Ashe

Finding one's Charge can be hard.

Ashe discovered hers when it hit her in the face, literally. Following the pull of The Search, she had stopped beneath a long dead tree. Noise above drew attention to a bird's nest, followed by movement and a knotted wad of wire, string, gems, and beads (roughly half the contents of the nest) tumbling onto her head. Something had told her to move slowly while getting free of the mess... Mild concern about her facial fins remaining tangled in the wire may have played a part in that care.

She'd known the moment claw had grasped something. Less expected was the bizarre Fae soon held upside down and blinking bright aquamarine eyes at her. If not for the blinking, she'd have thought it a sculpture. The crests, constantly moving in most Fae were limp as it hung from her talons. It barely breathed and felt almost metallic to the touch. And it's wings... those were nearly translucent, glittering as if made from sheets of crystal.

When righted, the odd Fae had remained mute and only flown once moving it had reflexively made the wings open. Almost as if the smaller dragon had forgotten what wings were for. Thankfully, Garnet, as she's named it, is her Charge because she's hardly able to remove it from her head. The Fae will gently settle, imitating a slightly shifting headpiece, and barely move, for hours. Though, being able to sleep with her Charge wrapped around her horns and seemingly awake half the night does make it easy to protect the oddity.

Ending up with a Lightning Clan had been pure accident when a small knot of friends from a Canyon perched lair had asked about the 'ornament', only to have it sit up and preen for the attention. Polite insistence seen the pair? join the others for a few days at home so they might carefully observe the almost creature. Garnet had seemed if not happy, then at least appreciative of several dragons staring and jotting down notes about the least little movement. She (if Garnet even has a gender) will even pose the moment anyone holding drawing supplies comes within view of seemingly vacant blue eyes.

Besides finding a place to lair with her Charge, the Lightning dragons did manage to locate some information on how to protect it. Ashe now has an idea of what Jewelry Box Fae are and how to keep hers safe from injury (damage?).

Of course, Garnet did steal a few untended pieces of jewelry and would only return them in exchange for similar pieces in her own size. These minor transgressions seem to have been forgiven on account of how cute their lair mates find it to give the odd Fae new trinkets to wear and collect. Something that sparks problems of its own... the wad of tangled wire and necklace chains found close to tiny claws. Untangling the small almost dragon from the collection can require several sets of talons, especially as Garnet will start moving if it appears that anything remotely considered jewelry might be damaged.

Someday, Ashe will find whoever left the Vulstal kit near her portion of the lair. And she will hurt them, severely. Garnet has since been given a bag to hold the multitude of shed crystals. It was that, or continue finding shards sticking out of the bed only one of them needs.