That first-day onboard ship was a learning experience, but she got through it. There was some anger at the antics, but her passage was already paid for, and luckily it all happened before they had got the ship up to speed.

Littleshy had been living on the coast for a while now and had become used to watching the ships in the harbour, but to be on board one was a whole nother thing. Still, the work wasn't hard, and she was happy to finally be doing something.

The first day passed mostly without incident, apart from the two swimming expeditions. Her dragon seemed to have exhausted itself and had spent the rest of the day asleep in a coil of rope.

The cook had been warned in advance of her needs, and Littleshy was sitting in her cabin, attempting to coax a mixture of ground meat and milk into her dragon, when the Captain tracked her down.

Her name was Shoreleave, although going off the grins and waggled eyebrows of her crew, Littleshy wasn't sure if it was her true name or a nickname.

Leaning into the room, arms on either side of the door-frame and half-silhouetted against the evening light, she cut an imposing figure. Her hair was shorn to the skin, much as Glassyseas' had been, and Littleshy wondered if it was a cultural thing. Her skin was dark, but her eyes were a startling, violet-green.

The ship had a Growth mage on hand to keep it alive and functional, but she had heard that the captain had done the job for many years. Looking at those eyes, she could believe it.

With a huff, the woman entered the room, ducking through the low frame and crouching by the bunk. The bunk took up most of the room, and she had settled the dragon down on one end of it, in full view of the door.

"Well, she seemed pretty lively today." The captain nodded, squatting down until she was on a level with the dragon. "Not like old Glassguts told me."

Littleshy frowned, and opened her mouth to speak, taking a moment to register the nickname for Glassyseas.

"Can I touch her?" She didn't give her a chance to speak.

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Littleshy nodded, and she reached out, running a single finger down the sleeping being's spine.

Something in the room seemed to still, the ship ceasing its creaking for a moment, the sound of the waves going dim, and then it was over. Shoreleave pulling her hand away and nodding to herself.

She let out a dramatic sigh, running her hand over her head.

"So we're meant to do a long trip. I have goods for the middlelands, they rely on trade, and we were going to do a full voyage."

She kept her gaze on the dragon as she spoke, still squatting, her hands on her knees now. "But that's a year of travel. Through the center, along the middle passage and then a trip through the archipelego. I was planning at least eight months before we even got near the barrier islands."

She paused to collect her thoughts, before continuing.

"Do you think she'll last that long?"

Littleshy bit the inside of her lip, and stared down at her sleeping friend. And she really was a friend. When she had been awake and active, they had almost held whole conversations, the tiny animal interested in everything around them, bright with life and humming with magic.

"I don't-" it hurt to speak the words out loud, but after the emotional exhaustion of yesterday, it was getting easier. "I don't know. I've only had them a few months, and I don't know what I did wrong. I don't know how to fix it."

Littleshy took a shuddering breath, "I don't think she will."

The captain stared at the dragon, not moving her gaze, and then she rose and nodded to Littleshy, all in one motion.

"Alright. I don't-" she paused, and screwed up her face, looking like a caricature in the evening light. She sucked in her lips, and then looked down at the dragon again, thoughtful. "I can land us at Washers Point, it's a straight run north from here and I think- only think mind- that they have a dragon park there. I can find out the schedule, see if the Mail Dragon is gonna be around any time soon."

She let out a loud breath through her nose, "I don't know if that's our best option. I don't know how dragons treat each other, if they do. He might just eat her, and that's not even... I don't know if you want the absolute drama that's gonna come of the-" she said a foreign word that Littleshy didn't understand, "-finding out there's another dragon in the world. They might wanna buy her off you, the big guy himself might kill her. They might just steal her and throw you into the sea."

She took a breath, "But if you want experts, and you want her alive, I reckon that's your go. Plus," she grinned, catching her breath, "if they throw you into the sea, I can always fish you out again."

Littleshy, who hadn't managed to get a word out during this whole outburst nodded dumbly. Then, closing her eyes, she nodded again, "I think that's what we need to do."

Shoreleave placed a hand on her shoulder for a moment, surprisingly gentle, and then she bustled out of the captain, shouting to her crew. "Change of plan, kiddos, listen up!"