#andru

"And Forge said I can train under him! Isn't that exciting, Nausicaa? I'll finally get to be an architect!" The coatl exclaimed, pale pink eyes glittering.

"Oh yeah, that's great Melliny," Nausicaa said, trailing off. Something else had caught her focus and she had not registered what her little sister had said.

"Hello? Nausicaa? I said Forge offered me an apprenticeship, isn't that great news?" Melliny huffed.

"What?" Nausicaa snapped back to attention, instantly feeling guilty. "Oh, Melliny, that's fantastic news! You're doing it, this is all I ever hoped for you when we decided to settle here. You've been working hard at getting into Forge's good books."

"He is not an easy dragon to please, that's for sure," Melliny puffed out her chest. "Hey, what are you looking at? You seem distracted."

Nausicaa raised a talon to point at a brightly painted poster pinned to a nearby wooden pole. It depicted a fierce looking imperial holding a sword, soaring above the border between The Windswept Plateau and the Ashfall Waste. In big, blocky letters it read 'Seek You Destiny! Join the Outset Island Adventuring Guild today!'

"Oh, yeah, I guess that looks cool," Melliny shrugged. "Oh, didn't you say you wanted fresh parsnips?" She pointed towards a nearby stall.

Nausicaa wasn't listening. She couldn't tear her eyes off of the poster. The scales of the imperial did not look anything like hers, but she couldn't help but picture herself wielding the sword. Melliny was growing up, she didn't need her much anymore, and she was about to be busy with her apprenticeship. Nausicaa thought back to the dragon she was back before she became her little sister's caretaker. She had changed so much, but staring at this poster, maybe she could find herself again.

"I think I'm going to join," Nausicaa said, making eye contact with her sister once more.

"What?!" Melliny's eyes widened. Nausicaa could see shock turn to hurt, and then back to her usual excitement. "Oh, yes! You should! You deserve to have something for herself!" Though her words were full of encouragement, Nausicaa knew the coatl long enough to know she did not entirely believe what she was saying, and instantly felt a pang of guilt.

She pushed it aside. She had to do this. She felt like her chest was going to explode if she didn't.

"Right?" She said, ignoring the hints of sadness she could still see in Melliny's eyes. "This is perfect for me! I've always wanted to see more of Sornieth! And of course, I'll still visit often, you are still my little sister!"

She reached out a hand to rustle Melliny's head feathers.

"Hey!" Melliny stuck her tongue out at Nausicaa, her normal cheery demeanor returning. "We're still going to make our stew first, before you run off to save the world, right?"

"Of course!" Nausicaa grinned. "I'll check in with the guild tomorrow, and I'm sure they won't have any quests ready for a bit. I bet it's a pretty popular spot. Don't worry, I'm not just going to run off and leave you behind forever."

Nausicaa could see that Melliny wasn't convinced, but she could not bring herself to push further. She had to do this. She just had to.

***

"Are you all packed, Chaotic?" Arctic's voice rang out from the living room.

"Almost!" Chaotic huffed.

It was a lie. The young gaoler hadn't even started yet. In fact, their entire room was a disaster, their belongings were scattered all around, covering every surface. It wasn't that they didn't know where to start, they had done this enough times to have it down to a science, it was that they couldn't bring themselves to leave.

Chaotic's room, like more wind flight buildings, had very little in the way of walls. Most of the sides of their room was open to the city around them, with fabric curtains of various thickness that could be closed for privacy. Here, they could look out at the floating island that had been their home for the past few months. Seeing all the dragons bustling around the streets, flying from building to building, going about their day to day lives, it filled Chaotic with a deep, hungering longing.

"Don't worry, I'll go talk to them," Chaotic could hear Andru speaking softly to Arctic, she must be getting impatient. Her grandmother always struggled to stay in one place for too long. Andru had explained that after being stuck in Shui's challenges that urge to move had gotten especially strong.

Chaotic couldn't help but sigh at the thought of the challenges. Their grandparents wouldn't stop talking about them. Everything was just a reminder of the long and ancient lives they had lived. Chaotic had barely been given the chance to figure out their own life, to carve their own path. They had just followed in their grandparents' footsteps, ever since their parents had handed them off for Arctic and Andru to raise. Even their parents had their own lives, one that didn't take Chaotic into account.

"Is she mad?" Chaotic asked as Andru entered the room, pausing to look around at the mess.

"Not mad, just antsy," Andru explained. "She thinks she has found a new lead on Bodil."

Bodil this, Bodil that, Chaotic sighed as they thought to themselves, everything is about freaking Bodil. It was because their grandparents had been chasing rumors of Bodil around the globe that they had never settled anywhere for long. Chaotic had never been allowed to settle, to make their own friends and figure out what they wanted out of life.

"You know, you are not a hatchling anymore," Andru said, staring into Chaotic's eyes so deeply it was like those blood-red eyes were piercing their very soul.

"Yeah, I know, thanks for that," Chaotic rolled their eyes.

"No I mean, if you don't want to come this time, you don't have to," Andru explained.

"Is it that obvious?" Chaotic sighed. Andru just gestured to the mess.

"We can't expect you to follow us around forever. Everyone in our family gets the itch to seek out something, but we don't always follow the same path. You are grown now, if you want to find your own path, you are welcome to do it," Andru said. "Arctic is a more solitary dragon, and I am just happy to be where she is, but you've always been more social. It isn't fair to keep dragging you through the wilderness of Sornieth, and uprooting you every time you settle. You've never had the chance to watch your gardens grow."

That much was true. Everywhere they went, Chaotic planted seeds, tending to them in the hopes they would finally see them bloom and grow to their full potential. They always left the gardens behind before they became much of anything.

"Do you really mean it?" Chaotic was getting excited.

"Of course," Andru dipped his head.

"I'll miss you," Chaotic said, "and Eleven, how am I going to pay for the house? I don't even know if I know how to live on my own!"

"Arctic and I are going to need a place to come back to, if you are going to stick around. It's not like we are going to take off and never see you again. I'm sure Arctic would be fine with leaving it to you instead of selling it, she's never been big on treasure anyways. We didn't exactly use it back in ancient days," Andru grinned. "Though, I would advise you to find some sort of job or hobby, both to stop you from losing your mind with boredom, and to make enough treasure to live in this city. I know we taught you how to survive for yourself in the wilderness, but city living requires money. You could be a florist."

"And say goodbye to my flowers?" Chaotic balked. "No, I'll find something else."

"I'm sure whatever you do, you will be marvellous," Andru moved forward to give Chaotic a warm, tight hug. His strong muscles always made for the best hugs. "I'll go tell Arctic what you've decided, though I suspect she already has an inkling that you've been wanting this."

As their grandfather left their room, they looked across their room, suddenly feeling a lot calmer at the realization that they could stay. Breathing in the vibrant scents of the city, they moved to their window where a few flowerboxes sat, plants just beginning to sprout. They grabbed a watering can and gently fed the flowers.

Their gardening was interrupted by a sudden strong gust of wind. With it, a large piece of paper found itself planted squarely on their face. It took some effort to fight the wind to remove it. Once they finally separated it from themselves, they glanced over it. It was an advertisement for the newly opened adventuring guild. On it was the painted image of a gaoler wandering the Starfall Isles, and they felt something stir within them.

Somehow, adventuring with a guild felt different than meandering with their grandparents. They would have a party of dragons, presumably around their age. Outset Island would still be a home base, they could still tend to their gardens, but their grandfather had been right about the itch to seek. Chaotic was more rooted than their grandparents, but their feet still yearned to explore. This felt like the best of both worlds.

Their life's calling had somehow found its way to them.