Aqueo

Aqueo spent her whole life living in an abandoned shipwreck, far away from the dragons of the land. And because of this, she's... is not the best at socialization. She would much rather collect oddities that wash up on shore for display, catch fish and watch them rot in the sun until the smell was strongest, or stockpile sea snails in the captain's quarters rather than talk to some landlubber who just wouldn't get her lifestyle. On most days, she wouldn't even stretch her wings, instead preferring to swim in the strong currents surrounding her home with her wings tucked close to her sides, leading to her becoming a clumsy flier and an even clumsier walker.

One day, Aqueo ventured out farther to try and meet others, at the urging of both her familiar and the neighboring Maren she'd befriended. On her first attempt, she tried to socialize and be friendly like the Maren had taught her, since she really did want to try and make friends on land. But unfortunately, lessons practiced in front of a group of ocean-bound recluses don't work very well on real live dragons, so she struggled. Hard.

Even when they were polite, respecting her hobbies and interests as well as they could, Aqueo still didn't feel like she belonged. Apparently not everyone carries around nets full of fish at all times for easy snacking. very few landlubbers seemed to enjoy the pleasant feeling of raw seaweed wrapped around their limbs like ribbons, and even fewer seemed to enjoy the salty smell of sun-baked seafood as much as she did. And apparently nobody else understood the language of seabirds, mistaking her wonderful poetry for inarticulate squawking and the gurgles of a drowning victim.

After a disastrous encounter with a young Ridgeback who didn't take kindly to an offering of fresh-caught tiger shark, which she'd disemboweled herself just for his birthday, Aqueo found it was much easier to just stay at home and not bother anyone. Turns out, her already deep-set fear of rejection and being left behind was stronger amongst landlubbers. It seemed more safe to stay in her own personal little bubble (pun not intended) rather than try new things.

Aqueo likes to say that one day things will change. Mainly because she thinks repeating the same phrases to herself, floating before a cracked mirror hung above a shattered steering wheel covered in judgemental barnacles, will help her deny her fear of leaving home. Because she wants to, she really does. Even if for a little while...