Flawlessly

Digging in the Shifting Expanse occasionally unearths relics of the time before dragons. The script is beyond anyone's comprehension - "The Arcanist might be able to read it," Hel suggested when Nightspring dug up a text consisting only of the illegible scratchings - but the faded illustrations are quite beautiful.

Some books only hold abstract drawings of trees, with the fruit at the end of each branch replaced with script instead.

"What's the point of these?" Helena wonders, carefully flipping through the yellowed pages. "I've seen texts with paintings of trees, and they actually look like them."

"Family trees," Ancalagon says later, after a visit to Swipp. "He says they're family trees. These Second Age races obsessed over their lineages; Swipp said he exchanged thousands of these texts with hundreds of clans. They're everywhere."

"We're just as obsessed," Tiamat says while lumbering by the workshop. "But our obsession is more practical."

One rule governs all dragonkind - no two dragons can breed if they share an ancestor in the first five generations. Otherwise they are free to mingle and mate, and often assign someone as a records keeper to help them keep track of hatchlings, parents, and newcomers to the clan. Some dragons form pairs and only occasionally venture out to share a nest with another dragon.

Because the clan matriarch has a sense of humor, she gave that position to the resident healer because for some reason family lineages and the lair's health are related.

"I don't get paid enough," Rutherienne had grumbled early on while compiling the records. "Everyone can mate with everyone, no one's related, make merry and fill up those nests. Now shoo."

Once Flawlessly came of age, she approached Tron about pairing up at the nesting grounds.

"In a way, we're compatible," she explained, poking at one of the stonewash circuit lines on his forearm. "So why not?"

"I can't argue with that," Tron said.

Dragons came and went, but one of the dragons that stayed was a circuit Imperial. Watching Sam trail Tron and Nightspring around the lair, Flawlessly wondered why the young dragon tugged at her heart. The way he practiced his skills with the other hatchlings, pouncing on an tussling with each other, reminded her of her early days in her birth clan.

"Flawlessly, a word," Ru said, trudging by with her tail wrapped around a scroll. A lineage scroll.

In Ru's corner of the lair, the two dragons settled while the Tundra unrolled what was apparently two scrolls, two sheets of dragon family trees. Flawlessly watched the Tundra fuss with the sheets while her Emerald Webwing flitted around, giving Flawlessly's Longneck Mender a suspicious eye.

"Tell me you don't intend to pair with Tron while you live here," Ru said.

"I don't. I only suggested it because we've compatible genes." Flawlessly tilted her head, trying to gauge the healer's intent. "Why do you ask?"

"I wasn't asking. So help me, I will not put up with inter-clan drama while I'm with Ti," Ru grumbled. "I asked Sam for his family tree. It appears his mother and yours are sisters."

Flawlessly stared at her.

"You're cousins," the Tundra said. "And since Tron is currently the only other dragon with compatible genes, you two better not fight over him. Ti may think it's funny but I'm not having any of it."

But Flawlessly was too busy recalling the many ways Sam reminded her of herself. This would explain it - their mothers learned from the same clan and passed their knowledge down to her and Sam. They're cousins. That's fantastic.

Grinning, she said, "Can't wait to ask him what my aunt taught him," and flounced away to find her cousin.

Ru sighed, muttered, "I really don't get paid enough for this," and rolled the scrolls up.