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Tanzenite Shores
Sharona stepped off the barge that ferried people through the channels that separated the islands. Her paws sank almost immediately into the rich bed of tanzanite, and she shuddered at whomever created this world. There were some things that were better in small numbers - like precious gems.
Oh well. There were worse things to grow blind of. Creeping horrors, for example.
The people here were plain, simple-looking people, dressed in homespuns and staking out land while their families squatted in areas along the island. Huge irrigation pumps were being set up, and a small town was already growing around the port. Sharona stared in wonder.
All the people, all the stories walking around her. She listened and eavesdropped to the conversations as everyone walked around her as she made her way up the beach, towards the town. It was fantastic. It was more alive, more blossoming than the main port on the Jasper Island.
Children of a thousand different colors and shapes and sizes ran around, giggling and chasing each other. Elder children hauled loads for their parents, and every now and again a dog would bark from across the beach.
Sharona carried all she owned on her back, slung over one shoulder to avoid gouging it on a back spike. It was a light-weight pack, hardly detectable, even to her frame. She moved easily with it, and headed into the city.
There, she investigated the general store that had been set up. She was looking for job opportunities. Seeing nothing, she walked inside and located the shopkeeper.
*Excuse me, sir,* she said, adopting her strictly-business air. *I'm looking for work.*
The man regarded her strangely. He had a huge, bushy, handlebar moustache, as well as a slight potbelly. He wore suspenders and a faded grey shirt. "Jump my bones, what have we here?" he asked.
Sharona blinked at him. *I'm a dragon,* she said matter-of-factly. *I need a job.*
"You're more like a scaley dog," the man said, getting down and poking her.
She rolled her eyes. *Look, you,* she said. *I'm not in the mood to be inspected like a sideshow piece. You either tell me where to find work, or I ask somewhere else.*
"Alright, alright. Well, what can you do?"
Sharona considered this. *I can tell stories,* she said. *And besides that, I'm willing to try anything.*
"Can you climb a ladder?"
*As long as it's not completely vertical, I'm sure,* she said, giving him an odd look.
"I'm looking for an assistant to open the shop for me. Do you think you could be that person?"
Sharona considered this. *What would I have to do?*
"You wake up really early, see, stock the shelves, and make sure no one steals any of the merchandise. There's a price list, and you just add everything up. You can add, right?"
Sharona looked at him dryly. *How early?*
"Two hours before dawn."
She considered this. *And all I have to do is take money, give change, and be personable, right?*
"That's the way. And stock shelves. We double as a grocery store."
She chewed on her cheek. *All right,* she agreed. *I'll give it a try. But I'm going to need a place to stay.*
The man shrugged. "There's a spare room next to the storage area in the basement. It's not much, but it is assuredly better than nothing."
Sharona nodded. Dark basement places seemed fine by her. *Very well,* she said proudly. *Consider me hired. I'm Sharona, by the way.*
"Name's Evan Montgommery," the man replied, extending a hand to shake with her. She placed her taloned claw gently in his palm and moved it up and down.
*Pleasure to do business with you, sir. Mind if I go mosey down to find that room?*
"Right this way, Sharona."
***
The room was perfectly fantastically fine as far as Sharona was concerned. Secretly, it was a closet. But there was a lamp, and a big fluffy bed, which she was afraid she would shred, but such was life. FLUFFY BED!!
She hadn't had a fluffy bed bed in forever. Like, not since she was an egg or anything. Evan had left her go to it, excited as she was to jump on top of it, and likely just wrote everything off in the room - what little there was - as an unavoidable loss.
Sharona, meanwhile, didn't start work until the morning. She had a few pieces of gold left, and she needed some things. Dinner, for example, and an alarm clock. So, she hit the town, looking for a place to buy a clock. How that slipped her mind while she was packing, she had absolutely no idea.
Instead, while walking down the street, she heard her name called. She looked up, and she found Mother Serrenti and Father Mikholai, the priests she had met in the customs house.
"We've been looking for you," Serrenti said, leaning over to properly address her at eye-level.
*You remembered me?* Sharona asked cutely. She was very pleased that she was still largely recognizeable to practical strangers. She must be very impressive, she decided.
"We did," Mikholai replied, holding a strange parcel. Sharona blinked at it.
*What's in the bag, Father?* she asked.
"This is why we've been looking for you."
*What iiiiissss iiiit?* she drawled excitedly, trying to peek inside the parcel.
Father Mikholai lay a finger to his lips. "Shhh," he said rogueishly.
Sharona hopped in circles excitedly. *What what what what what what what is it!?* she wanted to know. Immediatley. Well. Shortly after the gleespasms wore off.
"One of our fellows on walkabout was lucky enough to be entrusted with the egg of a gargoyle," Mother Serrenti intoned reverently. "She recently returned from Skyhaven and the surrounding area, and she wished these eggs taken care of. We said we knew the perfect monstrosity to raise them right."
*EE!* Sharona gleed. Then, she stopped on a dime. *You called me a monstrosity?*
"You are Kip's daughter," Father Mikholai said in an aside.
*EE!* Sharona resumed gleeing. *THING TO TAKE CARE OF!*
"In caps-lock no less," Mother Serrenti said dryly. A delightfully crooked smile touched her lips. "Just take care of the eggs, teach them to behave, and release them to the wild."
Sharona leaned her talons on top of Father Mikholai's arms. *Lemmeseelemmeseelemmeseeeeee!* she whined.
Father Mikholai released his parcel to her, which she opened in the street, revealing two mottled eggs - one light grey, one pale orange. She gleed merrily again. *THING!* she declared happily.
Father Mikholai stared at her a moment and shrugged. "Well. Delivery made."
*Hey, wait. Do you guys have an alarm clock?* Sharona asked cutely.
Mother Serrenti blinked. "Alarm clock?"
*Something to wake me up two hours before dawn every day? I got a job. I need one.* She chirped cutely, tied the eggs up merrily.
"Uh..." The priests looked at each other. "I have this Peacebreaker Timepiece," the Father ventured, revealing a little hourglass suspended in a bubble. "Tell it what time to disturb your peace, and it will be done."
Sharona stared at it. *May I buy it off you?* she asked reverently.
"Absolutely not!" Mother Serrenti declared, sounding outraged.
Sharona was crestfallen. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.
"Silly daft girl! We like you! Mikholai, give the girl the Timepiece."
Father Mikholai rolled his eyes and did as he was told. It was the wise decision. "Just raise the eggs," he sighed.
Sharona gleed again, thanked the priests, and disappeared to her room, where she sat in the dimness and stared at the cute little eggs.
Eggs!
EGGS EGGS EGGS! X3!
Her narration had just made a face. She stared at it a moment. And then she glued the fourth wall back in its place and went to sleep, guarding her eggs.
Baby gargoyles would be hers... sometime. Soon, hopefully.
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