Someone muttered a name, a stupid one. Ashwin.Ew.
Cinder jogged up to check on the littler pups, sniffing about as Blossom slapped at Lyam’s tail, laughing at his lack of tail floof.
Cinder passed them by and trotted up to Ass-wind and stared, trying to make heads or tails of the Drake to see if he would learn a lesson.Hello.
The Drake’s eyes panned down and pinned Cinder in his place.Lovely little golden Dette. Hello.
Cinder never took flattery seriously.Whatcha doin?
Observing the female.
It took Cinder a second to remember Blossom was afemale. To him, she was a Dette. The distinction seemed silly.She’s really sweet.
And a danger to our bloodlines.Ass-wind sniffed and gazed around, eyes focusing on Bastien with a low growl of disapproval.As is that one.
Uncle Bastien is really nice. He can heal and helps lots of Dettes have eggs.It didn’t make Ass-wind happy, though. He still scowled, bad vibes hovering around him.
Shouldn’t be allowed to procreate, or to call himself a dragon. In my harems, we have ways of dealing with broken Dettes and females.
Cinder clenched his wings, feeling the shape of the pin hot against his scales.
How?Cinder stepped closer, watching the Drake curiously.
We have ways of—pinning—these things down so they don’t get out of claw.
Pure rage boiled in Cinder’s tummy, sick in a way that made him want to go ask his papa for a ginger ale.
No hate or anger emanated from Ass-wind as he said it, though. In his heart of hearts and deepest parts of his dragon, he thought what he was doing was the right thing, that Drakeswere born to be superior, Dettes subjugated, and everyone else destroyed.
He’d never learn.
He’d never hear reason.
Can you lift me up and toss me so I can fly?Cinder was old enough to take off on his own, but Ass-wind obliged. He humored Cinder in the same way some Drakes did, looking at every Dette pup as if they were future mates. Cinder would never be caught dead kissing him when he grew up.
And so, Ashwin lowered a wing and let Cinder climb up onto his back to scale his neck with careful claws.
One paw slipped to his wing and grasped the pin, funneling his fire and magic into it as heaccidentally slipped.
In a sleight of hand, worthy of everything his Farfar had ever taught him, Cinder’s claw pricked the Drake’s neck and the silver simplyvanished. And it’d never come out again; it’d only work itself deeper and deeper until one less Drake bothered them.
Ashwin chuffed in discomfort and lowered his head a bit to let Cinder climb up all the way.Careful, clumsy little one. Drakes do not care for a Dette without grace.
Cinder didn’t give a flying rat’s ass what a Drake wanted. But, he let Ashwin flick his head and send Cinder up to spread his wings and glide back down, circling over all the other pups before tumbling down amid some of his siblings, hunting down Luka.
His little brother had the attitude of one of those big kings already.
The two exchanged a glance as Cinder huffed.
Luka, almost as big as him, nudged Cinder.What did you do?
Cinder shrugged.Nothing.
I saw magic.
No, you didn’t.Cinder scratched at his neck with a back claw.
Luka glanced at Ass-wind and snorted a little flicker of flame.I won’t tell on you.
