tap. tap tap. tap tap tap tap. Tippity tappity tap. WHAM!

  I slam the bucket against a rock. Me teeth and claws are nowhere near enough to break through the ice. If hell freezes over, I swear this will be the culprit. And Snowstorm is sitting in the corner sniffling to himself. Serves him right. This was me favorite cup, damnit!

  “Ey, freeze face, stop moping and help me already!” I shout over to him. Snowstorm sighs and walks over.

  “I dont know how to break the ice any better then you do.” he says, looking over the bucket. He sits down on his back legs (aka his only legs) so he can pick the thing up with his pointy grabber bits at the ends of his wings. He looks it over.

  “It would be nice to have fire for once.” I mutter.

  “Fire doesn't work on my ice. Darkness tried breathing fire on it last time and it didn't work.” Snowstorm responds. I groan. He never freezes his own damn buckets. Why only freeze mine? Are his powers biased? that sounds… actually, they are his powers so they're probably somewhat biased- anyway! Thats not the point.

  “This is the third bucket you ruined this month.” I jab a claw at his chest with a frown and he takes a step back, looking now very nervous. “What do you think Darkness and smokewind will do if they find out?” I smirk and Snowstorm glares at me.“You wouldnt dare-”

  “Oh, i so would.” I interrupt. I may not be the smartest but I certainly know how to abuse a situation. Snowstorm looks like he wants to turn me into a popsicle though. Oh well.

  “Fine. 1 week.”

  “2 weeks, and i want a new bucket.” I counter. He slumps in defeat and nods.

  “Fine. Ill make your bed for 10 days and give you a new bucket.” He says. “Is that good enough?”

  “12.”

  “11.”

  “Deal.”

  I smile, knowing I now have 11 days of relaxation ahead. I feel like im strangely good at bartering. Suddenly i feel something strange. I open my stats, and sure enough: Title:Bartering. Grants skill:bartering(low).

  “Oh, sweet!” I say. This is freaking awesome! Its so hard to get titles, and I've managed to scam Snowstorm so much I even got a title and skill for it!

  “What? Did something happen?” Snowstorm asks apprehensively.

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  “I got a bartering skill!”

  “Oh gods no.”

  “What was that?”

  “I said good job!” Snowstorm gives me a so obviously fake smile that makes him look constipated. Heh, this is going to be perfect in my oh so worthy hands.

  I plop down into the grass and yawn.

  “Hey, how long have we been out here?” Snowstorm asks.

  “3 hours, 24 minutes, 31 seconds.” I respond immediately.Snowstorm just blinks at me for a minute.

  “H-huh?” he says. “Is that an estimate or something?”

  “Im a living clock.” I say with a straight, serious face as if i were telling someone their family is all dead. snowstorm just stares at me for a moment.

  “What is wrong with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?!”

  “It means yes.” I can’t help but laugh at the way snowstorm stares at me. If you want to win an argument with a genius, bring them down to your level. then when its an argument between 2 idiots, the one whos been an idiot longer will win.

  <{(0)}>

  Me, Snowstorm, Darkness, and Smokewind all sit huddled around the fire in a large cavern. Its around 20 meters tall, which is good since we are dragons (meaning we are big). I just so happen to notice that we have accidentally arranged ourself from smallest to biggest. Snowstorm is the smallest, though i'm only a snout taller then him. Darkness sits beside me, turning the fish he caught over the fire. He is a shockingly good cook. The biggest is Smokewind, which I find hilarious, because she’s also the most easily scare–able. Like, he is the kind of gal where you could whisper “Boo” in her ear and shes run off screaming her head off. She also is the size of a small elephant. to compare the rest of us, Me and Snowstorm are around the sizes of large ponies, while Darkness is the size of a big-ass horse on steroids. And They're both only barely adults. We are 16 while Darkness and Smokewind are 19.

  The fire highlights the granite foor and walls, as well as the various cooking utensils scattered around the table in the corner. We dont really use the table since its kind of awkward to sit around. Various shelves and nooks to store things into are carved into the wall, some with cabinet doors and some without. A large opening in the wall reveals the vast expanse of the ocean far away. Its pouring rain, and the occasional streak of thunder illuminates the sky. We are lucky to have come in when we did. Unlike most caverns and caves, this room isnt carpeted, becuase duh. What insane person puts carpet in the kitchen? Monsters, I tell you. Monsters!

  I sometimes feel bad for the guardians. Having to raise 2 little hatchlings while being only 3 years old is insane. Gods bless the weird way dragons grow. Dragons, both physically and mentally, grow extremely quick in the first… I think 5 years? I'm not Snowstorm, I can only give the basics. After that they grow, like, super slowly for the next 10 years. They usually have a big growth spurt around age 15. Me and Snowstorm have only barely started ours, and it SUCKS. We get growing pains everywhere all the time. Speaking of which…

  “Growing pains?” Darkness asks, noticing the way im hugging my tail like it might fall off.

  “Yes, and i want to die.” I say, groaning.

  “Oof, growing pains were the worst!” Smokewind says. “You two’re in for a real treat!” Snowstorm has an expression that suggests that if rolling on the floor while hugging your tail is a treat, he wants to take a break from sweets. Not that I blame him. My snout feels wet. Why is my snout wet? Oh, I'm crying.

  Splash!

  Oh, and darkness just dumped a green liquid on my tail.

  “Oh, that feels nice.” I mutter, wiping my snout with one arm.

  “Its a salve I made for growing pains back when I had them.” Darkness tells me, patting me on the back reassuringly. “It helped a lot. Rub it in, then come eat dinner.” Smokewind looks at Darkness as if he just ate her Puppy.

  “You didn't tell me about this!” She says. Darkness grins.

  "well, you aren't a child."

  "i technically was then!"

  "Can we not do this?"I ask flatly. I snatch a fish on a stick up and chomp into it. Darkness nods.

  "Yes please, I don't want to do this right now, or ever. Ever is better." Snowstorm just sighs.

  "I am surrounded by idiots."