Wreath

"Remember, when you get to sea my child, you want to stay on the boat and not get impatient. If you try to fly to the disappearing isle," Tenobia sternly admonished Wreath, "you will get exhausted long before you see it and..."

"And I'll drown in the ocean. Yeah, yeah ma. I get it." The young Gaoler didn't quite roll her eyes at her overbearing mother, but Tenobia could tell she really wanted to. But she resisted, and that let the elder know the child was growing up. With a quick hug of her wings, she turned away from the young female and disappeared into the crowd.

Wreath trembled with excitement as she followed the grumpy Bogsneak that captained the boat to her cramped cabin - her minimal privacy for the next three weeks or more as they chased down a landmass that moved with the currents on the ocean to the north of Dragonhome.

Four and a half weeks later, she was no longer excited. Her boredom knew no bounds as she heaved yet another heavy sigh and asked the First Mate, "Do we know where it is yet?"

The First Mate, a kinetic Spiral that was used to being the dragon her entire crew complained about, finally understood why they hated pulling a shift with her and she shook her head as she answered for the three-millionth time, "No, we don't. The captain has guided us to the usual haunts, but it seems we are either behind the island or well ahead of it." Then she fluttered away, happy to escape young Wreath's bored pouting and ready to apologize to her crew for the horrors she put them through.

Two more weeks passed before the island was tracked down, as they were indeed ahead of it, and when they docked at the tiny wharf on the west side of the island, Wreath was nearly tossed bodily ashore with her belongings before the crew set off again.

A laugh caught Wreath's ear as she tried to collect her scattered items and she spun to see the sister she'd never met before. "I see mother still doesn't understand our adventurous spirit, little sister," the dark beauty purred before her. An angry response melted away from the front of Wreath's brain when she saw the understanding in Oakheart's eyes, and she quickly grabbed the rest of her treasures before she ran to her sister and threw herself in the older dragon's winged embrace.

Oakheart looked Wreath up and down, gave her a broad smile, and handed her an open-topped lantern filled with happy fireflies as the evening settled around them. "Come with me, little sister," she beckoned, "and we'll roam the woods and beach all night looking for anyone who needs our help."