Gypsy

The g ypsy that remains faces freedom with little fear.
There is no fear, there is only love.

G ypsy is the matriarch of the clan, though she never set out to be such. A free-wheeling youngster raised by equally laid-back parents, she embarked on her own knowing that she was supposed to be looking for something important to protect but had no idea what that might be. Though not prone to worrying about such things, she did understand that finding her Ward was important, and wanted to dedicate herself to something truly worthwhile.

She carved out a little lair for herself to use as a place to rest and focus her energies for her search, and in so doing attracted a roving Mirror who had become separated from his pack. She offered her companionship and a place to rest his head, and from this casual introduction grew a more intimate relationship.

Their wanderings to hunt for food and other resources one day turned up an abandoned egg; the deeply compassionate G ypsy immediately took it back to the lair, incubated it with the clutch she and her mate had recently produced, and raised the resulting hatchling as her own.

This was a process that repeated itself with astonishing regularity, to the point that her adopted children outnumbered the ones created from unions with her Mirror mate. Her collection of wayward foundlings did not stop at eggs and hatchlings, either; she took in wanderers who crossed her path, allowing them to stay as long as they needed, and though many passed on after a night or two, several chose to remain, adding their strength to the lair.

G ypsy knows now what her Ward is, though she can't put it into precise words. Her lair remains ever open to the lost, the lonely, and those looking for a place to call home.