Olethros

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The inventor stood at her workbench, turning a delicate piece of machinery over in her claws. After a few seconds of thought, she picked up a small, thin, hexagonal tool, and silently tinkered with the piece. As she put the tool back in its place, she turned a small wheel on the piece, smiling to herself when the whole mechanism began to play a simple tune. Carefully putting it back inside the beautifully painted box it came from, Olethros covered it back up with a small wooden cover and attached the crank to the back of the box, giving it another spin to make sure it was still working. The tune echoed through the cave, making Olethros feel glad that she was alone, so she wouldn't be disturbing someone else's work. She put the box to the side and pulled the next broken thing out of the small, organized pile next to her, humming the tune of the music box as she worked.

~~~

A red and white pearlcatcher walked into the cave. Olethros recognized her instantly, though she hadn't made much of a presence of herself during the time she'd been a part of the clan. Olethros sat aside the electrical coil she was straightening out and brought the music box to the center of her desk. The pearlcatcher eyed the neat pile of completed projects for a moment, before bringing her attention back to the skydancer.
"Hello, Eos. The music box is repaired, as promised."

The pearlcatcher gestured toward the box with an open palm. "Good. You wouldn't mind if I inspected it before paying you?"
Slightly offended that Eos underestimated her skill in her craft, Olethros handed her the box. "Of course, that won't be a problem."
As Eos inspected the box, her wings drooped, making Olethros wonder if she would find something wrong with it to get a discount. To her surprise, Eos put the box in her bag and retrieved a small sack of coins. "Thank you. The others weren't lying when they said that your work was worth the treasure." The skydancer gladly accepted the coins and placed them in a drawer under her desk. She appreciated the compliment, but was eager to get back to work. "Thank you, and you're welcome. Have a good day."

Eos nodded and left the cavern, leaving Olethros to work.

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Electricity crackled as live wires escaped from their casing. The skydancer growled and pulled a lever, shutting off the whole grid and narrowly dodging a wire near her feet. The lights in the room slowly dimmed, accompanied by a low whirr, before the backup generators powered on and returned the lights to their previous glow. She rubbed her sore eyes and stretched her claws before cautiously testing the wire and making sure it wouldn't discharge. A grey and green spiral across the room looked up for the first time in a few hours, and frowned at Olethros. "Tin casing again? That's the fourth time today," she shouted, seeming sympathetic.

"Yes, it was," Olethros sighed. "I'll have to rebuild over half the machine just to make sure these wires get the proper casing. This shipment of tin must have a flaw."

The spiral scoffed as she placed a small, empty glass vial into a drawer. "It's Emberglow tin, not exactly known for its strength. Koja recently got a shipment of copper straight from the Furnace, so if I were you, I'd go ask him to make some copper casing before Kirukan makes the most of a low demand." Toxine cleaned another glass vial, placing it carefully into the drawer with the others. Olethros frowned. Toxine was right, but the casing would take, at the very least, two weeks to complete. And that was if Koja rushed her order. But the results spoke for themselves, and Olethros opened her safe, taking out three small bags of coin.

The caves made some dragons feel right at home, but to Olethros, they felt confining and primitive. She preferred her home in Lightning, with its polished floors and open spaces, and other dragon's inventions as far as the eye could see. She remembered, when she was young, putting her ear up to the walls and hearing the comforting hum of electricity echoing through the halls.

But she didn't talk about that anymore.

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