Tien

In all complete honesty, Tien had never intended to join the Helix clan. Rather, she had stumbled upon her current home in the most obscure of ways.

She and her Gloomwillow Guide had been traversing through the Tangled Wood, out on one of their leisurely strolls like usual. At this point in time, Tein hadn't made any affiliation to a clan yet, so she traveled around with her companion, going wherever the guide would take her.

Suddenly, the little creature veered off from their initial direction, flying through the trees at a speed that should have been impossible for a GloomWillow Guide. Tien, gasping from surprise, had taken off after the guide as fast as she possibly could, her heart pounding heavily for an unknown reason.

And the next thing that Tien knew, she had skidded to a halt behind the guide. They were in the Ghostlight Ruins, and she was staring in awe as she watched the most gorgeous Skydancer she had ever seen be thrown to the ground with a loud thud.

Finally grasping the situation, Tien sprang into action, hastily rushing to the Skydancer's aid. It had been a while since she had engaged in risky combat, yet she summoned whatever remaining strength to defend the Skydancer from the monster.

Once the violence was over (and the monster safely exterminated), Tien had let out a long sigh of relief before coming face to face with the Skydancer. She had sucked in her breath suddenly, not being able to breathe properly.

"Hello," the Skydancer had said, leaning towards Tien slightly in amusement, her tone teasing. "I'm Thugra. What's yours?"

And Tien had stuttered out her name, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Oh, that was it. She must've died and gone to heaven, because there was no way this angel was actually talking to her.

"Tien, huh?" Thugra chuckled, reaching out a claw and tapping Tien on the head lightly. "What a pretty name for a pretty Wildclaw."

Tien might as well have fainted on the spot.

Before Tien could even realize what had happened, she was already a part of the clan— Thugra's clan, and the two of them are practically attached to each other. Or rather, Tien latched herself to Thugra's side, mainly because soon after, Tien had learned that the gorgeous Skydancer (and the rest of her clan) were impulsive ones, and the Wildclaw girl took it upon her quiet self to make sure that her the Skydancer (and everyone else) stayed grounded.

That was the excuse that Tien told herself, at least. That she was working and fighting so hard to keep Thugra out of trouble, to keep Thugra sane, to keep Thugra safe, and for a while, she tried to convince herself that it was just that, because Thugra already had Mauricio and—

Oh, who was she kidding.

Tien had known for a long time that the Helix clan allowed their matriarch to engage in a relationship with someone other than the father of her hatchlings. There was literally nothing that could stop her from advancing.

"There's nothing wrong with loving me, you know," Thugra had stated bluntly to her one night, that little glint in her eye that Tien knew that was only for her. The entire day, the Skydancer had caught the Wildclaw staring at her before blushing and looking away.

Tien nodded as Thugra nudged her a little.

"I know," she sighed, a little confused by her own behavior.

"So... what's stopping you?"

Tien frowned at this.

"Hm... I really don't know."

Thugra started to laugh (another thing that was saved only for moments with Tien), and the sound was so contagious that the Wildclaw immediately joined in.

Thank goodness that the clan had plenty of rules that allowed for exceptions.