A Simple Affair

[Artemis]

A cluster of eggs lay, unattended, in a nest of neatly constructed sticks, branches, and straw, stranded on a boggy island in the middle of the marshes.

Each egg was black, but in different ways; one was glossy like obsidian glass, one rough like it was coated in sandpaper, one appearing like a literal hole in the world that absorbed all light with no reflection, one looked smooth to the touch but rubbed off like charcoal when handled, and one was oddly soft like velvet petals, though it had no give that could be pushed in.

Drums sounded, informing one and all: Five eggs in the wetlands. That was not actually all that informative, was it? Well. Only one way to find out more.

The Black Glass Egg -- Zebey
The Black Sandpaper Egg -- Junho
The Black Void Egg -- Zenith
The Black Coal Egg -- Fr. Clarence
The Black Flower Egg -- Yjrn

Dragon Opal Noviith -- Zenith
Requia Allure Madame Mortella -- Zebey
Requia Lament Dasi -- Yjrn
Requia Legacy Steve -- Junho
Requia Omen Johannes-- Clarence


(Come get y'all juice! Pick an egg, any egg. First come, first serve. I do not have five shinies, but it is a mystery what I have and how many of them there are >:3c select an egg to attend and assist in hatching!)

The Red Carpet Allure

This girl is nothing short of gorgeous. Sure, she's deadly, but haven't you ever heard of a femme fatale? Her beak is on the sleeker side with an elegant curve, her face blooming in scarlet that deepens into a rich colour like her body is covered in crushed red velvet rather than knife-feathers. She's not got markings, per se, but isn't a solid boring plain red, either, the light glancing off each little dimple and edge to practically make her sparkle.

And you will acknowledge that she is gorgeous. She'll make sure of it. Flattery is the only thing that keeps her in check, as this little lady demands the spotlight any time she's in the room. Fail to acknowledge that she's the star of the show and she'll have a fit more appropriate for a rabid mongoose than the downright demure starlet she is when placated. She's vain and needy, but for a Requia that's hardly the worst sins, right?

The Silver Lining Lament

This Lament is fairly tiny compared to others of her kind, stretching the limits their sizes can range without being freakish. Her hues might be in greyscale, but thanks the to the metallic edges of her feathers, she has a soft shine coating each pinion. Soft grey forms a base for streaks of paler silver on the dorsal side of her wings, and an even paler chest, nearly bleach white. Simple, yes, but pretty in her plain way.

As one might expect of her rank, if one knows anything about Requiae, she's no great threat. She doesn't engage in frantic frenzies of hurt emotions or take delight in hurting anyone. No, she actively seeks out lighter emotions, and admittedly due to her mood-draining powers will draw them to the surface herself if need be, by bleeding away (figuratively!) the bad emotions covering up the brighter ones. She prefers to look forward to the next dawn rather than lament (heh) the moments of darkness. She's, dare we say... sweet?

The Blue Streak Legacy

This rascal is adorable, okay. For all appearances, his feathers have a downy look to them that hides well serrated tips to his wings, and he's quite a cloud-white mask on his face above a silver-blue beak and a pale cornflower body that is speckled over his back with sky-blue spots. He's kinda plump, too, making him look more 'innocent baby birdie' than 'menacing raptor'. If you didn't know anything about his kind, you'd probably want to hug him and squish him and call him George (don't call him George).

That's a mistake you'd only make once, however. He is... not friendly. He may not speak Common, but it's easy to understand that the raucous rasping noises that violently expel from his throat are the equivalent of intense swearing and cussing. He isn't shy about voicing his displeasure, either, screeching constantly due to his hyper-defensive insecurity. That's the secret, though: be patient, be kind, and underneath it all he desperately wants to actually be that precious pampered baby. Only from his bonded though. Nobody else. He genuinely hates you. Only bondie gets to see woobie birbie.

The Black Book Omen

This Omen isn't much to look at it. Only in the right strikes of light will the jeweled undertones of its feathers come to the surface; most of the time, he looks like a plain black crow-eagle, with a thick beak and zero spots, stripes, or zigzags demarcating him from any other Generic Black Bird. Even his eyes are inky black; the only colour that really stands out is a tendency to look almost licorice-green when in flight with his thin feathers outspread.

Opposed to his noisome brother, he rarely speaks. He prefers to reserve his mimicry for when it's needed; which his bonded will surely figure out he is eager to make use of for some good old-fashioned schadenfreude. He has an impeccable memory, you see; should anyone wrong him or his bonded, or slight either of them in the slightest, he shall be able to recite the offending remark in perfect imitation of their voice and never let them forget it. There's holding a grudge, and then there's the little black book adding your name to its list.

The Best of the Bad Opal

Noviith (No-Vee-Ith) - Bold #87b3ec

(Named for: VNV Nation - Nova)


Opals are small, and this one is no exception. They clock in at an average four-foot at the withers, though they have a long, proud neck they hold high that aids in making them look bigger than they are. With a wide stance and chest, barrel-shaped like a bulldog, and broad wings if somewhat stubby in span, and a thick, heavy tail, Noviith is no pushover. Their pearly hide is naturally a field of white for the most part, at least at first glance, but watch them move, especially in the play of light and dark in a night full of stars, or when times are just changing at early dawn or last breaths of sunset, and you'll see ripples of red, violets, and blues shimmering across their smooth hide. There's no particular pattern to it, more as if there's a tiny cosmos hidden just beneath their skin, gaseous nebulae swirling and flowing in their blood.

To many, a life begun amidst a nest of demonic creatures would be quite the inauspicious start, but it fits this wayward Opal. They do not deny that bad things are out there, certainly; do not pretend that you will never hurt, Zenith, never know heartache or homesickness or betrayal or loss or grief. But. But! They also don't pretend things will never become something different. The bad will come, but eventually the good will wash it away; and yes, that too will get washed down by darkness, but only until the next sun shines on the horizon. The bad will come, and we will make the best of it, won't we? Then it doesn't seem so bad, really, when you think on it.

Because of all possible worlds, this one is best, for all of its pain and aches and problems and flaws and faults, for it is the world in which Noviith found you, Zenith. Some may find the stoic acceptance of the less charming parts of life off-putting. That also doesn't bother your smallest Dragon, who knows that you cannot be liked by everyone. You won't always be popular, either of you, Zenith with his goofiness and social fumbles, Noviith with their blunted honesty and head-on facing of struggles. You won't always be happy. You won't always do the right thing, or be appreciated when you do. But you will always know without hesitation that you make each other complete.

[Yjrn Mistwander]

The black shape curled up around her arm and rested it's head on her shoulder, serpentine head cocking first to one side and then to the other.

The wetlands. The words were hissed and Yjrn angled her head to get a look at the creature on her shoulder. Vher had joined her some time around Starlight season and though they were generally quiet she had learned to listen when they did speak.

And listen she did, picking her way through the wetlands as Vher guided her to... wherever it was that they were going. The Visp seemed to have some innate understanding of the drum patterns that Yjrn had not yet picked up on, although they certainly always seemed to be announcing something. Their arrival was heralded by... well, absolutely nothing. There was no one present, seemingly no parents around these eggs though something had most certainly built this nest.

Though Yjrn kept a respectful distance just in case some parents did show up, Vher did not share her hesitation. Instead she wound her way down from her bonded's shoulder and picked her way carefully to the nest, drawn to the egg that honestly almost kind of matched her. The the Reverie wrapped around the Black Flower Egg with a curious tongue flicking over it's surface. Well come here then. They demanded of Yjrn, and though there was some definite hesitation Yjrn picked her way around the edge of the nest to kneel down by the Visp.

"Hello?" She called out, looking around through the trees, "We mean no harm." The wildlife here was surprisingly understanding of speech, perhaps they would understand if they were lurking around the edges.

[Zenith]

The vast majority of the time bondings were big, loud, flashy affairs that announced themselves to all and sundry. Dragons, for example: there was absolutely no way to miss it when a bunch of dragon hatchlings decided they needed to Impress. Gryphons and unicorns weren’t much more subtle. Even firelizards liked to make a (sometimes-literal) splash when they set out to find lifemates, and those little blighters couldn’t even talk!

And yet, if not for George’s drums (and some helpful pointers from ever-informed Alexandrae), Zenith would’ve missed this one entirely. There was no fanfare. There were no great crowds gathered to greet the new arrivals. In fact, no one had the faintest inkling of what said new arrivals were going to be. All anyone knew was to head towards the wetlands and keep an eye out for eggs.

...what we’re getting at is that Zee wandered entirely the wrong direction for multiple miles before Censere, of all shinies, finally took mercy on his spark.

You appear to have lost your way. There was a laugh lurking somewhere in the Stratus’ voice, a rarely heard note of levity Zee would’ve been delighted to hear under any other circumstance. Alas, this time the star-strewn pegasus was having a jolly good giggle at him. I take it you heard the drums as well, then?

“Sure did.” Zee huffed a put-upon sigh and sidestepped into a convenient stream of clear water. Primus, but he didn’t even want to think about how much mud had gotten into the various components of his pedes and heel thrusters. “You gonna tell me where I need to go or just make fun of me?”

Censere whickered, amused, and gestured back the way Zee had come. Back that way, six kliks or so. The nest is on the ground.

Zee reset his optics, surprised by the often-cryptic pegasus’ genuinely useful response.

“...well okay then! Thanks for the help, Cen, I’ll, uh- I’ll get right on that?”

Off he went, retracing his steps with half an optic on his internal pedometer. Six kliks later, sure enough, there were five little eggs in a neat little nest, attended by a halfway-familiar viera woman. She’d already laid claim to one of the eggs. Four left for the rest of them, then! Waving briefly to Yjrn, Zee folded down into his fun-sized form and crouched down next to, appropriately enough, the Black Void Egg.

[Zebey]

The drow wasn’t expecting an impromptu excursion today but here they were. She had been out hunting, Signet on her shoulder (the firelizard had INSISTED on accompanying her), when she heard a familiar beat of wings. Her head turned to see the winged horse angling downwards towards her; with a sigh, she stood, slinging her bow across her back. I hate to interrupt your hunt, but I must take you somewhere.

A brow was quirked, but Zebey didn’t argue. Luth was usually reliable, even if a bit eccentric. The Pegasus carried both her and the firelizard to the wetlands; they landed not far away from the clutch of eggs, and the two other Whazzitians already gathered. A curt nod was offered to both Yrjn and Zenith as she dismounted from the Cirrus. As she took not but two steps closer, Signet suddenly trilled, setting off from her bonded’s shoulder to land next to the Black Glass Egg. Much like Yrjn’s companion, her tail curled around the egg, and she nuzzled it. Zebey didn’t seem to even blink at this development; she approached the nest, sitting next to her shiny’s chosen egg, and waited.

[Artemis]

We mean no harm, Yjrn promised, which was very kind of her to offer the desolate swamp, but if anyone heard they didn't respond to the gesture. The murky water bubbled and blorped, and somewhere a bird shrieked like a tin whistle, but that was normal for the area. On the plus side, if the parents were watching, they weren't interested in interfering with their eggs being handled?

The Black Flower Egg rustled ever so slightly at the touch of the Visp around it. It didn't seem warm to the touch, nor cold, simply room -- uh, wetland temperature.

Zenith's (eventual) foray into the swamp was met with similar environmental indifference as a centipede with three heads and a single eye on each skittered quickly out of the way of being smooshed into the soft ground underpede.

The Black Void Egg hummed at a low, low frequency, and was eeeever so slightly warm to the touch. Huh! Turns out space isn't so cold after all, maybe? Occasionally, the hums increased in intensity, vibrating the egg just enough to visibly shake a teeny bit, but it otherwise stayed where it was beside Zee.

Zebey and Luth were to receive a similar welcome, which was none at all. Better than an unwelcome, though, surely? As the Firelizard with them alighted on the Black Glass Egg, it sat there, glassy and eggy.

Crickets chirped.

The wind breezed through the bulrushes.

And suddenly the Glass Egg rocked, violently, toppling like a weird balloon clown and bouncing back upright no matter how it topsied and turvied. Was something... trying to get out?

The Black Flower Egg rustled more aggressively.

The Black Void Egg jumped off the ground a few centimeters and fell with a dense thump back to the nest.

They were definitely hatching! Maybe the Whazzitians could offer some assistance in speeding the process along?

[Zebey]

When the egg rocked and hopped around, Signet squeaked in surprise- then thrilled in excited encouragement. Zebeys head turned, curious. A quick glance around to the other two present saw that their eggs also were hatching. Aha! I knew it! the Pegasus exclaimed from the sidelines. The drow gave him a cursory brow raise in response.

Her draconic companion was trying to encourage it out of the egg, using her tail to help prevent it from knocking into the others. "Signet," the drow said. Reluctantly, the flit turned her gaze to her, eyes whirling anxiously. The drow opened her palm and a small flame alit in the center. Giving a trill in understanding, Signet turned and blew a short, rather mute plume of flame to the eggs base. Hopefully the extra warmth would give it the oomph it needed!

[Fr. Clarence]

Magnus flexed his foot, head craned down to study the powdery black substance that was left on the tips of his talons. The Black Coal Egg was deceptively soft. At first the Arathli thought he may have accidentally crushed it, small as it was in comparison to his large frame, but closer inspection revealed that wasn't the case at all. I'm not entirely certain that is an egg at all, he mused.

His bonded was also studying the black object, rubbing the dust it left behind in between his fingers. Clarence raised a brow at the familiar color and consistency, more surprised to find something so dry in the swamp of all places, "Egg or charcoal, either way it's useful." Which was certainly true, both the church and his personal interested had plenty of instances of fires.

[Zenith]

Somehow Zenith had expected the egg to feel... cold. Y’know, like space did. Cold couldn’t harm him, of course, but he could absolutely feel it, and this... wasn’t could. At all. In fact, the thermosensors embedded in his fingertips kept insisting it was warm. Not outrageously so, but notably warmer than ambient temperature.

And then it started vibrating.

Space absolutely didn’t vibrate.

Which just confirmed his suspicion that this was, in fact, an egg, and not the small piece of condensed void it appeared to be. Occam’s Razor and all that, but this was planet. A bit of space coalescing into an egg and dropping to earth wasn’t entirely out of the question. Either way, whatever was inside the thing was trying to get out of it. It fell to him, then, to help the poor little darling out.

He reached down and applied gentle pressure to the top of the egg, hoping to crack the shell enough to ease the occupant’s escape.

“C’mon, kiddo, out ya get.”

[Junho Song]

Hear that? The large, fluffy demonhound bound his way over to Junho who was sitting outside in the fields, dressed in a comfy sweatshirt and jeans. He had gotten into the habit of concentrating hard when George was beating his drums, because he was determined to interpret the language as well as he could. “I did.” Junho responded with a smile. The message was short so he was able to figure it out. Bo, who would have been happy whether his bonded could figure it out or not, nodded his big head. Let’s go.

It felt like some time had passed since Junho had gotten himself into a new adventure, especially in the Wetlands. Though wet areas still made him a little bit nervous, the calm energy of Bo and his thirst for doing something new was enough for him to follow the call. He pushed himself off of the ground, with his trusty Ember at his side. Everyone else was off doing their own thing, even Jin and Perci, but with the amount of time that they had all spent together at this point, he felt safe and connected to them no matter how far apart they were.

It seemed that the pair of them were late to the party, they did take the long route even though Junho tended to be a fast worker, and they made their rendezvous with the group and the eggs with Bo carrying a medium-sized stick.

There was only the The Black Sandpaper Egg left, but Junho approached it, squatted down with his knees bent and still on his feet, and watched.

Ooc; rendezvous, 269 words

[Yjrn Mistwander]

Yjrn could feel the mechanical creation coming before she could see it. But that still didn't quite prepare her for how large it was once it broke the treeline and she was looking up at it and Twelve was it large. And then a certain amount of confusion set in as it shrank, folding in on itself like some kind of puzzle. It waved at her and she waved back politely.

They were also joined by the Duskwright, which was much less confusing to Yjrn, and one of those tiny dragon creatures that much like Vher made it's way directly for the nest. Yjrn offerd them a wave as well, though it still somehow seemed wrong to break the silence around the nest. She was not yes satisfied that the parents were not lurking about somewhere.

And then the egg rustled and Vher made a noise of pleased surprise. It was only the first mild sign of hatching considering the Glass egg proceeded about a certain amount of acrobatics that Yjrn had never seen an egg perform, and the Void egg somehow managed to leap without breaking.

Yjrn was pretty sure it wasn't a good idea to interfere with a hatching egg, but considering whether this was true or not left her distracted enough she didn't notice the very sudden appearance of a large bird and unusual man. There was a rather dramatic difference between an egg and charcoal but she wasn't going to be the one to point that out, especially because Vher was demanding her attention.

The Reverie was nosing gently at the petals of the egg, the horn they had used to break their own egg feeling about for weaknesses in the flower-like shell. It's blooming. They pointed out, and Yjrn nodded in agreement. "It seems that way, yes." Blooming honestly seemed like a better word for what appeared to be happening than any other form of hatching.

[Artemis]

Zebey's glass egg wobbled and wibbled and suddenly stilled in the warmth of the flame. The black surface heated up slowly, not exactly red-hot, but definitely glowing a teeny tiny bit as it absorbed the heat. And then... crack!

The first crack appeared in its shell. It was small, unable to see what was inside, but whatever creatue it was was obstinately bonking against the inside of it now, the crack hairline-spreading with each thonk. I T H A S B E G U N.

Clarence's egg did nothing much at all, to be honest. It sat there looking for all the world like it was, indeed, just a big ol' hunk of charcoal. Maybe they could try cracking it? HIt it with a hammer, or something. Or like I GUESS more reaosnably the big Arathli could try to beak it or talon it or something, but why would anyone ever choose any option that doesn't involve hammers?

Zenith's egg was humming along, geeeeeently squished by the Transformer's hand on it. It had very little give, but once again a crack! split the egg. Some sort of embryonic fluid seemed to leak out thinly from the split in the base of the egg, and it thrummed iwth increased intensity. Whatever was in wanted out with a conviction.

Junho's egg appreciated being picked, even if it was picked last, judging by the way something inside sounded to be peaking on the inner shell. Barely had Bo and his boy started watching when a shapr egg-tooth suddenly crashed through the side, puncturing it like... well, paper. That happened to be covered in sand.

Yjrn's egg behaved similarly, the outerest black layer starting to wither and peel away as something within the softest shell of them all kicked and scratched and fought, visibly discombobulating the egg's insides. Blossoming might have been an interesting word choice, but it wasn't as if calling this a typical egg was normal either. Abloom or ahatch, something was in there.

[Fr. Clarence]

Shall we see how well it burns then? Magnus eyes the black lump, unmoving as it was, Just break off a bit so as not to waste it?

Clarence shrugged. The suggestion was fair enough. Charcoal wasn't all that much good unless it burned. Or it wrote, he supposed. But he was a priest and not an artist.

When there was no protest, the Arathli carefully chipped away at the shell that may not have actually been a shell at all with one of his talon's.

[Zenith]

Yep. Still humming. Still... egging. Egging a little more, actually, if the weird egg goop oozing out from the cracks was anything to go by. All good signs, as far as Zenith was concerned. It meant that trying to chivvy the egg’s occupant along hadn’t done it any harm. More to the point, said occupant seemed to be just as impatient as he was, if the way that little hum kept ratcheting up in intensity and pitch.

“Well that’s not gonna do it,” He muttered, squinting down at the ovoid now wholly occupying his attention. Time for the bigger guns!

...or the bigger tools, as it turned out. Rather than applying more force and risking squishing something (or someone) vital, Zee steadied the egg with one servo and pulled the other away. His now-free servo folded in on itself, eventually resolving in the form of... yep, that was an appropriately giant-robot-scale pair of tweezers. Except, y’know, alive. And attached to a big-aft robot. All of which meant Zee had precisely the right mix of leverage and precision to lean aaaaall the way down and start carefully chipping away at eggshell where it had already started to split.

And if he kept half an eye on Magnus and Clarence, well, that was just common sense in action. Even Zee wasn’t quite reckless enough to trust someone who suggested lighting eggs on fire.

We’ll just ignore the fact that Zebey had done precisely that already. At least the glass egg didn't seem like it would go up in smoke if exposed to a single stray spark...

[Junho Song]

Bo was not quite as patient as Junho was, but he had the control to not flail around while Junho patted the ground and plopped himself down because his knees were starting to hurt. Bo jumped when the tooth poked its way through the shell, out of excitement more than fear or anything, and turned his head towards Junho.

Look, him go! He said in excitement, his body wiggling a little bit. “Or her, they? Can be so many things.” It was the luck of the draw, really who they would meet, if they met anyone at all. Bo nodded his head in agreement, huffing, his wings unfurled then folded back on his side. There was something in the ‘hound that wanted to help, he could feel it in Junho too, but again, he needed to practice patience.

So he would wait.

ooc; luck of the draw, 142 words

[Zebey]

When the hairline crack appeared upon the glassy surface, the tremor flit seemed to hold her breath, the soft plume of fire halting. Her tail receded from around the base of it, wary of glass-shard egg shells bursting away and cutting into her soft hide. Instead, she stood on her hind legs, large wingtips that were folded upon her back brushing against the ground. Her talons reached out, claws finding the separation in the cracks that were forming with each thud of the creature- or whatever- instead and she gently put pressure to help widen them.

Zebey watched her for a pause, then let her gaze sweep around. Everyone had slightly different tactics; her gaze lingered on the priest and his companion as they unabashedly started chipping away at it. It did look… not egg-like, even though it was with the others. Was it just charcoal? The drow was curious, but her attention did continue to move along. Her brow quirked when her eyes fell upon the large robot, the one called Zenith- were those giant tweezers? She supposed it was effective, as she watched for a while.

Junho’s arrival caught her attention; should he look her way, she’d offer a slight smirk and nod in greeting. The slayer watched his demonhound- she believed his name was Bo- get excited as the egg they had decided upon started break out. Even though Signet’s her egg/glass/object had started first, it seemed to be lagging a little behind. Signet gave a sound close to a warble of concentration, and the drow returned her gaze. It’ll be fine! The most dashing of them all, the equine said with conviction. Without straying her gaze, the slayer replied silently, ”Let’s hope so. Can’t imagine Sig’s response if it’s dead.”

[Yjrn Mistwander]

As the petal-like layers started to wither and fall away Yjrn reached out to pull the loose ones away and clear of the eggs efforts. Yes it was important for a hatchling to work their way out but no one said it had to be a tripping hazard when they did manage it. She laid the layers in a neat little pile beside her, in case they turned out to be important food or nutrients for whatever was going to come out of that egg. She was fairly certain there were species that did that did that.

Vher, however, was nosing away some of the layers that weren't coming away quite so easily, giving the wiggling beast inside a better chance of breaking free. Though Vher was more focused the Viera couldn't help but look around a little and a slight gasp escaped her.

"Do be careful, I hope." The words were out before she could quite stop herself from commenting on Magnus and Father Clarence chipping away at what was, admittedly, maybe only kind of an egg. To each their own on what they thought the best method of helping was but she wouldn't want to see any unhatched child be hurt in the process.

[Artemis]

((DO NOT SPOIL ANYTHING <3))

The Charcoal egg was chip-chip-chipped at, and if they wanted to lit it on fire, it would easily catch a spark and burn away to ashes. If they wanted, they could keep doing that over and over, breaking off little pieces here and there until no egg was left at all. WHile they were busy playing firebrands, however, they were being watched from the orange-trunked mangrove trees dotted around the marsh, and on silent gliding wings a small black Requia would make a relatively unobtrusive entrance, landing a-perch on the good father's shoulder.

The Black Book Omen to Clarence!

Junho and Bo (Junbo?) were to be graced with a newborn presence themselves soon enough, their patient rewarded with--

--ghastly shrieking because he was WET with EGG GOOP and the air was COLD and the sky was BRIGHT after the dark egg and he DIDNT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON and everything was AWFUL. He stumbled into Junho's lap unceremoniously, the little hatchling Requia, and momentarily fixed the gentle man with beseeching puppy dog eyes. Andthenhewasbacktocawwingatantrum. Er, good luck?

The Blue Streak Legacy to Junho!

'The most dashing of them all' was positively DELIGHTED to be given such an accurate welcome tot he world as the glass egg shattered apart in a curtain of black diamonds, revealing THE celebrity of the hour in the form of a beautiful baby Requia of Zebey's own. Fear not, Signet, she was not dead; she had only just begun to live, darlings! Ready her close-up!

The Red Carpet Allure to Zebey!

Meanwhile, the petals were slowly falling away in front of Yjrn, eventually revealing a quietly peeping chick with its head curled up under its wing. A silvery eye glanced shyly up at Yjrn, peeping again inquisitively before straightening up to blink at her, head cocking one side, then the other. Do be careful? She hopped up to Yjrn's lap and plunked her head against the woman's breast. Careful lady. Love careful lady. Careful lady love her?

The Silver Lining Lament to Yjrn!

Which meant the humming, vibrating, Void Egg was... well, that was three, right? Threes are good numbers, three chicks born, plus the slightly older juvie that had been watching them with a critical eye and alighted on Clarence, that made four, and that's pretty much the limit for these, unfortunatel--

Zenith! a voice gasped in the Lunarian's mind just before the egg gave a final, violent shudder, and the flakes he had been peeling away exploded briefly outward in the air, the egg consumed in a blinding ball of ultraviolet light, suspended like a miniature big bang in stasis, before dissipating to reveal It's me, it's me, your Noviith! sprawled at his feet, the chunky baby dragon staring up at him with imploring eyes, hoping to be recognized. You knew your Noviith, didn't you? They've been waiting, alone, so long, but it was alright knowing eventually you would come.

The Best of the Bad Opal to Zenith!

[Zenith]

Much as Zenith wanted to keep a weather optic on the big red bird and his necromantic accomplice, other events rapidly made that impossible. The eggs were hatching.

Okay, that wasn’t entirely accurate. Some of the eggs were doing a lot more than just sedately ‘hatching’. One of them, the one tended to by the dark elf who was decidedly not Halrae, seemed to be trying very hard to explode. Zee raised a servo on instinct, shielding his optics as shards of eggshell flew every which way. It was a good thing he did, too- a few errant shards pinged off his forearm, apparently flung far enough to nearly find their mark. Once the coast was clear he dropped his arm, leaned eagerly forward, and-

Oh. Oh no. He recognized those bladed pinions and murderous eyes. Those were Requiae. Apparently their mystery eggs were full of Requiae. Y’know, the ferocious little murderbirds absolutely willing to throw down with anyone and everyone who dared get in their way? The vicious predators who liked to torment their prey before devouring them? Yeah, those little shits? Zee had two of them already- two too many, by his estimation- and had no real inclination to acquire a third. Small wonder he turned optics full of apprehension towards the egg at his pedes, visibly dreading whatever crawled out of its depths.

Except the void-dark egg didn’t hatch. It evaporated, swallowed up in a burst of stellar fire, and a voice at once familiar and unfamiliar sang in those unexpected wavelengths.

Zee’s memories of that whirlwind day atop Mt. Gnerq were perhaps understandably somewhat scrambled. Everything up to Haelys’ ascent was there, perfectly preserved in his memory banks, but after that things got... blurry. He remembered a fight, though, and desperation, and the words ‘YOU ARE BEING DECEIVED’ spelled out across the sky in letters ten stories high. More than anything, though, he remembered falling, a roaring gold fighting to free herself from his grasp. He’d lost consciousness on impact, every system shocked into stasis by a tsunami of error codes.

He’d come to with waves of pure love washing over him, and now that feeling crashed over him anew.

It was a good thing, he realized dimly, that he’d already been kneeling when Noviith’s first words reached him. Otherwise there was an excellent chance he would’ve toppled right over. As it was, several somethings creaked ominously as he fought (and just barely won) the war for balance. Noviith- what a perfect name that was!- cheeped in alarm, chubby little newborn legs flailing as they tried to scramble towards their newfound bondmate. Zee reached out without thinking, gently brushing egg goop and blades of grass from their still-damp hide.

“Well hello there, sweet thing.” His voice wobbled, crammed full of surprise and amazement and a heaping helping of absolute adoration. “Wasn’t expecting to meet you here today. Hopefully you haven’t been waiting too long!”

Any waiting was too much, of course, and Noviith told him as much- at least once they’d gotten home, fed, and scrubbed clean, anyway. They had Priorities, after all.

((I already flailed in Discord but allow me to flail some more: Noviith is absolutely perfect and I am so, so excited to play them! They’re the best possible surprise I could’ve gotten and I just- aksdjnfgsouens BABBY-))

[Junho Song]

Ooc: I am truly sorry I could not get another name to stick in my head.

Junbo watched, both utterly fascinated in this process, Bo’s nose up close and personal with the poor hatchling, when it finally struck free and began to shriek. Bo stumbled back, even though he was clearly much bigger than the baby, partially out of shock and partially because he knew very well what a requia was. Bits of alarm fluffed through him as the creature clambered up onto his bonded’s lap, and even though Junho was not quite one to fall for the teary eyes, he did feel sympathy, and a strange connection with the Legacy.

His first thought was you don’t seem so bad, but truly upon examination, which took all of three seconds, and the connection that was beginning to build, he decided to not voice that sentiment out loud because it was highly likely that it would be incorrect.

Bo wasn’t sure what to say to Junho, what to make of the hatchling, but he did watch as Junho gently scooped some of the egg goop off of his body, using his sleeve to try to clean off as much as he could, before giving up and deciding that he would simply carry the bebe home.

And at some point, he would name the Legacy Steve. Because truly, he couldn’t think of anything better.

Ooc: THANK for Steve, I am excited for Junho’s first little terror! And he is a perfect one for him how did we all get perfect eggs!!

teary, 216

[Zebey]

The egg burst open rather suddenly, the shards of shell glittering like tiny black diamonds as they splintered apart. The creature inside was certainly alive. The drow felt the bond snap into place as she gazed at the brilliantly sparkling red creature. It was an avian, feathers glistening like little daggers as the goo in the egg started to dry. Signet warbled an enthusiastic greeting, which seemed to please the creature. What did I say, absolutely divine! the equine cried from the sidelines, head tossing backwards. The Allure’s head snapped over to the Pegasus, but she trilled in an approving manner.

The drow had a sneaking suspicion these two would become fast friends.

She glanced at the others and saw that everyone’s egg had, in fact, successfully hatched. She was startled to see that their resident robot had bonded a- dragon? The rest of them had eggs of these avian creatures- she would eventually learn they were Requiae- but apparently he had managed to pick his own dragon. That must have been the luckiest spin on a wheel of fortune that Zenith could have accomplished. Whatever a wheel of fortune was.

They departed shortly after, the Allure earning the name Madame Mortella. Very fitting, if she did say so.

ooc. Wheel of Fortune, Don’t Bet on It, 211 words