Ash

Ash had always been told that she and her brother had been found as just day-old abandoned hatchlings, crying and weak on the clan’s borders, their parents unknown. Back then, things had been fine. The clan had fed and cared for them and they played with the other hatchlings as if they had been born beside them. Even then, they never truly fit in, but at least they had been accepted. But now, now... the whispers that wove through the clan’s edges pushed them away completely.
Ash kept her head down, part of her wanting to vanish and the other part desperately wishing she had never opened her mouth to what she could see. She hadn’t known that mentioning that she could see the soul of one of the clan’s members, who had recently gone to serve the deities, shimmering and lingering near their home would cause such an uproar. Perhaps even more so, since her brother had insisted that what she said was true.
Ruin, unlike her, was sitting up straight, his head cocked in an unafraid manner as he listened to the quiet arguing of the adults. He didn’t seem particularly regretful, which only made Ash want to disappear even more.
“They are remnants of She, the cursed bloodline, descendants of the Glitch Queen!” hissed one of the elders, the fear and hatred evident in his voice, although Ash kept her gaze fixed on her feet.
“Hold your tongue,” snapped one of the leaders, “there is no evidence of that. Others have shown abilities such as these, and there is no proof that it is a corrupt power.”
“There is no proof that such power is good, either,” said another elder, and this time Ash peeked up to catch the hostile look they sent the hatchlings. “Why must we risk our clan for outsiders?”
Ash stopped listening after that. She shivered and leaned into her brother’s side, wondering when the adults would end their discussion and let them go. They had been there a long time now, and she was hungry and wanted to sleep. She didn’t want to stay here, listening to them fight over her and her brother. She didn’t want to face what their future might possibly hold.

-

The adult’s discussion did eventually end, and even though the leaders had shut down any arguments to exile them, they could not stop the whispers. Ash could see it in the face of every clan member they came across. Once, they might have just ignored the pair of outsiders, but now their gazes held fear and hatred and such intensity that most of the time she simply retreated out of fear of what they might say or do to her.
Ruin knew it, too. While in the beginning he had not seemed scared by the contempt of the clan, Ash knew the anger and mistreatment was getting to him. Instead of confronting the whispers, he now quietly followed his sister in retreat when it got to be too much. The final straw though came from their peers; the hatchlings that they had once played alongside now shied away, influenced by the words of their parents.
Late one night, Ruin curled up next to her and she could see claw marks swiped across his face. A fellow hatchling lashing out when he had tried to talk to them. “We have to leave,” he whispered. “They won’t accept us. We can borrow food from the stores and go.”
“We can’t take the clan’s food!” she said. “Its for the clan!”
“We need it more!” he argued. “Ash, they hate us. What else can we do?”
She could not think of a counterpoint, so she simply curled up next to him and shut her eyes, suddenly exhausted by the weight of the world, despite how young she was. From then on, they had a plan; to lay low in daylight and then secretly plan late into the night on how they could escape and where they would go.
The next moon, they were ready. Ash couldn’t sleep that night, even if she had tried, as she laid in her nest and waited for the night to deepen. Finally, her brother nudged her and they stood, sneaking into the clan’s larder. Even though they only took what they could carry, Ash could not stop shaking. She was scared, she realized, and a part of her ached at “borrowing” from the clan that had raised them, even if now they hated them. Once outside the larder, her brother took the lead, pausing before carefully leading them through the clan, heading for its borders and freedom.
She was the one that first realized they were being stalked. They were so close to getting away, so close, when the voice suddenly snaked through the darkness, laden heavy with loathing. “Your cursed bloodline has poisoned our clan,” he hissed, and Ash froze as she recognized one of the clan’s warriors. “We should have killed you in the beginning, when you were weak and mewling.”
Ruin lashed out, adrenaline-induced fear alit in his eyes, and despite all her instincts screaming at her to flee, Ash did too. She wouldn’t leave her brother but she knew they could not possibly win either. The warrior knew it too, his voice rolling like a thunderstorm as he snarled.
“I wish to the gods that I’d never allowed your blood into my clan! Ash and ruin… That is what the two of you will bring! But no more. Today… today I’ll erase you from existence!”
Ash dodged the first blow, scrambling out of the way, knowing now for sure that the warrior’s intent was meant to kill them. Sure enough, a single glancing blow sent her rolling through the dirt like a ragdoll, yelping in pain and desperately clutching her pearl away from the harsh impact. Ruin jumped in, dodging and fighting as best he could. As a ridgeback, he wasn’t hindered with protecting a pearl like her, but neither of them were trained warriors - they were barely more than babies, especially against such a hardened warrior.
The warrior didn’t seem to care about the unfair fight, however; he was out for blood and merciless in the face of the two terrified siblings. Ash was caught once again in a swipe, felt the stinging pain of claws along her side, and full-blown panic exploded in her. She couldn’t even flee anymore, because she didn’t dare to turn her back on the warrior advancing on them. Panting from exhaustion and barely standing now, Ash’s eyes widened as Ruin threw himself against one of the large torches that lit the clan’s borders, a last-ditch effort to escape and save them.
The effect was instantaneous. Flames exploded across the ground, spreading to the clan’s homes and materials. Dry wood burned in an inferno that blasted back Ash’s whiskers and she stumbled back from the roaring heat. The warrior, a second before advancing on them for the killing blow, was now screeching in pain and rage, his sides bathed in the fire devouring everything in its path.
“You are ash and ruin!” he screamed, “ash and ruin, ash and ruin..!”
Cinders rained from the sky, and Ash could hear the cries of the entire clan being roused from sleep at the commotion. The warrior was still screeching, and it took Ruin slamming into her shoulder for her to realize he was trying to get her attention. “Ash, Ash!” he yelled, “we have to go! Ash, we have to go now!”
Tearing her eyes from the horrifying scene, they fled.

-

For a long time after that fateful night, Ash’s blood would feel like it was frozen within her body. Having Ruin by her side had helped at first, but over time he had distanced himself, until finally they split up. It was a lonely existence, wandering from region to region, clan to clan, searching for somewhere she could stay. But no clan would take her for long - either she would accidentally reveal herself or they would find out her bloodline on their own, and she would be chased away. Sometimes, she would flee beforehand, petrified of a repeated occurence like her first clan, where perhaps they would not just be content to simply exile her but would instead seek her death. Her heritage defined her life now and its hounding impact was slowly but surely draining her of all her energy.
She collapsed on the borders of the Arcane region, drained of hope, and uncaring at that point what happened to her. Eventually, she awoke, confused at first to what was happening, before she realized she was being carried on the back of an imperial. She froze, unsure what to do, whether she should try to attack the much larger dragon or escape, but the dragon must have felt her movements because he turned back to look at her before she could decide what to do.
“Hello,” he said, “I’m Eidolan, guard of Clan Fellwing.”
Ash could only stare, still fearful but also frozen at the kind voice and beautiful face of the imperial. “Hello,” she finally said back. “I’m Ash.” He nodded and turned back, informing her he’d take her back to his clan to recover, but she simply laid her head down, drawn into his warmth above all else.
Clan Fellwing was an interesting place, and at Eidolan’s insistence, she stayed to recover her strength. The imperial was handsome, honorable, and despite herself Ash felt her heart grow warm towards him. It dimmed a bit, upon meeting Eidolan’s mate - a fellow pearlcatcher named Rua - but did not fade.
Ash could tell that Eidolan could sense her feelings and was embarrassed by them, but when she was healed and quietly planned to leave, he still intervened. “You’re safe here,” he said awkwardly, “and we all like you. Won’t you stay?”
So she did. Regardless, it was not an easy decision. Ash spent the next few moons living in the same anxious state as she had for he whole life, her mind whispering that eventually she would be chased out of this clan too. It was only a matter of time.
“Are you alright?” Rua asked her, startling her out of such thoughts. “I swear, you’re always living in that head of yours.” The other pearlcatcher was busy preparing for another diplomatic mission to the Ice region, but had nevertheless accepted Ash’s company.
Ash shifted uncomfortably, still wary of Eidolan’s mate, even if she seemed to have accepted her. It was made even more odd by the fact she probably knew Ash’s feelings towards her mate, yet never showed hostility towards her - in fact, sometimes Ash swore that she was purposely pushing her and Eidolan together.
“I’m fine,” she said, and Rua studied her for a moment, but otherwise did not pry.
“Did you hear here was a new arrival last night?” she asked instead, and Ash shook her head. She should pay better attention to the comings and goings of the clan, but recently she had started to almost get comfortable with where she was - like she would be able to stay here permanently, as foolish as that idea was.
“Come on,” Rua said, and Ash followed her out into the clan’s center, half paying attention to the other pearlcatcher’s chatter and half studying the camp she had become so accustomed to. Then, she caught sight of who must have been the newcomer.
He was talking and laughing with a couple other clan members, his smile charming and pose relaxed and unthreatening. But his soul - dear gods, his soul was chaos. Ash always tried to quell her abilities, but it was impossible in the face of this newcomer and his soul roiling with darkness. She hadn’t realized she had frozen until Rua, now several paces ahead of her, stopped too and looked at her curiously.
“Ash?” she asked.
Shaking and tearing her eyes from the newcomer, she blinked at the other pearlcatcher, swallowing the words that wanted to spill from her throat, the truth that would reveal her and her bloodline. Despite Rua’s concerns and questions, Ash brushed them all off, making up an excuse soon after so she could retreat to her sleeping quarters to figure out what she would do.
She had to tell them, she realized in horror. It didn’t matter if it would reveal itself - not when such a threat was sneaking into the clan she had began to feel at home in. Her suspicions were only confirmed later that night, when she came out for dinner, only to see the newcomer charming the clan’s leader - Lexine. If she didn’t say anything, such a dragon would be worming its way directly into the heart of the clan. Her fear steadied into an anxious conviction that she had to act, no matter the cost to herself.
Ash first thought was to go to Eidolan, but the imperial had been distancing himself, obviously reluctant to feed her feelings for him or to anger his mate. That left Rua, the dragon she was next closest to. Knowing she would be leaving on her diplomatic mission soon, Ash had no choice but to go to her right away, bypassing dinner in her haste to find the other pearlcatcher. As she passed, she caught a glint of the newcomer’s eyes watching her, and a chilled feeling shivered down her spine.
Rua jerked up as soon as she saw Ash. “What’s wrong?” she asked, before Ash even opened her mouth, and hesitantly, Ash told her. It started slow and stumbling, with her backtracking and not making much sense, but soon it was flooding from her mouth like meltwater - how the soul looked and what the newcomer was underneath all his charm and how they had to stop him.
As soon as she was done, Rua grabbed her wrists and dragged her out to the clan’s center. “Can we speak to you?” she asked Lexine, interrupting the newcomer with a steely voice that brooked no argument. Their leader shot them both a disapproving look, but agreed, rising and leading them to private quarters away from the newcomer’s ken gaze.
Rua told her everything. Lexine listened intently, eyes narrowing and shooting glances at Ash occasionally, but she remained silent, the anxiety growing into a nauseating ball in the pit of her stomach. When she was done, Lexine told them to stay put, then left.
The clan leader didn’t return until much later. By that point, Ash had curled into herself, not responding to Rua’s prodding attempts to engage in conversation. When Lexine did return though, she wasn’t alone. Several of the clan’s guards were with her, including Eidolan, and none of them looked very happy.
Ash shrunk away from them, but Lexine raised a claw to still her. “You were right,” she said seriously. “We have investigated and the newcomer was indeed what you spoke him to be.” She paused, then all but hissed out, “He was plotting on stealing eggs from the nursery. For what, I dare not even think.” The guards muttered in similar anger, although Eidolan was focusing his entire gaze on Ash. “He has been thrown out, with a warning to never return lest he face the consequences,” Lexine continued, “so thank you, Ash. Without your knowledge, Clan FellWing would have suffered greatly.”
“The only question,” she said, stepping forward and forcing Ash to look up at her, “how did you know?”
“H-his soul,” she stammered out, but was interrupted before she could continue.
“What do you mean by his soul?”
Ash took a step back, her tail curling between her legs and her claws scratching up and down her pearl in agitation as she realized she had backed herself into a corner, in more ways than one. “His soul,” she mumbled, shaking. “I could see his soul and all its corruption, what he was planning…”
With a wave of a claw, Lexine dismissed the guards, who all obeyed with the exception of Eidolan who set his jaw and didn’t move from his mate’s side. “Ash,” Lexine stated carefully, “what are you?”
That was the final straw. Rua stepped forward, between her leader and friend, and glared. “That’s enough,” she said. “She told us all she knew and our nursery is safe because of it. Is that not enough?”
“She’s scared,” Eidolan said suddenly, and Ash startled at the anger in his voice. “Why are we interrogating her? She’s done nothing wrong.”
But that wasn’t true, Ash thought, rather hysterically. She was cursed. Her heritage was filled with shadows and blood. “Descendant…” she choked out, even as Rua and Eidolan shot her twin concerned glances, but all Ash’s attention was on Lexine. She was, after all, the clan’s leader and held the fate of what would happen to Ash in her claws. If she decided she must go, she would have to, even if Rua or Eidolan didn’t want her to.
Lexine eyed her calmly. “I know. And you are welcome to stay, Ash, if you wish to.” Nodding to the other two, Lexine ducked out then, obviously aware that her presence was not helping Ash’s agitation.
Closing her eyes, Ash shook and shook, her claws stilled from their continuous scratching only when Eidolan laid a gentle hand over it. The other two sat with her, even though she wasn’t sure she fully believed Lexine, and a large portion of her mind was demanding she flee now that they knew. She couldn’t though, not with Rua and Eidolan so close.
So Ash simply waited.

-

Clan FelWing knew. And yet, Ash was still there. Most of it was due to Arcane’s natural curiosity instead of fear which… Ash wasn’t sure how to feel about. At least they weren’t chasing her out of their clan or harassing her. In fact, the only ones who seemed to fully accept her were Rua and Eidolan, her friends, and their matriarchal leader, who was thankful she had aided in protecting her charges.
She couldn’t mind too much, she decided. Not when she was invited by Lexine to help watch hatchlings - all of whom she adored - or when Rua and Eidolan tried to subtly push her to prove herself. This was, she decided cautiously, a place she could probably stay a bit longer.
Gods, Ash hoped she could stay longer.
Rua leaned against her shoulder, smiling in a sly way, and for a moment Ash just revelled in the fact that the other dragon seemed to hold no fear or anger in touching her. In fact, while their shoulders touched, it was feather soft – a clear regard for Ash’s personal space but still seeking a desire to be close to her. A flash of emotion glinted in Rua’s eyes when Ash looked over at her, but she could not decipher what it meant.
“Why don’t you go with Eidolan?” Rua asked, “I’m sure he’d love some company on his patrol.”
“Oh, I don’t know…” Ash said, looking over at where the imperial was standing. Rua smiled again, the corners of her mouth drawing up into a scheming look, and as Eidolan passed by she gently pushed Ash, who stumbled into his chest.
“Oomph!” sputtered Ash, attempting to regain her footing. Eidolan blinked down at her, flushed but nowhere near as embarrassed as he might have had previously, before he helped her up.
“I take it you’d like to join me?” he asked, tone bordering on teasing even though his blush was quite evident. Ash peeked over her shoulder at Rua, who was pretending not to watch them – although Ash could practically feel her smug aura – then looked up at the imperial.
“Why not?” she said, feeling her own blush spread over her cheeks. He nodded and as they turned to exit the camp, Ash smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time.
* Written by Blackfirewolves