Gaffie

Gaffie
Leader of the Skydancer Scouts

She came to the clan on her claws, her blue wings in tatters, icicles hanging from her unadorned body. She was alone. Exiled from her previous clan during an uprising she eft behind many of her own hatchlings. In punishment for backing the wrong side, her flight feathers were pulled leaving the great skydancer grounded. Stripped of all rank, mate and children she was discarded from the Plague flight like a unwelcome parasite.

When Gaffie reached the Frigid Floes she thought it was the end. Collapsing onto the ice she was found by a single skydancer male.

Her crimson eyes only registered a lavender blur as dark wings closed around her wasted body bringing welcome warmth. Her next memory was being borne upon the dark back of a single great mirror, though her wing tips still dragged in the snow. This was fleeting as she slipped into unconsciousness once more.

Next time she woke it was in a warm, iridescent black feather lined nest. Looking over the edge she could see she was in a carved out alcove in the ice, well lit due to a large hole in he ceiling, but high enough up to stop the wind getting in. Beside her a small pile of leaves and thawed insects was beckoning. Snapping these up, she took in the sites of the working clan. It was still small then, a varied pack of mirrors tugged in organised chaos a drill, grinding a new cave from the rock. A loud crack echoed through the cavern as the ice within the new hollow collapsed. Removing the drill a short winged rose mirror climbed in, her powerful limbs clearing out the ice from the hollow, which was quickly carried away by a pale tiger wildclaw with powerful beats of blue wings. When the debris was cleared the mirrors continued their clearing.

A fluttering of feathers announced the nests occupant. A rather scrawny male skydancer male landed delicately on the edge of the nest. She outweighed him even in her poor condition but the blue eyes behind the bird skull helmet radiated concern. It was his feathers that had been carefully placed around her while she slept in his nest as she recognised the raven feathers. In fact patches were missing from the non-essential wing feathers suggesting her feather covering was exceptionally fresh.
'I hope you are feeling better. I am Deviant and you are currently within the iceberg us of Reflection Weyr Clan call home. You are welcome to stay for as long as you wish'

And so she did. Over the seasons she bore Deviant many eggs. Surprisingly for his small size he was quick and caught her with ease in the mating flights. Their hatchlings were strong, though varied in size. Many had left the nest but the recent triplets were staying on to become the flight guard of the clan as it grew. They were considered essential for providing escort service for the great imperials that now resided within the clan.

With her experience and skill she began teaching the other skydancers within the clan how to scout, with the very best becoming the Armoured Scout Unit. These would specialise in taking down heavy prey in the forests further in land. The smallest and slowest would become foragers, collecting insects and fishing.

Now if you go into the Frigid Floes you may see a dark skydancer with brilliant blue feathers with two grafted black feathers in her wings escorted by a single little male.