Puffling

"Oh well. Anyways, that room in there is where we all sleep or hang out on rainy days," Aroura chirrups. There's a few of us in there now!

You step into the room and are instantly hit with a beam of sunlight. This part of the lair has an entirely different aura to the stuffy, full-on area you were in before. It is bigger than the last room, and you see that the stalactites are dripping more frequently. A hole in the ceiling floods in daylight, despite the vines overgrowing it. A blue glow fills the rocky cavern, and you realize that it's because of a small freshwater stream flowing through a hole in the wall. It trickles down the rock and across the floor, before stopping in a crystal clear pool.

Cavities litter the walls, some lined with reeds or other soft materials. You assume these are the sleeping quarters. like the rest of the lair, this room has followed the tradition of wind chimes and beads on string. Several dragons are littered around the room. A half-finished picture of the residents of the cave sits up against a wall, surrounded by paints and brushes.

A snowy white guardian with watermelon flesh coloured wings approaches you.
"Howdy stranger! Ma let you in?" She titters cheerfully. You nod. "I see you've met my brother!"
Her voice sounds gruff, yet sweet, like honey being cured. "Name's Puffling, glad t'meetcha!" She puts two claws to her forehead then salutes. "Come! Sit! Have a drink!" She offers, pulling up a stool to a raised piece of rock, and hands you a wooden cup that has been painted to seem as if there is a frog at the bottom staring up at the drinker. You guess it has been done by the creator of the painting.
"Don't mind the paint," Puffling murmurs. "Got the artistic member of the lair splashin' 'em everywhere."
She has many bandages wrapped around her limbs and torso. You inquire their purpose.

"Oh these?" Puffling laughs. "well ya see, Ma, Pa an' I like to go Battilin' in the coliseum sometimes, an', well, let's just say it's easier to wear em' then carry em' in a bag for emergencies. Bags get in the way of the battle, an' we still need some bandages. Lucky for me though!" She gestures to the multiple coils of cloth wrapped around her middle.
She lifts a passing green and blue mith onto her lap, giving it a ruffle around the fur on it's neck. "awwh, whozagoodboi Charlie? You are, yesYOUare!"
You reach out to pet the mith, which turns toward you in fright and throws a fist in your direction. You pull back suddenly, narrowly avoiding the blow.
"Oi, BAD boy Charlie!" Puffling says, giving him a tap on the head. "Sorry about that, Charlie here isn't quite comfortable around other Dragons yet." She picks a cloth up off of a rock, which Charlie snatches and greedily begins to devour.
"You see," Puffling says, continuing to stroke Charlie tenderly, "I was a few years younger than I should've been when I started looking for my charge. I was so excited! I started looking high and low, near and far. I traveled all the way to Hewn City and back!" "yeah, and for nothin' too" Aroura laughs, peeking around the doorway.
"Shaddup, you!" Puffling snaps, before continuing her story. "anyways, as I was saying, I returned back home after a fruitless journey. I was battered, bruised and crushed. After all, a Guardian without one's charge is-" "'only half a dragon' yeah yeah, you use that way too much y'know." Aroura grumbles.
"I thought I told ya to SHUT UP squirt!" Puffling growls. Aroura lets out an "Eep!" and retreats back into the main cave.
"So, here I was, lying in the grass, chargeless and dismal, when a mith came up to me. Lil' guy started usin' me as a punchin' bag, warming up his fists or whatnot. guess he thought I was dead or somthin', 'cause when I lifted my head he jolted backward and fell on his trails. Wee fella was terrified, so I scooped him up. He stared at me for a second, before throwing a couple punches at me. It was then I acknowledged their bravery and strength. At the time, I could have caved his exoskeleton in with my own two thumbs, but then it hit me: My charge wasn't just ONE thing... It was many, many things! Miths are beautiful, majestic creatures that are constantly being beaten and looted. I needed to protect them. I hauled him under one arm, carried him home and dubbed him 'Duke'! I went on to catch and train many more miths, and haven't killed or even fought a mith since!"

Puffling seems proud of her anti-mith abuse policy, and it seems fairly respectable. You notice there are a couple miths wondering the cave, looking for *literal* scraps to eat or loose bells to kick. One is asleep is a little cotton bed. They look happy and content, and their coats have a glossy sheen to them. Puffling is clearly very good at caring for them.

"You can go pat 'em if ya like. They won't bite. Oh, uh, they might punch though." she laughs.