Eeny

image made with Portrait Workshop

STATS
Name: Eeny
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Species: Human
Class: Princess (leader?)

Appearance: Befitting a princess, Eeny is well-groomed. Her long red hair is shiny and curled meticulously. She likes to wear long, flowy gowns and pretty jewelry. She is soft-spoken and well-trained in the arts of conversation, poetry, singing and dancing. She moves gracefully and goes slower than the others would want her too.
Personality: Eeny was raised as a pampered princess. She is spoiled but not completely unaware of the world. Below the soft outer shell lies an innocent but strong-willed determination to live life as she sees fit. As she hung out a lot with Sansan when they were growing up, she too has a love for adventure. 
Skills: Party-planning, diplomacy. 

__________________________________________________________

ARRIVAL at VELLA CREAN
A strange pulling sensation and Eeny stepped out on the other side of the portal, still clutching Quart's shirt, vaguely aware of her hurting hand as she saw the alien landscape unfold before them.
"Sansan!" she called, "Deux? Nill?"
Quart turned around and motioned for Eeny to be quiet. The troll could still be around. As it turned out though, it wasn't and neither were their 3 party members. Deeming they were safe, Quart lowered his hand and started looking around. They were standing on an outcrop that wasn't exactly stone. Behind them was water and before them more of the unfamiliar material formed roads that swerved in the air like the material weighed nothing, yet it felt firm underfoot. Some greenery formed a park underneath and seemed inviting enough.
"Let's go there." Quart pointed to the park.
Eeny nodded and followed, looking around in wonder as the unfamiliar scenery stretched out in the distance. It looked like a city, but not like she'd seen before. For one thing it was quiet. And clean. And the buildings were just... undescribable. It felt like her eyes wouldn't be able to record it all.
Reaching the park, Eeny and Quart breathed a sigh of relief. There weren't people nearby, or they didn't see them and this felt like a good spot to regroup. 
"Where are we?" Eeny asked.
Quart shrugged. He didn't have a clue.
"Should we ask someone?" Eeny tried.
Quart shook his head, he felt it would not be prudent to make their presence known before they at least knew where they were. "Slowly" he said.
Eeny sighed and looked around, suddenly seeing movement.
"What's that?" she asked as a small humanoid figure with feathered wings and large eyes fluttered close. Seemingly carrying a note. Quart jumped in front of Eeny, determined to protect the princess but the little creature didn't seem to care and flew right over his head, landing on Eeny's hand.
"It's so cute!" she called out, accepting the little note, "Why thank you."
Quart groaned and waited as Eeny unfolded the note and read the message. 
"It says we're at Vella Crean and we, that's our leader and one candidate of noble descent or flawless impreial pedigree are invited to attend a hatching. 
"I see you received one as well." a voice suddenly spoke.
Startled, Quart turned around and stood eye to eye with a woman who was about a decade older than, and who seemed to find this all very amusing. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My full title is Laedrys Trix, but you can call me Trix. You see I'm also one of these leaders though I'm lacking a candidate of noble descent. But I'm coming for the networking and the party."
"Nice to meet you." Eeny said and curtsied, "My name is Eeny, a princess of Edenburght."
"Well now, maybe we should join up. You'd definitely do well at the hatching. Do you have proof that you're a princess."
"My word." Quart said.
"My signet ring." Eeny added.
"That might do it. Let's go and meet Shy. If all else fails I'll be tossing him some Shadow dragon DNA or a Dragonder. Pesky critters always follow me around on diplomatic missions."
"We're also missing our friends, you see we stepped through a portal and... ended up here." Eeny continued, foregoing decorum a bit by unloading their troubles on the first perfect stranger that was nice to them, but what else could they do? 
"First step to solving portal problems is getting your very own dragon. That and maybe sending out a notice about your friends through the network of nexus worlds. If you ended up here, chances are your friends also ended up on some world."
"Thank you." Eeny said
"Oh no, thank you." Laedrys Trix added, "we always need more candidates for the dragons."
"Dragons?" Quart asked.
"Sure, like my Frynod." Trix said, pointing to the bright green winged lizard that stood a bit away.

Eeny impressd at the Vella Crean Court Clutch

__________________________________________________________

HATCHING
Eeny looked out through the window and marvelled once more about this new and unfamiliar place she found herself in. The Island was large enough, but the tall and sometimes impossibly angled buildings were alien to someone who grew up in a small kingdom where the largest building had been the castle she lived in. Stranger still were the dragons that flew on and off. 
"I have a feeling the hatching won't be much longer." Eeny said to Quart.
Quart stayed quiet as was his way. He wouldn't talk if he didn't have anything useful to say. Eeny had been trying to get the hunter who'd been degraded - or was it promoted? - to her personal servant to open up. The last week she'd carefully told him what'd be expected of him and what not. Speaking out of turn would not be a problem and Quart had been a quick study when it came to etiquette. 
A soft knock sounded on the door.
"We've been asked to gather with the other candidates and attendees." Laedrys Trix's voice sounded.
"Coming." Eeny replied, keeping her voice carefully under control. 
--
The people gathered in the large ballroom could only be called diverse. She saw humans but also dragons, tentacle creatures and a few other species that she wouldn't know how to describe. After a young girl by the name of Sabrilla bumped into her and immediately after bumped into another candidate, Eeny felt the pressure rise. The girl, Sabrilla, seemed in similar distress. The man, Jaliath as he introduced herself, set off alarm systems as Eeny didn't know how to place the flamboyant character. But luckily help was near.  
Eeny felt the soft tug on her sleeve as Quart got up behind her.
"I think the Laedrys requested your presence in the courtyard."
Relieved, Eeny curtsied once more and took her leave. She managed to restrain her speed but still made a straight line for the exit. As they exited the gathering of candidates she asked:
"Where do I need to go?"
"Nowhere." Quart admitted, "I assume the Laedrys is busy making herself scarce. She mentioned something about the labs and that she'd be exploring and to save you when more than five people had gathered around you."
"That seems about right." Eeny said, "Did you see that shiny character? He seemed kind of dangerous The girl looked nice enough though."
Quart smirked, "I think that pirate was more unusual than dangerous. He didn't give off any dangerous vibes at least. Let's stay here for a while to take a breather."
"I'd like that very much."
--
The day of the hatching was early morning, the Labs bright with ‘sunlight’, the breeze cool. Pigeons popped into each candidate’s quarters, anxiously announcing that ‘they must make it. Now. now now please. Straight to the hatching sands. The eggs. They wibble and wobble and ooooooh! Go before Master gets angry!’ 
The Labs shifted and groaned, the roof that had partially covered the hatching sands opening up, the ground expanding, sand rushing in as it accommodated itself for a large gathering and audience. Pale, glossy rock and marble streaked with gold rose, twining up through the sand, shaping itself into benches, railings, outposts for dragons to land and rest. 
The candidates were asked to gather directly on the hatching sands, visitors and members of their party invited to watch from the stands. Refreshments, adorable little pastries and maybe short drinks of ‘sterner stuff’ made their rounds. The eggs, all twenty of them sat resplendently in the middle, Clan Vecira perched on ledges directly above the eggs. 
Eeny was one of the first to arrive. She'd gotten to know Sabrilla over the days after that first gathering, and even the flamboyant Jaliath had grown on her, though she still preferred to keep Quart close when she talked with any of the other candidates. 
The eggs that Renoth swore had been white, uniform in color, size, and shape, were mottled. Two resplendent gold eggs sat in the center, not eggs with a golden sheen, but with a shiny golden texture. An odd pair of eggs, one overly large, one overly small, sat nestled together. 
The other eggs were just as odd, some streaked with metallic markings of bronze and silver, others mottled in patterns and textures. One egg seemed to have odd bronze markings that shifted in the light, while yet another had tiny curls of flame that seemed to flicker. A pale egg with gray markings was the first to crack. An odd tap tap noise continued within, and the first hatchling to mark this clutch peered out with curiosity to watch and judge the spectators. 
The movement of the vines shifted egg placements, crowding eggs together. In an instance, three eggs hatched together, a series of cracks, creels from hatchlings announcing their arrival and a flurry of legs and wings tumbling together enthusiastically. Two hatchlings seemed particularly tangled, a big-boned bronze with dark markings across the top of his body, lighter, complementary markings across his underbelly. The other was a bright-hued female with distinct cracks in her hide that seemed to shimmer a brighter, more molten pink. The male was the first to stop the tussling, stilling in his movements and turning his head towards the candidates, the tear-like markings on his face reflecting metallic undertones in the light. He froze, spotting his intended, and with a triumphant cry quickly untangled himself to bound out and over towards his bond. 
The female red continued to sit on the sands, distinctly put out at having lost her partner in crime. Her hide glimmered in the light, the cracks shifting with colours as she looked towards the candidates. She perked up abruptly, her eyes fixating on a girl with hair as red as her hide.
Oh, there you are!  Can I help you hunt the troll now?
“Salamasinath, you’ll need to grow up first,” Eeny replied.  She met the dragonet halfway across the sands, scooping her up into her arms before carrying her off to stand with the others on the sidelines.
In the stands, a whoop went up from Quart, Eeny’s companion turned bodyguard.  Beside him, Laerdys Trix clapped excitedly for the new pairing.

Bond: Eeny, Princess of Edenburght
Name: Salamasinath (Queen Salamasina of Samoa)
Rank: Imperial Court Red
Gender: Female
Abilities: Telepathy, Verbal Speech, Teleportation Fire Breath, Fire Balls, Venom Bite, Elemental Magic
Class: Wizard
Description: A master of the arcane arts.
Unique Ability: 
  * Enchantment (you can charm a single target to change their attitude toward you for one hour), 
  * Abjuration (you can create a barrier around yourself that protects against magical or physical attacks and lasts 10 minutes)

HATCHING 2
The eggs were impatient, cracking and rocking and snapping into two, revealing richly coloured hatchlings. Hornless, crestless, they looked no different from the Court dragons that had hatched on these sands for decades. The first to hatch was a pale, pale hued bronze that shivered, shadows coalescing around their body as if he was shrugging on a cloak. The dragon wasted no time and headed for the visitor, followed by a blue hatchling. 
Shiqinth flew down on wobbly wings and landed with a laugh next to Salamasinath. They peered over the edge of the stands and watched as eggs continued to hatch. 
“Are you excited?” he asked. 
A little blue dragon freed themselves, and immediately moved towards their clutchmate’s aid, using their teeny tiny claws to poke at the neighbouring egg.
Salamasinath peered down as well, nodding her head. The cracks in her hide glimmering rosegold before shifting to darker, more vibrant hues. 
“Is that what we looked like?” she asked, her eyes swirling with amusement as the little blue successfully freed a much larger brown hatchling, and seemed to fall back for a breather. Something glinted, rosegold at first, than darker, vibrant hues.
“We were probably much more beautiful.” Shiqinth proclaimed. 
They were Imperial, were they not? Shy was always telling him what a beautiful boy he was. The blue Imperial’s tail swayed back and forwards and he leaned over to jostle his clutchmate. 
“Are you really going to leave?” he asked.
Salamasinath laughed. “When we are bigger, maybe.” she answered, her eyes taking a more amused whirl as the blue and brown hatchling trudged towards the candidates. There. She was not wrong. Their hide glistened and glowed the way hers did!
A little squeak, a half snarl, and both hatchlings paused as a much smaller green scrabbled towards them, letting out yips of annoyance at being left behind. Salamasinath’s eyes continued to whirl. Amusement, concern, curiosity, as the trio headed straight towards her princess (a queen, Salamasinath told herself) and her huntsmen.
The little green paused in front of Eeny, tilting her head. ‘I can help you, on your quest.’ she supplied, looking towards the stands where the dragons watched. Her eyes met the Imperial Red’s and the little green ducked her head once shyly. ‘If you’d like.’
“And we will help you Quart.” the blue’s voice was clear, sweet. The female blue turned and nudged her brown sibling who let out a grunt of assent. “We’ll train, and grow stronger. We’ll protect the Princess with you.”
Spectators couldn't help but notice a similarity. It was a trick of the light, surely. A coincidence that the Guard that had selected the princess seemed to mimic and match the Imperial red.

Imperial Sword Green Saaliath

Gender: Female 
Abilities: Telepathy, Teleportation. Verbal Speech. Elemental Magic activated by Blood. Imperial Court augmentation
Abilities (Inaras Thain): Healing, Acid Breath, Magic Breath, Naughty/Nice (Ability to identify motive and intent of others) 
Abilities (Aegeria ve Vanwanar): Holy Magic, Healing Magic, Electric breath.
Special Notes: Saaliath is able to support and augment Salamasinath’s unique abilities. Enchantment and Abjuration last longer and are more potent when cast. 
Plot Points: Many members of the Labs have taken a liking to Eeny, and are trying to convince her to stay with them. Shiqinth has especially grown fond of spending time with his clutchmate, and will most probably try to follow Salamasinath on her adventures. (In a completely platonic, let’s get into trouble kind of way!)

ADULT
Night was falling after a full day of training and Quart looked out over their group of dragons. His brown Aahilith wasn't fully grown but he was alreayd as big as Eeny's Salamasinath who was older. His blue Saadiyath came next and Eeny's new green Saaliath was smallest. All dragons had different characters but they seemed to work together. Salamasinath being the abslute ruler and Aahilith her second in command. The two smaller Imperial Sword dragons however were fast and efficient and also a bit louder, not wanting themselves to go unnoticed. 
Eeny dropped down on the bench beside him and slumped, clearly tired from the day.
"What do you call a group of dragons?" Quart asked her.
"I heard people call them a wing. Or sometimes a weyr." Eeny answered, knowledgeable about such things.
"I knew you were the person to ask." Quart smiled and put his arm around her to ward of the cold.
Eeny snuggled closer, inhaling his comforting scent of woods and home. It'd been a long time since she'd thought of home. With all the things that had happened in the relative short time they'd been at the Vella Crean, it had been hard to think of anything aside from what was happening at that exact time. There'd been the parties, the hatching, the appearance of the death court and then the training of Salamasinath. 
"Which wasn't very hard." her Imperial dragon told her, "I'm not the most difficult."
Eeny grinned and was surprised to see Quart do the same.
"After the hatching I started to pick up on her majesty's thoughts." Quart told her.
"I can sometimes hear your dragons too." Eeny confessed.
"They're just such a coherent group it's like they were made for each other."
"Of course we were." Aahilath told them, "It's in our markings and our names."
"We are linked." Saaliath said.
"We are one." Saadiyath said.
Quart wondered about the blue dragon that had tagged along. She hadn't bonded him, or so she told him, but she was with them so in a sense she was part of the group and linked to them through the others. Quart didn't think too hard about what the difference was. He didn't consider Aahilath something he owned either.
"You own me as much as I on you. Saadiyath also considers you as being hers. She's finicky. She'll follow us so it doesn't matter."
"I am my own." Saadiyath replied.
"And you are ours." Salamasinath told her.
"It's the truth." Saaliath added.
"Where do you want to go?" Quart asked Eeny.
"I honestly don't know. I always thought we'd be going home one day. But the longer we stay, the harder it gets to leave. I'm free here, freer than I've ever been. I can go where I want, do what I want and nobody acts like I'm special. Well, not more special than anyone else is. But..."
"You also miss home." Quart supplied.
"I wonder about my parents. About Sansan and the others. What happened to everybody? Did they get sent to other places like we were, are they back or are they still lost? Shouldn't we go find them?"
Quart pulled Eeny closer and said: "Take a breath."
"I honestly don't know what to do."
"Going back to let your parents know you're fine shouldn't be that hard to do. We should at least leave a message for the others in case they come back... and if they don't there is no rule about going to look for them."
"What would I do without you?"
"You'd be perfectly fine." Salamasinath supplied, "You have me."
Eeny giggled, "That's true. But I'm still very happy that I didn't land here on my own."
"That makes two of us." Quart whispered.