Gadalik bounded through the trees of the forest, their placements so familiar to him that he could navigate blindly as he glanced over his shoulder with a smug grin at the young white-and-purple wyvern tailing him. “I thought wind dragons were supposed to be fast?” he taunted playfully.

Gretel snorted with mock indignation. There was barely enough space between trees for her winged arms to fully spread, but she compensated by relying on her air direction ability to create a tailwind that propelled her, so all she needed to do with her wings was steer. But steering itself was hard enough to constantly maneuver around the trees ahead. Despite her struggle, though, she never lost sight of her friend.

The green earth dragon hybrid made it to the northern edge of the forest where the trees ended to be replaced by large rocks jutting from the ground. He lifted his large paw and tagged a specific boulder that had come to symbolize their meeting. “I win!”

Gretel emerged from the trees perhaps a second or two after him, squealing as she was suddenly a lot faster without the obstacles blocking her wind–she nearly shot past him like a bullet before she stopped her ability and managed to land gracefully right before the cliff.

“You ok?” Gadalik called to her, worried since the snarky dragoness had been silent and panting.

“Yeah,” she huffed, catching her breath. “That was just a workout for me, haha. But congrats! I’ve never lost a race before, so your victory was earned.”

He felt himself grow warm with embarrassment from the praise. “Thanks…!”

“How do you live in that place? There's no room at all,” she complained. “Doesn't it make you feel trapped?”

He blinked. “No, not really… I mean, now that I think of it, the forest is meant to keep us sheltered from predator dragons…”

“Predator dragons?” she echoed, confused. “You mean, like…me?”

He tensed. “Guinevere mentioned that wind dragons may target fairy types like her, and that she had to hide whenever new dragons entered the forest.”

“Well…she's right, but my kind prefer hunting birds, or maybe some land-dwelling prey animals that happen to live in–or wander into–the open. As you can see, no wind dragon would want to go through what I did in our race just now–especially not for a puny snack like a fairy type."

As much as it unnerved him to hear Guinevere implied to be a ‘puny snack,’ her words did reassure him that the forest was indeed safe, and his friend had no interest in targeting them regardless.

“But, yeah! You really dodged those trees like a pro–without even looking! What's your secret? Do earth dragons have a natural feel for their terrains?”

“No–at least, I don't think so. I've just lived in this forest all my life, and I have a good sense of direction, so I know every path here by heart.”

“You mean you've never left the forest?!” she exclaimed incredulously.

“I-I mean, I have been to the lake in the plains, but nowhere besides that–”

“I know some great spots! Come on, I'll show you!”

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He hesitated. “I'm not sure if I'm allowed to leave… Not on my own, anyway.”

“If you're with me, you wouldn't be on your own,” Gretel pointed out. “Besides, this first spot isn't far from the lake, so it should be fine!”

“Are you sure it's safe for me…?”

“Come o-on… I'm a wind dragon! I know my own kind’s routines.”

He took a breath. “Alright. But I'm still going to ask first. Ever since I snuck out on the night we met, Guinevere has been keeping tabs on my location and life force, so she'll know and tell my mom if I left the forest,” Gadalik explained. “It's better to just be upfront with them.”

“Oh, for real? But Glacia would never let you go,” she whined.

“Maybe not at first, but she can be lenient if we're honest with her.”

Gretel rose one corner of her mouth with doubtful consideration. “...Alright. We'll go ask.”

“Absolutely not!” the light blue water dragoness prohibited her adoptive son. “It's hard for Guinevere to monitor you if you're too far from the forest. And what if a predator spots you?!”

Gadalik shrank. While he truly wanted to explore outside of his home, Glacia had valid points.

“You think I can't protect him?” Gretel interjected, somewhat offended.

“You're just a juvenile! You don't stand a chance against adults,” Glacia rebutted.

“I can hold my own against you just fine,” the striped white wyvern stated as a matter of fact.

The older female snarled at her. “This discussion is over. Get out of our den–now–before I prove you wrong.”

Gretel gulped and retreated a step.

“That isn't what she meant, Glacia,” Gadalik intervened, staying calm since he knew his mother would never actually harm someone weaker than herself. “We’ll only be gone for a short time. I can even use my foresight to make sure nothing will happen if we go. Deal?”

The water dragoness exchanged a look with Guinevere, the latter having been listening in without emoting much outside of her insect-like wings glowing a thoughtful green color. “Alright,” Glacia decided. “I trust your abilities, Gadalik.”

He relaxed some. Then the green seer-hybrid imagined himself leaving the forest with Gretel, inviting his foresight to provide visions of the possible futures after that.

Gadalik followed Gretel into the plains, instinctively heading for the lake just south of the forest. But his friend stopped him and gestured with a flick of her spade-shaped tail-tip toward the hills before gliding easily in that direction. He kept up at a steady trot, training his striped blue eyes on the sky for any sign of danger.

They made it to the tallest hill, the young wyvern landing at the top, while Gadalik climbed up to join her.

The vision ended. Gadalik came to. “It’s just to the hills. It seems pretty safe.”

His mother acknowledged him with a hum, but still wasn't convinced.

“If it'll ease your worries, I can monitor him outside of the forest,” the pale blue-and-pink fairy dragoness finally spoke. “But for my senses to reach that far, I would have to trade that distance for an equal one in the forest, leaving a blind spot in our territory.”

Glacia frowned. Then she got an idea. “Gadalik, can you use your foresight to see if anything would happen to us while you're gone?”

The young hybrid shook his head. “It doesn't work that way… I've tried. If I won't be in a specific place in the time frame of my visions, I won't be able to see any futures there. My visions are only from my own point of view.”

“Well?” Gretel prompted when the water type remained uncertain.

"I'm sure we'll be safe,” Guinevere assured Glacia. "Since they're going southeast, the blind spot will be in the northwest part of the forest. While it does give us less time to prepare for an intruder should they enter from that area, I will still sense one if they head our way."

“Okay, okay, fine,” the latter caved. She turned to her son. “But if anything goes wrong, I'm coming to get you, and you'd better come back with me.”

Gadalik smiled slightly. “Fair.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Gretel chirped. “Let's go!”