Dryas

There have been many promises made to Dryas. From lovers, from enemies, from family-- but the only promise that was ever kept was the one Dryas made to himself. 'Don’t let it define you.' He stopped talking to others about his past long time ago, for his own sanity. When others began to ask questions he would disappear in the night.

His wanderings ended when he joined Corpse Flower. He didn’t have to worry about where his next meal would be coming from, or whether he might get attacked during the night. (Admittedly, he still worried about that. But not as much.) Dryas had never been in the business of making friends, but in time he has discovered a camaraderie with some of his clanmates, sharing meals with them and doing other things that normal dragons do. Dryas didn’t expect to like it as much as he did.

The most surprising part was that no one asked him about his past. None of his acquaintances (because surely they weren’t friends?) prodded, instead giving him space when he flinched at loud noises or suddenly got claustrophobic. It was...nice, perhaps. Dryas didn’t really know what “nice” was, but he liked to think that wasn’t far off. He still avoids opening up. If no one knows what happened to him, then he can keep the promise he made himself. Sometimes he dreams that he could do that, that he could be accepted in his entirety. Not now. He couldn’t bring himself to be that vulnerable. But maybe...someday.

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