Parrotfish

Parrotfish • she/her/they/them • Seawing/Rainwing • Tour Guide
Parrotfish 	Parrotfish
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Background 	Background
Creator 	chan
Artist 	Joy Ang, transparent ver. by @amazonofrain on tumblr, edit by chan
Coder 	chan
Code Base 	Himmalerin
Attribute 	Bubbliness
Nickname(s) 	Parrot
Element 	Water
Color 	Lemon Yellow
Animal 	Parrotfish
Song 	N/A
Character 	Character
Age 	7 dy
Gender 	Nonbinary
Orientation 	Bisexual
Occupation 	Tour guide
Tribe 	Seawing/Rainwing
Goal 	To meet more kinds of dragons, introduce dragons to the wonders of the ocean
Residence 	Coast at the edge of the Rainforest
Relatives 	Geyser (mother) and Guava (father)
Allies 	N/A
Enemies 	N/A
Likes 	Collecting, the ocean, swimming, seashells, bottles, shellfish, coral carving
Dislikes 	Grumps, downers, those that would hurt or ostracize others, the cold
Powers 	Rainwing acid, Seawing webbing, glowing patterns, and tail
Weapons 	Corrosive poison and her Seawing tail.
Love Interests 	N/A
Quote 	"So long suckers!" I rev up my motorcycle and create a huge cloud of smoke. When the cloud dissipates I'm lying completely dead on the pavement.
Appearance
While it's undeniable that Seawings are a colorful tribe, there's simply no matching the vibrance of the rainforest. Similar to her namesake, blue, yellow, and magenta meld together in beautiful gradients across her scales. White spots are scattered across her underbelly, as if the bubbles of the sea have been trapped within, and they and the rest of her stomach have an iridescent quality to them. While her scales can't change, she's happy that they're at least stuck in a beautiful pattern. It helps a surprising lot with camouflage too; the waters she swims in are tropical, so she fits right in.
Their Rainwing frills blend in well with their Seawing webbing. The ones on their body have the same yellow to magenta gradient. Their body is mostly Seawing - thick tail, glowing cyan designs, strong swimming physique - though they're rather petite compared to pure-blooded Seawings. Their snout, however, sharpens into the beak of a Rainwing. It houses the venom-shooting fangs signature to that half of their tribes, able to release a substance deadly and corrosive to anything organic. The venom comes out as more of a drip than a stream, but it's no less acidic.
Despite her love of swimming, she lacks gills. The coverings have been reduced to plain scales, lying flat and snug against her neck. Her lung capacity had to be improved on her own, though luckily it was a feasible task. She often decorates both her home and her body with items she fetches from the sea: shellfish remains are strung up around her home, shelves are lined with previously floating bottles, and dead coral - a common find on her beach - are corroded into neat sculptures to display.
Personality
Parrotfish is an incredibly bubbly dragon. Their overwhelming enthusiasm is cloyingly sweet, perhaps annoyingly so, but some may view it as endearing. Certainly an acquired taste.
She puts her all in everything she does. Both empathetic and sympathetic, she often finds herself even more emotional than the person who actually experienced something. She's not one to tell someone to just "let it go". "Just bottle it up"? Absolutely not. "I don't really mind"? You should! She'll cry with people, console them, seek vengeance, and find little trinkets to gift to them. As bright and peppy as she tries to be, it doesn't take much to flip her switch. She has an explosive temper which, coupled with her tendency to jump to conclusions, has it rearing its ugly head quite often. She's quick to apologize if she's truly wrong, but if not, it's not easy to wash out a grudge.
History
In the era of Jade Mountain Academy's opening, the barriers of tension between the tribes began to dissolve. There remained no war to pit dragon against dragon. With newer queens endorsing programs of mingling, education, and collaboration, interest started to take the place of hostility.
Within the age of interlocked relations, a Seawing author landed on the shores of the Rainforest.
She wanted to settle the myths and truths of the Rainwing tribe once and for all. The previous stories surrounding them painted the same image: lazy, reclusive, a waste of time and energy. They had remained unallied for the entirety of the Sandwing War of Succession and no one had bothered to weed them out to fight; and yet, within the last year of the war, the rainforest tribe's ability to shoot venom was rediscovered. The tribe once thought of as sluggish and useless had somehow written such a deadly ability out of the history books. Was that how they subjugated the Nightwings as well? Or was the entire narrative the fault of the other tribes? Whatever the case was, Geyser was determined to spread an honest perspective.
~
Parrotfish is the hybrid child of Geyser and Guava. Her childhood was spent entirely in the Rainforest, as she was hatched alongside the other Rainwing and Nightwing dragonets nestled in the tribe's communal hatchery. Her mother had insisted on it; in her effort to explore as much of Rainwing culture as she could, Geyser had wanted her own child to fully experience life in her father's tribe.
That dedication was more difficult to maintain in the hatchling's next stage of life. The Seawing features on Parrotfish were undeniable, and the similarity was not lost on the young dragon either. The clueless hybrid often found themself flocking over to Geyser simply because she was the only one who looked like them. While Geyser continued to hide the truth, she drew the line at neglecting her dragonet.
As for her father, Parrotfish received no more favoritism than any other dragonet within the tribe.
Guava was a dragon of many skills. He was an avid helper in the healer's tent, frequently scouring the Rainforest for necessary cures. He collected fruit on his excursions as well, mapping out the paths he took for the dragons that would follow in his footsteps. Within the tribes he was respected for pulling much more than his own weight in regards to supporting the community as an explorer, a provider, and a teacher. Guava knew the layout of the Rainforest better than any other dragon at the time and he was more than happy to show it off. Interesting new animals and plants frequently made the journey back with him, and he made sure to award the dragonets with extra gifts and treats. He loved all the dragonets, who revered him almost like a mythical figure. Parrotfish was enraptured right alongside them, never realizing that the same blood coursed through their veins.
While life was much more idyllic than her mother had expected, it was not without its turmoils for Parrotfish. As she grew older, her Nightwing playmates suddenly seemed to vanish. The older members gradually sequestered them away, keeping them separate from their childhood friends. Whenever she sought them out, she was met with scoffs and sneers. Her fully Rainwing companions remained, but they had taken to the trees-- a place Parrotfish could not follow with her bulkier body. They swung effortlessly with their curled tails while the hybrid clambered clumsily up every tree trunk. She wasn't suited for a life spent threading through the canopy, and soon her fellow dragonets began to notice. The tribe began to hold contests and celebrations for dragonets her age, though each one seemed like another test she was destined to fail. Her venom came out as a pathetic drip, she was last in every race, and though she received compliments for the color of her scales and stripes she couldn't change their hue at all.
As they grew older, the other's reception of them changed. Their differences were no longer innocuous peculiarities-- they were actively hindering them from being a part of the community: collecting fruit, hunting, gathering, camouflaging for patrols. The Nightwings scoffed that they always knew that the hybrid was going to be a deadbeat dragon. Shrinking away into the comfort of the shadows, Parrotfish could only watch as their former playmates paraded after Guava into the forest.
A couple years before she was due to become an adult dragon, Geyser quietly led her to a place outside the village.
As warmly as the Seawing treated Parrotfish, she wasn't a staple within their life. She still had her responsibilities back in the Seawing Kingdom, and while her project had been approved by the Seawing Queen she still needed to return to ensure she had not abandoned those responsibilities. Parrotfish had no idea where she went, only that they could always bet on Geyser returning to comfort them once again. 
The blur of contests and discoveries had occurred during one of Geyser's absences. Without the Seawing to lean on, Parrotfish had never felt more isolated in her life. There wasn't just a single emotion: panic, anxiety, despair, and even anger flashed through her mind, if not her scales, as she ran through why, if there were two entirely different tribes in the Rainforest, she couldn't have belonged to either.
Even as Geyser returned, observed, and called to them one moonlit night, their thoughts continued to spiral in an endless chain of loathing. It wasn't until they had heard a heavy splash that Parrotfish snapped back into reality.
Geyser had led Parrotfish to the beach that night; the very beach she herself had once made landfall on. The Seawing plunged into the waters and asked Parrotfish to do the same.
From that day onward, Parrotfish lived outside the village. Most Rainwings didn't care, and most Nightwings assumed that the hybrid had simply fled out of embarrassment. Truthfully, Parrotfish had taken up residence on the shoreline. Geyser joined them, rooming in a cave carved by the sea. Even as the tide rolled in, trickling around their talons, Parrotfish was the happiest they had been in a long time. The second they had dove into the water that first night, it had all felt right, and each subsequent touch only fortified that feeling.
Geyser continued to teach Parrotfish how to swim. Her Seawing body made it easy to maneuver, but her mother quickly discovered the hybrid's lack of gills. From then on, each day Parrotfish tried to build up her endurance. She tried to keep her head under longer, dive even deeper, keep her eyes open as long as possible. The wonders of the ocean motivated her to keep improving. Multitudes of colorful fish traversed the waters around her, bright even against the backdrop of vibrant coral. The further she went, the more she could see, and the old wonder she felt about the depths of the Rainforest was reborn. The ocean was a frontier that not even Guava could explore. 
Eventually, the things Geyser taught them changed. Time spent in the water gradually shifted to learning how to sit up straight, speak clearly, and hold their tongue when needed. Even if it had been part of her project in the beginning, Geyser now refused to let her child be a token of her studies of the Rainforest. She had her writing skills to describe those. Parrotfish was now being molded for life in the palace.
She was on the cusp of her seventh hatching day when Geyser announced that they would be heading for the Seawing's new Summer Palace. More than a year had elapsed since Parrotfish had last visited the Rainwing and Nightwing village, and a sense of spite and triumph over that fact powered her for the first leg of the journey. 
Luckily for Parrotfish, the open nature of the new palace meant no need for secrecy. They weren't driven away like they had feared, perhaps thanks to Geyser's presence. The looks directed their way were skeptical, they were nothing compared to the scathing dismissiveness of the Nightwings. If anything, the residents of the palace -- still mostly Seawing -- were impressed by their "civility". They weren't too young to understand the backhanded nature of that kind of compliment, but they tried not to delve too deeply into it. It would be horrible to spend their first day bickering.
Parrotfish continued to share a room with Geyser. During the day, her main job was to follow the Seawing around and help contribute to her presentations. It was daunting, speaking to a royal court, but Geyser's lessons in etiquette helped her at least fake her cool. Once she was out of meetings though, Geyser wasted no time in letting her explore. She had missed an entire half of her heritage her whole life, something Geyser grew to view as a mistake. When Parrotfish's seventh hatching day rolled around, Geyser made sure to craft a celebration with as much flair and pizzaz as she could muster. She brought Parrotfish to everything she could think of: dining banquets, fishing spots, reefs, the palace treasury, and more. A personal favorite of the hybrid was the party tricks her mother sometimes performed. Geyser would toss a batch of crushed pearls into some unknown drink and the entire glass would start bubbling, all while the Seawing joked that her parent's naming of her had been an omen towards the more explosive pranks she had pulled during her youth. Parrotfish loved it so much that Geyser officially bequeathed all of her pearl treasure towards the cause.
During their stay, Geyser finally completed her scroll. A Dive into the Rainforest Kingdom was published and distributed not just in the Seawing Kingdom, but across Pyrrhia. Evidently Parrotfish's mother hadn't been the only one who had been curious about the happenings of the Rainwings. The hybrid had wanted to buy a copy in solidarity, though that proved to be a bit difficult considering that their money was technically Geyser's money. She appreciated the gesture anyway. 
It was surreal to read through her childhood from the detached perspective of a visitor, but Parrotfish braved through for the sake of her "mother-figure". Geyser had taught her to read, probably not for the sake of this moment, but to her it certainly felt that way. 
It was with surprise that Parrotfish found out that their experience on the beach had been documented. The words that had been babbled to Geyser -- their wonder at the wildlife, the sights, the water -- had been lovingly transferred into the scroll. In fact, near the end of the scroll Geyser had seemingly shifted the focus. The narrator left the Rainforest behind in favor of describing the coast Parrotfish had adored. The scroll wrote, "A place where the tropics and sea converge. A unity that only makes both shine even brighter, just like my beloved dragonet."
She finished the scroll in a matter of days. It rested heavily in her chest --like any good scroll should, she conceded, though perhaps most would not have felt as personal as this. The pieces of her childhood began to fall in place. Perhaps she should have assumed it once she realized that Geyser had been the only Seawing she had ever seen in the Rainforest. Perhaps it should have been obvious, given how similar they looked. Perhaps the love Geyser had given her should have been proof enough.
They never brought it up to their mother. If Geyser had gone seven years without telling them, perhaps she had never intended for them to find out. Maybe all that warmth and comfort would shatter the instant Parrotfish brought it up. It was too fragile, too risky; they would rather live without confirmation than not have Geyser in their life.
A separate event would bring their paths apart anyway. Fans of the book approached both her and her mother, asking avidly about the location of their coastal home. Later fans brought reports of dragons from other tribes trying to hunt for the place themselves. Parrotfish was filled with confusion, followed by a flash of protectiveness, though a comment from her mother caused it all to turn to excitement.
As wonderful as their stay in the Seawing Palace had been, Parrotfish had discovered their niche. After exchanging promises to visit with Geyser, the hybrid returned to their coast and cave to intercept the incoming dragons. Their mother's scroll had sparked interest in the tropical shoreline, and now they were here to guide it. The land that had returned so much of their joy had more than enough happiness to spare to other dragons, as long as they were there to make sure it maintained its spark. Waving down their visitors, they proudly declared themselves the dragonet described in the scroll. 
Parrotfish moved back into the cave she once shared with Geyser. Like sand accumulated in a hourglass, her home gradually became more like "home" the longer she stayed, decorated with a variety of trinkets. Some were of her own creation or discovery, others from fans and visitors. Some visitors bobbed their thanks in pretty little bottles, rolling up scraps of parchment within. Others brought items from their respective tribes. All found a place on the walls of Parrotfish's home. 
The hybrid continues to live on their coast, guiding visitors through the tropical waters. They have familiarized themself with nearly every tribe, with even some of their old Rainwing and Nightwing acquaintances emerging from the Rainforest to be guided by them. 
They happen to receive more splashes to the face than others. By accident, of course.
Relationships
Geyser | With her being their main source of warmth and comfort, Parrotfish is heavily attached to Geyser. They had recognized their tribal similarities ever since they were still young. She was the reason they never considered themself mutated or wrong, even if their body made their life harder in the forest. Even after inferring that their features were -- in a way -- her fault as their mother, they never hated her for it. The love she provided in each stage of their life was enough to make up for it all. Geyser also taught them how to swim, using their body for what it was meant to do, proving once and for all that their features were not something to hate. Parrotfish loved their mother enough to accompany them all the way to the Kingdom of the Sea, an arduous journey considering their lack of gills.
Guava | Along with the other dragonets she hatched with, she viewed Guava as an idol. He was so nice, with all the gifts, and so cool, adventuring through the Rainforest. As she grew older however, it was harder to maintain that wonder. Guava didn't spare much attention to the "useless" dragonet and with no chance of gaining her childhood icon's admiration, her own admiration faded. 
Trivia
*Created for the object-based character contest.
*Her object was 'soda': embodied in her personality and color scheme, as well as the corrosive nature of her venom
*Her name was initially Parrot, though the -fish was appended mostly as a way of pointing out her Seawing figure
**Imagine their surprise when it turned out that 'parrotfish' was a real species
*Like her namesake, Parrotfish likes to break down coral, though for art rather than food
Gallery
parrotfish-chan2.png|Joy Ang ref
3E91A5EF-2938-4985-9DA0-AFE61CCAD4CA.png|Drawn by me, chan 
Category:Characters
Category:Work in Progress
Category:Non-binary
Category:LGBT+
Category:SeaWings
Category:RainWings
Category:Hybrids
Category:Content (AvanteInkling)
Category:Dragonets