CounterPart

10 | The Dragonet Daycare

Sunny didn't mind missing the beach, really.

It wasn't as if she'd have that much fun anyway, as she'd said to Tsunami, it was mostly water. Being part SandWing, water wasn't exactly her best friend. Also, she supposed, the NightWings had lived near a volcano for years, so it must be in her blood.

She'd gotten directions for the dragonet daycare from Mandrake, who had to quickly rush off to help Hazel with something. Oh, they were so cute together! Sunny secretly hoped that the ship would sail, but in the meantime, she flew down from the first to the rocky outcrop beside the daycare.

It was only a hut, with a large front yard and an even larger backyard, but as Sunny came in to land on the rocks she could make out ivy systems colonising the walls, and a caramel coloured wooden balcony adorned with geraniums. Her eyes flickered up to the plant stems, and a switch flicked in her mind.

Where have I seen that shade of green before? She pondered, lifting a talon absent mindedly to her jaw. Oh yeah. That annoying-as-hell SeaWing. Moons, if only he'd get to reality a little more. Sunny brushed off the thought with a shrug, as she stepped a few paces further into the hut.

There was only one room, chock-full of wooden furniture, light globes, treestuff ornaments, silk weavings, even a few woven leaf rugs, Sunny noticed, tucked into a corner next to a bowl of plums. Most of the space was taken up by a rather ridiculously large crate of dragonet toys: spinning tops, stuffies, wooden blocks, you name it. Speaking of which...

There were shrieks and roars and cries of Dragonet laughter echoing from the backyard, which Sunny peered into. A moment later, she has to quickly jerk backwards as a purple and white blur charged straight at her and narrowly crashed into the wall beside. Sunny blinked rapidly in bewilderment.

"Uh... Are you okay?" She muttered concernedly, as the Dragonet fell back will dazed garbling.

"The wall no breaky..." He muttered with a signature confident grin Sunny had seen so many times elsewhere. It couldn't be...

"Excuse me, little guy, but who are your parents?" She asked politely.

And that was the thing with Dragonets. Politeness just bounced off them like a mirror.

"Me dada's BIG and COOL and BLUE --"

Wait, was he BLUE's Dragonet?!"

"--and ORANGE SPLOTCHY and me mama's GWEEEEEEEEN andblueandgold." He finished with a grin and leapt back up into a bush enthusiastically to continue with their high staked game of it.

"Swordtail." Sunny finished with a little shake of her head. "Should've known."

But then she looked up to where the purple SilkWing was heading... To where seven of them were clinging to one very restrained dragon, complaining wildly about the situation...and through the mask of Dragonets, she saw green scales... Surely it couldn't be HIM...

Taking a few paces closer, Sunny instantly recognised the voice. Oh moons. It IS him.

"Get off meee! Why are you all so annoyingly persistent? I'm a DRAGONET OF DESTINY you know!" Squid wailed as Swordtail's purple Dragonet hung from his barbels. Sunny almost had to stifle a laugh at the sight of him - a LeafWing climbing his snout, two SeaWings on his tail, the SilkWing hanging from his chin, and four more Dragonets arranged clinging to his scales.

She noticed a group of slightly older dragonets in the far corner, lying on the grass, and waved at them happily, having recognised most of them.

"Auntie Sunny!" Auklet cried, her eyes lighting up as she placed the crooked daisy chain she was making around Cliff's horns.