Lucille

In a colorless land, covered in ice and snow,
Lively dragons claimed the wasteland as their own
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The Tale

As a shadowy sort, the older of the two sisters had always found enjoyment in the dark and gloomy spaces. She and her younger sibling were in fact alone; often wandering place to place and snacking on whatever they could catch, they remained unaware of the dangers surrounding survival. Their spines and draconic nature had protected them until Calliope saw fit to take them in. Her kindness wasn't lost on their eyes, but her worries often were.

Even as an adult, this remains the same in Lucille. Not once has she ever feared another creature, wondered where her next meal would be, or hesitated to try something risky. Not once has she ever felt the consequences of forgetting to take life seriously, and the carefree attitude that was born by this stroke of luck makes her one of the best dragons to befriend and travel with. It's almost as if her lucks rubs off with her cheer and charm... Even when her giant spines and sharp teeth ward you away.

(heads up- toxic relationship dynamic explained/described below. Continue with awareness.)

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She never really knew what to do after she left. She wasn't a child anymore, and Calliope had made sure she knew; it wasn't her fault, really it was not- But it grows hard to lie about the nicks not hurting and the weight Lucille threw about not leaving bruises behind. The imperial had watched so many children go once they were grown up like this- Lucille should have, no she needed to do the same. But the poor girl.. she wouldn't survive out there.

She had no working skills. No crafts or trades, no huntsman's eye or cruelty against that which she had to eat. She wouldn't survive, Calliope promised herself; she wouldn't survive alone. That is why I keep this child, as her sister leaves, as their youngers leave. that is why she hasn't grown up, and why she can't yet. She'll develop a talent and that's when I can let her slip from my claws.

Years. Lucille was never great with the hatchlings, often scaring them despite her efforts. She was fine at pulling the caravan at times, ridgebacks always being the stronger type, but even at her size and with her breed she wasn't even great at that. With every town that passed along, both she and her mother grew steadily more worried she'd never find a place. Dolling her up with silks and jewels, painted and polished to hide their price-reducing imperfections, Lucille watched and waited, wondering what would become of her own fate. perhaps some place or some drake would take a liking to her? Perhaps she could be of use as a partner- passed from one set of claws to another, from Calliope to someone else...

She was unaware of how unstable this arrangement was, and looked forward to the day she could find herself a mate and stop hanging off of her imperial mother's horns, for now she knew the headaches she caused. She was only a teenager- a dumb, foolish teenager who had faith in love and redemption. Who wanted a purpose above all else. And she found her mate as he soared overhead, casting a shadow to block the sun; Deniz, the windborn primal.

He promised her purpose in flowers and roses, the same kind he adorned his horns with. An imperial with a line of willing females, whom he rejected for reasons nobody knew. They called him a jerk and nothing more, and he certainly didn't deny those claims- calling it his defining feature. He didn't know it really was, given his primal biology, which left him with both a boon and curse. The boon of flight, better than any dragon, rivalling the Windsinger if put toe-to-toe, and the arrogance to speak that claim out loud with a grin of challenge towards the sky. She saw him and was stunned, his scales shining in the day as his flying speed sunk ripples into the sky.

He looked at her and saw his opposite- clumsy, blundering, dark and sharp. The thorns to his glorious rose, surely a ridgeback would complete him, his image, his impression. To have a mate so dangerous and be wholly in control of her, to make him glitter in comparison. She saw this beautiful, impressive imperial as a godsend- perhaps even a god himself, the way he swooped down and plucked her like a flower from its bush, with care and sweet romance that she fell deeply into. This? This had to be a dream.

He used his mastery of the wind to carry her wings, keeping up with him. Dolled her up even more in matching purples to him, roses like his, turning them into a complete set that gathered looks from the towns they crossed. They were an elegant display of finery, which he afforded through beating outlandish bets and acting as the eye candy for the wealthy. He explained this in simple, childlike terms for Lucille- that he was pretty and they paid him for it, that on those nights she should treat herself while he was out at the parties. She could sometimes hear the sonic booms from his flight as she was out on the town those nights, listening to her mate fly and flaunt without her. It was...

It was lonely to be left out of the grandeur. If she was his precious rose's thorn, why couldn't she come with..?

He was so arrogant as to be horrible, and she realized it as his façade wore off. He stopped his periods of gift giving and replaced them with sour attitude and grudgeful looks, as if he didn't want her around anymore. He didn't. He was already growing tired of the game he made with her, moving on from the iconography and looking at other dragons with more and more greed in his eyes. Perhaps if he paid enough, he could settle Lucille in some cottage by the sea and find his next adventure. He was desperate, even, to be rid of her. He needed money to do so.

He snagged some jewels on the way out the doors of a palace after giving his display to the entertainment of the local lord- and was seen. He woke Lucille in the dead of night with a windstorm through the window, not even bothering to make sure she was following as he took off into the sky. if it wasn't for the fact that she carried all their things as they travelled, he likely wouldn't have fetched her at all- leaving her to the fallout. Perhaps that might have been a better ending to their toxic tale. But alas, she asked questions through the night that was only met with shouts and deflection, leaving a ridgeback to shrink into her neck as the wind itself bent to his will. With such control over the elements and in such a poor mood, it wasn't safe for her to snap back, exert her voice.

They kept flying, the arrogance of Deniz easily swayed to paranoia. South and south and even more southern, losing all signs of life and leaving both to question where they were even going. He never apologized or admitted he had ruined their gig- just that they'd set down at the first sign of life and stick to it until they could go back to the mainland. He was complaining all the while about the snow, while Lucille just looked over the wasteland with growing regrets. She followed this drake to the ends of the earth with nothing to show for it but pretty lies and silks to flap in the wind, still with the creeping unanswered question of what is my purpose? Surely, it wasn't... This.

They met the Fractallians and landed as promised, Lucille tentatively exploring the trees while Deniz tried to give his show to the leaders of the little clan, entice them to feed him and her. All he got in exchange for his flair? A grunt, and a steak hucked to smack him right on the nose. Survivalists have no use for showmanship; but they did have use for a day and nighttime watch, which Lucille could offer with her shadow nature and intimidating stature, and Deniz with his innate flying capabilities.

Deniz complained about the caves, about the cold, about the blizzards, about the freaks of the dragons they were stuck with for the time being. Lucille just sighed and nodded, knowing her mate would never shut up without something else to distract him, and nothing else existing out in the wastes. But here, for the first time, she was able to find friends. She didn't quite know how to handle such things... But they were gentle and sweet with her, showing her the value in the flowers that were still in the ground- not plucked and carried.

The roots, Matir explained, would keep them alive for far longer than flower crowns lasted. The leaves, Baasim explained, would eventually dry out and make delicious tea. And the joy of finding new roses reflected in Rianpai's eyes was better than any decoration Lucille could have made, like the things she'd been gifted her whole life.

Maybe it was time for the thorn to exist without the plucked petals- to put down roots and take time to grow, before she wilted along with the colorful, burning star that carried the sky between each wing feather...

Forgiving Beyond Reason


Lucille is so intimidating, and yet so meek that it's unsettling. She keeps her head down, defers to others for group choices constantly, and never holds anyone else at fault for their actions or mistakes. This makes her very agreeable, and relatively liked over more argumentative dragons, but unrespected by veteran clanmates like Toham and Tarmeux. She's a pushover. Luckily, her friends are very supportive in helping her find a voice to speak her mind with.