Poppy came rushing into the den. In her claws was a weathered staff, and atop her head was a very ill fitting hat.
“Tulip! Tulip, Tulip, Tulip!” She nearly knocked over an entire shelf full of trinkets in her excitement.
Tulip turned from her reading. Oh goodness, what trouble could Poppy have gotten herself into now?
“What is it, child?”
“I wanna be a Mage!” Poppy pushed the staff further in the air. The hat slid down over her eyes, and she giggled as she pushed it back up to gauge her mentor’s reaction.
Tulip hesitated. She wanted to train Poppy in the art of battle, but becoming a Mage?
“Surely you’d be happier learning a more physical fighting style…” she began.
“But! But, magic is so cool! You can whoosh around, and blow things to bits with JUST your MIND!” She swung the staff around, perfectly mimicking the sound of rushing wind, making Tulip dodge under it, and taking out a different shelf holding gemstones and a potted plant. Tulip retch out and grabbed the staff, stilling it.
She sighed. “Are you positive that this is what you’d like to do?”
Poppy looked back up, and nodded, her eyes shining.
“Then we’ll go tomorrow afternoon and speak to Arrow about starting you on a training regiment.”
Poppy gasped, dropped the staff, and hopped over it, rushing to hug Tulip tightly around the middle. “Oh, thank you!”
Tulip’s expression softened. She couldn’t stay frustrated with the smaller dragon for long. She reached down to return the embrace.
---
As promised, the next afternoon Tulip led Poppy over to the Accountant’s den. She tapped lightly on the entrance, waiting for a welcome.
There was a bit of shuffling, and then a voice spoke from within.
“Come in!”
When they entered, the tomato Spiral had his back turned, flipping through a large volume. Objects swirled overhead, chalk scraped against the chalkboard, and books flipped pages on their own, moved by Lightning energies.
“If you’re here about the discrepancy in the numbers in the hoard and the numbers written down, I’ve already noticed, and- Oh, hello.” Arrow bit off his rant about the finances upon noticing his visitors. “What can I do for you two lovely ladies this morning?”
Poppy hopped over to the large desk occupying most of Arrow’s lair and separating the Spiral from the two Nocturnes. “I wanna be a Mage!”
Arrow looked to Tulip for a better explanation.
Tulip bowed her head, gesturing to Poppy. “This one here came to me yesterday proclaiming that she wanted to be a Mage. We had planned to start her physical training very soon, and then this came up. She’s very set in her decision, so I assumed that you might be able to train her in my place.”
Arrow was still for a moment. A Spellbound Tome flapping overhead was the only sound, and the pieces of chalk and books that he had been manipulating previously were held aloft.
Then, in a rush, books were snapped shut, chalk flung at the chalkboard and across the room. The poor Tome, startled, dodged behind a shelf. In a blink, the Spiral was up in Tulip’s face, close enough for her to feel his breath.
“Is this true?”
Wide-eyed, Tulip nodded.
They stood there, eyes locked for another moment before Arrow spun quickly on his toes, making the other two dragons flinch.
“Splendid!” he shouted, tossing his arms into the air, and jostling his necklaces in the process. “It’s wonderful to see young minds with such a thirst for expanding knowledge. We should begin soon. Tomorrow, perhaps?” He clasped his front feet together, and looked to Tulip expectantly.
Poppy rushed to her side, grabbing a hold of her arm, and tugging lightly. “Please, oh please, Tulip? Please?” She made sure that she made the face that she knew Tulip wouldn’t be able to refuse.
Tulip glanced first to Poppy, then Arrow, and back again. “Fine.”
“Yes!” Poppy lept into the air, flapping her wings, and pumping her arms. The Tome moved back out from behind the shelf to see what all the hubbub was about.
Poppy turned and shot out of Arrow’s lair, whooping and hollering like a songbird.
Arrow laughed. “I do look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Tulip.”
Tulip shook her head. “You shouldn’t have encouraged her.”
Arrow grinned. “It’s all to mess with you, dear.”
“You do that very well.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Tulip shook her head again, and turned. She moved through the entrance of the lair as Arrow called “Don’t be late!” from inside.
