Nocni

(Music for Dragons - "Liberation", Marcus Warner)

A singer and a dancer, cloaked in night sky and borne aloft by starlight-spangled winds.



(Text and art between the double bars is by TacoTequila - July 2021 - included here with his permission. What a lovely gift, thank you so much!!)
With a hip and a hop, there stood a fox. A shimmer in the sky was all it took for him to look up, as a gift with balloons attached upon it fell to his feet. He was wary at first of such a thing, but it was curiosity that got the best of him, before he took one step forward and noticed the note written in his name... There Taco stayed, surprised by such a thing, a gift for him? Who could've sent such a gift? Before neatly untying the box, to be welcomed with the faces of many new friends, as a smile gleamed of his face, both grateful for the gift and for the little creatures scattered about. He couldn't believe this, and couldn't help but want to send something back...

So under a tree he sat, writing a note of his own on a rippled peace of paper, and once he was finished, he placed his own gifts in the box, shutting it back and leaving his note on it, before sending it off into the sky, hoping it'd arrive at the kind stranger who sent him such a thoughtful gift. There it wrote on the note:

"Dear WilliwawWarden, I hope you're well! I just wanted to thank you so very much for the gifts, you're a very kind individual for giving me out of all people these gifts, and I can't thank you enough: I appreciate the gesture immensely! It was a pleasant surprise stumbling upon this, and I hope you don't mind that I wanted to send you something in return, as a mark off my gratitude and that lovely people such as yourself deserve a gift too. I hope they can bring you joy as yours brought me joy, and I hope you have the most wonderful of day or night! Merry Thundercrack Carnival to yourself!

-TacoTequila"

Taco watched the gift fly off into the thundering sky, as his friends sat by his side, watching it too, peacefully fly off towards the wind domain. He truly hoped it would arrive, and that the person who sent it would enjoy the gifts, alongside know his gratitude.


(Response)

High above, a piece of the night sky seems to come to life, performing spirals and rolling loop-the-loops around the ascending balloons. The agile flyer sings out in pure joy, in gratitude, to the vastness of the stars overhead and the tiny fox below.

After the song, and a sudden plunge to catch hold of the package at last, the Skydancer dips a shimmering wing once in farewell. Both dragon and gift appear simply to dissolve back into the sky, becoming a swirl of smoke and flowing light to be carried away on the high winds.

---

Not so much a shapeshifter as a 'shape is optional'; there are rumors that this one might not be a dragon at all. But then, there are rumors that the Tidelord was transformed into a small toad years ago and has been living peacefully in a millpond ever since, or that the Arcanist recently died and was replaced with a magical clone puppeted by powerful Shadow dragons. Only a fool believes everything they hear....