In which the muses revolt
Five red dragons sit around the table, all in human form. There is silence. Anammalech picks at the wood, charcoaling the edge with her flame. Kersha leans back in her chair, inspecting her nails as if waiting for a pointless appointment, wasting time when she could be doing so much more, such as terrorising a village. Tanis slouches, the brim of her hat covering her eyes, apparently asleep. Ruby shifts uncomfortably in her chair as Mara’s hard gaze rests on her. She bites her bottom lip, making an effort to look anywhere but to the elder Red. Mara snorts, crosses her arms, and sighs.
“Can we eat her?” Ana breaks the silence.
“No,” comes Mara’s immediate, curt reply, cutting off whatever Ruby was about the say. “The ingestion of the mun will do more harm than to aid us.”
“In my youth, I found enjoyment in pyres.” said Kersha. “One small spark, and the night sky would be alight. Strapping her down and beginning the process would be enough to scare her into writing.”
“No!” Ruby shot up, her chair crashing behind her. “We are not setting anyone on fire! Or eating them! Maybe if we ask nicely-”
“Shut yer hole, girly,” glinting eyes peered up from below the pirate hat. “All of yers gots some mighty shoddy idears.” Tanis stood, stretching upwards. “Doin’ harm ain’t be gettin’ us anywhere.” She snorted. “I be tryin’ for weeks. The ‘ampire be the only thin’ I gots goin’.”
“Prisoners.” Mara said, suddenly. “We capture the other characters and keep them prisoner until the mun adheres to our desires.”
Silence fell once more as each dragon contemplated the idea. Ruby was the first to speak.
“Isn’t that risky?” Ana snorted, ignoring her mother. “We getta to hurt ‘em, yeah?” The young Red asked. Tanis, Kersha, and Mara exchanged a look.
“If necessary.” Mara answered. “Who, do we take first?”