We All Hate Babies [Winged, Fox]

[Bre]

Baby, baby, baby oooh . . .

Eceph scratched absently at the sands. The eggshells had been cleared away, some given to the new winglets, some taken by those interested in studying them, and most put into the more secure storage areas behind the main armories. There were no more signs of her clutch. No more signs of her children. Even Norloph had left, finding his rider in a saddler. Still, she was not sad. It was a good thing. She had other duties to which she needed to attend. Behind her, Ro'za cleared her throat, leaning against the nearest wall. She raised one eyebrow at her fidgeting simourv, but the gray made no response. Instead, the giant gryphon simply turned her head and looked out the gaping entrance of the cavern. Laraph, Eoreph, please come to the nesting cavern. Her voice was conversational, or so she thought. It was a touch clipped for that.

Ro'za scratched at her face, her motions idle and lethargic. With Norloph out of sight and out of mind, she was in a better mood, but that wasn't to say she was in a good mood. Even though the lesson she was about to give had been coming for months, she didn't have any idea what she was going to say. She was feeling apathetic. In truth, that couldn't have been much of a surprise. She was supposed to talk about eggs, babies, and flights. Those were not amongst her favorite things in the world. It was not her fault that she was the leading expert on the subject. That was all Eceph's fault. The gray shot her a look, settling herself on the edge of the sands. She was as quiet as ever, but she did not appreciate her rider's attitude. In response to the look, the young Phoenix gave an innocent shrug, grinning lopsidedly at her hulking beast of a partner.

As soon as Ro'za heard the familiar sound of beating wings, she straightened and turned towards the entrance. Her apathetic state quickly disappeared. She cared not for the lesson, but they had a brief new addition to their class. The tawnyrider of I'dou's class had also been invited, so she couldn't go about acting as if she didn't care. She had to make an impression, a fierce one at that. "Come on, come on, get in here;" she ordered, waving her hands at them, not even caring who had showed up first. She half hoped it was I'dou, her favorite pupil in the whole wide world, but in the end, it didn't really matter, so long as they all go there in some sort of timely fashion. She sounded impatient and she was. She wanted the lesson over and done with. The sands were nice and warm, but she didn't like being overheated. She had better things to do than care about babies.

. . . like baby, baby, baby nooo.

[winged]

Having proven a comparatively mild day, I’dou had set aside a considerable time slot to dedicate to beating the stuffing clean out of one of the dummies she’d appropriated for consistent practice. Dressed sparingly, sweating profusely, the rider focused intently on the crookedly smiling face painted teasingly on the lopsided head of her target, knocking it soundly ‘round its bulbous head before Laraph’s voice intervened. Eceph calls for us. She’s on the Hatching Grounds. As greatly as the younger gray wished to emulate her elegantly austere clutchmother, there was no disguising the note of excitement that colored her words as brightly as a clear noonday sky. Clutching, hatchings – they thrilled the feathery child so. And now that she was finally grown, it sat promisingly on the horizon.

“…eh.” I’dou’s reaction was remotely neutral, her narrow shoulders shrugging off the impending summons in favor of throwing a few more punches. All the while Laraph sat patiently, fidgeting and continuously gazing in the direction of the waiting Phoenix. Any time now, Eoreph might get there first and that simply wasn’t acceptable! I’dou considered pulling another thirty minute scrutiny of her wardrobe, laughing off Laraph’s anxious scolding as she shed her looser wardrobe for something less revealing, though not necessarily warmer. They were going to be on the Sands, and she recollected quite clearly how hot it could get.

Same old, same old. A test of wills as the pair finally made the short trip to the cavern’s entrance. I’dou preceded her simourv, taking note of the way Eceph seemed to fuss. Laraph was, as per usual, the one to extend the warm hellos, chirping softly before finding an unobstructive location to sit. Neither had been present for the recent Hatching, and the silence slowly dragged on as I’dou tapped a few idling fingers against her thigh, blinking at the amusingly uncomfortable looking Ro’za. “If she doesn’t show up soon, can I leave?” L’nan would, of course, present herself accordingly. Therein lay the joke, as unfunny as it was.
No! Eying her rider with mild disapproval, Laraph rummaged for a topic to breach herself. All your new hatchlings are lovely! She couldn’t say a thing for the eggs, but the babies themselves were wonderfully precocious! Surely Eceph must be proud of them all.