Bryer

Bryer is friendly and curious. He loves to smile, and he loves even more to see someone smile back. He spends much of his time watching the others in their pursuits, and he takes particular fascination in the Spirals and Mipsy's activities, though they boggle him, frankly. When he's not watching the others, Bryer enjoys reading whatever he can find. Sometimes it's books that Mercury has found scavenging; sometimes it's Mercury's notes, but it doesn't really matter, he'll read just about anything. He shares the older Imperial's desire to learn, but he's also coupled it with a love of stories. He'll read anything, and Mercury's notes are interesting, but Bryer loves the stories best of all. Sometimes, you can even find him laying in his room in the lair writing out one of his own.

Bryer's journey to the clan was a long one. He didn't start off anywhere near it, for one thing. Far on the other side of the Windswept Plateau, Bryer found himself, very early on, on his own. He woke up in his nest one morning to find everyone gone. All alone, the little Imperial sat huddled in his nest and very frightened.

Then something very big indeed stumbled on him, and all he could do was stare. It wasn't as big as Daddy; that was a relief, but it was still a lot bigger than him. It – she – smiled at him and told him to come along. She looked friendly; she smelled friendly; she acted friendly, and with no one else around, there weren't that many other options, so he followed the giant, dark Guardian.

Daybreak took a look at him carefully. She tried to speak to him – to ask his name where he came from, what his parents looked like – but she was met with a blank face. The Skydancer kept it up, used gentle tones and her kindest words, but she got exactly nothing. Frustrated with the lack of progress, she thumped her tail off the floor of the den.

That drew a response. The hatchling leapt up to his feet and watched her tail with wide eyes.

Daybreak was no less confounded.

Mulligan was the one who cracked it. The Tundra plodded over quietly, laid down in front of the terrified little hatchling and tilted his head. The hatchling watched him for a moment and tilted his back. Mulligan gave him his biggest grin, and the hatchling, finally relaxing, smiled back. Mulligan rolled onto his back, and the little game continued, the hatchling following suit, copying the Tundra's movements and falling into his element, playing happily with the great purple fluff.

Finally Mulligan stood up and moved to the other side of the chamber, sitting down gently. “Come to Mulligan, hatchling,” he said, still smiling.

The hatchling watched him, smiling happily with his tail wagging gently behind him.

Mulligan nodded to the floor before him and patted it with one paw.

The hatchling stood up and trotted over, taking a seat in front of him and staring up at the purple tundra.

Mulligan patted him on the head and looked up to the gathered dragons. “Hatchling is deaf.” A few of the dragons tilted their heads. “Hatchling can't hear you.”

Seraphina volunteered to take care of him, and Namiko soon offered to help. Mulligan nodded with an approving smile.

Bryer grew up under their careful watch. The clan as a whole never let anyone, including him, go hungry, but Seraphina and Namiko were his protectors, and to an extent they still are. Seraphina in particular keeps a careful eye on him, often pulling him out of the way, when he can't hear something coming (usually Gavril, flitting through the lair at top speed and not watching where he's going).

Opalescent taught him Faespeech, and while he can't get by on Faespeech alone (partially because he does not speak and partially because he doesn't truly have enough frills), combining it with other gestures and facial expression has created his own sort of language that, at least within his small clan, has suited him very well. In fact, if you ask him about a book he likes, he can be very chatty indeed. Excited to share his knowledge and stories.

One thing he's gained a bit of knowledge on is Guardians, and he's figured out that he is Seraphina's Charge. He's quite proud of that, actually. Out of all the things and dragons and places in the world, she thought he was important enough to protect for her whole life. That's a far cry from where he started.