Honeypie

Name: Honeypie
Pronouns: she/her
Mate: None
Personality: determined, clever, dedicated, loyal, protective, cautious, anxious, kind
Occupation: Hatchery nurse, cultural expert
Charge: Her adopted clan
Adopted father: Shui

In this clan, one of the traditions is a cycling gathering ground. Every time an elemental holiday approached, a handful of gatherers will leave each week to explore the new elements and acquaint themselves with the land. These weekly gatherers are often considered brave and lucky, and return home wiser.

One Riot of Rot, however, Elke, Bo, Shui, and Rakesh found a mystifying sight, and yet one that plunged pain in their hearts. It was a clutch of five Plague eggs in a nest, but all but one had withered away and rotted, eating in on themselves and threatening to spread to the final egg cast to the side. Bo quickly ordered Rakesh and Shui to keep guard of the egg for a day while she and Elke continued searching, to be sure the surviving egg was not in danger and its parents would return home.

Yet, as the hours passed, the nature dragons returned to the nest and found the other dragons still waiting. With concern in their souls, they gathered the egg with them ever so carefully and brought it home to be hatched under the watchful eyes of the hatchery. When the time came, a baby guardian emerged from the egg, but the hatchery was shocked to see her state, malformed eyes running along her sides, her left half see-through like glass with exposed organs, a writhing rotten extra wing, and covered in rock-like scabs all over her body... and yet, she bore the mark of the Plaguebringer on her glassy hide.

The medics swiftly took control of the situation, and soon pronounced her "shockingly fragile, but as healthy as a dragon like her could be." This was to say she was not well, but would survive. She could not endure much physical activity, seemed to be in pain near constantly, wheezed with every breath (although this has all but stopped since she has reached adulthood)... but, she would survive, and hopefully find a comfortable life in the clan.

Aeria looked at the child, and looked beyond her concerning state. She saw a potentially brilliant Guardian and a beloved member of her clan, and she saw her patterned yellow wings like that of a beehive, those scabs like packs of amber and honey.

"Honeypie," she named. "You'll be fine."

And so Honeypie grew. Aeria had been correct, and although the tiny guardian did not grow strong like most would hope, she had the bravery of a thousand imperials and an unrivaled sort of love in her heart. She did not go on her Search, and some merely assumed she found herself too weak for a charge, but when she approached Aeria and asked to be assigned a hatchery nurse, they understood that they were all the charge she had taken.

Being a plague dragon raised on nature land, she had been, for a while, out of touch with her home. Shui (who had since become a father figure to her) and Rawr took the duty of educating her on their homeland, and one day took her for a visit to the wasteland. She was shocked at the stark difference, but found something in the area healed a wound in her heart she didn't know.

She began visiting Zubaida every day for books on draconic culture. Being dragons both inflicted by chronic illness, they found a kinship in each other and swiftly became close friends over the course of Honeypie's studies.

In Honeypie's reading, she has grown more and more in touch with her Plague lineage. She has grown to accept that she will never meet her blood family nor will she ever be physically strong, but will never relinquish the loyalty she holds to her nature clan and values the strength in her mind, soul, and glass-beating heart.

• I found her unhatched egg at the same time as a Plague Acuity Fragment. I think Plagueaunt is trying to bribe me.
• Her backstory is based on the old Egg Rot mechanic. Here's what her nest might have looked like.
• Her broadcast message is a lyric from "The Medical Anomaly" by R.I.P. ft. Oliver.
• She was actually hatched with Common eyes. I give all my Flight reps primal eyes, but Plague Primal can be a bit too gruesome for some, so I opted for Multigaze instead. Huge shout out to MissyZero for providing the Multigaze Vial!
• When I finished scrying her, a friend of mine noted that she looked like the inside of a beehive. I sort of took this idea and ran, remembering the line "You'll be fine, oh honeypie" from "Community Gardens" by the Scary Jokes, since I already had begun planning her lore and I've always loved that line in the song, so it felt thematic.
• When I get a nature rep, I fully plan on having them be in love.