Mountains peek through the mists of the Cauldron along with hints of a blue sky. A dragon coils their pearlescent scales around one of the peaks.
Only those scales have quite the rosy cast as does the dragon’s snout.
Quartz perches on a cliff below, breathing in the mountain air. Just smell those rocks. It’s like coming home to a child of the rock. Almost enough to quench the stench of brimstone Prunella the Dragon constantly carried with them.
Only does Prue faintly smell like roses?
Quartz: (sniffing) Aye, you smell like flowers. (squints up at those rosy scales) You…glowing?
Prunella: (stiffening, rearranging their coils with a prim casualness which starts a small mountain slide) None of your concern, dwarf.
Quartz doesn’t have to duck the rocks. He plants his feet and somehow every falling stone misses him. He grins up at the dragon.
Quartz: Aye, you are, Prue. Find yourself a fresh maiden, did you? Or was it a knight? Or both?
Prunella: Such salacious comments. (sniffs) Nimmie Not is turning you into quite the gossip.
Quartz: Right. (still grinning) Someone turned you into quite the romantic.
Prunella: A little romance brings color to our scales as you so crudely put it. Besides we doubt we’ll ever see her again. She’s has her world. We have ours.
Quartz: Worlds, not world. Sound like this might be someone Christopher knows. Sounds like trouble.
Prunella: A little trouble can be quite invigorating in a long existence, Quartz. (They gave Quartz quite the pointed look down their snout.) As you are quite aware.
Quartz: (nose turning red) Aye, well, it was time we started enjoying ourselves a bit. All of Christopher’s conversations were turning…unreal.
Prunella: We are all unreal, dwarf. What makes you think Christopher doesn’t enjoy his surreal state? He is a very different creature from you, Quartz, for all that you’re both two-legged oddities from our perspective.
Quartz: Thank’ee for your honesty, Prue. Can’t say I see the happiness in always searching for something. Even when Christopher says he is, I don’t believe him.
Prunella: Force yourself to smile and it can become real. Something else we’d think you’d be familiar with.
Quartz: Familiarity can drive you mad as well as comfort. He’s hoping a little of the unfamiliar next April will be the latter.
Prunella: A familiar unfamiliarity since the same characters will return for Blogging From AZ April Projects: Characters Origins. Something we’re sure you’ll participate in.
Quartz: Not here. I’ll be back at the Formerly Forbidden Cauldron at inspirationcauldron.blogspot.com.
Prunella: Ah, the Formerly Forbidden Cauldron will bubble once again just for this.
Quartz: Aye. Some witchy type called Questioning from a Work in Progress called A Suitor’s Challenge.
Prunella: Our scribbler does have a lot of Works in Progress.
Quartz: Aye, and they’re neglected too often. Like ours.
Prunella: Unlike us, our scribbler has a very finite amount of time.
Quartz: And this is our time to remind her that we exist and our stories are waiting for her to finish.
Prunella: Sounds like you’re looking forward to BloggingFromAZ.
Quartz: It’s just one post and a lot darker at the Formerly Forbidden Cauldron, but aye.
Prunella: And your theme is Character Origins.
Quartz: Aye. Where did we come from? How did the scribbler dream us up? That sort of thing.
Prunella: Best of luck in your blogging. (the mists start to thicken around the coils and the mountains)
Quartz: Thank’ee. (he takes another breath) Shards, but I love this spot. Here’s hoping the scribbler brings up back here.
Prunella: Here’s hoping…
Mists descend upon dragon, dwarf, and mountainside, swallowing all of them.
Like my style of writing? Want to read more? Here are links to where you can find my published works…
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/kstrenten
Nine Star Press Author Page: https://ninestarpress.com/authors/k-s-trenten/
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