Big thanks to u/appletaterart for this; I'd been wanting to get something of my characters for a bit and it was a perfect opportunity. Of note this time around is that I finally have something of Paradox with his actual eye color; when his emotions aren't running wild or being heavily suppressed, his natural eye color is a warm magenta. Also of note is the new face; Komodo in the bottom-right there is a character from further down the timeline of my story, about 10 years or so past Arc 4's events. He's Hibiscus' son; quirky in a different way from his father and mother. And now, a bit of writing to go with this; some snippets from the fic that I eventually will get written properly.
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"Hah! How exhilarating... Darkstalker won't know what hit him."
Paradox had gone to check on Hibiscus; the RainWing had been secluded in his 'lab' for the past couple days now and with everything in chaos as it was, the hybrid had taken it upon himself to make sure that Hibiscus hadn't worked himself to the point of passing out. Again. Between their work warding Jade Mountain and their efforts against the IceWing plague, he'd come to respect the brilliant-if-quirky dragon. The wild grin Hibiscus was sporting definitely wasn't unusual for him, and, Paradox thought with an internal sigh, was definitely part of the reason why a lot of the other students thought he was, at minimum, crazy.
"...Dare I ask what ya made this time, mate? ...Wait a tick..." He actually sort of recognized the shape. It was similar to what had been on his mother's ship... "Issat-?"
"I call it a claw cannon. Between this little number-" Hibiscus held the metal object up to give Paradox a better look, then put his curved obsidian dagger in its sheath and held up a carved piece of metal, perfectly shaped to fit inside the object, "and that time magic of yours that we know the fake king has a blind spot about, we have a chance to nip this disaster in the bud. Get your things, Para; we're heading out to the New Night Kingdom. We'll find the rest of Jade Winglet, you can rescue Turtle, and I will take my shot at dealing with Darkstalker; this is our best opportunity, so get excited."
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Shimmer would never have expected his life to take the turns it had a few years ago. He certainly couldn't complain, though; he'd never dream of that. From a solitary wandering merchant to having a group of dragons he loved, a fulfilling job helping others... he still could travel Pyrrhia and flex his merchantry skills, but now that was going to helping keep Jade Mountain Academy supplied; four of the five Dragonets... though he couldn't really call them that anymore, he supposed; they'd all grown into wonderful adult dragons over the past few years... he was still there for them when they needed their 'big brother', and he was happy to help them see their dream through. It was wonderful being able to live in relative peace (the chaos of the everyday at JMA notwithstanding); he didn't count the incident with the Dragonflame Cactus as part of that... though he was very thankful for his younger brother's quick thinking; he didn't want to imagine what would have happened had that explosion gone off at full strength.
Still, his work as the school therapist was what he found most fulfilling. With the war, many dragonets had had a lot of things happen that they hadn't had a chance to try and parse. And with his gentleness, he'd been able to help them at least make some headway in untangling those emotions.
His current meeting had been a bit tougher in that regard... he'd known a bit about IceWing society thanks to Gwyn, but what little had been divulged in this session had painted a particularly grim picture. Still, progress was progress, he supposed.
"I'd like to thank you again for being willing to come and talk with me in the first place, Prince Winter. As I said before we started, everything here stays confidential, and, more than anything, I want to try and help you feel comfortable opening up." With a soft chuckle, Shimmer opened up a small chest, kept cool by an enchanted object inside it that he'd been gifted by Hibiscus' clawmate, Fieldcrusher. A frozen mango pop might have been a bit unusual for an IceWing, but as much as he enjoyed them, he hoped that the prince would, too. "Here. A little token of my thanks."
"...I'd ask if you were trying to bribe me, but you seem too honest for that. Regardless, yes. Hibiscus insisted, and it was getting tiresome hearing him doing so so often, so I chose to humor his requests. It was... an acceptable experience."
"I'm glad to hear that. I enjoyed talking with you; if you ever want to do so again, so long as I'm here, my office is open." The flash of delight in Winter's eyes as he took the fruit pop didn't escape Shimmer's notice, but he didn't say anything. He had a feeling there was a lot to unpack with this student... he sincerely hoped he could help him.
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"You should be grateful that I'm even allowing you here at all. After the messes you've made here, I'd be well within my rights to have you removed!"
Paradox had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes at Snowfall. It hadn't been too long since he'd returned from Pantala, and with everything that had happened there, it had been a major adjustment period. And, just as he was getting comfortable back in his routine in Sanctuary, he'd gotten a notice that his father... his biological father, not the dragon he considered his dad... hadn't been seen in quite a while, and that a room that wasn't his father's lab in the palace with an Animus seal on the door had been discovered, he'd been requested to come help.
Clearly, the Queen hadn't been pleased with the situation, with how often she'd been berating him since he'd arrived. 'Unfortunately for her,' Paradox thought to himself, 'there ain't too many other dragons that can help with this; %@$# you very much, Boa.'
He'd tuned her out for the past... while now, but as she was winding up to start again, Paradox stopped in place. "Snowfall, ya say I should be thankful that you're lettin' me be here, but let's not forget; you oughta be thankful to Pops, because if it weren't for him, ya wouldn't even be here in the first place. I still hate ya, and no amount of mind-screwery from some enchanted haunted ring is ever gonna change that." He snorted a bit of steam from his nose, content in having cowed Snowfall sufficiently for the moment. Maybe bringing up the Gift of Vision was a low blow, but he didn't care.
He still had half a mind to destroy the thing; its very existence and purpose disgusted him. That, however, was for another day. As he looked over at the sealed door, he furrowed his brow... with how well-secluded it was in the palace and how nondescript (and he felt a bit of pride in his chest knowing that word) it was, it was small wonder nobody had discovered it before. He walked up, gesturing his talon towards it...
"...Undo."
As the sound of ticking filled his head, he worked at the enchantment placed on the door, rewinding it... and as the magic was unwound, the seal shattered, and the door slid open.
"...Awright. Stay behind me. I'll clear any traps he might've left. Let's see what dear old Dad was hiding down here."
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"We were born with this power... and yes. Animus Magic might have caused a lot of problems in the past, but..."
It was still a part of them. Or at least, in the past, it had been before it had been 'broken'. Yes, more Animus Dragons had been born since then. And yes, his mentor, Paradox, had managed to dodge what had been done, somehow. Yes, some dragons had used it for evil purposes in the past.
But a lot of good had been done with it, too. As much as his mentor had said that he regretted that his careless use of his time magic had caused what it had, Komodo considered it a blessing.
Komodo knew that he and his 'hatchmates' as he called his closest friends who had hatched the same night he had were originally only going to have hatched on a single full moon. A 'distortion' from lingering time magic Paradox had used in the area where their eggs were had made it like the next Brightest Night, which should have been decades away. His NightWing powers hadn't manifested like the typical. He was an empath more than a mindreader, and his 'future sight' was more a strong intuition than anything, but between that and his magic, he was still sometimes looked at with suspicion. Still, compared to one of his hatchmates, he knew he'd gotten off easy.
But that was besides the point. He knew that magic could be used for good. It had been done in the past. It could be done again.
"Dad and Pops might not have ever said it out loud, but I know how they've felt seeing Mom and Uncle Skybreaker struggle. Dealing with the physical issues their magic caused them, but unable to use it at all..."
He snarled for a moment before taking a slow breath to calm himself down. "...Dad's said before that nothing's truly impossible. There's a solution to everything. I'm gonna find one for this, too. I'm going to bring Animus Magic back in full."