“In that case”--Gretel sat on her hind legs and stretched both of her winged arms out at once–“what are we sitting around for? Let's do something fun!”

Should I drop it? Just like that? Gadalik wondered. I don't know if I'll get another chance like this to find out more about her…

“Hmm… What should we play?” she went on, not paying any mind to his hesitancy. “Oh, wait–why don't you suggest something this time?”

“Me?” The winged earth dragon was caught off guard. “Um… Like I said, I've never really played many games until I met you. I don't know enough about them to make one up, either…”

“That's okay! They don't have to be complicated. I'm actually a bit tired from our race… If you are too, then we can play something simple.” She let her gaze sweep the forest they had come from. “How about… I-spy? I'm unbeatable with that, too, but you've proven to be great at seeing, so you might stand a chance,” she giggled.

Was that a pun on my seer heritage? The hybrid couldn't help smiling. “Sounds fun. I actually know that one, so I can go first.”

When she nodded excitedly, Gadalik looked around. He wanted to begin with something nearby, yet not too obvious, so he could get an idea of how good his friend was at it. There were a few colorful flowers swaying in the summer breeze between the surrounding rocks jutting out of the ground, and closer to the tree line were some sticks and fallen branches. His striped blue eyes were drawn to the flowers again, when he got distracted by a monarch butterfly landing on one.

Start small, he reminded himself. “I spy with my little eye… something brown.”

“Oh! A tree trunk?” she guessed.

“No, but you're close!”

“Hm. Is it a tree branch?”

“Getting closer!”

“A stick?”

“Yep!”

“Yay! My turn,” Gretel chimed. Without missing a beat, she said, “I spy with my little eye… something red!”

Red? There aren't too many red things, so that should make it easier to guess. “Is it a flower?”

“Nope.”

“Um… A butterfly?”

“Uh-uh,” she tittered. “You'll never guess!”

“Can I get a hint?”

“Sure. It's something that's always with you.”

“The… sun…?” He cringed at himself, knowing it was yellow. It could be red since it's fiery, he tried to justify his guess.

“No, silly!” the wyvern laughed. “Do you want me to tell you?”

“Y-Yeah.”

She lifted her purple paw and pointed at his lower neck. “You have a red marking there, in the shape of a diamond.”

Gadalik blinked, dumbfounded. He had only ever seen himself in the lake-water’s reflection growing up, so even though he couldn't look down to view it directly, he knew what she was talking about. “You're right: I never would have gotten that one.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The wyvern grinned. “Told you I was good! Your turn.”

He wanted to pick something just as unique as she had, then spotted a bluebird pecking at the earth nearby. He hoped it would stay long enough for her to see. “I spy with my little eye… something blue.”

“The sky?”

He shook his head.

“A flower?”

“Try again.”

“Can I get a hint?”

“It's sentient.”

“Guinevere?”

“No– Wait. What?”

Gretel flicked her spade-tipped tail toward the forest. “She's in her garden right now.”

“You can see her garden from here?!”

“Well, yeah. But it's a bit hard because the trees are in the way.” She refocused on their immediate area. “Oh–is it the bird?!”

“Y-Yes,” he stammered, still in shock over how far she could see. He did remember her mentioning that wind dragons could pinpoint something up to two miles away, and that was how she had found him before they met, but it was mind-blowing for him to witness that sight in such a casual situation. “Can you really see her?”

“Of course! I'm not a liar,” she huffed. “It looks like she's picking plants and bringing them to her tree hollow.”

The earth-seer hybrid followed her gaze despite the tree line blocking his view. He thought about visiting the fairy type to confirm what his friend saw, and just to say ‘hi’ while he was there.

Gadalik passed through the forest until the trees grew taller and thicker. One of which had a familiar hole wherein Guinevere had taken him for shelter last winter. He could climb the tree easily to reach her, but he didn't have to; the pale blue-and-pink-furred dragoness came out of it, spreading her four glowing fairy wings to slow her descent until her white-tipped paws met the garden below.

Just when he was about to come out and greet her, Guinevere's wings flashed yellow to match the antennae on her head that suddenly raised along with her ears as she looked up.

He followed her line of vision and saw a nine-foot-tall black dragon land on two paws right in front of her. He had a white stripe along his sides and limbs, and a segmented blue-violet fin-sail down his back. Stingers of the same color tipped his maroon-and-white wings, and a red one was at the end of his tail. Gadalik recognized him, but couldn't think of how.

The glow of Guinevere's wings reverted to their neutral, content pink color and she smiled up at the poison type who stood five feet over her, granted she was a quadruped. Her mouth moved as if speaking, but there was no sound. That's when it hit him: Gadalik was having a vision. Still, curiosity got the better of him and he studied their body language in place of eavesdropping.

The bipedal dragon seemed a bit out of breath, so when Guinevere gestured with her tufted tail-tip toward her tree, he obliged, taking a seat with his back resting against the trunk. His light blue- and red-violet eyes watched her curiously as she picked a few berries before joining him. He modestly tried to decline the food at first, but Guinevere actually scowled and insistently held them out to him–although her wings’ pink color made it obvious she wasn't angry. He laughed and popped one into his mouth, revealing his long snake-like fangs.

As much as Gadalik wanted to meet him, he heeded the fairy type’s warning that his enemies would target the hybrid if he showed himself. The two were all smiles and laughter until the larger dragon reluctantly mentioned something and the glow of Guinevere's wings shifted to blue. Neither of them said anything after that.

She eventually stood and went back inside her tree hollow, returning a minute later with a leaf-wrapped package between her front paws, handing it to him. This time he readily accepted it with a grateful nod. They said a few more words with solemn expressions, then he smiled sadly and waved goodbye, flying off.

Gadalik blinked, finding himself back on the boulder beside Gretel. His sense of sound, scent, and even taste noticeably returned.

“Hello-o-o? Anybody there? Earth to the earth dragon!” his friend was saying, waving her paw in front of his face.

“Woah… Sorry. I had a vision,” he explained.

“Oh, for real? What was it?”

“I think I saw Guinevere's friend.”

“Really?! I wanna meet him!” She hopped to her paws and prepared to leap off the rock.

“Wait! I think we should leave them alone…”

“Why?”

“Because she said to… And we shouldn't interrupt them.”

Gretel frowned indignantly, but didn't pursue the matter. “Fine. Guess it's my turn for I-spy…”

He could tell she'd now much rather be active than sitting here playing a casual game, and he didn't blame her. “Want to play something different?”

She was surprised yet impressed by the suggestion. “How did you know? Did you foresee that too?”

“N-No, but I'll take that as a ‘yes,’” he chuckled.