Tereshka

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Mate: --- Family: --- Occupation: Warrior

Artwork: ---

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Even as a hatchling Tereshka was aware that the clan viewed her differently than the others. It was never overly obvious, no one treated her with disdain or disgust, but there were little things. Sideways glances and soft murmurs that clued her in to the fact that something about her was different. As she matured she came to realize that she was the only one of her kind amongst their numbers at the time. Childish curiosity drove her to ask why this was, yet she had the sense that not knowing was perhaps better for her.

This never did anything to deter her growth, however. The more she interacted with the clan around her, the more those few who had seemed wary relaxed, and eventually she felt perfectly at home within Nocte. Once she reached maturity she joined the ranks of the apprentices following the path of a Warrior, working her hardest to follow her instructor's words to the letter. In everything she did, Tereshka took special care to be sure she followed the rules and remained respectful of both peers and superiors.

Her dutiful nature eventually drew the attention of one of the clan's elder Warriors, Tempest. He was an imposing figure, but was fond of her determination and polite demeanor. At first he intimidated Tereshka, even as he offered her a place as his own apprentice. She accepted humbly, and over time it became clear that beneath his outward appearance Tempest was actually a rather fatherly dragon who taught combat as often as he did philosophy.

Tereshka learned much, and quickly, under Tempest's tutelage. Soon enough she was as confident as he was, dreaming of the day she'd be able to stand on equal footing with him within the clan. Her clanmates all treated her like one of their own by now, all save for one dragon. Sepheraph, the then second in command, always seemed to have at least a single moment in his day to gaze at her with pure loathing.

She never knew why, but when the day came that he began his Revolt, she was almost unsurprised.

Tereshka followed her teacher into the throng of battle. Though the mixed hoard they faced was unlike anything she'd pitted herself against before, she held strong. Her teachings had never quite covered this kind of combat, messy and uneven, a throng of moving bodies and blood it was impossible to see through. Half the time she feared she was targeting allies rather than enemies, and in those moments she forced herself to stop. In the midst of the battlefield she would halt, remembering Tempest's words, to trust her instincts.

Her focus returned, she would throw herself back into the fight, and by the end of the siege she was as soaked in blood as any of the veteran Warriors.

In the aftermath, some of the clan's history finally came to light. The last Ridgebacks to live within the clan before herself had been traitors; turned their talons against their leader and been exiled for it. They had been Sepheraph's mate and daughter, and all this time he had harbored a festering grudge. Oh his loathing had existed before his mate and child's imminent exile, but it had only grown thereafter. She had marked a new beginning for the clan, and maybe in some ways set the events that led to the revolt in motion.

But Tereshka didn't blame herself. How could she? It wasn't her responsibility to tend the grudges of an already bitter dragon, nor could she feel guilty for existing as her own self. Nocte was her home. The dragons here had taken her in and given her a chance for a good life defending their creed, and no past-enamored dragon would take that from her.

She brushed aside the past, the lingering feeling of Sepheraph's hateful gazes, and pursued the future. Soon enough she was graduating from Tempest's apprenticeship, now his equal, at least in the eyes of the clan. Tereshka shouldered her new burden of responsibility without complaint, taking great pleasure in all that now rested on her. Whether it was defending their borders or following an Archivist out on one of their countless adventures, Tereshka was always glad to be put to work for the clan she loved so very much.

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