The red dragonling like an attacking falcon pounced on the opponent trying to get up and knocked him off his feet, striving to press the opponent into the stone as much as possible to prevent him from counterattacking.
But White wasn't thinking of giving up. The mouth opened and the sharp teeth of the icy wyrmling forcefully sank into his opponent's hind leg, making Lev emit a low, painful growl.
Although the young dragonling's teeth didn't cause any serious injuries, but damn it, it was very painful!
Hellfire flashed in Dumov's eyes.
Clack! — the heavy blow of Lev's fist drove White's head into the stone with such force that his teeth clacked deafeningly.
The icy wyrmling began to writhe, trying to throw off the weight, but he had already lost his chance. The red lizard's claws firmly pressed his head down, preventing any movement.
Lev's head bent, almost to White's eyes, and Dumov emitted a low, bone-chilling growl.
"Submit or die." — that's how it translated and judging by how White froze in fear, he also understood the meaning of this message.
Of course, despite the rage Lev wasn't so mad as to kill his brother, but he would have continued the beating until he came to his senses.
Not removing his paw from the quieted wyrmling's head, Lev raised his muzzle to the cave's top and emitted a prolonged, guttural cry of victory. At this very moment he didn't care that he was behaving like some beast, for his whole essence and blood were celebrating his first victory in his new life.
Even a quick glance was enough for the blue dragoness to avert her gaze. But Lev wasn't deceived by this feigned obedience. Unlike the straightforward White, Blue was much more cunning and treacherous, preferring to lay low and wait for a convenient moment rather than rush into a frontal attack.
Someone might think that Dumov was too cruel, and they were just children. But that would be a mistake. Dragon cubs are not humans, and had Lev lost, he would have fully tasted the grief of the loser's role.
But one way or another the "rebellion" was suppressed and no one else claimed his dominant place in their family.
Emitting a final warning growl, Lev stepped off White, releasing his head and allowing him to slowly stand up. Throwing an angry glance at Dumov, the icy wyrmling preferred to move aside and lick his wounds.
And Lev himself threw a quick glance at his hind leg, after which he exhaled with relief. Although teeth marks remained on the scales, the natural protection managed to protect the skin and muscles hidden beneath it.
Blue's attempt to take advantage of the white wyrmling's sad position almost ended sadly for her. Although White was forced to acknowledge Lev's dominance, he hadn't lost his strength at all. From his paw strike Blue received an excellent slap and clearly decided to postpone political games.
Lev kept catching wary glances on himself. The other wyrmlings clearly feared that he would decide to vent his anger on them, but they were wrong. Dumov had already calmed down and saw no reason to continue the conflict. Perhaps, were an ordinary dragonling in his place, he would have done so, but Lev wasn't just a beast after all.
Involuntarily Dumov couldn't help but wonder about that anger that arose out of nowhere, and the only reasonable explanation was the presence of some eternal confrontation between red and white dragons. The impact was too strong and sudden to write it off as simple dislike. And something would have to be done about this — Lev's pride didn't consider it acceptable that his actions could be influenced by some external forces, even if these were his own instincts.
Turning around, the red wyrmling headed towards the last remaining egg. All this time continuous knocking had been coming from there, as the dragonling just couldn't get out. Moreover, as it seemed to Dumov, the knocking sounded much weaker than in previous cases.
He decided to wait until the wyrmling appeared, but the longer he waited, the more he frowned. The initial suspicions strengthened and now he looked at the last egg with concern.
For some reason, but the dragonling locked inside just couldn't get out. Worse, Dumov heard that the blows with each next time became weaker and weaker, as if the dragonling was giving its last strength!
Lev clenched his teeth and hissed disapprovingly. He wasn't particularly eager to help, but watching as his possible sister or brother dies in the egg was also beyond his strength.
Dumov listened carefully, making sure exactly which point the dragonling usually hits.
"Let it not be another White," Lev mentally grumbled, getting ready and forcefully delivering a blow with his paw: "If there are two of them, then I'll be in trouble."
Hearing the help provided by Lev, the wyrmling stuck inside happily pressed harder and very soon the shell finally crumbled. Grabbing the edges Dumov helped widen the hole, and the last dragonling finally saw the light of day.
First the paws appeared, but very soon the head with the rest of the body crawled out.
A moment and here, before the surprised Lev sits looking at him with huge adoring eyes... a golden dragoness?
"No," Lev looked more carefully: "Too dull color. She's not golden, but a brass dragoness."
Meanwhile Dumov felt frankly uncomfortable from the shining gaze of the dragoness he had saved, who was looking at him very intently.
Somehow it turned out that Lev was more comfortable and at ease dealing with the cunning Blue and furious White than with such a quiet and calm Brass.
The reason why she couldn't get out for so long also became clear. Unlike the others, she was much smaller and more fragile.
Lev snorted independently. A dragon should be a dragon. He condescended to help her, but he wasn't a bureau of good deeds. Further dragons solve their problems themselves.
Turning around, Lev walked away, deciding to take a closer look at the treasures lying along the cave walls. After all, he would just look, not take them. There shouldn't be problems with that, right?
But walking away, Dumov heard with irritation four regular claw clicks behind him. Rolling his eyes, he quickly turned around, fiercely staring at the dragoness who drooped from his irritation. He had his own business, and he wasn't going to play anyone's nanny.
That's exactly what he thought when he left Brass and approached a particularly attractive mountain of gold. However, the quiet plaintive squeak that sounded behind his back made him reconsider his priorities.
"So that's not enough for you!" — rage instantly flashed when the red wyrmling's gaze fixed on White who was cornering the frightened brass dragoness backing away from him: "Won't you ever quit!"
Frankly speaking, Lev suspected that it would be Blue who would try the newcomer's strength. That's how Brass would have had the opportunity to learn to fight back and get acquainted with what this world is really like. Better it happen in "home conditions" than in the wild. Dumov even intended to back her up so that a possible fight wouldn't get out of control. But White was too strong for the young dragoness.
Lev's growl flew across the whole cave in an instant, making the others freeze.
The red one was ready for new confrontation, but to his surprise White just growled but moved away from Brass.
You should have seen the expression on Lev's face when almost immediately Brass, pigeon-toeing sweetly, quickly ran up to him and tried to rub against his side!
"No puppy tenderness!" — Dumov tried to growl, pushing away the affectionate dragoness's muzzle: "You're a dragon, not some cat! Have at least some pride after all!"
It wasn't clear whether Brass understood his growls, but she obediently sat down, drilling him with a very intense gaze.
"What have I done to deserve all this punishment," Lev thought darkly, turning away from the dragoness so his eyes wouldn't see her: "Where are you oh beautiful gold..."
But Dumov's hopes to manage to enjoy the beauty of the treasures were not destined to come true, for they were all hit by a heavy stream of air that almost knocked them onto their backs.
Judging by the smell of blood, fire and ash that washed over them — mama dragon had finally deigned to arrive home.