Rubies & Amethysts

Akeem had been keeping his distance from the Earth/Fire mix. He had been quietly admiring her since they first met. Their riders had been foraging in the same area when they bumped into each other. The foraging ground had apparently been in the other rider’s territory. The dragon - Kritina, he remembered - reminded him in some ways of Rivia but with a fire that would normally scare him. She was arguably more fierce in protecting her rider and Akeem had to be the one that calmed the situation down. Their riders seemed to not mind as much and had left on good enough terms. 

Despite himself, even after leaving for new foraging grounds, Akeem could not get the dragon out of his mind. It was not uncommon for him to fall quickly for a pretty dragon, even more when they peaked his interest. Usually he felt confident enough to admit his admiration. With this dragon though… he found himself hesitating. What could he do to catch her attention?

She was part Earth so she might like a piece of treasure or him offering to share a meal. He was not the best hunter though, at least on land. In the sea, it was easy for him to catch the fish that made up most of his appetite. And he didn’t know how much she would like the taste of fish… 

A piece of treasure would be easy enough to find. Akeem often went searching through the depths of the ocean for metals that Fidelia could use. And of course, gifting any treasure that he thought Vita would enjoy. 

It took him a while though to find the perfect gem that he would show to Kritina. Some of the gems were too small or did not look the way he wanted them to be. Eventually though, he found a ruby. A couple of rubies actually! It was a beautiful golden chain with rubies adorning it, like tear drops. He decided it would look beautiful on the Earth/Fire mix and hoped she would appreciate it. It took a bit for him to properly get it out of the water, making sure it did not touch the sand and get dirtied.

With newfound courage, Akeem found himself too impatient to wait for the next day to show her his gift. Carefully holding onto the chain, he took flight. It was not hard to find the former foraging grounds, he remembered it clearly. He hoped she would be there again.

Gently landing in a clear spot that was devoid of trees, he sat down to wait. He entertained himself by watching the few birds that were still awake. They flew around him in curiosity before leaving when they saw he had nothing for them. The owls hooted and hunted and he could hear the distant shrill of a bat.

He did not have to wait long though. The sound of trees rustling alerted him and he twisted his head around to see who was coming. He pawed at the ground in nervousness before relief clutched his heart as he saw her emerge. She looked him up and down as she stepped into the moonlight, her tail dragging behind her.

“Why are you here?” Kritina asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Her tail rose, the club swinging behind her cautiously.

Akeem carefully stood up and turned around so he could properly face her. Bowing his head, he gently dropped the chain of rubies before using his snout to nudge them towards her. She looked at them for a moment before back at him then back once more to the offered rubies.

“For you,” He chirped. Anxiety was bubbling in his veins, waiting for her reaction. Hoping that she would not reject it, and him.

Silence stretched on as Kritina considered what his gift suggested before her tail finally dropped down again. She carefully pawed the chain towards her and let it lay protectively underneath her. He relaxed at the acceptance of his gift and raised his head a little to meet her gaze.

“You are confident to come here again,” She said. “My rider likes his solitude. You are lucky I saw you first.”

“I wanted to see you again,” He replied, feeling a bit dumb for saying that. It was the truth though and she snorted at that. She did not seem unhappy though and looked at him curiously.

“And you are curious,” She simply stated before softly adding, “Thank you for the gift. It is beautiful. I will give you something beautiful in return.”

“You don’t -”

She swung her tail to silence him and he quickly shut his mouth. She closed her eyes, her body tensing and he tilted his head in curiosity. What was she doing?

The rumbling of the earth underneath them answered his question. He squawked at the suddenness of it, fluttering his wings in quick panic before he forced them shut against himself. It was becoming more concentrated in one spot and Kritina did not seem agitated at all. Soon, he could hear the creaking and groaning of the earth as it was slowly broken open. He twisted his head to see where it was. Despite the loud noises and shaking, only a small patch was cracked open, a bit to the side of them. Only that patch had been disturbed, the rest of the earth around them left alone.

Seemingly satisfied with what she had done, Kritina opened her eyes and the shaking came to a complete stop. She padded away from him and towards the hole. She dipped her snout in, digging around before she found what she seemed to have wanted. Once more, Akeem had to tilt his head curiously at her as he watched her grab something. Her maw hid whatever she had and his wings fluttered at his side as she padded back to him.

With a bow of her head, she dropped the gem in front of him. It was a beautiful amethyst, shining brightly at him.