This pic was done by  Ryzakier! Their art, and especially their lighting, is fantastic! I've commissioned them a few times now and every time I've been very happy with the outcome! Fun fact: I am currently using this image as my desktop wallpaper, spanning across two monitors (yes, the raw file is huge). I do love all the little details, both in Salickya hirself and in the background!

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It was the perfect plan, and shi had pulled it off without a hitch. Those silly “civilized” people loved to store their gold and silver in small locked metal boxes, so Salickya had come up with the plan to simply steal the box itself, where shi could then figure out how to unlock it at hir leisure. Shi had even rigged up a sort of sled with a rope loop so that shi could stand up on hir hind feet and pull the sled behind hir, using momentum and the weight of the contraption to keep hir balance. Granted, the jury-rigged sled fell apart when shi was most of the way to where shi wanted to go, but those were details. It had worked for long enough for what shi needed.

And so here shi was, in a clearing where nothing or no one could interrupt hir work. Shi could smell the gold from inside the box the entire time and if shi dwelled on it for too long Salickya found hirself drooling with anticipation. Needless to say, the little gryvern was in a most excellent mood. All shi had to do was open the box's door! Best of all, shi knew how these things worked! It was really quite simple: one would spin the dial, then pull on the lever and the box would open. So shi did just that. Grabbing at the lock, with a twist of hir neck shi flicked the dial then pulled on the lever. The lever barely moved. Shi tried pulling on the lever the other direction, just in case. Nothing.

“Maybe I didn't spin the dial far enough,” shi thought, quietly hissing like a disgruntled tea kettle, hir temper flaring some. A few more flicks of the dial, and the box still refused to yield its rewards when shi tried to open it.

So shi tried the other direction, spinning the dial clockwise this time.
Noticing the small markings on the dial, shi tried each and every marking over the course of hours.
Shi thought about spitting acid on the handle, but was afraid that if shi broke it, it would simply be locked and then impossible to open.

By now the sun had traveled from overhead to late after noon, and Salickya's temper was fuming. “Fine!” shi spat at the box, glaring at it with all the hatred hir small body could muster. “If I can't open the door, I'll make my own!” The box didn't reply. Spitting a spray of hir caustic acid at the side of the box, the sharp metallic smell of it filled the air as shi watched the fluid slowly run down it. Clawing at it with hir wing, shi was able to gouge the metal with some effort. But as it turned out, the metal of the box was thick, and hir acid would only penetrate so far. Even using hir bolt cutter-like beak merely dented the metal, and shi wasn't able to pierce it.

As afternoon slowly yielded to evening, shi had made progress, but it was wholly unsatisfactory. Claw-shaped gouges had been made in some places, sharp indentations in others. The ground around the box was barren of all plant and insect life, and the air absolutely reeked of acid and metal (not that this bothered Salickya at all). Progress was excruciatingly slow, and the whole time the box mocked hir with the scent of gold and silver, taunting hir desire, hir need for those soft metals.

By now shi had worked on the box for too long to give up now. That gold was hirs, no matter how long it would take!

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Artwork by  Ryzakier
Character by  SparraWingshard