Ensemble

Ensemble has been a role model for most dragons in the Shadow Tribe. A noble Gamma warrior with a personality that is sensible, thoughtful and always having good intentions for her tribe, she was bound to be promoted... that is... until the accident...

You see, there is always evil lurking in the shade, especially for dragons like her. That night, she was out for an errand- to approve of Shadescale's request to enter the tribe. She had explained everything to him and had gone about halfway when suddenly, she was struck on the back of her head.

She collapsed, but her warrior instincts were sharp. As quick as her assailant was sneaky, she turned around and braced herself whilst getting ready to fight. To her surprise, her enemy was gone. Confused, she looked around for Shadescale, but then heard him shout, as if he were in pain. She turned around to face him and saw... what looked like determination in his eyes. She was suddenly hit again, though on her wing. Slightly afraid now of the attacker, she now focused more on defending herself and trying to identify her attacker than offence.

Suddenly, she saw... what was a glimpse of the enemy. It was definitely a dragon. Giant shadowy claws seemed to come out of the ground now, eager to kill her. She braced herself, expecting the worst to happen, when suddenly she realised that Shadescale must be in trouble too. Going against her warrior training and following her instincts, she called out to him. The claws froze, as if stopped by some greater force, before sinking into the ground once again.

Shadescale suddenly ran up to her, and told her that he fought away the attacker. She would have found it hard to believe, but she saw that he was injured too. A giant claw-mark was on the side of his body and he was bleeding. She tried to get up but was quickly stopped by Shadescale, who pinned her down by the back. "Don't move, your legs... they are... injured," Shadescale exclaimed. Ensemble hadn't realised that her back legs were burning with pain until now. Fearing that they weren't even there, she glanced at her back legs, and her gaze stayed on them. They seemed to be covered with the same shadowy aura that the claws had. Fearing that it was too late for herself, she turned to Shadescale, who was looking as if he regretted something, she asked him to leave her and run back to the Shadow Tribe to tell them the bad news. Suddenly feeling very weak, she felt herself slipping from consciousness, and into a very deep sleep.

"Ensemble, wake up." "Ensemble, please wake up." "ENSEMBLE, WAKE UP!"

Ensemble stirred. "Go away, Urban," she murmured. "Urban? Who's Urban?" the voice asked. At this point, Ensemble lost her temper. She raised her head, half asleep, and shouted "Urban, stop it, if you think it's funny then go and bother mother, or perhaps-" She widened her eyes in shock. She wasn't in the past anymore, but in the present. Standing in front of her, was a very surprised Shadescale. Blushing furiously, she apologised to him for shouting at him. Shadescale seemed to understand, and accepted it. He began to explain how he had brought her here and gotten rid of the shadowy aura from her legs. She tried standing up again, but Shadescale pinned her down yet again. "Your legs... they seem to be... injured pretty badly," Shadescale told her whilst wincing.

Now it was her turn to wince, but in pain. As she turned to look at her legs once more. Shock filled her body again, and her head swam, threatening to loose consciousness. "Broken... my leg bones are broken..." She said in anguish. "Will my warrior career end here?!" She looked at Shadescale, desperate for an answer. Shadescale shook his head. "Only time will tell," he said as he shook his head. "You have to choose who will take your place as a Gamma. The others are waiting outside."

Determined to make this end happily for her if this really is where her warrior career ends, she attempted to drag herself out, not caring if she were hurt even more or not. She would be successful in dragging herself out, of it weren't for Shadescale. Sighing, the Wildclaw picked her up as if she were as light as a hatchling (though, a very large one) and brought her outside.

(In my lore, all dragon breeds are about the same size as each other, and are able to understand each other perfectly instead of Fae<Imperial, it is possible that Fae>Imperial! The Coatl and Fae problem also doesn't occur because Coatls and Faes speak normally. I completely ignore the dragon 'growths' and sizes, though, some can be larger or smaller than average.) This enabled Shadescale to pick her up, instead of just... well... collapsing.

The crowd calmed down as Shadescale carried Ensemble out of her den and then put her down on the floor gently. "I have made my decision. From now on, until I am able to fight, Shadescale shall be the new Gamma." Ensemble declared. Cries of shock came from the crowd. "Ensemble, you can't do that now!"
"Ensemble, after all you did for us, you think we are going to just allow you to forfeit your duties, the duties you have done so well?"
"But Ensemble, Shadescale is a bit... new... for this responsibility, right?"
"I have made my decision, and I believe that he deserves the role," Ensemble calmly said to the doubtful crowd. Suddenly, one extremely familiar voice rang out from behind the crowd, making them go instantly silent. "Ensemble, you know you are practically giving half of your life away," Gemstone, the Alpha said. "Gemstone, I already lost half of my life already, considering that my Warrior career ends here..." Ensemble trailed off, realising that she spoke the truth. She really was crippled for life. Her warrior career was really important to her... after what happened to her sister, Urban... "Ensemble, you think I am going to just... dismiss you like that? There is no reason why we cannot have two Gammas, right?"

The crowd stayed silent from shock yet again. Two Gammas? Surely the other tribes would... disapprove. This could even start a war! Gemstone remained calm, though, she flicked her tail impatiently. "Would you rather keep her as a Gamma or not?!" Gemstone asked the crowd. Privately, Ensemble was glad that the Alpha had her back. As Gemstone dismissed the crowd and left, Shadescale approached Ensemble. "How do you think this will work out?" He asked her. "To be honest, I don't really know," Ensemble replied.