@ Mir Writing is not my forte but I wanted to give it a shot bc she is beautiful!! Also I iuh. Apologize in advance
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Username: ChissChass
Entry:
Quote:
How strange it was to wake up amongst a bed of flowers under the putrid skies of the Scarred Wasteland. The dragon blinked their eyes, rising from the dandelions as if they’d casually woken up from a nice night of sleep. The well of power within, the gap in their memories, and the distinct feeling they weren’t whole somehow spoke differently.
While the dragon themself didn’t know, they had grown out of a violent confrontation between an unknown Shade Hunter and Adam, leader of the cult of Cenotaph. While the warrior fought valiantly, and Adam’s blood reddened the sands, he would not die. Whatever limb and claw was scattered would simply grow back. Undying and unbending. What remained lain on the sands rained a life of his own.
And thus, the dragon finds themself in a field of dandelions, sent to wander to find their own name and destiny.
---
Kellas had been the first to notice the possible intruder early one morning, as her
brother carefully prepared for their day. The scattered dandelion wisps floated in the air, all curiously coming from the same direction, their presence unusual for this part of the wasteland.
Still, she ran forward, jumping every now and then to snap her jaws in an attempt to catch one, only for them to bump her snout and make her sneeze. The momentary joy of the moment was cut short at the sight of a heavy and unmoving tail spilling out from behind a craggy set of rocks.
The panicked keen from the little blossom was loud enough to have
Shuck come barreling in moments, bracing himself for a possible brawl. Instead, his sister backed up into him, looking up in teary eyed confusion as she pointed towards the silohuette ahead.
Lo and behold, Shuck was greeted to the sight of a small Imp, laying motionless on the ground. He grimaced, not entirely sure what he was seeing, nor thrilled at any of the outcomes that slowly came to mind as he walked closer. Death may have been his technical domain, but working with spirits was not the same as...seeing a fresh dead body. He hoped that wasn't the case anyways. Besides knowing that Kellas would be absolutely distraught, he couldn't help but let out a nervous rumble at the sudden spike of anxiety in his chest. He didn't like to see others hurt....
Slowly and carefully, he crouched over to press the side of his face to the dragon's neck.
A faint but still steady pulse. A little colder than he would expect but by no means chilled to the touch. He exhaled.
The Imp was not dead at the very least, much to to the relief of the two, but Shuck could sense that they would be if they didn't get attention soon; masked under their tattered wings, a pool of blood was already beginning to turn brown and mix into the dirt, but Shuck wouldn't dare move their body just yet, not alone and certainly not in front of Kellas.
Making his way to the little pup, Shuck bumped their foreheads together. Mourning flowers were mostly mute, though Kellas had a foley of noises she used often to be as expressive as possible. Amongst each other though, communication was a bit more cerebral, and with a little concentration, Shuck was able to get the point across:
Go find Wuuti and the others and bring them here
And so, the little pup sprinted off to find their leader, rushing past her many sleep addled clan mates who had only just began to start their days, as Shuck watched over and poured as much calming energy into the Imp as they could muster
----
Wuuti has always been very hands on when it came to her clan, despite her outward appearance. While many a warrior leader often delegated others to take on 'softer' skilled tasks in favor of focusing purely on hunting or conquest, Wuuti herself never saw the appeal of being solely a figurehead. She was present for every clutch born in their group, did her best to join in many a conversation of the day to day when possible, and made it a point to take in warriors who wanted to train from all walks of life when possible. Quite frankly, she's positive she may have raised more of others' children than her own at this point, but that hardly mattered to her if they consistently chose to stay with her in the end. Blood or no never ever changed the swell of pride and affection she felt when any of her younger charges inevitably called her mom.
That seemed to be the theme of her group more often than not; the wanderers, the eccentric, and the lost. Some have had no actual ties prior to them being here, and others? Born, bred and spat out to 'find themselves' and make their lineages proud. Prowess and pedigree for sure, but with little more purpose than to meet some sort of 'goal', she sought to give them the home they ought to have to make their own choices.
In the midst of her and
Copper returning from a quick hunt and divvying up the meat, the frazzled little Gaoler pup had all but nearly crashed into her, frantically tugging at her tattered cape to get her attention and no Shuck in sight.
Not a good sign.
Wuuti did her best to calm the pup down a bit, and a quick pulling in of
Nebula and her comet companion allowed them to get a glimpse of what had distressed Kellas so much. With her little paw on the smooth crystal, the image of the injured Imp under Shuck's watchful eye filled the gaps for them.
Confused but no less alarmed, she left Kellas in the care of the others while her core group went off, letting
Abraxas tag along in case they needed the extra muscle. Imps were known to get quite large after all.
Or....so she thought. Because when they all arrived and Wuuti slowly approached where Shuck had situated himself, she was struck by how
small this Imp was. Either this was just a very small sized line of Imperials, or, more likely the case, this dragon was still very young. They were curled defensively in on themself, with Shuck having rested his head gently on their neck in an effort to soothe them through any fitful coughs.
Carefully flipping them over and seeing the extent of the wounds, as well as noting how skinny they seemed, it filled Wuuti with a sense of sorrow and anger. Crushed dandelions scattered weakly at the disturbance, floating upwards and into the heavens. She could see no weapons nor symbol on the dragon, no visible sign of equipment to indicate this was a planned journey. It seemed wrong, very out of place this whole situation.
"We'll carry them back and have those wounds cleaned up. Think we found them in time. Abraxas, would you mind?"
She looked over to the younger Imp, who was staring at the injured dragon with a curious furrow in their brow. Having not heard Wuuti apparently, he walked over to sniff their neck as soon as Shuck got up. The tip of his snout made contact, and Wuuti watched as he reared back all of a sudden, as though they had been zapped or nipped.
Something was off.
"Abraxas?" He shook his head and quickly looked over at Wuuti. She tilted her head. "Something wrong?" Abraxas' mouth opened for a second and then closed. Wuuti narrowed her eyes. "Do you...recognize them? Or is it something on them that's bothering you?" He seemed to shuffle on his feet for a moment, hesitant to say, but then looked back down. "Uh...I don't recognize
them but uh...something does smell familiar, yes. Like uh...brimstone."
Ah. Well. That was a start.
Wuuti hummed, understanding what he was implying, even as the others looked mildly confused. "Ok. We'll speak with
Concorde about...that later" she said. "But I'm going to need you to carry them for us, so if you wouldn't mind, please kneel."
Very quickly, Abraxas did just that as the others carefully heaved the other Imp onto his back. The size difference would have been more comical were it not for the state they were in, and with that they carefully made their way back to their main base.
----
It took about two days for the nameless Imp to come to consciousness and stay awake for longer than a few moments, but it'd be a full week before Concorde and Lumina deemed them out of the red zone. By then, the wounds had healed rather quickly, a fever had come and gone, and the wounded dragon had been able to keep down foods enough to start visibly putting weight on.
For the sake of their safety, Wuuti had them stay within the confines of the Observatory; the tall sets of spires were home to her outsiders of a....different flavor, so to speak. Magic and science and all that. They were very near and dear to her, even if she herself was quite simple in her pursuits; she recognized their skills and talents as beneficial in the long run, as strange as those occupations may be.
Concorde, for example, had made his home here. The Spiral that hadn't been cut out for battle but had found much success in medicine and the sciences, meaning he and his
partner were often the go-to medics. Naturally he had agreed to care for the young dragon and to keep Wuuti updated.
She hadn't anticipated how involved that process would turn out to be though. Concorde's medical skills were well known, but he had....other interests as well. The efficacy of which she wasn't entirely sure about despite he and Lumina's dismissals of the contrary, but one she was fine with letting them pursue with very limited involvement. It seemed though that she unwittingly was going to have to participate in this one.
"Fascinating! I have no idea how you found them, mom, but I am sure glad you did" the scientist babbled as he flitted through his notebooks furiously.
The Imperial was sleeping soundly in the other room way from the main lab, and Wuuti planned on speaking with them today after missing out the last two times from her usual affairs. However, Concorde and Lumina had seemed especially excited by her visit, and she could sense that it was taking everything in his power to not simply blurt out whatever finding he had when she passed through the threshold.
Wuuti only hoped that his demeanor meant the news was at the very least
good new, but it didn't make her any less uneasy.
Sitting and squirming uncomfortably in the cramped confines of his lab, she sighed. "Please dear, you're going to burst into flames if you keep delaying. Tell me what you've found" she asked calmly. Delighted by the clear opening, the Spiral wasted no time and rushed over to the Guardian, notebook in hand and open to some kind of diagram.
"I had my suspicions at first, you know, when you all brought her in and we had her situated? The subjects all seemed to grow fascinated with her all at once! I mean, I suspected they must have some sort of link on a neural or perhaps genetic scale? Perhaps a pheromone I cant sense that lets them know they're all related, but I wasn't sure given the generational gaps and acquisition methods before. But well, Lumina suggested we test the theory with a blood sample since we, well, we already had plenty of that and boom! A match! And not just any match mind you, but judging by what we could suss out, their generational gap is smaller than the others, meaning we have some gaps we can fill in-"
Wuuti tuned out most of the words at that point; partly because she didn't understand a lot of his jargon and he had a habit of rambling, but moreso because she had enough to know what he was getting at: Naomi blood.
Truthfully, Wuuti had not been privy to much of the Naomi mythos beyond a few whispers here or there, but Concorde...well, he had grown obsessed with studying it, along with other strange and often dangerous Dragonfolk biologies. Books and second-hand accounts weren't enough for him and Lumina though. He had something of a more hands on approach.
She looked over to the side, where Lumina passed by with a few faes and a ridgeback in tow, all following her with curious eyes. Normally a heartwarming sight to see ....were it not perhaps for the glowing, vacant eyes and bright veins and circuits many had. Not exactly...a normal brood of dragons perse, more of a collective they had all sought out and adopted.
The 'subjects' varied in species, color, genes and even flights, but they all had one thing in common, and that was that they had Naomi blood in them, and it was
strong.
Now...in fairness, despite the
tasteless usage of the word subjects, Wuuti was aware that the truth was far softer and far less sketchy than it was made out to be. It was true that the two Spirals were very much getting precious information and research from their little Lab brood, but that had not been the sole purpose of their acquisitions.
Naomi Blood could be...unpredictable, or so Wuuti had been told. Depending on the line, it could be seen as a high honor; dear
Dreiden for example, she came from a long line of Knights, and while her Naomi influence was long diluted, it was still meticulously recorded as a point of pride. It proved not to be anything adverse for her or her mother, merely a quirk in name and infamy alone.
But for many other clans? Well, it could be unpredictable, and the influence can be a bit
too strong. Strange powers, almost automaton like behaviors, or just overall bizarre and un-Dragonlike instincts. Some would get swallowed into the HIVE, which was another can of worms entirely but one they were familiar with. In cases like these, many clans were quick to want to shuffle them around or even rid of them.
Despite their strangeness though, Concorde and Lumina knew the truth: they were still Dragons who deserved a home. If no one else wanted to take the time to care for them, to rehabilitate defective DRONES or understand the unique gifts a Naomi had, then Concorde and Lumina would take on that challenge.
"Ah!! And and- as for your other query" Concorde cut in, snapping Wuuti's attention back to him. He held a hand out as if to gesture to wait before darting out of the room where she had seen Lumina pass.
When Concorde returned, a
little green fae had taken residence on his head, and a different book was under his other arm. Well, tome was probabaly more appropriate, because the thing look heavy and ancient, and roughly bound in some kind of dark scaled pelt that was decorated with glowing runes.
Bit of a contrast to Concorde's simple cracked leather journals.
He heaved the tome open to a (thankfully) book marked section, clumsily dropping the other journal in his haste but choosing to simply ignore it with a grumble.
"I cross referenced with
Nebula and
Fog, since well, to be honest, the whole uh, lineage of the Beast or what have you? I still haven't found anything speciiiiiiifically scientific so thats still VERY much in the realm of Magic."
What Concorde was to science, Nebula had been to the Arcane, and compared to Concorde's small lab, the Coven boasted the majority of the Observatory's real estate with its many members. Fog especially had a knack for history, so Wuuti guessed the tome must be of his doing.
"For sure though, this dragon
absolutely has ties to Ignis! Strong ones too, Nebula said that the font of magic they felt was pretty strong! I think that explains how those slash wounds healed so fast, or why that fever seemed to break so soon. We actually didn't administer a whole lot of medicine you see, since-"
Wuuti tuned him out again, letting Concorde go on about whatever data he recorded. Plaguemother have mercy, that boy could
talk.
The tale of Ignis was a bit more folkloric, and therefore, more widespread amongst all Dragonkind in some form or other. The myths varied from place to place, but with a history of magic tracing back MUCH longer than any science, it held just as much validity. And JUST like Naomi, the whole Ignis line was, well, a mixed bag. A bit more primordial and traditional in nature, much in the way descendants of some of the strongest Mages had stronger connections with raw magic and what not. It often trended in the negative to many, given that the magic blood itself was seen as born of darkness and the underworld, but Wuuti personally didn't put much credence to that.
After all, Abraxas had lineage to Ignis, and quite frankly, his prowess and potential as a warrior did not seem to manifest into anything dark. He seemed to have a higher sensitivity to magical things, surely. Even as one of her newest recruits with little fighting experiences as of yet, he showed remarkable strength in battle.
She had very much
watched him kao tao to the pleading eyes of hatchlings into games of pretend without an ounce of resistance. A large Imperial pretending to be a Maren Prince at a tea ceremony does not a villain make.
"Concorde" she said, firmly enough to get him to stop mid sentence. He very quickly closed the tome and put it on the table, before giving all his attention to Wuuti. "Ah, yes?"
"Could you just....in less than, I don't know, 40 words, tell me what that means for them and us? And were you able to figure out who they might be?"
Concorde clicked his tongue as he parsed her request. The green fae on his head suddenly seemed to perk up as Wuuti spoke, taking interest in the elder. He maneuvered to Concorde's shoulder, arching his back into a wind up before diving into Wuuti's arms. Managing to catch the sudden movement of the pup from the corner of her eye, the Guardian quickly opened her arms to brace for the impact. She carefully cradled him as he made himself comfortable in his 'grandmother's' embrace, and Wuuti couldn't help but melt just a bit.
Concorde himself was briefly distracted by the little moment, unable to stop the little 'aw' from escaping. "Stux has been extra antsy" he cooed.
Technically, STUXNET was the uh, given name. Wuuti truly had no idea as to why Lumina and Concorde had gone with such a....bizarre naming convention, but no one seemed to be complaining. Besides she quite liked Stux as a nickname.
As if on cue, Concorde clapped his hands. "Ah right! Sorry, you asked a question. Well, to be honest? We don't know
what it means! But somewhere down the line, there was an effort made to join the two lines. Stux happens to be a byproduct of that himself, but with how, uh, close to the source this dragon is, I can't say for sure what exactly that means. And unfortunately, I don't think they know either."
Concorde looked over their shoulder to the room where the Imperial with a frown before turning to his Matriarch. "Lumina and Nebula tried to ask but well...it seems this dragon has no memories prior to about....7 months or so ago? And I can't say if thats regainable." his voice was suddenly quieter, and Wuuti leaned in to listen, giving him a slow nod.
"We uh...we have a possible theory as to who a possible sire is but....." Concorde looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable, and Wuuti looked at him expectantly, urging him to continue.
"It could
potentially be an issue having them here if Implied Dragon choose to uh, reclaim them so to speak......but after some weighing of pros and cons with their reputation and just the state of this dragon, we sort of all came to the same conclusion that well, it'd be even more dangerous sending them off on their own? I think....I mean, its your final call obviously" he said, flapping his hands. "But between having some distant kin, resources and most of all,
protection with an actual clan? We really ought to have them join us."
Wuuti took in those words carefully, bouncing Stux in her arms for a second when he wiggled. She shook her head with a chuff. "As if I would turn them away. You know me better than that" she said softly. "Just...we'll have a clan meeting later on, and I want to know specifics about your hunch, okay? But I'd like bring them back with me to the cave. Have them among some of the others, 'specially Abraxas I think. It'll be vastly more comfortable, and it can be a start of an introduction if they're maybe among other Dragons their age."
Concorde nodded, giving a mock salute. "You got it, chief! Here, lemme take this little one-" Concorde scooped the now sleepy green Stux from Wuuti and exited the space to go join Lumina.
Wuuti sighed. It always seemed like they came across the strangest cases of Dragons in their growing clan, never anything truly normal. So it goes, she supposed, and she headed towards the room where the Imp was resting
It seemed for the past few days that every time she slipped into sleep, she had a dream. They were...confusing. They'd probabaly be classified as nightmares by most, though perhaps their abstractness allowed her to remain calm. A lot of blood,
a lot of eyes, many strange creatures....it felt like she was being told a story, but the narrator was too muffled and soft to hear any of the words.
All she knew was that when she was awake, she couldn't really recall them all that well, but she knew deep down that some of the images definitely reoccurred. They meant something, but what that something was? She didn't know.
When she had encountered the pack of rogue Chimeras, she had already been wandering for quite some time, thirsty and starved but desperate to keep going. To where, she didn't know, but she felt tugged in a direction and eager to reach some kind of civilization.
They could tell that even for a Dragon, she was quite weak, and her kill could be snatched if they were quick enough. But she was hungry and desperate, delirious and ready to fight for her meal instead of simply running and trying again later.
She does't even remember what she did, it was a bit blurry, but she at least was able to fight them off and send them running. Unfortunately, not unscathed, as they had gotten a few deep swipes clean into her belly and legs. What little bit of her saved kill that she could eat would be of little help at this point.
Still.
She felt a need to persist. Some kind of tug for her to stumble, crawl even, just a bit farther. She swore she saw a dragon in the distance, and instincts be damned, she was willing to chance the possibility that they were friendly at this point if it meant even a slim chance of her not dying in the Wastes.
By the time she finally felt herself collapse, the sun was starting to rise. Her vision was somewhat blurry, but with the promise of a new Dawn came the promise of hope, as she faintly saw the tiny figure of a little dragon stumble her way.
(She felt awful about it now, thinking how frightened that little pup must have been. She hoped to see her and thank her later.)
Perhaps her body must have sensed that this was the best it was going to get as far as being in good hands, because her eyes began to grow heavy with exhaustion. She vaguely remembered, between slow blinks, seeing a large, dark figure behind her little heralder. Each blink saw the mass grow closer, and for a moment, she worried maybe perhaps this wasn't her saving grace but instead her doom. That a reaper was surely here to escort her from this plane before she ever even had a chance to live.
Instead she was met with ...warmth. A gentle weight to her neck and a soothing rumble. And...something else. An aura that washed over her body like a balm, calming her nerves and making it easier to breathe. If the Dragon was speaking, she couldn't make out any words. But she knew that she felt very safe.
She let her eyes close a final time, knowing that she would be opening them again.
---
And woke up she did! Except she was no longer in the warm embrace of her Comforter in Black. Instead, she found herself in a bed, her wounds wrapped up nice and tidy.
And really, really hot and sweaty.
The shift from dying outside in the Wastes to feeling like she
wanted to die from this new fever in this strange room was admittedly very scary. The Dragons that seemed to be watching over her brimmed with an energy that intimidated her at first. The male especially often spoke so fast and long that she had a hard time keeping up.
Then there was the matter of her roommates....truthfully, they were of no harm, but she had been a bit startled by the presence of a few eyes on her one afternoon after a nap.
She couldn't explain what about them felt familiar amid all the eerieness, but they seemed more curious than anything. She allowed the youngest fae to even come near her. The little green dragon seemed especially interested, patting her arms curiously and curling up next to her. It was...kind of cute actually.
Eventually, when the fever seemed to pass and the initial shock of it all waned, she felt a bit more comfortable to try and talk. Her caretakers were at least kind enough to give her some space and also some warnings when any other dragons were coming by. And a few did, sparingly but still overwhelming for her, after having so little contact with others in what felt like ages.
They were kind to her overall, though even their gentlest of questions were difficult to answer.
Who was she? She did not know
Where did she come from? Her mind can only go as far as the field dandelions before the images grow fuzzy and dissipate. She isn't even sure anymore how she came to know the things she did. Everything had felt so innate, but now as she looks at each new face entering her life, its becoming obvious how out of place she is.
What happened? Did she need help? Was she hiding something?
She had no answers to give. She did her best not to let her aggravation show, worried that she'd be rightfully asked to leave for her lack of clarity.
She mostly seemed to get looks of understanding and pity. Not a great feeling, but at least she could stay a little longer.
Finally, after a week of regaining her strength, the female Spiral in the lab coat- Lumina, she recalled- told her that she'd be meeting with their clan leader. The scientist was all smiles and chatter, but the Imperial could feel nothing but dread as the time seemed to tick downward. Surely, she would be asked to leave now that she was healthy enough.
The Guardian in question came into her room after a long talk with the Male Spiral. She has no idea what the clan leader- er, Wuuti she was told- had said, but when she walked in, the Guardian's face looked neutral.
The elder Dragon was...very much what one would imagine a Warrior Matriarch would be, practically twice her own height and donned in her regalia still. Despite this, her face seemed to soften a bit when they made eye contact. The Guardian gave her a small smile.
"Hello there, dear. I hope I'm not interrupting your rest today, but I was eager to talk to you when Concorde informed me you were doing better" Wuuti started. Her voice had a huskiness to it, deep but still comforting to listen to, and it put the Imperial at ease. She shook her head no and Wuuti seemed to relax a bit, satisfied. "How are you feeling today?"
"I'm...feeling much better ma'am, thank you" she managed, feeling the urge to look down. Wuuti hummed thoughtfully. "You needn't be afraid of me, child. I may be the leader, but I am no warlord, I promise."
She gulped but decided to look back up at Wuuti's face, who seemed a bit amused but calm nonetheless. Then the Guardian closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before exhaling with a soft clasp of her clawed hands together. When Wuuti opened them again, the Imperial couldn't help but feel her body tense up.
This was the shift to seriousness, wasn't it? She was going to be asked the same questions and then booted for sure. Her heart ached a little at the thought, despite only knowing some of these dragons for barely a few days.
Finally, the matriarch spoke. "My little plague pup, I've...already been informed about your situation regarding your memory lapses. I feel like it'd be redundant to ask you what you don't know, so let me instead start with this: is there a name that you'd like to be called, or would you like some help perhaps finding a name?"
That...well. That was an interesting question. She looked at Wuuti, confused for a moment, and it must have shown because the elder dragon gave a soft chuckle.
"I....No I don't have a name...that I know of anyway" she admitted lamely. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought of it, obviously. But any time she thought of some sort of name for herself, it felt....wrong.
She propped herself up so that she was sitting. Even in her makeshift bed, she still only reach mid chest level with her eyes and had to crane her head a bit. Wuuti nodded. "You would be surprised to know some dragons do not take names until they are older, if their culture calls for it. We can figure something out together, little one, rest assured."
It felt...so nice to be spoken to with such delicacy. Wuuti's word seemed to wrap around her like a gentle hug, and she found herself eager at the prospect of having something to do
later.
Wuuti must have sensed that she was relaxing a touch, and she unclasped her hands. "That brings me to my next question... we've had some discussions back and forth amongst the group about what to do given your unique situation."
The Imp couldn't stop herself from gulping, and she shrank just the bit. But Wuuti was quick to reach over and hold her hands in hers. They were scarred, and one was covered in cool metal, but the touch felt soft and warm all the same.
"Now now" she chided softly. "I know things have been scary for you, pup, but I promise we mean no harm. We all still have much to discuss but...we all agree that we'd like for you to stay with us. It is, of course...up to you if that means temporarily or you joining our clan, but the invitation is there."
Wuuti almost seemed nervous, her eyes hopeful as she looked at the younger Dragon. The Imp, in contrast, seemed utterly perplexed by the turn of events. Something in her seemed to give way: not with a violent snap and sudden rush, but rather a gentle give as it poured outward.
"You WANT me to stay" she blurted out, wincing at her voice crack towards the end. Was she already going to cry in front of this Elder? Probabaly yes.
Said Guardian Elder had her own face melt into something akin to sympathy or perhaps some kind of maternal understanding. Not that she'd know that, but if it had to put a face to it, surely it'd be Wuuti. The non-gloved hand reached over to gently caress the Imp's face, who seemingly leaned into the touch.
"Yes, very much so. We would love to have you- whatever version of you that you'd like to be. We can...we can look into seeing if we can jog any memories or find leads, of course, but you're absolutely allowed to start from scratch with us, too."
The Imp took a shaky breath in and exhaled through her nostrils, knowing full well that if she opened her mouth, an embarrassing noise would surely escape.
She had...no real semblance of how long it had been, truly, but however long that time may have been, it had been...very lonely. She knows she's been with others, briefly and in passing. She doesn't think she's ever felt her mother's touch. She certainly has never been asked to stay anywhere, let alone
wanted. Swathes of Plagueland lay barren with small clans here and there, willing to let her pass but never interested or able to take her in. Not when she couldn't offer them something as simple as a
name.
For the second time in the span of a week now, and perhaps in her lifetime, she felt safe.
She did actually let herself cry a bit as she nodded her head vigorously. "I-yes. Yes, okay I'd really like that" she said, breaking into a sob by the end of her statement. Wuuti cooed and did her best to carefully hug the Imperial without agitating her wounds. Her gloved hand trailed the fur on her neck as the other wrapped around her shoulders.
"It's okay, little one....Thank you for choosing us" she said softly. Eventually, Wuuti pulled back when the Imp only seemed to sniffle. "Now, I'm sure you're sick of this little room! If you're feeling up to it, you can join me and some of the others in our cave lair. It's roomier and...well, you'll find we have quite the mix of dragons here. They're all very eager to meet you, but I'm sure that may be a bit overwhelming? So, we can start slow, ok?"
While the prospect of meeting so many new clan mates did sound a bit daunting, the Imp was eager to leave this little lab and get some fresh air. Besides....perhaps some new faces would be a good thing?
---
Taraxia is what she ultimately came up with. Tara seemed to be the most popular among the masses though, and she's fine with that. A name that sounded mysterious and surreal to a stranger, an origin unknown.
In truth, just a little homage to the Dandelions that served as her starting point a way back. And, more importantly, to a state she hoped to achieve one day when she finds herself proper.
The introduction to the clan was indeed a process, but she found that by the first few days of medical freedom, any anxiety she may have felt melted into excitement as each new dragon made themselves known. The name change had led to much teasing, as everyone noted it shared quite a bit in common with the large Imperial that had apparently carried her back to the clan. And while that hadn't be entirely on purpose, she did feel a pretty strong connection with Abraxas that certainly didn't have her minding. Even without telling her, when they finally reconnected post-bed rest, she could instantly feel some kind of magical pull to him that suggested some kind of unspoken bond. Something she hadn't entirely expected but welcomed nonetheless.
Taraxia now had a large brotherly bodyguard shadowing her around when she asked. And that was assuming she wasn't closely followed by someone else. It seemed everyone really did mean it when Wuuti mentioned the protection bit, but Tara wasn't complaining. It felt...nice. To be welcomed into the many little circles that had formed in the clan. It seemed that most of her fellow Dragons were indeed in the same boat, having found each other here from all around.
And now, she had found them.
