Planet jumped into the window again and found the red-yellow orb she had been looking for. The red swirls turned to her to resemble eyes, and she made the Elven rune dokri or “to go” on her hand. The eyes flicked from her to the sleeping body next to it, then back as Planet nodded. 

She pulled the sleeping boy they called Moon onto her back as the orb floated out of the window, both of them seeing the torchlight come closer. She ducked out through a back window and ran into the forest. Within seconds, this was better. The dirt against her feet instead of the hits of gravel, the trees opening to the wonderful daylight, and- 

She forgot Sol. Not again. 

Planet turned around a tree towards the house before the orb nearly hit her in the face, but her subconscious knew what to do and ducked, her legs slipping into her Embodiment. The orb broke off two sections of itself and showed her the same rune she’d signed into her hand a minute ago. Voices echoed from here, questioning each other about their eaten roast as Planet turned away from them and hitched the sleeping boy higher on her back as she pulled herself out of her Embodiment and ran. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the orb duck into the trees and when it’d vanished, it came out from behind one, diving into a roll and motioning for her to catch up. 

“You love that trick.” Planet laughed as she followed her sibling. 

“Hush,” she whispered, black bangs flying off his forehead as he ran. She wore the same as her: a tunic and a knee-length skirt, the standard Elven uniform, though hers was more stained thanks to her Embodiment. 

Sol looked back twice before he threw out an arm, stopping Planet in her tracks. “We should be far enough now.” 

Planet set down Moon, who was still asleep. It still hadn’t hit her how easy it was for him to sleep in the light. 

“I’ll build a fire and look for things to roast while you look.” 

“Shouldn’t I look first, then we reveal our location?” Planet said as she sank into the dirt, embracing her Embodiment form. Once she was fully submerged, she pulled her eyes above the dirt and saw Sol beginning to build the fire, combing through his pocket notebook for her notes. She shoved an Elven rune into the dirt next to him which translated to a basic swear, but he only smushed it with her thumb and waved her off. 

Planet moved around the area, glancing left and right and up for any signs of danger. She was on her last lap when she paused at a large set of scales inches from her. Planet felt herself shaking as she looked up and saw a beautiful dragon. Its glittering scales shined in the sunlight and it craned its head, trying to look over the trees. 

Planet suppressed a scream as she ducked under the soil, pushed herself away, and out of the dirt, reappearing in her Wizardly body again next to Sol as she attempted to catch her breath. 

“Is everything okay?” she asked nonchalantly, focusing on his notes until he felt the ground begin to shake. “Okay, Planet, what did you see? Because if it was one of those bone birds that are on fire, I told you, they went to the Mountains-” 

“It’s right there,” she whispered, looking above the treetops, where it couldn’t see them yet 

Sol looked up and immediately began flipping to an empty page in his notebook. “Interestende. I haven’t seen a Dragon up close yet.” 

Planet glared at him, “Interestende, sibling? This is interestende to you?” 

“Yes! The Elves didn’t have enough information on them, and this is an excellent opportunity to study them.” 

“It’s a creature we should respect, not study.” 

“That mindset is why you failed nearly all of your classes without me,” Sol muttered as she began to sketch the Dragon. 

“You helped me read!” Planet said as mushrooms grew on her arms. “That doesn’t count-!” 

Sol looked up from his sketch and saw the too-still grass under his feet. “Planet? What happened?” 

Planet barely noticed him running away, Moon slung over his shoulder, as the grass braided itself over her feet. While they had been arguing, the Dragon had snuck between the trees and was now sniffing her, its nostrils nearly three times larger than her head. 

“Venul?” a male voice called from the trees. 

“Where’s your Dragon, then?” another asked. 

“I swore she was just here!” 

A group of men dashed out of the trees wearing protective armor and caught sight of her. 

Move. Move. Move. Move now! 

“Who is this?” the leading man said before he switched to a growling language, one unknown to her. The Dragon replied in the same tongue as the men trained their eyes on Planet.