Sharp was going to learn a lesson today.

A bad lesson? Probably not, unless she messed up big-time. But a lesson nonetheless.

The day started off like any other for the lizard, which is to say she was on the search for shinies. Smooth stones, glittery gems, the little chrysalis shards that littered the rooms in alarmingly great numbers, the gist. She wasn't attracted to them just because they were sparkly, but because they enhanced the one thing she loved most: light. Sure, the light-orbs were nice, but they were a bit dim, and only illuminated a small area. But if she placed a shiny right under a lamp, the light bounced off of it, making it seem like there was much more light than there actually was. And boy, did she love that!

Within the first few weeks of her existence Sharp's life fell into a pretty regular pattern: each day, after waking up and eating, the little Sungazer will waddle her way out into the caverns. She'll look for the prettiest, most dazzling gems in each room. And then, one by one, she'll tediously roll them all the way back to Monoceros, pray that the wind didn't blow them away, and then add it to the growing collection of shinies she accumulated. It was pretty small now, but she swore that one day, she'd have enough to dazzle the entire caves.

It was then, on a trip back with a tiny quartz in tow, she noticed something she hadn't before. It was some small pile (though absolutely ginormous in comparison to Sharp) huddled just inside the entrance of Monoceros. She couldn't see much besides disappointingly dull scraps of armor and old meat, though there certainly was something shiny near the top. So, abandoning her find, she began scaling up the gargantuan pile with nothing but dull child claws.

It took quite some time (and a chipped claw) but Sharp finally dragged herself to the top of the dragon-sized stack, wheezing slightly. She looked somewhat like Jack-and-the-Bean-Stalk, except female, reptilian, and with not nearly as much brains. A quick glance down sent worries of how she would even get back down into her head, but that was all abandoned when she saw what she was standing on.

Shinies. Everywhere. Absolutely everywhere, no matter where she looked. The entire hoard was made of oh-so-many gems, rocks, metals, and things she couldn't even name. Many of them were larger than she was (which wasn't saying a lot, but it did to her). A faint waft of plants and meat also came from somewhere, though she barely registered it among all the wares. A particularly large gem studded with various colors caught her eye, and she instantly became enamored with it-- completely oblivious to the massive dragon now on the edge of her sight.

thinking | "speaking"

A high-pitched shriek tore out of Sharp's mouth as the deafening voice bellowed right next to her ears. For a few moments she was disoriented, her head flicking wildly as she tried to pinpoint where it came from. She didn't like hidden voices, especially loud, harsh ones, and her heart hammered in her chest with that deep, instinctual fear of the unknown.

But alas, finding it's owner right behind her only seemed to make things worse. It was big, incredibly big, to the point the only thing she could see was it's face. It's hide was like coal with deep fiery eyes and horns and so so many teeth ohnonono-

Instantly, as if a switch went off, Sharp dropped to the floor (er, stack), looking like she just died then and there. Her spiky tail swiped around her in a defensive arc before she bit down hard on the gem-studded tip and curled herself around into a armored circle. She looked almost like just another coin, minus the panicked breathing and desperate attempt to protect herself from the perceived threat. That's it, she was going to die here. Eaten up by... whatever that is. She probably had a few more moments to beg for mercy before those massive jaws swallowed her up like popcorn.

She decided to use them. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wanted to look and I just like shiny stuff and oh pleasedonteatmeplease," her shrill voiced cried out, muffled by her own tail that she was currently biting down on.

thinking | "speaking"
Just for info, when a Sungazer sees a predator they can't run away from, they bite down on their tail and leave only the spiky scales visible. It's also how they got their other name of "Giant Armadillo Lizard".

Sharp couldn't contain her trembling as the massive beast breathed down on her. This was it. She was going to die here. To struggle for several hard weeks of existence (well, they weren't actually that hard), just to get gobbled up like popcorn. She was just about to say her last prayers to whatever-watched-over-her when--

Oh. So... he was not mean? The big, scary reptilian face that took up the entirety of her vision... wasn't going to eat her? Her tiny brain could barely comprehend such a thing. Slowly her overactive heartbeat slowed, and, like some sort of silly-band, she snapped back up into a standing position. "T-trade?" she questioned, her voice still wavering from the (perceived) near-death experience. It took her brain several seconds to mull over the new word. Trade... the beast had pointed at the shinies when he said trade... so therefore "trade" must be related to "shiny"!

"I like trade!" Sharp exclaimed, having seemingly forgotten about the fear she had just experienced. "I did not eat myself, I was just... nevermind. I like trade!" Now she was climbing all around, completely unfazed by both her lack of grammar and the black reptilian, focused solely on finding the most illuminating scraps in the pile. "I like your pretty stones! Pretty, pretty shiny stones! I could have a bajillion! Or, uh, ten, I guess."

thinking | "speaking"

Sharp's goofy smile fell a little with each word the dragon said. Oh. So this was the second part of "trade". Exchanging one thing for another did make sense, but the lizard didn't exactly have anything she wanted to give up. All she had were rocks, and trading rocks for rocks was not exactly going to get her anywhere. She took a long, wistful look back at the treasures, her little mental gears whirling furiously. She didn't want to leave here empty-handed, but she also didn't have anything physical she could bear to give away. Unless, I traded him something not physical...?

Ding, ding, ding. Sharp's face lit up like a lightbulb. "I know! I don't have stuff to trade... or gold... but I trade work!" she slapped her little feet down in an adorable show of her (admittedly little) strength. "I can find things for you! Or find person! Or clean your stuff! Or sing a song! Or be all mean and scary and scare meanies away!" -- her maw contorted into a rough estimate of Dread's roar, though much smaller and rounder -- "I can do lots of things for you!" To "seal the deal", she did a little dance on her little feet, prancing around the dragon's claws like a fairy. Though, her final execution was a bit more clumsy than she wanted (probably because she planned this whole thing out just a couple seconds beforehand), but she didn't seem to mind. "Whadd'you think?"


thinking | "speaking"

Sharp tilted her head as she pondered the dragon's offer. It wasn't as easy as just sitting here and singing, but as long as she got her shinies, anything was worth it. Gold, he said? She wasn't entirely sure what gold was, but the word brought up the faint mental image of something yellow and gleaming. She had seen that before along the caves, so it wouldn't be too hard to get some, right?

"Hmmm... alright!" she chirruped, turning around to begin the perilous journey back down the pile. "I'mma find some stuff. But still-" she took a glance back at the massive, tattered gembound- "one day when I'm big and strong, I can do that for you!" And with not a word left, the sungazer scrambled down the massive pile of riches, a few coins tumbling down in her wake, and left Monoceros once more.

thinking | "speaking"