Lir

Lir heard the whispers about him that made their rounds throughout the clan. He knew they called him a statue. He knew they said he had a cold heart. It didn’t bother the samurai. He had come to the clan on the request of one of the dragons. He didn’t stray far past the boundaries of the lair. He was their guardian -- their protector. The Imperial didn’t stay to make friends nor enemies. He stayed to complete his job. Once it was finished and he had been paid, Lir would leave to find a new temporary place to call home. He was a wandering warrior -- a samurai without a home. Lir found a high place to lay as he moved to rest for a minute. His thoughts travelled to his encounter with the leader of the clan. He knew of the rogue Mirror packs that were ravaging the nearby territories. He hadn’t expected one of the clans to ask for his protection. Lir didn’t mind the job. It kept his mind from wandering from his homeland. He sighed.

“I’ll protect them like I couldn’t protect you,” he muttered as he stared at his paws. His claws had embedded themselves into the rock he was laying on. “I won’t let the past repeat itself.”

His ears flickered forward as he heard a yelp. Lir bounded from his perch as he ran to where the sound had originated. The Imperial paused for a moment as he saw a young Imperial pup being chased by a pack of Mirrors. The pup was outside of the clan territory. It wasn’t one of their pups that were being chased. The hatchlings knew to keep away from the borders. He didn’t hesitate as he moved to take down the closest Mirror. Lir knew they would be on him in a second. Mirrors were fast, agile creatures. They hunted on instinct alone. He knew the Imperial pup was prey to them. He dodged an incoming Mirror before grabbing the pup by the scruff of the neck. He shielded the small dragon as Mirrors pounced, tore and bit at his scales and skin. Lir slashed a paw at a Mirror that had clamped its jaws around a wing. The Mirror yelped as it was sent flying into a rock. It lay motionless, unconscious as Lir used that moment to escape from the rest of them.

“Are you okay?” he asked the shaking pup as soon as they go back to the borders of the territory he was watching. “Where are your parents?” He would take the shivering pup to them.

“I-I-I don’t have a-any,” the pup whined. “N-Not a-an-anymore.”

Lir watched as the female pup broke into tears as she curled in on herself. She was alone in the world. She didn’t have parents nor anybody else to protect her. Lir saw himself in the pup. He saw his own life breakdown before him once again. He couldn’t help as he moved to curl himself around her before nudging the small pup into his front paws. He moved to clean her minding his own wounds so blood wouldn’t drip onto the hatchling. His wounds would heal without major incident. He wanted to make sure her own wouldn’t get infected.

“Stop crying,” he said as he licked the tears away from her scales. “You’re not alone. You can stay here until you’re strong enough to live on your own.”

A full grown Imperial had little to no enemies. Not a lot of creatures could take one down. He would stick with this female pup until she could defend herself without fail. He would train her to hunt, fight and to defend herself. Lir didn’t know how to take care of a pup, but he was sure he would manage. He would take her on his adventures helping the clan with their troubles. He watched her interact and play with the other hatchlings. He started to appear in the inner layers of the clan.

Slowly, his rumors began to change ...