Unnamed

Arrival:
The Tangled Wood was a beautiful territory, but everywhere Solanum turned it seemed like craftiness and trickery were the most valued traits. The very landscape itself seemed to urge people to speak in whispers, to walk lightly, to hold their breath at the sound of a snapping twig. The thrill of possible danger around every corner was exciting, but it wasn't the kind of excitement she really hungered for.

Solanum didn't want the fear-rush of feeling eyes watching her from the shadows; she wanted the adrenaline surge of running at top speed, flying, leaping, screaming, claws out, fangs sharp, blood pumping, every threat unsheathed. She wanted danger in full flame out in the open, not creeping in the darkness.

Imagine her delight when she learned there was literally a place called the Shrieking Wilds.

She wasted no time travelling to Nature's territory, ranging through the Viridian Labyrinth until she ran into the formidable warriors of the Wild Orchard clan. The clan's leaders offered Solanum a chance to patrol with the warriors on watch as sort of a test while they made up their minds about her, but after only a few weeks the decision to let her stay was unanimous. Loud, fearsome, and aggressive without being reckless, she fit right in and was worked into the evening patrol route- dusk being the time when the darkest creatures begin to peek their heads out while the sunset blazes like fire overhead, that suits her just fine.


Other pursuits:
Solanum loves to collect valuable bits of material from her fallen enemies- a broken fragment of antler, a length of hide covered in brightly colored Clouddancer feathers, Fuiran scale leather, anything she can make use of is carefully collected, brought home, treated, and stored. In her off hours when she isn't fighting or out on patrol, she loves to bring these things out and carefully craft garments and accessories from them.

The rest of the clan still thinks this is a rather strange hobby, but she's confident that eventually they'll realize how nice it is to have a ready supply of camouflage, light armor, and costume pieces for festival celebrations.

Relationships:
One day, on an especially peaceful patrol shift, a strange sound caught Solanum's ear. It was like... birdsong? But much too loud to be only one bird, and much too clear to be an entire flock. She followed the sound through the trees, tracking it down until she found the Skydancer Calen. He was just... standing out in the middle of a clearing, letting a golden beam of sunset light shine over his feathers and jewelry, completely in the open and appearing to be defenseless.

Confused as to how anyone could be so reckless, Solanum demanded to know what this strange dragon was doing. Surely he must be calling someone? Or baiting a trap? Or something like that?

But no. He was just singing because he it was his favorite thing to. He had grown up in Nature's territory and felt confident that he could keep himself out of danger if the 'noise he was making' (as she rather literally called it) tempted anything to come and attack him.

The amusement they both felt at how little sense the other made- Solanum thinking Calen was both out of his mind and very brave, Calen feeling that Solanum was overly hair-triggered to the extreme but that her dedication and courage were charming- led to their visiting each other again and again, until Calen asked permission to join the Wild Orchard clan officially and the two of them decided to become mates.

They both get a laugh out of making him stand still to serve as a modeling dummy for most of her costumes.

If the Wild Orchard clan needed a court jester, Calen would be the one to fill the position. Sure he's not as flashy as Brocade, but then, who wants to be as flashy as Brocade?

Calen doesn't show off on purpose. He just likes to laugh, and sing, and decorate things, and do whatever he can to make others smile or feel better about life- and it coincidentally happens that most of the time 'good feelings' go hand in hand with 'being loud.' Far from being a goof-off, he'll help Salus weed his herbs, pitch in with carrying water to the high branches of Cymosa's garden, or help Genna set up practice targets for the fighter trainees with equal amounts of satisfaction.

Sometimes he feels a little down about the fact that he doesn't have a 'real' job description- 'guy who helps everyone with things' doesn't sound very impressive when you stack it up next to healers and warriors (like his mate)- but when he ends most of his days tired and sore from having pitched in with other people's efforts, it's easier to remind himself that he's a valuable member of the clan.

Like most Pearlcatchers, Eik loves nothing more than to learn a good new bit of gossip- but unlike many, she enjoys picking up new tidbits of information not about other dragons, but about plants.

Eik traveled for a long time with her mate Elm, an Earth Snapper, but he eventually decided to turn his path towards the Gladekeeper's domain. While Eik plans to follow eventually, she not ready yet to leave Sornieth as she knows it behind.

Saying goodbye wasn't easy, but what's surprised her is how difficult it has been to go on after goodbye was said and done. She didn't realize how easy Elm made things for them- he chose their path, remembered the precise details of the medical information they were taught, negotiated their passage through clan territories, and stood watch at night to keep on the alert for Beastclans and other dangers. Handling all of that by herself, without the constant reassurance of a companion to let her know whether she's doing a good job or a poor one, has been stressful- but she has grown to meet the challenge.