"Asha, is this a brassicaceae?”

Nakino angles his wing to highlight a large patch of dried plants growing at his talons. I trot over the cool, damp grass and join him by the forest’s edge to look closer.

“Hmm,” I mumble, lowering my neck to inspect the remains of a crusty inflorescence that transitioned to spreading seeds quite some time ago. Low clouds cover the sun, making the job of identification slightly more complicated than usual, though not enough to prevent me from making an identification. “Four petals, no stipules, and a superior ovary. You’re getting good at this, Nakino.”

“Ah!” he chirps, filled with relief. “Thank you, Asha. This is ayonell, and it’s useful to the flock. Let’s bring it back with us.”

I nod and quickly retreat a step. As he’s done many times this morning, Nakino lowers his head and ratchets his jaws open to the width of the plant patch. He grabs hold of the plants at the base of their stems using his dull, front-facing fangs. With a gingerly tug, the entire patch is separated from the ground and placed on a nearby bank of grass for retrieval when it’s time to return to the Grandfather Tree.

With tomorrow being my final day in Felra, I’ve decided to perform some extra work for the flock by helping Nakino forage for winter supplies and ember roots. He didn’t ask for my help this morning, but I insisted I join him anyways. I realized recently that I should be performing as much outreach with the flock as possible, and helping Nakino forage was one of the first things that came to mind. What if I can contact my family, but there’s no way to turn me back to normal? My relationship with the flock could become critically important in such a situation. I should do everything possible to foster a friendly, lasting rapport with them.

And besides, diplomacy with foreign nations is a vital role of a Princess! Mom can no longer claim I’m not helping her run the Kingdom!

In all seriousness, I wanted to help Nakino out. He’s learned so much from me the past few days, but there’s a limit to what I can teach him in his den. Fieldwork is mandatory when you’re a botanist, so this morning, we set off from the Grandfather Tree and flew south to an isolated forest that Kin rarely visit. Prey is scarce in this corner of Felra, so the only Kin who visit are Nakino and the other healers.

With the ayonell set aside, we continue our search along the edge of the deciduous forest, Nakino watching the ground under the now bare trees and myself treading through the grassy clearing we landed in.

“What do you use ayonell for?” I casually ask, stepping over a felled tree.

“Fangaches,” he answers before shoving his head into a thicket near his talons. He reemerges a moment later and continues, “I crush the seeds on strips of moon bark, have the Kin chew the bark for five flaps, then spit it out.”

“Have you considered mixing it with dream borage? If it works for fangaches, it should also be effective for sore throats.”

“Yes!!” he snaps unexpectedly. “But it’s not effective!”

Um, okay. I exhale sharply, momentarily put off by Nakino’s curt response. It can be difficult to work with him and his sudden mood swings. But despite his sour personality, I’ve learned that Nakino genuinely cares about the Dragons he treats. When he lashes out, it’s usually because he’s frustrated with himself. There’s no need to get upset in return.

Still, I don’t want to aggravate him further. I draw a careful breath and attempt to respond in a cheery voice. “Well, what If you added some usnea lichen? That would increase its potency and hold the ayonell powder, right?”

Nakino stops walking and stares across the clearing in short contemplation. “…I’ve never thought of that before. That’s a good idea.”

That’s more like it! It’s encouraging when he considers my ideas and doesn’t seem so closed-minded. Of course, by this point, he’d be a fool not to. I’ve taught him so many new things that he has no choice but to respect my botanical knowledge.

The black drakon sighs longingly and stares out across a forest bare of leaves, brown and empty. “It’s not going to be the same without you, Asha. I’ve learned so many new things from you… it really feels like this is just the start of something bigger.”

I smirk, feeling a strong sense of pride grow inside me. If nothing else, my visit to Felra will have a long-lasting impact on the flock. It’s super exciting to imagine all the fantastic things Nakino’s about to discover with his newfound understanding of botany. What unknown species will he identify? What new treatments will he develop? If things were different, I would savor the opportunity to stay in Felra and make those discoveries alongside him.

But things aren’t different, and the duty to my Kingdom remains — a duty I can not ignore. As I approach Nakino and stand beside him, I look over the same empty forest. “My life and my family are elsewhere. At least we had the chance to share what we could.”

A silent wind blows through the trees, creaking limbs and casting stubborn leaves to the ground. It seems even the forest is upset about my imminent departure.

Nakino shakes his head and tips his wings, signaling to follow. “Come on. Let’s get to the end of this tree line, and then we’ll fly back.”

We continue on, surveying the area for familiar plants. But as I come across a thicket of sunny bush, I sense something unusual. The unmistakable feeling that someone, or something, was watching me. As I turn to ask Nakino, I catch his head in the act of whipping away from me, moving with such incredible speed that it’s impossible to discern the expression on his face.

…

Was he…

He was checking me out, wasn’t he?

…

My heart barrels against my chest, knocking me from my daze and shuffling my talons along. He was checking me out!! I can’t believe it! It’s been so long since I caught a boy staring at me! Not since I was a Lemur, at least! My mission to search for familiar plants dissolves as questions rapid fire through my head like steam bullets. What should I do?! Should I say something to him? What does it mean if a Lithan likes the way I look?

…Am I even attractive for a Lithan?

I… I guess I should have anticipated something like this, right? Nakino is single, and we’ve spent so much time together these past few days, bonding over our mutual appreciation for plants. Like Kuro, he must be under a ton of pressure to take a mate and start a family. So it only makes sense he’d have a crush on the mysterious, azure-plumaged Farlander who taught him a few new tricks, right?

Right.

I suppose the natural follow-up is how do I feel about him?

I stop walking and focus on the ground below me, momentarily pretending to have located a familiar plant. Concentrating on the blades of grass, I allow my mind to wander and probe my thoughts… my feelings.

…

My thoughts quickly dissolve, and my feelings are cast aside.

The fact of the matter is they’re irrelevant. I am the Princess of Ellyntide, and my only friend was murdered in cold blood by a band of thugs from a hostile enemy nation. My family believes I’m dead, and my brother is wholly unprepared to saddle the responsibilities that should be mine. They are what’s important — not some drakon half a moon away in Felra.

‘But for your family, I think sacrifices are necessary. They’re the only family you’ve got, you know?’

Kuro was right. You only get one family, and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. I’ll sacrifice everything to see them again, no matter how enticing this continent and the Dragons who live here may be. When I fly away from Felra tomorrow, I won’t look back.

With my mind made up, I lift my head and shuffle after Nakino, earnestly continuing my search for useful plants.

…I wonder what he was staring at? What do Lithans find attractive, anyway? Thank the Goddess he didn’t try to flirt with me. I don’t know the first thing about flirting.

Eventually, Nakino is able to locate a usable patch of Sassefron, but there’s not much else in this section of the clearing. I was warned this may be the case, as there are typically few usable plants this late in the season. Late autumn storms have already blown apart much of what remained from the summer, so we’re lucky to find anything. For what it’s worth, though, I’m satisfied with what we’ve found, and I’m sure it will help the flock during the winter.

…I wonder how Lithan courtship works? Do they act like other ferals, having to prove themselves to a potential mate through dances or displays of beauty? Oh, man. I already have striking beauty with my exotic plumage! Does that mean if I tried to court someone, I—

…

My legs freeze and every feather on my body fluffs in alarm. The putrid stench of death has wafted into my nostrils from somewhere upwind — at least four or five dead ferals, all recently killed. Instinctively, I fall into a defensive position and allow a brooding growl to escape me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Nakino, quite shocked over my sudden aggression. He’s about to open his muzzle and ask me something when his face twists in shock, then turns wild.

GRRRRRR…

Quick as a lightning bolt, he leaps to my side and extends a steely black wing in front of me like a shield. He snarls like thunder, shaking the ground beneath us and easily drowning out my puny little grumble. Despite being the healer of the Grandfather Tree, Nakino is one of the largest dragons in the flock, easily dwarfing me in size and muscle.

“Asha!” he rumbles. “Stay close. There could be a pack nearby.”

My eyes dart about, scanning the clearing for ferals beside us. “Lithsa?”

He tastes the air, but his face grimaces. “Can’t tell, the scent is too faint. We may be dealing with something else here.”

My heart pounds against my chest, reviving painful memories of the last time I needed to be protected while foraging. Litsha are only a threat to Kin if they gather in large packs. But if it’s not a pack of Litsha, what else could it be? There’s bigger prey in Felra that can threaten Kin, but I’ve been told they only live in the vast plains around the Grandfather Tree, far away from our spot near Vito’s Forest. I take in another whiff of air but fail to draw any conclusions about who’s been here before us. The only sure thing is that the death scent originates from underneath an elderus at the end of the tree line, where the clearing and the forest come together to end at a nearly vertical rock wall.

Argh, what should we do? This situation is dangerous, and I can’t afford to get hurt the day before I fly home. We could retreat to the air, but then we’d abandon all the samples we’ve collected. With the breezy autumn weather, there’s no guarantee it will still be here if we decide to return later. Our whole trip will have been for nothing.

“It’s coming from underneath that elderus,” I say, flicking my ears forward. “If all we find is prey remains, then we should be safe, right?”

Nakino growls, squinting to examine the tree with more clarity. “Maybe. But we need to be extremely careful. Asha, You wouldn’t know this, but I hunt as well as a sprained grepo.”

“Really?” I ask, turning to him in momentary shock. How can a drakon so big and muscular be a poor hunter?

He snorts and turns his head away. “There’s a reason I became a healer. Let’s keep it at that.”

“Fair enough,” I say. If he doesn’t want to elaborate, that’s fine. Now’s not the time for a story, anyways. “Let’s approach the tree, but stay in the open. We'll take to the air at the first sign of trouble.”

Nakino studies the tree for a moment longer before he relents, “Alright,” and lowers his wing. “The first sign of trouble. No more.”

Acknowledging with a silent tip of my wings, I begin walking forward with my head held low and my muscles tensed, ready for any outcome. I only manage a few steps before Nakino hustles in front of me, taking the lead and keeping his wing half-open, prepared to deploy into shield duty if needed. It pines me I can’t protest and remind him I’m better at hunting prey, but we need to be completely silent. Against the decaying foliage of autumn, he and I stand out like sunflowers against a blue sky.

We walk along the edge of the tree line with our senses high until we reach the top of a knoll. From here, the grassy clearing flows gently down before disappearing under the low-lying branches of the elderus. Unlike others in Kin territory, this tree hasn’t been groomed by Kin, so its lower limbs are still intact. As a result, the area directly underneath is wholly obscured.

A wave of anxiousness crashes against me. If we go any farther, we’ll be coming perilously close to the stench of death. But before I can ask Nakino about continuing, he takes a brave step forward and descends the incline. Stifling my fears, I take a deep breath and stalk after him. Before long, the branches begin to thin, revealing the area under the tree.

“What the…”

Nakino’s talons freeze, and his feathers rise in alert. My heart skips a beat, and a potent cocktail of curiosity and fear compels me to look closer. As I move to stand by his side, the scene below the tree comes into focus: At least five violently butchered Litsha are strewn about the underbrush of the tree. Unlike the neat kills Kin perform, their viscera has been ripped from their bodies and scattered like confetti over the ground. What’s more, there’s evidence of other prey. Bones are thrown like toothpicks to nearly all corners of the tree, and feathers — perhaps those of a Lithan — cover the ground.

Usually, the sight of abandoned prey would have me drooling. But this is deeply unsettling. What could kill an entire pack of Litsha? And why would they be left here, abandoned underneath an elderus?

“By the Goddess…” my voice becomes almost breathless. “Nakino, have you ever seen anything like this?”

“Absolutely not,” he whispers. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why was all this prey just left here? And why haven’t the scavengers cleaned it up?”

“We should leave,” I suggest, feeling myself retreat a step. “I-I can’t afford to get hurt, Nakino.”

“Right,” he says, unfurling his wings. “Asha, let’s head for—“

SKREECH!!!

A shrill cry splits the air like a talon’s claw from somewhere above us. Fear lances my heart as I turn skyward to see a shadowy object hurtling toward the ground like a meteor. At the last moment, it opens its scaled wings to slow its descent and impacts the ground behind us, causing a cloud of dirt and debris to be ejected skyward. Expecting it to hit me, I close my eyes and flinch but feel nothing. When I reopen them, I see Nakino’s wing stretched out and deployed into shield duty. And beyond his wing lies a Dragon, walking on its wings, scaled the colors of blood red on its underside and burnt soot on its body, a crazed fire burning in its eyes.

Redaga!!