Chatterbox: Inkwell

     On a craggy precipice, a dragon was waiting.

     Copper scraped his claws against the cold bare stone, his lamplike yellow eyes glowing as he stared out into the darkness. Rain was falling down in sheets; it was nearly impossible to see the other side of the small ravine, let alone another dragon.

     A particularly fat raindrop splashed into one of Copper’s eyes, and he shook it out, growling. Surely they’d be back by now? He thought anxiously, swinging his crimson head to the left. Unless they’ve gotten lost . . . or he doesn’t want to help us . . . or they’ve been captured by the Magic dragons . . .

     Suddenly, a faint flapping noise reached Copper’s ears and he tensed, narrowing his eyes into the downpour. Gradually three gray silhouettes became clearer and clearer. At last, three bedraggled dragons landed clumsily on the spree of rock. Copper reared up to make more room for them.

     “Finally!” Copper snapped at two of them; a snow-white dragon with a slender snout, who was trying to shake the water off her wings, and a blue dragon with dark green wings, who was slumped on her stomach and looking rather pathetic. “I was sitting on this curse-blasted piece of rock for hours, just waiting for you to, oh, I don’t know, maybe possibly COME BACK? You’ve been gone for five days, and it only takes two to travel to Electonis and back!”

     “Don’t blame us,” said the white dragon in an irritated manner. She jerked her head at the third dragon. “Ask HIM.”

     The third dragon was a bright, neon yellow color, with claws that glowed so brightly that they looked like lightning bolts. Wearing an iron chest plate engraved with a thundercloud emitting a lightning bolt, he was very good-looking, and at the moment, he had his wings tented over him to protect him from the downpour. The expression on his face was miserable.

     “Can we please go inside?” King Thunder III pleaded. “Or no, wait, let me guess: there isn’t an inside to go to.”

     “Actually, there is,” Copper said shortly. In his opinion, Thunder was silly, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. He sidestepped the blue dragon, spread his wings and dived over the side of the ledge. He immediately rolled back up and found himself looking at a crawlspace hidden under the outcrop of rock, just big enough for a small dragon to squeeze through.

     “Oh no, said Thunder after the others had dived down after him. “Don’t tell me we’re going in THERE?”

     “Yes, we are,” said Copper shortly.

     “But I’ll get my armor all scratched,” Thunder whined.

     “Well, you can either scratch your precious armor, or you can sit out here in the rain,” Copper snapped at the self-absorbed King of Electonis. “Pick your poison, but I’m going in.”

     Copper whirled around, fuming, and stuffed himself into the hole. Sharp bits of stone jabbed at his scales as he shuffled through the tunnel. After a moment, though, it opened up, and Copper emerged into a small cave.

     There wasn’t much. Three makeshift beds made of reeds, moss, and grass were pushed up on one side. One of Arrow, the Water dragon’s, bows lay unattended on her bed, accompanied by a few arrows, but that was all.

     Frost, the Ice dragon, Arrow, and Thunder each came through the tunnel in order. Thunder shook bits of rock and granite dust off of his tail with a disgruntled expression and looked around at their faces.

     “So what am I here for?”

     Copper stood up. “King Thunder III,” he said seriously, “we request your help in fighting the Magic dragons.”

     There was a dramatic pause.

     Thunder looked shocked. “F-fight the Magic dragons?” He stuttered. “B-but they’re all-powerful. Anyone who crosses them will be-“ He clicked his claws.

     “The Magic dragons are going to destroy the Isles of Smokescale,” Frost put in sharply. The Ice dragon narrowed her eyes at Thunder. “If we don’t do something, we’ll ALL be-“ She too clicked her claws.

     Thunder looked unsure. “Will I have to fight?” He sighed. “I’m really not that good at exercising.”

     “That’s why it took us so long to get back,” Arrow said to Copper. “We got there in one day, but this guy held us up for three. He literally needed to rest like every two seconds.”

     “You wouldn’t have to do anything,” Copper said to Thunder. “All you’d have to do is send your strongest troops out with us. You could stay in your nice cozy palace eating hand-rolled truffles all day without lifting a finger,” he added a little resentfully.

     Thunder stroked his chin. “Hmmmm. . . .” he muttered.

     Then he straightened up. Copper’s heart almost stopped.

     “Very well,” King Thunder III said regally. “My Lightning troops will fight with you in the battle with the Magic dragons.”