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Mun

Name: Zig-zag
Livejournal/Dreamwidth Username: zig_zag123
E-mail: xzigzagx123@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: xzigzagx123
Current Characters at Luceti: Vash - goldenglasses


Character

Name: Xzana
Gender: Female
Age: 283 (looks around 28)
Wing Color: Blue that fades out to white at the tips
Physical Appearance: Here she is in her Neutral Form.

Her neutral form is the most human like at first glance, but with something not quite right. Her limbs such as her arms, legs, toes, fingers, and neck are slightly longer than what a human's should be. This also goes for her ears, eyes, mouth, and nose. She also has blue scales along points of her body, mostly around the joints. Her height falls around 5'6 in this form.

Her wings are white and feathered, looking much like a large bird's feathers. Only when someone looks closely at the veins of the wings there's actually water in them.

She's an excellent hunter so she has a bit of a tummy on her that she's very proud of. However, she's active enough that it doesn't grow too big. She has a very small chest that may grow as she ages some more and reaches full breeding age or once she begins to rear young, but it's unlikely.

From a few dragons who have chosen to live among humans it's been learned that clothing can help add extra warmth. So many dragons during Xzana's life have learned the basics on how to make clothes. The clothes she wears in this form are made from animal skins. She doesn't take much time for the construction of her clothing as if she transforms into a dragon they rip. Her claws also makes it hard to hold a needle well. So her clothes are usually sloppy, but put together enough for the purpose of covering her. In the summer though she may not bother to replace an outfit once it's lost as she has no issues with being naked.

Her Nymph Form.

She is very petite in this form. Her arms and legs still a bit gangly, but she has shrunk to just under five feet in height. Most of her scales are gone, but some still remain. She also has no pupils in this form, instead her eyes becoming a full shade of blue. She also has almost no breasts and no nipples at all in this form. Suggesting that she will be unable to rear live children as nymphs do.

Her wings are smaller now, the water hiding in the veins of the feathers much easier to see now. They've also become much more fragile and easier to break.

Her clothes also become baggy and she'll choose to simply remove them rather than make a new set for this form if they're too baggy and become a hassle.

And Dragon Form.

In this form she walks on all four feet. She grows just above a story tall and weighs several tons. (Think elephant-ish.) Her neck grows long and she becomes fully scaled all over her body. She also grows a tail that helps to keep her stable. For the first time, if someone was to look VERY closely at her scales they just may see the shimmer of water inside each one.

In her final form her wings are very large and strong enough to give her flight even as a dragon. They've also developed some short claws at the point where the wings bend. The feathers looks much like her neutral form, hiding water inside of them, but a bit difficult to see.

Clothes give no extra help to her fully scaled form so she just lets them rip off. Besides, have you ever made clothes to fit a dragon? Way too much work.

An interesting fact I wasn't sure where to put is that it's hard to know exactly where her organs are. While her heart is generally in her chest area, her organs do shift as she changes forms. Rarely ever falling in the same place twice. This mostly leads to rare discomfort if things don't settle right that a quick transformation can help settle, but can make thing difficult if she was to need surgery.

History: Xzana was born in a long ago, forgotten time where mystical creatures were not considered mystical, but endangered. Once nymphs, demons, unicorns, dragons, and other creatures were found in all areas of the world, but for some reason their numbers have slowly been on the decline. Dragons with the some of the slowest reproductive rates were currently feeling the slow decline of their species the worst.

None really understood what started the decline. For Xzana it's both a blessing and a curse. Many species of dragons use to have a strict hierarchy within their clans. Either seeing mixed spices dragon born as inferior or outright killing and smashing eggs before the young dragons could mature. With each new birth that carried any dragon blood becoming more precious these practices have stopped. Although, now allowed to live, mixed blooded dragons are still not treated as full equals. In clans mixed bloods are the last to eat at kills and give way to demands of the pure blooded. However, they are now allowed to intermingle with all dragons and do every thing the pure blooded are allowed. So long as they show the proper respect.

Xzana never fully understood the history behind her birth. All she really knew is that she was alive, that it was a painful memory for her mother, Boann, and the details were not necessary. Her mother was a pure blooded dragon of the Water. Pure dragons rarely ever matted with any other creature but other dragons, yet for some reason, her mother had mated with a Water Nymph. Xzana knows very little of her father, except that it is assumed that her father was not a pure Water Nymph. However, without knowing him, Xzana will never fully know what creature blood runs through her veins and she is alright with that.

Even before her egg was laid, it was suggested by those of Boann's clan that once they were laid that they should be smashed. For a pure dragon such as Boann she should not waste time raising mutts when she could instead be raising other pure dragons. At first she had agreed, but once the eggs were laid her mothering instincts kicked in. She fought anyone tooth and claw who would even think of laying harm to her nest.

Xzana was born in what had been considered a fairly large size litter of seven. When she hatched she and a couple of her litter-mates had difficulty breathing until Boann carefully placed her new young in a small pool in her clan's breeding ground. Part of the difficulty of mixed blood creatures is that it is difficult to know what each child will need as they grow.

Boann found this out quickly as one of her pups always seemed to struggle to breath. His lungs having not settled on a way of breathing was both drawing in the water and air. He was breathing and drowning all at the same time. The tiny dragon died just a few days after hatching, which left Xzana with her earliest memory.

She could vaguely remember swimming with her healthy brother and sister when she felt as if her chest was on fire. Her other siblings had felt it too and they had gone quickly swimming back to their mother. That was the day Xzana learned that dragons have a strong connection with their family members. When one is under extreme stress or passes, the others will know of it. Pure dragons could feel this with a much more extended family, but they had felt the passing of their brother.

Xzana remembers little of her brother, he hadn't even been given a name. All she really remembers is being thankful that she was able to breath and her body had developed correctly. Although almost all mixed bloods find development problems somewhere in their life. She didn't find her own problems, although most minor, until she grew a little older.

For most of her young childhood Xzana and her surviving brother and sister had to live within the nursing pool. Unable to breath above water. While two more sisters, and a brother were able to wander around above land. Eventually there mother moved them to a larger pool as they grew older. During the move Xzana and her sister were uncomfortable, but they realized they were not having as much trouble during the move as their brother. All three had trouble breathing and were lightheaded after the trip, but the two realized that while their brother was completely suffocating, they were managing to survive.

Now in a large lake with a colony of other dragons the half breeds first began to learn the society they were going to have to become apart of. While learning the proper respect to show other dragons of pure blood, Xzana and her sister would test out just how long they could keep their heads above the water. Over time they learned that as long as they kept most of their body in the water that they were perfectly comfortable having their heads above water.

They continued to push this boundary. As they continued to grow they found that they could have more and more of their body out of water. They didn't understand exactly the change that was happening to their bodies. That they were growing capable of taking the hydrogen molecules out of the air to let them continue to breath as well as storing extra water within their own bodies. Generally in the scales, feathers, and hidden fat areas.

It was a slow process, gradually as they pushed their limits they were eventually able to spend days at a time outside of the water. Xzana is currently up to two weeks. However, depending on the weather conditions around her she becomes very sick around the one week mark.

There were other dragons who grew alongside Xzana and her siblings. Most were half breeds, each with their own unique abilities, but there were a few pure breeds as well. The half breeds were scolded quickly if play fight ever became too rough with the pure breeds and among the clan Xzana grew up in the pure breeds were given first rights towards everything.

Many of her friends died as she grew, it was just a sad fate that many of the young mix breed bodies's could not cope with the rapid changes dragons can go through when they're younger. Xzana's family did well with their growth and it's assumed it's because they were more pure blooded than most.

It was rare when there was any danger from outside forces. Most demons and creatures are wise enough not to try to fight a clan of dragons. However, when there was the odd attack by a demon trying to prove his worth it was always the pure bloods who were most protected. Dragons having become well aware of their dwindling bloodlines at the time of Xzana's life were very protective of any pure bloods.

Growing up Xzana learned to fight and spar by play fights among those her own age, but also from the older dragons of her mother's small clan. There were a few dragons with different abilities. Her control over water was the easiest of her powers for Xzana to learn while growing up, where changing her forms was the most difficult. Spending many years not even realizing she could transform.

It was a chance transformation the first time she attempted it. She had been chasing a long and tasty fish in the river the clan had territory of when the fish slipped under a crack in a rock. As Xzana was working on trying to break the rock open and wishing she was smaller she suddenly felt her body changing and her claws shrinking.

She was just a little shocked and scared. Only having a little understanding of what was happening. She had turned back once she had focused on the change happening to her body. Xzana had seen a few other dragons that had been able to transform to smaller sizes and shapes, but she was worried what it would mean for her body. Would this be a new change it could handle?

Her fears were put to rest as she eventually became to master being able to change her body at will. There was always some discomfort to it, but she found that at times when she needed to it could be a very helpful ability.

Once she was considered a young adult among dragons, old enough to fend for herself, but not yet physically formed to have young, Xzana decided to leave the clan she had grown up with and strike out on her own. Wanting to see the world and maybe find her own stretch of watch to claim as her own.

She left in early spring, shortly after waking from her winter hibernation. Her first year's venture on her own was nearly her last as she was too boisterous and use to the protection of a clan. She got into many fights that year and many nights went hungry, but her most deadly choice came in the fall when she saw a large mountain and decided to climb it.

She had never been on a mountain before. While she wasn't taken completely unaware by the cold that met her at the peek, having flown high where the air becomes thin and cold before, but she was taken surprised by the sudden early winter that settled over the land while she was working her way back down.

Being so closely tied to the water if Xzana stays cold for too long, she freezes into a statue and goes into hibernation. All her other seasons had been spent in the protection of a clan who would keep watch over those who were deep in sleep. Here she was alone and knew most dragons tended to find their fates by falling asleep out in the elements.

With little choices left to her Xzana thought herself lucky when she found a small cave that she could hear the trickle of water inside. It was a snug fit for her large dragon form, but she did find a small pool of water inside. It would be enough to help her recover from her deep sleep when it was over. Once she was settled down, she fell asleep quickly.

She was not expecting that she would be awakened by an immense amount of pain just a short month later during an usually warm week of winter. The small trickle of water she had thought to be so lucky to find had frozen and expanded the cracks between the rocks, causing a slide, then a small cave in all around her. She had no idea how long she had been buried under the rocks, but she just knew she had to get out before she fell asleep again.

Pain dug into her as she shifted and tried to get the weight off of her crushed wings. Only a month into hibernation and she already felt weak. She had not eaten as much as she should, now her body was burning precious energy trying to escape the rocks. Xzana made little headway towards the exit. Her wings in a flare of agony and she let out a mighty roar. Despite her tough scales she could feel herself bleeding all over her body and she was making it worse the more she moved.

In pain and growing weaker, eventually the pain won out and she slipped back into sleep. She might not have ever come around again, but a voice started to penetrate through her pain hazed sleep. The rocks near her head were being moved aside and there she saw a human.

Xzana had been told many stories before of humans who would attack weakened dragons, believing their bodies held magical healing properties. Afraid this human had come to kill her she growled and tried to bite at the man's hand as it moved closer to her head.

Despite her nearly taking his hand, the man was not discouraged. He talked softly to her, although she didn't understand every word he was saying, he continued to move the rocks away from her so she settled down. The man moved carefully, as whenever he came too close to her body Xzana would let out a warning growl.

It was a slow process and the wind was cold. Eventually Xzana started to slip in and out of sleep. Slowly she allowed the man get closer, having no other choice if she wanted to escape this cave.

She was in a bit of a surprised when she realized on some of the larger rocks he was moving with magic. She had heard that magic had started to dwindle with the humans, but apparently this human could still use some.

Eventually he had freed her from the rocks, but as she tried to stand, pain coursed through her body. Once again the human was there, with a gentle touch he spoke slowly. "Don't move. I can heal."

She could feel a warmth spreading from the hand that touched her. Once more she allowed him to come close, as he continued to speak to her. Xzana had only learned very little of human speech during her life so it took some time for her to understand what he wanted. In the end she understood that he wanted her to trust him.

Patiently the man worked with her until she understood what he wanted. That if she was a changeling she needed to shrink down as he could not carry her in her large form. She did not want to trust him, but there was something about him, and she knew she would probably not survive the winter in the mountains. So she took the biggest risk of her life and trusted a human.

Still sore and injured, Xzana couldn't move very quickly. The cold dug deeper into her neutral form much faster than her larger form and it didn't take her long to fall asleep again.

The next thing that she remembered was waking up feeling warm water all around her. She breathed it in deep before she surfaced and found herself in a large tub of water in a human cottage. The man was reading nearby and smiled when he saw she was awake. For awhile Xzana was weary of the man, still not sure what he was getting out of saving her, but the fresh fish he offered her for dinner sure did help.

Over the next few weeks Xzana began to learn human speech and that the man's name was Casimir. It was also the first winter that Xzana has ever seen. Staying warm and looking out the window at all the snow.

It turns out that Casimir has a large pond near his home so he would ice fish everyday to feed Xzana as she had burned too much energy and fat to survive a whole hibernation.

It was the closest and longest Xzana had ever spent with a human. To spend the time being stuck in doors she worked on learning more and more of the human language so she could speak easier with Casimir.

From that she learned that he was a scholar in magic. Who was trying to learn all he can about the magical arts and often took long trips to study it. He knew of the dwindling population of dragons and said that even if she attacked him he couldn't sit by and let one die.

He knew a lot about dragons, so he knew that she needed water to survive. He would make sure to keep some melted snow warming in the house so she could have all the water she needed. He only ever fished for her, as he would eat the salted jerky had prepared for the winter. Xzana learned quickly that she could not eat the jerky when she grew impatient once when the fishing was bad. All the salt in it made her sick, but instead of being angry at her for stealing food, Casimir helped nurse her once again back to health.

When the winter finally broke Casimir asked for nothing in return. He merely wished her well and told her to be more careful when fall came around again. Only Xzana couldn't bring herself to leave just like that. Feeling as if she owed Casimir something.

So instead of leaving she made her claim on the pond near his home. It wasn't a bad deal, many dragons who strike out on their own never find a home as well as that pond. It was well stocked with fish as it connected to a small stream and was large enough for her to be in any form and sleep comfortably in the water.

Casimir enjoyed her company, even though for the most part the two didn't spend a lot of time together. For several years the two became comfortable neighbors. The first of the robbers who thought to try to break into Casimir's house on one of his long trips where in for a pretty big and blue scaled surprise.

It didn't take long for the word to spread in the village a short walk from Casimir's cottage that he had bewitched a dragon to protect his home. At first most people were terrified by Xzana. She was quiet and got defensive of anyone who came to close to her.

It was Casimir that helped bridge the gap between Xzana and the village. Managing to talk her into accompanying him on shopping trips. Through these small trips both Xzana and the other humans learned that they were not there to kill each other.

For many years Xzana lived in comfort near Casimir. Although good times never last. Eventually Xzana started to hear of news from her clan. Things were not going well for dragons. Births were still low and deaths high.

Debates were being argued that they should begin killing humans for their land. Perhaps with more land they could breed better and there were too many humans around as it was. Other dragons argued that, that would solve nothing. The humans weren't as weak as some dragons gave them credit for. All this would lead to would be war.

Xzana comes from this time. Arguments beginning to get heated among different clans. Xzana, like most mix breeds, being against the idea. Not because they care much for humans, but because if a war should happen it would be the mix bloods at the front lines. Life for those without pure blood had become very good, if the breeding did go up then their status in the clans may go down. Yet if war did start they would have to and be expected to fight for their kind. No dragon wants to see their kind vanish forever.

Personality: Although being of mixed breed, Xzana is mostly dragon and was raised like one. Her personality is mostly animalistic in nature for it. Her main goals in life is to make sure she goes to bed each night with a full stomach and a safe place to sleep. One day she'd also like to see an ocean, but as dragons live for thousands of years she is in no hurry. Taking her time, issues that don't deal with basic survival she's not the type to be in a rush to complete.

She does have a habit of times speaking bluntly. Dragons tend to do so, but since she has begun to interact with humans a bit more, she's starting to learn that some people don't appreciate that.

Xzana has also been raised to respect her elders and those of pure blood. To those she sees as being her better she can be very proper around. Putting their needs most of the time above her own. Although, there aren't that many people who are older than her and it's not all pure blood that fall in that category. Mostly those of the dying breeds in her world such as dragons, unicorns, and many breeds of non-hostile demons and sprites.

Towards humans and other creatures she feels don't need to be shown the up-most respect she will be respectful to as long as they do the same to her. Those who are rude to her will get snarls back in return. Also she has little patients for stupidity. She will turn and walk away rather than suffer an idiot.

As for her flight or fight response it depends on her location and situation. If she's in or around water she will almost always choose to fight. Having an unlimited supply of ammo gives her a large confidence boost. When she's not near water, while she can get angry if she's insulted she's a bit more bark than bite. She has only the water she has stored in her body to fight with then. She will run if she thinks she might not win. Against most humans though she'd stand her ground assuming she'd win. Luceti will probably give her a shock with that.

While she can have her occasional playful streak most things in her mind fall into fairly basic categories. Activities that are for survival and those that are not. She has a hard time understanding leisure activities like reading. Although Dragons do share stories as it's important not to make the same mistakes your ancestors did, this is something shared at night hours. Or the few celebrations that dragons do celebrate such as a successful birth. Dancing and song is not something to do everyday, as dancing wastes energy and singing can give out your location. Play is reserved only when life is very, very good.

Strengths: Xzana has three forms so for the physical part I'm going to break it up by forms she can take.

First off some things all three forms can do:

If she's able to find a large body of water to hide her body in she can camouflage herself in water. It takes only moments, but her body will become transparent when in water. There's a very faint ripple line as she hasn't actually disappeared, but even other water nymphs often have a lot of trouble spotting this slight ripple that comes from a hiding nymph.

Each form also has a healing property. Xzana can heal almost any injury on her body by simply resting in water. This can range from a couple hours for a small gash to going into a hibernation type sleep for a month for a broken leg. So as long as she gets to enough water with enough time to heal, she's able to recover from nearly any injury.

Dragon Form: The form she was born in and spent most of her childhood in. Xzana is very comfortable in this form. While in this form she is a large several tons, one story tall, blue scaled dragon. Visually, she's a little larger than an elephant. In this form she is very powerful and has been known to snap large trees like toothpicks in her teeth. While she's four pawed in this form she's easily able to smash large boulders with her shoulder and tail. With sharp claws on each toe and two huge rows of sharp teeth, while she may not have had more formal training than dragon scraps - it's not something anyone wants to mess with. They're all razor sharp and hard of rocks.

The only thing stronger than her teeth and claws are her scales. The scales on the top side of her back are super strong and thick. Able to easily bounce spears and arrows shot at it. While her underside is not as thick, unless a good, strong spear is used it is unlikely to pierce her scales.

Neutral Form: The form Xzana typically stays in now that she has left her clan. She's grown very comfortable in this form. The patches of skin that still has scales can resist most knives used at human strength. Partially strong demons with sharp claws could pierce her scales, but she hasn't found that out yet. (Typically fighting demons in her dragon form.) They are still very hard to crack offering some protection to her body.

She has great control over bodies of water near her or even rain in this form. With just a few simple flicks of her wrist or fingers she's able to command waster near her to use as an attack. Or if she's not near water she can call on the limited water resource she has stored within her body. This is also the form that conserves water the best and if she has to can last the longest away from water.

As a Nymph her control over water is at it's strongest. She no longer needs to use any movement at all for her strongest water attacks. She is also at her lightest and nimbleness in this form. She's able to move much like a humming bird in this form changing directions with just a mere thought. Although she doesn't spend much time in this form so she's not as strong as she could potentially be.

Xzana is very focused. When she has a task at hand she can be very dedicated to completing that task. Be it stalking prey or being asked to help with a project. However, she is also a realist that cares more about survival than most anything else. So she knows when to give up on a project if she has to.

Growing up in a world where she was raised to respect those around her for what they have and can do, Xzana, can be very accepting of others. She can see past the looks of a person and realize they have worth. So, that worth for a deer may be to provide her with food, but she can still respect the deer for being fast and having the meat she needs to live.

She also has a natural curiosity. Xzana grew up in a bit of a closed community in the safety of other dragons so she realizes she has a lot to still learn and experience. Casimir being the one to most show her how much she still has to learn. Living near him and learning more about humans has really sparked her curiosity to the point where she really enjoys learning and experiencing new things.

With that curiosity she luckily has a pretty good mind to fill it with. While no genius, but with her sharp focus when she really wants to learn something she generally will. For example that during the winter she was trapped in a house with Casimir she was able to learn English. It was a very broken English for awhile, but she's gotten better with time. She has enough ingenuity and is clever enough that when she feels something is worth learning or mastering with enough time she'll accomplish that.

However, she has a cautious side to her. Living in a world where the strong live and the weak dies she knows that the world is a dangerous place. She's not about to follow someone she doesn't know into a dangerous situation for curiosities sake. Survival over all else is always formost in her mind.

She can also be rather loyal when she makes a friend. It takes a bit of time, but it's generally not too hard to become friends with Xzana. It's a much quicker process if the person can help her by getting her food or shelter, but she's not blind to enjoying the comforts of having someone to talk with. When it does turn into a friendship Xzana will be happy to lend a hand when asked and will defend her friends when they need her to.

Weaknesses: Being a half breed Xzana's powers as both a dragon and a water nymph will never be able to come into full fruition. While her mastery over water magic is impressive she will always be physically weaker than other dragons of her race and not as naturally in sync with water as the nymphs. That's not to say she can't and hasn't worked hard to be equals with others, it will just never come naturally to her and she knows this.

Being a half breed brings other downfalls. Her body is considered a freak of nature and all half breeds grow older faster. Being a dragon her old age is still a long way off, but she will die much earlier from her body breaking down on itself. There is just no way to stop it. Signs of this show even in her youth as while a pure dragon that has the ability to transform can do so easily and painlessly, transforming for Xzana hurts. She can feel the change happening to her body as her bones grow and shorten.

While not a crippling pain, more of an annoyance at this point in her life, it's something she's heard from others that will grow worse the older she gets and the more she transforms. For this reason she typically doesn't change forms often and when she does change she will stay in that form until it become cumbersome. (Try walking around a forest and stalking prey as a giant dragon. It's not easy.) She typically prefers her "Neutral Form" as it balances her two halts the best, although having spent most of her childhood in her "Dragon Form" she does at times prefer to be in her larger, full scaled body.

All forms are extremely weak against lightening attacks. Foods high in salt and beer can make her very ill if she doesn't intake the same amount of water with it. So while swimming in the ocean she'll be fine, eating large amounts of pure salt can be deadly.

Dragon form: As her large dragon self she is slow. She uses her weight and size more than her speed in this form. With her armor she doesn't usually need to be too fast. Her control over water is very limited as well in this form. It needs to be a good size amount of water and even then it's usually just a water blast and nothing very fancy. She also uses up her reserve of water faster when in this form so she can't spend too much time away from the water.

In her neutral form she's lost a lot of the protection the scales provide her. She loses a lot of strength too, but still stronger than a normal human.

Nymph she's very weak. Having very little physical strength at all. This form is also the form that uses the most water to keep active. She can't be very far from water when in this form for more than a day.

Having been raised and use to having a certain amount of respect shown, Xzana can get pretty annoyed and angry quickly when she feels someone beneath her is mocking her. She may not be a pure blood, but she's still a dragon and should be shown respect for that and for the fact that she's a strong creature. If there is one way to get her temperature hot and angry quickly it's to treat her with disrespect.

Xzana (If you haven't been able to tell by now) is mostly concerned with survival. So while she has the curiosity as mentioned in the strengths it can be very selective. While most anything new will get her attention if she finds it does little to help her survive her attention drops. Learning to communication with Casimir was important in order to make living with him easier so it was something she cared to do. Learning how to paint or learning what a TV is, is pointless and she'll give little time to.

She has a bit of trouble getting into play because of it. Not that she's incapable of playing and having fun, everyone needs a little fun now and then, but it's harder for her to get into it. Most jokes she takes seriously, unable to understand them as being a joke at first. Most pranks she'll see as a threat at first. For example give her a can of nuts filled with pop out snakes she'd probably attack the snakes and then wonder where the next attack is coming from. She tries to not be seriously, wanting to be in on jokes, but in the end she just isn't able to most of the time.

A great fear she also has is her own body. She is okay with being a half breed, but she's terrified of the day that her body begins to break down. Never has there been a mix breed that lived and died without some sort of complication creeping up on them. It's always there in the back of her mind that her body will betray her at some point.

Her first year on her own she developed a couple more fears. It was the first time she came to really running out of water to keep her body alive. She does enjoy being out of the water as there are more people to talk with and learn from, but staying out of water for more than a few days at a time she's become more and more nervous. She also no loungers to go up mountains when she can avoid it. Too many bad memories up there to the point where she now at times have nightmares about suffocating like her death brother up in the mountains or in the desert. Not knowing where an access to water is makes her extremely nervous and hostile.

Samples (ALL samples must be set in Luceti-verse.)

Q&A Please!

Third Person:

Xzana climbed out of the river, a flopping bass wiggling between her claws as she emerged. She scanned the river before she bite down hard on the fish's back near it's head. Stopping it's flopping. As she began to chew she began to realize that she wasn't hungry, but why would she have hunted if she wasn't hungry.

She moved towards her water logged journal she had left near the shore and flipped through it. Voices of the villages floated through the pages, a magic she still found fascinating. After a few minutes of listening and a couple more uninspired bites at her fish she shut the journal. The humans weren't talking about much that interested her anyway.

She looked down at her partly eaten fish. She knew it was disrespectful to waste life like that and it was a very tasty looking fish. She forced down another small bite and wondered: Is this what the humans called: homesickness?

She had been in Luceti a few months now and never before in her life had she ever felt homesick. Never when Casimir had gone on his long trips, possibly to never return, and never had she felt homesick when she had left her clan. So why now?

Maybe it was because the thrill of exploration was gone. She had already been to the edge of the dome and had even flown to the top. There really was no escaping this place. There was still some places she hadn't been, but it it all seemed so small.

Another bite of the fish, it was nearly gone now. Maybe another trip to the ocean would cheer her up some. It had been amazing to see so much water in one place. Or maybe she could follow that river up towards the mountain.

...


Or a trip to the ocean sounded much better. She finished off her fish and grabbed her journal before sliding back into the water. It would be good to have if she decided to stay out there for awhile. It would dry out eventually, it always did.

Comments

[elongatedsmile]

Mun

Name: Zig-zag
Livejournal/Dreamwidth Username: zig_zag123
E-mail: xzigzagx123@gmail.com
AIM/MSN: xzigzagx123
Current Characters at Luceti: Vash - goldenglasses


Character

Name: Xzana
Gender: Female
Age: 283 (looks around 28)
Wing Color: Blue that fades out to white at the tips
Physical Appearance: Here she is in her Neutral Form.

Her neutral form is the most human like at first glance, but with something not quite right. Her limbs such as her arms, legs, toes, fingers, and neck are slightly longer than what a human's should be. This also goes for her ears, eyes, mouth, and nose. She also has blue scales along points of her body, mostly around the joints. Her height falls around 5'6 in this form.

Her wings are white and feathered, looking much like a large bird's feathers. Only when someone looks closely at the veins of the wings there's actually water in them.

She's an excellent hunter so she has a bit of a tummy on her that she's very proud of. However, she's active enough that it doesn't grow too big. She has a very small chest that may grow as she ages some more and reaches full breeding age or once she begins to rear young, but it's unlikely.

From a few dragons who have chosen to live among humans it's been learned that clothing can help add extra warmth. So many dragons during Xzana's life have learned the basics on how to make clothes. The clothes she wears in this form are made from animal skins. She doesn't take much time for the construction of her clothing as if she transforms into a dragon they rip. Her claws also makes it hard to hold a needle well. So her clothes are usually sloppy, but put together enough for the purpose of covering her. In the summer though she may not bother to replace an outfit once it's lost as she has no issues with being naked.

Her Nymph Form.

She is very petite in this form. Her arms and legs still a bit gangly, but she has shrunk to just under five feet in height. Most of her scales are gone, but some still remain. She also has no pupils in this form, instead her eyes becoming a full shade of blue. She also has almost no breasts and no nipples at all in this form. Suggesting that she will be unable to rear live children as nymphs do.

Her wings are smaller now, the water hiding in the veins of the feathers much easier to see now. They've also become much more fragile and easier to break.

Her clothes also become baggy and she'll choose to simply remove them rather than make a new set for this form if they're too baggy and become a hassle.

And Dragon Form.

In this form she walks on all four feet. She grows just above a story tall and weighs nearly several tons. (Think elephant-ish.) Her neck grows long and she becomes fully scaled all over her body. She also grows a tail that helps to keep her stable. For the first time, if someone was to look VERY closely at her scales they just may see the shimmer of water inside each one.

In her final form her wings are very large and strong enough to give her flight even as a dragon. They've also developed some short claws at the point where the wings bend. The feathers looks much like her neutral form, hiding water inside of them, but a bit difficult to see.

Clothes give no extra help to her fully scaled form so she just lets them rip off. Besides, have you ever made clothes to fit a dragon? Way too much work.

An interesting fact I wasn't sure where to put is that it's hard to know exactly where her organs are. While her heart is generally in her chest area, her organs do shift as she changes forms. Rarely ever falling in the same place twice. This mostly leads to rare discomfort if things don't settle right that a quick transformation can help settle, but can make thing difficult if she was to need surgery.

History: Xzana was born in a long ago, forgotten time where mystical creatures were not considered mystical, but endangered. Once nymphs, demons, unicorns, dragons, and other creatures were found in all areas of the world, but for some reason their numbers have slowly been on the decline. Dragons with the some of the slowest reproductive rates were currently feeling the slow decline of their species the worst.

None really understood what started the decline. For Xzana it's both a blessing and a curse. Many species of dragons use to have a strict hierarchy within their clans. Either seeing mixed spices dragon born as inferior or outright killing and smashing eggs before the young dragons could mature. With each new birth that carried any dragon blood becoming more precious these practices have stopped. Although, now allowed to live, mixed blooded dragons are still not treated as full equals. In clans mixed bloods are the last to eat at kills and give way to demands of the pure blooded. However, they are now allowed to intermingle with all dragons and do every thing the pure blooded are allowed. So long as they show the proper respect.

Xzana never fully understood the history behind her birth. All she really knew is that she was alive, that it was a painful memory for her mother, Boann, and the details were not necessary. Her mother was a pure blooded dragon of the Water. Pure dragons rarely ever matted with any other creature but other dragons, yet for some reason, her mother had mated with a Water Nymph. Xzana knows very little of her father, except that it is assumed that her father was not a pure Water Nymph. However, without knowing him, Xzana will never fully know what creature blood runs through her veins and she is alright with that.

Even before her egg was laid, it was suggested by those of Boann's clan that once they were laid that they should be smashed. For a pure dragon such as Boann she should not waste time raising mutts when she could instead be raising other pure dragons. At first she had agreed, but once the eggs were laid her mothering instincts kicked in. She fought anyone tooth and claw who would even think of laying harm to her nest.

Xzana was born in what had been considered a fairly large size litter of seven. When she hatched she and a couple of her litter-mates had difficulty breathing until Boann carefully placed her new young in a small pool in her clan's breeding ground. Part of the difficulty of mixed blood creatures is that it is difficult to know what each child will need as they grow.

Boann found this out quickly as one of her pups always seemed to struggle to breath. His lungs having not settled on a way of breathing was both drawing in the water and air. He was breathing and drowning all at the same time. The tiny dragon died just a few days after hatching, which left Xzana with her earliest memory.

She could vaguely remember swimming with her healthy brother and sister when she felt as if her chest was on fire. Her other siblings had felt it too and they had gone quickly swimming back to their mother. That was the day Xzana learned that dragons have a strong connection with their family members. When one is under extreme stress or passes, the others will know of it. Pure dragons could feel this with a much more extended family, but they had felt the passing of their brother.

Xzana remembers little of her brother, he hadn't even been given a name. All she really remembers is being thankful that she was able to breath and her body had developed correctly. Although almost all mixed bloods find development problems somewhere in their life. She didn't find her own problems, although most minor, until she grew a little older.

For most of her young childhood Xzana and her surviving brother and sister had to live within the nursing pool. Unable to breath above water. While two more sisters, and a brother were able to wander around above land. Eventually there mother moved them to a larger pool as they grew older. During the move Xzana and her sister were uncomfortable, but they realized they were not having as much trouble during the move as their brother. All three had trouble breathing and were lightheaded after the trip, but the two realized that while their brother was completely suffocating, they were managing to survive.

Now in a large lake with a colony of other dragons the half breeds first began to learn the society they were going to have to become apart of. While learning the proper respect to show other dragons of pure blood, Xzana and her sister would test out just how long they could keep their heads above the water. Over time they learned that as long as they kept most of their body in the water that they were perfectly comfortable having their heads above water.

They continued to push this boundary. As they continued to grow they found that they could have more and more of their body out of water. They didn't understand exactly the change that was happening to their bodies. That they were growing capable of taking the hydrogen molecules out of the air to let them continue to breath as well as storing extra water within their own bodies. Generally in the scales, feathers, and hidden fat areas.

It was a slow process, gradually as they pushed their limits they were eventually able to spend days at a time outside of the water. Xzana is currently up to two weeks. However, depending on the weather conditions around her she becomes very sick around the one week mark.

There were other dragons who grew alongside Xzana and her siblings. Most were half breeds, each with their own unique abilities, but there were a few pure breeds as well. The half breeds were scolded quickly if play fight ever became too rough with the pure breeds and among the clan Xzana grew up in the pure breeds were given first rights towards everything.

Many of her friends died as she grew, it was just a sad fate that many of the young mix breed bodies's could not cope with the rapid changes dragons can go through when they're younger. Xzana's family did well with their growth and it's assumed it's because they were more pure blooded than most.

It was rare when there was any danger from outside forces. Most demons and creatures are wise enough not to try to fight a clan of dragons. However, when there was the odd attack by a demon trying to prove his worth it was always the pure bloods who were most protected. Dragons having become well aware of their dwindling bloodlines at the time of Xzana's life were very protective of any pure bloods.

Growing up Xzana learned to fight and spar by play fights among those her own age, but also from the older dragons of her mother's small clan. There were a few dragons with different abilities. Her control over water was the easiest of her powers for Xzana to learn while growing up, where changing her forms was the most difficult. Spending many years not even realizing she could transform.

It was a chance transformation the first time she attempted it. She had been chasing a long and tasty fish in the river the clan had territory of when the fish slipped under a crack in a rock. As Xzana was working on trying to break the rock open and wishing she was smaller she suddenly felt her body changing and her claws shrinking.

She was just a little shocked and scared. Only having a little understanding of what was happening. She had turned back once she had focused on the change happening to her body. Xzana had seen a few other dragons that had been able to transform to smaller sizes and shapes, but she was worried what it would mean for her body. Would this be a new change it could handle?

Her fears were put to rest as she eventually became to master being able to change her body at will. There was always some discomfort to it, but she found that at times when she needed to it could be a very helpful ability.

Once she was considered a young adult among dragons, old enough to fend for herself, but not yet physically formed to have young, Xzana decided to leave the clan she had grown up with and strike out on her own. Wanting to see the world and maybe find her own stretch of watch to claim as her own.

She left in early spring, shortly after waking from her winter hibernation. Her first year's venture on her own was nearly her last as she was too boisterous and use to the protection of a clan. She got into many fights that year and many nights went hungry, but her most deadly choice came in the fall when she saw a large mountain and decided to climb it.

She had never been on a mountain before. While she wasn't taken completely unaware by the cold that met her at the peek, having flown high where the air becomes thin and cold before, but she was taken surprised by the sudden early winter that settled over the land while she was working her way back down.

Being so closely tied to the water if Xzana stays cold for too long, she freezes into a statue and goes into hibernation. All her other seasons had been spent in the protection of a clan who would keep watch over those who were deep in sleep. Here she was alone and knew most dragons tended to find their fates by falling asleep out in the elements.

[elongatedsmile]

With little choices left to her Xzana thought herself lucky when she found a small cave that she could hear the trickle of water inside. It was a snug fit for her large dragon form, but she did find a small pool of water inside. It would be enough to help her recover from her deep sleep when it was over. Once she was settled down, she fell asleep quickly.

She was not expecting that she would be awakened by an immense amount of pain just a short month later during an usually warm week of winter. The small trickle of water she had thought to be so lucky to find had frozen and expanded the cracks between the rocks, causing a slide, then a small cave in all around her. She had no idea how long she had been buried under the rocks, but she just knew she had to get out before she fell asleep again.

Pain dug into her as she shifted and tried to get the weight off of her crushed wings. Only a month into hibernation and she already felt weak. She had not eaten as much as she should, now her body was burning precious energy trying to escape the rocks. Xzana made little headway towards the exit. Her wings in a flare of agony and she let out a mighty roar. Despite her tough scales she could feel herself bleeding all over her body and she was making it worse the more she moved.

In pain and growing weaker, eventually the pain won out and she slipped back into sleep. She might not have ever come around again, but a voice started to penetrate through her pain hazed sleep. The rocks near her head were being moved aside and there she saw a human.

Xzana had been told many stories before of humans who would attack weakened dragons, believing their bodies held magical healing properties. Afraid this human had come to kill her she growled and tried to bite at the man's hand as it moved closer to her head.

Despite her nearly taking his hand, the man was not discouraged. He talked softly to her, although she didn't understand every word he was saying, he continued to move the rocks away from her so she settled down. The man moved carefully, as whenever he came too close to her body Xzana would let out a warning growl.

It was a slow process and the wind was cold. Eventually Xzana started to slip in and out of sleep. Slowly she allowed the man get closer, having no other choice if she wanted to escape this cave.

She was in a bit of a surprised when she realized on some of the larger rocks he was moving with magic. She had heard that magic had started to dwindle with the humans, but apparently this human could still use some.

Eventually he had freed her from the rocks, but as she tried to stand, pain coursed through her body. Once again the human was there, with a gentle touch he spoke slowly. "Don't move. I can heal."

She could feel a warmth spreading from the hand that touched her. Once more she allowed him to come close, as he continued to speak to her. Xzana had only learned very little of human speech during her life so it took some time for her to understand what he wanted. In the end she understood that he wanted her to trust him.

Patiently the man worked with her until she understood what he wanted. That if she was a changeling she needed to shrink down as he could not carry her in her large form. She did not want to trust him, but there was something about him, and she knew she would probably not survive the winter in the mountains. So she took the biggest risk of her life and trusted a human.

Still sore and injured, Xzana couldn't move very quickly. The cold dug deeper into her neutral form much faster than her larger form and it didn't take her long to fall asleep again.

The next thing that she remembered was waking up feeling warm water all around her. She breathed it in deep before she surfaced and found herself in a large tub of water in a human cottage. The man was reading nearby and smiled when he saw she was awake. For awhile Xzana was weary of the man, still not sure what he was getting out of saving her, but the fresh fish he offered her for dinner sure did help.

Over the next few weeks Xzana began to learn human speech and that the man's name was Casimir. It was also the first winter that Xzana has ever seen. Staying warm and looking out the window at all the snow.

It turns out that Casimir has a large pond near his home so he would ice fish everyday to feed Xzana as she had burned too much energy and fat to survive a whole hibernation.

It was the closest and longest Xzana had ever spent with a human. To spend the time being stuck in doors she worked on learning more and more of the human language so she could speak easier with Casimir.

From that she learned that he was a scholar in magic. Who was trying to learn all he can about the magical arts and often took long trips to study it. He knew of the dwindling population of dragons and said that even if she attacked him he couldn't sit by and let one die.

He knew a lot about dragons, so he knew that she needed water to survive. He would make sure to keep some melted snow warming in the house so she could have all the water she needed. He only ever fished for her, as he would eat the salted jerky had prepared for the winter. Xzana learned quickly that she could not eat the jerky when she grew impatient once when the fishing was bad. All the salt in it made her sick, but instead of being angry at her for stealing food, Casimir helped nurse her once again back to health.

When the winter finally broke Casimir asked for nothing in return. He merely wished her well and told her to be more careful when fall came around again. Only Xzana couldn't bring herself to leave just like that. Feeling as if she owed Casimir something.

So instead of leaving she made her claim on the pond near his home. It wasn't a bad deal, many dragons who strike out on their own never find a home as well as that pond. It was well stocked with fish as it connected to a small stream and was large enough for her to be in any form and sleep comfortably in the water.

Casimir enjoyed her company, even though for the most part the two didn't spend a lot of time together. For several years the two became comfortable neighbors. The first of the robbers who thought to try to break into Casimir's house on one of his long trips where in for a pretty big and blue scaled surprise.

It didn't take long for the word to spread in the village a short walk from Casimir's cottage that he had bewitched a dragon to protect his home. At first most people were terrified by Xzana. She was quiet and got defensive of anyone who came to close to her.

It was Casimir that helped bridge the gap between Xzana and the village. Managing to talk her into accompanying him on shopping trips. Through these small trips both Xzana and the other humans learned that they were not there to kill each other.

For many years Xzana lived in comfort near Casimir. Although good times never last. Eventually Xzana started to hear of news from her clan. Things were not going well for dragons. Births were still low and deaths high.

Debates were being argued that they should begin killing humans for their land. Perhaps with more land they could breed better and there were too many humans around as it was. Other dragons argued that, that would solve nothing. The humans weren't as weak as some dragons gave them credit for. All this would lead to would be war.

Xzana comes from this time. Arguments beginning to get heated among different clans. Xzana, like most mix breeds, being against the idea. Not because they care much for humans, but because if a war should happen it would be the mix bloods at the front lines. Life for those without pure blood had become very good, if the breeding did go up then their status in the clans may go down. Yet if war did start they would have to and be expected to fight for their kind. No dragon wants to see their kind vanish forever.

[elongatedsmile]

Personality: Although being of mixed breed, Xzana is mostly dragon and was raised like one. Her personality is mostly animalistic in nature for it. Her main goals in life is to make sure she goes to bed each night with a full stomach and a safe place to sleep. One day she'd also like to see an ocean, but as dragons live for thousands of years she is in no hurry. Taking her time, issues that don't deal with basic survival she's not the type to be in a rush to complete.

She does have a habit of times speaking bluntly. Dragons tend to do so, but since she has begun to interact with humans a bit more, she's starting to learn that some people don't appreciate that.

Xzana has also been raised to respect her elders and those of pure blood. To those she sees as being her better she can be very proper around. Putting their needs most of the time above her own. Although, there aren't that many people who are older than her and it's not all pure blood that fall in that category. Mostly those of the dying breeds in her world such as dragons, unicorns, and many breeds of non-hostile demons and sprites.

Towards humans and other creatures she feels don't need to be shown the up-most respect she will be respectful to as long as they do the same to her. Those who are rude to her will get snarls back in return. Also she has little patients for stupidity. She will turn and walk away rather than suffer an idiot.

As for her flight or fight response it depends on her location and situation. If she's in or around water she will almost always choose to fight. Having an unlimited supply of ammo gives her a large confidence boost. When she's not near water, while she can get angry if she's insulted she's a bit more bark than bite. She has only the water she has stored in her body to fight with then. She will run if she thinks she might not win. Against most humans though she'd stand her ground assuming she'd win. Luceti will probably give her a shock with that.

While she can have her occasional playful streak most things in her mind fall into fairly basic categories. Activities that are for survival and those that are not. She has a hard time understanding leisure activities like reading. Although Dragons do share stories as it's important not to make the same mistakes your ancestors did, this is something shared at night hours. Or the few celebrations that dragons do celebrate such as a successful birth. Dancing and song is not something to do everyday, as dancing wastes energy and singing can give out your location. Play is reserved only when life is very, very good.

Strengths: Xzana has three forms so for the physical part I'm going to break it up by forms she can take.

First off some things all three forms can do:

If she's able to find a large body of water to hide her body in she can camouflage herself in water. It takes only moments, but her body will become transparent when in water. There's a very faint ripple line as she hasn't actually disappeared, but even other water nymphs often have a lot of trouble spotting this slight ripple that comes from a hiding nymph.

Each form also has a healing property. Xzana can heal almost any injury on her body by simply resting in water. This can range from a couple hours for a small gash to going into a hibernation type sleep for a month for a broken leg. So as long as she gets to enough water with enough time to heal, she's able to recover from nearly any injury.

Dragon Form: The form she was born in and spent most of her childhood in. Xzana is very comfortable in this form. While in this form she is a large several tons, one story tall, blue scaled dragon. Visually, she's a little larger than an elephant. In this form she is very powerful and has been known to snap large trees like toothpicks in her teeth. While she's four pawed in this form she's easily able to smash large boulders with her shoulder and tail. With sharp claws on each toe and two huge rows of sharp teeth, while she may not have had more formal training than dragon scraps - it's not something anyone wants to mess with. They're all razor sharp and hard of rocks.

The only thing stronger than her teeth and claws are her scales. The scales on the top side of her back are super strong and thick. Able to easily bounce spears and arrows shot at it. While her underside is not as thick, unless a good, strong spear is used it is unlikely to pierce her scales.

Neutral Form: The form Xzana typically stays in now that she has left her clan. She's grown very comfortable in this form. The patches of skin that still has scales can resist most knives used at human strength. Partially strong demons with sharp claws could pierce her scales, but she hasn't found that out yet. (Typically fighting demons in her dragon form.) They are still very hard to crack offering some protection to her body.

She has great control over bodies of water near her or even rain in this form. With just a few simple flicks of her wrist or fingers she's able to command waster near her to use as an attack. Or if she's not near water she can call on the limited water resource she has stored within her body. This is also the form that conserves water the best and if she has to can last the longest away from water.

As a Nymph her control over water is at it's strongest. She no longer needs to use any movement at all for her strongest water attacks. She is also at her lightest and nimbleness in this form. She's able to move much like a humming bird in this form changing directions with just a mere thought. Although she doesn't spend much time in this form so she's not as strong as she could potentially be.

Weaknesses: Being a half breed Xzana's powers as both a dragon and a water nymph will never be able to come into full fruition. While her mastery over water magic is impressive she will always be physically weaker than other dragons of her race and not as naturally in sync with water as the nymphs. That's not to say she can't and hasn't worked hard to be equals with others, it will just never come naturally to her and she knows this.

Being a half breed brings other downfalls. Her body is considered a freak of nature and all half breeds grow older faster. Being a dragon her old age is still a long way off, but she will die much earlier from her body breaking down on itself. There is just no way to stop it. Signs of this show even in her youth as while a pure dragon that has the ability to transform can do so easily and painlessly, transforming for Xzana hurts. She can feel the change happening to her body as her bones grow and shorten.

While not a crippling pain, more of an annoyance at this point in her life, it's something she's heard from others that will grow worse the older she gets and the more she transforms. For this reason she typically doesn't change forms often and when she does change she will stay in that form until it become cumbersome. (Try walking around a forest and stalking prey as a giant dragon. It's not easy.) She typically prefers her "Neutral Form" as it balances her two halts the best, although having spent most of her childhood in her "Dragon Form" she does at times prefer to be in her larger, full scaled body.

All forms are extremely weak against lightening attacks. Foods high in salt and beer can make her very ill if she doesn't intake the same amount of water with it. So while swimming in the ocean she'll be fine, eating large amounts of pure salt can be deadly.

Dragon form: As her large dragon self she is slow. She uses her weight and size more than her speed in this form. With her armor she doesn't usually need to be too fast. Her control over water is very limited as well in this form. It needs to be a good size amount of water and even then it's usually just a water blast and nothing very fancy. She also uses up her reserve of water faster when in this form so she can't spend too much time away from the water.

In her neutral form she's lost a lot of the protection the scales provide her. She loses a lot of strength too, but still stronger than a normal human.

Nymph she's very weak. Having very little physical strength at all. This form is also the form that uses the most water to keep active. She can't be very far from water when in this form for more than a day.

Samples (ALL samples must be set in Luceti-verse.)

Q&A Please!

Third Person:

Xzana climbed out of the river, a flopping bass wiggling between her claws as she emerged. She scanned the river before she bite down hard on the fish's back near it's head. Stopping it's flopping. As she began to chew she began to realize that she wasn't hungry, but why would she have hunted if she wasn't hungry.

She moved towards her water logged journal she had left near the shore and flipped through it. Voices of the villages floated through the pages, a magic she still found fascinating. After a few minutes of listening and a couple more uninspired bites at her fish she shut the journal. The humans weren't talking about much that interested her anyway.

She looked down at her partly eaten fish. She knew it was disrespectful to waste life like that and it was a very tasty looking fish. She forced down another small bite and wondered: Is this what the humans called: homesickness?

She had been in Luceti a few months now and never before in her life had she ever felt homesick. Never when Casimir had gone on his long trips, possibly to never return, and never had she felt homesick when she had left her clan. So why now?

Maybe it was because the thrill of exploration was gone. She had already been to the edge of the dome and had even flown to the top. There really was no escaping this place. There was still some places she hadn't been, but it it all seemed so small.

Another bite of the fish, it was nearly gone now. Maybe another trip to the ocean would cheer her up some. It had been amazing to see so much water in one place. Or maybe she could follow that river up towards the mountain.

...


Or a trip to the ocean sounded much better. She finished off her fish and grabbed her journal before sliding back into the water. It would be good to have if she decided to stay out there for awhile. It would dry out eventually, it always did.