After being ejected from Paradise after the war, and later wandering through the Aether with little successful friendships made with other fallen Dutchies, Dreamer escaped onto the Terran plane, most notably to an oceanic Archipelago made up of hundreds of large and small islands. He stowed away aboard a cargo ship heading towards Valanciana Island, one of the larger populated realms, and after the ship made berth, escaped into the wilderness.

For weeks on end there were sightings of him, though few were able to get close enough to capture him. With such a densely populated city, one would think a Dutch Angel Dragon would be easily befriended, but since the events of the war and his panicked flight from the Aether, Dreamer didn't trust quite that easily. He was smart enough to know what danger looked like, and kept himself hidden away during the day, scavenging for food from trashcans in the dead of night when he'd learned there was little to stop him from doing so. As the months passed, he grew accustomed to living in the shadows, only appearing for a scant few seconds before disappearing into the darkness. Sightings of him became commonplace knowledge, but no one was able to get close enough.

Several seasons passed and Dreamer was beginning to look like a proper rogue Dutchie, scruffy 'round the edges and in dire need of grooming that didn't involve waiting for a rainstorm to come and wash him down.

When he finally encountered the one who would change his entire life on Valanciana, she was not what he expected. He had been careless and stolen a meal from an encroaching beast the people referred to as a Warg from the outskirts of where the city met the wilderness. As he settled into the alleyway to eat his fill, said Warg had tracked him down and viciously attacked from behind him. His cries had alerted someone on their way home who had come to his aid brandishing a large steel bar, putting herself between him and the furious beast.

Dreamer reeled from the blow and tried to get to his feet, but slumped back onto the ground, his head ringing. The Warg attacked several more times, each time their jaws and claws deflected by the woman standing between them and the creature who'd stolen his meal. Dreamer came to his senses just as the beast lunged forward and surprised his protector, leaping out of the way as the woman was violently struck and thrown backwards. Every impulse in Dreamer's body told him to flee, to take his stolen meal and run for the wild, but something rooted him to the spot as the Warg stalked towards the woman, its tongue curling around its long fangs, baring them for a final attack.

What had the Elders said before the fall of Paradise? Dreamer thought. Your truest purpose is linked to those most in need...

The Warg drew back and lunged for the woman...only to be thrown backwards by Dreamer's most vicious strike. He slammed down onto the concrete, extending his claws and fangs and openly let out the most guttural growl he had ever uttered which echoed down the alleyways. Something awoke within Dreamer that hadn't been present before: a kinship to someone who didn't have to come to his aid, but had done so anyway. He felt suddenly connected to her - and this beast meant to harm her instead of him. Woe betide him if he laid a single claw on her!

Spreading his wings out as far as he could, he snarled out a low growl: "You will not touch her, beast! Not on my watch!"

---

Fluffy's former name, bestowed upon him by the Elders, was "Dreamer" - he was always off on his own, exploring or curling up to sleep in the sun, largely ignorant of the lessons other Dutch Angel Dragons were learning in Paradise. Before the war, they bestowed Dreamer to the Warrior's Ranks, despite the fact he clearly had no vested interest in such a duty. When the war broke out, Dreamer learned firsthand that, whilst he could defend himself well enough, he was no match for the most powerful beings in Paradise, let alone his own kind. Like the others, he was cast out of Paradise, losing his halo and muzzle ring as a result.

In Aether, Dreamer was not treated that well. He was bullied somewhat because of his reluctance to become tangled up in others' affairs. He was a loner, and despite not having fallen to the Abyss, many Dutchies treated him as one. Dreamer felt disconnected from his fellow Dutch Angel Dragons, and slipped from the Aether into the realm of Terra. It was here he found space to spread his wings and fly at his own pace without fear of being reprimanded or bullied because he was uninterested in picking sides in a fight, or pairing up with another, or being in the company of others.

During one of his long flights, Dreamer became disorientated during a heavy storm and was blown off-course to a long stretch of Islands known as the Valancian Archipelago. He spied a large cargo ship heading southeast, and quickly landed and stowed aboard it, taking all due care to not be spotted. The cargo was draped under tarpaulins due to the storm, and stayed that way for the remainder of its journey, so Dreamer found ample shelter and, as the ship continued on, his first taste of Terran foodstuffs.

When the ship made berth on one of the larger islands, Valanciana, Dreamer was quick to make an exit and disappeared into the undergrowth there. For months the populace sighted him, but never could get close enough to identify him, or his species. He was an enigma to the people, a creature that meant no harm but clearly didn't want to be captured.

It took him being careless and stealing a meal from a scavenging Warg-beast to find his true purpose in life; that of a guardian and a companion pet to the woman who had come to his aide. Said woman was VJ Hedgehog, a leader of one of the Elite District Protectorate teams of Valanciana Island, who promptly (re)named him "Fluffy", and introduced him to her world and lifestyle.

Fluffy embraced his new life, shedding his former one as Dreamer entirely, and became VJ's constant companion and very much her "pet". He was later joined by Pogo and finally by Cosmopolitan (Cosmo), but that's another story altogether...

Velindra-Jay Hedgehog & Dreamer/Fluffy the Dutch Angel Dragon belong to Victoria S. Rodda, 1991 - 2017
Dutch Angel Dragons © Deanna Biesemeyer (Ino89777)