parlous look flared behind Rokirith's eyes. "I've already overstayed my plans to eat with you, but if you make me lose my appetite then I will go."

Diwa pouted at him. She wanted answers, but he always wanted to delay serious conversations. For now, she would bide her time and show Rokirith the joys of their misfit family. Maybe it'll be enough to make him want his own, she mused to herself. Listen, she beckoned him, nuzzling her head close to those impressive, crimson tipped horns.

Their telepathic receptors hovered so close. Sage Rokirith always hesitated to allow Diwa the slightest glimpse into his mind, not that there was anything to hide from her anymore. He had already shared with her the desolate wasteland, scorched by frozen fire which comprised his hopes and dreams. Much like the regrettable state of the dragonets, Diwa could not heal the wounds of the mind no matter how badly she wished it so. Instead, she did the only thing she could do: prattle on cheerfully once he had relented.

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Fia appreciates the food and thanks you! She's so cute. She even wanted to cook for Viliant.

Instantly, that statement seized Sage Rokirith's attention. Please elaborate what you mean by 'cook'.

Fia is not just a blackfire dragon, Diwa revealed. She's a red fire dragon.

That would explain her fever. As cold-blooded reptiles, dragons did not generate heat naturally, so Sage Rokirith knew that something was amiss magically. But red fire. Red fire, Sage Rokirith murmured, as if slipping into a trance. "True fire, burning hot, like that which is trapped beneath Mt. Ravia."

Tipping her head to the side, Diwa did not understand his musings—why he was so fixated on that particular mountain. Nothing good would come of his obsession, so she tried to take his mind off it. Her magic core is also fully awakened. She's young enough that I can work with her, but I'm afraid she'll quickly outgrow what I know. She'll need a master of her own element soon. Do you think blackfire has enough similarities?

Sage Rokirith tipped his head back to the open sky which twisted among the trees' canopy just as the river did below. I don't know everything, but it will be a fascinating challenge to work with her. My blackfire is a rare element not acknowledged within the classical system. Never did I fathom that the true, red fire dragon of myth would actually exist.

A sudden change in Rokirith's demeanor surprised Diwa, her mouth parted in awe.

His crimson eyes, so often jaded, filled with wonderment for the first time in a long while. His wings and tail lifted with a crooked smile, but whenever Sage Rokirith looked like that, he had just conceived a devious plan.

Sage Rokirith draped his vast wing over Diwa's petite body like a comforting blanket. His coarse cheek lowered to her softer one, giving her a tender nuzzle. You should do everything within your power to convince the fire dragonette to stay. Can you do that for me, Di-Di?

For a second, Diwa's mind spun like the flotsam leaves and twigs aloft on the river. She had not received so much affection from Roki in years. She savored the moment yet to process what he had said. You manipulative scoundrel, Diwa hissed. She has parents—real parents! As much as she would adore to foster the little girl, Diwa would not unduly trick her into staying in the rainforest forever.

The Sage Rokirith flapped his wing off the dragoness, splaying it outwards in a profession of innocence. I simply have taken interest in a potential student. She has great potential to advance my research.

Diwa gritted her fangs. As much as she appreciated Rokirith, she did not want him to poison the dragonette's mind. She's so young, Diwa lamented, but she's seen enough of the world to make her own decisions. Let's wait and see what she wants. Diwa squirmed back under Rokirith's wing. After teasing her like that, he could not withhold his attention from her anymore.

The adult dragons snuggled alongside each other, only wishing for more time in the world. However, Diwa had patients—cherubic patients—who could not go without her care for too long. As much as it pained her to wrench herself from Rokirith, she said, "I have to get back to the dragonets."

Sage Rokirith walked to the highest edge of the quaint island where he would take off. He looked back to offer a farewell. "Give me another week, and I'll have flown over the mountains and back to see this glimpse of green again." Despite their surroundings, he did not spare a glance to the lush jungle with his eyes—never faltering from her. "I trust that you'll do as I said."

Diwa's wings ruffled in a blush, ignoring that last bit. "See you soon, Roki!" she trilled. The green dragoness remained on the ground, watching his ascent until he had disappeared over the trees. Diwa made her way back home to Fia and Viliant, her posture still smiling from the way that her lunch had made her feel.