INTERLUDES by THE 25th CENTURY RAPTORESS
Voided Crystal Playing God
The dragoness sat on her drifting chucnk of earth and stared at the slash in it for a while longer, eyes playing with it's hues. "EARTHLADY!" a voice exclaimed and something hit her from behind, clinging to her neck instants later, strong juvenile paws wrapping around it's thickness, low enough to avoid the sharp mane. Startled, she yelped and reared up a bit, staggering back a few inches. Giggling as the paws loosened their grasp. "EarthLady, you woke up!" the voice squealed in delight. They slid over her scales, then the face of a young crimson dragonlet appeared, eyes strangely azure and almost piercing her. She shook her head a bit to break from the gaze. "Who are you? And why do you call me Earth Lady?" "I play here often! I saw the earth make you!" the child beamed. She narrowed her eyes. It was not only stupid, but annoying. "Leave me alone." she grumbled and brought her paws up to grab the hatchling to tear it off herself. Giggling still the hatchling broke free and tumbled through the gravityless region about them, grinning evilly almost, but most definately mischievously. "Catch me! Come, catch me, Earth Lady!" the little one laughed gleefully and whirled off. The darkgreen dragoness sulked, digging her dull silver claws into the ground and lowering her gaze to it. 'DON'T LEAVE!' the ground seemed to call, again. For a moment, she blinked. That was even sillier! She pushed herself away and began chasing the little brat, grinning just as mischivously. 'EarthLady, that is what she called you.' the dragoness thought. 'How odd. And yet you have no name to correct her with. Would now be the time to start to think of a good lie...?' For a moment she ignored a dull pain in her palm, but then looked down, risking losing sight of the child... she was still clutching the crystal shard, and it was beginning to dig into her scales, so hard was she clutching... she stared a moment. "EarthGem." she said. "What?" the child called, suddenly rather close. "My... name." EarthGem looked up. "Is not Earth Lady, youngster. It is EarthGem." The small one seemed baffled. "The Earth made you. How can you have a name?" EarthGem felt a bit of anger surface within her, anger that covered a fear of this world... and of herself, quite frankly. "I do, young one." "Well, fine. I'm not YoungOne, I'm CrystalMoon." the small dragonlet grinned. "Now we're even. CATCH ME!" EarthGem made a surprised lunge for the dragonlet but the small one was much faster and darted out of reach. EarthGem dashed after as much as her adultian wings let her.