You decide to stay at the beach for a while longer and relax in the sudden reprieve from the eversummer heat. Alongside your friends, you gaze up at the giant moon peeking over the treeline, while a fresh ocean breeze brushes at your backs.

To the naked eye, it looks as though the moon is much closer than the one you've grown to know. Rather than a pale, distant circle beyond the firmament, this one appears as a colossal stone sphere impossibly floating in the sky.

Honourshine: "By the Emperor's will, I believe were Tsu-Ko's words. I didn't know dragons could do such things."

In a puff of magic confetti, Tsu-Ko appears next to your party — glowing brighter than ever in the dark of night.

Tsu-Ko: "Did I hear my name?"

Honourshine: "Ah—! Sorry, I... was just mentioning something you said earlier."

Tsu-Ko: "Something about dragons, was it? Well, the Emperor is a primordial dragon, remember? It's an important distinction."

You admit that in your own experience, the difference between a typical squirrel and the primordal squirrel Ratatosk was rather significant indeed.

Moonflower: "Hey, do you think it's possible to fly to the moon?"

Tsu-Ko: "Huh? The moons are where most dragons live, so of course it's possible to fly there. Well, for them, at least — I don't know about you."

Curious, you ask if the Kirin have any way to travel there as well.

Tsu-Ko: "There are temples of Hidari and Migi with portals that can take you there and back, but you won't find any in this trigon."

Moonflower: "Oooh... I wonder what the view's like from up there."

Tsu-Ko: "Depends on which side of the moon you're standing, doesn't it? Anyway, it looks like you're still passing time, so don't let me stop you; you've got quite a long night ahead of you."

With those words of wisdom, the sprite disappears once more in a sprinkle of lights. You are reminded that while the night feels late without the lingering twilight of dusk, you still have about twelve hours until the sun's return.

For a moment, you consider offering Honourshine one of your famous massages, but you know her better than to ask — especially while in another friend's company, no matter how close.

But more than that, ever since she was a filly, the young historian never seemed fond of the dark. Not for fear of it, however; she simply found its obscurity frustrating. The nightlight in your orphanage bedroom was a compromise, you recall — had it been up to her, the lamps themselves would have kept a nightly vigil.

A smile curls your muzzle at the thought. You figure that, should you ever grow more intimate with her, it would have to be under no less than the shining light of the sun. Or, at least, in the bright, cold lighting of a wet room, where no details can escape her inquisitive eyes.

Honourshine: "Half-way to the moon already, Blaze?"

Moonflower: "Heeheehee..."

You blink, and realize that while you were reliving your bathtime with Honourshine in your own mind, your body decided to play the part as well. With a sheepish grin, you pull your head out of the clouds, and ask your friends what they would like to do next.

Honourshine: "Hm... after all that we've learned today, I wouldn't mind heading back to the ship to revisit this book I have about the Kirin Empire — perhaps glean something I might've missed before."

Moonflower: "Ooh, we could do that!"

Honourshine: "Actually, while Blaze is in the mood, why don't you two stay here and enjoy the beach a little longer?"

Moonflower: "Aw, but then you'd be left outta the fun!"

Honourshine: "I've told you before: I don't mind. And better to get it out of his system now than to pent it up for later. We both know how he gets — what do you say, big brother?"