Ember Brightcrest’s eyes fluttered opened the moment the sound of shifting metal reached her little ears. The princess stretched her body and slowly stumbled her way towards her mother who was going through part of her hoard. Ember was hoping to get a bit more sleep, but it wasn’t something she’d make a fuss over, because today was the day she went to a quarry.
Normally, Torch kept her by his or her mother's side nearly all day, for her own safety he would say. After all, she was so small and fragile that the drakes in the quarry would have no qualms taking advantage of her. However, her mother had been promising for months that she would have a chat with the Dragon Lord and make him see reason.
Ember bit the tip of her mother’s tail and gave it a tug.
“Not now, Ember,” Blaze said, continuing to shift through her hoard. She let out a joyous gasp and picked up a small handful of treasures. She then turned and lay them down at Ember’s feet. There was an array of bracelets, anklets, circlets, rings, and even a few necklaces. She looked at Ember expectantly.
“What’s all this for?” Ember asked, kicking the pile.
“There’s a gathering today, and I thought that you and I could go.” Blaze gave Ember a smile. “My friend is going to be bringing her daughter, and maybe her sons. I thought you all could get acquainted and play together. I hear her son is a fighter, maybe you could spar with him, or parade around with her daughter, Smolder. She can be as grumpy as you. Oh, she also has a little hatchling. He’s just a sweetheart.”
“They sound stupid, and so does the gathering,” Ember said, without even considering the offer. Ember hated gatherings. She hated being adorned in jewelry, she hated all the adults fawning over her, and she hated the boulderheads that either snickered at her or hated her.
There were several reasons gatherings existed. The first was parents wanting to flaunt their wealth and status in the lands. The second reason was to make their daughter’s look desirable. The more adorned they were in trinkets; the more likely a drake’s head was to turn when they were older. Finally, it was an excuse for mothers and fathers to doll up their daughters and make them look adorable, though no one would actually admit this.
“I wanna go to a quarry today!”
Blaze’s smile faded. “Have you talked to your father about this?”
“No, you said you would. You have to. He'd just say I’m too small and weak if I ask again.” At that Ember began to fume. “That’ll change today, I’m gonna get so many gems and beat up so many dragons-!”
“Ember, remember the story about your father and the Slingtails? Can you remind me of the lesson I had to force into that thick skull of his?”
“Fly over or around the canyon, never through it,” Ember grumbled.
“Exactly. So, what would randomly challenging other dragons be?”
“Flying through the canyon.”
“Correct. Are you sure that you’re ready for a quarry if you need to be reminded?” Blaze saw the determined look on her daughter’s face as she gave her mother a single nod, before glaring at the jewelry. Reflecting on the dozens of scenarios like this one, Blaze had been promising Ember that she’d be able to go to a quarry for weeks. Aside from that, Ember needed to be able to make mistakes if she was going to learn, or apply the rules that she'd learned in real life. “I’ll have a chat with your father and see if I can’t pry you away from him for a day. Just don’t go boasting or yelling once you get there, alright?”
At this, Ember happily nodded.
Smolder looked adorable. Amber nearly let out a squee as her daughter happily examined herself in the cave’s small pool of water. Usually there was some push back from girls her age, but Smolder was almost eager to put on jewelry anytime a gathering was mentioned. Smolder insisted that it was because she looked better than the other whelps, not because she liked it. If only her brothers were as enthusiastic.
Garble was refusing to budge, and Spike, poor little innocent Spike, was mimicking him. It had been two weeks since his first fight and Spike was adamant about being just like his big brother. They both had their arms crossed, but Garble was noticeably grumpier. Spike kept glancing at Garble, smiling when he saw that they were both doing the same thing.
“We’re not going,” Garble huffed.
“Yeah, I wanna train,” Spike said. “I finally punched papa’s claw without my thumb in my fist and he didn’t him need to tell me not to!”
“It’s true, he did,” Flare attested.
“Well both of you have to come,” Amber said, staying firm. “I’m going, and your father is going for less than admirable reasons.” Amber gave her mate a glare. He’d heard that Smolder was friendly with a drake during the last gathering, and was sticking close to his little girl. “There’s no one that will be able to watch you.” Amber had asked her mother and grandmother, but they both thought it better if the drakes went, especially Garble.
“Well, there’s Smog,” Flare said. “I’m sure he’d love watching them.”
Amber was suddenly put on edge. “I’m sure he would, as I’m sure that he’d love playing with them near a certain spot with a slew of young, unmarried dragons!” Amber said with a near snarl. Unfortunately, her sons had also heard, and they looked more than happy. “I’m starting to hate today. Flare, one of us is having a long conversation with that heated fool before we leave.”
“And I promise I’ll make sure he understands everything that’s expected of him.” Flare left the cave, but it didn’t take long for him to return with his brother in tow. In fact, it took him only five minutes to have Smog in the cave. Amber was starting to think that this was planned. She growled and her eyes narrowed, smoke spewed out of her mouth and she was on the verge of crouching low, a sign that someone was having their throat ripped out.
Seeing that his mate was on the verge of killing him or his brother, Flare decided it best to explain himself. “A fussy whelp is not fun for anyone, Amber, two is even worse.”
“And I’m guessing your brother was more than happy to take the two of them, Spike especially, off our hands?” Amber asked, glaring at Smog who lingered behind his brother. “And it seems you are more than willing to enable him.”
“Like I said I’ll talk to him about his little plan to bait a dragoness. I’ll set him straight, don’t worry. I’m sure you have some words for Spike.”
“Hmph! I’ll let Garble and Spike know that they’re off the hook.” As she turned, she shot Smog a look before tending to her children.
Flare went over to his brother and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him close. “Smog, let me be clear here, this is not one of your social gatherings. I expect you to play with Spike. Have him run around, maybe even chase him, have him attack you or try to help him be stealthy. Don’t try to make this about you or any dragoness, this outing should be about your nephew. Be caring, be loving, be firm and teach him to be disciplined-” Flare looked behind him, Amber was getting Garble to help Smolder put on a last bit of jewelry with Spike. His voice became low, “-and afterwards they will flock to you like a group of whelps to a pile of gems.” He gave his brother a smirk and gestured towards Amber. “Trust me, they want a responsible mate.”
“I understand, brother,” Smog said with a smile.
Yesterday had been the most irritating day of Torch’s life. After overseeing a long drawn out fight between two of the most cowardly, unfit and pathetic dragons he’d ever met, over a common topaz, he hoped that he would have time to rest before needing to handle whatever today had for him. Unfortunately, his mate had other plans.
“Torch, I’m taking Ember to a quarry.”
Torch’s eyes shot opened as his pupils turned to pinpricks. In his mind he could already see his precious little princess, the most prized gem of his hoard, beaten, bloodied, and hungry after having a run in with a bigger, greedier, vile whelp. He could see her tear stained cheeks as she ran in explaining through sobs how she’d been beaten and her gems stolen. Seeing the phantom image of his daughter hurt by a despicable rat made him want to find the non-existent perpetrator and make him wish that his parents had never laid his egg.
“I’ve discussed this with Ember, she’s too small, too fragile to go to a quarry!” He nearly shouted, rising from his spot. He took a breath to calm himself before he did something he regretted and ended up sleeping outside. “I personally think that you should take her to the gathering.” Torch did not mean it as a suggestion.
“Torch, I said she could go to a quarry, so she’s going to a quarry.”
The Cave fell silent as the two dragons simply stared at each other, each trying to break the other. After about five minutes, Blaze let out a sigh.
“Fine, I’ll take her to the gathering.” She turned away from her mate, avoiding the growing smirk on his face. “I guess it’s not all bad. She’ll get to spend time with Garbuncle at least.”
“Excuse me?” Torch asked, his smile fading into oblivion. “Who’s Garbuncle?”
“Oh, he’s Amber’s oldest son. I told you about him, didn’t I? He’s a very caring big brother and surprisingly strong for his age. I think they’d get along swimmingly, don’t you? And knowing what I picked out for her, I think she might have an admirer in the future.” Blaze could only imagine the terror that flashed through her mate’s eyes. It just proved her philosophy; brains could beat brawn any day of the week when applied properly. She allowed herself a small smile to celebrate her inevitable victory.
“Fine, she can go,” Torch grumbled.
There came a loud cheer as Ember scampered from the back of the cave and hugged her father’s snout. For the first time in years, she was smiling.
“Thank you, Daddy!” she said, before sprinting out of the cave and heading north. It took a moment for her mother to grab her before she could go too far.
“Ember, the nearest quarry is west of the cave, not north.” It was a short walk, but soon they came to a large quarry, with several adults strewn about the surrounding areas. There was even a nearby play-pit for the younger dragons.
“Where’s that yellow dragon you usually talk to?” Ember asked, looking around at all the adults.
“She’s likely with her daughter, where she is dressed up in trinkets like you could have been.” Her eyes glanced towards the quarry, and she saw Garble, who was already searching for a snack. Towards the playpen she saw little Heathspike, playing with Smog Ironscale while unmarried spectators looked on. It would seem that both whelps had been rather fussy about the gathering today. Not only that, but one was being used. She’d have to let Amber know what the oaf was doing.
“I’m glad I don’t have to go, I wanna dig and figh-” Ember stopped herself from finishing the sentence the moment her mother lifted a brow. “-Forage.”
Blaze rolled her eyes., “Just remember, fight only when you need to. A smart dragon knows when they need to stand their ground and when to let morons mouth off.” She received a quick nod from Ember and watched as her daughter sprinted down into the pit. “Please, Bahamut, give that girl a piece of your wisdom,” she prayed.
Ember was a machine the moment she found a free spot in the quarry, never stopping nor tiring. An hour had passed and she had managed to find three gems using a few tricks her mother taught her. She found small crystals on the surface of a few rocks, but looked for the ones that had something of a white glaze. There had been a few drakes that had come near her, but they all turned tail the moment that she growled at them.
She was the daughter of Torch after all, so it was only natural that they would run the moment she threatened them. Not to mention she was smarter than everyone too, another reason they didn’t want to mess with her. Though, she could still feel a few lingering eyes the more she dug, but who wouldn’t be looking at her when she was finding gems so easily?
The more she dug, the more excited she got. There were signs of a good gem somewhere in her spot, the rocks were heavier and there were flakes of blue in some of the larger stones, it was just a matter of time. Like her mother often told her, finding the best gems required patience. Soon, Ember’s patience was rewarded, and the little princess unearthed an Aqua Sapphire, a gem that was as rare as a Fire Ruby. The gem was cool to the touch, perfect for a hotter day like today, and the luster shimmered like a pool of water.
Her mouth began to water as she hefted up the gem. Perhaps now was a good time to call it quits. She would show it to her father and tell him all about how she scared away every single drake that tried to mess with her. After that, she’d be allowed to go to any quarry anytime she wanted, mostly because he’d be so impressed with how amazing she was. Ember smiled at her fantasy. Being praised by her father instead of being called too small, too weak, or too fragile, brought a smile to her face. After today he’d see how threatening, and strong she truly was.
She turned and saw a drake close by, his gaze fixed on her. Ember’s eyes narrowed. “Something you want to say?” She asked, huffing and spewing a small burst of fire.
The dragon, Fizzle, examined the girl for a short time. She was new to him, then again this was a new quarry. The only reason that he and his friends were here was because Garble had won their previous game of King of the Hoard, and they all wanted a chance to dethrone him. They were just waiting until they had enough gems to play.
While they waited, Fizzle and a few other drakes had seen Ember find gem after gem, but seeing an Aqua Sapphire? Fizzle almost wanted to fight her for it. Almost. She seemed wild, and itching for a fight, something that was never a good combination for a challenger. While he wanted the gem, he didn’t need it. He’d found a decent sized aquamarine and an agate not too long ago, so was this gem worth a fight? The answer was clearly no, especially when he had no idea who the dragon he was fighting was. However, he was unable to move his body.
“It’s nothing,” Fizzle mumbled. His eyes betrayed him, glancing at the sapphire that she held. He focused on it for one moment too many.
Ember began to growl. “What, you want my sapphire?!”
He tried to take his eyes off it, but it was futile. He did want that sapphire, but he didn’t want to fight for it. “Maybe,” he found himself saying. He was feeling a bit greedy, and could feel his avarice slowly gripping the corners of his mind. He tried to force himself to not want the gem, but it didn’t work.
Ember’s face hardened into a scowl. “Just try and take it!” She said with a sneer. “I’ll take on you, and anyone else in this pit willing to try and take it!”
The challenge echoed through the quarry, and several heads turned. Her declaration even attracted Blaze’s attention. She saw her daughter, standing tall and proud, holding aloft her sapphire. Ember didn’t just fly through a slingtail canyon, she insulted their mothers, their fathers, and their children, challenged them to hit her with the biggest bolder they could find, and to top it all off, drew a bright, red target on her back. Some lessons had to be learned, but Blaze desperately wished it wasn’t her daughter that had to learn those lessons the hard way. She could only watch as several drakes began to approach Ember.
Aside from greed, there was no greater sin that dragons fell prey to than pride, and Ember Brightcrest was one of the proudest whelps in all the lands. Even as three more drakes approached her, their eyes unmistakably green, she held her ground and boasted.
“Come on,” she shouted, “I can take you all on!”
‘No, you can’t,’ Her mother thought to herself, her whole-body tensing. ‘You most certainly can’t.’ Ember was in over her head if she thought she could take on four whelps at once. They seemed to except her challenge without hesitation, and all she could do now was watch.
Taking a deep breath as one of the drakes approached her, Ember quickly blocked an oncoming strike with her forearm. She gritted her teeth, and ignored the slight pain that shot through her body, and retaliated with a punch to the whelp’s snout. It was one of the first few things her mother had taught her; when attacking, aim for the snout, nothing hurts more than getting hit in the snout. Ember spun, using her tail to swipe the fat dragon’s feet, and knocking him down.
‘One down, three to go,’ Ember thought to herself. Ember dodged an oncoming strike from Fume and began to move backwards towards a wall. She evaded an oncoming punch, allowing it to crash into the wall. There came a yelp of pain, and Ember quickly scooped up a clump of dirt into her claw before flinging it into Fume’s eyes.
The drake let out a cry as he desperately tried to clean his now stinging eyes. He could hardly open them without feeling a sharp pain and forcing them shut. Fume could hear yelling and cries for him to move. He forced his eyes open for a second, only to see Ember charging towards him. She tackled him to the ground before hopping off him and focusing on her remaining opponents.
‘Two down,’ She thought to herself, smiling inwardly. If only her dad could see her, he’d be amazed, or livid, or both, likely both. She’d show him just what his fragile little princess could do.
The third dragon, Spear, began to dash towards her. Ember simply moved out of the way and allowed him to run face first into the quarry’s wall. He slid to the ground, groaning and Ember delivered a kick to his stomach. Ember could feel her claws begin to shake as she turned her attention towards Fizzle. She had managed to take down three already, the gangly looking white dragon would be easy to take down. She couldn’t wait to see the look on her father’s face the moment he heard about how she took down four whelps at the same time.
The fourth whelp charged at her like the others had. She easily dodged Fizzle’s assault. She was swifter than them, smarter than them, she was probably stronger than them to! She ducked, avoiding a punch, and delivered an uppercut to the dragon’s snout, before the bulkier dragon from earlier seemed to come out of nowhere and rammed his head into her gut.
Blaze winced as her daughter slid across the ground and instinctively curled into a ball. She sighed as she watched the remainder of Ember’s opponents pick themselves off the ground, ready to continue fighting. Worse, they looked livid, except for Fume who was still trying to clear his eyes of dirt.
Blaze could admit that Ember was agile, and more intelligent than most dragons her age, but she lacked strength and bulk, which her opponents had in droves. It didn’t matter that they were thrown to the ground once, because they could get back up and try again, but her daughter? She doubted that she could get up after three good hits, and all any of the drakes needed to turn the tide of the battle was one.
“Finally!” Clump cried, “why was that so hard?!” There were countless murmurs as the drakes approached Ember and Clump. “I took her down.” He glared at his friends. “You guys just keep back and let a real dragon handle this.” The other drakes did as they were told, disappointed that they hadn’t managed to land the hit on Ember.
Her body hurt, but she could still fight. Ember rolled over on her stomach and began to push herself up, but before she could stand Clump followed up with a kick to her gut, similar to what she’d done to Spear.
Clump laid off for a moment, curious to see if she’d had enough. To his shock, Ember slowly stood back up, shaking in either fear, wrath, or a mixture of both, and struck Clump across the face. It hardly did a thing. Clump extended his fist, hitting Ember in the snout. The cry of pain made the nearby dragons almost feel bad for the poor girl. Almost.
Ember managed to get in two more hits before Clump delivered a punch to the side of her face, sending her to the ground. Thinking he’d won, Clump turned and went to get the sapphire, while Ember pounded her fist on the ground. She could already hear her father’s lecture when she returned home. He’d berate her with how he knew she’d get hurt and lose. After that, he’d never let her go out again, and he’d never, ever stop calling her weak.
Tears began to stream down her cheeks at that thought. Ember wouldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let that happen. Her fists clenched and she steeled herself, standing up once again. “Hey!” She called after the whelp. “We’re. Not. Finished!” A snarl mixed with a cry of anguish rang out as Ember became a flailing mass of punches and kicks. Soon, the noise reached the ears of a certain drake.
Garble let out a sigh when the grunts and cries became too irritating to ignore. What did that loudmouth have that was causing all this noise? It took but a moment for him to see the Aqua Sapphire. Instantly, his eyes lit up before turning green. He wanted it, and he did hear the girl scream that she’d take on anyone that wanted it. Garble watched as the girl went down again, before she struggled to push herself off the floor.
“You’re. Not. Getting it!” The girl sneered, breathing heavily.
Garble watched as Clump kicked her once more. If he’d been fighting Clump, things would be going differently. Then again, Garble knew he could beat Clump easily. Clump’s bulk made him slow, and he tired easily when he was in an actual fight. Once Clump won, Garble would challenge him and the gem was as good as his. Clump never turned down a challenge. Then, if the new girl gave him any trouble, a challenge was a challenge.
Garble licked his lips, grinning widely as he quietly approached. However, as he neared, the girl let out a pathetic, whimpering cry as Clump struck her for a final time. Garble’s near villainous smile faded instantly as he stopped dead in his tracks. The world around him seemed to vanish, as did his desire for the gem. He heard that unmistakable cry only once before, weeks ago in his usual quarry. No matter what was playing out before him, all Garble could see was his weeping little brother and sister being harassed by a bigger dragon for a gem that Spike had found fair and square. A gem that was rightfully Spike’s. A familiar rage began to build deep in Garble’s core, until he was brought back to reality.
“Garble, come on, answer me! Garble!” Fume cried, shaking Garble out of his trance.
“Fume?” Garble looked to his friend, who had finally gotten the dirt out of his eyes, and then back to the struggling whelp who still refused to stay down.
“Are you gonna try and get the sapphire?” Fume didn’t wait for a response, and simply glared daggers at Ember. “Wait until Clump’s through with her. What kind of dragon throws dirt during a fight?”
Garble watched the scuffle again for a few moments, and his fists began to clench. “I don’t want it,” he said with a huff.
“Why?” Fume asked, scoffing at the idea of him not joining the fight. If there was one thing Fume knew, it was that Garble loved to fight. Fume had the bruises to prove it.
“I’m just not a coward like you guys,” Garble said.
Fume was taken aback. “How are we cowards? You’re the one that doesn’t want to fight!”
“You guys are fighting a girl, a smaller, weaker girl,” Garble said. “First Spike, now her? Are you going to go to a nursery next? And it wasn’t even that fair, you needed to group up on her. What, none of you could fight her by yourselves?”
“She said she could take us all on!” Fume argued.
“She kinda had a point. She took you down.”
“She threw dirt in my eyes!”
“I would have just dodged,” Garble said.
“Stay down!” Clump shouted, as Ember got up for what would likely be the final time. She was badly bruised, and visibly crying, but still took a fighting stance. “Come on, my fists are starting to hurt!”
“Forget her, Clump, Garble just said we’re cowards for fighting her!” Fume cried. Hearing this, Clump instantly abandoned Ember without a second thought. Meanwhile, all Blaze could do was lean in, and watch. This certainly took an unexpected turn. Perhaps, despite his fangs, sharp features and attitude, Garble was turning out to be more Amber’s son than Flare’s.
Before he knew it, Garble was surrounded by his friends. He began to wonder why he had called them cowards, or why he was defending someone that was not his little brother.
“Cowards?!” Clump said.
“You’re the coward, you don’t want to fight!” Fizzle shouted.
“You’re just scared that if you get it, I’ll take it from you!” Spear said.
“Probably doesn’t want dirt in his eyes,” Fume mumbled.
“That’s not it, I already know I could beat her up, just look at her!” Garble boasted, gesturing towards Ember who had fallen to the ground the moment Clump left her alone. As of now, she could only sit and watch the scene unfold. “If I wanted a gem from a dragon, I’d take it from someone at least my size if not bigger, anytime, anywhere, for any gem!”
“Even if they’re bigger than you?” Fizzle asked.
"Even for a Garnet?" Spear added.
“Yeah! Point me to the dragon that has it!” Garble proclaimed.
“Hey, Arrow!” Fume said.
All bravado was immediately sapped from Garble as Arrow Firefang stood.