Rocky

Rocky is one of a vanishingly few dragons in Clan AXQU who had a stable childhood and no communication difficulties to speak of. He isn't naive or sheltered, exactly (although his friends in the Clan all think of him that way) but his exposure to horrors has been... rather limited. He had lots of good friends growing up, never got bullied (although he did stand up to a couple bullies), and has always been really good at knowing what to say to others. Rocky has always been a genuinely likeable and popular guy. Not due to manipulation, but due to natural charisma coupled with a good heart. Short-sighted sometimes, prone to pettiness like anyone else, but there was nothing truly rotten or monstrous inside his soul. Even being a dark-colored Coatl hadn't really hindered him that much, all told, probably because his home Clan was full of them.

His parents were supportive when he wanted to go into woodworking after his childhood education, and even moreso when he wanted to specialize in building stringed instruments. He took his apprenticeship in the Viridian Labyrinth primarily, but traveled all over Sornieth learning about different materials and environmental effects on his projects. Along the way, he met a whole ton of musicians, and quietly grew his versatility and skill.

Rocky loved his time abroad, but ultimately started to feel homesick for his home in the Southern Icefield. He was more than ready to return to his homeland by the time his apprenticeship was over. Now a grown adult, Rocky preferred to find his own place to live rather than return to his parents' home Clan. He picked a Clan basically at random that would offer him room, board, and protection in exchange for sharing his knowledge and a cut of his profits-- a dream come true for a fresh journeyman craftsdragon wanting to make his way in the world.

Clan AXQU was... a culture shock... to say the least. Everyone was a lot less friendly than he was used to, but that was okay. Once he got to know them, most of them were substantively kind. Rocky made quite a few friends and learned over quite a lot of time that almost all of them had lived through some form of hell or another. Pitch-black gallows humor absolutely seeped from the seams in the walls; suddenly, having a therapist on call for the lair made perfect sense. Rocky wondered why they didn't have two or more.

Every time he heard some sort of nightmare story that his friends thought was "funny" somehow, Rocky makes time within the month to visit his parents and help them out as a thank you.

Rocky's best friend in the Clan was a young lady by the name of Allegheny who had arrived not long before he did. Rocky was smitten with her charming smile, her sweet voice, and her talent for handmade things almost immediately, but she seemed very interested in another gentleman around the lair, so Rocky just moved on and let himself enjoy her friendship. The feelings faded completely over time, and he was genuinely happy for her when she and Decio celebrated bringing hatchlings into the world. But shortly after the eggs hatched, the entire lair started whispering. Decio had broken Allie's heart and left her and the babies alone.

Rocky went to support her, as he would have for any friend, and learned the truth: about the Stogwen Project, the family tree, the lies that Allie told, all of it.

But one of Rocky's biggest flaws had always been a blindness to the flaws of people he cared about. He reached out and built Allie up. Stogwens were weird on principle, sure, but no pairing could be related within five generations and get fertile eggs. Five generations removed was barely related at all. Sure she'd told a pretty substantial lie to her ex, but she'd just been too focused on making her family proud. He'd nown dragons to do worse things for worse reasons. Aside from Decio, every Stogwen he'd met (including his favorite author) had been a lovely person, so he understood why she'd want more of them in the world. Why she'd take pride in it.

He made her a banjo to remind her of home. Supposedly it was just to cheer her up, or at least that's what Rocky told himself. It was hard to admit that his feelings had flared up again until Allie admitted she'd developed feelings too. Perhaps it was no surprise that two of the most gentle-hearted dragons in the lair ended up committing to each other. At first, Allie didn't want more babies. After a while, Rocky gently broached the idea of making more little Stogwens to send out into the world. Eventually, once she realized just how much Rocky was willing to share in her pride, Allegheny realized that she'd like that very much.

The two of them sometimes travel for nesting just to see the world, but their favorite vacation spots are the Tangled Wood and the Ashfall Waste.

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