A time to...

As Meerher was opening a portal to take Ellie and Dree to the other Moon Dragon, Dree was watching everyone enjoying their 'holiday' meal together.  "They all seem to be celebrating," Dree thought.  It certainly was a time for those who were freed from the World of Whispers  to be thankful of those who had given of their food without hesitation to these strangers. 

​Fae sat with Trolls laughing and telling stories.  Even the Wysps were invited to join in with the others as all were taking in the celebration.  "They probably won't even notice I am gone," Dree smiled as he turned to enter the portal with the Moonies.

Not everyone was unaware though.  Arnie had been watching Dree for a while as she had noticed that he seemed to be 'off somewhere else' since he had first created the portal for the others to escape from the World of Whispers.  "Now that I am a Finder instead of a Borrower," she thought, "This looks like the right time to keep an eye on my friend.  He's looking for something," and with that thought and smile, she followed him.

​She was right!  Dree was looking for something and now was the time to visit with the other Moon Dragon.  Maybe, just maybe, he would finally find his Dragon family.  Dree knew he had 'family' here in Wysmy.  The others in the village and beyond had all taken him in. They all had helped him grow up and for that he would be forever thankful. But sometimes he wished to know what had happened to his parents and if he had any brothers or sisters.  And that is truly a sad thing thought the young Moon Dragon when a Wish Dragon can't even create his own wish.   The Oracle had told him that the Outies had something like 'Genie-all-a-gee' which helped them to know their ancestors.  The way the Oracle explained it, it still involved a lot of guesses to who were your relatives were too.

Dree wasn't too worried about guesses as Dragons live for a very long time and if one relative was found, it would not be hard to talk to that one directly.  That was what was on Dree's mind when he stepped through the portal.  Both he and the Moonies were so busy that they did not notice Arnie stepping through the portal immediately after they did!

"If I had one of these, the temptation would still be there to stay a Borrower," thought Arnie as she realized that she was now in a new place.  "It would have made borrowing so much easier."  She quickly saw that she needed to be careful still though as she did not want to be sent back.  Arnie still knew that she needed to keep an eye on Dree for some reason and she had learned a long time ago to trust her feelings for they had kept her out of trouble many times.

"It's not far from here," Arnie heard Meerher tell Dree.  "The Monacle will probably even know you are coming."  This surprised Dree.  "How would that be?" he asked.  "The Monacle watches over the Tree.  The Tree is the provider of magic in the realms and without it, all magic would disappear.  Your magical spoon is from the tree.  That is another way magic can be focused and directed.  Wizards like to make wands from branches of the tree when the tree decides to provide them which is rare."  Meerher was quiet for a moment as she realized to herself, "I guess that is why there aren't that many wizards now that I think about it."

The small group continued on the trail surrounded by trees and bushes and started up a hill.  Arnie was thankful for the many things to hide behind as she followed, occasionally overhearing Dree asking questions about the other Moon Dragon with Meerher's answers.  "Why didn't you make the portal directly to the Moon Dragon?" she heard Dree ask.  She could not completely hear Meerher's answer but it had something to do with not being able to create a safe portal next to the powers of the Tree.  "That's something to store away but it won't help me now," Arnie thought.

​Now Arnie was proud of her skills at being stealthy when she was a Borrower, but Arnie had never borrowed from a Dragon before and did not know how sensitive their hearing and sense of smell were.  Dree had known that she had followed him through the portal and that she was following behind them now.  Finally when he decided that the Moonies would not be able to send her back Dree stopped and turned towards where Arnie was hiding.  "Arnie, you can come out now and join us," he said to the surprised Finder.  "Come up here so you can be introduced properly as my friend."