Absinthe

Absinthe felt that her true life began when her tiny hatchling, Xib, disappeared from the nest.

The clan looked high and low for the lost baby, but not even a single clawprint could be found. The baby skydancer did not walk out of their Wind territory with his own four paws.

Then they started to make a list of everyone's coming and goings. Everyone was accounted for, either by witnesses from other clans or by their own clanmates.

Except maybe....

No it couldn't be him. He was the clan leader. He might have turned a little crazy since coming back from the Icefields, but everyone looked up to him to be a stable influence in the clan..

Could it?

Every day she climbs to the top of the Reedcleft Ascent to scour the horizon, hoping in vain that the very next moment she might spot her lost hatchling, all grown up, just waiting for her to find him.

She does not even notice the growing changes in her clan. All she knows is that her mate, Murazaki, loves her.





"Oh, she's awake, thank goodness!"
"I thought she was a goner.."
Voices murmured around Absinthe as she came to. Her vision was blurred. Realizing she didn't recognize anyone around her, she jolted up in a panic and felt a sharp pain along the back of her skull.
"No, no, you need to lie down.." a shimmering skydancer said as she pushed Absinthe back down.
"Who are you? Where am I? Did you kidnap me?" Absinthe stammered, tears beginning to form in her eyes when she realized she may never see Murazaki again.
The other skydancer's eyes softened in sympathy. "No, no, of course not.. please, calm down. We found you badly injured a week ago. Someone had hit you against the head. We found you about to be exalted to serve under the Lightweaver, but, seeing your condition, we weren't sure if that was truly your choice or not."
Absinthe's head was spinning as she tried to process what the other skydancer had just told her.
"I.. I don't recall leaving on my own accord. I won't rest until I find my son, and I would never leave without my mate.." Absinthe stared at the floor, her eyes losing focus of her surroundings.
"What is your name?" The other skydancer inquired. "I am Crystal, this clan's scientist. We don't have a dedicated doctor yet, so I conduct research as well as tend to the injured and ill."
"I am Absinthe," she stated.

"and I will return to my mate, and I will find my son."

---

Days turned into weeks. By now, Absinthe had nearly lost all hope of returning once she concluded that she had not been kidnapped, but rather cast away by someone from her own clan.. someone of power. She came to the painful realization that she cannot safely return to Murazaki, and the chances of finding Xib are next to none.

Absinthe turned as she heard footsteps approaching. It was the skydancer she met after she woke up.
"Is everything alright? Are you comfortable?" Crystal asked.
"Yes," Absinthe lied. "I'm fine." She held back tears.
Crystal wasn't convinced, but she didn't press further.

In the time that Absinthe had stayed in her new clan, she became well acquainted with many of the other dragons. Eclipse, the clan's co-leader, introduced her to the courier, Serenus.
Serenus was busy day and night, delivering documents, packages, letters, and helping other dragons reach their destination, as well as introducing new dragons to the clan. He would come back with frozen antennae, or singed feathers, or dirt and crystals caught in his claws; it was clear that he could travel the reaches of Sornieth and return safely within a matter of days.

Absinthe knew what she had to do.

She gave Serenus an envelope and a description of the recipient. As Serenus took off, she reminded him to tread carefully.