The dragons had crunched through the light snow on their way to the tent. Persephus kicked up little flurries as he went, some of the flakes incorporating themselves into Khione's small tempest. The hatchling had seen snow before, but never this much in one place. Jaynum padded quickly but seemed distracted, and he kept fidgeting with his scarf.
"What do you have there, Jaynum?" Ciphers asked, stretching her neck to loom over the Spiral.
"Uh, uh, nothing," he answered back just a bit too quickly.
Khione gave a side eye to the dragon. "You totally have something there. And if it is what I think it is-- it better not be."
Crestfallen at having been discovered, Jaynum rummaged with one paw in folds of his scarf. He pulled out a mess of wires and other metallic bits.
"How did you-- the Sprite!" The Imperial hissed incredulously. "It must have brought it to you after you sent the letter.
The Spiral just gave a forlorn nod. But before the reaming could continue, the dragons had reached the tent. Having learned from the prior days, the three non-contestants walked in without abandon and peeled away to find some semi-hidden location to watch.
"Guess the circus was a hint for today," Jaynum spoke to himself before joining his team.
The three dragons watched quietly as Jaynum scrambled to put on a set of stilts. He'd already walked on stilts-- ran even-- before in the week. Surely an obstacle course wouldn't be that much harder, right?
Apparently it would.
Jaynum stumbled around on the long wooden poles and numerous times almost knocked over a Fae and a Tundra. At first, the dragonesses couldn't tell what in the Shade was wrong with the Spiral until Persephus noted that he kept staring desperately at the ground and letting out little shrieks. It was those deities forsaken bits of scrap! Of course Jaynum's greatest vice would lead to him failing his team.
Ciphers let out a little sigh at her best friend's carelessness-- she told him before to keep his metal parts in a bag, and now he was paying the price. Khione stewed for the rest of the challenge, muttering under her breath about how "
that sootstain would dive into the mouth of an Emperor if it meant saving a piece of wire." Persephus was curled into himself beside her, letting out little squeaks whenever a dragon tripped or slipped or was chased by a snake.
When it was all over, and the team rankings were announced, the Imperial tapped out a pattern on her claws, trying to remember the prior rankings. After a moment, she frowned.
"His team keeps slipping further and further. From eighth, to ninth, to twelfth."
"Great. So unless a miracle happens, probably goodbye gems," Khione groaned. "What would we have done with them anyways?"
"Akirbeak," Ciphers responded automatically. "Or a Speedy. Or a Golden Bantam Fangar."
"Can't we, like, already get those?"
"Probably... Actually, definitely. But, you know, Alexia likes to keep a heavy hoard."
congrats ciphers, you finally spent less than an hour on a post. but yeah, i'd use the theoretical gems to get the retired familiars i still need while still maintaining a thicc hoard.
i like having a lot of dragon money
Also I had to think up a reason to explain why Jay would have goofed up so hard. He was literally running around in stilts during the talent show. So he'd probably have to get really distracted. Yay for prior post writings being able to be used as a plot point.
(found a better font for Jaynum-- adding it in because i alway copy my header thing from my latest post :Þ)