
Darkness-Shining and his friend Flit are available on Etsy :) http://justJB.etsy.com
===========================================
There were whispers when Darkness-Shining hatched. Instead of the usual luxurious verdant green or uproarious red or soothing pink or soft yellow scales - all of the beautiful colors of the day - his body was covered in the colors of the night sky when the moon was at its brightest. He was, indeed, a strange fairy dragon.
There was something else that was strange about Darkness-Shining. He had hatched in the middle of the night, instead of at the height of the day when the sun shone the warmest. He mewled for his mother as any other fairy dragon hatchling would have, but the sound so startled the cluster of slumbering creatures that there was a general unspoken agreement that the mother and son should best nest a little further away from the group.
And when his first morning came... oh, the tragedy. His yellow eyes seemed ill-suited to the sun. The brightness pained him greatly, and nothing soothed him except to sleep in the day when all of the other fairy dragons frolicked. But Darkness-Shining's mother loved him well, despite his differences.
Of course, a young creature thrives on the love of its parent, but motherly love alone is often not enough. As Darkness-Shining grew older, he also grew restless for companionship to fill his lonely nights. As the other young fairy dragons curled up for the evening as Darkness-Shining came awake, they would giggle and sleepily speak of things that the dark one would just barely catch. "That was so beautiful, the daisies all in the sun..." "I know, and I loved chasing the butterflies..." "Did you see the rainbow at the waterfall? Amazing..." Darkness-Shining knew he was missing out on half of the world, and it hurt him fiercely. He began to grow jealous. Why did he only get to see the ugly, colorless, dark-of-night things? Why did he have to be pained by the sunlight, when all of the world's beauty was evident? Night after night, Darkness-Shining grew unsatisfied with his lot in life. He felt so very empty.
And then...
One night, as Darkness-Shining glared balefully at the moon above the treetops, he thought he saw a glimmer. As his head turned to follow, the glimmer fell upon him, very gently. Right on top of his head.
"Ah, a perfect place to rest!" the glimmer said.
Darkness-Shining was a bit taken aback. "You know, whatever-you-are, your perfect place to rest is my head."
"Oh! Dear. I'm so sorry. But my feet are never wrong. Your head really does make a perfect place to rest my tired wings."
The fairy dragon wrinkled his eyebrows. "Don't you know I'm a fairy dragon? I could consume you with one gulp, you glittery thing!"
The glimmer seemed to pause to consider, and then it said, "Hmm, I don't think you will. My sense of smell never lies. You are a kind creature."
"Your sense of smell? What does that have to do with anything? What are you?" Darkness-Shining was growing curious, but also a little frustrated.
"I'm sorry. I should introduce myself first, shouldn't I? I do not spend much time around others so I forget my manners." There was a gentle fluttering, and a beautiful gentle flash of color flicked in front of Darkness-Shining's eyes. "I am Flit. I am a butterfly, though I was born without the use of my eyes, so I make my way about at night when things are a little less dangerous for me."
The fairy dragon was taken aback. "You can't see? At all? Really? I suppose that's a little like me... I can't bear the daylight for it hurts too much, so I am stuck going about at night. It's horrible. The worst hand fate has ever dealt a fairy dragon, for certain."
"Now why would you say that?" the blind butterfly said. "There are so many beautiful things in the night."
Darkness-Shining snorted. "And how would you know? You can't see anything! It's just dark, and dark, and more dark."
"Fairy dragon, we have more senses than just our eyes. Look up. What do you see?"
"Darkness."
Flit chuckled. "You didn't even look up."
"How do you know?"
"I did not feel your head move. Now, fairy dragon. Look up. Tell me what you see!" the butterfly said.
Grudgingly, the dark one complied. "I see... the moon."
"I've been told a little about the moon, yes. Will you tell me about it?"
Darkness-Shining snorted again. "It's round tonight and it's white."
"Tonight? So it's not always round?"
"No," said Darkness-Shining. "Some nights it is less round. Some nights it is like a forest-cat's toenail. Some nights it isn't there at all."
"A forest-cat's toenail? So you have seen a forest-cat?" the butterfly whispered incredulously. "Tell me about that!"
"They're just large bundles of fur, they slink around and they-"
Flit interrupted. "What does their fur look like?" The butterfly sounded excited.
A little miffed at the interruption, Darkness-Shining nonetheless found the tiny creature's excitement to be a bit entertaining. "Well, they have this sort of plain coat, just sort of grey, but it has these speckles in it. So you have to be careful. When they stop moving in the night, their speckles make them blend in with the light spots."
"Light spots? What light spots?"
"When the moon and stars shine down through the leaves and branches of the trees, they sort of make these spots on the ground. And on other trees, really. And on me. On anything on the ground. Including night-cats."
The butterfly thought. "What happens when the wind blows?"
"To the night-cats?"
"No," the butterfly giggled, "though you could tell me that too, if you've seen. What happens to the light spots when the wind blows?"
"Oh. Well, they sort of move around. They sort of look like a forest floor full of... your wings, I guess. All flickering and... dancing."
"My wings?" Flit asked. "What do my wings look like, then?" The tiny creature stretched its wings out.
"They're... all colors. I can see them through the moonlight. They're the nicest butterfly wings I've ever seen. Mind you," Darkness-Shining said, "I admit I haven't seen many."
They spent the night talking about some of the things Darkness-Shining saw.
The next night, they spent discussing Flit's experiences in the world.
And the nights following that, they both experienced the beauties of the world through the other's senses. Darkness-Shining found himself being angry about the lack of day less and less, and, with the help of his wise new friend, he learned to fill his emptiness with the true beauty that surrounded him.
===========================================
There were whispers when Darkness-Shining hatched. Instead of the usual luxurious verdant green or uproarious red or soothing pink or soft yellow scales - all of the beautiful colors of the day - his body was covered in the colors of the night sky when the moon was at its brightest. He was, indeed, a strange fairy dragon.
There was something else that was strange about Darkness-Shining. He had hatched in the middle of the night, instead of at the height of the day when the sun shone the warmest. He mewled for his mother as any other fairy dragon hatchling would have, but the sound so startled the cluster of slumbering creatures that there was a general unspoken agreement that the mother and son should best nest a little further away from the group.
And when his first morning came... oh, the tragedy. His yellow eyes seemed ill-suited to the sun. The brightness pained him greatly, and nothing soothed him except to sleep in the day when all of the other fairy dragons frolicked. But Darkness-Shining's mother loved him well, despite his differences.
Of course, a young creature thrives on the love of its parent, but motherly love alone is often not enough. As Darkness-Shining grew older, he also grew restless for companionship to fill his lonely nights. As the other young fairy dragons curled up for the evening as Darkness-Shining came awake, they would giggle and sleepily speak of things that the dark one would just barely catch. "That was so beautiful, the daisies all in the sun..." "I know, and I loved chasing the butterflies..." "Did you see the rainbow at the waterfall? Amazing..." Darkness-Shining knew he was missing out on half of the world, and it hurt him fiercely. He began to grow jealous. Why did he only get to see the ugly, colorless, dark-of-night things? Why did he have to be pained by the sunlight, when all of the world's beauty was evident? Night after night, Darkness-Shining grew unsatisfied with his lot in life. He felt so very empty.
And then...
One night, as Darkness-Shining glared balefully at the moon above the treetops, he thought he saw a glimmer. As his head turned to follow, the glimmer fell upon him, very gently. Right on top of his head.
"Ah, a perfect place to rest!" the glimmer said.
Darkness-Shining was a bit taken aback. "You know, whatever-you-are, your perfect place to rest is my head."
"Oh! Dear. I'm so sorry. But my feet are never wrong. Your head really does make a perfect place to rest my tired wings."
The fairy dragon wrinkled his eyebrows. "Don't you know I'm a fairy dragon? I could consume you with one gulp, you glittery thing!"
The glimmer seemed to pause to consider, and then it said, "Hmm, I don't think you will. My sense of smell never lies. You are a kind creature."
"Your sense of smell? What does that have to do with anything? What are you?" Darkness-Shining was growing curious, but also a little frustrated.
"I'm sorry. I should introduce myself first, shouldn't I? I do not spend much time around others so I forget my manners." There was a gentle fluttering, and a beautiful gentle flash of color flicked in front of Darkness-Shining's eyes. "I am Flit. I am a butterfly, though I was born without the use of my eyes, so I make my way about at night when things are a little less dangerous for me."
The fairy dragon was taken aback. "You can't see? At all? Really? I suppose that's a little like me... I can't bear the daylight for it hurts too much, so I am stuck going about at night. It's horrible. The worst hand fate has ever dealt a fairy dragon, for certain."
"Now why would you say that?" the blind butterfly said. "There are so many beautiful things in the night."
Darkness-Shining snorted. "And how would you know? You can't see anything! It's just dark, and dark, and more dark."
"Fairy dragon, we have more senses than just our eyes. Look up. What do you see?"
"Darkness."
Flit chuckled. "You didn't even look up."
"How do you know?"
"I did not feel your head move. Now, fairy dragon. Look up. Tell me what you see!" the butterfly said.
Grudgingly, the dark one complied. "I see... the moon."
"I've been told a little about the moon, yes. Will you tell me about it?"
Darkness-Shining snorted again. "It's round tonight and it's white."
"Tonight? So it's not always round?"
"No," said Darkness-Shining. "Some nights it is less round. Some nights it is like a forest-cat's toenail. Some nights it isn't there at all."
"A forest-cat's toenail? So you have seen a forest-cat?" the butterfly whispered incredulously. "Tell me about that!"
"They're just large bundles of fur, they slink around and they-"
Flit interrupted. "What does their fur look like?" The butterfly sounded excited.
A little miffed at the interruption, Darkness-Shining nonetheless found the tiny creature's excitement to be a bit entertaining. "Well, they have this sort of plain coat, just sort of grey, but it has these speckles in it. So you have to be careful. When they stop moving in the night, their speckles make them blend in with the light spots."
"Light spots? What light spots?"
"When the moon and stars shine down through the leaves and branches of the trees, they sort of make these spots on the ground. And on other trees, really. And on me. On anything on the ground. Including night-cats."
The butterfly thought. "What happens when the wind blows?"
"To the night-cats?"
"No," the butterfly giggled, "though you could tell me that too, if you've seen. What happens to the light spots when the wind blows?"
"Oh. Well, they sort of move around. They sort of look like a forest floor full of... your wings, I guess. All flickering and... dancing."
"My wings?" Flit asked. "What do my wings look like, then?" The tiny creature stretched its wings out.
"They're... all colors. I can see them through the moonlight. They're the nicest butterfly wings I've ever seen. Mind you," Darkness-Shining said, "I admit I haven't seen many."
They spent the night talking about some of the things Darkness-Shining saw.
The next night, they spent discussing Flit's experiences in the world.
And the nights following that, they both experienced the beauties of the world through the other's senses. Darkness-Shining found himself being angry about the lack of day less and less, and, with the help of his wise new friend, he learned to fill his emptiness with the true beauty that surrounded him.
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Fantasy
Species Dragon (Other)
Size 1200 x 1200px
File Size 458 kB
I have yet to figure out which impresses me more--your masterful skill with these sculpts, or the life and personality of the stories (that then transfers to the sculpts and makes them even more awesome, as others have said). I think it's a tie at "freaking amazing" for both. :D
Great sculpt and wonderful narrative, as usual! :)
Great sculpt and wonderful narrative, as usual! :)
Comments