Creative Corner

@MagicHats adding you! :)
To me, the most interesting thing is Tielle's memory. She has some issues beyond normal Tundra forgetfulness, but that'll be explored and explaind later. Hopefully I can add a hatchling and get things moving better soon... :)

@AristaHolmes @MagicHats [b]Chapter Three: Risks[/b] The Lair was shaping up to look grand indeed. Several days of systematic digging and carving had led to dwindling food stores, but a very nice-looking Lair. One they could be proud to call home. Said dwindling food stores had forced them to go hunting. Tielle, being herbivore, didn’t need to hunt, but had insisted on coming along to help her two Mirrors get food. They were already experienced hunters from their time of wandering, but the search for food drove them ever onwards. Soon, the open grassy fields gave way to a flourishing forest, and the trio of dragons found themselves stalking down a path, the Mirrors using their heat sight to find prey and the Tundra using her sense of smell. Large carnivorous plants growing by the side of the path launched attacks at them from afar, and leafy Dryads gave fierce but futile battle, flanked by Clown Chargers and the odd, strange Phytocat. The creatures that proved the most challenging and aggressive were the Owls and the Stranglers. And yet… [img]http://i.imgur.com/6WgOHLD.png[/img] “Why isn’t it attacking?” Tielle asked, frowning at the green leafy snake coiled on a branch in front of them. One yellow-orange eye tracked their movements, and the creature’s leaf-tipped tongue darted out to sample the air every few seconds. “I don’t know,” Kershan admitted. “Tiirran, any idea?” The Obsidian and Gold Mirror sat down and stared at the Strangler, his crests vibrating slightly as he thought. “Sometimes creatures don’t want to attack dragons,” he said “Most of the time they just passively let us go, but sometimes…” he shrugged. “Sometimes they’ll follow a dragon and become their Familiar. Like that Webwing did with me a few days ago,” “So it’s a Familiar?” Tielle said, face suddenly lighting up in a smile. “Cool!” she started forward, but Kershan stopped her. “Tielle, wait! Don’t just walk up; it might attack you,” “Oh, I’ll be fine,” the pale yellow Tundra assured the pale brown Mirror, shrugging off his paw. “Tiirran said it could be a Familiar, and besides, I can keep it away until you get here. It’s only a few meters, Kershan,” Without waiting for his reply, the Tundra walked up to the Strangler. “Hi!” she said brightly. “I don’t think you’ll attack me, and I think you’d make a great Familiar, if you’d just get off that branch,” Slowly, carefully, the Strangler lowered its head and leaf-collared body down towards Tielle, who stood perfectly still and waited. Kershan was struggling to not leap forwards and sink his fangs into its exposed neck area, a low growl forcing its way out past his clenched teeth. Tiirran glanced curiously at him before focusing on the Strangler again. The Strangler lowered itself from the branch, coiling itself around the Tundra’s neck and shoulders, where it rested quietly. Tielle turned her head to stare at her passenger and grinned as she trotted back to the two Mirrors. “Look, it likes me!” she grinned. The Strangler stared at them, expressionless but calm. “It certainly does,” Tiirran smiled. “Evidently,” Kershan agreed, though there was an edge to his tone. “I think that concludes today’s hunting. We have enough food for a couple days and the sun’s getting low,” he turned, looking over his shoulder to make sure the two others followed. They put the food they had gathered in the Hoard, Tielle depositing the Strangler in the small Familiar cave Tiirran had carved out over the past few days, where it coiled up on a ledge of rock and entered a staring contest with the Webwing. They ate in a silence that seemed unusually and uncomfortably tense. When they had finished, Kershan turned to Tielle. “Tielle, a word with you?” he said. “Of course,” the Tundra nodded. “Good.” He gave Tiirran a look, and the older Mirror nodded. “I’ll be in the area,” he said, leaving the Lair quickly. After Tiirran had left there was a short, tense silence before Kershan spoke. “Tielle, earlier today you walked up to a potential danger without heeding any warnings,” he began. “You could have died if that Strangler turned out to be aggressive.” “But it wasn’t,” Tielle protested. “We’d have known if it was,” “Maybe,” Kershan said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you risked your life on a whim-” “I can handle myself!” she said indignantly. “It was just a Strangler, and you were nearby,” “Look, I know, but that’s not the point! You walked right up to a potential danger and ignored me when I tried to stop you. What do you think could have happened if that leafy snake decided to actually do what it’s named for and [i]strangle[/i] you?” Kershan’s crests flared out in a show of dominance and aggression and Tielle got to her feet, a low snarl rippling through her furry body. “Tiirran said it could be a Familiar and you evidently trust him enough to not physically hold me back. Don’t you trust [i]me[/i] to know how to protect myself?” she spat. “I do, but you took an unneeded risk, and you can’t do that! [i]None[/i] of us can!” “Fine.” Tielle’s voice was cold. “Fine. I get it. I’m going to go to bed now. Don’t bother me.” “I won’t.” Kershan called after her, voice equally at odds with the warm Lair. ----- Tiirran returned sometime later to find Kershan curled in a corner of the entrance hall and Tielle nowhere to be seen. He briefly considered looking for her, but the slump in Kershan’s shoulders and wings told him the only thing he’d get from the Tundra would be a cold look and bared canines. Quietly, the Obsidian Mirror curled up next to the Stone Mirror and went to sleep. [b]A/N:[/b] uh. wow. I did not expect to end this on such a bad note, nor did I expect Tielle to be as aggressive as she was.... Next update will hopefully see this fixed.

@MagicHats @AristaHolmes
Next update will be in a few days... schoolwork and such has kinda piled up for me so this has to be put on the backburner for a couple days :/

@AristaHolmes @MagicHats
Heya! Next update should be out by tomorrow evening, hopefully earlier! Also, I FINALLY managed to Scavenge a Water egg, so we'll be seeing a little Water baby soon :3

@Tiirran
Awesome on the water egg :D and looking forward to the next update ^.^

@AristaHolmes thanks! :) I had completely given up hope and was clicking as fast as I could to get the Gathering over with so I didn't quite manage to catch a screenshot... but I did get it :)

@AristaHolmes @MagicHats (there's a long Author's Note at the end to explain some things :) I do recommend reading it.) [b]Chapter Four: Reconciliation[/b] They only saw Tielle briefly that morning, when she fetched breakfast from the food hoard. With a short nod to Tiirran the Tundra vanished into tunnels too small for the Mirrors to fit, claiming to have found a magma flow she wanted to redirect and declining any offer of help. Left with nothing else to do, the two males went out to explore the area. “I don’t understand why she’s so angry with me still,” Kershan said in confused frustration. They had run in silence for some time, Tiirran waiting patiently for the younger Mirror to gather his thoughts. “I may have been a little crass in telling her off, but there’s no reason for her to be like this,” “I think you may have touched upon an old wound,” Tiirran said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen Tundras react like that before. The slight long forgotten, they still react adversely to certain phrases or words, much like they will recognise the scent of an enemy though they can’t remember the exact reason for the enmity,” “You think something happened in her old Clan?” Kershan asked. “Most likely, yes.” They ran in silence for a few minutes. “Do you think she’ll be mad at me for long?” he asked tentatively. “Not long, no,” Tiirran said. “But unless you manage to apologise, a few more days probably,” “And how would I apologise, since she won’t even be in the same room as me?” the Stone Mirror said glumly. “Didn’t she say she needed some sort of hard rock, to help work the surfaces in our Lair?” Tiirran said suddenly, stopping abruptly. Kershan ran a few more paces before he realised, turning around and trotting back. “She did. Why-” he blinked. Tiirran was grinning, digging at the rock they stood on. The mottled dark and light vein of rock that drew a broad line through the landscape. It took a moment for the younger Mirror to see why. “Diorite!” “Exactly,” the older Mirror said. “Here’s a nice one! Give it to her and tell her you’re sorry, and she should forgive you,” he handed over a fist-sized, egg-shaped lump of the hard stone. “Thank you, Tiirran! We’ll head back now,” Kershan said with a smile, turning to leave. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I want to explore this immediate area a bit more first,” Tiirran said, dipping his head a little. “Diorite is valuable, so knowing the area is probably good,” “Of course, yes, you’re right,” the Clan Leader nodded. “Don’t stay more than a couple hours, though. I’ll head back and make peace with our burrower,” “Of course, Clan Leader. I’ll be careful.” He grinned. Kershan nodded and left, tracing a line of swirling ash and dust as he ran. Tiirran smiled at the younger dragon’s enthusiasm before focusing on where he was standing. Good, valuable rock out in the open could attract all manners of creatures and he needed to know the area. ----- After the two Mirrors left, Tielle had crawled out from her hiding spot and gone to work on the main hall. It had been a magma chamber once, and while the drip-like formations on the wall were beautiful they were also a pain to accidentally bump into, so she was smoothing them down. It was dull work, but rewarding, and helped her work off some of the angry energy still left from her argument with Kershan last night. The Tundra couldn’t remember what had made her so angry at the Mirror’s words; he was right after all and as Clan Leader he had to warn his clanmates when they overstepped and did something they shouldn’t have. Stranglers [i]were[/i] dangerous. But his words had still sparked a rage inside her, and she was still upset at him. Kershan approached the Lair at a walk, holding the diorite tool to his chest. He could hear Tielle working on something just inside. Taking a moment to prepare himself, the Mirror ducked through the opening. Tielle stopped working and tensed, ready to flee as Kershan entered the Lair. He was carrying something, though, and that made her hesitate long enough for him to speak. “Tielle, don’t go,” Kershan said hurriedly. “I owe you an apology,” Tielle didn’t move. “I was too hard on you yesterday, Tielle. I’m sorry. I should have found better words. I- when that Strangler looked like it was about to coil itself around your neck and choke you, I was scared,” the Mirror admitted, crests flat against his neck. He wasn’t looking at the Tundra as he spoke. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want [i]any[/i] of us to get hurt. But you and Tiirran were right about that Strangler and I should have trusted you more-” he stopped abruptly as Tielle’s furry head impacted with his shoulder. “Stop,” came her muffled voice. “It’s okay.” One amber eye looked at him and her breath was warm against his skin. “I don’t know why I was so angry with you, but I shouldn’t have been. And I did take a stupid risk. I don’t blame you for worrying,” Kershan turned his head and nuzzled her. “Forgive and forget?” “Forgive and forget,” Tielle agreed. “As long as you don’t forget that you’re not supposed to do something like that again,” Kershan muttered into her soft fur. Tielle’s laugh vibrated through her body. “I can’t guarantee I won’t forget it in the end,” she giggled, moving her head up so it rested between his shoulders. “I’ll remind you, then,” Kershan said, smiling. Then his fins, which had been rather flat against his neck, suddenly splayed out. “Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you,” he freed himself from Tielle’s hug and held out the rock. Tielle took it, turning the stone over in her claws. It had an irregular pattern of dark and light minerals and was very hard. “Diorite!” she exclaimed after a moment. Kershan grinned. “Tiirran and I happened upon a vein of it not far from here,” he said. “There’s so much, we could probably trade it someday,” “Oh, that’s perfect! Diorite is exactly what I needed and we can trade what we don’t use for things we can’t get here,” she said, putting the rock aside and barrelling into the Mirror again in a blur of affectionate fluff. “I’m glad you can use it,” he said, again nuzzling the smaller dragon. Her Banana and Sand fur was soft against his smooth scales and he unconsciously wrapped his tail around hers. They stood like that for a long time. ----- When Tiirran returned after a few hours, it was to an empty entrance hall and a discarded diorite tool on the floor. His Webwing few out to meet him and Tiirran fed it some insects he had gathered on the way home, enjoying the mutated bird’s happy chirps and irregularly blinking eyes as it pecked the food from his palm. As he fed the Familiar the last of the crunchy moth legs, Kershan appeared from one of the tunnels. He didn’t appear to notice the return of his friend as he walked over and picked up the diorite, only looking up when the Webwing chirped loudly. “No, there’s no more food now,” Tiirran told it, showing empty palms. With a feathery huff, the bird flew back into the cave, perching next to Tielle’s Strangler. “Oh, hey, Tiirran,” Kershan said. “Did you find anything worthwhile while exploring?” “No, not really. The diorite is the only thing of interest in the area, so we should be able to lay strong claim quite easily. How did your talk with Tielle go?” the Obsidian Mirror said. “It went great. We agreed to forgive and forget and she’s not mad anymore. We’re carving some of the inner rooms now, she asked me to fetch the diorite for her,” Kershan said. Tiirran raised a brow. “I though she’d remember to bring it with her if she moved to work somewhere else,” he commented. “Ah…” Kershan said, his crests moving down and out in what could only be embarrassment. Tiirran stared for a long moment before he understood what had happened. “… You had eggs.” [img]http://i.imgur.com/R5ADTlO.png[/img] [b]A/N:[/b] Diorite is a type of very hard, intrusive igneous rock. That's fancyspeak for "you'll find it where there has been volcanoes." Balls of diorite have been found around the Unfinished Obelisk in Egypt and there's a long-standing theory that the rock was used to carve out the sandstone obelisks. The drip-like formations in the main hall aren't just something fancy I've spun out of thin air. I've been to Thrinukagigur, the only place in the world where it's possible to go into a dead magma chamber, and [i]holy flying Flamemather[/i] it's a beautiful and awesome place!! The walls really do have the drip-like pattern. It's amazing. Also, if you couldn't tell from the name, Thrinukagigur is in Iceland. Iceland is awesome. I bred Kershan and Tielle [i]way[/i] early and forgot to screenshot it...

@Tiirran may I be added please? =3

@Antaria certainly! :)

@AristaHomlmes @MagicHats @Antaria
wow, this next update does NOT want to be written... struggling with it :( I'll have it up as soon as I can!
and I caved and hatched the Water egg early. She's such a pretty little one :D can't wait to actually introduce her! and Tiirran'sPrimary gene, and hatching the Nest, and Tielle's Primary... wow. So much to look forwards to. I better get writing!