Aida perches upon an outcropping of the cliffs to paint her distant relatives dancing in the sky over the sea. Of course, she could join them - but the scene is too perfect to pass up painting! Aida's great-grandfather Delta left Sunbeam Grotto as a juvenile, deciding to build a family of his own only a short distance from his own home clan. Aida and her relatives grew up practicing their flying over the sea, not knowing their ancestor Sunset lived right below! It was only when Aida began to frequent the edge of the Zephyr Steppes to paint the coastal skies that she discovered her heritage. It took less than a day to move all her belongings and equipment into a shallow cave den at the top of the cliff. Now, she enjoys waking up to the scent of salty sea air, and coasting down from the cliff to commune with her clan on the beach! Since her arrival, Aida has grown close to her great-great-great-grandmother Sunset, as well as a number of her cousins and ancestors who live in and frequently visit Sunbeam Grotto. She regularly takes the short journey to visit her parents and relatives back home, too! It's safe to say her bubbly spirit endears Aida well to any dragon she meets, regardless of whether or not they're related!

Aida's first reaction to hearing about the family reunion was to go and notify her family members in her neighboring home clan!...then, return hours later with half of 'em to begin preparations! The Wind dragons were kind enough to donate some material to build tents for the visiting family members. As they worked, Aida snuck off to begin planning an event with her cousin Simera!

While the cousins' idea was easy to come by,the preparations needed were a heavy task for just two dragons. Still, they wanted their event to be a surprise, so Aida and Simera spent hours crafting canvases and pestling paint of all colors late at night and early each morning.




One of the tents on the beach stands out from the rest; while the tents supplied for guests to sleep in are a limited palette of dyed canvas, this one seems to have been painted by hand - every inch of it! One wall depicts a sunrise, the other a sunset, with familiar silhouettes flying between the clouds in each illustration. Small motifs cover the rest of the fabric; elemental symbols, cute sea critters, and handprints in every size and color. An easel is propped up outside the door, holding a sign proclaiming this as "aida's portrait tent!!!"

The artist in question is curled up on a cushion inside, scrawling on a canvas with her tongue poking out. Her workspace is a mess; blank canvases of an assortment of sizes are piled up against the walls. Each of the tents came with a tarp meant to serve as a non-sandy floor, but clearly Aida skipped that step - some scattered tubes of paint are in grave danger of being swallowed by the sand. When she sees you enter, she tears her attention away from her current painting and a wide smile spreads across her features.

"Hiya! Do you want me to paint you? I tried to paint everyone at last year's reunion, but I totally ran out of steam, so I wanted to...what's that thing Delphina always says? 'Balance my workload.' So if you want me to paint you this year, it's gonna cost some of those pretty gems!" Aida takes a breath from her mile-a-minute speech to give you a bright smile. "Whaddaya think? I might not finish in time to give it to you at the reunion, but in that case I'll mail it to you for free!"

She lifts the money pouch around her neck and peeks inside. From the way she holds it, and the shiny newness of the leather, you are 99% certain it's 100% empty.

"300 gems!" Aida shouts suddenly. "...Or 300 whatevers. If you want me to paint you, that is. Unless...you want to work out a trade?"