Cayne

The wind picked up, pushing past the dense foliage of Embark’s newly built home. It carried with it the slightest warning of frost, but more alarming was the shrill cry that punctuated the air a moment later. A high-pitched screech, born of pain and frustration, that rose with a gust of wind before falling silent. Embark rose from the brush with a rumble, spreading her wings to move the foliage from her path as she lumbered down the path to the nearby glade where the cry had come. The guardian seemed more irritated by the disruption to her rest than concerned for the scream’s wielder. The sun was still high as Embark emerged into the glen, pausing a moment to let her scales soak in the rays. In the middle of the glade, a fae was shrieking, whirling about and tearing grass up by its roots. A clod of dirt sailed too close to Embark for comfort and she snorted.

♢mates Zyrephon, Corrupted, Roscoe ♦role deputy, trainer ♢likes games, natural beauty, sweets ♦dislikes cruelty, tranquility ♢hobbies training hatchlings alongside Embark, picking and rolling in flowers, playing hide and seek

The fae froze at the noise, looking up at the guardian. Her frills lifted in interest, which gave Embark a good show of what might have caused the fae’s displeasure. Deep, narrow gouges ran down her ivory neck, with accompanying shallower gashes along her chest and among the folds of her bright green wings. The two dragons had just a moment to examine the other before the fae yelped, leaping off from the ground with a flurry of wing beats.

A fresh bite mark was oozing on the fae’s leg. She twirled about, hissing, as Embark approached the scene. “Show yourself,” Embark said, nearly bellowing.

There was a small throat clearing. “She started it,” the tinny voice said. Embark located it in a clump of overturned grasses.

Liar! Intruder,” the fae cried, rising up higher than Embark could reach.

She tried to steal my flower,” the voice continued. It had moved to be behind Embark, which frustrated the larger dragon.

Liar, liar,” the fae chanted.

Enough,” Embark barked, snapping at the faedragon.

She yelped, holding her muzzle in her claws, a moment of distress. Before she picked up her wing beats and took off in a huff.

I was handling her, just fine, you delightful beast,” the voice said, this time sounding as if the speaker was just under Embark. The owner sounded amused, laughing as Embark jumped back, flapping her powerful wings once for leverage.

Embark swept her thick tail across the ground with a snarl. "Who's there? Face me." Her violence had disrupted a sea of blooming wildflowers, and their petals swelled up and were lifted by the gentle winds that moved through the verdant valley. As they fell like colorful snow about her, she heard the giggle again and pulled her lips back, revealing a gleaming wall of sharp, adolescent teeth. "So that's it, this is some game to you?"

The guardian lifted herself up onto her hind legs and flared her wings, blocking the sun out for a portion of the trampled grasses beneath her. From this vantage point, she scanned the ground, searching for any sign of movement. But all she saw was drifting petals and insects fleeing from her repeated sweeps.

Yes, I think you're a delight," the small voice said, punctuated with an airy laugh. Tiny claws needled into Embark's upper back and stuck to her neck. She growled, arching her head down to spy the culprit: a spiral. The mighty guardian froze at the sight, but not out of rigid fear or panic, no. It was something so much more than that.

The spiral had brilliant pink eyes, unlike Embark’s emerald own or the fae’s from before. They were wide in proportion to the spiral’s small, twisting body, shining and bright in the noon-light. Her scales shimmered as if chiseled from gemstone, with the pure white scales of her wings a stark contrast in the sea of colorful flowers.

Purple petals had fallen onto the spiral's head, and she tossed her head back so they drifted down to the ground. She parted her mouth in a grin, laughing in delight as she watched them twirl down to the earth. With a jerk, she focused a fuchsia eye on the guardian. "Hiya, hiya. You wouldn't believe the time I had, getting away from that fae you scared off. I'm Cayne, it's a pleasure, delight."

Embark lowered herself back onto the ground, caught off guard by the overwhelming desire to protect. She brought a wing up and back, shielding the spiral from the sun. She grumbled some greeting, low, and began to move back to her shared clearing with Nouel. Cayne twirled herself around Embark's neck. "I've heard about guardians, never met one. You're huuuuuge, yanno. You got a name? You wanna be friends?" The spiral showed no hesitancy nor fear toward the much larger dragon.

They moved under the protection of some large leafy foliage, and Embark tucked her wings in tight. They traveled a few more moments with only Embark's steadying breaths and heavy steps between them. "Call me Embark, Cayne. I…think I would like being friends," she said in a huff, still caught in some amount of disbelief that this puny thing was her charge.

But Cayne just laughed and pressed the side of her face up against Embark's scales. "Hello friend Embark." She looked around at the forest and coiled tighter about the guardian's neck. "At last, hello, new home."

WC: 900

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