Aleksei

Personality:

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History:
Alexsei had never thought of himself as a leader of a group—much less being so closely bonded to his fellow clannmates. He was hatched alone, an abandoned egg in the middle of the scrubs. Here, thanks to the scrub’s harsh ‘kill or be killed’ mentality, he learned never to trust anyone, and never stayed in one place for long.

When he grew older, his nomadic tendencies took on a purpose; the life-changing journey that every guardian feels the instinctive pull of: the Search. However, his journey was not easy. Multiple times, he found himself preyed upon by large gangs of beasts or other dragons. One fateful day, he was fighting for his life, near-fatal wounds draining his energy with every second as he tried to beat back his assailants. Suddenly, a dark shadow darted in front of him—just before Alexsei collapsed.

When he came to, Alexsei found himself in a large camp, his wounds bandaged.

“Ah, you’re up already? How are you feeling?”

He turned to see a dark-colored tundra with a soft smile on her maws. The female dragon introduced herself as Toret, and explained that he was in the care of a group of traveling bards. She had seen him fighting—near death—and simply had to help. Alexsei was astounded that this unassuming tundra was able to defend him, but he simply scowled and turned away. Toret, however, was not phased.

“Once my wounds heal, I’m leaving.” He’d growl. Toret would simply smile and nod, and then ask a question about his life, or tell a tale about her own travels. Gradually, Alexsei found himself opening up more and more, not used to this much benign interaction. Until, one day, it was time for him to leave…

As he turned to go, to continue his Search, something stopped him. He turned, and saw Toret, watching him with a soft smile. With a pang in his heart, he realized that he didn’t want to leave her. Dumbfounded, he couldn’t conceive a way to express this to Toret, who had a family of her own to travel with.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. “Alexsei, if you wouldn’t mind, I’ve decided that I’d like to travel with you.”

“Huh. I guess you can, if you want. Don’t slow me down.”

Just like that, Alexsei’s little world gained another. It was different traveling with Toret. For one, she sang constantly. At first, this irritated him to no end… but eventually, he had grown to enjoy it—though, of course, he’d never admit it.

There was another quirk about Toret: her motherly instincts knew no bounds. As they traveled, sometimes Alexsei would look behind himself, and Toret would be carrying yet another hatchling. He would growl, tell her that this was the last dragon that could travel with them, but soon enough, another would join the party. Though, at first, many were wary of or hostile towards this group, Toret’s immursable kindness would eventually win them over. Their little group grew and grew; friendships were formed, lifelong rivals blossomed, and a unique family formed.

One day on his Search, Alexsei looked behind him. He saw Toret, and the rest of his family, squabbling, laughing, chatting—and he realized something: this was his charge, the thing he had been searching for all along.

Of course, old grump daddy would never admit that, so he and his little family continue to travel aimlessly, making new friends and having adventures together.

Relationships: