Windy

Windy
Up up up in the sky, kissing clouds as they drift by....

Windy first opened her eyes within the Zephyr Steppes. Gentle breezes brushed stray pieces of egg shell from her face as she stumbled out from her egg and into the waiting claws of her parents. They were thrilled to see her, but their joy soon faded. Their daughter had been born with a weak wing, thin and papery and sensitive to the smallest winds.

As a young hatchling, Windy struggled in desperation to learn flight like all the others her age. But her weak wing made it almost impossible to stay airborne for more than a few minutes and she was constantly off balance, ending up nosediving the ground.

Despite her struggles, Windy was a very optimistic dragon. Her parents feared the failure of flying and finding the joy of the high skies would dampen their child and take the brightness from her eyes. She proved them wrong by trying every day and always laughing it off when it went bad.

Still, as she grew older and matured, being the only one of her kin around that stayed put on the ground began to have an impact on her. She grew self conscious and went out less and less. It hurt to not fly up into the clouds. But being away from others and unable to socialize was so against Spirals' natural habits, it made her almost a pariah to the others. Why was she so strange?

Her sadness became such a problem that Windy ran away from her home clan and disappeared into the mists. She felt herself too much of a burden for them if she couldn't be a dedicated cloud chaser like her parents and kin.

She wandered alone, hiding in caves or cracks in hills that rolled for miles. Every now and then she would try to fly again, leaping off of small cliff-sides only to crash and burn. It only added fuel to her fire of self hatred and anguish.

During one of her practice flights, she crashed almost directly into a Nocturne. Although neither were harmed, embarrassment froze Windy in place. She sputtered apologizes and looked down in shame, but the Nocturne reassured her that it was okay.

After shy introductions and a little coaxing [with a delicious meal], Windy told Keiko her story. She relayed how she had been born with a weak wing and lamented about how it kept her bound do the ground. It wasn't natural for Spiral dragons to not be high in the skies. So she had left home to spare them the shame.

Keiko understood how she must feel. To be so vastly unnatural and apart from your own species must cause a lot of ache in Windy's soul. So she offered to let her see one of their top inventors. They might be able to rig something up that would help her to soar. Although she was very doubtful of it, Windy agreed.

So, they travelled back to Keiko's home clan.

There, she met the inventor. They were an eccentric dragon with wild dreams and visions of new inventions for the future of the clan. Although doubtful, Windy told the dragon about her woes and in return they eagerly told her they could make her dreams come true. Many attempts were made and failed and with each one Windy's hopes and dreams grew dimmer.

But then, a simplistic experiment with her win-- adding a support to it to help it remain extended. At the top of a steep hill Windy dove off. She shut her eyes tightly and hoped with all her might as her wings shot open.

"Please... please..."

The ground did not meet her as she descended and when she opened her eyes, she found herself gliding over the trees and frozen lake.

She was flying!

When she landed, she cried happily with the inventor and Keiko. They had done it, they'd given her her soul back. She was finally a full dragon.

Although she can only fly for a short time and is unable to go very high, Windy was happy.
Now she assists in teaching the young dragons to fly and is essential in helping the ones who are slow to grasp it and feel saddened by it.