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They/Them a small storefront Click the spiral to the left for current avatar looking for 10/08 gen ones |
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The dragons slept in the next morning.
When they woke, Maple was the first to rise. She yawned and stretched, and then fluttered down from the nest she had made up in the nearest tree. "Good morning," she chirped. "Morning," Luana's tired voice mumbled from the other side of the clearing, muffled because her back was to the clearing. The Guardian was curled up in a makeshift nest, and she hardly stirred; only her tail showed she was half-awake. "I'm going to sleep longer." Maple smiled at the Guardian's back. "Sleep well," she murmured. Then she glanced over to the shallow den where Gabi had slept; the tunnels would be expanded from Gabi's den soon. Treble was in a nest near where they had started a small bonfire the previous night. Maple could already see their camp would grow into a lovely place to live. She felt a twinge of guilt at the thought. How could she think something like that? She already had a home, didn't she? She looked away, unsure of what to think, how to feel. Gabi scrambled up from his den, appearing in the bright morning in a heartbeat, blinking in the sudden light. "How's it going, Maple?" he asked. "Oh, hi Jay," Maple said, suddenly sadder than she had been moments ago. He tilted his head. He could see something was off with her, but he didn't know what to say. All he could think of was to distract her from whatever was upsetting her. "Hey," he said suddenly. "How about we do some training today?" Luana grumbled from her nest. "Not me." Gabi shrugged. "Then I can take Maple, and maybe Treble too. We can go over some of the moves you showed us earlier." Maple blinked, turning to him. "Alright. I could use the training." Gabi nodded. "Good! We'll wake up Treble and then get going, then." |
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She/her - 23 - Artist
Trigun Stampede - Dr. Stone
Fleet Foxes - Delicious in Dungeon
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They/Them a small storefront Click the spiral to the left for current avatar looking for 10/08 gen ones |
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The night sky sparkled with stars above the forest, and below, the trees' foliage rustling gently in the cool evening breeze.
The dragons sat around the bonfire in the center of camp with their dinner - a salad for Gabi and Luana, some barbequed fish for Treble, and Maple had caught a few mice for herself. They had spent the morning training (and Luana had spent it sleeping), and afterwards they had worked some more on the camp. Things were going well. They sat in silence for a time, eating in peace. Treble was the first to finish, and she began cleaning her paws before she began to preen her wings, reminding the others of an owlcat. Maple put down the mouse she was working on, and leaned towards the other dragoness. "So, Auntie Tree," she started, "what exactly brought you to the Labyrinth? I mean, I can understand why Luana came here, for Jay -" at this, Maple nodded towards Gabi, "- but what about you?" Treble hummed while she thought this question over. She tried to piece it together, searching for the right words. "You and me come alike, I think, to this land. The flowers. They speak to you, although they not talk to me. But I have studies in arcane flora, and what better place to learn than where the flowers grow?" And to emphasize this, she looked towards where she had replanted the faded pink-and-gray flower in the north-western flower bed at the edge of the clearing. It was the first of many more to come, although her gardening and studies had been put on hold while they worked on their camp. Maple nodded as Treble spoke. She had thought as much. But before she could say anything, Luana spoke up. "And would you tell us your reason for coming to the Labyrinth, Maple?" the Guardian asked, not unkindly. Gabi and Treble could hear that there was growing warmth and acceptance in Luana's voice with every word she spoke to the Nocturne. Maple shifted, although in the firelight it was difficult to tell what her emotions were. "Quite a few things, to be honest. I left my parents in the Dragonhome because I could sense a strangeness to the earth, the soil, in the jungle. At first I thought it was because there was so much bounty - fertility, life. That might be a part of it, although... It's hard to explain. The quality of the earth here, beneath the Gladekeeper's watch, is lovely for an Earth dragon, yes, and I could sense it right away as I crossed the elemental markers. But it's not just that. There is an aura - well, no, it's not... Hm." She paused, thinking hard. The others exchanged glances, curious about the Nocturne who was suddenly revealing so much. But they focused again on her as she crouched and reached forward and with one claw, drew a line in the sand, with waves radiating from the line. On one end of the line, she drew jagged mountains with a large structure reaching skywards from the center. On the other end, she drew a large tree. It seemed to be a representation of the Pillar and the Behemoth. But her focus was on the line connecting the two iconic features of the landscape. She tapped her claw here, and stared hard at her drawing. The words seemed to tumble out of her, low and fast, but she never blinked, and did not move from her spot. "Beneath the earth, I can see something glowing. It trails from the Dragonhome to the Behemoth. I do not know if all Earth-aligned dragons see this, or if it is something special... something strange with me alone." Maple shook her head. "What I do know is that it is a fine, thin line, yellow as amber, as delicate as gossamer, and it attracted my attention from the very start. I could hardly ever listen to my parents’ lessons while growing up, because I would always turn to find the line, glowing like a spirit beneath the earth.” The others listened with wondrous expressions as the Nocturne continued. "So I came to the Labyrinth to see what it was." She did not mention her run-in with the other creatures, those who enchanted her along the way; nor did she talk much about her season spent living among them. She skipped forward to the next section of the story, the part which seemed relevant; although she left out a few details here, as well. "As you know, I have settled in the flower field. It was a stop along my ultimate journey to see where the glow leads - which I suspect is the Behemoth - because there was a great amassing of light under the earth at the field, much thicker than the rest of the line. As if the line was tangled, somehow." She shrugged, and then turned to face the others one by one, meeting their gazes with her own leveled, brown eyes. “I know it sounds wild. Unbelievable.” She did not think they would trust her story. “But it’s true. And I hope you will believe me.” Although she understood if they didn’t – if she were in their paws, she might not believe her story either. Gabi laid down, his muzzle resting on his forepaws. Beside him, Luana leaned forward eagerly. Treble did not move from where she sat. No dragon spoke for a while, leaving them in quiet with only the crackling flames to break the silence. Luana spoke first, breaking the silence. “Well, I believe you. At least,” she amended, “I want to believe you. Gabi’s gaze flicked towards his Guardian, and then back at the Nocturne. “Me too,” he said, trusting his Guardian to know best. Treble seemed to have a more difficult time swallowing the story. She laid her wings flat, no longer preening, and instead studied Maple carefully. “I have a question to see if I believe,” she said finally. Maple nodded in understanding. “Go on.” “Your name. Is it not Maple truly, yes?” Maple blinked in surprise, taken aback by the turn in conversation. She stumbled over her response before she found her tongue. "No, Maple is not my true name, not in the way you might understand it. But it's what I go by, what I have been called by my parents... Why?" Treble continued, "We know you warn not to give names easily. I think it over, and realize there is no dragon-reason for this tradition. No Coatl-reason in any case, and I think the same for other breeds, too." Maple sensed where this was going, but she remained quiet. "You might know this, but we give false names too. Except Luana's, unfortuantely." The Guardian shifted uncomfortably at this mention. Maple found herself nodding. "I suspected as much." "Tell us reason why," Treble said, in the most demanding tone they had ever heard from her before. It took Gabi by surprise, and he glanced at her, his mouth agape. "Auntie Tree," he whispered, but the wind stole his voice. "Why you shouldn't give your name easily?" Maple closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "It's not a dragon tradition, you're right about that." This was the part of the story she had skipped earlier, and here it was, coming back again. She had wanted to avoid this. She had thought she could... But clearly, not forever. "There are other creatures living in Sorneith, although where they come from, I'm not sure. But they are different from us dragons, and powerful. Their names carry weight," she added on, to clarify. "But only if you know the name of another can you use it against them; not their birth name, but their true name. I lived among them for a time, not by my choice. I had to be wary of strangers, in case they were disguised. In any case, I trust you are truly dragons now. And you do not have to gift me with your name, if you think I am not who I say I am. But among our kin and kind, there is no need to worry about false names and true names. Dragons do not receive their true name unless they have their naming ceremony - which I trust you have not. Birth names are safe," she repeated the sentiment again. Treble took a moment to process this all before she settled back, nodding to herself. She seemed content with this responses, and her feathers rested back to signal her trust in Maple's answers. Gabi laughed. "So we've been using fake names with each other all along, for no reason?" Luana grumbled. "Not all of us." Maple wrinkled her nose. "Not so, Jay. There's always a reason. You did not know who I was at the start of this friendship, and I could have been any creature in disguise," she reminded him. "Even birth names can do harm, although not quite in the same way." Her tail twitched. But she smiled kindly as she looked around the bonfire, taking in the faces of her dragon friends. In fact, she had been mimicking other creatures, non-dragons, for so long that she had almost forgotten how to be a dragon until these others had found her in the flower field. Her heart swelled with gratitude for these new dragons in her life - she didn't realize how lucky she was they had found her in time. Gabi glanced over at Luana, who nodded once, a low, deep affirmation. "My name," he said in a low, solid voice, "is Gabi. Please call me that, Maple." "And mine," the Coatl added in, "is Treble." Maple smiled. "Maple is my birth name, as well. I would be happy if you continued to call me that. I do have a true name... I trust you to keep it safe, but please forgive me - I do not trust the trees." She said this last part in the breath of a whisper, and her gaze flickered to the edge of camp quickly. There was a spark of fear in her gaze, which disappeared in a flash so fast the others were not sure it was anything more than the reflection of the firelight. Luana nodded, her red eyes slits. She did not say so aloud, but she also held a distrust for the trees, the flowers, the grass, even the moss... But not for the same reason as Maple. As a Plague dragon, she still was unused to this new home. If it were up to her... But, she sighed internally, it is not. "Thank-you for sharing," Treble said with respect, looking at Maple with bright pink eyes. "I think now, I will sleep." The others murmured their agreements, and bid each other good-night. It had been a night of truths and revelations on all sides, and it had been exhausting. They left the bonfire for the nests, except for Treble, who slept by the fire. As they all lay down to rest, they turned to sleep easily that night. |
| Doing Art for Apparel. See examples on my dragons! |
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| Doing Art for Apparel. See examples on my dragons! |
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