Aurora's Snowflake {Private}

[Celegwen]

@almighyxcavus
--------------------

The icy wind whipped against her face, occasional stones flying near her head after being kicked up from Calconirr's hind legs. She held onto the handle bars of the wooden sled, her feet planted firmly on the foot boards, as they practically flew across the perfect sheet of sparkling white.

The fight had taken a friend from her. Taiga's staff was given to her by an old friend, but she was willing to sacrifice it to save the massive dragon. Calconirr pulled the sled along, his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth. Taiga's black cloak waved behind her in the wind.

The dragon must have landed quite a distance away because Calconirr was fast with a sled behind him.

She pulled the white wolf to a stop, the sled skidding sideways. Taiga jumped off and saw the beautiful creature lying in a crater. "Shit," she whispered. "Are you alright?"

[almighyxcavus]

Sathurra, while extremely hurt, barely managed to reach out with a claw and gently stroke the girl's ice-born face. After a small glimmer of white light she changed into her old human form. She didn't like it, it matched the old generation. She struggled out of the crater and held onto Taiga for a moment. Her mouth moved but no words came out. Do I seriously have to do this again? Sathurra sighed, she grabbed the girl's face and kissed her, but only for a moment. She backed away and another glimmer of light covered her body once more. She grew long pure white hair, her icy blue dragon eye's glowing brilliantly. Her borelian shawl covered her except for her chest. And she was visibly younger than her previous form.

"Before you kill me, please understand I did not enjoy that either, I need to that in order to speak your tongue. Wait, were you the one that threw her staff to save me?"

[Celegwen]

"Yeah," Taiga said.

The dragon's kiss definitely threw her off a bit, but she was smart enough to pick up on why she had done it. If it was anyone else, dragon, human, dwarf, she wouldn't have hesitated in putting an icicle through both eyes. But she was familiar with Sathurra, though indirectly, and held great respect for her.

"Those guys back there didn't exactly like you," she said. "I didn't feel I could just turn away. That would make me no better than the shitty people I lead. My name's Taiga." She gestured to the large, white wolf, lying in the snow and panting. "That's Calconirr."

[almighyxcavus]

She looked over at the large wolf. His fur was beautiful she walked over and scratched it behind it's ears before giving a little kiss on the nose. She returned back to Taiga.

Sathurra sighed a bit before speaking: "Unfortunately those 'guys' were family sadly." Sathurra looked puzzled for a moment:" Lead? What do you mean? You look to be under 20 years of age! What could you possibly be leading?"

Sathurra although she knew the entire land, she was completely unaware of any man-made structures. As well as the fact that this teenager was leading what seemed like some large group of people.

[Celegwen]

Taiga smirked with a shrug. "I'm seventeen," she said, rubbing her arm. "Then again, hold old is any child in the tundra? We, as a group, tend to grow up kind of fast."

Calconirr seemed to take quickly to the dragon girl. It was kind of funny to see. The once large dragon was now a shrimp in size compared to the large wolf. Taiga hid her slightly arrogant grin at the sudden size difference.

"I lead a guild of over thirty people. Well, can't even say they're people." She shivered, but not of cold. "The guild is made of criminals and just shitty people in general. I created it as a way to manage them and keep them from getting to be too much of a menace. So now, the task falls upon me to let them have enough run to keep their criminal side happy, while keeping them reigned in enough to make sure they don't go overboard." The girl smiled, folding her arms across her chest. "Not the best job, but since you don't know about it, I think I've done well."

[almighyxcavus]

"Man-made structures and organizations I don't know well because they aren't inherently apart of the land, remember this: people, cities, and entire families come and go, but the tundra will always remain. I must say you have peaked my interest, and for saving me I should at least accompany you on your journey back. It'll be a while before I can transform again, my nephew sure is a show stopper."

Sathurra walked over to Taiga's sled. "May I?" Gesturing towards the open spot just next to where Taiga would normally be to lead the reigns.

[Celegwen]

Taiga rearranged the furs on the cargo bed. "If you want a front row seat to the modern tundra, hop on." She reattached Calconirr's harness and walked around, stepping on the foot boards and leaning on the handles, as Sathurra situated herself on the seat. "This isn't gonna be quite like flying, dragon lady. Hold on tight."

She whistled a sharp blast at the large, white wolf. Calconirr released a loud howl, angling his head upward toward the sky. The girl smiled. "He always does this. He thinks he's answering his alpha's howl."

He started walking, which got the sled moving, then lurched into a run, pulling the sled at unmatched speeds. Though dogsled teams were one of the fastest ways to get around a tundra, nobody before Taiga had ever mastered a wolfsled team! Even so, she preferred her one-on-one partnership with the white wolf.

If she was to be completely honest with herself, Taiga was a little insulted that the dragon didn't recognize her. Sathurra had said that people come and go, but she was more than just a woman with ice power. Taiga was an ice-born child. Similar to her other siblings born of other elements, the girl was created from ice itself, as she had been countless times before. She knew Sathurra from her past lives, she why didn't the 4,000-year-old dragon remember her?

As they raced through the tundra, she was excited to be with someone who shared her passion for the icy desert. Most people would think that the place was a wasteland, and the people living there were insane. Taiga saw the beauty and promise in the habitat. The type of people she ran with kind of diminished that hopeful view, but she managed to keep a positive outlook.

"I hope you don't mind," she started, as a small settlement of huts and tents came into view, "I need to stop here for some supplies. I'm running particularly low on sugar for my bees."

[almighyxcavus]

Sathurra laid down on the sled for a moment before getting up. She walked around the tents and huts a bit, getting to know each and every person. She then came to the realization that she had been completely forgotten. Her status as guardian had  been revoked.

No one remembers me...

She didnt want it to get to her head. She grabbed some honey from one person who graciously handed a tiny jar for Sathurra. Does she remember? With a small nod and a smile the woman disappeared into the a fluff of snow. Sathurra slightly astonished by this, made her way back to the sled, opening the jar. As soon as she took a small finger into the honey, it partially froze. She lifted the part out of the container and ate it whole. This... was the old way of hon... who was that woman.

She sat on the sled waiting for Taiga's return.

[Celegwen]

Taiga approached the sled once again. She placed the sugar on the cargo bed next to Sathurra. There was something off about the dragon, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Please keep your arms and legs inside the sled at all times," Taiga said with a half-hearted grin, as she stepped back onto the foot boards.

Once Sathurra was resituated on the cargo bed, Calconirr took off. The ice girl directed him with specially designed whistles, as she didn't have any reins to guide him. The wolf listened perfectly.

It took just over another hour to reach Taiga's base. As the trio started to slow, several people with hardened eyes and sketchy expressions looked their direction. Each one of them wore the same black cloak with a white snowflake that Taiga had. "What the hell do you think you're looking at?" Taiga shouted at the people. They all acknowledged her in their own ways, and she smirked.

They walked into Taiga's fur tent and sat. She mixed the sugar with water and poured it into the beehive she had off to the side. "Alright. What's up your ass?" Taiga finally asked Sathurra, sitting near the fire that was going in the center.

[almighyxcavus]

Sathurra was a little annoyed at Taiga's rude approach to the topic. "Taiga with all due respec-" wait, why should I e regarding her for respect? I'm the 4000 year old dragon here. "I ask you kindly to not use such vulgar language around me. Also, I need a moment to think please."

Sathurra left the tent, leaving the coat behind. Her right hand started to glow a bit with her borelian shawl cloak before she let a small portion of her true power unfold. She turned into a pure white version of Calconirr with a 8 pronged star symbol engraved in blue on the fur on top of her head.

She darted around base, it was mostly just huts and tents setup. Sathurra spouted an ice beam from her wolf mouth constructing giant walls of of one-way ice (can see the outside from inside but not the other way around). The wall(s) had to at least be 50ft thick and 200 ft tall. The outsides of the walls were covered in deadly spikes that were impassable, the walls were crowned  with perfectly sized and spaced ice crown spikes. She made her way back to the center of the base and constructed an ice statue with Taiga riding Calconirr and the signature snowflake from the cloak appeared to float behind the Taiga statue. Sathurra created multiple holes within the walls and constructed an uncountable number rooms from ice. From the center of the base and across from the entrance, she made a clearly large ice building to which the entrance was crowned with the signature snowflake once more.

She returned to Taiga and shifted back to her human form. "That giant building behind you is your war room, quarters, and whatever else you may want to do in there it's all for you, there's also a map of the entire tundra if need be. No one can see into the walls, we can only see out. Eventually you may want to reinforce the ice with some wood or something to support it so people don't slip while trying to defend atop the wall. The entrance will only open to the people you approve with your snowflake." She touched Taiga's forehead and a small engraving of the snowflake appeared. It disappeared within the moment it had appeared. "I'm going to be in the snow mountain room, if you absolutely need me, I'll be next to the ever-green tree covered in snow meditating."

Sathurra graciously walked away into her room, she walked with a sort of weirdness to her step. It was broken and worrisome I need to think...

[Celegwen]

When Sathurra got visibly unsettled by Taiga's approach, the ice girl smiled. Anyone who let someone's words get to them clearly cared what the other had to say. That was good. It meant Sathurra wasn't quite as big and bad as she tried to come across.

Taiga stepped out of the hut, watching Sathurra create the ice fortress. The girl pursed her lips, knowing that the dragon was trying to do something helpful. Unfortunately, she didn't know the very success of Taiga's guild was partially based upon the fact they didn't have a permanent base. The group, being made of the people it was, could be easily targeted for anything that went wrong, so Taiga made sure they were always on the move.

Still, it wasn't like having a base to return to on occasion was a bad thing.

Sathurra walked away after explaining what came with the ice wall she had created, and Taiga looked around at everyone. They were obviously uncomfortable with what Sathurra had created. The tundra provided them with absolute freedom, so the wall, even if they were completely able to come and go as they wished, gave a lot of them a trapped feeling. "Relax," Taiga said, instantly getting everyone's attention. "This binds you to nothing. Come, go, do whatever shit you want, as long as it doesn't violate our agreement."

A few nods, but the energy didn't change.

She walked into the snow mountain room, then to the evergreen tree. She waved her hand and blew the snow off of Sathurra. "Not that I don't appreciate what you made," she said, her tone slightly too snappy, "really it's impressive, but the purpose of this little base is mobility. We don't stay in the same place for more than a few days. Also, I don't mean to be rude, but nobody turns their back on me on my turf. I welcomed you here. You are my guest, and I'll fucking use whatever language I want."

[almighyxcavus]

Typical young leader with a little too much freedom. Sathurra sighed: "Fair enough, this your turf now you protect it as you see fit. Keep in mind I didn't say you were obligated to stay here of course. Treat this structure as a safe haven for your crew, for if they cannot find where you are and whatever the case may be, they can come here instead. The walls are impassable and structured to be able to withstand any attack. As well as only people you approve are allowed to enter. Now that i have finished my reasoning, may I please be given a moment to clear my mind?"

Sathurra's voice was soft and kind, she respected Taiga immensely. All Sathurra needed right now was some time to think is all.

[Celegwen]

Taiga rolled her eyes, walking away from the dragon to give her some space. Who the hell meditates in the middle of the tundra? The girl thought to herself. She marched out and released two sharp whistles.

The people turned to face her. "If anyone's itching to stretch their legs, a raven came the morning. New target. Some fucker who likes kids a bit too much. Anyone interested?"

Two hands shot up, while another grunted with a wide grin.

"Just before the Kilanthro Mountains," she said. "Bastard has an eyepatch and no front teeth. When you three get back, I expect him to have no teeth and possibly no heart beat." A smirk crossed her lips. "I'll leave the details up to you. Be back here by sunrise tomorrow, or I'll personally hunt your sorry asses down."

The three left, quickly vanishing into the tundra. Taiga walked back to her hut, closing the flap. She sat down next to her beehive, listening to the steady buzzing inside. It was relaxing. If Sathurra needed to meditate, she really should consider listening to bees. The girl pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. It wasn't as though she liked getting new targets, but it was successful as far as keeping her guild members under control which was all that mattered.

[almighyxcavus]

Sathurra was in a deep trance. She reminisced about the past. Whenever she passed by a group of people they would wave and cheer as they saw her glorious body reflect off the borelian cloak. It was a magnificent site to behold not necessarily rare as she made her trips around the tundra everyday, but still beautiful nonetheless.

She remembered the recent event with her brother. Although she cared about the tundra immensely. Was it really worth the cost of arguably the most powerful sibling? Yes, yes it was. No one should have access to that much power. Now her nephew has that possibility who knows what he might be able to do with it.

Sathurra remained in her trance until daybreak.

[Celegwen]

The next morning, Taiga woke just before the sunlight broke the horizon. She stepped out of her hut and blew a sharp whistle. Calconirr came jogging over, and Taiga attached his harness to the sled. She whistled three times, and the wolf threw his head back in a howl. As much as it was a bit of an inconvenience, she kind of enjoyed when he did that. It was a sound that echoed throughout the tundra and few people didn't know of.

They took off, gliding through the ice ice wall with ease. When Sathurra had given Taiga the snowflake mark on her forehead, she was unaware that Taiga really didn't require it to pass in and out of the ice wall. The others of the guild did, but her little gift gave her an advantage.

Practically flying towards one of the little towns, Taiga felt the wind biting at her exposed skin. She pulled Calconirr to a stop in front of a building and stepped off. An older man stepped out with a sealed envelope. "You're Taiga?" He asked.

"I am."

The man handed her the letter and walked back inside. She broke the seal, which was a simple circle in green wax, and opened the letter...

Taiga,

Forgive the impersonal method of contact, but I fear I am incapable of meeting you face to face. Our Earth sister has had a severe injury inflicted on her, and I have sent similar letters to the rest of our family. It appears she will live, but neither Padi, nor I will be available to aid in any needed assistance for the next two weeks. If necessary, contact Tak'karan, as I am sure he will be fully able to lend the hand we currently cannot.

All my love,
Abri

Taiga clenched her teeth, knowing she has nothing she can do for Padi, but also harboring a icy rage inside of her heart. She calmed, deciding to return to her base. By that time, Sathurra should be awake and the three members sent on the mission should be back.

[almighyxcavus]

Within the astral plane that Sathurra visited during meditation. She met with her brother from the west.

Why do you seek my assistance? Aren't you perfectly fine in your ice home? The one you swore to protect more so than you're own family? Make this quick.

Ill make it brief brother I promise. I need some information. This girl:

Sathurra generated a mirror that projected Taiga. She isn't normal, her power speaks with mine on a certain level that I just can't unde-

She's an elemental you idiot. Born of the ice itself. She is tiers lower in power than her siblings, but she is strong nonetheless. Be wary of her.

I was actually coming to ask to make the bon-

The brother turned with eye's glaring with rage. You know as well as anyone else, bonds can only be made with beings that deserve it! Regardless of her past lives, you've only known her for a couple of days. I will inform the others of this and you will not receive the proper blessing if you do so! And you know what happens to beings that do not receive the proper blessing. If anything you should repair her staff since she sacrificed it to save your sorry excuse for a starborn.

The brother faded back into the conjured universe from meditation. Sathurra awoke and proceeded out to the courtyard and into Taiga's tent. "I have something special for you come with me." Sathurra motioned for Taiga to follow her into the war room and up the stairs to the roof. Sathurra awaited her arrival, and shifted into her dragon form to lie on the ground in the meantime.

[Celegwen]

So, I guess this means she's talking to me now, Taiga thought, rolling her eyes as soon as Sathurra left.

She stood up, placing another piece of wood on the small fire. In private, she let herself look much more relaxed, just her pants in boots and her shirt. After refastening her doubled and cloak, Taiga stepped outside and took a look around. She watched Sathurra walk towards the war room, then scanned the base.

Those fuckers better be back in an hour, or I'm kicking some ass.

Taiga followed Sathurra up to the top of the icy fortress. She looked out at the shine that could almost blind a normal person. It was an incredible view, though she wouldn't outright admit her admiration.

"So, why're we up here?" Taiga asked, folding her arms over her chest. "Couldn't talk down there?"

[almighyxcavus]

"Talk will not explain what is about to happen to you. My champion." Sathurra threw Taiga onto her back as the two flew up to the Aurora Borealis and dropped her off onto the only tangible space. "Please do not take this the wrong way at all, this is only for the ritual, I promise." Sathurra shifted into her human form and took off all of Taiga's clothing barring her undergarments. "Im surprised that an elemental like you has no sexual desire given your physique. Its of no matter, now please hold still.

Sathurra's hands began to glow. She stood on one foot as if she was a ballerina. She proceeded to dance ever so elegantly around Taiga. Snowflakes appearing all over her, and then 6 crystals formed a hexagonal pattern around Taiga. The crystals began to glow a shimmering light. They all beamed into Taiga, no the element itself. A surge was felt, Sathurra graciously walked into the beams and embraced Taiga. She kissed her for only a moment. The crystals began to float high and started to circle the two rapidly before exploding into a giant snowfall. A white light appeared to fall down into Taiga's arms. Sathurra grabbed Taiga's clothing and put it back on her once more.

"The light is your new staff, it will manifest into whatever image you want it to be. Now the ritual is complete, you are now bonded to the guardians. But not just your physical form, your elemental soul as well, for now and forever more. You are my champion and now the true protector of the tundra. The only people aware of this are my siblings and yours I promise you. You may call upon any of us whenever need be." Sathurra bowed to her new champion while smiling "please accept this blessing champion."

[Celegwen]

Taiga looked into the light, a small tear rolling down her cheek. Over her many lives, she had been part of countless rituals, so the dragon's actions didn't bother her. She did as she was told throughout the ritual, but once it was over, Taiga felt her heart begin to race uncontrollably.

She put her hands into the light, a beautiful staff of dark, twisted wood taking shape with frost covering either end. The girl spun it in the air, smirking at the new design.

"You are now bonded to the guardians," the dragon said.

Taiga whipped her head around. "What?" She snapped. Sathurra finished her speech, and the girl slowly shook her head with a frown spreading across her lips. "Stand straight. I never gave you permission to do that." Suddenly, her mind flooded with voices, all distinctly belonging to her brothers and sisters, but Tak'karan and Abri's voices specifically stood out.

She looked to her right and saw the figures of two men approaching.

"I don't want to be a guardian, Sathurra," Taiga said, looking at the staff. "That's not-"

"That's not her role," Tak'karan's strong voice said, distinctly pronouncing each syllable. He stood directly in front of the dragon, pale yellow eyes peering downward as he towered over her in her human form. Abri walked over to Taiga and hugged her. Though the brothers were both generally peaceful people, they took their roles very seriously, which meant they took someone altering the roles even more seriously.

Abri looked at Sathurra, his eyes much softer than Tak'karan's. "We are not the guardians of our environment or homes, Sathurra," he said. "We are not bonded to anyone, or anything, or anywhere. We stand as the symbols of the elements, the order and balance of the world. If you bond Taiga with the dragon guardians, you have made it so she is forever incapable of fulfilling her purpose as an Elemental."

Taiga stayed quiet, letting her brothers speak. She knew the words to say, but she was in a state of mind that had her scrambled. Tak'karan walked over to his siblings. "Forever is a very long time," he said. "Reverse the ritual and unbind our sister."

The girl looked at Sathurra with an uncharacteristic vulnerability in her silver eyes. "Please," she said.

[almighyxcavus]

"Oh goodness, the fellow elementals! Please excuse me for my lack of respect." Sathurra bowed before Abri and Tak'karan. "But unfortunately I cannot undo what has been don-"

A booming voice came from behind Sathurra. REALLY? Why is he here! "Because sister, as you should know that's not their role. Now I need to step in once more to cover up your mistakes." Aetroskos was FAR larger than Sathurra in his dragon form and he made sure she knew it every time. He flew up to the pad on the borealis and shifted into his elven form landing just in front of his sister. "Excuse my sister, she can be a tad bit immature when it comes to the tundra." Aetroskos bowed towards the elementals "My deepest apologies I shall removed this immediately. But she will at least get to keep her staff, that was all of the ritual I ordered her to do."

Aetroskos approached Taiga placing the staff off to the side. He readied Pados with 12 green arrows glowing radiantly. With one pull of the string, all twelve were shot into the air just above the two, their lights concentrating into one center point as they beamed into Aetroskos giving him a glaring green glow. "This is only to remove the bond please do not take this the wrong way." Aetroskos locked lips with Taiga much longer than Sathurra did. The icy bond was visibly fading from her throat. Once there was none left Aetroskos backed away. "You are now unbonded, once again my deepest apologies, especially to Taiga since she had to kiss two people within the span of what? 10 minutes? And you." He looked back to Sathurra and slapped her across the face. His eye's glowing green with a slight rage "I declare you not able to choose a champion for the next 200 years!" He grabbed her throat, and after a similar time frame to the kiss he released.

"Yes, brother." Sathurra stated reluctantly. "Once more, please accept our apology,
we are deeply sorry for almost compromising your role Taiga. Also, Abri I hope we can work together soon, mother nature appears to be running rampant in my domain and I may need you help. I'll fill you in more later if you would like." Aetroskos smiled with his usual genuine charm. He always cared about his sister and respected the elementals and their roles. His duty was to keep mother nature always in flow, by stopping Sathurra he had fulfilled his purpose for now.