Taffy

Uh-oh, looks like this bashful, singing magician has travelled far from her home lair (Volrin, #261879), and now she's off to see the world! If ever you feel the need to exalt, she'd really appreciate it if you could just return her to the home lair, drop her off at the Traveler's Hub, or send her back to the 'Dragons Off To See The World' thread, here. This is not necessary, but she would be very grateful!

Taffy has been an incredibly long-standing member of my clan, and compared to some of my other travelers, holds a lot of sentimental value to me. As such, please don't exalt her, and don't be afraid to return her to me if you need to clear room in your lair; I'd always be happy to have her back home for a visit. I'll be keeping a close eye on her while she travels!


Owners I've Had:

Volrin, #261879 (Home Lair)
lleapinllamas, #327287
Typicaldaisy, #298596
kallimabutterfly, #96656
(put your lair/username here)


Luggage:

Gray Wizard Hat

Apparel

A floppy, dusk-colored hat, powdered with dust from years of sitting unused. What mystical energies still sit beneath its brim?

500

Conjurer's Cloak

Apparel

A rough, heavy patchwork cloak woven from aged linen. It feels as though the material was once heavily enchanted.

500

Conjurer's Staff

Apparel

This gnarled staff is more natural than it is dragonmade. It is potent in magical energies.

500

Conjurer's Herb Pouch

Apparel

Every great conjurer needs components to aid their spellwork. A pouch of herbs, seeds, and flowers make for effective reagents.

500

History:

Taffy remembers awfully little about her parents, having been picked up by Myura and her clan at a very young age. All she remembers clearly of them is her mother, Stellar, a Nocturne who was always dressed in extravagant witch's garb: this has led her to believe that her family has magic abilities, and despite the fact that she truly doesn't have any magic outside of her elemental powers, she's begged Myura into letting her train under her wing. Myura really doesn't have the heart to break the bad news to Taffy, so she's reluctantly agreed thus far.

Taffy has the pure singing voice of an angel... It's too bad her stage fright is too strong for her to actually perform for anyone. Instead, she hums to herself in her favorite room of the underground clan: a dark, empty cavern, dug far lower than any of the other rooms. Little does she know, however, the Spirals and Ridgebacks of the clan have discreetly burrowed tunnels through the stone walls of her room, so they can listen to her beautiful voice.


Travel Log:

Volrin: To put it bluntly, Taffy's life was going to hell.

The clan was packing up their belongings and preparing to move base to the Hewn City, under a mission for the Lightweaver. Of course the Nocturne had to come with them-- they were her family, after all-- but she had been drawn so deeply into her introverted little shell as of late that she could hardly even stand the thought of going outside again. The Mirrorlight Promenade was where she really belonged; the underground cavern she stayed in was her only home. The thought of any of that changing made her stomach churn.

With the big move going on, Myura had no time to sacrifice to their magic lessons anymore; with one of the last things that kept Taffy connected to another member of the clan gone, she shrunk fully into her social anxiety, spending whole days in her cavern without speaking to anyone. Her anxiety had never been quite so bad before... it had to be the idea of moving that was doing this to her. Taffy soon became completely despondent, pushing away everyone who tried to comfort her.

After days of suffering like this, one evening, Taffy was humming a somber tune to herself when a chestnut-brown Skydancer peeked her head into the cavern. She wasn't a familiar face; very likely a traveler taking brief refuge in the lair before continuing her adventure. The Nocturne abruptly stopped her song, but it was too late-- the other dragon had overheard. "Hi! Sorry to intrude, but I just wanted to say that I love your voice."

Bright red heat rushed to Taffy's face as she buried her face in her claws; someone had actually heard her sing?? Embarrassment mingled with her already-overbearing sorrow and anxiety, and soon she found hot tears rushing down her face. The Skydancer rushed to Taffy's side and draped a wing around her shoulders, and it wasn't long before the despairing Nocturne found herself spilling everything to this stranger. Literally everything: from the shame she carried over being unable to utilise her family's magic, to her fear of disappointing Myura, her mentor, to the physical nausea that the idea of moving away from home afflicted on her, to her misery at the fact that she had nowhere else to go, other than the Hewn City.

The Skydancer, who revealed her name to be Pebble, proved to be a very comforting confidant. Not once did she interject or interrupt as Taffy spilled her guts, and once the batlike dragon erupted into wracking sobs, Pebble simply rubbed her back and hummed to her in a warm voice. Once Taffy had finally calmed herself down, and torrents of tears had quieted into the occasional sniffle, her new friend soothed her with stories of her adventure across Sornieth; all the way from Dragonhome to the Windswept Plateau, and then to the Sunbeam Ruins. Something in the Skydancer's stories resonated in Taffy, and once she went to bed that night, she thought long and hard about just what she wanted to do with her life.

The next morning, Taffy nervously tiptoed up to the lair's guest room, where she was dismayed to see Pebble already packing up her belongings. "All I'm doing is causing these nice dragons extra hassle," she explained to the saddened Nocturne, "and there's not much they can do to help me with my adventure right now. I may as well just get out of their mane."

"B-but wait! You can't go!" Taffy blubbered desperately. "I--I've been thinking about the story you told me yesterday... about your adventures throughout Sornieth. I've thought about how scared I am of leaving my home behind... and how if I really want to get over that fear, I have to face it. I-I think... I want to go with you, Pebble, so we can see the world together. Maybe if I get more comfortable with travel, someday I'll be ready to come back to the Hewn City and be with my family again. Or maybe I'll find a new home for myself, out in the wide world..."

"Really...?" Pebble asked, astonished. At Taffy's slight nod, a bright smile passed across the Skydancer's beak. "My travels have been getting rather lonely, all by myself out there. A companion would be so nice... but are you sure about this, Taffy?"

"I've lived with this clan my whole life," Taffy mused sadly to herself, removing her well-worn magician's hat and looking up at Pebble with determined eyes, "but there's nothing more for me here. Myura has her work cut out for her with the big move to the Hewn City, and we weren't getting anywhere with my magic lessons anyways. I should just get out of her mane, like you are."

"Are you really sure you're ready to leave, though? You told me this place has been your home, your family... basically since you were born." Pebble asked quietly, placing a gentle hand on the Nocturne's shoulder. Taffy nodded again, though the expression in her eyes showed she was riddled with grief and uncertainty.

"Like I said, there's nothing else here for me. My future is out there, on the road... making new friends, maybe even a new family."

The Skydancer gave Taffy a soft smile, and a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder. "Then let's go."

With a heartfelt goodbye from Myura and the clan that had been her family since childhood, Taffy and Pebble flew away, off to find a new adventure.


lleapinllamas: The winds swept the Nocturne and Skydancer this way and that, far away from the clan of Myura. She found herself in the heart of the Reedcleft Ascent, with nearly no clan in sight. Finally, she saw a lair! She beckoned Pebble, and the two flew down there to rest their weary wings. As the sun set, a Spiral greeted the two, adjusting his hood. "Hello. My name is Jormungandr," said the Spiral softly, sending chills down Taffy's spine.

"Hello, Jormungandr," replied Pebble rather calmly. "My name is Pebble, and this is Taffy." Taffy nodded and bowed her head quietly.

The Spiral nodded quickly. "Okay. So, we need to make this quick, alright?" asked the Spiral. "So, our Queen is keeping travelers in the Clan, and we need to hide you guys, but don't worry. I know how to make it happen. Most dragons don't like to go in my lair, but you guys can sleep there. As long as I can make it look like you two are just two other dragons of the Clan. It's gotten big enough I think the plan will work, okay?" asked the Spiral. Pebble and Taffy nodded, too tired to say a thing.

He led them into his den without a hitch. None seemed to suspect a thing, although a Fae fluttered off when she saw the two, giving Taffy the creeps. "It's going to be fine," murmured Pebble. "I know we can get out of this safely." Taffy nodded. She would be brave for Pebble.

Pebble drifted off to sleep immediately, but Taffy couldn't. Something about this Clan felt rather off-color to her. And Taffy saw the Spiral in the doorway, accompanied by three others and the Queen. "Pebble!" the Nocturne hissed into her ear. The groggy Skydancer woke up and nearly fainted at the sight of the five in the doorway. They didn't watch the others yet, but chatted ominously in the doorway.

"We can't let it happen again."

"Only the best for the Clan."

"The Nocturne kind of reminds me of him..."

"We gotta move. But not let them notice we've moved," hissed Pebble, casting a quick smoke spell. "That Mirror and that Imperial are way more experienced than us. It would be really bad to pick a fight," mused Pebble to herself. Maybe mage training had gotten to her. Taffy nodded, looking for a way out that was not the main entrance, but there was none. They were trapped.

"Hey!" shouted Jormungandr. "They're trying to get away!" Immediately the Council of Five was upon them. Taffy froze in fear, though Pebble was trying her best to fend them off. Yet the Imperial took down Pebble with an incredible light spell that the most adept Light mage would be jealous of. Taffy gritted her teeth, covering the unconscious body of her friend with her wings. She felt the beams of light and raw magic and slashes of wind against her back, and tried her best to remain conscious.

"Prisoner escaping!!!!" A shrill voice cut through the entire lair.

Four of the five went to investigate the situation, but the orange and pink Fae remained. Taffy felt Pebble come to her senses underneath her wings. "We're going to be okay..." murmured the Skydancer to the Nocturne, reaching out for her. With that in mind, Taffy went to engage the Fae in combat, though he far outranked her in terms of battle prowess. There was a faint glimpse of another Fae in the doorway, one she vaguely remembered seeing before. She casted a bolt of energy at the other Fae, and knocked him out of the air.

"Get out!" she shouted at the two, her green eyes alive with adrenaline.

"Uh... well, thanks ma'am! But Pebble's kinda--"

"Mickey!" shouted the Fae, and a huge Guardian showed up on the scene. "Please take these two anywhere! Far away from here! And if the Council asks, say you were looking for the escaped prisoner. Got it?" she asked him. He nodded, and Taffy helped lift Pebble onto his back.

Soon, Pebble slowly began to wake up. "Everything all right, Taffy?" she asked, eyes half open.

"Yeah," said Taffy. "But w-we need to get out of here."


Typicaldaisy:
Tardy was slightly depressed when she entered the Light territory, Pebble had disappeared one night, and she hadn't seen her since. As she trugged through the land, she noticed two dragons waving at her in the distance. Of course, she had to see who they were, so she began to walk towards them. Two yellow pearlcatchers were waving at her, silly smiles crossed over their faces. "Greetings, Traveler!" The greener one hollered as she neared. "How did you know I am a traveler?" Taffy asked, flicking her tail. "Oh, Mystic told us. He's an excellent mage."
Jealousy flickered in her eyes fpr a moment as a purple imperial appeared out of the air. "Taffy, right? I see you're from a magic family. Would you like to stay with us for a while?" Mystic seemed very calm in her presense, more so than the two pearlcatcher who were bubbling over with interest. "Alright. But, you have to help me learn magic." Mystic seemed slightly taken aback by this comment, but quickly covered it up. "Fine, We'll need to get you some real magicians clothes then." Tardy wondered why he didn't have any magicians clothes, until he spole up once more. "I don't need magicinas clothes, they are meant to enhance your magical power. I was born into a very powerful magic family so I have no need for such items."
After that they began to walk to the camp. It was a long time before Taffy moved on though, Mytic's lessons were hard to master.

kallimabutterfly: (stuff about her having some hatchlings who stayed with the clan, and her teaching magic to some of the witches in this clan idk)

user: Write about her adventures here!