Amarillo

They say that when Amarillo hatched, she burst from her egg already on the wing, and that she never touched the ground again.

While this is likely somewhat of an exaggeration, it most certainly accurately represents Amarillo's love for the sky. Ever since she was a tiny hatchling, the Spiral has been bursting with life, energy, and vitality, even more so than the average Spiral, amazingly! Stillness can hardly be imagined in a dragon so very vital, so very sunny, optimistic and bright, so very joyful and appreciative of life. She has yearned always towards the blue sky, towards the winds, towards the clouds and the currents of air, the birds and the kites and the dragons, flying here, there, everywhere. If Earth is the body, if Water is the blood, if Fire is the vital heat, then Wind is the very breath of Sornieth, and so is she. Her Wind magic is incredibly strong; it thrums through her bones, sings in her blood, races through every single cell of her being and charges her with its restlessness, its lightness, its endless movement. She can actually become the wind, and what's more, she can do it with such ease that it seems the most natural thing in the world! Summoning a breeze is nothing to her, and even summoning a devastating tornado is within her powers, though she wouldn't dream of doing so without serious provocation, and such a feat would drain her greatly.

Always, throughout her life, Amarillo's life has been the sky. It was her first love, her greatest joy, and perhaps her biggest downfall, as to her, the freedom, light-footedness, and joy of the winds high above were more important than anything else in her life. Many love her endless vitality and optimism, but could not get to know her due to her incessant restlessness and flightiness, her endless wanderlust and joy in travel, even without companions. She has lived a life some Wind dragons could only dream of; after all, a warm, energetic breeze can get into lots of places dragons can't, and is a lot more inconspicuous than a yellow and purple Spiral in the sky! Travel without end, living always in the moment for the sheer joy of it, was her only goal for most of her life, and one she has done quite well in for most of it. Well, that is, until she spotted a strange, somehow eye-catching black and red Spiral male, tending a garden in the Viridian Labyrinth. Was he not interested in the sky at all, she wondered? And, turning herself effortlessly into a warm breeze, she blew herself right down into his garden and took a look at him.

She was astonished to see that this Spiral clearly either hadn't flown in a long time, or didn't fly at all, given his underdeveloped wing muscles; and, after seeing his stony, heavy scales, she realized why. What a tragedy, she thought, to be completely unable to take the the air, to escape the cares of the soil! And compassion bloomed in a heart that had before been carefree, and focused mostly on its own pleasures. She spent many a day as a breeze around this Spiral, lifting his wings, caressing his scales, trying to encourage him to at least consider the sky, and she also observed him from a distance in Spiral form. And with each passing day that he hardly even looked at the sky, she became more determined to bring him into the air, but also more admiring of his strength to face pain every day and his perseverance in carving out a good life for himself. Little did she realize that she was falling in love!

And then one day, Amarillo, once fascinated only by the air but now fascinated only by this mysterious grounded Spiral, revealed herself to him, appearing right in front of him in dragon form and addressing him with a casual cheer (as if Spirals suddenly twisted themselves into existence in one's garden all the time!). Nevertheless, he heard her out; he was not too happy to find she'd been spying, and demanded that she spend some time grounded alongside him before she judged him and tried to change him. Reluctant though she was, Amarillo decided (after a time of painful indecision) that he was worth it. And in this way, Zillian (for this was what he called himself) taught her to appreciate the ground, too, and showed her how to coax life from it, both ideas alien to her flighty, airy mind. At this point, she was deeply in love with him, and he was beginning to fall for her too; but then she insisted that she show him just what the air was like, too, and he agreed.

With the utmost care, Amarillo soon crafted a strong but steady wind to catch Zillian's wings with; it would pull him into the air, but from there he could float on its back and avoid all movement that would hurt him badly or injure him. And in this way, with a tenderness and deep care she'd never imagined she'd feel before, she revealed to him the scintillating world of the sky. Zillian, condemned to a life on the ground, himself had never imagined how different the world would be from above, and had learned much as the yellow Spiral enthusiastically taught him to love the sky as he'd taught her to love the ground. These bonding experiences created a deep and powerful bond between them; neither could lie or deny their feelings any longer, and so they began to date.

Despite everything, despite her continual love for the sky, despite her restlessness and her endless vitality and her boundless desire to be free, Amarillo is more than happy- overjoyed, even- to have met a Spiral like Zillian. He has taught her so much, and she would have it no other way. And despite everything she is, she knows- she would gladly give up the sky if only it meant she could always be with him.