Alder

June Palette Contest, Sakura's character, do not steal!
== Appearance ==
With a lean and strong figure and bright olive green scales, Alder looks sharper and healthier than any dragonet his age, with almost no scars compared to the other dragonets who fought in the wars. The only hints that he had actually fought in the Tree Wars was the large, though almost fully gone bite scar on his underbelly in the shape of a dragon’s jaws, and the glint of knowledge and almost invisible flicker of pain and acceptance that sometimes flashed like a curtain across his intense golden brown eyes.
Aside from that, Alder hid it well. He'd accepted the fact that he had to follow orders, but still he wanted to hide any involvement he had in the wars, and so he did what he could. The scars aside from the bite, the scratches and slashes had too healed and disappeared, slowly fading away until they were almost invisible over time. New scars kept appearing, but they got healed too, disappearing as soon as possible, leaving no trace.
== Personality ==
Known for being the freaky nerd in school, Alder was never one to have a lot of friends. He was quiet, and when he talked, it was either to his friends and family or when he was asking a question. Instead of hanging out with the other members of his tribe, Alder spent most of his time just sitting in a shadowed corner, holding a long scroll in his talons, studying, reading, writing. Most of the LeafWings dragonets ignored him too, after all, he was just the smart little boy who was no fun, who nobody wanted to play with. And Alder was fine with that.
Even as a dragonet, Alder always dreamed of peace in Pantala. The three tribes, united, with no conflicts against each other- how perfect could that be? No fighting, no wars, no dragons dying in battle. It was just the world he wished for. And he wanted to be known as one of the ones who brought peace to Pantala, his home. His parents always told him that he had to fight to survive, and that he'd be killed because of his unusual thoughts one day, and perhaps they were right, but Alder never gave up.
== Backstory ==
Sunlight streamed through the forest, a beam of light hitting a scroll spread out on a tree branch. The trees swayed slightly in the wind, leaves rustling in the morning breeze. It was completely quiet, except for the occasional chirps of birds and pawsteps of small animals.
A olive green dragonet about two or three years old sat curled upon one of the branches of the biggest oak in the forest, wings hanging down from either side of him, a scroll from the LeafWing village library rolled out in front of him. The dragonet's eyes were focused on the scroll, completely oblivious to the world around him. He pushed up the red-brown reading glasses on his snout, sparkling golden brown eyes scanning the scroll hungrily for more.
He was so focused that he didn't notice the LeafWing dragonet sitting above him until a dark green tail was waved in front of his face, startling him so much that he almost fell off the branch he was sitting on. "C'mon, Alder. Are you gonna come play with me or d'you wanna sit here all day?" The dragonet asked, bursting out laughing as Alder scrambled to climb back onto the branch.
Letting out a huff of irritation and indignation, Alder managed to push himself up, grabbing the scroll and his glasses just in time before they slid off. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll come with you, just wait a moment, Sequoia! Can't you be more patient?" He rolled his eyes before rolling up the scroll and carefully sliding it into the scroll case hung around his neck, putting his reading glasses in a smaller pouch hanging by it as well.
Sequoia laughed at him again, before gracefully leaping off the branch, spreading her wings to cushion her fall and bounding away. "Race you!" She yelled, glancing over her shoulder before disappearing into the forest.
Sighing in annoyance, Alder leapt off the branch as well, gliding to the ground, and raced after her. "Oh, I am so not gonna let you win!" He yelled after her, diving into the undergrowth. If only this could last forever...
But of course, peace just wasn't meant to last.
~~~~
Nine years later...
Panting, Alder ran through the burning forest, ducking below falling branches, rolling out of the way, and occasionally stopping to rest for a few seconds before continuing. It was the last forest, except for the Poison Jungle, in Pantala. He felt as if his heart was going to leap out of his throat, blood roaring in his ears as trees fell, setting even more trees alight around him. He could hear the battle cries and pained screams of his tribemates and the HiveWings attacking the only home they had left. He stopped for a moment, gasping for air and coughing, his heart thumping in his chest. Is this how it's going to end? He wondered, terrified.
Roars and growls and crashes sounded all around him, mixing together into a horrifying sound that filled his ears. Yet, they still fought on. "We are LeafWings, we will die defending our home." He remembered his father's last words. "Oh, you're so naive... There can't be peace without war." He remembered what his mother said before dying from the wounds a HiveWing had gave her. He remembered the start of the war- he was a writer back then, just starting his career. But he had to become a battle strategist, whether he wanted it or not, he had to follow his Queen's orders. Queen Sequoia... She was completely different from the dragonet he knew. Now he had to plan the battles, whether he liked it or not, and fight when he was really needed. This time, the fight was so bad that it could be the LeafWing's last one.
Alder was shaken out of his daze as a tree fell right beside him, missing him by inches. Leaping out of the way of the fire and smoke, Alder ran into the midst of the battle, his eyes frantically darting around for the Queen, trying to avoid the bodies of the fallen warriors from both tribes. "Seq- Queen Sequoia!" He shouted, gasping for air. "We can't go on like this! We have to retreat!"
A familiar dark green figure appeared beside him. There were scratches, claw marks, bite marks all over her body, but she still stood tall and strong before him, her eyes burning with such fiery determination that it scared him. "No." She growled. "We can't and won't, not until they leave our home alone!"
Alder winced. "But... The casualties..." He said softly, glancing at the fallen LeafWings and mind-controlled HiveWing warriors all around him.
"No." Queen Sequoia growled again. "Not over my dead body." With fire burning in her eyes, she turned, ducking back into the smoldering undergrowth, gracefully avoiding the flaming leaves and branches falling around her.
Alder opened his mouth to call after her, but before he could, aHiveWing leapt at him, knocking him over. The HiveWing's blank white eyes flickered like curtains, making Alder shiver. She's only a dragonet... He realized, looking up at the mind-controlled dragon holding him down, snarling. But Queen Wasp is in her head. Another part of him argued. Kill her like a LeafWing would! Make your tribe proud!
But he couldn't make his talons move. If I die, I die defending what I believe. Peace for Pantala, not killing innocent dragons under control. Alder thought, now determined. Even if I won’t make much of a difference, I’ll still try. And so he didn’t strike back, he didn’t move, just stared straight back, acceptance shining in his golden brown eyes.
With an eerie smirk that didn’t belong on the face of a four year old dragonet, the HiveWing slashed down, straight across his throat. Alder gritted his teeth, but he didn’t make a sound. I’ve always wanted peace, and I’ll stick to that.
The last thing he saw before everything slowly faded to black was Sequoia’s horrified face appearing before him, a flash of flames, and a crash as another tree hit the ground, smoke filling the air…
Maybe this war will end one day…
~~~~
Alder was born a few years before the Tree Wars, during a time when trees still loomed over Pantala. His mother was a teacher at one of the LeafWing village schools, and his father an expert in different species of plants. He grew up with his snout buried in books, whether non-fiction or fiction. He loved the life he had, in the forests, without a worry, able to visit the HiveWings and SilkWings any time.
When he grew older though, the peace shattered with Queen Wasp becoming the Queen and demanding trees to be cut down. Forest fires burned, trees were destroyed by HiveWings, and SilkWings didn’t do a thing to help. Alder’s home was one of the first forests to be destroyed, as it was one of the most popular forests, forcing him to move elsewhere.
Alder came to accept that the HiveWings would take the trees they want. Sure, he didn’t agree with them, but he wanted to keep the peace that was left. As long as there wasn’t a war. He’d never seen one before, but just reading the history books and story books was enough. Even though he was just as terrified by the aspect of Queen Wasp controlling all of Pantala as other LeafWings, he didn’t want to fight. He was afraid, he wasn’t ready to see innocent dragons die.
When he was pushed to become a battle strategist for how smart he was, Alder began to give up. He began to get used to being on the run, hiding constantly, he began to accept that life could never become the way he wanted, and that the best time of his life was never meant to last. So, like a robot, he followed his Queen’s orders. Until his death.
Alder died during the last effort the LeafWings made to defend the trees- it was a bloody battle, the HiveWings determined to make the last trees fall and the LeafWings determined to defend their home until they died. He realized that if he wanted to make a change, it had to start with him, even if he couldn’t do much- so he did.
Alder got what he wanted after his death: He was known as a hero in part of the LeafWing tribe. The retreat was ordered because of his death- Sequoia had came to see that he was right, they should retreat, they would never win the war with the HiveWings with claws and teeth.
If only he had been there to see it.
== Relationships ==
=== Queen Sequoia ===
==== Positive/Neutral ====
Sequoia was Alder’s best friend when he was a dragonet. She hung out with him when no other dragon would, despite being a Princess, who, as everyone says, should set examples for other LeafWings. They followed each other around everywhere and were never seen around without each other. That was, until Queen Wasp started to demand control of Pantala’s three tribes. Sequoia didn’t agree with her at all, but even though Alder didn’t either, he didn’t want to do anything against the HiveWing Queen. So they started seeing each other less and less, and when Sequoia became Queen, ordering the LeafWings to defend the forests, causing a lot of casualties, and forcing Alder to become a battle strategist when he didn’t want to, they broke off all contact with each other and their relationship became more like a normal LeafWing and his Queen than actual friends.
=== Unnamed Parents ===
==== Positive/Neutral ====
Alder loved his parents, really, but the relationship between them also started to become problematic when Queen Wasp rose to power. His parents agreed with most of the LeafWings, they wanted to fight, and if it came to that, they would die fighting the HiveWings. But Alder didn’t agree. After that, their relationship between rocky. A lot of arguments happened in the family, and eventually Alder stopped living with them at all. He was there when his parents died- Just like they said, they would die fighting the HiveWings if it came to that.
== Trivia ==
* Created for the June Palette Contest
== Gallery ==
SifirinArtFight.png|By Sifirin on Art Fight!
Category:LeafWings
Category:LGBT+
Category:Males
Category:Characters
Category:Occupation (Writer)
Category:Work in Progress
Category:Deceased