Peaceflyt woke up to claws prodding his back. “Peaceflyt, we need to get going.” He opened his eyes and found Pelican standing over him.

“Ok. What time is it?” He asked, stumbling onto his talons.

“Mid-morning. It's going to be noon in an hour or two,” Pelican replied. “Come on, come outside!” He started to walk outside, before turning around to look at Peaceflyt.

“Wait, how did your cuts heal so fast?”

Peaceflyt glanced away. “Uh… I guess I'm a fast healer.” He didn’t want to reveal that he had an enchanted leaf hidden under one of his scales that could heal any wound or pain the dragon wearing it had. The leaf would only heal when the dragon wanted it to heal. Peaceflyt had secretly healed his cuts overnight. He was only a small dragonet when he'd made the spell; it was one of his first. He'd recently wanted to remove it, because he thought it made him too powerful. But he kept forgetting to do it.

Peaceflyt started after Pelican, who was heading towards the others. He felt a shiver run through him as his talons hit the ice outside. Moons, it's cold. I forgot we were on a glacier.

“Hi, Peaceflyt!” Walnut greeted him. “We were just getting ready to leave.”

“It took you a while,” Pyramid noted.

Yeah, I literally almost got killed by Deneb at midnight, Peaceflyt thought bitterly. “Yeah, I didn't really get much sleep tonight, as you probably know.”

“Oh, and if we meet that Deneb dragon again, remind me and Atacama to capture her, pluck each of her scales and teeth out, and stab each of her eyeballs," Pyramid said nonchalantly.

“I’m down,” Atacama said, smiling.

“Uhh… okay,” Peaceflyt said uncertainly. He walked up to the small ledge of ice where they were standing, and squeezed between Atacama and Walnut.

“Are we ready to go?” Walnut said eagerly.

“Yes,” everyone other than Peaceflyt replied. Walnut expectantly looked over at Peaceflyt.

He shook his head vigorously. “Sure, yeah,” he said. “Sorry, I'm just tired.”

…

Peaceflyt yawned. It was around ten minutes since they'd launched off that icy ledge, but Peaceflyt still didn't feel completely awake. Even with the icy air blowing full force in his face.

“Do we actually know where we're going?” Peaceflyt asked.

“I don't think so,” Sparrow replied.

“I have no clue,” Atacama said.

“The Sea Kingdom should be east of here if we're heading north,” Pelican said. “Are we heading north?” He looked up at the sun. “I’m not an expert, but I think we're actually heading west.”

“Let me see,” Atacama said. She flew ahead of Peaceflyt and started to gain elevation. Soon she was a good fifty feet above him.

“I don't see anything yet up here.” She turned her head around to look down at the others. “But if we're heading in the wrong direction, THAT won't be good.” She laughed.

Atacama kept flying above them for some time. A few minutes later, she came down to their level. “Yeah, we don’t know where we’re going,” she said. “We’re nearly at the Kingdom of Sand.”

“What?” Walnut asked.

“Fly higher,” Atacama told her. She flew up to the height where Atacama had been.

“Wow,” Walnut exclaimed. “We are.”

Peaceflyt, intrigued, followed Walnut. Once he was at her height, he noticed the thin strip of yellow land in the distance and, not for the first time, felt unsure about flying across the continent to save their friend from evil kidnappers. I thought the rescuing would be the hardest part. It probably will, but we won’t even be able to rescue Peak if we end up getting lost and dying in the mountains!

“Do you think we should go the other way?” Peaceflyt asked.

“Definitely,” Pelican said. “Once we get to the Jade River-”

“Oh, wait!” Peaceflyt interrupted. “I think I know which way to go!”

“Really?” Pyramid said, raising a brow. “If we get lost here, we’ll probably die. And if we’re too slow, it might be too late to save Peak.”

“I think I know which way to go,” Peaceflyt said. “I think if we fly a bit to the east, we’ll reach the Jade River-” Pelican jokingly side-eyed him. “-like Pelican said.” Peaceflyt felt a burst of energy through him. Finally, I’m useful for once! All those hours of looking at maps finally helped! Then, anxiety spilled over him. But what if I’m wrong, and we really can’t find our way out of the mountains? Peak will die and it’ll be all my-

“It’ll be okay,” Walnut said, somehow sensing his distress. “I trust you. You’re good at maps.” She smiled at him and changed directions, flying away from the approaching desert.

Peaceflyt took a deep breath and followed her. He looked behind him and saw the others following. He noticed Pyramid and Sparrow looking slightly skeptical, but he tried not to think of it. At least they trust me. Or Walnut.

Two hours later, it was mid-afternoon, and Peaceflyt was starting to get worried. It’s fine, he tried to convince himself, but his negative thoughts overpowered his positive ones. I didn’t think it would take this long, though. What if we do end up getting lost in the mountains? And dying? Just like what Pyramid said? I don't even know if I can even trust myself.

The group had only taken two breaks so far, and they were all getting exhausted. Meanwhile, Walnut was trying to lighten the mood, with little effect.

“Off topic, but would you rather freeze to death in the mountains, or have an IceWing breathe frostbreath down your throat?” she asked randomly.

“Uhh… neither? Can I vote for that?” Peaceflyt said.

“Uh- sure!”

“That was dark,” Pelican said. He looked over at Peaceflyt and smiled. “Neither’s the right choice.”

“Yep!” Walnut said.

They continued flying for a while more, and Peaceflyt was getting even more worried. It would really help if we could get some guidance to where we’re going, he thought. He was pondering whether they'd see another dragon again when he saw a flash in the distance.

What? “Did you guys see that?” Peaceflyt asked.

“What?” Atacama asked.

“That flash?”

“Oh, that?” Atacama paused. “...No.”

“I saw it,” Pelican said helpfully. “It was like… there.” He pointed to an area where the mountains started fading into hills.

“Yeah,” said Peaceflyt. “Can anyone see if there's anything there?”

“I can try, but it might just be snow,” Sparrow volunteered. She squinted in that direction for a good second or two. “I can't see it very well. But I think there might be a dragon there.”

“What?” Atacama said. “I fly for two hours and now I'm going to get confronted by someone?”

“They could be lost,” Walnut said. “Like us.”

“Maybe.”

“I’m going to have to interact?” Peaceflyt muttered. “At least we can maybe get directions,” he said louder.

“Unless they’re lost,” Pelican pointed out. “Which is probably why they’re out here.”

“They might be hunting,” Peaceflyt said. “But if they're lost, at least we can be lost together.”

The group flew a little bit further. When they got closer, they could see the dragon was-

“An ICEWING?” Atacama exclaimed. “What is an IceWing doing down here?”

“I don't know!” Walnut replied.

Oh crap, Peaceflyt thought. What if we're farther north than I thought?

“What if we're almost to the Ice Kingdom?” Peaceflyt burst out frantically.

“Then we'll just fly our way back down,“ Walnut said. “I don't think we're even close to the Ice Kingdom, so we're gonna be fine.”

Peaceflyt squinted at the dragon again, which they were quickly approaching. Wait…

Upon looking, he saw that the dragon had bigger wings and a much thinner frame than a normal IceWing would. The dragon's scales also had a slightly reddish tint to them.

“I think it's a hybrid,” Peaceflyt said. “Half IceWing, half SkyWing.”

“What’s that?” Pelican said, pointing at the dragon. Peaceflyt looked at him, confused. Does Pelican not know what a hybrid is?

“...what?” Peaceflyt asked.

“Is that a dragonet?” Pelican asked. Peaceflyt saw he was pointing down to a small yellow dragon squirming in a small pouch around the hybrid’s neck.

“I think so,” he responded as the hybrid secured the dragonet in her pouch. She flew up in the air and looked around. Eventually her eyes landed on Peaceflyt, who stopped in midair. He looked behind him and noticed that Pelican, Walnut, and the others were hovering next to him too.

“Who are you?” The hybrid said, not unkindly. “Why are you here in the middle of the mountains?” She flew over to them.

Peaceflyt hesitated, but Pyramid covered for him. “We’re supposed to be going somewhere. Why are you in the middle of the mountains?”

“I’m hunting. I thought I saw a cow or something over here, but I guess I was just seeing things,” the hybrid told them.

“By the way, do you know a way out of these horrible mountains?” Atacama said. She looked exhausted and was panting heavily.

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” she said, taking pity on them. “I just came from Aspire.”

“What?” asked Pelican.

“Aspire?” the hybrid said, as if Pelican hadn’t heard her right. “The town a few miles from here?”

“There’s a town here?” Atacama said.

“Yeah, it’s a little bit over those hills.” The hybrid pointed behind herself, where lush green hills lay.

Peaceflyt had a vague feeling he’d heard of a town called Aspire before. “Are we near the Rain Kingdom?” he made himself say.

“Kind of,” she said. “After these hills we’ll be at the Jade River.” (I was right! Peaceflyt thought proudly.) “Aspire’s right across. And if you fly a bit… maybe half an hour, you’ll reach the edge of the Rain Kingdom.”

“Oh! I think I might’ve visited Aspire before then,” Peaceflyt said. He had a vague memory from a year or two ago of dirt paths, small houses, and a really big river, though he forgot why he went there.

“Oh, that’s cool!” the hybrid exclaimed. “What’s your name? I might’ve met you before there."

“Uh… Peaceflyt,” Peaceflyt said uncertainly. “I’m traveling with friends- this is Pelican, Walnut, Atacama, Pyramid, Sparrow…” He pointed to each of them as he said their names.

"Oh, I guess I haven't met you before. I feel like I'd remember seeing another hybrid. By the way, I’m Harmony,” the hybrid said. “I’m half IceWing and half SkyWing. Why’d I tell you that? Anyway, who cares. She's Horizon.” She took the small dragonet out of her pouch and held her, so they could see her better. Horizon was a very small SandWing with one defining feature: she had no frill down her back. “She’s cute, isn’t she?”

Horizon babbled something. “She’s probably hungry,” Harmony said.

“I’m hungry,” Atacama blurted.

“AH HUNGY,” Horizon exclaimed, imitating Atacama. Harmony laughed. “Well, then, we should probably go.” She secured Horizon back in her pouch and flew off east.

Peaceflyt looked at Pelican. His expression was tired, but clearly said, ‘Why not? We’ve been flying for hours and have nothing else to do.’

Walnut flew forward first. Peaceflyt and Pelican followed. Peaceflyt looked back and saw Pyramid, Atacama, and Sparrow exchanging unsure looks and reluctantly following. He knew that they only really truly trusted each other. They also trusted Peak, his brain interjected. But I have to make them trust me. I need them to trust me.

Peaceflyt caught up to Walnut, who was now flying next to Harmony. Harmony was talking about her life being a guard. “I’m not doing it now, obviously,” she said. “I’m on a break. I’m just visiting Aspire to see a friend.”

“Nice!” Walnut replied. “Where'd you get Horizon? Did you adopt her?”

“Well, I protect her, if that counts,” Harmony said as the dragonet rolled over in her pouch. She said something after that, but Peaceflyt couldn't hear it due to a sudden gust of wind.

“We’re almost there!” Harmony yelled so the others behind them could hear her. “Usually it gets windy on this side of the river, so this probably means we're close!”

She was right; a minute later, Peaceflyt could see a large river separating the hills they were flying over with a great grassy plain. The same plain that Deneb had tried to kill Peaceflyt in a few days ago. That incident happened closer to the forest, which was far off in the distance, but Peaceflyt still couldn't stop thinking about it until they landed by the river.

“Welcome to Aspire,” Harmony said, grinning at him as their talons touched the ground.