Arseni

Name meaning: Arseni is a Greek/Russian name meaning "manly."

ROLE: Explorer, Adoptive Father and Grandfather to all, Flying Teacher, Gentleman Scholar, Clan Mediator. MATE: Rosette FAMILIAR: Tuxedo Floracat Note: His neckerchief is supposed to be tucked into his vest like the gentleman he is and originally it was before the Hank art got updated. But now, it clips through the vest when layered underneath it and that makes me both sad and frustrated because the original art looked perfect before. Coli: needs tincture Still no luck tracking down his birth clan for his bio, but here's his sister Ayden.

NOTABLE RELATIVES: Floke (adoptive son), Kinshiro (adoptive son), Ibushi (adoptive son), Akoya (adoptive daughter), Akihiko (granddaughter adopted by Kinshiro), Haruhiko (grandson adopted by Kinshiro), Perlite (granddaughter), Perla (granddaughter), Argent (granddaughter), Aurum (granddaughter), Aurite (grandson), Ichirou (great-granddaughter), Jirou (great-grandson), Saburou (great-granddaughter), Robin (adoptive daughter), Astrid (adoptive daughter), VanillaBean (adoptive daughter), Set (adoptive son), Logi (adoptive son), Dart (grandson), Olofat (grandson), Choi (adoptive daughter), Elhokar (adoptive grandson), Yora (adoptive granddaughter), Elfryn (adoptive son), Dreena (adoptive granddaughter), Nidalee (adoptive granddaughter), Ochieng (adoptive grandson), Rajeev (adoptive grandson), Agustina (adoptive granddaughter), Quasar (adoptive son), Carys (adoptive grandson), Merro (adoptive granddaughter), Threve (adoptive granddaughter), Reven (adoptive grandson), Saiyaku (adoptive grandson), Thorn (adoptive granddaughter), Rahd (adoptive grandson), Yoldu (adoptive grandson)


Arseni left his birth clan and the bleakness of the Carrion Canyon - he had explored all that he thought there was to see there - to seek adventure wherever his wings would take him. Eventually, he settled in with a clan in the Shrieking Wilds of the Viridian Labyrinth, enthralled by the beauty of The Behemoth and the overwhelmingly kind heart of a Snapper (Rosette) he met there. She had much to teach him and he had much he wanted to learn.

When Rosette started to get restless for travel beyond the Labyrinth's borders, Arseni wanted to go with her and the group of their clanmates (Sveta, Sodalite, Dusk, and Queenie) who were planning to join her, but a part of him was drawn to stay for just a while longer. So, he promised he would meet up with them as soon as he could.

A few weeks after they had left, Arseni was preparing to follow after them when the nest of two of his clanmates hatched. One thing led to another and, due to the circumstances of the parents, he was given the Guardian hatchling (Floke) of the nest to foster... if he wanted to take up the offer. He didn't need much time to think it over before he accepted. Despite the fact that he and Rosette chose each other as mates, they were never able to make a nest together, but Arseni had noticed that Rosette was extremely fond of the hatchlings in the lair. It was hard not to see how much she enjoyed mothering them. So, if adopting a hatchling for them to foster together was the only way he had to make her happy, he would not be opposed to the idea of starting a family with her like this.

Once Floke was ready to travel, Arseni set out to track Rosette down and found her with the rest of the group in the Zephyr Steppes, where they had been invited to establish a new clan. Arseni and Floke were welcomed warmly to call this place home, but the warmest and most excited welcome came from Rosette. She was more than receptive to the idea of them raising Floke together. And when Floke was old enough to venture off on his own without supervision, Arseni began exploring once more.

On one of Arseni's flights over the Starfall Isles, he discovered a distraught Pearlcatcher hatchling (Akoya) that had been rejected from her lair. It took some convincing to get her to speak to him, but he eventually learned of her predicament and knew right away that she could find a place with his clan. He also knew that Rosette would be especially pleased to care for her, so he sat with the hatchling until she was comforted enough to agree to go with him.

It made him happy to see his clan grow and Rosette's excitement with the three hatchlings (Ibushi, Kinshiro, and Akoya) she had taken under her wings satisfied him, too. He is pleased with his family.

~.~

Several Years Later...

Lightning cracked through the sky, heralded by booming thunder and screaming winds, as Artan made his way as swiftly as he could to the lair. "Plaguebringer's Rot," he muttered under his breath, trying to remain calm as hail began to pelt down from above. The lair was in his sight when the screaming of the wind grew to an almighty roar, and seconds later he was trapped in an enormous wind vortex.

Some days after an enormous storm, Arseni flew out of the lair, pleased to finally be off the ground and in the skies yet again. Seasoned flyer or no, everyone knew better than to fly through the center of a fight between Windsinger and Stormcatcher. As he maneuvered his way through the Twisting Crescendo, he saw what looked to be refuse on the ground below. Slightly moving refuse. He landed and upon further inspection found it to be a badly injured but still breathing Fae.

Today's expedition would have to wait. Arseni very gently picked up the hurt dragon and returned to the lair, calling for KioKyo and Carmenta to come as quickly as they could. The little Fae would need all the help and healing they could provide.

[Written by Solarfox123]


...

Alrighty, so I went looking up the lore bits again from various dragon delivery crossroads that utilized the catapult.

The progression of it went something like this:

The catapult engineers (Itziar and Kidla) experiment with different dangerous methods of delivering children while they figure out how to perfect the catapult, which results in babies smacking into the ground and rolling to a stop or getting caught in trees or whatever's near them.

Arseni first prioritizes tending to the children to see if they are alright after their landing. They are fine, though some are more enthusiastic about the trip than others who cried.

Then this happens when when Elfryn gets sent to Haven:
A small, fluffy Gaoler hatchling hurtles through the sky, spinning almost dangerously and smacking into several of the dragons standing outside the lair. A note pinned to his fluff reads "Catapult broke :c"

Which of course is concerning because... this implies they knew it was broken BEFORE launching the baby anyway. XD But Sylph makes a note to have Elio install some kind of baby net, so that is her compromise.

Some other non-catapult methods are used for dragon delivery, which is fine. All is fine. No one's freaking out.

In between that, this happens when Maris gets delivered:
A whistle is heard a moment before a hatchling comes hurtling out of the sky, missing several sharp, rocky outcrops by mere inches before its descent slows. A tiny parachute opens and the small Guardian floats down into the safety net, which she promptly tries to wriggle out of and becomes stuck in. Attached to her leg with a well-made ribbon is a small glowing device, broadcasting a series of numbers. A note is pinned to the ribbon that reads "Please send back results of test flight."

Arseni wonders whether sending back this device with a concernedly-worded letter about safety features and hatchling life expectancy rates would do much good.

His contemplation here is due to the fact that he is unsure why they are testing such matters on babies when surely they must know better. But he does not send a note or, if he does, I more imagined it to be the information they requested about how the delivery went and an added question of "why this though" so he could Understand. But if we're just going by what is written there in my crossroad message, then he likely did not send a note and only thought about doing so.

Rajeev gets himself yote via catapult, guided with pinpoint accuracy to land in a large area of extremely soft and bouncy grass. The hatchling hops up a moment after landing and begins leaping and hopping awkwardly through the air, trying to feel the wind in his wings. A note pinned to his feathers says "Catapult 2.0 is go." and Arseni is temporarily reassured that all is well. Safe delivery is being considered and he hadn't even needed to say anything.

More personal chaperoned deliveries of babies happen and all is well again.

Then Taiyo gets sent on over from Xenia this time:
A whistle cuts through the air as a Guardian hatchling is hurled out of the sky. Her parachute, when it opens, is gold instead of green. Attached is a note that says "This little one came to us and asked if we could send her to you." It's signed Xenia, who has included a postscript that says "I am NOT a catapult engineer but apparently I am the only responsible adult who believes in parachutes right now."

Arseni sends a note back that reads "You are doing the deities' work - a million times thank you for your efforts."

So, clearly Arseni was not the only one concerned about the children here.

But then shortly thereafter, Filipa arrives like this:
A high pitched whistling can be heard, accompanied by...screams?! The dragons that rush to the scene arrive just in time to see a Wildclaw hatchling, screaming and giggling in excitement, hit the safety net and bounce off, rolling for several feet. She hops up and screams "AGAIN!!" There is no parachute.

And that's when Arseni writes his first dissertation because that was Too Much.
Arseni scoops up the child in a panic to inspect her for injuries. Satisfied upon finding none, he passes her off to Rosette before rushing to his study so he can start on a long-winded letter detailing the in-depth research he had started on the necessity of hatchling safety precautions.

Carys' egg gets dropped in the water courtesy of You Know Who and makes its way to Haven via magic homing spell and Arseni is like "I will write back immediately to let them know that nefarious things have happened and the child is safe here."

But that has nothing to do with the catapult and "Arseni scurries off, muttering something about dissertation effectiveness", which was my nod to him basically looking at this situation and going "clearly this egg was protected and I don't know if my research had any contribution to it, but I'm grateful these measures were in place regardless" after the previous incident.

After this point, more leaf boats and personal deliveries are made, so less and less catapult is seen.

Until Garna is delivered via catapulted seed pod, but Arseni doesn't really do much about that because Magister immediately scoops her up and adopts her.

Everyone else either came on their own or was escorted or got there by other non-catapult-related means. The fact that there were several "runaways" and startling emergency relocations that occurred in between the catapult stuff is nothing more than a normal blip on the radar because everyone is aware that Sornieth is full of dangers beyond their own imaginings, so it makes no sense to blame the Glade for that or think their home is inherently less safe just because some dragons felt the need to seek refuge in Haven. The biggest concern is singularly and specifically the confusing method of catapulting children as test subjects as though it were just a joyride.




Blizz wound up getting delegated the task of corresponding with Arseni ever since the dissertation incident, much to her frustration. For Arseni's part, he has switched from writing in the dissertation style he had intended for the Glade's engineers to be reading to a much less wordy brochure style that Josta has reportedly been assisting her with digesting. Through their exchanges, Arseni can tell that she is clearly being put out and feels bad that she wound up essentially being his customer service representative, so he does his best to thank her frequently for her time and reassure her that he's proud of her for doing such a good job.


Blizz has been charged with any sort of Arseni correspondence
so he starts getting documents with inventive uses of swearing in them, half-hearted doodles on the side, and running commentary in the middle of a sentence like

"We understand your concerns regarding the recent uproar over-shadowbinder this is so ROTTING BORING-the beastclans and the loss of Pana. Trust me, we rotting well are too and if i find whOEVER DID IT I WILL RIP THEM IN HALF FROM THEIR SKULL TO THEIR TAIL please understand that we will notify you of when and if any developments occur."

with some doodles of skulls and one VERY DETAILED DRAWING of Josta because she got distracted


Arseni frames her drawings to hang on his office walls with all the rest of the gifts he has received from the many dragons he has helped raise.

Blizz goes and happens to see Arseni's office and is liek YOU ROTTING BETTER TAKE THOSE DOWN OR I SWEAR TO THE SHADOWS THAT BE I WILL UNMAKE YOU while also blushing FURIOUSLY so she is VERY EMBARRASSED but she also looks a teensy bit proud
and she also swipes the Josta one back because she wanted to Keep That thank u very much

Arseni lets her keep the frame so she can hang it up at home instead.



A tiny package arrives on Arseni's desk early one morning. Or late one night, depending on one's perspectives on the monster that is time. A note is attached. It reads: "Here's your rotting leather, I don't want to know why you rotting needed this." It's signed Blizz, along with a doodle of what can only be a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very fluffy Josta. The doodle trails off halfway through, as if the doodler had fallen asleep.

Arseni writes a thank you note on Rosette's finest stationary for just such an occasion and sends it off with a small care package.

Addressed to Dearest Blizz, it reads: "Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your wonderfully generous gift! My old travel bag has become a bit too worn with use over the years and I am dreadfully in need of more pockets. Rui should be able to find some use for this old leather when stitching a new satchel for my travels."

There are some sentences dedicated to how splendid her fluffy Josta is, followed by Arseni's sweeping signature.

Rest assured, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Fluffy Josta will have good company in the Shrine of Blizz Doodles steadily growing on the office wall.

Blizz reads the letter, blinks, turns it upside down to see if that helps her understand it better, and then rights it again. "I didn't send a rotting letter." The lump that was a very uncomfy Josta in the middle of shedding his winter coat stretches and sighs. "Yes you did." Blizz pounces over him and curls up on his other side, peering into his face. "When?" Josta blinks sleepily at her for a moment before resting his head back down on the floor of their den. "Last night. You snapped awake and used my head as a writing desk." "Oh." "Yes, oh."