Willow

"You know they don't! There's a monster inside them. There's a monster leading them. If you scatter your anger around like dandelion seeds, you'll hurt everyone, tire yourself out, and end up with a bunch of indignant dandelions. But if you summon it all together and aim for the monsters, you'll win. I know you will. Because you're Sundew, my forever dragon."

— Willow to Sundew about the othermind, The Poison Jungle

Willow is a female LeafWing dragonet who was introduced in the epilogue of The Hive Queen. She is currently in a relationship with Sundew and resides in the LeafSilk Kingdom. She was formerly a member of the SapWings and owns a pet cockatoo named Talkatoo.

Description

Willow has pale green scales, which are warm and as light as a fern frond. She has graceful wings which are a paler green than her body, and a dark green dappled leaf pattern on her scales and underscales, like the shadows of long oval leaves. She has deep, deer-brown eyes. Her voice has a note of authority to it.

According to Sundew, she has a perfect "crinkly and sparkly" face, a sparkling disposition, and warm, smiling, river-deep eyes, the deepest she had ever seen. When Sundew had first met her, she noted that Willow carried the scent of mint, chocolate, and new rain.

Personality

Willow is calm and gentle, and a kind dragon who is quite often the voice of reason for Sundew. Willow is empathetic and gentle and prefers to take a reasonable approach to things, unlike Sundew's snarky or aggressive manner. Even if Sundew is angry or frustrated, Willow can stay level-headed and can calm down Sundew in turn. Willow is not inclined toward shouting or being angry, as when Sundew noted that Queen Sequoia might feel better if she took her anger out on others or yelled at others. Willow does not like yelling, as it only made her feel guilty and worse and that she still felt bad over the last time had yelled at someone.

Willow can also be fierce and determined when trying to save others and act quickly. This is seen when she swiftly kills a big snake to save Tsunami and Turtle, and when she kills Hawthorn with a giant thorn to save her friends from the breath of evil.

When Sundew shows her anger at the LeafWings being forced to run away, Willow says she is angry as well. She feels everything that Sundew is feeling, saying that she has never let herself get mad like that before. She tells Sundew that Sundew is right and she should be angry, but she needs to focus on those who deserve her anger.

She has good intentions toward most dragons, except those with evil or threatening intentions. Like many others, she hates the othermind and what it has done to Pantala.

Biography

The Lost Continent Prophecy

The Lost Continent
Willow was briefly mentioned by Sundew, who wondered why she wanted to save the SilkWing tribe.

The Hive Queen

When Cricket and Sundew were talking about Swordtail leaving her to fight HiveWings alone, Sundew said she understood him leaving to find Luna because she had a true love as well. Willow was the mentioned true love. Later, when dressed up in silk and glitter, Sundew said, "Wil — my tribe would fall over laughing at me right now." The 'Wil' that Sundew mentioned before cutting off was referring to Willow. In the epilogue, Willow saved Tsunami and Turtle from a large snake when they first arrived on Pantala. She introduced herself to them and told the two that they should go back across the ocean if they wanted to live.

The Poison Jungle

Sundew mentioned wanting to see Willow multiple times. Willow first appeared in a flashback Sundew had when she went to meet Willow. Sundew, who was two years old, was chasing a frog who ate the grasshopper she was planning on eating later. She headed towards a pond and searched for the frog, yelling angry curses at it. Willow interrupted her and asked, "Who are you talking to?" Sundew said that she was looking for her "archnemesis," and Willow thought it was a dragon. Sundew explained that her archnemesis was a frog, and Willow started laughing so hard her shoulders shook. Sundew asked where Willow was from, and Willow pointed to the trees, away from the LeafWing village. Sundew was confused and introduced herself. Willow did not recognize that name (which made Sundew furious) and introduced herself as well. Sundew explained that she was the savior of Pantala from the HiveWings. Willow gasped and realized Sundew was a "PoisonWing" and flew over to inspect her. Willow mentioned that Queen Sequoia was alive and living with the SapWings (although Willow called them the "real LeafWings"). She went on and added that Sequoia was meeting with Belladonna to negotiate peace. Sundew argued that they need to fight Queen Wasp, and Willow calmed her. After both standing by each other's sides, Sundew noticed that their heartbeats had synced. They stood together for a while before Sundew announced that she decided to spare the frog's life. Willow laughed and said that she had just decided to wait until the frog came out so she could kill it. They both laughed about it, and Willow requested that Sundew move to the SapWing village with her. Sundew reluctantly declined. Every time Willow asked again, the answer was always a no. They came to meet each other the next night at the same place, and Willow gave Sundew a jade frog. Sundew was to set it on a rock by the pond each night, so Willow would know she was there. Sundew and Willow continued to meet each other in the same spot for four years. After returning to the present time, Willow entered the clearing and saw the frog. They had not seen each other for many days since Sundew had to leave the jungle. Sundew bounded into Willow's wings. Willow explained her daring rescue plan that she was thinking up about. Sundew gave her flowers and explained everything that she had done since she was gone. Willow freaked out and exclaimed that they had to tell the queen, as the HiveWings were likely on their way. Sundew tried to protest, but Queen Sequoia, who had been eavesdropping the entire conversation, entered and told her that she needed to know. Willow was then revealed to be Sundew's girlfriend. Willow brought Sundew to the village of the SapWings. They met Princess Hazel, and Sundew showed Sequoia the breath of evil vine from Wasp's greenhouse. Sequoia was shocked. Willow then led Sundew to see the new dragons. There, they saw Io, Tsunami, and Turtle. Willow witnessed Sequoia's telling of the Legend of the Hive. She brought Sundew to meet her father and then went with Mandrake, Nettle, Cricket, Bumblebee, and Sundew to find Hawthorn. She helped free Nettle from a pitcher plant and led them safely past the Manchineel grove to the Den of Vipers and met Hawthorn. Willow and the others heard his story and took him to Queen Sequoia. Hawthorn was revealed to have been under the control of the othermind and threatened Willow. Sundew made a real sundew plant grow under him. He threatened Cricket, and Willow killed him with a long thorn. Willow, Sundew, Cricket, and Mandrake moved all the remaining PoisonWings to the SapWing village. Hazel, now the LeafWing queen, found the map in the Book of Clearsight, and the tribes moved to journey to Pyrrhia. Io and Cinnabar brought some of the Chrysalis to the Gullet River but stayed back to help SilkWings in the other hives. Willow convinced Sundew, who was initially against the idea, to take everyone to the Distant Kingdoms' for safety and come back with a plan.

The Dangerous Gift

Willow tugged Sundew down, preventing her from intervening while Hazel spoke to Queen Snowfall for the first time. Later, she accompanied Sundew and others to tell Luna what happened to Blue and Swordtail. Willow was later seen with Hazel in Sanctuary, where Sundew hissed about their situation and stalked away in anger. Before the selected representatives left for Pantala, Willow was seen crying, with Sundew trying to comfort her. When Snowfall gave Sundew the gift of stealth, she practised turning Willow and herself invisible. Willow thanked Snowfall and gave her a hug, before returning to Sundew's side.

The Flames of Hope
Willow was first mentioned in Sundew's vision. In the epilogue of The Flames of Hope Willow had returned to Pantala, she joked about how it would take magic to make Sundew actually eat something.

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Field Guides

A Guide to the Dragon World
Willow wrote a letter to Cricket to thank her for her list of possible HiveWing abilities in order for her to check if Bumblebee had any abilities. In the LeafWing chapter, Willow shared her favorite book, Ash of Green Gingkos.

Relationships

Hazel

Sundew was worried that Hazel loved Willow but they claim they are just good friends and nothing more. After that, both Willow and Sundew agreed that Hazel should lead the LeafWing tribe.

Sequoia

Willow sees Sequoia as a good queen and is close with her.

Sundew

Willow met Sundew at a pond when Sundew was chasing after a frog that had stolen her sugar sprinkled grasshopper. Willow and Sundew started to talk, and the two began meeting each other every night at the pond, with Willow checking the pond every night for a jade frog that Sundew would lay on a rock as a signal that she was there. Over time, they fell in love and became girlfriends. Many brightly colored flowers are around the pond — gifts that Sundew grew for Willow with her leafspeak through the years. Even though they disagree from time to time, she still loves her and states that Sundew is her forever dragon.

Talkatoo

Willow thinks very highly of her pet cockatoo, stating that she is the smartest bird in the world. Talkatoo has been her pet for most of her life.

Tsunami

Willow saved Tsunami and Turtle from a large snake in the epilogue of The Hive Queen. In The Poison Jungle, Tsunami gets along amicably with Willow, who visits her and Turtle. The two are on close enough terms that Willow is very comfortable calling Sundew her girlfriend in front of Tsunami.

Turtle

Willow saved Turtle and Tsunami from a large snake in the epilogue of The Hive Queen. She seems to see Turtle as a friend, caring for him, asking if he is alright, and giving him ginger tea to help him recover from swallowing too much water from the Gullet River. The two are casual enough to where Willow is comfortable with calling Sundew her girlfriend in front of him.

Quotes

"I'm Willow, [...] and if you want to live, you should turn around and go back there right now."

― to Tsunami and Turtle, telling them to go back to Pyrrhia

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"But how can you be? You look just like us! [...] Maybe a little prettier. [...] Maybe a lot."

― to Sundew, in a flashback

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"Shhhh. [...] You don't have to do anything right this second. Just be here. Breathe."

― to Sundew

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"Don't you think thump is a terrible word? I mean, that's what most dragons would say our hearts are doing, but it doesn't feel thumpy to me. Pulse doesn't seem right either. Beat sounds too violent. It's not quite tapping. There should be a better word for this."

― to Sundew

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"You were gone forever! I have so much to tell you! I've been waiting and waiting and checking the boulder every night and it was dreadful and I didn't like it and let's never do that again! I was half afraid Belladonna must have found out about us. I started to wonder whether I needed to mount a daring rescue operation — blast through the barrier! Knock the other PoisonWings aside! Tear down your prison and sweep you away to safety! Wouldn't that have been so heroic?"

― to Sundew, when she returns from her mission

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"Hazel is a friend of mine, like all the dragonets our age in the village. But if what you're really asking is 'Hey, Willow, have you by any chance fallen in love with some other dragon while I abandoned you to go start a war and frolic with SilkWings?' the answer is no, I haven't, you're still the only dragon for me, even when you ask silly veiled questions."

― to Sundew, about her relationship status with Hazel,

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"And you're still the only dragon for me, too, Willow, light of my life, I promise I will never fall for a beautiful SilkWing and leave you."

― to Sundew

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"I have a cockatoo. [...] Her name is Talkatoo and she's the smartest bird in the world SUNDEW STOP LAUGHING AT ME. [...] I was only a little older than Bumblebee when I named her! I'd like to see you come up with a better name at that age!"

― to Sundew about her pet cockatoo

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"The four of us against the entire HiveWing tribe, Queen Wasp, all the best LeafWing fighters, and our friends? [...] We don't even know what to destroy!"

― to Sundew, about the mind controlled dragons

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"You know they don't! There's a monster inside them. There's a monster leading them. If you scatter your anger around like dandelion seeds, you'll hurt everyone, tire yourself out, and end up with a bunch of indignant dandelions. But if you summon it all together and aim for the monsters, you'll win. I know you will. Because you're Sundew, my forever dragon."

― to Sundew

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"She might tell you that's the magic of leafspeak, [...] but the true magician will be whoever can get her to stop and actually eat something once in a while."

― about Sundew not liking to eat

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"Ah, yeah. [...] Sundew's idea of a tree planting party is one where we plant trees all day and then look at them and go: 'Well done, us. Good night, trees!' and that's it, that's the whole party."

― to Swordtail

Trivia

• When Willow saved Tsunami and Turtle from the anaconda, Tsunami describes her as dark green. However, she has pale green scales.
• Willow gifted Sundew a jade frog when the latter was two years old. Sundew uses the object as a signal for Willow.
• Willow used the Pyrrhian term of humans, scavengers, rather than reading monkeys.

Gallery

• 
  Willow on the cover of the Official Wings of Fire Stained Glass Art Book, by Brianna C. Walsh
• 
  Willow from How to Draw, by Brianna C. Walsh (edited by WillowCharlotte1234)
• 
  Reference by SpaceshipEarth

References

de:Willow fr:Saule pl:Wierzba ru:Ива