Creative Corner

[quote] They trace the figure, study it with piercing eyes. Something is off.[/quote] I run a café. It is the only café in Night Clan..so far. My son, Autumn got himself hurt recently, and has made a friend. I feel like I’m being watched. I can hear breathing behind my back, footsteps just behind my heels. Something above me, or below, growling. I am worried, not for myself, but for Autumn. He’s a sweet child, he doesn’t deserve to live in fear. No one else hears the sound. Whenever I turn around, there’s nothing, except for a [i]ptptptpt[/i] sound, as if someone were to run down the hallway as quietly as possible. A few weeks later.. (Changed POV to narrator) Cozy walks down the hallway, ready to take a bath before sleeping. Scrubbing the flour, dust, and crumbs off of her scales during the night when her son is asleep is oh so relaxing. She hears the sound again. She turns around to see a back paw running away. Using her quick reflexes, she grabs it. “Come on! I was hoping I could hang around here for longer than that!” Cozy drops the hatchling into the bathtub by mistake. “HEY!” The skydancer screams. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE MESSING WITH!” (Changes POV to Zuri) I study the nocturne. She bakes, that’s for sure. But somethings off.. she worried. [quote] "Shush, just listen for a moment."[/quote] Cozy danced around with her adopted son, when the doorbell rang. “Autumn, go play with your toys for a bit, I have to make a new type of latte for the café.” She sighed. “It’s going to be difficult.” “Ok, Ma!” The Obelisk said, picking up an icewarden doll. (Here the story switches to a POV of Autumn) After an hour, Ma still isn’t back to dancing with me! Me love to dance with Ma! If she was here with me, she would correct me and say “You mean “I” darling, “I” “ She would say. I’m sneak off to play with friends! I know how to fly, I’m a big boy now! I fly off, I see coatl. She looks nice, she’s humming to the radio. I fly next to her. (POV gets switches back to narrator) Autumn doesn’t see that the coatl is [i]inside[/i] the café, not out. He bumps into the window. “Ow!” He says, his wings stopping their beat, allowing the pull of gravity to take him. “Huh?” The coatl stops humming, and runs outside. “Are you okay? “Yeah..” The obelisk mumbles, “..I think..” Everything goes black, light disappears from Autumn’s world, the last thing he hears before he slips into unconsciousness was “Mocha! We need h[size=3]e[/size][size=2]l[/size][size=1]p[/size][size=0]![/size] He wakes up in a room, the coatl, a pearlcatcher, and Ma with him. “Autumn!” Cozy exclaims, having to restrain herself from hugging her son tight. “Will he be okay?” The coatl asks the pearlcatcher. “Just a mild concussion, that’s all.” The pearlcatcher says. “He should take it easy for the next week or so. A few weeks later, Cozy lets the coatl visit him, as he was back to full health. “Come downstairs.” She says to the obelisk, grabbing his talon. The two hatchlings run down the stairs, and there it was, a radio. He knew Ma ran a café, but he’s never been in it, until now. The coatl turns it on. “The name’s Maple, by the way!” She starts humming. Autumn started dancing. They danced and hummed for hours, lost in their own world of music, delicious smells, and pastries. A few weeks later, Maple and Autumn sit in the café, when a customer turns on the radio. The obelisk gets up to dance, when Maple stops him. “Shush, just listen for a moment.” She says. “Get lost in the sounds, it’ll be easy, since you’ve done that already.” That day, Autumn learned how wonderful music really was.

Characters: [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/68318783]Queen Elizabeth[/url], [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/67807468]Normandie[/url], [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/67807468]Olympic[/url], [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/68318782]Queen Mary[/url] [i]This is a continuation of [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2979379/98#post_49132474]a previous piece[/url], also written for one of these prompts. Feel free to read that first if you'd like. And as always, I love feedback![/i] [quote name=August 30]They're finally home.[/quote] The village in front of them looked beautiful, Elizabeth thought. The sun's light was dying away, but the little town's streets and alleys were adorned with strings of hanging lanterns and warm light glowed from countless windows. The sight brought back memories of the view from Elizabeth's bedroom in the palace, reminding her of a home she could no longer return to. Now that she was back in the Sunbeam Ruins, her anger at her old kingdom was mingling with a heightened sense of homesickness. The feelings were threatening to overwhelm her, and a fresh volley of tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked them away; if this village were to become her new home, she'd need to make a good first impression. "Hey," Normandie said, prodding her with a stubby-yet-sharp claw. "Are you coming?" Elizabeth blinked, realizing that she'd stopped walking. She blinked a few more times, took a breath, and then nodded and continued on down the hill. The skydancer's words were still at the forefront of her mind, serving to further remind her of everything she'd loved and lost and grown to resent. The strange dragon had to have been lying. What would Elizabeth's sister be doing in a tiny coastal village in the southern part of the Ruins? Cunardia was located in the region's more densely-populated north, not far from the edge of the Tangled Wood. This place was over a day's flight away, if not more; what business could Mary possibly have here? "Excuse me," a voice called, startling Elizabeth out of her thoughts. A stately female guardian with swirling patterns covering her scales was bounding over, although until she got closer her stripes made it hard for Elizabeth to discern what she was in the gathering twilight. "You're excused," Normandie replied, studying the guardian in an almost disdainful manner. So much for good first impressions, Elizabeth thought. The guardian narrowed her eyes. "Watch the attitude," she replied, letting only the faintest trace of a growl bleed into her voice. "You're in no position for that. Anyway," she added, "are you two looking for a place to stay? We have plenty of space." "We were told this would be a good place for us to live," Normandie explained. "This is the Lanternlight Clan, no?" The guardian seemed to relax a little. "It is," she replied. "You've come to the right place. Everyone is welcome here. That's, uh, that's actually our clan's motto. [i]The Lanternlight Clan: where all are welcome."[/i] "That's awfully cheesy, you know." "First of all, I didn't come up with it. Second of all, what's with your attitude?" She paused to collect herself once again. "Tone it down, alright? You're not making a good impression here. ...Oh, can I get your names?" Normandie flashed her that distinctive bogsneak smile. "My name is Normandie of the Fire Flight," she replied, snapping her wings open for dramatic effect. "I am an interior designer and a chef, as well as perhaps the most beautiful dragon in all of Sornieth!" The guardian blinked. "Fire? Huh. I wouldn't have taken you for a fire dragon." Elizabeth noticed that her eyes were a warm shade of orange. "You- you can't just judge a dragon's flight based on appearances!" "That's fair. But still. You have plague eyes." "Okay, well, I was born in the Scarred Wasteland," Normandie grumbled. "But I'm a fire dragon inside." The guardian nodded and turned to Elizabeth. "What about you? Do you have a name?" Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. Her throat felt like it had closed up, and she glanced down at where her talons were hooked into the grass. "It's okay if you don't," the guardian replied. "I didn't have a name for most of my life. I only took one once I came here." "Her name's Elizabeth," Normandie said. "Usually she talks more than this." The guardian gave her a nod of acknowledgement. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Olympic. Here, come with me. You two look exhausted." She beckoned for them to follow and began to lead them into the town. The hanging lanterns lit the streets almost as brightly as if it were daytime, coloring everything in pleasant shades of orange and yellow. Many of the buildings looked old, and all of them reminded Elizabeth of the buildings she'd seen whenever she'd left the palace, albeit a bit smaller and more simplistic. More tears threatened to spill down her face, and tilted her head back to keep them from falling. "So," Olympic said suddenly, "what brings you two here?" "We're looking for a new home," Normandie explained. "We lived in a fire clan before, but Elizabeth was homesick and I was getting tired of being looked down on for not being a natural-born fire dragon." "Ah, I see." She turned to Elizabeth. "Are you alright? You don't look so good." "I'm just... feeling a lot of things," Elizabeth managed to choke out. Olympic seemed to catch on that there was far more to her words than she let on, but thankfully the guardian didn't push the issue, only nodded. "If you need to talk about anything, I'll listen," she replied. "Do you two know anyone in the clan already?" "Apparently Elizabeth's sister is here at the moment," Normandie said. "So if that's right, then yes." "It doesn't seem right," Elizabeth mumbled. "Why would she be here? Besides, that dragon we met said my sister loves me, but how would she know? My sister [i]abandoned[/i] me. She would've found me if she hadn't. Why should I take some stranger's word for it?" "I'm sure she loves you," Olympic said, voice growing soft. "Trust me. It can be hard to show the ones you love how much they mean to you. I'm sure your sister really does love you, so much more than you know." There was a distinct sense of pain in her voice, like she was speaking from experience, and Elizabeth wondered if she'd been like Mary and let her family down. "That dragon seemed to know what she was talking about," Normandie added. "Olympic, who's the skydancer with the white scales and orange wings? The one with the red robe and the locket? Lightning eyes?" Olympic froze, looking briefly startled. "There... aren't any dragons here that fit that description," she said slowly. "Can you go into more detail?" Normandie gave a disdainful flick of her tongue but nodded anyway. "Female skydancer from the Lightning Flight. White scales, except for orange and red on her wings and feathers. I think I saw some red runes, but they were hidden under her robe. That was red, by the way. And she had a gold locket. Not a very pretty one, though. Rather sloppily made, and dented a bit too. And her robes were a bit torn in places- what's with that look?" Olympic's mouth had fallen open and she was staring at Normandie with a look of pure shock and bewilderment on her face. "I- I don't understand," she stammered. "You're describing my sister." "Well, your sister needs new clothes," Normandie replied with a shrug. Something terrifying flashed in Olympic's eyes and before anyone could react she was swinging her claws at Normandie, smacking her in the side of the head hard enough to knock her off her feet. "My sister is [i]dead[/i], you short-circuiting cactus-heart!" She looked like she wanted to claw Normandie's tongue out for that, but she took a step back instead, chest heaving. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment, although she was still clearly upset. "You didn't know. I'm sorry." She took a few breaths, making no move to stop Normandie from getting up. Elizabeth vaguely registered that the insults she'd used sounded like they came from the Lightning Flight; they definitely weren't the kind of things a fire dragon would say- Wait a minute. Did this mean the dragon who'd guided them to the Lanternlight Clan had been a ghost? She hadn't left any footprints in the sand. And Elizabeth had clearly heard her say her sister's name was Olympic... "Is everything alright out here?" a new voice asked. A thin, graceful-looking imperial dragon was stepping around the corner, concern painted on her face. Elizabeth felt the entire world seem to stop. Their eyes locked. "Mary," Elizabeth rasped, choking up again. A series of emotions flashed through her mind in rapid succession: shock, disbelief, homesickness, anger. Then the next thing she knew she was wrapped up in her sister's wings, and everything melted away, replaced by joy and safety and [i]belonging[/i]. "Mary," she managed to repeat, and then she was sobbing, unable to contain her tears any longer. "Elizabeth," Mary replied, pulling her sister close. Her arms weren't as strong as Elizabeth remembered; she seemed to have aged a decade or more in the time they'd been apart, and she was thin and frail. But still, her embrace felt so warm and secure, just like it always had. "I knew you were alive," she whispered. "I knew I'd find you someday." "Why- why didn't you come for me?" "I tried. I tried so hard. I couldn't- couldn't find you." Her voice broke as she said that, the sound of years of grief and pain finally reaching an end. "I never stopped searching," she murmured, voice little more than a hoarse whisper. "I left Cunardia so I could find you." "You- you did?" Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her whole life, she'd been under the impression that Mary would never hesitate to put the kingdom's well-being before her own, or before that of her family. Her sister had been so devoted to her duties, after all. Had she really just left like that?" "I abdicated just a few months ago," Mary explained. "My health was failing and I couldn't rule. I spent all my time trying to find you, right up until my body started to shut down. So I- I stepped down and went to go find you instead. And... there were just so many reminders," she added more softly. "The paintings, the statue in the central courtyard, your throne, even just the places you used to spend time at. I couldn't live like that. I just needed closure, Lilibet. I needed [i]you."[/i] She hugged Elizabeth tighter, a sob escaping her. Something inside Elizabeth began to break down at her words. Suddenly, the anger she'd cultivated, the walls she'd built around her heart, all of it was crumbling away, and in an instant she felt like her old self again, happy and carefree. She was reminded of her hatchling days, before she'd joined her sister on the throne, when she would curl up in her bed and think about the war. Her thoughts would always stray down the path of worry on those nights, and she'd get up and leave her quarters and make her way to Mary's study, where her sister would be working late into the night, drafting speeches or reviewing battle plans. Mary would stop her work and wrap her up in her wings, just like tonight, and Elizabeth would always feel so safe then. She'd stop worrying, knowing that whatever happened she'd have her sister to make things right. The same feelings of safety and comfort washed over her once again, settling deep into her bones and making her feel so [i]loved[/i]. Her sister [i]loved[/i] her, even after so many years apart. She became aware of Normandie, watching her with a rare genuine smile, and Olympic, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and their presence reminded her where she was. The Lanternlight Clan, a village full of strangers. Not Cunardia, not the Ashfall Wastes. It didn't matter, she realized. It was just like when she was younger: whatever happened, wherever she had to be, she'd have her sister. She was reunited with Mary once more, wrapped up safely in her embrace, and that, she realized, might just be all she needed, even if she didn't have a home to go back to. Maybe home wasn't a place at all. Maybe it was a dragon.

@fyi
Could I be taken off the pinglist?

[center][quote=October 8 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]"We need to go. We need to run n—"[/size][/quote] @Nightlilac @goldrush @naranciag @sunwolf @sanzang @Hemmalaya @stolen @MaybeHuman @WanderingPaws @kimnoodles @daffydil @finnamony @MittensTheKitten @kawiikatz @Peachycupcake525 @xSTORMDRAGONx @Inkwyrm @TheGrayGhost @moonstrucksmorns @CatInDisguise @DriftingDreams @Xuelian @Mercurythewolf @Pinkish13 @SkySerenade @pandakitty1 @PuppyLuvr06 @shr00mlightz @AllHailWebby @Hyzenthlaay @Illusia @AwkwardTrash @LavenderSelkie @wolfdragon3036 @StarryLune @ulvesang @styygian @Orodruin @Crizona @Lavend3rDragon @PeacefulPyro @PinkRose06 @SocklessWonder @Wyrmlight @fuzzysherbet @Quilava2010 @AlterZero @DewFeather @LapisWings @SouthernHawker @Mistwhisker @darcyrambles @supersticky @Vershton @Starbunnies @Silvfyre @PurpleSun @Sterlingstars @QuirkyJunimo @StarfallRanch @Cinmoren @Morigan @Cotinga @ufology[/center]

tfw the image links didnt work- ooPs woo some more fr lore hc's! [quote]A shrill warning shook the air; the night filled with the thundering of wingbeats.[/quote] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/72216778]Petrichor[/url] looked out over the desert, eyeing a mass of rolling, dark clouds on the horizon with suspicion. The inky night made it near impossible to distinguish what was really going on, but all Petrichor needed was a cue. A few grains of sand bounced off their scales as the wind picked up. Then more. Pitter patter, pitter patter- the sounds had a grainy texture to them, battering Petrichor's senses. Alarm. Dread. They could sense the other scouts pacing, skydancer claws and tundra paws swishing the sand. Finally, Petrichor turned to their nearest neighbour- [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63609739]Sundown[/url]. The skydancers nodded to each other, and together they reared up on their hind legs, beating their wings for balance. A burst of sharp, shrill cries in rows of two alerted every dragon within earshot of the impending danger. Wingbeats filled the air as all the scouts reacted first, rushing to guide the less mobile dragons of the clan. Petrichor and Sundown followed, each separating to find a dragon to assist. Petrichor brushed a wing against [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/68235694]Jiko's[/url] shoulder, guiding the blind white imperial into a building. As the skydancer left him in safety, they looked out and fidgeted with a curtain anxiously. Hopefully Petrichor had sounded the alarm in time so that no one died.

[center][quote=October 9 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]Everyone knows about the pillar at the end of the world.[/size][/quote] @Nightlilac @goldrush @naranciag @sunwolf @sanzang @Hemmalaya @stolen @MaybeHuman @WanderingPaws @kimnoodles @daffydil @finnamony @MittensTheKitten @kawiikatz @Peachycupcake525 @xSTORMDRAGONx @Inkwyrm @TheGrayGhost @moonstrucksmorns @CatInDisguise @DriftingDreams @Xuelian @Mercurythewolf @Pinkish13 @SkySerenade @pandakitty1 @PuppyLuvr06 @shr00mlightz @AllHailWebby @Hyzenthlaay @Illusia @AwkwardTrash @LavenderSelkie @wolfdragon3036 @StarryLune @ulvesang @styygian @Orodruin @Crizona @Lavend3rDragon @PeacefulPyro @PinkRose06 @SocklessWonder @Wyrmlight @fuzzysherbet @Quilava2010 @AlterZero @DewFeather @LapisWings @SouthernHawker @Mistwhisker @darcyrambles @supersticky @Vershton @Starbunnies @Silvfyre @PurpleSun @Sterlingstars @QuirkyJunimo @StarfallRanch @Cinmoren @Morigan @Cotinga @ufology[/center]

@xev
i love the description of rylos taking off after the birds, i feel like dragons would definitely feel a kinship with birds and bats lol
just a note that i think your sentence cut off after "Especially not with how wet he was- water dripped off". it just stops there!
wait, so is rylos part of a ship crew? where are his crewmates? did he get separated from them? are they okay? he mentioned his family being worried, where is he right now? what beings have the power to summon a storm? why would he worry about that, in the first place? o.O
the first sentence for the second one immediately reminded me of that one vine lmao-
hedwin you are absolutely right!! although i'm curious as to what 'less than friendly folk living on the other side' he is referring to... undersea monsters? island dragons? waiiit, other than the sornieth continent there's no other islands on the world map, right...? but idk if you follow canon or not, hm...

@ZipZapZoom
"pearlcatchem." gotta catch em all
awww, trundle is talking to grum in his sleep! the fluff :P
ouch, the thing is, trundle's incident with the pearlcatchers is totally understandable from nearly all angles. i mean, trundle didn't really get what she did wrong or know what she was doing, and the pearlcatchers are well within their rights to feel slighted, even though the lying was definitely wrong. still, i get it. :(
trundle describing the mirror gives me so much life. 'ear-wings' is great. and her protecting her grad from the 'monster!' adorable
"we are all ghosts in some way" deep. and sadly true, too. although maybe it's a bit too deep for trundle to understand right now, lmao

@QuirkyJunimo
good job making your perspective changes clear! it's still best to not change between first person and third person though, simply because it throws the reader off so much and they have to adjust. when you're telling a story, you don't want anything to distract from it! pov and perspective nonsense can be confusing to your reader.
LMAO COZY JUST DROPPING ZURI—and zuri's indigant shrieking. i love it.
ooh, so autumn is adopted? does cozy not have a mate, then?
nice trick with the font size thing when autumn passed out!
and maple and autumn dancing, aww... mother/son bonding!

@kimnoodles
elizabeth's back, eyy! alongside her travelling companion, normandie...
'"You're excused," Normandie replied, studying the guardian in an almost disdainful manner. So much for good first impressions, Elizabeth thought.' NORMANDIE AHAHAH. very rude, aren't you?
wait, THAT'S how the 'strange skydancer' was able to lead eliza to her sis—olympic was their sister, and olympic resides there! ohhh!
didn't normandie offend someone last time by disrespecting the dead or something? seems to be a running theme with her XD
YES REUNITING!!! aww what a sweet scene! i'm just picturing the two hugging and crying while normandie and olympic stand awkwardly in the background shooting tense looks at eachother lmao
"Maybe home wasn't a place at all. Maybe it was a dragon." lovely ending note as well

@Illusia
very good resource, thank you for linking that! yibe is amazing and i love him. also a gorgeous gen1, too
fae sign you do say?? i'm really, really curious as to how that works. when you say 'fluttered at them,' i assume you mean fins and wings are included in there right? are the hands/claws used? how is it done while walking/flying?
lmao, oleander being like 'hmm, i made a new friend, kinda prickly and temperamental but they're my friend now and they can't stop me' is hilarious. if you do start a lore thread, i would love to be linked to it! always like seeing people's headcanons/worldbuilding.

@Inkwyrm
all the image links aren't working, btw :(
petrichor's broadcast message made me laugh, they better get that rainy outfit! xP
oh no, what natural disaster are they preparing for? a flood? i remember reading somewhere that flooding was common in deserts during the intense rain period... hopefully they'll all be okay! also, there's something rather ironcic that petrichor is the narrator when a rainy disaster is appearing XD

@fyi

oh frick, that's not good, ty for letting me know

i will make sure of it! [petrichor goes by they/them btw (: ]

it was originally meant to be a sandstorm, but now that you mention the irony, i think i'll throw in a devastating plot twist that, because of the reduced visibility, the scouts were wrong abt it being a sandstorm and a flood happens; then, once it's over (some dragons are prolly gonna die tbh), there's a huge misunderstanding w/the scouts n all (it could tie in w/nightmare killing someone..)