“Come on, slowpoke!” Gretel ragged the green dragon trailing behind her. The white-and-purple wyvern practically danced between the forest’s trees, cartwheeling and somersaulting around each one with the help of intermittent tailwinds. Just like during their previous race, she summoned them each time her movements allowed her folded wings to open, since she remained on land. “If you can't keep up, racing you won't be fun anymore!”
Gadalik was running after his friend, somewhat envious her natural agility. He was too impressed to be bothered about losing, though–not that he wasn't trying to win. Debris crunched under the earth dragon-hybrid’s crimson paw pads, their rough texture gaining purchase on the ground regardless of what he stepped on; rather than hindering him, sticks and pinecones were trampled under his weight, which also prevented him from slipping on the fallen leaves that had begun to lose their vibrancy as autumn neared. His powerful muscles allowed his large paws to launch himself far with each bound, but making turns to avoid trees threw off his momentum.
Even if I could run in a straight line, my top speed is nowhere near hers, he admitted to himself. I can still try for a personal best in terms of how fast I reach our boulder, though.
He soon lost sight of Gretel when she'd gone too far ahead. The young green dragon wasn’t worried about that since he knew where they were going. What did worry him was the prolonged silence; her playful taunts had ceased. There was no trace of her anywhere.
Gadalik paused at the last point he had seen his companion and brought his muzzle to the ground in hopes of tracking her by scent, frowning when he discovered it ended abruptly. That means she must have flown. He glanced at the sky through the canopies, but she wasn't there either. That's when he realized the silence was deafening, whereas the leaves should be rustling in the breeze. That's suspicious...
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Then he let out a startled cry as the other juvenile dropped down from a branch above him to land on his back, and the sounds returned. “Gotcha!” she exclaimed.
The wind type’s light body had barely impacted him despite the two being similar in size. Gadalik gave his friend a wry grin over his shoulder, then bucked her off in retaliation.
Gretel squealed with mock indignation as she was flung high into the air, but easily spread her forelimbs to allow her striped wings to unfold; she hovered above him out of his reach and blew a raspberry.
“No fair! You know I can't fly,” the seer-hybrid complained with a few emphatic flaps of his small earth dragon wings, but his tone was melodramatic to let her know he wasn’t serious. When she laughed in response, he took that moment of distraction to bat a pinecone up at her.
Gretel's keen sight let her notice it immediately, so she pivoted out of the way. “Ha! Missed me!”
“You sure about that?”
“Huh? What do you mean–” She chirped as it bounced off of her single horn on its way down. Then her hot pink eyes glinted mischievously and tracked its fall; right when it was passing Gadalik, the existing air suddenly changed direction to blow the pinecone at his face.
He blinked from it ricocheting off of his tough-scaled snout, once again more impressed than anything while her familiar laughter rang out. That sound had grown to be comforting, and he found himself smiling again, but not playfully this time--instead, it stemmed from genuine appreciation of her company.
Gretel landed in front of him. "What kept you? I was waiting in ambush for so long, I thought you went home!"
He chuckled and rolled his striped blue eyes dismissively. "I wasn't that far behind, was I?"
"Pfft! Are you kidding? You were slower than a pinecone--and I don't mean the one you threw at me!"
"He-ey, don't forget this 'slowpoke' beat you the first time we raced!"
The duo continued their light banter as they walked side-by-side to their finish line.