This one requires a little backstory.

Speaking as the person behind the sona, I have always had flight benefits thanks to my mom working as a flight attendant for a major airline. If there were any empty seats on a plane, I could take one for free! As a result, I got to see the world in a way that no other young adult could. I got to go to a variety of big conventions with ease, I visited far away places on a whim whenever I could spare the time, I saw and learned so much that changed who I am... I even probably saved a life... Visiting a friend all the way in The Netherlands who had severe depression and helping them break out of their shell. They have said themselves that they'd likely be dead if not for me. None of this would have been even remotely possible without these benefits.

But,
I was always aware that the day I turned 24 years old, I would lose these benefits. And well, on the day this is being posted, today is that day.

But please, do not feel sorry for me. It is my birthday after all! And while it definitely sucked that the pandemic took effectively a whole year of my travel abilities away during that limited time to fully experience them, I have absolutely no regrets with how I used them. I absolutely made the most of my opportunity, and I am ever so glad I got it.

I'm not sad that it's over. I'm glad that it happened.

But, that brings us back to the art.
While Craddock knew this day would come, it's still a sad sight to see them go. His wings have played a key part in his identity up to this point. It's not easy to lose something that shaped you so much. But, he still takes with him all the experiences that his wings brought to him, that hasn't changed. And Nothing has become impossible without them, but it will certainly take quite a bit of extra effort and adaptation to make up for it. He won't let this stop him from doing what he loves. He just hopes he can succeed in that.

Most dragons gain the ability to fly as they grow older. For Craddock, the opposite was true.
But this is not necessarily a curse. It is a blessing to have access to them right from the beginning, to allow them to shape who you are in your most formative years, to be born truly free. And while he would have had his flight for a longer time if he first gained it now rather than losing it, the experiences he had and memories he made during that time will last forever.

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I would like to give a huge, massive shoutout to FlamingSkia on Twitter for bringing this concept to life in a massively unique way. Skia took my initial idea of just drawing Craddock as a wingless drake, and turned it into this beautifully somber piece. Seriously I cannot stress my satisfaction with the result enough. Go check Skia out, they freaking deserve some more attention for their work.

Also, I should mention: Craddock is not permanently losing his wings. I just wanted to make a symbolic little parallel between me as a person and my sona. So consider this non-canon, if you will. However I am in fact losing my flight benefits as of today, and I am in fact very happy to have had them. Just sad to see them go.

And finally, as of the day I am posting this, it is indeed my 24th birthday! I know this somber piece is not the best place to celebrate it, so I made a journal to celebrate it HERE! I know this isn't the best place to say happy birthday due to the somber mood, so go say it in there!!