Chapter Text
“The Tropical Soda Islands are full of incredible stories and sights!” Mango began, the speech having been rehearsed countless times, “Feel free to ask any questions!”
Venom Dough relaxed in the canoe, Mold Dough on one side and Pom-Pom Dough on the other, while Mold was still yet to shed his natural tense posture, Pom-Pom was looking over the side, utterly fascinated, occasionally pointing out a fish swimming beneath the clear surface.
The feeling was still a foreign one, being relaxed. Not needing to stress over their next mission, not having the suffocating fear of failure looming over their heads. The constant pain never went away, however, their dough still itched and burned where the runes were carved. Although, they had all removed and promptly destroyed their shackles not long after finally escaping.
The fresh breeze of the Soda Islands washed over them, the pleasant sensation being welcomed with open arms.
“Please, tell us everything.” Venom smiled, Earthbread held such wonderful and interesting things, much of which was still completely unknown.
“No problem!” Mango laughed, bright and warm, so stark in contrast from the shrill and petrifying laugh of their creator, which they swear they could still hear every so often, “I'm happy to share everything I know about our beautiful islands!”
Mango paddled closer to the island, atop which sat a giant pineapple, the canoe jolting slightly as Mango excitedly turned to face them, “Did you know, this archipelago is said to be the birthplace of legendary dragons-!”
The moment the word left Mango's mouth, the atmosphere shifted into something tense and dangerous, they sat up, even Pom-Pom turning away from the fish to glare at Mango as Venom confirmed they'd heard the cookie correctly, “Dragons..?” Their voice came out dripping with rage, as every instinct in their body fought to restrain itself.
“O-oh! Um..” Mango reflectively clutched the paddle to his chest, before nervously waving them off, “It's just a legend! Don't worry!”
The canoe sat in awkward silence for a moment before Mango spoke again, “If you'd like, I can.. tell you more-?”
“No.”
“Okay-! Um-” Mango shuffled slightly, looking around for something to talk about instead, before seeing Artichoke waving on the beach, “Oh! Let's go spend some time with Artichoke!” Waving back as he resumed paddling, all too eager to change the subject, “I'm sure he has plenty of interesting things to talk about! He might even be able to get the attention of some ba-dum rays!”
Stealing one last glance at the giant pineapple, the sun's rays shining directly through the dense leaves on top, marking the Summer Solstice, having to quickly stop himself from gushing about another dragonic legend, not wanting to cause any further discomfort to his guests.
A warm ray of light pierced the top of the pineapple den, shining directly onto the sleeping dragon within, their body adorned in brilliant golden scales.
With a slightly perturbed groan, Ananas opened their eyes, their long slumber having come to an end.
They yawned, the movement awaking the sleeping lemur beside them, shortly followed by the dragon changing into their cookie form.
They stretched, stiff joints cracking as they unfurled multiple wings, turning to the lemur and giving them a small pat, “My apologies for waking you, Pineapplemur, but my island requires my presence.”
The lemur chirped in response before shuffling into the large empty spot left behind from their absence, yawning before curling its tail around it, falling asleep once more.
“Yes, do keep my den warm until I return.” Ananas laughed before shooting up through the foliage covering, basking in the warm sun for a moment before beginning their assessment.
The Mango Tribe still remained nearby, although they approved of their proximity, as the tribe had proved to be most devout and respectful, regularly offering large amounts of fruits as offerings.
Seeing various parasols and chairs strewn across their beach with three unfamiliar cookies nearby caused Ananas to frown slightly, it appeared ‘tourists’, as Mango called them, still frequented these shores.
The three cookies didn't seem to be causing any problems, at least for now, ducking behind some rocks to keep watch, lest they decide to change their minds. They kept a particularly close eye on the smallest of the three, knowing the smaller cookies had a nasty habit of desecrating their beach with their so-called ‘sandcastles’, or even worse, digging pointless holes. They grumbled at the thought, before studying the three closer, eyes narrowing at the strange runes carved into their dough.
It almost appeared to be…
No.
That was impossible! Unspeakable even!
What mortal would dare inscribe the sacred language on their dough?! The arrogance alone was astounding!
Furthermore, how did they even know it?!
Only dragons knew it, and what sort of idiotic, prideless dragon would-
They froze, claws carving into rock from sheer and complete disgust.
Pitaya.