Ajani

Lore wip
She watched as the flower petals twirled in the breeze, delicate and beautiful in their turbulent dance. As the petals slowly disappeared from view, she reluctantly rose to her feet. If she flew back to the hive now, she might make it back before dark.

She had only been in her room for a few moments when her instructor, Fearia burst into the room. "You weren't at battle practice today, Ajani! Where were you?" She shouted. Even though Honeytummies were known for their mild temperament, Fearia's zealous passion for her job could often be mistaken for a hot headedness.
Ajani's eyes widened in shock. "That was today?"
Fearia stomped her feet. "Of course it was! How forgetful can you be? You were late for the last practice we had as well!"
Ajani hung her head in shame. As a royal jelly, it was her responsibility to the hive to become a warrior, or if something ever happened to the the rulers, become queen. It was unthinkable for a honeytummy to protest their job. Like the other members of the hive she wanted to do her best to support the hive. While she didn't like fighting, she knew it was a necessary job. However, the chance she would ever need them were fairly slim as very few dragons ever ventured close to the hive.
Another dragon fluttered down into the room. "Fearia, what is all this noise about?" The newcomer questioned, disaprovement dripping from her voice.
Scrambling into an awkward bow Fearia began to apologize. "I am sorry my queen! I was simply reprimanding my student for missing class."
Ajani did a slight bow, prepared to give an apology. Technically, this disruption was her fault, even if Fearia was naturally loud. As the opened her mouth to speak, she felt feathery wings under her chin tilting her head up until she and the queen were locking eyes. Sorrow filled the queens eyes. "Ajani, you have so much potential," she gently murmured. "I truly hate to see it go to waste."
With those words the queen turned and exited. Fearia rose go her feet, "In exchange for missing today, you'll have a private lesson tomorrow for the whole afternoon, got it?" She walked out as well, leaving Ajani by herself and her thoughts. I have potential? Potential for what?

Panting, Ajani flopped down on the ground of the training room. Frustrated, Fearia had decided to make her lesson exponentially more difficult. Rolling over, Ajani examined the intricate amber colored ceiling. It shimmered gently in the fading sunlight. After regaining her breath, Ajani stood up and shook the dust from her feathers. Walking to her room, she heard a commotion from downstairs. Curious, she flew down to the main garden, careful not to disturb any of the bees. "What's going on here?" Ajani asked. A pollinator coatl looked up at her, confused. "You didn't hear? Another dragon showed up and is speaking with the king and queen!"
Ajani took a step back in surprise, "What! A visitor?"
The coatl nodded, "Yes, a spiral. Claims he got lost on his way home."
Shaking her head, Ajani began a hurried ascent to the royal chamber. Her job was to defend the hive, which meant being present if any strange dragons arrived in case they were a threat. Sometimes one doesn't realize a visitor's true intentions until it is far too late. Outside the door she saw Fearia waiting. She motioned with a small flourish of her wing to be quiet. As silently as she could, Ajania landed. They both stood outside the door, motionless. Ajani figured that the strange spiral was currently having an audience with the king and queen. Fearia and her were stationed outside as backup just in case the worst was to happen. Eventually the doors opened. Curiously, Ajani reached her head head around the corner so she could just barely peer into the chamber. The gentle gleam that reflected off of the sunny amber that made up the room was stunning. No matter how many times she saw it, she was always left breathless staring into the sea of simmering light.
"Ajani!" At the sound of her name being called, she snapped out of her thoughts. The king was looking at her, a playful smile on his face. "Would you bring Skylar to the guest room?"
Nodding eagerly, Ajani looked at their visitor excitedly. It had been years since a dragon had stayed at the hive and if the king and queen approved of them, there was no need to be cautious. The spiral was a light, sky blue in color and as she looked at him, Ajani thought she could see stars decorating his scales. Over his eyes he wore a black scarf. Could he even see with it on?
Swallowing her excitement, she called in her most regal sounding voice, "Welcome to our hive, Skylar. Let me bring you to your room."
The spiral followed you, a grin on his face.
"So, why did you come here?" Ajani looked over her shoulder, cocking her head.
The spiral sighed, "I was out on a short trip but it seems I got a little lost."
"Oh, where are you from?"
"Ah, just a little corner of the Wispwillow Grove."
Ajani stumbled mid-flight. "The Wispwillow Grove! You got lost and ended up on the Windswept Plateau?"
"This isn't the first time something like this has happened," Skylaar shrugged.
"All the way from the Tangled Woods!" Ajani muttered to herself.
Skylar chuckled, "It's a nice place to live. The pine smell in the air is quite homey."
Landing outside the room, Ajani looked quizzically at Skylar. "Isn't it supposed to be very dark there."
Skylar raised his head, "It's nothing I've ever been able to notice."
As he entered the room, and shut the door, Ajani stared at the black cloth of the scarf, realizing that might be the only color he ever had the chance to see.

The king appointed Ajani as Skylar's guide for the duration of his visit so she had the opportunity to hear many stories of the outside world. Apparently, Sklar had traveled to each of the different flights at some point or another so he was a wellspring of knowledge. The more Ajani listened to these tales, however, the more she desired to see these places for herself. On the day Skylar was to leave, they decided to visit the gardens. Taking a deep breath Skylar smiled, "These flowers sure do smell nice. Your hive does an excellent job on caring for them."
Ajani nodded in agreement.
Turning to face her, Skylar suddenly had a sort of wistful look on his face. Ajani felt his sightless gaze under the scarf pierce her. Shivering, she averted her gaze.
"You'll make a fine queen one day," Skylar murmured.
"What?" Ajani shouted, scaring many of the bees nearby with a violent flap of her wings. "Queen? What do you mean? I'm not going to be queen!"
Sighing Skylar sighed, "Fate is a hard thing to control."
"Skyar!" Fearia landed beside Ajani while she stood there speechless. "It's time to go."
Sklar nodded. Before leaving, he turned back to Ajani. "Goodbye."

As he left, Ajani stood there rooted to the ground. The weight of his words cascaded over her. Why did he say she would be queen? Did he somehow know the future? Closing her eyes, Ajani tried to block out the thoughts but they only flooded her mind quicker. If she was called upon to be the new queen, how could she refuse? It was her job to serve the hive as best she could yet she couldn't help feel fear. All she wanted was to live a simple, carefree life. Even the idea of the responsibilities of being queen weighed down on her like a crushing ocean. Cautiously, as so no one would see her, she exited the hive through the back entrance. Thankfully no one saw her as they were all saying their farewells to Skylar. Emerging from the tunnel, she felt the the cold breeze envelop her, casting away her problems. Glancing back at the hive, she felt a twinge of guilt. Was this a good idea? However, when she thought about the world that Skylar had described, bright and colorful, it erased her indecision. She spread out her wings and let the wind take her. Maybe she would return to the hive one day, but for now, she couldn't face the idea of being tethered down to the ground. Beautiful and relaxed with no clear destination in mind, her life was like a petal, fluttering in the breeze.

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