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- "But who gets to decide what's a good thing? Dragons would always be asking for spells, or telling you your choices are wrong. And sometimes it's hard to tell what's good and what's just easy."
- — Tamarin in Talons of Power.
Template:Charbox Tamarin is a small, blind, female, RainWing gardener. She has several scars from when she was learning to walk and fly blindly as a dragonet, including a long, twisting one along her underbelly and a few on her wings and neck[1]. Glory notes that she has oddly-coloured pale-blue eyes[2], which is most likely a symptom of her blindness. She cannot change the color of her scales at will unless relaxed (and even then, only to the color of her surroundings). In Moon Rising, she is described as having blue and gold scales[3], so this is likely her typical appearance.
Glory, in her contest to become queen, calls out Tamarin to help her during the contest after Magnificent said to call out any four dragons Glory wanted, Glory not knowing she was blind at the time. She is also currently a student at Jade Mountain Academy, as part of the Gold Winglet. She competed against Ex-Queen Fruit Bat in the flower hunt at Glory's challenge for the throne of the RainWings, and completed the challenge successfully, defeating Fruit Bat. She is friends with Kinkajou and tolerated by Onyx.
Biography
Tamarin worked in the royal gardens, where she takes care of the flowers ruined year after year by Fruit Bat, much to her annoyance. She is completely blind, although her other senses have been sharpened because of it. She has memorized every section of the Rainforest Kingdom and can sense anything out of the necessarily ordinary, such as flowers. If she was told to change her scales to red, for instance, she would be unable to do that. But if she relaxes, then her scales could automatically change to the colour around her. She also has exceptionally sharp hearing, and that helps because of her being blind. Tamarin's underbelly is scarred from previous attempts to learn how to navigate and fly blindly as a young dragonet. She also helped Starflight adjust to being blind after the events of The Dark Secret.
The Hidden Kingdom
Tamarin was mentioned by her good friend Kinkajou when she was talking to Glory about the current queens. When she was picking her team to battle for the crown, Glory chose Tamarin (not knowing that she was blind) to join her team. Tamarin competed in the flower hunt for Glory during the challenge for the RainWing throne and won defeating Fruit Bat, making very good use of her excellent sense of smell, even when Glory doubted her skills. Tamarin nearly lost, as Fruit Bat was following her to the hidden flower, but Tamarin managed to grab the hidden red cinnamon orchid just in time.
The Brightest Night
Although she does not make a formal appearance in the book, she is mentioned to be helping Starflight adjust to flying with guidance and avoiding obstacles, for he becomes blind from lava that hit his eyes in The Dark Secret.
In the epilogue, Glory suggests that Tamarin, as well as Kinkajou, should be students at the Jade Mountain school because she needed a real teacher, not the "scraps of time" Glory had for them.
Moon Rising
In Moon Rising, Tamarin is accidentally injured by a dragonflame cactus, an explosive variety of cacti, set off by Sora, Clay's sibling. They dunk Tamarin in one of the underground lakes at Pike's suggestion, then bring her to the medical wing to recover from her burns. Shortly after Sora tries to kill Icicle in the prey center, Sora goes to visit Tamarin, who is unconscious and wrapped in bandages from her wings to her tail. Moonwatcher, Umber, and Qibli arrive to see her crying beside Tamarin's bedside.
Talons of Power
Tamarin is shown with Anemone and Pike when Turtle comes to warn them about Darkstalker. She anxiously asks about Kinkajou, to which Turtle responds with, "She was alive when I saw her last." Pike shows kindness to her. Then Anemone leaves, and Pike asks Turtle to walk her to the infirmary. Then when he leaves, Turtle tells Tamarin how Kinkajou is really doing. Tamarin then says she dislikes secret faces and knew that Turtle and Pike were making them. Then, Tamarin tells him she didn't know Anemone was an animus. After that, she shares her thoughts on animus power. When they get to a fork in the tunnel, she says she can do it on her own from there and limps off.
Darkness of Dragons
Tamarin is in the history cave (not the one blown up by Sora), and asks Qibli if he smells smoke. She also mentions that she can only smell smoke since the explosion. In the epilogue, Tamarin is also mentioned to be doing a presentation on Darkstalker's history with Pike and Fearless, and she is mentioned in the epilogue, when Kinkajou tells Turtle that Anemone has a crush on Tamarin.
Personality
Tamarin is seen as smart and kind. In The Hidden Kingdom, she is shown as determined, not wanting to let Glory down. She can also be very wise, as shown when she shares with Turtle her thoughts on animus power. Even though she's blind, she has proved that she can do things normal dragons can achieve, and even things some normal dragons can't. She was a gardener for the Royal RainWing Garden but later joined Jade Mountain Academy as a student. She was also seen passionate about learning, as she was in the history cave before history lessons actually started, which led to her being injured when she got hit by the Dragonflame Cactus. Since she is friends with Kinkajou, it seems that she does have many other positive characteristics. Tamarin is shown to be independent, because when Pike asks Turtle to lead her out of the underground river, she gritted her teeth hissing, " I can take care of myself."
Trivia
- A tamarin is a type of monkey of the genus Saguinus. The species is known for being quite friendly.
- Tamarin is the first known blind dragon in the series, the second being Starflight. So far, Tamarin is the only dragon that has been born blind, and the only blind dragon to compete against RainWing queens and win.
- She is one of the students who asked for an "Herbs & Healing" class at the school, along with Peregrine.
- Tamarin used to have an acute sense of smell, as shown in The Hidden Kingdom when she found the flower only through smell. However, since the explosion, she can only smell smoke. It's unknown if this is permanent; if so, she'd be the first known dragon without a sense of smell.
- It's been confirmed that Anemone has a legitimate crush on Tamarin, though it's not known if she reciprocates or if she even acknowledges this fact.
Gallery
References
- ↑ The Hidden Kingdom, page 259
- ↑ The Hidden Kingdom, page 257
- ↑ Moon Rising, page 134
| RainWings | |
|---|---|
| Queens |
Present: Dazzling • Exquisite • Fruit Bat • Glory • Grandeur • Magnificent • Splendor |
| Royalty (Present) |
|
| Royalty (Historical) |
|
| Jade Mountain | |
| Other Dragons |
Bright • Bromeliad • Bullfrog • Chameleon • Gibbon • Handsome • Heliconia • Liana • Loris • Mango • Mangrove • Orangutan • Orchid • Pineapple • Tapir • Tualang |
| Hybrids | |
| Kingdom |
Rainforest Kingdom • RainWing healer's pavilion • RainWing royal pavilion • RainWing village |
| Society | |