Amesse

Amesse didn't remember anything about the clan she must have come from originally; she only knew that it must have been in the Tangled Wood somewhere, since she was a Shadow dragon.

She liked her current clan, though--a lot. They rarely slept in the same place twice in a row, but that didn't bother her. As long as they were all together, every day was a brand new adventure.

She loved her clanmates. Stormcloud would tell her riddles and play "What Do I Spy?" as they traveled, and drape a wing over her for warmth and comfort when they settled down to sleep. Xenea pretended to be gruff and not have time for hatchlings, but he still let Amesse ride on his back when she got tired, and saved the juiciest bugs just for her at mealtimes.

The only puzzling thing was the rock he carried around, cradling it close or keeping it in a special sling the way Stormcloud did with his pearl. She had asked Stormcloud about it once; he just rolled his eyes and let out a huff of laughter.

"It's a Nocturne thing," he said, and left it at that.

Grownups were just weird sometimes, Amesse concluded.