GrukkenBoop

“If you want the golden silks from our clothier, you need to be able to afford them. To afford them, you need to NOT have a NEGATIVE bank balance. Sorry, sir!” Grukkenboop grumbles to the angry skydancer in front of him. Every time he must turn someone down he feels bad, but if he let everyone get too far into the negatives, this clan’s prison would fail financially. Pickles was addicted to online shopping, Gus had a gambling problem, and don’t get him started on Deazal’s “charitable giving” which started after he saw a commercial on the starving hatchlings in another land. Grukkenboop had been tasked with running the prison finances and he prided himself on keeping the bank balance positive even if he had to deal with a few irate customers. Every day he saw single parents trying to feed hungry hatchlings after their newest mate ran off with some other dragon. Families were becoming outdated and most kids these days didn’t know what marriage was. Mating for life used to be a thing and families would stay together but that was the past. Grukkenboop always wanted to start a family but the prison lifestyle was not the place to raise well-rounded, educated kiddos nor was the culture of today’s times. It was tough being a snapper in Sornieth, but he managed well, and the prison's main warden, Pickles, was also one so that helped a lot. Grukkenboop recently met a lovely female nocturne named Buttercup and she was a beauty in his eyes. Her colors were gorgeous and were like his and he knew that this was the woman he wanted until the end of time, but would she really go for an ugly snapper like him? He had to find out so one day while she was working in the prison’s gardens he lumbered over to her and picked her some daisies. When he approached her with the bouquet, she quietly sneezed before smiling at him. “Oh, are these for me?” she flittered in front of him as he handed them to her. “Yes, ma’am. My name is Grukkenboop and I was admiring your beautiful gardens and couldn’t help but notice a beautiful lady like yourself.” He smiled shyly at her as he delivered the compliment and then stepped back to await her reply. He figured she would be like any other dragon and be repulsed by him but she smiled back and landed on his shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Grukky, I’m Buttercup and you are a truly handsome man. I would like to get to know you better, you seem like you know this place well and I am new to the area.” She smiled at him and wished she wouldn’t have used that nickname. “…Grukky…hmmm…. I love it! I would be glad to show you the area, it will be a date!” He laughed, and she snuggled into his shoulder before he strutted off to show her the rest of the prison grounds. As they toured the grounds, Grukky pointed out the points of interest and some of his favorite spots. They then had a picnic lunch in the paddock to watch the wild pohips and Buttercup laughed as he caught a butterfly for her. Things were going well between them and within the year, they were married. Grukky and Buttercup had their first nest together of five little Grukkenboops: Three girls and two boys! They had laid their first nest in the Gladekeeper’s territory and brought them home when they hatched to be blessed by the Stormcatcher. Who knows where these children would wind up, but they had been blessed by Sornieth’s Gods!