Mercker

Mercker was not taken or gifted as an act of political treatise. She landed, tumbling, a tiny little brown thing all covered in soot, on Caustria's doorstep. "I have heard rumors of a great guardian who became a spiral and gave up his violent ways," she squeaked, spreading her wings and flapping furiously at him, hot flameless acid bubbling from her furious snarling lips. "I want to know why you would give up such a noble life, and then I demand that you train me."

Caustria of course, laughed in her face. Had he been the same dragon he was many years ago, he would have taken the little hatchling and squashed her between his toes like jelly to be used as a cake ingredient. But the old retired spiral could only laugh, further enraging the girl. He told her to leave, to go back to where she came from and forget all about the legend of the great Guardian Caustria. Someday, she might understand what had led him to leave that life behind. Beside him, Aerouant fiddled with the end of her tail coyly.

The impling refused to leave. She curled up right there and did not move for a day, and then two, and then three. Twizzler took pity on her after the twelfth hour and began periodically bringing her food and water, but the impling refused everything. She sat stubbornly, hoping to convince the spiral, watching him with raging amber eyes as he went about his daily business.

One day, a huge shadow fell over her. The immovable impling twitched, and ignored it. Then, the shadow took a great brown foot and kicked her with all its might, sending her crashing into the wall of a cave. Screeching furiously, the impling righted herself, and threw herself at the shadow. It caught her with its tail, sending her into the dirt again. She got up again, her eyes clouded with rage. And again was knocked down. Again and again the launched and was repelled, until at last, she found herself crushed under the great brown foot. Looking up, she met the eyes of a wild, red maned imp, much larger than she. "No amount of training could teach you what you are missing," Ganache roared, and crushed Mercker's wings under his feet.

.....

Mercker woke up in a cave, with Twizzler delicately urging her to eat and drink. The caribbean imp rattled on and on about the cruelty of their battle trainer, his harshness, and how Mercker would likely never fly again even after her bones healed. Her wings were too weakened- too shattered. But Mercker was filled with a new determination. Still, she refused to leave, and as her wings healed recovered, she studied and worked on a new project... the creation of a flying aid, to help her wings become strong and recover. She was successful in the creation of a set of metal wings, and taking that first flight after a long while was the best feeling she had ever known. But still, she had a score to settle...

Mercker approached Ganache, and asked for him to train her, bowing low to the ground. To her surpise, the older imperial accepted, looking away and holding his wing over her, touching her gently. From that day on, they were rarely apart, and Mercker became Ganache's apprentice instead of Caustria's.

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While she was recovering, Mercker had nothing but hatred for Ganache. Her mind was filled with only thoughts of demolishing him... getting rid of him... teaching him a lesson. It was with this perspective that she worked on her first sets of wings, which ended up failures. Her perspective began to change. The fire in her heart was no less cooled, but she changed her pattern of thinking: how was he so strong? Was he as strong as Caustria? Would he teach her? Why was he so cruel? What did she not know? Upon becoming his apprentice, she was developed even stronger feelings for him. Of envy, of admiration, and even of love. However, it will forever be platonic... for more reason that one. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ganache and Mercker are, regrettably, siblings.