“It looks like the earth dragons will welcome us,” Gadalik reported, unable to stop his short green tail from thumping the floor of their den in his excitement. Gretel whooped, and the pale blue-and-pink fairy dragoness smiled yet again at that news.

Glacia gave her adoptive son a confident, toothy grin. “I knew they would!”

He chuckled, then calmed himself to address his friend. “Thank you, Gretel, for letting me see that,” the hybrid continued. “But… in my vision, it was snowing, and I know wind dragons don't like the cold. Are you sure you want to go there?”

“Cold can kill a wind dragon egg, but once we're hatched, we can tolerate it,” the wyvern replied with a dismissive shrug. “I won't like it much, but I won't die.”

The corners of the water type’s mouth fell, and her irises–which were as red as the gemstone embedded in her forehead–looked between Gadalik and Gretel. “Wait. She’s coming with us?”

“Duh. It's only fair. If I hadn't decided to go, he wouldn't have been able to see my future with the earth dragons letting us in just now.”

Glacia scowled. “No offense, but nobody invited you.”

“Uhh, ‘no offense,’ but I don't need an invitation,” the wind dragon retorted.

She bared her fangs. “You don't need that bratty attitude, either, yet here we are!”

“My attitude? Do you hear yourself?” Gretel laughed.

The larger dragoness growled, but Gadalik spoke first. “Please, Glacia,” he begged her. “The more of us who go on this trip, the easier it will be.”

His adoptive mother immediately softened at that, but she seemed almost betrayed that he would choose Gretel’s ‘side’ over hers. “Why do you want her to join us there so much…?”

“Because Gretel’s my best friend,” he answered honestly. “Whether or not she had helped me use my foresight, I'd still want her with us…”

Glacia sucked in a breath through her teeth and looked away, her hurt palpable. Guinevere approached her sympathetically. “Your son isn't picking sides,” the fairy dragoness murmured. “I can sense that he truly loves you and Gretel.”

“...Yeah,” the light blue water dragoness sighed, not offering any other reasons for her reaction. She just stared at the ground absently.

“So can Gretel come with us…?” Gadalik prompted gently after a few beats of silence.

That set her off. “Oh, sure. Let's invite Guinevere too–it doesn't matter if she'll die in the cold or get preyed on in the open,” Glacia snapped sarcastically. “And don't forget Guinevere’s friend! I'm sure whoever that is would love to come with us, too! The more the merrier, am I right?”

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Gadalik flinched from her tone. He had seen her upset in the past, but never to this degree. “What's gotten into you? Why does it bother you so much? Gretel isn't defenseless; she's a predator, herself, who’s designed for open spaces. If anything, she could protect us.”

“That isn't it!” Glacia exclaimed. She opened her mouth as if to elaborate, but instead she took a breath and then stormed past Gretel toward the mouth of the den.

“Glacia…?!” he called after her, scared she might not return this time.

“Keep an eye on Gadalik for me,” she told the other adult. Seeing her son's worry, she assured him, “I just need to clear my head... I'll be back.”

“I will,” Guinevere promised. With that, the water dragoness was gone.

“What on earth was that about?” Gretel piped up, completely lost. The spade-shaped tip of her tail was flicking with agitation. “Did I do something wrong?”

"Well… arguing with her isn't doing you any favors,” Gadalik pointed out, “but even so, I don't think you did anything to make her that upset.”

“Sorry for arguing, then. I’m just not used to being bossed around. It's a pet peeve of mine, I guess.”

“It isn't all about her authority,” the fairy dragoness corrected them, one of her antennae angled slightly in the direction Glacia had left in. “I sensed jealousy from her.”

“What?” The young hybrid was thrown by that revelation. “What is there to be jealous of?”

“That feeling from her was more prevalent each time the word ‘friend’ was said.”

“I don't get it. Does she think her son likes me more than her, or something?” the wyvern speculated.

“No… it didn't come off that way. Forgive me; I am not used to explaining how my empathy works.” Guinevere’s wings glowed green as she thought about how best to phrase it. “What I sensed from her was more akin to ‘longing,’ than jealousy. I sensed a feeling of ‘loss,’ and a longing for ‘gain’ each time the word ‘friend’ was mentioned.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Gretel huffed, even more worked up and puzzled after that explanation.

For some reason, memories from his emergence day flashed back:

“Not every dragon type celebrates,” Guinevere had said regarding emergence day. “More solitary types like fairy dragons and revealers have nobody to celebrate with, so they don't…”

“Oh. Are water dragons a solitary type…?” He had never seen his adoptive mother with any of her own kind.

“No, they typically stay with their families, leaving only to start their own families in or near the same territory,” Guinevere explained. “Earth dragons and seers are both similar to water dragons in that regard.”

His heart sank. Why was Glacia alone, then…? he had wondered.

He then remembered something his adoptive mother had mentioned later that same day:

Her voice broke. "I'm sorry... I never celebrated an emergence day before...nor has mine ever been celebrated. I--I don't know what I'm doing…”

“Guinevere… can you detect her presence? Can you tell me where she is?” he asked.

“She appears to be headed for the lake,” the fairy type replied.

Without thinking, Gadalik made his way out of the den to meet her there.