Dragonberry

**Leroy Antoine Ceil** commonly known as "Dragonberry" is the eleventh heir of the Lunian throne. He is the son of Birtoka and Yuki Ceil and was appointed as prince at the age of thirteen. He is a major character in Tonoki's Tale. In the third book, some of the chapters are told through exclusively his point of view. Throughout a majority of the trilogy, he serves as Tonoki's best friend, and it's revealed he even has feelings for him, but Tonoki never returns these feelings.

## Appearance

Dragonberry is a lean and relatively tall Lunian boy who was born with an extremely rare genetic defect that leads to him lacking a tail and beast ears. His ears resemble closer to that of a human, but they are slightly pointed at the edges. His skin is very pale, and his eyes are a deep red. The two contrasting shades of blue in his hair create an uneven pattern of dark and light blue similarly to Birtoka's hair. A small wisp of his bangs refuses to be swept to the left, and sticks out a bit. His hair is grown partially shielding the left side of his face where his missing eye is concealed under a light gray eyepatch.

Throughout most of the series, he wears a black long sleeve shirt with a large collar that often hides his neck and his mouth. Just beneath the shoulders of the sleeves are white bandages that wrap around his upper arms. He wears a small brown belt with a pouch on the right side that often contains a pen, a small notepad, two small knives, a pair of scissors, and a matchbox. Swept over his shoulders is a ragged light gray cape that hangs just above his knees. His pants are a medium gray. Although at first glance he seems to be wearing socks and sandals separately, it is one pair of shoes that only appear that way. The inner "sock" part is white while the "strap" and the sole are a dull brown.

## Personality

Generally speaking, Dragonberry is quiet and straightforward. He finds enjoyment in teaching others, especially Tonoki when he appears in the Lunian forest for the first time. He follows closely after both of his parents, being a powerful warrior, but also a knowledgeable healer. He began dragon taming at the age of eleven. For years, he honed his skills to become one of the greatest dragon tamers in Luna. Alongside his dangerous career, his mother, Yuki, taught him all about medicines. These two sides of him, the outgoing hunter and the gentle healer, shaped him into a fairly balanced individual. Despite being teased for his defective body, he's gained the respect of the entire kingdom, and many look forward to when he is crowned king.

Dragonberry is very loyal to his kingdom, and especially his parents. He is not afraid to be hurt, or even killed, as long as it means he has successfully protected someone he cares for. This is especially apparent in his love for Tonoki, who he is constantly looking after and checking in on despite being from a different kingdom. He gladly introduces Tonoki to the world of dragons, and teaches many others about what makes dragons so special. In less serious circumstances, Dragonberry likes to make people laugh, but struggles to come up with jokes of his own. Over time, it becomes obvious that outside of training and studying, Dragonberry does little other than sleep. He rarely gives himself free time or any breaks. This is further visible in the third book in the scene where Dragonberry is brushing Tonoki's wings, and realizes that he doesn't need to be doing something grandiose to be happy. On the inside, Dragonberry wants nothing more than to have complete peace in his kingdom, and complete peace among the dragons.

## Story

### Early Life

Dragonberry was born not long after Birtoka was crowned Lunian king. Leon, his older cousin, somewhat treated him like a younger brother, but their familial bond was fragile from the beginning. Dragonberry was never called by his name "Dragonberry" and instead was referred to his real name, Leroy. Ever since he was young, his father, Birtoka, would constantly encourage him to go out into the woods and learn about the world of dragons. This resulted in a terrible experience at the age of twelve, where Leroy and Leon were trying to scare off a large black spine dragon that had attacked them. The dragon swung a claw into Leroy's face, leaving a massive mark on his face, practically shredding his left eye completely. Permenately blinded in his left eye, Leroy was treated by his mother, and had to wear an eyepatch from then on. This led to two things: Leroy began to grow his hair out over the left side of his face, and he began to take an interest in healing. His mother's ability to seemingly completely cleanse the horrendous scar on his face impressed him immensely, and he sought to learn how to do the same. Around the age of thirteen, Leroy made an offhanded comment about one of the other dragon tamers, which led to many of his friends coming to the realization of his attraction to men. This quickly resulted in the nickname of Dragonberry making its first appearance. At first, the teasing was rather annoying, but he grew used to it quickly. This was also around the time that Birtoka began to debate who would take on the role of Lunian prince. Leon quickly affirmed that he had no interest in the responsibilities, so Dragonberry took on the role as the prince.

### The Silver Dragon

Dragonberry first appears in the second chapter of The Silver Dragon. Although he immediately recognizes Tonoki as an Aerian, he still treats him with respect, and helps treat his wounds. Dragonberry's kindness instantly makes Tonoki realize that he's been wrong about the Lunians. They become friends rather quickly, and Dragonberry acts as Tonoki's unofficial guide. He teaches Tonoki all about the dragons of Luna, and even helps him befriend one, the silver dragon. Due to Tonoki being an outsider, he never mocks or teases Dragonberry for his defects and preferences, which leads to Dragonberry trusting him and growing closer to him overall. He's an emotional support for the prince when Monokai's selfish intentions are revealed, and eventually Dragonberry starts to care for Tonoki as more than a friend. Both he and Birtoka ensure that none of the Aerians break into the kingdom to try and capture Tonoki. Dragonberry fights for Luna in the battle with Monokai, protecting Tonoki from any severe injuries. He takes a critical hit from Monokai's sword that was meant to kill Birtoka, and he nearly dies. Thanks to Tonoki, he is brought back from the brink of death, and Monokai is defeated. Even after Tonoki is reunited with his Aerian friends, he still considers Dragonberry to be his closest and most trustworthy friend.

### Tonoki and Orion

Dragonberry is a major character in the second book, and throughout the story shows obvious dislike for Gray. Initially, he does not trust her because he is jealous, but eventually he realizes that she is genuinely plotting evil acts, and desperately tries to get Tonoki to understand that. Orion says that the Dragonberry from his timeline acted as his second father after Tonoki's death, and would be devastated if he were to be killed in this timeline, too. Dragonberry is an active threat in the eyes of Gray, which is why through most of the book, he is kept away from Tonoki, being held off by her servants in an attempt to get Tonoki vulnerable enough to be killed. However, ultimately, Dragonberry fights back enough to the point where he kills Gray before she can kill Tonoki. He is angered and sad at how close Tonoki had come to dying, which results in him admitting his feelings. He is not present when Orion disappears.

### King Kyuuri

Dragonberry also appears as a major character in the final book, with some of the chapters being told from his perspective instead of Tonoki's. Since Tonoki has been facing so much backlash from his people for the incident with Gray, he spends a lot of time hiding in Luna, with Dragonberry keeping him company to help him cheer up. Even after his confession, Tonoki never rejects nor accepts his feelings. As Kyuuri begins to manipulate the Aerian king, Dragonberry grows increasingly worried before his own duties as the newly appointed Lunian king begin to absorb him. Unable to be there for Tonoki the way he used to, Dragonberry starts to find himself once again, proving that he rarely knows what to do with his days off. As Kyuuri starts to gain a position of power, Dragonberry acts again, trying to get Tonoki to snap out of whatever strange curse he's been put under. Dragonberry is the one who realizes the third traitor is Tonoki himself, for betraying their friendship against his own will. At the end of the book when Tonoki sacrificies his wings to save Dragonberry, he proves that as a traitor, he must make a sacrifice to pay for the betrayal, and that sacrifice being death. In the epilogue, Dragonberry is seen at the funeral of Tonoki, giving a speech that speaks for all of Luna.

## Abilities

* Can lift 110 pounds.
* Can wield two swords at once.
	+ Since Birtoka is left-handed, he was able to teach his son how to wield the sword with his left hand. However, Dragonberry cannot do other things with his left hand (such as write)
* Has won fights with dragons four times his size.
* Is able to identify various dragon eggs and types of berries very easily. (objects that are commonly used for making medicines)
* Generally agile.

## Gallery

Dragonberry on The Silver Dragon special cover 2Tonoki (left) and Dragonberry (right)
## Trivia

* When first designing Dragonberry, his hair was going to cover his eyepatch completely, and he was going to have a cloak instead of a cape.
* The word "dragonberry" is actually a type of berry found in the Lunian kingdom that is dark indigo and feels rough like a dragon's scales. When male dragons consume this berry, it will kill their sperms cells and prevent them from being able to reproduce entirely. Over time, the name of dragonberry was used as an insult towards men who could not reproduce, and eventually became an insult specifically aimed towards homosexual Lunian men.
	+ Although he hates the derogatory meaning of the name, Dragonberry has grown used to it, and no longer feels offended when it is said to him. He's even grown fond of the nickname "DB"
* In the very first draft of The Silver Dragon, Leon and Dragonberry were going to be twins who went down two distinctly different paths.
* In "The End of You" the phrase "Colour me" is referring to Dragonberry.
* Dragonberry's color palette is loosely based off of the album cover of "Understanding What We've Grown to Be" by *We Came as Romans*.