Now, dear readers, I imagine that there's a lot of you who've dreamed of being in the situation I was in: King of their own Kingdom, filled with dragons who like nothing more than to lounge around and snack and... other things. I'm sure there's a lot of you who'd want nothing more than to spend the rest of their lives hiding away in that jungle, feast upon all the best foods, and wake up with a different dragon every day. It sounds like it'd be a paradise.

This was not how I spent my first week as King of the Rainforest.

Now, admittedly the thought did cross my mind more than once (especially when I was hanging out with Fox, learning the ins and outs of Rainwings and their culture). They seemed very much into easy living and free love and doing everything at "jungle time". But I refused to let myself rest and enjoy the perks of royalty, mainly for two reasons.

First and foremost, I was completely terrified and paranoid about the war back home. Regardless of what happened to Burn, I feared that Blister and Nightshade might still be coming after me. I did, after all, find the Eye before anyone else, and if they figured out the war started because of me, what would stop them from coming after me and executing me? As if that wasn't bad enough, now that these simple, peaceful Rainwings had made me their king, what would keep a vindictive princess or a bloody warlord from putting so many of their heads on spears? I had to build up the Rainforest Kingdom, both for my sake and theirs, if we were to survive any war with the outside world.

Secondly, part of me realized the wonderful opportunity I'd been given. There were so many experiments I wanted to run, projects I wanted to build and work on that I couldn't while under Burn's thumb. Neither she nor Oasis had too much interest in any of my civilian projects, and after King Char died I had to put all my efforts into weapons and armor. But here and now? I had the dragonpower and resources to build whatever I wanted.

So of course one of the first things I did was order the construction of a workshop behind the Palace.

My mind works best when my paws are busy, and the workshop in the Sandwing Palace was quite literally where I slept. I couldn't really call this place my home until I had a place to build things. The Rainwings were more than capable of building a structure at least twice as big as my old place (made with specially treated and fireproofed bamboo), and once I remade my forge, I was back in business. The whole process took only a day, with the outside structure being raised in an hour. I was impressed - The Rainwings were a helpful, industrious Tribe... when they wanted to be. There was no real schedule or order here outside of my immediate decree, as they did what they wanted when they wanted. Forage for fruits and flowers, playing hide and seek, nap during the afternoon, they almost lived like free-range dragonets.

As I got back into the swing of things, restarting a lot of my old projects, I called over Grandeur, Splendor and Fruit Bat, giving them my orders for the week.

For Fruit Bat, I called for a census of every dragon living the Rainforest, from the freshest dragonet to the most elderly crone. We needed to know how many subjects we had, and how many dragons we could call upon for defense of the land. She looked a little anxious when I made the request, her scales flashed a light blue, but she agreed to do it.

I asked Splendor to call a meeting with all traveling Rainwing merchants. I wanted to ask them to keep an eye and ear out for troop movements, political developments, greater happenings of Phyrria at large. Rainwings had a reputation of isolationism and laziness, and thus far hadn't involved themselves in greater diplomatic relations in decades. No one would suspect anything nefarious, especially since at this point, there wasn't anything nefarious.

For Grandeur, I wanted new defenses to be made around the Village and in important pathways throughout the Jungle. Nets, Pitfalls, falling logs along the trails to make an inhospitable ecosystem even more dangerous for ill-prepared invaders. Grandeur agreed for the most part, but she explained that the Rainwings - as a friendly, pacifistic tribe - wouldn't build anything excessively lethal. No spike pits, no log swings, no poisons or anything like that. I could accept that, but at the Village proper, I insisted on more deadly and hardened measures. Larger crossbows/ballistas were to be built around the perimeter, the hatchery and the palace. Camouflage nets and foliage built to hide the Village from above, and a simple wooden palisade built around Village on the ground. Those in the Army were to be trained with both the blowgun and crossbow, as well as grenades made of Batty's bad batches to throw or detonate outside, and of course, arrows and darts laced with either poison or Rainwing hallucinogens/sleepers. She assured me that she would try her best, but gave no further promises.

"And what shall you be doing, Your Highness?" The older Rainwing asked, as they made their leave. I smiled, breathing fire into my new forge.

"I'm going to start by inspecting my new army..."

February 8th, 4992

"...Is this a joke?" I asked, looking over my "glorious" army of Rainwings. Or at least, everyone that could be spared from patrolling the jungle borders or could be ready within a couple hours' notice. Out of an "army" of one hundred, only a dozen came to the plaza for inspection. Some slouched or leaned against their spears. One was playing with a butterfly that flitted about their head. Yet another was straight-up sleeping while standing up (which, honestly, was kind of impressive).

"I'm afraid not." Grandeur sighed. "These are the best soldiers the Rainforest can produce. At least, those who're up for taking the job. Most of us are rather... averse to conflict. Even shouting too loud can make a grown dragon cry."

"This is just sad." I told her, keeping my voice down so the troops several lengths away couldn't hear. "I knew dragonet gangs back in the Scorpion's Den that look tougher than these guys."

"Agreed." Grandeur replied. "Truth be told, out of the entire kingdom, there's maybe three dragons that you and I could consider capable of holding their own in a fight. Aside from me, of course."

"Oh? And who might they be?"

The old queen turned to the assembled dragons. "Squad leaders, approach!" She commanded. Several dragons flinched and yelped in surprise, but three dragons stepped forth and approached us at the edge of the platform. Two were strangers, but the third I recognized right away.

"Hey Xero!" Flying Fox said, giving him and Grandeur a little bow. "How're you guys doing today?"

"Fox," I said, "You didn't tell me you were a soldier."

"Ehh, I wouldn't go that far." He hemmed. "I'm a volunteer. I can fight and defend myself just fine, but I only do this on the weekends."

"He signed up because he wanted to tell his dates that he's a Very Important Drake." Grandeur explained. "A 'VID', he says."

Fox's scales turned mint green and cobalt blue, and he smiled knowingly. "I volunteered," He corrected, "Because my friend needed me, and a Rainwing always comes through when their friends are counting on them." I thought I saw the corners of the old queen's lips twitch up in a smile.

"Your Highness," Grandeur continued, "Allow me to introduce you to Sergeants Majestic and Sparkling, the best warriors in the entire Rainforest."

The two dragons couldn't have been any more different. The first one (Majestic, I presumed) was big by Rainwing standards, alarmingly so. I'd gotten used to being the biggest dragon in the Village, standing a full head above everyone else. This dragoness, however, was almost eye-level with me, and with a thick, muscular frame not too different from Exquisite's, or even a Mudwing. She had purple scales with a lavender underbelly and blue-teal wings, all of which were lightly covered in scratches and scars. A part of me thought of her as Burn if she were a Rainwing, someone who could be tough and intimidating if they wanted to be. But unlike Burn, her smile was warm and friendly, her purple eyes sparkling with life and happiness.

The second one was so small I first thought they were a dragonet. The drake in question only reached my chest, his frame thin and compact. His scales were a drab brown, his belly and wings so light-purple they looked gray. He had no scars on him, but those dark brown eyes held the steely gaze of someone who took their job very seriously. Out of everyone I'd met up to this point, this dragon - Sparkling - was the only true killer and warrior of the bunch.

"Your Highness," Majestic asked, bowing deeply, "How may we serve you?"

I brought out my clipboard and paper, which had a holder for a sponge soaked in ink. "Today," I began, "I'd like a rundown and demonstration of your offensive and defensive capabilities. I want to know what the best of the best Rainwing warriors can do."

Grandeur glanced at the three warriors. Fox shrugged, Majestic nodded, and Sparkling... Wait, where'd he go?

"Looks like Sparkling wants to start." Grandeur observed. "Though I suppose you already know about the ability he's demonstrating. Our camouflage scales are so good at blending into our surroundings that we can even turn invisible, or even create illusions on our bodies. It's how we've kept ourselves hidden and safe for thousands of years. Of everyone I've come across, Sparkling is the Best Camoflauger in the entire Kingdom."

"I've never lost a game of Hide and Seek." A voice spoke in my ear. I flinched, backing away from the empty space next to me. Two gray eyes floated in the air, followed by a cheeky little smile. "I actually followed you when you first entered our jungles, Your Highness." He explained, as the rest of his body materialized. "Seeing you flail about the underbrush was rather amusing."

That was a troubling thought. I was tailed the entire way into the jungle, and could've been taken out at anytime and never even known about it. My anxiety must've been on clear display, as the little drake chuckled and said, "Don't worry, you weren't in any danger. I wasn't going to attack you unless you did something to threaten or harm the Tribe. Even then, I wouldn't kill a dragon unless the Queens ordered me to."

"Not to say that you can't." Fox added. "You're one of the best hunters in the Rainforest. I can't think of any other Rainwing that eats more meat than you."

Sparkling shrugged his wings. "I like the challenge. Besides, every other Tribe eats meat, and it's not like I'm eating sloths. That would be gross."

I nodded in understanding. The Rainwings were an odd duck among the other Tribes, in that they leaned heavily vegetarian. Obviously they could and did occasionally eat meat (they're dragons, after all), but fruit and edible plants were so plentiful in the jungle that you never had to hunt or work hard to eat, and some dragons had gone their entire lives only having eaten meat a handful of times in their entire life.

"Another ability we have," Grandeur continued, "Is our prehensile tails. You will not find any other Tribe in Phyrria with tails as strong as ours."

"It's like having an extra arm." Majestic agreed. As a demonstration, she went over to a particularly large tree branch. Climbing up, her long, purple tail wrapped itself around it, and she hopped off. Her tail held firm, and she dangled in the air like a monkey or possum, as I'd seen many Rainwings do before. Majestic, however, went a step beyond that, as she pulled in her legs, put her paws behind her head, and lifted herself up with just her tail muscles. Then she did it again, and again, and again.

"I call these 'tail-ups'." She explained, her face focused and breath steady. "They're a workout I created. It strengthens the tail muscles and the core."

"Some of us have stronger tails than others." Grandeur chuckled. "Majestic can be a bit of a showoff, sometimes. She's easily the strongest dragoness in the Village. You should've seen what she did to the tiger that tried to eat her pet sloth."

I was only half-listening to what she was saying. My attention was drawn to the soldier's body, watching the muscles move under her scales, the way they shined in the sunlight, the thickness of her tail and roundness of her flanks. There's something almost magical about watching a dragoness in motion. Countless years of evolution culminating in the display of physical prowess, accentuated by the striking color scheme of the Rainwings.

I caught myself staring, and forced myself to look away. If Grandeur or Sparkling noticed, they gave no sign. Flying Fox, however, had the biggest shiteating grin, wiggling his brows knowingly. I shot a look - You didn't see shit! - And made a point of quickly scribbling down more notes. This was business. I was here to learn about combat capabilities, not ogle booty. Majestic released, spinning midair before landing almost delicately before me, and bowed.

"Very impressive." I said, nodding approvingly. "I think you have the right idea. We should add that exercise to our training regimen." The large dragoness flashed yellow, practically beaming.

"Finally," Grandeur said, "There's perhaps our most potent weapon... Our Venom."

I blinked. "Venom?" I asked. "What, like a snake? Like my stinger?"

"Mmmm, not quite." The older Rainwing pointed to a nearby palm tree. "Watch that low hanging leaf." Suddenly, her mouth opened wide, and she hissed as one would when they're about to breathe fire. But instead of a gout of flame erupting from her mouth, her upper fangs clicked up, and spat out a few drops of this black liquid. It flew through the air, splattering across the leaf like so many raindrops. Then the leaf began to sizzle. Before my very eyes, the leaf burned and dissolved everywhere the liquid touched, reduced to nothing in practically moments. Some of the sizzling sludge dripped off the leaf onto a rock below, where it smoked for a few seconds, but remained otherwise unchanged.

I took a few cautious steps closer, examining the remains. "Acid venom," I murmured in amazement, "You have acid venom. I didn't even know such a thing was possible." I turned back to the Rainwings. "How have you kept this a secret?"

"Well," Fox explained, "It's not like we use it all that often. Hell, when we do, it's not even for fighting or hunting. Hey, Amplitude, come 'ere!" He waved over a nearby dragoness, this one a dark green speckled with yellow. She took a palm frond with her, and hissed as she spat a little of the venom on it. Handing it to Fox, he in turn hissed and spat on the melting leaf. To my astonishment, the smoking and sizzling instantly stopped, and the leaf ceased disintegrating.

"Whoa! How did you do that?!" I demanded.

"Weird thing about our venom," Fox explained, "It can melt anything living or organic, but for whatever reason the venom of a blood-relative stops it. Back in the day, I asked Amplitude out on a date. She was up for it, but since we came from the same egg group, we took the venom test to make sure we weren't related. Long story short, I lost a date, but I gained a cousin, so it wasn't all bad." The other Rainwing nodded in agreement.

"Well, don't you use it for hunting?" I asked.

"Not really." Sparkling chimed in. "Most Rainwings prefer fruit to meat anyway, and you have to prepare the meat afterwards. Flesh damaged by the venom has a spoiled, bitter taste to it."

"...So you have the deadliest ability in all Phyrria," I asked, rubbing my forehead as I tried to understand, "And you only use it to prevent inbreeding?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing." Fox said. "If we can figure out our partner might be related to us before our dragonet hatches with three eyes, wouldn't you want to use it? Or is incest considered okay in the Sand Kingdom?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" I snapped, feeling my frustration rise. "Has anyone here ever used venom to defend yourself or someone else?"

Grandeur and Majestic raised their paws. "I spat on a dragonbite viper once." Majestic explained.

"I was a dragonet when the Mudwings tried to invade the Rainforest." Grandeur said. "I killed three dragons while fighting to defend our homeland. I'm afraid that since then, our Tribe has become complacent. Dragons here have never used their venom in anger."

I closed my eyes, pinched the bridge of my nose, clenched my jaw so tight my cheeks started to hurt. Don't get mad, I reminded myself, They don't know what they have. They can't know what they have. All they do is eat and sleep and play all damn day, because they live in an environment where that's possible. You must show them their potential.

"Okay, okay," I sighed, taking a deep breath to calm myself, "If there are no more surprises or special abilities, why don't we move on to some drills, hmm? Let's see what our warriors can do."

As it turned out, they couldn't do much. Well, no that's unfair. Majestic, Sparkling and Fox could do almost everything I requested. Those three could do basic exercises. Those three could do drills. Those three knew their way around a spear, and while Majestic and Sparkling were much better close quarters fighters than Fox, at least he had some backbone, and was picking up on what we were teaching him. The other nine? Completely useless. When they weren't asking me to repeat instructions I just told them, or falling asleep, they were complaining that the drills were too hard, or that we were being too mean. They had no interest in actually becoming soldiers, which meant I'd have to go and replace them with more capable dragons, if I could even find them.

By the time we were done, I had a collection of angrily scribbled notes, and my stinger curled as tightly as possible to avoid hitting someone as it twitched with agitation.

"You seem really tense." Fox said, as we left the pavilion.

"Oh no, I'm fine," I replied sarcastically, "Just dandy. I can totally count on my outstanding soldiers to not shoot each other's eyes out the first time they get their paws on my crossbows."

"Hey." His wing tapped against mine. "We're trying. You know that, right?"

"I'm not mad, Fox. I'm just..." My tail twitched, as I tried to think of the right words. "...I'm just concerned. Every other Kingdom has one or more armies filled with professional soldiers. They don't break easy, they know how to fight, and they're not afraid to kill. If what we just saw was anything to go by, we have maybe two or three dragons who're good soldiers, and almost a hundred who'll run and cry the first time someone goes 'Boo!' at them."

"They have a long way to go, I'll give you that." Fox admitted, his scales turning an honest mint green. "But I know we can get better. With a little bit of guidance, I know we can fight just as well as every other Tribe."

I sighed. It was frustrating, and there was no easy answer.

"Xero," Fox asked, "Why don't you join me for some sun-time?"

"What?" I grunted, rubbing my temples. "Look, buddy, I appreciate the interest, but I'm not even into drakes!"

"Huh?" He blinked, then he realized what I thought he meant, and he turned a bright pink as he groaned. "Ugh, no I don't mean like that! That's not what sun-time is! I'm asking you to come with me while we take our afternoon naps."

"I don't need a nap. I'm not a child."

"Well, us Rainwings need our sun-time. It recharges our scales so we can change colors. Plus, you look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"I've been sleeping just fine." I replied, which wasn't a complete lie. I'm used to working long hours. My mother used to joke that I must have a little Nightwing in me, as even as a dragonet I did a lot of my best studying and work late at night. But the last few weeks had left me on edge, pushing myself more and more. Sleeping made me feel like I was falling behind, so I'd fight it until I'd catch myself falling asleep at my desk.

"Well, it's part of Rainwing culture for dragons to nap together." He insisted. "You said so yourself, if you want to be a proper Rainwing King, you have to follow our customs."

I sighed, acknowledging the point. "Fine," I conceded, "We'll take a quick nap."

"Alrighty then," Fox smiled, again turning yellow, "I promise not to do anything you don't feel comfortable with. This is for your benefit, after all."

I followed the little blue drake to one of the hanging platforms, where two mattresses were laying out in the sunlight. It's not uncommon for Rainwings to nap together and snuggle, but since neither bed was big enough for both of us (at least without getting a lot closer than I was comfortable with) we took to separate beds. It didn't take long for Flying Fox to fall asleep, his tail twitching idly in dreaming. I laid in my hammock, listening to the distant sounds of birds and bugs, staring at a notch on a nearby tree branch, not feeling all that tired. Instead, I let my mind wander, considering the problem before me.

There's often a misconception when it comes to Science. Many dragons (especially those who don't understand it) view it as another form of belief system. Saying the world goes around the sun "because Science says so" without understanding the nature of physics and astronomy is as bad as claiming the sun's being pulled across the sky by an invisible Skywing (arguably it's worse, as the latter is at least creative). In truth, Science is a methodology: a way to understand the world around us, obtaining empirical and mathematical data through repeatable experiments.

The scientific method can be implemented on dragons, just as with nature. Granted, doing so is a much more difficult endeavor, as dragons are often unpredictable, biased and sometimes contrarian just for the sake of it. However, what I appreciate about the method is that when used properly, it can be used to work out what you should do for any number of problems.

For example, turning a bunch of silly Rainwings into a half-competent fighting force.

Question: Are there enough capable Rainwings in the Rainforest to form a proper Army?

Hypothesis: Yes. With their natural abilities and the right leadership, we can turn them into a half-decent militia, at the very least.

Experiment: The most important part. How do I turn a bunch of pacifistic dragons into warriors?

The last one posed the most challenging and interesting part. I considered how other Royals might go about doing it. For starters, Oasis and Burn were the types to lead by example, training alongside the troops and often intimidating them into obedience and competence. I might be a little stronger and tougher than the average Rainwing, but I didn't have the temperament or discipline to become a drill sergeant. Besides, I was a recent arrival and a foreigner-king, and the last thing I wanted was to make my subjects resentful, the same way the Sandwings came to resent Burn.

Blaze, meanwhile, would use more of a "carrot" approach. She was always one to entice others to do what she wanted, offering a variety of rewards. These would range from free meals, a raise, some of her personal allowance of treasure, to even a date with the Princess (which hardly ever progressed beyond dinner, some dancing and maybe a chaste kiss). Problem was, I didn't quite know what I could offer to make a hundred or more Rainwings give a crap about doing their job (and I definitely didn't want to go speed dating every single dragon in the Tribe).

Blister would try to be a bit more subtle. She would focus on several of the most talented and competent dragons of the bunch, and delegate authority to make the necessary changes to improve the army. While this seemed like the best approach, I didn't have too many dragons that I could trust. Flying Fox was my cultural expert, Grandeur and Fruit Bat helped me run the kingdom, which left me with just Majestic and Sparkling. Two dragons are not enough to control a proper army.

Then I considered my conversations with Smolder and Scald and Singe. We would joke that if you sewed together parts of each of their sisters, there'd be one Queen who could be better than even their mother. Each of them had some of the qualities that made a good leader, and from that, I believed I could base a strategy to lead the Rainforest and build an army. As I stared at that knot on the branch, an idea began to form in my head, and by the time the sun had passed between two of the tallest trees, I knew what I had to do.

"Hey, Fox," I asked, tapping him awake, "Do Rainwings like games?"

"Hmm?" He mumbled, slowly coming back to life. "Oh yeah, definitely. We play games all the time. Hell, didn't you become King because you won a game?"

"Good, good." I said, "Then I think I have a way to build up our forces..."

That evening, I called Fox and Grandeur over to my Palace, and I explained my idea to them. In order to determine the capabilities of the Rainwings (and find those most capable for combat or civil service), I wanted to hold a series of tests and competitions within the Village. Best Venom-spitter, Best Camouflage, Best Flier, Best Forager, Best Builder, Best Dart Blower, all that good stuff.

I didn't have the time or patience to make them do as I wish, so I could only hope that making games can bring out the interested dragons, and those who show potential and skill will be made leaders over the others. Those with martial skill I could bring into the militia for further training, maybe turn into proper soldiers. The ex-Queen was rather skeptical of the whole scheme, but agreed to send the word out. In a few days, we would see if the idea was a boom, or a bust...

February 13th, 4992

"So," Fruit Bat asked, "How's your first week as King going?" I turned around to see the pink Rainwing behind me, planting a purple-blue orchid, wiping the last bits of dirt off her paws.

"How do you keep doing that?" I asked, approaching her. "Maybe I should make you join the Army too?"

"Or maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings." She giggled. "It's not like I'm trying to be sneaky."

She bared her neck to me. I leaned in and sniffed. "Lavender?" I guessed.

"Correct." She smiled, her scales turning a happy yellow. "You're really good at this."

"What can I say? The nose knows." We both chuckled at that.

It was strange in a good way, how quickly we established that greeting between us. It was almost like a game: She exposes her long neck, I smell it, and I try to guess what scented perfume she'd put on that day. There was also something fun and enticing about it. This cute, quirky dragoness was being so flirtatious and trusting with me, in a way that no Sandwing had ever been. It certainly helped that we could speak each other's language, feeling just as comfortable talking about various experiments we've run as we did talking about the day-to-day affairs of the Kingdom.

"So," She asked, as we started going down the garden trail, "How'd the tournament go?"

"Honestly?" I replied, "Beyond my wildest expectations. We had dragons from all over the Rainforest show up. We had to break down the leaderboards by task AND settlement!"

"No kidding?"

"Yeah. Even better, they're good. Like, really, REALLY good. We found dozens of camouflagers, blow-gunners and acid-spitters easily as good as Fox, who'd never even tried this stuff before today. We're going to double our numbers and our talent by the end of the week, easy."

Fruit Bat turned a delighted lavender color. "That's amazing!" She complimented. "Grandeur's been trying to get more dragons to join for years, and never could get more than a dozen at a time. What does she think of all this?"

"She seemed impressed," I said, "Real impressed. Maybe a little jealous, too. I mean, she's been trying for years to get a serious recruitment drive going for the army, and I manage to pull it off in less than a week. I'd be a little annoyed if I were her."

"Maybe." She said. "But I think she'll care more that things are finally starting to change around here, even if she isn't the one doing it. That's all she's wanted, after all."

"No, you're right. She's too focused to let anything personal get in the way of doing a good job. It's what makes her so essential."

We stopped before a display of rhododendrons. As she leaned over to inspect them, I considered my next words. "In fact," I said, "I've been thinking about how much all of you and Grandeur and Fox have been helping me. It's been making all the difference in the world. So what I was considering was making your positions more... official. How would you like to be part of my Council of Queens?"

She stood up and turned back to me. "'Council of Queens'?" She asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I want to have a weekly meeting with all of us - you, me, Grandeur, Fox and Splendor - where we come together and discuss the important issues affecting the Kingdom. You all advise me, then when I come to a decision, you help me make my plans a reality. Together, we can all make real change and progress for the Tribe."

Her scales turned a dark blue, which Fox had explained usually meant they felt thoughtful. "That makes sense. A lot of sense, actually. Grandeur was an actual Queen, after all. But why me? My expertise is in gardens, not dragons."

"Don't sell yourself short, Fruit Bat. You're the smartest dragon in the whole Tribe. What Grandeur has in wisdom and experience, you have in intelligence and insight. If there's anyone I want to have by my side while I lead this Tribe, it's you."

She stared up at me, her scales first a surprised emerald, before turning into a proud gold, looking so much like some priceless idol of an ancient goddess. She smiled her beautiful smile, her eyes sparkling as they did whenever I said or did something exceptionally pleasing.

"Thank you. Coming from the smartest dragon I've ever met, that's high praise indeed." I stood a little taller, my chest swelling with pride. It's nice to get recognition from your peers, especially when they're cute. We continued walking through the garden, our smaller talk meandering into silence as we enjoyed nature's beauty. Spots of blue flickered over her green and pink scales, before flashing yellow and returning to pink.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, as we reached the end of the path. The little Rainwing stopped, looking up at me with considering eyes.

"Yeah," She admitted, "This is usually around the time I go and get my sun-time. Would you... I mean, you can join me, if you want."

My heart skipped a beat. A hundred possibilities passed through my mind. Did she mean sun-time like Fox had meant it, or how I had thought it meant? It shouldn't surprise anyone that I hoped it was the latter, but I was equally mortified of asking if that's what she meant, and being so wrong as to taint our friendship. My expression must've been as readable as a Rainwing's scales, for Fruit Bat glowed an almost magenta-pink with embarrassment, and quickly explained, "Just taking a nap together, that's all! I didn't mean- I wouldn't- Not that I'd- Oh goodness!"

"No no, it's fine!" I said, shifting from one side to another. "I didn't want to assume anything! But, um, yes, I... I wouldn't mind that at all, if you're offering. Lead the way."

We went to the edge of the village, to a hanging platform right below the canopy. There was one bed there, big enough for three Rainwings and just to handle a Sandwing plus one. She hopped onto the bed, her green and pink scales shining in a perfectly placed sunbeam, looking back at me, nervous yet hopeful. I took my spot next to her, my heart beating like a hummingbird as she scooted over and leaned against my chest.

"Spirits, Xero," She declared, stretching out along my side, "You're so warm! It's like you're a mini sun. Are all Sandwings like you?"

"I think so," I replied, trying to get comfy, "The desert's a warm place, Fruit Bat."

"Please," She said, snaking her way between my arms, resting her head against my neck, "Call me 'Batty'."

I smiled, holding her against me. Rainclouds passed by overhead, sunlight managing to poke through even as a gentle drizzle came down around us. The stresses of the past few weeks melted away as we rested, and for once, my mind wasn't racing. Between the warmth of sunlight, the soothing rain, and the gentle breathing of my Rainwing partner, it didn't take me long to finally succumb to a deep, restful slumber.

And that, dear reader, is how I learned to become a fan of sun-time.