• • Jazsen and Lady • •

Get your own rukel from Darkling Dawn, at the Rukel Nest. Each image from this clutch is hand-colored with pencil. No stealing!

Jazsen's companion is only a recent edition to his life, a purple rukel by the name of Lady. Like all rukels, she is a small creature a little larger than a parrot, the perfect size to cuddle, if she allows it! All rukels have the same general characteristics, with some color variations and mutations (such as the number of wings, tails, etc.). But mainly the following are true: a longish face shaped similarly to a dog or deer, large, doe-like ears, small paws, brightly-colored fur including a mane that flows down the back of the head and neck along the spine, feathered wings, and a long, lion-like tail. Lady is typical in form, with a single pair of wings adourned with purple, lavender, and white feathers, a dark blue-violet body, a white-tufted tail, white paws, throat, and mane. She has no mutations except for her lop-ears, which make her appear even more adorable.

Don't let her appearance fool you, she lives up to her name in all ways. She is a lady, very proper and clean, with an air about her that simply demands respect and civility. It seems strange that she should befriend a metalsmith like Jazsen. Is it not dirty, sweaty work? She would never begrudge Jazsen his favorite pasttime. She has seen the good he does. She simply demands everything out of him that she demands in herself, and that includes baths twice daily!

When all is said and done, Lady makes an excellent companion for her counterpart Jazsen. She forces order into his life where he would otherwise just spend all day in the forge. She is demanding of his attention just by being there, for he is always mindful of the safety of others. That she "must" share the same living space as himself forces him to remain tidy when he would rather not bother. She makes it all worth it.

The only thing he would rather she remain quiet about ("Leave me alone," mutter mutter) is her opinion on the subject of his lonliness. "You need a woman," she says. Yes, rukels can, and often speak verbally, like any person. He doesn't want to bother with the subject, it is not worth his time. Ah, well. Perhaps if someone should just happen along that he simply cannot ignore...