Dragong Makes A Friend
Disclaimer: My Singing Monsters belongs to Big Blue Bubble.
Written for the Diverse City contest and dedicated to Lamia of the Dark
Once there was a little Dragong who lived on an island in the sky. She liked making music with the cymbals on her feet and tail, her body swaying in time with the rhythm as she shook her tail and stomped her feet. The only thing she loved more than making music was preparing delicious meals, which she served on her metallic tail plates. But Dragong was alone. She had no one to share her food or music with. And that made little Dragong very sad.
One morning Dragong was lounging in the grass when she spied something in the distance. It looked like another monster napping on a rock. Dragong had never seen another monster before, and she approached it with caution, moving slowly through the bushes that lined the edge of the clearing.
She approached the monster from behind, raising her head and jabbing it in the side with her snout. This startled the monster and caused it to leap nearly a foot into the air, which was quite an impressive feat seeing as how it didn't have legs.
The serpentine creature disappeared under the rock, leaving Dragong to wonder how she might coax it out into the open. Dragong thought about it for a while and decided to try using food to lure the monster out of hiding.
Her metallic plates jingled as she scurried across the field, returning a few minutes later with a plate of dark chocolate in her mouth. She set the plate on the ground next to the rock, then sat down on the grass and waited. Dragong waited and waited, until finally she saw movement near the base of the rock. The tip of the monster's tail poked out from under the rock, wrapped itself around the plate, and pulled it under the rock. It happened so fast that Dragong was left blinking and staring at the empty space where the plate had been.
She cocked her head to the side, looking very much like a curious puppy as she listened to the sounds coming from under the rock. It sounded like chewing. The monster was eating all the chocolate!
Dragong leaned forward and sniffed the rock, then gasped and jumped back when a hand slid the plate out onto the grass. A loud burp echoed out from under the rock, followed by silence. It took a moment for Dragong to get over the shock of what she'd seen. A smile slowly spread across her face. She liked this monster, and decided to put on a show by dancing for her.
The perky little Dragong waved her tail back and forth, her cymbals crashing against the earth as she kicked up her heels and pranced in a circle. The earth vibrated with the sound of her music, reaching the monster who was hiding deep underground. It was enough to bring her out of hiding, her lean form slithering out from under the rock so she could watch the rest of Dragong's performance.
She started moving her tail in time with the music, the iridescent scales shining like opals in the sunlight. It wasn't long until both monsters were dancing, with Dragong bobbing her head and shaking her tail. They let the music carry them away, forgetting about the time of day or the fact that it was getting dark outside.
Dragong kept right on dancing, until finally she collapsed in a tuft of terra, her tongue lolling from the corner of her mouth as she stopped to catch her breath. "What kind of monster are you?" she asked, lifting her head and smiling at the snakelike creature.
"Lamia," the monster lady replied. She brushed the hair out of her face, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "But you can call me snek."
"Snek!" the little Dragong chirped. "Snek, snek! Haha, Dragong likes that name. It is a fun word to say. Snek!" She rolled over onto her back, watching the sun sink below the horizon. "Is snek hungry?" she asked. "It's getting late. Good time for dinner, Dragong thinks."
"Snek is always hungry for more foods, but snek too lazy to cook." She raised an eyebrow, looking hopefully at the little Dragong. Maybe this reptilian music maker had a secret stash of chocolate that she was willing to share.
Dragong laughed playfully, her laughter sounding just as musical as the tune she played on her cymbals. "That's okay. Dragong loves to cook. Dragong make all kinds of food for snek, and then we have picnic and more music, yes?"
"Yes," Lamia agreed. "Snek likes the sound of that."
Little Dragong is happy now. She has a friend to share her food and music with. And sometimes, if you go out on a clear night and listen very carefully, you can hear the sound of Dragong's music drifting on the wind as she and Lamia dance the night away.