"Dragon! Dragon! There's a dragon on Isla Nublar!"

Elkay peeked down from her napping tree as Vic Hoskins came running down the road in his usual clumsy way. He stopped in front of her, breathing heavily and sweating like a newt.

"There's a dragon . . . on Isla Nublar . . ." he panted.

Elkay raised her eyebrow.

"There are two. Me and my mother."

Vic shook his head.

"No, this one is different. He's male."

Elkay grinned and hopped down from the tree.

"I'll bet it's my grandson. He's due for a visit. The dragon was black and white, correct?"

Vic shook his head.

"No, he was brown. He said his name was Pyro."

Elkay pricked her ears.

"Pyro! . . . Oh, he's probably here to see Ellie, isn't he?" she mumbled.

Vic shook his head.

"He's looking for you, I think. But he didn't call you 'Elkay'. Do you have another name?"

Elkay's eyes went wide.

"Yes. Yes, I do. Pyro is looking for me . . . Did he say what it was about? Is he mad?"

Vic shook his head.

"I don't think so. He seemed happy enough."

Elkay felt her heart flutter.

"He . . . Oh, this is exciting!"

Vic nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure he doesn't attack us or anything."

Elkay rolled her eyes.

"Vic, not all dragons are like my mother. Some of us aren't born to manipulate those who are stupid enough to follow us."

Vic gulped and laced his fingers together.

"I'm sorry."

Elkay patted his head.

"It's okay, Vic. Thank you for telling me that he was here. Do you want a favor in return?"

Vic shook his head.

"Gosh, I don't think I could accept a gift . . . Actually, can you tell me where to find pretty wildflowers? I want to surprise Zara."

Elkay waved her tail, and a beautiful bouquet appeared in Vic's arms.

"Here you go," she said dismissively, "Get that knot spinning, my friend."

As Elkay took off, Vic smiled and hugged the bouquet.

"Friend! . . . I have friends!"

***TSJWFEW***

Elkay found Pyro sitting by the Visitors' Center Palace. He turned as he heard the wind rattling the skin on her wings. When he smiled at her, Elkay felt her heart melting. She landed and ran up to him immediately, giving him a hug.

"Pyro! Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you in ages!"

He chuckled and pressed his neck against hers.

"It hasn't been that long. I saw you in Australia, remember?"

Elkay folded her ears shyly.

"We hardly spoke. But we have time to talk now. If you're free, that is."

He smiled warmly.

"Of course I am. I came here to see you, and I intend to make use of this time."

"Won't the Army of Peace be missing you?" Elkay asked, brushing her paw against her front leg shyly.

Pyro laughed.

"No, they won't. The funny thing about having an army during a time of prosperity is that your job is pretty much useless. But that's a good thing. Asterpara is safe and sound."

Elkay curled her tail delicately behind her in a somewhat flirtatious gesture.

"Thanks to you."

"And you. You were a wonderful ruler."

Elkay's smile disappeared.

"I-"

"Don't try to be humble about it. I've read your story, and I know how you feel about yourself. You're wrong. None of us suffered under your rule. Whatever personal issues you faced, they didn't show in your leadership. If you hadn't written about your inner turmoil, I'm sure no one would have noticed."

Elkay flattened her ears shyly.

"That's sweet of you to say."

Pyro curled his tail around hers.

"I've missed you, you know."

Elkay nodded.

"I've missed you too. I wanted to meet up, but I was too ashamed. I've change so much since we were together last."

Pyro placed his paw on hers.

"Have you? I'm not so sure."

Elkay took a shaky breath.

"I don't know. You always had too much faith in me."

"My faith was founded. Who else could have defeated Xyphon but the amazing LK?"

Elkay sighed. Her face showed exhaustion, perhaps built up over several millennia.

"That was a long time ago. If I were to try a stunt like that now, I'd be killed in a millisecond. The dragon I used to be is long gone."

Pyro cocked his head.

"I don't think she is. She's still inside of you. You just need to remember how it was . . ."

Elkay looked into his eyes.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

Pyro nodded.

"Walking would be nice."

***TSJWFEW***

The two dragons journeyed across the island, examining every landmark from the herrerasaur colony to the sandy cliffs. They reached Raptor Valley at sunset. Elkay had saved the best for last, and she was relieved to see that Pyro was not getting tired of her blabbering.

"Ellie said that Delta is going to be played by Jessica Chastain, and I asked her if that would get confusing since she looks like Bryce Dallas Howard. She said that that was the point. Sometimes, I think she's even sillier than I am. Would you like to meet her?"

"Already have," Pyro stated proudly, "As Marshall, it's important that I know my Queen."

Elkay nodded.

"Right, right. I'm sure she'd be busy anyway . . ."

As they strolled through the valley, however, they saw that Ellie was not preoccupied with running the Universe, nor any other significant task. She had changed into a raptor, and was sharing a meal with Kipper and his family. Bucky seemed to be a part of the dinner party as well. He shoved his face into a parasaurolophus carcass and came out with intestines wrapped around his neck. Ellie grimaced. Kipper said something to her, and she started laughing. Elkay stared at the scene wistfully.

"What are you thinking?" Pyro asked.

"It's funny . . . When I'm not around, she seems to be . . . Well, she seems to be herself. I haven't seen her like this for a while. It's like an echo of the Ellie I used to know . . ."

She sighed.

"Before she knew me," she muttered bitterly, "Have I ruined her forever?"

Pyro shook his head.

"If she's still acting normal around her other friends, you haven't done anything wrong."

Elkay closed her eyes.

"I've done plenty of things wrong. But maybe I can make it right. What should I do, Pyro?"

He looked at her with an expression that showed a hint of guilt.

"Come back to Asterpara with me. You can take your egg with you. I don't mind raising someone else's child."

Elkay was stunned by his proposal. She stumbled backwards and spread her wings in panic.

"Pyro . . . Oh my god . . ."

"Please, don't turn me down right away," he said quickly, "I know it's an important decision, and I don't want you to rush into it. But think about how good it would be for you and I . . . for the egg . . . for Ellie. Promise me you'll consider it, at least."

Elkay folded her wings behind her back and avoided looking into his eyes.

"I will . . . and I . . . Look, you know I'd like to do it. But I've made a life here. Maybe not a proper life . . ."

She shook her head.

"I'm going to shut up now. I'll leave, and when I've decided, I'll tell you."

Pyro nodded solemnly.

"I probably shouldn't say this, because I don't want to pressure you into anything, but you should know that I love you. I always have."

Elkay pressed her cheek against his.

"I never stopped loving you . . ."

She pulled away suddenly.

"I should go before I make a decision that I don't intend to stick to. I'll see you later . . . or not . . ."

She rushed away before he could see the tears brimming in her eyes.

***TSJWFEW***

Elkay was alone in the hatchery. Well, alone with her egg. It still hadn't hatched, and it was hard to guess how far along it was in its cycle. Hybrids were unpredictable, after all. Elkay knew this well, since she had had many, many children. It was different each time.

But it always ended the same way.

Elkay ran her paw over the egg pensively. Letting out a miserable groan, she rested her cheek on the convex roof and allowed her ears to hang in sorrow.

"What about you? What do you think I should do?"

The egg, unsurprisingly, did not reply. Elkay tapped it gently with her beak.

"Hey. Can you hear me in there? Do you want a dragon father? I don't know if I can raise you alone . . ."

She rolled over and rubbed her chin, staring at the white ceiling.

"Or can I? I raised Christabelle alone, after all. Oh, but that was back when I was sensible."

Elkay stood on the table where her egg was perched and put her paws on its sides. She tested the weight of her soon-to-be child and clicked her tongue.

"You're not too heavy. I can carry you back easily. I might not even drop you."

She placed the egg back on the table suddenly and shook her head.

"Shit! I'm already making decisions!"

She leapt across the room and banged her head against the wall repeatedly.

"Crap, crap, crap! I've already chosen, haven't I? I want this so badly . . ."

She slumped over and placed her chin on her paws.

". . . but I love Ellie. I still need to write her story. I could do it from Asterpara, though. Yeah, that'll be-"

She clutched her head.

"No, this is all wrong! I have to finish what I started!"

She stood up and looked out the window.

"I hate this. I hate this so much. Why did I ever decide to come here in the first place? I shouldn't have gotten involved with Ellie. I've made a mess of things. But what's the proper solution? Should I try to repair the damage actively, or leave this world and hope that it heals itself?"

"You should stay."

Elkay whipped around. A green, striped felidragon was sitting on the table with broken egg shards at his feet. He looked stunningly similar to Donophrion, only infinitely younger. He also had two heads.

Elkay dashed over to the hatchling and ran her claws through one of his manes.

"I missed your birth!"

The baby shook his right head.

"Don't feel badly. I was going to wait for a few more days, but I figured you needed my advice now. In my opinion, you should stay with Ellie. Pyro seems nice, but there's nothing wrong with the way you're running things here."

Elkay cackled bitterly.

"Stupid child! Haven't you seen what I'm capable of doing?"

"What do you mean?"

Elkay scoffed.

"Well, Ellie's gone crazy."

"Because of the Ekaskrøn."

"Which I created."

"Accidentally."

Elkay spread her wings angrily.

"Don't be petulant! I'm making everyone miserable!"

The child leaned forward and slapped her, scowling with both faces.

"Man the fuck up. Instead of bitching about it, do something!"

Elkay blinked.

"Such language . . ."

The baby paced back and forth.

"Look, I know you're not able to see yourself objectively, because you always think you're one step away from disaster, but I'm telling you, you've become your own worst enemy. This decision is based on fear. You're running away again. Haven't you learned that fleeing is foolish?"

"But people are happier without me."

"Untrue. You can make people very happy if you try. Running away won't do anything but make you look bad."

Elkay sighed.

"Just wait until I raise you. You'll see how wrong you are."

The baby kicked his tail to the side and hopped up on her face, grabbing her cheeks with his tiny, sharp claws.

"Listen to me: leaving is a mistake. You're doing a Stupid again. Don't do a Stupid."

Elkay growled, but the child dug his claws deeper into her scales.

"Your brain is telling you to leave, yes? Well, your brain is dumb and so are you. Just do the opposite of what you think is best, and you'll be making the right decision."

Elkay frowned.

"You're a persistent little bugger, aren't you?"

The felidragon stared her down. Elkay folded her ears back and peeled him off of her face.

"Fine. You win. I'll stay."

The baby cheered and clapped his hands, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Hooray! You finally did something right!"

Elkay rolled her eyes.

"I think I'm going to hate you."

"That's only natural. Every parent resents their child somewhat."

Elkay snorted.

"You take after me, alright. Do you have a name, kiddo?"

The baby smiled.

"You wanted to name me Voxlemnion, right?"

"You can choose your own name."

"I'll choose what you want. That's one decision I can live with."

Elkay smiled and picked him up.

"Then you shall be named Voxlemnion."

He climbed onto her head and smiled.

"By the way, it's hard to have two minds awake at once," he said, "Which one would you prefer I use?"

"Do they think the same way?"

"Yes."

"Then it doesn't matter."

One of his heads curled around the neck of the other and closed its eyes. It looked like a fur scarf.

"I'll alternate between my two brains. There's no use in having a dominant side. I'd like to be flexible."

"Wouldn't we all?"

Elkay left the building with Voxlemnion cradled between her horns. She cantered down the road at a brisk pace, taking care not to shake her head too much for her son's sake. His long, hanging whiskers tickled her snout as he rested his chin on her forehead.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You already did," Elkay sassed.

"Good god. I hope I don't have your sense of humor. What I was going to ask is this: what should I call you?"

"A variation on 'mother', you mean?"

"Something like that, yes."

Elkay hummed.

"Gosh, I don't know. Don't use 'Ma'. It's supposed to be reminiscent of the silence used in Japanese-"

"Novel talk later. Be a real parent."

Elkay chuckled.

"Alright. Well, if you want something to call me, call me by my name."

"Elkay?"

"My real name."

"Oh. I know you don't like it being said, so I won't use it when you're narrating."

Elkay smiled.

"Thank you. You're a very considerate boy."

Voxlemnion grinned and slid backwards down her snout.

"Not as considerate as you are. I know how much this means to you."

Elkay shrugged casually.

"Anything for my child."