Rattlesnake

A dangerous warrior, as deadly as the wild animal for which she was named, Rattlesnake loves being able to fight with her Mistress almost as much as Eeriedeathsent does. She looks up to Eerie for her skill and devotion to their leader and hopes to one day be as strong as her superiors.

Rattlesnake came to the clan unwillingly at first. She had been a wild dragon, uncommitted to anyone or anything. Most unusually for a Mirror, she lived a solitary, feral life in the wilderness, having fled a raid that destroyed most of her family and clan when she was very young. Growing up isolated and alone, having to fend for herself, she became a skilled hunter and fighter. Whenever she fought it was with berserk madness; she acted on primal instinct, holding nothing back and always going for the kill. With no discipline or training, her movements were erratic, unpredictable, and very messy, but she was always the victor.

---

Many moons ago, Deathstryke was leading a large party through a wood bordering a mountain base, when suddenly one of her warriors fell to the ground choking and bleeding. As the group looked wildly around for the source of the attack, two more of them fell. If Deathstryke had not decided to bring two of the healers with her that day, she would have lost those soldiers forever. As the medics revived and tended the felled dragons, the others banded tightly together. With a sudden, piercing scream, the Mirror female was upon them, attacking from the air. Clawing, biting, and spitting, she lashed out at them again and again, landing blow after blow. Everyone in the party took at least one substantial hit, but almost never seemed to land one of their own. Eventually, a well-placed lash of Baza's thick tail slammed the girl into the mountainside, where she collapsed onto the ground. The party neared and surrounded her, wings and claws out, ready to finally end it, but as they got into position she sprang up again. She stood unsteadily, her feet spread wide to support herself, wings poised for flight, breath coming fast and heavy from exertion. As her muscles tensed and she prepared to strike yet again, determined to fight to the death, she heard a voice suddenly ring out, loud and clear over the snarling and growling of the others, "Stop!"

At the command of their Mistress, the other dragons immediately fell back, dropping to their haunches and relaxing their stances slightly, no longer offensively poised, but still clearly ready to change that in an instant. Rattlesnake prepared to dart forward and take advantage of the situation, but she had been caught by surprise at hearing the voice. It had been so long since she had heard another dragon speak. A dark Skydancer female with markings similar to her own stepped forward gently, hands held up and wings folded down in a gesture of surrender. Or maybe it was peace? She took only one small step out from her place in the semicircle of dragons, enough to distinguish that it was she who spoke but not so close that she would appear aggressive, but Rattlesnake still bared her teeth and hissed angrily. The Skydancer continued to speak, "My name is Deathstryke. These are my clanmembers, and they will not attack you now. We have been patrolling these woods and did not mean to startle you. Please try to calm down,"

Rattlesnake did not want to calm down, but the brief pause was enough to allow her body to finally register the pain and exhaustion she was actually in. She felt herself become weary all at once, and so she gathered her strength and screamed loudly once again, flaring her wings in an unmistakable gesture of continued aggression. She would not allow herself to betray weakness, but Deathstryke instantly recognized the signs of a cornered and terrified animal fighting for its life. Poor girl, she thought, trapped and surrounded like this, she is ready to fight to the death. And this time it would be hers. She continued to hold her hands up as she spoke, "No one is going to hurt you. May we talk? I am going to give you something to help with your wounds. It's a potion, nothing more," She began reaching very slowly into a bag tied to her waist and withdrew a small bottle. She uncorked it and drew out a bit of the liquid on her claw, and then proceeded to apply it to a fresh cut on her own face, showing Rattlesnake its healing properties. "See? I am going to step forward just a little bit more and then slide the bottle to you," Rattlesnake snatched up the bottle as it rolled over without taking her eyes off Deathstryke. "You can drink it, too, if you'd rather. It will help alleviate your general pain, and then I can offer you something else for your external injuries." Rattlesnake continued staring daggers at Deathstryke, but she began to slowly uncork the bottle and then tipped the contents down her throat, swallowing the sweet liquid in one thirsty gulp. She felt warmth flood through her body, and her pain eased considerably. Her muscles relaxed a bit, and she started to feel drowsy. Without meaning to, she let her eyes close and sank to the ground. If she hadn't lived alone for so long, she might have learned what sleeping potions were...

---

When Rattlesnake awoke, she found herself on a soft blanket surrounded by various foods and...branches? Neatly arranged branches, strong and thick, strung close together. A cage. She bolted upright, frightened and ready to fight once again. As she looked around her prison, she saw that the same dark Skydancer was sitting nearby, watching her. Throwing herself at the "bars", Rattlesnake let out a ferocious scream, scratching wildly. Deathstryke merely observed her calmly, allowing her to tire herself out. When the fighting finally stopped and Rattlesnake began staring back at her, she spoke to her again.
"You are not our prisoner. You will be free to leave as soon as you have eaten something and are healed. We only made this cage to keep you from hurting anyone when you woke up. But we did want to find out if you would be willing to talk to us. Or if you can talk at all. Can you talk, my dear?" Deathstryke's words were slow and calm, spoken in the same tone one would take when trying to soothe a spooked animal. Which Rattlesnake certainly was. In reply, she gave a low hissing growl and began pacing ever so slightly, turning her head as she moved to keep staring at Deathstryke, but clearly needing something to do with her body. "It's okay if you can't, dear. We just want to be able to help you if you need it. These are hard days, and a lone dragon does not easily survive. Please, do eat something," As Rattlesnake continued her pacing, Deathstryke gave a tiny sigh. "Very well. What I am going to do is open the cage for you now. You can leave at any time you want, but I would ask that you not engage any of my clanmembers on your way out. They have all been instructed to allow you to pass freely and will give you no trouble. I hope that you will take some of the food to regain your strength before you go. And may the blessings of the Windsinger follow you wherever you fly." Deathstryke turned to leave at these words. Something stirred inside Rattlesnake. Windsinger...that was a name she had not heard in an age. How touching that this strange dragon would call upon her deity to bless her rather than her own Plaguebringer. It brought back memories of carefree youth, and of family. Back when she had a family. How terribly, she realized, did she miss her family. She had not thought of them in years. And they were gone.

"Wait..." came a small voice, cracked and quiet from years of disuse. The sound was almost painful, strained vocal cords that had done nothing but shriek, and lips that hadn't formed words in such a long time. The request was so quiet that it almost went unheard. But Deathstryke stopped and turned back, her eyes betraying a small measure of surprise and a twinkle of love. "My name...is Rattlesnake..."

---

Since that fateful day, Rattlesnake has been gradually settling into life with the clan. Slowly she opened up to Deathstryke, revealing the tragic nature of how she ended up living alone for so long. She needed a lot of polishing and gentling to get used to being around other dragons again. Lanbaoshi took it upon himself to sit with her and teach her many of the things she missed while growing up alone. Everyone was very patient helping her adjust to her new life, remembering her feral nature would need time to be overcome. Not having had much of a childhood, her mental state seemed to often drift into a childlike sense of wonder and fun when exposed to new things most of the clan considered commonplace. Deathstryke was, of course, most excited to introduce Rattlesnake to the warriors of the clan, and hoped that Rattlesnake had not become too domesticated by her new life. With very little training, Rattlesnake was soon accompanying her new family on the battlefield, finally fighting beside someone for the first time in her life. She even found a mate in the handsome Lin, a Pearlcatcher who wooed her with song, and they delight in each other's company.