Doldrum

Previously: The Ivory Mother, The Golden Lord of Gloom I-III.

I.

He came to the new lair so young that he did not remember anything of the old one. The only way he knew he came from somewhere else was because one of the oh-so-superior golden hatchlings told him so.

'You weren't born here, you know. I heard Mama say you blew in on the night wind. That's why you don't look like the rest of us.'

It was true, he did not much resemble the other young tundras, with their gold or ivory coats and sunny natures. So when Doldrum met the reticent Saturnine, he kept as close as was comfortable. Neither were fond of speech or touch, so they understood each other. Then one day, they found the Golden Lord of Gloom, and everything changed.

'What do you want?' The Golden Lord's voice held none of the false cheer that echoed through the rest of the lair. He clearly wanted to coddle them as much as they wanted to be coddled. They explained, in as few words as possible, what they were fleeing.

The Golden Lord did not seem to care. But he also did not order them to go. At least, he did not force them to go. Doldrum and Saturnine decided that phrases like 'get out of here, go on', and 'don't you have somewhere better to be?' were the Golden Lord's way of expressing his tolerance for them.

The Golden Lord's other disciple, the bright and fluffy Acrimony, tolerated them less. But he only tried to drive them away once. They were tougher than he was, and they outnumbered him even though Doldrum was smaller. After it became clear that no one cared about his sniveling or his relation to the Golden Lord, the three of them settled into a state of mutual indifference.

Further reading:
Saturnine I
Acrimony I

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II.

Although he and Saturnine never discussed what it meant to be a disciple of the Golden Lord of Gloom, Doldrum held some private beliefs on the matter. It seemed to him that there were rules to be followed, even if they never spoke of them. The first, of course, was that the Ivory Mother was to be avoided at all costs. She wasn't dangerous, exactly, but she did not understand the ways of gloom. She followed the path of cheer instead, and Doldrum sometimes worried she might infect them with it. Surely the Golden Lord would not approve.

The second tenet of Doldrum's belief centered around the Golden Lord's son, Acrimony. Although Acrimony pretended to be a gloom disciple, he wasn't one. He was one of the fluffy golden children, beloved by everyone; only Doldrum and Saturnine saw how twisted up he was on the inside. He wan't gloomy, he was something else. Doldrum thought he might be dangerous, but as long as Doldrum and Saturnine were together Acrimony couldn't do anything.

The third rule: stay away from girls. This was obvious to Doldrum. How could they be proper followers of the Gloom Lord if there were twittering females around? The Ivory Mother seemed to always have a gaggle of young golden Tundra girls in her wake, which was yet another reason to avoid them. They probably carried the taint of her enthusiasm.

Those were really the only three rules to being a gloom disciple: avoid the Ivory Mother, snub Acrimony, and keep away from females. Doldrum was convinced that if they kept to them, he and Saturnine would be fine. Surely that wasn't so hard.

But then Saturnine broke one of the rules.

Further reading:
Saturnine II-III
Umberrime
Acrimony II

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III.

Doldrum found out about Saturnine and Umberrime from Acrimony. Acrimony! Of all the dragons who could have broken the news, why did it have to be him? Everything was upside down. Saturnine had broken one of the rules - not that they ever spoke of the rules - and now the fate of the gloom disciples hung in the balance. Nesting with a female meant hatchlings would come. And hatchlings made work, and noise, and inevitably they attracted the attention of the Ivory Mother. So that meant Saturnine had broken two of the rules.

Of course, Doldrum had broken the last remaining rule by talking to Acrimony. The sun-colored pretender had seemed pleased about the news! Some gloom disciple he was. But now Doldrum didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to confront Saturnine? Should they talk about this? The two of them barely ever talked about anything! That was most of the reason they got along so well. They had never needed to talk; Doldrum understood what Saturnine was thinking, and he knew Saturnine understood him too. But he didn't understand why his fellow gloom disciple had abandoned him for a female and a nest. What was the point?

Doldrum curled up in an out-of-the-way corner and wallowed in misery. None of the other dragons seemed to notice. After all, he was acting just like he always did. Only, now he had no one for company but his own gloomy thoughts.

Further reading: Acrimony III, Argent Aurelius I

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IV.

'Beautiful day, isn't it?'

Doldrum blinked and stared up at the dragon who stood over him. Green eyes smiled down at him through a thatch of golden fur. For one surreal moment, he thought it was the Golden Lord of Gloom speaking to him. Then he replayed the words in his head.

Beautiful...day? No, it can't be the Gloom Lord. Too cheerful. It's another one of those golden children who follow the Ivory Mother. Great.

Oblivious to Doldrum's mood, the other dragon kept talking. 'The sun is shining and the wind is fresh! I got to fly all by myself today, it was glorious. Do you ever go flying just for fun?' The golden dragon flapped his wings as if to demonstrate.

Doldrum stared. 'No.' Why would anyone do that?

The other dragon paused for a moment. Then, 'Oh! Well, you should try it sometime! It's marvelous. And look, I found this bird! Isn't it pretty? I've never seen so many colors at once! Mother says I may keep it as long as I take care of it.' He thrust a squirming ball of brilliant plumage in front of Doldrum's nose.

Doldrum sneezed. 'Oh. That's...nice.'

The golden dragon grinned. 'That's exactly what my father said! He doesn't like to talk much. I don't understand why, but Mother says some dragons are just shy. Is that why you're over here by yourself? I thought you must be, so I figured I would come introduce myself. My name is-'

'Argyle, what are you doing? Get away from him, he probably bites.'

Doldrum recognized the acerbic voice immediately. Oh great. What does he want?

Acrimony stalked toward them. His fur looked sallow next to the vibrant gold of the other young male's. His expression of distaste was no different than usual.

The other dragon tipped his head to the side. 'Aww, don't be mean, Crimminy! He doesn't bite, he's just quiet. And you know my name isn't Argyle, it's Argent Aurelius. I know it's a lot to say,' he leaned toward Doldrum to mutter, 'but I'm sure if he practices enough he'll get it right eventually.'

Acrimony sneered. 'Sure, whatever, Argos. Anyway, Mother sent me to find you. She wants you for some reason.' His expression indicated that he couldn't imagine why anyone would ask for Argent Aurelius's company, but the younger dragon seemed not to notice.

'Oh, okay! I have to go, but it was nice chatting with you...er, sorry, I didn't catch your name?'

Doldrum stared. Nice? Chatting? Clearly there was something wrong with this dragon. But he seemed to expect something, so Doldrum reluctantly muttered his name.

'Doldrum, eh? Well, it was nice to meet you! We'll have to talk more later! Bye, Doldrum! Bye, Crimminy! And remember, it's Argent Aurelius. Keep practicing!' With that the golden dragon bounded away, leaving a trail of shining fur and exuberance in his wake.

Acrimony turned to go, then stopped and glared at Doldrum over his shoulder. 'Don't be fooled. He doesn't really like you, he just feels sorry for you. I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up.'

Alone at last, Doldrum sank back into his corner. But the conversation bothered him. Why would Acrimony care if the other dragon - Argent Aurelius - liked him? Doldrum never expected anyone to like him. And he certainly didn't think Acrimony would care about his hopes, even if he had any hopes to care about. Strange.

He missed Saturnine. Maybe between the two of them, they could have uncovered Acrimony's motives. On his own...well, he knew Acrimony was up to no good, but that was all. Nothing he could do about it.

A flash of color interrupted his dour thoughts. It was a feather from the golden dragon's gaudy bird. Doldrum caught it in his claws and frowned at it. So bright. So...bubbly. Why on earth would he want to talk to me?