The captain led the charge to get Viliant and Tacuma aboard the ship once more. The black dragonet tumbled across the deck. The human girl collapsed on her knees soon after him.

Fia raced forward and coiled her neck around Viliant. Her wings smothered his face in a hug. You did so good! You saved Tacuma—and everyone on this boat.

I did what I could. Viliant shrugged away from Fia's embrace so that he could peel his wings back proudly. I couldn't have done it without you. His shining eyes regarded her, the one who had motivated him to jump in the water in the first place.

Meanwhile, Captain Ulatu clasped Tacuma in a hug. His bearded chin rested over her shoulder while his hands pressed between her shoulder blades as though reassuring himself that she was still with him. "I was so worried about you, Tacuma," he whispered. "I don't know what your mother would've thought of me, if she got to see you again so soon."

"I'm okay, Papa," Tacuma said in a shaky voice. "The black dragon saved me… Viliant." Her lips smiled after she had uttered the name of her hero.

Many of the sailors clapped Pako on the back, for he was the one who shot the lethal harpoon which struck down the pirarucu. In their eyes, the crucial role which dragon fire had played was overshadowed by the involvement of human hands. No one realized that Viliant had made the pirarucu vulnerable in the first place, but they honored him for a greater cause.

"Viliant saved Tacuma!" Pako shouted. "Tonight, we celebrate not just because we slayed the cursed pirarucu, but because everybody's safe!"

If any lives had been lost in the attack tonight, especially the captain's little girl, the men's mood would have been fit for a funeral. Instead, they jostled each other and laughed. The worst injuries endured by any sailor had come from the wildfire started from Fia's firestorm.

Pako announced, "Now, let's turn that fish into a fillet!"

"Argh!" his fellow sailors shouted in agreement. The men with idle hands worked to haul the floating pirarucu onto the deck. The sturdy rope from the harpoon held fast. Its edges, which had frayed from the initial strain of the fish's weight, were already burnt and hardened by Fia's fire. Once they began to pull it over the rail, all could see the harpoon lodged in blackened fish flesh.

The hefty pirarucu threatened to tip the boat and return its dead body to the water. All hands on deck worked to balance the fish at the ship's center. Viliant would have offered to dematerialize the ghost pirarucu's corpse and levitate it through the shadows, however his mana reserves were spent. He reclined with Fia off to the side, watching the men slide and roll the fish until it ultimately flopped into the middle of the deck.

"Will you start one last fire for us, Fia?" Pako came over to ask.

Fia coughed a plume of smoke. "Sorry. I don't think I have it in me."

"That's quite all right!" Pako said, holding up his hands. "We can start our own cooking fire. Do you dragons prefer your fish raw or cooked?"

"Cooked!" Fia trilled.

"Both," Viliant replied.

Pako laughed from his belly. "Come over and join us."

Fia stuck close to Viliant's side as they walked over to the humans who gathered around the pirarucu. Everybody worked together to process the ghost pirarucu, skinning its multiple layers of scales and shoveling out its inedible guts. A team of men alternated strikes with a hatchet to chop off its head and tail like one of the great trees of Malakow had been felled. Tonight, the men would feast until their bellies distended. Then, they would smoke as much of the excess fish as possible to preserve it.

Viliant got started on the feast before him, gulping down raw strips of fish. He balked at the fish guts tossed overboard. Although the humans did not consider it fit for their sensitive stomachs, Viliant considered it better than the scraps that were thrown his way in the coliseum. "I'll eat that," he said, jerking his nose to the most aromatic sections of the pirarucu's innards.

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One sailor piled the fish guts in front of Viliant instead of pitching it overboard. After the dragonet had sampled it to his liking, Pako came over with a stack of fine-cut fillets. "Are you sure you want that?" Pako questioned. "A lot of this will end up going to waste anyway. You can have the best cuts, if you want them!"

The overabundance of food made Viliant's eyes draw wide. His inability to eat it all almost pained him, and it would certainly pain his stuffed stomach later. Since he already liked the fish guts, he asked regarding the fillets, "Can I try it?"

Pako lowered the white fish meat for Viliant to sample, but before the man could set it on the ground, the dragonet snapped it from his hand. Within a second of the succulent fat between the delicate fish melting on his tongue, Viliant determined, "This is better. I want it!"

"Here you go." Pako slapped the fillets on the ground to avoid having Viliant eat from his hand again.

Viliant stripped off sections of the fish and enjoyed the way it slid down his throat. "Ah." For this reason alone, Viliant considered it worth diving headlong into treacherous waters in retrospect. The dragonet found himself in a glutton's heaven. He nudged Fia who had yet to indulge herself. "Are you sure you don't want any now?"

"I like cooked fish better," Fia said. At Viliant's encouragement, she snacked on the raw fish as an appetizer. She did not want to waste her exhausted, recovering mana to cook it instantly when the human chef already had the first batch started.

They soon had a second course of roasted fish. Fia and Viliant gobbled the food side by side, ready for more fish to appear before them. The dragonets hardly needed to get up and fetch more food for themselves as one sailor or another served them.

This is the way that humans should treat dragons, Viliant determined. The black dragonet stretched out from neck to tail in hopes that would make more room in his belly.

"Thanks for saving me," Tacuma piped up, her arms full with their next offering.

Stunned out of his wistful dream, Viliant blinked rapidly. "Oh." His mind stalled over the many options which he could say as a snarky response. No need to thank me. It was the captain's order. I was just doing my job. I didn't want to do it. Fia told me to…. Viliant felt guilty that all these things held a veneer of truth, making any receipt of gratitude underserved. His eyes flitted to Fia for help. What do I say?

You're welcome! Fia shared with all the enthusiasm that Viliant lacked.

Viliant gagged out a small fish bone. With his claws, he fiddled with the bone. "You're welcome," he muttered to Tacuma, unable to meet her eye.

Tacuma set the fish down for Fia and Viliant. Before she turned to go, Viliant gathered strength behind his voice.

"Thanks for… the spinning tops," he added. Viliant recalled how Fia had shared the gift from Tacuma right before the ghost pirarucu's strike.

A giggle came from Tacuma, and she waved both of her hands. "Let's all play together tomorrow!" For now, she raced back to hold Captain Ulatu's hand.

Fia beamed at Viliant. She could not feel happier for him, doing right by a kid and opening up to those around him—even if they were humans. Finally, she realized what she admired most about Viliant: his inextinguishable strength. That quality, she had previously mistaken for his tenacious cruelty. Now I know why I want to become more like him. The stronger that she became, the more people that she could save. The brighter that her fire burned, the farther that her light could reach.

Already, she had proven herself against the ghost pirarucu. Fia tipped her head back to the gleaming moon which peered through the canopy. She renewed her vow to become the shining star for her people.

***

The dragonets slept the better part of the next day, their bellies full after last night's feast. Since Viliant had not only fulfilled his role to defend the ship but also excelled at it, the sailors made few demands of him for the rest of the journey. Once the dragonets had stirred awake, Fia frolicked across the deck with Viliant close on her tail. A top dangled from each of their careful mouths. Once Fia had located Tacuma, she tossed her head and released the top into a spin. "Let's play!" she roared with an open maw. Soon, they would arrive at the port in the coastal city of Aracuway.

After a few nights had passed, the first dawn rays split across the sky and cast Fia in their subtle warmth. Her claws tapped across the wooden planks as she raced to the front of the ship. Viliant still snoozed below deck, so she ventured up to the bow on her own. With her claws perched over the figurehead, Fia gasped as she was struck with a dazzling sight. From the riverboat's position in port, the sunrise beamed over a sandy beach and a sparkling ocean, seemingly endless to her eyes. However, Fia knew what waited for her across the ocean. I'm almost home.