Every time the annual Unity Festival at Dragon Shores came around, that accursed buffet would show up and Lindar had to keep his hunger back with a ten-foot pole, an effort that only worsened whenever he caught sight of his fellow dragons stuffing themselves and their plates silly with various delicacies.
Especially the sweets: all those decadent cakes, flaky pastries with creamy filling, and the chocolates…those rich smooth chocolates…
Ugh no! No! Willpower would prevail here! He refused to let his waist swell up like a balloon yet again and weather more exercise sessions with the Peace Keepers, especially the lightning crunch-ups with Gunnar. Lindar felt his gut muscles ache already from the mere thought but kept a stiff upper lip.
The festival had plenty of other activities for him to do! He could handle a temporary fast.
That was until a match between him and Delbin at the shootout range, the sudden GRRRRR bad enough to startle him and whiff the duck cutouts.
Delbin's rough chuckle did not help. "Sounds like someone needs to make a stop by the buffet table, huh?"
When Lindar shot him a pointed 'don't-you-dare' glare, the artist calmly held a hand up. "Just saying. I know how you get when it comes to your figure, but surely a few bites won't do it harm. Besides, it's not like you'll need to gorge yourself. Just enough to take the edge off."
Humph. Valid point but still humph.
Lindar marched up and jabbed a finger in his fellow Artisan's burly chest. "When my body inflates into a bowling ball, I will come back and flatten you."
"I look forward to it."
Rolling his eyes at the sassy remark, Lindar flared out his wings and flew out of the park towards one of the surrounding islands' beaches where he knew food to be served. Luau Island to be precise since that place tended to be the most famous among tourists. Once he caught sight of the tables standing out on the sand, he touched down in front of them and eyed the various platters.
Alright. Just stick to the healthy choices here, Lindar. Healthy choices.
Of which thankfully there were an abundance: meats, eggs, breads, vegetables, fruits. And not a dessert in sight either; good, that just took loads off Lindar's back. Yet the moment the clockmaker grabbed a plate and started to pick, his nose caught scent of something somehow both familiar and otherworldly.
Chocolate?
Lindar looked to the side and discovered an open bag of chocolates that he swore had not been there some seconds ago. Could this be part of some prank from Delbin and the other Artisans? They had been ribbing him on being such a prima donna when it came to sweets. Okay, maybe he obsessed a little on his looks sometimes, but that didn't mean he was vain!
Unfortunately, now that he caught the scent, his curiosity refused to let go. These chocolates possessed a fragrance he'd never noticed from others, almost like flowers. How weird.
The clockmaker looked over his shoulder to check if anyone he knew was watching –nope – and then back to the chocolates. He eventually rolled his eyes in defeat before reaching over to pluck one of the candies from the tray. One wouldn't hurt after all, right? Without further ado, he flicked it into his mouth.
Nothing could have prepared him.
The moment his tongue met the chocolate, his mouth faced a sweetness stronger than anything it ever had before – but not an overpowering sweetness, oh no. It was more like someone had taken all of heaven and condensed it into a single morsel. And once his sharp teeth broke through the shell, the blue dragon found himself slipping into even further bliss! Strawberries, mangos, oranges, limes, cherries, grapes, pears, pineapples, kiwi: a whole rainbow of fruit jammed pack into one paste that merged with the chocolate for an orchestra of taste!
Lindar near about fainted, he could barely catch himself. Coming back to, Lindar realized he'd slumped back enough in his stupor that Argus noticed and had to race over to catch his fellow reptile under the arms before he could collapse. The taller, more rotund dragon's smirk did not help his pride either.
"I see you're enjoying the food."
Holding back a blush, Lindar hastily backpedaled – or rather frontpedaled – out of his fellow Artisan's arms and threw up a nonchalant façade with crossed arms. "Yeah well, what else is one supposed to do with food? Throw it?"
To be fair, Argus would not have put that use of food past the clockmaker, considering Lindar's pendant for immaturity despite his age. However, closer inspection revealed lingering traces of the euphoria that had shaken Lindar in the first place.
'Enjoying the food' was clearly an understatement.
And Lindar knew Argus and his sharp eyes would notice. Ugh.
"Okay, so I liked what I just ate. What of it?"
Argus arched a brow. "May I ask which dish?"
'You just did, genius,' danced on the tip of Lindar's tongue, but he decided against saying it. Now that his brain had recovered from the flavor shock, a single question occupied it – and who better to give answers than the acclaimed food critic himself?
Lindar pointed to the tray where he just sampled paradise. "That tray of chocolates right there. Any idea who made 'em?"
When Argus followed the finger and noticed the candies in question, something brief crossed his face that Lindar couldn't quite place (only after the festival would he realize it had been something akin to what Nestor – heck the Artisans in general, Lindar himself included – often give Spyro for a non-mayhem-related achievement). Argus put a hand to his chin as if considering his next words carefully before looking back at Lindar.
"I can tell you, but it will make no difference. The maker of those sweets, Bassam, is something of a recluse…to the point that I'm amazed he even managed to leave those here without being recognized."
Bassam: why does that name sound familiar? Lindar pondered, eyes lost in thought.
Argus noticed and set a hand on his fellow Artisan's shoulder. "Oswin's half-brother. He arrived in Artisans the day after the Reading Rainbow Incident to check on him. To be fair, you likely didn't notice due to the clean-up. He and his child spent the day helping Oswin and I tidy up the library."
Surprise took over Lindar's face. This was news to him; how'd he never noticed? He rubbed his nape with one hand, thrown off. "I forgot Oswin's mom had two spouses."
Argus nodded. "He and Oswin tend to keep quiet about that due to…past judgements" – he did not miss how Linder winced in empathy – "Bassam is younger due to being borne out of the second marriage, and I believe his main profession lies in alchemy. Befitting given his hobby in candy making as well. He's quite passionate about his work, so social events are often not a priority for him unless his daughter pushes far enough."
Crud. Lindar could feel his shoulders wanting to slump in disappointment. "So, you're saying he's already left?"
"Oh no," Argus asserted with a fervent headshake, "he's more than likely here. Otherwise, that young miss over there would no longer be present either."
Lindar turned his head where Argus indicated and noticed a small pale-pink dragon chatting away with a rather put out Spyro and amused Nicolas. The sight of the latter served a reminder that this would be the first Unity Festival visited by the Ecologists in centuries. On a sidenote, the clockmaker cast a mental reminder to catch up with Nico later. It'd been sometime since they last got to hang out properly.
As for the young lady, she had a medium-pink underbelly with round pink wings with pale-pink cloud-shaped edges; cream-pink eyes and matching slim eyebrows; a small snout; big head horns that curled into cinnamon roll shapes; and cream-pink curly hair, connected back ridges, and cloud-shaped tuft of tail fur. Her only article of clothing consisted of a sky-blue neck bandana with white clouds.
Regarding Argus again, Lindar pointed at the girl. "That his daughter?"
"Stepdaughter actually. Ember, her name is. Lovely young woman albeit...zealous to say the least. No doubt she'll gladly dispense the whereabouts of her guardian," Argus took a meaningful pause to adjust his glasses, "provided you ask nicely of course."
Why say it like that? Lindar could ask nice just fine! Resisting the urge to eye roll, he departed from Argus to speed-walk his way to the group of youths. Only for somebody else to walk into him ten steps in, coming from right behind a particularly thick patch of trees. The impact even caused Lindar to back up into one of those trees, the resulting force enough to jostle a coconut free and clean onto his head.
Ouch.
"Mah apologies!" a high-pitched voice chirped in a light country accent. "I didn't see ya there, really! I only came by to ask those young uns ova' there if anybody's seen my buddy, Bassam."
Join the club, Lindar thought drily as he rubbed his aching cranium. Was the guy popular or something?
While contemplating whether or not to give the wise guy responsible a piece of his mind, Lindar looked up to discover he'd collided with another dragon.
A tall, lanky serpent-like body, dark magenta with lighter hexagonal spots along the back, neck, tail, and shoulders; pink underbelly and wing membranes; thick round legs; ridged off-white horns reminiscent of Rosco and a smaller chin horn; bright blue fish-like head crest that flared out like a mohawk and matching tail crest that ended in three star-like points; periwinkle jacket with darker collar and trimmings; a light-brown twine necklace ending in a wooden-framed purplish blue rhomboid gem; and finally, periwinkle feathered wings that darkened further down.
All this and for some reason what struck Lindar the most turned out to be the righthand snaggletooth peeking out of the slightly taller dragon's apologetic frown.
A moment's deliberation had the blue dragon sighing and waving off the other's concern a moment later. Poor guy seemed a nervous wreck already; best not to be a jerk and add onto it. "Eh, it's cool. It's on me for rushing anyway. Listen, I'mma ask those kids where to find this Bassam guy myself. Wanna head over together?"
The slimmer dragon brightened at this offer. "Oh, sure! Name's Matthias by the way!" He stuck out a hand. "My buddies call me Matt."
"Lindar," the clockmaker answered as he accepted the handshake. "Call me Lindy and you'll wake up next morning to a bed full of itching powder."
Usually, that playful threat got people either rolling their eyes or nervously asking if he was kidding. Matthias instead doubled over in laughter. "Goodness, I best remember that then! Hopefully, calling ya 'Lin' won't be much trouble then!"
The response sparked a genuine smile out of Lindar. Finally, someone who could return his sense of humor. The Artisan made a show of mulling it over. "Eh, I guess I can allow it. Now then, if we're done chatting, how about we get moving alrea…dy."
That trailing off resulted from him turning in the direction of the kids, only to discover the little pink dragon suddenly right before him with the sunniest smile he'd ever seen on a hatchling. Or any living being for that matter.
In fact, now that the kid had gotten up close and personal, Lindar only now noticed the brown dragonfly perching on her mass of hair, giving him an equally interested stare. Too surprised to pull out a witty comeback, Lindar plainly raised a hand. "Uh…hi?"
"Hi!" the tinier reptile chirped back, waving merrily, "I'm Ember and this is my pal, Cocoa!" She cocked her head forward to indicate her insect companion, who waved a foreleg. "Are you the clock man from Artisans? Spyro and Nico mentioned you a ton!"
Did they? A bud of pride couldn't help blossoming in Lindar's chest. He smirked and dusted his left knuckles against his chest.
Matthias seized that moment to cut in, leaning rightward to peer around Lindar. "I'm surprised Bassam let ya off alone. He usually doesn't let you outta his sight!"
Ember beamed at the lanky dragon. "Oh hey, Matt! Nah, he's been watching the whole time from up there." She pointed her finger at one of the grassy cliffs overlooking the beach.
Lindar squinted his eyes and indeed noticed a figure seated atop it. However, right as he turned back around to thank the little dragon...
"He let me bring a bag of his chocolates over here, although I guess I forgot about it, since I didn't know a better way to break the ice with Spyro and Nico, who are super-super cool by the way and really have lots of cool stories to tell too, especially Nico since he's an Ecologist even though he says he's not much of a scientist which I think is just his lack of confidence talking. I mean, he'd definitely make a killing with the new tech he's been" – miraculously she paused before continuing in a conspiratorial whisper – "actually, on second thought, forget I said that last part. He doesn't like too many people outside his clan hearing about it, and I only know because Spyro brought it up."
A moment of silence ensued, complete with awkward blinking.
Until her eyes went all wide and sparkly and the little dragoness proceeded to hop up and down. "Wait, you tried the chocs, didn't you?! Oh, my Mother Serpent, please tell me they were any good so I can tell Bassam! He really takes his candies seriously, so it'd really-really-really help him out if someone gave him feedback."
Only then did Lindar recover from the infodump and register her request. The blue dragon hastily cleared his throat and tried to school a chill face. "Oh those. Yeah, they were…good."
Judging by not only Ember's knowing smile but Matthias' smirk, Lindar knew he didn't have anyone fooled with his cool guy act. Simply a few seconds under this orchestra of stares proved too much since he didn't take long to throw his hands up with a groan of defeat.
"Fine, they were heaven in my mouth!" He crossed his arms and threw a sideways huff, eyes tossed to the side to avoid making contact lest his embarrassment become any more apparent. "Now if you'll excuse us." Without another word, Lindar flared his wings up and took off towards the cliff, Matthias following suit.
Though not without Ember calling one last word in: "Make sure not to mention celebrity crushes! That's a surefire way to kill conversation with him!"
Yeah, I'll keep that in mind, Lindar drily mused as he and Matthias ascended. In a minute's time, the two dragons reached the edge where their quarry sat crisscross a few feet shy of the edge, face downward and focused on the open notebook in his lap.
And woo boy, did the guy's appearance have a lot going on.
The orange male possessed a body structure like Nestor only a little slimmer; huge bat-like ears; an angular snout with ridges along the top; a pale orange underbelly with a pale-white lollipop swirl pattern; light brown eyes and hair – long ponytail with a black hairband, angular eyebrows, huge tail tuft shaped like a puffed-out cat's tail, and tufts on his elbows like a lion; matching batlike wings – the membranes started black at top and graduated to orange downward, marked with stars – and round triangular ridges along his back and tail; and big white goatish head horns.
His clothes consisted of a long dark-red neck scarf outlined by white stars; black fingerless gloves; a wide black belt with a dark red buckle; and a big carrying bag attached to the belt's right side.
Lindar, hovering a few feet in front of him, shrugged (who was he to judge someone else's fashion?) and raised a hand in greeting. "Hey there."
No response.
Huh, OK. Lindar tried again, louder. "Hey."
Still nothing.
Lindar grit his teeth, getting somewhat annoyed now. The clockmaker tried one last time, cupping both hands around his mouth. "HEY!"
And nothing yet again. As the blue dragon threw his hands up in surrender, Matthias fluttered past him to land and sit beside Bassam. Leaning over, he peered over at the writing in the notebook. "Medicinal candies?"
"Chocolates actually," the Dream Artisan absentmindedly replied, his voice polished and deep. He registered the familiar voice a second later and shot his fellow dragon a surprised smile. "Oh, hello Matthias! Do you need something?"
"Only to know how them candied frog sweets are comin' along. Ertha's birthday is in four days, and I already got the other half of my present ready for her!"
"Quite well. My apologies for taking so long; the last few batches didn't quite pan out." Bassam drew a self-conscious expression. "This is my first-time using animals as part of a recipe after all."
Matthias waved off the apology. "Ah, that's a'right! I still appreciate you agreein' to it, but you ain't gotta rush. Whatever you make, I just know it's gonna be wonderful!"
Bassam blushed a dark orange at these words. Lindar found himself distracted by the sight for some reason.
"Oh, on the topic of stuff you make," Matthias continued before gesturing to Lindar, "this fella's here to give his compliments to the chef!"
Crud. Lindar blanched when the other dragon's eyes switched to him. Act cool, just act cool. The blue dragon cleared his throat to avoid seeming like a goober and hastily threw on a nonchalant smile, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know when to give credit where credit's due. After all, those chocs of yours were pretty damn good."
For the second time today, Lindar found his bubble violated for before he could so much as blink, Bassam was suddenly hovering right in front of him, face up close and personal enough that Lindar had to rear his head back to avoid ramming snouts. The only difference here: the orange dragon sported such an intense expression, the clockmaker wondered for a hot second if he'd somehow insulted the guy.
Then he noticed the notebook in one hand and pencil in the other, on the paper and ready to jot down.
"Describe your whole experience," Bassam demanded in a serious though no unkind tone, "taste, texture, smell, aftertaste, everything! Thorough as possible if you please!"
"Like…a citrusy orchestra in a chocolatey auditorium?" OK, now he looked like a goober. Fortunately, Bassam didn't seem to care for he merely copied his words almost right away, looking back up at him almost immediately after for more. " Uh, the chocolate and cream meshed pretty well too. Whole thing melted in my mouth smooth as butter."
More writing.
This repeated three more times, Lindar racking his brain on concise yet informative descriptions. What'd he got himself into? To his relief, Bassam at last backed up, punctuating his scribbling with a firm tap and nod.
"Mm-hm. That should do." He shot Lindar a grateful smile, exposing a full set of sparking teeth. "Thank you so much, this will prove highly invaluable!"
Lindar said nothing, blank-faced and brain coming up short. My stomach is flipping, and I don't know why. Please stop soon.
He hadn't even noticed that he'd stopped using his wings until Matthias and Bassam were supporting him beneath the arms, both men having rushed to his aid before he could plummet to the rocks and trees below. The blue dragon snapped out of his stupor with a startled 'huh' once they set his feet on the cliff-ground and Matthias finger-snapped in his face.
"Are you alright?" Bassam worriedly asked, handsome face worriedly close and abort, Lindar, abort, abort, abort, abort!
Before either other dragon could probe further, the Artisan gently brushed off their hands, wings back to flapping. "Of course! I just…got a little lost trying to think up more stuff about the chocolates. Ya know cuz they were so much at once!" He registered how those words sounded. "N-Not that I'm saying it as a bad thing! I'm only saying they were…"
"Complex?" Matthias supplied, smirking.
"Yes! Yes exactly!" Lindar blurted. Then he noticed the smirk and glared. "Exactly. Anyway, I also came here to cut a deal. Those candies take a lot to make, right? And Oswin probably told you that I make clocks." Bassam nodded. "Then how's this: I offer each commission you request for free for each bag of whatever chocolates you happen to have available. Better yet, a free commission for each taste test I agree to."
Bassam blinked a few times, taken back yet intrigued. "You…deeply enjoyed that batch I gave Ember."
Lindar deflated into a blushing mess instantly, feeling seriously cornered right now. Did the fact he enjoyed those chocolates have to be this big a deal?
On the bright side, Bassam chose to accept the offer as is for he smiled and bowed in gratitude. "Thank you. Volunteers have been scarce lately; any sort of input would be appreciated. I'd ask Ember but I'd rather not risk her becoming sick from the samples."
Hearing this last pause gave the Artisan pause. People have gotten sick from his stuff…?
Bassam held his hands up in haste. "It's never anything too serious! Mild nausea is the worst it's ever gotten; I would know since I've only puked a handful of times and those were back when I was first starting out. Still, I'll understand if you would rather back out for that—"
Back out? Back out? Lindar's mind fixated on those two words…aggressively. Like Malefor if he dared do that! Screw wanting more mouthwatering goodness, the clockmaker refused to seem like a wimp, not when he'd gotten this far! Plus, the idea of seeming so in front of this guy did not sit well with him either.
The Artisan huffed smoke from his nostrils and set both hands akimbo. "Hold it, buddy! Who said I wanted to back out" – he slapped a hand to his own chest – "you won't find a better taste tester than right here, baby! Hell yeah, I agree to this!"
Well alright then. Bassam shared a taken back look with Matthias, who shrugged with a half-smile, before regarding Lindar again. "In that case, I'll notify you before the festival ends of when I'm available."
Lindar gave a firm nod, satisfied, before marching to the edge and taking flight once again. Bassam cupped both hands to his mouth before calling out. "Thank you again!"
Behind the tangerine dragon, Matthias shook his head in gentle amusement. That blue goof had no idea what he just agreed to, did he?
Sure enough, only once Lindar landed back in the amusement park did reality catch up, so much in fact that he did not register an errant ball bounce against his head, let alone Delbin coming over and waving a hand in front of his unresponsive face.
What did I just agree to?
For reference pictures of my OCs:
Artisans - ~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs
Peace Keepers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs
Magic Crafters - ~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs
Ecologists - ~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs
Beast Makers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs
Dream Weavers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs
For the world map - ~professorrat/submissions/2054834/spyro-world-map-surface