Poctli

Almost everyone was present in a circle that was tangent to the massive pile of chests. The Draconids gathered in such a way so that part of the circle could include Waveshine while she was still in her pool. As they waited, Kyrna and Arcturus were chasing each other around the chamber.
"Goodness, still young at heart, are they?" Cordier said, Sirket coiled around a stalagmite beside him.
"Oh, very much so," Aeroma replied with a joyful smile. "Who are we missing?"
"Only Cupric," Quorra said, "which is surprising, I suspected Scimyek would have found something else to do," she finished. Kyrna gave her a sly glance and Quorra's eyes widened. While her tone may have been non-existent, Kyrna could still tell exactly how it had been said, and it evidently wasn't done so in a nice way.
"I can if you want me to," Scimyek said readily.
"No, no, in fact it's a good thing that you're here with us," Rastaban said, putting on a comforting smile as he turned toward the Lightning Aether who, yet again, didn't seem to register the gesture. He stayed regardless, and his eyes soon shifted to shadows coming from one of the tunnels leading deeper into the spire.
"Come on, Cupric, come on!" Hyades' voice called from inside the tunnel.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Sorry, I didn't want to leave partway through what I had going on and I definitely don't want to cause another accident," Cupric's voice replied, and they soon both came into the entrance chamber, Hyades springing over to be at her sister's side.
Rastaban called his children over and took a look around. On his left was the massive pile of chests. On his right was Eltanin, also looking at the rest of the clan, then Kyrna and Arcturus with Eridanus beyond them, looking at the two fondly. Going further around the circle, then was Sequoia and then Aeroma, the former of which was chowing down on another fish. On Aeroma's other side was Vanadi, trying not to make it obvious that she was looking at Aeroma fondly. Above and behind her sat Quorra in her nest, then sat Adofai, watching her Opposing Forces bouncing around yet again. Then was the pool with Waveshine floating inside, her head peering out of the water at the clan's festivities. Then were Pleiades and Hyades joyously talking to each other as usual. Then were Axiesi and Laterite, talking more slowly and quietly while also eating meals of their own. Then were Cupric and, interestingly, Scimyek. Neither said or did anything other than idly wait for the festivities to begin. Then were Cordier and Sirket, and finally Tsetrina and Trifid, who were on the other side of the massive pile of chests.
Rastaban cleared his throat and announced, "Alright, everyone's here, you guys ready?" The chatter died down and excited expressions began going around between each other and back to the clan founder. Rastaban began reaching towards the pile before a loud clang of metal caught his and everyone else's attention. Vanadi got up and began moving toward the lair entrance.
"Oh, not now," she said frustratedly.
"What is it?" Rastaban asked, stepping around the mountain of chests so he could see.
"It's a Sickle Kamaitachi," Vanadi replied, stepping between Cupric and Scimyek and preparing to give the creature a swat. But then, an orange and yellow Coatl darted in and picked it up.
"Oh, are they yours?" Vanadi asked. The Coatl set the Kamaitachi down and nodded. Vanadi looked confused and then agitated. "What, not gonna say anything?" The Coatl opened his talons and started brushing both sets together. This did not serve to remedy Vanadi's confusion.
"Wait a minute," Hyades spoke up and began gesturing with her own claws to the Coatl. He rolled his eyes and began gesturing back. "Oh, you can hear but you can't speak?" The Coatl nodded. "Glad I learned DSL."
"A mute Coatl..." Sequoia remarked, "interesting..."
The Coatl shrugged, and began signing, which Hyades translated, "When I was born, I used my voice easily. I learned Draconic. I was a decent craftsdragon. Then, I woke up once and I couldn't use my voice."
"What? Just like that?" Pleiades asked.
The Coatl nodded and began signing again, "My clan was mostly Coatl. I was outcast because I couldn't use my voice. I left the Ashfall Waste and went to the Windswept Plateau, a dragon taught me DSL. I also found them." The Coatl pointed to the Kamaitachi. "I trained them to bang their claws together to get dragons' attention."
"Sounds like everything was fine," Adofai interjected, "why didn't you stay?"
The Coatl sighed and looked gloomily at the ground. He signed, "In the Windswept Plataeu, it was too easy to be left behind. I didn't want to go to Plague or Ice, so I came here." The clan exchanged fascinated looks.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I never asked your name," Hyades said. The Coatl quickly signed something, and Hyades said "ok" in understanding. He continued to sign, "P...O...C...T...L...I?" Hyades guessed. The Coatl nodded. "So... like Pocktley?" She asked. The Coatl nodded happily.
"Huh. I still don't understand, though. You say that you just woke up one day and couldn't use your voice. Do you mean that your voice was gone or do you, like, not know how to speak anymore?"
The Coatl paused and gave the question some thought. He then signed, "I don't know." Hyades then whispered something in Pleiades' ear.
"Well, Poctli, I am Rastaban, leader of this clan. We are the Draconids, and we would gladly accept you along with us. In fact, we were about to open all of these chests as a part of our New Year celebration. Would you care to join us?" Poctli gave a large hopeful smile and began signing. Rastaban didn't need Hyades to translate for him to understand what was told; "Yes, thank you." Poctli is a mute Coatl that made his way to the Draconids after a while trying to find a place where he could be accepted. Exiled from his original clan for suddenly losing his ability to speak, Poctli quickly tried to find a way to ensure that he could still be around other dragons, learning DSL and domesticating and training a Sickle Kamaitachi to help get others' attention for him.

After joining the Draconids, Poctli had a chamber dug for him above the entrance chamber so he could set up a small forge to continue his work, of which the clan greatly supports. As a further gesture of support for Poctli, many in the clan are learning DSL so they can communicate with him more fluently. Pleiades and Hyades have begun to theorize that someone may have cursed Poctli to lose his ability to speak. While they have no proof, the clan accepts that this is a possibility (though they emphasize that that is all they mean) and the sisters have begun searching for a way to reverse the curse.