AUTUMNHEART
Season's Guardian
{From: @SilentWanderer}
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RELATIONSHIPS
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PETIOLARE
Father
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ASU
Cousin & Best Friend
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ROAN
Mate
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ROWAN
Son
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BLOODMOON
Daughter
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The air was crisp with mid-autumn air, a cool breeze whispering past a landscape painted in stunning, warm oranges and reds that brought to mind the November harvest and a sense of family togetherness, and rustling the boughs of the trees that closely surrounded the small clearing as though to keep the plains and each other company. In the middle of it all, there sat a young Guardian who looked as though she were born of the season itself, her scales dyed in hues of brown and deep red like the beautiful fallen leaves that adorned the world in the autumn season. She lay with her paws crossed over each other, her head raised to take in the November air and her eyes closed in bliss, a soft smile on her face as the breeze softly ruffled the thick, warm fur of her wolfskin cape and lifted a cascade of leaves to dance in the air around her. It was a perfect picture of exactly what the autumn should be, and among the warm colors of the fallen leaves was where she belonged.
“Autumnheart?” a voice suddenly cut into her thoughts, and the Guardian blinked, opening her bright green eyes and turning to look in the direction of where she’d heard it come from. “... Yes?”
Autumnheart watched the owner of the low, yet deep voice emerge over the landscape; a familiar, fellow Guardian, his rough scales as red as rubies and his mighty wings a cozy blend of brown like freshly-tilled soil. Like her, he wore a wolfskin cape draped around his neck and over his back for warmth, and was clad from head to tail in gleaming, bronze armor. Muscles rippled powerfully beneath his scales, and his face was angular and handsome, a wise, kind look in his eye, yet there was something about his smile that showed the sense of humour beneath. Autumnheart relaxed at the sight of him, and found herself smiling, too; Asu’s smile had always been contagious, and the Garde des Fleurs loved him for his ability to make them laugh and find the good in every situation.
Asu sauntered up to his old friend’s side, and Autumnheart shifted aside to make him room. The two dragons sat side-by-side in silence for several long, peaceful moments, watching over the autumn landscape together. Wind-tossed leaves danced around them in the air, and tiny animals such as squirrels and chipmunks scuttled between their claws, busily foraging for food in preparation for the long hibernation that awaited them in the seasons ahead. Autumnheart laughed warmly as a young chipmunk began to clamber up her arm thinking it was a tree trunk, then looked up halfway across to see a giant dragon face staring at it and squealed with such shock that it tumbled to the ground and into another that was foraging nearby. Asu had chuckled as well, and Autumnheart grinned up at him, draping a wing over the larger Guardian’s shoulder. They were nearly the same age, their fathers both brothers from the same clutch, and yet Asu towered so high over her and most other dragons that, coupled with his immense wisdom and calm, thoughtful demeanour, others were often led to naturally assume he was positively ancient.
After what felt like years of simply enjoying the autumn scenery before them and each other’s company, Asu’s deep voice finally rumbled through the silence to make some conversation: “Those hatchlings should be coming along soon... hm?”
Autumnheart had been watching a pair of young rabbits chasing one another through the leaves, and she blinked, before slowly looking to the two small objects tucked safely against her side. “Oh... yes. It cannot be anymore than a week or less now.” The Guardian felt her heart swell at the sight of her very first clutch of eggs, full of love and joy, and she gently brushed each egg with her snout. It had taken her a great long while to find that special someone, but recently, she finally had; he was a Tundra, shy, but as polite and kindhearted as can be. He lived far on the edge of the kingdom’s sprawling village, while Autumnheart lived in the very heart of it, but the distance wasn’t too far, and they still were able to see each other often. Autumnheart was trying to convince Roan to come and live closer to the castle with her, and he was planning on doing so soon.
Asu watched her with a warm smile, but there was a distant, wistful look in his eye; Asu’s beloved daughter, Honour, had gone on a Search of sorts that led her to the Ashfall Waste, and she had not been heard back from since. Asu and his beloved Mage worriedly watched the skies from the castle every day, desperately hoping to see their daughter’s safe return. Asu was like a brother to her more than anything, and Autumnheart wrapped her wing around him, twining her tail with his. It pained her to see him worry so. “I know she is okay. I can feel it,” she soothed, taking one of his talons. Asu’s wavering smile returned, and he let out a low rumble of thanks, unsurprised Autumnheart had so quickly picked up on his thoughts. “... You will make a wonderful mother, Autumnheart. You are intuitive, and I can tell that the maternal instinct within you is strong. You already are very much like a mother to our comrades.” The small Guardian ducked her head in response and gave him a smile, chuckling and uttering a soft, “Thank you.” Asu dipped his broad head in reply, settling down beside her once again, the usual sparkle never leaving his eye for a moment.
“Have you had any luck finding a charge yet of your own?” he questioned after a moment, studying the thick white clouds that dotted the pale blue sky. Autumnheart let out a sigh beside him; she hadn’t even felt the call of the Search yet. The only reason she had left her home in Meristema was due to a simple curiosity as to what lay ahead in the world, and especially when Asu had left a couple of weeks before her after growing up together, she had wanted to know what he was looking for. How could she find a charge without the Search? Would she ever find a charge; would the Search ever call her along, and what if it led her away from the home she’d found here; away from her family, from her eggs, from Roan...?
But as she looked down once again to the tiny objects nestled against her side, another, powerful wave of emotion surged through her, her heart swelling all over again. Her motherly nature always had been strong, and even before she’d had eggs of her own, she loved to care for and watch over others’, or take in abandoned ones she found. She loved to watch hatchlings crawling out of their eggs and seeing the world for the first time; she loved to watch small, defenseless animals play in the meadows, and watch over them to make sure no harm would ever come to them. This feeling she experienced each time she looked at her brood was so much stronger than ordinary motherly love; even with it being her first nest, she knew it was a feeling of completion, of finding everything her heart could ever hope to seek, reaching the fruition of a Search she’d never even known she was on.
Autumnheart smiled the most contented smile she ever had before, slowly resting an ever-gentle talon over her two eggs as the rabbits she’d been watching before scampered over her claws, nestling together in the crook of her arm, and the chipmunk from earlier made itself comfortable upon one of her long, ridged horns.
“Yes, Asu... I believe I already have.”
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