When Fia and Viliant drew closer to the ground, she let him drop the small distance. In this manner, she avoided poking her belly on his back spikes when they landed.

His claws uprooted some long grass, and his wings flung out to either side for balance. Though he hardly stumbled, Viliant still said in a moody intonation, I thought you said you wouldn't drop me.

Fia focused on sticking her own landing; she hopped on three legs and flapped her wings. Ultimately, she tipped forward and fell face first in the grass. Her shoulders hit the ground hard, and the immense pain made her freeze with her neck laying flat.

"Ow ow ow!" she howled. The mournful, painful whimper curled into the empty field. While her injured shoulder was smeared in the dirt, her tail drooped forward and dangled between her eyes. She rapidly blinked to clear away the tears.

You're fine. Viliant hurried to help her up and limp off the pain. His neck swiveled as he surveyed the darkness. We should keep moving—cover as much ground under the cloak of darkness while we can.

Though she longed for rest, Fia agreed. The dragons needed to decide which way to travel, now that they were on foot. Where do we go? As badly as Fia wanted to head straight home, she knew that any dragon territory—save for the human-allied Novemis Clan—would be a safer place for the kids than here.

Viliant confirmed that much. We should get out of the humans' kingdom as quickly as possible. I think…. He trailed off, deep in thought. This was his first time out of that cage in a decade, so he tapped a claw on his chin while trying to get a sense of their surroundings.

Taken as a toddler, Viliant had been too young to know the lay of the land even in his home territory. However, his years of imprisonment did not leave him totally clueless about the world. Much like how Fia and Viliant had gathered information by overhearing the guards' talk that morning, he had developed a general sense of the surrounding areas over a decade.

This way is south, he said with a gesture of his head to the side. You can smell the ocean. His tongue flicked out to sample the salt.

That's the way home! Fia said with an audible gasp.

And how're we crossing the sea?

Uh, swim?

Says the fire dragon, Viliant scoffed. No, we're not doing that. Turning in a half circle, he flicked his tail the other way. My territory is to the north, but it's overrun by humans and the Novemis Clan now.

That left two options for them to travel: east or west.

I think there's a dragon nation that the Syene Kingdom hates to the west, Viliant said. Elevire? Something like that.

But their flight had taken them east, the exact opposite direction. To go west, they would have to travel the entire distance back to the capital and sneak by unharmed.

You should've said something sooner! Fia wailed in his mind.

Why do I have to be the navigator? Viliant asked. I was a little preoccupied, getting us out of the city!

She realized that he was right; they really had not possessed the luxury of time to think about where they were going. The lightning and the shot of the ballista still rang in her ears. They could have died if they had lingered too close to the city.

Sorry, Fia moaned. Yelling at him for the past would not help them make a decision now. She tried offering productive ideas instead. What if we walk backwards the whole way? Our tracks will appear around the city and lead out here! To demonstrate, Fia skipped backwards on three legs in front of Viliant, her claws marring the dirt.

No, Fia…. Viliant began, exasperated by how stupidly cute she looked. Quickly, he gave pause. Wait, that's actually kinda clever. We're still not walking backwards for miles! Tersely, he turned his nose to the east. We'll keep going this way. I don't know what's out there, but humans call it the Bad Land.

The ominous name made Fia shiver. It certainly sounded less than ideal, but she tried to remain optimistic. "Those bad lands for humans are probably good lands for us!" With any luck, they would meet some smaller dragon clans to help them.

And so, their most important decision had been made. Fia and Viliant would travel eastward across the human territory and escape to the Bad Land. The dragons only altered their path when they needed to skirt around farmhouses which dotted the landscape. One step after another, they walked in silence until dawn.

Fia's head started to droop low, as if she were to use a rock for her pillow. Do we get to sleep during the day? she prodded.

A yawn of admission slipped past Viliant's jaws. I guess we'll have to…..

Tired as they were, Fia and Viliant could hardly walk in a straight line anymore. They snuck into a wooded area between the rural, plowed fields. The shadows and foliage gave them coverage both to hide and keep cool during the day.

Each chose a spot behind some small clump of trees for their bed. Fia made a point of snapping some feathery leaves off the low-hanging branches. She laid them across the ground and patted them down by walking in a few circles. Next, her head was held high as she trotted on three legs over to Viliant. A couple of branches dangled from her mouth spread its widest.

Her friend was already laying down and looked half asleep. One green eye opened to glare at her. Go rest. We're traveling as soon as I wake up, whether or not you've slept. The lid closed once more.

No, get up! she whined.

Since she started thwacking his horns with the branches, he relented with a sigh. Viliant got up and droned, What're you doing?

Making you a comfy bed! Fia tossed down the leafy branches where he previously lay and smoothed them out.

Uh huh. Thanks. Viliant deliberately lay down in the dirt where he was standing, completely ignoring her act of kindness. Go to sleep.

No! You can't sleep yet! Fia nudged him with her horns and bounded to the tree line. Come sit next to me. Pretty please, Viliant?

No. You bug me one more time, I'm blocking our link like I used to.

But Fia could not express how badly Viliant needed to see this! Her nose pointed towards the east where they would travel tomorrow. There, the sun was rising in the first display of natural beauty that she had not seen in a long time. It had been even longer for Viliant; he probably did not even remember what the sun looked like without bars in the way.

To get him to come over, she decided to cry, Humans!

Where? Some leaves rustled as Viliant rushed to her side and looked out, wings and hackles alert.

Just kidding. Fia did not explain beyond that because the view spoke for itself.

The soft gray sky relented as half the sun peeked over the horizon. The colors shifted to pastel purples and pinks, oranges and yellows, then at last blue.

Indeed, the breathtaking view left Viliant speechless. His rump was seated to the ground, a wingspan away from Fia. His big eyes stared at the sky rather waverly.

She got up and made a point of sitting nearer to him. After a few seconds, her body scooted to close the last of the gap. The scales of her good shoulder brushed up against him.

What're you doing? Viliant asked absently.

Sitting next to my friend! The dragoness had tricked the dragon into watching the sunrise together. A thread of wonder was shared between their silent minds. Once the sun was all the way up, Fia asked, Isn't it beautiful?

Actually, yeah. It is. Viliant seemed surprised to make that remark. After a long while, he added, Thanks. I'll make you a deal. I'll be a better sport in the future, and you don't say there's danger unless it's real next time.

Deal! Fia chimed. Her tail curled, overjoyed that she had convinced him to watch the sunrise.

Without another word, Viliant turned to go back to sleep. When he returned to his spot, he wrapped himself in a ball nestled comfortably on a bed of leaves. The delicate, sweet scent wafted up from the wisteria.

Viliant yawned and smacked his jaws. His chin rested on his front claws, his tail curled around his hind legs, and his wings draped over his body like a blanket. In this moment, he was filled with contentment. He could worry more about Fia's severe injury and the human's inevitable hunt tomorrow.

The mental connection between them closed as he drifted off to sleep. Fia peered through the leaves to see that Viliant had accepted the makeshift bed. With her spirits lifted as she pranced away, she retreated to her own bed and settled down to rest.

Such happiness filled her heart, she could ignore the persistent, throbbing pain in her shoulder as she joined him in the realm of sleep.