XiaoQiao

Named after the wife of a famous warrior in Sornieth's history, Xiao Qiao is a young woman whose life was touched by the pain of loss when her first mate's spirit went on to The Flamecaller. He had gone out foraging, but did not return for days. When he did, the others had refused to let her see the horrendous injuries that had claimed his life.

For quite some time after the loss of Zhou Yu, Xiao Qiao was a withdrawn Coatl who spent her every waking moment tending to the queen's garden. Thus far, the clan had only seen one death before her mate's, and since they had given him a pyre for his funeral, they did the same for Zhou Yu. When it was finished, Xiao Qiao gathered the ashes and took them to the garden where she called forth flowers the color of fire to feed with the remains of her lost love.

She thought that she would never find love again, even when she was introduced to Cygemini. Xiao Qiao told herself that she would bear his young for the sake of the clan that had given her love and a home, but she would not love him. When the time came for them to mate, however, it was delayed by a sudden worsening of Cygemini's long term illness.

Weeks passed with her mate being too weak to lift his head for long, despite having a large body that should have had amazing strength. Xiao Qiao began to do her best to nurse him back to health, and to love him as the time spent caring for her went on. When the day came that she laid four eggs with their children inside, she was most proud of having helped her mate regain the strength to become a father.

Her time is still spent in the garden, calling forth many blooms of fiery red to remember her fallen mate. However, she has found joy in each day that her current mate has the strength to walk with her in that garden. And when there are signs that his illness will attack again, she takes him gently to their bed to care for him until he can stand on his own.