Spruce

Hunter

Spruce was unsure of herself when she first joined the watery clan. She was the first female to come from the nature clan that Karli was so close with. All the rest before her had been boys, who had found mates or a place within the clan. She didn't have either of those and felt like she was never going to get the hang of being a water dragon, doubting her decision to come here in the first place.

Her first real break came when Cerimi added her to her hunters. Cerimi noticed a natural talent in Spruce and slowly helped her hone that talent so that she became an excellent fisher for the clan. Her colors helped her blend in in the water so that the prey didn't know what hit them until it was too late. Cerimi included Spruce in her evening fires, introducing her to her family. To Spruce, Cerimi's family was strange. There was her ex-mate and his new mate, who ate with her every evening. There was her son with him and his mate, along with their son, who was the clan leader's mate. Then there was her second ex-mate's son, who had adopted Cerimi as a second mother and stuck pretty close to her when he wasn't with his mate, the clan leader's second daughter. To Spruce, Cerimi seemed tightly connected and interwoven into the clan, and loved for it. She longed for a family like that.

That seemed to be within her grasp when Robin, a young skydancer took a fancy to her. He started following her around when he wasn't scouting for the clan, reciting poetry that he had memorized just for her. Sometimes he even wrote it himself. Spruce was intrigued, but Robin was a newbie to the clan like her, not as connected or interwoven as some of the other dragons. She wanted a family, to feel like she belonged here and she wasn't sure Robin could give her that.

Cerimi noticed this and decided to speak with the young dragon. Tempest tagged along, thinking she may have some insight to offer. They sat Spruce down one day after hunting. "Spruce, do you like Robin?" Cerimi was not one to mince words.

"Well yes, very much so."

"Then why are you not taking him as a mate?"

Spruce blushed slightly, lowering her head. "You're going to think it's silly but he's a first gener like me. First gen to this clan I mean. He doesn't have a family here like you do."

Tempest snorted. "Doesn't have a family? Have you SEEN those scouts? Ratha treats all of them like her children and nurtures each one. They may not be blood but he has a family."

Spruce dipped her head. "I've seen that yes. But at night, over the fires, he's with the other single dragons. He's not gathered around a family fire like you are." Her eyes pleaded with Cerimi to understand. Tempest was not so forgiving.

"Do you see me around a family fire?" Spruce shook her head. "Not all of us have all our family here. Heck, even the clan leader has had to let some of her family go. That's not the point. Family are the dragons who accept you, who let you into their inner circle. You don't have to be related to them to feel included and loved. My mate is in the clan you came from and while I miss him every day, I wouldn't trade this clan for anything else in the world."

Cerimi pointed her nose towards Robin. "Sometimes, to get the family you want, you have to build it yourself. Who's to say that your children and grandchildren wont join you there one day? Don't let a good thing pass you by just because you are looking for something else."

Spruce looked over at Robin, who was pretending not to notice the conversation going on about him. She saw him smirk, which made her smile. "He is rather charming. And he makes me laugh. It can't hurt to see where it goes right?" The other two nodded, pushing her in his direction, happy to have been able to help out at least one couple in the clan.

Spruce looked around her family fire, content. Not only had her son, Elena, decided to stay with the clan and take as a mate one of the Oracles, but her daughter had also decided to stay, taking a new dragon as her mate. Slowly, her family was growing and she couldn't be happier. She looked over at Cerimi, who was smiling in her direction. Sometimes, things do work out the way they're supposed to.