Nichiil

I wish I hadn't been born a tundra.

It's not that there's anything wrong with tundras, mind you. All my clutch-sisters are tundras, and my big brothers are tundras, and my mom is a tundra. I like tundra dragons fine. It works for THEM.

It just doesn't work for ME.

I want to be lithe and graceful and elegant! I wish I'd taken after Dad, like Jocasta did. I wish Mom had taken a breed change to skydancer when she got all those other expensive genes, and then I'd be a skydancer, all long limbs and effortless ease. But I don't need to be a skydancer. A mirror would suit me fine, or a delicate fae, or a slim looping spiral ...

... anything but a stout squat tundra.

(Okay, not a snapper. That'd be worse.)

Mom says I don't have to stay a tundra forever. She was born single-gened and now she's a triple, and Dad got Circuit for his service to the clan. If I'm loyal and devoted and useful, maybe some clan will breed-change me.

Oh who am I kidding? I'll be lucky if anyclan wants me at all. Nobody adopts an Nth-generation dragon with the intention of dumping expensive magic into her. Dad says I should love myself the way I am. "You are not clumsy, my little Icicle. You are a beautiful, graceful dragoness, and you can do anything you choose to do."

But he's DAD, he would say that. I'm always going to be the dragon so clumsy she broke the GROUND. I wish Blake would stop reminding everyone of that. When anyone asks me, I tell them we found it because of Grail, which is true enough. I just made the hole. She's the one that wanted to dig into it.

The library IS great, though. After we discovered it, more dragons from the lair came to investigate. It is HUGE. The lowest levels were full of earth and rocks. Tourmaline, that's an archaeologist the Lair by the Sea has ties to, said that it's a lot more recent than the Sunbeam Ruins, even though it's a ruin too. She thinks it was destroyed in a dominance battle between Lightweaver and the Icewarden, in a devastating clash that ended with the Lightweaver's festival wrecked by blizzards and icestorms. That's like 20 generations ago! She found a scroll full of groom and bride price records, and I can't believe how much clans used to give for a plain no-gene plentiful. More than some triple-gened rares get now! That's why Icewarden won, Tourmaline says. Because the Light clans didn't want to exalt any of their own; they wanted to keep them in the lair to breed more dragons. Only Icewarden's dragons would answer the Call.

We wanted to unearth the rest of the library without wrecking it, so Smokelove and Tourmaline talked to our Earth dragons and the ones we exalted to Earthshaker, when they came to visit. Our Earth exalted swam through the earth around the library, and after a lot of careful study and even carefuller magic, they RAISED it. Straight out of the earth! It was AMAZING.

Now we're all busy renovating it. Earthshaker's dragons stabalized it with magical reinforcements when they raised it, but those are temporary measures. We need to repair all the broken support beams and columns and the holes in roof and ceilings and floors and ... you get the idea. It's a lot of work.

I help out, because Avanjia says that it's good exercise and a dancer should get a variety in, not just spend all her time dancing.

Labyrinth found an old book on dance in the collection, and I'm practicing some of the moves from it. Maybe if I can't be the best modern dancer, I can be the only historical one.

Or something. I suppose it doesn't really matter if I'm a great dancer or not, because I love doing it anyway.


I’m going to another clan!

A group came from Stormcliff to make copies of some of the books and trade. Amell the Dancer was with them. I watched her dancing at the party that sprung up, and then snuck away to practice her moves. Not that I will be ever as graceful as she is. She’s a wildclaw!

She asked me (me!) if I wanted to come to Stormcliff and be her apprentice. I must have looked like a complete idiot when I stammered out about being a tundra. She said I have a dancer’s heart, and no matter what body that is in, it shines through.

So I’m going to a new clan. That wants me to be a dancer. Just as I am.


Stormcliff is nothing like I thought it would be! Yes, there are odd - things running around. And a dragon named Milo that terrified me. He clicks when he talks. Not that he talks much but – yeah. Glad we didn’t spend long with him when Amell was showing me around.

A fluffy, pink skydancer came up to us as we were leaving the main cavern after meeting with Tamlin and Jehanne.

“Amell,” he made an elegant leg to her. “You have done the impossible in the short time you have been away and grown even more beautiful!”

My mentor ducked her head at that, “You keep that up Chaviv and one of these days, I’m going to take you to nest and never let you go.”

“Then I would be blessed beyond all drakes,” he inclined his head to her.

“Humph,” but she smiled at him. “Chaviv, this is my apprentice, Icicle.”

I suddenly found myself on the receiving end of an intense blue gaze. I’d only ever seen Dad look at Mom like that. I had no idea what to make of it.

“Surely you jest with me,” he looked over at Amell. “Such a glory cannot have such a chilling name.” He turned back to me, “No doubt she teases me. You are the beauty of the moon rise. The shimmer of dawn’s light on water. The delicate scent of hyacinth on the afternoon breezes. Not a cold and unfeeling icicle.”

Now I ducked my head. Amell swatted at Chaviv with her tail, “That is her name, you silly male.”

“A thousand, no, TEN thousand apologies most lovely of tundras. I have slighted you, and shall make the deepest of amends until you have forgiven me,” he bowed so low that his forehead lay in the dust. “I beg you permission to leave so I may start my penance for insulting you.”

Amell nudged me with a wing. “Um- of course,” I could barely get the words out.

He rose from the bow and launched straight into the air. It was very impressive; few dragons can do that without a start of some kind. I looked over at Amell.

“And that my dear one, is Chaviv,” she tucked a wing over me and we started walking again. “He thinks he has slighted you, so be prepared for his apology. “ She did look over, “Though he is right, that name suits you not at all.”

“It’s the one my parents gave me.”

She touched her nose to the edge of mine, “They gave that to an adorable hatchling. Not the lovely dancer.”

I looked at her, “You think I’m lovely?”

She pulled her wing off of me and stood in front of me, “You are lovely. A lithe and trim dancer that makes one think of joy just by looking at her.” She ducked her head a little and her eyes sparkled, “ I have on occasion wish for tundra fur.”

“W-hy?” The amazement was thick in my voice.

She touched noses with me lightly, “For the movement. Fur gives you the illusion of it even when you are standing still.” She broke out into a wide grin, “And for the warmth. The wind off the sea can be bitter if it comes from the Icefields.”

I had to chuckle at that, “Does that mean you’ll want to snuggle on those nights?”

“Of course!” She draped her wing back over my back and started walking again, “What else are apprentices for?”

I laughed out loud at that. But I had things to think about too. Was I lovely? Could I change my name? Was I all those things Chaviv said I was? I think I am going to learn a lot more here than just dancing.