Here we are, the final chapter. Not much to say, other than I hope you enjoy!

Peril had never been invited to any dance. Well, there was the Jade Mountain ball, but she kind of just stood off in the corner because of her firescales before leaving. It was too hurtful seeing everyone else have fun and having her smoldering a corner.

This was considerably different. She had a boyfriend! A boyfriend! That was weird, really. And she could dance! Well, no she couldn't. But she could try! It was already exciting to be around other dragons and not burn them to death.

There were so many dragons in this ballroom! A lot of IceWings, which was expected. What wasn't was a large SandWing that Peril had met a few times named Blaze. One of the SandWing sisters that a whole war was fought between. She was dressed in the most ravishing of jewelry and Peril, admittedly, could not turn away for a moment.

"Oh, Jerboa showed up." Turtle said with a small 'huh'. "Didn't take her as one for parties."

Peril followed his gaze to another SandWing keeping to the corner. She did not look happy being here, and honestly Peril wondered why she came. Maybe she was a friend to Blaze. Didn't look too likely, though, as this SandWing wore only a seashell necklace.

Admittedly, it did make Peril feel a bit better about her appearance. She worried she'd applied too much of the scale coating and not enough metal, so to speak.

"Who is Jerboa?" Peril questioned.

"Former animus. She helped us out with Pantala." Turtle explained quickly as more dragons began to fill the ballroom. Colors shifted from icy lamps and glow orbs, dousing the room in a technicolor rainbow of hypnotizing lights. The shine she'd applied to her scales made her look like a RainWing!

"Still upset I wasn't invited to come burn a gigantic plant." Peril pretended to pout.

"You'd burn down the entire jungle." Turtle laughed. "I don't think the LeafWings would be too terribly happy about that."

"Eh, they'd get over it if it meant no giant plant monster."

Turtle snorted with another laugh as the two of them walked around the ballroom. The dance hadn't started yet. Right now, it was time to mingle. Something Peril absolutely hated. But hey, she was with Turtle now, so it wasn't all that bad.

Peril spied Winter's mother making an appearance, although Tundra looked like she did not want to come and it was just a formality. Icicle had the same look on her broody face, but did at least greet Winter with respect. There was a hint of happiness, too. Maybe Winter was right about them actually getting a chance to patch things up.

But there was an appearance by someone that she didn't expect.

"Peril!" An excited voice nearly shouted in her ear as a scrambling of claws announced the presence of Sky, her twin. He was scrawny and looked kinda sickly, but his pale sky-blue eyes were bright with energy. Really, she should have expected him to be here, given that he and Queen Snowfall were close friends. They just hadn't had a chance to talk in a while and after everything Peril's brain kind of exploded.

"Sky!" Peril returned the greeting, butting horns with him affectionately. "When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago. I had to drop off Wren at a nearby village first. I told her to come but she was like 'grr, no, I hate parties.'" Sky shook his head. Peril noted that he was dressed up in IceWing attire. "So, here I am!"

"Snowfall let you raid her jewelry closet?" Peril asked teasingly. All of her doubts about being poorly dressed vanished the moment he showed up. It was just so… so, Sky to do this!

"Oh, yeah, she did," Sky replied with complete obliviousness. "Said something about them being for girls, but I don't care. They look so shiny! Really, why is jewelry gender specific? Everyone should dress up! It's fun!"

"Sky, the subverter of gender stereotypes." Turtle couldn't help but chuckle from behind Peril.

"I don't know why she lets me do this, honestly. Treats me like royalty sometimes. But I just assume she's a good host!" Sky continued babbling.

"Maybe she likes you." Peril prodded him with her tail. "Not a lot of girls will do that, much less queens."

"Well yeah, we're friends. I have to assume she likes me."

"No, I mean likes you. As in potentially wants to f - ," Someone clinked their glass next to them, "you."

"Oh." Sky blinked with dim realization. "Huh. Okay then. Weird that she wants to friend me, cuz I thought we already were."

"I…" Peril let out a long sigh before wrapping a wing around her twin and whispering into his ear. He froze right up. "Do you get it now?"

"Um… yeah. I've never done that, though. Uh… should I just ask her? What if I'm misinterpreting it? I don't want to lose her friendship." Sky asked anxiously. "I'm not even sure if I'm into it, but I like trying new things."

"Ask her if she wants to dance. If she says yes, you may have a shot. And if you aren't into it, you aren't into it. Don't feel pressured." Peril reassured him.

Sky nodded before looking at Turtle. "Did you two do that? Cuz that seems like a romantic thing to do."

"Not yet." Peril grinned and slid an eye to Turtle, who choked on his drink.

"Well, okay. I'll be around if you want to catch up!" Sky smiled happily. "I wanna try some of those vegetables over there. You ever heard of Frostmelons? I haven't! They look so appealing and juicy…"

Sky wandered off after that, leaving Peril and Turtle a bit bewildered. Then again, this was Sky. He had this earnest naivety that was damn near infectious and Peril did admittedly worry that she may have just spoiled it. But, somehow she doubted it.

Only major thing to worry about was if the IceWing royalty tried to behead him for bedding the queen. Especially if she got the pregnog from him. She doubted that Snowfall would be that careless, though.

Said Queen had arrived, and Peril realized just how lucky Sky was about to be if he went through with it. She was ordained with the most luxurious jewelry the Ice Kingdom could offer, bringing out the faint pearly pink in her ivory scales. Peril recognized the tiara on her head from when Turtle retold the Pantalan War to her. It was animus enchanted to give her super strength, and Peril admittedly wanted to fight her with it on. It'd be a great challenge.

Poor Sky was going to be broken after tonight, too, if he decided to go for it.

Music began to play, and Peril suddenly felt herself getting cold feet. She realized that if she was going to dance, it was now or never. She fidgeted again, looking at Turtle, who was completely oblivious to her anxiety. Or was he aware and just not commenting? Drawing attention would only feel worse. Probably.

"Did you want to do it now or later?" Turtle indicated to the dance floor. Moon and Qibli were already there, wing talons and claws clasped as they slowly turned in the air.

"… Maybe in a bit." Peril had to will herself to answer. She just wanted it to get it over and done with, but she didn't want so many eyes on her.

"You don't have to, you know." Turtle took her wing talon in his. "Just being here with you is enough for me."

Ugh, why did he have to be so sickly sweet? Peril hated it just as much as she loved it. It made her writhe under her own scales in a way she had never felt before. Yet, she never wanted it to stop.

"It's already better than the last ball I went to." Peril laughed. "I can actually, y'know, do something without burning everyone. Imagine if I still had my firescales."

"Queen Snowfall would never allow you here." Turtle answered flatly. Peril snorted out a laugh.

"It'd be the Sea Kingdom." Peril agreed. "Your mother will like that."

"Oh, jeez, I wonder how she'll take me dating a SkyWing." Turtle suddenly had a hint of fear. "She doesn't care too much about her male dragonets except me. And we both know how she feels about heirs."

"What, she doesn't want a hybrid on the throne?" Peril poked him playfully. "And jeez, we just started dating, and already you're thinking about dragonets?"

"I – look, I am not ready for the little gremlins, but I am warning you how she is," Turtle answered, flustered. "Probably going to be very disappointed. Oh well, her loss." A pause. "Poor Tsunami."

"Why poor Tsunami?"

"Anemone and Tamarin got married, remember?" Turtle slid an eye to her. "No eggs there. Auklet, after the accident… yeah. So, that leaves Tsunami as the last daughter to produce an heir."

"How's Auklet doing, by the way?" Peril asked, noting Turtle flinched a bit at the mention of Auklet.

"Oh, she's fine!" Turtle perked back up. "It's just, y'know… having sharp talons in your gut by a pirate can screw things up. Last I saw her, she was still practicing her combat technique with Shark. She really took after Tsunami, and I think mother secretly hates it. Can't really complain, though, because Auklet saved her life by taking that blow."

"Pirate didn't fly away, did they?"

"Nope. By the time anyone got to them, there was a wingless dragon with their eyes and fangs gouged out."

"Brutal." Peril had a flashback to some of the arena battles that Scarlet put on. "If that were to happen to you or anyone else I care about, I don't think there'd be anything left."

"Well, that place is secure on me… at least, from anything penetrating the scales." Turtle laughed awkwardly. Peril's eyes drifted down there. "It's not fireproof."

"Damn, and here I was, about to put on my firescales…" Peril's eyes drifted over to the crowd, where she spied Kinkajou slowly making her way to Winter. He had no suiters, instead talking to the queen. "You think she's gonna go for it this time?"

"I hope so. She's been tap dancing around the subject forever." Turtle shook his head. "I… think she's afraid of it, honestly."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Anemone really screwed her up more than she lets on. That's why it didn't work between us." A sad smile slowly drew itself on his face. "I think she's afraid to act on anything resembling love because she thinks it's fake."

"Poor thing…" Peril frowned. She found it very hard to express sympathy for other dragons even after all this time, but times like this it was able to burst through. Admittedly, it was something she was very scared of with Turtle, too. If he had a bad day, would she be able to comfort him? She was all physical, no emotion.

No, she wouldn't overthink that. Not now.

"I've tried encouraging her. I really hope she does go for it." Turtle shook his head. "Nothing we can do."

"Yes, there is." Peril grabbed his wing talon. "We can show her what it's like to stop dancing around the subject by dancing ourselves."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Turtle asked cautiously.

"No."

Peril's anxiety skyrocketed as they took to the floor. She caught Moon and Qibli looking at them, approval in their eyes. It just made Peril feel more flustered. Still, she did her best to ignore them.

She remembered the position to get in. Both of them would stand on their legs, wing talons interlocking and beating in unison to dance in the sky. Their tails intertwined, and slowly they lifted further off the ground. His chest was against hers. Touch was still something she wasn't used to, and so she instinctively wanted to back away.

Yet, Peril held firm. She slowly got used to the touch, feeling his body heat against hers. Her head dipped down, brushing against cheek. She squeezed him tighter. She'd never rubbed herself against anyone, and feeling the friction of his scales against hers… it reminded her that she was okay now. She didn't have to worry about burning anyone.

As the dance went on, Peril's chest tightened more and more. She didn't know why. Yet, feeling all the eyes on her and the overwhelming emotions clashed and fought inside her. She lost sight of what she was originally doing. Her head accidentally butted against Turtle's. Her talons gripped harder. She felt him wince in pain.

Peril was hurting him. She was losing control. How long had they been dancing? Why was she like this? Anxiety bubbled more and more under the surface as she felt her sense of control slowly ebb away. Before long, she was going to hurt him again. Invincible scales or not, the pressure of her sharp talons could still inflict pain.

Before he had any time to say anything, she pulled away. She felt tears flow down her eyes, and before anyone could see, took off out of the ballroom.


Turtle had a feeling this might happen. Truthfully, Peril lasted a lot longer than he thought. He didn't think any less of her, and if anything was more proud of her for sticking it out. Heck, agreeing to a dance was something he never expected. Like, ever!

He followed her out, it not being hard to figure out where she went. All he had to do was follow the heat in the air. Despite not burning everything in her wake, she still left a trail.

She didn't go to her room. She didn't go to the dorms at all. Rather, he found her sitting on a tower, high above the rest. She was impossible to miss with her radiant scales. Turtle was envious of how she could sit up there without getting cold at all. He really should have enchanted himself to be resistant to all weather, too…

"Go away." Peril murmured when he flew up to her.

"Why?" Turtle would honor her request in normal cases, but he recognized this to be a panic attack, not her being mad.

"I need to brood."

Well, she has a bit of humor, deep down. "Before you brood, I want to say that you didn't ruin anything. In fact, I'm proud of you for keeping yourself together that long."

An eye poked out from behind her wings. "That sounds so condescending."

"Sorry." Turtle averted his gaze. "I didn't mean it to be that way."

A sigh escaped her. "I know. We're both awkward about this kind of thing."

"Yeah, we are." Turtle sat next to her. It was really chilly up here. "You don't have to talk, by the way."

"I know." Peril shuffled to look at him better. "But… Turtle, I don't think this is going to work."

That alarmed Turtle, but he kept a calm face. "Why?"

"Look at me!" Peril opened her wings and used both claws to indicate to herself. "I can't even do public appearances without having a massive panic attack! I'm not sympathetic. I can't even handle being touched for long!"

"What are you talking about?" Turtle raised a brow. "You're plenty sympathetic."

"Then why do I have such a hard time relating to others? Why can I not understand why someone acts a certain way? I don't get it. I don't sympathize!" Peril snapped at him. "My reaction is always violence whenever I feel emotional. Especially with Clay. I actually wanted to hurt him when I was hitting that dummy before we left…" She added, head down in shame.

"You spent eight years under the wing of one of the most vile dragons who ever lived." Turtle spoke quietly. "The fact you turned out as you did and not a true sociopath is remarkable. And, really, you're still young. Dragons live well over a hundred these days. There is so much time left for you to learn and change… if you wanted to."

"Why are you like this?" Peril snarled. "Why are you so… so nice to me!? I'm a monster! I'll always be a monster! The only thing that is holding me back is a stupid animus charm!"

"Because just as I saw back then, I see that you need a friend. I may not be able to perfectly understand you, but I relate to you."

"I don't understand. I can't understand!" Peril recoiled, moving a few feet away. Anxiety had a vice grip on her. "I can't even function without being attached to someone! Clay rejected me, and I should have been okay with that! You'll leave me too, I just know it! I'll get too clingy, and you'll get sick of me because I can't take off this stupid flight harness! It's best we just… don't."

"Stop it," Turtle said firmly. He surprised himself with how he sounded, and from the blinking stare Peril gave him, she was just as shocked. "You're letting anxiety win. Everything you just said is not the end all of you."

Peril didn't say anything, and Turtle didn't force her to. He kept quiet, too. Moments passed, and then a sigh escaped her.

"Let's go back inside. You're probably cold." Peril stood up.

"Peril, this is what I mean," Turtle said as gently as he could. "If you couldn't sympathize, you wouldn't be able to tell I was cold."

"I guess…"

They flew back down, entering Peril's room via the balcony. She looked like she was ready to cry, but was barely keeping herself together. Instead, she simply looked at him. There was a question on her mind, and he had a fairly good idea as to what it was.

"I'll stay if you want me to." Turtle offered her a smile. "Never mind about the flight harness. We'll work on that after you're well."

Peril threw her wings around him, silently crying into his shoulder. He wrapped his wings around her in turn. Together they sat as Peril let out everything she needed to. He felt her claws tighten on him, as if ready to dig into his scales. It was a mild discomfort at best.

"I think I'm going to pass out." Peril muttered after a bit.

"That's okay. I'll see you in the morning." Turtle went to pull away. She held him firm. "Peril?"

"Can you… stay here tonight?" She asked. There was no pleading in her voice, but her eyes told a different story.

"Yeah." Turtle offered a kind smile and together the two of them lay in her bed. Between the bed and her, Turtle felt warmer than he did in his entire life.

Peril brushed herself against him after a bit, as if she were feeling him. Her talons stroked his scales, and she began rubbing her face against his. Not unlike how some felines in the wild acted around each other. Her breathing was slow, calm.

"I've never been this intimate before," Peril said after another moment. "I… I'm sorry for touching you so much. But the feeling is so strange to me that…"

"Sensory, right?" Turtle turned his head to her.

"Uh… that's when you feel or hear something, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes." Peril nodded. "I just… well, like I said, it's unnatural to me. It feels nice now that we're alone, but in public…"

"You were stressed by everything else."

"Yeah." Peril averted her gaze. "Turtle?"

"Mh?"

Turtle was taken aback when Peril raised her upper body and connected her lips with his in the most emotional, passionate kiss he'd ever experienced. It was full of love, anguish, and all sorts of complex emotions that she couldn't articulate. His own eyes lidded and he returned it, holding her face as she curled her tail around his.

They broke it after a few seconds, where her sky-blue eyes seemed to glow and stare directly into his.

"Thank you for not giving up on me," She whispered.

"Never." Turtle shook his head vigorously.

"Good, because it will happen again for stars know how long."

Turtle laughed a bit at that, her joining him. "I know. And I'll be right here beside you the entire journey."

She grinned happily, kissing him one more time before pulling him into a tight embrace. Even if he wanted to leave, he certainly wasn't able to now. Her being a natural heater only amplified the feeling of comfort.

After tonight, he never wanted to sleep alone again. He could tell she felt the same.

And they never did.

And that's it. Little cute side story done. Fun fact, this entire story was inspired by 'Training Wheels' by Melanie Martinez.

I'll see you guys next year. Or sooner. Depends on when I upload. But as we both know, these two are still together in Jade, so their journey isn't over yet...