Eydis

Eydis came to the Outpost from another Light Clan when she was still very young. They had stumbled upon her egg by accident and taken it in, but when she hatched as a Dawnling they found themselves at a loss.

Dawnlings are... special.

It is a genetic trait passed down the generations from some of the very first Imperials and Pearlcatchers created. For some reason, they ended up much more receptive to the Light of the Lightweaver than others of their kind, and as a result their bodies are in constant flux, straddling the line between physical and ethereal. They are just as much creatures made of pure, elemental Light as they are creatures made of bones, muscles and skin.

As you might imagine, a dragon like that requires extra care, especially in their first few years, before they grow accustomed to regulating the balance of their bodies. You see, if a Dawnling is left in darkness for too long, they will dissolve into Light and disperse ...and if they are left in the Light for too long they will lose their own innate magic and die the next time they are removed from the Light, having nothing left to sustain themselves with.

Not wanting the young hatchling to die before her time, this other clan contacted the Outpost, as it was the closest Clan with any knowledge of the Dawnlings who also possessed mages skilled enough to keep her alive. Frigga accepted the proposal of adoption and arranged for the transfer as soon as possible.

Everything appeared to go smoothly at first. There was, of course, some initial homesickness on Eydis' part, but that much was to be expected, and faded soon since she was young and did not have many memories of her hatching clan. Other than that, however, she appeared to be settling in smoothly.

...to most, at least. Regin, one of the Mages set to keep an eye on her and ever perceptive was the one who first noticed that for every day that passed, she seemed to become more and more withdrawn and reluctant to talk.

Now, Regin isn't the best when it comes to the whole "feelings" thing. He's not the worst either, because at least he knows how to manage his own feelings, but others'? Oh no, Regin usually stays far away from those.

Usually, this would be the point at which he surreptitiously notified another Clan member - someone far better equipped to deal with the mess - of the problem and left them to deal with it. The issue with this, however, was that the Outpost had just resigned from Lightweaver's official forces at that point in time and was dealing with both a great outflow and influx of members as they settled into their new mercenary role.

There was simply no-one left to ask who was not drowning in work.

So Regin resigned himself to somehow dealing with it on his own. Now, his method of doing this (at least according to Itha, who was the only witness to the confrontation) consisted of walking up to Eydis and then (probably at a loss for words) staring at her.

(And then keep staring.)

Eydis had shrunk in on herself, almost quivering, afraid that something was wrong with her or that she had done something she shouldn't have, since Regin was formally one of her overseers. Even when the imposing Imperial continued to hold his silence, she didn't dare move or ask what had happened.

Several minutes passed in this fashion before Eydis' stomach rumbled unhappily (there had just been so many dragons shouting in the mess for lunch that she had decided that she could go without food until dinner - she was regretting that decision now). While this set Eydis to flinching, Regin was quite happy since it gave him something he could do or say to make her feel better and he quickly seized the chance.

"You appear to be hungry. Would you like to accompany me? I am about to go fishing." He had been about to do no such thing, of course, but the long war had taught him to take all opportunities as they came to him, and perhaps a task and quiet companionship would be enough for the younger Imperial? It often was for him, after all.

Eydis, not privy to the other Imperial's thought process, was extremely confused by this. Had he not just been angry at her? It has certainly looked like it. And did that mean that there was nothing wrong with her or her behaviour after all? Still intimidated by him, though, she didn't dare answer with anything other than a timid: "Yes?"

Regin, considering the whole thing a done deal at this point and glad that he didn't have to speak more, just turned around and started walking, expecting Eydis to follow. Eydis remained in place for a while, still intimidated and confused, before scrambling to catch up with the older Imperial.

Despite this... less than stellar beginning to their relationship, the fishing trip helped. Eydis had been feeling lost and useless, nothing more than a burden on this Clan that took her in and kept her safe and alive, and having something to do helped her peace of mind greatly. Regin quickly grew to become her closest confidante (and later on lover for a brief while) and she grew used to his introverted ways. She also kept up with the fishing, because it allowed her to feel free and useful. The way the sun filtered into the water allowed her to stay out for longer, and while the waters around the Outpost could be dangerous, she was also always watched over and would have backup from the Clan the same minute something happened.

Not that she was aware of either of these two things when she started out, but when her familiar attached themselves to her, it quickly became apparent. She had been swimming as per usual (preferring to catch her fish with her own talons if there wasn't a shortage in the clan that required more efficient methods) when something suddenly detached from the reef she was swimming by and latched on to her head. Eydis, frantic and startled, started thrashing - and less than a minute later, she was fished out of the water by a worried Regin. He checked her over for wounds while the Clan Leaders dove into the seaspray, roaring.

It soon became apparent that it had only been a Crimson Reef Snail who had liked her colours that "attacked" her, and she got a thorough lecture on what dangers existed in the waters around the clan, how to recognise them, and how to behave if she was confronted by them.

Especially the Marens. The older dragons had been afraid that she had been ambushed, and was quite relieved that it had not been anything serious.

That did not stop them from scolding her, though.

Cowed, but feeling warm inside from the obvious concern for her, Eydis promised to be more cautious in the future and to take rudimentary fighting and magic lessons from Aghi and Regin so that she could hold her own until reinforcements reached her, in the future.

(The snail ended up staying despite the scare it had given everyone, though. Eydis was quite flattered by the way it cooed happily over her mane, not minding all the slime.)

• Eydis' name means "island goddess".
• The pattern on Eydis' wings is lovingly put into place with water-resistant paint by her mate, Dagr, and is replaced by a new masterpiece every full moon. Eydis loves the attention, even if she insists that it doesn't have to be done so often, really, she doesn't want to be a bother and the paint is able to last much longer, honestly. Dagr always replies in a joking-but-really-actually-serious tone that he would he heartbroken if she denied him his favourite canvas. It's tooth-rottingly cute.