Esmeralda

"It's Esmeralda's fault!"is the good-natured mantra of the clan.

The clan's matriarch, Matilda, found her when she was fresh out of the egg and something about the ungainly little chick resonated strongly with the stern Guardian. Before she knew it she had borrowed money from a neighboring clan and was herding the little ball of fur home.

As the little Tundra grew she delighted everyone with her sunny personality and infectious laugh, and Esmeralda loved to laugh. A natural born trickster, hardly a day went by without some grand prank being pulled. Her capers were never mean spirited, she seemed to be gifted in knowing just how much she could get away with. Soon the dignified old lair was ringing with the sound of laughter day and night.

Suddenly everyone had blue fur? "It's Esmeralda's fault!"

Hatchlings taught to sing silly limericks about the Windsinger? "It's Esmeralda's fault!"

A basket packed full of live butterflies that burst out at you when you opened the lid? "It's Esmeralda's fault!"

Something else was Esmeralda's fault as well and it happened slowly and almost imperceptibly. There had been tundras in the clan before her, but none with the vibrant personality that she brought with her. The longer she lived with her clan, the more relaxed it became. They laughed more, took themselves less seriously, played more games. Tundras from near and far started being drawn to the clan and Matilda accepted them all. The Guardian was stern no longer, but welcomed the happy chaos that pervaded her land. In time she shed her Guardian form all together, finding the less severe form of a Coatl more to her liking. Her lair had become a place of sunshine and laughter and it was Esmeralda's fault.

A long time passed before Esmeralda's found a mate. Nobody seemed to quite suit her and she had almost decided to remain unattached. It was time for Esmeralda to be surprised, for when love came, it came unexpectedly from within her own clan.

Kelpie had initially been drawn to the clan because of his interest Karya, but soon discovered that while they made great friends, they weren't meant to be mates. Kelpie stayed with the clan though, it was an oasis for tundra and they seldom left once arrived.

Esmeralda didn't notice him much when he first came. The clan had grown large and her attention was captured by flitting from one old friend to another. When it came time for her to 'welcome' the new addition it came in the form of a swarm of bats that she convinced to take over his cave. When he came flying out of his cave besieged by the things she doubled over in merriment.

His own smile was slow and sheepish. He had heard of her type of hello and had thought himself well prepared for it. When he laughed at himself it was low and deep and gay and Esmeralda's heart was curious for the first time.

They sat side by side in the moonlight that night, talking while his cave emptied of bats and by dawn she was captured. Quiet Kelpie was her perfect compliment, he understood her without clashing with her and he loved to watch her laugh.