Listen, And The Stars Shall Speak

Welcome To The Jungle, We've Got Fun And Games....

From the very moment their feet hit the forest floor, Ander was bursting with excitement. She jumped around Ray, beaming. 

"There's so much to show you!" She exclaimed. "I've never gotten to give you the full tour before! Dios mios, there's SO MUCH. Oh! I know! Let's go find Tree-Bud and see if he likes you!"

"Who's Tree-Bud?" Ray questioned, smiling at Ander excitement.

"He's a irate sloth who belongs to my Aunt Pear. But boy, is he un simia ad insaniam convertunt."

"Really? How come?" Ander shrugged.

"Yo no se. I give him therapy occasionally. Usually he throws fruitas at everyone, but he might not with you. Let's go find him!" She grabbed his arm and they took off into the forest. 

Kelp watched them go, sighing. What was he supposed to do now? Ray's mother certainly wasn't happy. With his luck, she'd go straight to Coral and start something. Either way, he couldn't let Ray go back to the Sea Kingdom. Not with his mother treating him like that. The Rainwings were always welcoming to visitors, so there were plenty of dragons from other tribes who showed up and just never left...

But if Coral got convinced that Ray had been forcefully brought to the rainforest and ordered his return...

That wouldn't go over so well.

And, Kelp added to himself. How the heck was he supposed to explain to Joy what happened? And what were they to do with Ray? Bringing him here sure had caused a lot of problems...

Before he could think of another word, Ander came running back.

"Almost forgot!" She explained before hugging him. "Thanks for bringing him here." Kelp smiled down at her.

"Of course," he insisted. Ander's smile grew.

"Okay, HASTA LUEGO PADRE!" she called out before darting away again. Kelp watched her run off, thinking.

...So what if bringing Ray here had caused problems. He'd dealt with worse, and Ander was happy. Who cares if Queen Coral shows up on his doorstep?

Well, Kelp did care about that. A little.

But Coral was old. Maybe if he was lucky, she'd have given up on trying to ruin his life. 

*~*~*~*

Ander and Ray ran through the forest, laughing about nothing and everything. Ander stopped suddenly as she caught sight of a familiar pair of dragonets, sitting in a tree.

"Rin! Apple!" she called up to them. They glanced down.

"Ande!" Rin yelled back. "You're back already?"

"Yep! And I brought my blue-eyed guardian angel!" 

"Hi," Ray offered, waving. 

"He's gonna stay here!" Ander explained.

"Cool!" Apple exclaimed. "Welcome to the rainforest!"

"Yeah," Rin agreed. "Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games."

"What kind of games?" Ray asked.

"Uh......" Rin blanked.

"We're looking for Tree-Bud," Ander insisted. "Any idea where he is?"

"No clue." Apple declared. "But I'll get him for you."

"How-"

"TREE-BUD!"Apple suddenly screamed. "GET OVER HERE, THERE'S A NEW DRAGON TO THROW THINGS AT!" 

"Really?" Rin questioned, rubbing her assaulted ears. A few moments later, the tree next to them rustled, and an apple came hurling past them, hitting Ray square in the face.

"OW!" He yelped, falling to the ground.

"Ray!" Ander gasped. "You still bueno?"

"Yep." He replied, his voice strained. Back in the tree, the infamous sloth was laughing.

"Well," Rin offered. "There's no better introduction to the forest then that."