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@Dreamnorn can I be added to the pinglist?

[center][size=6]Making Him Proud[/size] [b]Book II | Chapter 4[/b] [size=1]PINGLIST @ArouraBorialice @Ivythorn @Anukite @GoldenSootball @lilastar @FallowFreckles @Leopardmask @KitsumiMahon @Maddiebird @smeen @FlufferLover @Birdsofwax @Talismarr @Skyeset @Lyme @Pteranodon @CassieRose @Delmaria @Ellapinky @Helgi @Untailed @ArtisticDragonn @Crazydoll86 @Silverhame[/size] [item="Barkback Root"][item="Oasis Songbird"][item="Flute"][/center] The hard truth about trying is that not everyone succeeds. Octavia lost her whim to estrange herself as quickly as it had come. Her family's comfort was exactly what she needed to fill the gap in her heart, and she refused to turn it down. It seemed to work. The components were all right there: soft words, soft hugs, soft smiles; the feeling of being loved. Everything had fallen into place again. But solace for a moment doesn't equal solace for a lifetime. Optimism was hard to come by. This was not because Octavia didn't want it or was no longer capable of feeling it; but when dragons told her that everything was going to be okay or that they'd be back or that anything was guaranteed to go right, Octavia couldn't help but wince. [i]Famous last words,[/i] she'd think to herself as they vanished around corners into unknown corridors. The dreams she chased might have been filled with happy hopes once more, but to apply them to reality felt like less and less of an option. She wondered if it was because that piece of her passed away with her father, but dismissed the notion not long after. [i]All of me is alive,[/i] she reasoned, [i]and my hopes refuse to die.[/i] Sometimes she'd worry if she was lying to herself. Not even pouring her heart into song seemed possible anymore. But that didn't mean Octavia didn't try. As days melted to weeks and weeks to months -- as adolescence took its hold on her -- she continued to sing with the dedication of the greatest bards in history. Hitting notes on key became a problem of the past, keeping tempo was second-nature, and her diaphragm? Well, that had become her most powerful muscle; the music it produced in tandem with her vocal cords brimmed with mystic energy that -- though feeble at first -- began to unlock her magic. Soon enough, Octavia could cast simple neutral spells, which eventually took on a natural edge that the Gladekeeper would have been proud of. However, it wasn't the Gladekeeper she was trying to impress. [center]{*}[/center] [i]I wonder if Dad can see me now?[/i] The thought occurred to her as she sang curling vines into existence, imploring them through melody to emerge from the earth. They took on the shapes of what she desired, provided they were long enough. Remembering the notes she had studied, she managed to encourage them to weave at first into a circle, then a spiral, then a square. This spell in particular she had been working on for almost two weeks, and it seemed that at last she could try a harder shape. Maybe if she got the shape right, her father would be proud of her in the afterlife. [i]Okay, guys,[/i] she thought as she hummed, struggling to maneuver them in the right direction. [i]Time to make a heart.[/i] The vines curled into two spirals that bumped awkwardly into each other. Octavia's eyes narrowed in annoyance, but she kept her notes in the right place, determined to make this work. [i]You can do it,[/i] she thought, urging the vines to uncurl. They started to, but it wasn't quite enough. [i]Just a little bit more....[/i] "Oh my Plaguebringer," came an awed, low voice. Octavia meeped, her concentration broken. The vines disappeared into a flurry of green sparkles as she looked over her shoulder, her green eyes wide. She was simultaneously unsurprised and taken aback to see that Anthelme had wormed his way into junior room two. Of course, the Ridgeback had been going out of his way to annoy her while practicing since they were hatchlings, so that wasn't the most surprising thing; however, three things about this particular instance startled her. First of all, he became far less intrusive since her father passed; secondly, she thought he was still banned from this practice room; and third.... "What the heck happened to your voice?" Octavia blurted. Her irritation, though present, was pushed aside for just a moment because holy [i]Gladekeeper,[/i] since when were any of Anthelme's qualities even remotely attractive? At the question, Anthelme's face heated up and he growled, taking her words -- as he often did -- as some kind of insult. "Screw you. It's called 'becoming a man,' Octavia. And I happen to think my voice sounds handsome, thank you very much." [i]You do,[/i] Octavia thought, but with a response like that, her interest in emoting anything positive to Anthelme dropped below zero. Her lips curled and she turned her head away, huffing towards the dulled remnants of what was once the vibrant magic dust she had produced. "You made me lose my focus." "Get used to it," Anthelme grunted. "I'm moving my dartboard back in here. Ban's lifted." Octavia rolled her eyes so far into her head, she was convinced she could see her brain for a moment. [i]Remember Mom's advice,[/i] came the little voice in her mind, prompting her to take a deep breath through her nose and force herself into an outward state of calm apathy. "Then I'll move," she mumbled, standing up and pacing towards him, intent on passing Anthelme by. "That way, we'll both be able to have a quiet spot to concentrate." He seemed stunned for a moment at Octavia's simple suggestion as he entered the room. She swished past him, not looking in his direction. But, as Anthelme's pawprints stopped sounding, she heard him growl. "You get enough concentration wherever you practice," he muttered, "but you won't get anywhere with your soulless performance." Octavia froze. "Don't think I haven't noticed," Anthelme continued, his tone still dark as he took a seat in the middle of the room. "I've been forced to listen to your warbling for months and it's changed in a bad way. It's not annoyingly spirited anymore -- it's annoyingly [i]lackluster.[/i] With songs like those, there's no way you'll impress the elders in the agent placement exam tomorrow." Octavia's claws dug into the ground. Her eyes grew hard and she gritted her teeth, sending a sharp look over her shoulder. "Anthelme." The Ridgeback seemed taken aback by her tone. His whole face turned red, but he stood his ground, giving her an unflinching glare. "You know I'm right," he hissed. She turned around and cleared her throat, pacing towards him in a slow, deliberate manner. But instead of speaking when she entered the room, she held a long, high, loud note: beautiful and powerful, one which resonated with the crystals up above. Anthelme looked up suddenly as they cracked into sharp, dangerous shards. He yelped, fleeing as they began to fall towards the ground, their magical energies fading as they lost connection with their clusters. "Octavia!" he shrieked, his voice cracking in shock and terror. "What the hell are you doing?" At that, Octavia took a breath, unable to hold the note any longer. The crueler cousin of Schadenfreude made her lips curl in a grin, her body momentarily energized by this demonstration of her power. But, in the aftermath of this display, her eyes looked over everything Anthelme, in spite of his bigger size, was bunched in a corner and eyeing her with unmistakable fear. The crystals no longer glowed in their beautiful, illuminating way. Octavia swallowed, her smile waning. She peeked up to the ceiling, which now only emitted a dull light in the formerly-beautiful room, and then back to Anthelme, whose eyes met hers with something strangely soft. The fear waned with the eye contact, and though his expression was hard to read, it was certainly not something she would have ever expected to see on him. Her regret and guilt were far more immediate and powerful than whatever scrap of dark joy she had felt. Octavia's eyes welled with tears. "I- I'm so sorry, I...." She turned away before she could complete her apology or see Anthelme's reaction. Her horror with herself was too overwhelming and every inch of her body commanded her to flee, now, before she could do any more harm. "Octavia, wait!" Anthelme called after her. But Octavia did not look back. [center]{*}[/center] She hid in the mess hall for several hours, picking away dully at dead songbirds and angelfish. Putting them in slightly goofy poses -- much in the manner a hatchling might -- was a pitiful attempt at self-distraction, but one Octavia nonetheless tried. She just couldn't believe what had happened. [i]What has gotten into me?[/i] she asked over and over, lapsing deeper into her remorseful trance with each repetition. Her desperation for distraction finally pulled her away from her half-finished meal four hours later, urging her to go to to bed and try to sleep it off. However, sleep wasn't what was waiting for her when she arrived at her nest. What finally pulled her back into the waking world was a little red gift chest on her pillow. Octavia snuffled, rubbing her eyes once more of tears that had been threatening to fall. The cute and glittery surface made her wings flap in wonder. "What?" she murmured as she approached it. She sat down and held the gift chest in her forepaws, peering at the tag. In spite of her initial thought, no, she wasn't dreaming; the tag was addressed to her. Curiosity made her crests perk: a far more effective distraction than whatever she had tried a few hours ago. She flipped the lock upwards and opened the lid. Octavia gasped. With all the tenderness of a mother incubating her first clutch, Octavia removed a daisy corsage from the crumpled packing papers within. It was crude in design; unlike her mother's pristine one, this piece was a bit torn around the edges, like it had been handled by a dragon with big claws. However, it possessed a waxy, magical coating -- one that Octavia figured would prevent the daisy from decomposing. Before she could help it, her heart fluttered. This was a crystal clear sign that someone liked her. No one from the Viridian Labyrinth could see a corsage like that and [i]not[/i] know these things are meant for crushes. It wasn't even an optimistic reach. This was a sheer, undeniable fact. A big, goofy smile spread on her face. As she put it on, admiring the way it fit snugly on her wrist, she noticed a piece of parchment at the bottom of the box. It was rolled poorly in a way to vaguely resemble a scroll. [i]Well, he's no craftsdragon,[/i] Octavia thought, [i]but he's definitely dedicated.[/i] The idea that someone with passion had written for her and made this for her made Octavia's heart even lighter. Runaway hopes began to flit within her before she could quite stop them. She reached in and opened the scroll. This is what it said: [quote="Someone"] Dear Octavia, Im terrible at finding the right thing to say in real life, Im not good with writing, and Im even worse at poetry so I wont write a poem here like I kind of wanted to. But I want you to know that youre the coolest dragon I know. Youre a great singer, I like your energy, I like your kindness, and I like that you dont take nonsense. I just overall like you a lot; youre neat. So please keep trying to hold your head high, ok? I want you to be able to sing like you used to and smile like you mean it. I dont think Id be all that great at making you happy, but I want you to find something or someone that can. I made you the corsage anyway because I honestly do like you, and I hope it cheers you up even for a little bit. But Im not going to give you any hints to find me. You would probably be disappointed and the last thing I want is for you to hurt more. I guess what Im trying to say is dont be afraid of what will come tomorrow. Youll do great. Know that someone in your class likes you an awful lot and that hes very proud of you. Love, Your secret admirer [/quote] Though Octavia began reading the letter with a smile, it waned as she read on. Tears pricked at her eyes again and she snuffled, pulling the note against her chest. Earlier that day, in her moment of greatest shame, she had also experienced a dragon -- Anthelme -- see right through her core; but this time, Octavia's heart was warmed by it. This shy dragon with a crush on her had gone out of his way to tell her that he's seen her sorrow, that he cares, and that he wants her to be happy -- even if it means he's not in the picture at all. Such selflessness was touching. It was something she had only experienced inside of her own family, and to have someone on the outside do this filled her with a childlike wonder. Octavia's heart, for the first time in many days, began to pound with hope and determination. She set the letter down and bounded about the room, eyes glimmering and smile wide, filled with an energy unlike anything she'd ever felt -- an energy so strong, she needed to let off its excess with swift and sweeping motion. The mystery of her secret admirer had officially intrigued and inspired her. And -- if just for a moment-- everything felt possible again. [i]You'd better watch your tail,[/i] Octavia thought, humming a happy tune. [i]Because I'm gonna find you, lover-boy, no matter how long it takes![/i] [center]{*}[/center] [b]A/N:[/b] I really wanted this chapter to be longer as an apology for making everyone wait so freaking long for it, but the 4th ended up giving me one more migraine and yesterday -- though better health-wise -- was a (happy) mess of activity. ^^; It is what it is, but I'm a bit concerned about not having Octavia and Anthelme fall for one another in time to have their "nesting chapter." I can't see how I'd do it if I'm forced to take another day off of updating due to IRL stuff. So... would anyone be opposed to the possibility of me posting the ending of [i]Le Mambo Mystère[/i] up to a few days "late?" If so, I would absolutely let you guys know in the author's notes when they're on a nest so you can look or not look at your choice. ^^ I wouldn't want anyone to accidentally give themselves a spoiler! [size=2]Also, I'm a dodo and just realized I didn't add a link to II.3 to the Table of Contents post. RIP. I'll fix that in a moment.[/size] ~ @quinnelope I'll add you to the pinglist right away! ^^ Thank you! ~ @AngryJ, you're not on the pinglist for this post, but as soon as this goes up I'll be adding you to it officially. :D And once again you're making me squeal excitedly over such praise, like Glademom take the wheel, I'm so happy you think all those things. ;w; I'm not the most coherent right now because it's pretty late where I am, but I'm especially glad you like the dialogue! It used to be my least favorite thing to write because I always feared I made the characters sound unnatural, and to hear compliments on it really eases me and makes me feel like I've come a long way. ^^ (But I'm definitely happy that you like my chapter organization and the integration of the FR lore, too; I'm a sucker for perspectival shifts and have so much fun reading the original lore that I just have to keep the characters true to it, at least in part. :D) Also, yay! I'm glad to see you're starting your Legacy of War! ^^ Is your founder Tovida? If so, she's got a lovely collection of colors, and it's very lucky that Solabek and her share a good range! I don't think I'll have to ask the RNG to bless you with pretty hatchlings, but I do hope it blesses you with upgrades. :D Your most likely upgrades will be getting Current or Underbelly, so I'm crossing my fingers doubly for those!

I agree with what is posted above. You shouldn't worry about us, your posting schedule needs to first and foremost fit you. We will wait regardless of when and how much you post. Don't get burned out on this because that would be horrible.

I must strongly agree with Delmaria and smeen. Take the time you need, it will be all the more awesome when you´re done. But please do include a litle spoiler option in the authors notes, i love spoiling myself and checking on options, just to have you surprise me with how the dragons turn out to be.
Anthelmes letter is really sweet, and I must admit - from his dorky behavious when he´s nose to nose with our dear princess, I wouldn´t have expected this uplifting, caring, carefully composed, truthfull letter.

I haven't really posted yet but here's the closest I could find to want you wanted for the fae rogue: [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=35325394] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/353254/35325394_350.png[/img] [/url] Also [quote name="Dreamnorn" date=2017-08-15 17:03:00] In other news, I made a little button to link people back to this thread and my signature is now crappy. c': Hello, darkness, my old friend. [/quote] I did a thing [img]https://s26.postimg.org/6be3u0g0p/Item_Waltz_of_Whispers.png[/img] And now I will return to my lurking. See ya

@Delmaria @smeen Yanisha I really appreciate those words of encouragement. ;w; Real life has become a mess of work deadlines as of late so I've been having trouble finding time to write. I'm glad you guys are okay with me being a bit "late," so to speak. :D This is a project I certainly don't want to feel burnout for, so I'm going to do my best to pace myself in a way that makes sense!

In response to some of the other fun commentary: I'm really glad you like Anthelme! He may not be the most graceful letter-writer, but there's definitely more to him than he appears on the surface. Without spoiling any major details, the next chapter will be from his perspective, so I hope you guys will enjoy the foray into his mind. <3 And yes, Octavia not being broken is definitely a good thing that can be attributed to all of the support she's had from her family (and now Anthelme ;D). Here's hoping she finds her "lover-boy" soon~.

The look in his eyes at the end, btw, is up to interpretation. He's definitely impressed with Octavia, but at the same time he can tell that such behavior wasn't like her. I kind of saw it as a recognition that whatever's causing her to ache is still actively hurting her, and the realization that he needs to do something to try and help -- even if it's from afar.

~

@FlufferLover *snatches that Fae so freaking fast my screen catches fire*

Thank you so much for finding him for me. :D I'm glad you shared him with me when you did; I wouldn't have wanted him to be sacrificed to the Wind vs. Lightning dom battle going on. Plus, it turns out that he not only fits the criteria I wanted, but he's also an eclipse baby!

And thanks just as much for that small button, oh my goodness yes, that looks far nicer than the nonsense I have in my sig now. c': I'll keep my original button probably as the header for my thread since I've grown attached to that stupid thing by now, but this will look far better in my signature. Thanks again so, so much! :D


EDIT: Fixed an italicization failure.

@Dreamnorn, hello, fellow Snip-Snop avatar.

Did Victor, Victoria inspire that crystal shattering scene? Oh, I love that film, and I'm so glad a certain friend invited me to watch with her. *brow waggles* I mean, it ended on very much a less positive note here (oh geez, unintentional pun). I thought his look meant that he had some bad phobia or severe fear - of shards, darkness, something? But I wouldn't have expected Extreme Tsundere-Kun^TM to send her something so nice.

Also, is it terrible that the letter reminded me of Darcy's "I love you, most ardently" to Lizzie? (Oh, dear, poor, poor Darcy. Hopefully Anthelme has much better luck.)

Take care of yourself! I'm in negotiations with the weather gods to make it more amenable to writing and less amenable to migraines. ;P

@Dreamnorn

i now feel a need to give away all my dragons and start a legacy thing war and get better at writting books of text, dang this is good!




*prepares for more ded dragons, why am i talking in an action, excitement intensifies anyways, oreos for everyone, bonus oreos for everyone*

Ordered replies by length!

@MareepSheepie Ayy, thank you so much! :D I'm so happy to hear that The Waltz of Whispers may inspire you to start a lore-based challenge of your own. ;w; If you do so and make a thread for it, please ping me there so I can subscribe!

Also, I saw in the main thread that you're looking for a G1 to start this. ^^ If that's still the case, I recommend searching the AH for G1s and buying the cheapest unnamed one. That's pretty much how I got Rhea, albeit with a filter for my element. :D It's much less expensive than buying and hatching an egg, plus the colors themselves would still be pretty much random. But anyway, those are just my two cents. c: Regardless, I wish you the best of luck with your Legacy of War if or when it begins!

*snags an Oreo because Oreos are wonderful*

~

@nuttysaladtree Why, hello, fellow Snapvatar. ;D

That scene was indeed inspired by Victor, Victoria! And I'm glad your super-awesome friend -- *waggles brows* -- shared it with you. XD In all seriousness, though, I definitely wanted that look to be somewhat ambiguous. I have an idea in mind, but it could've definitely been a reaction based in fear. Either way, Octavia's actions made him realize that something was still "wrong" with her, and that she could have used words of encouragement. Extreme Tsundere-Kun (TM) he may be, but I promise, the -dere is very there-ay. 8D Apparently I still think silly rhymes are fun.

Omg I wasn't even thinking of that possible correlation. That made me chuckle. xD

Fortunately, the weather is easing up again, and my work -- though still bustling -- is going to temper itself relatively soon, at least until the next big project. Thank you very much for appeasing the Stormcatcher and Windsinger weather gods! I'm about halfway done with the next part and I'm really hoping to find time to finish it and share it with everyone!

(Also, would you be interested in being put on the pinglist? ^^)

((Also-also, holy crap, thank you for linking back to this thread in your sig. ;o; Bless!))