The crackle of a rather large campfire replaced the usual silence of night, as two young dragons rested on the top of a seaside cliff, quietly looking over the calm ocean. The orange light of the flames danced upon their scales. The purple scaled dragon, having white scales on his stomach and a row of white spines on his back, scowled at the ocean. The other dragon, predominantly having white scales with gold on his own stomach, watched his friend with amusement. A chuckle escaped his lips, a bit high for a dragon, sounding much like an adolescent.

"Krona, I don't think scowling at the ocean is going to do much." The white dragon mirthfully said, amused as his friend's lip curled.

"I'm not scowling at it," Krona corrected, sounding just as young as his friend, "I'm sensing for dinner. A lot more than what you accomplished today."

"Hey, unlike you, I made the fire!"

"After the fourth try."

"That's irrelevant." The white dragon huffed, flicking a loose pebble at Krona's temple, snapping away his concentration.

He growled, glaring daggers at the instigator. "Great! You just made me lose the place of a big catch!"

"Don't diss my fire-making skills, and that wouldn't happen." Krona turned back to the ocean, not wanting to start another back and forth for the day. His scowl deepened as he stared at the ocean. A veritable cornucopia of food lied in wait in the ocean, and it was his goal to find it.

"Krona?"

"Hm?"

"You ever think about how what we do shouldn't be so difficult?" The white dragon stared off into the horizon, not really looking at anything in particular.

"If life isn't hard, then we-"

"'Aren't trying', yeah, I know that," he interrupted, "but isn't it weird how little progress we've made with our training?"

Krona turned back him, looking as if his friend had just insulted his mother's cooking. "I happen to think I'm doing pretty well with this Ahrt practice, Dante." He said, venom lining his tone.

"You've been sensing the ocean for at least ten minutes now." Dante turned to the fire with a sorrowful look. "And as much I hate to admit it, lighting the fire took me a good while, too." With an agitated flick of his tail, he tossed a small bit of dirt into the fire. "Not to mention all this 'reincarnation' business he keeps talking about. I don't think either of us will get to that point anytime soon."

Krona, for his part, just turned back to the ocean, trying his best to avoid agreeing with Dante's thoughts. With apt attention, his eyes traced the waves on the surface of the starlit sea, looking beyond what any normal mortal could see. A flash went through his mind, he tensed, mentally following the light as he searched. Another flash, and another, followed by many more. He smiled a toothy grin, getting up from his rested position. He stared at the water below as it swirled and spun, many small whirlpools created within seconds. Krona braced himself as he threw his head back with a triumphant laugh, the whirlpools merging together before shooting pillars of water into the air above the cliff, containing many delicious samples of edible sea life: crab, salmon, tuna, and more to behold!

"And you doubted me!" Krona bellowed, immediately grabbing a mouthful and tossing it into the flames.

"You're gonna burn it that way you dolt!" Dante grabbed a nearby fallen branch, the vines on it writhing as he grasped it. He waved it over the pile of seafood as the vines contorted and constricted around what he deemed a good dinner. With amazing strength, he stuck the thick end of the branch into the dirt, the vines tightly tied around the sea creatures, hanging them just above the fire to slowly cook them.

-+~<÷>~+-

Time had passed, a bountiful seaside dinner having been enjoyed. The full moon at its highest point lit the quiet forest with its beautiful blue glow. Krona and Dante, now with full stomachs, slowly trudged through the peaceful foliage, making their way to a nearby cave. Dante clicked his tongue, a sure sign a thought had entered his mind.

"So, back to the whole reincarnation thing..." he looked to his purple friend, pausing to see if there were any signs of defense with this thought. When he found none, he continued. "If we ever do get to that point, what would you like to reincarnate as?"

Krona slowed a bit at the question, caught completely off guard. Just as quickly, he shot. "Definitely not as those Axols."

"That was quick."

"Sorry, but with their tiny size and short lifespan, I don't see a good reason to be one. Rather be one of those Maldi than an Axol."

"Maldi?" Dante tilted his head as he thought of the term. "Maldi, Maldi... Wait, aren't those the bird people? They're just as tiny." Dante lifted a claw to just a couple inches away from his chin. "And if tiny means about this tall, then we're not all that big either."

"That's fully grown, even we haven't gotten to our full maturity yet." Silence followed Krona's statement, Dante looking between both himself and his friend.

"I think I'm plenty grown." He mumbled. "Besides, I don't think being an Axol would be all that bad. Their hands are supposed to be more dexterous than our claws anyways, right?"

"While that may be true, they're still small."

"And then there are the Axol with wings, and the Axol with magic, I'm not seeing anything wrong yet."

"Just shut your ho- Oh! We're here." Krona stopped and admired the entrance of the cave they called home, ever since they were young hatchlings. It was never too warm nor too cold, even during the harshest of seasons. It wasn't too far from anywhere that would get tired from a trek, nor was it too close to any settlements that they would be disturbed. Plus, what with them being dragons, the local wildlife tended to stay away, excluding a few brave yet foolish souls that wound up being lunch. In his eyes, they had it pretty well, all things considered. "Alright, let's stop the talk for now. Papa needs his rest." Krona arched his back and spread his wings, popping joints and stretching muscles, getting ready for a full night's slumber.

"Yeah, I heard that one." Dante decided to follow Krona's lead, popping a good few joints here there and stretching his wings. "Especially with what Tirell has planned for us tomorrow."

"Please don't remind me." Krona shuddered at whatever sweet hell their teacher must've cooked up for them. It wasn't long before he found his little pile of bedding, containing many sheets and blankets that they had stolen from many poor saps when he and Dante were younger. After he circled his sleeping area for a bit, checking for any insects or other pests that might've taken up home in his bed, he hopped onto it. The day's exhaustion would take him soon, he could feel it. His eyelids got heavier, his muscles relaxing. He took a deep sigh into the sheets, warming them up for him to later rest his head.

"Krona?" His friend oh so kindly interrupted his late-night ritual.

"Ymm?" Krona growled, face still in the sheets.

"You ask questions all the time, don't get snippy with me." Dante rolled over on his own bedding, lying on his back. "Remember what he said about us not being normal dragons? The hell does that even mean?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Krona huffed. "I can't lie, that's gotten on my nerves too, but it would explain why we can't just do things other dragons can do." A few seconds of silence passed before Krona spike again. "That doesn't mean we're somehow weaker or lesser than other dragons, does it?" With great force, he whapped the cave floor with his tail. "If that's what he's saying, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Dante cut him off. "We can't even touch him, how are you going to make him regret anything?"

"That..." Krona went silent, unable to continue that line of thought. In annoyance, he curled up on his sheets, ready for slumber to take him. "I'll dream something up. See you in the morning." Dante nodded, not that Krona could see it anyhow, and rolled on to his side to doze off, the lullaby of forest ambiance bringing them both to a dreary sleep.