Stormwindbreeze got their homepage at Neopets.com

Hey! Welcome guest! I bet you're surprised to see a Lutari here, as this is a Draik application, but I will explain. I'm Vee, and I'm barkingzebu's special pet. Very special, mind you. Sooo special, that I even get be on this page ;D
But the real reason I am here is because barking is a lazy artist and is too stupid to make an application. So she went up to me and said "Oh dearest Vee, would you please make me an application for a Draik I saw? It was really ugly, really, and it had bad breath. But I thought you might like it as a servant. And because I love you so much, I want you to be happy. But I am a failure and a disgrace to your greatness. Would you please make the application to cover up my horrid skills?

Maya: *comes in and kicks Vee* I said no such thing! *turns to guest* Sorry for this… I assume you must be greatly shocked by such an unruly pet… believe me, my other pets are better-mannered, but Vee did offer to take over the narration of this page… I hope you have the sense to see what is true and what isn't (as a general pointer: anything that has to do with me, Dragon and Wave serving him is an utter lie). He is talkative, and I'm not really, so I thought you might enjoy him more ; ) *turns to Vee* And mind you- please try to go easy on the lies, you little fiend!

Here it goes- a masterpiece, like everything coming from me. I call it "Wimpy Draik's Failure". Enjoy!
Once upon a time, there was this puny, ugly little Draik by the name of Aquardi. He was a pretty wimpy type an---
Maya: VEE! WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING?!? *GASP* *JAWDROP* Let me take over this part. You're really gonna ruin this application… So, here is Aquardi's REAL story (narrated by himself):

I can't remember back all the way to my birth. I guess few dragons can. But I know that, as dragons' lives go, my life was fairly enjoyable.
The nest was probably the first thing I remember. It may even have been the nest I was born in. I cannot know. The sweet scent of grass, the soft light falling onto the rough walls- yes, they are still vividly in my mind. My parents were a gentle Maraquan-Draik Lady, and a powerful Draik King, both of noble birth. You can see that I owe much of my appearance to my parents- the gleaming red scales and that touch of nobility from my father, and the fins and stripes of my mother. Unfortunately, I do not have wings gracing my back, but it is just as well so, as I can propel speedily through water, and, to be honest, there is actually no need to fly when one can get around speedily on land and in the water.

Though my parents left me soon (Draiks are generally not creatures of a strong familiar sense- it has always been so, and will always be so), I never felt very alone. The world sprawled out there before me for me to explore, it was mine to take. And, by noble birthright, I was a prince- Prince Aquardi. Yet I chose to travel my lands as a wanderer. Few knew of my identity, but that was the way I liked it. I was very young, and I wished to see everything the way it was. And so, by the time I had reached the age of 10, I had seen much of the world, and many places and pets had heard of me- as Aquardi the Wanderer. Now 10 may seem insignificant an age, but we Draiks, do in fact only age slowly, but we are never truly babies like many other creatures out there in the vast world. Even at an infantile age, we are self-sufficient and smart enough to get along in a strange world we are not prepared for. Thus, by the time we get older, we are wise beyond many others. What to us is a year may be many years for others. I have never forsaken my youth- and now, at nearly 14, I am nearly as childish as I was when I left that nest so long ago, but in a way, wise with age.

It is unusual for Draiks to ever undergo a bond with someone, but when we do, we are there for life. I had never thought that I would be one of those rare and legendary Draiks to undergo such a bond- but it happened, and I cannot say that I regret it.
I was swimming lazily through the vast ocean. In the midsummer sun, the water was warm and bright, leaving intricate shadows, cast by the waves, on the rocky bottom. I frisked around in delight at this perfect day, occasionally spontaneously darting after a swarm of small fish, which too, illuminated by the clear light, sparkled in an attractive shade of silver. After having eaten my fill, I paddled lazily along, sometimes going to the surface to let the waves buffet my sides. It was on one of these surface excursions, that I saw a flock of seagulls wheeling around a slanted rock about half a mile off. Speedily, driven by my curiosity, and the thought that there might be some delicious treat, I shot through the water to said rock. But instead of finding a tasty morsel as I had initially expected, I found a small soggy bundle of red fur, wrought with feathers sticking out at random angles. I was about to dive off, back into the cool deeps, when I noticed a faint rise and fall of the fur- whatever it was, it was breathing! I heaved my body gracefully onto the rock next to it, and curled around it tightly. Somehow this unknown lump of fur had aroused in me an innate sense of responsibility- it was something I had to care for, something I had to fix.

Only much later did it occur to me that that was the mark my extraordinary sire had left upon me- combined with the gentle and caring nature of my mother. But when I was there, out on the rock, I only saw that I had to help this creature, whatever it may be. Since I was not completely sure that this was in fact an aquatic creature (although I couldn't explain to myself how it may have gotten there if it had not been), I decided to take it back to shore, to a cave where I knew it would be safe and secure. And so I carefully took up the bundle of fur in my mouth, it's long black-clawed feet hanging down on either side, and gently carried it across the waves to the cliff where the cave was. I deposited it there, and was about to turn off and leave, but something held me back. I returned to the creature and lay down beside it. It felt like the right thing to do. And as night came, and the thing still hadn't awakened, I gently blew sparks over him to keep him warm, but took utmost care not to singe his fur in doing so. As I wrapped my tail around it (it was still curled in a tight ball), I noticed that it was still young and fragile. This creature was a baby, an infant. It was all alone in the world out there. I made a solemn promise to myself that night, that I would care for this creature, and keep it safe. And as the night grew colder, I lay there, wrapped around it, until I myself fell asleep.

The next morning, it was gone. The creature. The bundle of fur. My creature. All I found in the cave, was a yellow feather, and two long silky hairs. One red, one blue. Maybe the creature had had a family afterall…

For days I waited in that little cave, hoping that the creature might come back, so that I could see it at least once more. But it soon became apparent that this would not happen, so I set off into the world once more, with my mind made up to follow this little red-furred creature...

TO BE CONTINUED...

*This is not by Vee…*

Name: Aquardi (hehe, now that was obvious, wasn't it?)
Gender: Male
Species: Half-Maraquan Draik (with royal ancestors!)
Color: Deep Red, with a slightly lighter back, and turquoise stripes running across the back.
Age: 14 in Draik years, undefined in normal years.
Personality: Adventurous, youthful, curious, caring, wise

I really have no clue what barking finds so great about Aquardi… She keeps mumbling stuff about his great name…pah! Great name? I'll give you a great name! Vee! Vulkanwave! Vee-Dawg! *tries a very bad imitation of a girl's voice* "Isn't Aquardi a wonderful name? It fits me and the account sooo nicely! Aquardi…!" *attempts to voice a dreamy-imitation-sigh* ...Anyway, all she ever goes on about is how she wants one of those Draiky thingies. What's up with that? Alligators go chomp, chomp. Draiks are probably no different. Who wants a chomping beast? Apprently Maya does. "I want to improve my art skills and develop a cool new character," she says in her snobby little voice "besides, what could be more fun and interesting that having him interact with you?" Me? And a Newbie? …A new character?!? Pah!

Well, you see, barking is a bit crazy. She actually wants to enter that Draik in the Beauty Contest. She actually thinks he can equal to my greatness! What a loser. Her Draik pictures are probably all scratchy and icky-looking, I bet they don't even have a gleam of talent- not that barking is untalented… she draws most intriguing pictures of my very own self, and I do well in the BC (My brother Wave and I even have trophies!). She gets better every time (I need to force it out of her, though… she really is a bit lazy). But anyhow, where was I? Oh yes. Draik pictures. I bet she is an utter failure. And do you know she was talking about painting that pesky Draik Royal? Royal?!? I mean, come on, if anybody here should be painted royal, it would be me. I AM Neopia's greatest Lutari. It is only fitting that I rule. Or even Maraquan! Pah! But barking probably would have to save a bit 'til she can afford that paintbrush anyway. It's not like she ever actually DOES anything around here… She also mentioned that she might start roleplaying me sometime, when she has the time. Hear that? ME! Not some old Draik…

*edit by barkingzebu: I would like to point out some lies in this passage: I do plan on roleplaying Aquardi- in fact, I already have *points down*. Take that Vee! And do not let Vee convince you that his "excellence" will be hogging the spotlight- I plan to treat the two fairly. I hope you can spot the other falsities in this passage yourself… In addition, I would like to point out that Aquardi would be going on my main if I get him (Stormwindbreeze has been moved to a side, where she is currently hosting this page)
The following are some ideas/picture plans for aquardi (just quick sketches- click and drag into the URL box for a larger view!):*

Huh? A petpet? Well I guess he can have this:

I found it with barking's stuff. I was gonna keep it for myself, but I already have Onomatopoeia_ (and Ono ist much better!), so I guess that weird draik could have it. It's name is Quixote. Look: it even reflects that draik's personality: overly romantic and with weird illusions about chivalry. Pah! It's a wimpy little critter. Yeah. Ono is better. Uh-huh. So there.

…Aka Zebu… aka Maya. How lame is that? Three names! Stupid, huh? Anyway, this is the section where I'm supposed to tell you all the nice stuff about her. Not that there is a lot. She wastes a lot of her time some place she calls "school", instead of serving me like it is good and proper. She does theatre (some stupid thing those weirdo-humans thought up, where you prance around reciting antiquated sentences…), participates in all kinds of unnecessary committees, and walks her dog- an ugly gray-haired, bearded monster. When she actually is at home on the computer, she IGNORES me, and sits there with a pen and some paper and justifies this abuse as homework! She says it's her Senior Year and very important. Huh? How could anything be more important than me?!?
In those few moments, when her longing to see me cannot be stood out a moment longer, she works for me by either making adoptables for my petpage, or carefully crafting new portraits of my noble self. She will also take us on tours through the mountains (where we can get the Snowager to breathe some good 'ole ice onto Dragon's ugly mug- sometimes that idiot snow-worm misses and hits me instead, though!), or on special hikes in the desert. We do travel around quite a bit (only because I care about Maya's fitness- some tours with me on her shoulders ought to strengthen her up a bit!).

Here in Neopia, she is mostly known because of me. I am very special, you know. I am the subject of discussion on her BC board posts, and the adoptables that grace my page could only be made by having me as a muse. But then she does stupid stuff and "helps" other people by drawing for them… or being "nice"… Weirdo…

Maybe I should mention that barking's been around for quite some time. She's known neo since the early stages (way back when half of Neopia didn't exist yet, and gelerts and lupes had a different look). Her very first account was halfbrownie (but that was deleted a very long time ago due to inactiveness-it has now been recreated. She also has another account, chilimaysu, that she created, but she forgot the access information. Stupid, huh? Barkingzebu is now her main account and there to stay.

What's this? Barking actually roleplayed that stinky draik with another one of those draik thingies... Rayotigger, who lives in Lutari Lunar's family. There you have it, it seems to be a growing trend to get Draiks into familys with Luatris. Hrmph. *grumble*
And look. For some old reason that draik speaks something like Old English. How antiquitated. Like draiks in general. They're out. No one wants them. They stink. You should get a Lutari.

A long thin, slender creature flew gracefully through the sky, it's scales shone brightly in the summer sky, turquoise and dark blue scales covering it and upon it's head two marvelous eyes a deep green color...

A peculiar little creature floated lazily on the ocean's calm surface. It appeared to be some sort of aquatic dragon, reclining on its back as it let itself be gently rocked by the small waves. The late afternoon sun glinted off its golden-orange belly scales, and the tail, floating relaxedly on the water's surface, revealed the creature's other colors: deep red with turquoise stripes- tipped off with a plume of golden-yellow hair and a small pair of fins...

The young serpentine dragon watched as the dragon emerged from the ocean, he watched intently as the sun lit his scales...

Suddenly there was a small splash, and the sleeping dragon on the surface awoke with a start, briefly flailing to regain its balance. It looked around curiously, trying to spot where the splash had come from. Unable to see anything, it lay back down on the surface, and was about to resume its nap, when it spotted the serpentine dragon hovering above, staring down...

The serpentine dragon was perfectly happy to watch the aquatic dragon, he didn't quite know how to react but for now the weather remained sunny and calm as was rayo's mood...

The little aquatic dragon flipped itself around, revealing its yellow-golden back, streaked with turquoise stripes and topped by a neat row of turquoise ridges. He peered up at the serpentine dragon and looked at it quizzically for a moment. It pondered for a second, then cautiously spoke in a voice that seemed youthful, yet strong and defined as of one of great wisdom and age.

Who art thou?" he inquired, then, remembering that most creatures tend to speak differently than he, echoed his question once more: "Who are you?"...

The dragon replied in a deep strong voice, " Before I displace that information with you, would you kindly answer the question?" asked rayo aware of the complexity of his words....

I call myself Aquardi," answered the dragon calmly. He paused, then continued: "Now that I have answered thee thine question, I pray thee answer mine"...

Rayo flew slowly down to the ground landing gracefully. He pondered the question for a moment replying in that same kind yet strong trustful voice, "Thy question be simple so thine answer is Rayo".....

So Rayo-Dragon, why starest thou at a poor dragon enjoying the last rays of the gleaming sunlight with a nap? Hast thou nothing better to do?" He says this in a very warm friendly tone of voice, in a manner that makes it certain that he is just joking.

Now that thou hast disturbed my peaceful napping, hast thou something better for me to do?" he asks, whisking his tail about gently.

Rayo ,taken aback a little, looked toward the sky he'd sworn there was a cloud forming for a moment, " I was going to ask thy the same question," he said quietly not looking at him....

Art thou incapable of formulating thy own inquiries? It was not I that awoke another," answered Aquardi in a mock-indignant tone, for it seemed impossible to really enrage and annoy him. Instead, he lay back, amused by this encounter, and waited for a response.

Rayo turned, a feeling of unknowing apon him now, " I am perfectly capable of my own inquires, you are one, I wondered whether or not to investigate further and when I did, i find a less hospitable creature"....

Hospitable I am, yet I am not prone to answer long series of questions, while not receiving answers first myself."

Presently, the aquatic dragon swam the short distance to a large rock platform showing out of the water and gracefully pulled himself upon it. He stretched out, gazing at the now setting sun. The thick gold band around his neck was illuminated by the golden rays, and the small pink jewel glittered mysteriously. He turned, stiffling a yawn, back to Rayo, and asked "So wilt thou tell me of thy intentions now? Or shall I resume my nap?"

Rayo too was watching the sunset, "My intentions dear sir are to enjoy this sunset then bring about the night"....

Ah, the night..." said Aquardi in a thoughtful manner "It is a shame, is it not, that the beauty of this sunset must give way to the night? I love spending my evenings here in thought, watching the sun go down..."...

Rayo looked away from the sunset to Rayo, "No 'tis not a same perry the thought, my abode is the night,"...

I enjoy the coolness and serenity of the night, but it is during the day I can see life- colors, creatures, light, " he mused thoughtfully, his head laid down on his scaly front legs.

Rayo couldn't understand the creatures thinking at all, the night his abode was so peaceful yet exciting, so much could be done, " I'm sorry but I'll have to agree to disagree on this one"....

We are all different," stated Aquardi with an aura of profound wisdom. "I have been musing a lot on the issue- there was once one whom I met and never really got to know, of whose acquaintance I would be glad. But alas, I have not seen this creature since it was but a babe... I so yearn to know what has become of it, but through all my travels I have failed to run across it again..." He sighed and rested his head on the rock once more...

At this Rayo could empathize with the creature, " yes I understand that very much, " he stopped turning his vision to his paws, he could she the blood on them even now after so many seasons....

Aquardi noticed, and too gazed at Rayo's paws. "What looketh thou at thy paws?"...

Rayo looked up at Aquardi staring into his eyes, " I ...I was reminiscing"...

Aquardi raised one eyebrow in curiosity, but courteously remarked: "If that be so, I do not wish to call forth unwelcome memories. But tell me, friend Rayo, what brings thee into these parts. Here in midst of the waves of the ocean and the warm summer sun one seldom has visitors save those of an aquatic nature passing through"...

Rayo broke forth from the trance and gestured toward the horizon, "I follow the evening sun toward the distance, I was promised some life time ago that my cure follows the northern sun," he smiled but it had no happiness...

What ails you so that you are in need of a cure?" asked Aquardi, sitting up.

Rayo again was intrigued of the knowledge of this Draik, he seemed so calm and he comforted him somehow, "My heart is the cure, I feel no pleasure, no love,"...

Dear friend, thy sorrow upsets me so. If thy cure can be found, I shall accompany you to the ends of the earth to find it. And even if the cure is but a dream, I shall never give up searching for it with you. I shall help thee find thy heart, so that you may once again experience the joy of being alive."...

Rayo's heart fluttered like a bird on the wing, his eyes filled with tears, yet the tears were empty no happiness he felt nor joy, " I want to feel over joyed but I cannot for the cavity open in my chest," he beamed though hoping to show how grateful he was...

Well then," said the aquatic dragon, "when wish you to depart? I have long rested in these parts of the ocean, and can embark whenever you wish."...

Rayo turned to him, he was so eager to see the world it seemed a felony to deprive him of his wish, "as soon as ye be willing to," rayo couldn't believe his luck, a brave fellow Draik was willing to help him follow the sun and his heart to the cure...

If thou art not tired, we can depart immediately. The night air will be cool for travelling", said Aquardi, happy to find something to do...

Smiling Rayo turned bowing and replied, " than depart we must!" with that he took off toward the setting sun, if he was happy than his heart knew it, the cure would be found...

Aquardi leapt into the water with a graceful arc, and quickly caught up with the serpentine dragon flying above.

Together, they ventured towards the distant horizon.

end!

Barking wants to make Draik adoptables. They'll be here. If she dares neglect my Adopties, I'll… I'll… *grumble*
*edit: Adoptable rules like always: No entering the BC with them, no claiming them as your own. No taking customs that areb't meant for you. You don't have to link back (this is just an application!). Have fun :D I know they're very simple, but I'll make better ones if I actually get Aquardi. Customs are closed at the moment, but will be open soon*

MORE COMING SOON!!!

CUSTOMS

Rayotigger

Danoic

Why did these people make adoptables of that Draik and not ME?!? *grumbles* Barking says I have to say thanks. Thanks. There.

Makeables that Maya colored are scattered all over this page. Lazy Maya. They link back to where you can find them.

Ooo… look. People actually drew pictures of that weird Draik. I'm supposed to say thanks for all contributions (barking made me…). Yeah. So there. Thanks. Start drawing me some more pictures, people!
Oh, and if you want to see the full versions of those pics, just drag them into the url box (it makes a big difference!). But why would you do that if you could look at me instead?
*edit: Thank you everyone for the wonderful pieces of art! They are very much appreciated! And Vee: Shut your trap!*

*Thank you soo much for Aquardi's first piece of fanart, silvermare200! It's so incredibly cute!*

*The lineart of these next two gorgeous pieces is by yugiohfanart. Thank You soo much again! They're wonderful!*

*This one really captures Aquardi, doesn't it? I really love it! Thank You so much, seosetsuma13!!!*

*What's that little dragon up to, now? Thanks, Shelbie4781 for this awesome lil pic!*

*Wow! 2 Pictures! They're wonderful!!! Thank you, flame_shadow_!*

This is where people say nice things about Maya. Cool, huh? I like Maya- well I do when she's not neglecting me for some old draik…

From dragonsrcool_1_2_345:
why barkingzebu?
So I've found out my great friend zebu is applying for you're draik, Aquardi and I just had to tell you why she's the perfect new owner for him! ok one her art pwns! you gotta know this so much so that she got goldban in lutari in the beauty contest. two her pets are so well cared for and she spends loads of time on there petpages and apps *prods aquardi's app* three she's the best! If you don't at least consider her then you've lost one of the greatest neopian's ever! thanks dragon

From yugiohfanart:
Barking Zebu is a dedicated neopian and a frequent participant in the beauty contest. She is passionate about her pets and her artwork and tries to surpass herslf with every entry, by tackeling challenging poses and designs. I have no doubt her practice and dedication will put her in the ranks of one of the top Beauty contest participants.

From silvermare200:
Maya is a wonderful artist and a great person. She always spends loads of time on her art and petpages, and she tries really hard at everything she does. She would give Aquardi a great personality, and also win him tons of BC trophies. This is why I think Maya is the perfect owner for Aquardi!^^

From unirah:
Hello, Jessie! I'm Olivia, and I've known Maya for over half a year, now. I know she'd be an amazing owner for Aquardi, and let's look at the reasons why, starting with the aesthetics.
Maya's a wonderful artist. Look at the theme of her lookup. Look at this page's background. Look at all of Maya's images scattered throughout the application. Maya is able to create masterpieces in a range of styles and draws constantly. It's a guarantee that Aquardi would receive a great amount of artwork to his name (and not only by Maya - look, Aquardi has fanart already!).
As you can see, Maya makes very beautiful and unique designs. Look at how the colors blend so well on Aquardi's images - don't you agree? It's another sign that Aquardi would be showered with attention and that Maya will be an excellent owner.
Take a look at the trophies on her Lutaris' lookups; they're from the Beauty Contest. With her artwork, Maya would definitely get Aquardi a gold.
Moving on to the non-artwork-related things, I can say that I see Maya around on the site pretty often. She doesn't neglect anything here or keep pets as trophies; that's just not Maya-ish. Maya won't quit anytime, soon, either.
I can also say Maya's a friendly, caring, and interesting person. She makes an effort to help others, and seems to have a lot of patience. Maya doesn't lose her temper easily, either - as I said, she's an amazing person, and the best home for Aquardi would be with her.

This is something I did not let Vee write. Thank you so much for your time (I know this application wasn't exactly short). I hope my little spiteful Vee was to some extent amusing, although I do see that he might not have left the best impression. Believe me, he's usually not this bad.

This is what I have so far. I would love to elaborate on the Vee-Aquardi story some time. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will probably add a lot more to this page- mainly art and adoptables. And of course, artwork of Aqaurdi would improve greatly with more and more practice. I hope you come back some time to check it out.

I think about Aquardi all the time, always planning out new poses, looking at dragon pics, and just generally thinking about him- you should see all my schoolpapers and such- they're covered with little Aquardis. I tend to get obsessive like that over my pets. But that's a good thing, isn't it?

I would also like to thank everyone who contributed so generously to this application with fanart and recommendations. (Many people even came up to me and asked if they could do fanart!) I hope you will consider me in choosing an owner for Aquardi- I would certainly do my best to live up to him.

~barkingzebu aka. Maya