Mutual Benefits
Disclaimer: I don't own Wings of Fire.
Despite the many, many downsides to inhabiting a continent infested with homicidal dragons that were all but incapable of reason, a little bit of effort could yield interesting results.
That was the thought going through Hafloi's mind as he looked over the design sketched out on a slate outcropping to the pair of dragons looking at him, one expectantly, the other like it was considering eating him.
It wouldn't be the first time that one of his 'partner's' clients tried to take a bite out of him, hence the sword at his waist.
He nodded.
The design wasn't overly complicated nor was it that large,-just the first set of webbing on the left wing. An easy afternoon's work.
His 'partner,'-a big red dragon with yellow eyes and its left horn broken,-growled something to its smaller companion and promptly a small sack of gold and precious gemstones was handed over.
Hafloi couldn't help but smile.
Even if the bigger dragon,-whom he'd privately dubbed 'Furnace', for lack of any other name,-kept most of the gold for itself, he'd still get a cut that by the standards of any Human was generous.
All in exchange for some tattoo work.
He gestured to a sandy wallow as he retrieved his inks and let Furnace settle the smaller dragon before he lay his inks out beside their client and got to work.
The sun was nearly set by the time Hafloi had finished and he stretched gratefully as Furnace saw the smaller red dragon off favouring a wing now sporting a design of blood-soaked talons.
Hafloi didn't really care for the significance.
The design hadn't even been that difficult.
It wasn't uncommon for Furnace to bring him dragons looking to get tattoos that took entire weeks to complete.
A growl snapped Hafloi from his musings and he turned to see Furnace had already set aside a fist-sized ruby and a small pile of gold for his share.
Hafloi bowed in reply.
It wasn't much compared to what Furnace was keeping, but it would see his family through the winter and likely help the town a great deal on top of that.
He quickly packed his share away in his rucksack and hoisted it over his shoulders and braced himself as talons capable of gutting him closed like a cage around him, before with a sickening lurch they were airborne.
The flight was a fairly short one, the sun having just dipped below the horizon when Furnace landed and deposited Hafloi.
A nudge from an elbow nearly floored him, but by this point Hafloi was fairly sure it was simply the dragon's way of being friendly. He nodded in return before following the rough track he'd made to the clearing Furnace had landed in back towards town to where he'd be greeted by his wife and likely the Watch Captain and the Mayor.
Hawk watched the scavenger go with a familiar combination of nerves and protectiveness.
She'd first encountered it a few years previously as it wandered through the woods while she hunted. Previous experience defending her den from curious scavengers had taken scavengers entirely off her list of potential prey for the simple reasons that they were more trouble to hunt than they were worth and they tasted vile anyway.
Her scavenger hadn't been armoured though and had been painting of all things, from a hilltop overlooking the forest to a lake some distance away, and unlike the crude strokes most dragons used, she'd observed a great deal more skill in its work as she'd circled.
Her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she'd landed, nearly scaring the scavenger to death as it had tried to run. She'd had to pin it to the ground and hold it there as it had struggled and screamed, as though calling for help like a hatchling might. In the meantime she'd examined its handiwork, fascinated by the level of detail it had put into the painting.
A thought had struck her and she'd traced in the ground a rough drawing of herself letting the scavenger go in return for the painting.
To her surprise, it had pointed at itself, then the painting as though to confirm.
She'd nodded and received a nod in return.
She'd let the scavenger up, but instead of immediately scampering off as she'd expected, the scavenger had drawn a design on the ground before producing a tiny gold coin, pointing to her, then the coin then the image, as though asking if she possessed any treasure.
She had and indicated as much, before tracing what had happened to the last scavengers that had tried to steal it, earning another nod.
The scavenger had then rolled up the sleeve of the second skin it wore over the first and indicated an intricate tattoo on its forearm. Then, it had indicated the tattoo, herself, and then the image of the treasure.
The offer had been too tempting to pass up.
Dragon tattooists were rare, because most lacked the fine touch and patience for the work and that wasn't mentioning if a wing were accidentally torn.
She'd taken the offer after some consideration and relayed that she'd return the next day with treasure.
Hawk had been as good as her word, half expecting either a small army or no-one at all to meet her and had been pleasantly surprised to see the scavenger, alone with a small bag at its feet.
It'd taken some time to actually work out how to position herself for the scavenger to work and the pricking of whatever implement it was using was almost as bad as an infestation of scale mites, but by day's end she had a tattoo of intricate interlocking knots.
Shortly thereafter, she'd had someone ask after it. A fellow SkyWing in Queen Scarlet's army.
That had been about the time she'd had the brilliant idea to charge for the scavenger to do tattoos.
It'd taken some time and effort to track down and the scavenger in question and explain her idea due to the terror that dragons inspired in the creatures and their tendency to live in large groups, and she'd gathered by the fact the scavenger's kin had gradually warmed up to her as well that she was looked upon as some sort of protector now, but the fact that she'd amassed quite a tidy hoard for herself was worth potentially having to fight off anyone stupid enough to trouble the scavengers' settlement.
And considering that the settlement had been developed some formidable defenses, it'd take a very foolish someone indeed to attack them.
She'd already made her kills that morning and eaten, so all she had to worry about was finding their next client.
War or not, it was a good time to be alive.
And done.
This short piece was done for the Jade Mountain monthly challenge.