Eden

> I used to wish on the stars a lot too, when I was younger, whenever I saw them out. I mostly just wished for every dragon at home to be kinder to each other! Oh, and also for more flowers for my garden, and also some good, warm, soft bread.
>
> **Eden to Troubleseeker**

### Aliases

* Seedling (by Paradise)
* Little Bud (by Kea)
* Flower (by Ophidiophobia)

## Professional Status

### Affiliation

* Jade Mountain Academy
* Gold Winglet

## Personal Status

### Relatives

* Paradise [Mother]
* Kea [Cousin]

## Misc

### Debut

11/29/2022 - Great Hall

A young RainWing dragoness with a bright smile and who seems to wear her heart on her sleeve, **Eden** seems determined to make sure that this year would be the best for her classmates. However, what lies behind that seemingly unbothered smile of hers?

Eden is currently portrayed by seraphdove.

## Appearance

Eden is a somewhat small, soft-featured young dragoness with a willowy, delicate build, her snout dotted with darker freckles. Her scales are often a soft shade of yellow and pink, with warm dark brown eyes and yellow, distinctly flower-shaped pupils. At the end of her tail, the yellow fades to a soft, light green color. She tends to have the faint, but pleasant scent of roses and jasmines following her around.

She often wears flowering vines woven around her left horn.

## Personality

First things first, Eden is a sweetheart. She’s very sensitive to the emotions of others and in her eyes, no one’s unimportant. Regardless of what you may think of it, Eden is, at her core, a ‘bleeding heart’ kind of person. Gentle-hearted and mellow, Eden does not usually come across as very intimidating, even if it may benefit her in certain situations. And, beyond that, Eden also almost never raises her voice, often being overwhelmed by loud noises (even when it’s coming from herself), and tends to be quite dreamy, which often makes her come across as a bit of an airhead.

Which isn’t entirely wrong, even if Eden isn’t completely stupid or oblivious. Eden does indeed have the tendency to get caught up in hypotheticals, sometimes slow to really understand things, as well as being quite ‘exaggerated’ when it comes to expressing particularly strong emotions. She can be giggly with an overactive imagination, though of course how much of this is genuine and how much of this is exaggerated for the sake of cheering up other dragons can depend on the situation. She does have the tendency to tear up when she’s feeling something strongly, so Eden also gives off the impression of being a bit of a crybaby.

It’s also not so uncommon to think of Eden as childish and naive. She’s optimistic and always wants to believe in the good of people, so she’s easily forgiving and trusting…and this is also in part due to Eden’s low opinion of herself, which is in turn a consequence of having her agency ignored, diminished, and disrespected throughout her life. She struggles with establishing her own boundaries, and even if Eden is still angry and hurt with someone, she often pushes herself to forgive them whether it’s deserved or whether or not she’s ready to do so.

She tends to try to take on the role of being the ‘caretaker’ in a group, and as such Eden often neglects her own needs and wants. She always feels as if she’s wasting time if she’s not carrying some sort of burden that belongs to someone else. For all the love she has to give, Eden would always give that to other people before she thinks of giving it to herself, and, due to her poor self-esteem, tends to break down the most when she feels as if she’s useless and burdening those around her.

She’s sensitive, and tends to believe too much of people. Eden is deeply sentimental and holds on to her childhood ideals and values, always trying to look for the silver lining somewhere even when she knows she has to admit there isn’t. She is prone to viewing the world and the people in it with a romanticized view, even if Eden knows and would acknowledge that it’s just not like that. Deep down, Eden’s really just afraid that everything she’s lived and stood for would mean nothing at all in the end.

Still, Eden has a deep, deep hatred for being infantilized and patronized by other people. She hates it when she feels like other people are being condescending to her, as if they’re underestimating what she could really do. Eden can be spiteful when it comes to this kind of thing, as Eden at least just wants people to take her seriously. Though Eden is patient and would not immediately harshly berate someone for treating her in such a way, Eden would do everything in her power to prove them wrong. All this probably comes from her less-than-stellar relationship with her mother while growing up.

Regardless of what one may think of her, Eden is dedicated to her duties. She is reliable and faithful, and when Eden promises she’ll do something she would rather die than fail to go through with her promise. Eden is trustworthy and sincere. And beyond that, Eden is also a perceptive, fast thinker in dire situations and is often able to see solutions to a problem that may not be obvious right away.

There’s no doubt that Eden is a fast learner when given the incentive to learn. She’s passionate and cares deeply for what she does, and is determined to both prove and improve herself whenever possible, always pushing herself to surpass her own limits. And despite Eden’s tendency to let others off easily when they target her self-esteem, she is stubborn and loyal when it comes to her loved ones and her ideals. Eden refuses to ever turn her back on who or what she believes in. She wants to be useful to others and to herself, and is willing to take herself apart and give whatever’s left to someone else.

She has a deep desire to connect with other people, to see if she could understand herself the way they may understand her. And, as such, perhaps Eden’s greatest and truest value to herself lies in the same traits that others may think less of her for: her compassion. Eden is a deeply loving person, nurturing and always willing to help bring out the best in others.

## History

### Early Years

Born in Howler's Keep to her mother Paradise and an unknown father, Eden grew up in very poor financial circumstances, with her mother being one of the least wealthy members of Eden's extended family. As soon as she could walk and talk, she had to be the main provider for herself and her mother and took on various odd jobs around Howler's Keep, learning how to cook, clean, and heal during these jobs, and also took time to forage and hunt to make sure that she and her mother could eat. All that while trying to get a good education as well, as Eden may earn some additional gifts and aid from her other relatives if she was doing well.

And to make things even harder, Eden also had very few friends due to Paradise's moody and controlling tendencies, with Eden often having to stay at home to look after her mother. Not to mention the fact that most other dragons in Howler's Keep did not like Paradise much, so Eden had to keep the peace between her mother and these other dragons as well. Plus, her physical fragility, her seemingly airheaded attitude, and her sensitivity also made her an easy target for teasing and bullying.

Being smaller and one of the least intimidating dragonets around, Eden was often not taken seriously. Especially by her mother, Paradise. However, Eden always tried her best to be kind, and endured whatever treatment she got. Whenever her mother or some other member of his family was lonely or sick, Eden would always be the first to step up and take care of them, even if this dragon had humiliated her just a week before. And Eden would never regret caring for them.

Still, whenever life got tough or whenever she just had time to, Eden kept a small garden back at home. She convinced her mother to start one so that Eden could sell flowers to other dragons, and also learn how to create herbal medicines and sell those as well. Eden quickly became a proficient gardener, caring for her plants dutifully. She would describe these plants as being some of her only friends during this time of her life.

At some point, Eden was given the opportunity to go to Jade Mountain Academy by one of her aunts. When Eden expressed an interest in this to her mother, she and Paradise got into an argument despite Eden's attempts to deescalate the situation. Eventually, however, Paradise gave in and let Eden go, stating that "[Eden] would regret the decision soon."

*More to be revealed soon...*

## Relationships

### Paradise

Paradise is Eden's mother.

Ever since she hatched, Eden always had a quite difficult relationship with her mother. With Eden having to be the main caregiver between both of them due to Paradise's incompetence and laziness, there were many times where Eden felt frustrated with her mother. Not to mention the fact that Paradise never quite took her daughter seriously, often undermining Eden's intelligence and agency as well, being prone to ridiculing Eden even if Eden asked her a simple question.

Despite that, she always tried her best to care for her and to earn her mother's pride and affection. During her time at the academy, Eden finds that she misses her mother, and wants to prove that coming here was a good idea.

### Kea

Kea was Eden's cousin.

Being several years older than her, Eden and Kea quickly bonded when they first met during a family gathering, with Kea coming over to visit often just to see his "favorite cousin." Due to this, Eden always saw Kea more as an older brother while growing up, especially with how affectionate and protective he was over her. He had given her the first vine around her horn, and Eden kept it until it wilted. Afterward, Eden continued to make and wear more around her left horn.

### Dionaea

Dionaea is the LeafWing in Eden's winglet.

Eden first met Dionaea in the great hall after Dionaea spilled some water over herself and the floor. Eden offered to help clean up the mess, and once it was cleaned, Eden invited Dionaea to come with her to see the school greenhouses. Dionaea accepted, and it was there in the greenhouses that Eden and Dionaea engaged in further conversation. Eden pointed out that Dionaea was named after the venus flytrap, which Dionaea confirmed, and afterward Eden asked if venus flytraps were nice.

Soon Eden got to see Dionaea's leafspeak powers for the first time, and was evidently impressed and wowed by it. Now quite invested into becoming real friends with Dionaea, Eden expressed that desire, which Dionaea didn't quite seem to be against. They leave the conversation on good terms.

Later, Eden would bring food to her winglet, with Dionaea being one of them. Remembering that Dionaea had said that she liked snails, Eden made sure that she prepared snails for her.

Eden views Dionaea as a very interesting and impressive dragon, and Eden has some admiration for her for her leafspeak ability alone. Although Dionaea is not always so easy to converse with, Eden does not seem discouraged by it and is quite excited to see Dionaea each time they cross paths.

### Fateender

Fateender is the IceWing in Eden's winglet.

Eden first meets him when she brings food for the Gold Winglet to enjoy, and Eden notes that his appearance and name are cool. Eden takes interest in the dragon, having met very few dragons like him before, and desires to know him more. She enjoys his company from what she has interacted of him, however, and can't wait to see whether or not they'd become real friends later.

### Troubleseeker

Troubleseeker is the NightWing in the Copper Winglet.

Eden first met Troubleseeker when she stumbled upon him crying in the gardens. Feeling that it was wrong to leave a crying dragon alone like that, Eden offered to stay, despite Troubleseeker's initial rudeness. When it became clear that he appreciated her staying, they quickly became friends as they introduced themselves to each other, and after Eden briefly taught him the basics of how to read when they met up in the library.

Their interactions afterward are rather friendly, with Troubleseeker quickly developing what seems like a crush on Eden. They meet again at the observatory at night, where they talk more about the stars. Eden compares him to an old friend she had from her dragonethood when he asks her if she had anyone back home that she loved, and later she fell asleep. Troubleseeker carried her back to her room.

When Eden saw Troubleseeker injured by his mother, Eden was quick to step up and care for him, bringing him to the infirmary to tend to his wounds as well. She told him that he deserved better and deserved to be safe and loved, which Troubleseeker seemed to appreciate.

Eden sees Troubleseeker as a good friend and thinks that he's cool, often being happy to speak with him. Although he was initially quite rude to her, Eden never really had a negative opinion of him over it, and is happy to be a friend of his. However, Eden does seem quite oblivious to any sort of infatuation that he may have with her.

## Trivia

* The base used for Eden's reference was made by PlasmaWolf2016 on Deviantart, and she was designed by seraphdove.
* Eden is bisexual.
* Eden was named after her great-grandmother.
	+ Her name is also somewhat derived from Paradise, as Eden's name also comes from the Garden of Eden, described as a biblical paradise.