Gemma - Earth Dragon in Nature Lair, Palm Grove
Forrest - Nature Dragon in Earth Lair, Pebble Lake
Sornieth Day was drawing nearer and preparations to host Pebble Lake were finally coming together, much to Gemma’s absolute delight. While it was true that Palm Grove were close allies of Pebble Lake, the young Snapper was just excited to see Forrest again; Forrest had been her first friend when she journeyed from Dragonhome to the Viridian Labyrinth, the other dragons choosing to eye her warily from afar, having seen who - and what - she was. Forrest hadn’t worried about contracting Gembond and interacted with her freely, reacting with interest instead of with the initial fear that the others had; he’d never met a Hidden Gem before.
They’d bonded quickly and Forrest became one of the few dragons with which Gemma would spend her time, when she wasn’t exploring the Everbloom Gardens where the clan had made their home. Time passed and eventually, Forrest had expressed an interest in travelling to Dragonhome, to take in everything he’d heard so much about from Gemma - and though she was sad to see him go, she bid him to take her parents her love.
Thus began a series of long distance communications between the clans, which developed into a flourishing friendship. Together, both clans worked to defend the borders of Dragonhome and the Viridian Labyrinth from encroaching Beastclans and unwelcome dragons of all sorts. Once a year, both clans would come together and hold a friendly competition to celebrate Sornieth and their clans; after the previous year’s successful Zen Garden competition, it was decided that the Pebble Lake would try their hand at gardening.
Gemma was so preoccupied with Forrest and vice versa, that neither the Snapper nor the Imperial realized that their clans had quickly fallen into the same kind of crazy one upmanship that had taken over their last celebration. Indeed, it was the varied sounds of bickering that brought them back together. Gemma shook her large head at her fellows and turned to look up at her friend with a familiar glint in her brown eyes. “Why don’t we work together? Show ‘em what we can really do?”
Planning
A large sheet of parchment lay draped over a large slab of smooth granite, several lines and circles adorning the page as Forrest scrawled some notes about the design. Gemma had returned from her walk, having measured out a suitable space for their friendship garden, and was studying the parchment, occasionally looking up to track the path of the sun before pointing out something new.
“We could create a stone path through the garden, starting there and ending…. There?” Gemma gestured to the far end of the marked borders.
“I’d like that, yes, we can wind it throughout, like this,” Forrest added, drawing a mock path through the design. “And we could line the path with those succulents you like.”
The Snapper let out a pleased rumble at this, then studied the drawing again; if Forrest was going to include something she liked, it was only fair that she include something he liked… Stomping her large foot against the earth, she turned her bright eyes to him. “What about an apple tree? The blossoms smell really good, they’re very pretty, and apples are delicious!”
Forrest trilled thoughtfully and looked at the blank canvas around them, pointing suddenly. “That’s a good place for them, don’t you think?” Gemma followed his direction and wandered over to the area, sniffing the ground and pawing at it to test the soil. “This will do nicely, yes!” she agreed. “Honeycrisps, it is.”
Goat
“Gemma!”
The Snapper looked around, confused as to why she was hearing Forrest’s voice, but why she wasn’t seeing the Imperial. She heard him call her name again and stumbled around to see his long neck emerging from behind a rather large shrub that he hadn’t trimmed yet. He looked rather silly, she thought. “What in Sornieth are you doing over there, Forrest?” she called out.
“Gotcha a present! Close your eyes!” That aroused her suspicions. Even though she trusted her friend, Gemma wasn’t super fond of surprises; siblings could be cruel, after all. Reluctantly, she closed her eyes. There was an awful lot of rustling, some grumbling that would surely disappoint the Gladekeeper, and- “Forrest? Did I just hear a goat?”
There was a pause. It stretched between them until Gemma couldn’t take it anymore; her eyes opened and settled on her friend, then at his gift to her. Her eyes returned to him and she spoke, attempting to keep the amusement from her voice. “There is a goat… in our garden… You got me a goat?”
Forrest’s tail twitched, as did his whiskers, and he ducked his head. “I just thought that she’d keep you company, you know, after I leave,” the Imperial explained, sounding embarrassed. “You two can relax in the garden together, when it’s finished...”
The baby goat was idly nibbling at the blades of grass at her feet throughout this exchange, but looked up and locked eyes with the Snapper, who immediately melted. “I love her. Bring Crystal over here and let’s get started!”
Waterfall
“A waterfall,” Forrest suddenly says as he clutches a tiny watering can between his forepaws, dripping tiny droplets down onto a freshly blooming plant.
Gemma turns to look at her friend. “A what?”
“A waterfall. You know,” Forrest attempts to mime what a waterfall looks like, eliciting a giggle from the Snapper as she watches him contort himself into a vague approximation of one.
“Oh! Yes,” she said finally, having had enough of watching Forrest contort himself like Hermes the Spiral. “A waterfall would be nice. There’s a river we could get the water from over here, come on!” The two dragons began working right away, Forrest doing his best to impress Gemma with the Earth magic that her parents had been teaching him. It was pretty impressive, she had to admit, but in hindsight, that’s where everything went downhill.
She’d been attempting to show off some of her newly acquired Nature magic, but she’d stumbled onto a bucket of water and - in trying to dislodge her foot from it - ended up flinging it across the waterfall; Gemma watched in horror as the handle caught on one of Forrest’s antlers, dousing the Imperial. Said dragon blinked the water from his eyes and bared his teeth at her with a friendly growl before he lunged at her. The garden was quickly filled with the sounds of shrieks and laughter as water flew through the air, splattering dragons and plants alike.
At at the end of the day, they were both quite soaked, but the waterfall was finally complete and both dragons were incredibly happy with the results, even if it had taken them a few tries to get the water flowing the way they’d wanted it. With a grin, Forrest casually dips his tail into the water, and sends a thousand sparkling droplets over Gemma.
The yelp she lets out is definitely worth it.
Moss Rocks
“Mossrocks.” Forrest holds up a stone that balances perfectly on his nose, grinning as he does. There’s a ton of them, Forrest has just curled himself around the pile to hide it from Gemma’s eyes.
“Absolutely not. Why would you?” Gemma dumps a pile of perfectly round stones in a million sparkling colours on the ground in front of her.
“Why not? Look at this!”
The first mossrock looks like a tiny turtle, and Gemma has to at least concede one. Her head dips, just the slightest, and Forrest does a tiny wiggle of triumph. The second mossrock though, is just on the wrong side of odd, and she’s certain she makes a sound of discontent.
The Imperial pauses, his whiskers drooping. Gemma pats her friend with one of her wings, then holds up a stone that shines brilliant green, the same shimmering green as Forrest’s belly. “Here.”
She won’t admit it, but Gemma likes to see her friend light up. It’s part of what they do, doing things for one another.
It’s a long process, sorting through the rocks. They argue, naturally, about the pros and cons of mossrocks versus the geodes, but at the end of the day, even Forrest concedes the shiny rocks do have their own shine, and well, if Gemma keeps one tiny mossrock in the shape of a Snapper, only Forrest knows about it.
Stone Path
As the days wore on and the garden flourished, Forrest and Gemma found themselves nearing the end of their project. It was a little bittersweet, Forrest thought with a sigh as he took in the pile of rocks on his side of the garden. Soon, he would be leaving the familiar scents and sights of the Viridian Labyrinth and returning to Dragonhome. His new home was growing on him, true enough, but sometimes he was homesick. It was something he thought about with each stone he placed along the path. Sometimes, when he was burrowed under lush soil, covered in warm moss, he thought about his home in the Everbloom Gardens. About his family. About his friends… about Gemma.
Little did he know that Gemma was thinking the same thing; she had hatched in Dragonhome, with its rocky terrain and the Pillar always within her sight. She’d wandered far and wide, crossing the straits to reach her new home, trading in the Pillar for the Behemoth. She missed her parents at times, but Forrest’s parents took her in, so it wasn’t as bad as it had been at first. The Snapper had been less social in her ancestral home, but had flourished here, surrounded by the greenery - she supposed that was part of the appeal.
Both dragons were so lost in thought that they bumped into each other as they laid their last stone, both of them laughing.
“Sorry, Gem!” Forrest told her, nuzzling her to make sure she was unhurt.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I was just thinking, that’s all.” Gemma ducked out from under her friend and bumped him with her rump.
“Me too. I wasn’t really paying attention,” he conceded. “In any case, why don’t we finish the path?” Forrest had spent a fair amount of time the night before growing the many succulents that would line their path, and he now picked up one small pot, holding it out to Gemma.
“One for the road?”
The Snapper nods, scooping out some soil with her paw and gently laying the plant into the depression. They’ve got a way to go, and Gemma finds herself echoing the humming that comes from her friend as they complete their pathway.
Arch
“Vines.” Some green shoots poke out of the ground, as Forrest teases them to life. Still, they don’t manage to reach as high as he’d like before they start sagging, and beside him Gemma lets out a chuckle.
“It might end up losing some structural integrity, what about a rock base and-”
The next few hours are spent on a back and forth discussion; Forrest had wanted something that didn’t look too artificial, but they had to compromise when it came to materials; too soft and it wouldn’t hold, too hard and it would make carving a problem.
It takes them through lunch, and eventually Gemma flops on her back, sighing as her stomach growls. They’ve spent hours on this, and it feels as if they are nowhere near done. Instinctively, the Snapper reaches out and flicks a small white-brown rock, then pauses.
Her grin widens.
Small chunks of limestone start to levitate themselves, loosely arranging themselves into what looks like an arch. Forrest peers close, then allows some of the vines to curl around the base, anchoring the arch as the rest of the limestone is carved into a gentle, sloping curve.
Both dragons study their handiwork.
“This needs some decoration.” They say in unison, before pausing and laughing.
Flowers on Arch
The flowers are an afterthought, something neither of them had actually considered. The competition is almost at an end, and both Forrest and Gemma are tired but accomplished. Their garden is an oasis of peace, despite the quiet sounds of last-minute bickering between the competitive dragons of both their lairs.
“Here.” Forrest is the first to move, holding out a small, golden flower. It’s similar to one that Gemma had given to him as a thank-you the first day he met her, and he smiles, casually draping his tail over her Gembound shoulders. “This is for you.”
Gemma smiles. Over the arch, vines curl from the ground. Nature magic still isn’t completely easy for her, being an earth dragon, but Gemma tries. In a heartbeat, Forrest understands. They’ve always been able to understand one another, and this is no different. His magic joins hers, curling around it and creating where she had laid the foundation, and a thousand flowers burst into bloom as the vines wrap around the arch, completing the pale browns of the limestone they had carved.
The flowers are an afterthought, but they complement the arch.
“Perfect.”
