This commission was drawn by anoroth! You can find it in their gallery here. Good boy Crimson is living his dream, putting on a performance in front of a grand audience, and he couldn't be happier! And neither could the audience, to see something in this arena that's not some awful gladiator battle...

[quote]Crimson peered yet another time at the diagrams on the scroll he'd hung from the wall, showing the sequence of moves he'd sketched out trying to approximate a solo version of the Full Moon dance he'd found in a history scroll. Ordinarily the dance was done with a whole group of SkyWings--or at least a partner--back in the pre-Scarlet days when they held [i]normal[/i] full moon festivals instead of midnight arena brawls, but he'd put together a modified version for his performance. Without other dragons to counterbalance, there might be a fair bit of flapping and spinning about to keep from falling over, but his practices had gone well and he thought he'd figured it out.

He took up his flute, reared to his hind legs, and was about to begin the first twist and flutter of the dance when the door swung open to admit a truly ferocious dragoness.

"Mom!"

"Practicing? Good. I trust you'll have prepared to the utmost for today's occasion," she said in her curt way: she was truly massive, bulky with muscle by SkyWing standards but still long and tall, a capable and ruthless fighter who moved with the assurance of a dragon who knew she'd been destined to make General since her first day in the army. "Although why you're holding the flute like that, I'll never know."

Trust mother to pick up on the smallest of details, even in areas well outside her own expertise, and he pivoted his near talon from one side of the flute to the other and back. "There's a lot of spins in the dance. I don't [i]think[/i] I'll get dizzy, but just in case, this will make catching myself look more natural."

"I'm certain I'll be the first to hear what the Queen thinks if you [i]do[/i] trip over your tail, so mind your steps." She paused, then softened. "This is a task that suits you well. I'm sure you will perform admirably."

Crimson lowered the flute and beamed at her. "I'll do my best!"

"Having heard your best--willingly and otherwise--I find that reassuring," she said, and even for a long moment condescended to drape one of her great wings across his back. "Show your bravery and do well in front of the tribe today, and maybe I'll stop giving your father such a hard time about [i]his[/i] contributions to your egg." He knew the two of them got along well, so he only giggled and butted his head against her chin. She smiled at him, then added, "we're considering marrying properly."

Now [i]that[/i] was news. Hardly any SkyWings had gotten married since Scarlet's ascension to the throne, not when any wedding was an excuse for her to make dragons battle to the death, but with her now gone... And an instant later, it clicked in his mind that it meant they wouldn't mind if they wound up with more dragonets like [i]him![/i] "Awww! I promise not to break out into song while you're in the clouds if you let me attend. At least not until after you come back down again after saying your words," he teased, his tailtip wagging back and forth.

"Don't get out over your wings," she chided gently and nipped him on the snout, "we are only [i]considering,[/i] and you have a much more important concert that you should be devoting your attention to! Work before play."

She cleared out of the way to give him room, and he straightened back up--though he might have hardly called the upcoming performance work! More like a dream, a giddy fantasy of performing his music in front of the [i]entire tribe,[/i] with even Queen Ruby in attendance! She had some grand announcement to make about the arena, so the rumors said, but first she wanted to treat it to an event that didn't involve any spilled blood, and somehow Crimson had found himself recommended to fill the air with the notes of his voice and his flute--and whatever sand he kicked up dancing about. Indeed, he felt light as a feather with excitement as he twirled through his final practice, first the dance, then the music, then both together...

Then he was out on the sand--a place he'd never wanted to be before--with rows upon rows of SkyWings in the rising grandstands around him. The crowd was buzzing with mingled relief and excitement already; the Queen had just announced the prisoner towers would shortly be pulled down, the bloody history of the structure to be cleared away to make space for a hospital. Nothing he might be about to do could possibly dampen their excitement now! It was the perfect audience, relaxed and happy and eager to be pleased, and now it was time to do just that!

It was just as easy as he'd dreamed. He'd drilled and practiced so many times that forgetting the music or the steps in the rush of the moment was impossible; his breathing came easy for every phrase of melody, his balance was steady as he turned and flapped and pranced. He drew clapping, he drew a few scattered cheers and roars, even, and both his parents--the Queen--looked down at him seeming so pleased! So he kept playing, dancing, singing, wishing the moment would never end...[/quote]