[Gift] The 11th Hour | Pinecone

Where Bismuth had found the pinecone was rather irrelevant. As for what he wanted with it?

The young dragon had to make his own fun—and he often did: stalking other creatures on land and on the sea bed; adding things to his growing hoard; and fishing when the mood suited him.

But sometimes even a person’s most favorite hobbies in the entire world could be boring.

So Bismuth had found the pinecone somewhere, and he had dragged it down to the bottom of the ocean. And he released it, watched as it started to float upwards, and caught it before it went too far.

But this simple exploration of physics, too, quickly grew dull. He began letting it float further. He watched it get caught in the oceanic currents and dragged away from him, chasing it the way he might have, instead, been chasing prey, before rising, pouncing, and dragging it back down.

The riptide was a surprise.

One second it was there, floating measurably away. The next, it was yanked out towards the deeper ocean! What could Bismuth do but follow it? Bounding after his new favorite toy until it finally occurred to him to jump up and get caught by the riptide himself, then begin swimming with it, chasing the pinecone with single-minded determination until his forefeet closed around them, and his wings opened, trying to beat and pull himself out.

It wasn’t that easy. He finally managed, but the effort exhausted him, having fought against the strong, harrowing pull for long, long minutes, and he realized that he was in a place that was only remotely familiar.

Luckily, he didn’t have to stay down here, and getting home would be easy once he was topside. Probably. Clutching his prize close to his chest—he didn’t do all that for nothing—Bismuth jetted out of the water, and began looking for the way home.