Vulpes

The young dragon curled into a tight ball, attempting to achieve some semblance of comfort in the crowded lair. If he rolled over, he crashed into Komali. If he flicked his tail, it would hit Hyperion in the eye. If he moved his head an inch to the left, he would be forced to inhale Groose's hot, nasty breath.

He gave up. Tiptoeing gingerly around the sleeping dragons, he made his way to the entrance of the cave, hoping a quick flight around the Reedcleft Ascent would tire him out enough to fall asleep.

"You can't sleep either, huh?"

The young dragon jumped. He turned to see a pair of large purple eyes glinting at him through the darkness. When he squinted, he realized that the eyes were attached to Drymarchon. The large black Spiral was lying around in loops. He had tied his tail into a knot.

"No," the young dragon said. "It's too crowded. I feel cramped."

"I know the feeling," Drymarchon said. "This is just the way my--why won't this knot--old clan used to be, back--come onnnn, tail, just--in the Shadow Flight--ahh, there we go!" He flicked his now un-knotted tail.

"Did you like it there?" the young dragon asked.

"Oh, definitely! The Tangled Wood is a fascinating and wonderful place. It's full of mischief and mystery, puzzles and pranks."

"Then why did you leave?"

"Well..." Drymarchon pondered. "Like I said, my lair was crowded. A bunch of my clanmates decided to exalt themselves to dear old Shadowmama. I thought about it, but it didn't seem like the right thing for me. Not just yet. But I still felt like I needed to go somewhere else, like it was time for me to move on and do something different. So I came here."

The young dragon smiled. "You sounded kind of like a Wind dragon for a second."

"Yeah, I know." Drymarchon looped himself into tight coils, settling down to go to sleep. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"Just out to stretch my wings."

"All right. Be careful." Drymarchon yawned and shut his large eyes.

The young dragon wandered out of the lair. The night breeze caught his wings and he lifted into the sky, swooping and spiraling toward the stars. He spread his wings out to their fullest extent and let the breeze carry him.

He wondered what it would be like to just let the wind take him away to some distant place where there were creatures he'd never seen and dragons he'd never met. He breathed deeply, filling his lungs with the sweet night air. There was something alluring in it, something that seemed to call out to him.

...mischief and mystery, puzzles and pranks...

It was then that the young dragon realized which direction the wind was carrying him. "Hmm," he said. "The Tangled Woods..."

Credit to Storyweaver for the delightful intro

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His entrance to the Tangled Woods didn't go exactly as planned...
A crash landing into the Wispwillow Grove wasn't ideal, but his flight-weary wings wouldn't carry him one beat further.

He crept forward, unsure about his surroundings. How did Dry see in this place? It's so dark...

He missed his next step, sliding down a steep incline before coming to rest in a puddle of goop.

"That was not the easiest route down you know." A shimmering red skydancer lazed next to a patch of mushrooms, "You're welcome to come in if you'd like. It's a bit..." A crash and screech interrupted him as a glowing coatl zipped out of the darkness, followed closely by two wildclaws that both managed to run into him as they dashed by.

The skydancer sighed, "It's a bit chaotic, but usually nice enough."

The small dragon stuttered, unsure, and cast about for the map Dry had given him during one of his story telling sessions. He wanted to make sure he found the right lair.

"I'm looking for... Looking for... Well... I had a map..."

The skydancer chuckled dryly, "You had a run-in with Zazu. Or it very well could have been Chess. Or Checkers. Who knows with this clan anymore." He sighed when the smaller dragon looked at him in distress, "Your map's gone, son. One of the resident thieves nicked it."

"Do... Do you know where I can find a dragon named Bast? Or Auri? Gelso?"

The skydancer looked at him quizzically, "Did you come specifically looking for our clan? We don't get many visitors. Gelso went to serve Shadowmum a while ago, but you just had a run-in with his son. The other two are this way..." The large dragon stretched and began moving towards the entrance to the lair, "I'm Acer by the way."

Too happy for words, the smaller dragon bounded after Acer into the darkness.

---

"So. You. New kid."

"Uhh..."

"Yeah. New kid."

"Err..."

"What's your business over here in our corner?"

"I just..."

"Speak up, kid."

"Map. I want my map back. You took it."

"Map? What map?"

"This map. Right here." The red dragon had crept into the thieving wildclaws' section of the lair in search of the last memento he had from his former clan. Unfortunately, they caught him on his way out.

"THAT'S MINE." Chess made to snatch the map out of his claws, but the young dragon darted out of reach.

"No, you stole it."

"MAKING IT MINE NOW." Chess tried to corner him again, but the agile youngster spun out of range again.

"So I stole it back. Now it's mine."

"Chess, honey." Checkers moved in between the two, "Maybe this kid has potential. What's your name?"

"Uhh...err..."

"Uher... Hm. We can fix that, can't we dear?" As the two wildclaws bickered, the younger dragon quietly slipped out of the lair.

"...mischief and mystery, puzzles and pranks..."

He was evidently in league with thieves now. What would Dry think of that?

---

---

He was in the process of a very delicate lift when a panicked bundle of wings and fur barreled into him.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." She dove behind Vulpes and slipped into the darkness just as a very large and very angry guardian crashed around the corner.

"WHERE IS THAT LITTLE THIE... What on earth are YOU doing?!?!?"

"Well this won't do at all, will it?" Vulpes abandoned stealth, grabbed the last piece of the shadowscale armor from the vault, and launched himself past the angry dragon. He grinned cheekily back at the raging guardian, "You'll forget this ever happened, yeah?"

He laughed at the furious roaring as he raced into the night.

---

"Oh come on out of there, you aren't fooling anyone." Vulpes was finishing polishing the set of armor he had stolen from the guardian's vault. A small brown dragon crept out from the briers, pale eyes sweeping the area nervously.

"You forgot the basics of a simple lift, lovely. Distracted dragon, consistent pressure." He grinned at her, "Now you were providing an excellent distraction for me until you ran my direction."

She glared back, "You were using me?"

"Well when it's convenient..." He laughed, "What's your name?"

She shied away from him again, "Yours first."

"Vulpes."

She hesitated for a moment before replying, "Velox."

"Oh, really? Well you don't have to tell me your real name..."

She huffed at him, and he laughed again, "So how about we move on to you not getting caught next time?"

"Wait... You'll teach me?"

"And why not? We could always use a few more light talons around the lair." He winked at her before hefting the armor pieces and walking away, "Well come on, then!"

She hurried after him, "What's the armor for?"

"Oh... a friend of mine has been after it for ages so I...

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