Stars

safari/underbelly
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The tundra looked up at the sky, counting the constellations. Standing next to her was a beautiful guardian, green and yellow coat contrasting sharply with the scenery behind him. She smiled at him. Their five egg nest sat behind them. It was carefully placed so the eggs were safe until they hatched. The couple went to sleep, content that their little family was safe for the day. This went on for a few days. One morning they woke up to feral screams. A crowd of harpies was flying down, intent on destroying the eggs. Her mate rumbled "Our children will be killed. I love you.", and since she was his charge, he curled his body around hers, shielding her from the blows landed on them. One of the harpies pushed them off the cliff, and at that point she lost consciousness. The pair tumbled down, falling at high speeds.
When she woke up, she was lying on a sandy beach below the place she had called home. Her lovely mate was still curled around her, his lifeless body stuck in a position of protection. The tundra extracted herself carefully. She then used her magic to remove his claws and whittle then down to little beads. She spent days without food there, calmly and carefully dying the bone beads blue and red, his favorite colors. When she was finished, she strung them together, creating a necklace. Only then did she forage for plants in the greenery near her mate's body.
When she finished eating, she carried her mate up to their nesting grounds. There she saw the shattered remains of their eggs, picked clean by hungry predators. Looking over all that she had lost, she sat down and cried. She cried and cried for what seemed like hours. When she recovered herself, she buried her mate with the eggshells right there where she was. She made a marker, a strong stone one that would not weather away. It said "Here lies a father and his children. They are missed." Placing a barrier around the small cemetery, she surveyed her work.
Shedding one last tear for the family she never had, she flew away, over The Scarred Wasteland and over The Sea of A Thousand Currents. But all the hard work without food had taken a toll on her body. She fell, spiraling into the water. She sank down, down, down, into the depths of The Tidelord's territory. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by two huge imperials looking down on her in concern. They tried to take off her bead necklace, but she held on to it, for it had her memories. Giving up, they spooned some sort of warm soup onto her mouth. She drank gratefully. After a few weeks, she had regained her strength and was brought to meet with the clan leader. The matriarch of the clan was a wise blue guardian.
"Hello, young tundra. My name is Sparkles. We just recently moved into the Leviathan Trench, and that is why we may seem to be busy. My apologies for our distractability. Now, tell me your story, or at least what you can remember. We want to help you." So she told her story, from beginning to when she had arrived. "I forgot to ask, what is your name?" The guardian inquired. "Oh, me? My name is-" She paused as she tried to think of what she had been called. "My name is Stars, for what me and my mate would watch every single night together in the Crystalspine Reaches." "Stars, I am sorry for your loss. It would be cruel of me to force you back to the place that brought you such pain. I will then offer you a permanent place in the clan. " "May I think about it?" "Of course. I expect an answer in six hours, though, for it is important."
Stars returned to the healing globe, and and lay down on the bed. After intense consideration, she realized that she really had never had a choice in the first place. She knew she would have to stay here, and she did not regret that. Not knowing who else to tell, she told Mara, the healer that was present when she made her decision. After a few awkward minutes, Mara led her to her very own globe, just her size. In it, she found a few things that seemed to have belonged to the dragon that lived in it previously. There was an adorable pink cabbie with a daisy in it, and she put that on her head, enjoying it before she looked around again. She also saw a white fringed vest hanging on a coatrack near the entrance. She put this on too, knowing it went well with her bone bead necklace. Before she went outside to maybe make friends with the rest of her new clan, she cleaned up around her room.
Swimming out of her globe, she immediately encountered a nervous-looking skydancer that she learned was named Marionette. "Hello, young tundra. Is your name perhaps Stars?" At her affirmation he continued, "Well of course I'll have to find the perfect match for you." "What do you mean, match?" "A mate, a love!" He sighed. "Oh sorry, I already have a mate." She said, nervously stroking her necklace. "Oh! You do then! Where are they?" "Well, I'm sorry, sir, but he was killed, along with my five unhatched children in a harpy attack. I was his Charge, and he used his final moments to protect me." "Oh, what a touching story! I'm sure there's someone else out there for you." Her voice was almost a whisper at this point."I don't ever want to take another mate. I loved him, and he is gone, but I must do everything in my power to keep his memory alive." He nodded, and swam away, looking hungry.
She sighed, going over to the plant pile, and taking some for herself. Eating it all quickly, she went to her globe, weary to the bone. Before she got there, another skydancer approached her, this one green in coloring. Her name was Stella. "Had a tiring day, did you?" She asked kindly. "Yes, and I only want to sleep. I have never been away from my home before, so this whole experience has been new to me.""I won't hinder you, then. Go to bed. Get some rest." She nodded and collapsed onto her bed, and the gentle, small currents were enough to lull her to sleep. Tired, she was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.

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