Everest glared back at the dragon. There was silence. They glared at each other for quite a long time without blinking.
"...so this is awkward," said Billy, breaking the silence.
"It is awkward," responded Everest angrily, "it's awkward because this fat dragon isn't respecting us."
"Disrespect you!" roared the dragon, his voice raspier than ever,
"Long ago, before you dirty griffins ever ruled Ruby Haze—
"What's Ruby Haze?" interrupted Billy.
"GRIFFIN FOREST!" responded the dragon furiously.
"Okay, okay, I get it." muttered Billy as the dragon continued the story.
"There was a war for land: the griffin kingdom wanted to conquer all of that land," explained the dragon.
"But they only succeeded in dominating one kingdom: Ruby Haze, which was renamed Griffin Forest."
"That is bad!" exclaimed Everest. "c'mon Billy, we got to tell the others—"
"But," continued the dragon, "they are planning to conquer all of the other land."
"WHAT?!" shouted Everest.
"They will succeed," warned the dragon, "If they have the Verdelite."
"What's the verdelite?" Billy asked. The dragon facepalmed. Then he grabbed Everest and Billy and stepped back into the shadows of his cave.
***
The dragon, who's name was Astrophile, munched on something very crunchy, making loud crunchy noises as he chewed.
"Mmm this is so juicy!" he said. Red specks flew out of his mouth. He shoved some more from a big red pile into his mouth. There was a small puddle around the pile.
"Yum!" Billy agreed. Then he spit out a feather. "Eeew! Everest is this yours??"
Everest glanced at the feather. "Well no one else here has feathers exactly identical to mine, so yeah those are mine."
Billy grabbed some more apples from the pile.
"So, Atrophile, where DID you get these?"
"Secret~munch~from the plains of the~crunch~landlings," Astrophile replied. He grabbed some more apples and shoved them into his mouth. More red flecks flew from his mouth.
"Ew, Astrophile, has no one ever taught you manners?" Everest asked, half joking.
"Well, I had very irresponsible parents who died in war, so no, no one ever told me that I needed to be polite while eating until I was 5960 years old."
"How old are you???" Billy gasped.
"Hmm I think I'm turning 9038 this year," Atrophile mused.
"Golly gee," Billy said. "That sure is alot of birthdays,"
"Hmm," grumbled Astrophile. "No one cares about me. They all think that I am a cranky old dragon dwelling in this mountain."
"I guess that is kind of true," Billy agreed "because you're cranky, old and you live here so yeah."
"Bye Astrophile," said Everest while walking away. "We have to go home now."
"We do??" asked Billy not wanting to leave
"Hrrmmph." Astrophile walked away. "You do that..."
Billy and Everest burst out of the dank cave, into the fresh cold air of Griffin Forest. No. Ruby Haze.
Everest was determined to call his homeland its rightful name.
