Chapter 3: The Mushroom Ring
Hatchlings squealed as they raced around, spraying dust. It had been a few weeks since the clans moved to the new location, and most had acclimatized well to the dry heat. While the cool shady lushness of the Nature territory did have its appeal, many also realized there was enjoyment to be found in Dragonhome too, exploring the labyrinthine cave they had claimed as their own, or soaking up the bright sunshine.
"Plumpkin! Off the grass for now please, it's still trying to establish itself!" called Peony absent-mindedly, not looking up from the packets of seeds she was sorting through. Made from dried, folded leaves, the small packages were the key to establishing life around the cave. If she could coax the ecosystem to a point where it could be at least a little self-sustaining, Faerien and Taffy should be able to start another mushroom ring, guaranteeing the clan's safety...
"But Peeeeony!" whined Plumpkin, running over to her on stubby Snapper legs, followed as always by his friends "Genie did it too, and it's so soft!"
"Then you're both naughty, and you both have to eat stinkbugs for dinner!" Peony teased, setting the seeds down with a smile.
Awwberry gasped "Not stinkbugs!" she whispered, horrified. Her eyes were wide, even for a Spiral.
"I like stinkbugs." Adaubergine stated calmly, cocking their head to the side and examining Peony. The hatchling was always calm, the classic monotonous Fae voice only adding to it. "But Punkin, we shall put yours in Peony's garden instead." A tiny fang broke through as they gave a brief, lopsided smile. Plumpkin giggled mischievously and Awwberry shook her head, always the good girl.
"Now that really
would be naughty!" Peony told them "After how hard I've been working out here? I'd have to-" she fluffed up her crest and thrust out her wings...
"Tickle you!" she roared, jumping forward to snatch up the squealing hatchlings.
After a brief tussle, they lay puffed on the sprouting grass, still more dirt than greenery.
Plumpkin, heavy little nugget that he was, lay on his back on the ground. Awwberry had tangled herself about Peony's neck like a scarf, and tiny Adaubergine sat on her outstretched claws.
"I could have evaded you easily, you know." they were telling the Coatl "I just like tickles sometimes."
Peony nodded her agreement "I'm sure you could have. You're very clever, little one. You're all wonderful in different ways." she added, when Plumpkin chimed in with assertions that he was clever too.
A shadow fell across the group, and Peony rolled over slightly to see who it was. Faerien stood glistening and sparkling in the sunshine.
"Is it ready?" Peony asked, hopefully. Faerien bowed his head in affirmation. "Alright. Time to let me up, you lot." she told the hatchlings, gently tossing Adaubergine into the air where they fluttered about.
"Ohhh." said Awwberry sadly as Peony unwound her and set her on the ground.
"Sorry darlings, I'll play with you later. Stay inside with the others for a while, please!" And with that, she set off beside Faerien.
Faerien, leader of The Ethereal Court, let her to a patch of ground behind the wide crack that slashed through the earth that served as the entrance to their new home. A small circle of rocks had been placed there a few metres across, a barrier to keep trampling feet off the patch. Around the circle stood Faerien's mate Taffy, and their one clan member, a Nocturne named Loire. All three glistened prettily.
Peony greeted the Court members and stood a little apart from them and the circle. They had discussed this moment at length over the many nights in the new cave. She had worked hard to make the land here fertile, and her efforts showed. This was clearly the greenest patch around. Small trees dotted here and there, by rights they should still be seedlings, but the Court members had helped them along, a draining process which they had halted earlier in the week to conserve energy for this, the beginning of a new mushroom ring. Peony had been invited to watch because of her passion for growing things, but she knew she couldn't participate. Although she had offered, there was nothing she could do. Peony was quite strong, having trained extensively in the use of magic and healing, but despite her love of Nature, she had been born to the Fire territory, and her magic, as all magic, was strongly elemental. She could twist that to use for healing, but using her magic to coax plants to grow just wouldn't work, the elements were too different.
"Eternal thanks to those who've come,
Let us unite and get this done!"
Faerien crooned in his strange, rhyming way. Taffy looked around them, before speaking up as well.
"My friends, this here is Peony,
We've asked her to be here, to see.
This is a time to be polite,
Would you please come into her sight?"
Peony blinked at her in confusion. She had known all three of them for months now! Before she could ask Taffy what she meant, the air about them shimmered slightly, as if from heat. The slight warping shimmer spread, brightening, becoming a glittering light. Peony squeezed her eyes shut, the brightness surrounded them and she could no longer stare at it. When she opened them, dozens of dragons surrounded them. Dragons of every breed, in strange combinations of colour. Some had similar colour schemes, and she wondered if they were from the same place.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, surprised. "Uh, welcome!" A snort of laughter coincided with a blast of hot air on the back of her shoulder. She turned to find a huge, grinning Imperial standing surprisingly close, and blushed as she realized they'd been there all along, likely since before she'd arrived.
Peony stepped back further, removing herself from the crowd, and gestured to Faerien to continue.
The rosy coloured Coatl nodded and closed his eyes. After a moment he began to hum. Settling down to watch, Peony realized that the other dragons were shutting their eyes too, and many were beginning to hum as well, not the same tune as Faerien, but all their songs wove together to create a happy tune. She counted the dragons, there were twenty six in total, each breed being represented by a male and female. She couldn't tell with their eyes closed but she wondered whether every element was represented as well.
The tune was picking up, with some dragons stamping their feet, slapping thighs or clicking claws against scales in time with the song. Peony couldn't help but smile, the song made her want to dance. The strange dragons moved more and more, bobbing heads or swaying. A female Spiral began to wind lithely in between dragons, a sinuous dance. A Fae followed her lead, twirling through the air in her wake, wings aflutter. Before long, all of them had joined the dance, forming a circle with the sectioned off patch in the center. The song increased in volume as well as enthusiasm, and the dance grew wilder and more boisterous. Peony was enthralled, watching each dragon in turn, all their different styles blending together into one swirling mass of bodies.
Eventually, the music grew calmer and the dance wound down. Those who stopped kept up the song as the others slowed and stopped, before the song too, faded away. Peony looked around, wincing at her stiff neck. She realized with a start that the sun was setting. It had been before midday when they started!
She got up stiffly and stretched from head to tail before hurrying over to the circle. The dragons were peering at the center. They parted to let her through, were she was met by the widely grinning faces of Faerien and Taffy. She smiled back, and peered within the circle of stones.
There nestled a small clump of mushrooms. Long white stalks grew in slender bunches, each holding up a golden cap. Even as she watched, drips formed on the sides of some of the caps, bright and golden like liquid sunshine. Droplets fell to the ground and were absorbed immediately, as if the earth itself relished their elixir.
"It worked." she breathed, and Faerien trilled in excitement beside her, the rest of the dragons joining them in a cheer so loud it seemed to shake her bones.
The clans had a mushroom ring once more. Now all they had to do was protect it, and it would grow. When it did , everything within its bounds would be safe, protected by all the strength of the Court.
Faerien spoke again as the cheer died down.
"Eternal thanks to all the clans,
for joining with us in the dance.
You gave us safety in our home,
now we'll reclaim our rightful throne!"
The collected dragons bowed to Faerien and Taffy, and Peony remembered what they had told her back in the days after the attack. Many dragons like Faerien and Taffy existed in the world, but very few lived in organized groups. Most moved place to place, enjoying the world or causing mischief as they pleased. These two, however, were royalty, of a kind. The rightful heirs to a group of sorts, although apparently the Court had dwindled and weakened over the last few centuries, as they had become complacent in the peaceful age. Faerien had hinted that other congregations existed, but they were few and far, and most kept to themselves, not interacting with the regular dragons of Sornieth. She wondered, not for the first time, just how high an authority her friends were. It was easy to forget, working alongside them each day.
The dragons began to wink out of existence once more, and soon it was just the four of them again. Faerien and Taffy lay down right where they were, snuggling together on the grass in the darkening night, smiling contentedly at their mushrooms. Loire took up a similar position nearby, and Peony decided it was time to take her leave.
Her step was light as she made her way into the cave, feeling as though everything was finally going right.
