A dark cloud appears in the sky above the sea and makes its way over to the direction of the shore where the festivities are held.
Upon closer observation, the cloud seems to be moving unusually fast and its shape happens to be quite odd for a cloud.
Then the rhythmic beating of wings can be heard in the distance and it is clear that this is no cloud but a huge group of dragons making its way over!
Shining golden scales can be spotted in a sea of blue wings and the group flies closer and slows down in preparation for landing.
A shout "Kozhu!" rings out and suddenly an Imperial nosedives into the sea, splashing water everywhere! Thankfully the splashed water doesn’t quite reach the shore and seconds pass before the dragon emerges with laughter and spread wings, flinging water droplets skywards before effortlessly taking to the skies again.
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After the small surprise that disrupted the orderly formation of the group, they land on the shore, trying to keep their distance from the drenched dragon who proceeds to shake water out of their scales and mane in the direction of the younger dragons who scurry to safety with squeals, hiding behind the adult dragons.
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Durian lets out a big sigh. "Kozhu.. Not a day passes by without your antics." Despite the words his gaze is affectionate and he goes to help fix up her flowers.
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The other dragons shake out the strain in their wings after the long flight across the central sea. The younger dragons untangle themselves from the heap they had fallen into when trying to escape the water attack and shyly continue to hide from sight, only now aware of the attention their group might have garnered.
Vittery rumbles gently and the ridgeback extends a wing to offer a hiding place and the young dragons take her up on the offer.
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A soft chuckle escapes Ayenia as she steps closer to the small group huddled together beneath the wing.
"I know it's your first time this far away from home, so it can be unnerving. So take your time! But don't spend all of your time here in hiding, alright?"
She grins as she speaks the last sentence, knowing it won't take too long before their curiosity to explore will take over, but offers her body as cover as well.
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Bensis and
Chroma stand in front of the group, the grace and regal demeanor of imperials is especially strong in those two. They are silent as they watch the events unfold in their group and wait for Durian and Kozhukattai to rejoin them.
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After making sure none of the flowers on his mate’s body suffered any harm, Durian takes in the sights and smells around him.
The bustling crowd that eyes their group falls to the back of his awareness. Instead he focuses on the familiar buildings and structures, the smell of the coast that is so familiar to him. It smells like home, like childhood.
Durian is unprepared for the onslaught of nostalgia that gets him and his eyes turn misty. He feels a comforting touch and smiles back at his mate. He blinks a few times to get his sight back and flaps his wings once in a show of determination. “Let’s get this group settled!”
Durian returns to the front of the group and leads on, making his way through the crowd with a clear goal - trying to find his grandmother Sunset and looking out for signs of his father.
As they step past a variety of dragons, four smaller heads could be seen peeking past Vittery’s wing.
Their eyes all twinkle with wonder at the busy crowd and stalls.
“Come on! Let’s go explore!”
Three pairs of eyes turn to
Azalea. “We can’t just.. follow them all day, can we? Let’s go, let’s go!” Before anyone could respond, Azalea quickly moves past the dragons surrounding them, her nimble body making it look easy. With a “Hey, wait up!”,
Asterales follows suit and drags along
Soraya who, in her indecisiveness, just decided to grab onto his tail.
Akitai clearly wants to join as well, but stays behind.
Before any of the adult dragons could react, the three young dragons are already gone from sight.
Ayenia walks away with the words “I’ll follow them and make sure they stay out of trouble. You go on ahead!” and hurries after them.
The remaining dragons find their way over and Durian can see Sunset in the distance. He turns and exchanges an excited glance with the rest of his companion.
“Everyone ready?”
@perfectoranges
At the next opportunity when Sunset is free, Durian leads the group over.
“Grandmother! It is so great to see you again, it has been too long since we’ve last seen each other! Exchanging letters can never replace this.” He can’t contain his smile and beams at her, his excitement building by the second and he rushes in for a hug, suddenly feeling like a young hatchling again.
After they separate, he opens his mouth to let out more words in a rush of excitement but gets stopped when the bushy end of a tail gets shoved in his face. He sputters and levels an unimpressed stare at the culprit - his mate who only returns a knowing smile, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
The second sigh since his arrival escapes Durian and he pushes away the offending tail with a smile.
“You’re right. I think introductions might be in order?”
His companions so far have been silently standing behind him, gazing at Sunset and her family with awe. They each step closer and offer words of greeting as they are introduced, hoping to exchange more words with Sunset and the rest of the family at a later point in time.
“This is my mate Kozhu, she tends to the wild flowers near our village, and-” Deciding this was enough of an introduction, the Imperial adorned in flowers steps forward. “What a delight it is to finally make your acquaintance! It is good to finally be able to put a face to Durian’s grandmother.”
At that her eyes spark with amusement and she chuckles before she turns to the group of dragons behind her. “Aki! Come over here.” At her call, the young Skydancer emerges from beneath Vittery’s wings. He anxiously clutches a radiant bouquet of flowers to himself as he makes his way over, his eyes flicking to Sunset before averting his gaze to the ground, nervously shuffling around as he comes to stand next to Kozhu. She gently nudges him forward.
“Elder
Risan wishes to extend his thanks and congratulations. Together with this little one’s
grandmother, we have prepared a special present.”
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Taking this as his cue, Akitai steps closer to Sunset and hands over the shimmering, golden flowers. They radiate warmth and a faint glow, the petal’s colors are saturated and strong and shaped unlike any other flower seen before. The scent is pleasantly sweet and soothing.
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Akitai beams at Sunset with proud smile as he meets her warm gaze before making his way back to Vittery.
“The flowers in this bouquet are from the Sunlit Grove and are infused with the essence of light. They will never wilt or fade and can only be destroyed with intention. Elder
Risan thought this a fitting gift for the joy your descendants have brought him and our clan. If you later wish to fashion the flowers into accessories, I would be honored to offer my skills to you.”
She steps back and Durian continues the introduction, including many, many details in his excitement: Chroma is the caretaker and owner of a vineyard, Bensis oversees the cliffs and teaches other dragons about air currents and gliding, Vittery works as a guide in treacherous areas and Akitai is a promising apprentice, learning from his
grandmother.
“... and I would introduce you to my daughter, but she’s currently occupied with finding three impatient runaways. They will probably find their way over sooner or later.”
Then Durian stops talking for a moment and his tail coils in anticipation.
“There is someone else waiting to be introduced.”
He turns and looks at the group. Bensis and Chroma nod to each other and step aside with grace and Vittery lifts her wing and folds it back to her side.
And there, emerging from the group is a teenage Imperial. Her limbs are lanky and her youth is apparent but the grace inherent to Imperials is already present. She steps forward, trying to be calm but the slight swishing of her tail betrays her nervousness.
She balks at the attention she draws upon herself but with a quick glance at her
father who smiles at her encouragingly, she takes a deep breath and steps outside of the small group and walks towards Sunset.
Now, in full sight, it’s as if a small version of Sunset emerged before the matriarch herself. Everything matches her, from the color of her mane, the hues of her wings and body, down to the soft blue of her belly.
Durian had wanted to surprise his grandmother in a special way and proposed an idea, so the young Imperial had even left behind her usual dress and instead elected to dress up with silk, just like Sunset. While hers were blue, just like her usual dress, she hoped it would work out.
The young Imperial’s flanks heave with her nervous breath and she looks up at the grand Imperial before her. Admiration and awe are apparent in her bright and golden eyes. This is the dragon she has heard about since the moment she was born! Excitement courses through her and yet she is unable to speak up first.
Everyone around her watches on with bated breath.
