Axqu » Lair » Katyusha

Katyusha

(#69315636)

Level 6 Nocturne

Familiar

Sweetpuff

Energy: 22/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

4.54 m

Wingspan

6.26 m

Weight

701.76 kg

Genetics

Obsidian
Wasp

Sanguine
Butterfly

Oilslick
Spines

Hatchday

May 13, 2021
(2 years)

Breed

Adult
Nocturne

Eye Type

Nature
Primal

Level 6 Nocturne

EXP: 321 / 8380

STR

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

Unnamed
Keun

Offspring

Biography

Katyusha
No Charges, no masters.

∙ • °

° • ∙

When Katyusha first hatched, she always felt... strange. Not strange in the 'nOt LiKe OtHeR gIrLs' sense, but strange in that her body never quite felt like it fit right. Her legs were too long and stumpy as a Guardian ("Powerful and strong," her friends and family said,) and her wings were too broad and plain. She just felt like a big, ungainly mess no matter what she did... and to make matters worse, she was born with the Gladekeeper's blessing in her eyes. That meant that she was expected to put on a happy face about her "natural" body. "You're a proud, strong Guardian! Blend is a fine pattern for your wings! You should learn to love yourself the way you are," they crowed, ignoring the shards of ice in her heart when she looked down at herself and felt wrong. The homesickness for a body she'd never known, bad enough and pervasive enough that it could kill her. When she came of age and her instincts told her to go on Search, the knife in Katyusha's heart only twisted more.

Her Search was miserable. She'd learned to push down the feelings of wrongness, and learned that nobody would understand. She'd been taught (not by her parents, but by the worst parts of Nature-flight extremism) that breedchanging to something other than one's natural birth form was anathema to the Gladekeeper's vision for her life. And so she suffered, and Searched, resigned to a life she knew she was going to hate and resent. Even worse, when Katyusha was flying over the Southern Icefield, she found herself inexorably drawn to one tiny fae. A fae who was immediately and brutally hostile to her when she told him he was her Charge, but whom Katyusha's body was biologically programmed to love anyway.

She carved out her own little den with the rest of the Entourage and wept. Just absolutely wept. Katyusha never, ever wanted any of this. She couldn't blame Adaro for hating her. Not really. He had seventeen other dragons vying for his attention at all times, and here she was, just adding to the pile of misery. "I never wanted this... I never wanted this," she sobbed, over and over, curled up in the tightest little ball she could manage. Katyusha didn't leave her den for three straight days. More and more, her solution-building drifted toward the... drastic.

There came a small knock on her doorway. "...hey. Katyusha, right? Can I come in for a sec'? Gwyd couldn't help but overhear you having a terrible time."

Her Guardian instincts, the wrong instincts, lit up like wildfire upon seeing her Charge. Her authentic self was still hurt from the things he'd said to her in his rage. All she could manage was a choked sob. Lots of Guardians here were having a terrible time, and Adaro hated all but two of his entourage. She couldn't imagine why she was special.

"...I'm a warrior. I'm not good at feelings, and I'm not good at apologies. But uh... I've managed to pick up a couple things here and there, and... I think I misjudged you, and I was way too rough when you first showed up. And... I'm sorry." He walked over and placed a claw on Katyusha's too-large snout. "And I think... I think there's been a mistake. I don't think you're supposed to be here."

Katyusha squirmed, the instinctive agony at being separated from her Charge already starting to rise. "...I don't want to add to your grief, but I know you're my Charge--"

"Yeah, I know I am too. But... I don't think you're even supposed to have a Charge, is what I'm getting at. We dunno why, but sometimes... sometimes when dragons are born, their souls get put in the wrong body. Gods know lots of people think that happened to me. I've lost count of how many have told me I should be a wildclaw... but I'm comfortable in my body, and being a fae suits me just fine. I'm just a fae who likes to kill things. You... You don't give me that vibe. I, ah... Personal question, but have you ever been okay in your own skin?"

Katyusha burst into tears. Again. Of course it'd be her Charge who'd acknowledge how she felt inside, and without any prompting. Yes, she told him, over and over. It all came pouring out-- the pain, the misery, the wrong feeling, the Nature-flight hangups, all of it. Adaro awkwardly just kept patting her nose, trying to comfort her as best he knew how with his limited bandwidth. Somehow, some way, it helped.

"Hey, hey... alright. Look. I wanna get you some help, alright? Then when you're all fixed up and your body looks the way your soul says it should, you can decide if you actually like me or not. Fair?" Adaro sat on the end of her snout. "Now... I know you've thought about this. You gotta tell me so I can help you. What shape do you want to have? What shape do you need to have to be happy?"

It took her a long, long time to reply. "...like a girl version of Orion. But with a wing pattern like Faris."

"Alright. Lemme see what I can do. I'm no good with magic, but I've got a friend who is. If you can just hang in there for a little while longer, I'll see what she says. Good news is you should still be able to have a family after the change. Gwyd said that's important to you."

The procedure was done, and for the first time in her life, Katyusha felt comfortable. She was a beautiful Nocturne, and she was small, and graceful, and her wings were gorgeously patterned. Trying on the mannerisms of others and mimickry became a joy to her-- she never knew she wanted it, but she delighted in having it. And best of all, she was free-- free from the cage of her old body, free from the burden of a Charge, free to learn who her authentic self really was. Katyusha found that she loved hybrid and magically altered plants-- she felt something of a kinship with them, and felt excited to make them into their best selves. She blossomed from a closed and panicked shell into an extraverted bright spark, happy to find a community of other dragons she could call friends.

But something was missing. Or rather, a couple somethings. In her heart of hearts, Katyusha wanted to have a huge family. She'd never felt comfortable enough in her body to even think about it before, but now she felt the press of loneliness she'd been ignoring her whole life. And realistically... realistically, she wanted two mates, socially awkward as that was to bring up. Katyusha had always liked both men and women, and she didn't buy into the whole free love thing, but she didn't want to be forced to either choose or be someone's unicorn. She wanted one of each, and she wanted them to date each other too, all equitably in one family. And raise a ton of hatchlings, all together.

Katyusha grumbled a little bit about this to Adaro, whom she now met for tea about once a week.

"Hey. So... I know a guy. Pretty much my opposite in every way, but I consider him like a brother to me. He's looking for exactly what you are. Like, uncanny exactly what you are. And he figured out how to get orchids blooming without Nature magic. Orchids. I think he'd be great for you. You want I should introduce you?"

And that was how Katyusha met Ayden. Not long after, at a celebratory gala leading up to the Brightshine Jubilee, they met a noblewoman who was just starting to date again after the loss of her mate and two hatchlings. Haimona was looking for something completely unlike anything she'd ever had before, and found that (when the relationship was built as a poly one from the beginning), dating a man and a woman (both of whom she found equally lovely and charming) was her ideal scenario. They all fell in love, and all of them felt their family was complete.

Despite her past, Katyusha is happy now. Her body, her mind, her family, and her friends are all better than she ever could've dreamed. She now looks forward to waking up every day. That novelty still hasn't worn off.

Gachapon Hatchathon - Butterfae Colorwheel

Rose-related assets by Poisonedpaper. Simple bio template by ecks.

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Exalting Katyusha to the service of the Icewarden will remove them from your lair forever. They will leave behind a small sum of riches that they have accumulated. This action is irreversible.

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