Creative Corner

[quote] The glass cracked, their eyes shut.[/quote] Warning: Mentions of death It was early morning when the bells rang. “Please, Ash.” The tundra would beg. “Rest for a lil’ bit, please.” “No, Mystic.” The skydancer would reply. A few hours would pass, and Ash would still stay wide awake in the corner of the cave. “Ash. [i]Please sleep[/i].” “No.” “Listen, I’m scared too. Just please, sleep for a bit.” Mystic continued to try to convince his friend to rest. “I know.” Ash said, the flame from her soft breathing lightning the bare rock walls. “I’m just scared that Vulture will find us here.” “Don’t be, I’ll be scared for you.” Mystic said into the dark, the flame quickly fading away. “If you’re not gonna sleep, neither am I. How about you tell me why do you look like a crystal, to pass the time ‘til morning.” Ash sighs. “Good idea. My clan was blessed by the gods. One of very few to ever hear from the Shadowbinder. They gained riches and fame amongst the shadow dragons, but they didn’t use it for good. When the old leaders of the clan passed away, two nocturnes stepped up. [i]Those who defy the shade shall be killed.[/i] They would say, and it was true. Some dragons left, but the clan only gained more followers. More and more dragons got taken over by the shade, so the Shadowbinder cursed the clan. [i]Those who betray their own flight, they will never have their own nocturne children of their own.[/i] Her voice boomed over the clan, they were the only ones who could hear it. They rushed to gain scrolls, they wanted to spread the Shade, to have children. But they could only afford two. They gave them to a pair who were with egg. One skydancer scroll, and one spiral scroll. The Shadowbinder didn’t notice until very close before I hatched. She saw that the couple weren’t shade-touched, so she sent them to the Lightweaver, for safety. There was only one egg, which was me. The dragons still didn’t know that the pair wasn’t the shade, so they kept me safe. The curse was that the hatchlings would be of crystal, not living thing inside the egg. That’s why I look like this, but am actually [i]alive[/i]. I’m speckled with grey, yes. That’s what I was actually supposed to look like, but the curse said otherwise.” “Oh Plaguebringer.” Mystic breathed. “I didn’t know that you were cursed.” “Well, I am.” By that time, it was early morning, when the bell rang. “We need to go now.” Mystic said, clearly panicking. Ash spread out her wings, and took to the sky. Mystic followed. “What do ya think is happening?!” He shouted over the wind. “I dunno.” Ash admitted. “All I know is that we need to calm down.” “Ash.” Mystic said, slowly. “Fly as quickly as possible now, HURRRY!” Ash glanced to the right. There it was, staring right into her eyes, was Vulture. Ash felt Vulture push something into her scales. Suddenly, pain seared through her paws, she looked down to see a large crack in her scales. Ash shut her eyes, ready to chip away into pieces. But it didn’t come, instead, it stopped. Everything was back to normal. Ash woke up. It was early morning. She glanced at her paw. No crack. “Mystic?” She asked. “Hello there, Ash!” The tundra said cheerfully. “Did I tell you about me being cursed?” The skydancer yawned. “No, why are you asking?” Mystic chuckled. “Well, it’s all a very funny story..” Ash laughed.

@fyi Lusitania and Mauretania haven't done anything wrong per se; because of this, neither one has any idea why this is happening to them, only that there's someone hunting them (specifically, the mirror dragon is after Lusitania). I plan to reveal more pieces of the puzzle through other pieces of writing!

Also: Mauretania is/was a famous and successful racer (think racecars or horse racing, except with flying instead of vehicles because, well, they're dragons), but she gave up this lifestyle so she could stay with her sister. They're both adults, but pretty young, like the dragon equivalent of college students maybe?? I don't put that much thought into dragon ages in my clan because that has too many potential unpleasant rabbit holes it could lead down haha

Based off this prompt! I spent a lot of time editing it around, needed the distraction and had the time tonight, but looked at the clock and realized it was almost midnight. So sorry for if it is a jumbled mess today, not in the best mindset, but it was a fun prompt. [center][quote=October 11 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]The glass cracked, their eyes shut.[/size][/quote][/center] The pearlcatchems [i]definitely[/i] had it out for Trundle after that first day. They'd done what pearls are well known for - gossiped and whispered about her a whole bunch. Loads of truth intermingled with lots of speculation, half-truths and devious little lies. The child was ignorant of this pearl tendency, and remained blissfully ignorant of it most of the day. She was just too busy enjoying the guardian carer's careful explanation of the stars, and the fantastic myths behind them, and making her own little star lamp to believe anyone else was doing anything more than loving all the new things to learn.  "Spin?" Trundle held up her lamp once she managed to mangle all the strings so it would never spin. Her voice, like always, carried the full meaning of the word for her. It was good the arcane carer understood children well, because arcane dragons were universally poor at understanding intonation. The guardian placidly took the lamp. "A bit disarrayed, isn't it?" Trundle nodded agreeably as the carer, Memar, began unstringing the lamp. Another child across the table let out a piercing yell. Lamp went straight down and the carer turned her back. Quick as they come, a nocturne flew forward, snatched up the lamp, and tossed it at a fae circle. The candle flew out to hit one on the wing. The lamp itself smacked the head fae carer. Most the dancers scattered back unharmed, though some fell in a domino-like heap. Almost the most astounding of all, the nocturne called out in an attempted mimicry of Trundle's voice. "Creeps!" Trundle'd been introduced to noctunes during the Fire Festival, and remained inattentive and unimpressed by the poor imitation. She did stare at the broken fae circle with her mouth open. That kind of brazen behavior wasn't something she'd ever imagined, and the knowledge that it'd been caused by someone right next to her, with [i]her lamp[/i] stunned her.  "Trundle, that was mean!" The nocturne hollered.  "Halt!" Trundle squealed at a frustrated fae tore into her lamp. She began to rush toward them - but was stopped both by feet that still didn't want to run, and Memar's leg.  "Did you see her fling that?" one of the pearlcatcher's gasped at a child who hadn't been paying attention until the yelling started, "She's dangerous!" "Yeah! I knew she didn't---" "Enough!" The usually gentle guardian's bellow was more than enough to silence the whole room. Memar still had a foot firmly placed in front of Trundle, her stance protective, but wide-spread. All of the children were included in the way she stood. "Why would she throw her own creation?" "She said---" The child went silent as Memar's foot came in closer to Trundle, nudging the snapper in the nose. The gesture was more than enough to prove which side the carer was on. So the child resorted to tears, "I'm scared!" "Me too!" The guardian heaved a great sigh and brought her head level to Trundle's. The snapper's expression was wrinkled up with incredulous disgust and deepening anger as the shock began to wear off and understanding set in. "Not'vered'urt none. My starlamption!" She spoke faster than she had yesterday, determined to get her say in this time. The last word warbled upwards in a threat of tears, but the snapper quickly replaced that with a shut mouth and plaguish look of sheer willful controlled emotion.   "Your [i]planetarium[/i] can be remade. You can do it right where you are, or anywhere in the room you like. If anyone bothers you, they will answer to me." The guardian's voice took on a motherly warning growl as she glanced up at the room. The conspirators were already out of sight, but the fae were nearby holding the broken craft to try to give it back. "Not." Trundle spoke with as much force as she could put into the word.  "Your choice." Memar bustled about to place the broken art piece as well as all the necessary crafts, and then some books, near to Trundle.  Trundle pretended not to notice at first, and pretended that her sniffs were defiant sniffs or snorts. But soon the guardian child who'd first approached her came near, with several of the fae. When Trundle winced at the [i]super creepy[/i] fae voices, the guardian interpreted. She pointed out that her planetarium had been the same dance they were practicing, and so they knew it well enough to put it back together, and when Trundle tentatively said dance, even though they couldn't understand all the intonation that went into the word, they excitedly started to talk about their constellation dance and showed Trundle their starting movements. Trundle delighted them by asking curious questions. The guardian left at some point during this, and Trundle utterly lost her ability to really understand the fae, but they'd also learned something. Like snappers didn't sleep (and they thought that was creepy!), the fae didn't vocalize (they twittered...[i]eerily...[/i] about how funny they thought it was she thought that). That didn't make the other bad, just different. And, in the end, at least they knew the other could be really nice.

[center][quote=October 12 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]What do you say to someone who's seen it all?[/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]

@QuirkyJunimo
hm... so many questions! so was it all a dream, or a sort of prophetic dream, or just paranoia? how does ash breathe fire if she is 'of crystal' and also hails from shadow? i'm very curious on the biology there lmao. and when ash dies, will they 'chip away into pieces,' like she was anticipating in her dream?
"when the bell rang" absolutely gave me school flashbacks xD. what bell, though? they were hiding in a cave, right? where did it come from?

@ZipZapZoom
ooh, damn! the entire sequence went down super dramatically, i was holding my breath throughout it. good job for injecting emotion to make the reader care! all the kids being kids, however jerkish or nice or confused kids may be, is great to read. (even if the conflict is painful but like ouch in a good way, y'know?)
memar is such a mom ngl
trundle liking stars is so cool! has she gone stargazing yet? how clear are the skies in the area she's living in?

Could i be on the ping list? I think this could help me make my stories for my dragons!

Characters: [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/65601215]Britannic[/url], [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/67180254]Edmund Fitzgerald[/url] Warnings: mentions of death (just by virtue of the characters being ghosts) [i]Feedback is always welcome and appreciated![/i] [quote=October 12 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]What do you say to someone who's seen it all?[/size][/quote] Britannic was no stranger to loneliness and envy. These were emotions she'd grown accustomed to over the years, particularly after she'd died, but that familiarity did little to dull the ache. Gods, how she wished things could be different. She tore at the dirt with her talons, although she didn't bother trying to make her claws corporeal enough to really touch the grass. It was raining, but each droplet passed through her body, creating a sensation like a light breeze. Britannic didn't mind; in life, she'd resided in the lightning flight's vast desert domain, where little actual rain fell alongside the arcs of electricity that crackled so often through the sky. What she did mind, however, was the wind that blew in from the roiling sea, bitter and unforgiving, and the fact that every living dragon was sheltered inside, where she didn't want to go - somehow, being inside with others felt even lonelier. The wind grew colder, turning downright icy. Britannic hardly noticed. A scent not unlike wet dog wafted over her, and she whirled around to see a shaggy red-and-white gaoler standing there, towering over her. Britannic's eyes widened in shock; this dragon was Edmund Fitzgerald, another ghost who had been persuaded to linger near the Lanternlight Clan while Higanbana tried to find a way for her to move on, and she wasn't known to routinely approach others, living or otherwise. Yet here she was, right next to Britannic, looking down at the skydancer with pale eyes. She settled back on her haunches, wrapping her long tail around her paws, and all the while she said nothing, only stared out to sea. Britannic wasn't sure what to say to her, if anything - after all, what does one say to someone who's seen so much already? Edmund Fitzgerald was a much older ghost than Britannic; she'd lived a decently long life as well, and apparently this life had been an eventful one. Britannic didn't know how to talk to her. "I see you around often," the gaoler said finally, turning to look down at Britannic again. "You always seem so lonely. I feel bad for you." Britannic met her pale gaze, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the wet dog smell. "So why didn't you try talking to me sooner?" Edmund Fitzgerald shrugged. "You're not very approachable, and I know better than to approach an angry spirit." Of course she would know; she too was a restless soul, and she was known to be particularly temperamental during the winter months. Britannic had heard stories about her lashing out at living dragons who saw and approached her during harsh winter gales. The silence between them stretched out, punctuated only by the rumble of thunder out at sea. Edmund Fitzgerald wrapped her tail around Britannic, who ducked away from the gesture, having no desire to come into contact with her perpetually-soaked fur. The gaoler didn't seem remotely offended and simply tucked her tail back over her toes, and the silence continued. "So," Edmund Fitzgerald said finally. "You have family here, don't you?" A sharp pang pierced Britannic's soul, and she looked down at her claws. "I do," she replied. "My sister. Olympic." "Ah. I know who you're talking about. She seems pretty pleasant. I think Higanbana mentioned her once, something about being afraid to tell her about you. Is she not as friendly as I think she is?" "She doesn't like talking about me." The gaoler nodded slowly, then tossed her head to clear a lock of wet hair away from her eyes. "Probably hurts too much, I imagine." Britannic winced, throat growing tight. "I doubt it. She never paid me any attention while I was alive. She'd probably just rather forget about me." "Too regretful about ignoring you?" "Too preoccupied with stupid [i]Titanic."[/i] "Oh." Edmund Fitzgerald's eyes widened. "I know Titanic. She's very friendly. You two are sisters?" A growl escaped Britannic's throat, and she made no effort to stop it. "Unfortunately," she muttered. "I hate her. I hate her so much. She ruined my life." "How so?" "Why do you care?" Edmund Fitzgerald shrugged yet again. "A good captain cares for her crew," she replied simply. "Tell me. How'd your sister ruin your life?" "She died, that's how!" Britannic lashed her tail, anger welling up inside her like it had so many times before. "She died, and I had to grow up in her shadow! Olympic was always so preoccupied with her, always grieving for her, never spending any time with me! Nothing was ever about me. It was always all about Titanic! If she hadn't died, it wouldn't be like this. I wouldn't be an afterthought. Olympic would remember me. I'd be [i]happy,[/i] but stupid Titanic had to go die in the stupid Snowfall! She ruined my life, she screwed up Olympic too, I hate her, I hate her so much! She ruined my life!" She broke off, chest heaving although she had no need to breathe. There was a long, almost agonizing pause, and Britannic braced herself for the response she'd gotten so many times before: [i]she didn't mean to, didn't want to die.[/i] Instead, Edmund Fitzgerald nodded thoughtfully. "Have you considered," she mused, "that your quarrel may actually be with Olympic?" Britannic's lip curled up in a snarl. "No," she snapped. "It's Titanic's fault that Olympic's like this. If she hadn't gone and died-" "Now, wait a minute," Edmund Fitzgerald replied, holding up a big paw to silence Britannic. "Hear me out. It sounds to me like you're really upset because Olympic neglected you while you were alive, but you don't want to admit you're angry at her because you love her and want her approval." "For the love of the Stormcatcher, stop psychoanalyzing me! You don't even know me!" "Fair enough. But you can love someone and still be angry at them." [i]"Stop."[/i] "Sure." The two ghosts lapsed into silence once again, and although Britannic said nothing she was grateful for the way Edmund Fitzgerald made no attempt to push the matter. The storm raged on. "So," Edmund Fitzgerald said finally. "Do you sing?" "Excuse me?" "Do you sing?" "I've never sung a song in my life." "Would you like me to teach you one?" Britannic stared at her, bewildered. "Not particularly, no. Why?" "Lifts the spirits," the gaoler replied with a shrug. "We could keep talking instead. Tell me about a happy time from when you were alive. Surely you weren't angry [i]all[/i] the time, right?" There was a long silence. "My clan used to go to these beauty pageants," Britannic said finally. "And every year there was this pearlcatcher, Aquitania, who would be participating. She was my age. And the first year I went I snuck backstage and ended up talking to her, and I did it again the next year, and then the next, because we somehow ended up being friends. She... she really liked me, and she obviously cared so much, and..." She trailed off, not sure if she should go into more detail. "She lives here now, actually. I have to watch her just like I watch Olympic, knowing I can't really talk to her anymore." Edmund Fitzgerald nodded. "I know how that feels," she murmured, voice so soft it was barely audible over the sounds of the storm. "It's a hard thing to cope with, isn't it? You should try talking to Higanbana," she added. "Send your friend a message." Oh. Britannic had never really considered that possibility before. "Maybe... maybe I will," she said, surprising herself with the confidence in her voice. "Maybe I can finally tell her- no, no, I can't do that. If I tell her she'll never find anyone else." "It's your choice what to say," Edmund Fitzgerald replied. "I can't give you guidance in that area. That's your decision to make. Looks like the storm's letting up a bit," she added a moment later. "That's my cue to leave, I suppose. Nice dramatic note to leave this conversation on." She patted Britannic's head with one paw, sending cold water trickling down the skydancer's back. "I'll see you around," she said. "And if you want, the song thing's still on the table. I can teach you a freighter shanty or two." With that, she was launching herself over the edge of the cliff, her stubby wings beating furiously, carrying her off into the night. Britannic stared after her and then turned away, still pondering their conversation.

First, could I be added to the pinglist? And second... this one got me inspired. Note, in my lore, everyone is sorta like anthro/gijinka/humanoid/etc dragons, not regular [i]dragon[/i] dragons. It's not hugely relevant, but it'll make some things make more sense. (And also, canon dragon sizes aren't really a thing. There's a pretty wide height ranges that exist for my dragon people, and while you won't see like, a fae at the top end of heights or an imperial at the bottom end, they're still much closer in height than the dragons.) Also: [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/29409059]Fallen[/url], [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/26865893]Drekaa[/url] (actual appearance in her bio, I haven't gotten to redo her yet) ----- [quote=October 12 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]What do you say to someone who's seen it all?[/size][/quote] Having a best friend who's a world-hopping being more powerful than anyone else you've ever met is hard. Ever harder is dealing with the fact that they're not good at interacting with people. That's the reality Drekaa finds herself in, every day. She wouldn't trade her friendship with Fallen for anything, but they really are terrible with people. Either they barely say anything, or they say so much it veers off into nonsense. Their appearance certainly doesn't help, either. Extremely tall, a perpetually vacant stare, unusually sharp features for a Nocturne, and a style of dressing that does nothing to offset their intimidating look. It scares people off, even if they're just trying to be nice. She's known them nearly as long as they've been in this world, back when she was a young hatchling. Nothing much has changed since then. Right now, Drekaa sits out on the balcony of their shared home, watching the street as people pass, returning to their homes or venturing out to evening and nighttime activities. She's waiting for Fallen to return. It's always easy to spot them, since they stick out like a sore thumb. She hopes they'll be home soon, so maybe they can see the sunset together. It's almost too late for them to get up here in time, when she suddenly spots them. "Fallen!" she calls out. The Nocturne looks up at her voice, and waves. "Come on up! It's almost too late!" They look around them, making sure they have space. Then, their pale wings unfurl, and they lift off the ground, only being airborne for a few moments before landing right up on the balcony next to the Spiral. "So," they sigh, "what do you want?" Drekaa grins, and points at the sky. "Look at the sunset! Isn't it so nice?" Fallen looks up. "It's... not bad. I've seen more impressive before." Drekaa frowns slightly, even expecting this answer. "But..." "But...?" "It reminds me of your wings. Bright... but familiar. It's not new, not the mind-blowing, but it's still special." She laughs. Even immortal, dimension-traveling creatures can be cheesy sometimes.

[center]today's prompt is a submission from a Coatl with horns and a sneak! feel free to pm me prompts, but be aware that there's a bit of a backlog as of rn so it will likely be a while before it's utilized.[quote=October 13 2021][font=century gothic][size=5]"The soup is ready~!" the little dragon said with a smile. "Let's see if you are brave enough to taste it now!"[/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 @Cotinga @ufology @TashaTheGraceful @W1F1N1GHTM4R3[/center]