Reeva sat on her haunches next to her mother while half a dozen younger dragons bounced around them. Before class, the school's harness shop was always abuzz with activity, with parents purchasing replacement harnesses for their young. Either due to being torn up in play or simply outgrown, young dragons seemed to always need their harnesses replaced.

Waiting her turn to be measured, Reeva found herself looking at the pictures framed on the walls of the pavilion. Each one showcasing the dress code and how the harnesses should be worn correctly. Her wings were still sore from trying to keep up with Meegi yesterday, but she tried not to show it. She couldn't keep herself from occasionally shuffling and resting her wings when they drooped low however.

A smile pulled at Reeva's snout as she studied one of the images, a dragoness, younger than her, posed elegantly on it. While the harness matched her black paws, it contrasted sharply with the orange scales on her body. However, the unamused expression on her face made it clear that she didn't enjoy the photoshoot. 

“It feels like yesterday we were here getting your first harness." Reevian said, her voice heavy with nostalgia. “And I guess this will be your last school harness."

Reeva looked up and saw her mother's eyes more glossy than usual. “I guess it will be." She remarked and looked around the rest of the pavilion to try and commit the details to memory. “On that note…" she said and walked towards one of the racks of catalogues. 

Sitting back on her haunches Reeva craned her neck and quickly flicked through the glossy magazines until she found one showcasing harnesses for wingless dragons. With a grin on her snout she returned back to her mother while carrying it in her jaws. 

Turning around she faced the same direction as Reevian and sat down again. Placing the magazine down on the ground, she began to remove the large phone from its holster on her wrist, the rip of Velcro caused her mother to look down at what she was doing. Tapping on the camera app, Reeva began flipping through the catalogue with her other forepaw in search of a familiar face. 

“There you are!" Reeva chuckled and began taking a photo of the image in the magazine. 

Her mother snorted with a laugh, causing Reeva to look up. “Wait, is that Kaarif?" Reevian asked, placing a paw on the magazine. Photographed with a playful smile, Kaarif had been captured in a series of different harnesses. Each one was embroidered with the school's crest and had pouches filled with just enough books to look like he studied hard, but not enough to appear heavy. 

“Yup! He said they had him model some harnesses when he enrolled and he would never show me the pics." Reeva explained and resumed snapping away pic after pic. When she went to turn the page, her mother's paw on the page made her look up again. 

“Reeva, I don't think he would appreciate you taking photos. How would you like It if he did this to you?" Her mother said firmly until a smirk pulled at her snout as the older dragoness gave a quick look around them to make sure the staff were busy, before plucking the magazine from her daughter and stashing it into her harness with a broad grin. “Besides, the real thing can't have been photoshopped."

“Mom!" Reeva exclaimed in a hushed voice, “You're not allowed to keep them."

“Pfft, please. With the fees we pay they can afford to print another." She explained and buckled the pouch on her harness and gave her daughter a wink. Reeva smiled and shook her head in disbelief. 

“Reeva? Come on up honey." Called a human from behind one of the counters. Together, both Reeva and her mother stood up and walked forwards to the counter. The woman on the other side scanned the younger dragoness with a critical eye. “Well, you definitely got your money's worth out of that one. Look at you." She said with a judgmental glance to her mother. “Take it off, let's get you something that will let you breathe. And please, call me Julie." She added and stepped around the counter with a long measuring tape in one hand and a tablet in another. 

Reevian gave her daughter a reassuring nod and took a step back so the human had enough room to get Reeva's measurements. A smile of nostalgia played across her snout as she remembered bringing her here when she was first enrolled in the school. Due to her poorly formed flight muscles she had needed one of the smallest harnesses they had and even then, needed the straps trimmed of the excess. 

“Alright Reeva, wings up please darl." She said while unrolling the measuring tape. “And front left leg forward, rear left back. I need to get your length." She explained and knelt down slightly to run the tape from the dragoness' shoulder to thigh. “Perfect! Wings down, let me get your hips." She said, her hands travelling over Reeva's rump while trailing the tape behind her. 

Turning her head, Reeva watched the woman work. Alternating between tucking the tablet between her thighs or under an arm, Julie would run the measuring tape over parts of the dragoness and write the results into her tablet. 

“Alright, legs wide, darling." Julie instructed and reached around Reeva's thigh to wrap the tape around her leg. “You are a slender one, aren't you." She remarked while she let the tape fall from one hand and began entering data into her tablet. 

“Oh, really?" Reeva said, unsure exactly if it was a compliment or not.

Seeing the confusion in the dragoness' eyes, Julie swatted her flank. “Honey, whatever you are doing, keep doing it. When I look at some of your classmates, I'm surprised they can take off." She chuckled and moved around to the dragoness' front. Sharing a smile with Reeva she reached around the dragoness' neck and brought the tape measure down to the centre of her front. While holding the two ends of the tape together with one hand she balanced her tablet on an arm and tapped in the measurements before double checking.

Sensing her confusion, Reeva cleared her throat. “Um-yeh, my flight muscles are a bit weak."

Patting her on the shoulder, Julie smiled. “All good sweetie, all good. Give them time and they will come in properly." She said reassuringly. When a hatchling transitioned to fledgling they went through a growth spurt and it wasn't uncommon for the flight muscles that wrapped a dragon's chest to take a year or two to catch up with the mass they had to now carry. 

Reeva however was well aware that they were not developing as quickly as they should, but tried not to think about it. “Here's hoping." She said softly. 

“Now, let's get your shoulders, wings back please." Julie said while moving back to Reeva's side. As the dragoness partially unfurled her wings she made sure to pull her wings arms back as far as she could before they shuddered. Seeing the strain, Julie hurried to wrap the tape around the dragoness' foreleg and took a few measurements down the length of her bicep before patting Reeva's shoulder to let her know to relax. 

Dropping one end of the tape she adjusted it until it was just touching the ground and brought it to Reeva's withers. “Slightly above average height though darling." she remarked and saw the dragoness smile. “Now, have a seat for a second, we are going to need mom for this one." She said and waved the older dragoness over. When Reeva sat down, Julie placed one end of the tape to Reeva's shoulders. “Hold this here, will you mom?" She instructed and when Reevian had pinned the tape, Julie ran it down the length of Reeva's spine to her hips. “Now sit up straight honey. Like the principal is here." She added with a chuckle and recorded the dragoness' length in her tablet. 

“Perfect, okay just a few more and then I think we will be sorted." Julie said and nodded for Reevian to let go of the tape.

Finally after what felt like ages, Julie finished and went back behind the counter. “Let's see now… twelve hands and about… let's see." She muttered under her breath, while scrolling on the screen of her tablet. “Ah-ha! You are in luck, miss. We have something that should fit you nicely. I'll be right back." She announced and left the two to seek out the harness from a back room. 

“Twelve hands!" Reevian exclaimed, “When did that happen?" she added while wrapping a wing around her daughter and pulling her into a hug. 

“I guess I've been working on it for a while?" Reeva chuckled, enjoying her mother's embrace. “Thanks by the way. For the harness."

“Please, it's fine. I shouldn't have let your old one get so tight." She replied warmly. “Do you need new pouches too?" 

“Nah, these are fine." Reeva said and unhooked her current harness with a talon. While waiting for Julie to return she began detaching each pouch from the old straps. With dragons often preferring weight on different parts of their body and needing different numbers of pouches for their jobs, it had become more fashionable to have a simple harness that could be fitted with pouches as needed. The only exception to this were harnesses for hatchlings, as their smaller bodies required weight to not be carried in certain areas and because of their tendency to lose removable pouches.

“Last one!" The woman announced as she carried a thin rectangular box to the pair. “Last one, in your size, honey. Try this on." She added while placing the box on the counter, lifting the lid to show the jumble of fresh nylon straps that made up the core harness. 

Using a paw, Reeva removed the new harness from the box while her mother scooped up her old harness and tossed it over her shoulder. The new harness felt lighter, its buckles were finished in a polished silver with no talon marks from being used.  Apart from the stitching being done in the school's colors, it could pass as a normal harness after she had graduated. Placing it on the ground she used a paw to spread the leg loops and lifted it up onto her shoulders. With a few adjustments of the straps she latched the buckles together and shrugged her wing shoulders to ensure their mobility wasn't impacted. 

“How does it feel?" The woman asked, while looking the dragoness up and down. “Not too tight?" 

“It feels good." Reeva said, lifting each paw one by one and twisting her body from side to side. The strap that ran across her chest required further tightening and she bent her neck sharply to look down at what she was doing. After a firm tug she felt it had become snug enough and nodded. “Yeah, much better."

“Perfect! That's what we like to hear." The woman said and scanned a code on the side of the box with her tablet. “That will just be thirteen fifty eight and ninety eight cents." She said while offering the tablet towards Reevian. 

Reeva's eyes went wide at the price and looked at her mother who simply offered her wrist mounted tablet to the lady to tap against. “Thanks." She said softly and smiled when her mother nodded warmly.

“All done?" Reevian asked and the woman nodded when the tablet showed the transaction went through. “I'll give you a hand with your pouches." She added and picked up one in a paw and a second in her jaws so Reeva could do the same with the other two.

With both of them walking awkwardly on three legs, the pair made their way to one of the garden beds, alongside a classroom, and placed the pouches down. Together the two dragonesses set about mounting the pouches to her new harness, so that they sat comfortably against Reeva.

Reeva landed five minutes late for her first class of the day. Even with her mother's help, they had to rush fitting the last pouch on the side of her tailbase. Under the shade of one of the school's many oak trees, the students were all gathered around low tables with paper and charcoal sticks laid out for them. As she trotted towards them she averted her gaze as the rest of her class looked at her. “Welcome Reeva, how nice of you to join us." Remarked their art teacher. The tall, lanky man, wearing a colourful tie and suspenders, stood next to a large easel. While many of the classes were taught by dragon teachers, the school was proud to have brought on the human artist to teach their cohort.

“Sorry Mr. Ross, I had to get a new harness." Reeva explained and saw an opening next to Kaarif who looked barely awake. 

“Well, you made it. That's the important thing. Please…" the teacher said and gestured to the desks with an arm. Reeva gave a quick nod to him and hurried past some of her classmates to take the spot next to her friend. “As I was saying, the form and flow of a pose is critical to conveying the emotion of the piece…"

“Are you okay?" Reeva whispered out of the corner of her mouth as she sat down next to Kaarif and looked towards the teacher.

“I don't know how you do it." Kaarif whispered back, “I swear, I think I smashed out three hundred words for this presentation last night."

She frowned and glanced down to the small drake to confirm whether he was proud of that number or not. The small smile and the subtle frill twitch telling her that this was indeed an achievement for him. “Good work! The oral presentation right?" She asked softly while looking ahead at the easel that Mr. Ross was now sketching on. With a flourish of his hands he began demonstrating a method of drawing which, no doubt, the class would be expected to repeat shortly.

“Ya, it's good! Like, really good." Kaarif whispered with a mischievous smirk. Reeva was about to ask how so but the teachers instructions cut her off.

“So! Your mission, should you choose to accept it… spoiler, you have to." Mr. Ross smiled as a murmur of a chuckle came from the class. “Is to draw your paw, and I don't mean an outline that looks like a chicken or wait, no, that's more a human hand thing. Anyway! You see your paws every day, so what better thing to draw than it!" he added and clasped his hands together. “You might find that it's harder than you imagine." With a gesture to the class, they all began. There was a murmur of hushed voices as they all collected paper and charcoal from their tables and set to work.

“How did your assignment go?" Kaarif asked while gripping his charcoal stick in one paw and looked sceptical at his other. “Or was it a date? I lost track." He added with a grin.

Reeva's frill perked up, but she smiled and playfully swatted her friend's tail with her own. “It went well, we got nothing done though-"

“Cuz of all the kissing-"

“No!" Reeva giggled, keeping her voice down to a whisper. “It's not like that."

“Uh-huh, but your frill says you wanted it to be." Kaarif grinned, his whole body shuddering with laughter as Reeva slapped his tail again. “So when are the eggs due?" He added, his frill laying flat and teeth revealed in a cheeky smile as Reeva glared at him. 

“And here I was, about to ask you to the game tomorrow." Reeva sighed dramatically while focusing on her paw, flexing each digit to find a pose that would be easier to draw. “I guess I'll have to find someone else." She added while inspecting a claw.

Kaarif's tail twitched as he saw through her threat. “Ah well, I don't know if I was going to go anyway. All this school work to do… I hear Tiiphani is going though, you can ask her."

Knowing her bluff had been called, her frill drooped and she looked down at her friend to see him engrossed in his sketch. “Fine… Kaarif, could you come with me to the dragon ball game with me? I kinda don't know the rules."

“Magic words." Kaarif said flatly while trying to capture his toe pads in detail. 

Reeva sighed and rolled her eyes. “Please?" she asked and saw a smile pull at the silvery drake's snout. “I'll pay for snacks."

“And drinks." He suggested with a broad grin. “And I'll teach you all the details of the game so you can impress Meegi."

“That's not what… wait, would you?" Reeva asked hopefully and felt giddy when Kaarif nodded. “Done! Thanks Kaarif!" She added and wrapped a wing around the smaller drake, pulling him into a friendly hug with enough force that he let go of his charcoal stick. 

“Gods girl, easy. People will start talking." He teased and grinned when she released him. As their teacher walked towards them they both hurriedly resumed working on their sketches. Glancing to Kaarif's, she noticed he had drawn his claws a lot thinner and sharper than she had hers. Looking at the paw he rested on the table she realised his claws did indeed match his drawing. Looking back at hers, she focused her attention on capturing the clover-like paw pad that made up her paws 'palm'.

With the underside of her paw exposed, she noticed the small build up of dirt under her claws and suddenly felt self conscious. Placing her charcoal down she picked at the dirt with another claw, before tensing to expose more of the nail. While a dragon's claws did not fully retract inside their digits, they could extend slightly to dig deeper into prey or act as a shock absorber if what they picked up began thrashing in flight. 

With her claws clean she resumed sketching, but not before glancing to some of the other dragonesses and saw their claws were painted. Most of the others had painted their claws in either a pearly white or a colour that contrasted with their scales while hers were just their natural ivory colour. As she drew the elegant curve of each talon, she noticed Kaarif concentrating hard on his own drawing. His small, pale pink tongue protruding from his streamlined snout.

Glancing between the pair of drawings, it was clear he was more artistically gifted. Seeing how he had captured the small cavity under each claw, made her look back at her own and begin adding the small details. With each of her four digits drawn, complete with soft toe beans and talons, she relaxed her neck from the tight arch it had formed and shook her head to loosen the stiff muscles. 

“That will do, I think." She said with a hint of doubt. Looking over at Kaarif's, he was adding the finishing touches before placing his charcoal stick down. 

“Eh, good enough." He said critically before looking at hers. “Hey, that ain't half bad." 

“Thanks, it's okay." Reeva said with a shrug of her wings. “I feel like it's missing something, but I don't know what." She said as she flexed her paw and compared it to her sketch, taking longer than necessary to double check that she drew all her digits correctly. 

“So, you hanging at Meegi's work tonight?" Kaarif asked while gently lifting his sheet of paper to let the charcoal dust fall from it onto the grass.

“He has the night off, and said he has to get ready for the game." Reeva said while doing the same to her sheet of paper. “So, probably a chill night. Maybe get a start on the assignment." 

“What are you going to be writing about?" 

Meegi yawned as the final bell rang out across the school grounds, the afternoon had dragged on and on. Over the last few minutes of his maths class, he had been sneaking his textbooks into his pouches, one by one until only his notebook remained. Their teacher had to raise his voice over the sudden chatter of the class, as he issued their homework. Scribbling down the page numbers quickly, Meegi tucked his notebook into his harness and stood up. This weekend was going to be busy with the game and Reeva. A smile found its way onto his snout, as he remembered the previous afternoon with her. With a shake of his head, he pushed the thought away and made a mental note to try and get as much homework done that afternoon so the weekend was free. 

Math classes, along with the rest of the STEM subjects, were held exclusively in the main school building. Meegi let out a relaxed sigh as he trotted outside with his peers and made their way to the assembly area. 

“Um, Meegi, hey." A friendly voice came from beside him. His eyes widened and pearly white teeth were revealed as he smiled at Reeva. 

“Hey Reeva." He said and noticed that something about her appearance seemed different, though he couldn't work out what. “What's up?" 

Reeva's frill slowly perked up as she swallowed and tried to find the words she had rehearsed. “Um, hey. So my folks said it was cool for you to come over after the game. If you are still free that is."

“Oh! Awesome!" Meegi said happily and smiled further as her frill became fully erect. “That would be sweet." He added and saw her friend Kaarif lingering behind her with a smirk on his face. “I should be done with the game around like two or so, where should I meet you?"

“Oh, well um. I'll probably be at the game, so what works for you?"

Meegi's heart beat faster, he had hoped she would be allowed to come to the game, but he hadn't been sure. “That's sick, um… maybe come to our team's dugout after the game. We do a little debrief and then we should be good to go from there." He explained, his eyes flicking over her to try and work out why she looked different. 

“Cool, yeah that would be cool." She said and blushed as she realised she repeated herself.

“Awesome!" Meegi said cheerfully. “Hey, um… did you do something with your harness? It looks different."

Reeva grinned at his observation, “Ya! I got a new one. I kinda grew out of the old one. New harness, same pouches!" she said and found herself lifting her wings slightly and swaying from side to side to show them off.

“That's cool!-"

“Yo, Meegay!" Called a voice from across the assembly. Both of them looked towards the source and saw Meegi's friend Riikal and the rest of the Dragonball team together. “Come on buddy, team huddle!"

“I… um, sorry-"

Reeva waved a paw dismissively, “It's all good. I'll, ah, see you tomorrow."

Smiling guiltily and giving her a nod in farewell, he turned and bounded off towards his team. Reeva watched him leave and her frill slowly dropped down to lay flat again as she heard the clicks of claws on concrete coming behind her. 

“So, he wasn't impressed with your pouches huh?" Kaarif teased.

“I kinda stalled that one didn't I?" Reeva said quietly before turning around and walking towards the gate with Kaarif trotting alongside her. “I wasn't that awkward yesterday."

“It was kinda painful to watch, not gonna lie." He said and nudged her with his side. “But hey, you got tomorrow! You, him, your place. Kissi-"

“Kaarif!" Reeva exclaimed and nudged into him with her body. “That's not happening. We just have an assignment to do."

“Uh-huh." Kaarif said with a smirk as they left the school grounds. “I guess it is an oral presentation-" his words were cut off as Reeva shoved him hard, sending the smaller drake stumbling before the both laughed.

Meegi watched the pair leave while Riikal was explaining to the team his plans for tomorrow. A flicker of a smile pulled at his snout as he saw Reeva jostle the smaller male and made a mental note to tactfully ask Reeva what the nature of her relationship was with the aquatic drake.

“Make sense?" Riikal asked rhetorically to the team. While the team consisted of six primary players and six substitutes, only the six primaries were here. Meegi knew that even within the team itself, there was a class system and the substitutes were often excluded from team activities until needed. Looking around at the team, he had played with most of them long enough to know their strengths by heart. 

Riikal, Huune and Miikalah formed the team's primary defenders. While this was Miikalah's first season on the field, she had shown a particularly violent disposition in training which made her a formidable brooder. Meanwhile, Meegi, Jaalaphin and Ryylark formed the teams primary claimers, their goal was simply to get the balls away from the enemy brooders and bring them back to their own nest to score.

“Meegi, you good there bud? Ya kinda zoned out." Riikal teased with a smirk. “Only eggs I want you worrying about are tomorrow's." He added with a chuckle as the tan drake blushed slightly.

“I'm good. Don't worry about me." Meegi said with a smile, “Worry about Miikalah here, doing better than you." He added with a small nod to the burly blue dragoness. “I'm glad I ain't having to go against her." 

Miikalah chuckled and shuffled her azure wings. “I wouldn't want to go against me either." The blue dragoness was only the tallest by a few inches, but her thick chest and broad shoulders gave the impression she was wearing pads even when she wasn't.

“Well, we have a big game tomorrow, so I have something special lined up for y'all." Announced Riikal with a grin to the team.

Meegi rolled his eyes at his teammate. “Riikal, if this is another one of your questionably legal activities, I've got homework-"

“Don't be a nerd, Meegay." Riikal chortled and grinned while Meegi glared at him. “I've got us all lined up for a scale polish session." Seeing Miikalah perk up he nodded, “Yup, it's a parade game after all. Might as well get you all sparkling."

While the rest of the team smiled in excitement, Meegi frowned at Riikal. “Oh yeah? Where is it at?" He asked. His eyes locked with Riikal's before the red drake shrugged his wings. 

“Oh, well, if you want to go home and be lame, nothing's stopping you." Riikal teased, “but I think the team is pretty keen, right?" he said and chuckled as the rest of the team nodded. “So coming? Get yourself all scrubbed up for your 'ness to watch you tomorrow?" 

“Hey, it's not like that!" Meegi exclaimed more defensively than would be believable. Seeing the curious expression on Miikalah's face he sighed in defeat. “Fine, lead on, but you are paying."

“Of course!" Riikal chuckled smugly. “It's this hidden place that not many dragons go to. Y'all are going to love it." He added and walked past Meegi with the rest of the team in tow. As many of the students had already taken to the sky, the team had enough room spread out in an arrow formation. Mantling his wings in sync with his team, Meegi glanced at his fellow claimer, Ryylark, and saw a hint of  apprehension in his eyes. With a blink and a small shake of his head the expression on the green drake's face changed to excitement and he leapt into the sky with his team. 

Beating their wings together, the six Dragonball players soared into the sky, holding a tight formation just as they had practiced. With Riikal in the lead, they banked together and began heading towards this mysterious spa he had organized. 

Reeva found herself watching the team fly overhead until they disappeared behind the many buildings. With a chuckle from Kaarif she looked back down at him and blushed. “Shut up." She murmured.

“Oh, I didn't say shit." Kaarif retorted. “And hey, if I was a 'ness, I would be all over him too." The smaller drake ducked as a wayward wing from Reeva went over his head. “Oi, watch it." 

“I am." She said simply with a smirk. “But okay-okay. Let me see if I've got this right. Each team has six players. Three attackers called claimers and three defenders called brooders."

“Correct." Kaarif said with a nod. 

“And, the field has three goals-nests! at each side, one brooder on each nest. A claimer has to go into the zone around the nest and try to get an egg from the brooder." 

“Yup. But, there is a time limit. Once they go into the zone, they have sixty seconds to get the egg or get out."

Reeva's pace slowed down as she absorbed the rules. “Right, and once the claimer is out of the zone, the nest can't be entered by another claimer for six minutes?" 

“Yup! Gotta give the brooder time to recover or else claimers would just attack them relentlessly until they were subbed out." Kaarif explained with a smile. “Although, with the padding they wear nowadays, I would be surprised if they were able to get a brooder down before losing a claimer or two. Every time they go in, they are rolling the dice."

“Right, that makes sense." Reeva said while they stopped at a crosswalk. “Then, once the claimer has the egg, they have to get it back to their own nests to actually score a point." 

“Look at you go. Top of the class." Kaarif said with a playful smirk, as the light changed to green on the cross walk.

“So, when they have the egg. The claimers need to work together to get the egg back safely?" Reeva asked. 

“Pretty much, they can pass it between one another, but only one egg can be held by a dragon at any one time." Kaarif explained. “Meanwhile, the enemy claimers are allowed to engage the egg carriers and that's when the fun begins." 

“Really? I thought the stealing of the egg would be the good bit." 

Kaarif cocked his head from side to side. “Oh, it's good. But the zones they have to battle it out in are really tight and it's usually only a few good grapples to get the brooder away from the egg long enough for the claimer to steal it. But once in the open air, it's three claimers against one egg carrier while his two friends try to protect him. Make sense?"

“I guess, If they are winded from the fight with the brooder, I think they would want to pass the egg to another?" 

“Now she gets it!" Kaarif remarked. “Hundred percent, if the fight for the egg is rough then everyone knows that the egg is gonna get passed. It makes for some exciting plays. It's 90 minutes and never a dull moment, claimers have to keep an eye on their nests to see how their brooders are doing, as well as the enemies for any opportunities to swoop in and get an egg." 

“I see." Reeva remarked. “And our team, where do they rank up against the others?" 

Kaarif chuckled and shook his head at her naivety. “Oh, they are one of the best. There are a lot of tactics and strategies that go on to try and tire out the opposition, or get them out of position so someone can go in for the steal and coach Daanic is really good."

“Interesting…" Reeva remarked while analysing what she knew of the sport. “So, they are in the air for the full 90 minutes?" 

“There is a ten minute half time to lick their wounds, but otherwise yeah." Kaarif said and saw her eyes widen at the thought. “It's a sport for athletes that's for sure, I couldn't fly for that long." He added and watched her eyes narrow before looking down at him and grinning at his joke. 

“Maybe one day." She said with a playfully patronising pat of her wing against his back.

“Well… you sure have outdone yourself Riikal." Meegi teased as the group stood next to one another. “Here I was thinking you could get something right." He added with a playful smirk. 

“What?! I told you it was exclusive." Riikal retorted while shuffling his wings close to his body defensively. Despite the dark looks his friends were giving him, he maintained his cheeky grin while they waited for a car to finish in the automatic car wash. The scent of the cleaning chemicals stung at their sensitive noses as they looked at the long list of warnings, including a very clear red line through a silhouette of a dragon.

“You said it was a spa." Miikalah said flatly, the burly dragoness doing little to hide her contempt.

“First of all, I didn't say spa." Riikal chuckled. “Second of all, it will be fun! Come on!"

The rest of the team shared looks of apprehension, the spinning rollers of the car wash didn't look like they would be comfortable and none of them wanted to be injured the day before the first game of the season. 

“Come on Meegi, don't be a dropped egg." Riikal teased, “With those big strong wings of yours, you'll be fine!" 

When the rest of the team looked at him expectantly, Meegi sighed. “Okay fine. On one condition, you do it at the same time." He said firmly, he chuckled when Riikal's smile faltered slightly, making it clear that he hadn't done this before either. 

“I-um…" the red drake started before the rest of the team looked at him with raised eye ridges. “Well of course! But I don't want you bitching out and leaving half way through." 

“I would never." Meegi said in a deliberately unconvincing voice and began unbuckling his harness. Feeling somewhat exposed without the tight fitting rig he rolled his shoulders and removed the phone strapped to his wrist. While designed to be waterproof, he couldn't afford to risk it. Looking to Riikal, the stockier drake had done the same but kept his phone on him. Side by side they then trotted towards the entrance, nerves and excitement building inside the young drakes as they took their places. 

With a tap of his wrist on the reader, Riikal paid for the wash and tapped a button to select the deluxe treatment. The large machine whirred to life and the conveyor track on one side began to try and pull the non existent car through the machine. “Come on, you have to keep moving." Riikal instructed. 

Taking a gingerly step into the machine, Meegi wished he had scales like the thick armoured plates that ran over Riikal's body. Hoses mounted in the ceiling and walls of the bay began spraying them with a lemon scented detergent,  designed to break down mud and grime off of cars. The pair found themselves holding their breath and closing their eyes. While they had expected the chemicals to be unpleasant, the cold chill of the water was a nasty surprise for both of them. With a wet schlop sound, cold soapy foam sprayed over their bodies, quickly changing their appearance to white blurry blobs. “Keep walking! Bleh!" Shouted Riikal, catching a jet of soap in his mouth. 

Blinded by the soap over his eyes, Meegi reached out with his gifts to try and sense the world around him. His concentration almost faltered as he continued to walk and focus on his magic, but he forced himself to try and relax. Beside him he could sense the presence of Riikal, his body glowing like a network of amber lights, the world around him however was a chaotic mess of white noise. Between the soapy water in the air and the spinning brushes ahead he found it impossible to navigate by sensing the world around him. Letting go of his magic, he instead stepped closer to Riikal to feel him walking. He kept pace and clenched his jaw, as he heard the rapid spinning of the roller brushes beside and above them. He tucked his wings in tight and walked slightly faster as the brushes made contact with his delicate wing. His heart skipping a beat as the reassuring pressure of Riikal next to him suddenly disappeared, the larger drake surging forwards as his scaled body was replaced with another roller. “Riikal!" Meegi exclaimed and tried to walk forwards with his eyes closed only to feel the horizontal roller from the ceiling begin whipping at his snout. Knowing it was designed to apply pressure on a car and follow its contour, Meegi swallowed and pushed against the roller. The sensation of the brushes against his horns and neck could have almost been relaxing if it wasn't for being blinded and disorientated by the pair of rollers squeezing him from both sides. 

With his eyes tightly closed, Meegi kept walking forwards until he was rewarded with the sensation of high pressure water blasting at him from all sides. As he continued on, the brushes were finishing with his tail and he was finally able to open his eyes and see Riikal being teased by the rest of the team. With just the water rinsing away the soap he lifted his wings but kept them folded to allow the jets to clear off the last of the suds from his body and, when he saw the rest looking at him, he made a point to spend longer than necessary under the streams. 

Once satisfied he continued walking and entered the drying stage of the machine, large, high pressure fans blasted warm air over his body. Keeping his wings lifted he enjoyed the warmth with a smirk as the sud covered Riikal was still being bullied by the team for leaving half way through. As the deafening noise of the fans died down, Meegi pranced out of the carwash with a broad grin and a spring in his step. 

“What happened, Riikal? Was the water too cold?" Meegi teased and playfully swiped him with a paw only for it to slide off his soap covered body. 

Riikal looked deflated, “Shut up, I wasn't expecting to have my eyes closed." 

“Naww, is Riikal afraid of the dark?" Ryylark teased, the green drake taking any opportunity to make fun of the large brooder.

“Hey! I don't see any of you going through it!" Riikal retorted, “Only Meegi is allowed to bully me, he didn't gryphon out." 

“Oh really?" Miikalah teased before grabbing Riikal's phone on his wrist, the strap protesting before coming undone. 

“Oi!" Riikal retorted, as the larger dragoness grinned and bounded towards the entrance of the car wash.

*Hey, you said you would pay for us." She retorted from the far end. “Come on, who wants to get wet with me!" She teased with a sinister grin. 

Ryylark, Huune and Jaalaphin all looked to Meegi for reassurance. With a grin, Meegi nodded to Ryylark. “You go with her Ryylark, then Huune and Jaalaphin go together. Just keep your eyes closed until you get to the rinse bit." Meegi instructed. With a nod of understanding, Ryylark bounded off towards the waiting dragoness. Because the two claimers Ryylark and Jaalaphin were significantly slimmer than Huune and Miikalah, it made sense to pair one claimer up with a one brooder, that way the larger of the two could shelter the smaller. 

After touching Riikal's tablet to the reader, Miikalah placed it on the ground for the next pair to use and began walking into the machine with Ryylark beside her. 

“You all good?" Meegi asked Riikal once the rest of the team were in the machine. 

“Me? Pfft, yeah I'm good." The red drake lied. “Just don't appreciate being touched when I have my eyes closed, is all." Riikal explained with a rare hint of vulnerability in his voice. 

“Well, it was your idea." Meegi chuckled, trying to make light of the situation while sitting down on his haunches next to his soap-covered friend. 

The pair watched as Miikalah and Ryylark slowly emerged, the large dragoness grinning from horn to horn as she sheltered the smaller green drake under her wing. Together they walked forward, the quills that ran down her spine sticking to her blue scales, while the orange frills around green drake's ears twitched. Ryylark kept his eyes closed until the large dragoness gave him a squeeze with her wing and then folded it against her side. 

“You think he is going to do alright this season?" Riikal asked with a nod towards Ryylark who was now standing in the machine getting rinsed off.

Meegi shrugged, “That wing sprain last year did a number on him. He told me his folks were keen for him to recover and get back out there." 

“That's what I'm worried about, you think he is ready?"

The memory of the illegal tackle from last season was still fresh in Meegi's mind. While they had been winning by a tight margin, both teams had become desperate and things had become even more violent than usual. Ryylark had been on his way back to their nests with an egg clutched to his chest when he had been tackled hard by an opposing claimer. Even after he had dropped the ball in defeat, the opposing player continued to drag him out of the sky, only releasing the green drake moments before the ground with no time to recover. Thankfully nothing had been broken. However, even though Ryylark insisted he was fine, he didn't show the same level of aggression in training he once had. 

“Coach thinks he is ready." Meegi said simply. “He knows what he is doing, I think once he gets tackled again and recovers he will be fine. Get back on the saddle and all that."

“I hope so." Riikal murmured, “with Miikalah and Ryylark, we have a few unknowns in our team." 

Looking at the big dragoness who was now being dried off, Meegi chuckled, “I don't think we need to worry about Miikalah, other than the penalties she may rack up for sitting on their claimers."

Riikal snorted, laughing at the thought of the burly dragoness sitting on her goal with three tails protruding from under her bulk. “Well, let's hope so. She wasn't the coach's first pick, but Tiiphani's folks pulled some strings."

“What! How?" Meegi asked, he knew Tiiphani's sire owned one of the elite teams but struggled to see how that would affect the school's team.

Riikal shrugged, “I don't know the details, but don't be surprised if some of the Cresties randomly swing past to watch a game of ours. It will make good press I imagine, and hey! You will get a chance to mingle."

Meegi nodded slowly as Miikalah and Ryylark finished drying off, a sense of uneasiness tugging at him, as he realised there were schemes happening around him. 

“It wasn't that bad, you soft shell!" Miikalah teased, flicking a wing at Riikal and showering him with droplets that had been trapped in the folds of her wings. “Ooo, it gets dark and things touch me. Pfft." She teased while Ryylark and Meegi chuckled.

Riikal stared at Ryylark who's smile faltered. “And what are you giggling about? We all saw you cowering under her wing." He snapped, trying to deflect the team members to pick on the green drake instead of him.

“I-um.." stammered the drake.

Miikalah shook her head in his defence. “He just wanted an excuse to be close to a big sexy dragoness, didn't ya?" She asked and nudged him with a wing. 

“Okay, maybe." Ryylark grinned sheepishly, making the others burst out laughing. As they turned around to watch the last two get washed, Meegi caught the quick look of thanks between Ryylark and Miikalah. 

The four of them chuckled and watched the scene unfolding before them. Both Huune and Jaalaphin were no longer walking forwards in the machine and instead taking their time in the roller brush section. Even from their distance the team could see the smirks on their faces and occasional shoves between them. 

Meegi cocked his head and squinted “Are they…"

“Daring each other to see how long they can stay." Ryylark said with a shake of his head. “They were carrying on behind us about who was more drake-ly."

Meegi shook his head in disbelief. “You're kidding." He said with a smirk, “Because there isn't anything more dragon-like than being washed by a machine." He added much to the amusement of the team.  

“I don't know, I've read plenty of books where a dragon gets cleaned by their dutiful minions. So, in a way it kinda is dragon-y." Miikalah explained. 

“What books are you reading?" Riikal inquired with a raise or his eye ridge and a smirk. The rest of the team followed his lead and looked at the large dragoness for an answer. 

“Oh, ask your mother, little runt." She retorted defensively. “She probably has plenty." She added with a grin. 

As Riikal opened his mouth, a loud blast of a car horn made them all snap their heads back to the car wash. Through the transparent sides of the machine, the team could see a car's headlights slowly approaching the two dragons from behind who now quickly moved forwards to the rinse section. 

Despite his smooth features and delicate frills that ran the length of his grey body, Jaalaphin was not one to be trifled with in the air. Having been responsible for over half of the team's penalties last year, his sharp claws were known to find purchase between the opposition's pads. The team watched as he playfully shoved Huune's large head into one of the high pressure water streams, before bounding forwards into the drying section. 

With a snarl, the large defender prowled towards the small claimer. His crimson eyes contrasting against his black scales in an almost demonic appearance, each foot step slow and measured while a deep growl resonated through the carwash. 

Despite his fearsome appearance, the team knew Huune was almost completely harmless. While on the field he would focus on looking intimidating, with a fierce snarl and blowing smoke from his fire glands. However when it came to defending his nest, he was more likely to latch onto an enemy player and use his weight to take them to the ground. Instead of letting his opponents hit the ground hard he would always flare his wings to ensure they were not hurt. It had been debated amongst Meegi and Riikal if he was the best dragon for the team. It couldn't not be denied, however, that he had the highest number of eggs defended in the season and had shrugged off many injuries which would have sent other dragons back to the dugouts.

“Who won?" Called Riikal as the black and grey drakes trotted out of the carwash. 

“I spent longer, because he pushed me." Said Huune in his deep voice and unstrapped Riikal's phone from his own wrist before passing it to its owner.

“Well, congrats. Don't we all feel fresh and clean?" Riikal grinned, “Told you that you would love it."

Meegi nodded. “Yeah, I do feel nice and clean. What about you guys…" he said. His smirk and quick glance to Riikal made them all nod.

“Yeah! We are one clean team now… aren't we Riikal." Miikalah grinned mischievously and took a step closer to the red drake who still had a thin film of soap on his scales.

Huune smirked and came behind the red drake before taking his place on the other side so the red defender was trapped between him and Miikalah. “Nice and clean, all of us… nice and clean." He said in his deep voice.

“Ha-ha, very funny you lot. But I did go through the machine." Riikal said quickly, his smile faltering as he went to take a step forwards to squeeze out, only for Huune's large wing to hold him close. “Ah-ha-ha-nope!" Exclaimed Riikal, as he pulled back and began scrambling to get out from the large drake's grip. 

Meegi, Ryylark and Jaalaphin stepped back to give the three brooders space as Miikalah and Huune pulled the uncooperative drake closer and closer to the car wash. “Guys-guys-guys, I get it, it's okay! You don't need to do this." Begged Riikal. 

“You got this buddy!" Exclaimed Meegi with a cheeky grin.

“It's as you said, only those that go through can bully you." Huune grinned, his eyes going wide as the red drake shoved his snout under his body and tried to worm under him. 

The frantic sound of talons against asphalt filled the air, as Riikals head emerged from the other side of the black drake. With a shove and a lunge, he managed to squeeze out from the large drake and bounded across the carpark. “Get him!" Exclaimed Miikalah with a grin as they all ran after the soap covered drake.

While there was a marked take off space at the other end of the car park, Riikal threw caution to the wind and leapt into the air, spreading his wings wide and surging skywards. With a combined laugh the rest followed suit, their wings beating rapidly to catch up with the fleeing drake. 

Glancing back he could see them all a dozen yards behind him, each with a playful grin on their snouts. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he continued to climb higher and higher, the thoughts of being stuck in the dark wet car wash again making him fly faster than ever. As he cleared the top of a large building he rolled, inverted and dove towards the ground, righting himself at the last second he kept just above the streetlights and weaved in and out of the buildings at a breakneck speed. 

While there were no laws on the speeds dragons could fly through the city, there was an unspoken rule to fly sensibly and cautiously for the sake of their fellow fliers. Beating his wings hard, he banked around a tall skyscraper and looked back to see only Meegi, Ryylark and Jaalaphin in pursuit. The three claimers managing to keep pace with ease, while the other two brooders had been left behind. 

Knowing he couldn't outrun the faster dragons, Riikal scanned ahead for a way to lose them. He slowed down until the three claimers were close to his tail before fainting a left turn and then banking hard right over an intersection. His toes came close to the concrete side of an old building as the g forces pulled at his wings, but he maintained the turn. 

Ahead, another dragon was taking off from a designated landing area. Riikal's eyes went wide as he flared his wings, reared his neck and twisted his tail to turn sharply and avoid a collision. The sudden change of his body caused his centre of mass to shift and the tip of his right wing to stall. With a furious beat of his wings he tried to regain some control and found himself heading straight towards an alleyway. With too much speed to slow down in time, he beat his wings hard once before tucking them close and diving into the alleyway. The sight of the daylight at the end of the lane was the only hope he had to come off uninjured.

He shot like an arrow through the tight gap, fire stairs and air-conditioners missing his wings by inches, before he burst through the other side of the alleyway and unfurled his wings once more. With rapid beats of his powerful wings he kept his speed up and his altitude low, looking back behind him to see if he was being followed. 

To his dismay, he wasn't alone. 

With wings beating faster than his, the smaller and lighter Meegi was closing fast. Taking a deep breath, Riikal focused ahead and tried to increase his speed as much as possible down one of the main roads. His lungs burned and wings ached as he focused solely on trying to outrun Meegi. While a Dragonball game would last 90 minutes, as a brooder he was restricted to a small section around one of the three goals and he was not accustomed to such a prolonged effort. 

Ahead, Riikal could see his home. A large penthouse built atop one of the many buildings, its industrial black steel beams contrasted with the rustic red bricks of the original structure. With the hope of the safety of his home in mind, he opened his mouth to pant and try to bring as much oxygen as possible into his lungs. As his home came closer and closer, a small smile pulled at his snout. 

His smile vanished however when he felt the sharp claws of his teammate latch onto his wing shoulders. Not hard enough to pierce scale or do any harm, but enough to control his wings and force him into a glide. Turning his head sharply he saw Meegi smile at him while latched onto his back. The wind rushing past them made talking almost impossible but their exchange spoke volumes. Meegi's smile faded as he stared down the larger drake before he released Riikal and flared his own wings. 

The simple exchange establishing who was more dominant in their team. Riikal slowed as he watched the better flyer climb and bank back the way they had come and swallowed, knowing that Meegi was not one to be messed with off the field.