That evening, Fia and Viliant had much to do before the ship set sail tomorrow. Diwa brought them back to her parents' house where she enlisted their extra wings to help them get ready. Gio flew to the market for smoked and salted meats. Liwaya busied herself inside the house, preparing travel bags and an emergency medical kit. After this was packed, Fia and Viliant perched with idle wings.

What else do we need? What else can we do? Viliant awaited another task to spring on.

"I think we're all ready for tomorrow morning," Diwa said with a big sigh. "I can't believe this is really happening. We're parting ways so soon."

Liwaya ruffled her wings and draped one over her daughter's back. It's always painful when they leave the nest, isn't it? the older dragoness teased.

Fia stepped underneath Diwa's wing and tilted her head back to her. "Thanks for everything! We couldn't have done this without you!"

Yes, we could've, Viliant shared snidely with Fia alone. I'd figure something out.

Fia ignored him because regardless of their competency, Diwa's assistance was appreciated.

"You're very welcome." Diwa closed her eyes pleasantly to match her smiling, curly tail. "I'm just happy that I was able to help some." Her eyes reopened to gaze down at Viliant with some guilt. "The two of you can rest for the evening."

"Um." If Fia and Viliant had this final evening with Diwa at their leisure, she wanted to glean one last piece of knowledge from her. "Can you take us swimming?" Fia asked. "I don't know how. I realized that at the tournament."

"Oh!" Diwa gasped. "I never realized you didn't know how to swim! That's very important. You and Viliant should both know how if you're going on a boat."

"Can you swim?" Fia asked Viliant. Although she knew that her best friend had not experienced anything outside of the coliseum until recently, she never ceased to be impressed by his abilities.

His mind contained a negative response, even if Viliant remained silent and did not want to admit it.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you both how to swim!" Diwa announced, regaining her enthusiasm. "Just let me grab some toys. We'll head to a nice spot on the lake." Once the dragoness gathered a few things around the house, Diwa raced with Fia and Viliant to a section of calm waters.

***

The wavering reflection of a pink dragoness stared up at Fia from the water. The tips of her claws dug into the wooden dock. Fia stared at herself in the water while she contemplated submerging herself into it once again. The dragonette recalled her frightful experience underwater at the end of the tournament. That's why we have to learn how to swim, she reminded herself. Fia and Viliant could not get caught in a bad situation like that when it would really count.

Diwa led the way by stepping off the end of the dock. Her snout dipped to meet the water, diving head first. Her body became shadowed like a snake flowing beneath the surface. Her wings furled out on either side, helping bring Diwa back to the surface. She drifted above the water, splashing the water off her wings before she draped them over the surface. Diwa's neck curled to regard Fia and Viliant who watched intently from dry land.

"Come on in," Diwa sang. "The waters' fine!"

Fia cautiously poked her claws into the water first, just enough of her toes to feel the cool temperatures. Her fretful eyes had her pupils constricted to lines, waiting for Diwa to help.

The green dragoness reached out her wings, beckoning Fia to jump the short distance into the water. "I'll help you float. On the count of three," Diwa said and started to count. "One. Two—"

A shove from behind caused Fia to careen forward. Although Viliant kept his claws firmly planted against the wooden boards, he had decided to help Fia along. "Three," he said at the same time as her splash.

"Gah!" Fia gasped. She began to thrash only to find her head above water. "Oh." While her body bobbed up and down, Fia turned to Diwa. The underside of her green wing scooped the dragonette closer to the surface.

"See?" Diwa cooed. "I've got you." Her eyes lifted past Fia to shoot a dirty look at Viliant.

Fia turned back to look at him too, glaring at his dry scales. "No fair!" she roared. "You should've jumped in with me at the same time!"

You're the one who wanted to swim so badly, Viliant replied. Diwa should help you first.

"Brr!" Fia's fangs chattered from her sudden plunge into the water. She stoked her internal flame and raised her body temperature to feel more comfortable.

"It's better to swim at midday," Diwa admitted, some shivers running down her own spine. "The sunlight helps warm up the water, and it reflects back onto our scales. That feels really nice!"

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The setting sun caused an assortment of colors to glance off the rippling waves: orange, red, and purple. Their last-minute swimming lessons began with Fia first. "Take a big breath and keep your chest filled with air if you want to float on your own," Diwa advised. "It helps if you spread out your wings and tail."

Fia followed these instructions, puffing out her chest and sprawling out her wings. The dragonette made herself as big as possible and found that her body gained buoyancy.

"Kick all four of your legs! That will make you go places." Diwa demonstrated with her hind legs sending up some froth. The adult dragoness's tail and wings steered herself like rudders to make a large circle around Fia.

The pink dragonette started to move her legs in the same way that she did to walk. Fia bobbed with poorer balance, but aside from rocking herself atop the surface, she did not go anywhere. In response, she kicked harder like she tried to run. "Whoa—!" she cried out. Her voice soon dipped to a gurgle underwater. Fia had flipped herself into a somersault, but before she could panic, she had somehow righted herself. "Oh!" she marveled. "I'm back up!"

As Diwa made a second lap around Fia, she gave her some feedback. "Don't do your front and back ones together. Alternate your kicks! Left. Right. Left. Right."

Fia resumed her efforts to kick in time with the side that Diwa called out. The pink dragonette swam into the displaced water from Diwa's circle. Fia lowered her right wing farther into the water, causing her trajectory to curve after the larger dragoness.

"That's it!" Diwa cheered. "You're getting the hang of it!"

Fia giggled, in part thanks to the bubbles which tickled her feet with every kick. The dragonette chased after Diwa like a duckling.

Diwa drifted back to the dock and floated across from Viliant. "Now it's your turn! Hop on in, Viliant!" Her open wings encouraged him, showing her readiness to catch him as soon as he made up his mind.

I'm only doing this because it might help us survive, Viliant clarified.

"Three. Two—" Diwa started counting down for him to jump.

Fia cast a sneaky fire spell which started behind Viliant. The flames licked at his tail and threatened to spread along the planks, setting a fire under him. Viliant sprung up and flung himself into the water before Diwa had finished counting.

"One!" Fia shouted, a vengeful light gleaming in her eyes. The splash from Viliant's body put out her embers on the deck. The floundering dragonet was caught underwater by Diwa's wings—both of them this time to bobble his larger size.

After Diwa had stabilized Viliant atop the surface, he glared at Fia. "That's it," Viliant vocalized with a growl. His legs started to kick, right and left, like Diwa had coached her earlier. The older, stronger dragonet figured out how to swim more quickly.

"Eep!" Fia turned tail and paddled through the water the other way. In her panic, she sprayed more water from all four legs which did not help her go any faster.

Viliant nipped at her tail and trapped her in a tight circle. You're lucky I don't wanna drown us both, otherwise I'd tackle you!

To get away from Viliant who kept corralling her, Fia roared playfully in his face. "Look! I'm a water dragon!" Her snout dipped into the water so that she could suck some up and squirt it into his face.

Viliant squeezed his eyes shut, the corners pinched in disgust. He lifted a wing to shield himself. Maybe I should drown you, he grumbled.

"You two can play rough and tumble in the water if you want," Diwa suggested. "It's a great way to learn how to swim better! I'm right here in case you need help."

With Diwa's permission, Fia slapped her wings against the surface like she might fly. This sent a torrent of water over Viliant. The dragonette managed a small hop out of the water and launched herself through the watery curtain. Her fierce squeal announced her pounce on Viliant.

"Gah—!" Viliant's mouth filled with water as they went under.

Fia and Viliant contorted around each other. Each wrestled to claim dominance against the other, but the water made it easy to flip the top and bottom. Any time that Viliant shoved Fia deeper underwater, she could throw her weight to the same side and spin them round. "Whee!" she whistled under the water. The sound carried in a curious way, making Fia want to try screaming and roaring even more.

Similarly, the range of the dragons' telepathy expanded underwater. Their shared thoughts between Fia and Viliant felt more intense. This brought some embarrassment to Fia, as she could do little to restrain a level of excitement that she would normally keep to herself. I'm so happy! Viliant's finally playing with me! He promised we'd play together on Carlinoa Island, but we're getting to play—right here, right now. I can't believe it!

Just as well, Fia got to experience Viliant's mind in the most raw, unfiltered form. Fia feels so happy, but that observation was tainted by guilt. If I knew it meant this much to her, maybe I should've caved and played with her sooner. I almost lost her once, my best friend…. A bunch of bubbles came out of Viliant's nose with a snort. His slitted pupils widened at the center, magnified even more by the water between their faces. Viliant snapped their telepathic connection to spare his private thoughts from becoming shared any further.

With their minds detached from one another, only Fia and Viliant's bodies remained entwined. The air in their chests was running out, requiring them to put in more effort to return to the surface. However, Fia never should have started this bout if she had not intended to go all-out against Viliant. He refused to call it quits and let the troublesome dragonette off easy.

Some claws of purple magic reached up from the murky sandbar. These shadows, controlled by Viliant, grabbed at Fia's limbs until they had successfully restrained every limb. The black dragonet peeled away from his friend and used his wings to help propel himself to the surface.

Wait! Fia called over telepathy. What about me?

Diwa sensed the sudden, frantic shift in Fia's mood. The dragoness dove as gracefully as a kingfisher and wrenched Fia free from the hold of Viliant's shadow magic. The dark claws receded back into the sandy bottom while the two dragonesses returned to the sunlight.

Fia surfaced in Diwa's claws. Her jaws hung open, gasping for air. The adult dragoness shifted her hold on her and encouraged Fia to float overtop her wings. "Are you okay, Fia?"

Before she could reply vocally, Fia coughed and nodded her head. I'm fine.

Viliant lurked in a shallow, shady part of the water close to the dock. From where he floated, he lay his chin to skim over the subtle ripples.

"You should be more mindful, Viliant. If you need air, Fia needs air," Diwa scolded and retracted her earlier approval for them to lock horns. "Maybe let's play a teensy bit nicer than that. It's a good thing I brought toys!" The dragoness swam over to the edge where she retrieved a woven bag that she had prepared for their swimming lessons.