Isotope

Isotope thought he'd found the perfect hiding spot this time, but, of course, the other dragons spotted him right away. Those darn ringlets of his gave him away every time.

He wished he could blend in like Thicket or Firefly, but his markings were too bright, too strange. Dejected, he decided to leave. Not necessarily forever, but for a little bit. Long enough to figure out who he wanted to be if not one of the ambush hunters.

He wandered for quite some time, practicing hiding and hunting as he went. With no one looking for him, he even managed to stay hidden for a bit. But, it was lonely. And he missed home.

Unfortunately, along with too-bright markings, Isotope suffered from a terrible sense of direction. He didn't really know where home was at this point. With little other option he picked a direction and went.

Eventually he found himself in a sandy land with a lot of dust in the air. He landed, unable to see with the dirt whipping in his eyes, and immediately felt a slap against his back.

"Tag!" The Spiral that slapped him sprang from the sand he'd been buried in and dashed off. He had the same kind of markings as Isotrope. Not as bright, but definitely in the same color family.

Isotope had never seen anyone other than his mother with those. Curious and eager to compare notes on how the Spiral had managed to hide so easily, Isotope put on a burst of speed.

"Wait!" Not great at hiding or hunting, Isotope did have one great skill. He was fast. He caught and tackled the Spiral easily.

"Hey!" The other dragon twined and twisted. "It's tag, not a full-contact sport."

Isotope released the dragon. "Sorry. I just---you have the same markings as me."

The Spiral tilted his head until it was practically upside down. "Yep. But you sure aren't a Scribble Noodle."

"Scribble Noodle?"

"Oh yeah. We're a sub-breed. Or so Heilyn says. You want to meet the others?"

Isotope nodded. "Sure. As long as you put your head the right way. Doesn't that hurt your neck?"

"Clipper." The Spiral righted his head and headed off. "That's me."

They dashed across the sand for a bit until Clipper stopped suddenly and several other Spirals appeared from various cracks and crevices. All of them were white with the same ringlet markings Isotope had, but they were all different colors.

And one of them, a girl with pale pinkish markings--she was the prettiest thing Isotope had ever seen. He found himself just staring.

Clipper came over and grinned. "That's Xyla. She's a sweetheart. And she and Setham broke up--all friendly and all--so she's available. You should say hi."

Isotope blinked and a dazed smile spread across his face. "Yeah, yeah. I'll do that." But, when he managed to get up to her, Isotope found his throat dry. "Um...ahh..."

Xyla turned and smiled. "Oh! Wow. I hope this isn't rude, but those markings are amazing! Everyone else is so...muted. I'm Xyla, by the way."

"Isotope." He smiled, suddenly more at ease as he basked in Xyla's approval. "Thanks. I think you're really pretty, too."

The two were quiet for a moment, just smiling. Then Xyla said, "It's almost dinner time, and our lair isn't far if you wanted to come?"

"Yeah," Isotope nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."