Absi

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My travels led me to a rather friendly encampment- Ash Haven, they called it- where many dragons passed through in their own travels between the harsh deserts of Fire and Lightning territory. My cape had grown much too warm long before my arrival, and I had become content with carrying it until I reached cooler territory. It was nice to finally stretch my wings and cool down!

I'll admit, I was initially overrun by the number of dragons roosting in this bustling encampment, but eventually stumbled my way through to a quiet group of fae who'd made their homes near one of the beautiful lakes which supported life here. There was more vegetation near the water, and a welcome bit of shade, all of which the fae nurtured and protected, making their nests as unobtrusive as possible. It was here in this miniature community that I met Lightheart- a rather self-important fae- sunning her pale-gold wings atop a large boulder.

As I fumbled and clattered with my personal items in the shade, she huffed and fluttered down to a branch just above my head, and curtly introduced herself, "I am Lightheart, the spokes-drake of all things heavenly and light-" she fluttered her wings with a shimmery shake, then put her hands on her hips, "-and to whom do I owe the pleasure of so rudely awakening my beauty rest?"
I was shocked, but couldn't help but laugh, "Ahah! Quite heavenly indeed!" After a brief chuckle, I finally managed to get myself in order, fluffing my feathers for an introduction, "My name's Absi, and I'm on a quest to-"

"A quest, you say!" With a shout, Lightheart was swiftly shoved from the branch she was on, quickly replaced by a deep-green fae whose frills were extended to their fullest, clearly quite excited, "What kind of quest? Perhaps I can help!" The two were complete opposites, and yet, my response seemed to pique their interest equally. The two quietly looked at each other for a moment, frills twitching in silent communication, before Lightheart inquired, "So you're looking for your sibling and attempting to win some sort of popularity contest?" I nodded, "If you're able to help me check the area, see if she's been here, and maybe get some more signatures for my contest, I'll be out of your frills in no time!"

Although it was not quite as grand a quest as Velocity and Lightheart had hoped it would be, they both seemed quite excited to help me on my mission, each taking turns to lead the hunt and follow clues across the encampment. All the while, Lightheart taught me some of her "signature moves" to acting elegant, prim, and proper, in order to gain more signatures. Of course, Velocity called all that shade-sludge and said to be true to myself instead, and dragons who genuinely liked me would gladly help me out! I couldn't agree more!
Within a couple of days we'd found several dragons willing to sign my collection of community approvals for the contest, but was so enamored with the dragons and region of Ash Haven that I decided to spend a bit longer with them.

While I didn't find any strong signs of my sister here, and I spent much longer here than I'd anticipated, I realize I made two very good friends and quite enjoyed my stay in the end! They even gifted me an item each: a Dustrunner bag from Lightheart, "to keep yourself orderly, and to carry your cape when it's too warm to handle." and a violet corsage from Velocity, "I got you silk flowers to avoid wilting, and they definitely compliment your eyes!" With well wishes, they pointed me in the direction of the next caravan passing through, and blessed my further travels.