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It was a quiet day in the academy. A tiny miracle in itself, given the amount of trouble that seemed to never stop within its walls. A group sat at one of the study areas in the library, (the regular one, not any of the secret ones), the quartet passing the time together.
Sausage was sprawled on his stomach across the left turn of the couch, a book propped up against the cushions. Zam was next to the solar mage, legs criss-crossed and eyes focused on analyzing a new recipe she’d found. Graecie was next to Zam, fingers maneuvering yellow yarn around knitting needles, the gentle clicking joining the soft noises of the fireplace nearby. Legs was to Graecie’s right, several bits and bobs scattered across the table, tinkering with random pieces and equipment.
Four dragons were also within the little nook the table sat in. Small grumbles and trills coming from the little dragons as they moved around.
Penny, who had been curled up on her human’s back to nap, woke with a stretch and a toothy yawn. She dropped down next to Twilite, letting out a playful growl towards the starry dragon, who instantly swiveled to bat at her. The two nipped and swiped at each other and ended up rolling under the table as they played.
Twilite pinned the Penny on her back, unable to wriggle her way out, and let out a victorious snort when the copper dragon gave up her attempts to escape.
There was a solid thunk as Twilite went to stand up, smacking her head against the underside of the table.
Penny let out a worried whine, jumping up to make sure her friend was okay. When the violet dragon only sneezed and reassuringly bumped against her, Penny let out a teasing rumble and skittered away.
Zam leaned down and fretted over Twilite for a moment, making sure she hadn’t hurt herself. Once she confirmed there were no injuries, she scratched around the dragon’s horns, smiling as Twilite let out a happy purr, leaning further against the rider.
Gadget complained as he was removed from his human’s lap. He’d done nothing wrong to deserve this cruelty. He’d only batted at his rider’s thingamajig four or five times, breaking it twice, and now he was being banished from his warm resting place.
The metallic dragon felt amusement pass across their connection, his dramatic sorrow melting away as Legs laughed at his antics. He was quickly enraptured by a stray bolt that had fallen to the ground, jumping to bap it with a satisfied hum.
Fleece had curled up against the far wall, letting out a content rumble as she watched her friends and human. Fleece was so happy her human was finally resting. She’d been so stressed and worn thin over the past few weeks, it was nice to see the tension gone from her shoulders.
The golden dragon let out an amused huff as she watched Penny steal the bolt Gadget had been messing with, trying to goad him into fighting her. Gadget dodged the copper dragon’s attempts to grapple him, not wanting to play fight.
When he realized she wasn’t giving up, the metallic dragon bolted across the room, Penny following quickly after, the two blurring into orange stripes darting back and forth.
Twilite trilled from where she was sat near her rider’s legs, also finding the younger dragons’ antics funny. She knew she was barely older than the other three dragons, but they still felt like little siblings to her, and seeing them playing and lighthearted for once was a weight off her shoulders.
Gadget ran to Fleece, using the brief moment when Penny slid into a wall to get some distance. He really hoped Penny wouldn’t bother the golden dragon, that it would stop her from pestering him.
The metallic dragon let out a squawk when Fleece jumped up and tackled him herself. She sent them both tumbling and rolling across the floor, a mischievous snort and grin on her face. The trapped dragon wiggled, trying to slip from her grasp.
She teasingly growled at the smaller dragon, bopping his snout with her wing whenever he tried to escape. She gave a victorious rumble as she fully curled up on top of Gadget; her human had called it loafing once, but Fleece didn’t understand how she could look like bread. The humans were silly sometimes.