Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-28439145-20171003004547/@comment-26510374-20171005004251

This post takes place a few days before the first post

Off a desolate coast was a large burrow. A beach stretched out in front of it, slowly crumbling away as the relentless, winter-blue waters clogged with junk smashed against the sand over and over and over. Abalone Husk's mother had told him a sad story when he was a hatchling- the ocean was a mighty dragon queen, who endlessly beat against the land in an attempt to retrieve her single royal child who had been slaughtered in battle.

Dark brown water droplets steadily dripped down the tuft of grass hanging over the muddy burrow. It used to be dry, but now for whatever reason this morning Abalone's den was filled ankle-deep with muddy water.

He spluttered awake as a particularly large droplet splashed onto his nose. All three pairs of eyelids opened to reveal icy eyes as a downpour rained down on him quicker than Abalone could twitch his nostrils.

Abalone scowled, turning around in the burrow to get his armor on. The golden hoop on his left ear swung about as the large male dragon fitted the skull mask and the fake spiked horns on both sides of his head. He spent a good ten minutes putting on the mismatched armor and jewelry he had collected, as well as grooming his scales, yanking out discolored looking ones.

He spent five minutes pressing a large metal plate into the leaky dirt-ceiling and left the burrow, flexing and stretching his wings.

Abalone was glad he had scales in places instead of fur or feathers, like other small creatures had. The rain deflected right off his dark blue body.

Abalone reached the ocean. The Floating Junkyard was about a league away, or three miles. He made this trip nearly every day- it took him about thirty minutes, if he had ramped up to top speed.

The male dragon lurched forward, leaping into the air. He rose slowly, his wings beating. There was a good westward air current today, which would speed along his trip.

After a while, the pile came into view. Abalone frowned- he spied two small shapes in the pile. He stopped, rising and then allowing himself to plummet downwards, his wings instinctively tucking in by his sides.

As he neared the pile, he heard voices. High-pitched, jittering voices, like two fiesty birds arguing over a worm.

"I found it first, Jinks! It's mine, fair and square!"

"No! It's mine! I want it!"

Abalone unfolded his wings, swooping dangerously near the junk pile and spinning up into the air, finally landing with a clank beside the two bickering dragons. They instantly fell silent, their eyes bulging in horror as they caught sight of the much larger dragons.

They looked very young. Couldn't be older than 20, Abalone mused. Even though they had stuck rusty armor from the pile onto themselves they definitely wouldn't be able to fight properly.

Abalone's icy eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing on my land?" he barked, his finned tail lashing.

The mud-colored dragon, Jinks, shrank back, huddling beside the black one. "W-we were just scavenging," he stammered. "We need metal so the smiths can construct armor, and weapons. Obscurity f-found this junk pile when she was flying and w-we didn't r-realize-"

"Shut up!" Abalone bellowed, glowering. "I am not interested in your stupid war. You will get off my land, or I will make you!"

Jinks squealed, dropping to the ground and covering his eyes with his claws, trembling.

The black dragon glared at Abalone. "We don't have a choice!" she argued. "If Obscurity finds out we were kicked off some dragon's territory easily, she'll kick us out of the war!"

Jinks looked up at his companion, a look of complete horror on his face. "Shiver!" he stuttered wildly. "D-don't antagonize him... we should get out of here... I d-don't want to fight in the war!"

Shiver bared her teeth. "Well, I want to fight! Mother said she won't accept us into the family until we serve in the war, remember...?"

Suddenly, a dark purple dragon emerged from the bottom of the junk pile underwater.

She looked at Abalone calmly. "Who are you?"

"Orca's Heart," Abalone snapped, using the name he liked better than his birth one.

The purple dragon dipped her head. "I apologize," she said. "I was unaware of your scent here, and apparently my good-for-nothing apprentices didn't pick it up either."

Jinks stared at the ground, but Shiver bared her teeth silently.

"I am Obscurity. I am fighting for the good side of the war. The reasonable side."

Abalone tilted his head. "I am not interested in this war." Obscurity smiled faintly.

"I am guessing you are interested in riches," she continued. "Jewelry, armor, coins." She stepped closer. "i can give you... all of that, and more."

Abalone blinked.

And then, he was suddenly sucked into the war he wanted nothing to do with.