Lathyrus

Lathyrus: As is the rule in the Southern Icefield, children are raised when it is convenient. When it is not, they are sent away to others.

The latter was the case with Lathyrus, child of Emrys and Witchsong. She was not yet named, as it felt pointless and bothersome to a child they had no intention to keep. Sent young to the Viridian Labyrinth, where the parents wanted to secure relations. The Nature dragons treasure all life to some extent, and took the child in.

Amaryllis, leader of a young clan, had never known an Imperial child before, and brought it under his clan. He had expected her to be somewhat more reserved than the other clan members, from the little he knew.

She proved to be exactly that, and then some.

Truly an Ice child, she was almost fully emotionless. This did not make her needlessly cruel, but rather cold, and neutral on most things. She tended to view the feelings of others with acknowledgement, but little else. She enjoyed silence and her own thoughts above social activities, and this small preference had her often isolated. However, as usual, either was fine. Not great, not bad, just fine.

There was one exception to her disinterest - not exactly a passion, but something she had grown to enjoy... Collecting.

From what she remembered of the Icefield, it was common to collect artifacts, such as fossils. There were few of these in the vibrant Labyrinth. She grew curious, for whatever else she could find.

In her isolation, she sat surrounded by her collection, of life and death alike. Magical trinkets for her to scrutinize. Gems and flowers to wear. Crystals reminded her of her own scales, she enjoyed comparing the two. She also tended to enjoy the living flora even more as she watched it decay, the transformation was not something she had witnessed in the frigid Icefield, where no flora bloomed, and the ice never melted.

She herself did not exactly melt for these lands and its people, but she was content in her interests, and seldom bothered.

Nochnyr: Normally, most children of the Wasteland were banished from the Viridian Labyrinth, unless raised there. The flight was terrified the continued spread of plague would wipe out the life they had sought to protect.

However, Nochnyr proved as much of a pest to get rid of as the plague itself.

Any peaceful negotiation was merely mocked. The creature had travelled far for these lands, and demanded to be bested in battle. The wild Nature dragons were not above a fight, but they had all sworn as hatchlings not to take lives, or they be banished. This, however, was the beast's ultimatum. The newest dragons, migrated or adopted from other parts of the world and new to the rules, attempted to take the beast up on it's offer, but were usually stopped by older flight members.

With one exception. Nochnyr had approached Lathyrus, a cold and unemotional hatchling, adopted from the Southern Icefield. She was in her isolation, and had not yet taken the hatchling pledge. Nochnyr had grown tired of these battles. It never bested anyone, a frail survivor of the Wastelands. None truly bested it either, as life continued on. However, Lathyrus and it had one thing in common - they were collectors.

Nochnyr made its deal. A true fight, all out on both sides, winner would collect anything the loser left behind in their death, treasure and body.

Lathyrus won. However, as the beast laid torn to pieces, it felt... alive, somehow. There was still life in its parts. A creature brought together by lingering magic after death, it realized it could never truly know death. Not as long as those parts existed.

After the fight, Amaryllis flew by and saw Lathyrus, by the broken parts of Nochnyr. However, before he could say a thing, Nochnyr reassembled before his eyes. And so, Lathyrus was not banished, but was given a milder punishment - She was now to care for Nochnyr. Keep it away from other new dragons. Entertain it with these fights.

Nochnyr did not mind, as it had known true exhilaration in this battle, and was tickled by this cold dragon, who had indeed bested it, and did not seem to mind its company.