The Golden Dragon's Hoard

1 - 4

"Confidence is like a dragon where, for every head cut off, two more heads grow back."
― Criss Jami

Hey guys! We're offically getting into the book and interactions between the characters! I hope you like it!

Part One - Chapter Four
"The Warm Little Dragon"

For the first time in a long, long time, Astraeus wakes up without pain forcing him into awareness, without a loud noise jolting him, and without the chill of winter frosting over his scales.

He's warm, which probably shouldn't make him uneasy the way it does, and the ache that typically encased his broken leg isn't there.

But he's warm and he's not in pain. What's there to complain about?

The hatchling sticks his snout into the fuzzy thing before him, little huffs leaving his chest as he buries himself into it. It's soft, softer than anything he thinks he's ever touched before, and he wants to hide away in it forever.

He sinks his claws into it, tail twisting into the folds of the fabric, and he realizes that something weird is keeping his lame leg attached to his chest.

A confused squeak leaves his jaws and he twists onto his back. The soft thing clumps around and above him but whatever it is, it lets the light through and lets him see the white thing keeping his leg in place.

Stray baps it, trying to tug the thing but it's just... staying?

How is it stuck on him? It's too weirdly wrapped around him to be clothes and it doesn't seem to have an end. Just a bunch of starts overlapping.

Accidentally hitting it too hard makes a dull throb shake his leg, so the little dragon grumbles softly and rolls back onto his stomach-only for his wings to catch on the stupidly soft fabric and pin him in place.

The little dragon hisses his complaint, thrashing as he fights the soft thing.

He hates being trapped onto his back.

Eventually, after maybe half a minute of struggling, he defeats the fuzzy beast and shuffles himself out from underneath it.

Sitting up, surrounded by the soft fabric that-now that Stray sees it, knows it's a blanket-had almost succeeded in trapping him, the hatchling snuffles unhappily at it.

Then, on his next breath, he sneezes.

The force of it sends him toppling over, right back into the pile of warmth. He likes the blankets, especially now that he knows there's just so many of them, and he likes how soft they are, but he does not like being stuck under there alone.

Letting himself roll, the little dragon immediately got right back to his feet.

And proceeded to come face to face with a wall of... red?

It was tall and not like a regular wall, it had different edges, smooth and kinda round. Astraeus followed it as it got smaller, a lump to the side that disappeared under the blankets and then a longer trail behind the rest of the wall, tall pokey looking things coming out from the top.

It was confusing, he couldn't really make out what the wall was supposed to be.

Stray tilts his head, eyes going in the other direction. There were two really tall peaks with big hook things at the top. He shuffles his wings, squinting at them. They were oddly familiar but he couldn't figure out how. The wall seemed to surround him entirely. Past the peaks, there were those pokey things again but they were smaller and smoother.