The pot rested on a wooden shelf. It had sat there for quite some time, tilting just slightly due to the uneven wooden shelf it was on.
The unevenness of the shelf moved the pot down its incline. Eventually, the pot tipped of the edge, plummeting down to the ground. It shattered upon impact on the dragon's sleeping form.
"AAARGH!" The dragon roared. "Wh-what the!?" He frantically jumped up from the family room's cotton bench and looked at what had awaken him. He rubbed his head with a talon, trying to ease the thrumming pain, baring his venomous fangs. The sun light through the window made his tan scales almost glow, and his lighter cream-colored underbelly even brighter. He looked up at where the pot had previously been. He kicked a shard away with his hind leg. He put both of his talons on his head and rubbed, and angrily thumped his tail on the ground that ended with a venomous scorpion stinger. "God, that hurt!"
Shattered ceramic and clay was everywhere. On the floor, on the cotton bench, probably in between his scales. Oh boy, what a disaster. It had to have been the shelf's fault. He was always nagging at his mother to get some supplies so they could fix the awkward angle but NO. Of course she would be too stubborn, and she would find a way to make it his fault when she finds out the pot on the shelf broke. He could already see it coming, as clear as day. His mother was complete and utter nut job. She wasn't very warm to him like his father, and sadly she's gone only half as much. She told him she works in a faction that serves the monarchy of Ventifact, his home nation. One of the many desert nations, inhabited purely by desert dragons. The faction in Ventifact his mother served is the type that believes in beheadings and hangings for punishment. Not a good thing at all. And that was all the information she gave Vireo, so he knew nothing else about her work. All he knew, was that she was annoying, and she usually came home by mid-day. And if she did work for the monarchy, why wasn't their house more lavish? It was just adobe walls and large windows and wooden decorations located in a middle class district of the capitol city Chert. He was content with the living space, but still.
He reluctantly began picking up all the shards and began emptying them in a nearby trash barrel. She would be back from her work by night so he had time. The repetitive motion quickly got on his nerves. Mid way through, he heard a knock at his door.
"Hello? Vireo?" A muffled voice came from the door. "You said we'd hangout this morning?"
He'd totally forgot. He promised his friend Peyote they'd hangout the morning after the education break. He was so tired from the education's year, he fell asleep last night and slept in longer than he should've.
"Yeah!" Vireo yelled back. "Coming!" He walked over to the door, swishing his tail. As he opened it, he was greeted with his friend's always blissful face.
"Ay! Vireo, what's going on?" Peyote greeted him.
"Nothing much," Vireo replied, waving a talon. He met Peyote's gaze. "Actually, I almost forgot about this hangout since I fell asleep last night in the living room."
Peyote let out a snort. "Ha! Really? I actually made it to my bedroom last night." He folded his arms while standing on his hind legs, balancing with his tail. He made a smug expression.
"Yeah, tease me all you want, but you don't have fangs or a even a stinger like me, you're like a little soft pillow." Vireo teasingly pointed to the two said appendages. If peyote was going to start the teasing game, he would finish it.
"I don't need fancy inherited venom to be an apex predator," Peyote shot back. "I'm normal, you're just a living homunculus of weaponry."
Vireo laughed. "That is true. Anyways," he continued. "What do you actually wanna do though? Tailball?"
"We did that yesterday after studies, I think we do something else," Peyote offered.
Vireo shifted. "It's still fun though. We should do it."
"Nah, actually," he said. His tail momentarily became stiff and his eyes widened slightly as Vireo could see an idea pop into his friends head. "Oh! What about we go look at stuff in the market, then we tail wrestle at the park? I'm sure I could win this time. Then I can tell the others that you lost to a 'soft pillow' as you called me."
"Yeah sure," Vireo said, nudging Peyote with his wing. "Never gonna happen. But, you can try of course." He swept his tail behind him and prepared for flight. "First, we visit the market?" Vireo asked.
"Yeah, let's do that first," Peyote confirmed. "I got some spare money. We could also hunt out in the desert later if you're up to it."
"Good idea," Vireo replied. "And then we play Tailball." Without even attempting to hear Peyote's disagreement, he leaped into the sky, beating his wings. Peyote shortly followed. From the sky, they could see the main palace of Ventifact clearly. They headed in that direction, passing large buildings, smaller homes, and eventually they flying over the main road of Chert and landing in a nearby plaza. The area was bustling with action and life. Dragons everywhere were moving quickly and with urgency.
Vireo and Peyote weaved through the crowd, past stalls with polished geodes and jewelry, then past vendors selling carved wooden figurines and colorful woven rugs. The atmosphere was loud, they heard clinks from a distant blacksmith shop, vocalizations from domesticated bulls, and constant muttering from the crowd.
They eventually walked over to a quieter, more shaded shop, its entrance was draped with a thin canvas to filter out the overwhelming light of the sun. There was no sign of it. They decided to look inside out of curiosity. It smelled of old paper in the store. It was one selling cartography items. Old scrolls tied up lay on heavy wooden tables, alongside stacks of neatly folded maps.
Peyote had found a large, detailed map of Tranaxas, their home continent, pinned to a wall. He pointed a clawed finger at the coast. "Look," he mused, tracing a line along the eastern edge of Ventifact. "We're so lucky, you know? Just us and that one other desert nation, sit right on the coast. Most of the others are landlocked and probably boring." His finger then drifted slightly offshore, to a tiny, barely discernible speck of an island. Before Vireo could make a reply, Peyote's eyes widened, and he let out a quiet "Oh!"
He quickly nudged Vireo, pulling him towards the back of the store, away from the eye of the older dragon behind the counter, who was unrolling a new parchment.
"What is it?" Vireo asked.
"Listen," Peyote whispered. "I forgot to tell you but Caliche and Barchan, they were telling me earlier… they're going to that island tonight. The one off the coast." He nodded towards the speck on the map. "They told me to ask you if you wanted to come with us."
Vireo's jaw dropped slightly. "That island? Are you serious?" He looked back at the map, then at Peyote, his tail twitching. "But there was that law a while back, forbidding entry without permission. Said it was to protect the exotic animals there." He remembered the stern decrees posted around Chert after the law was enacted, forbidding any dragon from setting foot on the island. "Why would they even want to go?"
"To see for themselves, obviously!" Peyote countered, his voice still low but eager. "They think it's just an excuse for the royals to keep all the good hunting spots to themselves. They just want to check it out at night, see if there really are all those crazy creatures. Maybe something delicious is there as well."
Vireo hesitated. On one talon, it was a terrible idea. He could get into serious trouble with the monarchy, and his mother would absolutely crucify him if she found out. It was immature, dangerous, and completely against the law. But then, on the other talon… it was Caliche and Barchan. And Peyote. His friends. And it did sound pretty cool. He'd never done anything truly rebellious, anything that would give him a story to tell later. He weighed the risks, the excitement of an adventure against the potential wrath his mother unleash on him. He really wanted to do something cool with his friends.
"How long would it even take?" Vireo asked with curiosity.
Peyote paused, thinking. "Hmm. Just over two hours of flying, I'd say. To get there and to get back, so maybe five hours total."
Vireo's face fell slightly. "Two hours? Over open water? You know we sand dragons aren't exactly adapted to fly that long over a wet and salty ocean. That would suck.
"But imagine the wildlife!" Peyote urged, his eyes gleaming. "It'll be worth it, Vireo! It's more jungle like theere. The royalty themselves decreed that there are some of the unique monkey types there. Remember from our studies? The Scaled-Monkeys? Bipedal, like any other monkey, but they're reptiles. And then," Peyote's voice dropped. "The Cloth Monkeys. I know you like them."
Vireo's internal battle halted. The Cloth Monkeys. His favorite animal. He remembered the descriptions from his biology lessons. They looked so different from every other monkey, even from other monkey species. They had pale skin, with no fur on their bodies and only on their head, and flat faces. They were called Cloth Monkeys because they consistently covered themselves in various woven cloths – not completely unlike how dragons in Chert wore decorative sashes. Scaled-Monkeys did too, but the term 'Cloth Monkey' had stuck specifically to that pale-skinned species. To see a Cloth Monkey really close up and it the wild? That would be amazing, seeing such a cool animal. In Ventifact, they were incredibly rare. Naturally, they don't live in deserts. Merchants from far away nations would occasionally bring them in cages and dragons would flock to buy one, so he never really ever got to pet one or even see it up close. One of the reasons Vireo wanted to travel outside the Great Desert of Tranaxas, was because Cloth Monkeys and those other exotic monkey types are more common to see in the wild, but still endangered.
"Yeah," Vireo said, a grin slowly spreading across his face, pushing away all thoughts of his mother's potential wrath. "Yeah, I guess I'm in. I have really wanted to see them up close.
Peyote's eyes lit up, his tail thumping softly against the floor. "Yes! I knew you'd come around. Okay, so all four of us will meet at dusk, right by the east bell tower. That's where the monarchy officials usually return from the island, so we'll know when the coast is clear."
"Dusk, east bell tower. Got it," Vireo confirmed. The words felt a little dangerous as they left his mouth. As long as he got home before sunrise, his mother wouldn't care. It was normal for dragons to hang out all day.
"Great!" Peyote exclaimed, then his expression shifted to one of competitive challenge. "So, about that tail wrestling match? Still up for it before we go hunting?"
Vireo laughed. "Oh, absolutely. Never going to say no to that. You still think you can win, 'soft pillow'?"
"I know I can!" Peyote shot back, puffing out his chest. "And after I beat you, we can head out to the dunes hunting grounds and track down something for free dinner instead of just buying food. I saw some fresh gazelle tracks near the Oasis Pass this morning."
"Sounds like a plan," Vireo agreed.
They walked out of the cartography store and into the plaza again, then launched themselves into the air, wings beating against the air as they headed towards the open space of the city park. Below them, the market quickly faded into a patchy puddle of browns.
They descended into a large park, north from where they previously were. It had a wide field of short grass, lined with sturdy palm trees. Peyote was vibrating with excitement, his movements quick and jerky. Vireo, with a little smirk, stood his ground.
"Ready to finally lose, Vireo?" Peyote challenged, already coiling his tail. He looked amped up, his eyes bright.
"Dream on," Vireo replied, his own tail, thicker and ending with its stinger, swishing slowly in preparation. He dug his hind claws slightly into the grass, bracing himself.
Peyote lunged first, wrapping his tail around Vireo's with surprising speed and strength. He immediately began to flex, trying to push Vireo's tail down to the ground. Vireo was momentarily surprised by the force, but he quickly retaliated, tightening his own muscles and pushing back with all his might. Peyote's face looked incredibly stained, and his muscles were bunched and tense. His snout started looking red after a few seconds as well. But it wasn't enough. Vireo's sturdier, more powerful tail slowly began to force Peyote's down. With a final shove, Peyote's tail slapped against the ground, raising a small cloud of dust.
Vireo released his grip, a victorious laugh escaping him. "Looks like you still need some work."
Peyote groaned, rubbing his tail. "Ugh! That's just not fair! You have that stinger! It throws off my balance!"
Vireo laughed. He'd heard that excuse countless times. "And why does the stinger make it unfair?" he asked, as he always did, even though he knew the answer would never come.
Peyote just shrugged, a frustrated look on his face. "It just is! It gives you an unfair advantage!" He then huffed, rolling his eyes, before a new grin spread across his face. "Alright, alright, you win this one. But next time, I'm going to figure out a way around that stinger!"
"Yeah, sure," Vireo replied. "Anyways," he turned slightly. "Ready to go hunting?"
"Yeah," Peyote grumbled.