@
Lawcaldwell
Enjoy!!
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Light crashed its way through the tiny Fae's thin shield of lilac-purple shell, causing her to curl up and try to shrink away from the brightness of the surrounding area. She'd only hatched a few hours ago, yet she wasn't having the best experience. She was a special little Fae; a first generation in the eyes of others, and a gift from the Arcanist himself. A gift to whom, though? No other dragon was in sight, and the little hatchling had to wonder where exactly she'd landed. Possibly on the outskirts of the Arcane territory, far enough away that there were no lairs in sight but not so far away that she couldn't see the Deity's watchtower high above the ground on a thickened pillar of gravel and dirt.
Islands floated aimlessly around it, always moving, always circling the Observatory. The Fae could almost feel the work the Arcanist puts into his observing of the stars and the sky, the days and nights he stands at his desk, or at the telescope, watching constellations form and disappear like a hawk watching its prey skitter about among the shrubs of the wild. He never left that one metal building, never really left the same room, either. No one had ever seen the Arcanist face-to-face, but rumours had it that he had more than the average four limbs - possibly about eight - and that he had a larger vocabulary than any of the other Deities. He was always curious, always inquisitive about the world around them. How it always changed, how some things always stayed the same no matter what...
A tree groaned to her left and her head shot up, her ear fins twisting to the direction of the noise. It'd been an old Starwood tree, it's pink-ish leaves fluttering like butterflies against the soft wind coming from the Windsinger's territory somewhere to the East. Sighing, she decided she'd better get up. She'd been given a destination - "Dragonhome" - and a name to go by. A weird name, but a name none-the-less. She took a look around, noting the lake beside her and the Compass stars. Polaris - the North star - Sirius and Altair were shining brightly in the lake - ironically named the "Skyfall Lake" - and both seemed to point her in the destination of North.
Is that the way to Dragonhome? the little hatchling thought to herself as she stepped out from under her piece of shell and shuffled towards the edge of the Starwood Forest. The trees were creaking quietly with the force being put on them, pulling and pushing against the strength of the dark hole above them. Some called it a portal, some called it a death trap. The hatchling just thought it was pretty.
She turned on her heel and headed North, towards Dragonhome, to start her new life as a Deputy called Aine.
---
"Aine, can you come here, please?"
Aine sighed a heaving breath and stood up from her scroll-cluttered desk in her room. As she plodded over towards the door, she could feel the fur rug beneath her feet stretch up and tickle in-between her toes, just as she could hear the soft wind singing in her ears as the curtains tried to soar with the birds above them. She passed pictures of herself swinging silently in their frames, her reflection only slightly visible in the dimming light of day. Her bed was a few feet away from where she was trailing, but the temptation was rising with every step the small dragon took. Silken pillows, bouncy mattress, plush duvet; all of it seemed like a dreamland the more Aine thought about it. But she had a duty to do as an assistant to her piers and her higher-ups, and that duty - more than bringing her higher-ups scrolls, food and spiced water to up their senses - was to help suggest and think of ideas to help her home.
She gripped the door and swung it upon, gliding out like a tiny, scaly, pink and cream cloud. She hovered down the hall to Gaea's room, where both her and Altair were most likely discussing things. Noting how the carpet of red on the floor was fraying around the edges, she opened the door and poked her head in to see Gaea at her desk, clicking her writing tool against her teeth in irritation. Altair was sat on the bed, being mindful of how low the ceiling was in this room and so being careful as to not bang his head on the jagged rock.
The room itself was an absolute pigsty. Books were thrown over the floor, bits of paper - littered with ink and clean - were loitering around the tin bin in the corner and the galaxy-patterned blanket that usually sat uncrumpled on the bed was draped over the back of Gaea's chair like a starry curtain.
Gaea turned in her chair. "Aine," she sighed wistfully, "thank the Deities you heard me."
"I'm right next door, Gaea," the Fae replied sorrowfully as she looked at her tired, stressed superior. "What is it you need."
"We need you to take care of the lair for a bit," Altair said suddenly as the soulfully exhausted Spiral opened her mouth, causing her to look at Altair with gratitude, his bright scales shining and his soft wings folded neatly at his side's, just under his pearly-white apparel. "We've been called to the front of the Earthshaker's border. There's some trouble, and we've been put forward to help command some of the newer dragons."
"The WHOLE lair?" the Fae squeaked, her eyes widening in fear, but also in hope. So much responsibility was terrifying, but also sounded extremely fun and great for her position with her superiors.
"Just for a day or two," Altair explained in a gentlemanly fashion, his posture perfectly still. "We can only rely on you."
"Can you promise us you'll keep everyone safe?" Gaea asked worriedly, fiddling with the tassles on her apparel.
"Of course. Anything to take the stress off of the pair of you."
Both of them looked to her with a look of extreme gratitude and slight worry, since she'd never done something this big before. Yet all the Fae could think about was how much of a new experience this was.
---
Aine sat as still as she could as she awaited for Gaea and Altair to return. The fireplace beside her had become a roaring furnace, and the room around her had been where she'd done everything. Even slept. She hadn't been able to be left alone since early sunrise, and was only left alone when the Mother of the Night came up to play. Orders, consultations, complaints, permissions. It was all a lot more difficult than she imagined, and she was now extremely tired and thinner than before. All she wanted was a nice, hot cup of cocoa and her silky bed.
A knocking came at the door to her left and she sprang up, shooting over to it to see who it was. She gripped the brass knob with all of her ever-faithful strength and threw it open to find a maildragon on the other side.
"Oh," she sighed woefully, her shoulder drooping and her apparel falling around her like a curtain.
"I-I'm sorry ma'am. I-I-I just came to g-give you this," he stammered, grabbing a letter and thrusting it at her before flapping away.
Aine just shut the door and wandered over to her chair, flopping down and sighed heavily. Where were they?
The door went again, causing her to shout. "LET YOURSELF IN!"
"That's a lovely greeting, if I do say so myself," a familiar voice rang out, causing her pink eyes to fly open.
"Altair!" Aine cried, running up to him and throwing her arms around him. It probably caught him off guard, since he staggered for a few seconds before returning the hug.
"It's nice to see you too, Aine," Gaea said out of the blue, Aine throwing herself around her as well after she'd finished hugging Altair. "You're really thin, are you okay?"
"It was so difficult to do your job," she sobbed, setting herself on the floor. "So, so difficult!"
"But you did it, didn't you?" the leading pair said in unison.
Aine nodded.
"Well, that's good then," Altair said, bringing himself down to look her in the eye. "Let's go reward you then, shall we?"
The tiny Fae gasped excitedly, wiping away her tears. "Can we go for some takeout food?"
"Sure, let's go," Gaea smiled.
Best leaders ever, Aine thought with a smile.
