“Yeah. I've been here before,” Peaceflyt said. “I remember this.” He paused, taking in the surroundings: the dirt paths, the small houses, and the river. Harmony had lead them to a little market area on the river’s edge.

“By the way, thanks for getting us out of the mountains,” Peaceflyt said, smiling.

“No problem. Hybrids need to stick together these days.” Harmony took Horizon out of the pouch and put her on the ground, where she happily ran around for a bit until she stopped and sat expectantly at Harmony's talons. Harmony laughed. “I guess I should get going soon. I'm supposed to meet someone. Anyways, you can explore and stuff… it’s not a big village, so if you need help or anything, just find me.”

“Ok,” Peaceflyt said.

“I’m just curious, but where are you guys going?” Harmony asked.

“We’re going to… meet someone,” Peaceflyt lied. It was only kind of a lie, though, as they were going to ‘meet’ Peak. And by meet, they were going to attempt to get her out of captivity.

“Yeah,” Pelican interjected, catching on. “A friend. But she's not here right now.”

“Oh, okay,” Harmony replied. “Well, I guess I'd better get going. Bye!” She picked up Horizon and hurried off into the streets of Aspire, making sure to not touch any buildings. This was when Peaceflyt noticed the small amount of steam coming off her scales.

“Is she a firescales?” Pelican asked quietly.

“Maybe,” Peaceflyt responded. “Or maybe she's some other subcategory of that. She looks like a steamscales.”

“A what?” Atacama asked, whispering.

“Steamscales,” Peaceflyt said. “I don't know much about them but I think they just emit steam or something.”

“Oh,” Atacama said. “Well, since she's gone, what do we do now? Actually, I've got a good idea about what to do. I need to eat because THREE MOONS I AM STARVING.”

Behind her, he saw Pyramid and Sparrow silently agree.

Peaceflyt pointed to what looked like a food stand in front of them. “Ok… let's see… there's a stand over there that's selling-”

“BY THE THREE MOONS, THAT STAND IS SELLING WAGYU!!” Atacama yelled, noticing a wagyu beef stand on their right. Peaceflyt nearly burst out into laughter. “UM, CAN I-”

“Atacama, calm down,” Pyramid whispered loudly.

“Actually, can I have one since you're already there?” Sparrow said.

“Give me one too,” Pyramid said.

“Same for me,” Peaceflyt and Pelican said at the same time.

“I’m going to go to another stand and see if I can find any fruit,” Walnut said. She walked off, leaving Atacama and the wagyu salesdragon, who looked like a SkyWing with white dots scattered across him.

“Oh.” Atacama coughed and cleared her throat. “Ok, can I have… just a second.” She counted all of the dragons behind her. “Can I have five wagyu, please?”

“Yeah, sure…” the salesdragon said, looking under the stand. He grabbed some wagyu and slapped it on the counter. “Do you have anything, or are you new here?”

“What?” Atacama asked.

“Unless you're new here, you need to pay.”

“Uh… this is our first time visiting here,” Atacama said, confused, leaving out the part where Peaceflyt had been here before.

“Okay, then,” the salesdragon said. Seeing Atacama’s puzzled face, he added, “Aspire is a pretty small town. Everyone here knows each other personally. And we’re always welcoming to visitors. So my policy is that if you’re a first-time visitor, your first order will be free. A lot of other stands here have that same policy as well.”

Atacama nodded, but she was focusing on the wagyu on the counter.

“You can have it,” the salesdragon said, picking it up and handing it to Atacama.

Atacama ran over to Pyramid and immediately dug into hers. “MOONS I’M STARVING,” she said through bites. She finished very quickly, and afterwards asked, “Pyramid, do you mind if I take a little bit of yours?”

“I’m fine with that,” Pyramid said. Atacama ripped a small piece off the next slice of wagyu and put it in her mouth. She gave the rest to Pyramid. After she finished chewing the small bit of wagyu she ripped off of Pyramid’s slice, she handed out the rest of the slices to Sparrow, Pelican, and Peaceflyt.

“I never actually tried wagyu before,” Pelican explained, looking at Peaceflyt. “I would really go for some squid right now, but apparently none of these stands sell that. And I'm too hungry to go dive for anything.” He took a bite out of his wagyu and made an odd face. “It tastes.. different than I thought it would. But it's okay.”

“I haven't had wagyu in a while,” Peaceflyt said, taking a bite out of his slice. “I forgot how good it was.”

“Isn’t it?” Atacama said, running over to him. “Pelican, you don't like it?” she said, looking at Pelican's face.

“Not very much,” Pelican said much to Atacama’s horror, “But it's okay.”

Atacama laughed. “Okay, I was gonna say!”

She went back to Pyramid and Sparrow, who were having a conversation about their favorite types of meat.

Suddenly, Walnut appeared from behind Peaceflyt. “Hi!” she said happily. “I just got some berries from that stand. They're really good.” In her talons were some multicolored berries, which she popped into her mouth. “Do you want any?”

“Sure,” Peaceflyt said, extending his talons so Walnut could pour some into them. He dropped one in his mouth.

“Oh, yeah, these are really good!” Peaceflyt exclaimed. “What are they called?”

“There’s huckleberries, blueberries, and cloudberries,” Walnut explained. “They were called ‘berry medley’ on the stand."

“Cool,” Peaceflyt said, chewing one. “I don't think I've had cloudberries before.”

“The fruit vendor says they're pretty rare, and only come from the northern part of the Sky Kingdom and a bit of the rainforest,” Walnut said.

“Oh, well I guess that's why I haven't had them before,” Peaceflyt replied, popping another berry in his mouth.

. . .

After they were done eating and talking in the market area, the group was faced with another question: where would they sleep?

“I don't know!” Peaceflyt said when everyone looked at him to answer that question. “I barely remember my visit here!”

“Well, there must be places we can stay at,” Pyramid said.

“The salesdragon did say it was a small town, though,” said Sparrow.

“I hope we don't have to sleep on the streets,” Atacama said. “That would be bad.”

Peaceflyt and the others decided to head into the dirt roads branching off from the market area. Apparently the market area was the main area of the town, because when they went further away from it, houses became more sparse.

Eventually, they ended up back right where they started.

“Great,” Peaceflyt said sarcastically. He paused and looked at some passing MudWings, seeing if they were also visitors who didn't know where to sleep. No, they look like they live here, Peaceflyt thought. He looked away for a second and thought, Wait.

He tried to look at the MudWings again, but they had rounded a corner.

“What are you looking at?” Pelican asked.

“I thought I recognized one of those MudWings,” Peaceflyt replied.

“Really?” Pelican said. “Why?”

“I thought I might've talked with one of them before.” Peaceflyt, confused, continued walking and caught up with Atacama, Pyramid, Sparrow, and Walnut, who were ahead of them.

“Weird,” Pelican said.

They headed back out of the market area, now seeing if there were any abandoned homes they could sleep in. They didn’t have any luck, and ended back up at the market area again.

“What could we do?” Atacama said in agony.

“We could try to talk to someone,” Walnut suggested.

“Fine,” Atacama said. “But only because we’ve been looking at homes for two hours.”

Walnut walked in front of the group, heading back down a street that they’d been on at least four times. Peaceflyt ended up at the back of the group. If we have to talk to anyone, Walnut should do it. She’s good at making friends.

Peaceflyt was just finishing up that thought when he saw the MudWings again, specifically the one he recognized.

He looked at him, wanting to see his face so he could see him better. He didn't actually expect the MudWing to notice him, so when he did, he nearly jumped.

“Peaceflyt?” the MudWing said.

Pantanal? Peaceflyt thought, surprised.

The MudWing, a little bit smaller than Peaceflyt, came running toward him. “PEACEFLYT! Hey! Why are you here?”

“Uh… just stopping by for a night,” Peaceflyt said, awkwardly.

“Oh. Who are all these dragons? Are you with them?”

“Uh… yeah. Pantanal, this is Atacama, Pelican, Walnut, Pyramid, and Sparrow,” he told him, gesturing to each one of them accordingly.

“Who’s he?” Pyramid asked, pointing at Pantanal.

“Pantanal,” Peaceflyt explained. “We're in a band together.”

“You're in a band?” Atacama asked, surprised.

“Yeah, but we don’t meet up much. Why are you here?” Peaceflyt asked Pantanal. “Are you on vacation?”

“No, just visiting some relatives,” he said, waving his talons.

“Do you know if there's anywhere to sleep here?” Walnut piped up.

“You can come visit the place I'm staying at. Though it's probably going to be way more cramped with six more dragons. I can show you the way there, but I don't know if my aunt will want you to stay. Come on.” Pantanal led the group down multiple side streets, and eventually they wound up on a street they hadn't been on before.

“Here’s the house,” Pantanal said. In front of them was a structure about twice as tall as Peaceflyt. It looked as if it was made of a mix of hardened mud bricks. A few cloths were draped over the entrance like a curtain.

“You can go,” Pantanal said quietly, motioning with his tail for Peaceflyt and the others to go inside first. They did.

“Hi, Melospiza, I’m back!” Pantanal called, walking into the small house behind Sparrow, the last in line.

Just inside the building, a MudWing nearly twice the size of Pantanal was sitting behind a small makeshift stone desk. “Hello, Pan-” the MudWing paused, noticing Peaceflyt and his friends.

“Six more dragons? Four more tribes?” the MudWing said, visibly shocked. “This is a small home, Pantanal! How could we possibly-”

Pantanal broke her off. “I’m sorry, but they're travelers that need a place to sleep! And I know one of them! Just for one night?” he pleaded.

“This is a small house!” Melospiza repeated. “I’m sleeping here! You, Dogwood, and Mudpool are also sleeping here! How can we possibly fit six more dragons?”

Pantanal didn't seem to have an answer. “Please?” he asked.

Melospiza thought for a moment or so. “Fine! But only for tonight. Also,” she turned on Peaceflyt and the others, “No annoying me, especially when I'm sleeping. I get my own corner to sleep in, so I expect you don't go in it and intrude on my privacy.”

Peaceflyt, Pelican, and Walnut nodded quickly.

“Where are Dogwood and Mudpool, anyway?” Pantanal asked. “They’re my siblings,” he mouthed to Peaceflyt.

“Hunting. But that doesn't matter. What are your names?” Melospiza asked suspiciously, turning on Peaceflyt.

“That dragon’s Peaceflyt, he’s in a band with me,” Pantanal explained. “And… uh-” He looked at Peaceflyt for help.

“Walnut, Pelican, Atacama, and Sparrow,” Peaceflyt said quietly. “They’re my friends.”

“They’re friends of Peaceflyt,” Pantanal repeated. “And Peaceflyt is a friend of mine.”

Melospiza looked indifferent. “You can show them the mats, Pantanal,” she said. “But they won't all be able to fit.”

Pantanal nodded, and gestured for them to follow him to the back of the house, where three worn blue mats lay.

“You can take this one,” Pantanal said, nodding at Peaceflyt. He pointed to the center mat. “I know you, so I feel like you should get one.”

“What?” Atacama exclaimed in protest. “Just because you know him?”

Pantanal nodded. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Fine, then I call this one,” Atacama said, walking over to the mat to the left of Peaceflyt and lying on it. Pantanal glanced at them, and then left for another corner of the house. Sparrow and Pyramid were looking intensely at Peaceflyt’s mat in the middle. They probably want to be next to Atacama, Peaceflyt thought.

“Can I have the last mat?” Pelican asked Walnut, to Peaceflyt’s right.

Walnut hesitated. “Aw, but I really want it.”

“Hey, but I haven- ...never mind,” Pelican said. “You can have it. I can sleep on the floor.”

Walnut looked at Pelican with sympathy. “If you really want it, you can have it,” she said.

“No, you can have it. You might need it more.”

Walnut looked defeated on whether or not to take the mat, but just then, Pantanal came back with what looked like a large surface of dirty rubber in his talons.  

“I found an extra mat!” he announced. He laid it flat on the ground in front of Peaceflyt’s mat. It looked old; the once-blue color was faded. It also was dirty and had multiple tears across it. Pyramid and Sparrow inched away from it towards Atacama, who was still laying on her mat.

Everyone hesitated, but eventually Pelican asked, “Can I have it?”

“Sure,” Pantanal said. No one seemed to object. He started towards the entrance of the house, but paused when he heard an angry yell outside of the building. Peaceflyt’s ears perked up.

What’s going on? Peaceflyt got off his mat and walked towards Pantanal, who was now looking outside. He looked troubled.

“LEAVE!” a familiar voice roared. Peaceflyt peeked his head out of the entrance, and saw two MudWings flailing toward them. He couldn't see what was behind them, until...

Harmony!

The hybrid dragon behind them was baring her teeth at the MudWings. In her arms was Horizon, who’s wing looked-

“Broken!” Harmony cried. ”You BROKE HER WING!”