Aerro Backstory
The Leafwing closed his eyes. It didn’t truly matter in the end, it was nearly as dark behind his eyelids as it was in the hallways that ran between the cells. He shifted a little, feeling the cold stone floor under his belly as he laid on his front talons. Blinking, his gaze shifted to the minimal light that shined in the corridor. Very few dragons were ever held this far back, usually only the most heinous of criminals. And Aerro, of course, whenever he was being punished. Laying back on his talons, the Leafwing let out a huff and thought about his life.
Unsure if he believed what the Hivewings told him or not, all he knew of his early days was what he’d been told. How the Hivewing queen, Wasp, had supposedly found his egg one day while she was out on an island near the Wasp Hive. That only with her benevolence did the Leafwing live at all. She had thought to kill him before he was even born but decided to use him as an example. And a pet, Aerro snorted to himself. Yes, Wasp kept him about as her pet. He supposed it was better that way. At least he was kept decently well. That is, until recently…
Aerro blinked again slowly. He was getting off track with his thoughts. Being that there was hardly anything to do in a dark cell, he usually went over the details of his life. Before he was old enough to even understand, he was given a collar and leash, kept near the queen at all times. The first few days, he was told, were terrible for most of the Hivewings and Silkwings, as the Leafwing couldn’t eat meat. It had made him violently ill when he’d tried it. Fish and fruits were all he could have and fruits were less common with all the trees gone. A small smile graced his snout as he thought about the few fruits he’d been given throughout his life. Another detraction from his past. Shaking himself, he continued with the timeline. It was shortly into his youth that he had been brought out to a party. He had been leashed, kept by the queen’s throne and overall was gawked at by the many others there. The little dragonet had also been staring, never seeing so many dragons in one place. That was, until one of them threw something at him. They weren’t sure what it was exactly, but it had cut open a wound on his face that left a scar afterwards. From then on, the Leafwing had been wary, disliking being shown off the many of the others. Some would throw things and Wasp would do nothing to actually stop them. He was neither Hivewing or Silkwing after all. Aerro lightly rubbed at the scar and shivered.
As he grew older, so too did the designs to keep him imprisoned. They had built a cage to keep him in, along with the collar having to be expanded. Placed in the middle of the room now, those that saw him could see everything about him. And throw more stuff at him, typically remains of food like bones and sometimes fruits. He liked being hit by the fruits, he could eat those. But the eyes always made him feel worse until he had to hunker down, shaking like a leaf as he tried to hide. The laughing was probably the worst. They laughed at him, at his pain, his misery. Those were the ones he truly feared. Not caring at all about the pathetic Leafwing or that he lived. At such a young age, he truly hated his life.
Then came the visits to the other hives. Still at a young age, Aerro wasn’t able to fly even if he had wanted to. So they had taken to constructing a sort of hammock to carry him in. The first time he had been out in the sun had to be one of his truly cherished memories. Feeling the warm light on his being revitalized him. In that moment, he knew he was a creature of the light. Cooped up as he was, he didn’t get much but where the sun had been left him looking greener than he had before. The memory also had him feel what it was like to fly, something he longed for but knew he wouldn’t get. Upon reaching the new hive, he went back to his fearful ways as he was again shown off to the parties. Though he also passed quite a few things that took his interest too. Mostly posters of Silkwings and Hivewings. And the Leafwings. He couldn’t read them, he’d barely started trying to speak at all as it was.
It was during those visits that he learned about the dungeons and cells though. He was kept underground after Wasp had seen his brighter green scales. She always said it was “for his protection” but Aerro knew better now. It was to keep him in a state of submission. Shaking himself thoroughly, the Leafwing kept feeling his attention slipping. It was prevalent these days, to be fair. He focused again on his past. This was another point in his life that was different. When he was down there, with the ‘criminals’, he saw how they looked. Shocked, yes, as was everyone, but also a lot more pity and sadness in their eyes. He still avoided the other dragons there, the first few times. At a point, though, the others started to ask him why he was there. Aerro couldn’t have answered. It was his place, he always assumed this was to be his treatment. Yet the others always spoke of life beyond just captivity. It had sparked a small flare in the Leafwing, to try and rebel.
That hadn’t worked out too well. Aerro shuddered as he remembered the few times he had tried. He still bore the scars from those times, a lot of painful instruments used on him, just a dragonet of two years. Any attempt at escape was futile, he’d learned. He also learned of Wasp’s wrath. She had done a lot of the scarring herself. He was just something she owned, like a piece of parchment to be thrown away at a moment’s notice. That had stuck with the Leafwing. He did what he could to stay on the Hivewing Queen’s good side from then on, though she was growing bored of him more and more. Being placed in the cells more often, some of the more regular residents, whether from extended sentences or repeated offenders, got to know him and he them.
It was during those extended periods of time in the dungeon with the others that he started to learn how to read and somewhat by extension, write. Aerro remembered fondly an older female dragonet, who had gotten him out of his shell enough to talk to her. She was amazed he could speak as decently as he could and offered to show him letters of the alphabet. It wasn’t more than a few days before she left and didn’t return, as far as his knowledge went, but it started another spark in the young Leafwing to learn more. So anytime he was near or with another prisoner, he asked them to help him with reading. It truly helped him learn what the posters said about his kind, though it had taken a long time to get to the point he was able to string the sentences together. The Leafwing grew sad as he heard about all the tales of his tribe, traitors and terrorists and what-not. Aerro didn’t believe it then and he still didn’t believe it now. Dragons would stop in the streets to point at the caged dragonet, who had to travel by wagon now since he was too big and mock him or throw things. Some had pity though. He liked those dragons the most.
It wasn’t until his third year of life that he discovered his ability. It had been an offhanded comment by some of the higher ranking dragons in the queen’s court, yet it made the dragonet shiver. Wasp had grown tired of her pet and was planning to kill him. On the one talon, he was only three years of age and had so much life to hang on to. On the other, the Leafwing had accepted his lot in life as a prisoner and pet, knowing the day would come he’d die. His only wish was he could have flown, on his own, at least once. Aerro could still remember how his power manifested, gazing at his chained and lightly glowing hand while a cool breeze ran over him. It was similar to now, being locked in the dungeon. It had been directly after an outside visit and the idea of dying without flying made him long for it all the more. The Leafwing had laid down, closing his eyes as he dreamed of flying, feeling a cool wind wrap around him. It was weird, he didn’t remember there being any breezes in this section of the dungeon
The audible gasp made him open his eyes. In front of him was the Hivewing queen, but something was off. It took a moment, him blinking slowly before it dawned on him. He was staring directly at the queen. Who was a lot taller than him and should be looking down at Aerro to see him. The Leafwing took notice of a few things then. One; he was feeling like something was draining him. Two; as he looked down, there was a strange bright green glow surrounding him. And three; he was freaking levitating! Panic surged through him as the light about him vanished and he was subsequently dumped from his position to land on the hard floor. The air was knocked out of him as he shook, scared of himself and the queen. As he glanced up, he saw Wasp’s face was a mixture of shock and wonder before it morphed back into her normal one. She demanded answers to what he had done and he had none. As a result, he was sent to the scientists.
Aerro’s time being researched was some of the best and worst times he had lived through. He hated being surrounded by others at this point, he would shut down mentally. Shaking and wanting to bolt were the only things he felt at those times. The testing and prodding wasn’t helpful much either. But he got to actually eat a more healthy amount with actual fresh ish fruits. The Leafwing also got time out in the sun. Sure, they starved him of both too but he felt happy when they took him out and fed him well. All in the pursuit of him using and testing his power. He did remember seeing a female dragonet sometimes come around and do some of the usual check up, none of the overly science-y ones but she seemed very kind and smart to him. It had taken months before they had concluded their research. By that time, Aerro had become a bit adept at using his newfound skill.
It turned out he could control the air and winds. From the excitement of the scientists, he harbored a guess that it wasn’t common for a dragon to do that. Aerro shook his head at his naive younger self. No other dragon could do what he did. At the time though, it was a remarkable and amazing gift, one Wasp exploited extremely. Now her Leafwing pet could do parlor tricks. And parlor tricks he did, as the Hivewing queen now had a reason to properly attend to the dragonet. Levitating was the obvious fun choice of the gatherings but he could also cool or heat up things if the air was cooperative and make air bubbles. Other tricks came as time went on and Wasp showed off her newly refurbished toy. Between all the hives and the normal palace parties, Aerro was forced to use his abilities more often than not. And doing so lead him to realize some of the bad things it led to after so long.
It started off relatively simple. He began to develop headaches now, when he used his power. Small and could be ignored. But over time they grew worse and worse, to the point concentration got hard. Wasp noticed the flagging in his abilities and banished him back to the dungeons. That only made things worse. Now he frequently got nose bleeds or would cough up blood. The headaches moved to migraines, sometimes to the point he would have to stop just to keep his sanity. Needless to say, the Hivewing queen was displeased. Now here he was, locked up in the present at somewhere between five and six years and awaiting the next gathering. Only this one wasn’t a grand party or an invite. No, this gathering was the one he had accepted years ago. They would gather for his execution. And Aerro couldn’t feel anything for it besides a sadness that he never truly got to fly himself, free like the birds he had seen.
