Mercury

Baioretto. He was a cliche drama king and a surprisingly clever skydancer. He came to the Arcane flight in search of adventure (and most likely, a few feminine friends)

Baioretto dramatically bumbled in to the room. "Oh, whatEVER are we going to DO?!?!" He touched his jewel and fell back onto a wall, gently pointing to the new, shining tome. He lived in a Lightning clan, and a few science-nerds had influenced his choice. "There.... there seems to be.... an energy from the new one.." He sighed and elegantly lay down on a bench, his rose gembond delicately reflecting light.

"Hmm..." The wildclaw mutters under her breath. You catch the words "can't have the Arcanist use gravity magic," "tome," and "Well, I guess we'll see." She walks up to the Arcanist and taps him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but I believe I know what you should pick." She smiles triumphantly. "Clearly, the shining tome is the best choice. Don't you agree?"

Tentatively, he walks over, catching the eye of Venus and winks.

The wildclaw looks your way. "Hey, I'm Venus." The wildclaw behind her glares. "And I'm, er, taken," she finishes. She turns to the Wildclaw. "Don't you think purple would be best Mercury? Purple is a promising color." Mercury raises an eyebrow.
"The purple one looks as though it is a planet made entirely of gas. We would not even be able to land. The orange planet is smaller, and probably rotates closer to the star of the solar system. The blue one is the most likely to be hospitable to life, and is therefore the obvious choice."
"Fine." Venus rolls her eyes, but she is smiling.

"Hello, Venus! I'm Baioretto!" Baioretto strikes into a bow, and then stands gracefully. "Mercury, I believe? Glad to meet you. What brings you here?" He's quite aware of Venus and Mercury's thoughts of him - the more people you have on your side the better. 'Perhaps Mercury will come to... This mission will be a hard one...' he ponders.

Mercury speaks first. "I am interested in space and the stars. I thought it would be a very educational experience." He starts to turn away, but Venus continues the conversation.
"I thought it would be a fun adventure, and Mercury wanted to go. Also, I'm sure the Arcanist would be lost without us. Between my cleverness and Mercury's knowledge of space, we can be a very helpful pair. If the mission is hard, so much the better!" Venus says happily. "What brought you to a makeshift spaceship captained by an unpredictable god, er a finely engineered vessel captained by a highly competent god?" she asks. Then, as an after thought, she adds "I would have painted it a lighter pink."
Mercury looks grudgingly interested as he asks, "What planet do you think we should land on? And what led you to that choice? Do you happen to be interested in astronomy?"

Baioretto glances out the window. "Ah, the blue planet. It seems hospitable, and as my Core at home says, 'Blue means life.'. And such am I to put meaning to words. Not to mention, the purple one is gaseous, the red probably too hot. And yes, the current pink on the ship is a bit... much.

"I mostly came here searching for adventure, and also for Core. A bright, lovely dragon she is - if a bit too logical. I guess it's a good thing I'm stuck with her for life, eh? Anyways, " Baioretto glances at Mercury, "I'm sure she'd be fine if a couple like you came over, a pretty lady and a stern and protective man. Quite similar to our relationship, actually."

Mercury smiles. "We have decided on blue as well, with similar reasoning. Rather ironic, considering we're all purple." He pauses. "I'll consider your offer."

"I would love to see your clan and meet Core, Baioretto!" Venus struggles to pronounce the name. "Bay-or-et-to, right? Where is your clan? We live on Amethyst Mountain, near the outskirts of the Starwood Strand. It was quite a trek to get here."

Baioretto blushes. "My parents were a crazy bunch, naming me this. And yes, that is how you pronounce it. I hail from Carrion Canyon. We have a cozy clan there, and try to keep it as bright and fancy as 'Ol Stormy' allows - quite a bit, actually."

"Wow! I forgot some non-arcane dragons decided to go to space. That's a long way away!" Venus replies enthusiastically. "Baioretto is a fine name. It's actually quite pretty. Plus, I can never remember names. The more wei-interesting, the better. I'll never forget Bairettoro! Um, Bettorair. See? Even the most interesting names evade me."

"Can you see the stars from Carrion Canyon?" Mercury asks.

Baioretto laughs at Venus's comment, and replies, "Yes, we can see the stars - but only the brightest. Normally, all of the light from the facilities block things up. It's nice, though. The quiet humming of machinery and birds calls keep a nice atmosphere. What's it like in Arcane?"

Venus starts to reply but is cut short by the sudden movement of the spaceship. "Looks like we've decided on a planet!" she cries. As the ship begins to move consistently, she answers Baioretto. "We can see lots of stars in Arcane." Mercury jumps in.
"It's very quiet most of the time, but you have to get used to sleeping through the occasional magical explosion. For the most part, the Starfall Isles go completely dark after the sun sets, but there's always some mage who can't put his book down and go to bed; we sometimes see magical lights." Mercury looks like he has more to say on the subject, but Venus interjects.
"We're heading towards the purple planet." You can see her smiling, since that was her original choice before Mercury persuaded her. He looks worried.
"Let's hope it's not to gaseous to land the ship. It would be a shame to go back home so early." As the ship draws closer to the planet, they notice that it is not gaseous, merely very stormy.
"Purple is a very promising color," Venus says, with a gleam of "I told you so" in her eyes.
Mercury is paying no attention to her and has a note book out, into which he is scribbling furiously. "Interesting trees... purple," he mutters.
Venus glances at Mercury, then Baioretto. Turning to the later, she says, "Looks like we're making another choice. What do you think?"

Baioretto scrambles to the door when the ship lands, muttering, "Oh my! aaaaaaaaaa!" After getting a few bruises on his wing, he turns to Venus and says, "Hmm.. The right path has more room, and if there's any attacks or we must flee, there's a larger space for running and taking off into flight."

Venus starts to argue, then stops. "I agree," she says slowly. She stares at Mercury for a minute. "You know... He really needs to dress up for Starfall Celebration." There's a gleam of mischief in her eye as she turns back to Baioretto. "Be right back."
She returns a few minutes later, caring a pile of sparkly pink. Somehow she convinces Mercury to try it on. "See? Now you're all dressed up for the festival," she says. Mercury looks baffled. Venus seizes the opportunity to explain why the right path is better. "So, we have decided to choose right," she finishes.

"Fine with me," Mercury says, still in a daze. "Wow... that's a lot of pink."