Lore:
It was a cool spring morning when
Dunegrasper watched the young dragons wave to their parents and set off. The dragons were all children of the residents Dunegrasper had grown close to, and they were all travelling away to find new homes. Every parent seemed sad to see their children head away. Many, they knew, were never to return.
Unable to stand the final goodbyes, Dunegrasper turned and came back into the lair. He gazed at his wife, who was curled around her new clutch of eggs.
Where would they go? It was just luck that kept their first two daughters at the lair. Dunegrasper began to wonder where his other kids would end up at. He knew in his heart that many would set out as soon as they were old enough.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
I want to write to them. I want to know about their jobs, their children, and their home... Finally he opened his eyes again, filled with determination. He would do just that. He would hold family gatherings too if he could.
No matter the distance, you can still keep family together.
Swamplurk ducked behind the table, startled at the fizzling explosion that occurred after she touched the scroll.
Tentatively, she peeked over the table. The scroll was levitating two inches over the wooden surface, shimmering in bright shades of green.
What in the world just happened? Was this another one of Shadecrawler's pranks? Swamplurk reached her claw out and tapped the scroll, then yanked it back.
The scroll gently floated down, then faded away, leaving nothing where it once sat.
Still utterly confused at the phenomenon, Swamplurk sat rigidly staring forward. Maybe she was just seeing things...
"Ah,"
Frostwings replied slowly.
Swamplurk swallowed, trying to remain calm and collected like she usually did. "So, do you know what's... causing it?"
The dull Coatl shook his head. "Can you control it?"
"No?"
"Try it."
Swamplurk bit her lip as Frostwings handed her a pen. She tried to focus on it.
A glitter of green light raced down it, and ink squirted out onto the table and bounced across Frostwings's white shirt.
The gloomy therapist looked at the stain in melancholy silence. "Mmm..."
"Oops!" Swamplurk squeaked.
The pen wobbled, then ripped out of Swamplurk's grasp. It landed lightly on the table, took a bow, and began to spin vigorously like a top. After that, it began to move around in a fashion that resembled a ballerina dance.
"Mmm," Frostwings said again, still keeping a straight face.
Swamplurk just stared in disbelief at the moving pen.
"Were you thinking of anything specific when you did that?" Frostwings asked, but his voice had taken somewhat of an amused tone.
"Well," Swamplurk started, "I guess I had a song stuck in my head..."
"Which one?"
"The one
Tangerine sung yesterday."
"Name?"
"Uhh, I think it was called 'Butterflies Dancing in the Meadow'."
The pen abruptly froze at the words, then fell onto the table. By all means, it looked like a completely normal pen.
Allighting gently by the grand dome,
Rose tucked her wings close to her sides and peeked inside the large archway, observing the glamorous ball taking place within. The building truly was magnificent as the glittering lights flowed upward through the glass roof. Exotic flowers decorated the walls along with fancy ribbons and pastel-tinted balloons; an enormous crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and elaborate stone statues were laying in perfect stillness, perpetually depicting an intricate Mirror or Wildclaw.
Dazzled by the awesome display, Rose took a shy step backward into the dark shadows of midnight. Even though her mother was a queen, she had the lonely feeling that she did not belong here.
A soft thud nearby alerted Rose to her parents' presence.
"Rose, dear," Swamplurk remarked, "you certainly seem excited! You really left us back there for a while!"
"I just wanted to see the ball before going in," Rose responded, smiling softly. "It's very lovely."
"I'm glad you think so," Dunegrasper said, kissing Swamplurk's cheek and winking at Rose. "I personally had fun picking out all those balloons and statues."
"Do you know what we'll be eating, Father?" Rose asked, trying to see past the already large crowd of fancy nobles.
"I suppose there's only one way to find out!" Dunegrasper replied cheerfully, offering his arm to Swamplurk and leading the trio inside.
It felt strange.
Growthcrawler knew she should have felt joyous. This was the day! The day she had wished for. Her wedding.
Why, then, did she feel so guilty every time her eyes passed over
Shorestrider, who beamed happily up at her as she sat in the first row of seats? Everyone had thought that Growthcrawler would be the one who got married last, if even at all. But it was Shorestrider. Her sister, the one who had always longed for a husband.
Poor Shorestrider. Growthcrawler knew that she had a crush on
Starseeker.
That big idiot, the green Gaoler thought angrily,
he never even noticed.
It was a foggy morning; and everything was still dark, unmoving, and quiet. The kingdom was still fast asleep.
Unguentum trotted quietly along the road, bustling but still trying to be uninterruptive to the slumbering town. He felt like the only one still awake. Rounding the corner, he slowed to a stop and stared.
Pondscum twisted her head back to look at him. She was a small distance away.
Trying, as always, to act polite, Unguentum smiled and waved at her.
She glared back, obviously uncaring about manners.
This, in turn, made Unguentum forget about acting nice. He dropped the fakeness and scowled.
Pondscum just got even more upset. She grabbed up a clump of dirt and flung it in his direction.
It landed safely a few feet before Unguentum, but he still gasped at how rude the Nocturne was being. He stared at the dirt, then looked back at her indignantly. Something inside him seemed to snap. "You are one
sour dragon."
"Only towards do-well highsnoots," Pondscum spat, fire burning in her eyes.
Unguentum recoiled at the insult. He reached his claw to his face in self-consciousness and swallowed, trying to push down the rage that she had caused. "No wonder they call you Pondscum," he growled under his breath.
He thought she couldn't hear him from that distance... But by the way her jaw dropped, it was clear that she had heard it... And it got to her.
It was a hazy summer day when the gentleman stopped at the Province. The humidity had covered the village in a swath of heat, making everyone sweaty and tired.
Dustwhip was especially in a bad mood.
When the Queen heard of the noble dragon's arrival, she was ecstatic. Her kingdom was shocked to see how excited she had become, but her joy began to rub off, and soon everyone was talking and laughing.
Venom and
Treescurry began to plan for the biggest buffet that had ever graced the Province,
Mintglaze rushed about to deliver invitations, and
Cocoabee anxiously started to set up the decorations.
Dustwhip just rolled his eyes at all the chatter. All this, just for a welcome party?
Mintglaze hesitated before handing him his invitation. Obviously, she was a bit anxious that the Queen wanted him at the evening banquet, which was going to be held after the day's festivities and main meals. Even if Mintglaze was his great-grandmother, she still wasn't sure that he really belonged in such an event. She gave him the letter, then rushed away again.
*~<---°-~~°Ω°~~-°--->~*
"We are delighted to have such a dragon of high prestige visit our little Province," Swamplurk said politely. "So then, sire, what has brought you here?"
"Well,"
Cedric answered calmly, "I've actually come searching for something. But, alas, my mission is rather private, so I shall say no more."
"Of course, sire. I wish you the best of luck, in hopes that you find what you are looking for." Swamplurk nodded and changed her focus toward Dustwhip instead, who was slouching grumpily against the seat. She eyed him warily, but he didn't acknowledge her, so she took a deep breath and looked around at the rest of her family. It made her happy to see them all here. They all looked happy as well. Except for Dustwhip, of course.
Dustwhip hated it here. Why did he even have to come? He knew very well that nobody even wanted him in the castle, much less at the royal table during the visit of some fancy Ridgeback. This was pure torture. He was so dissatisfied that he let out a groan, which drew an agitated glance from Swamplurk but otherwise failed to accomplish much. "I'm afraid I must be excused," Dustwhip said loudly, acting polite but still feeling pretty angry, "the bathroom has called to me and I must answer."
A few stifled giggles answered his announcement, and
Tribalfire's face twisted up as she tried not to laugh. Swamplurk shook her head but waved her claw in dismissal.
Dustwhip climbed out of his seat, then looked at the Count. He was holding up a cup of tea, sticking out his pinky claw poshly as he sipped from the warm liquid. Seeing this immediately made a smile of mischief creep onto Dustwhip's face. As he strutted by Cedric, Dustwhip lashed his tail out and dumped a platter of food into the gentleman's lap, and the shock of the unexpected deed made Cedric drop his tea as well.
The Count abruptly stood up. The harsh sound of his chair sliding backwards echoed throughout the room.
Dustwhip laughed, watching the meal drip off of the fancy dragon's clothes. He gleefully pictured the stains that the food and drink would cause.
The rest of the room was dead silent. Swamplurk rigidly stared forward, speechless. Everyone gave Dustwhip a horrified stare.
Cedric calmly turned to look at Dustwhip as well.
The foolish Mirror was cackling so hard that he had tears in his eyes.
Cedric stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That was on purpose, young drake?"
"Of course!" Dustwhip answered, glaring defiantly at him. He finally stopped laughing.
"I see." Cedric brushed off the bits of food still clinging to his suit, then turned toward Swamplurk. Keeping his dignity, he asked if he could be excused.
Still shocked, Swamplurk nodded slowly, unable to close her gaping mouth.
"Brother," Rose called softly. "I've called several times. I wanted to walk with you, remember?"
Kaktus felt like diving into his bed and piling every single blanket on top of himself. Of course, if he did that, he knew his sister would just come into his room and yank them off again, so there was really no point. "No," he muttered, scratching down another note on the scroll he was working on. "I already said that I don't want to go."
The door opened and Rose swept inside, her wings brushing the ground gracefully as she turned her soft eyes to watch him. "Oh, Kaktus. Why are you so nervous?"
"Nervous?" Kaktus asked, forcing out a laugh. "I'm
not nervous. I simply have no interest in such frivolous activities such as royal balls." He shook his head. "No, I don't fit with events like those."
"You know," Rose said in an understanding voice, "I felt the same way too once. But I went anyway, and it was one of the best days of my life. I met
Orbz that day..." She sighed happily. "However, mother wishes that you attend, so it isn't quite up to me or you."
Kaktus let out a frustrated groan.
Stupid parties. Stupid ridiculous dances where I'm expected to fall in love with the first girl I meet. They hadn't ever said it out loud. At least, not where he would hear them and scoff; but Kaktus knew his family secretly hoped that he would get married. It didn't matter though. He didn't care what they wanted him to do. He didn't need to become all soppy and idiotic like all of his brothers. He snorted. What was love anyway? Not for him to experience, that's what. That excuse wasn't going to save him from a night of celebration though.
Swamplurk had ordered the whole family to attend the great party, and Kaktus was pretty shocked about the whole ordeal until Rose had filled him in on the details. Apparently, a bunch of good things had happened all in a row. The king had finally recovered completely, the harvest had been strangely abundant, and several relatives of Kaktus had recently married into other families, including some sort of
grandniece of his that he had never even heard about as well as his sister
Kitto. A foreigner named Cedric had also moved into the Province, much to Swamplurk's delight. Apparently he was an old friend of hers.
Kaktus had a hard time of wrapping his brain around just how many Gladeshadows lived around the area, and he was honestly baffled to the fact that Swamplurk remembered every single one of them. He wasn't even sure why it should be necessary to remember every dragon related to him, besides to prevent inbreeding. Even then though, all dragons had to check with an archivist before being wed to another, just as a precaution. Kaktus rolled his eyes. Maybe he wouldn't have been missed if Rose hadn't been there to drag him into the grand hall.
As soon as he was pulled into the open room, he recoiled from the dazzling light that immediately flooded his vision. His eyes squinted at the bright chandeliers strung up across the ceiling like a parade of dragons dancing in a ring. For real, why did his mom put them
everywhere?
Already, he longed for the comfort of his dim room with its gloomy curtains folded across the single window. He missed the grotesque decorations strung across his ceiling, with all of the various skulls of monsters that he had collected and the strings of spice that clouded his room with burning desert smells. The cactus plants cluttering his desk had jagged thorns with the ability to rip through things as tough as drake scales, and Kaktus was especially proud of the fact that he had been studying them.
Too bad I couldn't bring one here, he thought ruefully, shooting a group of nobles a dirty look. His sister nudged him over toward his mother, who was standing quietly beside an enormous bowl of green punch and observing all of her guests. She smiled when Kaktus met her gaze, and he winced. He still felt like he could never live up to any of the deeds his relatives did; not that it mattered much to him, of course. Either way, he still disliked the appraising look the queen gave him when he arrived beside her.
"Rose, Kaktus," Swamplurk greeted politely, giving them both a nod of acknowledgement.
More lore perhaps..?
