ENTER: Shady alleyway.

[Red weasel]

Username: Red weasel
Which dragon? 1
Dragon name: Halycon
Impress the dragons: Leila

Leila chuckled a little at the thought of shady kalon finding dragons in his house, but she was charmed that he wanted them to go to a good home. It showed you can't just judge people so easily. She smiled and sat down, drawn to the colorful dragon. She knew she needs to not only impress the dragon, but also the kalon.
"It's very good of you to make sure they go to good homes, everyone deserves care." She smiled, watching the two dragons. She stroked the dragon's head, humming as she did.
"I am you just want some attention and a friend don't you dear, well I've got you covered for both." She noticed that when she wagged her tail, the dragon would watch it. She dipped it over its head, and watch it playful swat at it.
"I bet you two are hungry aren't you, I've got some meat I care to share," she said, aware she might look weird talking to herself. She reached into her bag and pulled apart some meat she had purchased for dinner later and have them both a bit, thinking it unfair to only feel the one she felt a connection to. She then decided to tell the dragons and Kalon a little bit about herself.
"Well, as you might know, I'm out on a really important mission, but when I'm not trying to be a hero I'm a florist. I love flowers, it's a real life passion, and honestly, I think everyone should find on of those ya know? people should be happy in life." She tried to get a read on what the kalon was thinking, but she couldn't tell. She hoped he was impressed as she went back to playing with her hopefully new dragon friend.

[seijuu]

- Beckoned Home -
║ Stirring within the basket is a bundle of fiery energy, it's claws clicking against the wicker material as it moves. Tuesday stares at the writhing mass with deep interest, if not concern. As pointed, scheming eyes slip out from the blankets, she gasps; "Dragons. You have a dragon infestation". Laughter flows out of Tuesday, resonating in her chest before barreling outwards - the idea of such a dark, broody, edgy man being plagued by dragons is more than the kalon can handle. "They're not pests, c'mon now," she chides as she stoops down to inspect the creatures.

║ A large black paw reaches down, obscuring Tuesday's view of the cute reptilians, and starts to take the basket away. "I don't need to be teased by some snarky, cocky child," he responds gruffly, glaring at the smaller female. "I'll find someone who's gonna take care of 'em, love 'em up, and not sass the man adopting them out, yah hear?" In a brief, instantaneous moment, the dragons scatter. Their tails lashed about as they slinked out from their prison and landed on the cobblestone street, and both kalons froze as the previously docile creatures start to sprint. "W-we gotta catch 'em!"

║ Half a day is spent scrounging the city for any sign of the dragons - any stray scale or scorched wall. Their combined hope dwindles as the sun begins to set, casting shadows on every inch of the village. The past hours were spent with Tuesday wracking her brain for any ideas to locate the reptiles, to save them from a life of straydom and unwantedness. Something clicks and she stands, paws coming to her mouth, stance wide; Tuesday fills her lungs with air and belts deep from her core, calling out to the dragons. Antiquated song radiates from her, floating melodies of haunting beauty tug at something inside her. It's a skill learned from her mother, a farmer, who called home the herd each night using her song. Not long after, two curious beings find their way back in the alley, circling the kalons. One tentatively approaches her - Tuesday stops her song - and dips its head - Tuesday gently smiles. "You like my kulning, huh?"

⊡
║
║
║
⊡

══════════
user// seijuu
dragon// fruitloop
name// dios
══════════

⊡
║
║
║
⊡

[Wileyfangs]

Username: Wileyfangs
Which dragon? Bronze Fire
Dragon name: Noname (nigh-OH-mee)
Impress the dragons:

If one had told Sozin there were dragons in his village, he'd have laughed and told them they were bonkers. Now with the possibility quite literally in front of him he couldn't quite manage to disregard it. The one in front of him, a dark one with a rust colored mane, was the one he gravitated towards. It eyed him warily, no doubt watching his every move. Behind him Martha stood talking in harsh undertones with the stranger in the alley.

"Do you not know how dangerous this is?!"
"Believe me lady I do!"

Sozin didn't listen to them any more as he eyed the dragon in front of him. He was mesmerized by how similar it looked to his own father. The fiery color. It would be a comfort if they came along. "Hello," he murmured, voice filled with homesickness.

The creature snorted, but appeared to understand. Eyeing his sword, it dipped its head.
"My name's Sozin," he introduced himself. "Do you have a name?"

The beast leveled him with a cold stare and Sozin's heart dropped, fearing he'd said the wrong thing.
"Ash," said a quiet voice no louder than a mumble. The sound caught his attention. The beast sounded younger than he could have guessed. Maybe around his age even! He smiled. "Oh? It's ni-"
"Colby," the beast continued. "Brax, Denal, Kingsley, Liptun, Opal."

Sozin blinked. "Uh, which is your name?"
The creature shrugged. "All of them," it said pressed tighter to the wall. "People have called me these names before."
"What's the name you go by?" He asked perplexed. How could a dragon not have a name? All creatures had names.
"None of them."

"Oh." The word sounded stupid, bouncing around in the air and young Sozin's ears burned. He glanced back at Martha and the shady kalon as they continued to argue. "Well do you want a new name?"

"Why?" Sozin hummed, thinking on it.

"Well because it would be your name. No one can take your real name if you have one. A name is more than what you're called. It's who you are."

The dragon looked put out by this. "I don't have a name." So who am I, they seemed to be asking and Sozin bit his lip gently.
"But you can make one." The surprised the dragon. "Oh and how does that work?" Sozin smiled. "Well there's gotta be a name somewhere."

"That's not very comforting." Sozin smile weakened, ears drooping. "S-Sorry. It's just...there's so many names in the world. So you could be whoever you wanted with them, but only one name is truly yours. Mine is Sozin because my fathers named me after the Sozin's comet.Say I burn just as bright!" The creature didn't seem impressed.

"Burn? You're a kalon!"
"I know."
"Can you breathe fire?"
"Nope!"

The dragon seemed frustrated. "Then why give you such an ill-fitting name?" Sozin felt a flash of irritation. "Because they wanted me to know. Comets are good luck! And Sozin's Comet is even more so!" The homesickness faded. This dragon wasn't very nice.
"They wanted me to be lucky in my endeavors!"

"Well did it work?"

Sozin frowned remembering countless misfortunes. The fires, the knightly training, his escape from the academy, and being picked for this journey. All of his shortcomings. Suddenly he didn't feel very lucky at all. He didn't answer and instead he got up and turned much to the dragon's surprise. Stone-faced he was about to leave the alley, but a tail wrapped around his tail and tugged him back.

"I...I'm sorry. That was rude... Didn't mean to...but I'm not blind. Yer a knight!"

What?
Blinking in surprise and gazed up at the dark dragon. "No I'm not!"
The dragon growled. "Oh don't play dumb with me! You got that insignia. That's a knight's signature!"
Turning to where they were pointing, Sozin pulled out the shield he had yet to replace.
"Knights are dangerous!" They snapped.
"But I'm not a knight! I was an apprentice to one but I ran away."

The dragon blinked. "You ran away from a knight?"
Sozin shrugged. "From being that one. Yeah."

The dragon gazed at him carefully.
Was that respect?

He wasn't sure.

[700 words]

[skywishes01]

The moment Nisha sees the look in Aria’s eyes, she knows.

“Oh, no.” She shakes her head. Violently. “Nonononono. We are not taking a dragon.”

Aria pouts.

Shady Guy pouts as well. “Lady, you don’t have to be so negative.”

“You.” Nisha points accusingly at Shady Guy. “Shut up. You’ve done enough harm.”

Shady Guy wisely shuts up.

“But, Nisha,” Aria whines. If Nisha tried that voice, it’d sound like a broken teapot. From Aria, it sounds like a sad puppy. The one everybody falls in love with. “Look how cute they are!”

Nisha looks at the dragons. “They have sharp teeth, they bite, and they probably breathe fire. I think you need to reconsider your definition of ‘cute’.”

The dragons don’t seem to appreciate her comments; the one that looks like burnt pancakes bares its aforementioned sharp teeth, making a noise like a deflating balloon. She’s guessing it’s supposed to be a growl. The other dragon, the one with a five-year-old’s finger painting on its back, bursts into tears.

Nisha throws up her arms. “What, they cry as well? What is it, acid rain? Poison? Explosive flammable chemicals?”

The dragon sobs even harder. Aria glares at Nisha. A proper death glare, this is. Nisha crosses her arms huffily, but says no more. The dragons are bad, but they’re nothing compared to Aria in Mom Mode. (She knows from experience)

Aria scoops the crying dragon out of the basket, rocking it in her arms like a baby. A sharp-toothed, fire-breathing baby, but a baby nonetheless. “Don’t cry, little one. Don’t listen to her. She’s just a big bad bully who doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

Nisha mutters something about totally knowing what she was saying.

The death glare returns. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Nisha says innocently, before adding: “mom.”

Aria chooses to ignore Nisha’s immaturity.

She turns her attention back to the creature she’s holding. There are still tears running down its snout, but it appears to have calmed down considerably. It looks up at Aria with wide, innocent eyes.

“That’s a good dragon.” Aria starts walking – slowly, gently – while continuing to sway the dragon, who lets out an adorable hiccup. Shady Guy is watching the pair with a surprisingly gooey expression. Nisha shoots him a look and he replaces his smile with a triumphant smirk.

The sound of soft singing cuts through Nisha’s increasing annoyance. Both the kalons turn to see Aria at the far end of the alleyway, silhouetted in a flickering streetlight.

“Rock-a-bye, dragon, on the treetops;
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;
When the bell rings, the cradle will fall,”

Aria pauses. If Nisha had been closer, she would have seen a tender smile appear on Aria’s face. She would have known that the dragon had fallen asleep in the kalon’s arms: safe, warm, and finally loved. But the lullaby is mushy enough for her entire lifetime: she’s already frozen to the spot in horror.

The last feather-light notes of the song float away into the air:

“And I’ll always catch you, cradle and all.”

Shady Guy is still smirking. “Looks like you got yourself a new friend, lady.” He pulls on the word friend, stretching it like over-chewed toffee.

“Mister, I’ve got a pretty big knife here and I’m not afraid to use it.” The cold metal glints wickedly, reflecting the spark of anger in her eyes.

A million miles away from their catfight, Aria is still watching the dragon. There’s warmth in her heart she hasn’t felt for a long time, a delicate, natural beauty in her smile, and a glow in her eyes that would melt the coldest heart. (Nisha doesn’t have a heart.) The little dragon is sleeping on its back, its head tucked into the crook of Aria’s arm and its limbs and tail curved against its body. Its tail-tuft flutters with its breathing, in and out, in and out. A rhythm of life.

Combined with the beating of Aria’s heart- a rhythm of love.

“Welcome to the family, little dragon.”

A name comes to her. “Little Iris.” A soft name for a soft soul.

“May you bring rainbows to us all.”

word count 693
username skywishes01
which dragon? fruity loops !!
dragon name: iris - greek goddess of the rainbow

[CSMintCat]

Forgot to post a reminder earlier but.
This is ending in half an hour at 1pm EST!

[lonk]

username: lonk (roster)
which dragon? fruit loops
dragon name: chrysanthemum
impress the dragons: (700 words)

rudy peered into the basket, cautious. the small dragon looked up at him and blinked. he let out a yelp as the dragon clawed his leg, attempting to latch on.
"christ," palmer said, shaking his head. "i don't think this is a good idea, but whatever. you'll be the one taking care of it." rudy nodded. he was already the caretaker of a gremlin, marigold, but this little guy was extremely cute. how could he let this opportunity be passed up?
the shady guy stepped over to rudy, still hovering over the basket. "there's a bunch of others who want 'em too. if you wanna try, you can take 'em out for the day and try to prove yourself."
"r-really? that'd be great!" the shady guy laughed, making a comment about 'anything to get rid of them', but rudy was too preoccupied with picking up the small dragon. as he held it up to get a better look, the rest of the group could tell that he was in love.

---

rudy's plan was to head down to the fields with some snacks, just to hang out. he'd first have to see how the dragon got along with marigold, who was cowering in his bag. he gave marigold a pat as he walked through the village outskirts, dragon perched on his shoulders.
but for now, as he finally reached the fields, rudy put his bags down, pulling the dragon from their spot. he tried to think of a name for the tiny dragon. "hmm," he said aloud, lost in thought. "how about chrysanthemum? it's a little long, but... chrys is cute." the dragon smiled back up at him, and blew a small flame of approval. rudy yelped. he didn't expect that at all, but as long as chrys approved of the name, it was fine.
as they settled in, he noticed marigold peeking out of the bag, his single, yellow eye staring worriedly at the tiny dragon. chrys didn't notice him, and instead seemed fixated on the wildflowers that dotted the field. they stared at a small patch of yellow flowers, then going to bite the heads off of them. rudy quickly grabbed the dragon, pulling chrys into his lap.
"shh, it's okay, bud. i've got some bread for you," he said, pulling the roll of bread he'd packed in his bag. chrys eagerly jumped up at the roll, snagging it from rudy.
marigold still stared at rudy's newfound companion. rudy noticed him, glaring nervously but full of envy, and pulled him from his bag as he gave a small shriek of protest. geez, gremlins were noisy.
chrys turned from his roll to look at the gremlin, cowering in rudy's arms. "relax, mari. chrys won't hurt you." the dragon, still with their goofy, lopsided smile, sniffed the shivering black mass before nudging him gently with their head.
marigold blinked, and gave the dragon a small pat on the nose. chrys seemed to like that, as he laid down, curling up by the smaller creature, the two nestled gently on rudy's bag. rudy grinned, happily surprised at marigold trying to get along with chrys. marigold could be... fickle, at times, so his cooperation was appreciated.
the two creatures now snuggled together on rudy's bag, marigold occasionally glancing back at rudy while chrys nibbled on the roll that rudy gave back to them. it was peaceful, aside from chrys' loud chomping, and rudy welcomed the calm. their journey had been tough so far, so he could only imagine it'd get worse. but he thought that this- sitting in a field of colorful wildflowers with a dragon and a gremlin- was nice.
he picked up his lute, and strummed a chord. yeah. this really was nice.

---

rudy returned to the alley, meeting up with his party members beforehand. "are you telling me that you fed it a whole thing of bread, and then played one of your dinky songs?" venita snorted as palmer sighed. she looked rudy in the eyes. "you really are an idiot."
"well... i think they enjoyed it. right, guys?" with a puff of approval from chrys and a chirp from marigold, rudy smiled. but was this enough to impress...?

[eltonn]

Username: save seedcakes
Item you want: Sunset Rum
How much you're offering: 29 gems ikr im weird
How much it actually costs: 30 gems
Are you using a charisma item?: idk what that is so no qwq
Do you have enough in the bank?: yeah man
Is this a gift? If so, for who?: naw man

[CSMintCat]

"Sorry for taking a while to get back to ya. I've been busy hiding with stuff..."
He hastily picks up the basket and shoves it towards you, glancing over his shoulder all the while.
"Here, here, just- just take 'em."



Sorry for the delay in judging!
The winner of Fruit Loops is lonk!
(This one was hard to decide! Kudos to skywishes01 and seijuu as well. ^^)

The winner of Bronze Fire is hazilnut!
In addition, ♠Trollish♠will be getting a Devil's Heart item for their form!

Note: The item is from Briceus' quest here, given to me by Wicced.
However, since I'm the one running the booth, it wouldn't really be fair for me to have it lmao.

[CSMintCat]

Username: save seedcakes
Item you want: Sunset Rum
How much you're offering: 29 gems ikr im weird
How much it actually costs: 30 gems
Are you using a charisma item?: idk what that is so no qwq
Do you have enough in the bank?: yeah man
Is this a gift? If so, for who?: naw man

The shady guy accepts your bribe, looking rather amused.
He stamps your form with a (surprisingly) cute stamp, signalling his approval.
Your bank has been updated!

[Levi]

Username: Levi
Item you want: Mysterious Philter
How much you're offering: 10
How much it actually costs: 100
Are you using a Devil's Heart item?: Nope
Do you have enough in the bank?: Yep
Is this a gift? If so, for who?: Nope

Username: Levi
Item you want: Mysterious Philter
How much you're offering: 10
How much it actually costs: 100
Are you using a Devil's Heart item?: Nope
Do you have enough in the bank?: Yep
Is this a gift? If so, for who?: Nope

Username: Levi
Item you want: Mysterious Philter
How much you're offering: 9
How much it actually costs: 100
Are you using a Devil's Heart item?: Nope
Do you have enough in the bank?: Yep
Is this a gift? If so, for who?: Nope