Noah turned back to Kael.
The dragon was still on the ground, his earlier energy slightly dimmed by the underwhelming result of the cores.
He was managing it with more composure than Noah might have expected, but it was present.
"For now," Noah said, "let's go even deeper into the forest and find advanced grade mana beasts with beast cores."
Kael's tail moved.
It was the first sign — a single flick that carried more information than its size suggested, the physical equivalent of a door opening.
Then he was airborne, pushing off the ground with a clean stroke of his wings and rising to his usual hovering position with the recovered energy of a creature that had needed a direction and had just been given one.
He nodded, looking down at Noah with brightness back in his eyes. His tail continued its movement, the wagging establishing its own rhythm, unhurried and continuous.
Noah chuckled, finding his actions funny.
