Difference between revisions of "Dragon:Zerith"

Revision as of 11:21, 23 March 2015

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Fire In The Sky Egg

Bands of apple green ripple and pool, twisting across the surface of this inky ovoid shape. Intersected and diverging, they follow the same curve and as they bend, the color shifts, becoming more cyan in hue. A shimmery curtain of rose, ethereal and almost opalescent, coats the opposite side of the egg. Almost before your eyes, the translucent colors seem to twist and waver, as if they would disappear with the next blink.

Bam. Out comes a mottled verdigris foot, toes flexing and testing the air outside the shell then reaching insistently to find purchase on the ground. A few more solid whacks from the inside and the rest of the shell cracks apart, pieces falling to the ground to reveal a solidly built green dusted with vaporous whorls of chartreuse and watered lime. She stands still for a moment, looking this way and that, getting her bearings before setting off across the Sands with a determined stride.

Verdigris Vapor Trail Green Hatchling

Built solidly, with long graceful lines to balance the ropiness of muscle, this pale green has a certain unflappable confidence about her. Washed from head to tail in commingled vapors of verdigris and chartreuse over barely-darker pistachio, sparkling specks of light seem caught on a canvas lending an almost ephemeral appearance to her coloring that contrasts with the sturdiness of her frame. Nothing about her is indecisive, not the turn of her strongly sculpted muzzle, or the regard of wide, limpid eyes, not the settling of wide, well-proportioned wings along her back or the planting of broad lime-infused feet on the ground.

Temperament

Though she's a solid physical and mental presence and she's often calm, Zerith is not one to sit idle for long. She's a dragon of action, once her mind is made up and she has an incisive sort of intelligence that works through things, cuts to the chase and informs her decisions to just get the job done. As a weyrling dragon, she'll make up her mind quickly and then want to act on what she's decided, not necessarily thinking it through fully. Thus it is that you might find her dominating your weyrlinghood, very sure of herself and the conclusions she's come to and not hesitating to act on them. When Zerith gets an idea in her head, there's no holding her back and you'll either need to learn to curb her by arguing her down with logic and maybe some humor, or be prepared to hang on for the wild ride she's about to take you on. « Nerine, c'mon, there's a wherry in the pen that I'm gonna hunt down. Nope, ain't got time t'wait. Decision's made. Let's go! » Even if you're in the middle of doing something else, she won't hesitate to interrupt if she feels that she or you both have other more important or interesting things to get to.

In lessons, she pays close attention to the Weyrlingmasters, respecting their authority and the chain of command but this doesn't stop her from asking insightful questions about what's being learned, or speaking her mind. « Wait. We've gotta do what? He's gotta problem with his brain being missing. » Authority in general, the hierarchy of rank at the Weyr are very important to her. Unless the chips are down and things just need to get done, those who come above her in the chain of command will always be obeyed. With you it's a little different - you're her partner, her equal and this is why the two of you need to /discuss/ things with one or the other of you usually coming out on top. It's always a chance for you to prove yourself, getting into a trade of opinions with Zerith. Will it be she, or you who prevails this time?

Zerith's approach to life is very straightforward, it's not that she's not smart or that she can't figure out complicated things given the chance to think them through, but she can be prone to leaping to conclusions that may not necessarily be correct. Your more measured approach to things might come in handy then to help her to backtrack and re-consider an idea or a plan before you both commit to it and wind up getting in trouble. « We've gotta go get that wherry, I'm tellin' you, before someone else gets it! What're you sayin? Oh. Y'think there'll be other better ones later? Hm. All right well, guess there ain't no harm in waitin' on another chance. » As she matures, Zerith will learn how to balance acting and waiting better, prudence growing as she realizes that sometimes greater rewards come to those who wait. Once internalized, this lesson will stay with her, the impetuousness of youth yielding to the wisdom and knowledge that come with age and experience. She'll weigh the pros and cons of your plans, of any situation before committing to a course of action. However, once she's made up her mind, Zerith displays a stick-to-it stubborness, a willingness to see things through to the end that may either prove maddening or admirable, depending on the circumstances.

Brave, with a little hint of a daredevil streak, Zerith is unflinching in the air, throwing herself willingly and enthusiastically into learning to fly, learning formations and taking up positions in practice wings. Search and rescue may appeal to her greatly with the need for risky moves tempered by the need to execute them precisely and well in order to pull them off. She's a skillful flyer and after learning to do it properly, has very precise aim with her flaming. It's almost too bad there's no more Thread because with her accuracy it'd be a rare thing for a clump or strand to get missed. As it is, she's an asset to any IntraWeyr or InterWeyr gaming team, able to sear falling rope out of the sky with swift, sharp bursts of flame with deadly efficiency. A stalwart defender, Zerith sticks to things to the bitter end, would do anything to protect and defend "our own" with a no-holds-barred, but pragmatic approach. Be that you, your clutchmates, others from the Weyr or those in the coverage area, she has a very strong loyal streak and a need to protect "what's ours" that runs very deep.

When the time comes for her to rise to mate, the depth of her passion and potential to be reckless will suddenly cut loose. Any restraint that you and she have imposed, any prudence she's learned will go right out the window as she hurls herself into the sky, broadcasting her challenge to the males far and wide. Being on the larger side for a green, she's not as acrobatic in the air as some of her color and she's got greater than average endurance as well. This can make for longer chases where she can make use of sweeping turns and backtracks to confuse and lead the males on merrily. In fact she may very well push herself too hard in flights, resulting in wing-strains and other minor injuries that may see her grounded from time to time, much to her frustration. She's powerful and sexy in the air, a certain slinkiness in the way she flies that is deeply sensual. Ultimately, it's probably not flowery speeches or romance that will captivate her, but impressive ability to fly and keep up with her or straightforward, honest desire or even affection. Zerith doesn't fancy being led on, she wants a man who can meet her in the skies or who can meet her passion and reflect it, sincerely and honestly. Hidden beneath her gung ho exterior is a maternal streak that may lead her to sometimes wish that her flights resulted in eggs, or even just /one/ egg and for a short time, until she forgets, you may need to reassure and soothe her about the lack of eggs and hatchlings and re-direct her impulses towards friendship with clutchmates or guidance for other younger dragons.

Overall, Zerith is a powerful feminine figure who could easily dominate a quiet, retiring personality even if her intentions are sincere and protective in nature. This face of her will require you to push beyond the boundaries that you know so well, to help make you both the best you can be. She loves you deeply and you are the touchstone that she always returns to when things get tough, but she never quite lets you rest on your laurels, wanting /you/ to be the best /you/ can be just as much as you want the same for her. Quiet times in your weyr, up on the Star Stones or maybe even floating out at sea could be great opportunities to bond and simply /be/ together. These are the moments to cherish, the cornerstone of your bond for re-grouping and figuring things out before you charge off on the next 'job' together to reach some new goal or milestone.

Public Impression Message

Marching determinedly onward, the Verdigris Vapor Trail Green seems to have made her choice, heading unerringly towards a a young woman with clear blue eyes and dark hair. She stands, feet firmly planted in front of the girl, looking her straight in the eye, even though she has to crane her neck a little to do it.

Private Impression Message

Whoosh. All the air just got sucked out of the room, making it hard to breathe. Were you looking around at all the hatchlings? Trying to make sure you were staying on top of everything? None of that now, you need to concentrate on standing as your vision swims with bright spots of light, the flash of sunbeams and starshine swinging to and fro. Is there cotton in your ears? Is that why you can't hear anything? What is there to hold onto but this, this feeling of confident support that suddenly slings itself underneath your metaphorical shoulder, props you up against falling. « Nerine, honey, don't you go fallin' down on me. Way I see it, we got two options now. You n' me can go for a little walk and get our stomachs filled up, get things squared, or you can go ahead n' pass out and I'll watch over you. What's it gonna be? » And though she hasn't actually said it, you just know what her name is because it's whispering from every fiber of your being: Zerith.

Mindvoice

Odd washes of light, highlighted with sparks and the warm richness of different suns infuse Zerith's sendings. Like the photon trail that Serenity leaves behind as it accelerates into space, the feeling of her mind is multi-colored, vaporous and luminous, imagery swimming through these depths in foggy swathes. When she 'speaks' though, her voice is low alto, almost tenor for a woman, with the smoothness of fine wine behind it even if her vocal manner is plain spoken, with 'ain't' often showing up instead of 'isn't'.

Dragon Inspirations

Zoe Washburn, second-in-command to Captain Malcom Reynolds on Serenity from the TV-series, "Firefly". The entire crew are fugitives, outcasts or smugglers trying to make it on the edges of civilized space. Among them, Zoe is a bit of an island of serenity, the kickass "warrior woman" with nerves of steel but a warm and passionate heart. Loyal and devoted to her crew, Zoe doesn't hesitate to kick ass and take names when she needs to and she does it with panache and unerring skill. While generally prudent, she can also be rather gung ho when her own are threatened, see her negotiation attempts and rescue mission to get her Captain and husband back from an enemy in the series, or her grief-fueled attack on a group after sustaining a personal loss. You asked for a dragon that would push Nerine outside of her comfort zone and take her out of the self-assigned role of 'quiet scribe' and Zoe seemed to fit all of those characteristics while balancing them with intelligence and wit. Her description is inspired by the physicality of acress Gina Torres who played Zoe on the show with the colors drawn from Serenity's photon trail as the ship accelerates through space.

Egg Inspiration: Based on the aurora borealis, a phenomenon occurring usually in the polar zones when charged solar particles collide with the Earth's magnetosphere. Oxygen creates mostly green and red light, while nitrogen creates the blue and light red tones.

Name Meaning

Zerith is a reworking of the names Zoe and Serenity, the ship that is so central to the show "Firefly". "Zoe" is a greek name meaning "life" and Zoe Washburn truly is a rich character full of life, so this named seems to fit your desire for a passionate green.