Pine

KEEP
Original Familiar: Opheodrys Serthis
(Currently taking care of Leafy Moth)
"Get up, psywurm!" a talon prodded him, then when he didn't show any sign of moving, poked him.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." he groaned. You don't just get up right away after falling down in the Hunt and getting trampled Pine thought grumpily
"What was that?" his older brother demanded "I thought you were a dragon, not a buttersnake. You shamed yourself, and by extension, me. You were supposed to do a half-turn, not a full-turn. If you knew how to follow the simplest instructions then you wouldn't have executed a full-turn and wouldn't have fallen over, got dust in your eyes, and the not been able to see the herd and got trampled."
"Bu-" Pine started.
"No. Buts. No. Excuses. I'm tired of you messing up and then embarrassing us. I don't even see why I try. If I was a rational dragon, I would abandon you and join a different hunt. How would you fare then, psywurm. Not good, would you? Sometimes I think that your egg got into our nest by accident, because you do not behave anything like a Red-Blood-Thirsty-Claw should."
Ughh. I wish he would join another Hunt. Then I wouldn't be subject to this abuse every time I mess up. Cadaver kept on spewing out insults, on and on. Will he never stop? Finally he slowed down, the endless stream halting. Wincing, Pine got up. He knew by experience that the night would be a long one, full of snorts and jabs, and teasing, and aching from the many dragons who had seen him fall.
The next morning, he left early to go hunting. He ran off into the wild, glad to be away from the endless roughhousing and bullying that was the norm when you were a undersized, clumsy, incapable mirror hatchling with a conscience. He passed from the edge of the Tangled Wood into the Sunbeam ruins, just on the border, but there was a huge difference. He managed to grab a rabbit-an old world one, he thought. The rabbit put up a bit of a fight, but in the end he snapped it's spine. A little bit of blood from the rabbit's wounds dripped on him as he walked, but he ignored it.
He rounded a bend, and saw the full extent of the river in front of him. He gasped, it was so beautiful! The sun sparkled on the clear water, and silver and golden fish darted around in it. Something rustled , and he glimpsed movement around a nearby bush. He crept around the bush, maybe it was prey! What he saw was a... he thought guardian dragon. She was red and white, and was staring at the water with a contemplative gaze. suddenly, she turned to face him. "Hello." she said
"H-hello." he stuttered. Where had she come from? He had never seen another type of dragon, much less talked to one. Well, other than occasional glimpses.
"My names Maya", she said pleasantly.
"I'm Pine. He answered back. He heard a slight snarl/howl/voice in the fra distance. "M-my pack is calling! I have to go!!" He ran as fast as he could. He had discovered that when he was late, they often started without him, making him search for hours, then running as hard as he could, and finally getting there and not being able to participate. He concentrated on his legs, making them move as fast as possible. He skidded into camp, just in time. Almost everyone else was gone, but he could see the last of them trickling out the back entrance. He managed to catch up, and hoped he wouldn't mess up again.
The next morning, he went to hunt in the same place again, he wanted to see the river. The guardian, Maya was there again.
"I've never seen other dragons before," he stated, as a conversation starter.
"I've traveled all over the world." she informed him. "Maybe I can tell you a bit." She talked to him for a while, and he listened. "I've traveled all over too." he said, "In the Hunt."
"Oh, the hunt." she said back. "I've heard a bit about it, but never quite understood." He told her about the hunt, but eventually he had to go. "I have to go." he told her when he heard the summons. "...Talk to you tomorrow?"
"Of course. I've been living in solitude for a while. If I don't exercise my voice, it might stop working!" They became great friends, the two, so when one day Maya announced that she was leaving, Pine was surprised. "Why, I'll come with you of course," he countered. He had come to like the guardian, and enjoyed having a friend. "Really? you're not kidding" she asked wonderingly.
"Of course! I have no reason to stay with my pack." he spat out the last word like it was a ball of mud.
"Then if you are truly serious, then you are welcome to come with me. I would have missed you."
The next day they left together, and Pine went to his pack's camp while they were Hunting, and stole some supplies. They traveled the world for a long time, but Pine eventually tired of it, and longed to be back with other dragons. One night, he decided to ask Maya about it. "Wouldn't you like to settle down somewhere and maybe start a clan?"
After a moment she replied "Would you do it with me?"
"I-If you wanted me to." He was surprised she honored him so highly.
"I guess maybe, if I found someplace I liked. I have been traveling my whole life, maybe I should try something new." Maya responded.
Together they pondered for a while about which flight to settle in. they considered Wind for a while, because they were travelers/explorers, but eventually they settled for the Water Flight, which Pine liked because of it's tranquility, and Maya liked for the kind dragons, the history it held for her kind, and they both liked for it's ability to know everything that was happening. They settled down in the Tsunami Flats, but dream for a day when they reside in the Leviathan Trench.
When their first nest was born, Pine's heart sang with joy, and he tried his best to make sure that his eggs lives were perfect, and also that they were prepared for the world outside. When his second nest was born, he was a little bit more laid-back, but he didn't love Ash, Sandstone and Sirax any less! He loves all the dragons in his clan, but he always holds a little bit more for his family, and has a little bit of suspicion of the other dragons from his days in the Hunt.