Arlecchino
She is the Fourth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers and the current head of the House of the Hearth. She is addressed as "Father" by members of the House, who she calls her "children."
Dragon Companion: Vanzo Ilin'Rathaki
Arlecchino was on the hunt. For what, she didn't exactly know yet- between the abussal monsters still roaming Teyvat, and the new portals popping up around the world, there was no telling what strange creatures lurked in the wilds. Several children had been attacked by something out here, and she intended to find the source and destroy it.
She followed a set of tracks, they were relatively small- about the size of a wolf's footprint, but with three toes instead of four, and there were twice the number of footprints- either two creatures walking in tandem, or one creature with twice the amount of legs.
She followed the tracks to a small ruin. Nothing appeared to be there, but the tracks culminated to a corner of the ruins, and she could just make out a blurry feeling- like something was, indeed, there, just really well hidden. There was an ominous feeling in the air, and she stared down the corner of the ruins, intent on flushing out her quarry. With a sudden growl, something leapt from the corner, seemingly out of thin air, straight at- no, not at her, at something behind her.
Taking that as a cue to dodge, she swiftly side-stepped the leaping creature, a loud crack sounding in the air. She took a moment to assess the battlefield. The creature that leapt at her was crumpled into a heap just a few feet away, and floating just behind where she'd been was a floating mass of eyes and vines- no wonder it'd left no tracks. The mass raised several tendrils, spikes growing along them, aimed towards the slowly rising heap of limbs. She charged the floating mass, landing a heavy strike. Flames followed her scythe's path, setting the creature ablaze. It screeched, shuddering, before crumbling into dust and ash.
With that dealt with, she turned towards the creature she'd originally been following. It was slightly smaller than her, with 4 sets of legs, and three long tails scattered haphazardly on the ground. It appeared to be a dragon, likely from the Nexus. The four webbed wings seemed to confirm this as well. It slowly rose, seeming to struggle to get all it's limbs in order. A fairly young one perhaps? It was lanky and awkward looking, appearing much to be like a deer fawn still getting used to it's own limbs.
After a moment, the dragon seemed to shake off the strike it'd received, and looked towards the smoldering ashes of the monster she'd just destroyed, then looked as her- equal amounts fear and awe in it's eyes. "I presume you were hunting that creature?" she asked, knowing some Nexus dragons were intelligent enough to speak. Thankfully, this was one of them. "Yes.. I.. I had to prove them wrong!" he exclaimed. "Prove them wrong?" she asked, curious about this seemingly young dragon. "My friends- they, they all think I'm a coward, cause I get scared easy, but I'm not! I just don't like doing stuff we're not supposed to. I'm not a coward!" The young dragon exclaimed.
"So, striking against a foe you aren't prepared to face is how you intend to prove yourself?" she more scolded than asked. "I- I could've-" "Perhaps. Or perhaps you would've died a grim and pointless death." The little dragon hung his head low. She sighed, and reached down, pressing a hand to the young dragon's neck. "Come with me. What you need is a guiding hand in order to reach your full potential, and I will be that guide, as your "Father"."
Dragon Stats:
Name: Surge
Gender: Male (he/him)
Size: 40' long, 5'6" at the shoulder
Species: Mutt
Parentage: Dam: Vervain Ilin'Rathaki, Sire: Vayka
Abilities: create and control darkness, supernatural stealth, telekinesis, telepathy, verbal speech, wingless flight
Personality: Venzo is a hard worker who wants what's best for his family, same as all other children of the House. He's a quiet fellow, preferring to keep just to his family and not really socialize with others, but he'll do as "Father" asks of him.
Arlecchino knew from her children how powerful and useful a dragon's abilities could be, and Venzo proved no exception. Extra work had to be put in to help him get his limbs under control, especially during stealth missions, a task he now excels in. To her, Venzo is just another one of her children, and she views him no differently- a child to protect, but also, a child within whom she places high expectations, just like the rest of her children.