Date: September 21, 2025
Location: Cream & Amber
Prompt: Use these words in a piece (Stylish, Dragon, Rotund, Pathway, Pickles)

He knew it wasn’t going to be a regular Saturday when he met the dragon in the courtyard.

Just sprawled across the crumbling pathway, wings akimbo, its rotund belly emitting sounds of the sort that made him wonder whether the thing was on its way out of this life. The air around it had taken on a slightly sour smell, like a jar of pickles about to turn. It took him a few moments to register the reality of the situation; a fire-breathing reptile from the depths of myth, a profound scientific discovery that since medieval times had eluded erudite scholars, wayward adventurers and naive dreamers alike. And here it just… was. On his property. Passed out.

He edged closer, muscles tense and ready to carry him away if it started to wake up. An absurd notion, he thought: attempting to run away from a creature that could incinerate him where he stood, in his stylish velvet morning coat, before he could take a single step. He took a moment, absently bringing his teacup to his lips – a wonder he hadn’t spilled it – barely registering that it had cooled. Just looked. It was at least the size of a city bus, an iridescent sort of silvery green that resembled the olive grove just down the lane, especially in the foggy autumn mornings, like this one. A strangely horselike face, save for the fangs. Those were the size of his forearm, from the looks of it.

What on earth was he going to do with a dragon?