Character Sketch for Mama-Dragon

Character Sketch of Mama-Dragon

Fiona lost her whelp. Being one of the youngest female members of the clan, she felt proud to have been chosen this year to raise offspring of her own, She had spent many prior years as a helper and protector of other dragon’s young. She had been given the cherished responsibly of bringing up one of her own, and now she lost it due to trickery. On top of the crushing grief, she shook with fear at the retribution to befall her from the clan - her family - for her negligence. Her amber eyes shed great tears filled with fear and sadness at the thought of speaking to the council, having to explain the circumstances leading to such a painful loss.

She had been assigned a helper of her own this time - Nix, a younger male dragon not yet experienced enough to face election for council - to assist Fiona with the care of her whelp. He had been out hunting while she had left the nest vulnerable.

Shortly after returning from the set-up to find her nest empty and bloody, Nix swooped in, carrying food. As soon as he saw her, heard her sobs, and viewed the empty nest, he dropped the wild game to settle next to Fiona, wrapping her in his comforting wings and questioning her gently about what happened. She leaned her trembling body into his embrace, appreciating a moment of shared sorrow. Nix cared deeply for Fiona, and had been working through out the years to gain the experience necessary to earn a place on thee great council. Fiona respected his determined focus, supporting him however she could. She was happy to have such a dedicated member of the dragon-clan assigned to her as assistant.

With tears filling his own eyes, he left to inform the council. It was his duty. They needed to track the responsible party and see if they could save the young dragon. Fiona encouraged his choice by stepping out from beneath his warm wings. Misery gripped her heart.

Fiona immediately took her grief to the blue sky upon Nix’s departure. She didn’t know what else to do with the broken heart shattering her massive body. Screams of sadness echoed through the air, followed by an erratic flight, thunderous wings casting shadow over the ground. She left the rocky canyon, flew over the meadow and soon reached the forest on the edge between her lair and the human’s village. Her rainbow scaled form glided over the trees.

She knew the vengeful nature of her kind against the humans, who were no doubt responsible for this torment. She also knew she would be punished and disgraced for letting this happen. She had seen it before, when one of the females before had lost her young. The council decided she could remain with the clan, but would no longer be chosen to assist with the care of others offspring, muchless be given the right to raise her own. She was assigned the low-status duties of hunter and helper to the council. She was rarely chosen to participate in any of the traditional dragon activities, especially those of ceremony. Fiona enjoyed the status she had worked for so many years to earn. She did not want it all stripped away, to become like that sad, lonely female who felt lucky to remain within the familiary of the fold.

This is a character sketch of my intended protagonist for the short story Dragon challenge. I feel like more detail could be included with showing in place of telling. What do you think? What am I missing?

(FYI or FWIW? - this is not a stand-alone to be entered - just prep work for my actual story.)

Thanks for reading and offering your feedback!