"A muzzle," Captain Mawsig repeated, "if I may." The man flourished his hand, glowing green with a nature spell. When Fia agreed to the demonstration, he pulled magical vines from the inside of his sleeves. The buds along the vines blossomed with small, pink flowers as their freshly grown tips raced toward Fia's face. The length of the vines coiled around her snout and ensnared her jaws. The plant material pressed down so tight that she could not open her mouth a crack.

"Eep!" she squeaked out between her jowls, peeled back. Her maw was not strong enough to overpower the rope of vines. In her panic, Fia did not think to use her claws either. She coughed a fireball which exploded inside her mouth. The rapid spike in temperature caused the plant fiber to set fire wherever it touched her scales. Soon, her whole muzzle was enveloped in flames. The singed plants dropped away from Fia's maw and withered to ash on the boardwalk.

"I guess a muzzle of vines ain't going to work on a fire dragon, is it?" Captain Mawsig stomped his boot over her embers and snapped his fingers. "You'll need a metal muzzle if you want to board my ship!"

"I'll keep my mouth shut!" Fia promised. "I won't cast any spells." Despite the new captain's assumption, she did not need to open her mouth to start a magical spark. Fia was not about to reveal this fact to him though, scared that he would rescind the opportunity to travel with him entirely.

Viliant took over the negotiations. His terse eyes flitted to Fia with a pained, but determined look. "She will wear a muzzle," he said on her behalf.

"Huh?" Fia gasped. How could you agree to that? The rest of her thoughts stalled with her disbelief.

"But you give me the key to unlock it," Viliant clarified, doling out his one requirement to the new captain. To Fia, who still objected, he reassured her over telepathy. Don't worry. I'd never let a human do that to you. As long as I'm the one to put it on you, you can still wear a muzzle, Viliant thought. His reasons were manifold, flashing from his mind to hers in an instant. I'll keep our telepathy open constantly. I'll take it off whenever it's just the two of us. Of course, I'll make sure you get to eat and drink. I won't just keep all the food to myself….

But still…! Fia objected to the notion on principle. Tears stung her eyes as she remembered being bound in the brig, muzzled and chained, when the Syenic pirates had captured her. Fia never wanted to wear metal restraints again.

The new captain was not open to negotiations either. "Ha!" Captain Mawsig laughed at Viliant's condition. "No way. I don't need telepathy to know you'll let her out!"

Between the two dragonets, they understood the accuracy of his suspicions. Viliant had just promised Fia that he would do as much. Nevertheless, he objected with a growl. "Then you will not have my help with the Wraith Isle," Viliant said, recalling the name of the place that Captain Ulatu had mentioned. The broad daylight weakened Viliant's magic compared to when his power waxed at nighttime, but he did not let that hinder his demonstration.

The shadow of the black dragonet flickered to life along the boardwalk. The outline of his limbs and spines elongated till his shadow stretched like the morning light had faded to late afternoon. This inky monstrosity lifted from the planks and hovered its larger form behind Viliant. When the green-eyed dragonet cocked his head to the side, the manifestation of his shadow did the same with its eyes aglow in a misty purple. "Are you sure you don't want to have me watch your back?"

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Captain Mawsig gaped at Viliant and his formidable offer. The new captain assessed the value that the burgeoning shadow mage would bring to his crew. His narrow eyes flitted to Fia. "Aye, I won't deny your skill, young shadow dragon, but I can't make an exception for the fire dragonette. Our ship has no chance to reach the Wraith Isle if we burn on the water first."

Viliant and Fia both clamored to object. "You'll regret this!" The shadow monster above Viliant collapsed over his back with a swirl of shadows, dissipating to the shaded underside below the boardwalk. Viliant had intended to say something that sounded more eloquent and less like a threat. Over telepathy, he shared with Fia what he truly wanted to spit at Captain Mawsig: Your bad judgment shows—both passing on my skills and wanting to muzzle a tiny, pink dragonette!

I can't say that to him! Fia whined. Instead, she jumped up and down, begging, "Please reconsider! I have to get back home to save my people—to see my mama and papa again. I'll be good! I promise!"

From the side of his eye, Captain Mawsig glared. "Find another ship to take you. Or hire a dragon ferry that's willing to deal with your own kind." That signaled the end of his part in negotiations. Captain Mawsig's jolly demeanor returned once he ignored the dragonets and conversed solely with Captain Ulatu. The men established a time to meet midday, before Captain Mawsig's ship would depart first thing the next morning. They bid each other farewell for now.

With a broad smile, Captain Mawsig crouched and waved to his associate's daughter. "Bye, Tacuma."

"Bye!" She skipped after her father, not understanding why the interaction had made Fia as glum as Viliant. Innocently, Tacuma asked, "Does this mean you'll keep working on my papa's ship?"

"No, we can't." Fia trotted ahead of Tacuma to look up to Captain Ulatu. "Sir, do you have other captain friends that we can talk to? It's really important. I have to—!"

"I know you miss your parents," Captain Ulatu said tersely, cutting her off from explaining her story yet again. "Captain Mawsig's schedule best aligned with your arrival. I have work to do, but I can make another connection for you in a few days."

"We need to go now," Fia whined. "Why'd you have to tell him I'm a fire dragon? I helped kill the fish."

"I'm sorry, Fia. It wouldn't be right to Captain Mawsig or his crew if they took you on his ship without knowing your element. If you don't like the shipping schedules, you can get more money for a dragon to fly you across the ocean. My offer to hire Viliant still stands."

Fia glanced at Viliant and whimpered. None of these options she liked. Her dragging claws fell back alongside her best friend. Her frantic mind scoured his thoughts for answers. What do we do, Viliant?

Calm down, first, he advised. Even though their negotiations with Captain Mawsig ended unfavorably, Viliant remained unaffected by stress. He reasoned, Getting worked up about it isn't going to change things, but it might make things worse. We can't miss another opportunity.

Fia nodded. Though she took in a big breath, her heart still pumped with anxiety.

Tacuma's soft steps sounded behind Fia and Viliant. Slowing her walk, she put more distance between them and her father. "I'm gonna miss you guys, but I know how this is really important to you, Fia. I think I can help you get on that ship anyway," Tacuma suggested with a mischievous wink.