Muzo’s face fell. He groaned and slunk back into the den, his sniffling cries echoing in the underground chamber. “No, no, no! I can’t do this without him!”
At that moment, I wished I was smaller. I could’ve curled up with Muzo in his den. But I was too large, as both a human and a dragon.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t try.
I lowered myself to my knees, then placed my belly on the ground so my face was inside the den’s opening.
“Muzo,” I called. “I’m here.”
In the darkness, I saw his watery eyes sparkle. He sniffled again. “Cobalt...”
He touched our noses together. His was wet and cold.
“Hi,” I said.
That made him laugh. “Hi.”
“I’m sorry about Blueberry, but I hope I can help instead.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.”
It was difficult to see in the dark, but I heard him shuffle closer, then felt his whiskers brush against my face. His fur was warm. I wished I could shrink and cuddle him inside the den, but this was nice, too.
Suddenly, I felt a nudge in my side. Viol’s voice came a second later.
“Hey. Get back out here for a sec,” he ordered.
Confused, I wriggled back out of the den. Viol immediately thrusted Blueberry into my hands.
“Where did you find him?” I asked.
Viol scoffed. “Does it matter? Just give him to Muzo already.”
I wasn’t about to look a gift plushie in the mouth. I handed Blueberry to Muzo, whose eyes lit up.
“Ah! You found him!” Muzo cried.
He snatched the plushie in his teeth, then disappeared down the dark hole.
My instincts told me Muzo had everything under control. I stood back up and brushed the dirt off my shirt. We all stood around the den quietly, waiting for any sign of the egg.
Aurum cleared his throat loudly to break the silence. “So, uh... Wheredidyou find that plushie, Viol?” he asked.
Viol glared at him. “None of your fucking business.”
Saffron smirked. He stood elbow to elbow with his twin to back him up. “Yeah, but it’s Cobalt’s business. And mine, since I’m commissioning Taylor to make me a plushie, too. I deserve to know about plushie-related crime in my area.”
Viol scowled at both of them. “There was no fucking crime, okay?”
“Avoiding the accusations, I see,” Aurum said slyly.
“What accusations?” Viol snarled.
The twins cackled and danced out of range as Viol lunged at them.
Taylor raised an amused brow. In a quiet voice, he said, “You know, Viol, if you want a mini dragon of your own, you could always just ask me.”
Viol’s face paled and flushed at the same time. He was beyond flustered. It was like Taylor had slapped him instead of offering to sew him a toy.
