Gadalik and Gretel had taken their time crossing the plains on their way back to his forest home, the two friends seizing the opportunity to plan out how he would approach his family’s tendency to infantilize him, and perhaps pry out the truth regarding the chances of him reaching his goals.

They stopped outside of the den, and the hybrid held one of his wings out between it and Gretel to signal the wyvern to wait for him outside. Then he took a breath and went in.

“Hey! How was your trip?” Glacia welcomed his return. “You were gone longer than I thought you'd be. Did something happen?”

“Well… It was an experience,” he tittered lightly. “But there's something I want to ask you and Guinevere about.”

“I'm listening.”

“Back on my emergence day, when I said I wanted to fly… did you two know I really couldn't…?”

His adoptive mother hesitated.

“I figured you wouldn't be able to,” Guinevere confessed, stepping forward to look him in the eyes. Her wings remained glowing their neutral pink color, but there was a blue tint to them.

“Then why try to teach me?” he pressed her gently. “Why let me think I had a chance at all, if you knew I didn't?”

“I’m the one who told her to teach you,” Glacia admitted.

He sat down and gazed at the water dragoness expectantly for her to elaborate. After a few beats of silence, he took a breath, then repeated: “Did you know I couldn't fly?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn't. I mean, of course I didn't expect you to be able to fly around like a wind dragon, but I did think you'd be able to at least glide–and I know you'd be happy enough if gliding was all you were capable of.”

Gadalik gave a slight nod. He felt a bit of comfort from knowing she did have faith in him after all, and even though Guinevere held him to more realistic standards, neither of his parental figures had intended to mislead him. “Wait… So, Guinevere, what about the light dragons? Did you think I had a chance to reason with them if I climbed up to their peaks?”

The fairy type’s wings flashed yellow as she recoiled, almost as if he had struck her by suggesting that. “Forgive me, but I don't recall saying anything of the sort. The light dragons will kill you if you reach their territory, whether you climb or fly.”

He thought back on his conversation with her. “Well, maybe you didn't say that outright… But you did imply that I could talk to the light dragons if the earth types let me reach the mountains.”

Her wings shifted to green for a moment, before returning to their neutral pink. “Yes. Because you could talk to one of the light dragons if the earth types welcome you.”

“I don't understand. How could I speak to a light dragon if I'm at the mountain base?”

"My friend mentioned they have a peacekeeper. I know little about the latter, though, for the two don't seem to be on good terms. And I also cannot guarantee that you'll receive your desired answers from him, either. Many have asked him, but he always avoids the subject.”

“You have a friend?!” Gadalik exclaimed, genuinely shocked. It took an eruption of laughter from outside for him to realize what he'd just implied. Glacia’s jaw dropped and he threw a large paw over his muzzle to hide his flushing face, chagrined. He quickly recanted, “N-Not that you can't make friends! I'm just surprised, since you’re a solitary type…!”

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“That I am, but so is Gretel,” Guinevere reminded him, gracing them with a rare smile as she gestured with her glowing orange wings to the mouth of their den, where the wyvern was now audibly wheezing. “And you are her friend, yes?”

He blinked, having not considered his friendship with Gretel to be unusual until now. Why is she friends with me? he wondered curiously.

“Well, it sounds like they were being honest with you from the start,” Gretel concluded as she trotted in. “You should maybe ask more questions next time. It'd save you a lot of trouble, I reckon.”

“Oh,” he uttered the sound, realizing she was right. He turned to face his family. “I'm sorry…”

“Sorry? For what?” Glacia said. “And what does she mean about us being honest with you? I've never told you a lie since the day you emerged!”

Her adoptive son reflected on that, then nodded his agreement. “Yeah… I see that now. That's why I'm sorry: for doubting you both. I thought you were hiding the facts so you wouldn't hurt my feelings. But I guess by assuming that, I hurt my own feelings,” he laughed. Wait… “So, Guinevere… you're saying I could talk with the light dragons’ peacekeeper?”

“If the earth dragons allow you into their territory,” the fluffy dragoness reiterated.

He gave a thoughtful hum. “How am I supposed to know if they'll let me in?”

“Can't you use your foresight?” Gretel suggested.

“You think I haven't tried? I really don't want us to be going all the way there for nothing,” he said. “I just don't know how I would look that far ahead when it comes to places or things I don't have a connection with…”

“Can't you foresee another distant future of Glacia being there, like you did back in winter when you foresaw her on the hills with you?”

“That was the first thing I tried,” he explained. “Every vision I have had since then has been of things that are about to happen–like us going to the hills earlier.”

“Perhaps there's a limit to how many distant futures you can see for each dragon or subject,” Guinevere guessed.

“...Huh. That would make sense. I've seen one distant future of you, Guinevere; after you saved me, I foresaw us meeting again in spring. And with Glacia, I saw one distant future of her: us standing on the hills this coming autumn. After that, anything else had been in the near-future for both of you.”

“You have a connection to me, don't you?” Gretel bounced with excitement. “If there's a one-time use to see distant futures per subject, then you can still see my distant future!”

“What…? Y-Yes, in theory, I could… But I don't see how that helps in this case–”

“Just try it,” she insisted, growing a bit impatient.

“Um…. alright,” he gave in, trusting that she had a reason.

Gretel was leading Gadalik and Glacia toward the mountains, the hybrid feeling the unfamiliar rocky terrain through the snow his heavy paws sank into. They were just shy of earth dragons’ territory, and he could tell his companions were just as exhausted as him from their long journey.

The purple-striped wyvern landed before a couple of earth dragons who were standing guard. The water type stepped past her to greet them, beckoning her adoptive son forward.

The muscular wingless dragons, just taller than her, eyed him curiously at first, before focusing on his wings and exchanging an unsettled glance with each other. They spoke for a minute, and although visions didn't have sound, Gadalik felt a spark of hope from their words. Finally, one of them smiled somewhat awkwardly and gestured for the newcomers to follow, guiding them into their territory.