Thorn

"I know there's good in everything
And it'll show itself when you're gentle to it
I'm gonna take care of things"

he/him | Healer, Clan Dad | in a relationship with Blossom

Thorn had a peaceful childhood in a loving family deep in the Gladeveins, his days spent playing with his sister Rose and learning the art of healing from his herd’s skilled healers. Until their foraging grounds were stricken by plague magic and an illness took hold that even the healers’ best efforts couldn’t cure. Thorn and Rose were the only ones unafflicted and, though very young, were sent away in hopes that they would survive to find a home far away.

They travelled a long way, looking after each other all the while—Rose was brave and reckless and fiercely protective, once eager to be one of their old herd’s protectors (their herdmates used to say she must have been a guardian in a past life) and now just as eager to protect her brother, and Thorn always used his skills as a healer to patch her up when she got hurt. It was always said he was a born healer, his healing magic strengthened by his compassionate heart.

They eventually found themselves in the Everbloom Gardens, the most beautiful and inviting place they had ever seen. Everything seemed perfect until a wound Rose sustained from a fight with an undying featherback, despite how Thorn had been diligently working to treat it daily, became infected and she swiftly fell ill. All the herbs and magic Thorn had at his disposal couldn’t save her. Even as her life faded before him, he desperately tried every healing spell he knew.

To this day, among an impenetrable tangle of roses and thorns, lies a corpse that will never rot, looking as peaceful as if she were simply sleeping.

Exhausted from the effort and weak with grief, Thorn couldn’t go far from his failure before he collapsed.

He woke the next day to the sight of a young guardian watching him with wary curiosity. He didn’t understand her questions, but when she brought him water he drank. Though she was big and strong, he felt no fear with her around. Being a caretaker was his calling, but this time, he let himself be taken care of, let the guardian—Blossom, she told him was her name—watch over him, bringing him food and water until he had the strength to carry on again.

She stayed after that, and he was grateful. She said of course she’d stay, he was her charge. Guardians were meant to protect their charges. She listened when he talked about the pain of losing his whole herd, and offered understanding; she’d lost her family too.

Guardian and charge or not, Thorn realized that if the two of them were both all alone in the world, they could change that by sticking together. They could build a home and a family together.

She found that funny, and called him sweet when he talked about how their home could be a home for anyone else who needed it. And she agreed.

With Blossom’s strength and Thorn’s magic, they had little trouble building a den big enough for a number of dragons to comfortably shelter in. They gathered moss to make soft places to sleep and Thorn found flowers to make it prettier, like the kind of home he and his sister had dreamed of. Thorn found himself hoping that Blossom would still sleep beside him, her wing draped over him, making him feel the warmest and safest he’d felt since leaving his herd.

She did, maybe because she’d been cold and lonely for a long time too. Maybe because he was her charge. Maybe because she had the same warm, fluttery feeling in her chest that he did.

With time, their home and family grew. They had children, and took in more. Thorn is happier than he’d ever imagined being, and he knows Blossom is too. They still offer anyone passing through a place to stay. Despite all he’s been through, Thorn has remained kind and gentle, and while some may call him naive, no one can deny his steadfast optimism brings out the best in those around him.