Zumrae

Zumrae paused at the entrance to her new den. Carved from rock and ice, it should have felt familiar, like her birth clan.

it wasn't, though. The ice fractured light differently and the air smelled faintly of wet tundra.

The room was small, too. Actually, the whole lair was pretty tiny in comparison to Clan Ith.

A Tundra and a vibrant yellow Guardian saw her and headed her direction. The male, Jasper, stood up on his hind legs and reached his muzzle up to rub noses with her. Awkwardly, Zumrae returned the gesture.

Nose-rubbing wasn't a common way of saying hello at Clan Ith.

The Guardian, Jade, smiled at her and held out a package. "Welcome to the clan. Zumrae. We brought you a gift!"

Zumrae took the package. A length of navy fabric spilled from its top. "Oh, I can't accept these!" she said, pushing the apparel back to the other Guardian. "I haven't earned it!"

The Guardian simply laughed and refused to take it back. "You don't earn them here, silly. They're always gifts. Something the new Matriarch put into place."

Zumrae just stared at her, not sure what to say. "I. Um. Thank you?"

Jade laughed and nodded. "That's the spirit! We'll leave you alone now so you can get used to your new den. Best watch out for more gifts -- everyone's very excited to have a new clan member and I know for a fact that some of the others made a special trip into town to pick up gifts."

Jade paused just before she turned away. "You'll get used to it. Most of the dragons here are from other lairs. It gets easier." The Guardian leaned down and softly nuzzled Jasper's fur. The tundra began to purr loudly, then he looked up at Zumrae.

"Friend," he said simply, his complete and utter sincerity written in his eyes.

Long after they'd gone, Zumrae looked at the navy wrappings with a smile on her face.

"Friend," indeed.