A big ball bopped off Diwa's nose. The rubber ball plopped against the water with a lazy splash. Without needing any rules for the game introduced to her, Fia began to paddle over to the floating ball. Her forehead bumped it when she reached it. Fia gave chase after the ball which was spinning over the surface.

"Don't you want to get the ball too, Viliant?" Diwa prodded.

No thank you, Viliant said, his attention turned to regard Fia critically.

The pink dragonette had latched herself onto the red ball. All four of her limbs wrapped around it in addition to her wings and tail. She laid her neck flush against it as she tucked her chin. The ball rolled over with Fia still attached, causing her to cling to it upside down. Her weight made the rubber ball sag beneath the surface. Suddenly, it slipped from her grasp and launched a few feet into the air. Fia brought herself back up, giggling all the while.

"Think of it as training," Diwa said. "You and Fia can race to see who gets the ball first."

That would be me, Viliant thought smugly. His longer, stronger legs made him kick through the water faster. Between him and Fia, it was no contest.

"Prove it," Diwa huffed heavily.

"Fine," Viliant muttered. He wasted no time in paddling over to Fia, cutting her off before she could reach the ball a second time. His tail curled around its diameter and secured it with the help of one claw. "Ha! Too slow," he jeered at Fia, his voice too low to clearly indicate his good humor.

Some frustrated smoke curled from Fia's jowls. She lunged at him and thwacked the ball with the back of her paw, making it pop out of Viliant's grasp. The dragonets bumped their shoulders as they clawed the water to get ahead of one another. Viliant had more weight to throw around and bumped Fia farther off course. The black dragonet took the red ball into his possession once again.

"No fair! You keep cheating," Fia fussed and lunged for the ball. Despite Diwa's suggestion to play nice, they soon started a wrestling rematch. Fia and Viliant pushed each other under the surface while the ball drifted atop. The red rubber flounced this way and that, influenced by the dragonets' sudden jerks and twists underwater.

After she let this go on for a minute, Diwa shook her head with a sigh. The green dragoness swam over and swiped the ball from them both.

When Fia noticed the ball disappear from its spot on the surface, a stream of bubbles coughed from her open mouth. Wait! The ball! Her muscles relaxed around Viliant's hold on her, eager to put her efforts toward their new objective.

Viliant swam with her to breach the surface. "Let's get it," he said, jaw tightening and tail curling over the water in a devious grin.

"Go ahead and try!" Diwa shouted. Her voice lilted into a mocking tease. "You can't catch me!"

Fia and Viliant united on the same team to reclaim the toy from Diwa. At first, Viliant chased after her unilaterally. Fia tried to keep up, trailing farther behind Viliant. Although he was faster than Fia, the adult dragoness left him exhausted. Viliant floated with all four legs and his two wings stretched straight out. "We need a plan," he huffed at last.

"I got it!" Fia said and took the lead. She now chased Diwa onto a path that Viliant intercepted. When they had her cornered against the pier, Fia clambered onto Diwa's back. Water dripped from her scales as she balanced on the shoulder of the green dragoness. Fia reached around her neck while Viliant lunged upward from the water.

Diwa lifted her claw which held the ball high into the air. Her hind legs treaded water furiously while her wings flapped, nearly lifting her into flight. Fia! she secretly colluded over telepathy. Want to be on the same team? I'll give you the ball, then let's keep it away from Viliant.

Okay! Fia watched the red ball sail into the air after Diwa threw it. She jumped from her perch on Diwa's shoulder and glided after her target. The remaining water droplets snapped off Fia's wings when she opened them wide. Fia dove into the water, plunging her deep with the ball in her clutches.

"Woohoo!" Fia howled underwater. Riding on the ball, it sprung upward to the surface. Fia bobbed a few times before she slipped back into the water next to the ball.

"Good job, Fia," Viliant praised as he paddled over. "You got back our ball."

The pink dragonette shielded the ball under one wing. "Our ball?" she questioned.

"Fia…." When Viliant came over to receive a friendly pass, his eyes narrowed at Fia's defensive stance. The black dragonet rushed to steal the ball. Before Viliant could take it, Fia jumped out of the water and headbutted the ball in Diwa's direction.

"Over here, Viliant," Diwa taunted.

However, as Viliant sped closer to Diwa, the green dragoness lobbed the ball back to Fia. The pink dragonette nuzzled her cheek against her rubber treasure and giggled. She chucked the ball back to Diwa when Viliant got too close.

Viliant swam to and fro, racing between Fia and Diwa to have a chance at retaking the ball. His shredded wings could not help him get as much altitude when he tried to leap out of the water. "If this is what you call a game, then it's no fun!" Viliant raged. He ignored the ball tossed just over his horns by Fia who still found much fun in it.

Diwa caught the ball in her cupped tail. "Sorry, Viliant. Just a little more! You were so close! If you get the ball, we can switch."

Viliant side-eyed Diwa, resenting her efforts to goad him into playing.

Diwa swung the ball from her tail, a deliberately clumsy throw that Viliant could easily catch in his mouth. Alas, the dragonet did not move his head. The rubber bounced off his temple, but the protection of his horns caused it to just barely graze his telepathic organ. The ball splashed next to him, drawing his wrath. Viliant pounced on the ball, sinking his foreclaws into the rubber and snapping his jaws at its center. The sphere became ovular under his pressure. Viliant thrashed his head back and forth until his teeth chewed down to a burst of air. Pop! The ball deflated to a thick pile of rubber which drifted toward the pier.

"My ball…" Diwa groaned. Before she could dwell too long at the loss of her childhood toy, Diwa diverted her attention to the bag on the dock. "It's okay. I still have more toys." She scooped up the busted ball from the water and shoved it into the sack. To replace it, Diwa pulled out some weighted rings. "These are diving toys! I'll teach you how to fetch them. Watch closely."

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The bright yellow ring sank to the button of the lake's floor until Fia could not see it anymore. She ducked her head underwater to view Diwa's dive more clearly. The green scales of her neck and back arched like a sea serpent. Since she plunged her head beneath the water, her accompanying explanation came over telepathy.

You can go farther on the initial dive if you start in the air, but this is how you gain a bit of momentum from the water. The dragoness pounded her wings backward, holding them close to her side, and slapped her tail to start the downward descent. Her body followed an oscillating movement and repeated until Diwa could bite the ring. Her wings opened up and carried her to the surface.

Remember to take into account how much air you have left. It'll take more energy to get back up if the object is big or heavy! Diwa broke her horns through the surface. Her head shook right and left, getting the water off her scales and the ring. "That's how you do it! Ready to try?"

"Yep!" Fia cheered.

"Nah…" Viliant drawled, but he watched a ring drop several feet in front of him anyway.

An identical, orange ring was thrown across from Fia. The pink dragonette practiced her dive a few times before she got a good enough start to beat her tail all the way down to the bottom.

"Why don't you try?" Diwa asked. "You can make it a race. See who can get their ring first."

Viliant kept his mouth clamped shut. I already know I can, and I don't need to prove it."

Diwa ignored him in favor of diverting his attention to a bunch more colorful rings that she spun around her claws. "I can throw all ten of these rings in. See who can find and grab the most."

That trick won't work on me again. Viliant had no desire to enter a petty competition with Fia again.

Diwa pouted. "I never played any trick on you. This is seriously the best way to learn how to swim, or learn anything, if you're having fun."

A few, jaded blinks fell over Viliant's eyes. Fia came back up with a yellow ring between her fangs, glistening water. He watched Fia slither over to the other ring's location and make another dive. Tomorrow morning, Viliant would oversee Fia without any adult intervention. I don't appreciate how you're lowering Fia's guard, he criticized Diwa. It took long enough to make her stop treating everything like a game.

"We've gotten her the safest passage possible. You two have already made it through the toughest part of your journey." Diwa had confidence that the dragonets had safe passage to Carlinoa, but Viliant did not share this certainty. Since she no longer had time to reassure him of their safety, Diwa appealed to his skepticism. "But you're not wrong, Viliant. It's good to do everything you can to protect yourselves. What if Fia falls in the water when she's hurt and not able to swim on her own?" Diwa whispered. "You might need to dive in and save her." From her stack of weighted rings, Diwa selected a pink one close to the hue of Fia's scales. She tossed it over the water, so it sank like a rock. Plunk!

Viliant watched the toy sink into the murk of the water. His head snapped back up to Fia. His slitted pupils widened as he watched the dragonette come up from a failed attempt at a dive. Her open mouth sputtered water, but when her pinched eyes reopened, they gleamed with determination. Fia dove back under and thrashed her tail to go deeper. "Fine," he spat. "I'll practice."

Viliant's emerald eyes gained clarity as he searched under the water. First, he practiced his dive over the toy rings. The holes in his wings caused more water to drag through his flaps, making it difficult for him to gather speed in the initial seconds of his dive. Viliant compensated with some extra kicks and strokes of his tail. He collected a ring shortly after Fia came up with her third.

Every time that Fia and Viliant obtained another ring, Diwa tossed in a couple fresh ones for them. Viliant sank beneath the surface, finding that his affinity for magic grew as soon as he escaped the sun's rays. Halfway to the bottom of the lake's shallows, Viliant hovered and meditated there. His draw to the shadows increased, making him realize he did not need to exert so much effort to swim. Viliant called upon the shadows to carry him through the water like a current. His magic also lifted up the ring from its tangle of water ivy. The shadow claws passed the ring to Viliant who carried through the lighter waters the rest of the way.

"Wow, Viliant," Fia remarked when they lingered around the surface at the same time. "You're really good at this!"

"Thanks, Fia." Viliant removed the pink ring from his stack and threw it back into the water for her. The splash broke Fia's gaze of intense admiration, letting him swim the rest of the rings over to Diwa on the pier.

"She's right! You're a fast learner," Diwa praised. "Are you up for another challenge?"

"Try me."

"If you go out deeper," Diwa said, pointing a talon to the open water that the dragons had not yet disturbed, "you might find some fish. Why don't you catch yourself a snack?"

"Say no more." Viliant slunk over to the deeper waters. He slowed his movements to more elongated strokes so that he would not startle away any fish.

Meanwhile, Diwa kept Fia preoccupied with new variations of her swimming and diving lessons.

A glint of silver caught Viliant's eye. A small school of fish swam below him. Viliant tucked his body into a dive and seized the nearest fish with shadow magic. As soon as the rest of the fish sensed the magical disturbance, they scattered in all directions. Viliant had not expected the tiny fish to dart so fast. They all disappeared in the next blink of his eyes. The black dragonet stared down at the one fish that he had managed to catch, its small body skewered on his larger claw.

Viliant drifted back to the surface and lifted the convulsing fish into the dying sunlight. This fish is so small it's embarrassing! I almost wish I hadn't caught anything at all. He had half the mind to throw it back or swallow it whole, just to get rid of the evidence. Viliant did not want to show his lame catch to Diwa and Fia, but at the same time, even the tiniest things like this little fish never ceased to impress her. I'll give it to Fia, he decided, just because it'll make her happy.

The dragons clambered onto solid ground and shook the water off. After this, Diwa showed them how to wipe their soaked scales with the edge of their talons. This made some larger droplets of water glance off the dragons' scales and spread out the rest to help them dry faster. Fia watched Viliant emulate this trick, not needing it for herself as the fire dragonette had already dried completely. She puffed some hot exhales over her friends to warm them up.

Shyly, Viliant pinned the tail of a tiny, flopping fish with both of his front claws. "I caught this fish," he muttered without looking at either Fia or Diwa. He braced himself to hear them giggle and laugh. "It's too small for me," he made up as an excuse, "so you should take it, Fia." Viliant thrust the slimy fish across the wooden boards in front of Fia's claws.

She struck her claws through the thin pectoral fins and lifted the fish up like a doll. "Aw," Fia cooed. "Thank you so much, Viliant! Are you sure you don't wanna try your own catch?"

"It's all yours." Viliant considered this a small way to pay her back for all the food that she had given him in the coliseum.

Fia tipped back her head. She snapped down the fish like a crocodile. Her jaws smacked a few times to assess the aftertaste. "It's fishy, stronger than the ones my clan used to catch."

"Hmph," Viliant snorted. He withdrew back into himself and did not want to speak anymore. Sorry it wasn't very good.

"No!" Fia gasped. "It was delicious. I missed fish a lot. We cooked it in a super yummy way at home. I can't wait for you to try it, Viliant."

The dragonets sat across from each other, flicking their tails happily. Diwa pulled Fia and Viliant in for a hug with her wings on either side. Her nose bowed down to their horns. "We had an eventful day! Let's get you two dragonets tucked in bed, for an even bigger day tomorrow."

***

The dragonets returned to Diwa's family home and slept in their soft beds, one last time before they set sail. At the crack of dawn, Diwa stirred Viliant and walked him down to the docks. His workday started early since he needed to load crates on the boat with the human crew. Fia tossed in bed when she heard Diwa slip back into their shared room. Once the sun had risen higher, Diwa's green eye cracked open once more.

"Good morning, Fia," the dragoness called sweetly. "Today's the big day!"

Fia's blue eyes opened wide, sparkling like the waters in the harbor. She jumped up and roared: "Aye! I'm ready to go home."