Ask + Dare the Defenders

Another Question For All

*furious shuffling can be heard and a flicker of red and orange light passes through an otherwise dark room*

Cotton: Oh, great. You broke it.

*angry mutters flood the stillness*

Sun: *from behind* It's not broken. It's just...temporarily malfunctioning.

Cotton: Uh, yeah, because you two idiots were using it as a football. What did you think was going to happen to it?

Fire: Well, I can tell you one thing, it does not spin like it's supposed to. I don't know how humans do it.

Cotton: Well, for one they don't use recorders as balls. And secondly--

Meadow: Pssst. You guys do know that we are on the air, right?

Cotton: Oh, well, that's just fantastic.

*lens zooms in on her face*

Cotton: Get that thing out of my snout, sand snake! You have no idea where it has been!

Meadow: *pulling the recorder away from Sun's talons* Actually, I do. It washed up on the shore near my cave a few weeks ago and I managed to rewire the hardware. It's human, but how it got here is beyond me.

Fire: *wondrously* Magic.

Meadow: *frowning* Very unlikely. On any occasion, we're all here this evening because we have received another question from the distant realm. Cloud, if you would please?

Cotton: I knew it wasn't an emergency...

Cloud: Gladly! Our next question was posed by TheDialect and it comes in the form of a letter. Ahem...

*begin note*

"Dear defenders: aside from love interests, which character in the stories (within and without your group) has been your favorite as of this note? I'll start: Meadow is my favorite character, I fancy myself a bit of a scientist."

Meadow: *perks up* R-really? You...you...I'm your f-favorite? I'm someone's favorite?

Cotton: *scoffs* Yeah, right.

Cloud: There's more here if you want to--

Fire: Oh! Oh! Can I go first?

Cloud: Sure...I guess? I mean, it's not like I could stop you anyw--

Fire: Great! So, my favorite dragon I have met so far, both in and out of the team, is Sun. He's always so nice to everyone but yet he's super tough and can be really scary when he gets mad. But he doesn't get mad very often and he always tells me all these super dumb jokes and he always jumps in to help wherever he can. He is my best friend and my favorite drake in the whole universe. 

*yellow snout peeks around edge of the camera* 

Sun: Aw, love you too, bro. And you're my favorite dragon too, you and that crazy noggin of yours. Even when you're setting things on fire that really shouldn't be covered in flames.

Cotton: Ugh. Bromance. Sickening. Blech. Gag.

Cloud: Who's your favorite dragon, Princess?

Cotton: Urk. Both part of the team and not? Do I really have to answer this? Something about this seems illegal.

Sun: That's...what the note says...so, I guess so?

Cotton: Well...fine, if I must. Outside of...ahem...love interests...I would have to say that Hillock is my favorite dragon. I would have said Armadillo but great stars she never shuts up, like, I can definitely see how she is related to you, Sun.

Sun: I am not sure that was supposed to be a compliment. 

Cotton: Yeah, no, it wasn't.  And just so I can get it over with, it took a long time to accept it, but I think my favorite teammate is Cloud. See? Now, are you happy? *sits down and curls tail, plumes of angry smoke billowing from nostrils*

Cloud: Extremely. 

Meadow: Wait...but the note said outside of love interests. How could you pick Cloud then?

Cloud: Wait, come again?

Cotton: Uh, yeah? Because why in the world would I say Cloud is a love interest? Why in the world would you think Cloud was a love interest?

Meadow: No offense, Captain.

Cloud: *shrugs* None taken. Please proceed. Meadow, why don't you go next then?

Meadow: Um, all right. Well, my favorite dragon outside of the team is Lilac, Fahrenheit's--

Cotton: *growls*

Meadow: --half-sister. Unlike her brother, she is actually very inquisitive and she not only has a dream to become a chemist, but she has a great potential to do so. Plus, she's always been super nice to us and definitely hasn't tried to kill us yet, so yay for that. 

Cotton: Super sound logic there. 'Yet.'

Meadow: And my favorite member of the team is also Cloud. Just because he is a role model to a lot of hatchlings who possibly feel as though they don't belong. I mean, look at him. He is literally a blue dragon walking with the status of a king and he got there without means of violence and cruelty. That in itself makes him hero-worthy. 

Cloud: *smiles shyly* So, I guess that means it's up to me to finish this off then?

Sun: Dude, do it. Make it a good one 

Fire: *grins and nudges him in the side* Yeah, pick me.

Cloud: As the leader of this team, I don't know if I can actually pick one of you to say I like the best because that seems like it would be unfair to the rest of you. I like each of you, your uniqueness, your strengths, and the flaws that make you who you are. I can't pick just one when you are each so amazing in your own way.

Meadow: *blinks tearfully and takes off his glasses to rub his eyes* You really think that?

Fire: *throws a wing around him* Duuuuddeee! You're the best!

Sun: We love you too, Cap!

Cotton: Eh, I guess you're not too bad for a blue dragon.

Cloud: And you're not too bad for a princess. 

Cotton: Sniff. And you'd better believe it, sir.  

Cloud: But to finish this video up, I think I should also tell you who my favorite dragon is outside of the team, right? 

Everyone: *nods*

Cloud: Well, it's not like it's going to be a hard one to guess. There's really only one drake whom I have known for most of my life that I could even begin to consider my best friend besides all of you. I mean, he's been there for me since we were hatchlings and he's saved my life more times than I can count and I really don't believe he is evil. Deep down, I think he just wants to be recognized or maybe even wants to be a hero.

Sun: Oh, great flying fish.

Meadow: Don't tell me you're going to pick who I think you are.

Cotton: Oh, you know he is.

Cloud: My favorite dragon outside of the team is Coal.

Winged Five: *muffled noises of protest*

Cloud: Well, I mean, I was going to say Snowfall but you distinctly said--

*the camera tumbles and everything goes to static*