The Lost Pendant

The great dragon's eyes opened slowly. As usual, it was light out. He was greeted by the same sight he woke up to everyday; his collection of coins, gems, shiny objects, and library books he had yet to return. Halcyon briefly considered going back to sleep, but shook the thought from his mind. He had quite a bit of work ahead of him today.

Exiting his den, Halcyon made his way through the farlands to his usual patrol grounds. The great dragon Halcyon was tasked with keeping the city protected, so he always made sure to start each day with a quick walk around the perimeter, just in case a stray demon happened to be getting too close for comfort. Today was calm. No demons in sight, just the way Halcyon liked it.

With his first task of the day complete, Halcyon made his way back home to make himself some breakfast. He never ate before patrol, if only to give him motivation. The quicker he did his patrol, the quicker he'd get to eat. Halcyon found it hard to motivate himself at times, so he'd do whatever he had to do to keep him on track.

While finishing up his breakfast, Halcyon's eyes wandered back to his stack of library books. He had had them for quite a long time, surely they were almost overdue. The dragon adored reading, but he knew he'd get in trouble if he yet again allowed the books to become overdue. He loved the library, so with that in mind Halcyon decided that he'd stop by the city today, if only to return the books. All the books were stacked into an orderly pile. Now all Halcyon had to do was get his sash and he'd be able to leave.

Astra City was wary of outsiders, so in order for Halcyon to come and go as he pleases he had to have permission from the cities wizards. He was given this permission in the form of a red sash, which he wore around his neck. Only wizards were permitted to wear red, so having a red accessory proved that he was trustworthy.

As well as his sash, he also had a small pendant that was given to him by his father. The pendant took the shape of a silver dragon, with a shiny purple gemstone in the center. Purple was the colour assigned to the city guards, in honor of Halcyon the 1st, Halcyon's father. Of course, that pendant was his most cherished possession. Unless he was visiting the city, it was kept locked away deep inside of his den. Somewhere no one would be able to find it. He couldn't leave without this, so he went to retrieve it.

Deep inside of the cave, Halcyon pushed a large rock aside to reveal a small shelf carved into the stone walls. This was his safe. All of his most valuable things were kept here, his pendant included. Much to Halcyon's horror, when he pushed the rock aside the pendant was gone!

Frantically, he began scouring the cave, looking under every rock, book, and all the other various treasures that were scattered across the floor. In spite of his best efforts, the pendant was nowhere to be seen. This was unacceptable! He was certain he had placed it safely inside of the hidden shelves. Something, or someone, must have taken it. But who?

Just as Halcyon began thinking of what to do, he heard something. Faint rustling of coins and books, as if they had been knocked over. Something was in his house!

With great haste, Halcyon ran into the other room just in time to see a thin black tail exit. The intruder was getting away! He ran out of the room and into the front entrance. In the distance, a small black creature could be seen. This creature had something in its mouth. Something silver and shiny, with a small purple glimmer. Halcyon's pendant! The little demon had his pendant! He had to get it back.

He rushed out of his house, galloping through the wide open landscape that made up much of the farlands. As fast as he was, this creature seemed to be faster. It was miniscule in size compared to him, yet it was nearly twice as fast. Halcyon couldn't believe his eyes!

The chance continued on until the two reached the Midnight Forest; the forest bordering part of the city. Unfortunately, Halcyon in his original form was far too large to navigate the forest without completely destroying it. If he wanted his pendant lack, he had to transform into a smaller creature. He chose his default form, of course. A tall canine esque creature that shared his white and gold colouration. Sure, he didn't have any clothing to cover his now anthropomorphic body other than his sash, but he wasn't planning on going into the city, just into the forest.

Thus, the chase continued. Running on two legs proved to be difficult, as was everything a two legged creature did. Halcyon was too used to being quadrupedal, so any bipedal task was tricky. Still, he persisted. He had to get his pendant back, no matter the cost.

The little demon seemed to slow down. Then, in an instant, it stopped, turned to face Halcyon, and sat down. All four of it's eyes were staring at him, as it held the pendant in its mouth tauntingly.

Halcyon did not slow down. He ran straight up to the demon and grabbed it by the throat. Despite this, it refused to release his precious pendant, so he began to shake it. As he did so, he yelled.

"Let go, you thieving little bastard! That's not yours!!"

The demon still refused to let go. In fact, it seemed to be grinning mischievously, as if it were planning something. This, of course, only made Halcyon angrier. That pendant was a gift from his father! This wasn't a game!

In the distance, the jingling of bells could be heard. They sounded rhythmic, as if they were bouncing along to someone's footsteps. Indeed they were. Shortly after hearing the bells, a familiar yellow and gold bird made her way through the trees. It was Chime, the city's rogue wizard.

Upon seeing her, Halcyon very quickly realized the situation he was in.

This wasn't just a random demon, this was Chime's little "sidekick", if you could call it that. The stupid little thing was her closest companion, and Halcyon was currently gripping it by the throat and shaking it violently. He slowly stopped shaking as he looked Chime in the eye, then even more slowly he began to place the demon gently on the ground. It immediately bolted over to Chime, and hopped up onto her shoulder, pendant still in hand (or mouth, rather).

Chime glared at Halcyon, rage in her eyes. Despite her short stature and somewhat dainty appearance, Chime's powers were something to be feared. She was a natural with magic, and years of harsh training had only helped hone these abilities. With an unnerving amount of calmness for someone who looked so angry, Chime spoke.

"Just what do you think you're doing to poor little Mordecai?" She asked.

"I-i uh… I just…" Halcyon stammered, desperately trying to find the right words to say. "H-he stole my pendant! I was just trying to get it back"

He said this while pointing to the small creature, who was now making a sound one could only assume was laughter. Chime glanced over at her friend, and then back at Halcyon. Without saying a word, she held her hand up to Mordecai's mouth. It dropped the pendant into her hand, and she promptly threw it as hard as she could, right past Halcyon.

"There. Take your stupid pendant and get out" she said, the same eerie calmness still in get voice.

Halcyon slowly turned to walk away, tail between his legs that were now trembling in fear. He didn't have a great relationship with Chime in the first place, and this incident only reinforced her opinion on him. Just when he thought he was going to get away, Chime said one more thing.

"Oh, and Halcyon?"

"Y-yes?" He replied, turning to face her yet again.

"Remember to put on clothes next time…"

With that, Chime turned and walked away, Mordecai still on her shoulders. Halcyon's face turned a deep red as he realized that he, in fact, wasn't wearing any clothes. In his natural form clothing wasn't required, so he never felt awkward being naked, but in his disguised form he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

So, Halcyon quickly located his pendant and returned home. Luckily, no one else happened to see this whole fiasco. Still, he wished for the day to be over as he began his nightly patrol. Hopefully tomorrow would be less embarrassing.