Eithne

The gifted eggs lay in their nest, occasionally looked on by Quidlin, but mostly forgotten by the rest of the clan, having shown no inclination to hatch. However, at the end of the Flameforger's Festival, the fire egg seemed to spring to life. It rocked from side to side, gently at first, but growing increasingly more agitated. Then it began to hop, as the inhabitant struggled to break free from its rocky confines.

The movements became so severe that the egg dislodged itself from its nest mates and fell out of the nest. However, it did not break, but instead began to roll down the slight incline towards the door of the nursery. No dragons were around to stop it as it began to gather up speed. The inhabitant lay still, exhausted, letting itself roll round and round with the egg, until it came to a jarring halt by a corridor wall. And there it lay, the inhabitant too exhausted to break free.

The skydancer didn't even notice the egg. He never looked down at his feet. He only noticed something was amiss when he stood on an oddly placed rock and heard a crunch. Ulliam looked down then, and felt the horror any dragon would feel at a solitary egg, far from its nest, lying broken underfoot. Luckily, his full weight hadn't been upon it. The shell had held its form. Maybe...

A little snout poked free of the shell casing, followed by the rest of a tiny fae. Ulliam cautiously checked her over, but found nothing wrong. Content that he had not harmed her, Ulliam continued on his way, intending to leave the little fae to fend for herself. This was easier said than done.

The fae began to follow him, keeping up with him admirably, despite her exhaustion from the hatching. He didn't like this, having always preferred to keep himself away from the other dragons. He ran from her, intending to leave her to the rest of the clan to look after, but such things are never so simple. The fae was unable to keep up, and instead looked around for other means. The clan's resident sunspot clouddancer sat not too far away, and the little fae soon made friends with the creature, who had been feeling lonely since her previous partner had displaced her. She offered the fae a ride, which was happily accepted. Ulliam soon found he could no longer hide from the determined fae.

As she grew, Eithne became convinced she wanted to become a beautiful skydancer, and used her many annoying tricks on Arrenzo until he eventually acquiesced. On the last day of the Starfall Celebration, he presented her with not only the scroll for changing her form, but also the scrolls to change her very genes, giving her yet more chance of wooing the dragon of her dreams.

Ulliam soon learned was no place he could run or hide where Eithne wouldn't find him. Even his sköll quickly took to greeting her warmly. Eithne found herself to be content in his company, and rarely spoke to him, allowing him to tolerate her somewhat.

However, the urges for a proper connection with Ulliam eventually began. Eithne knew that he had nested with other females before, so she began to hint, subtly at first, and then more and more blatant, until she finally asked him outright. To her surprise, he consented when she finally asked him, with one condition: they were to go to the ice floes of his birth to clutch. Eithne agreed without question, although she would have preferred the heat of her own element.

The duo returned to Clan Kaitos with four precious hatchlings, and Bramble was moved into allowing them to keep their eldest daughter with them. The other three were found good homes.

Now, Eithne can often be seen without Ulliam, who is very rarely without their daughter. She likes to make friends with more of the clan, although she always returns to Ulliam and Kiara at night. Her pride for her little family can be seen, and she is clearly at her happiest when she is with Ulliam and Kiara.

Eithne has recently taken to helping in the surrounding areas of the clan, fending off beast tribes and gathering supplies, along with Pebble and Noelle. The three are swiftly becoming some of the stronger members of the clan, and are seen as an asset. Bramble often speaks about her adopted sister with pride.