I’m so very happy to report that Pyrria has found a good home and will be sent on her way shortly!  (Well, I don’t want her waiting in a box for any longer than she has to.)

My part of a gift exchange with the fabulous Schala-Kitty.  It’s a little bitty beaded kitty, see?  And sparkly to boot.  A bit of an experiment that I’m sure I’ll be revisiting soon…

Despite appearances, Pyrria is actually quite shy.  She opens up and becomes the life of the party when she’s comfortable, but until then she is more than content to explore on her own or find a nice little quiet spot to roost and sing to herself.

Pyre birds are often mistaken for phoenixes by (hopefully) well-meaning but generally easily-distracted or just plain inattentive mages, magicians and alchemists.  They’re more closely related to dragons than they are to phoenixes, legs designed for running at high speeds and leaping.  That’s not to say they don’t fly, of course; they rely more on self-made heated air (in part thanks to the heartstone) to stay afloat than their wings.  There was some, shall we say, “unpleasantness” a while back regarding humans and their inability to keep their hands off sparklies that they proclaimed as their own, hence why pyre birds are rarely seen these days.

(There are quite a few more pictures and detail shots at her gallery page.  She’s also looking for a good home, by the way.)

Kaishun’s got an incredibly optimistic view on life in general.  After all, he’s one of the dragons who helps to usher in spring every year.  Admittedly the duty isn’t always easy (Mother Nature just loves to readjust her snow schedule without telling anyone), but seeing the leaves and flowers begin to bud is rewarding.

The only clear ideas I had when I started were “white and pink”.  Kaishun definitely took on a life of his own after that.  His antlers and, er, “artistic spines” are wire-wrapped and decorated with lovely, lightly frosted silver-lined pink glass beads, with a few tiny delica bead accents.  His belly and the bottoms of his feet are of course brilliantly sparkly pink, and his eyes are rose quartz.

(“Kaishun” means “return of spring” or “rejuvenation”.  Suiting, I think.)

(He also happens to be looking for a good and proper home for a spring guardian.)