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“Birthplace”: “Mate”:

Personality Originally created as a simple plushie, Mendoza was given life by her long-time owner, Vitomir. She is weaker than most plushie dragons but this does not stop her from looking after and teaching the ‘newborn’ plushies. Her gentle demeanor and endless kindness draw the clan’s hatchlings to her. She does not mind all of the attention and happily gives them plenty of cuddles and love. Personal Hoard Playful Windsinger Puppet Trinkets A crudely-fashioned stuffed doll that resembles the Windsinger. It is made of fine satin cloth and held together with green ribbons. 1000 Mammertee Plushie Trinkets What if your lair was full of hundreds of these? Think about it. 53 Owlcat Journal Trinkets Embossed with a colorful owlcat, this journal is filled with the hopes, dreams, and cookie recipes of a young dragon. 24 Nocturne Puppet Trinkets A hand-crafted Nocturne marionette. This one has a strangely-long snout and looks as though it's been through a lot. 46 Delightful Wooden Unicorn Trinkets It takes a particular kind of hatchling to seriously refer to this menacing plaything as 'delightful'. 47 Labradorite Minerals & Ores This mineral provides an iridescent display of reflected light. 120 Infused Crystal Minerals & Ores This crystal pulses with an unnatural energy and strange shapes move within. One should not stare overlong into it, lest they begin to stare back at you. (Special thanks Artorias.) 80 Potted Peacevine Organics Poisonous, but pretty! Peacevine lives on very little water and very little sunlight, making it an ideal lair decoration during long, dark winters. 29 Faded Shadowbinder Effigy Trinkets A crudely-fashioned stuffed doll that resembles the Shadowbinder. It is made of dark velvet and has a musty odor to it. 1000 Sparkles Mendoza greatly appreciates the way the sun shines through Sparkles’ crystalline feathers. She often zones out while admiring the sight. Luckily, Sparkles doesn’t seem to mind all of the gawking. In fact, she spends a good amount of time preening and making sure her crystals are clean.

First, there was nothing. Then, suddenly, there was life. Stitchings became tighter, colours more alive and black button eyes transformed into something that was halfway between real eyes and the googly eyes hatchlings often stick on rocks and potatoes. She looked around at the world in confusion. Where was she? What had happened? What were these thoughts suddenly spinning around her head? Her eyes flicked this way and that, her tail twitched as it also discovered life and her paws slowly began to move.

"Mendoza."

Her newly discovered ears flicked at the noise and she swiveled her eyes to look at the one that had spoken. She knew him. She was his oldest friend, given to him on his hatchday so many years ago. Vitomir. What had he done?

"Mendoza," he said again. "That is your name. Say it back to me."

"M-m-m-m-m..." Mendoza's mouth struggled to form the word. She wasn't meant for speaking. She was meant to be hugged and cuddled. At the same time, she was supposed to make Vitomir happy, so she tried.

"Again." Vitomir watched and listened with cold calculation as she slowly worked out the mechanics of speech.

"Men...do...za..." she managed at last. A spark of pride flared up inside her when Vitomir nodded approvingly. She had proved she could learn things, albeit slowly. That was when he left her with the others.

The others were much like she was. They were plushies that had been brought to life through Vitomir's work. She recognized a few of them as others that had been given to her charge throughout his younger years. They explained to her that she was weaker than they were. Her darker colours contrasted heavily with their vibrant tones, marking her as lesser in power. She didn't quite understand all of this, but there was a brief moment in which Mendoza worried the others might gang up to eliminate her. This never happened.

Plushies are created by seamsdragons with the most loving of intentions. Even with Vitomir's tinkering, it was their inherent nature to love and care for others. In the dark presence that was their master's clan, they were determined to be a small spark of light. Attacking Mendoza would have gone against everything they believed in, so instead they accepted as one of their own her for who she was. After all, she was Vitomir's first friend. How could they take that away from the one they loved so much?

Vitomir returned one day bearing three tiny hatchlings that looked like miniature versions of the sentient plushies he had already created. The others parted to let him pass as he crossed to where Mendoza stood by watching. Carefully, he set the three squeaking things down in front of her and pushed in her direction with one paw.

"These are your children," he told her. It was more of an order than a simple explanation. "Name them if you wish. Or don't. It makes no difference to me."

Once Vitomir had left, she curled herself around the tiny creatures and coo'd softly. To each one, she gave a name.

"Innokentiy. Buckeye. Harley." She gently stroked each one's head as she gave them their names.

Like her, Buckeye was dark in colour, signifying his lower status and weaker power. Innokentiy and Harley were twins that were lighter in colour than her. They would be higher ranking and stronger than her in time, but that didn't change anything. She still loved them all equally and unconditionally. She was still young in her new life and didn't understand much, but love was something she knew everything about.



Given to Vitomir on the day he hatched, Mendoza was his first friend and his original plushie. As he got older, Vitomir found less and less use for her. It was for this reason that he used his alchemical abilities to give her and other plushies new life. Her body is halfway between that of a real dragon's and that of a plushie. Though she still considers herself a plushie, she is neither one nor the other. Though she does possess the ability to slowly learn, Mendoza is quite dumb. Her dark colours are a sign of this as well as of her low status and weaker power when compared to plushies of brighter tones. Despite the darker intentions of the clan into which she was created, Mendoza is full of love and readily accepted the three hatchling plushies Vitomir created as her own offspring. Whether or not Vitomir can alter the loving nature of the plushies remains to be seen, but, for now, Mendoza is content being a small speck of light amidst the dark of his clan since love is all she really knows.