The desert spanned out for as far as any eye could see. Sand dunes reigned supreme and where challenged only by the sun who perched in her kingdom of sky. A flicker of white-gold flashed as something shook several layers of sand off itself and stood. The beast stood alone in the sands aside from several clusters of gray-brown boulders and the carcass of a yellow, bi-pedal creature. He stared out into the distance at something it seemed only he could see.
A heavy sigh left the beast as he took a step forward. All at once he exploded into a run, sending sand flying in every direction. He moved swiftly and it was obvious he was a creature that had lived a long time in these endless sands. Up a sand dune he sprinted and at the crest he unfurled a pair of gorgeous opal colored wings. His body left the kingdom of sand and seamlessly entered into the empire of sky.
Behind him, in the valley he had just left, one of the clumps of rocks suddenly moved violently. It lurched up to reveal itself not as stone but as living flesh. A wyvern lifted its head to the sky where the glowstick-er, no, the opal- dragon was soaring. Beneath it a second opal colored dragon was dozing,protected from the sun by the wings of the far larger creature.
The huge creature looked out into the desert and seemed to spot something on a taller, neighboring dune. It snorted, either in contempt or amusement, it was hard to tell, and then settled back down. The soaring dragon searched the sands for a moment before he focused in on the same spot the wyvern had been looking. From up high where the beast flew, something akin to a glittering stone could be seen struggling up the dune.
Expertly, the opal dragon dived down on the glittering bug and scooped it up into his mouth. A tiny dragon kit gave a high pitched, gurgling squeak in surprise as the shadow of the beast overtook it. As soon as it had been engulfed in the bigger dragon's mouth the little one showed no more signs of alarm, but instead gave several gurgle-squeaks in protest.
It was clear from looks alone that the two shared blood- a patient father and an uncompliant daughter. The third opal dragon resting under the wing of the wyvern could only be a sibling to the tiny kit. As for where the wyvern fell in the family tree it was unclear.
With kit in mouth, the grand dragon returned to the valley where the other two waited. Ignored were the kit's feeble struggles and angry cries; neither would hurt the other.The relationship between the two was harmonious-despite the kit's obvious reluctance to return.
The male landed gracefully by the carcass of the undetermined animal and unceremoniously dumped the squirming kit beside the body. She landed on her back, where she stayed for a few moments, observing her father. The male glanced at her before he moved slightly away from the body and the flies it attracted and curled up.
As soon as he turned away the kit rolled to her feet and peered about. Her keen eyesight made it easyfor her to distinguish the difference between rock and wyvern. Other dragons and dragon-kin unfamiliar with the weyr might not be able to do such a thing. With an evil glint in her eye, the kit tottered over to where the wyvern slept.
Her father opened an eye to watch the kit as she marched away, but seeing her goal, he sighed again and returned to sleep. The wyvern also watched the kit approaching through a half-opened eye. Seeing this, the troublesome kit paused for but a second before confidently pouncing forward onto the wyvern's snout.
Not quite expecting this, the wyvern pulled away and sent the kit tumbling to the ground. This did nothing to deter the little one. She leaped up and ran at the sleepy wyvern again. The large creature shifted its head to one side, then the other. The kit followed, nipping playfully and chirping away.
Tiring of such a game, the wyvern reared up and shrieked at the dragonling. The little one froze and then immediately changed her target to the wyvern's talons. Her sibling had been spooked awake by the wyvern and looked about for anyform of danger. Seeing their father still fast asleep and her little sister harassing the annoyed wyvern, to opal dragon snorted and swatted her sister away.
The little dragon was sent rolling head over tail until she came to a stop upside-down once again. She wasted no time, however, as the wyvern settled down, and her sister moved out from under it's wings to eat.
A mere moment later the male dragon lifted his head and found his youngest already halfway up a the nearest sand dune. He leisurely go to his feet and sprang forward.With practiced ease and the patience of one who has done this a thousand times, he trotted up to the little one and scooped her back into his mouth.
The two once again returned to his resting place beside their meal. This time, however, the male refused to free his little one and curled back up to sleep. His tiny daughter was small enough to safely and comfortably fit in his mouth, her head and limbs poking through gaps in his teeth. She gurgled unhappily at him, but she finally seemed to settle down.
A new comer approached the group on foot. Just like the other three dragons, her scales were the colors of opal. Behind her a wyvern pup followed her, hopping into each of her larger foot prints one at a time. A strong gust of wind blew,erasing the prints, and the wyvern stopped in its tracks. It looked up mournfully just in time to see a tiny forearm appear from the mouth of the sleeping male. It batted playfully at an innocent beetle that had the misfortune of passing by. In front of the wyvern, the female had also been watching. She gave out a heavy sigh.
