Riptide

Quick and bright and will pull you into a conversation so fast you don't know how it happened. Like a riptide.

CLAN POSITION: Warrior


Riptide padded easily through the wood, unconcerned and happy enough. He had just won over Amphitrite. Things were good.
"Riptide!" called Amphitrite, pushing through the bushes after him. "Wait!"
Riptide glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Hey."
"Hey," she breathed, smiling at him.
"Oof!"
Riptide looked away from Amphitrite, slightly annoyed at whatever was interrupting the moment. The annoyance vanished as soon as he saw the culprit.
A bright, eye-watering yellow dragon tumbled out of the trees.
"Sunni!" protested a male voice, and another imperial, this one male, trotted after the female. "What in flightrising are you DOING?"
"Just trying to catch my tail! I lost my balance, okay? Gimme a break." Sunni got to her paws, then caught sight of Riptide and Amphitrite staring at her.
"Oops! Sorry!" Sunni giggled and retreated into the bushes. Solar, the banana male beside her, followed.
Riptide smiled slightly and rolled his eyes. Sunni had been his best friend for ages, but she honestly got in the way sometimes.
"So, Riptide," said Amphitirite coyly, drawing his attention. "I was thinking..."
"Yeah?" asked Riptide absently, padding through the trees. He noticed with some trepidation that Amphitrite had moved so close their wings were brushing and her carribean tail had curled around his.
Riptide was uncomfortable with the position. She was just...too close. He tried to politely move away, but she wouldn't let him go. Perhaps she just didn't sense his discomfort?
"Are you listening to me?" asked Amphitrite, and Riptide realized too late that she had been talking to him and he had been so focused on trying to discreetly get away that he hadn't been paying attention.
"No," he said without thinking.
Amphitrite frowned at him. "I knew it!" she flounced away.
Riptide glanced after her, surprised to find he wasn't that upset by her anger. Why was that?
He trotted through the trees, resolving to go find Sunni. She would be able to understand why he didn't seem to care.
Riptide trotted through the forest, not understanding the numb feeling inside him. He had been pursuing Amphitrite for ages. Why had he reacted the way he did?
Riptide was so consumed by his own thoughts, he failed to notice he was about to walk in on Sunni and Solar until it was too late.
Riptide found himself staring at his best friend wrapped in the wings of Solar.
"Um, sorry," he said, feeling his face go red. He had known, or at least, suspected, that there was something between Sunni and Solar, but he hadn't ever... He hadn't ever seen anything...like this.
Sunni hastily broke away from Solar and blushed. "Um, hi Riptide! How's it going? Where's Amphy?"
"Er, she's...uh, back there. Somewhere," said Riptide.
That was lame.
Riptide hastily tried to amend his statement. "Somewhere back there."
That was even lamer.
Riptide sighed and said, "Uh, I'll go. Sorry."
He hastily retreated into the bushes.
He leaned against the nearest rock formation, breathing hard. What was wrong with him? First he blew off Amphitrite, then he was suddenly pulsing with rage about Sunni and Solar...
Wait. What?
Riptide blinked.
He was, in fact, full of anger. And he hadn't even noticed.
How dare Solar make a move on Sunni! She's way too young and innocent and- and-"
Riptide stomped his foot slightly.
"Riptide?" asked a familiar voice, and a bright green dragon stepped out of the bushes.
"Terra?" asked Riptide, surprised. "What are you doing around here?"
"Oh, I was just gathering herbs and then I suddenly heard someone stomping around."
"Oh. Sorry. That was me."
Terra laughed. A happy, tinkling sound. It calmed Riptide and soothed his emotions, which felt like they'd been through a blender. Her laugh made him think everything could turn out right.
"Terra," he said suddenly. "I just, um, saw Sunni. With Solar."
Terra's head tilted slightly and her bright blue eyes appraised him.
"And I got mad," he admitted. "For no reason. Maybe it's because Sunni's so young..."
"She's an adult," said Terra quietly. "She's not much younger than you are, Riptide. You're a few months her senior, if that."
Riptide hesitated. "But she seems so much younger than she actually is. She's just so...innocent."
Terra gave him a look that gave Riptide the feeling that he was being X-rayed by the those light blue eyes.
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" she asked, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.
"What other reason would there be?"
Terra raised an eyebrow, and Riptide was hit with a blast of realization.
"You think I like Sunni?"
"It would make sense."
"But- But- Amphitrite!"
"What about her?"
"She's my mate!"
"Is she still? I was under the impression you two had gotten into a fight."
"How did you-?"
"She stopped by while I was collecting herbs."
"Oh... Well, we'll make up. It was stupid, anyway."
"Hmm. Do you want to make up with her?"
"Of course I do! Sunni and I are friends!"
Terra shrugged. "If you say so."
He stared at her. "Terra," he said slowly, and clearly. "Sunni is my best friend. I CAN'T like her."
The dark-green dragon shrugged. "I didn't realize there were any rules on who someone could like."
"Terra," he said, starting to get slightly annoyed.
She laughed slightly and held up her wings in the universal sign of defeat. "Okay, okay!"
"I'm gonna go find Amphitrite," Riptide muttered, turning away and padding into the trees.
"Good luck!" she called after him, and he flicked his tail to show he had heard.
It wasn't as if he didn't LIKE Sunni, he just didn't like her...like THAT. Like Terra was implying. She wasn't like Amphitrite.
"You ALWAYS had eyes for her!" cried a voice, cracking with strain and anger.
Riptide stopped dead.
His ears pricked up. That had sounded like...Aphrodite?
Sure enough-
A blindingly red imperial burst through the bushes, her scales glimmering with rainbow splotches like bubbles, and tears forming in her bright red eyes.
"Aw, c'mon baby..." drawled a voice behind her, and Riptide nearly groaned aloud.
Ares.
His two least favorite dragons.
Aphrodite stopped short when she saw Riptide, but got over her shock as she threw herself at him and burst into tears on his shoulder.
"A-Aphrodite?" Riptide asked, too surprised to push her away.
Ares's eyes narrowed.
"R-R-Riptide!" she wailed.
"Yes?" he replied, completely nonplussed.
"ARES HAS BEEN CHEATING ON ME."
"Um..." Well that's a first.
"Aw, c'mon baby," Ares broke in, just as he had done when Riptide first stumbled in on whatever the heck this was.
"Don't talk to me," said Aphrodite dramatically, unaware of Riptide staggering under her weight. "Riptide, you understand me, don't you?"
"Uh... Sure?"
That was a mistake.
Aphrodite threw her paws around his neck and hugged him viciously, causing him to gasp for air.
A fresh wave of sobs assaulted Riptide's ears, and he thought despairingly of his warm, toasty, peaceful den far away from here, where he didn't have Ares glaring at him, or Aphrodite sobbing all over him, or Terra making stupid assumptions, or Amphitrite yelling at him, or Sunni wrapped in the arms of Solar...
"Riptide, take me home," said Aphrodite, attempting to swoon, but he was having none of that, backing up as best he could.
"Um, I'm kind of looking for Amphitrite right now..."
"Amphitrite!" said Aphrodite, fresh tears popping to her eyes. Geez, did the girl EVER run out of them?
"You love her?"
"Uh..."
"I saw her mad too!" she wailed. "Have YOU been cheating too?!? MALES."
She whirled herself out of Riptide's arms, (which he was quite thankful for), and flung herself into Ares's, bawling.
Riptide didn't waste time on words.
He shot away as fast as he could go.
As he took to the air, he heard light, bubbling laughter float to him on the breeze.
"Sunni?"
"The one and only," she said with a grin, flying upside down underneath him. "I saw that. Got a kick out of it too."
She burst into peals of laughter again.
"You didn't think to help me get loose?" asked Riptide, trying to be exasperated, but it was exceptionally difficult to have any negative feelings around Sunni.
She grinned at him, green eyes sparkling so brightly, he felt like melting into a puddle...
He shook it away. What was wrong with him...?
"Nope!" she said cheerily, causing Riptide to grasp desperately at what they had originally been talking about.
"Too amusing," she giggled.
"Oh Riptide!" she gasped, throwing one paw dramatically over her forehead, a comical performance of Aphrodite's hysterics, "Go beat up Ares for me, darling!"
Riptide couldn't help but laugh as Sunni rolled around crazily in the air, doing loops and dances, like a bouncing ball of light.
"Are you LAUGHING at me, Rip-kins?" asked Sunni with humorous horror. "UGH! I'M SO MISTREATED AND MISUNDERSTOOD!"
Riptide shook his head, a grin unfurling on his face. "Sunni..."
"SUNNI? MY NAME IS APHRODITE! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME THAT HORRID NAME!"
He laughed again, shaking his mane and smiling fondly at her. "Come on, silly. Dinner."
"Food?" she asked, perking up and staring at him hopefully. "I want seafood!"
"Me too," he returned, amused.
"Well, then what are we waiting for?"
She shot off, and he opened his mouth, questions about Solar pushing insistently against his lips.
Oh come on, Riptide. Just shut it. She's happy, right?

Spirit Armor

Familiar

This enchanted armor will roam ancient pathways, protecting the road's travelers.

1500

Cosmo Gecko

Familiar

The more luminous specimens consume a great quantity of fireflies. (Colored by LugiaFly.)

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