Esoteric

". . .and who is that?"

Cadfan had been taking his new Wildclaw clanmate on the customary tour of the lair. Up until this point things had been going fairly smoothly. Smoothly, that is, until the Wildclaw spotted Tenebrous.

"That's, er, Tenebrous," said the Tundra nervously, knowing Tenebrous' nature. "You needn't concern yourself with her. Now, over here we have. . ."

Cadfan turned to find that the brightly coloured Wildclaw was squaring up to Tenebrous. Cadfan's fur stood on end, which was an impressive sight considering that he was covered in it. The Tundra knew that getting between two sparring Wildclaws was generally something to be avoided, but for the sake of peace he had to try and intervene.

"Look, ladies, er. . .I'm not sure why you've suddenly decided to hate each other, but I must ask that you don't spar in the lair."

His voice shook slightly as he addressed the two dragons but he hoped that his message had come across. Esoteric didn't break her intimidating gaze - no Wildclaw ever would - but she decided to make her point clear.

"This creature is a threat. She is an untrustworthy beast! How can you allow her to live here?!"

Cadfan opened his mouth to respond and defend his position, but swiftly closed it again as Tenebrous began to laugh. It was not a pleasant laugh.

"Ha! Who is is this newcomer telling me that I have no right to be here?" spat Tenebrous, the bandages on her face shifting and showing her disfigurements.
"I am an emissary of the Plaguebringer! My cause is true! What pathetic, mewling Wildclaw crawls forth from the Shadows and tells other dragons how to behave? Your flight are nothing but layabout clowns!"

Tenebrous laughed again with that horrible, horrible laugh. Air whistled through the occasional gap in her face, giving an even more horrifying edge to proceedings.

"Tell her, Cadfan! Tell this neon-coloured harlequin the beauty of science!"

Before Cadfan could respond there was a loud snarl from Esoteric as she leapt onto the darker-colured Wildclaw, her hindclaws slashing at the air before her. Esoteric's claws quickly found Tenebrous' throat and pinned her to the ground.

There was a very brief and very heavy silence. Cadfan stood mortified, unable to move through shock. Taliesin, having heard the commotion, had lumbered over and was now towering over the smaller dragons.

"That's quite enough," he growled, eyes narrowing.

Cadfan gave a sigh of relief and retreated back behind Taliesin, trusting the Guardian to restore the peace. Esoteric stepped back from Tenebrous' prone form and bowed her head. She had no choice but to concede to Taliesin, especially since she was new to the clan and had not yet earned a place in the hierarchy.

Tenebrous lay on the ground for a few more moments. At first she appeared dead, but soon a claw came up and gently traced the new slash marks on her throat.

"Interesting," came her raspy voice. "Ah, fresh. . .fresh wounds. . .must study them. . ."

Somewhat shakily at first, but then more confidently, Tenebrous rose from the lair floor, still stroking at her throat. Esoteric stood and watched, not saying a word.

"Th-thank you, young one," she rasped, her voice not gaining any strength. "This is most interesting. . ."

Tenebrous stumbled forwards slightly. Taliesin went to catch her but she waved him away.

"Leave me. Leave me to my studies."

With that, the Obsidian-hued Wildclaw slunk off back to her room, drops of blood splattering onto the floor behind her.

Once she had gone, Taliesin and Cadfan looked to Esoteric. Esoteric, confident in her judgement, simply stared back.

"Thank you, Cadfan, for the tour. Please show me to my quarters now."

Cadfan looked at Taliesin, unsure as how to proceed. The two dragons knew that Tenebrous was a rogue element in the clan but they couldn't tolerate violence in the lair. How would Esoteric know that though if she only just joined the clan?

Cadfan cleared his throat and made a decree:

"I have decided that since you are new to this clan and its ways that I will overlook this transgression."

"Yes. Good. Now where are my quarters?"

Cadfan looked to Taliesin again with a tired look, but took on the Wildclaw's request and led her away.

---

That night, Taliesin came to visit Esoteric. The Wildclaw looked annoyed at first, but soon noticed the friendly look on Taliesin's face.

"Look," said the Guardian with a sigh. "Between you and me, this whole clan knows that Tenebrous is a nasty piece of work. She even tries to poison our meat and seafood so she can experiment on us. I've been keeping tabs on her as best I can, but I can't watch her all the time as I have other duties."

Taliesin sighed again and looked out at the lair where the rest of the clan slumbered.

"I'm not as young as I used to be. Cadfan expects me to guard and protect everyone but on some days I don't half ache, let me tell you."

He looked back to Esoteric.

"So, Esoteric, I have a proposal. If you are willing to, er, help me monitor Tenebrous I would be in your debt. I can see that you're fully capable of defending yourself and you're not intimidated by her. So what do you say?"

There was a brief pause. Taliesin began to worry - was he asking too much of this new clanmate? His fears were allayed when Esoteric held out her paw for him to shake.

"Yes. And call me Essie, All my friends do."