Difference between revisions of "Dragon:Cailluneth"

Revision as of 20:27, 14 April 2015

Moon's Reflection Egg

From most sides this egg looks like the depths of an abyss, covered in black as it is. But a surprise glow meets the eyes at just the right angle, when a white orb seems to glow off of the egg, all the more brightly due to the darkness of the rest of the egg. Below it in an almost perfect reflection is another orb, though this one seems to curve slightly as though it is being carried with the sea.

A line, too straight, breaks the rippled glow of Moon's Reflection Egg. Another hit, another crack running perpendicular to the first. And then, with a fierce, focused shove, a pudgy green splinters her egg's shell all around her, leaving only her glow in its place.

Straight To The Heart Green

Shadowed, droughty grasslands ripple across this green's rounded flanks, spreading their faded hue across her sturdily-built back and sculpted wings. Beneath the dimpled baby fat, she's most generously called 'big-boned': there's the promise of power to come in the long line of her haunches and the curved line of her graceful neck. Her brindled sage coloration darkens over the mask of her face, highlighting the sleekness of her muzzle and remarkably long headknobs. Lighter shades hold sway over the backs of her wings, sage washing out towards grey as if left in the sun too long-- or perpetually limned in dim, silvery light.

Temperament

From the moment she broke shell, Cailluneth knew what she wanted most in life: you. Moreso than your average young dragon, she relies on you, she needs you. There's a beast lurking within her, you see, one that she wants nothing more to suppress. Especially while she is young, Cailluneth struggles against an innate aggression and hot temper bestowed upon her by both of her parents. She wants very badly to be good, and calm, and in control-- and she wants very badly for you to help her.

It's not all snarls and aggression with her, of course. Just the opposite-- most of the time, she's quite calm. Pragmatic, even. Certainly social. Definitely fearless. Generally speaking, Cailluneth is a model green dragon. She's social but not in a flighty or mindless way, nor does she particularly feel the need to follow the pack the way Solith often does. There's intelligence in her, one that genuinely enjoys the company of her clutchmates-- and, one day, her wingmates. There's no topic of discussion too minor or strange for her to discuss with those she thinks of as belonging to her pack: « I don't know, Ilicaeth, I think that herdbeast might have gone off. Can't you smell that? »

She may very well find herself a partner in crime in Ilicaeth, who shares her social inclinations. Cailluneth's interest, however, is more in ensuring the social wheels are lubricated. You may well find her inserting herself into disagreements amongst her siblings, especially in between the bronzes. She's sensitive, empathic beyond the average of most greens: the emotions of those around her are things she not only feels, but sees and smells. Anger smells wrong, and to her it's something she needs to fix: « Rasavyth! Don't say things like that to Athimeroth, you know he's only going to get angry! » and « Jhorinth stop it, you know Kazavoth wasn't really going to taste your rider. » Tolerating Ghislaith's more unsettling qualities may just take time. Maybe.

Her peacemaking tendencies are what may cause you the greatest headache, however, not simply because she'll tend to want to involve you in situations you'd rather leave well enough alone. The real issue is with her temper, foul as it is. She may wade into a situation with the best intentions of fixing it, but once embroiled in the heat of the moment the monster within will often rear its ugly head. Annoyance becomes irritation becomes aggression all too quickly, and you may well find yourself having to develop a heavy hand to stop her from lashing out with teeth or claws should she become too far gone. Once you've got her calmed, she'll feel quite badly about whatever it is she might have done (or wanted to do). Here, short draconic memories are a mixed blessing. Her upset at herself will fade quickly, but so will her resolutions to never, ever lose control of herself ever again.

As she matures, you may find her temper eases off-- but then again, it may not depending on how you, N'ky, learn to control your shared emotions. She'll certainly share hers with you, perhaps overwhelmingly so. Every ripple of anger or thrum of joy or sigh of sorrow will be dumped onto your lap: Cailluneth has no concept of privacy between the two of you. With others? Certainly. She has a very clear sense of what ought to be shared and what would be too much, but the two of you are really only one being, right? Two hearts, beating as one? Not only will she share with you every intimate detail from, say, her last flight (just in case you weren't paying attention), but she'll demand to know everything you might have been doing while she was otherwise occupied too. Just because she was sleeping doesn't mean she doesn't still want to know! If you don't learn to guard your mind, expect to feel the odd sensation of Cailluneth chasing through your memories as though on the trail of a particularly enticing scent. Early on, don't be surprised to find out exactly what it feels like to taste her food... or anything else she might experience.

She is, indeed, a hunter. It's all a piece with the part of her that's full of aggression and fearlessness. As soon as she realizes that the meat you chop up for her comes from those funny animals out in the bowl, expect to spend lots of time sitting just outside their pen and just... watching. She's particularly good at tracking prey, though she can't precisely describe to you how she does it: to her, it's a combination of sight and smell and mind-touch that her brain coalesces into a trail she can follow. Expect her to hunt candidates with the same fervor and single-minded determination with which she hunts herdbeasts... and expect her to be just as masterfully skilled at Search as she is (eventually) at making kills. Thankfully, she works just as well in a pack as she does alone: she will thrive in a wing that is more close-knit than not, especially one that drills together with some frequency.

Mating flights will be the extreme of those lines; she will hunt her pursuers just as they hunt her. During that time, she's both unwilling and unable to rein in her more wild passions. Like her dam, her flights will be athletic (and potentially dangerous) affairs, wherein she both eggs on the males and freely derides their prowess. Afterwards, she will be genuinely contrite (of the little she can remember), and her tendency to want to soothe the egos of the losers may be off-putting to whomever won the day. It's not to say that she won't be interested in showing affection to her catcher at all, but any male dragon will always be a distant second in her heart to you.

Quirks: all dragons have them. For Cailluneth, it's her need to be clean. Really clean. Maybe it's due to those heightened senses, but she can't abide to be dirty for long. Nor does she particularly tolerate unpleasant smells (expect to be the first to know in the barracks when someone's couch needs mucking, or a bucket of meat has turned sour) or grating noises (especially shrieky firelizards). It's a good thing she's not terribly large, for all the attention she may need... especially because she'd really rather you did it yourself: « I guess the candidates can help this time. But you promise next time you'll oil me all yourself? Nobody does it nearly as well as you, N'ky. »

That's because you're N'ky - her N'ky. She'll never be able to tell you why, exactly, she picked you out of all the candidates on the sands, but she knows she made the right choice: you're hers. She's this man's best friend, as loyal to you as anyone could ever be. She's not a jealous creature-- she's perfectly content to share you with others, but mostly that's because she knows you'll come back to her at the end of the day, just as surely as she will come back to you. All you ever have to do to please Cailluneth is be... well, you.

Public Impression Message

Suddenly very sure of herself, Straight To The Heart Green twists sharply about. There's no hesitation in her baby-graceful trot, and her gaze has fixed firmly on one boy in particular. For all her assurance, though, she is still fresh from the shell: her lashing tail is suddenly in the way, and she very narrowly avoids tumbling end-over-end. Instead, she ends up in an adoring-but-ungraceful little heap right at Nicky's feet.

Private Impression Message

Is that your hearth thumping so wildly? Lub-dub-lub-dub-lub-dub. Your vision is fading into streaks of gleaming white. Perhaps you are having a heart attack? Certainly there's a greater light-headedness than you've ever felt before. Someone is talking to you. A fellow candidate? The husky contralto voice is unfamiliar... and then intimately familiar. « N'ky... N'ky! There you are! » The scents of winter filter down around you, drowning out the dry dust of the sands as the white fades away into twisting swirls. « I'm Cailluneth, and I've been hunting for you for as long as I can remember. »

Mindvoice

Cailluneth's mind-voice is a low, husky contralto. Much of her communication is non-verbal, though: she shares her sense-impressions with you as streaks of different-shaded light that decorate your vision: rays of color and intensity represent varying emotions and impressions. The light is a construct, one she is fully capable of decomposing into thoughts-as-scents and emotions-as-sounds. A wet-cold-fresh gust of snow represents 'home', and a purring growl represents 'friends'. Confusing, possibly, but powerful: between the two of you, she will eventually be able to relate deep insights in the space between heartbeats.

Itchyspots

Far and away, Cailluneth adores being scratched around her headknobs. Something about the the stretch of dark hide there drives her absolutely wild when you really get in there with your fingernails or a stiff-bristled brush. Otherwise, she enjoys less-vigorous scratching along either side of her ridges. The area under her jaw tends to get dried out as well, as she's very quick to wash herself there to remove all evidence of her last meal.

Final Size

23.6

Inspiration

Cailluneth's element is 'heart'. If Captain Planet says it's an element, then by gum it's an element! To further flesh her out, she is also based off the werewolf-captain Delphine Angua von Uberwald from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Her name draws from the french for 'moon' and 'light'.

Egg Inspiration: Selenium comes from the Greek word for Moon, Selene.