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Description
Once upon a time... is such an old and cliche way to begin stories.

Let's just say that this one starts in a cottage tucked away in the woods, where two wealthy wyngrew lived together, happy. They had all they could want - a comfortable home, a child, and enough money to keep them comfortable without overdoing it. They preferred the quiet, away from cities or towns, so they hired a wyngro skilled in magic to be the protector of their house, masquerading as a maid. She owed an old debt to them, and her code of honor bound her to them.

The two wyngrew who owned the cottage traveled the world together, exploring every nook,

every cranny,

under every rock,

over every hill,

and around every turn.

But always, they would return to their home, with its quaint sky-blue-painted sides and white roof, and the little chimney which would puff away in the winters to keep them warm, and their neat and wild garden which grew of its own accord in spring and summer and even fall.

Whenever they left they took their child with them, first as an egg, then as a wyngling. Well, almost every time. Sometimes, they would anticipate danger, but these trips were always the shortest, so anxious were they to return to their home and their daughter and their loyal housemaid.

They were so proud of her. She was their everything, and raised to be a traveler, like them.

The little girl held a natural curiosity. She learned to talk in sentences by the time she was one, and had begun reading chapter novels by the time she was two. She loved to use building blocks to make structures like the ones they saw in their travels, and when they inevitably tumbled over, she would say they had become ruins, like the ones they explored. Unlike many children her age, she had also accumulated a taste for the food which she had eaten on their travels, which most wynglings might not even touch. She had no reservations with eating bugs as long as they were cooked properly, and learned to love eating fruits most when they were frozen. She even picked a peculiar accessory once when they were traversing a marketplace - a golden pocketwatch on a long chain which could double as a necklace. She always wore it after that, and even learned to keep time, though she had to loop the chain twice around her neck so the pocketwatch would not drag along the ground.

The three of them, along with their maid, were happy. The maid was given run of the house while they were gone, as long as it was safe and clean when they returned. When they came back, they treated her like family, and she was like an older sister of sorts to their wyngling, often teaching her combat moves upon the wyngling's request. The two wyngrew loved each other very much, and they loved their daughter, and they cared deeply for the wellfare of their hired help. So yes, they were genuinely happy. No lies to keep up appearances - for living secluded in the forest, who was there with whom they would have appearances to keep? Happiness ruled within the gate that rounded their little cottage.

One night, however, that changed.

One night. That was all it took for all of it to wash away, seared out of time, out of memory, by fire and blood. Too much to remember, and so far away from the reality any child could handle.

An intruder burst into their home. It did not come for money or jewels....

It came for the lives of the wyngrew in the cottage.

It was without reason or intent. It just entered their home, hungry, drooling, finding fault in the locking mechanism on the front door when it turned the handle with one ghastly appendage. The nose on its stomach flared in excitement, scenting them close by, the potent magic that seeped off their skin. The sweet scent of the potential fear, coursing through their veins....

The two wyngrew were attacked in their bedroom. Each of them were well-versed in magic, but the female moreso. She was attacked first, and woke her husband with her screams as she was eviscerated. It was a scare tactic - the creature got rid of the stronger of the two, leaving the second to fear for his very life.

The wyngling was ignored, their magic not yet potent enough to warrant a distraction from the adults. But their mother's screams jolted it awake.

Their father tried to fight off the beast with magic, but he had a heavy feeling in his heart. It had just feasted on his wife's suffering, and would not easily come to its knees by his magic alone. Reaching for a sword which hung on a display on the wall, he called for the maid, screaming as loud as he could.

She was already on her way after hearing his wife's screams, and came into the room with steely resolve. She was surprised to hear she was being sent away with the wyngling as he threw a ball of flame at the creature. She wanted to fight for them, she insisted - she wanted to protect their little home in the woods, even though it was marred in memory beyond recognition by the sight of the mother's corpse on the bed.

"Leave with our daughter!" he demanded as the intruder turned on him. "I don't know how this beast got in, but it will not stop until one of us is dead! If I prevail, I will find you in the place where I once did so long ago, but I need you to leave with her, now! It's the best way for you to repay us - protect Camellia!"

So she resigned herself to what he was saying, knowing it was true. If she waited, or stood to fight with him, then he might perish in vain, for if either of them were left along then they wouldn't be able to run away. He was the distraction she needed to cover the baby, crying in her high-walled cradle, with her blankets so she would not see her mother's corpse. He was the distraction as she escaped the room with the wyngling, who was screaming all the way. He was the distraction so she had enough time to grab her bag from her room, which she always kept ready in case she needed to run again.

Then she ran far, far away from their cottage, with the promise in mind that the father would find them soon.

Many sleepless days and nights later, protecting the child from spites and keeping herself safe in the process, she came upon a familiar old cottage, dingier than she'd left it, and not the one that had been fled from in such a violent state. A different one, to which she alone held the key.

The child grew, and their father did not return. Their memory faded, seeming to be too much for them to handle.

Their new aunt told them stories about their parents and the journeys they took. "You were too young to remember," she told the bright child fondly when asked.

They lived near town, near enough that the nova tree would protect them.

And if not the nova tree, then their aunt herself.

She would not let harm come again to her charge.

________________________________________________

I was going to do a comic for Camellia's introduction, buuut I'm already doing a comic for Genesis and I'm DETERMINED to stick with that one, so I decided to just write something for Camellia so I didn't feel like I was taking on too much at once. I feel like I do that a lot and then nothing gets done the way I want it to come out, but Genesis's comic is kind of cute and silly and I feel like that will be a better point for me for trying to actually see something like that through for the first time. It's going to be relatively short, and I feel bad that it's already taken so long to get her started, but rest assured, things for her are coming soon!

Anyway, this is how Camellia get started in the group! And yeah, the gro pictured holding Camellia is their "aunt," who will probably get a better reference later on (for my own sake), though remember she can't be counted for wyns, lol. I'm going to be working on making some art for Camellia that actually shows off their personality and such soon!

(This character uses they/them pronouns and is referred to with she/her in the beginning of the story SOLELY for story purposes! Please only refer to them with they/them!)

Upgrades for Camellia!
+ Accessory
Story is here! (The accessory is the golden pocketwatch! I'll have a better reference for it up a little later, I promise, lol.)
+ Cheek Fluff
x

3 / 827
art and characters
species

Description
Once upon a time... is such an old and cliche way to begin stories.

Let's just say that this one starts in a cottage tucked away in the woods, where two wealthy wyngrew lived together, happy. They had all they could want - a comfortable home, a child, and enough money to keep them comfortable without overdoing it. They preferred the quiet, away from cities or towns, so they hired a wyngro skilled in magic to be the protector of their house, masquerading as a maid. She owed an old debt to them, and her code of honor bound her to them.

The two wyngrew who owned the cottage traveled the world together, exploring every nook,

every cranny,

under every rock,

over every hill,

and around every turn.

But always, they would return to their home, with its quaint sky-blue-painted sides and white roof, and the little chimney which would puff away in the winters to keep them warm, and their neat and wild garden which grew of its own accord in spring and summer and even fall.

Whenever they left they took their child with them, first as an egg, then as a wyngling. Well, almost every time. Sometimes, they would anticipate danger, but these trips were always the shortest, so anxious were they to return to their home and their daughter and their loyal housemaid.

They were so proud of her. She was their everything, and raised to be a traveler, like them.

The little girl held a natural curiosity. She learned to talk in sentences by the time she was one, and had begun reading chapter novels by the time she was two. She loved to use building blocks to make structures like the ones they saw in their travels, and when they inevitably tumbled over, she would say they had become ruins, like the ones they explored. Unlike many children her age, she had also accumulated a taste for the food which she had eaten on their travels, which most wynglings might not even touch. She had no reservations with eating bugs as long as they were cooked properly, and learned to love eating fruits most when they were frozen. She even picked a peculiar accessory once when they were traversing a marketplace - a golden pocketwatch on a long chain which could double as a necklace. She always wore it after that, and even learned to keep time, though she had to loop the chain twice around her neck so the pocketwatch would not drag along the ground.

The three of them, along with their maid, were happy. The maid was given run of the house while they were gone, as long as it was safe and clean when they returned. When they came back, they treated her like family, and she was like an older sister of sorts to their wyngling, often teaching her combat moves upon the wyngling's request. The two wyngrew loved each other very much, and they loved their daughter, and they cared deeply for the wellfare of their hired help. So yes, they were genuinely happy. No lies to keep up appearances - for living secluded in the forest, who was there with whom they would have appearances to keep? Happiness ruled within the gate that rounded their little cottage.

One night, however, that changed.

One night. That was all it took for all of it to wash away, seared out of time, out of memory, by fire and blood. Too much to remember, and so far away from the reality any child could handle.

An intruder burst into their home. It did not come for money or jewels....

It came for the lives of the wyngrew in the cottage.

It was without reason or intent. It just entered their home, hungry, drooling, finding fault in the locking mechanism on the front door when it turned the handle with one ghastly appendage. The nose on its stomach flared in excitement, scenting them close by, the potent magic that seeped off their skin. The sweet scent of the potential fear, coursing through their veins....

The two wyngrew were attacked in their bedroom. Each of them were well-versed in magic, but the female moreso. She was attacked first, and woke her husband with her screams as she was eviscerated. It was a scare tactic - the creature got rid of the stronger of the two, leaving the second to fear for his very life.

The wyngling was ignored, their magic not yet potent enough to warrant a distraction from the adults. But their mother's screams jolted it awake.

Their father tried to fight off the beast with magic, but he had a heavy feeling in his heart. It had just feasted on his wife's suffering, and would not easily come to its knees by his magic alone. Reaching for a sword which hung on a display on the wall, he called for the maid, screaming as loud as he could.

She was already on her way after hearing his wife's screams, and came into the room with steely resolve. She was surprised to hear she was being sent away with the wyngling as he threw a ball of flame at the creature. She wanted to fight for them, she insisted - she wanted to protect their little home in the woods, even though it was marred in memory beyond recognition by the sight of the mother's corpse on the bed.

"Leave with our daughter!" he demanded as the intruder turned on him. "I don't know how this beast got in, but it will not stop until one of us is dead! If I prevail, I will find you in the place where I once did so long ago, but I need you to leave with her, now! It's the best way for you to repay us - protect Camellia!"

So she resigned herself to what he was saying, knowing it was true. If she waited, or stood to fight with him, then he might perish in vain, for if either of them were left along then they wouldn't be able to run away. He was the distraction she needed to cover the baby, crying in her high-walled cradle, with her blankets so she would not see her mother's corpse. He was the distraction as she escaped the room with the wyngling, who was screaming all the way. He was the distraction so she had enough time to grab her bag from her room, which she always kept ready in case she needed to run again.

Then she ran far, far away from their cottage, with the promise in mind that the father would find them soon.

Many sleepless days and nights later, protecting the child from spites and keeping herself safe in the process, she came upon a familiar old cottage, dingier than she'd left it, and not the one that had been fled from in such a violent state. A different one, to which she alone held the key.

The child grew, and their father did not return. Their memory faded, seeming to be too much for them to handle.

Their new aunt told them stories about their parents and the journeys they took. "You were too young to remember," she told the bright child fondly when asked.

They lived near town, near enough that the nova tree would protect them.

And if not the nova tree, then their aunt herself.

She would not let harm come again to her charge.

________________________________________________

I was going to do a comic for Camellia's introduction, buuut I'm already doing a comic for Genesis and I'm DETERMINED to stick with that one, so I decided to just write something for Camellia so I didn't feel like I was taking on too much at once. I feel like I do that a lot and then nothing gets done the way I want it to come out, but Genesis's comic is kind of cute and silly and I feel like that will be a better point for me for trying to actually see something like that through for the first time. It's going to be relatively short, and I feel bad that it's already taken so long to get her started, but rest assured, things for her are coming soon!

Anyway, this is how Camellia get started in the group! And yeah, the gro pictured holding Camellia is their "aunt," who will probably get a better reference later on (for my own sake), though remember she can't be counted for wyns, lol. I'm going to be working on making some art for Camellia that actually shows off their personality and such soon!

(This character uses they/them pronouns and is referred to with she/her in the beginning of the story SOLELY for story purposes! Please only refer to them with they/them!)

Upgrades for Camellia!
+ Accessory
Story is here! (The accessory is the golden pocketwatch! I'll have a better reference for it up a little later, I promise, lol.)
+ Cheek Fluff
x

3 / 827
art and characters
species