Val

Val only recently joined up with this group of traveling merchants. Most of them are women. Lucky, he thought to himself, joining up with this group is the best thing that's happened to me in a few weeks.

During travel, he spent his time going from cart to cart chatting up the ladies of the caravan. There was just one problem, they don't seem to be reciprocating his advances. Do I smell? Is that it? (he took a bath later that night). During the night, he would spend his time around the campfire talking with whoever came around. Making friends was easy enough, it was just his advances towards the women that weren't catching anything.

Eventually, he worked up the courage to ask one of the others.

"These ladies know your type. The Cassanova type. They're experienced and have seen and heard everything in your playbook. Do you even know how many people they have to deal with every day? You're better off trying your moves on inexperienced dragons at the next stop."

After that, he stopped trying to make moves on the ladies of the caravan. They eventually did warm up to him but by that time they were already at the next major stop. There, Val took his leave from the caravan.

Val didn't notice anything until he heard a shout he looked around finding a large hole in the ground he entered finding an entire clan underground he couldn't see anything she stayed close to the entrance but heard things below, possibly hatchlings? he wasn't sure

He decided to not stay long since he couldn't see in the dark but heard many female voices below he wanted to go further in.

Soon enough he worked up the courage to go further in but ran into one of the clan's warriors named Tolls "hey there stranger" the male wildclaw greeted him, Val introduced himself before hearing a call from further below they definitely had hatchlings "you don't want to go further, the nests are just past here and my mate is very adamant about who gets anywhere near those hatchlings" Tolls said.

Val headed back to the entrance unsure of what to do next, he knew it would be better to leave but this clan seemed so interesting and there were things he wanted to know about this mysterious clan.

Val stumbled upon a strange Clan of warriors. He had been thirsty, and stumbling towards a pool of water in the distance, he had noticed something move in the bushes. He had tiredly beat his wings and flew towards the pool, trying to escape whatever creature was chasing him. He did not think any dragons lived in this horrible, scorched wasteland where the only water was still and murky, unable to be seen through even for a centimeter.
But then suddenly a tendril of shadow shot out of a bush, wrapped around his foot, and slowly dragged him back. He shrieked and fought it, and then a sudden yank and his wings snapped forward. He was sure one of them had been fractured.
Then the shadow tendril took him and slammed him against the ground. He stumbled around trying to find his pearl, and picked it up.
But it was not his pearl. It was half destroyed, burnt on one side and gleaming and shiny on the other.
Then, he looked around and saw a circle of dragons, wearing rags and what looked like war paint of some sort.
A Pearlcatcher without a pearl approached him, eyes gleaming with a fiery anger.
"Who are you?"