Lava
A SkyWing the color of blood flew overtop a very small village, carrying a sack with eggs in it. Dragon eggs to be more specific. Sand, sea, and sky.
The dragoness stopped at the outskirts of the village, flaring her wings for a moment before closing them. She glanced back at the village.
Scavengers. She thought, shaking her head as she returned her attention to the sack. She was given a job by her . . . Teacher? Assignment-giver? She didn't know what to call them. They had a few screws loose whenever they gave Lava an assignment.
The only one she'd ever gotten that made a lick of sense, was to go gather fruit for the RainWings they lived with. But why gather eggs from three completely different environments? She had to bribe a SeaWing with fish she'd caught to go to the hatchery. You'd have to give Lava more than a measly ring to go anywhere near water.
She opened it, examining the eggs.
Chihuahua wanted the biggest eggs. Lava remembered as she took out a smaller egg. Must be the runt. Chihuahua wanted the strongest and biggest eggs. She examined the egg closer, realizing the egg was a SandWings'. Chihuahua wouldn't care if I didn't bring back a runt, right? They don't care all that much for their own tribe.
Lava pushed down all her worries as she placed the egg down in a bush nearby bush, pulling the drawstring so the sack would close. She didn't dare think of what would happen to the runt egg as she flew back to the cave hidden in the mountains. It was an hours flight away from the village she'd stopped at, which meant a scavenger could find it . . .
Lava, no. She shook her head as she entered the tunnel that lead to the rest of the cave. If scavengers are cowardly enough to run away as soon as they heard a dragon coming, there's no way they'd enter a cave full of twenty plus dragons.
"Oh good good!" Chihuahua clasped their talons together. They sat on a pile of rugs and pillows, guarded by tables that had scrolls, food, water, and a few candles on them. It was cornered off from the rest of the cave. But everyone knew it was basically like Chihuahua's throne. "I assume you got the three eggs we've asked for?" Chihuahua gestured behind them to two other SandWings, one was bigger and laying on his stomach as he slept, and a short and slender one reading a scroll next to the bigger one.
"Yes," The two SkyWings guarding the three SandWings moved aside for Lava to set the sack on one of the tables. "I made sure to get the biggest eggs I could find."
"Good, good!" Chihuahua exclaimed, pulling the sack open and examining the eggs. "Yep! Sand, sea, and sky! Just like we asked for!"
"Now, the payment?" Lava questioned with a straight face as Chihuahua handed the sack to one of the SkyWings.
"Hm? Oh, yes, the traveling fee and the collection fee." Chihuahua reached under the carpets, taking out a leather pouch. They placed it on the table in front of Lava.
"Really? A leather satchel? Thanks." Lava struggled to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she grabbed the pouch, but it snuck out.
"Oh no no no, silly!" Chihuahua giggled, placing their talons on the table as they pointed to the pouch. "It has treasure as your payment! Since the ring was just to motivate you!"
Chihuahua, despite sounding quite cheerful, never really payed high for any assignments they'd give to anyone. Just a measly ring or a single diamond. So, Lava was slightly suspicious. There were about two animus' dragons that lived in the caves, one of them being the bigger SandWing sleeping behind Chihuahua.
But she instantly buried it down once she felt the weight of the treasure in the pouch.
"Thank you, Mx. Chihuahua." Lava bowed her head as she walked into a cave, with a second one to the right one she fully entered the cave.
"Seems like Chihuahua has gotten a new friend," Her twin brother Magma teased, not in a rude way, but in a more joking and friendly way. "So, what odd job did they have you do?"
"Get the biggest SandWing, SeaWing, and SkyWing eggs." Lava rolled her eyes as she sat on the wooden bed beside her brothers'. "Though, it feels like after my hard work, I finally got a high payment."
"Agh, at least you got something." Magma rolled onto his back. "I had to travel ALL the way to the Ice Kingdom to get an amulet from Queen Diamond. And y'know what I got? Nothing except a 'thank you'!"
Their cave was in The Claws of the Clouds Mountains, kind of behind it.
"Don't worry, Magma, I'll share whatever's in here with you." Lava reassured as she opened the pouch. It was filled with gold coins, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
"I call dibs on the emeralds!" Magma grinned, making Lava grin as well.
