Cat Dragons: An origin story

Back in November, something happened that hurt me deeply.I wanted to be wise enough to ignore the comment without even reading it—or at least resilient enough not to care what it said. But that wasn’t where I was that day, and that’s okay.

I read it. It made me defensive and sad. But what I was strong enough to do was delete the comment—and pour all of those feelings into painting.

"I don't owe you anything."

"I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING."

Because I don’t. I didn’t owe that person anything, either.

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Onyxia—my gorgeous, darling black Bombay cat—is named after a character from a game I played 20 years ago: World of Warcraft.

Onyxia, my own little cat dragon.

At first, I wanted to name her Luna (yes, after Sailor Moon), and eventually gave her Luna as one of her middle names instead.It took me a while to find the right name after moving away from that idea. One night while I was lying in bed, it finally came to me.

In WoW, Onyxia is a woman who can turn into a dragon (or maybe a dragon that can appear as a woman—honestly, I don't remember the exact lore anymore). A couple of years ago, I drew a picture of my Onyxia as a dragon, and that idea has grown and evolved ever since.

My first Cat Dragon.

Now, there are 19 cat-dragons in the series—each one carrying words of affirmation, reminders, and ideals that are close to my heart.Things I want to share with others.

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I guess the moral of the story is: When it mattered, I chose myself. Out of that choice came something deeply personal—whimsical, fierce, and full of heart.