Round 2.1 prompt from Multigenre Mashup Flash Fiction Smackdown, August 2023: Write a steampunk story of maximal 1500 words — suitable for children of up to ten years age and from the first person point of view of a toy.

Word count = 1499

Gwilym, who refused to brush his bushy brown hair despite my insistence, peered around a wooden crate while I perched on his shoulder.

"Most improper, spying on your mother like this," I whispered to him, twitching my metal wings.

"Hush, Hoot," he answered. "I am listening."

Hoot was an inappropriately common name, considering my awesomeness, yet rather endearing coming from an eight-year-old boy. Most think I am a simple owl robot, a mere toy. But no — the boy's mother infused me with magical Life Spark, and now I am a most highly advanced and civilized automaton. With my superior wisdom, I guide young Gwilym.

In anger, Eliza flung off a leather work apron and round goggles.

"Come now, Eliza," growled Baron Herrington, a stout man wearing a black suit and top hat. A huge, rough-looking man with a permanent frown stood beside him. "It is fair, considering--"

"Considering what?"

"Considering you owe a small fortune," the Baron answered, waving a legal document taken from his suit pocket. "A debt that soon comes due. Give me your claim, and I shall tear up the debt. Refuse, and your home and business, everything, will be taken as well. Consider that you and your young son would then be homeless. The streets are not kind."

Gwilym let out a gasp, immediately covering his mouth lest he be discovered.

"The dragon is worth a hundred times the debt!" Eliza's narrowed green eyes rounded, and she pleaded, "Please... I just need more time to find it."

A cruel smile appeared on the Baron's face. "Time, you do not have."

"Why do you want it?"

"Think of it — if I had a fearsome dragon automaton at my command, well..." He marched toward the door, then turned back. "You have one day to decide, Eliza. No more." With that, the Baron and his henchman left, slamming the door behind them.

Head bowed, Eliza leaned against a workbench cluttered with metal automaton parts and let out a sad sigh. "You can come out now, Gwilym."

"Mother?" the boy cried. "Will they take our home?"

Eliza kneeled and gathered Gwilym into a warm hug. "Fear not, my dear son. We will find a way."

"Where is the dragon?"

"Somewhere in the claim, I only need find it." Eliza bent down and kissed Gwilym on his forehead. "Now you do your schoolwork while I go talk to the banker. Surely, he will allow us more time."

Ages ago, a civilization far grander than ours created many marvelous machines, but then came the Great War and society fell. Today, Eliza made a living by finding the old mechanisms, and bringing them back to life — like me, a humble yet thoroughly amazing mechanical owl. She discovered a lost cavern filled with ruins from the old world, and with it, clues to a rare automaton dragon.

Once Eliza chugged away toward the city in the steam carriage, Gwilym returned to his room and dumped the school books from his worn backpack on his bed, then reloaded it with tools, a lantern, snacks, a metal water-jug, and a vial of blue glowing Life Spark taken from his mother's stock.

Firming his expression, Gwilym put on round glass goggles. I fluttered to the bed and tilted my mechanical head. "My dear Gwilym, did not your mother tell you to do school work?"

"But Mother needs our help."

"Need I remind you of the two-weeks grounding after your last adventure?"

"This is not an adventure, Hoot," he said, while slinging the backpack over a shoulder. "But a noble dragon quest!"

There was no convincing the boy otherwise, so I followed him to the cavern. The metal gate barring it squealed open after Gwilym unlocked the entance with a borrowed key.

Flickering oil lamps provided dim light within the cave, which extended deep within the mountain. Months ago, Eliza discovered this cave and made salvage claim to its contents. Scattered metallic remnants of the old world lined the rocky passage.

"Be this wise, my young one?" I said as my metal feathers shuddered. Even though I am an owl automaton, I dislike dark caves. "Dangers may lurk."

"Don't be a scaredy owl, Hoot," Gwilym scolded. "We just have to find the dragon."

"But where?"

"Somewhere. It is not easy to hide a dragon, you know."

The passage opened into a grand underground auditorium with smooth rounded walls, as such the ancients made. Dusty scraps and artifacts laid in random piles. Eliza had sold many items, but fortunately not me, yet it was not enough to repay her debt. Eerie silence cloaked the dark space, except for Gwilym's footsteps and my metallic flutters.

Gwilym spun around and put a hand to his chin. "For such a grand quest, first we must have a snack."

And thus, we did — the boy a chunk of cheese and me a few lumps of coal to fire my boiler.

"Now, where would a dragon hide?" Gwilym muttered, spinning around. "There!" he exclaimed, pointing at a dragon mural etched in a far wall. "A clue."

Coming closer, Gwilym shined his lantern on the carved artistic mural, which extended far above his head. "The dragon must be near."

"But where?" I queried, landing on his shoulder. "Your mother must have already looked here. It could not be near."

"Hmm..." The boy's eyes drifted down, and a grin rose on his face. "Look, Hoot! There is a drawing of you."

I hopped to the floor and tilted my mechanical head. Surely enough, a rendering of myself stood near the dragon's drawing feet. "A remarkable likeness," I said, "and quite handsome, if I may say so." The mural showed me standing at attention with my wings spread wide, so I came closer and struck the same pose. "Yes, handsome indeed."

At that very moment, a great tremor caused me to teeter, and with a frightened hoot, I flew up to Gwilym's shoulder. Clouds of dust lifted, and the wall parted, rumbling and scraping to reveal a hidden room.

Once the dust settled, Gwilym lifted his lantern to a massive snout covered with overlapping metal scales and lined with jagged metal teeth, big enough to swallow me with one gulp.

"You did it, Hoot!" the boy exclaimed. "You found the dragon."

"Why, yes," I replied, standing tall, "by my superior intellect, I did." A terrible thought came to me. "You don't suppose it eats mechanical owls, do you?"

"Don't be silly."

With a grunt, Gwilym pried open the beast's jaw and poured in the magical Life Spark, then stepped back.

Red eyes glowed, and with the creak of old joints, the dragon rose. As a smoky huff burst from his nostrils, I jumped behind the boy lest it wanted to eat me.

We stepped back as the dragon lumbered out. Standing tall, it towered over us while extending huge metal wings. Then, the automaton dragon lowered its snout, staring directly into Gwilym's eyes.

He patted the scary beast on the nose. "What should we name you, dragon?"

The dragon snorted, releasing a cloud of black smoke.

"That's it! We will call you Snort."

I rolled my mechanical eyes. "That's a ridiculous name, but then, it is a rather dull beast."

Distant arguing voices filled the chamber, channeled within through the cave passage.

"It's mother!" Gwilym said. He pointed at the dragon. "Stay here, Snort."

As we neared the cave entrance, the voices became clearer. "Enough, Eliza!" the Baron shouted. "Your time is up and we have come to take your claim."

"We still have one more day!" Eliza retorted, arms folded in defiance.

"Mother!" the boy yelled in glee, running to her side.

She bent down and embraced him. "Gwilym, I was so worried about you. Where have you been?"

"I found the dragon," he said with glee. "His name is Snort."

"Snort?" She wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

"Well, isn't that convenient," the Baron said with a sneering grin. "We shall take the dragon, too." Six mean-looking men with the Baron stepped forward.

"No, you won't!" Gwilym countered, puffing out his chest.

The Baron snickered. "Who will stop me? You?"

"Snort will!" Gwilym placed two fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistle.

The Baron's eyes grew wide as pounding footfalls shook the ground. Snort stuck his enormous head out of the cave, red eyes blazing, then squeezed through the hole. Rising before us, the beast spread its wings, casting a wide shadow. With a mighty roar, the mechanical dragon lifted its snout high and blasted long jets of red flame to the sky.

I have never seen men run away so fast.

At first stunned, Eliza dropped to her knees and wrapped her son in a strangling hug. "My dear boy, you did find the dragon."

"Hoot actually found it."

"It was nothing," I said, covering my face humbly with a wing.

"Can I keep him, Mother?" Gwilym asked.

"Well," she replied. "I think then you will need a larger room."